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Chapter 534: Let's Hit the Road Together, Anubis (6K)
"You are seeking your own death!"
The round orb that had rolled onto the ground suddenly flew up and hovered in the air. From within it surged a massive amount of black sludge, rising like a tide into the sky, converging into a giant monster. Its blood-red eyes looked down from above at Hayato, Yugi, and the others on the ground.
The form of the sludge gradually shifted. The head of the giant fiend slowly revealed itself as a dog's head. Seeing this, Yugi Mutou, who had only recently returned to the real world and hadn't had a chance to properly talk with Dark Yugi yet, suddenly remembered the illusion he had seen before: "Anubis!?"
"What? He's not dead yet? He's revived again!"
Having returned to the Millennium Puzzle because of Yugi Mutou's return, Dark Yugi was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, then his expression turned serious. "Since we didn't finish him off once, we'll do it again. We'll defeat him so he can't revive."
"Aibo!"
"Alright, I'll leave it to you, The Other Me!"
Flashing with golden radiance, the Millennium Puzzle swung back and forth a few times on Yugi's chest like a pendulum. Yugi's gaze changed from its original gentleness to extreme sharpness. Meeting Anubis's gaze, he drew the card from the top of his Duel Disk: "Come forth, my most loyal servant! Dark Magician—"
"Your lines are too long!" Just as Yugi was about to Summon Dark Magician, Anubis suddenly roared, completely disregarding any sense of fairness. A pitch-black storm blew out, slamming the Dark Magician, which was about to fly out of the card, back into the card. It even knocked away all the cards in Yugi's Deck that hadn't been drawn yet from his Duel Disk.
It wasn't just Yugi. Hayato, who had acted immediately and Summoned **Gaia the Fierce Knight**, also suffered the same fate as Dark Magician. It was knocked back into its card and sent flying, just like the **Rainbow Kuriboh** and **Ojama Yellow** that hadn't had time to be Summoned.
"Muda Muda Muda, weak monsters like that don't even have the qualification to appear before me!"
The black sludge on Anubis's body, which had transformed into a sludge wolf, gradually dried and became sharp, as if it had donned a hedgehog's quills. "The boring Ceremony of the Duel was just a game for me to pass time from the very beginning. Now, I don't have the patience to waste time on you ants!"
"Even if my body and the Pyramid of Light were destroyed, Yours Truly is Anubis!"
"I am the ghosts of the dead, the King of the Underworld! By killing the King of Light and the King of Darkness, I can still become the King of Destruction and destroy this World!"
Anubis's body seemed to be constantly evolving as time passed. The dog head that had looked quite pathetic just moments ago not only quickly grew a pair of fangs among its sharp teeth, but also sharp horns gradually grew from the top of his head. It looked less and less like a normal creature that could be found on Earth.
As he spoke, Anubis opened his gaping maw. Black and purple flames spilled from his mouth, completely ignoring Hayato and spraying towards Yugi and Kaiba!
Although Kaiba had moved a little distance away earlier due to worrying about Keipei, luckily avoiding Anubis's previous roar, seeing the fiend dare to attack him, he immediately drew three cards and slammed them onto his Duel Disk: "Unaccountably guy saying unaccountably things, but I won't just stand by and watch you defeat Yugi!"
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!!"
Kaiba clearly hadn't realized that Yugi's Duel had actually ended earlier. The "giant wolf" Anubis before them now was not a virtual projection but a true form. However, even if the believing in science Kaiba were told the truth, he would most likely stubbornly stick to his idea and refuse to acknowledge the existence of the supernatural.
But even the Kaiba who denied the supernatural, as he slammed three cards onto his Duel Disk without any supernatural Millennium Items boosting him, three **Blue-Eyes White Dragon** actually appeared before him just like that, helping him block Anubis's attack! They were even in a state of materialization!
Watching the **Blue-Eyes** intercept Anubis's attack at such close range, Yugi also breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Kaiba, who had walked to his side from a distance: "Thank you, Kaiba."
"Hmph, don't misunderstand, Yugi. It's just that only I can defeat both you and Hayato Kobayashi," Kaiba said with a stern face and arrogant tone. "If someone else defeats you before I do, I won't be reconciled to some random third-rate Duelist getting above me."
Anubis, seeing his attack blocked by Kaiba and them chatting leisurely with Yugi, became very angry: "King of Light, I should have just killed you along the way just now. How dare you interfere with me, you're truly courting death. Do you think those weak flying dragons can stop me!"
Saying that, he let out another roar. The three materialized **Blue-Eyes White Dragon** also met the same fate as Dark Magician and **Gaia** under this roar, being bounced back into their cards.
Anubis's aura once again gained the upper hand. As his body evolved, the sharp quills on his back gradually transformed into countless cannon muzzles. Powerful dark power gathered within them, about to be unleashed. Clearly, he was going to use some wide-area destruction technique to kill Kaiba and Yugi in one go!
But just as the proud Anubis was about to say something arrogant to boost his image, he suddenly heard a voice: "Fly, my golden great wing!"
