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# Chapter 458: Master Duels are Fun, What's DL?
"Crackle~!"
"Thud."
Among the Three Egyptian Gods, the God of Destruction, **Obelisk the Tormentor**, symbolized by power, could hardly be stopped when it swung its fist. Its momentum might not have shaken the earth and mountains, but it certainly shook the heavens and the earth.
Like a boxer targeted by a battered Sett, a Duelist facing **Obelisk the Tormentor** was constantly under its pressure even outside of battle. As for the result of being attacked by it, the most fitting example was the Duel Robot that Kaiba crushed after first obtaining **Obelisk the Tormentor** from Ishizu to test its power.
The specific force analysis isn't important. What's important is that although Keipei recycled and reused that duel robot, only the duel robot's logic program was recycled. The physical existence of that duel robot was completely destroyed the moment it was hit.
Even a metal robot was scrapped, let alone a person?
However, despite saying that, **Obelisk the Tormentor** actually hasn't injured people much. Especially Joey Wheeler, who only had a slight chest pain even after enduring infinite ATK.
And Leon von Schroeder didn't suffer much damage either. Most of **Obelisk the Tormentor**'s attack was used to destroy the **Golden Castle of Stromberg**, and the remaining impact force brushed past Rayne's cheek like a breeze.
It was Force Nullification! The Giant God Soldier used Force Nullification of extremely high purity!
Facing monsters like the Three Egyptian Gods that surpassed the Duel Monsters rules, the additional cheating effect Zigfried added to the **Golden Castle of Stromberg** was destroyed. The "Card that cannot be Destroyed" was destroyed, and the Field Zone on Leon's Duel Disk, which had been locked before, was also opened. The discharge device was damaged, and the **Golden Castle of Stromberg** card fell to the ground.
Although the wind wasn't very strong, having faced a God's Fist directly, Leon von Schroeder sat down on the Duel Field's ground after his last Life Points were reduced to zero. There was no disappointment or dejection on his face due to his defeat. Instead, he looked with aspiration at the **Obelisk the Tormentor** gradually dispersing behind Hayato.
"Is this Obelisk? The Three Egyptian Gods are really strong..."
Hayato recycled his cards from the Graveyard, placing **Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca** and **Obelisk the Tormentor** separately back into the Card Box on his waist. While powerful cards like the Three Egyptian Gods could effectively increase the average strength of a Deck, they also had a certain probability of affecting the field setup. Even Hayato would selectively add the Three Egyptian Gods to his Deck if he were to use them.
Also placed in the Card Box was the Quick-Play Spell Card that had just laid the foundation for the final blow, **Fist of Fate**.
Throughout the history of Yu-Gi-Oh!, there are varying opinions on who the Strongest Duelist is in each generation and who is the strongest overall. There is also little consensus on which Duel Monster has the most powerful effect. However, in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! DM, it is generally believed that the strongest Duel Monster is **The Creator God of Light, Horakhty**, summoned by assembling the three Three Egyptian Gods.
That is, the "Creator God Type" card with a global limit of ten thousand copies, and only one in all of Duel Monsters.
As the old saying goes, if a person has no dreams, what's the difference between them and a slacker? So, after winning the Battle City champion and collecting the Three Egyptian Gods, Hayato naturally set his sights on the [God Card] affix unlocked in the System Shop.
It wasn't that Hayato's resolve wasn't strong, but rather that the System was an old unscrupulous merchant. It used to just perfunctorily put names on things, but the [God Card] affix unlocked after collecting three Divine-Beast Type monsters actually had an animated image of **The Creator God of Light**.
Just like how players of the famous collection game "Steam" can't control their wallets when they see a green "-90%", Hayato naturally couldn't control himself either and spent a fortune on this affix's draw.
As expected, it was a spectacular failure. A total investment of over 30,000 DP Points, and he didn't even see a shadow of **The Creator God of Light**. Instead, Hayato got support cards for the Three Egyptian Gods like **Superconductive Wave Cannon**, **Soul Crossing**, and **Apostle of Ra**. **Fist of Fate** was also one of them.
