Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

At the same time, due to the reduction in the number of [Half-Dragon Maid] monsters, the attack and defense of all monsters on Hayato's field have decreased.

[Armed Dragon - Thunder - LV10] [ATK4200→4100]

【Half-Dragon Maid - Dressing Table Dragon Girl】【DEF3200→3100】

"It's not over yet! The next target is [Half-Dragon Maid - Dressing Table Dragon Girl], two in a row!"

After destroying Little Blue with one blow, [V·hero Sanichi] did not retreat. Instead, it disintegrated and reassembled again on Hayato's field, becoming a much heavier-looking figure, seemingly having absorbed the power of Edward's [D·hero Defender].

The moment the transformation was complete, the power of [D·hero Denier] in Ed's graveyard was also absorbed by [V·hero Trinity], causing his arms to suddenly shoot out and transform into long whips, which suddenly entangled [Half-Dragon Maid - Dressing Table Dragon Girl] who was right next to Xiao Lan!

"Ugh! I can't break free!" [Half-Dragon Maid - Dressing Table Dragon Girl] showed a pained expression.

"A massive snow mountain collapse!"

Using the brute force of this form, [V·hero 31] dragged [Half-Dragon Maid - Dressing Table Dragon Girl] up with his long arms, swung her around, and slammed her to the ground with a slam, destroying her.

At the same time, because Hayato's last [Half-Dragon Maid] disappeared, the bonus from [Half-Dragon Maid's Greeting] was completely reduced to zero, and [Armed Dragon - Thunder - LV10] dropped back to 4000 points.

[Armed Dragon - Thunder - LV10] [ATK4100→4000]

"Motor, motor, motor! One last attack! [V·hero Trinity]'s final assault!" Having mentally rehearsed almost everything that was to come, the future seemed to unfold before Edward's eyes. He excitedly issued the third attack command: "[V·hero Trinity]'s final attack on [Armed Dragon Raiden-LV10]!"

In the third disintegration, [V·hero Trinity] also reverted to his original form during this final attack, and once again drew power from [D·hero] from Edward's grave. This time, the power that flowed into him was that of [D·hero Dystopian]. Two energy orbs appeared in [V·hero Trinity]'s hands and were pressed together by him, and the two energy orbs merged together.

"Triple Sun Bomb!"

As Edward made a gesture of pushing his hands forward as if releasing a wave, [V·hero Trinity] launched its attack on Hayato's last monster on the field—[Armed Dragon Raiden-LV10]. Although [Armed Dragon Raiden-LV10] was not weak, it was still too difficult for it to resist [V·hero Trinity].

At the top of the city of Branding, I encountered a Phantom Hero 3, who disintegrated and transformed into a monster, and I could not defeat him even with all my strength.

[Hayato Kobayashi: 2900→1900LP, 5 card in hand]

"This is the real final blow, Hayato-sensei!" Edward looked at Hayato's front row, which had finally been hit and missed, and smiled with joy. "Look, this is the power of the future that Saiou guided me to. This power is not an illusion, but a real power that can break free from the shackles of fate! It can even defeat you, Hayato-sensei!"

"Even now, do you still deny my power?"

“Because this power doesn’t belong to you, Edward. Let me remind you again, your [D·heroes] never carried that heavy fate on their own shoulders; they only carried you.” Hayato said calmly, “It’s just that you carried your own fate on the shoulders of the [D·heroes].

"And another thing—when did you develop the illusion that you could destroy [Armed Dragon - Lightning - LV10]?"

As Hayato snapped his fingers, a flurry of lightning suddenly crackled across his field, converging in one spot before exploding violently. Beneath the earth-shattering thunder, [Armed Dragon - Lightning - LV10] reappeared on Hayato's field!?

[Armed Dragon - Thunder - LV10] [ATK4000]

"Although we don't usually have the chance to use it, the [Armed Dragon - Thunder - LV10] Special Summoned from the [Armed Dragon] monster has resistance to being destroyed by battle when its ATK is 100 or higher." Hayato read out his monster's "hidden effect" and spread his arms wide. "The most useless resistance is battle destruction resistance, and the most useful removal method is battle destruction—but, the so-called 'future' you see doesn't seem to include this moment."

"Can you achieve enlightenment by submitting to fate and foreseeing the future? I encountered the same situation six years ago, but my answer has never changed—'A true duelist's destiny is predetermined, and even the future of the cards he draws can be created by himself!'"

"And you, relying on that predetermined future, have you seen the destruction hidden within it?" Hayato sneered, glancing at [V·hero 31].

