As Duke Devlin's Life Points dropped to zero and the outcome of the Duel was decided, the Solid Vision system shut down. However, there wasn't much left to dissipate anyway, besides Duke Devlin's [Divine Ghoul Ogre].
Joey, still restrained by Duke Devlin's fans, couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "Alright! Hayato won!"
However, he didn't immediately break free from the control of Duke Devlin's fan club. As for the reason...
Although he was pinned down, Duke Devlin's fan club had quite a few beautiful women among its members. The soft sensations coming from behind, even through his pajamas, made Joey's imagination run wild, and he was somewhat reluctant to break free from the embrace of the beauties.
Duke Devlin, who had been blown away and was lying on the ground, also came to his senses, realizing that his long-planned revenge Duel against the Duel King had been lost, just like that.
Even though his Deck still held more possibilities that hadn't been revealed, did he truly lose the Duel just like that? He still hadn't proven that Hayato and Yugi had defeated Mr. Pegasus through some underhanded means.
Even as he thought this, Duke Devlin recalled the deadly continuous attacks of [Five-Headed Dragon] during Hayato's last Turn.
5000 Attack Points, 10000 Attack Points, and 2500 Effect Damage. Surely, this must be the very limit that Duel Monsters could reach.
If faced with such a terrifying Combo, it wouldn't be surprising if Mr. Pegasus lost, would it?
Sitting up from the ground, Duke Devlin looked at Hayato, who had walked over to him, and said with a bitter smile, "You won, Duel King."
"Hmph, wasn't that already known before the Duel?" Hayato dismissively pursed his lips. "If you still refuse to acknowledge my and Yugi's abilities, and continue to question the truth of our victory over Pegasus, feel free to challenge me anytime. I can waste a whole day with you."
Looking at the 500 DP given by the System in the settlement, and the randomly dropped [Destiny Draw] card that Hayato had long envied, Hayato appeared calm and collected on the surface, but in reality, he wished he could Duel Duke Devlin a few more times.
Who would've thought this kid, Duke Devlin, was such a fat sheep? Even though Hayato had Dueled Joey so many times, that card never dropped, yet this guy actually managed to get it to drop.
But Duke Devlin shook his head at Hayato's disappointed gaze. "No, your Duel has won me over. That was truly a Duel befitting a king, Hayato."
"I apologize for everything I've done before. You are a True Duelist, and I believe the same applies to your companion—Yugi."
"Just an apology in words isn't worth a dime, is it?" As Hayato said this, his eyes darted to the posters plastered on the walls behind him. "Hey, how about you give me a [Dark Magician Girl] Monster Dice Roulette too?"
Duke Devlin had originally prepared himself to be humiliated by Hayato in the same manner, so he was slightly taken aback after hearing Hayato's request. He then said with a smile, "No problem at all. Rather, I'm very happy that even the Duel King likes my Monster Dice Roulette."
————Meeting friends through cards, I activate [Mystic Mine]————
Due to Duke Devlin's defeat, Joey regained his freedom, reluctantly taking off the dog-head jumpsuit pajamas he was wearing, and leaving Duke Devlin's fan club.
"Just a mere Monster Dice Roulette, why does that guy Duke Devlin have so many fans?!" Joey's tone was slightly sour. "Even though I was a Top 4 player in Duelist Kingdom, why don't I have a fan club?"
"After all, apart from the final match where Hayato and Yugi Dueled Pegasus, the other matches in Duelist Kingdom weren't even publicized, were they? Probably not many people even know you were Top 4, so where would the fans come from?" Tristan retorted.
Joey was somewhat surprised to hear this. "What, it's like that? Damn it, then didn't I get this Top 4 for nothing?! They actually didn't record my heroic moments during my Duels, that's unforgivable, Pegasus!"
"How can you say you got it for nothing? Don't forget, my and Yugi's prize money fully paid for Serenity Wheeler's surgery." Hayato said, playing with a few Monster Dice Roulette. Rare to encounter such a rich mark, Hayato had gotten several of the highest rarity Monster Dice Roulette from Duke Devlin in one go.
Then, Joey, that 'Heart of the Cards' lucky dog, also bought a few Dice Roulette because he had nothing better to do. What Hayato had, he also had.
Lady Luck's paramour—Joey—slapped his palm in realization. "Oh right, Serenity Wheeler's surgery fee issue was resolved by me."
Thinking of his younger sister, the lost expression on Joey's face instantly vanished, replaced by an ineffably gentle smile. "Serenity Wheeler's attending physician said the surgery could likely take place in about two months, and the recovery rate after surgery is 99%, making errors almost impossible."
"Congratulations, Joey." Tristan was genuinely happy for Joey, and gave him a high-five in understanding.
"Hehe, thinking about it this way, it seems my efforts weren't in vain after all."
