Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

He still can't forget that duel on the rooftop. He could accept losing to a powerful monster, but what ended his life was the [Disruption] monster that attacked with its rear end and the disgusting [Goblin Thief], which he still finds hard to let go of.

"I just grabbed a random side deck. If you insist on giving me a reason, it would probably be something like, 'This deck is better for dealing with you,'" Hayato casually replied. "Then, my Spell Card [Disruption Mixed Match] activated by sending [Disruption Red] from the field to the Graveyard."

"Add one 'Disruption' monster and one 'Armed Dragon' monster with a different name from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand. Then, you can Summon one of them." Hayato took the two cards that automatically popped out of his Deck and Summoned one of them, "Come forth, 'Armed Dragon LV3'."

To the astonishment of [Disruption Blue], [Disruption Red] disappeared from the field, replaced by the adorable [Armed Dragon LV3].

"Cover three cards, my turn is over."

With only one card left in his hand, [Disruption Yellow], which had been added to his hand earlier due to the effect of [Disruption Mixed Match], Hayato turned his turn face down and ended the turn.

[Hayato: 4000, 1 card in hand]

【Disruption Blue】【DEF1000】

[Armed Dragon LV3] [ATK1200]

[GaiK] X3

"A whole bunch of fancy stuff, but I'm not what I used to be. Let me show you what I'm made of, Kobayashi Hayato!" Manjoume Masashi placed his hand on the deck and drew a card. "My turn, draw!"

"Yosh! I got a good card!"

Manjoume confidently played the card in his hand: "Activate the Spell Card [Fusion]! Using [Dragon] and [Low-Rank Fiend] from my hand as fusion materials, come forth! [Death Dragon]!"

The [lower-rank demon] with multiple arms and the [dragon] of the dragon race were sent into the vortex that appeared on the main field. A tall, upright dragon with several sharp claws on its abdomen appeared on the main field.

【Death Dragon】【5☆/Wind】

[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[2000/1200]

"Huh? You've got some skills, actually summoning a monster like that in the first turn." Hayato recognized [Death Dragon] because this card has two abilities: "negate the effects of Flip Monsters" and "negate and destroy traps that target it," making it very suitable for dealing with the "ghostly self-contained" deck.

"Hmph, my turn isn't over yet. Enjoy your amazement, Kobayashi Hayato. I'm entering battle phase!"

"Huh? Instead of avoiding battle, you're coming closer to me? My back row is full of three face-down cards like landmines, yet you still want to get closer?"

"How can I give you a good beating if I don't get close?" Manjoume Masashi laughed smugly, pointing at Hayato's [Disruption Blue] on the field, "[Death Dragon], take down that annoying monster!"

The dragon breath, as green as patina, spewed out and enveloped [Disruption Blue]. When the [Death Dragon] closed its mouth, only a pile of charred bones remained where [Disruption Blue] had been.

With ATK 2000 attacking DEF 1000, the battle was one-sided, but because [Disruption Blue] was in defense position, Hayato did not suffer any battle damage.

"Activate its effect when [Disruption Blue] is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard." Two cards popped out of Hayato's Deck Zone, which Hayato caught and added to his hand. "From my Deck, add two cards with the [Disruption] tag to my hand."

"Then, activate the trap card I set last turn."

"Muda muda muda, any Trap Card targeting [Death Dragon] is invalid!" Manjoume said with a laugh, but a hint of guilt could be heard in his voice.

He had a Quick-Play Spell Card in his hand called "Fusion Deconstruction," and he almost chained it to activate the effect of "Disruption Blue." Luckily, he hesitated for a moment, otherwise it would have been terrible if Hayato had activated a card like "Lightning Strike" to destroy his Fusion Deconstruction monster.

"Hmph, I never said I would set my card against your [Death Dragon]. My card is this one, [Grave Robber]. After paying 1000 Life Points, I can temporarily use one card from your Graveyard."

[Hayato: 4000→3000LP]

“I chose the [Fusion] card from your graveyard, and since it’s a Spell Card, I can use its effect directly.” Hayato spread out all three cards in his hand. The cards that had just been added to his hand by the effect of [Disruption Blue] were [Disruption Green] and [Disruption Black].

With the addition of [Disruption Yellow] which was previously added to his hand using the effect of [Disruption Hybrid], Hayato has now collected all three [Disruption] cards!

Just like when the [Death Dragon] appeared, a vortex appeared on Hayato's field, sucking in all three [Disruption] brothers. The bloated [Disruption King] landed on the field in a ballet style, throwing three stamps onto Masashi's field with his backhand.

