Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"I'm actually looking forward to seeing what cards you can pull out next, especially since you're practically out of resources. But your turn probably won't be coming up soon." Hayato shook his head, sent a card to the graveyard under the gaze of [Utgarde, the King of the Void], and then held up another card, saying, "To be honest, there are more and more people playing the graveyard card game every day. I don't know who taught me this, but it's made me put this card in my deck."

Completely oblivious to the fact that he's the one who spends all his time in the graveyard, Hayato held up a card: "Quick-Play Spell Card [Graveyard Seal], this card requires discarding one card from your hand to activate. This turn, the effects of cards activated in the graveyard are negated!"

"I discard the [Dragon's Radiance Technique-νII] from my hand—" Hayato pointed forward, "In the name of the King, I command you to step down!"

"Oh!"

In the dazed gaze of [Void King Battle - Utgard], the [Nioh Stance] activated by the graveyard shattered on the spot, and the force field that forcibly guided the attack also dissipated from beside [Giant Stone Relic - Bertol]. After [Nioh Stance] disappeared, [Dragon Artifact - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA] revealed a human-like cold smile on its mechanical dragon head.

"The battle begins, and then claim victory for me, [Dragon Artifact - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA]!" Hayato waved his hand, "First strike, destroy [Metal Relic - Freyg]!"

"Secret Technique: Simulated Black Hole!"

The cannon on the left shoulder of [Dragon Artifact - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA] fired, launching a gravity-binding projectile that struck the air in front of [Stone Relic - Frege], instantly expanding into a massive, all-consuming black hole. Even with attack power comparable to [Dragon Artifact - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA], [Stone Relic - Frege]'s defense was only 2700 points, completely powerless against the immense gravity within the black hole, and it was instantly sucked in, collapsing into nothingness.

With the disappearance of [Stone Relic - Frege], the attack and defense bonuses it provided also instantly disappeared from [Stone Relic - Bertol], causing its attack and defense to plummet by a full 1500 points.

What awaits it is the second strike of [Dragon Art Technique - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA]!

"Secret Technique: Simulated Black Hole - Double Strike! Destroy the [Metal Relic - Bertol], [Dragon Art - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA]!"

Two consecutive attacks allowed [Ryugi Takumi - Tenryu Meteor = DRA] to vent his frustrations. Satisfied, he retreated back to Hayato's side, and then it was [Ryugi Takumi - Tenryu Meteor = QUA]'s turn to try his luck.

Utgard, the Void King, trembled as he looked at Hayato and Takumi Ryugi-Takumi = QUA, his only usable card in the graveyard negated, and even the possibility of using more graveyards sealed off by the single card [Graveyard Seal]. He looked at Ryugi-Takumi = QUA and finally managed to stammer, "Hmm, can we make peace?"

"At this moment? You must be joking." Hayato sneered, raising his hand. "Then, prepare to deliver the final blow, [Dragon's Skill - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = QUA]."

"A direct attack on the opponent's duelist - Dragon Wings of Gale and Raging Storms!"

The sextant wings of light on the elbows of [Long Yi Qiao - Tianlong Liuxing = QUA] unfolded, propelling the massive mechanical dragon at an inhuman speed. In a mere second, [Long Yi Qiao - Tianlong Liuxing = QUA] accelerated from a standstill to almost faster than light, circling the floating castle of [Void Realm King War - Utgard] several times before finally locking onto a suitable angle for a powerful charge!

[War of the Void Realm Kings - Utgard: 4000LP → 0]

Speed ​​is power. The [Dragon Skill - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = QUA], accelerated to its limit, pierced through the floating castle of [Virtual Realm King War - Utgard] from its suspended base below to its countless floating towers on top in an instant. As its basic score reached zero, the huge floating city exploded and turned into a giant firework in the sky!

Mimir, who was rescued by [Ryugi Takumi - Tenryu Meteor = QUA], didn't have the energy to watch the explosion. He experienced extreme acceleration in an instant, and not only did he feel like all the bones in his body were about to dislocate and separate from his torso, but his internal organs were also not much better. He felt extremely nauseous and directly lay on the outstretched claw of [Ryugi Takumi - Tenryu Meteor = DRA], which was carrying Hayato, and started gagging.

Hayato, however, saw something falling toward the ground from within the shattered floating city.

Chapter 1365 Rebirth: I Am a Birdman

"You mere mortal, how dare you harm me, the King of Jotunheim!"

"You can hurt me, the great one who can even toy with gods!"

