Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The green maid bowed to Hayato and [Rabilins of the Silver Castle] respectively before politely leaving the field and entering the graveyard. [Predatory Plant-Rhinoceros] also severed its connection with the earth and burrowed underground. The release of the two monsters caused a strange black dot to appear on Hayato's field, floating in mid-air against gravity.

However, in the next instant, several emerald-green "ribbons" emerged from Hayato's grave, tearing through the earth and extending into the strange black dot. Immediately afterward, Kagemaru saw his constantly vibrating Duel Disk.

What's going on? As this question arose, Kagemaru found the source of the tremor: it was the Field Spell Card "Paradise Lost" that he had placed in the Duel Disk's Field Zone. It was supposed to be the Field Spell Card that best embodied the power and terror of the "Three Phantom Demons," but at this moment, it was trembling uncontrollably because Hayato was about to Tribute Summon a monster.

Even the beings dwelling in the shadows within the terrifying withered tree in the center of Paradise Lost closed their eyes, desperately trying to conceal their presence, lest they be noticed by the strange black dot that appeared on Hayato's field.

Hayato, having taken out a card to place on the Duel Disk, also spoke, "Liberate yourself from your long-standing shackles, guide the darkness to the truth in this changing world, awaken once more the soul that has slumbered for many years, accumulating resentment, across five thousand years, and bring ultimate destruction! The strongest [Earthbound God]!"

"Come forth! [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska]!"

A pair of sharp claws suddenly emerged from the black dot, forcefully expanding the initially narrow dot into a massive, rotating "black hole." A ferocious bird's head emerged from within, followed by a pair of jet-black wings painted with pink patterns. Although suspended in mid-air, the earth cracked open in large sections due to the monster's appearance. Amidst flying debris, the enormous vulture spread its wings and soared into the sky, trailing a long, greenish-blue ribbon like a tail feather, connecting it to the earth.

The enormous size of the "Three Phantom Demons," even larger than Kagemaru's, exuded an aura that seemed to come from the depths of a black hole and would devour all light. This oppressive feeling far surpassed that of the "Three Phantom Demons," making Kagemaru almost forget to breathe.

If the "Three Phantom Demons" prey on the power of spirits and the life force of humans, representing physical strength, then the monster that Hayato has summoned at this moment is undoubtedly a demon that hunts souls, almost like a world-destroying demon god!

Upon closer inspection, Kagemaru realized that it was indeed true. The name "Veracocha" in the name of the Earthbound God-Veracocha Rasca was the same as that of the creator god and king of gods in Inca mythology!

However, even if it is the "Creator God", even for the sake of his precious life, Kagemaru must use the "Three Phantom Demons" to defeat it. Moreover, no matter how powerful the monster that Hayato summons is, now that he has activated the "Awakened Three Phantom Demons", that monster will undoubtedly become part of his power!

Thinking this, Kagemaru regained his composure and even opened his arms wide, grinning maliciously as he said, "You actually managed to summon such a powerful monster that looks incredible. I really have to thank you for this great gift, Kobayashi Hayato."

"So because of the effect of [Awakened Three Phantoms], every time my opponent successfully Normal or Special Summons a monster, I recover the base ATK of that monster!"

With his eyes deliberately closed, Kagemaru wanted to fully experience the power of the [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] that Hayato had sent to him, and savor the unparalleled pleasure of life force filling his body.

However, Kagemaru had high hopes, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't feel anything special. This forced him to open his eyes and check the cards on his field. The Awakened Three Phantoms were still functioning normally and hadn't been destroyed or negated by the despicable Kobayashi Hayato, but why hadn't his Life Points recovered?

"What have you done, Hayato Kobayashi! What despicable and shameless methods have you used behind the God's back this time!?" Kagemaru stared intently at Hayato. "Why haven't my base points been restored! Could it be that that pink monster is hiding some effect I'm unaware of!"

