Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Especially since Hayato frequently uses cards like "Neighbor's Grass" and "Bitter Choice," he should at least be able to negate "Pot of Greed," right?

However, once [Heart Change] was negated, it was negated. Hayato still had six cards in his hand, so he played another card and said, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance to use the effect of [Silent Magician Zero]. Yugi, you chose to use the effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero] yourself."

"In that case, I will target [Silent Magician Zero] again and discard [Half-Dragon Maid - Heavenly Wind Dragon Girl] from my hand to activate its effect."

A phantom of a green dragon rose from Hayato's hand and flew into the graveyard as he discarded the card. However, as it left, it left behind a large, raging hurricane on the field, sealing off the [Silent Magician Zero] card.

“Under the effect of [Half-Dragon Maid - Heavenly Wind Dragon Girl], [Silent Magician Zero] cannot activate any effects on the field this turn. In other words, even if I draw more cards, I can't increase her attack power, and you can't use her ability to negate Spell Card activations.” Hayato sent the card to the Graveyard and played another card, saying, “Therefore, I can play this card without any worries!”

"Field Spell Card [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-] activated! Under the influence of this card's effect, change the Attribute of all monsters on the field to DARK! Also, when I activate a card that requires Tributing a monster as cost, I can Tribute a DARK monster on my opponent's field once per turn instead!"

The airship beneath Hayato's feet was instantly shrouded in darkness the moment he activated his Field Spell Card. Green demonic flames burned through the deck, continuously erupting onto the field. In just a few breaths, they transformed the [Silent Magician Zero] and [Silent Swordsman Zero] cards on the field, as well as the [Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl] card on Hayato's field, into DARK cards.

"Hehehe, Little Blue, I'll eat a piece of bread and throw it away. I'm so evil, hehehe..." Little Blue laughed arrogantly as the dirt from the [Dark World - Shadow Detour -] world made her maid dress dirty and even smeared it on her face, intending to use this appearance as her dark form.

Hayato felt that he probably didn't need to remind Ran that even if she turned evil, she would still have to wash the clothes she got dirty herself.

The Dark Attribute monsters "Light of the Demon" and "Magician Dark Merchant," as well as Hayato's "Shadowdome" monster in Defense Position, were not affected by "Dark World - Shadow Detour -". In this situation, the original effect of "Silent Magician LV8" comes into play. Its effect of being unaffected by spell cards is continuous and does not need to be activated at all.

"You've turned all the monsters on the field into DARKs..." Yugi looked at the four cards remaining in Hayato's hand and said, "Could it be [Super Polymerization]? But Hayato, didn't your [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] already appear before and be destroyed by [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora Flash] and sent to the Graveyard?"

"While [Dark World - Shadow Utopia -] is indeed as suitable as the [Inferno] archetype's field spell card, and [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] is indeed suitable for [Inferno]'s OTK playstyle, don't assume that just because you see [Dark World - Shadow Utopia -] you're going to play an [Inferno] or use [Super Polymerization] to bring out [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon].

As Hayato spoke, he revealed a card from his hand: "The card I'm going to use is this one, [Enemy Manipulator]. This card can be used to gain control of one face-up monster on my opponent's field by relieving one monster on my field, and then targeting that monster until the end of the turn."

"Under the effect of [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-], I will release [Silent Magician Zero] on your field and then gain control of [Demon's Light]!"

"Command input: ←→ Watch out for the Minotaur!" Typing out a completely non-existent command, Hayato watched as the [Silent Magician Zero] on the game field was forced to release and disappear the moment the [Enemy Manipulator] was activated. Then, he provided energy to the [Enemy Manipulator] and plugged the cable at one end of the controller into [Devil's Light], attempting to take it away from the game field.

—Let me state upfront that this has absolutely nothing to do with me being petty or holding grudges. The reason I keep activating the Minotaur card is definitely not because I tried to use "Devil's Light" on the Minotaur's own monster in the last turn. Absolutely not!

