The protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! world might be the same person.

However, just as everyone felt a chill in their hearts, the power switch in the cave was suddenly turned on, the lights inside turned on, and at the same time, another person's voice echoed.

"Welcome to my lab! I've been waiting for you here for a long time!"

"That sound is...!!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look in the direction from which the sound came and discovered a tall figure that had appeared under the lights on the opposite side at some unknown time.

"Daitokuji-sensei?!"

"There are two teachers at Daitoku-ji Temple?!"

That's right, the person who came was from Daitoku-ji Temple.

He was wearing a gray cloak and a black coat, and carrying an ancient book in his arms. He did indeed look like Daitokuji himself, except that his hair was gray and the veins on his face made his originally kind appearance look more ferocious.

Chapter 98 VS Alchemist

Looking at Daitokuji's appearance across from him, Judai frowned and asked, "Daitokuji-sensei, what's the deal with that mummy? And what about your current appearance...?"

Daitokuji chuckled coldly upon hearing this, placed his right hand on his chest, and replied, "That mummy is undoubtedly myself. I awoke from the world of death using the power of alchemy, and this body is a creation of alchemy."

Everyone was shocked to hear this, "Both of them are Daitokuji-sensei...!?"

Daitokuji nodded and continued, "That's right. My physical body died a long time ago, and my soul now resides in this body using the power of alchemy."

"I was originally traveling the world as an alchemist, searching for the 'Philosopher's Stone,' a gem coveted by alchemists, in order to create an elixir of immortality. I was also conducting this research on someone's orders."

"Later, my body contracted an incurable disease, so I used alchemy to create this body. Unfortunately, this body also began to decay, and soon my lifespan was coming to an end."

By the end, everyone felt a little heavy-hearted.

Jaden: "So that's why you want the Three Phantom Demon Cards?"

Daitokuji nodded slightly and smiled, "That's right. For my own sake and for those who support my research, I must obtain the power of the ultimate spirit. With the power of the three Phantom Demons, I can create the Philosopher's Stone and gain eternal life."

Judai clenched his fist. "Do we really have to fight?"

"Unfortunately, as the last of the Seven Stars, my teacher's mission dictates that this duel must take place!"

Daitokuji held up the ancient book with the Eye of Ugart embedded in its cover: "Judai, before this Emerald Tablet, which records the truth of the world, accept my dark duel!"

Note: The Emerald Tablet is a text that, around 1900 BC, was said to be a 13-sentence summary of alchemical knowledge condensed by the legendary god Hermes, engraved on an emerald plaque and passed down through generations. (See encyclopedia for details.)

"This Emerald Tablet is the ultimate tool that the strongest alchemist should possess, Jaden Yuki. This is the final trial I have prepared for you!"

Since Daitokuji has made up his mind, Judai will not let him down. "Alright, I accept this challenge!"

With that, he jumped down and stood on the flat ground in the shallow pit.

Asuka said worriedly, "Be careful, Judai!"

"Ah."

Wan Zhangmu Lightning curled his lip: "Tch, let him show off again!"

Before long, Jaden and Daitokuji unfolded their Duel Disks and began their duel.

"Duel!!" ×2

[Yujo Judai: LP4000]

Daitoku-ji Temple: LP4000

"Come on, Judai, take a good look at the power of an alchemist!"

Daitoku-ji Temple won the first round.

"My turn, draw a card!"

【Daitoku-ji Temple Cards: 5→6】

After glancing at the card he had drawn, he revealed it without hesitation: "Activate the Continuous Spell [Alchemy Cauldron - Chaos Refining]!"

【Daitoku-ji Temple Cards: 6→5】

Om-! !

Amidst a flash of golden light, a strangely shaped giant metal furnace crashed down behind him.

"Based on the effect of this card, from now on all cards placed in my graveyard will be banished from the game."

Jaden frowned upon hearing this. "A card I've never seen before, except for decks with a different type of banel? And it's one of my own..."

Thinking that some cards that don't work together are quite powerful (like Crimson Beast), he became wary of them.

"Then, while [Alchemy Cauldron - Chaos Refining] is on the field, I can activate the Spell Card [Iron Lamp] from my hand to Special Summon [Alchemy Beast - Iron Fire Dragon]!"

After the magic card is activated, it is placed into the alchemy cauldron for refining, and then a thick pillar of fire erupts from Daitokuji's field.

Roar--! !

With a roar, a colossal dragon forged from steel burst through the flames and appeared before us.

[Alchemy Beast - Iron Fire Dragon: Attack Power 500]

【Daitoku-ji Temple Cards: 5→4】

"Attack power is only 500 points...?"

While everyone was puzzled, Daitokuji explained, "Alchemy beasts cannot be summoned normally, but conversely, they can directly attack the opposing player."

"I see, so you specialize in direct attack tactics..."

Jaden gritted his teeth, "But can we withstand the hero's attack with such weak offensive power?"

Upon hearing this, Daitokuji slightly opened his eyes and sneered, "Hmph~, you don't need to worry about that kind of thing, Judai!"

He then pulled out three cards from his hand and threw them out: "I will now activate the magic cards [Lead Compass], [Tin Magic Circle], and [Mercury Hourglass] in that order!"

