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"Go, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon! Attack Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Raising Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's ATK to its current maximum, Joey Wheeler pointed his finger towards Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in the distance. "Black Flame Sword Slash!"
Black flames began to burn on Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's armor. The black dragon, like a killing machine, let out a low roar and swooped down from the air towards Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!
Watching Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's attack approach, Kaiba's expression remained calm. "Is this the extent of your so-called 'combined strength'? How regrettable. I activate my Set Card, Sakuretsu Armor!"
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can activate this card by targeting that attack monster. Destroy that attack monster!" A cold sneer played on Kaiba's lips. "While your struggle for the dawn of victory is interesting, I'd much rather see your dishevelled state when your hope is dashed!"
As Kaiba activated his Set Card, just as Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon was about to make contact with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, the armor on its body suddenly exploded, enveloping it in a cloud of smoke and dust.
Seeing that his activated Sakuretsu Armor was not negated, Kaiba let out a cold snort, dismissing the curse of Sakuretsu Armor that Hayato had mentioned to him before. Just as he was about to say something to mock Joey Wheeler, Kaiba was unexpectedly surprised. A wail came from within the smoke and dust, and it didn't sound like Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon?
"Oh, the mis~ery~"
This was clearly the voice of Infernoble Knight - Astolfo, which had been equipped to Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon earlier!
Accompanied by Infernoble Knight - Astolfo's dramatic wail, a Magic Sword burning with pitch-black flames was thrust out from the exploding smoke and dust by Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. It pierced directly into Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's chest, giving it no opportunity to react!
"Ugh roar!!"
Not everyone can play "family tradition" like that group of white-haired guys from the Sparta family. Being stabbed through the chest by Infernoble Arms - Durendal was an absolute fatal wound for Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. All three heads let out a collective wail, and it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
"Blue-Eyes!"
【Kaiba: 3000→2000LP】
Watching Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon be destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Kaiba looked quite angry, glaring fiercely at Joey Wheeler. "You bastard, what did you just do?!"
Joey Wheeler looked down for a long time before raising his head in sudden realization and saying, "When a card effect that targets a card on my field is activated, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon can send one Equip Card on my field to the Graveyard to activate its effect, negating and destroying that activation."
"Although it looks like a ruthless killing expression, the power that Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon possesses is a power called 'Protection'!"
Just now, when Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon became the effect target of the Sakuretsu Armor Kaiba used, even though Joey Wheeler, its master, hadn't yet figured out Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's effect, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon proactively activated its own ability, using Infernoble Knight - Astolfo, which was just equipped to it, as a cost to negate the effect of Sakuretsu Armor.
At the cost of a mere two hundred ATK points, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon took down Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which had appeared twice and taken up a lot of screen time from other monsters.
This time, Joey Wheeler didn't use a trick like De-Fusion to get rid of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon like last time. Instead, he destroyed it by battle with higher ATK.
Against Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which only had high ATK but no resistance whatsoever, the most efficient way in theory should be to use direct destruction effects like Tribute to the Doomed. However, the stubborn Joey Wheeler was fixated on clashing head-on with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in terms of ATK, and he actually succeeded.
"I end my turn."
【Joey Wheeler: 3550LP, Hand 0】
【Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon】【ATK5500→2800】
Kaiba's invincible Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon fell once again, which made him wonder if "invincible" was actually a debuff?
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was sent to the Graveyard again, but this time, although Kaiba's face was still stern, he wasn't as furious as last time. Instead, he took a deep look at the excited Joey Wheeler.
"Power of the card's heart?"
Creating cards out of thin air that had no data records before, Kaiba had only seen this in Yugi and Hayato before Joey Wheeler. Joey Wheeler was the third Duelist to demonstrate this power in front of him, but also the only Duelist he didn't acknowledge yet possessed this ability.
Hayato's explanation to Kaiba was that "Card creation is an important part of Duel Monsters, and you have to try it." Yugi's explanation to him was that it was the power that came from believing in cards and having heart resonance with them.
"Hey, Joey Wheeler, answer me." Kaiba calmly questioned Joey Wheeler. "What do your cards mean to you?"
Joey Wheeler was clearly baffled by Kaiba's sudden question. "You bastard, why are you asking me this all of a sudden? Blue-Eyes was destroyed, why do you have that expression? Are you really Kaiba?"
In Joey Wheeler's imagination, after he destroyed Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and sent it to the Graveyard for the second time, Kaiba's face would surely be filled with frustration and uncontrollable rage, and he would definitely spray him with insults, belittling him endlessly.