Hayato raised an eyebrow, looking at Kagemaru with displeasure, and said, "Look closely, this is Magenta! And your Element Points have clearly recovered, okay? Look down at your Duel Disk!"

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Kagemaru subconsciously glanced at the Life Points section of his Duel Disk and noticed that the red Life Points value had indeed changed, but—

[Kagemaru: 4000 → 4001 LP]

"My base points only recovered a little?! How is that possible?!" Kagemaru looked at [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] with a suspicious expression. "Where did things go wrong? My base points shouldn't have only recovered a little!"

"Is it possible that the attack power of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] is only a little bit?" Hayato crossed his arms and looked at Kagemaru with the eyes of a gorilla that had discovered the bananas being fed to it in the zoo were toys and was now furious. "So, your base points have only recovered a little bit."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Kagemaru denied Hayato's statement without hesitation, feeling that there was no credibility to what he was saying.

The storm created by the flapping of its wings seemed capable of extinguishing the flames of the soul; its subconscious cries could extinguish any will to resist; the magenta stripes on its body appeared to be forged in blood. The Earthbound God, Viracocha Raska, bearing the title of "Creator God," was clearly a demon god who had crawled out of the underworld to destroy the world!

If Kagemaru had known about this monster sooner, he probably would have abandoned the "Three Phantom Demons" and gone after it. Kagemaru wouldn't be so skeptical if he heard it possessed infinite attack power; how could its attack power be limited to just that?

[Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] [10☆/Dark]

[Bird/Beast Race/Effect]

[1/1]

"This thing has an attack power of less than 1500 points!?"

Glancing at the panel displayed next to [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], Kagemaru's eyes widened in disbelief, and he exclaimed in surprise. Just as Hayato had said, [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] only had 1 point of attack power, which reminded him of the [Dark Burst] that Hayato had just activated.

"So, the card we retrieved from the graveyard before was Him?!" Kagemaru looked at [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] with longing and envy, his voice laced with jealousy. "Onore Kobayashi Hayato, why do you always get the favor of those powerful cards?!"

"You have aroused the jealousy of God! As punishment, I will take your card after I kill you!"

"Heh, I'm the only one who steals other people's cards, and no one has ever managed to steal mine. If you want it, come and get it yourself. You know the rules." As he spoke, Hayato pointed at Kagemaru and said, "But unfortunately, you probably won't last that long. Because I'm going to use the effect of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], Auntie, KOKO (Right now, right here)!"

Hearing Hayato's words, Kagemaru sneered, "Nonsense! Have you forgotten so quickly about the existence of the Awakened Three Phantoms on my field? Besides its primary effect of absorbing life force, because I have the Thunder Emperor Hamon and the Divine Flame Emperor Uria on my field, the Awakened Three Phantoms can negate all the effects activated by the monsters on my opponent's field when both 'Phantoms' are on the field!"

"Even that powerful monster you just summoned is still subject to its effects!"

Immediately, the two "Phantom Demons" on the field released their absorption ability that made them shine with golden light once again. The spirit power and life force floating in the air continued to converge on the "Phantom Demons", and now they were focusing their main absorption power on [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], as if they wanted to drain it dry.

Although they originally lacked even basic consciousness and awareness, as the duel progressed and Kagemaru continued to use the "Three Phantom Demons" cards, Hayato saw in the eyes of [God Flame Emperor - Uria] and [Thunder Emperor - Hamon] that they were gradually acquiring the subconscious "desire" of all living beings—a desire for power.

But he merely gave a disdainful smile and looked at Kagemaru, saying, "You seem to have misunderstood something, Kagemaru? You weren't just mentally comparing the strength of the 'Three Phantom Demons' and [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], were you? Stop trying to humiliate my cards with your fakes!"

"This isn't a monster, it's Kamida!"

As the stirring "Wrath of God" resounded from Hayato's Duel Disk, his [Earthbound God - Veracocha Laska] suddenly spread its wings and flapped, almost piercing through the illusory environment created by [Paradise Lost]. From its open beak came a sharp screech that was not audible to any living being, yet could be clearly felt by the soul of any living being!