【Instant Fusion】is a powerful fast-attack spell card that can fuse at speed 2. However, powerful cards often come with great risks. 【Instant Fusion】not only has the cost of having to use monsters on the field as fusion materials, but also the side effect of destroying the fusion-summoned monster at the end of the turn.

【V·hero Sanichi】is a 【V·hero】 created by Edward with the power of Saiou and born based on the power of 【D·hero】. Its power does indeed surpass that of 【D·hero】, which brought Edward the so-called "future" power. In a sense, this is another step forward for Edward after "abandoning" this point after his duel with Kajiki Ryota.

However, he went too far in his sacrifice. Last time, he sacrificed the [D·hero Blood Demon-D] he was so obsessed with, but this time he sacrificed [D·hero] himself as well. As a result, [V·hero] lost the protective power that Edward's [D·hero Fear Man] had tried so hard to leave behind. Without that power, [V·hero Trinity] could not resist the destruction that would come at the end of the turn.

Edward was aware of his card's flaws, but after frowning and glancing at his [V·hero Trinity], he didn't accept Hayato's criticism so easily. Instead, he said, "That's perfect. The effect of [V·hero Trinity] doubling attack power only exists during the turn it enters the battlefield. If [V·hero Trinity] self-destructs, then there's one less vulnerability that can be exploited, isn't there?"

"I end my turn like this, and then [V·hero 31] is destroyed."

As Edward finished speaking, his [V·hero 31], which he had summoned with [Instant Fusion], destroyed two of Hayato's monsters in succession, and then dealt 1000 battle damage to Hayato, vanished like a flash of light.

However, before Hayato could even exclaim "The Shining Trinity," Edward added, "In my Fusion Deck, there isn't just one [V·hero Trinity]. That means that during my turn's Standby Phase, the [V·hero Trinity] that disappeared will reappear on my field, and once again have doubled 5000 ATK and the ability to attack three times."

"On the contrary, it's time for you, Hayato-sensei, to pay back for all those cards you drew with [Nightmare Mirage].

Ed Phoenix: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand

【D·hero Blood Demon-D】【ATK2700】

[Future Integration]

"Ultimately, what's wrong with relying on the bonds I share with my friends?"

Even after his turn ended, Edward was still somewhat indignant. Those legendary duelists had so many stories of "bonds" and "friendships" to tell, right? Like [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight], those were considered legendary tales. So why did Hayato-sensei have that disappointed look on his face when he used [V·Hero] with Saiou's power?

"Humans cannot stay on Earth forever, you must understand that, Edward."

Hayato rubbed his temples, unconsciously using the "New-Type" analogy because of his recent conversation with Sera, and then put it more bluntly, "That 'Red Maggot' card from Yugi and Jonouchi... I mean [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight], you must have thought of using it as an example just now, right? That card can indeed be considered the crystallization of the friendship between Yugi and Jonouchi."

“However, in that card, the power of [Red-Eyes] and [Dark Magician] is indispensable. Neither of them holds an absolute dominant position. The power born when one of them is absolutely dominant cannot be considered the power of friendship at all.” Hayato glanced at Edward’s grave, seemingly looking at the [V·Hero Trinity] card. “That’s not love, that’s domination.”

“Since just now, you’ve been saying things I can’t understand.” Edward frowned. “I never intended to exploit Prince Sai, or my genuine friendship with him!”

“I never said that you were in control of Saiō.”

The card 【V·hero Trinity】 has the 【Hero】 field and only requires a 【Hero】 monster trinity. It seems that Edward is in a dominant position, but the reality is never that everything can be seen with just eyes. Don't humans live on Earth like the masters of the planet, yet their souls are always bound by gravity?

“Even your card is crying, Edward.” Hayato said calmly, shifting his gaze from Edward’s grave to the [D·hero Blood Demon-D] card left on Edward’s field. In his vision, the [D·hero Blood Demon-D] card, once corrupted by the Light of Annihilation and once harboring Edward’s father, had long possessed a not-so-weak consciousness. But at this moment, it was not as evil and tyrannical as it appeared; instead, it was suffering because of Edward.

Hayato didn't even think about trying to persuade Edward with words. After all, people can't understand each other. Even Gundam fans who know this best will attack each other because they like different works and characters, and they will argue about combat power and characters. It's rare for them to agree on something unless they have played RG or not.

All he could do was what he was always good at—to humiliate Edward with a duel, torment his spirit, and then pour all his own grand principles into his mouth!

