Duels should be played with a smile.

"An evil god? Nothing special!"

Atm felt a little excited after casually sending the evil god away.

So, that's how it felt back then?

At that moment, at this moment.

"The evil god is certainly not limited to this!"

Raphael pointed to the place where the evil god had originally been, which should have been empty after being destroyed by the Great Star Primordial Dragon.

But now, something that resembles a black hole is slowly expanding.

"The true power of the Evil God Annihilator! The power to annihilate other gods! It activated the moment He was destroyed!"

"If this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, activate this effect. Destroy all cards on the field!"

"Evil God! Annihilate everything!"

The evil god, now freed from the constraints of the Orichalcos barrier due to its destruction, was finally able to unleash its full power. The evil force spread towards Raphael, attempting to corrupt him and drag him into the abyss of darkness.

Just as darkness was about to touch Raphael, a light as bright as the dawn pierced through the darkness of the evil god, severing all the tentacles reaching towards Raphael.

But the owner of this light could not escape it—she used her last strength to protect the person she had always protected, even though his mind had long since changed.

The extra objective was interrupted by the unexpected Aetos, and the Annihilator had no choice but to obediently complete the original objective. The black hole expanded instantly, swallowing and destroying everything on the field, including Aetos, who had exhausted his power and was the guardian who had always protected Raphael.

"Is this the person who calls himself a guardian, and is the one being protected by the one being protected?! Look at yourself! What have you done?!"

"You personally destroyed the monster that had been protecting you!"

"What exactly have you been protecting?!"

Raphael remained unmoved in the face of Atm's questioning.

No, he wasn't just indifferent.

"The effect of [Guardian Desses] can be activated if [Guardian Ethos] is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to your Graveyard. Special Summon this card from your hand."

A pure and innocent angel was transformed into a demon by an evil will, who descended upon this place wielding a great scythe to reap souls.

[Dark 8★ Demon 2500 Attack Power]

"Unforgivable, Raphael!"

Chapter 151 The One Who Tied the Bell Must Untie It

The evil god, capable of devouring everything, destroyed everything on Raphael's field. Ethos, under the combined power of the evil god and Orichalcos, was transformed into a guardian of decay.

However, Raphael did not achieve the desired effect after everything was over.

"The dragon knight Gaia, resurrected by Spiral Rebirth, will not be the target of the opponent's effects, nor will it be destroyed by the opponent's effects."

The spiraling force that can break through all obstacles is not just for offense.

"And like the initial dragon of the Great Star Guardian, the ultimate dragon of the Great Star Guardian also has resistance that cannot be destroyed by effects."

"No power is omnipotent, neither is an evil god, nor... that evil mark on your forehead."

"If they can't even destroy, let alone create."

Atm knew very well that even if humans could use the power of Orichalcos to do many things that were originally impossible, it was still under human control—the main entity was not Orichalcos, but humans.

In other words, even without Orichalcos, humans can still do what they are already capable of, and it just takes a little time.

Taking a longer route can sometimes be a shortcut.

Relying on external forces to achieve one's goals ultimately leads to nothing—these are the thoughts Atm, who, carrying the dark soul of the human heart, came to after understanding the origins of Orichalcos.

"Do you... understand what I mean, Raphael?"

Raphael suddenly looked up, his eyes already bloodshot.

When Aetos was sent to the graveyard and Desceths appeared on his field, his last shred of sanity had been extinguished.

In a corner of the Seahorse Park, a portal opened, and Dartz, dressed as a temple priest, stepped out.

"Oh? It seems something unexpected has happened again, but this time it's a positive change..."

"I never imagined... that Raphael's soul quality could be so high, and it seems it can continue to improve. It was truly worth all the effort I put into... sinking his entire family to the bottom of the sea!"

"Unfortunately, Ameruda was a bit disappointing. I wonder if, in the end, Baron or Jonouchi's soul will be superior?"

"However, the soul of the Duel King should be the most powerful, right? Even if he was just an unexpected lucky guy, his ability to defeat Yugi Muto will definitely give me some surprises."

Dartz took out three slightly different Orichalcos barriers, from which a faint light flowed, pointing in a certain direction.

"Over there...it seems there are other people with him?"

Perhaps because he had been hiding for too long, as the saying goes, the older a person gets, the more timid they become. Dazi, who was over 10,000 years old, suddenly felt a pang of fear. After thinking it over carefully, he decided not to rush over.

We've waited ten thousand years, so what's a little longer? We'll wait until the Duel King is free of any Pokémon protecting him before taking him down in one fell swoop!

……

"【Guardian Desceth】's effect: When this card is Special Summoned, equip 【Death's Scythe - Soul Breaker】 from your Deck."

"The ATK of the equipped monster increases by 500 times the number of monsters in both players' graveyards."

A giant scythe flew out of the deck and was grasped by Dexterus. The monsters still in both players' graveyards had their power absorbed by this evil weapon, making Dexterus even stronger.

