Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

After a slight hesitation, he said, "A duel? Of course, but that brat over there won't wait for your duel to end. Although you're protected by the light barrier, that protective layer will disappear over time. So—"

Pointing at Jaden, Darkness said, "Jaden Yuki, my first opponent is you. I'll take the first key to the 'Seven Essence Seals' from your hands. This volcano's lava pool will be both the magnificent stage for our duel and the burial ground prepared for you—after I take your keys."

"You actually refused my duel?" Asuka looked at Darkness with increasing suspicion when she heard Darkness's words, especially the phrase "magnificent stage." However, without any evidence and only having a vague intuition, she didn't say much. She simply moved aside a little to make way for Jaden and watched him unfold his duel disk as he took out his deck. "Although I'm reluctant, I'm asking you to defeat that person, Jaden."

"Leave it to me, Asuka." Nodding, Judai stepped forward, glanced at Marufuji Sho in the lava pool, then looked at Darkness opposite her, and said, "Bring it on, Darkness!"

"Hmph, still so brave in the face of a dark game? Don't blame me for not warning you, the soul of the loser of the duel will be sealed into this card in my hand." He took out a card, unlike the blank monster card that Jaden had seen from Hayato before. Although the border of that card was the brownish-yellow of a monster card, the center area was not white but pitch black, which looked quite dangerous.

"The key to the 'Seven Seals,' Sho's life, my soul—the stakes in this duel are far too high. I've never really liked duels with such heavy burdens." Jaden pursed his lips, but remained unaffected by Darkness's words, and said seriously, "But I will win this duel, rescue Sho, protect the key, and take your mask away, Darkness!"

Gazing at each other, Jaden and Darkness simultaneously waved their hands, which were resting on top of their decks, and shouted in unison:

"Duel!" x2

[Darkness: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Junior: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

Although Jaden was not at a disadvantage in terms of momentum, Jaden drew his cards a little later than Darkness. Although the two drew their starting five cards almost at the same time, Darkness unfolded his hand as casually and skillfully as unfolding a folding fan. So much so that while Jaden was still adjusting his hand, Darkness had already confirmed his hand and seized the initiative!

"Let's start the duel from my side. This will give you a chance to attack my monsters to your heart's content. Otherwise, I'm worried you won't even have a chance to attack before your soul is swallowed by the lava." With a cold laugh, Darkness drew a card and said, "First turn is here. My turn, draw!"

Chapter 1141 Flames Within the Castle! ...I mean, the [Black Flame Bullet]

Darkness drew a card and immediately declared, "First move is on me. My turn, draw!"

"Then, during the main phase, I can activate the spell card 'Ruby's Treasure Card' by sending a Level 7 'Red-Eyes' monster from my hand to the Graveyard. I can then draw two cards from my Deck. After that, I can send one Level 7 'Red-Eyes' monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."

Darkness showed off the cards he sent from his hand and deck to the graveyard, and they were all [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], which is a very rare card. Yet Darkness sent them to the graveyard so casually.

Darkness's actions made Asuka increasingly suspicious of him. She remembered very clearly that her missing brother was a big fan of the professional duelist world champion, and by extension, he also liked the "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" that could always create more possibilities through "fusion" in the hands of that person.

However, due to the price of the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], which is proportional to its strength and rarity, his older brother, despite wanting one since childhood, never managed to acquire even one before he went missing.

Even so, although Darkness was using a card that her brother didn't have, Asuka felt that it was too much of a coincidence that someone who was very likely related to her brother was using a card that her brother really wanted.

"Darkness, who exactly are you...?"

After sending the two [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] cards to the graveyard, Darkness's hand still held six cards thanks to the replenishment from [Ruby's Treasure Card]. He glanced at one of the cards he had drawn and sneered, "Although it was sent to the graveyard, [Red-Eyes] is a demonic dragon bathed in darkness and accompanied by death. Its temporary death can only ignite an even more intense black flame."

"The Normal Spell Card 'Silent Dead' can only be activated by targeting one Normal Monster in my Graveyard, and naturally, I've chosen 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'." Inserting the card into the Spell & Trap Zone, Darkness retrieved the card he had just sent to the Graveyard. "At the cost of being unable to attack, I Special Summon 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' to my field in Defense Position!"

"Come forth, you dragon bathed in black flames, the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

As Darkness placed the monster card in his hand horizontally on the Duel Disk, Jaden and Asuka saw the lava pool beneath their feet suddenly "surging." This was especially noticeable for Marufuji Sho, who was currently in the lava pool, as he felt the air he was breathing was exceptionally hot.