"!"
Anubis felt a scorching heat that seemed to burn the very air rapidly approaching from behind him. Completely unable to defend, he was knocked over onto the ground by a giant flaming flying bird, looking extremely pathetic!
Holding up **The Winged Dragon of Ra**'s card, Hayato commanded **Ra** to pursue the advantage: "You knew I was here but didn't attack me first. You really looked down on me, Anubis. **Ra**, use Super Extreme Blast Flames!"
The **Winged Dragon of Ra**, in its Immortal Phoenix form, had its flames surge violently. It charged again towards Anubis, who had fallen and couldn't get up, suppressing him on the ground once more.
"Yargh! Hayato Kobayashi! It's you again!"
Anubis certainly hadn't forgotten that Hayato had repeatedly caused him trouble. Hayato also had a hand in the destruction of the Pyramid of Light earlier. Now, settling both old and new scores together, he fiercely scrambled up from the ground in the gap of **Ra**'s attack. The spiked cannons on his back fired countless black energy blasts towards Hayato!
**Ra** did not intervene to stop them, but instead attacked Anubis again, limiting his subsequent attacks. As the barrage of energy blasts flew halfway, dense lightning cannonballs descended from the sky, intercepting every single energy blast and detonating them in the air.
"Boom!"
A red long dragon manifested in the clouds. With Hayato's demonstration, Yugi naturally realized immediately that ordinary monsters indeed couldn't participate in the subdue of Anubis, but a God Card was different.
"Hmph, Thunder Force, huh..." Kaiba glanced at **Slifer the Sky Dragon** Summoned by Yugi, and not to be outdone, drew a card. "Then you're up too, Obelisk! Divine Fist Smash Attack!"
Following **The Winged Dragon of Ra**, symbolizing heaven and earth, and **Slifer the Sky Dragon**, symbolizing good and evil, the blue giant god soldier—**Obelisk the Tormentor**—also appeared immediately after. All three Three Egyptian Gods were gathered, and **Obelisk**, upon appearing, immediately swung its giant fist at Anubis, who was being suppressed by **Ra**!
However, just as the giant fist, carrying a powerful shockwave, was about to hit, under the flames released by **Ra**, Anubis suddenly extended a hand that had evolved from a claw and took **Obelisk**'s punch!?
Gradually evolving a pair of giant wings behind him, Anubis's appearance became increasingly bizarre. Standing upright, he exerted power with his wrist, actually lifting **Obelisk the Tormentor** off the ground and flinging it into the air.
In mid-air, **Slifer the Sky Dragon** was brewing an attack to deliver a heavy blow to Anubis, the guy who had absorbed it earlier. The "Superconductive Wave Thunder Raigeki" attack was ready to fire, but unexpectedly, **Obelisk** was flung towards it by Anubis and was hit squarely!
And the attack from its mouth couldn't be controlled and fired, but because it was off target, it happened to hit **The Winged Dragon of Ra**, knocking it down from the air and almost destroying it!
The Three Egyptian Gods, all fall!
On the ground, Yugi covered his forehead helplessly. What Hayato said back then was indeed true, **Slifer the Sky Dragon** was confirmed to be an internal traitor, a sky pit dragon.
"Arrogant ants, do you think mere Divine-Beasts can contend with me? Weak, weak, weak! Yours Truly has extremely high resistance to these so-called 'Gods'. They are just ants before me, just like you!"
As Anubis spoke, he grinned and raised his hand. He clenched his five claws fiercely, and a phantom of a Pyramid actually appeared before him. It instantly expanded, capturing all three Three Egyptian Gods who couldn't escape in time and imprisoning them within!
"**Ra**!" Hayato watched **The Winged Dragon of Ra** being sealed inside the Pyramid of Light, glaring angrily at the proud giant fiend. "A↑nu↓bis↑!"
"Heh heh, that expression of impotent rage truly makes me feel good, Hayato Kobayashi." The sharp horns on his head gradually grew into a wild giant axe. Anubis looked down at Hayato on the ground. "Without your troublesome spirit, you must be out of options now, right? You can no longer interfere with me, so just die along with the King of Light and King of Darkness!"
The axe blade on his head smashed down. Anubis was extremely looking forward to the miserable state Hayato and Yugi would be in before this attack, because no matter how he thought about it, this attack absolutely could not be stopped again.
However, things did not go as planned.
"It's not impotent rage, it's invincible rage, Anubis!"
Anubis's chin, as he smashed his head towards the ground, was struck by a giant fist that suddenly appeared accompanied by Hayato's angry roar. The axe blade on his head failed to smash down, and he himself was sent flying back again!
"This, this is!" Anubis looked towards Hayato's direction. After seeing the existence that had attacked him, his pupils shrank. "**Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**!? Why is it in your hands!"
"Yeah, why indeed? I'm also looking for the answer to that question," Hayato took out two more cards and placed them on his Duel Disk, walking towards Anubis step by step. "However, it's not just **Raviel**. Since you know the Lord of Phantasms, you might as well meet these two monsters as well!"