At the moment the floating city was destroyed by [Long Yiqiao - Tianlong Meteor = QUA], [Void King War - Utgard] escaped from the castle under the cover of the disintegrating floating castle. Although he used the floating city "Utgard" as part of his name, his true form was never that castle.

The reason why [Utgard the King of Hollows] is a Rock-type Duel Monster is simply because the castle can be considered a Rock-type monster. Just like [Life Torrent Dragon], who possesses the power of the Red Dragon Heart, can disguise himself as the Machine-type monster [Power Tool Dragon] while wearing mechanical armor, the real Utgard Loki is an independent life form.

He usually stayed in his palace, using magic to control the illusionary castle as his limbs, but when danger came, he didn't hesitate to abandon it. Although it was a powerful fortress city that the mountain giants had spent countless years building, it was far less important than his own life.

Utgard Loki, having ejected his palace—which effectively functioned as an escape pod—and mixed in with the countless castle wreckage crashing to the ground, sat on his throne, gripping the armrests tightly and gritting his teeth, cursing Hayato in a rather unruly manner, taking advantage of being the only one in the palace.

—Although in mythology, Utgard Loki has appeared before gods such as Thor and Loki in the form of a giant, in reality he is just a young-looking brat. For Utgard Loki, who can manipulate even monsters and gods—including Loki, who is also skilled in illusion—using illusion magic is a piece of cake.

The reason he creates an illusion of a giant is partly due to Jotunheim, ruled by Utgard Loki, being a land of giants and having a majority of giants under his command, but it might also be influenced by his own short stature. Perhaps even his choice of a castle to represent his outward appearance stems from this inferiority complex?

But none of that matters. What matters is that he, so noble, who ruled over foreign lands, who had lost all his subjects and was now utterly alone, had actually been defeated! It was an utter disgrace!

However, I, of noble stature, must not be captured by such vulgar mortals, and my great mind must not disappear from this world! Therefore, even if it means abandoning my most beloved castle, I must escape!

Seeing the castle's shattered remains reflected in the enchanted mirror, Utgard Loki, though heartbroken, still forced a laugh: "Hmph, hahahahaha, I still managed to escape! You mere humans, you're probably still fooled by the illusion I created with my magic, aren't you? I'll settle the score for losing a castle one day!"

"Let us both remember this day! I have remembered your grudge, and you shall also remember that today you have achieved the only commendable accomplishment in your insignificant life: you almost captured me, Lord Utgard Loki!"

"No, having lost the castle 'Utgard,' I'll revert to my original name, 'Scrimir.' Hmph, how could mere humans possibly have imagined this was my escape route, Lord Scrimir! In terms of cunning, how could humans possibly be my match—"

Utgard—no, now the illusionist Skremir, who had lost his castle—his arrogant laughter abruptly stopped, his smile freezing on his face. The reason was simple: he saw Hayato in the sky suddenly glance in his direction, then command his terrifying mechanical dragon to swoop down towards him!

"No, impossible!? He actually saw through my illusion?!" Skrimir panicked completely. He hurriedly waved his hand to disperse the magic mirror in front of him, refusing to look at Hayato's sharp eyes, which made him tremble even from a distance.

However, he himself knew that such behavior was no different from an ostrich burying its head in the ground when it encountered danger. Although he did not know how it was done, he could tell from the fact that the terrible human had approached him without hesitation after discovering him that he would never let him go!

We need to think of a solution quickly!

Having jumped down from his throne, Skripal no longer had the heart to use illusion magic to disguise himself as a giant. He anxiously looked around his palace: "What is there? Is there anything that can be of use?"

As the ruler of Outland, even though Outland is so barren that it doesn't even warrant the attention of the [Flame King War - Nagilfa], he can still scrape together quite a bit of resources. Not to mention, Jotunheim, the land of giants, was once home to a large number of mountain giants. Although mountain giants sound rustic and stupid, contrary to their name, they possess a dexterity unlike other giants. They are far more adept at construction than destruction; even the walls of Asgard, the home of the Aesir gods, were built by them.

It can be said that the mountain giants and dwarves, one tall and one short, are the races in the Nine Realms most skilled at making things. Therefore, as the ruler of the giant kingdom, Skrimir also collected a lot of strange and unusual things, and he did not take these things with him even after the mountain giants disappeared.

"A lantern that only shines when the sun rises but never lights up when it sets; an automatic magic scissors that looks like shoes but can actually be used to trim beards; a cage that, once closed, can't be opened unless you run inside for a certain period of time..."

As Skrimir rummaged through his inventory, his face darkened. What idiot had collected all this useless stuff? Even under normal circumstances, this junk would be of no use, let alone in this critical moment!

