Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Originally, the two brats over there should have had animal features like dogs or snakes, but [Void King War - Utgard] was a powerful mage in the past, so he at least retained most of his body without any changes, only growing wings of crows, which can also be symbols of death, on his back."

"He should be glad he never used that knife to cut flies before, or he'd be making 'The Fly'," Hayato said casually, watching as [King of War Shadow - Lopte] pushed aside the corpse of [Virtual World King of War - Utgard]. The drained corpse turned into countless dust particles with the slightest movement, while [King of War Shadow - Lopte] picked up the knife, wiped away the blood, and admired it.

"Hey [Lopte], your days of opening portals all the time are over." Hayato seized the opportunity to deliver this line, "Give me the Yamato."

However, the Shadow of the King - Lopto, quite uncooperatively, handed the sword that Hayato had named "Enma Blade" directly to Hayato, leaving Hayato with a displeased expression.

"Huh? Didn't you ask me to give it to you? Why do you have that expression?" [Shadow of the King of War - Lopt] said, puzzled, wiping the blood off his hands and cleaning it off. "Although I don't know what you're planning, I just checked it. The energy of that sword doesn't seem to have been very abundant to begin with. After being used by [King of the Void - Utgard] for a long time, it has been almost completely depleted. When he committed suicide for separation, he used up all his last bit of energy."

"In other words, that thing is already a piece of scrap metal."

Hayato, however, didn't care. He simply found a scabbard on the ground, put the sword in it, and placed it at his side, ready to draw his sword. He whispered, "I love you, Dai! Love you, Pwa!"

Even so, watching Hayato childishly play with a knife, the girl who had separated from "Skrimir" exclaimed in admiration, "What cool moves and lines! It's heavenly! No wonder he's Lord Dan Kuroto, who drove 'Skrimir' to suicide!"

"Huh?" Without magic or illusions, and having involuntarily remained silent as much as possible while Hayato and [Shadow of the King's War - Lopt] conversed, the boy glared displeasedly at the girl who, like him, had been separated from Skrimirne. "I didn't commit suicide, okay? I was—"

Suddenly, he felt that it was more shameful than suicide, or "dying because I didn't hold the knife properly or I didn't stand properly." The boy abruptly changed his mind halfway through his sentence, saying, "—No, I did commit suicide."

“See? We all came from the same person, we all have the same mind, we make the same judgments, so it’s definitely ‘suicide’.” The girl smiled slyly, as if she had already guessed that although the boy would try to correct her, he would eventually agree with her after comparing the two.

"The same mind? Impossible!" Looking at the girl in front of him, the boy denied it on the spot with a look of disgust. "How could a woman like you possibly separate from my body!"

"Who says it's impossible? Before being defeated by that star-like, dazzling Heavenly Dragon, I also thought I was the strongest being in the world, the most qualified person to end the painful void of the Heavenly Throne. But it's no use, Lord Dan Kuroto is just too strong."

With her hands clasped together, the girl looked at Hayato with adoration, her eyes filled with longing and yearning. "In front of that lord, there are no males. He is the only male who can be the ruler. It is only natural that the defeated 'Scrimir' would give birth to a female from within, right?"

"That kind of thing... only you would do that." The boy's face was filled with disgust. "Not only do you not hate that mortal, but you also admire him so much. How could someone like you be me!"

"Ha, of course I am not you, because you are merely the memory of the loser 'Scrimmill,' a memory filled with resentment, anger, and hatred, nothing more; while I am the mind of 'Utgard Loki,' who once existed as the 'War of the Void Kings - Utgard,' a mind filled with ambition and dominance that ruled Jotunheim as a king, and only thoughts can bring power, which is why magic and illusion originally fell into my hands."

With her arms crossed, the girl sneered, "So stop calling yourself that idiot 'Scrimir,' you're making me look bad. From now on, my name is Huginn, and you'll be called Muninn."

"What distinguishes mortals, giants, and gods? It's not wisdom, for among the gods there are foolish beings like Hainir, and among the giants there is the wise Mimir; it's not power, for no matter how many armies mortals gather and kingdoms are established, they cannot withstand the wrath of the gods." Holding up a finger, the girl [Huqi] stated firmly, "It's strength, it's talent, that's what determines everything. Strength is true power, talent determines existence; without strength there is no power, without talent there is no value in existence."