The tangible elven power and life force that originally filled the "Seven Essences Unlocking Gate" were instantly swept away by the roar of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], leaving no trace. The two "Phantom Demons" that were just moments ago full of energy were also instantly plunged into a subconscious trembling of flesh, unable to move. In addition to "desire", they had learned a new emotion in their consciousness, namely "fear".

After the powerful roar of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], even Kagemaru clearly felt that the absorption of spirit power and human life force by the "Seven Spirits Unlock Gate" under his feet stopped for a moment!

Just like the Earthbound Goddess - Veracocha Raska, as a demon god who preys on souls, no one dares to eat before her until she is full and satisfied!

However, Kagemaru didn't have much time to think about those things anymore, because he saw that after a roar completely negated the power of the Awakened Three Phantom Demons, the Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska condensed a pitch-black singularity in front of him, like a small black hole.

"【Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska】is unaffected by Spell/Trap Card effects. Not to mention a low-quality 'Skill Drain' like 【Awakened Three Phantoms】, which is just 'negating activated effects,' she can even ignore the effects of genuine 【Skill Drain】. That's the value of a noble effect text!"

Hayato paused for a moment and continued, "As long as there is a Field Spell Card, [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] can not only directly attack the opponent's duelist, but the opponent's monsters cannot be used as targets for attacks. In addition, its ability to be unaffected by the effects of Spell/Trap Cards is almost... Ah, let's not use that adjective. It feels like I'll be embarrassed if I use it."

"However, the strongest aspect of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] is not its resistance. Despite its low attack power, it possesses an unprecedented ultimate effect: even an infinite amount of Life Points can bring it to its death."

Hayato pointed at Kagemaru and said, "This ultimate power, which can only be activated once per turn at the cost of skipping my battle phase, reduces the opponent's Life Points to 1!"

Seeing the astonishment and fear on Kagemaru's face, Hayato's lips curled into a cold smile: "Since you said you wouldn't take any damage this turn, how could I possibly use such barbaric methods as battle to destroy your monster? However, not taking any damage doesn't mean your life points won't change~"

"Let despair descend, [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska]—"

"Polar Star Obey!"

Chapter 1182 As long as the Divine Flame Emperor launches an attack, everything will be alright.

"Polar Star Obey!"

As Hayato gave the order, [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] suddenly spread its giant wings, releasing its soul energy at full power, almost forcibly pulling Kagemaru's decaying soul out of his body!

A terrifying suction force emanated from the [Earthbound God]. Before Kagemaru could react, he saw his Basic Points plummet like a plunge!

4001、3901、3701、3301、2501、901、1！

At first, the falling speed was only 100 points per second, but after only five seconds, the power of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] surged to a speed of absorbing up to 1600 basic points per second. If it weren't for the fact that Kagemaru's basic points had already dropped to the minimum of 1 point by the sixth second, His speed would probably have increased even more!

In the blink of an eye, the base score, which was just a full 4000 points—no, 4001 points—was instantly reduced to a mere 1 point!

An indescribable emptiness swept over Kagemaru's entire body. Although he had finally managed to shake off his decaying old body and regain his youthful vitality with the help of the power of "Darkness," under the effect of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], he clearly felt that his hard-won youth and vitality were once again slipping away from him!

Under the power of the Awakened Three Phantom Demons, even though he hadn't received the power of "Darkness" before, he should have regained his youth. However, the power of the Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska ignored the abundant youthful vitality and surging life force in his body. It was as if it was acting directly on his soul and directly absorbing a part of it!

"Ugh!" Faced with the power of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska], Kagemaru couldn't help but take several steps back, looking as if he could barely stand. The intense pain all over his body and the dizziness made his eyes widen, but even with his eyes wide open, his vision still went black and he could hardly see anything.