"**Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**, and **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**!"
Lightning and lava surged. Beside the tall **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, the figures of **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder** and **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames** manifested.
Since the Three Egyptian Gods couldn't resist Anubis, Hayato simply Summoned the Sacred Beasts!
The three spirit gods, with the same color scheme as the Three Egyptian Gods but completely opposite aura, stared at him menacingly. Anubis suddenly felt like backing down.
Thousands of years ago, the Three Egyptian Gods were created through dark alchemy at the stakes of a massacre, along with the Millennium Items. The Pyramid of Light, where Anubis resided, possessed power that surpassed the seven Millennium Items, and consequently had a strong counter ability against the Three Egyptian Gods.
But Anubis also knew that the Sacred Beasts were even older existences than the Three Egyptian Gods. Although their power was not as great as the Three Egyptian Gods, they possessed special power. Anubis had learned of their terrifying power from the Millennium Spellbook, which recorded dark alchemy.
Anubis didn't dare to gamble on whether Hayato could use that power. He wanted to back down, but he felt he couldn't lose in terms of aura:
"I, I have to admit, you do have some strength worth taking seriously, Hayato Kobayashi," the fiend Anubis said stubbornly. "You suddenly make me feel that humans are truly interesting. I've decided not to destroy the World. I'll spare you today."
Saying this, Anubis was about to fly away and escape, but **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms** was even faster. With an "Ora!" roar, it grabbed the tail behind Anubis, dragging him back down to the ground just as his feet left the ground!
This made Anubis lose a lot of face, but he also realized that without the counter he had against the Three Egyptian Gods, he couldn't even beat the Sacred Beasts, which were weaker than the Three Egyptian Gods. He could only bluster at Hayato: "Hayato Kobayashi! Do you know what it means to fight me to the death!"
"Do you know that if I attack with full power, I can easily kill you!"
"No, I haven't thought about that question at all," Hayato commanded the other two Sacred Beasts, surrounding Anubis in a triangle formation. "But do you think you can just escape whenever you want? Ask yourself, is there really such a good thing in the World?"
"I'll use the Sacred Beasts to chop off your dog head! Go, **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**, and **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**!"
Having evolved for so long, Anubis's change was not just in his external shape; his size was also constantly increasing. He was gradually getting close to being taller than the Kaiba Dome, able to stick his head out and see outside.
However, even having evolved to this point, Anubis tragically discovered that he still couldn't beat any single one of the Sacred Beasts. Whether it was **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**'s punch, **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**'s manipulation of ice and lightning, or **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**'s lava, he was simply being beaten like a sandbag, completely unable to fight back!
Even more terrifying was that Anubis also discovered that the dark power making up his body was actually being gradually absorbed by the Sacred Beasts ganging up on him!
If this continued, he would be drained before being beaten to death. The ability of the Sacred Beasts recorded in that Millennium Spellbook, "absorb all spirit power in the World," was indeed true!
No, if this continues, I will die from mental derangement. Move, my flexible mind, quickly think of a way to escape!
He dodged a punch from **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, but a part of the sludge making up his body was cut off by an ice blade shot by **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**. Before he could recycle that part of his body, it was absorbed by **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**'s lava. Anubis looked at the menacing Sacred Beasts before him and had a bold idea—if the record of absorbing power was true, perhaps the record of another ability was also true...
Recalling his memories from a thousand years ago, Anubis's gaze turned fierce. His already ferocious eyes stared intently at Hayato: "You forced me to do this, Hayato Kobayashi!"
As if to go down fighting, one of Anubis's claws made a self-mutilating movement, tearing open a large chunk of his chest. With the other claw, he fiercely grabbed inside and pulled out the core where his true form resided—that Sage's Stone!
Under Hayato's surprised gaze, after pulling out the Sage's Stone, Anubis actually threw it directly towards the location of one of the Sacred Beasts, **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, saying, "You only use the powerful Sacred Beasts as spirits, Hayato Kobayashi, you don't know the true nature of the Sacred Beasts!"
"With the power of the Eye of Udjat as a guide, open here, the gate leading to Infinite Dimensions! Gate of Phantasms!"
After being hit by Anubis's power, **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**'s body instantly stiffened, turning into a blue orb of light. It collided with the yellow and red orbs of light that **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder** and **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames** had transformed into, which were not far away. As if Polymerization had been used on them, the three Sacred Beasts gradually twisted and transformed into an ancient, evil energy-filled gate!
The moment the appearing gate slowly opened, Hayato's body suddenly became stiff and completely unable to move.
No, it wasn't a problem with his own body. Hayato noticed that not only himself, but also Yugi, Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, and the others behind him, and even Anubis in the distance, were all in an immobile state, as if space-time had been frozen!
Immediately after, as the Gate of Phantasms fully opened, revealing its pitch-black interior, Hayato felt a suction force coming from the gate, locking onto him, the closest person to the gate besides Anubis. The building wreckage of the Kaiba Dome on the ground was being pulled and dragged, and Hayato also found himself, unable to move, being pulled little by little towards the gate's direction!
