Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

[4000/4000]

"Attack power, 4000 points!?" Banjou's eyes widened. "That's comparable to the [Obelisk the Tormentor]!"

"【Secret Ritual Power EX - Ruler of Light】cannot be Normal Summoned, but can be Special Summoned by the effect of 【Heavenly Road】. When it is successfully Special Summoned, its position is determined, but the result—" Saiou sneered, raising his hand, and the spinning card in front of him stopped precisely in the correct position, "—of course, in the correct position!"

"When in its proper position, when 【Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light】destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you can choose one card from my Graveyard and add it to your hand!" Saiou sneered at Manjoume, "This is your end, Manjoume!"

"That sounds impressive, but haven't you forgotten something?" Manjoume raised an eyebrow and revealed the card in his hand before Saiou entered the battle phase. "By chaining your [Arcane Power EX - Light Ruler] to the start, I will also activate the effect of [Primal Stone Dragon - Emperor Topaz Dragon] in my hand!"

"Show it, then perform a Tribute Summon of a single Primal Stone monster, and I will Tribute Summon Primal Stone Dragon - Imperial Topaz Dragon from my field!"

With a flick of his wrist, Manjoume pointed at the [Arcane Power EX - Light Ruler] on Saiou's field. "In the end, it's still a LIGHT monster, no doubt. Since I have a LIGHT Normal Monster [E·Hero Neos] in my Graveyard—just like [Arcane Power XXI - World] before—your [Arcane Power EX - Light Ruler] will be banished!"

The massive rock dragon reappeared, giving Saiou's [Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light] almost no chance to show off, immediately slapping it off Saiou's field and banishing it from the game!

Thanks to Saiō's impressive boasting, Manjōme thought he was going to summon some amazing monster, but it turned out to be just a piece of trash that could only activate its effect by destroying the opponent's monster in battle, and it didn't even have any resistance—

Just as Manjoume was thinking this, Saiou laughed again because his monster had been excluded: "Your next sentence is, 'That's it? Such a weak monster, it's a complete waste of my time.'"

"That's it? Such a weak monster, it's practically—huh!?"

“Nothing to be surprised about, Manjoume. Even if you exclude my [Secret Ritual Power EX - Ruler of Light], you are still within the ‘fate’.” Showing off a card in his hand, Saiou sneered, “You were far too hasty, so hasty that you didn’t even wait for me to play this card.”

"Pay me 2000 Life Points to activate the Spell Card: [Dimensional Fusion]!"

Chapter 1539 The flow has changed!?

"Spell Card [Dimensional Fusion] activated!"

[Zaiwang Takuma: 4000→2000LP, hand 2→1]

With arms outstretched, Saiou laughed: "Under the effect of this card, both players can Special Summon as many of their banished monsters as possible onto the field!"

“Under normal circumstances, it’s difficult to summon a large number of monsters at once, but with Manjoume’s [Primal Dragon] banishing my monsters, a single [Dimensional Fusion] card is enough to summon multiple powerful monsters simultaneously.” Saiou picked up two cards. “Whether it’s [Arcane Power XXI-World], which was previously banished by [Primal Dragon - Emperor Jade Dragon], or—[Arcane Power EX-Light Ruler], which has made a proper appearance and has had its Special Summon restriction lifted!”

A wormhole leading to another dimension opens, and Saiou's monsters, which had been eliminated by Manjoume, return to the field from the outside of the world. Two powerful monsters gather on Saiou's field, eyeing Manjoume covetously!

In another world, 【Arcane Power EX - Dominator of Light】is Special Summoned by simply Tributing a Three-Body Monster, just like 【D·Hero Blood Demon-D】. However, its Special Summoning is restricted to “only by sending three monsters on your field to the Graveyard”. Even if it has been officially summoned, it cannot be revived by 【Monster Reborn】.

However, the special summoning restriction of Saiou's [Arcane Power EX - Light Dominator] is that it can be Special Summoned by the effect of [Heavenly Road]. Having already made a regular appearance, it appeared alongside [The World], exuding a powerful aura!