After all, it's common knowledge that there's no duelist more devoted to love than me, Hayato Kobayashi!

"After [Heartbreaker], it's [Enemy Manipulator]? There are way too many NTR cards in your 'Pure Pearl Tears' deck, aren't there?" Seeing that his [Demon's Light] was about to be taken away by Hayato, Yugi decisively pressed the button to activate the face-down card. "In that case, I'll have to use this card."

"Open my card—"

Chapter 1292 The one who doesn't know the outcome until the very end is the Shadow... I mean, Duel Monsters.

"Open the face-down card in my back row!" With a wave of his hand, a card in the back row of the game was flipped open, revealing a detonated Trojan horse.

A beam of light shot out from the trap card opened in the game and merged into the body of [Devil's Light]. However, it was not the card that could stop Hayato's [Enemy Manipulator] as Jonouchi and Kaiba thought. Instead, it caused [Devil's Light], which was just fighting against [Enemy Manipulator], to suddenly give up its resistance and obediently walk towards Hayato's field.

However, as the [Demon's Light] moved, the power of the game trap card he had just absorbed was constantly expanding within him.

"Huh? What's that card?!"

"Hayato, since you like labeling me a 'trap,' I'll get my little revenge and label you a 'card-stealer' too—though I feel like you already are." Yugi picked up the Trap Card activated on the Duel Disk and showed it to Hayato. "Whether it's [Heart Change] or Special Summoning Pegasus' [Thousand-Eyed Reaper] with [Easy Fusion], it would be strange if you didn't take other people's cards and use them without permission during battle, Hayato."

"That's why I've prepared this trap card especially for you. It's a trap card that can only be activated when the strict condition of transferring control of a monster on my field to the opponent's player through a card effect is met: [Troy Bomb]!"

"Its effect is not like [Owner's Mark] or [Brainwashing Removal], which can prevent you, Hayato, from taking control of the monster. Instead, it uses the monster that has been taken from you to launch a fatal attack on you, just like the Trojan Horse, a tactic proposed by Odysseus, the great strategist in the Trojan War, as recorded in Homer's epics, that completely secured victory!"

Pointing to [Demon's Light], which was slowly advancing towards Hayato's field, Yugi said, "The monster whose control has been transferred is [Demon's Light]. Under the effect of [Troy Bomb], it has become a self-propelled bomb. It will self-destruct the moment it reaches Hayato's field, dealing damage equal to its ATK to Hayato's Life Points!"

"Although removing [Power of Unity] reduced [Demon's Light]'s attack power to its original value, 2500 attack power is still enough to wipe out all of Hayato's remaining basic points!"

Hayato raised an eyebrow: "You're willing to do anything to win, Yugi? Isn't [Summoning of the Devil] your partner? You're actually going to detonate it to defeat me!?"

"I feel like you're not qualified to say things like that, Hayato. Aren't you the one who loves to detonate monsters to win?" Yugi snapped, then raised his fingers. "In your words, Hayato—it's a necessary sacrifice!"

"Self-destruct, [the light of the devil]!"

Originally, the combination of the Field Spell Card [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-] and [Enemy Manipulator] meant that Hayato could easily eliminate two monsters on the field with just two cards, freeing one and taking control of the other. However, the appearance of [Troy Bomb] allowed Yugi to exploit his combo and launch a counterattack against him.

With only 1000 base points, how could Hayato withstand the 2500-point effect damage from [Demon's Light]? He couldn't win! How could he possibly fight this? Unless—

"Quack! Don't come any closer! I'm going to Cairo from Somalia!" Hayato feigned exaggerated terror, but then calmly played a card, saying, "You think I'd say that? Weak, weak, weak! Is this all the counterattacks you can come up with, Yugi? So weak!"