"And that lord undoubtedly possesses the ultimate power to humiliate the entire world, as well as divine talent that transcends all things! In that case, what problem is there in me wanting to pledge my allegiance to him?"

After all, the ideology of Utgard, the Lord of the Hollow Realms who commands a group of savage giants in the barren outer realms, could not possibly be gentle. To use a term Hayato knows, it is the so-called "Social Darwinism." This ideology advocates that the phenomenon of survival of the fittest also exists in society.

But unlike typical social activists who only hold this view when they are in a high position and then change their views when they are eliminated or optimized, [Hu Ji] is actually a social activist who can optimize himself.

"To sum it up, the power that Lord Dan Kuroto possesses is the reason for being king!" [Huji] said, leaning close to Hayato, who had sheathed his replica Enma sword, and earnestly said, "Please let me serve you, Lord Dan Kuroto! I want to see you reigning supreme over these nine realms!"

However, Hayato decisively refused, saying, "Eh? No."

Seeing Huki's surprised expression, Hayato glanced at Mu Ning on the other side and said, "I don't lack subordinates, and there are plenty of people who want to be my sycophants. I have no intention of letting go of my former enemies, even if you are not my match."

"W-Why is this happening..." [Huki] couldn't help but show a sorrowful expression. "As the loser, I should be the force that makes you stronger. Why, why are you rejecting me? Oh no, if I can't offer you my power, Watashi—"

"Offer your strength? No, I don't agree with your insistence on socialism at all." Hayato looked down at [Huki], who was only as tall as his calves. "Is what matters most when choosing a person what they can do? No, it should be 'trust'. Without that, no matter how high a person's IQ or how talented they are, they are nothing more than crumbs in my eyes."

"Want to offer your strength to me? Then let's test your 'trust' first. Use this knife to separate you from that brat over there."

As he spoke, Hayato threw the sword in his hand directly onto the ground in front of [Huki]. "Although you are separated now, if you kill the other with this sword that has lost its magic, the one holding the sword can still regain their former state. So, what is your choice?"

Looking at the long sword before him, [Hu Ji] picked it up, glanced at it briefly, and a smile appeared on his face: "Then, there's only one answer—"

"Crack!" The magic-infused knee slammed into the blade. The hope that had just flickered in [Mu Ning's] eyes was instantly extinguished by the shattering of the longsword, plunging him back into despair. But [Hu Ji] cared nothing for his "brother," casually tossing the broken sword aside.

"I swear allegiance to you!"

"Heh, hahaha, hahahaha, I must say you've become quite interesting since we separated. I've decided, I'll spare your life and not destroy you, [Void Realm King War - Utgard]." Hayato said this, not only looking at [Huki], but also at [Muning] behind him.

"Hu~ji~"

Hayato casually pulled out a card, called out "Huki's" name, and tossed it to "Huki." "Huki" caught it and looked at it, only to find that the card was completely blank.

Instantly understanding Hayato's meaning, [Huqi] did not hesitate to cast a spell on the card, bringing himself into the card and merging with it.

At the same time, Mu Ning also found himself being pulled by a force, and without any ability to resist, he was also sucked into the card that had merged with Hu Ji. After absorbing the cards of the two, it spun back into Hayato's hand and split in two.

In Hayato's hands, the originally blank cards gradually transformed into the shapes of [Huki] and [Muning], except that each of them had runes "?" on their wings, representing "livestock" and "wealth," signifying that they had become the servants sealed within the cards.

The blank names on the cards were gradually filled with the words "[Wings of the Divine Stele - Huji]" and "[Wings of the Divine Stele - Mu Ning]".

"I was wondering why all the [Divine Monument] cards I received were one-time trial cards, and not a single extra purple monster was included. I was wondering if it was because there was no extra monster zone in the current rules."

Hayato looked at the cards containing [Wings of the Divine Monument - Mu Ning], who was trying to escape but was firmly trapped by the cards, and [Wings of the Divine Monument - Huki], who looked quite pleased with himself, saying, "So, in the story of this world, the cards are supposed to be obtained from [War of the Void Realm - Utgard]."

"Even I'm a little curious about how to summon [Wings of the Divine Monument] without an Extra Monster Zone. But speaking of which, considering the card that dropped in the duel, this time the haul is quite substantial." As he spoke, Hayato took out a card that had dropped when he defeated [Utgarde, the King of the Void] during the duel victory resolution, and examined it closely. "I have to say, with this kind of loot, who would still play with [Giant Stone Relics]? Isn't playing with a heavy trap much more fun than that ritual?"