[Death's Attack Power: 2500 → 6000]

The evil god departed, but death returned once more, its overwhelming attack power insurmountable by any monster on the field at this moment.

"I will definitely wake you up!"

"Ritual Spell [Ritual of the Super Warrior]: Tribute Level 4 [Knight of the Frontier] and Level 4 [Knight of the Night] from my hand to perform a Ritual Summon!"

"One soul inspires light, the other guides darkness! The power of creation and the power of darkness converge to give birth to legendary power! Summon the legendary warriors to descend!"

"Ritual Summoning! [The Legendary Gladiator Chaos Warrior]!"

A sharp sword light descended, cleaving through the black mist emanating from the Grim Reaper. The legendary swordsman descended from the sky, wielding his legendary sword, facing the majesty of death.

[Earth · 8★ · Warrior · Attack Power 3000]

Atm used up 4 out of 6 cards in his hand, a move that can be described as a prime example of card waste.

The legendary gladiator not only possesses powerful suppressive abilities, but also has hidden special abilities summoned by the Knights of Creation and the Knights of Darkness.

However, Atm did not send the Chaos Warriors to fight; instead, he planned to use a more effective method to awaken Raphael's lost soul.

"Pot of No Desire: Choose a total of 2 cards from your or your opponent's graveyard and return them to their owner's deck."

"I'm returning Ethos and Alma from your graveyard to your deck!"

The two cards were returned to the deck, and Dexter's attack power was reduced.

[Death's Attack Power: 6000 → 5000]

Moreover, these two guardians who returned to the deck will not go back to Raphael to help him until he regains his senses.

So that's enough.

"The Spell Card 'Heavenly Treasure' is activated! Both players replenish their hands to 6 cards!"

Raphael, driven only by his card-playing instincts, replenished his hand without checking the cards he had drawn—no matter what cards he drew, they would ultimately just become food for Desses.

While Dexter is on the field, he cannot summon or Special Summon this card. Once this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, he can revive it from the Graveyard by sending one card from his hand to the Graveyard.

Powerful cards often come with risks. He previously used a rare card to help Atm draw Chaos Warrior and Great Star, and this time Atm helped him replenish Dexter's food supply.

However, there is another rule in Yu-Gi-Oh! – when your opponent gives you an advantage, it is often not as simple as it seems on the surface.

"【Clown and Locked Bird】's effect: If your opponent adds a card from their Deck to their hand outside of their Draw Phase, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to activate this effect. This turn, neither player can add cards from their Deck to their hand."

Atm threw out a card that was practically useless in this era; most of the audience had never even heard of this monster.

Moreover, they didn't understand the meaning of this card.

With only one monster on the field, how could Raphael possibly draw a card during Atm's turn?

"The one who tied the knot must untie it... Let your own monster give you a good wake-up call!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Obedience of Heaven]!"

"You can activate this effect by paying 2000 Life Points and declaring the name of 1 monster. Your opponent reveals their Deck, and if there is a declared monster, reveal 1 of those monsters to both of you. Then, you can choose to add that card to your hand or Special Summon it to your field in Attack Position, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"

"The card I'm declaring is [Guardian Aetos]!"

Raphael's Duel Disk moved on its own. Aetos, who had just been returned to the deck by Atm's Pot of No Desire, was bounced out of the Duel Disk. Raphael held Aetos in his hand again and showed it to everyone.

Rather than summoning it directly to the opponent's field, Raphael's instinct was naturally to add this card to Atm's hand, but...

"Due to the effects of the Clown and the Lock Bird, neither player can add cards from their deck to their hand this turn."

"So, Aetos! Noble guardian, come to my field and join me in awakening your master from the darkness!"

A gentle breeze swept by, and the guardian with pure white wings detached itself from Raphael's hand, landing steadily in the monster zone of the Atm Duel Disk. Her spirit also appeared on Atm's field.

She used to stand in front of Raphael, protecting him alongside the other guardians and fighting off the enemies.

This time, she stood opposite Raphael, sword in hand.

"What kind of weird Minotaur method is this?" Viewers who were unaware of the inside story were amazed by the forced Minotaur technique of Lock Bird Heavenly Voice, and those with some strange deck compositions had their eyes light up.

The guardian who originally served Raphael has now come to the Atm arena, but Aetos alone is not enough to defeat the much stronger and more troublesome Desses.

then.

"Magic Card: Talented Warrior of Three Battles!"

"You can only activate one card per turn. This card can only be activated during your Main Phase if your opponent activates a monster effect! Because you activated the effect of Evil God Annihilator, I will choose one of your monsters and gain control of it until the End Phase!"

"Deathseth! Come to my side!"

At a command, the last guardian protecting Raphael also joined Aetos on Atm's field.

Aetos glanced at the guardian beside him, who had been born from his own corpse, with a complicated expression, and shook his head slightly.

Gaia, the Great Star, the Chaos Warrior, and the two Guardians—Atm now only has the extra monster zone left to hold monsters.

However, that's enough for now.

"The battle has begun!"