【Daitoku-ji Temple Cards: 4→1】

"The effect of these three cards is also that when [Alchemy Cauldron - Chaos Refining] is on the field, Special Summon the corresponding Alchemy Beast!"

The next second, all three cards were placed into the alchemy cauldron, and three more pillars of fire erupted from Daitokuji's field.

"Come forth, lead lion, tin eagle, mercury remora!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the flames on the field dissipated, and three giant beasts—a lion, an eagle, and a fish—made of metal appeared one after another.

[Alchemy Beast - Lead Lion: Attack Power 500]

[Alchemy Beast - Tin Eagle: Attack Power 500]

[Alchemy Beast - Mercury Remora: Attack Power 500]

"Four monsters right from the start..."

"But all of them only have 500 attack power."

"And with all these attacks, what exactly is Daitokuji-sensei planning?"

"It's only the first round, will he really fight?"

While everyone was still wondering, Daitokuji inserted his last card into the Duel Disk: "I'll set one more card face down, end of turn."

【Daitoku-ji Temple Cards: 1→0】

Judai frowned as he looked at the face-down card at the feet of the opponent. "Did you really have that much confidence in your face-down card after exhausting your entire hand in one go?"

"Common sense is useless against my Alchemy Duel Monsters, Jaden!"

"We'll see!"

Next up was Judai's turn to play.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 5 → 6]

After glancing at his hand, he tossed it out without hesitation: "Activate the Spell Card [E-Emergency Call] from my hand, and add any [Elemental HERO] monster from my Deck to my hand."

"I added the Elemental HERO Wilder from my deck to my hand."

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain

After Jaden retrieved the card into his hand, he immediately threw it out along with two other cards: "I activate [Fusion] from my hand. Winged Warrior and Wild Warrior on my hand fuse!"

The two heroes then appeared, and then merged into a vortex, releasing a dazzling white light.

"Appear, Wild Wingman!"

A pair of enormous wings spread out, and Wilderness Warrior, combining the features of Winged Warrior, appeared before us.

【Elemental Heroes: Wild Winged Warrior - Attack Power 1900】

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 6 → 3]

Then he threw a card into the graveyard and shouted, "Winged Wilderness's special effect activated!"

"By discarding a card from your hand, you can destroy a Spell Card or Trap Card on the field."

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 3 → 2]

Jaden clenched his fist, "What I'm going to destroy is, of course, your field card!"

Upon hearing this, Daitokuji immediately flicked his left hand towards the face-down card at his feet and sneered, "Such a simple tactic won't work. Trap Card [Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain]!"

"This card can only be activated when there are all Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth attribute monsters on the field. I can choose one of these four effects: destroy all monsters on my opponent's field, destroy all Spell & Trap Cards on my opponent's field, randomly discard two cards from my opponent's hand, or draw two cards from my Deck."

"Nani?!"

Judai frowned, surprised that it was this card.

Daitokuji squinted and continued, "I have the Wind attribute Tin Eagle, the Water attribute Mercury Remora, the Fire attribute Iron Fire Dragon, and the Earth attribute Lead Lion on my field. Therefore, based on the effect of [Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain], I choose to randomly discard two cards from the opponent's hand."

"And Judai, you only have two cards in your hand. Just discard both of them. That will eliminate any possibilities that your remaining two cards might bring."

Judai clicked his tongue, "I didn't expect this kind of plan..."

Even if he doesn't summon Wild Wingman to clear the back row, Daitokuji can use [Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain] to destroy his monsters, so either way he'll benefit.

Since Daitokuji chose to destroy his hand, Judai had no choice but to throw the two cards in his hand into the graveyard.

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 2 → 0]

Misawa Daichi: "This is bad! The duel has only just begun, and Jaden already has no cards left in his hand!"

Everyone became worried.

At this moment, Daitokuji's voice rose a few decibels: "Do you see that, Judai? This is a miracle born from alchemy. Just as I said before, all common sense is invalid in the face of my alchemy!"

Is that really the case?

"Nani?"

Daitokuji was taken aback when he heard Judai's rebuttal.

Judai snorted and said disdainfully, "Whether it's alchemy or some kind of spirit mediumship, a duel is a duel, and everything about duels is common sense to me."

He then swung his hand and shouted, "At this moment, the monster effect of the Shadow Mist Lady, who was sent to the graveyard by the effect of the Wild Wingman, is activated!"

"Choose one [Hero] monster other than yourself from your deck and add it to your hand. I added [Elemental HERO Skywalker] to my hand."

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 0 → 1]

Daitokuji frowned upon seeing this: "I see, so there's another trick up your sleeve. It seems that cornering you won't be as easy as I thought."

"Up!"

Jaden immediately placed the card onto the Duel Disk: "I summon Skybreaker in Attack Position."

Om-! !

A burst of light effects flashed across the field, and Sky Warrior was instantly projected onto the screen.

【Elemental Hero Sky Warrior: Attack Power 1800】

"And due to Sky Warrior's special effect, I added Elemental HERO Liquid Warrior to my hand from my deck."

Asuka clenched her fist and exclaimed in admiration, "Beautiful! Judai has turned the tide of the game again."

At this moment, Jaden no longer hesitated and immediately swung his arm and shouted, "Battle begins! Sky Warrior attacks Iron Fire Dragon!"

The spiral wings on Skywalker's back spun wildly, releasing two tornadoes.