【Arcane Power XXI-World】【ATK3100】

【Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light】【ATK4000】

As for Manjoume and Judai, the only monster banished from their field was the Fusion Monster "Dark End Dragon," which Manjoume had banished when he Special Summoned "Dark and Annihilation Dragon." Since "Dark End Dragon" had never actually appeared in a field, it couldn't return to Manjoume's field even while banished due to the effect of "Dimensional Fusion."

At this moment, Manjoume has two monsters on the field: the [Light and Darkness Dragon King] with an attack power of 400 and the [Primal Stone Dragon - Imperial Topaz Dragon] with an attack power of 3500. However, he has to face two superior [Secret Ritual Power] monsters whose attack power completely overwhelms his side!

"【Arcane Power XXI - The World】and 【Arcane Power EX - Lord of Light】! Now that they have been Special Summoned, determine their upright and reverse positions!" Saiou waved his hand. "As long as 【Arcane Power XXI - The World】 is upright, the outcome of the duel will be revealed!"

Saiou has one card left in his hand, the spell card "Lightning Strike," which can easily destroy all the monster cards on the opponent's field, leaving Manjoume and Jaden without any monsters to defend against the attack. Neither Manjoume, with 1200 life points remaining, nor Jaden, with 4000 life points remaining, can survive the attack from the two monsters on their field.

Perhaps the face-down card called "Roar of the Primal Stone" in Manjoume's back row can do something, but even if it lets them survive this turn, it doesn't matter. The upright effect of "Arcane Power XXI - World" can bring them overwhelming despair, skipping the opponent's turn again and bringing it to Manjoume's turn. I can also see the result of Manjoume's next draw, which is the quick-play spell card "Extraordinary Food". It can just allow him to take two continuous spell cards on the field to replenish his life points and keep the remaining card in his hand at this moment - the spell card "Monster Reborn".

Then, under [Monster Resurrection], [Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light] will be resurrected once again.

In the instant he was defeated in his own duel, because he admitted defeat, the souls of Yuki Jaden and Manjoume Jun would also weaken and be incorporated into the control of my power of light, becoming my puppets in the Duel Academy.

Everything was so perfect, so the wheel of fortune stopped here!

"Stop!" With a wave of his hand, Saiou stopped the rotation of the [Arcane Power XXI - World] card, which was undergoing positional determination. He chose to stop it at the most opportune moment given by fate, and in the fate he saw, the card's position at this point in time would be upright—

"Oh my god! It's reversed!" Jaden's excited voice rang out, startling Saiou. He looked up and realized that, just as Jaden had said, the position of his [Secret Ritual Power XXI - World] was not in the correct position as he had foreseen, but rather in reverse!?

"Impossible?! The course of fate has changed!?" Saiou couldn't contain himself and stood up from his seat. This was the first time he had been so agitated and out of control since the duel began. "Where exactly, where has the fate I saw changed?"

“No, I’ve figured it out. I saw it before, it was the hint from the two Tarot cards that have the power to change my destiny: the ‘Fool’ held by Jaden Yuki, and—” Saiou turned his head to look at a certain spot on the dock, “My ‘His Holiness,’ my friend, watch over me from here, Ed!”

“Saiou…” Upon hearing Saiou call his name, Edward stopped hiding and stepped forward openly, saying, “Didn’t expect that even without my direct appearance, I could distract you during the duel?”

"Hehe, people meet because of gravity, and the gravity between people naturally affects each other. Just your approach has made the strings of my destiny tremble." In front of Edward, Saiou's emotions seemed to have calmed down, and he was not as arrogant as when he summoned [Secret Ritual Power EX - Ruler of Light].

“Fate…” Edward repeated the word, seemingly savoring something, before turning to Saiou with a serious expression and saying, “The encounters between people are indeed filled with the gravitational pull of fate. If I hadn’t heard Jaden’s shout of ‘E-Hero Neos,’ I wouldn’t have noticed that there were people dueling here.”

Since today's welcoming ceremony was just a way for Manjoume to fool his older brothers, the fact that he had to ask Judai and the others for help already made the proud Manjoume feel quite aggrieved. He had absolutely no intention of asking Edward, a junior, for help. Besides, Edward was definitely not going to play the role of Manjoume's underling, so he had no idea what was going on here.