A jet of magma erupted from the pool, and then a pair of jet-black dragon wings suddenly spread out from within, and a slender black dragon appeared on Darkness's field!

【Red-Eyes Black Dragon】【7☆/Dark】

[Dragon/Normal]

[2400/2000]

"The legendary 'Miracle Black Dragon,' Red-Eyes Black Dragon, how could it summon a Level 7 monster so easily?" Although Jaden struggled with memorizing textbook content, he had a good memory for extracurricular knowledge and knew about Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which was frequently active in world tournaments.

"However, no matter how high the attack power is, it's meaningless if you can't attack. Besides, the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] only has 2000 defense points—"

"I've received your information, Jaden Yuki, the user of the [E·hero] deck." Darkness interrupted Jaden, sneering, "You mean to say that the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] with 2000 defense can be destroyed by the [E·hero Flame Winged Man] with 2100 attack, thus dealing me a high damage of 2400, right?"

"You've made a name for yourself with the [E·hero] deck and those three tricks, you're not bad, but unfortunately, your time is up against me." Even the sneer vanished, Darkness expressionlessly drew the second card from his hand, "Tribute my [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

"Fall into the abyss of darkness, [Red Eyes]! Then stand before me in even greater glory!"

"Special Summon [Red-Eyes Dark Dragon]!"

The Red-Eyes Black Dragon, revived on the Darkness field by the effect of the Silent Dead, was engulfed by the surging lava again after only a few moments on the field. However, just as the lava on the Red-Eyes Black Dragon cooled and turned into a rock statue along the outline of its body, it was suddenly smashed and broken through by the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which had absorbed the heat from the lava.

Its already slender body became even more elongated. At the cost of its forelimbs degenerating and disappearing, its wings gradually differentiated into multiple layers and became more robust. Orange-red crystals and patterns, formed from the absorption of magma's power, gradually appeared on the newly born dragon's body.

【Red-Eyes Dark Dragon】【9☆/Dark】

[Dragon/Special Summon/Effect]

[2400/2000]

"Unlike another world-renowned 'Black Dragon' user, his specialty is combining the power of 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' with the power of other beings to obtain new power after the combination, whether it is a fusion monster of 'Red-Eyes' or monsters that have obtained the power of 'Red-Eyes' such as 'Red-Eyes Iron Knight - Gia Freed'."

Darkness paused, looking at the [Red-Eyes Dark Dragon] that had appeared on his field, and said, "But his cooperative methods are not suitable for me, so I choose the path of a 'king', not merging with other beings, but evolving alone and ruling over other monsters. This is my [Red-Eyes], my evolution!"

"The evolved Red-Eyes..." Looking at the monster before him, although it appeared to be a bipedal winged dragon, somewhat lower in rank than the original four-legged winged dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Jaden could sense that the aura of Red-Eyes Dark Dragon was far superior. "What an incredible monster. But although its level has changed, its attack and defense remain the same. Is it hiding some kind of effect?"

With a wave of his hand, Darkness said, "【Red-Eyes Dark Dragon】is the dragon that rules the graveyard. Its ability increases its attack power by 300 points for each dragon-type monster in my graveyard. Since there are two 【Red-Eyes Black Dragons】 in my graveyard, the attack power of 【Red-Eyes Dark Dragon】 will increase by 600 points!"

【True Red-Eyes Dark Dragon】【ATK2400→3000】

"Its attack power is already on par with the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!?"

Hearing Jaden's exclamation, Darkness took out another card and said, "Isn't it a bit too early to be amazed now? I never said that summoning [Red-Eyes Dark Dragon] was my limit."

"The Spell Card [Monster Reborn] allows you to Special Summon one monster from both players' Graveyards to your field without any restrictions on attacking. Naturally, I chose [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] from my Graveyard."

The [Silent Dead] was activated as a replacement, and an "Anka" rune appeared in front of Darkness. The green "Anka" emitted a blue and white light, reawakening the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] in Darkness's graveyard.

【True Red-Eyes Black Dragon】【ATK2400】

However, due to the decrease in dragon monsters in the graveyard, the attack power of the Red-Eyes Dark Dragon, which had just been on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, has decreased again.