What? I collected it myself? That's alright then.

"Found it, this is it!" Skrimir excitedly held up the item after finally finding something useful. "A longsword that can be used to separate all things in the world! I remember this thing can be used to open a one-way passage to Helheim. It's a super useful trash can, you don't have to worry about the trash being thrown back by the people over there, and there aren't many people in Helheim anyway."

(A mysterious weapon without a name (laughs))

"In other words, as long as I use this thing to open the portal to Helheim, no one can catch me, hahahaha!"

Laughing triumphantly, Skrimir was about to brandish the weapon—made by some unknown mountain giant—in the air in front of him.

However, just as Skrimir was about to swing his sword, the palace he was in suddenly trembled violently. Skrimir, who had not fought anyone for many years, accidentally lost his grip on the sword and, with a swing, dropped it, getting it stuck on the ground with the hilt pointing downwards and the tip upwards.

Immediately afterwards, the palace, which was originally descending rapidly, suddenly slowed down as if someone had slammed on the brakes. Due to inertia, Skripal stumbled and fell towards the long sword on the ground!

(Image reference)

"What... what's going on?!" Skrimir stared incredulously at the blade tip drawing ever closer, utterly powerless against the momentum pulling him forward. "Why would I, a spellcaster, make such a basic mistake?!"

"No, no, I remember now. The moment the duel ended, the pain that almost hit me if I hadn't cut off the control in time—even though my castle 'Utgard' is made of rock, it was a soul-wrenching pain that I could feel!"

"Could it be... could it be that... that duel just now was actually a dark duel involving the sacrifice of souls? And I, trying to escape the punishment of defeat, was targeted by the forces of darkness!? But how is that possible! How could a mere human possess the power to wage a dark duel!?"

"I, I, Skrimir—!"

"Pfft—!!"

When Hayato used [Dragon's Skill - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = QUA] to break through the illusions and protective spells set up on the outer layer of the palace-style escape pod and looked inside to find [Void King War - Utgard], he only saw Skrimir being pierced through the center of his forehead by a long sword stuck in the ground.

"What is this? He committed suicide because he didn't want to be captured? I thought he was trying to escape." Hayato blinked his left eye, restoring his activated "Runic Eye" to its original state, confirming that the scene before him was not an illusion but a real scene.

"I don't think so either. Utgard isn't exactly a man of principle. Maybe it's just an accident?" [Shadow of the King - Lopto] appeared next to Hayato and complained, "It's just that he looks really embarrassing, especially since he's wearing 'Loki's' name on him. Now I look bad too..."

But at that moment, perhaps because of Skripal's weight, his body was pulled down to the ground by gravity, causing the knife to pierce deeper. The knife, which had only pierced a hole in his head, now protruded through the back of Skripal's skull.

If it were just a knife, it wouldn't be a problem. The problem is that as the knife tip was pushed out, two more figures were pushed out of Skrimir's body, who had already lost his breath.

"Eh?"

They plopped down on the ground, one of the figures staring at his body with an incredulous expression. "I'm actually... alright?"

"Could it be that fate is actually on my side after all? Heh heh, ha ha ha ha, I've actually been given a new body!"

"Jotunheim, your king is back—ouch!"

The blond-haired boy, whose boastful words had been abruptly cut short by a tap on the head, whirled around, his purple eyes blazing with malice. "Who dares to lay a hand on the noble me...?"

(Body type that can sit on a backpack)

He didn't finish his sentence because he realized that the person in front of him was the mortal who had been chasing him before, but why was that mortal so much larger, with even his calves being almost as tall as his own?

"No, no, it's not that the guy got bigger."

Previously focused only on his own body and oblivious to his surroundings, "Scrimmill" was horrified to discover that while the palace was still the familiar one, its size had expanded considerably, mirroring Hayato's growth. More accurately—he had shrunk!?

And it's not just a matter of age, like having the body of a child but the mind of an adult; it's that my body has shrunk to almost a quarter of its original size, becoming only twenty or thirty centimeters tall!

"You just said 'Scrimir,' right? Hmph, then this is the guy you're looking for, Lord Dan Kuroto." [Shadow of the King's War - Lopto] stood beside Hayato like a lackey, contemptuously sizing up the short "Scrimir." "This guy is the [Virtual Realm King's War - Utgard] you're looking for, but he's such a short guy?"

"You've never seen him before?"

“I’ve seen it, but he used illusion magic to create the illusion of a giant, and even I couldn’t see through his illusion.” [Shadow of the King of War - Lopto] said, and then retorted to Hayato, “You only glanced at it a few times and then stole the ‘Eye of Runes,’ which is one thing, but even I couldn’t do that. How did you see through his illusion magic?”