"Let's set aside why you suddenly wanted to visit the Duel Academy, and let's not even mention how you've managed to acquire such a high level of dueling skill without making a sound. Saiou, I have two—no, one—things I want to ask you." After thinking for a moment, Edward didn't mention the [V·heroes] or the power Saiou had placed in his deck. After all, Saiou had only done it after informing him, and Edward hadn't bothered to ask more questions back then. There was no need to question Saiou now.

Edward simply looked into Saiou's eyes, then at the [Arcane Power EX - Light Ruler] on his field, and though it was a question, he spoke with certainty: "You did see [D·hero Blood Demon-D] before, didn't you? Not before you met me, but after!"

Prince Sai turned his head to look at the sky, as if remarking on the pleasant weather, and casually asked, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"After my duel with Jaden, out of curiosity, I asked Hayato why the alien Hero was so much stronger than the Earth's native Hero. Hayato told me that the D Hero wasn't much better. It was also possessed by alien power at the beginning of its creation, and that power was one of the reasons that it aroused evil in others and caused my father to be killed."

Edward's expression seemed calm, but he was actually suppressing something. "And the card that the evil alien power resided in was the [D·hero Blood Demon-D], which was once stolen from a murderer. It wasn't until Mr. Hayato defeated the murderer who stole the card and purified its power through a duel that [D·hero Blood Demon-D] returned to my hands."

"However, before that, Mr. Hayato said that the alien power inside [D·hero Blood Demon-D] had been transferred once. The power left behind can only be described as 'residual' to be precise. Its original body has moved to another person who had come into contact with [D·hero Blood Demon-D]."

"Influenced by the power of the cards, he developed the idea of ​​destroying the world. As a murderer, he couldn't openly hand over the stolen goods to others. The person he eventually turned to was the already famous Saiou Fortune Telling House, which had a professional ethics of keeping its clients confidential. The person who examined the cards for him was the fortune teller at the fortune telling house at that time—You, Saiou!"

Seeing Edward pointing at him, Saiō's expression remained unchanged as he calmly nodded: "That's right. So you're complaining to me about why I didn't tell you anything, Edward?"

“I’m not questioning you about that, Prince Sai. I never intended to force my friend to cross my own boundaries for my own sake!” Edward took a deep breath and asked, “So you were really—”

"No, perhaps you no longer need to answer. Whether it was your unusual behavior just now, or this Major Arcana card, 'Mystic Power EX - Ruler of Light,' which doesn't belong to your favorite tarot deck..."

Edward looked at Saiou, watching his calm expression gradually change, the corners of his mouth turning into a sinister smile. Edward said with some sadness, "Are you... still Saiou?"

“Of course I am the Sai-o, Edward, but perhaps your understanding of ‘Sai-o’ is still stuck in the past?” The Sai-o showed no intention of sitting down again. Standing before the throne, he opened his arms and laughed, saying, “What you’re talking about is from a long time ago, a past I fondly remember. I was so naive back then, until the pure white light broadened my horizons, and I realized how narrow my vision had been, always confined to the world before my eyes.”

"This world has a huge problem, Edward! And although I have been persecuted by the mediocre people around me, I know that the responsibility of changing the world still rests on my shoulders! It doesn't matter anymore, I have found a way to change the world, so come and help me, Edward!"

Looking at the position check of the still spinning [Secret Power EX - Ruler of Light], Saiou sincerely invited, "You are an important being who can influence my destiny, Edward. Am I not your important friend? Help me, Edward, my 'Wheel of Fate' will change because of you."

Although [Arcane Power XXI - World] is now in a reversed position due to the unexpected situation, it doesn't matter. As long as [Arcane Power EX - Light Dominator] is in a normal position, the outcome can still be decided. This is because the effect of [Arcane Power EX - Light Dominator] in a normal position is that it can add any card from the Graveyard to your hand after destroying an opponent's monster in battle. You can use this effect to add [Ace of Grail] from the Graveyard to your hand and draw two more cards.

Among the cards at the top of his deck is the magic card [Sword A]. Using it would allow him to deliver the final blow to both Jaden Yuki and Jun Manjoume, securing victory for himself!

