Chapter 304: Fourth Match, Yugi VS Marik
Based on Hayato's usual personality, if the person handing him these three Cards was from the Ghouls, or someone he didn't know, Hayato would have accepted the three Cards without hesitation.
Freebies delivered to your Hand? You'd be a fool not to take them.
What's more, these three Cards weren't useless junk. There was no need to elaborate on "Present Underworld" and "Painful Choice", especially "Present Underworld". As far as Hayato knew, although the System Shop also had "Present Underworld", its Effect was a weakened version. The uncensored version was likely only the one Ishizu Ishtar held.
While the "Painful Choice" in the System wasn't weakened, its price was ridiculously high at 30,000 DP Points. With that many spare DP Points, Hayato might be able to draw more reinforcing Cards better suited to his Deck.
Even the "Blast Held by a Tribute" in Ishizu Ishtar's Hand was her unique Anime Effect version. Unlike the Real Card Version, which "Activates when a Tribute Summoned monster attacks, Destroying all Face-up Position monsters on the opponent's Field and inflicting 1000 points of Damage," Ishizu Ishtar's Card could Take Effect as soon as it was Set.
"Target one monster to install a bomb. When a monster Tribute Summoned using that monster attacks, Destroy the monster and inflict Damage equal to the ATK of the monster the bomb was installed on." Compared to the Real Card Version, its lower limit was reduced, but its upper limit was also raised. Even a God could be Destroyed because the bomb affected the Tribute, not the God itself.
However, Hayato felt genuinely awkward accepting the three Cards. "These gifts are too valuable. It wouldn't be right for me to just take them."
Seeing Hayato try to give the three Cards back, Ishizu Ishtar used her hand to gently stop his. "Then, consider them my thanks. Thank you for teaching me the 'Transcending the Future'."
"But, this strange feeling..." As she spoke, Ishizu Ishtar lowered her head to look at the Card in Hayato's other Hand. Although she hadn't clearly seen the Card's identity yet, that Card gave Ishizu Ishtar a very peculiar feeling—quite familiar, yet slightly strange.
Only then did Hayato remember the Dropped Card he had just retrieved from the System from this Duel. He raised his Hand, and a Monster Card with a slightly subtle Card Art appeared before them.
White Egyptian attire, golden jewelry all over her body, and a golden eye on her forehead. Although her hairstyle was slightly different from Ishizu Ishtar's, this Monster Card named "Gravekeepers' Priestess", no matter how you looked at it, strongly resembled Ishizu Ishtar.
"This Card?" Ishizu Ishtar looked at the "Gravekeepers' Priestess" Card, tilting her head in confusion. The Gravekeepers Deck was supposed to be composed of Cards passed down through generations of Clan Heads of the Tomb Keepers. How could Hayato have a Gravekeepers Monster Card, especially one with a never-before-seen appearance so similar to her own, the "Gravekeepers' Priestess"?
While Ishizu Ishtar was pondering, Hayato handed the "Gravekeepers' Priestess" Card to her. He didn't explain to Ishizu Ishtar where he got the Card. ""Gravekeepers' Priestess", huh? It's a shame I don't use a Gravekeepers Deck."
"Cards should really be in the hands of those they're suited for. I'll give this Card to you, Ishizu Ishtar. Although as a return gift, its Value doesn't compare to the three Cards you gave me."
"You really are kind, Hayato-kun, not willing to take advantage at all. Alright, if you absolutely must give me a Card in return to accept my gift, then I'll take it." Ishizu Ishtar smiled and accepted Hayato's Card, but then added,
"However, you were wrong about one thing. In my heart, the Value of this Card is not low at all."
As if receiving a precious gift, Ishizu Ishtar carefully placed "Gravekeepers' Priestess" into her Deck.
Just as she was about to say something more, a chilling voice came from not far away. "Enough of the tender moments, my dear sis~ter~"
Turning their heads, Marik, holding the Millennium Rod, had already walked onto the Duel Field. With a malicious smile, he looked at Hayato and Ishizu Ishtar. "In the end, it was your Victory, Kobayashi Hayato. But that's right, if it wasn't you who advanced, how else could I reclaim Ra from your Hands?"