At the same time, Anubis's proud voice echoed: "Hmphahaha, this is the punishment for being my enemy, Hayato Kobayashi!"
"If the Three Egyptian Gods are symbols of authority, the Sacred Beasts are symbols of power. They can not only bring ageless and immortal power to their user, but also be used to open the gate to a Different Dimension, bringing power that transcends dimensions to the user."
"However, if you are absorbed by the Gate of Phantasms, even I don't know the way back," Anubis said proudly. "I will watch you be absorbed by that gate here, and then close it. That way, there will be no one left in the World who can hinder me!"
"Struggle as much as you want, Hayato Kobayashi. I am looking forward to seeing how pathetic and ugly you struggle to escape the destiny of being sent to a Different Dimension. Anyway, before this level of dimensional power, nothing can change your destiny of disappearing from this World and me destroying everything!"
Hayato fell silent for a moment. Although he couldn't move his body at all and could only let himself get closer and closer to the Gate of Phantasms, with the speed increasing, his eyeballs moved, looking at the people not far from his side.
Unlike himself and Anubis, under the influence of the Gate of Phantasms, Yugi, Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, Marik, and Ishizu couldn't even maintain clear consciousness. Their eyes were vacant, their bodies stiff and unable to move, let alone Tristan, Téa, and Keipei.
As Anubis said, being locked onto by the Gate of Phantasms, Hayato couldn't use any cards to change the current situation and free himself. However, it was only that he couldn't free himself; not all cards were unusable. There was one card he could still use.
"That's not true at all, Anubis," Hayato's voice was very calm, attracting Anubis's attention. "You said the World's destiny is already decided? That hasn't gotten my permission."
To Anubis's considerable surprise, he clearly remembered Hayato's hand being empty just before, but now there was a green-bordered Spell Card. "What is that card?"
Before Anubis could even see clearly what card it was, he was surprised to find that Hayato, who had been completely unable to move, was now moving his arm to raise the card above his head, which made him extremely uneasy.
"Hey, what are you doing, Hayato Kobayashi!"
Hayato didn't answer Anubis, but instead shifted his gaze to look at everyone again, lingering on each person's face for a moment.
Although Joey Wheeler is very strict, everyone can basically see that he actually trusts you to take care of Shizuka, so keep it up, Tristan;
The feelings between Yugi and Pharaoh are so close, Téa, you seem like a third wheel, but Rebecca will be with you, so keep it up too;
Although Kaiba is indeed incredibly stubborn and arrogant, he's also the one who often suffers a setback. You've worked hard, Keipei;
Although you haven't changed the way you address me, you bastard, it doesn't matter. Just be a little more mindful of your body and don't always make Ishizu worry, Marik;
It's a pity I couldn't attend your wedding banquet with Kujaku Mai, but I worked so hard to set you two up, don't let anyone steal your corner again, Joey Wheeler;
Playing AI again, huh? Take a break, how about playing some PvP? Just kidding, it's a pity, I'm going to become the person you can never surpass, Kaiba;
It's a pity I can't take off the Millennium Ring, but the Three Egyptian Gods' cards are still here, try replacing it with other Millennium Items, Pharaoh. And Yugi, you need to have enough confidence in yourself, you're so strong.
Hayato's gaze finally rested on Ishizu.
If only I had known, I could have said what was on my mind earlier. Also, I'm a little sorry for breaking my promise...
"Anubis, I will decide the destiny of this World. Even if I can never return to this World, at least I will take your existence with me." The card Hayato held high above his head shone with radiance. "Release all ultimate power, and use Anubis and the Gate of Phantasms as Fusion Material!"
"I activate Super Polymerization!!"
"Let's hit the road together, Anubis!!!"
Thank you to "Jie Qing" for the 100 points tip. Thank you.
Thank you to "Yi Bu Shi Qing Ben" for the 500 points tip. Thank you very much.
Speaking of which, a very "reasonable" phenomenon from other works has actually appeared regarding the Millennium Items. That is, there are actually eight great Millennium Items, but there are two eighth ones: the Quantum Cube, which appeared in Dark Side of Dimensions, inheriting the manga worldview, which is "Cubic", and the Pyramid of Light in the anime worldview's movie, "Pyramid of Light".
In the official novelization, the Pyramid of Light was actually created by Aknadin, who was Priest Seto's father. It was a tool to allow Seto's reincarnation, Kaiba, to reign over the World again in the next life. To this end, he even turned his disciple into a mummy to inherit his will and assist the reincarnated Seto. That disciple was Anubis. One can only say it was quite the fatherly love.
However, Anubis himself didn't want to be a mummy at all. He had finally climbed from being an ordinary person to the position of a priest's disciple, and Aknadin completely disregarded whether his disciple was willing or not, forcibly turning him into a mummy. This caused him to hold onto this resentment, and a thousand years later, he planned to kill Yugi and Kaiba and become the Pharaoh himself.
This volume is now finished. The next volume is the Doma Arc, which has had many foreshadowings buried since the beginning of the book. Daily request for recommendations.
