Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

At this moment, even Darkness had to admit that the evil aura emanating from himself, the "darkness on the other side of the world," was far less evil and domineering than the card combination Hayato was using. He only wanted to destroy the human world, but judging from Hayato's actions, it seemed as if he wanted to bring other dimensions under his rule and subject them to ravage.

I'm the one who's going to destroy the world, so why does the guy on the other side seem more like the villain?

'But it's just fusion, ultimately just summoning a new monster. In the end, it'll still attack my [Illusionary Magician], won't it?' He shifted his gaze from the vortex in the air, afraid of being sucked in, and looked at the dark purple barrier easily torn apart by the power of [Hyperfusion]. His duel with Kobayashi Hayato was now exposed to Daitokuji outside the barrier. 'There's nothing to be afraid of; the advantage is still on my side!'

"That's all! Watch me use the Fantasy Demons to deal with you, I'm invincible!"

Chapter 1053 The real trump card always appears at the last minute.

"That's all?"

Hayato nodded, confirming Darkness's statement. "Indeed, compared to your [Melting Fusion] or my [Shaddoll Fusion], [Super Polymerization] is undoubtedly an outdated thing that is no longer up to date. While other people's fusions can already gain card advantage, it is still losing cards, and even loses more than a regular [Fusion] by one Cost card to activate it."

"And its effect is so useless, it can't even use the cards in my hand as materials, it can only select monsters from both sides' fields as fusion materials and send them to the graveyard."

Hearing Hayato's words, Darkness casually remarked, "Sounds pretty rubbish, but it's only good for both sides... um? Both sides?"

"Hmm, for example, right now, since the Field Spell Card [Dark World - Shadow Detour] has changed all the monsters on the field to DARK, I'm going to use your DARK monsters [Illusion Magician] and [Illusion Beast King - Chimera] as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon this invincible Four Heavenly Dragon from my Fusion Deck!"

Hayato said, taking out a card with a purple border and placing it on the Duel Disk. He raised one hand above his head and shouted, "Despairing vines, laden with the fruits of this world and blood, absorb all the phantom beasts that no longer exist in this world as nourishment, and then a new threat will be born from the depths of that coiled hell! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs!"

"【Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon】!"

Watching helplessly as two of his monsters—including the highly anticipated [Illusion Magician]—were swept into the vortex of [Super Polymerization], Darkness watched as a slender, giant dragon appeared on Hayato's field. Its long, slender, vine-like emerald body was adorned with perfectly round orbs radiating a mysterious and dangerous light, and at the tip of the vines, a majestic and ferocious dragon, clad in purple armor, bared its fangs and claws.

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK2800]

"The first effect of 【Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon】can only be activated during the turn in which a monster on the field is successfully Fusion Summoned using Fusion Material. This card's ATK increases by the combined ATK of all Special Summoned monsters on your opponent's field until the end of this turn." Hayato pointed to the only remaining 【Phantom Beast Demon King - Baphomet】 on Darkness's field. "That is, 【Phantom Beast Demon King - Baphomet】's 2400 ATK!"

Upon receiving Hayato's command, the [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] immediately extended several vines that instantly bound the [Phantom Beast King - Baphomet] on the Darkness field. The orbs on its body lit up with a dazzling, beautiful, and dangerous purple light, and its attack power surged.

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK 2800 → 5200]

"Attack power, 5200 points!?"

Seeing its attack power surge soar, surpassing even the top-tier [Five Divine Dragons], Darkness's flames flickered. "How can such a powerful monster exist? This is not a monster that could have been born from this world!"

"You think you can't just say no? Just because you're some so-called 'darkness flowing into the inner world'? Don't make me laugh, you fool." Hayato said contemptuously. "Grandma said that if I wanted to, fate would definitely be on my side, and the world would revolve around me. I said that the [Fierce, Hungry, Poisonous Fusion Dragon] could be born from this world, so she can."

While saying this aloud, Hayato secretly thought to himself, 'Although, it seems that the [Fierce, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] was born from the Spirit World through the [Phantom Gate]?'

"You, you bastard, how arrogant you are!" Darkness said angrily upon hearing Hayato's words. "It is because of your arrogance that corruption breeds in your hearts, which then flows into the inner workings of the world, awakening me and bringing about my destruction!"