Joey Wheeler had even mentally prepared his counter-argument, but he didn't expect Kaiba to calmly throw out such a nonsensical question.
"What do my cards mean to me?" He glanced at his deck. The images of cards like Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Summoned Skull, Time Wizard, and Legendary Fisherman flashed through his mind one by one.
"For this question, there's only one answer." Joey Wheeler looked up at Kaiba. Although he didn't know why Kaiba suddenly asked him such a question, Joey Wheeler didn't think too much and gave his answer.
"Battles with opponents, bonds with friends, and my growth. My cards are the proof of all of this. As long as I have faith in my deck, I believe my deck will definitely respond to me!"
"That's my answer!" Joey Wheeler said loudly. "Start your turn, Kaiba. I told you, I'll show you how strong I am! Or are you scared stiff by my Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon?"
"Hmph, don't think you can command me just because you have the advantage for a moment, mediocrity!"
Kaiba's face showed an annoyed expression again as he looked down at his deck.
'The heart of cards, huh? If it were the old me, I might scoff at it. But compared to the past, I have grown.'
'The Power of cards and the heart of cards. Only by possessing both powers can one move towards the future in the world of Duel Monsters. Then I must also master this power.'
'Even leaving aside Hayato and Yugi, if Joey Wheeler can do it, there's no reason I can't!'
"My turn, draw!"
He fiercely drew the card from the top of the deck and activated it. "Spell Card, Pot of Greed! I draw two cards from my deck!"
"Then I activate the Spell Card, Soul Release! I choose a total of five cards from both players' Graveyards to banish!"
After placing the card in his Duel Disk's Spell & Trap Zone, Kaiba grabbed the five cards that popped out of his Graveyard and dramatically threw them up. "I choose to banish all five monsters in my Graveyard!"
Hayato couldn't help but suspect that Kaiba was copying his own "I'll just throw my deck away" operation, which he had done more than once before.
Oh, I copied Kaiser, so it's fine.
Following Kaiba's "You look dishevelled when picking up cards, but you look really cool when throwing them away" operation, the five monsters in Kaiba's Graveyard, including Kaiser Glider, three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, all manifested as soul phantom images.
This card didn't exist in Kaiba's deck building until recently. It was only after leaving the Virtual World that Kaiba decided to add this card to his deck. For this, he removed Cyclops, which had accompanied him for a long time, from his deck.
The reason for adding this card was the duel between Hayato and Gozaburo in the Virtual World. Although it wasn't Kaiba dueling Gozaburo, when Kaiba put himself in Hayato's perspective, he realized that his deck had no way to defeat Exodia Necross.
After analysis, Kaiba found the most suitable method to break through—using Soul Release before Gozaburo Kaiba activated Necrovalley.
And not only Exodia Necross, Kaiba also found that Soul Release could effectively counter Yugi's Electromagnetic Turtle and Hayato's Rainbow Kuriboh and The Winged Dragon of Ra.
However, he himself didn't expect that the monsters banished when Soul Release was used for the first time would all be his own.
Seeing that Kaiba actually banished five monsters from his Graveyard, including Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Joey Wheeler didn't quite understand what Kaiba was going to do, but his sharp intuition told him that something was coming.
"I pay half of my Life Points to activate this card, Trap Card Return from the Different Dimension!"
Kaiba didn't let Joey Wheeler guess for too long. After his monsters were banished, he immediately flipped his Set Card in the backrow. "This card's effect is to summon as many of my banished monsters as possible to the field!"
【Kaiba: 2000→1000LP】
The wormhole for the banished monsters hadn't closed yet when a pair of pure white dragon claws reached out from within, pushing against the sides, and then forcefully tearing it open!
The three-headed Ultimate Dragon poked its head out from the Different Dimension Hole. Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons and the filler Kaiser Glider returned to the field from the Banished Zone, led by Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!
【Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon】【ATK4500】
【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】【ATK3000】
【Kaiser Glider】【ATK1500】
Due to their size, the four giant dragons all stood behind Kaiba, with only Kaiser Glider standing in front of Kaiba, facing Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon directly.
Looking at the ferocious Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon in front of it, and then turning back to look at the four white dragons behind it, Kaiser Glider had a look of arrogance. It spoke confidently, borrowing the might of others, "A mere Black Dragon! The combined ATK of me and Blue-Eyes White Dragon is completely enough to blast☆destroy you! Advantage is mine!"
On Kaiba's field, all five monsters, except for Kaiser Glider, had the power to break through Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. Their combined ATK was more than enough to deplete Joey Wheeler's Life Points.