That inherently evil brat actually managed to hurt me and break my invulnerability. Won't I lose hundreds of DP points after this round? Finally, he managed to find an excuse to show some of his strength through his words. Hayato couldn't wait to throw out the cards in his hand and make Edward suffer.

The words I've etched here come to mind, and I cast aside all my formalities!

Ed had no idea what kind of dark thoughts were going through the mind of Hayato, who was still looking serious. He just suddenly had an uncomfortable feeling of being watched by something dangerous, and his right eyelid twitched.

Chapter 1510 The Brand, The Opening!

"My turn, draw a card, and then activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Extraordinary Food]!"

Hayato had already drawn [Extraordinary Food] in his hand using [Nightmare Mirage] during Edward's turn, so naturally he activated it immediately upon the arrival of the Standby Phase. What's so special about a duelist drawing cards by chance as "gluing them together"?

"I send the cards 'Half-Dragon Maid's Welcome' and 'Nightmare Mirage' from my field to the graveyard, restoring 2000 Life Points to me."

【小林隼人：1900→3900LP，手牌5→6→5】

Edward's efforts in the last round were almost entirely thwarted by Hayato's [Extraordinary Food], leaving Hayato with only a mere 100 points less in base score. Hayato even had five cards left in his hand, and a [Armed Dragon - Lightning - LV10] with 4000 attack power was on the field.

Edward wasn't surprised at all by Hayato's Nightmare Mirage and Extraordinary Food combo; he'd already tasted enough of them.

However, just as Hayato entered the preparation phase, Edward took a card from the graveyard and said, "If [D. Hero Gunner] is sent to the graveyard, I can activate its effect during the next preparation phase to Special Summon [D. Hero Gunner] to my field."

【D·hero Gunner】【DEF800】

"Furthermore, the [D·hero Gunner] Special Summoned by the effect of the [Hero] monster can trigger another effect: each player draws one card from their deck."

Ed Phoenix: 4000LP, hand 0→1

[Hayato Kobayashi: 3900LP, hand 5→6]

"The more cards you give me, the better." Hayato raised an eyebrow as he unceremoniously drew a card from his deck. "And it's a pretty good card."

“But I also drew some pretty good cards, Hayato-sensei,” Edward retorted without backing down. Because Hayato had repeatedly “stirred up” the friendship between him and Saiou, even though he had always admired Hayato, Edward couldn’t look at him with the same eyes he used to. It wasn’t exactly resentment or hatred, just a little angry.

Seeing that [D·hero Gunner], who was sent to the graveyard by Edward in the previous turn for the appearance of [D·hero Blood Demon-D], not only returned to Edward's field but also stood right next to [D·hero Blood Demon-D], Hayato had the feeling that he had seen Ken-Die's Noble Phantasm as a Heroic Spirit as a sniper rifle.

"Alright, the preparation phase is over, and now it's time for my main phase one." Hayato habitually rubbed the cards in his hand to rearrange the order of his cards, then played a card from his graveyard. "I activate the effect of this card in my graveyard. Banish two other Dragon or EARTH monsters from my graveyard, and Special Summon them from my graveyard. The monsters I banished are the Dragon-type 'Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl' and 'Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Flame Dragon Girl'. Banish them and Special Summon 'Rock Dragon - Rusty Dragon'."

[Rock Dragon - Rust Dragon] [7 stars/land]

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[1600/3000]

The ancient dragon, as massive as a mountain range, appeared beside the "Imprinted City - Despairing Death Village," causing the earth to tremble. Hayato then activated another card, saying, "Next up is this card, 'Storm Dragon, Gale Dragon.' It can also be Special Summoned from my Graveyard by banishing two Dragon or WIND monsters from my Graveyard."

"Except for [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] and [Half-Dragon Maid - Dressing Table Dragon Girl], Special Summon [Storm Dragon - Gale Dragon].

The storm began to gather in the sky, and the conquering storm dragon—[Storm Dragon - Gale Dragon]—revealed its tornado-like storm body. The entire massive [Imprinted City - Desperate Death Prison] was enveloped by the violent airflow, forming a huge tornado.

【Storm Dragon - Gale】【7☆/Wind】

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[2400/2200]

Without consuming a single card from his hand, Hayato quickly played two high-level Dragon-Type monsters on the field using only the cards in his graveyard. Then, pointing to the Castle of Despair at his feet, he said, "The effect of the Field Spell Card [Imprinted Castle of Despair] allows me to send monsters from my hand and field to the graveyard as Fusion Material to perform a Fusion Summon of a Level 8 or higher monster."

