Chapter 536: Scum, *Tsk!*
Under Hayato's gaze, a pair of spread-open palms slowly rose from the bush.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, I don't have any malice~"
A frivolous male voice came from the bush. Accompanying it, a head topped with a hood emerged, his hair full of broken branches and crushed leaves.
The moment Hayato saw the man dressed as a mage before him, raising his hands to signal he was no threat, he felt a strong sense of familiarity. Although the opponent said he had no malice, Hayato still maintained necessary vigilance.
"Whether or not there's malice, simple words can't prove anything."
"Mm, that's true." The Hooded Mage kept his distance from Hayato, fully emerging from the bush. He held his robes with one hand and shook them, while his other hand remained raised above his head. "But I really don't have any malice, though I also have no way to prove it."
"Originally, I was just fine riding my Summoned Monster to travel, but then a strange wave emerged from who knows where, forcibly scattering the Summoned Monster I had summoned and returning it to its original form, causing me to fall from the air and land in this Forest."
"I simply wanted to find the source of that wave and take a look, I have no malice towards you, young man."
While saying this, the Hooded Mage even forced out a smile on his face that was as gentle as possible, seemingly genuinely wanting to prove to Hayato that he had no malice whatsoever.
Hearing this, Hayato also seemed to believe the opponent's words, his shoulder relaxing as if he had lowered his vigilance.
"Is that so? It looks like you should be no threat." He paused for a moment, then Hayato's tone changed. "Did you think I would say that?"
*Clang!* *Thud!*
Behind Hayato, as he just lowered his hand, the Dragon Knight Gaia he had secretly placed on his Duel Disk thrust out its lance, precisely striking down a dark shadow that was silently attacking Hayato in mid-air, sending it smashing onto the ground. Only then could he see clearly that the dark shadow was actually a peculiar staff with one end like a javelin.
Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, the Hooded Mage couldn't help but show an annoyed expression. "*Tsk*, I was discovered, you're quite cautious."
Following the first one to attack, Dragon Knight Gaia, the tall and imposing three-headed mechanical dragon Cyber End Dragon and the perfectly elegant maid butler Dragonmaid Sheou also appeared by Hayato's side. Cyber End Dragon stood in front of Hayato with a ferocious aura, baring its fangs and claws menacingly at the Hooded Mage, while Dragonmaid Sheou concernedly asked Hayato if he was injured.
Regarding Dragonmaid Sheou's attentiveness, Rainbow Kuriboh cried out excitedly, "Kurikuri!", seemingly feeling that a "dragon" was actually threatening its own status. Meanwhile, Hayato nodded, signaling that he was fine, and looked towards the calm-faced Hooded Mage.
"Although I always feel like I've seen you somewhere before, I think I shouldn't have provoked you, unknown guy."
The Hooded Mage looked at the Spirits Hayato had summoned gradually surrounding him, yet still remained calm and composed. With a helpless expression, he shrugged. "In this World, do conflict and confrontation need a reason?"
"I really didn't lie to you before, there was indeed a strange wave that interfered with my Spell Formula, and in my perception, the source of that wave seems like it's you. Although I was going to a slightly farther place to look at something, compared to that, researching that wave on your body to perfect my Spell Formula is definitely more important."
Hayato's lips curled slightly upwards. "That's truly a shame, I have no interest in cooperating with others to research my body."
While saying this, Hayato raised his Duel Disk. Golden radiance began to emerge from the Millennium Ring on his chest, and a surge of dark magic power instantly unfolded.
"Hmm? This is, Ceremony of the Duel?" The instant the Millennium Ring on Hayato's chest glowed, the Hooded Mage immediately wanted to break free and escape, but his movement was slightly too slow. The domain constructed by mystical power was already completed, surrounding him and Hayato within it.
Looking at the device constructed out of thin air on his wrist, which was the same as the Duel Disk on Hayato's wrist, the Hooded Mage said with great interest, "This is truly a bit interesting. Clearly before you could manipulate your Spirits and possessed a huge advantage, why suddenly initiate a Ceremony of the Duel against me?"
"Very simple. I just need a guide, and you are the suitable candidate. As for why I didn't use the already appeared Dragon Knight Gaia and the others to force you..." Hayato chuckled. "I didn't see the slightest bit of apprehension towards Dragon Knight Gaia and them from your face, hooded guy."
"'Hooded guy' or something, that's so unpleasant to hear. I actually have a proper mage title and full name, but I also don't want to just tell you who I am." The Hooded Mage's lips curled up. "You can just call me 'Handsome, elegant, and powerful Mage Crowley-sama'."
"Alright, 'Scum Crowley'."
"It's 'Handsome, elegant, and powerful Mage Crowley-sama'."
"'Pervert Crowley'-san."
"I'm not a pervert!"
"So, you completely didn't deny being scum..." Hayato remarked. "Then Crowley, are you prepared to be defeated by me in this Duelist and become my guide?"
"Hmph hmph, you're really quite confident. But I'm used to being free and never had any plan to become anyone else's servant, so I'll treat this Ceremony of the Duel a bit more serious."
Crowley was a bit dissatisfied that Hayato didn't call him "Handsome, elegant, and powerful Mage Crowley-sama", but "Crowley" is still better than "Scum Crowley".