The group walked back to the Kame Game Shop, not far from Duke Devlin's Black Crown Game Shop, but found that the Kame Game Shop had actually closed early, with a "Closed for Business" sign on the door.
"Why is it so quiet here today? The shop door is also closed." Hayato was somewhat puzzled.
Yugi guessed, "Perhaps Grandpa took an early rest because business was slow?"
"Don't worry, although Monster Dice Roulette is popular lately, I think the most popular game will always be Duel Monsters. Duke Devlin's influence is only temporary, and the Kame Game Shop's business will pick up."
Hearing Hayato's reassurance, Yugi also nodded. "Mm, then tomorrow I'll continue to help Grandpa, to make him a bit happier."
Saying this, Yugi pushed open the Kame Game Shop's door. "Grandpa, we're home~"
But the one who answered them was not Grandpa Muto's voice, but a young man's magnetic voice. "Hmph, Yugi, Hayato, and that loser dog? You few, you've certainly made me wait long enough."
This arrogant and condescending attitude, even though he was in someone else's house, yet he acted so arrogantly, as if he were the owner—who else could it be but Seto Kaiba?
"Kaiba! Why are you here again, you bastard!" Joey's eyes, looking at Kaiba, were full of hostility. After all, the last time Kaiba appeared here, Grandpa Muto was forced by him to Duel at KaibaCorp, causing Grandpa to suffer a heart attack and be hospitalized. Who knew what he was planning by appearing here this time?
"Kaiba?" Yugi merely called out Kaiba's name, also waiting for his explanation.
Kaiba gave them a cold glance. "Hmph, if I hadn't been invited, do you think I would willingly come to a place like this?"
Saying this, Kaiba walked straight towards the inner room.
Although their hearts were full of unanswered questions, Yugi and the others quickly followed.
Walking into the house, Hayato and the four of them saw that Grandpa Muto had not gone upstairs to rest as they had suspected. Instead, he was sitting on the sofa in the living room, talking with someone next to him. Seeing Yugi and the others return, he quickly introduced them, "Yugi, you're back, just in time. Cough, cough, let me introduce you."
Saying this, he raised his hand and introduced the woman sitting next to him: "This is a friend I made in Egypt back when I was doing archaeology. She took great care of us during our archaeological digs back then. Kaiba is also here because he was invited by her."
"Mr. Muto, I merely offered a small helping hand back then." The woman smiled and stood up.
Although her face was veiled, covering most of it and only revealing a pair of beautiful eyes, just from looking at her eyes, one could tell that this woman was definitely a great beauty. Her attire was as Grandpa Muto had described, an Egyptian style of dress, with a plain white headscarf covering her head, her white robe adorned with many gold ornaments, and her exposed deep brown skin looking quite smooth, further highlighting her exotic beauty.
The woman's gaze swept over Yugi and the others, pausing slightly on Hayato and Yugi, before she slowly spoke, "We finally meet, everyone. My name is Ishizu, Ishizu Ishtar. You can just call me Ishizu."
A very mature and gentle voice.
"Hello, Miss Ishizu." Compared to Yugi and the others, Hayato had known about Ishizu's existence much earlier. A member of the Tomb Keepers "Ishtar Family," the owner of the [Millennium Necklace], a preeminent "riddler," and the renowned "Graveyard Control Strategy" Shadow Realm Duelist.
However, knowing is one thing; at first sight of Ishizu, Hayato was also stunned by her beauty. Compared to her appearance in the Anime from his memory, the real Ishizu looked even more beautiful.
However, as far as Hayato knew, Ishizu shouldn't be here at all right now.
"Actually, Ishizu is an important figure in the Egyptian Government now," Solomon sighed. "Oh, how time flies. I remember Ishizu as a little girl back then. In the blink of an eye, she's grown into such a stunning beauty, and her figure—"
Then Grandpa Muto was lightly tapped by Téa with a tray. "Really, Grandpa Sugoroku, you're too disrespectful for your age."
Seeing Grandpa Muto's antics, Ishizu smiled gently, then looked at Hayato and Yugi. "I currently work for Egypt's Cultural Administration Bureau. In fact, recently, the Egyptian Government originally planned to cooperate with Japan to hold a large-scale Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Traveling Exhibition, and the first stop was Domino City."
"However, that was just a cover for our operation." She paused, her gaze fixed directly on Hayato, making him inexplicably uncomfortable. "Actually, the reason I came to Domino City is because two very important Duel Monster cards were stolen."
(Author's Note: Only two updates today; two 3k characters are like three 2k characters, right?)
(Author's Note: By the way, Ishizu really is a childhood goddess, a dark-skinned Big Sister, and the later the chapters, the better the artwork made Ishizu's figure; it's just amazing.)
(Author's Note: There was a garbled image placeholder here in the original text.)
(Author's Note: Also, can you please cast some votes for this nameless, trashy little author?)
(end of chapter)