Just when everyone thought Kaiba would use Blue-Eyes for a total attack to defeat Joey Wheeler, Ishizu, Yugi, and Hayato—those who had long-term contact with the Three Egyptian God Cards, or held/once held them—all felt the power emanating from Kaiba's last hand card.
"That feeling..."
Hayato nodded, confirming Yugi's guess. "Yes, it's definitely Obelisk the Tormentor."
Ishizu looked at the monsters on the field for Kaiba and said, "Although President Kaiba drew the God Card he possesses, looking at the monsters on the field, there's no need to summon the God."
"That's not it, Ishizu." However, Ishizu didn't expect Yugi to clearly disagree with her idea, but he didn't offer any explanation either.
Hayato, on the other hand, looked at Kaiba's gaze towards Joey Wheeler and smiled. "As expected of Duel Monsters, you have to go full power to show respect to an opponent you acknowledge."
"The gaze Kaiba is giving Joey Wheeler is exactly the same as the gaze he gives me and Yugi."
On the field, Kaiba looked at the nervous Joey Wheeler and smiled. Although it was the same cold sneer as at the start of the duel, the feeling it gave off was completely different.
"Watch closely, mediocrity. As a counter to your full power, I will also use my full power to crush you!" Although his feelings towards Joey Wheeler had changed, Kaiba was always sharp-tongued. "Engrave the heroic figure of this monster in your mind, and challenge me with it for the rest of your life!"
"I tribute my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the field! Come with the LIGHT attribute to destroy the DARK attribute! Sweep the earth with a scorching wind! Turn all things on the ground into skeletons!"
"Descend, Obelisk the Tormentor!"
【Obelisk the Tormentor】【ATK4000】
The blue Giant God appeared. Looking at this monster that gave off an overwhelming sense of despair, Joey Wheeler didn't feel the slightest fear. Instead, he looked at Kaiba.
In a situation of great advantage, tributing all of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons, even the slow-witted Joey Wheeler could feel that Kaiba's attitude towards him seemed to have changed.
He couldn't articulate it specifically, but for the first time, Kaiba's gaze lacked contempt and disdain; it was serious.
Of course, the fact that Kaiba called him "mediocrity" was still very annoying.
"Obelisk the Tormentor is the God among the Three Egyptian God Cards that symbolizes LIGHT attribute and DARK attribute and controls the power of the earth. It is most fitting for it to be the last monster you will face."
Joey Wheeler looked at Kaiba's expression, sighed, and then smiled again. "Is that so? Being defeated by a God, how honored I am. I still couldn't defeat you, that's really annoying."
"Hmph, I am Seto Kaiba. A mere mediocrity, you're still twenty thousand years too early to defeat me!" Kaiba's lips curled slightly. He raised his hand above his head. "Activate Obelisk the Tormentor's Special Effect!"
"I tribute Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Kaiser Glider from my field! Until the end of the turn, Obelisk the Tormentor's ATK becomes infinity!"
"This is the final blow, Joey Wheeler! Soul Energy MAX!"
【Obelisk the Tormentor】 stretched out its hands. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Kaiser Glider were held in its hands. The two monsters, which originally had a large size difference, no longer had any difference in front of Obelisk the Tormentor, because neither of them was as big as the Giant God.
The two monsters dissipated into particles, their energy completely absorbed into the gem on Obelisk the Tormentor's forehead. A massive energy began to gather in the Giant God's right fist.
【Obelisk the Tormentor】【ATK4000→∞】
Watching Obelisk the Tormentor raise its fist, Joey Wheeler looked at the audience seats, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces one by one, and then looked back at his Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon on the field.
"Sorry, Yugi, Hayato, Tristan, Otogi, Serenity, Mai. I disappointed you. And Red-Eyes, it looks like my Duel City journey is really going to end here. I'm really a failure..."
"However, just sitting here and waiting to be defeated isn't my style."
Suddenly raising his head to look at Obelisk the Tormentor, whose fist was already poised, Joey Wheeler gave Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon his final command in this duel. "Let's go too, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon!"
"Come on, Kaiba!"
Facing the attack of the God of Destruction's infinite power, the unyielding black dragon flapped its wings and soared high. It firmly gripped the Magic Sword and slashed forward. The moment the two collided, an impact wave swept across the entire field!