"You really have the nerve to say that, acting like you know everything. You're not even human. Only someone who doesn't understand the value of life would take someone else's life!" Hayato's lips curled into a cold smile. "I remember before, to resist the power of [Hellfire Machine Lilith], you chose to sacrifice monsters in your graveyard to save your cards in the back row. How could someone who can so easily abandon the lives of their subordinates possibly care about all of humanity? What kind of sincerity can someone who forces others to die have!"

"Your so-called peaceful destruction for humanity is nothing but a fabricated excuse for your own desire to destroy humanity!"

Before Darkness could react to Hayato's words, [Disruption Yellow] in Hayato's graveyard couldn't help but jump out and complain, "But did Annie really say that about others? Waaah—!"

Covering [Disruption Yellow]'s mouth, [Disruption Black] and [Disruption Green] pressed it back into the graveyard, bowing repeatedly to Hayato: "Annie, you can continue, you can continue pinching~"

"Further words are useless, Darkness. All I can offer you is battle and death. Enter battle mode!" With a wave of his hand, Hayato said, "[Ferocious Venomous Fusion Dragon]'s attack! Since you're going to reject [Ferocious Venomous Fusion Dragon], then come and experience its power! Attack [Phantom Beast Demon King - Baphomet]!"

"Extinction Rain of Highly Toxic Acid!"

Pointing to the only remaining Beast King - Baphomet on the Darkness field, the Ferocious Poison Fusion Dragon pounced on its target in sync with Hayato's movements, its winding, vine-like body slick with dangerous purple venom, locking onto and surrounding it in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, the predatory dragon coiled around the [Phantom Beast Demon King - Baphomet] like a python capturing its prey. Its ferocious dragon head looked down at the phantom beast that no longer existed in this world. Then, it suddenly opened its mouth and poured down a curtain of highly corrosive poison like rain!

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

Even Darkness, a skeleton rather than a living being, finally let out a wail when the soul poison from the battle originating from the [Fierce, Hungry, Poisonous Fusion Dragon] spread over it. The soul fire in its eye sockets visibly weakened, and even the wing on its back used to hold the [Phantom Beast Demon King - Baphomet] card was stained purple with poison.

Before being further infected by the deadly poison, Darkness decisively cut off that wing, causing its base score to drop drastically.

[Darkness: 4000 → 1200 LP]

With the final monster, [Baphomet], destroyed, Darkness's field was completely empty except for the Continuous Spell Card [Card Scan] in the back row. Now that [Middrash] limited the number of Special Summonings, Darkness couldn't even activate the effects of [Baphomet] or [Chimera] in the Graveyard. He could only watch helplessly as Hayato's monsters attacked, wiping out his Life Points!

Watching Darkness's pathetic state as he was forced to relinquish a part of his body, Hayato stood with his hands on his hips, laughing maniacally like some kind of crazed villain: "Hahaha, how do you feel now, Darkness? I'll let you experience the pain and terror of being one-sidedly beaten, hahahaha!"

"The previous 'Orichalcos'—Leviathan—was destroyed by the [Creator God—Tiera]. 'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.'" Reciting a famous quote from Solomon in the Bible, Hayato pointed directly at Darkness, "May you perish once more under [Tiera], Darkness!"

"A direct attack from [Hellfire Machine - Tiera]!"

Hearing Hayato's command, [Hellfire Teara] was quite moved. After all, in Hayato's previous duels, the only role it could play was to activate its effect once it was successfully fused and summoned. Then, because its level was too high and would affect the appearance of other [Hellfire] monsters in the graveyard, it would be released by Hayato at lightning speed. It never expected that it would have the chance to deliver a finishing blow.

Without the restrictions of the dark purple barrier, [Hellfire Machine Tiera]'s size had already returned to the limit that this underground place could contain. The towering bull-headed lion-headed demon dragon looked down at the tiny Darkness like a demon god who was destroying the world. In front of her, even Darkness seemed to be a positive figure who was fighting against natural disasters to protect the world.

"The Demon's Radiant Glory - The Magnificent Solar Prominence!"