The card in Hayato's hand seems to be the materialization of the final fear that [Utgard, the King of the Hollow Realms] felt towards Hayato before his imminent defeat. The image depicts a demon taller than a city, whose destruction is unstoppable by countless warriors and sorcerers. Crucially, this is also a Rock-type monster, and in terms of practicality, it's comparable to [Primal Lifeform - Nibiru].

Chapter 1367 The flower language of steel wire flowers is wealth and forbearance, so what about scallion flowers?

"The white rose symbolizes innocence, purity, and respect; the yellow rose symbolizes an eternal smile, confidence, and kindness; and the lily symbolizes purity and nobility, representing sacred friendship and wedding blessings."

When Judai and the others arrived at Queen Mador's palace under the guidance of the [King of Light Battle], they saw Misawa, surrounded by a group of elf girls, proudly reciting the contents of the flower language encyclopedia that he had memorized when he was bored, which earned him a chorus of admiration.

"What is Misawa-kun doing, meow?"

"Hmm? Isn't it obvious, Daitokuji-sensei? Misawa is enjoying himself here." Hearing Daitokuji's words, Marufuji Sho said with a hint of sourness, "Hmm...it's so enviable. We're out there running away and fighting all sorts of battles, while he's here enjoying himself?"

"But seriously, he actually memorized something as boring as flower language? I thought only girls would pay attention to that."

Judai patted Marufuji Sho on the shoulder and pointed to himself with a thumbs up: "No, it's because I have [E·hero] cards in my deck, including [E·hero Little Flower Bud] and [E·hero Flower Lady]. I also asked Manjoume to look up some flower meanings online and memorize them."

"For example, the flower language of steel wire flowers is wealth and forbearance, while the flower language of scallion flowers is that I don't eat beef."

Looking at Judai's proud expression, waiting for others to praise him, Marufuji Sho remarked, "...Big brother, you should just forget about all those messy flower meanings."

"Can't you guys hurry up?" Outside the palace, separated by the heat-insulating plants that [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] had set up in advance, [Flame Realm King War - Nagilfa] tapped the glass with his fingernail and said impatiently, "If you're any slower, that guy will be chasing after us!"

"Ha, look at your cowardly appearance, you think you can invade my [Ice Realm]?" [Ice Realm King War - Nidhogg] mocked his mortal enemy mercilessly, "Baby [Nagirfa], hiding in the corner crying because your father Surtur doesn't want you anymore?"

"I'll only correct you once, Surtr has nothing to do with me!" Upon hearing [Ice King War - Nidhogg]'s words, [Flame King War - Nagilfa] roared at it unhappily, "Heh, how come I remember it was you? Every time Odin walked down from the World Tree, you would shrink back into the roots like a snake in fear, because you thought he was coming to beat you up?"

Seeing that the two giants outside had wandered into someone else's world and were even fighting, and had already frightened the elves inside the palace, [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] poked her head out of the palace and roared at the two [King Wars] outside: "You two, if you want to fight, go back to your own world and fight!"

Upon hearing the words of [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador], the two [King Wars] immediately ceased their attacks. How could they possibly be willing to return to their own world? Who knew if that demonic human was still lying in wait, just waiting for them to return and deliver people/dragon heads?

They were also hoping to win over [Queen Mador of the Light Realm War] as an ally to avoid being killed alone. Although they urged Jaden and the others to hurry up, they would never allow the two of them to act alone or together first. Even though there were no horror movies in this virtual "Nine Realms," they still understood the principle that lone characters are more likely to die.

The two [Kings] outside remained silent, crouching outside the palace, which was about the same height as them, and began to stare blankly at the one on the other side. Inside the palace of [King of Light - Queen Mador], the commotion of the three [Kings] also drew the attention of Misawa, who was surrounded by many beautiful elves, to the returning [King of Light - Queen Mador] and her group of Judai who were traveling with her.

"Judai?!" Misawa's face showed a genuine expression of surprise, but when he thought about how Judai and the others had arrived with [King of Light War - Queen Mador], he said with some surprise, "So you were also defeated and brought here?"

"No, quite the opposite, it was I who was defeated by this boy."