"Marik..." Ishizu Ishtar called out Marik's Name, but Dark Marik was the malicious Personality born from Marik's inner Darkness. He could even entrust Bakura to eliminate Rishid without hesitation, let alone Ishizu Ishtar?
"Aren't you speaking a bit too soon, Six-Year-Old?" Hayato turned to look at Marik. "Our Duel just finished deciding the winner, why are you so impatient to get on the Field?"
"Or are you saying you're already impatient to be Defeated by Yugi Mutou?"
With the first three Duels already concluded, although the ridiculous Blue-Eyes White Dragon Lottery Machine GO! GO! didn't decide the Players for the fourth Duel, the only two who hadn't Dueled yet were Marik and Yugi Mutou.
Therefore, Marik didn't need to wait for the Lottery Machine to decide the Duelists and walked directly onto the Duel Field to await the start of the Duel.
"Hmph, Yugi Mutou, I don't care about the vessel itself or the outdated Pharaoh inside it." Marik's face was full of Arrogance. "Ultimately, only a God is qualified to Defeat a God. Even if I've lost Ra for now, the Power of Osiris is not something just anyone can Defeat."
Hearing Marik look down on him so much, Yugi Mutou, or rather, Dark Yugi who was currently in control of the Body, frowned as he followed onto the Duel Field. "Slifer the Sky Dragon, huh? Although I'm not yet sure what kind of Effect this last of the Three Egyptian God Cards has, I believe that I and my trusted Deck will Defeat any Enemy that stands in our way."
"Heh, even after witnessing the might of Obelisk and Ra, nameless Pharaoh, you still harbor such blind Confidence?" Marik retorted, facing off against Yugi Mutou. "In that case, let the God of the Underworld, Osiris, shatter your Confidence."
"After I Defeat you, remember to enjoy the pleasures of the Underworld."
"I'll return those same words to you. I can't wait to see what kind of Power Osiris possesses, after I take it into my possession."
Ishizu Ishtar and Hayato consciously gave up the Field to the two whose atmosphere was charged with tension. Similar to the previous Duel between Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine, the Duel between Hayato and Ishizu Ishtar, where neither injected Dark Game into their Duel Monsters, caused no Damage to the Field, so no repairs were needed, and the fourth Duel was about to begin immediately.
However, even though the two Duelists on the Duel Field were ready, Iso did not immediately announce the start of the Duel.
In the previous Duels, the Cameras set up around the Duel Field captured the situation from various angles and were broadcast with a slight delay after some camera switching. After all, having a few minutes of buffer was necessary to prevent any Unexpected situations during the Duel.
However, since the Live Broadcast had been going on for so long, although damaged Cameras were replaced after the first Duel due to Obelisk's Attack, some of the remaining Cameras had developed problems. To prevent missing important shots, KaibaCorp Staff Members were urgently repairing the equipment.
Of course, because Kaiba was quite generous with his spending, the Staff Members working overtime in such a harsh environment had no complaints. In fact, they were quite happy to work overtime, because with sufficient overtime pay, who could refuse money? The only one slightly unhappy was Mokuba.
"How does that saying go? 'He who does not manage a household does not know the cost of fuel and rice.' Older Brother is always so extravagant with money," Mokuba complained, operating various data on a laptop, looking up slightly at Hayato who had returned to the Audience Seats with Ishizu Ishtar.
Before Mokuba could continue his humblebragging, Hayato ruffled Mokuba's hair, stopping the sentence "At this rate, KaibaCorp will go bankrupt within a century" that was almost out of his mouth.
Sitting in the Audience Seats resting and waiting for the Staff Members to repair the Cameras, Hayato gazed into the distance.
The previous consecutive Duels were also Interesting, but only now, in his leisure time, did Hayato notice that looking at the distant scenery from the Airship was a rather pleasant experience. Although, the "S.S. Anne" beneath their feet, with its dangerous-sounding Name, only resembled an Airship in appearance.
A conventional Airship should consist of two parts: the large gasbag on top providing buoyancy, and the cabin fixed below the gasbag. The cabin, which is the smallest part by volume, is the only usable Space.