【Joey Wheeler: 3550LP→0】
Amidst the howling storm, although the carefree Iso kept trying to convince himself that "this is just a virtual projection," seeing that Joey Wheeler's Life Points had been reduced to zero, he wanted to declare the outcome of the duel, but the violent airflow unreasonably rushed into his open mouth, preventing him from announcing the result of the match.
Kaiba faced the impact of the storm head-on, standing straight with his arms crossed over his chest, and slowly closed his eyes. "Hmph, the expected ending. The victor is me, Seto Kaiba. That has never changed."
"Joey Wheeler, you lose!"
The storm gradually subsided. Joey Wheeler, who had been hit by the infinite attack power, staggered and knelt on one knee, gasping for air. His Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon on the field was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by the Giant God's infinite power the moment it was targeted for attack, and disappeared.
"Ah, I lost, quite thoroughly."
Raising his head, Joey Wheeler's gaze met Kaiba's. "But don't think I'll be discouraged by this, Kaiba. One day, I will defeat you."
Obelisk the Tormentor's figure slowly disappeared from the field as the duel ended. Kaiba looked at the exhausted Joey Wheeler and let out a cold sneer. "Go ahead and try, mediocrity. But you will never be able to defeat me, the strongest Duelist. You, a second-rate duelist using a third-rate deck."
"Take that back, Kaiba! My deck is strong!"
"Shut up, you mediocrity who is useless except for your willpower!"
"Who are you calling useless?!"
Amidst Joey Wheeler's sudden spirited protest, Iso lowered his hand from the edge of his sunglasses and announced, "Winner decided!"
"The second match of the Duel City Semifinals, the victor is—Player Seto Kaiba!"
"Both participants for the Finals have advanced. In one hour, the Duel City Finals will begin, with Player Hayato facing Player Seto Kaiba to compete for the supreme title of 'King of Games'!"
Joey Wheeler and Kaiba returned to the audience seats.
"Joey Wheeler!"
"Older Brother!"
Seeing everyone's worried gaze, Joey Wheeler was completely at ease and not discouraged by his defeat. He said with a smile, "Ahaha, I lost."
"I thought you might cry because you lost to Kaiba," Tristan said, putting his arm around Joey Wheeler's neck when he saw his silly grin. "Why are you smiling so heartlessly, you idiot!"
"Huh? Do you think I'm an idiot like you who cried all day because you failed to confess to Little Ribbon?"
"People who bring up old scores will be swallowed by a thousand needles!" Tristan frantically covered Joey Wheeler's mouth, and nervously glanced at Serenity's expression from the corner of his eye. Seeing that she didn't look unhappy, he breathed a sigh of relief.
While joking with Tristan, Joey Wheeler noticed Kaiba walking towards them with an arrogant look after taking a briefcase from Iso. "As noisy as ever, mediocrity."
"Smiling so happily, you haven't forgotten the rules of Duel City, have you? As the victor, I have the qualification to take one card from your deck."
"Uh—" Joey Wheeler's face couldn't help but show an awkward expression, because he really had forgotten that such a rule existed.
With a tearful face, Joey Wheeler took his deck out of his Duel Disk and spread it open. "I didn't forget, go ahead and pick."
He said this, but Joey Wheeler looked at the cards in his deck, full of reluctance. As Joey Wheeler had said before, the cards in his deck were proof of his bonds with others.
After looking at Joey Wheeler's deck, Kaiba gave a dramatic "Tsk" and ignored Joey Wheeler's reluctance. He reached for Red-Eyes Black Dragon and then opened the box in his hand, about to put the card in.
But after opening the box, Kaiba frowned and shouted back, "Hey, Iso, why do I have five Red-Eyes Black Dragons!"
"Tch, my collection only needs three of the same card. Who told you to put the extra cards in!"
"Huh? President, didn't you just say—"
"Shut up!" Kaiba impatiently shouted at Iso, who was about to reveal the truth. He glanced contemptuously at Joey Wheeler's other cards. "A third-rate deck in name and in practice. Putting them in my deck is an insult to my collection."
"Mediocrity, take Red-Eyes Black Dragon back. Consider yourself lucky!" Feigning an angry look, Kaiba stuffed the card back into Joey Wheeler's deck, closed the box, and walked away on his own.
Kaiba's acting was too exaggerated, even Mokuba understood what Kaiba was doing and covered his face helplessly.
Only Joey Wheeler actually believed Kaiba's argument. "Huh? You said that, you said you didn't want Red-Eyes!"
Happily putting his deck away, Joey Wheeler then noticed that besides the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon, there were two more Red-Eyes Black Dragons stuffed into his deck.