[Disruptor King] [DEF3000]

"The ability to seal off the field, and the incredibly high defense that even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon struggles to break through—that's Hayato's Disruption King!" Honda, watching from the sidelines, seized the opportunity to mock Masashi. "You're not the only one stronger than before. What's wrong, Mr. Manjoume? Didn't you say you were going to beat Hayato up? Why aren't you attacking?"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Even though they were no longer rivals, Manjoume Masashi always easily lost his usual elegance and composure whenever he encountered Honda. "My attack isn't over yet! Activate Quick-Play Spell Card, [Fusion Release]!"

As if time had reversed, a reverse-spinning vortex of fusion appeared before the Death Dragon and swallowed it up. The dragon and the lower-ranking demon that had been sent to the graveyard as fusion materials were summoned to the main field.

However, because of this, with the three areas sealed off by [Disruptor King] and the two monsters summoned by [Fusion Release], Masashi Manjoume's monster zone is now completely full.

[Dragon] [4☆/Wind]

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[2000/100]

[Lower-rank Demon] [5 stars/Dark]

[Demon Race/Effect]

[2100/1000]

“Although [Dragon] cannot attack when there are no other dragons on my field,” Manjoume Masashi said, barely suppressing his anger as he watched [Dragon] lazily rolling around on its own field, even exposing its belly, because there were no competitors. “[Low-Rank Demon], attack [Armed Dragon LV3]!”

A ball of dark magic was formed by the four arms of the [Lower Rank Demon] and rolled out like a ball, smashing it into Hayato's [Armed Dragon LV3] in attack position, shattering it.

[Hayato: 3000→2100LP]

Hayato's base score dropped, but strangely enough, the Armed Dragon LV3, which was destroyed in the battle against the [Lower Rank Demon], did not enter the graveyard. Instead, its body gradually became transparent in front of Hayato and was removed from the game.

"The ability to banish monsters immediately after destroying them, that's powerful, really powerful." Hayato said, opening his face-down card, "The effect of [Destiny's Discovery] can be activated when I take battle damage."

Draw one card from your deck.

Hayato's [Disruption Blue] and [Armed Dragon LV3] left over from the previous turn have all been destroyed, leaving only a big-bottomed [Disruption King] with 3000 defense. Manjoume had no way to deal with it, so he had to end his battle phase and enter his main phase 2.

"Set one card face down, then Tribute my [Dragon] and [Lower-Rank Fiend] to perform a Tribute Summon." Manjoume Masashi played his last two cards. "Come forth, my deck's ace monster, [Chimera Manticore]!"

Suddenly, the bodies of the two monsters on the field began to glow, and lightning burst forth from their bodies, leaping wildly in all directions. A bright yellow lightning flashed, and on Manjoume Seiji's field, a huge lion-beast with a scorpion tail and bat wings appeared.

【Matching Manticore】【8☆/Land】

[Orc/Effect]

[2800/2500]

Based on the ancient Persian mythological monster Manticore, also known as the "man-eater," the Chimera Manticore roared majestically as soon as it appeared on screen:

"Meow~"

Hayato wondered if he had just been hallucinating.

Why did he hear a meow? And the sound was like that of a kitten, with a soft, babyish voice.

Turning to look at the other gamers beside him, he saw they all wore bewildered expressions. Clearly, Hayato hadn't been hallucinating; the [Chimera Manticore] had indeed let out a meow.

"Hmph, in Persian mythology, the manticore lures lost souls with its sweet voice, so calling it 'Chimera Manticore' is perfectly fine!" Manjoume explained, trying to appear calm, but everyone present, even his younger brother Manjoume Jun, could tell he was just putting on a brave face.

"You guys are so annoying! Why do you care? It's not like I told this guy to call me that! Go find those two bastards, Pegasus and Seto Kaiba!" Manjoume Masashi said angrily, throwing a small tantrum. "My turn is over, now start your turn, Kobayashi Hayato!"

This guy's attempt to change the subject was so abrupt.

[Zhengsi: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Matching Manticore】【ATK2800】

(Disruptive King's Seal) x3

【GaiKa】

Chapter 233 Invincible Love Wave

"My turn, draw a card." Hayato drew a card, looked at it, and placed it face down on the field. "I'll set one card to the ground. My turn ends."