Although she wasn't completely wiped out by Jaden in the previous duel, Queen Mador of Light accepted her defeat with composure, which contrasted sharply with Utgard of Hollow Realm, who fled from Hayato's side to avoid defeat. Perhaps this was partly due to Queen Mador of Light's own gentle and unassuming nature, much like that of a plant race.

Of course, although she is gentle, she is confident that she is no less capable than the other [Kings] when she really gets into a fight. After all, the power that plants can evolve for survival is not inferior. In fact, the reason why [Flame King Battle - Nagilfa] and [Ice King Battle - Nidhogg] stopped fighting so easily is also because [Light King Battle - Queen Mador] had already shown that she had power equal to theirs, which created a deterrent effect.

"Junior won? That's not unexpected, after all, Judai is very strong." Looking at [King of Light Battle - Queen Mador], Misawa said with a smile, "If Judai weren't not very good at using plant-type monsters, you would definitely have chosen Judai."

"Although I initially misunderstood the young man because of some strange things I heard from other places, I can see a person's thoughts clearly through a duel. I can't deny what you said, Misawa." [King of Light Battle - Queen Mador] also smiled somewhat awkwardly, "Am I being a little too greedy? I've already found you, Mr. Misawa, to help [King of Light]."

"Choose? Help the [Light Realm]?" Hearing the somewhat inexplicable conversation between [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] and Misawa, Jaden scratched his head and asked in confusion, "What are you two talking about?"

"...Speaking of which, there are quite a few light elves in your Vanaheim, right? The population is even more abundant than in Midgard. We certainly didn't see so many life forms there." Daitokuji looked at the light elves who were curiously eyeing these wingless, round-eared outsiders, and asked [Light King War - Queen Mador], "What's the reason you specifically brought Misawa-san and Tenkōin-san to your kingdom?"

[Battle of the King of Light - Queen Mador] When Daitokuji asked the right question, she sighed and said quite frankly, since there was no need to hide it, "Because the Nine Realms are about to be destroyed."

"Huh?!" Even though he had already guessed that the Kaiba Corporation wouldn't allow them, the students, to freely roam in a virtual world without time restrictions or even limitations on when or when they could arrive at the academy's exchange tournament venue, Maeda Hayato still couldn't help but exclaim in shock when he heard from [King of Light Battle - Queen Mador] that this world was truly going to be destroyed. "The world... it's really going to be destroyed!?"

"Well, as for the specific time, there are only two days left. Maybe even less, but the longest time left is two days." [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] sighed helplessly, "This news comes from a prophecy. Originally, I quite believed in the authenticity of this prophecy because the parts before the destruction of the world have all come true, but now I have some doubts about that prophecy."

"Is it because of Judai?"

Marufuji spoke up, causing [King of Light War - Queen Mador] to glance at him: "You heard that earlier?"

"If you mean something like 'the mind disappears and reverses'."

"Yes, that's it. That's what the prophecy I know says." Nodding helplessly, [King of Light War - Queen Mador] looked at Judai and said, "Leaving aside the prophecies that have already come true, there are still a small part of the prophecies I know that have not yet come true. The closest one is the one about you, Judai."

"Me?" Jaden pointed to himself, never expecting that the plot of this world would be related to him.

"'A girl with priestly power, a boy with elemental power, a prodigal son awakened from darkness, and a king who walks through darkness—these were the four who rode on Odin's steed, yet only two of them ultimately reached Asgard.'"

"The duel between two beings, one of light and one of darkness, who have cast aside their arrogant dignity and allowed their hearts to vanish, will end with darkness swallowing light. Then, in the coming long winter, the eternal fire will be ignited, and those who covet the throne will shed their robes and ascend to godhood."

"'The sun will be obscured, the nine realms will fall into turmoil, and the ruler of the nine realms will be brought under the rule of the one who summons twilight. Then all things will fall into silence, and all living beings will vanish into the nothingness from which they were born, leaving only the stars to fall.'"

Reciting the prophecies she knew, [King of Light - Queen Mador] gave Jaden a deep look, while Jaden also noticed that the others were watching him and Caesar.

Without a doubt, the "boy with elemental power" in this prophecy refers to Jaden. After Maeda Hayato's explanation, Jaden also knows that the so-called "Odin's Horse" refers to the World Tree, which is the competition location they wanted to go to. Therefore, the "four people riding Odin's Horse" mentioned in the first part of the prophecy does not need much guessing; it must refer to the four qualifiers who have entered the top four.