"Seto is such a tsundere," Hayato commented.
Black flames began to burn on Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's armor. The black dragon, like a killing machine, let out a low roar and swooped down from the air towards Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!
Watching Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's attack approach, Kaiba's expression remained calm. "Is this the extent of your so-called 'combined strength'? How regrettable. I activate my Set Card, Sakuretsu Armor!"
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can activate this card by targeting that attack monster. Destroy that attack monster!" A cold sneer played on Kaiba's lips. "While your struggle for the dawn of victory is interesting, I'd much rather see your dishevelled state when your hope is dashed!"
As Kaiba activated his Set Card, just as Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon was about to make contact with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, the armor on its body suddenly exploded, enveloping it in a cloud of smoke and dust.
Seeing that his activated Sakuretsu Armor was not negated, Kaiba let out a cold snort, dismissing the curse of Sakuretsu Armor that Hayato had mentioned to him before. Just as he was about to say something to mock Joey Wheeler, Kaiba was unexpectedly surprised. A wail came from within the smoke and dust, and it didn't sound like Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon?
"Oh, the mis~ery~"
This was clearly the voice of Infernoble Knight - Astolfo, which had been equipped to Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon earlier!
Accompanied by Infernoble Knight - Astolfo's dramatic wail, a Magic Sword burning with pitch-black flames was thrust out from the exploding smoke and dust by Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. It pierced directly into Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's chest, giving it no opportunity to react!
"Ugh roar!!"
Not everyone can play "family tradition" like that group of white-haired guys from the Sparta family. Being stabbed through the chest by Infernoble Arms - Durendal was an absolute fatal wound for Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. All three heads let out a collective wail, and it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
"Blue-Eyes!"
【Kaiba: 3000→2000LP】
Watching Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon be destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Kaiba looked quite angry, glaring fiercely at Joey Wheeler. "You bastard, what did you just do?!"
Joey Wheeler looked down for a long time before raising his head in sudden realization and saying, "When a card effect that targets a card on my field is activated, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon can send one Equip Card on my field to the Graveyard to activate its effect, negating and destroying that activation."
"Although it looks like a ruthless killing expression, the power that Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon possesses is a power called 'Protection'!"
Just now, when Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon became the effect target of the Sakuretsu Armor Kaiba used, even though Joey Wheeler, its master, hadn't yet figured out Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon's effect, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon proactively activated its own ability, using Infernoble Knight - Astolfo, which was just equipped to it, as a cost to negate the effect of Sakuretsu Armor.
At the cost of a mere two hundred ATK points, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon took down Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which had appeared twice and taken up a lot of screen time from other monsters.
This time, Joey Wheeler didn't use a trick like De-Fusion to get rid of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon like last time. Instead, he destroyed it by battle with higher ATK.
Against Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which only had high ATK but no resistance whatsoever, the most efficient way in theory should be to use direct destruction effects like Tribute to the Doomed. However, the stubborn Joey Wheeler was fixated on clashing head-on with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in terms of ATK, and he actually succeeded.
"I end my turn."
【Joey Wheeler: 3550LP, Hand 0】
【Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon】【ATK5500→2800】
Kaiba's invincible Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon fell once again, which made him wonder if "invincible" was actually a debuff?
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was sent to the Graveyard again, but this time, although Kaiba's face was still stern, he wasn't as furious as last time. Instead, he took a deep look at the excited Joey Wheeler.
"Power of the card's heart?"
Creating cards out of thin air that had no data records before, Kaiba had only seen this in Yugi and Hayato before Joey Wheeler. Joey Wheeler was the third Duelist to demonstrate this power in front of him, but also the only Duelist he didn't acknowledge yet possessed this ability.
Hayato's explanation to Kaiba was that "Card creation is an important part of Duel Monsters, and you have to try it." Yugi's explanation to him was that it was the power that came from believing in cards and having heart resonance with them.
"Hey, Joey Wheeler, answer me." Kaiba calmly questioned Joey Wheeler. "What do your cards mean to you?"
Joey Wheeler was clearly baffled by Kaiba's sudden question. "You bastard, why are you asking me this all of a sudden? Blue-Eyes was destroyed, why do you have that expression? Are you really Kaiba?"
In Joey Wheeler's imagination, after he destroyed Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and sent it to the Graveyard for the second time, Kaiba's face would surely be filled with frustration and uncontrollable rage, and he would definitely spray him with insults, belittling him endlessly.
Joey Wheeler had even mentally prepared his counter-argument, but he didn't expect Kaiba to calmly throw out such a nonsensical question.