【True Red-Eyes Dark Dragon】【ATK3000→2700】

The first time Red-Eyes Black Dragon was revived, it was immediately used as a stepping stone for Red-Eyes Dark Dragon, so Darkness chose to use Silenced, which has limitations on attacking monsters. However, the second time Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared, it no longer needed to be released, so this time he used the simple yet powerful Monster Reborn.

Not only that, he followed up with the appearance of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], playing a card from his hand and saying: "Because it's the first turn, I can't enter the battle phase to attack, but don't think that I won't be burned by my heat. Targeting [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] on my field, I activate the spell card [Black Flame Bullet]!"

In Duel Monsters, there are numerous cards named after the attack moves of Duel Monsters. For example, there is the Normal Spell Card "Dark Magician" that comes with "Dark Magician," the Continuous Spell Card "Spiral Shot" that supports "Dark Knight Gaia," and even the card "Strong! Invincible! Strongest!" that Kaiba printed based on his own catchphrase. As a classic monster that appeared early in Duel Monsters, "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" naturally also has its own set of cards.

As the spell card named after the attack move of "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" was activated, even though it was the first turn and the battle phase could not be entered, Jaden saw that the "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" that had just appeared on the Darkness field actually opened its mouth and began to inhale. The scorching air, along with the splashing magma, was sucked into the Black Dragon's body. The high temperature even made the jet-black dragon's body turn slightly red.

"Watch out, Judai!" Compared to Judai, who was still observing the [Black Flame Bullet], Asuka clearly knew the card's effect. "Last year's Pro Duelist World Champion, Joey Wheeler, also used this card. Its effect is—"

"At the cost that Red-Eyes Black Dragon cannot attack during the turn this card is activated, I can use the effect of Black Flame Bullet to directly inflict damage on the target Red-Eyes Black Dragon equal to its original ATK value to the opponent's duelist," Darkness added to Asuka's words. "And since my Red-Eyes Black Dragon originally had 2400 ATK, I inflict 2400 effect damage on the opponent's duelist!"

“Unlike you, who only have a superficial understanding of darkness, I have been going all out from the start in this duel that stakes on the key to the ‘Seven Essence Seals’!” With a cold wave of his hand, Darkness commanded, “Go, [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]! Descend darkness and despair!”

"Jonnouchi Fire—cough! Black Flame Bullet!" Darkness almost blurted out the name of the attack technique used by another [Black Dragon Master]—Jonnouchi Katsuya, and quickly corrected himself.

Upon receiving the command, the black dragon unleashed its fully charged attack. A ball of black flame erupted from the mouth of the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], striking Jaden, who was completely unprotected by any monsters. The black flames exploded violently. Although Jaden had adjusted his position and avoided hitting Asuka behind him, the intense, scalding heat still tousled Asuka's long hair. She struggled to open her eyes to see where the flames had struck, anxiously calling out the name of her important friend:

"Ten generations!"

"Ugh, uh..." Caught off guard, Jaden was hit by the [Black Flame Bullet] and knelt on one knee, clearly injured. His strength was already greatly depleted from the long journey, and after his Basic Score dropped so much, he was panting heavily. He also clutched his chest because of the pain he felt, and sweat on his forehead was about to fall, but it was quickly evaporated by the heat of the volcano.

Forcing herself to stay calm, Judai turned around and comforted Asuka, saying, "I'm fine, Asuka."

However, the basic score panel next to the Jaden says otherwise.

[Yujo Jaden: 4000 → 1600 LP]

"This...this kind of pain..." Before even starting his turn, Jaden had already lost more than half of his life points. Turning back, he looked seriously at Darkness opposite him. "This really is...the Dark Game!"

"I told you so, this is a battle that stakes on souls and lives, this is the Dark Game." Holding the remaining two cards in one hand and raising the other hand in front of him as if holding a fist, Darkness said, "Although I didn't say this beforehand, it's okay to say it now, right? Not only will it dissipate over time, but the cumbersome barrier protecting you will also dissipate faster as your Life Points decrease."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Judai immediately looked towards Marufuji Sho's direction. Sure enough, he saw that the energy shield, which had been a complete sphere, had suddenly broken open. Marufuji Sho was cowering at the edge of the energy shield, trying to stay as far away from the gap as possible, avoiding the scalding magma that occasionally splashed into the sphere from inside: "B-Big brother, please defeat that guy! Please save me, big brother!"

"You wait for me, Sho!" Gritting his teeth, Judai looked at Darkness and said, "You despicable bastard, using such insidious methods, you 'Seven Stars' are really no good!"