That's right, so all it takes is Ed's nod, and the scales of victory will tip irresistibly in our favor! All Ed needs to do is—

“Daga, dig the road with your mouth!” Edward answered without hesitation.

Saiō was somewhat confused about what he had just heard, and looked at Edward in surprise without saying a word.

“Saiou, you have been misled by the power of the cards,” Edward said earnestly. “You are an important friend of mine, but precisely because you are a friend, I cannot push you further down the wrong path!”

"What nonsense are you spouting? Shouldn't you be fully supporting me?!" Saiou pressed one hand to his chest. "You won't even listen to my methods for changing the world! I'm willing to hold an umbrella for you until the storm is over!"

“I could do the same thing, Saiou! But you’re just stirring up trouble for others! I don’t need to hear your methods for changing the world; I can see from your actions that you’re absolutely wrong!” Edward glanced at Saiou’s [Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light] on the field. “Precisely because we’re friends, I can’t stand by and watch you go further and further down the wrong path!”

As Edward finished speaking, the position determination of [Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light] stopped automatically—the position was reversed!

"Oh, oh no! Fate, why won't you bow to me!" Faced with Edward's rejection and the fact that the effect of [Secret Power EX - Light Ruler] had turned out to be the one he didn't need, Saiou's face was full of resentment.

Meanwhile, Edward shouted into the arena, "Please, Judai, Manjoume! Help me defeat Saiou!"

"Don't order me around! And it's Mr. Manjoume!" Manjoume replied unhappily, "I don't need you to tell me what to do. I was going to take down that guy on the other side anyway."

Judai patted his chest and said, "Don't worry about it, Edward!"

However, despite this, the crisis that Judai and Manjoume faced remained unchanged—the continuous attacks from two monsters with attack power of over 3000 points!

"Tch, fate wasn't in its most opportune position, and a slight shift led to this major mishap? Whatever." Saiou looked at Judai and Manjoume and said, "[Secret Ritual Power EX - Ruler of Light] and [Secret Ritual Power XXI - World] are the strongest [Secret Ritual Powers]. Even without using their effects, they possess power surpassing your monsters!"

"Let this [Lightning Strike] be the opening act of this 'divine punishment,' and a declaration of your fate!" Saiou said, flipping over the last card from his hand, which was face down, and placing it in the Spell Trap Zone. "Spell Card [Lightning Strike] activated!"

"Destroy all the monsters on your opponent's field!"

With a thunderous roar and a thunderbolt crashing down, a thick pillar of lightning struck down from the sky as Saiō's card was activated, instantly annihilating both of Manjōme's monsters on the field, whether it was the "Light and Darkness Dragon King" whose effects had been completely exhausted or the "Original Stone Dragon - Imperial Jade Dragon" which had just appeared.

In an instant, the arena where Manjoume and Judai stood was empty; they would now face the direct assault of Saiou's monsters—

"Yada! Finally, I got to use this effect!" Manjoume excitedly clenched his fist and pulled a card from the graveyard. "This is the moment! The instant [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] is destroyed, her third effect activates!"

Chapter 1540 Armed Dragon? New Universe Hero?

Saiou's plan was excellent. He would first use Lightning Strike to clear the field, followed by two direct attacks from two powerful monsters. Even if Manjoume's back row face-down card could block one attack, it wouldn't matter, because at least one person would be eliminated in this round of attacks.

However, he did not expect that the [Lightning Strike] would destroy the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] and instead allow Manjoume to activate its third effect.

"Huh? The [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] actually has a third effect?" Jaden looked at Manjoume with considerable surprise.

"Since 【Light and Darkness Dragon King】is derived from 【Light and Darkness Dragon】, it's normal for her to have three effects, right? Because 【Light and Darkness Dragon】also has three effects." Manjoume said, holding up three fingers. "They are the ability to possess both Light and Dark attributes simultaneously, the ability to nullify activations, and finally, the ability to Special Summon other Dragon-Type monsters from the Graveyard when it is destroyed!"

"I Special Summon [Light and Ascended Dragon] in Defense Position from my Graveyard!"