Although the Three Egyptian Gods performed excellently in the anime and manga, if the Three Egyptian Gods were real card adapted with their overly imba effects, it would be a disaster for the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" meta and affect the balance too much. Therefore, when the real cards of the Three Egyptian Gods were released, their effects were all nerfed. **The Winged Dragon of Ra**, which had the most effects, was even tragically dismembered.
Of course, whether this "affecting balance" excuse is true or false is up for debate. After all, Kaiku Corporation has done strange operations like not banning the famous "Slacker" - **Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer** when it was rampant in the meta, but instead putting the **Fusion Destiny** of the Slacker Deck **Destiny HERO** on the Forbidden List.
Truly you, Kaiku Corporation.
Anyway, it's all just for selling cards.
Although the castrated Three Egyptian Gods can still be used in duels, the cost of three monster tributes and their not-so-powerful effects make them too low in cost-effectiveness except for satisfying nostalgia. They can't even perfectly recreate the original matchups.
So, the clever card seller Kaiku Corporation came up with a new operation - although I can't strengthen the cards, I can sell other patch cards.
Thus, the effects that were castrated and removed from the Three Egyptian Gods were made into separate cards, which are the Three Egyptian God-specific cards like **Fist of Fate**. Their positioning is similar to **Clay Charge**, which is tied to **E•HERO Clayman**. These cards like **Fist of Fate** are also tied to their respective God Cards.
Although it didn't elevate the status of the Three Egyptian Gods, it at least gave players who like the Three Egyptian Gods a chance to recreate famous scenes.
Of course, simply recreating famous scenes wasn't enough to boost card sales significantly. Therefore, these cards, in addition to having the effects that should have been on the God Card's true form, also have some new effects added. For example, **Fist of Fate**'s ability to destroy all of the opponent's Spell and Trap Cards and lock monster effects.
After organizing his Deck, Hayato stepped forward and stood before Leon von Schroeder, who was sitting on the ground, looking down at him. "How does it feel, being completely and utterly defeated, crushed head-on by a God Card?"
"How does it feel? It's quite impressive, it's almost becoming a shadow covering my heart."
Although his words were gloomy and sounded like he was about to become withdrawn, when he looked up at Hayato, Leon von Schroeder's face held a bright and confident smile. "But the more it is like that, the more courage I have to break through this dark cloud."
"I hope that one day, I will have the chance to duel you, Mr. Hayato, when you are using your full strength."
Listening to Rayne's words, Hayato nodded in satisfaction and returned a smile. "That's a great thing to say. You are much better than your Brother, whose mindset gap is deadly. Good, very spirited!"
"In that case, after witnessing the majesty of the peak, engrave the image of being crushed by a God in your heart and strive to grow, Leon von Schroeder!"
Patting the standing Rayne's shoulder, Hayato turned back and looked at Zigfried, who was lying on the railing with a grim expression. "Alright, you're next, Zigfried von Schroeder."
"Damn it, Hayato Kobayashi!"
Zigfried on the Spectator Area wished he could get rid of Hayato, but the distance between them and his bound hands meant that at most he could only clench his fists to vent his anger.
Under Rex's escort, Zigfried was brought to the edge of the Duel Platform below the Spectator Area. There should have been staff maintaining order on the Passage connecting the two areas to prevent spectators from rushing onto the Duel Field during a duel and interfering with the match. However, the anomaly on site affected all non-duelists, and it was likely that even the staff in the Backstage were not spared.
"This guy, I'll hand him over to you, Hayato Kobayashi." Handing the rope he held to Hayato, Rex sighed with some emotion. "It's only been a few years, hasn't it? We were still opponents competing on the same stage during the Duelist Kingdom, but I didn't expect you to become so strong now."
Zigfried was very dissatisfied that he was being handed over like a traded horse, simply by passing the reins. Hearing Rex say that Hayato was strong, he gave a cold snort, his face full of disdain.
Hayato wrapped the rope around his hand a few times to secure it and looked at Rex playfully, teasing, "Come on, you didn't even make it into the top 8, so how is that the same stage?"