"The premise for [Troy Bomb] to deal effect damage to me is that [Demon's Light], whose control has been transferred to my field, is destroyed by the effect of [Troy Bomb], right? In that case, I just need to send it to the graveyard before it self-destructs, right? It's like the hostage situation in Russian rescue; as long as the hostage is eliminated in advance, there's no need to worry about the kidnappers continuing to hold the hostage!"

"I'm chained to you and me by using the [Enemy Manipulator] to activate the [Troy Bomb], and I activate this Quick-Play Spell Card in my hand: [Instant Fusion]!"

The advance of "The Light of the Devil" came to an abrupt halt the moment Hayato activated the card. A vortex of fusion was unfolding within the card Hayato played, encompassing "The Light of the Devil" and the face-down defense position monster in Hayato's back field.

"【Instant Fusion】I can send the Fusion Material Monsters that define a Fusion Monster from my field to the Graveyard, and Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck!"

"I originally planned to use this card during the Battle Phase, using the monsters I defeated as Fusion Material to summon a powerful monster and give you some fun in the game. But I've been forced to use it now." After a pause, Hayato added, "Moreover, powerful cards often come with great risks. The monster fused by this effect will be destroyed during the End Phase of the turn."

"But it doesn't matter, because as long as the duel ends before the end phase of the round, this side effect won't occur!"

Yugi chuckled and glanced at Hayato's monsters on the field: "As confident as ever. But, using [Devil's Light] with your monsters, Hayato, what kind of Fusion Monster are you planning to fuse and summon?"

"Rather, is it really possible to assemble a set of fusion materials?" Jonouchi looked at Hayato's monsters on the field with doubt. "Although they all became DARK monsters because of the Field Spell Card [Dark World - Shadow Detour-], [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] has already appeared and gone to the Graveyard, right? [Shaddoll Midrash], which uses [Shaddoll] monsters and DARK monsters as fusion materials, returned to Hayato's fusion deck because of the effect of [Tearful Melo Mermaid].

"If we bring out Xiaomi again now? Wouldn't that mean Hayato has blocked his own special summoning?"

"The fusion monsters of the 'Half-Dragon Maid' type, whether it's 'Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Maid' or 'Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Maid Butler,' all require a Dragon-type monster as the other fusion material, in addition to being a 'Half-Dragon Maid' monster." Kaiba examined the monsters on Hayato's field. "Could it be that Hayato Kobayashi is hiding a new 'Half-Dragon Maid' fusion monster that I don't know about?"

"I wish there were new cards for 'Half-Dragon Maid,' not to mention new Fusion Monsters. I still haven't gotten the Dragon Form of Kuro. I want new Dragon Maid cards too!" Hayato said, showing Yugi the 'Light of the Demon' card that had been transferred from his Duel Disk and the 'Shaddoll Beast' that had been revived from the Graveyard by the effect of 'Shaddoll Falcon' the previous turn. "These are the two Fusion Material Monsters I want to choose!"

"I'll send 'Dark Light' with 2500 ATK and 'Shaddoll' with 1700 DEF in face-down Defense Position to the Graveyard to fulfill the Fusion Material requirement of a monster with 2500 or more ATK and a monster with less than 2500 DEF in face-down Defense Position!"

Such requirements for fusion materials were something that not only Jonouchi, but also Kaiba and Yugi had never heard of before. It wasn't surprising that the fusion materials didn't specify a particular monster like the most common fusion monsters. They could accept the requirement that the monster belong to a certain field. In fact, because of the existence of the [Greedy Poison Fusion Dragon], they had long been accustomed to fusion material requirements that only restricted specific attributes.

However, the requirement for a monster that Hayato is about to fuse and summon, which requires "a monster with an attack power of 2500 or more plus a face-down defense position monster with a defense power of 2500 or less," is something they have never heard of before.

The demon of lightning and the beast of shadow were swept into the vortex created by [Instant Fusion] and disappeared. Golden lightning and the power of nature combined and solidified into hard crystal and dazzling golden armor. Clad in heavy armor and holding a sword and shield, a richly dressed knight leaped out of [Instant Fusion] and came onto Hayato's field!

