Chapter 304: Fourth Match, Yugi VS Marik
Given Hayato's usual personality, if the person who put these three cards in front of him was a member of the Rare Hunters or someone he didn't know, Hayato would have accepted them without hesitation.
Why not take advantage of a good deal handed to you?
Moreover, these three cards weren't useless junk. There's no need to elaborate on 「Exchange of the Spirit」 and 「Painful Choice」, especially 「Exchange of the Spirit」. As far as Hayato knew, although the System Shop also offered 「Exchange of the Spirit」, its effect was a weakened version. The uncut version was probably only the one Ishizu possessed.
While 「Painful Choice」 in the System wasn't weakened, its price was a ridiculous 30,000 DP. With that many spare DP, Hayato could likely obtain even more reinforcement cards that better suited his Deck.
Even the 「Blast Held by a Tribute」 in Ishizu's hand was her unique anime-effect version of the card. Unlike its real-life counterpart, which states, "When a monster that was Tribute Summoned attacks, destroy all face-up monsters on your opponent's Field and inflict 1000 damage," Ishizu's card could activate as soon as it was set.
Its effect reads: "Target one monster to install a bomb. When a monster Tribute Summoned using that monster as Tribute attacks, destroy the targeted monster and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the monster that had the bomb installed on it." Compared to the real-life version, its lower limit was reduced, but its upper limit was also greatly increased. Even a God could be destroyed by this bomb's effect, as it targets the Tribute monster, not the God itself.
But Hayato really felt too awkward to accept the three cards. "Such a gift is too precious. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to simply accept it."
Seeing Hayato try to push the three cards back to her, Ishizu gently pressed against his palm. "Then, consider them my token of gratitude. Thank you for teaching me 'the courage to surpass the future'."
"However, this strange feeling..." As she spoke, Ishizu lowered her head, looking at the card in Hayato's other hand. Although she hadn't yet seen the card's true form, it gave Ishizu a very peculiar feeling—quite familiar, yet with a hint of unfamiliarity.
Hayato then remembered the card he had just retrieved from the System, a drop from this duel. He raised his hand, and a Monster Card with slightly subtle card art appeared before them.
White Egyptian attire, golden jewelry covering her body, and a golden eye on her forehead. Although her hairstyle had slight differences from Ishizu's, this Monster Card, named 「Gravekeeper's Priestess」, looked exactly like Ishizu, no matter how she looked at it.
"This card?" Ishizu tilted her head in confusion, looking at the 「Gravekeeper's Priestess」 card. The 「Gravekeeper's」 Deck should consist of cards belonging to the successive clan leaders passed down by the Tomb Keepers. How could Hayato have a 「Gravekeeper's」 Monster Card, one she had never seen before, and whose image was so strikingly similar to her own?
As Ishizu wondered, Hayato handed the 「Gravekeeper's Priestess」 card to her. He didn't explain to Ishizu where he had gotten the card. "「Gravekeeper's Priestess」, huh? It's a pity I don't use a 「Gravekeeper's」 Deck."
"Cards should always be in the hands of those best suited for them. This card is for you, Ishizu. Although, as a return gift, its value doesn't compare to the three cards you gave me."
"You're truly kind, Hayato, unwilling to accept even the slightest advantage. Alright, if you insist on returning a card for me to accept your gift, then I will take it." Ishizu smiled and accepted Hayato's card, then added,
"But you got one thing wrong. In my heart, the value of this card is by no means low."
As if receiving a precious gift, Ishizu carefully placed the 「Gravekeeper's Priestess」 into her Deck.
Just as she was about to say something more, a cold voice came from not far from them: "That's enough sweet talk, my de-a-a-a-r sis-ter."
Turning their heads, Marik, holding the 「Millennium Rod」, had already stepped onto the Duel Field, a sinister smile on his face, looking at Hayato and Ishizu. "In the end, it was your victory, after all, Hayato. But that's right, if it wasn't you who advanced, how would I reclaim 「The Winged Dragon of Ra」 from your hands?"