"Hey, don't tear me down! Even being on the same stage during the Star Chips collection phase counts as the same stage, right? And I was only one Star Chip away from collecting enough back then! But the others on the Island wouldn't duel me, even if it meant time-out elimination, just because I was the runner-up of the Japan National Tournament."
"Even Yugi, because many people only heard the news that he defeated Kaiba and didn't think it was true, wouldn't refuse his duels. You only barely won against Weevil once back then, let alone Joey Wheeler, whom no one knew at all."
Recalling the past, Rex sighed and shook his head, not dwelling on his "past glory" for too long. "Anyway, I'll hand this guy over to you. I've completed Kaiba's commission."
"From this person's mouth, Kaiba found out the three keys to solving the anomaly: the 'key' that started the anomaly, which is that kid's card you just defeated; the 'program' that drives the anomaly, which seems to be placed on KaibaCorp's network; and finally, the 'ability' that achieves the anomaly, which is somewhere unknown and also seems to be a card."
After repeating the information he got from Kaiba to Hayato, Rex turned around. "Well then, I'll be leaving now."
"Where are you going?" Hayato asked. "The situation inside the Venue is quite dangerous. Do you want to come with me?"
Others might not have noticed, but Hayato, who was accompanied by a large number of card spirits, had already discovered during the duel that the inside of the Kaiba Dome Venue after the anomaly began seemed to be gradually being transferred to another world, and that world was the Spirit World where the card spirits resided.
Even Hayato could only guess at the specific method of implementation for now. It was probably by reversing **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**'s ability to convert "life force" and "spirit power" to enhance some spirit-related existence to open a gate. Although that gate had only opened a tiny gap for now, over time, it was highly likely that the Kaiba Dome would truly be transferred into the Spirit World.
And even through just a gap, an extremely abundant otherworldly aura was pouring into this Venue. Hayato had already sensed it when he just recycled **Obelisk the Tormentor**. Even without the support of the virtual projection system, Obelisk could briefly maintain its existence for a moment.
And if it were a weaker Duel Monster, materialization for a long time wouldn't be a problem.
Opening the gate was like baiting before fishing. Although it would scare away some fish, some fish would also approach after a brief vigilance due to curiosity and temptation. If the gate continued to open, it wasn't impossible for residents from the Spirit World to come to the Real World.
"You mean the materialization of Duel Monsters? As for that, I also have self-preservation ability." To Hayato's slight surprise, Rex seemed to have accepted the concept that "Duel Monsters can materialize," as if he had already experienced something similar. "I also have a certain self-awareness of my ability, so the mission to save everyone is entrusted to you, Duel King."
Turning around coolly, although he was a shorty, Rex was full of presence. "As for me, I'll do my best to save a few people. After all, we talked quite well before, and I promised to save them and take them out for steak."
"Also, Joey Wheeler must be working hard somewhere, right? Remember to remind that guy not to forget what he said before about working hard for my sake."
Waving his hand, Rex walked up the stairs.
"Achoo!!"
Joey Wheeler suddenly sneezed, rubbing his nose. "Who's thinking about me behind my back?"
Frowning, Joey Wheeler lowered his hand, not letting the sudden sneeze distract him for too long. He refocused on Yugi and Rafael in the middle of their duel.
On Rafael's Field, **Guardian Eatos** equipped with **Guardian's Power** had an ATK of 4000 points, comparable to the **Obelisk the Tormentor** that had appeared on the Duel Field in the center of the Venue, which had attracted immense attention just now.
[Guardian's Power] [Spell Counter: 3]
"Did the Duel King end his battle using a God Card?" Rafael calmly said, withdrawing his gaze from the center of the Venue. "Although I didn't really want that situation to occur, one part of the plan has probably been destroyed by the Duel King."
"Focus properly on the duel and stop looking around, Rafael," Yugi shouted sternly from across Rafael, with only a **Chaos Magician** in Defense Position remaining on his Field. "Do you think you already have certain victory!"
[Yugi: 400 LP, Hand 3]
[Chaos Magician] [DEF 2100]
[Set Card]
[Rafael: 2000 LP, Hand 1]
[Guardian Eatos] (Guardian's Power) [ATK 4000]
[Set Card]
"Crackle~!"