[Hayato: 2100LP, 1 cards in hand]

[Disruptor King] [DEF3000]

[GaiK] X2

"Huh? Your turn ended so easily?" Masashi said, somewhat surprised. Hayato had done a lot of things during his turn, searching, using powerful cards, and skipping monsters, but his turn ended so simply?

"Then it's my turn, draw a card!" After drawing a card, Masashi Manjoume pointed towards the [Chimera Manticore] on his field. "[Chimera Manticore]'s effect activates. During my Standby Phase of the next turn after it is successfully Upgraded Summoned, I will Summon the monsters that were Tributed to it back to my field!"

Hayato reminded him, "Don't forget that because of the effect of [Disruptor King], you only have one monster zone left to use, and you can only summon one monster at a time."

"That's not necessarily true. If there's no area available, we can just free up space, right?" Masashi Manjoume smiled smugly and opened his face-down card. "Chain the effect of [Chimera Manticore], activate the Trap Card! [Crossbow Troops]!"

"Release one monster on my field, and I may choose one card on your field to destroy!"

A huge catapult appeared in the back field of Manjoume Seiji. The Chimera Manticore obediently jumped into the tray used to place the boulders. With a sudden swing of its arm, the Chimera Manticore was thrown high into the air like Kars and crashed down towards the location of the Disruption King.

"Using your own monster to launch a suicide attack, how inhuman! Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Seeing the [Chimera Manticore] descending from the sky, Hayato activated his backrow face-down card, "Quick-Play Spell Card, [Mysterious Chinese Pot] activated!"

"I'll release the [Disruptor King] that's about to be attacked, and then I'll choose to restore its defense stat. Rather than letting you blow it up like this, I'd rather fry it up and eat it."

"You have absolutely no right to talk to me like that!"

Amidst Manjoume Masaji's complaints, a giant wok appeared beneath the [Disruption King], and a fierce flame quickly transformed it into a surprisingly appealing stir-fry, which Hayato then enjoyed. Meanwhile, the [Chimera Scorpion Lion], which had been hurled by the catapult, also died instantly, its head hitting the ground.

It's rather strange that a crossbow unit would use catapults to launch monsters.

[Hayato: 2100→5100LP]

Seeing that Hayato's base score had recovered to 5100 points, even higher than at the start, Manjoume Masashi was unconcerned: "5100 points is nothing, watch me clear it out quickly."

"Since both Chimera Manticore and Disruptor King have left the field, all my monster zones are now open. Come forth, Low-Rank Fiend and Dragon!"

The two monsters that were previously released to summon the [Chimera Scorpion] have returned to Masashi Manjoume's field. However, they are different from when they were summoned using [Fusion Release]. The bodies of the two monsters that were revived this time are noticeably stiff.

"Although [Chimera Manticore] has the effect of reviving the monster used during its release, I remember that monsters summoned in this way are not only unable to attack, but their effects are also nullified, right?"

Hayato described the effect of the [Chimera Manticore], and Manjoume Masashi just sneered: "I never intended to use these two monsters to attack you in the first place."

"I Tribute [Low-Rank Fiend] and [Dragon] to Summon this powerful monster from my hand!"

The bodies of the two monsters gradually cracked, revealing their souls which floated into the air and converged in mid-air, eventually transforming into a giant two-colored monster.

The body is divided by a line from the top of the head to the hips. The left half is covered with a slightly pale, pale green fur, while the right half is a bright yellow, which corresponds to the color of a lower-level demon.

"By absorbing the power of two monsters, this [Synthetic Monster - Gazette] was born. Its attack power will become the sum of the attack power of the two monsters released during the Tribute Summon!"

Hayato calculated the final result and was somewhat surprised: "A [lower-rank demon] with an attack power of 2100 points plus a [dragon] with an attack power of 2000 points, how come this guy's attack power is higher than that of the black-footed monster with an attack power of 4000?"

"They've freed two monsters that couldn't fight, but summoned something even stronger." Yugi looked at the arena with some concern. "If Hayato gets attacked directly, his Life Points will be in serious danger!"

"During the battle, I'll use [Synthetic Monster - Gazette] to launch a direct attack on you. Taste this blow, Hayato!" Masashi shouted excitedly, and [Gazette] responded to his command, its massive claws slashing towards Hayato!

At this moment, Hayato remained calm and composed, as if he were not the one about to be struck by the giant claw: "What an impressive duel, Manjoume. It seems I won't be able to hold back without showing my true abilities."

"Go forth, my trump card, my invincible Tamashii—"

"Kuribo, help me!!!"