End of Chapter
"You are seeking your own death!"
The round orb that had rolled onto the ground suddenly flew up and hovered in the air. From within it surged a massive amount of black sludge, rising like a tide into the sky, converging into a giant monster. Its blood-red eyes looked down from above at Hayato, Yugi, and the others on the ground.
The form of the sludge gradually shifted. The head of the giant fiend slowly revealed itself as a dog's head. Seeing this, Yugi Mutou, who had only recently returned to the real world and hadn't had a chance to properly talk with Dark Yugi yet, suddenly remembered the illusion he had seen before: "Anubis!?"
"What? He's not dead yet? He's revived again!"
Having returned to the Millennium Puzzle because of Yugi Mutou's return, Dark Yugi was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, then his expression turned serious. "Since we didn't finish him off once, we'll do it again. We'll defeat him so he can't revive."
"Aibo!"
"Alright, I'll leave it to you, The Other Me!"
Flashing with golden radiance, the Millennium Puzzle swung back and forth a few times on Yugi's chest like a pendulum. Yugi's gaze changed from its original gentleness to extreme sharpness. Meeting Anubis's gaze, he drew the card from the top of his Duel Disk: "Come forth, my most loyal servant! Dark Magician—"
"Your lines are too long!" Just as Yugi was about to Summon Dark Magician, Anubis suddenly roared, completely disregarding any sense of fairness. A pitch-black storm blew out, slamming the Dark Magician, which was about to fly out of the card, back into the card. It even knocked away all the cards in Yugi's Deck that hadn't been drawn yet from his Duel Disk.
It wasn't just Yugi. Hayato, who had acted immediately and Summoned **Gaia the Fierce Knight**, also suffered the same fate as Dark Magician. It was knocked back into its card and sent flying, just like the **Rainbow Kuriboh** and **Ojama Yellow** that hadn't had time to be Summoned.
"Muda Muda Muda, weak monsters like that don't even have the qualification to appear before me!"
The black sludge on Anubis's body, which had transformed into a sludge wolf, gradually dried and became sharp, as if it had donned a hedgehog's quills. "The boring Ceremony of the Duel was just a game for me to pass time from the very beginning. Now, I don't have the patience to waste time on you ants!"
"Even if my body and the Pyramid of Light were destroyed, Yours Truly is Anubis!"
"I am the ghosts of the dead, the King of the Underworld! By killing the King of Light and the King of Darkness, I can still become the King of Destruction and destroy this World!"
Anubis's body seemed to be constantly evolving as time passed. The dog head that had looked quite pathetic just moments ago not only quickly grew a pair of fangs among its sharp teeth, but also sharp horns gradually grew from the top of his head. It looked less and less like a normal creature that could be found on Earth.
As he spoke, Anubis opened his gaping maw. Black and purple flames spilled from his mouth, completely ignoring Hayato and spraying towards Yugi and Kaiba!
Although Kaiba had moved a little distance away earlier due to worrying about Keipei, luckily avoiding Anubis's previous roar, seeing the fiend dare to attack him, he immediately drew three cards and slammed them onto his Duel Disk: "Unaccountably guy saying unaccountably things, but I won't just stand by and watch you defeat Yugi!"
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!!"
Kaiba clearly hadn't realized that Yugi's Duel had actually ended earlier. The "giant wolf" Anubis before them now was not a virtual projection but a true form. However, even if the believing in science Kaiba were told the truth, he would most likely stubbornly stick to his idea and refuse to acknowledge the existence of the supernatural.
But even the Kaiba who denied the supernatural, as he slammed three cards onto his Duel Disk without any supernatural Millennium Items boosting him, three **Blue-Eyes White Dragon** actually appeared before him just like that, helping him block Anubis's attack! They were even in a state of materialization!
Watching the **Blue-Eyes** intercept Anubis's attack at such close range, Yugi also breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Kaiba, who had walked to his side from a distance: "Thank you, Kaiba."
"Hmph, don't misunderstand, Yugi. It's just that only I can defeat both you and Hayato Kobayashi," Kaiba said with a stern face and arrogant tone. "If someone else defeats you before I do, I won't be reconciled to some random third-rate Duelist getting above me."
Anubis, seeing his attack blocked by Kaiba and them chatting leisurely with Yugi, became very angry: "King of Light, I should have just killed you along the way just now. How dare you interfere with me, you're truly courting death. Do you think those weak flying dragons can stop me!"
Saying that, he let out another roar. The three materialized **Blue-Eyes White Dragon** also met the same fate as Dark Magician and **Gaia** under this roar, being bounced back into their cards.
Anubis's aura once again gained the upper hand. As his body evolved, the sharp quills on his back gradually transformed into countless cannon muzzles. Powerful dark power gathered within them, about to be unleashed. Clearly, he was going to use some wide-area destruction technique to kill Kaiba and Yugi in one go!
But just as the proud Anubis was about to say something arrogant to boost his image, he suddenly heard a voice: "Fly, my golden great wing!"
"!"