"What do my cards mean to me?" He glanced at his deck. The images of cards like Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Summoned Skull, Time Wizard, and Legendary Fisherman flashed through his mind one by one.
"For this question, there's only one answer." Joey Wheeler looked up at Kaiba. Although he didn't know why Kaiba suddenly asked him such a question, Joey Wheeler didn't think too much and gave his answer.
"Battles with opponents, bonds with friends, and my growth. My cards are the proof of all of this. As long as I have faith in my deck, I believe my deck will definitely respond to me!"
"That's my answer!" Joey Wheeler said loudly. "Start your turn, Kaiba. I told you, I'll show you how strong I am! Or are you scared stiff by my Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon?"
"Hmph, don't think you can command me just because you have the advantage for a moment, mediocrity!"
Kaiba's face showed an annoyed expression again as he looked down at his deck.
'The heart of cards, huh? If it were the old me, I might scoff at it. But compared to the past, I have grown.'
'The Power of cards and the heart of cards. Only by possessing both powers can one move towards the future in the world of Duel Monsters. Then I must also master this power.'
'Even leaving aside Hayato and Yugi, if Joey Wheeler can do it, there's no reason I can't!'
"My turn, draw!"
He fiercely drew the card from the top of the deck and activated it. "Spell Card, Pot of Greed! I draw two cards from my deck!"
"Then I activate the Spell Card, Soul Release! I choose a total of five cards from both players' Graveyards to banish!"
After placing the card in his Duel Disk's Spell & Trap Zone, Kaiba grabbed the five cards that popped out of his Graveyard and dramatically threw them up. "I choose to banish all five monsters in my Graveyard!"
Hayato couldn't help but suspect that Kaiba was copying his own "I'll just throw my deck away" operation, which he had done more than once before.
Oh, I copied Kaiser, so it's fine.
Following Kaiba's "You look dishevelled when picking up cards, but you look really cool when throwing them away" operation, the five monsters in Kaiba's Graveyard, including Kaiser Glider, three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, all manifested as soul phantom images.
This card didn't exist in Kaiba's deck building until recently. It was only after leaving the Virtual World that Kaiba decided to add this card to his deck. For this, he removed Cyclops, which had accompanied him for a long time, from his deck.
The reason for adding this card was the duel between Hayato and Gozaburo in the Virtual World. Although it wasn't Kaiba dueling Gozaburo, when Kaiba put himself in Hayato's perspective, he realized that his deck had no way to defeat Exodia Necross.
After analysis, Kaiba found the most suitable method to break through—using Soul Release before Gozaburo Kaiba activated Necrovalley.
And not only Exodia Necross, Kaiba also found that Soul Release could effectively counter Yugi's Electromagnetic Turtle and Hayato's Rainbow Kuriboh and The Winged Dragon of Ra.
However, he himself didn't expect that the monsters banished when Soul Release was used for the first time would all be his own.
Seeing that Kaiba actually banished five monsters from his Graveyard, including Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Joey Wheeler didn't quite understand what Kaiba was going to do, but his sharp intuition told him that something was coming.
"I pay half of my Life Points to activate this card, Trap Card Return from the Different Dimension!"
Kaiba didn't let Joey Wheeler guess for too long. After his monsters were banished, he immediately flipped his Set Card in the backrow. "This card's effect is to summon as many of my banished monsters as possible to the field!"
【Kaiba: 2000→1000LP】
The wormhole for the banished monsters hadn't closed yet when a pair of pure white dragon claws reached out from within, pushing against the sides, and then forcefully tearing it open!
The three-headed Ultimate Dragon poked its head out from the Different Dimension Hole. Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons and the filler Kaiser Glider returned to the field from the Banished Zone, led by Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!
【Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon】【ATK4500】
【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】【ATK3000】
【Kaiser Glider】【ATK1500】
Due to their size, the four giant dragons all stood behind Kaiba, with only Kaiser Glider standing in front of Kaiba, facing Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon directly.
Looking at the ferocious Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon in front of it, and then turning back to look at the four white dragons behind it, Kaiser Glider had a look of arrogance. It spoke confidently, borrowing the might of others, "A mere Black Dragon! The combined ATK of me and Blue-Eyes White Dragon is completely enough to blast☆destroy you! Advantage is mine!"
On Kaiba's field, all five monsters, except for Kaiser Glider, had the power to break through Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. Their combined ATK was more than enough to deplete Joey Wheeler's Life Points.