As Hayato shouted out the name of his attack, a blazing inferno, like a cataclysmic fire falling from the sky, surged towards Darkness. This attack would mercilessly wipe out Darkness's remaining 1200 base points. But at this moment, Darkness suddenly spoke up, mocking Hayato:

"Arrogant humans, I have said it before, the peaceful death I bring is your best end. The more you resist, the more unfortunate your future will become. The moment of destruction will only be a more painful end." Darkness said, playing a card from his hand. "The game of Duel Monsters is a reflection of your future. What seems like an imminent victory is actually an insurmountable chasm between you and defeating me!"

"The effect of the monster card [Quick-Play Scarecrow] can be activated by discarding this card from my hand when an opponent's monster declares a direct attack, negating that attack and ending the Battle Phase thereafter!"

"What?! A monster card activated from the same hand as [Kuriboh], and even stronger?!" On the high platform, Daitokuji, who was almost cheering for Hayato's victory, exclaimed in amazement as he watched [Quick-Play Scarecrow] suddenly appear in front of Darkness and block [Inferno Tearah]'s godlike attack. "It can even force the end of the Battle Phase, what a cheat card!"

"This is the answer, Hayato Kobayashi. Even if you once created a hope that was infinitely close to victory, reality will ultimately stagnate before you achieve mutual understanding among all humanity. And after that, no matter how high the level of thought humanity has reached, it will eventually fall into corruption and decay again, sinking into the darkness formed by its inner desires." Darkness said arrogantly as [Hellfire Machine Tiera] returned to Hayato's field empty-handed. "Your efforts will ultimately be in vain."

"At the end of your turn, the increased attack power of [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] will return to its original value. [Melting Fusion] can revive [Phantom Beast King Gazel] and [Baphomet] from my deck by banishing itself. They will then transform into their final and strongest form under the power of another [Melting Fusion], granting you absolute destruction."

"Although it's not my turn yet, I can reveal the prophesied future to you. The card that [Card Scan] will add to my hand from the bottom of my deck is the monster card [Lava Demon]. The power from the other personality of the human you knew named Malik, who has dissipated, will be your final aid in your demise!"

As he spoke, a faint fluctuation emanated from behind Darkness, and from that fluctuation of power, it seemed as if fragments of the future were appearing before the eyes of the witnesses.

The onlookers at Daitokuji Temple witnessed a series of unfortunate futures, including "their current physical bodies dying completely and their souls turning into specks of light and rising into the sky" and "the notebooks recording all their alchemical achievements turning into dust and dissipating." Not to mention Hayato, who was standing right in front of Darkness, he saw scenes such as "humans being assimilated by the power of Darkness and disappearing from the memories of others" and "massive mass-produced mechanical weapons wantonly destroying ruined cities and killing humans" and "the human world about to merge with other dimensions."

"Behold, that is humanity's destined end, a world filled with suffering. In comparison, the peaceful death I bring seems all the more precious..."

Darkness paused mid-sentence, looking at Hayato's upturned smile, and asked incomprehensibly, "...What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little surprised that you didn't brag about being able to livestream GX, 5D's, and even Zexal from another world from DM. I'm starting to believe what you mean by 'a doomed future' now." Hayato laughed sincerely as he spoke in words that even Darkness couldn't quite understand. "But you really need to see a doctor for your eyes, although doctors probably can't put eyeballs in a skull."

"A seemingly dark and hopeless future appears again and again, but it doesn't just appear once and then have no follow-up. Doesn't this precisely prove that humanity will not perish because of that shattered future?" Hayato pointed to the power fluctuations that foreshadowed the future spreading behind Darkness. "Under that extreme darkness and despair, isn't there a golden spirit filled with courage and hope forging a path through the pitch-black wilderness?"

"What?!" As Hayato pointed at himself, Darkness suddenly felt that the power he had released to foreshadow the future could no longer spread, but instead surged back and trapped him in it, allowing him to see the fragments of the future that Hayato had seen.

As humanity is gradually assimilated by the spreading power of Darkness, a boy with both human and elf souls harnesses the power of bonds and hope to dispel the darkness.

When an out-of-control killing weapon with unlimited energy destroys the world, a survivor whose past personality overwrites his own learns the power of acceleration that is faster than light and can transcend time. Together with his companions, he changes the past and the future.

As worlds were about to overlap, the young people, with their soaring momentum, tore the chaos apart.

"This...this is!" Darkness jerked his head to dispel the illusion. "It's just a hallucination!"

"In the end, now that the battle phase is over, what can you still do? Impossible, the future is already set!"