[Kagemaru: 4001 → 1 LP]

The Dark Game, maintained by the "Seven Essences Unlocking Gate," certainly gave Kagemaru the opportunity to absorb the power collected by the "Three Phantom Demons." However, he also had to bear the risks, since the Dark Game, despite having "game" in its name, was never a game.

Despite not suffering a single point of damage, the power of [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] was far more ferocious than the 4000 points of effect damage that would have directly inflicted on Kagemaru. After a long while, Kagemaru trembled as he raised his hand and discovered that his body, which had finally regained its youth, was visibly shrinking.

While he wouldn't return to the state before receiving the power of "Darkness," where he had to stay in a life support pod to barely survive and was completely immobile, he had at least gone from being in his twenties or thirties to being in his sixties or seventies. If he hadn't absorbed a lot of life force and elven power during this time through the power of the "Seven Essences Unlocking Gate," he probably would have aged even more.

And all of this is thanks to Hayato!

With a venomous look at Hayato, Kagemaru's voice, no longer as loud as before, had aged again, adding a touch of coldness: "How dare you use such power to attack a god! I will kill you, Kobayashi Hayato!"

"You keep spouting 'I'll kill you' and 'I'll get rid of you,' like a stray dog ​​trying to console its fragile soul, Kagemaru." Hayato crossed his arms and sneered, "The more you bluff, the more I see your weakness. A real villain wouldn't resort to threats with just words."

"Once the thought of 'kill them' crossed their minds, they would have already taken care of the other person."

"Stop pointing fingers at me! You're a million times more annoying than a nail in the road!" Despite being in terrible shape, Kagemaru still had the energy to shout angrily, fueled by his rage. "You only changed my baseline, but so what? You've already skipped your own battle phase!"

"Without the battle phase, you can no longer deal any battle damage to me. Even if you only have a little bit of basic points left, it doesn't matter. With two invincible 'Phantom Demons,' I can easily take you down in the next round, just like picking leaves from a roadside bush!"

"This is the punishment for insulting me. For an act like 'insulting the gods,' even killing you wouldn't be a problem!"

Yes, even with only a few Life Points left and just one card in hand, Kagemaru still felt he had a significant advantage. Just as he had thought at the end of his turn, if he activated [High-Intensity Flame Wave] and then attacked with [Divine Flame Emperor - Uriah], and as long as Hayato still had an Attack Position monster on the field, he could turn the tide and win in one fell swoop!

It's just that my base score is a bit lower for now. As long as I win the duel, I can regain my youth by taking advantage of the life force of humans that I can freely draw upon throughout the world.

As long as [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] launches an attack, everything will be alright!

But when he heard Kagemaru still yelling and threatening him, Hayato said with some disdain, "It's okay to kill someone for insulting them? I see, that's so true, Kagemaru, because you are insulting life right now, insulting all the lives in the world that are going through the normal cycle of birth, aging, sickness and death."

"You take the lives of others just to prolong your own. Such vile evil disgusts and disgusts me."

Looking at the cards in his hand, Hayato pulled one out and said, "Although I didn't draw [Summoning Exophysis], someone as disgusting as you, worse than a rat in a toilet, doesn't deserve what I do. This card is enough to end you."

"The Normal Spell Card [Goblin Thief] inflicts 500 effect damage to the opponent's duelist and restores 500 Life Points to me. Who says you can't kill someone without a Battle Phase?"

The obese goblin quietly appeared on Kagemaru's field after Hayato activated his card, stealthily approaching Kagemaru. Although its disgusting appearance didn't quite match the magnificent "Silver Castle" or the imposing "Earthbound God" on Hayato's field, it was perfect for clearing out Kagemaru's last Life Points, which even Hayato despised.

Kagemaru had not anticipated that Hayato would add such a meaningless card to his deck. What disgusted and terrified him even more was that he was not defeated by the entangled Silver Castle and its traps, nor by the Earthbound God, who had more divine majesty than the Three Phantom Demons, but was about to die at the hands of such an ugly and inferior being.

