Chapter 192: The Thief
In the center of the Arena, wearing a fashionable "Pig Mask Headgear" to hide his identity, Joey found the contestant opposite him to be quite a handful. Judging by her figure, she was quite the woman, but once she started attacking, it was like a raging tempest, almost suffocating and not the least bit gentle.
He summoned Flame Swordsman to block the attack of the massive flying bird in the sky, Sky Hunter, with its sword. On the other side, his Iron Knight was just about to seize an opening to attack the opponent when it was blocked by a whip-wielding Amazoness Trainee.
"Ohohohoho, all your resistance is useless!" The blonde woman, wearing a mask that only covered her face and possessing a graceful figure, laughed triumphantly. Although Joey found her high-pitched laughter strangely familiar, he just couldn't recall where he had heard it before.
Unlike Joey, in the Audience Seating outside the Field, Yugi and Mokuba had a vague inkling of the masked woman's true identity. They couldn't help but stand up, wanting to rush into the Arena to stop the two from killing each other.
Just as Joey and the "masked woman" on the Field were about to continue summoning Monsters to fight, a loud "BOOM" erupted from the Spectator Stands where the event organizers were located. White smoke enveloped the Judge's Stand, obscuring the situation inside.
The unexpected event drew everyone's attention. Not only did the two contestants on the Field stop fighting, but even the spectators who had been cheering for the intense battle now looked curiously at the cloud of smoke. Under everyone's gaze, the smoke slowly gathered towards the center, eventually taking on a human form!
"The card Chick will be taken by us, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!" Taking advantage of the equipped Mist Body, Hayato cosplayed as Smoker. He ignored the non-threatening gun in the hands of the Toad Man who had organized this competition and reached out to snatch the final prize of the Match that was placed to the side—the Fat Chicken card, named Chick.
"Bang!" The Toad Man pulled the trigger, but the bullet passed through Hayato's body without any resistance, failing to cause even a sliver of damage.
Mist Body, an Equip Spell Card that prevents the equipped Monster from being destroyed by battle.
Although in the Online Game World of Duel Monsters, card effects could only be used during a battle, the Philosopher's Stone - Hermos card that Hayato had obtained earlier seemed to be unrestricted by this rule.
Seeing that his gun was useless against Hayato, the Toad Man, infuriated that his card had been stolen, lunged directly at Hayato to get it back. However, Hayato deftly dodged, and the Toad Man's pounce met only empty air.
Having entered a battle state by clashing with others, Hayato directly drew a few cards from his Deck and held them high above his head. "My apologies everyone, the spectacular performance ends here. I must now leave the Field, Ciao~"
Emergency Ejection Device activated, and Hayato was instantly launched into the sky above the Arena. A falcon appeared behind him, grabbing his arms and flying away.
"Don't let that bastard escape! That's my treasure, my treasure!" The Toad Man was furious, hastily directing the guards around the Arena to give chase.
"That guy is... Hayato?!" Just as Joey recognized the person on the high platform, he heard the masked blonde woman next to him call out Hayato's name. He turned his head in surprise, "You... you know Hayato?"
"Hah? What nonsense are you spouting, Pig Head?" The blonde woman glanced at Joey with disdain. "I am one of the Top 8 of Duelist Kingdom, you know. Tsk, why am I explaining this to an NPC like you."
"Top 8 of Duelist Kingdom? Wait, don't tell me you're...!" Seeing the blonde woman draw another card, which turned out to be the iconic Harpie Lady, Joey finally recognized who stood before him. "Wait a minute, Mai! It's me, it's me!"
As he spoke, Joey snatched the Pig Mask Headgear from his head, revealing his face. But he discovered that just as he was taking it off, Mai Valentine had already summoned Harpie Lady, its claws stopping just an inch from his face. Startled, he quickly took a step back.
"Joey?! It's you!" The blonde woman was also quite surprised. She removed the mask from her face, and indeed, it was Mai Valentine. "Why are you in this game?"
"I came with Yugi, Hayato, and the others to clear this game. You know Seto Kaiba, right? He's trapped in this game." Joey looked to the side and saw that Yugi and Mokuba had already vaulted over the railing of the Audience Seating and entered the Arena, running towards them to regroup.
"Why is it that Kaiba is either getting his soul sealed or trapped in a game?" Mai Valentine quipped, then looked at Joey with contempt. "However, this game isn't so simple to clear. You're still far from good enough."
Joey wasn't intimidated by Mai Valentine in the slightest and shot back, "Well, I'm stronger than you, that's for sure. Speaking of which, why are you in this game? Don't tell me you couldn't clear it, so you got trapped in here just like Kaiba?"
"None of your business! You're so annoying! Shut up!"
Just as Joey and Mai Valentine were about to continue arguing, they found themselves suddenly shrouded in shadow from above. They spun around and sprinted away from their spot just as several massive stones crashed down where they had been standing a moment before.
"Miss Mai, Joey! Are you two alright!" Yugi, who had just arrived, asked anxiously. As he tried to get closer, he suddenly noticed that the previously closed entrance to the Arena was slowly opening.
"We're fine," Joey said as he got up from the ground, brushing the dust off himself. He looked with a serious expression at the slowly opening gates. "But, what's that over there?"
A giant iron cage was slowly pulled into the Arena, drawn by a group of Beasts. A huge Dragon-Type creature was imprisoned in the cage, appearing before Yugi and the others.
"Is that... Tyrant Dragon?!" Yugi and the others watched in shock as the cage opened. The Dragon imprisoned within angrily stormed into the Arena, and they immediately summoned their own Monsters.
The Arena's announcer hadn't left with the organizer, the Toad Man. He stood on a high platform and declared smugly, "Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a slight mishap in our Masked Competition, but no matter, we have already prepared an even more exciting show for you all."
"Next, please enjoy: the Dragon and the Ants!"
The collar around the Tyrant Dragon's neck emitted a jolt of electricity, enraging the already irritable beast. With a roar, the massive Tyrant Dragon beat its wings and charged toward Yugi and his friends.
(end of chapter)