"Thud."
Among the Three Egyptian Gods, the God of Destruction, **Obelisk the Tormentor**, symbolized by power, could hardly be stopped when it swung its fist. Its momentum might not have shaken the earth and mountains, but it certainly shook the heavens and the earth.
Like a boxer targeted by a battered Sett, a Duelist facing **Obelisk the Tormentor** was constantly under its pressure even outside of battle. As for the result of being attacked by it, the most fitting example was the Duel Robot that Kaiba crushed after first obtaining **Obelisk the Tormentor** from Ishizu to test its power.
The specific force analysis isn't important. What's important is that although Keipei recycled and reused that duel robot, only the duel robot's logic program was recycled. The physical existence of that duel robot was completely destroyed the moment it was hit.
Even a metal robot was scrapped, let alone a person?
However, despite saying that, **Obelisk the Tormentor** actually hasn't injured people much. Especially Joey Wheeler, who only had a slight chest pain even after enduring infinite ATK.
And Leon von Schroeder didn't suffer much damage either. Most of **Obelisk the Tormentor**'s attack was used to destroy the **Golden Castle of Stromberg**, and the remaining impact force brushed past Rayne's cheek like a breeze.
It was Force Nullification! The Giant God Soldier used Force Nullification of extremely high purity!
Facing monsters like the Three Egyptian Gods that surpassed the Duel Monsters rules, the additional cheating effect Zigfried added to the **Golden Castle of Stromberg** was destroyed. The "Card that cannot be Destroyed" was destroyed, and the Field Zone on Leon's Duel Disk, which had been locked before, was also opened. The discharge device was damaged, and the **Golden Castle of Stromberg** card fell to the ground.
Although the wind wasn't very strong, having faced a God's Fist directly, Leon von Schroeder sat down on the Duel Field's ground after his last Life Points were reduced to zero. There was no disappointment or dejection on his face due to his defeat. Instead, he looked with aspiration at the **Obelisk the Tormentor** gradually dispersing behind Hayato.
"Is this Obelisk? The Three Egyptian Gods are really strong..."
Hayato recycled his cards from the Graveyard, placing **Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca** and **Obelisk the Tormentor** separately back into the Card Box on his waist. While powerful cards like the Three Egyptian Gods could effectively increase the average strength of a Deck, they also had a certain probability of affecting the field setup. Even Hayato would selectively add the Three Egyptian Gods to his Deck if he were to use them.
Also placed in the Card Box was the Quick-Play Spell Card that had just laid the foundation for the final blow, **Fist of Fate**.
Throughout the history of Yu-Gi-Oh!, there are varying opinions on who the Strongest Duelist is in each generation and who is the strongest overall. There is also little consensus on which Duel Monster has the most powerful effect. However, in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! DM, it is generally believed that the strongest Duel Monster is **The Creator God of Light, Horakhty**, summoned by assembling the three Three Egyptian Gods.
That is, the "Creator God Type" card with a global limit of ten thousand copies, and only one in all of Duel Monsters.
As the old saying goes, if a person has no dreams, what's the difference between them and a slacker? So, after winning the Battle City champion and collecting the Three Egyptian Gods, Hayato naturally set his sights on the [God Card] affix unlocked in the System Shop.
It wasn't that Hayato's resolve wasn't strong, but rather that the System was an old unscrupulous merchant. It used to just perfunctorily put names on things, but the [God Card] affix unlocked after collecting three Divine-Beast Type monsters actually had an animated image of **The Creator God of Light**.
Just like how players of the famous collection game "Steam" can't control their wallets when they see a green "-90%", Hayato naturally couldn't control himself either and spent a fortune on this affix's draw.
As expected, it was a spectacular failure. A total investment of over 30,000 DP Points, and he didn't even see a shadow of **The Creator God of Light**. Instead, Hayato got support cards for the Three Egyptian Gods like **Superconductive Wave Cannon**, **Soul Crossing**, and **Apostle of Ra**. **Fist of Fate** was also one of them.