Anubis felt a scorching heat that seemed to burn the very air rapidly approaching from behind him. Completely unable to defend, he was knocked over onto the ground by a giant flaming flying bird, looking extremely pathetic!
Holding up **The Winged Dragon of Ra**'s card, Hayato commanded **Ra** to pursue the advantage: "You knew I was here but didn't attack me first. You really looked down on me, Anubis. **Ra**, use Super Extreme Blast Flames!"
The **Winged Dragon of Ra**, in its Immortal Phoenix form, had its flames surge violently. It charged again towards Anubis, who had fallen and couldn't get up, suppressing him on the ground once more.
"Yargh! Hayato Kobayashi! It's you again!"
Anubis certainly hadn't forgotten that Hayato had repeatedly caused him trouble. Hayato also had a hand in the destruction of the Pyramid of Light earlier. Now, settling both old and new scores together, he fiercely scrambled up from the ground in the gap of **Ra**'s attack. The spiked cannons on his back fired countless black energy blasts towards Hayato!
**Ra** did not intervene to stop them, but instead attacked Anubis again, limiting his subsequent attacks. As the barrage of energy blasts flew halfway, dense lightning cannonballs descended from the sky, intercepting every single energy blast and detonating them in the air.
"Boom!"
A red long dragon manifested in the clouds. With Hayato's demonstration, Yugi naturally realized immediately that ordinary monsters indeed couldn't participate in the subdue of Anubis, but a God Card was different.
"Hmph, Thunder Force, huh..." Kaiba glanced at **Slifer the Sky Dragon** Summoned by Yugi, and not to be outdone, drew a card. "Then you're up too, Obelisk! Divine Fist Smash Attack!"
Following **The Winged Dragon of Ra**, symbolizing heaven and earth, and **Slifer the Sky Dragon**, symbolizing good and evil, the blue giant god soldier—**Obelisk the Tormentor**—also appeared immediately after. All three Three Egyptian Gods were gathered, and **Obelisk**, upon appearing, immediately swung its giant fist at Anubis, who was being suppressed by **Ra**!
However, just as the giant fist, carrying a powerful shockwave, was about to hit, under the flames released by **Ra**, Anubis suddenly extended a hand that had evolved from a claw and took **Obelisk**'s punch!?
Gradually evolving a pair of giant wings behind him, Anubis's appearance became increasingly bizarre. Standing upright, he exerted power with his wrist, actually lifting **Obelisk the Tormentor** off the ground and flinging it into the air.
In mid-air, **Slifer the Sky Dragon** was brewing an attack to deliver a heavy blow to Anubis, the guy who had absorbed it earlier. The "Superconductive Wave Thunder Raigeki" attack was ready to fire, but unexpectedly, **Obelisk** was flung towards it by Anubis and was hit squarely!
And the attack from its mouth couldn't be controlled and fired, but because it was off target, it happened to hit **The Winged Dragon of Ra**, knocking it down from the air and almost destroying it!
The Three Egyptian Gods, all fall!
On the ground, Yugi covered his forehead helplessly. What Hayato said back then was indeed true, **Slifer the Sky Dragon** was confirmed to be an internal traitor, a sky pit dragon.
"Arrogant ants, do you think mere Divine-Beasts can contend with me? Weak, weak, weak! Yours Truly has extremely high resistance to these so-called 'Gods'. They are just ants before me, just like you!"
As Anubis spoke, he grinned and raised his hand. He clenched his five claws fiercely, and a phantom of a Pyramid actually appeared before him. It instantly expanded, capturing all three Three Egyptian Gods who couldn't escape in time and imprisoning them within!
"**Ra**!" Hayato watched **The Winged Dragon of Ra** being sealed inside the Pyramid of Light, glaring angrily at the proud giant fiend. "A↑nu↓bis↑!"
"Heh heh, that expression of impotent rage truly makes me feel good, Hayato Kobayashi." The sharp horns on his head gradually grew into a wild giant axe. Anubis looked down at Hayato on the ground. "Without your troublesome spirit, you must be out of options now, right? You can no longer interfere with me, so just die along with the King of Light and King of Darkness!"
The axe blade on his head smashed down. Anubis was extremely looking forward to the miserable state Hayato and Yugi would be in before this attack, because no matter how he thought about it, this attack absolutely could not be stopped again.
However, things did not go as planned.
"It's not impotent rage, it's invincible rage, Anubis!"
Anubis's chin, as he smashed his head towards the ground, was struck by a giant fist that suddenly appeared accompanied by Hayato's angry roar. The axe blade on his head failed to smash down, and he himself was sent flying back again!
"This, this is!" Anubis looked towards Hayato's direction. After seeing the existence that had attacked him, his pupils shrank. "**Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**!? Why is it in your hands!"
"Yeah, why indeed? I'm also looking for the answer to that question," Hayato took out two more cards and placed them on his Duel Disk, walking towards Anubis step by step. "However, it's not just **Raviel**. Since you know the Lord of Phantasms, you might as well meet these two monsters as well!"
"**Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**, and **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**!"