"Shining armor of mithril and divine gold, shatter the hopes of those who turn their blades against me, Jewel Knight of Illusions!" Hayato said, placing the Fusion Monster card that had appeared out of thin air in his hand onto the Duel Disk. "Fusion Summon! Level 7!"

"【A★Spaghetti Guessing Game】!"

【A★ Spade Guessing Game: Swordsman】【7☆/Light→7☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2500/2500]

Upon landing, due to the [Dark World - Shadow Utopia-], the [A★ Spade Guessing Swordsman] was quickly assimilated into the dark attribute. The pure green of the jewels embedded in his armor and sword and shield was instantly infected into the eerie green of shadow flames. With just a slight change in color, the jewel knight who was just righteous and awe-inspiring suddenly became like a puppet controlled by some evil demon king.

And the evil demon king... cough cough, and at this moment, Kobayashi Hayato said smugly: "The effect of [A★ Spade Guessing Swordsman] is different depending on its form, just like [Transformer Fighter], although you probably don't know what [Transformer Fighter] is."

"In short, when in Attack Position, the effect of [A★ Spade Guessing Swordsman] is that this card gains ATK equal to the highest original ATK of the monsters your opponent controls."

As Hayato spoke, [A★Spados Guessing Big or Small Swordsman] plunged his longsword, whose blade was entirely made of jade but had been tainted by shadow power, into the ground. A surge of shadow flames rushed towards the blade embedded in the earth like a tidal wave, simultaneously bringing with it the power of [Magic Dark Merchant], who currently possessed the highest attack power on the field.

【A★ Spade Guessing Game (Swordsman)】【ATK2500→4000】

"A perpetual effect that increases the original ATK of the highest monster your opponent controls?" Jonouchi thought for a moment, then his eyes widened suddenly. "Isn't that effect a bit too much? Doesn't it mean that ordinary monsters are just weaklings who can only stand there and take a beating in front of that [A★ Spade Swordsman]?"

"No matter how high the opponent's attack power is, it can continuously and directly increase the opponent's attack power value without even needing to activate it. In addition, it already has a base attack power of 2500 points. If it encounters a [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] whose original attack power has been doubled by [Red-Eyes Sub-Black Dragon], it can even directly increase its attack power by 4800 points!?"

"Hmph, a mediocre person is a mediocre person. In the end, that monster's attack power only increased to its highest original level. We can just fight using cards that change attack power."

Hearing this, Jonouchi glanced at Kaiba beside him, who still looked arrogant, and said indignantly, "Then how many cards can you produce that can boost attack power by more than 2500 points in one go? Or are you, Kaiba, who is so arrogant every day because of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's 4500 attack power, so afraid that you're going to run away when you encounter the A★ Spade Swordsman, whose attack power soars to 7000 points when facing the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon?"

"Tch, you really dare to talk back, you mediocre fool, daring to provoke me like that?" Kaiba said unhappily. "In the end, that monster is just a weakling with high attack power but no resistance. Combat destruction isn't the only way to defeat an opponent. My [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] can easily—"

"Hearing Seth say something like 'just a weakling with high attack power but no resistance' feels really strange." Interrupting Kaiba, Hayato glanced at the card he had drawn, added it to his hand, and continued, "However, [A★ Spade Swordsman] is not without resistance. At least when he is in defense position, he has resistance that cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects."

"Does the different effects obtained based on the display form correspond to the choice of guessing high or low?" The game immediately understood the design concept of the [A★ Spade Guessing High or Low Swordsman] effect. "In other words, duelists using [A★ Spade Guessing High or Low Swordsman] need to predict the original attack power of the opponent's monster in advance, and then decide on different display forms based on the situation to obtain different abilities of the monster."

"The drastically different effects based on the form of representation are quite an interesting concept." After a pause, the game asked with a hint of confusion, "But Hayato, what exactly is [Transforming Fighter]...?"