"Is that so? Why don't you go and look through all the parts about me in the darkness that flows into the inner world, and see what my real trump card is." Hayato looked at a card in his hand and activated it in the back row. "You say that no matter how hard humanity tries to make changes, in the end it will revert to its original state and breed corruption and sin. Then let Mafty cleanse humanity of its sins!"

"Mavty? You claim to be the prophetic king who will lead humanity before the end of the world, in the legends you fabricated for us? That kind of thing..." Subconsciously, Darkness flipped through all the records about Hayato in the darkness of the inner worlds because of Hayato's words. A common point kept appearing in Darkness's mind until it saw the card Hayato had activated. "That kind of thing... how is that possible?!"

"I activate the Continuous Spell Card, the invincible [Spirit Exophysis], and then declare the end of my turn!" Hayato lowered his arm and looked at Darkness. "Then, during my End Phase, I release [Inferno Tearah] from my field to inflict damage equal to half of its ATK, which is 1700 points!"

"This is a necessary sacrifice, [Hellfire Machine Tiera], then return to the world of darkness, Darkness!"

Chapter 1054 You Regret Me... (Proofread)

Upon hearing Hayato's words, [Hellfire Machine Tiera] displayed an expression of "I knew it would be like this," its body radiating light before exploding and transforming into a shockwave that swept towards Darkness opposite Hayato.

Although my finishing move was interrupted, I was the one who unleashed [Spiritual Exophysis], so the final blow still counts as my own. Victory! Besides, I've always been the one who gets unleashed after activating the effect, so I'm still a little unaccustomed to not being unleashed. Victory!

This is a win-win situation; we win twice!

As the [Spiritual Exophysis] manipulated the impact to precisely strike, Darkness, struck by the impact of [Hellfire Machine Tiera]'s self-destruction, instantly lost its last basic elemental points, and its entire body began to disintegrate.

"O-Onore Kobayashi Hayato! You're going to destroy me again!"

All the wings behind it were broken and scattered, leaving only a lonely skeleton hanging there. The black robe on Darkness's body had also disappeared, revealing the skeletal body beneath. Cracks kept appearing on its body. It glared at Hayato and said, "But even if you defeat me again, I will still become a real shadow, and one day I will be reborn from the other side of the world!"

"As long as malice exists among humans, I will never perish!"

"Heh heh, after being defeated by me, Hayato Kobayashi, instead of running away and never showing your face to me again, you're here spouting nonsense with your dying body?" Hayato spread his arms and grinned maliciously. "But damn damn damn damn! You've already been defeated by me once, so you no longer pose a threat to me. Whether you're in human form or any other form, no matter how many times you revive, you'll only end up being annihilated by me!"

Hearing Hayato's words, Darkness, dragging his body which was gradually turning into dust, tried to stand up and prolong his life for a while. The speed at which his body disappeared slowed down a little. He looked at Hayato and said, "But you are just a human after all. Just like I said in the duel, no matter how hard you try, you can't change all of humanity."

"Your human revolutions are always initiated by awakened pioneers, because they have firm goals and lofty ideals, and often do some radical things. However, after the revolution, even the noble revolutionary spirit will be swallowed up by bureaucracy and the masses. So in the end, the pioneers will only hate bureaucracy and withdraw themselves from society and politics, becoming hermits."

"No matter how many changes you make in your lifetime, or how many times you defeat me, humans who cannot undergo a complete transformation will reject you as an outcast, and will revert to their old ways of regression once your life comes to an end."

Hayato looked at the soul fire in Darkness's eye sockets: "Those words don't sound like something a being that isn't even life could say. Let me think... Could it be Dartz? Dartz, who was once one with you and was killed by me, also became part of the darkness that flowed into the inner world?"

Smiling and shaking his head, Hayato sighed, "I'm not as radical as Dartz, nor am I despairing of humanity; similarly, I'm not like Shadi, who believes that humanity must become a new kind of human, a 'Planar,' to be saved. Possessing a completely good heart, abandoning desires and not being bound by them, and understanding each other, this power of the new kind of human is simply adapting to the world. I am still 'human,' just like before."