However, firstly, Marufuji Ryo could not be a girl. "Girl with priestly power" clearly refers to Asuka, who is skilled in ritual summoning, and "wanderer" clearly refers to Tenjouin Fubuki. After all, even if the scope is expanded from the qualifiers to the whole school, there is no one more reckless than Fubuki. In other words, does the last one - "King who walks in the darkness" refer to Caesar?

Turning his head, Jaden's gaze met that of Kaiser Ryo.

"Hmph, 'The king who walks in the darkness'? A very interesting assessment. This prophecy was probably only input into this world as part of the so-called 'background story' after the final four were confirmed." Marufuji Ryo withdrew his gaze from Judai, ignoring Marufuji Sho who was looking at him with a complicated expression, and looked at [King of Light Battle - Queen Mador]. "But those prophecies that followed... huh, utterly baffling."

“‘Abandon the pride of arrogance’ and ‘Reverse the disappearance of the heart’—although the target wasn’t explicitly stated, I think I can guess who it is, meow. It seems the AI ​​used to write the background story still needs some optimization, meow.” Daitokuji said, patting Jaden on the shoulder. “Let’s not worry about what will happen after that ‘prophecy’ is said, which is just background story. In short, Jaden, isn’t it enough for you to just give it your all in your duels?”

"That's true, as expected of Master Daitokuji." Judai, who had been pondering the prophecy but still didn't quite understand it, relaxed upon hearing Daitokuji's words and stopped caring about it. He smiled confidently again, "Anyway, no matter what, I will stand on the final stage with the heroes."

"Curry!"

"Ah, of course I haven't forgotten you, Aibo." Jaden quickly said that he, the hero, and the Winged Kuriboh would be the ones to take the final stage, as Kuriboh poked his waist with its short paws.

Daitokuji shifted his gaze from Judai's side to Marufuji Ryo, then back to the [King of Light Battle - Queen Mador], saying, "[King of Light Battle - Queen Mador], while we are willing to trust you, is the source of your prophecy credible?"

"Of course, this is a prophecy I received from the prophetess [Vara]. I had to go through a lot of trouble to find [Hela] in Helheim," [Queen Mador of the Light Realm] said confidently.

The two names mentioned in [Battle of the King of Light - Queen Mador] were somewhat familiar to Daitokuji. After all, Kagemaru had previously sponsored him to search for legends related to "life," "health," and "resurrection" in various mythologies, so he naturally knew about the famous Norse goddess of death, Hela, and the resurrected prophet, Vara. He didn't pay much attention to them, but simply continued to ask, "That's good. If you're confident, then we're relieved, meow."

"However, while the prophecy you mentioned does mention the 'Nine Realms' and the 'rulers of the Nine Realms,' it doesn't seem to mention the 'salvation of the Light Realm' that you spoke of?"

“No, I did mention it, very clearly.” With a mysterious expression, she glanced at the two [Kings of War] outside to confirm that they were still in a standoff, and then lowered her voice, saying, “That is, ‘Only when the stars descend.’”

“In the past, I didn’t quite understand what this statement in the prophecy meant, but until a few days ago, at the same moment that you, this new generation of humans, were born in Midgard, I knew the answer.”

"Come with me to the garden behind the palace. The 'answer' to saving the Light Realm and even the other nine realms is there, and the other companion you are looking for is also there."

"Oh right, we haven't seen Fubuki yet." It wasn't until he heard the words "[King of Light Battle - Queen Mador]" that Jaden had a look of sudden realization. Marufuji Sho couldn't help but remark, "Is there something wrong with the rules of this world? Has Misawa's presence been transferred to someone else, so that others can even pronounce his name correctly?"

“What nonsense are you talking about? Even if it’s not here, isn’t it normal to pronounce my name correctly?” Misawa said confidently. “Right, Daitokuji-sensei?”

Was Daitokuji going to tell Misawa that he used to be able to pronounce her name correctly only because of a special technique built into his previous alchemical body that forced his mouth to say it right? Turning his head to look at the sky outside, which still had a hole in it, Daitokuji forced a smile: "Hahaha, the weather is really nice today, meow~"

Chapter 1368 The Glorious Light Falling from the Star Realm

Following the [Battle of the King of Light - Queen Mador], the group walked through a long corridor in the palace and arrived at a large door at the end.