Although the Three Egyptian Gods performed excellently in the anime and manga, if the Three Egyptian Gods were real card adapted with their overly imba effects, it would be a disaster for the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" meta and affect the balance too much. Therefore, when the real cards of the Three Egyptian Gods were released, their effects were all nerfed. **The Winged Dragon of Ra**, which had the most effects, was even tragically dismembered.
Of course, whether this "affecting balance" excuse is true or false is up for debate. After all, Kaiku Corporation has done strange operations like not banning the famous "Slacker" - **Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer** when it was rampant in the meta, but instead putting the **Fusion Destiny** of the Slacker Deck **Destiny HERO** on the Forbidden List.
Truly you, Kaiku Corporation.
Anyway, it's all just for selling cards.
Although the castrated Three Egyptian Gods can still be used in duels, the cost of three monster tributes and their not-so-powerful effects make them too low in cost-effectiveness except for satisfying nostalgia. They can't even perfectly recreate the original matchups.
So, the clever card seller Kaiku Corporation came up with a new operation - although I can't strengthen the cards, I can sell other patch cards.
Thus, the effects that were castrated and removed from the Three Egyptian Gods were made into separate cards, which are the Three Egyptian God-specific cards like **Fist of Fate**. Their positioning is similar to **Clay Charge**, which is tied to **E•HERO Clayman**. These cards like **Fist of Fate** are also tied to their respective God Cards.
Although it didn't elevate the status of the Three Egyptian Gods, it at least gave players who like the Three Egyptian Gods a chance to recreate famous scenes.
Of course, simply recreating famous scenes wasn't enough to boost card sales significantly. Therefore, these cards, in addition to having the effects that should have been on the God Card's true form, also have some new effects added. For example, **Fist of Fate**'s ability to destroy all of the opponent's Spell and Trap Cards and lock monster effects.
After organizing his Deck, Hayato stepped forward and stood before Leon von Schroeder, who was sitting on the ground, looking down at him. "How does it feel, being completely and utterly defeated, crushed head-on by a God Card?"
"How does it feel? It's quite impressive, it's almost becoming a shadow covering my heart."
Although his words were gloomy and sounded like he was about to become withdrawn, when he looked up at Hayato, Leon von Schroeder's face held a bright and confident smile. "But the more it is like that, the more courage I have to break through this dark cloud."
"I hope that one day, I will have the chance to duel you, Mr. Hayato, when you are using your full strength."
Listening to Rayne's words, Hayato nodded in satisfaction and returned a smile. "That's a great thing to say. You are much better than your Brother, whose mindset gap is deadly. Good, very spirited!"
"In that case, after witnessing the majesty of the peak, engrave the image of being crushed by a God in your heart and strive to grow, Leon von Schroeder!"
Patting the standing Rayne's shoulder, Hayato turned back and looked at Zigfried, who was lying on the railing with a grim expression. "Alright, you're next, Zigfried von Schroeder."
"Damn it, Hayato Kobayashi!"
Zigfried on the Spectator Area wished he could get rid of Hayato, but the distance between them and his bound hands meant that at most he could only clench his fists to vent his anger.
Under Rex's escort, Zigfried was brought to the edge of the Duel Platform below the Spectator Area. There should have been staff maintaining order on the Passage connecting the two areas to prevent spectators from rushing onto the Duel Field during a duel and interfering with the match. However, the anomaly on site affected all non-duelists, and it was likely that even the staff in the Backstage were not spared.
"This guy, I'll hand him over to you, Hayato Kobayashi." Handing the rope he held to Hayato, Rex sighed with some emotion. "It's only been a few years, hasn't it? We were still opponents competing on the same stage during the Duelist Kingdom, but I didn't expect you to become so strong now."
Zigfried was very dissatisfied that he was being handed over like a traded horse, simply by passing the reins. Hearing Rex say that Hayato was strong, he gave a cold snort, his face full of disdain.
Hayato wrapped the rope around his hand a few times to secure it and looked at Rex playfully, teasing, "Come on, you didn't even make it into the top 8, so how is that the same stage?"