【Dragon of Light and Ascension】【DEF2100】

The [Dragon of Light and Ascension], which was previously sent to the graveyard by Banjou as one of the fusion materials, returns to his field in defense position.

“Although the numerical value is low, [Light and Ascended Dragon] has the effect of reducing its own ATK and DEF by 500 points to reduce the attacking monster's ATK by 1500 points when the opponent's monster declares an attack.” Manjoume looked at Saiou's field. “In other words, with this effect on the field, [Arcane Power XXI - World] alone is not enough to defeat her. You must have your [Arcane Power EX - Light Dominator] attack!”

【Arcane Power XXI - World】 has an attack power of 3100, which is higher than 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】. However, if 【Light and Ascendant Dragon】 reduces its attack power by 1500, it will only have 1600 attack power left. Even if 【Light and Ascendant Dragon】 reduces its defense power by 500, it will still have 1600 defense power left. Neither monster can defeat the other.

If 【Secret Power EX - Light Dominator】 attacks, it will also be affected by the debuff from 【Light and Ascended Dragon】. Even if 【Light and Ascended Dragon】 is successfully destroyed, it cannot deal damage to Manjoume through defense position. Instead, its 4000 attack power will be reduced to 2500, and this effect is permanent and will not be removed when 【Light and Ascended Dragon】 leaves the field.

The appearance of the [Dragon of Light and Ascension] was not in the future that Saiō foresaw. The future he "predicted" changed simply because Edward's actions during the process of "measuring" the future differed from his expectations.

The root cause is... Hayato Kobayashi of the Ono type!

"Oh dear... But since you want it, then I'll attack with [Mystic Power EX - Light Dominator]!" Saiou declared with a wave of his hand. "Enter my battle phase, use [Mystic Power EX - Light Dominator] to attack [Light and Ascended Dragon]!"

"Then the chain effect of [Light and Ascended Dragon] will reduce its attack and defense by 500 points, and reduce the attack of [Mystic Power EX - Light Dominator], which initiated the attack declaration, by 1500 points!"

Because the position was reversed during the position determination, the effect of 【Secret Power EX - Light Dominator】 is no longer the ability to retrieve any card from the Graveyard after destroying a monster by battle. Instead, it has become the ability to negate and destroy a target monster by lowering its own ATK when it has an effect that targets the monster.

However, the effect of [Light and Ascended Dragon] is that it is noble and does not target, so although the name of [Arcane Power EX - Light Ruler] means "ruler of light", in reality, when [Light and Ascended Dragon] releases strong light, it will still burn the target with the scorching light, causing the attack power to drop.

[Dragon of Light and Ascension] [2600/2100→2100/1600]

[Arcane Power EX - Ruler of Light] [ATK 4000 → 2500]

“Ordinary monsters are weakened in battle due to pain or fear, but [Secret Ritual Power EX - Ruler of Light] feels no pain; it is a pure messenger who embodies the will of 'light'!” Seeing his monster's attack power drop, Saiou coldly ordered, “Annihilate that monster that uses that nonsensical, false light!”

"The End of Light!"

The armor on the back of [Secret Power EX - Ruler of Light] opened, and two jet-black dragon heads emerged, unleashing attacks and annihilating the [Light and Ascended Dragon] while braving its light. However, because [Light and Ascended Dragon] was in defense position, Manjoume's meager 1200 life points remained unharmed.

It's a pity that his monster's effect wasn't in the correct position, otherwise, at that very moment, Saiou could have used the effect of [Arcane Power EX - Light Dominator] to retrieve any card from the graveyard after destroying the monster, such as using [Holy Grail A] again to replenish his hand. Unfortunately, he couldn't change it.

However, seeing that the arena where Manjoume and Judai had stood was empty once again, Saiou couldn't help but let out a cold laugh: "Although you struggled, the result seems to have remained unchanged? In the end, you still have to take the direct attack from the [Secret Ritual Power XXI-World]!"

"First, take care of Manjoume, then deal with Judai Yuki. [Secret Ritual Power XXI - World] Direct Attack - Beyond Calamity!" Saiou's expression twisted with rage as he shouted, "Nishinchi! Manjoume!"