Just when everyone thought Kaiba would use Blue-Eyes for a total attack to defeat Joey Wheeler, Ishizu, Yugi, and Hayato—those who had long-term contact with the Three Egyptian God Cards, or held/once held them—all felt the power emanating from Kaiba's last hand card.
"That feeling..."
Hayato nodded, confirming Yugi's guess. "Yes, it's definitely Obelisk the Tormentor."
Ishizu looked at the monsters on the field for Kaiba and said, "Although President Kaiba drew the God Card he possesses, looking at the monsters on the field, there's no need to summon the God."
"That's not it, Ishizu." However, Ishizu didn't expect Yugi to clearly disagree with her idea, but he didn't offer any explanation either.
Hayato, on the other hand, looked at Kaiba's gaze towards Joey Wheeler and smiled. "As expected of Duel Monsters, you have to go full power to show respect to an opponent you acknowledge."
"The gaze Kaiba is giving Joey Wheeler is exactly the same as the gaze he gives me and Yugi."
On the field, Kaiba looked at the nervous Joey Wheeler and smiled. Although it was the same cold sneer as at the start of the duel, the feeling it gave off was completely different.
"Watch closely, mediocrity. As a counter to your full power, I will also use my full power to crush you!" Although his feelings towards Joey Wheeler had changed, Kaiba was always sharp-tongued. "Engrave the heroic figure of this monster in your mind, and challenge me with it for the rest of your life!"
"I tribute my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the field! Come with the LIGHT attribute to destroy the DARK attribute! Sweep the earth with a scorching wind! Turn all things on the ground into skeletons!"
"Descend, Obelisk the Tormentor!"
【Obelisk the Tormentor】【ATK4000】
The blue Giant God appeared. Looking at this monster that gave off an overwhelming sense of despair, Joey Wheeler didn't feel the slightest fear. Instead, he looked at Kaiba.
In a situation of great advantage, tributing all of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons, even the slow-witted Joey Wheeler could feel that Kaiba's attitude towards him seemed to have changed.
He couldn't articulate it specifically, but for the first time, Kaiba's gaze lacked contempt and disdain; it was serious.
Of course, the fact that Kaiba called him "mediocrity" was still very annoying.
"Obelisk the Tormentor is the God among the Three Egyptian God Cards that symbolizes LIGHT attribute and DARK attribute and controls the power of the earth. It is most fitting for it to be the last monster you will face."
Joey Wheeler looked at Kaiba's expression, sighed, and then smiled again. "Is that so? Being defeated by a God, how honored I am. I still couldn't defeat you, that's really annoying."
"Hmph, I am Seto Kaiba. A mere mediocrity, you're still twenty thousand years too early to defeat me!" Kaiba's lips curled slightly. He raised his hand above his head. "Activate Obelisk the Tormentor's Special Effect!"
"I tribute Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Kaiser Glider from my field! Until the end of the turn, Obelisk the Tormentor's ATK becomes infinity!"
"This is the final blow, Joey Wheeler! Soul Energy MAX!"
【Obelisk the Tormentor】 stretched out its hands. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Kaiser Glider were held in its hands. The two monsters, which originally had a large size difference, no longer had any difference in front of Obelisk the Tormentor, because neither of them was as big as the Giant God.
The two monsters dissipated into particles, their energy completely absorbed into the gem on Obelisk the Tormentor's forehead. A massive energy began to gather in the Giant God's right fist.
【Obelisk the Tormentor】【ATK4000→∞】
Watching Obelisk the Tormentor raise its fist, Joey Wheeler looked at the audience seats, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces one by one, and then looked back at his Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon on the field.
"Sorry, Yugi, Hayato, Tristan, Otogi, Serenity, Mai. I disappointed you. And Red-Eyes, it looks like my Duel City journey is really going to end here. I'm really a failure..."
"However, just sitting here and waiting to be defeated isn't my style."
Suddenly raising his head to look at Obelisk the Tormentor, whose fist was already poised, Joey Wheeler gave Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon his final command in this duel. "Let's go too, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon!"
"Come on, Kaiba!"
Facing the attack of the God of Destruction's infinite power, the unyielding black dragon flapped its wings and soared high. It firmly gripped the Magic Sword and slashed forward. The moment the two collided, an impact wave swept across the entire field!
【Joey Wheeler: 3550LP→0】
Amidst the howling storm, although the carefree Iso kept trying to convince himself that "this is just a virtual projection," seeing that Joey Wheeler's Life Points had been reduced to zero, he wanted to declare the outcome of the duel, but the violent airflow unreasonably rushed into his open mouth, preventing him from announcing the result of the match.