"Marik..." Ishizu called out Marik's name, but Dark Marik was the malicious personality born from the darkness within Marik's mind. He could even nonchalantly task Bakura with eliminating Odion, let alone Ishizu.
"Aren't you speaking too soon, Six-Year-Old?" Hayato turned to Marik. "Our duel just ended, why are you so eager to step onto the Field?"
"Or are you just impatient to be defeated by Yugi?"
Now that the previous three duels had concluded, even though the hilarious 「Blue-Eyes White Dragon Raffle Machine GO! GO!」 hadn't decided the contestants for the fourth duel, the only people left who hadn't dueled were Marik and Yugi.
Therefore, Marik didn't need to wait for the raffle machine to decide the Duelists and directly stepped onto the Duel Field, awaiting the start of the duel.
"Hmph, Yugi, I don't care about the vessel itself, nor the outdated Pharaoh within it," Marik said arrogantly. "Ultimately, only a God can defeat a God. Even if I've lost 「The Winged Dragon of Ra」 for now, the power of 「Slifer the Sky Dragon」 is not something anyone can overcome."
Hearing Marik belittle him so much, Yugi, or rather, Yami Yugi, who was currently controlling the body and had followed him onto the Duel Field, frowned. "「Slifer the Sky Dragon」, huh? While I don't yet know what effects this last of the Egyptian God Cards possesses, I believe that my trusted Deck and I will overcome any enemy that stands in our way."
"Heh, even after witnessing the immense power of 「Obelisk the Tormentor」 and 「The Winged Dragon of Ra」, Nameless Pharaoh, you still harbor such blind confidence?" Marik retorted, matching Yugi's gaze. "In that case, let the God of the Underworld, 「Slifer the Sky Dragon」, shatter your confidence."
"Once I defeat you, remember to enjoy the pleasures of hell."
"I return those words to you. I'm already eager to see what kind of power 「Slifer the Sky Dragon」 possesses, after I claim it for my own."
Ishizu and Hayato consciously yielded the Field to the two Duelists, whose atmosphere was filled with tension. Similar to the previous duel between Joey and Mai Valentine, the duels of Hayato and Ishizu, neither of whom had infused Shadow Games into their Duel Monsters, had not caused any damage to the Duel Field. Therefore, no adjustments were needed, and the fourth duel was about to begin immediately.
However, even though both Duelists on the Duel Field were ready, Croquet did not immediately announce the start of the duel.
In the previous several duels, cameras placed around the Duel Field captured the situation from various angles. After certain camera switches, they were broadcast with a delay. After all, allowing a few minutes of leeway was necessary to prevent any unexpected situations during the duel.
However, after broadcasting for such a long time, although damaged cameras were replaced after the first duel due to 「Obelisk the Tormentor」's attack, some of the remaining cameras had also developed problems. To prevent missing important shots, KaibaCorp staff were urgently repairing the equipment.
Of course, because Kaiba was so generous, the staff working overtime in such a harsh environment had no complaints. In fact, they were quite happy to work overtime, as who could refuse money when the overtime pay was sufficient? The only one who was slightly displeased was Mokuba.
"How does that saying go? 'He who doesn't keep house doesn't know the cost of living,' my brother always spends money so extravagantly," Mokuba complained, looking up slightly at Hayato, who had returned to the Audience Seating with Ishizu, while operating various data on a laptop.
Before Mokuba could continue with his humblebrag, Hayato preemptively ruffled Mokuba's hair, stopping the phrase "At this rate, KaibaCorp will go bankrupt in less than a century" from escaping his lips.
Sitting in the Audience Seating, resting and waiting for the staff to repair the cameras, Hayato gazed into the distance.
The previous consecutive duels had been interesting, but only now, in his leisure, did Hayato notice that observing the distant scenery from the Airship was a wonderful experience. Although, the "S.S. St. Ann," whose name sounded quite dangerous, only resembled an Airship in appearance.