"It just goes to show that your Norse gods are really not that great; they can't even be resurrected after they die. Unlike the Egyptian gods, who can piece themselves back together even if they're dismembered."

Hearing Hayato's conversation with [King's Shadow - Lopto], Skrimir, who had initially intended to play dumb, couldn't hold back and angrily said, "I'm not short at all, it's just that this world is too tall! And becoming like this was an accident!"

"You wretched giants and those inherently evil human brats, how dare you approach me this close? Did you think I could only use illusions to avoid battle? Behold, I will bestow upon you endless suffering with my invincible magic!" As he spoke, "Scrimmill" stretched his hands straight forward and shouted, "Infernal Unparalleled Explosive Wave Cannon!"

Not quite understanding what "Scrimir" had said, [Shadow of the King - Lopt] turned around for a while, looking strangely at "Scrimir" who had stretched out his arms but did nothing, and raised an eyebrow: "What did you just say?"

"Extinguish the mighty flames!" "Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel!"

Unconvinced, Skrimir used two more different spells in succession, only to be horrified to find that he had lost the ability to cast spells, and even his favorite illusions. His face turned pale in an instant.

"No, that can't be! My Powder! Why did I lose my Powder?"

"Idiot, of course it's because all the magic and illusions were assigned to my side when we separated!"

A female voice rang out, causing "Scrimir" to turn his head and see a girl with the same blond hair as him on the other side of his "corpse." The girl casually tore off a piece of curtain and wrapped it around his body, which was only twenty or thirty centimeters tall, as a skirt. She turned around, looked at him with the same pair of purple eyes, and a contemptuous sneer appeared on her lips. "You don't actually think you're still 'Scrimir,' do you? You're such a stupid and pathetic bastard."

However, what "Scrimir" was more concerned about than the other party's appearance and words, and what surprised him even more was that he actually saw a pair of jet-black wings on the girl's back.

Noticing Skrimir's gaze, the girl gave him a look of disgust and said coldly, "What are you looking at? Aren't you looking at something too?"

Upon hearing this, Skrimir frantically reached behind him and discovered that it was indeed true; he had wings on his back, but the plucked feathers were more yellowish and not as pure black.

For a moment, despair filled his heart: 'Oh no, I've been reborn as a birdman?'

Chapter 1366 Oath of Allegiance (BGM: Dinosaur Mom)

"Reporting to Lord Dan Kuroto, in the [War of the Hollow Realms - Utgard], no, Skrimir has been slain!"

Compared to "Scrimir," the winged girl showed no malice towards Hayato, greeting him with great enthusiasm. In fact, her attitude was almost overly respectful.

"My lord? You... are you perhaps this mortal's subordinate?!" Recovering from the dejection of "having turned into a bird-man," and hearing the girl's unusually humble attitude towards Hayato, "Scrimmill" said with some fear, "When exactly did you infiltrate my side? Is stealing my power your goal?!"

"Idiot, what do you mean by 'your power'? I had a share of it too, didn't I?" The girl rolled her eyes. "You think you can monopolize 'Scrimmill's' 'legacy'?"

Skrimir frowned, then suddenly realized something and his eyes widened: "Could it be—!?"

"Such a strange scene is something I've never seen before." [Shadow of the King of War - Lopt] stepped on the real [King of the Void - Utgard] who had died on the spot. "That sword seems to have been enchanted with a special spell that can separate things. Although [King of the Void - Utgard] committed suicide with this sword, he actually managed to separate a part of himself from it?"

"It's like when the brain separates, it seems like you accidentally lost control of the direction, separating the left and right sides of the brain into separate individuals, and even the distribution of strength, memory, and even thinking is not very balanced."

"What Yama Blade? It's obvious he can't double jump."

Hayato grumbled, looking at the two little brats, a boy and a girl, who had separated from the body of [Virtual Realm King War - Utgard]: "Putting aside the fact that such an ugly dwarf could separate into two children whose looks, while not as good as mine, are still above average, how come they even have wings?"

"That's a question for [War of the Void Realms - Utgard] himself. Who told him to keep using this sword to open the portal to Helheim—that is, the Underworld—while Hela was missing?" [Shadow of the War - Lopt] shrugged. "Over time, although it wasn't corrupted by the aura of the dead there, the sword did acquire some of Helheim's aura. When [War of the Void Realms - Utgard] committed suicide with the sword, the aura of the Underworld mixed into his body along with the sword, and then separated from him."