"Before getting the watch, it was a fun deck, but after getting the tool dragon that's good at playing with the 'Thief's Smoke Bomb' and the invincible phone watch, it suddenly became a top-tier fun deck. That's about it? Anyway, it's a beneficiary of Earth DP, just like the Earth Angel that my 'Tears of the Goddess' lacks."

Although he couldn't understand what Hayato was saying, Yugi nodded as if he understood: "So it's a deck that's mainly Earth attribute and sounds like it's designed based on various tools? That's an interesting idea. Maybe I can try to make it. But that will be after this duel is over."

"Although the appearance of [Instant Fusion] allowed you to avoid the attack of [Troy Bomb], at the same time, you also sent your [Shaddoll] to the graveyard. In that case, even if you still have [Shaddoll Fusion] in your hand, you will no longer have the fusion material combination to meet its usage conditions, and you will also have no way to effectively send [Tearful Melo Mermaid] in your hand to the graveyard to trigger its effect."

Looking at the two cards in Hayato's hand, Yugi, who already knew what the two cards were in the previous round, said this.

Hayato chuckled, waving the Shadowmon card he hadn't yet sent to the graveyard, and said, "I overlooked something, Yugi. Instant Fusion not only sends Demonic Light to the graveyard and avoids the effect damage from Trojan Bomb, but it also sends this Shadowmon to the graveyard. I probably don't need to repeat its effect."

"That's the fun of Duel Monsters! You never know what the outcome will be until the very last draw. That's what makes Duel Monsters so special!" Hayato lifted his Duel Disk. "With the effect of [Shadowmon], I'm about to make an awesome draw that will change the course of the game!"

"A true duelist is one who can create the future of the draw himself. I must draw immediately, Draw!"

Without even glancing at the card he drew, Hayato tossed it into the Spell & Trap Zone of the Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card 'Angel's Charity' and go straight for a draw and a graveyard push!"

"I draw three cards from my deck, then discard [Tears of Elegy - Mermaid of Mermaid] and one card of unknown meaning!"

Chapter 1293 Who are you looking for? Who the hell are you looking for!

"I activate the Spell Card [Angel's Charity], draw three cards from my deck, and then discard this [Tearful Melo Mermaid] and another card of unknown meaning from my hand!"

Instead of choosing to normally summon [Tearful Melody Mermaid] to trigger its graveyard effect, Hayato opted to use [Angel's Charity] to send her to the graveyard to directly utilize the second effect.

"Is it coming again, [Tears of the Goddess]?" Yugi's expression was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Hayato to not only use [Shaddoll Fusion], but also to use the effect of a [Shaddoll Beast] sent to the Graveyard to obtain [Angel's Blessing], thus sending [Tears of the Goddess - Mermaid] to the Graveyard. "Should I praise the power of [Tears of the Goddess], or should I say that Hayato's decision to strongly insist on making [Angel's Blessing] a limited card was indeed the right one?"

“Unconditionally drawing three cards and two stacks, in a way, [Angel's Charity] is almost on par with [Bitter Choice] as a fake card. To be honest, even including one is a bit too much; it would be normal to just ban it.” Hayato sent the card to the graveyard and raised his Duel Disk. “But thanks to this, I was able to activate the effects of [Tearful Melody Mermaid] and this [Shadow Wing - Wendy]!”

Not only was it [Tears of Elegy - Mermaid of the Pearls], but the other card Hayato sent was also the third and last card in his deck, [Shadow Wing - Wendy]. When both cards were sent to the graveyard, their effects were activated simultaneously. Through self-chaining, Hayato carefully avoided the possibility that the effect of [Tears of Elegy - Mermaid of the Pearls] would be chained to other cards and negated.