Lightning and lava surged. Beside the tall **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, the figures of **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder** and **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames** manifested.
Since the Three Egyptian Gods couldn't resist Anubis, Hayato simply Summoned the Sacred Beasts!
The three spirit gods, with the same color scheme as the Three Egyptian Gods but completely opposite aura, stared at him menacingly. Anubis suddenly felt like backing down.
Thousands of years ago, the Three Egyptian Gods were created through dark alchemy at the stakes of a massacre, along with the Millennium Items. The Pyramid of Light, where Anubis resided, possessed power that surpassed the seven Millennium Items, and consequently had a strong counter ability against the Three Egyptian Gods.
But Anubis also knew that the Sacred Beasts were even older existences than the Three Egyptian Gods. Although their power was not as great as the Three Egyptian Gods, they possessed special power. Anubis had learned of their terrifying power from the Millennium Spellbook, which recorded dark alchemy.
Anubis didn't dare to gamble on whether Hayato could use that power. He wanted to back down, but he felt he couldn't lose in terms of aura:
"I, I have to admit, you do have some strength worth taking seriously, Hayato Kobayashi," the fiend Anubis said stubbornly. "You suddenly make me feel that humans are truly interesting. I've decided not to destroy the World. I'll spare you today."
Saying this, Anubis was about to fly away and escape, but **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms** was even faster. With an "Ora!" roar, it grabbed the tail behind Anubis, dragging him back down to the ground just as his feet left the ground!
This made Anubis lose a lot of face, but he also realized that without the counter he had against the Three Egyptian Gods, he couldn't even beat the Sacred Beasts, which were weaker than the Three Egyptian Gods. He could only bluster at Hayato: "Hayato Kobayashi! Do you know what it means to fight me to the death!"
"Do you know that if I attack with full power, I can easily kill you!"
"No, I haven't thought about that question at all," Hayato commanded the other two Sacred Beasts, surrounding Anubis in a triangle formation. "But do you think you can just escape whenever you want? Ask yourself, is there really such a good thing in the World?"
"I'll use the Sacred Beasts to chop off your dog head! Go, **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**, and **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**!"
Having evolved for so long, Anubis's change was not just in his external shape; his size was also constantly increasing. He was gradually getting close to being taller than the Kaiba Dome, able to stick his head out and see outside.
However, even having evolved to this point, Anubis tragically discovered that he still couldn't beat any single one of the Sacred Beasts. Whether it was **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**'s punch, **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**'s manipulation of ice and lightning, or **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**'s lava, he was simply being beaten like a sandbag, completely unable to fight back!
Even more terrifying was that Anubis also discovered that the dark power making up his body was actually being gradually absorbed by the Sacred Beasts ganging up on him!
If this continued, he would be drained before being beaten to death. The ability of the Sacred Beasts recorded in that Millennium Spellbook, "absorb all spirit power in the World," was indeed true!
No, if this continues, I will die from mental derangement. Move, my flexible mind, quickly think of a way to escape!
He dodged a punch from **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, but a part of the sludge making up his body was cut off by an ice blade shot by **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**. Before he could recycle that part of his body, it was absorbed by **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**'s lava. Anubis looked at the menacing Sacred Beasts before him and had a bold idea—if the record of absorbing power was true, perhaps the record of another ability was also true...
Recalling his memories from a thousand years ago, Anubis's gaze turned fierce. His already ferocious eyes stared intently at Hayato: "You forced me to do this, Hayato Kobayashi!"
As if to go down fighting, one of Anubis's claws made a self-mutilating movement, tearing open a large chunk of his chest. With the other claw, he fiercely grabbed inside and pulled out the core where his true form resided—that Sage's Stone!
Under Hayato's surprised gaze, after pulling out the Sage's Stone, Anubis actually threw it directly towards the location of one of the Sacred Beasts, **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**, saying, "You only use the powerful Sacred Beasts as spirits, Hayato Kobayashi, you don't know the true nature of the Sacred Beasts!"
"With the power of the Eye of Udjat as a guide, open here, the gate leading to Infinite Dimensions! Gate of Phantasms!"
After being hit by Anubis's power, **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**'s body instantly stiffened, turning into a blue orb of light. It collided with the yellow and red orbs of light that **Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder** and **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames** had transformed into, which were not far away. As if Polymerization had been used on them, the three Sacred Beasts gradually twisted and transformed into an ancient, evil energy-filled gate!
The moment the appearing gate slowly opened, Hayato's body suddenly became stiff and completely unable to move.
No, it wasn't a problem with his own body. Hayato noticed that not only himself, but also Yugi, Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, and the others behind him, and even Anubis in the distance, were all in an immobile state, as if space-time had been frozen!
Immediately after, as the Gate of Phantasms fully opened, revealing its pitch-black interior, Hayato felt a suction force coming from the gate, locking onto him, the closest person to the gate besides Anubis. The building wreckage of the Kaiba Dome on the ground was being pulled and dragged, and Hayato also found himself, unable to move, being pulled little by little towards the gate's direction!