That kind of thing, absolutely not!

"Eeyah! I... I don't want to die! I don't want to lose!" With madness in his eyes, Kagemaru decisively pressed the button to activate the face-down card. "Chain with [Goblin Thief]! I activate this face-down card in my back row—!"

Just as the fat goblin reached out and took 500 Life Points from Shadow Maru's field, about to drain him of his last Life Points, a card on Shadow Maru's back field suddenly flipped open, revealing a Trap Card.

Even Hayato was speechless when he saw this card: "You guys criticize me for releasing my monsters all the time, but you're all copying me and putting cards like this in your decks."

The face-down card that Kagemaru opened was none other than the Normal Trap Card, [Sacrifice Altar]!

The location of the "Seven Essences Unlocking Gate" was originally a ritual site. In the Lost Paradise, a bolt of lightning struck the Thunder Emperor Hamon. In its frozen state, it had no resistance to lightning and was shattered into countless golden light fragments, which then surged into Kagemaru's body!

[Kagemaru: 1→4001→3501LP]

At the cost of sending [Thunder Emperor - Hamon] to the graveyard, Kagemaru's base points skyrocketed, allowing him to return to his thirties or forties almost instantly from his aged sixties or seventies. Although he was not as young as he was when he first recovered using the power of "Darkness," even in his middle-aged state, Kagemaru felt better than the weak old age that he loathed.

In comparison, even having 500 base points stolen by the Goblin Thief seems insignificant.

[Hayato: 4000→4500LP]

"The effect of [Altar of Sacrifice] is to send one of my monsters to the Graveyard, restoring my Life Points to that monster's original ATK. [Thunder King Hamon], which I sent to the Graveyard, originally had 4000 ATK. So all that effort you put into suppressing my Life Points with [Earthbound God - Veracruz Laska] has gone back to square one, hasn't it, Kobayashi Hayato!"

Seeing that Hayato's Life Points had also been restored, Kagemaru looked at him with displeasure and jealousy, saying, "However, that doesn't mean I'll let you off the hook for stealing 500 of my Life Points. Just wait to be crushed by my 'Phantom Demon' next turn!"

Recovering the basic points wasn't the end of it. As he removed the used cards "Altar of Sacrifice" and "Thunder Emperor Hamon" from the Duel Disk and was about to send them to the Graveyard, Kagemaru continued, "You've completely enraged me, Kobayashi Hayato. From now on, it's meaningless how many cards you still have that can directly cause effect damage and annoy me, because I'm sending 'Thunder Emperor Hamon' to the Graveyard!"

"Although [Thunder King Hamon] was not destroyed and cannot use its own effect, its power has been inherited through another Continuous Spell Card, [Thunder of Lost Paradise]. If any of the 'Three Phantoms' that I control leave the field, the second effect of [Thunder of Lost Paradise] is activated, and all damage I take this turn becomes 0!"

"At the same time, because another Trap Card has entered my Graveyard, the power of [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] will increase again, and its attack power will reach 3000 points!"

【Divine Flame Emperor - Uria】【ATK2000→3000】

Watching [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] gradually increase its attack power, as if it were returning to its youth, Kagemaru nodded with satisfaction. Now that its attack power had reached 3000 points, comparable to the legendary [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], he was increasingly confident that he could defeat Kobayashi Hayato and win the next round.

After all, he wouldn't take any more damage this turn. [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] wasn't just dealing damage, but directly rewriting the life points, and could be used once per turn. In any case, he could rest easy this turn. As long as he waited until the next turn to use the effect of [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] to destroy a wave of face-down cards in Kobayashi Hayato's back row, and then launch an attack with [High-Intensity Flame Wave], victory would be within his grasp!

With a joyful heart, Kagemaru glanced at Hayato's back row, only to find that Hayato, who had just had three cards, had somehow gained an extra card.