A conventional Airship should consist of two parts: an inflatable envelope on top, which occupies the largest volume and provides buoyancy, and a gondola fixed beneath the envelope, with the gondola, the smallest part, being the actual usable space.
However, the "S.S. St. Ann" looked like an Airship, but the envelope, which would normally be filled with low-density gas and unusable, had been hollowed out. Not only could it be used normally, but it also carried heavy cargo, and even peculiar, nonsensical items like the 「Blue-Eyes White Dragon Raffle Machine GO! GO!」.
One could only say, it truly was KaibaCorp; cutting-edge technology was swarming everywhere like ants.
The "S.S. St. Ann" was chosen as the Duel Field for the second stage of the Battle City elimination rounds, not just because Dueling on an Airship was cool, but primarily because Kaiba had scouted an excellent location for the final battle—an island called 「Devil's Island」, where KaibaCorp's Headquarters Building was located before it was moved to Domino City.
It was a private island that KaibaCorp had occupied before transitioning from a weapons manufacturer. After Kaiba kicked his adoptive father, Gozaburo, out of the President's position, he unhesitatingly abandoned this invaluable private island, along with its weapons production line.
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 Duel Field for Battle City. This way, he could ascend to the Duel King Throne while completely trampling everything of Gozaburo under his feet.
And the way to 「Devil's Island」 was via the "S.S. St. Ann," this "Airship."
But honestly, if the destination was a distant overseas island, Hayato thought taking an airplane would be faster than an Airship, whether it was to determine the finalists in Domino City and then fly to 「Devil's Island」, or to duel one by one after arriving at 「Devil's Island」. KaibaCorp certainly wasn't unable to afford transport planes.
Ultimately, didn't Kaiba just choose the "S.S. St. Ann" because he was worried about a Duel Addiction relapse midway and thought Dueling on an Airship looked cool?
Just as Hayato was silently complaining about Kaiba, who was unaware of his thoughts, the staff, quick due to the generous pay, completed the repair of the photography equipment. Everyone waiting in the Audience Seating turned their gaze back to the Duel Field.
Kaiba, who had been standing the entire time without sitting down—perhaps he didn't feel tired, or perhaps he was worried about creasing his perfectly tailored trench coat—looked at the two Duelists on the Field with a grim expression. 'Yugi, and Marik, who possesses 「Slifer the Sky Dragon」. Compared to the duels of those two clumsy Duelists and Hayato, this duel is more like it.'
Joey gripped the railing nervously, muttering to himself, "Go, Yugi!"
"Your opponent is that Marik. I heard he's the leader of the Rare Hunters; he seems like a tough guy to deal with," Mai Valentine patted Joey's shoulder. "Anyway, it's Yugi, after all. Have a little more faith in him."
Croquet, at the Judge's Stand, raised his hands.
"The fourth match of the Battle City Top 8 elimination round to Top 4. The two Duelists are Marik Ishtar and Yugi. I hereby announce,"
"Match Start!"
"Duel!" X2
[Yugi: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
[Marik: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
"I take the First Turn!" Marik took the sixth card from his Deck. The Deck he used primarily focused on Fiend-Type monsters and Trap Cards. Having the First Turn had a significant impact on him, much like whether 「Cyber Dragon」 is effective when going second.
"Now, Nameless Pharaoh," Marik said, looking at Yugi across from him, then played a Spell Card from his hand. "From this moment, let us together enjoy the pleasures of hell!"
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card, 「Dark Snake Syndrome」!"
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 pitch-black venomous snakes emerged from the shadows behind Yugi and Marik, suddenly striking and biting their palms.
"Ugh!" Yugi was caught off guard by the snake bite, subconsciously shaking his hand to try and dislodge the snake. But when he raised his hand, although the pain lingered, the black snake had vanished.
"The effect of 「Dark Snake Syndrome」 is: during each of my Standby Phases, both Duelists take 200 effect damage. After all, I'm not a fan of lengthy duels. The path to hell should be short and unforgettable, shouldn't it?"
Marik wore a sinister smile on his face.
(end of chapter)