C1 [Tears of Elegy - Mermaid of the Pearl Clan] and C2 [Shadow Wing - Wendy] were already used for the third time in this duel, so Hayato didn't explain the effect of [Shadow Wing - Wendy] to the game again. Instead, he directly retrieved a card from the Duel Disk: "First is the effect of [Shadow Wing - Wendy]. I Special Summon this [Divine Shadow - Merchant's Staff Spirit] from my Deck to my field in face-down Defense Position."

"Next is the effect of [Tears of Elegy - Mermaid of the Pearl], which returns [Tears of Elegy - Mermaid of the Pearl] and [Tragic Death: Hell Village Actor] from my Graveyard to the Deck as Fusion Materials for Fusion Summoning!"

It wasn't until Hayato mentioned the card name "Tragedy of Death Village Actor" that Yugi suddenly remembered the "Death Village" monster that Hayato had used in the very beginning of the turn, but which had basically only appeared briefly and then disappeared: "Use the 'Death Village' monster and the 'Tearful Lament' monster to fuse?"

"Ah, speaking of which, Hayato did use a monster with that name before." Jonouchi also recalled the previous [Tragic Death Village Actor]. "It's quite strange, even though it's a card name I've never heard of before, why do I feel a strange sense of familiarity when fighting Hayato's [Death Village] monster?"

"The reason why Jonouchi feels familiar is because I used to duel you with a deck that mixes Shadow Dummy, Shado-Dummy, and Summoner, and you still remember Shado-Dummy, right?"

Hearing Hayato's words, Jonouchi nodded in agreement: "Isn't that obvious? The [Teaching] deck looks like a sacred religious deck from some cult, but its effects are almost entirely focused on monsters Special Summoned by Fusion Deck. It's like a medieval church conducting 'witch hunts.' I can't forget it, especially since you're mixing [Teaching] with [Summoner] and [Shaddoll]..."

Recalling Hayato's "Shadow Summoner" deck, where he played a catchy tune while opening the deck, "Normal Summon Aleister ~ Effect Search Summon Magic," and effortlessly created a bunch of blockades while retaining a large amount of resources, how could Jonouchi not be impressed by that deck?

Hayato spread his hands innocently and said, "So, you've already seen the 'Death Prison Village,' haven't you? Because the 'Teaching' is the 'Death Prison Village.'"

"Huh?" Jonouchi looked surprised. At first glance, he couldn't connect the cards he remembered, such as [The Guiding Saintess - Exeria] and [The Guiding Knight - Flederis], with the terrifying and evil monsters in [Death Prison Village].

However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that the aura of the [Tragic Death Prison Village Actor], who was pulled from Hayato's graveyard to the field and about to participate in the fusion under the effect of [Tears of Elegy Clan - Merlo Mermaid], was indeed somewhat similar to that of [Teaching].

"The Dragon Kingdom, a religious nation protected by the miracle of the Holy Mark, has been defiled by the power from the abyss due to someone's selfishness. It has been completely reversed and degenerated into a puppet and toy dancing in the hands of the instigator who loves drama. The true meaning of the name 'Death Prison Village' is actually 'Tragic Play', a puppet drama of utter misery."

Hayato's hands clasped loosely in front of him. "The holiness and purity of the [Teaching] are as dazzling as crystal, but the fate of such a brilliant crystal is ultimately to dance in my hands as a god, and to become the [Death Prison]!"

"Since you, Jonouchi, have clear memories of [Fredris] and [The Teaching Knight], then you must be familiar with this monster as well, right? The three sacred artifacts of sword, shield, and armor wielded by the Twin Saints! Marked with indelible marks by the power of 'Hercules' from the abyss, it has become a merciless weapon, ready to begin its eternal hunt for the Holy Son!"

The monsters 【Tears of Elegy - Mermaid】 and 【Tragic Death - Prison Village Actor】 from the Graveyard returned to the bottom of Hayato's deck as cards, but the power they left behind was condensed into a giant water sphere on Hayato's field by a vortex-like fusion power.

Its name is 'Quem Queritis,' which means 'Whom are you looking for!'