However, the "S.S. Anne" looked like an Airship on the outside, but the space that should have been filled with low-density gas and unusable was hollowed out. Not only could it be used normally, but it also carried a lot of Heavy cargo, and even bizarre, meaningless things like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Lottery Machine GO! GO!.
One could only say, as expected of KaibaCorp, their black technology was like ants moving house, swarming everywhere.
The "S.S. Anne" was chosen as the Duel Field for the Duel City Second Stage Elimination Round not just because Dueling on an Airship was cool, but mainly because Kaiba had found a very good location for the Final Battle—an island that was home to KaibaCorp's headquarters before it moved to Domino City, Devil's Island.
It was a private island occupied by KaibaCorp before it transitioned from a military industry group. After Kaiba kicked his adoptive father, Gozaburo Kaiba, out of the CEO position, he didn't hesitate to abandon this priceless private island along with the military Production lines on it.
However, Kaiba felt that this resolve alone wasn't enough.
To completely bury the past, Kaiba decided to use Devil's Island as the Final Battleground for Duel City. This way, while ascending to the throne of King of Games, he could completely trample everything of Gozaburo Kaiba under his feet.
And the way to get to Devil's Island was the "S.S. Anne," this "Airship."
But honestly, if the destination was a distant overseas island, Hayato thought it would be faster to fly there directly by plane rather than Airship. It would be quicker and more convenient to decide the finalists in Domino City and then fly to Devil's Island for the Duels one by one. KaibaCorp wasn't unable to afford transport planes.
Ultimately, wasn't it because Kaiba was worried about his Dueling Addiction acting up halfway, plus he thought Dueling on an Airship was cool, that he chose to use the "S.S. Anne"?
While Hayato was silently complaining about Kaiba, who was unaware of his thoughts, the Staff Members, whose work was quick because they were paid well, finished repairing the photography equipment. The waiting crowd in the Audience Seats turned their gaze back to the Duel Field.
Kaiba, who had been standing since the beginning and hadn't sat down, perhaps because he didn't know fatigue or was worried about his perfectly straight Trench Coat getting wrinkled, looked at the two people on the Field with a Heavy gaze: 'Yugi Mutou, and Marik who holds Slifer the Sky Dragon. Compared to the Duels of Amateurs and that guy Hayato, this Duel is more like it.'
Joey Wheeler nervously gripped the railing, muttering to himself, "Go for it, Yugi Mutou."
"Your opponent is that Marik, I heard he's the leader of the Ghouls, so he seems like a tough guy to deal with," Mai Valentine patted Joey Wheeler's shoulder. "Anyway, since it's Yugi Mutou, let's have more faith in him."
Iso on the Judge's Stand raised his hands.
"The fourth match of the Duel City Quarterfinals, the Duelists are Marik Ishtar, and Player Yugi Mutou. I hereby announce,"
"Let the match begin!"
"Duel!" X2
[Yugi Mutou: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
[Marik: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
"I'll take the First Turn!" Marik was the first to draw his sixth Hand Card from his Deck. The Deck he used primarily consisted of Fiends and Traps, so having the Right to Go First had a significant Influence on him, much like whether Cyber Dragon could Attack when going second.
"Now, nameless Pharaoh," Marik said, looking at Yugi Mutou across from him, and played a Spell Card from his Hand. "From now on, let us together enjoy the pleasures of the Underworld!"
"I Activate the Continuous Spell Card, "Black Snake Disease"!"
As Marik placed the Card from his Hand into the Duel Disk's Spell & Trap Zone, under the Influence of an invisible Dark Magic, two black venomous snakes emerged from the shadows behind Yugi Mutou and Marik, suddenly striking and biting their hands.
"Ugh!" Yugi Mutou was caught off guard and bitten by the venomous snakes. He instinctively shook his Hand, trying to shake off the snakes, but when he raised his Hand, although the pain lingered, the black snakes had disappeared.
"The Effect of "Black Snake Disease" is that during each of my Standby Phases, it inflicts 200 points of Effect Damage to Both players. After all, I don't particularly like lengthy Duels. The path to the Underworld should be brief and unforgettable, shouldn't it?"
A sinister smile was on Marik's face.