At the same time, Anubis's proud voice echoed: "Hmphahaha, this is the punishment for being my enemy, Hayato Kobayashi!"
"If the Three Egyptian Gods are symbols of authority, the Sacred Beasts are symbols of power. They can not only bring ageless and immortal power to their user, but also be used to open the gate to a Different Dimension, bringing power that transcends dimensions to the user."
"However, if you are absorbed by the Gate of Phantasms, even I don't know the way back," Anubis said proudly. "I will watch you be absorbed by that gate here, and then close it. That way, there will be no one left in the World who can hinder me!"
"Struggle as much as you want, Hayato Kobayashi. I am looking forward to seeing how pathetic and ugly you struggle to escape the destiny of being sent to a Different Dimension. Anyway, before this level of dimensional power, nothing can change your destiny of disappearing from this World and me destroying everything!"
Hayato fell silent for a moment. Although he couldn't move his body at all and could only let himself get closer and closer to the Gate of Phantasms, with the speed increasing, his eyeballs moved, looking at the people not far from his side.
Unlike himself and Anubis, under the influence of the Gate of Phantasms, Yugi, Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, Marik, and Ishizu couldn't even maintain clear consciousness. Their eyes were vacant, their bodies stiff and unable to move, let alone Tristan, Téa, and Keipei.
As Anubis said, being locked onto by the Gate of Phantasms, Hayato couldn't use any cards to change the current situation and free himself. However, it was only that he couldn't free himself; not all cards were unusable. There was one card he could still use.
"That's not true at all, Anubis," Hayato's voice was very calm, attracting Anubis's attention. "You said the World's destiny is already decided? That hasn't gotten my permission."
To Anubis's considerable surprise, he clearly remembered Hayato's hand being empty just before, but now there was a green-bordered Spell Card. "What is that card?"
Before Anubis could even see clearly what card it was, he was surprised to find that Hayato, who had been completely unable to move, was now moving his arm to raise the card above his head, which made him extremely uneasy.
"Hey, what are you doing, Hayato Kobayashi!"
Hayato didn't answer Anubis, but instead shifted his gaze to look at everyone again, lingering on each person's face for a moment.
Although Joey Wheeler is very strict, everyone can basically see that he actually trusts you to take care of Shizuka, so keep it up, Tristan;
The feelings between Yugi and Pharaoh are so close, Téa, you seem like a third wheel, but Rebecca will be with you, so keep it up too;
Although Kaiba is indeed incredibly stubborn and arrogant, he's also the one who often suffers a setback. You've worked hard, Keipei;
Although you haven't changed the way you address me, you bastard, it doesn't matter. Just be a little more mindful of your body and don't always make Ishizu worry, Marik;
It's a pity I couldn't attend your wedding banquet with Kujaku Mai, but I worked so hard to set you two up, don't let anyone steal your corner again, Joey Wheeler;
Playing AI again, huh? Take a break, how about playing some PvP? Just kidding, it's a pity, I'm going to become the person you can never surpass, Kaiba;
It's a pity I can't take off the Millennium Ring, but the Three Egyptian Gods' cards are still here, try replacing it with other Millennium Items, Pharaoh. And Yugi, you need to have enough confidence in yourself, you're so strong.
Hayato's gaze finally rested on Ishizu.
If only I had known, I could have said what was on my mind earlier. Also, I'm a little sorry for breaking my promise...
"Anubis, I will decide the destiny of this World. Even if I can never return to this World, at least I will take your existence with me." The card Hayato held high above his head shone with radiance. "Release all ultimate power, and use Anubis and the Gate of Phantasms as Fusion Material!"
"I activate Super Polymerization!!"
"Let's hit the road together, Anubis!!!"
Thank you to "Jie Qing" for the 100 points tip. Thank you.
Thank you to "Yi Bu Shi Qing Ben" for the 500 points tip. Thank you very much.
Speaking of which, a very "reasonable" phenomenon from other works has actually appeared regarding the Millennium Items. That is, there are actually eight great Millennium Items, but there are two eighth ones: the Quantum Cube, which appeared in Dark Side of Dimensions, inheriting the manga worldview, which is "Cubic", and the Pyramid of Light in the anime worldview's movie, "Pyramid of Light".
In the official novelization, the Pyramid of Light was actually created by Aknadin, who was Priest Seto's father. It was a tool to allow Seto's reincarnation, Kaiba, to reign over the World again in the next life. To this end, he even turned his disciple into a mummy to inherit his will and assist the reincarnated Seto. That disciple was Anubis. One can only say it was quite the fatherly love.
However, Anubis himself didn't want to be a mummy at all. He had finally climbed from being an ordinary person to the position of a priest's disciple, and Aknadin completely disregarded whether his disciple was willing or not, forcibly turning him into a mummy. This caused him to hold onto this resentment, and a thousand years later, he planned to kill Yugi and Kaiba and become the Pharaoh himself.
This volume is now finished. The next volume is the Doma Arc, which has had many foreshadowings buried since the beginning of the book. Daily request for recommendations.
End of Chapter