"I will take that as a compliment to my wonderful performance." Darkness remained unmoved by Jaden's words and shamelessly accepted the so-called "commendation."

Asuka was filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, Darkness's shameless attitude and the occasional use of words like "stage" and "performance" made it hard for her not to think of her brother. On the other hand, Darkness's cold attitude when ordering the Red-Eyes Black Dragon to attack was completely unlike her brother's personality.

However, there is one thing she is certain of: regardless of whether Darkness is her brother or who he is, since she cannot join the duel, all she can do now is cheer for Jaden and believe that he can defeat Darkness.

"Unable to enter the battle phase, there's nothing more I can do. I activate the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage], then set one card. My turn ends." After placing two cards in the back row, Darkness declared that his turn was over, and the card he activated made Asuka take a few more glances.

[Darkness: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【True Red-Eyes Black Dragon】【ATK2400】

【Red-Eyes Dark Dragon】【ATK2700】

【Nightmare of the Mirage】【GaiKa】

"【Nightmare of the Mirage】has the effect of drawing a large number of cards during the opponent's Standby Phase, but it also has the side effect of discarding a large number of cards during your own Standby Phase. The drawn cards are as illusory as a mirage, making it a difficult card to use, at least under normal circumstances." After a pause, Asuka continued, "However, in the hands of Duel King Hayato Kobayashi, this card often appears with 【Extraordinary Food】 to form a combo, only retaining the result of replenishing the hand and restoring Life Points while skipping discarding cards."

"Another advantage of this combo is that, as a quick-play spell card, [Extra Food] can sometimes trick opponents into playing cards like [Whirlwind]."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me, Asuka." Judai nodded in response to Asuka's reminder.

Although Jaden uses this combo in his own deck, it's fine for him to actually use it, but analyzing its advantages is a challenge. After hearing Asuka's words, he couldn't help but think that the face-down card in Darkness's back row was most likely "Extraordinary Food," a quick-play spell card that often appears in conjunction with "Nightmare Mirage." In other words, using cards like "Whirlwind" on it would be a pure waste.

It would be better to focus all your energy on dealing with the powerful monsters, Red-Eyes Dark Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, which have considerable attack power. Now that your Life Points have been reduced by Black Flame Bullet, you need to minimize the losses as much as possible. After all, Marufuji Sho still has an energy shield that is tied to his Life Points.

"My turn, draw!" The card in his hand drew a golden arc in the air. With a mind free of distractions and thoughts, Jaden drew a card and entered his preparation phase.

Chapter 1142 Time Reverses Here!

"My turn, draw a card!"

As Jaden drew his card with great momentum, Darkness spoke up: "Although you already know, I still have to explain that during the opponent's draw phase, due to the effect of [Nightmare Mirage], I draw cards until I have four cards in my hand, which means I draw four cards from my deck. As a price, I need to randomly discard four cards during my standby phase."

[Darkness: Hand 0→4]

Seeing Darkness draw a card, Jaden looked at the card he had drawn this turn, slightly surprised, and said to Darkness, "Although I am quite confident in my stamina, considering Sho's situation, I need to finish this quickly. Darkness, I will do my best to finish you off this turn!"

"I pay half of my Life Points and activate the Spell Card 'Hero's Arrival'!"

[Yujo Jaden: 1600 → 800 LP]

Sho was initially touched that Jaden was going all out for him, but when he saw the card Jaden activated, he stared wide-eyed at the gap in the energy shield he was in, which expanded again as Jaden paid out Life Points.

Didn't they just say that your base points are tied to the energy shield protecting me? Why do I need to use a card to pay base points?

Brother! What are you doing, brother?!

However, Judai noticed Marufuji Sho's almost frantic gaze and misunderstood what he meant. He didn't realize that Marufuji Sho wanted to question him and only thought that Marufuji Sho was worried about him. He even gave Marufuji Sho a thumbs up and smiled, saying, "It's okay, Sho. It's just paying 800 base points. Protecting your little brother is the big brother's duty!"

That's not what I meant at all! Besides, compared to you, I'm practically singing "The Flower of Hope" already!

Seeing the lava being slammed into the energy shield again, Marufuji Sho shrank back as much as possible.

Jaden's activation of the "Hero's Arrival" card, despite his limited Life Points, may seem reckless, but it's actually quite clever, mainly because of his limited Life Points. With 4000 Life Points, activating "Hero's Arrival" in his starting hand would require Jaden to pay a full 2000 Life Points; however, with only 1600 Life Points remaining, the cost is a mere 800.