Kaiba faced the impact of the storm head-on, standing straight with his arms crossed over his chest, and slowly closed his eyes. "Hmph, the expected ending. The victor is me, Seto Kaiba. That has never changed."
"Joey Wheeler, you lose!"
The storm gradually subsided. Joey Wheeler, who had been hit by the infinite attack power, staggered and knelt on one knee, gasping for air. His Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon on the field was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by the Giant God's infinite power the moment it was targeted for attack, and disappeared.
"Ah, I lost, quite thoroughly."
Raising his head, Joey Wheeler's gaze met Kaiba's. "But don't think I'll be discouraged by this, Kaiba. One day, I will defeat you."
Obelisk the Tormentor's figure slowly disappeared from the field as the duel ended. Kaiba looked at the exhausted Joey Wheeler and let out a cold sneer. "Go ahead and try, mediocrity. But you will never be able to defeat me, the strongest Duelist. You, a second-rate duelist using a third-rate deck."
"Take that back, Kaiba! My deck is strong!"
"Shut up, you mediocrity who is useless except for your willpower!"
"Who are you calling useless?!"
Amidst Joey Wheeler's sudden spirited protest, Iso lowered his hand from the edge of his sunglasses and announced, "Winner decided!"
"The second match of the Duel City Semifinals, the victor is—Player Seto Kaiba!"
"Both participants for the Finals have advanced. In one hour, the Duel City Finals will begin, with Player Hayato facing Player Seto Kaiba to compete for the supreme title of 'King of Games'!"
Joey Wheeler and Kaiba returned to the audience seats.
"Joey Wheeler!"
"Older Brother!"
Seeing everyone's worried gaze, Joey Wheeler was completely at ease and not discouraged by his defeat. He said with a smile, "Ahaha, I lost."
"I thought you might cry because you lost to Kaiba," Tristan said, putting his arm around Joey Wheeler's neck when he saw his silly grin. "Why are you smiling so heartlessly, you idiot!"
"Huh? Do you think I'm an idiot like you who cried all day because you failed to confess to Little Ribbon?"
"People who bring up old scores will be swallowed by a thousand needles!" Tristan frantically covered Joey Wheeler's mouth, and nervously glanced at Serenity's expression from the corner of his eye. Seeing that she didn't look unhappy, he breathed a sigh of relief.
While joking with Tristan, Joey Wheeler noticed Kaiba walking towards them with an arrogant look after taking a briefcase from Iso. "As noisy as ever, mediocrity."
"Smiling so happily, you haven't forgotten the rules of Duel City, have you? As the victor, I have the qualification to take one card from your deck."
"Uh—" Joey Wheeler's face couldn't help but show an awkward expression, because he really had forgotten that such a rule existed.
With a tearful face, Joey Wheeler took his deck out of his Duel Disk and spread it open. "I didn't forget, go ahead and pick."
He said this, but Joey Wheeler looked at the cards in his deck, full of reluctance. As Joey Wheeler had said before, the cards in his deck were proof of his bonds with others.
After looking at Joey Wheeler's deck, Kaiba gave a dramatic "Tsk" and ignored Joey Wheeler's reluctance. He reached for Red-Eyes Black Dragon and then opened the box in his hand, about to put the card in.
But after opening the box, Kaiba frowned and shouted back, "Hey, Iso, why do I have five Red-Eyes Black Dragons!"
"Tch, my collection only needs three of the same card. Who told you to put the extra cards in!"
"Huh? President, didn't you just say—"
"Shut up!" Kaiba impatiently shouted at Iso, who was about to reveal the truth. He glanced contemptuously at Joey Wheeler's other cards. "A third-rate deck in name and in practice. Putting them in my deck is an insult to my collection."
"Mediocrity, take Red-Eyes Black Dragon back. Consider yourself lucky!" Feigning an angry look, Kaiba stuffed the card back into Joey Wheeler's deck, closed the box, and walked away on his own.
Kaiba's acting was too exaggerated, even Mokuba understood what Kaiba was doing and covered his face helplessly.
Only Joey Wheeler actually believed Kaiba's argument. "Huh? You said that, you said you didn't want Red-Eyes!"
Happily putting his deck away, Joey Wheeler then noticed that besides the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon, there were two more Red-Eyes Black Dragons stuffed into his deck.
"Seto is such a tsundere," Hayato commented.