"Using the three cards I have on my field, namely 【Rock Dragon - Rust Dragon】 and 【Storm Dragon - Gale Dragon】, and the three cards in my hand, 【Albus's Fallenborn】, as Fusion Materials, I will send them to the Graveyard to satisfy the Fusion Material requirement of 【Albus's Fallenborn】 plus one or more Dragon-Type monsters!"

Hayato reveals a dark-skinned boy from his hand, ignoring Edward's disapproving look. He sends the boy, along with [Rock Dragon - Rust Dragon] and [Storm Dragon - Gale Dragon], to the graveyard and retrieves a card with a purple border: "The marks of white and khaki meet here, deceiving the closed-off dark past and mocking the bright and dazzling future!"

"Fusion Summon, Level 8☆!"

"Reincarnated as Bai He! [Abyss Dragon - White Realm Reincarnated Dragon]!"

[Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon] [8☆/Dark]

[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[2500/2500]

The crimson armor and horned claws are characteristic of the Crimson Mark, but the Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon also has a special pattern on its chest, which is the symbol of the White Mark. These two completely different Mark powers represent the origin of the Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon - He is the fusion of two boys who each possessed the power of the two Marks. The latter part of his name "Abyss Dragon Alba Renatosu" means "renatus" in Latin.

In the dueling environment of another world known to Hayato, there is an extremely famous tactic among duelists using the [Mark] deck: "Set a Mysterious Monster," the origin of which is the [Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon] that Hayato just played.

Because its summoning conditions are similar to those of [Chimera Fortress Dragon] and [Chimera Giant Ship Dragon], both can be used to directly "contact fusion" by sending the specified fusion materials on both sides' fields to the graveyard. [Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon] targets Dragon-Type monsters, which have a much higher usage rate among card players than Machine-Type monsters. Even monsters like [Shooting Quasar Dragon] cannot resist the underlying rules of fusion and will be removed by a single card without any chance to activate their effects.

Therefore, Fusion Summoning is indeed the noblest summoning method (I'm sure of it)!

"In terms of attack power, [Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon] only has the standard 2500 attack power of a protagonist's ace, which doesn't seem to be a match for [D·Hero Blood Demon -D]." Hayato glanced at [D·Hero Blood Demon -D]'s 2700 attack power, paused, and continued, casually playing a card, "However, with the support of this card, things will be different—"

"The Spell Card [Inherited Power] sends my [Armed Dragon - Lightning - LV10] to the Graveyard, then selects [Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon] to inherit the power from [Armed Dragon - Lightning - LV10], increasing its ATK by the same amount as [Armed Dragon - Lightning - LV10] until the end of the turn!"

[Abyss Dragon - White Realm Reincarnation Dragon] [ATK2500→6500]

With only two cards lost and four cards remaining in his hand, Hayato's field now features a powerful monster with an attack power of 6500, eyeing Edward with hostility!

"Attack power 6500 points... But I can withstand it!" Relying on the fact that he still had 4000 life points remaining, Edward was not afraid of the powerful [Abyss Dragon - White World Reincarnation Dragon]. "Even if that monster attacks my [D·Hero Blood Demon-D], it can only deal 3800 combat damage, which is not enough to wipe out my life points!"

Sounds a bit arrogant? Actually, Edward did it on purpose because there was a card in his graveyard whose effect hadn't been activated yet. That card was the one he had discarded from his hand to Special Summon [V·hero Solitary Good Man].

It possesses the ability to protect the [D·hero] monsters on your field from being destroyed by battle once and to Special Summon itself from the Graveyard. It can even also avoid battle damage. It is an excellent way for Edward to deal with high-attack monsters after his duel with Kaiser.

Hayato's actions of increasing the monster's attack power at this moment are exactly what Edward wants, because even with infinitely high attack power, he can use the effect of [D·hero Dreamer] to turn it into nothingness.

Furthermore, the card I just drew from my hand using the effect of [D. Hero Gunner] is still [D. Hero Dynamite], which also has the ability to protect me from battle damage, but it has lost the power to protect monsters from destruction. Unless Hayato triggers the effect of [D. Hero Dreamer] and then launches an additional attack, I have no intention of playing it.

Hearing Edward's words, Hayato raised an eyebrow: "So arrogant? Fine, then I'll grant your wish and summon even more monsters. Don't blink, this truly terrifying drama is only just beginning!"

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Branding Opening]! Discard this [Contact with the False God] from my hand, add one [Death Prison] monster from my Deck to my hand or Special Summon it in Defense Position, and Special Summon [Death Prison Guidance - Albert] from my Deck in Defense Position."