From Hayato's arms, the [Quantum Cube] he always carried transformed into small golden cubes that gathered in Hayato's hand. At the same time, the iconic golden inverted triangle of "Prana" appeared on Hayato's forehead. Unlike the single inverted triangle of Blue God or Sera, or the two parallel inverted triangles of Shadi, the "Prana" mark on Hayato's forehead consisted of two golden triangles, one upright and one inverted, with their tips touching, as if someone had picked up two pyramids and clashed them together.

The completed Quantum Cube burst into golden light in an instant. Although the dimensional gate could no longer be opened, it still possessed the ability to borrow some of the power of the Millennium Artifact while Atum was in the Underworld. Darkness, who was barely able to stand up and try to prolong his life, was instantly suppressed by this light, and the speed at which his body disintegrated resumed and even accelerated again.

"Can the chosen humans move into the future and then let the unchosen ones die? Dartz wants to create a new world for new humans, to eliminate the old humans whose souls are bound by Earth's gravity, but that would cause many deaths. What's the point of creating a world where people don't cherish human nature because of their desires?"

"Shadi wants to achieve dimensional ascension and use a clever method to enable humans to resonate with each other, but he has too little faith in humanity. Even without the power of the new humans, an era in which everyone can resonate with each other can still come, although it may take a long time."

Holding up the Quantum Cube, Hayato looked down at Darkness, who was kneeling helplessly on the ground because her legs and even her lower body had completely disappeared. "The people we should really exclude are those who can't believe in the vastness and weight of the earth. You are the same, Darkness. You, who are not alive, even mistakenly think that I would be afraid because death would erase my efforts? Death is something that everyone will experience. Even I wouldn't care."

"However, the human spirit of never giving up in the face of despair will not be extinguished because of my stopping."

"Go, Darkness, take the shattered future with you!"

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Darkness couldn't help but recall the scene she had witnessed before—the glimmer of hope that emerged from humanity in what should have been a hopeless future, something it, as a being facing a shattered future, loathed most.

"Is that so? The human spirit will be passed down? I look forward to the future. When I am reborn, will it be you, rejected by humanity, or your so-called successor who will stop me...? But Hayato Kobayashi, besides the spirit, there is something else that will be passed down."

With only the head remaining of the body, Darkness looked at Hayato and said, "The victor will continue to live, the loser will fall into hell, but the victor will live on carrying the resentment of the losers. This is the fate that duelists who fight constantly must bear. Do you have the resolve to bear resentment for the sake of so-called 'justice' and 'hope,' Hayato Kobayashi?"

It did not receive a reply from Hayato, for the moment it called out Hayato's name again was the moment its body was completely swallowed up.

The alchemical array on the ground, activated by Hayato's intention to destroy the place, completely dimmed, along with the remaining blackish-purple power that had been destroyed by the [Hyperfusion] power.

Although he missed the first half of the duel, he witnessed the last part and Darkness's questioning of Hayato. Although he did not know Darkness's identity, Daitokuji touched his nose and said with some insight: "The successor, although for me, as an alchemist, it sounds a bit too incompetent to entrust the goal to the successor instead of trying to achieve it myself, meow."

"But what I just saw...could it be the future, meow? Thinking about it that way, maybe I should find a good student to take over, so that my life's research won't be buried in the dust because of my death and the damage to the notebook, meow~"

"What do you think, Principal Hayato?"

After speaking, Daitokuji did not receive a reply from Hayato. Hayato was standing where Darkness had just disappeared, with his back to Daitokuji, seemingly doing something.

The quiet, illusory world underground made Daitokuji a little more serious. Looking at Hayato's retreating figure, he couldn't help but think: 'Although Mr. Hayato usually seems quite carefree, even as the principal of the Duel Academy, he mostly slacks off. Most of the work is handled by Professor Chronos or Vice Principal Samejima; he mostly just fishes by the lake behind the school.'

"But ultimately, as the Duel King, Mr. Hayato is arguably the strongest person in the world. Although I don't know what that thing that was probably human was all about, this matter seems to involve the entire human race? Perhaps Mr. Hayato is currently contemplating some serious matters."

Thinking this, Daitokuji saw Hayato, who had his back to him, suddenly raise his arm to cover his chest and say in anguish, "Heavens! Who can be my enemy now? Who is worthy to die at the hands of the King of Duels?"

Making exaggerated gestures like an opera singer, Hayato exclaimed excitedly, "Damn it! Is the only meaning left for me to have is to destroy this world? And if I really want to destroy it, who can stop me?"