"Hey, don't tear me down! Even being on the same stage during the Star Chips collection phase counts as the same stage, right? And I was only one Star Chip away from collecting enough back then! But the others on the Island wouldn't duel me, even if it meant time-out elimination, just because I was the runner-up of the Japan National Tournament."
"Even Yugi, because many people only heard the news that he defeated Kaiba and didn't think it was true, wouldn't refuse his duels. You only barely won against Weevil once back then, let alone Joey Wheeler, whom no one knew at all."
Recalling the past, Rex sighed and shook his head, not dwelling on his "past glory" for too long. "Anyway, I'll hand this guy over to you. I've completed Kaiba's commission."
"From this person's mouth, Kaiba found out the three keys to solving the anomaly: the 'key' that started the anomaly, which is that kid's card you just defeated; the 'program' that drives the anomaly, which seems to be placed on KaibaCorp's network; and finally, the 'ability' that achieves the anomaly, which is somewhere unknown and also seems to be a card."
After repeating the information he got from Kaiba to Hayato, Rex turned around. "Well then, I'll be leaving now."
"Where are you going?" Hayato asked. "The situation inside the Venue is quite dangerous. Do you want to come with me?"
Others might not have noticed, but Hayato, who was accompanied by a large number of card spirits, had already discovered during the duel that the inside of the Kaiba Dome Venue after the anomaly began seemed to be gradually being transferred to another world, and that world was the Spirit World where the card spirits resided.
Even Hayato could only guess at the specific method of implementation for now. It was probably by reversing **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**'s ability to convert "life force" and "spirit power" to enhance some spirit-related existence to open a gate. Although that gate had only opened a tiny gap for now, over time, it was highly likely that the Kaiba Dome would truly be transferred into the Spirit World.
And even through just a gap, an extremely abundant otherworldly aura was pouring into this Venue. Hayato had already sensed it when he just recycled **Obelisk the Tormentor**. Even without the support of the virtual projection system, Obelisk could briefly maintain its existence for a moment.
And if it were a weaker Duel Monster, materialization for a long time wouldn't be a problem.
Opening the gate was like baiting before fishing. Although it would scare away some fish, some fish would also approach after a brief vigilance due to curiosity and temptation. If the gate continued to open, it wasn't impossible for residents from the Spirit World to come to the Real World.
"You mean the materialization of Duel Monsters? As for that, I also have self-preservation ability." To Hayato's slight surprise, Rex seemed to have accepted the concept that "Duel Monsters can materialize," as if he had already experienced something similar. "I also have a certain self-awareness of my ability, so the mission to save everyone is entrusted to you, Duel King."
Turning around coolly, although he was a shorty, Rex was full of presence. "As for me, I'll do my best to save a few people. After all, we talked quite well before, and I promised to save them and take them out for steak."
"Also, Joey Wheeler must be working hard somewhere, right? Remember to remind that guy not to forget what he said before about working hard for my sake."
Waving his hand, Rex walked up the stairs.
"Achoo!!"
Joey Wheeler suddenly sneezed, rubbing his nose. "Who's thinking about me behind my back?"
Frowning, Joey Wheeler lowered his hand, not letting the sudden sneeze distract him for too long. He refocused on Yugi and Rafael in the middle of their duel.
On Rafael's Field, **Guardian Eatos** equipped with **Guardian's Power** had an ATK of 4000 points, comparable to the **Obelisk the Tormentor** that had appeared on the Duel Field in the center of the Venue, which had attracted immense attention just now.
[Guardian's Power] [Spell Counter: 3]
"Did the Duel King end his battle using a God Card?" Rafael calmly said, withdrawing his gaze from the center of the Venue. "Although I didn't really want that situation to occur, one part of the plan has probably been destroyed by the Duel King."
"Focus properly on the duel and stop looking around, Rafael," Yugi shouted sternly from across Rafael, with only a **Chaos Magician** in Defense Position remaining on his Field. "Do you think you already have certain victory!"
[Yugi: 400 LP, Hand 3]
[Chaos Magician] [DEF 2100]
[Set Card]
[Rafael: 2000 LP, Hand 1]
[Guardian Eatos] (Guardian's Power) [ATK 4000]
[Set Card]