"However, since it's a Ceremony of the Duel, the stakes for both players must be equal, right? This is the basic rules of this game." Crowley smiled cunningly. "If you want me to become your servant, as equal stakes, I'll take your soul and body as material for perfecting my Spell Formula."
Crowley said this, submitting his own conditions to the fair but also rigid Dark Game. But unexpectedly, the result of the final judgment was completely different from what he expected.
"You, what kind of person are you!?" Crowley looked at Hayato with a strange expression. "Clearly just a guy who looks exactly the same as those mortals, why is it that just the value of one of your arms can equal my entire life up to now?"
"If you lose, you just need to lose me one arm! Why if I lose, must I become your card!"
"I don't know~"
Hayato replied casually, which made Crowley somewhat annoyed. "Forget it, I just need to defeat you. One hand is fine, anyway, with my intelligence, one hand is also enough to research and figure out what exactly are the secrets on your body."
"Duel!"
Got it — here's the same chapter, fully rewritten with no Chinese terms left at all (all card names localized in English), keeping the tone smooth, dramatic, and suitable for a Yu-Gi-Oh! webnovel:
---
## Chapter 537: Super, A Wild Monster Appears!
"Duel!" ×2
\[Hayato: 4000 LP]
\[Crowley: 4000 LP]
"I'll go first. Draw!"
Crowley drew a card, glanced at it, and immediately placed it face-down.
"I set one monster in face-down Defense Position. Then I activate the Spell Card Book of Taiyou! It flips a face-down monster into face-up Attack Position!"
"The target is the one I just set—flip summon, Magical Merchant!"
An ancient spellbook with a glowing sun emblem opened in Crowley's Spell/Trap Zone. As light poured out, his face-down card flipped face-up — revealing a humanoid cockroach in a traveler's cloak, lugging around all sorts of trinkets.
> \[Magical Merchant]
> Level 1 / LIGHT
> Insect / Flip / Effect
> ATK 200 / DEF 700
With only 200 ATK, Magical Merchant clearly wasn't meant for combat. But flip monsters aren't judged by stats — they're judged by their effects.
"Magical Merchant activates! I reveal cards from the top of my Deck until I reveal a Spell or Trap. That card gets added to my hand, and the rest are sent to the Graveyard!"
Crowley reached for his deck with a satisfied smirk.
"Not so fast."
Hayato raised a card in his hand. "I activate the effect of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring! When you try to add a card from the Deck to your hand, Special Summon from the Deck, or send cards from the Deck to the Graveyard — I can discard this to negate that effect!"
"What?!"
A streak of energy burst from Hayato's hand and struck the cockroach merchant. A small girl with pink hair and a sly smile appeared — and just her presence made the Merchant go stiff with fear. The poor bug dropped flat like it was dead, completely shutting down.
> \[Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring]
> Level 3 / FIRE
> Zombie / Effect
> ATK 0 / DEF 1800
Hayato smiled calmly. "It may be a Level 1 monster, but don't underestimate the Merchant. It fills the Graveyard fast and adds Spells. Too valuable to let through."
He glanced at the now "non-Tuner" card in his hand before sending it to the Graveyard.
In this version of the timeline, with Ultimaya Tzolkin gone and Ener-D silenced, Synchro Summoning had become impossible. Without Ener-D, Tuner monsters had lost their designations. Even cards from Paradox's Deck had lost the "Tuner" tag. But their effects remained usable — and for hand traps like Ash Blossom, that was all that mattered.
Crowley, however, didn't look too pleased.
"Ugh, I burned two cards for that Merchant play and you stopped it with just one. And I wasted my Normal Summon on a 200 ATK bug!"
He adjusted his glasses and grumbled. "Annoying little girl. Cute face, dirty effect."
"Fine. I activate Pot of Extravagance – Ledger of Fate! I banish the top three cards of my Deck face-down. On the Standby Phase of my third turn, they return to my hand."
"Then I set two cards. End turn."
---
\[Crowley: 4000 LP | Hand: 1]
\[Magical Merchant] \[ATK 200]
\[Set Card] \[Set Card]
---
"My turn. Draw!"
Hayato glanced at the field. A weak monster and two set cards. Easy prey.
"I activate Harpie's Feather Duster! Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards you control!"
A gust of magical wind swept the field as a massive feather duster wiped away both of Crowley's backrow cards.
One of them was Sakuretsu Armor, but the other…
"Tsk, tsk. You triggered something nasty," Crowley said with a smirk. "One of the destroyed cards was A Wild Monster Appears!!"
"This card activates when it's removed from the field by your effect. I can Special Summon a monster from my Deck or Extra Deck!"
"I choose to summon one from my Extra Deck!"
"Armor of light, ride the divine chariot! Manifest, by the hexagram's name—come forth!"
Invoked Mechaba!
From a swirl of grass and light emerged a massive beast: white-gray armor plating, wheels trailing behind, its front half resembling a fusion of ox and gorilla. On its back stood a warrior in full armor — hollow and unmanned — but the glowing staff embedded in the beast's skull made it clear who was truly in control.
> \[Invoked Mechaba]
> Level 9 / LIGHT
> Machine / Fusion / Effect
> ATK 2500 / DEF 2100
Hayato squinted. "You really used a trap combo to summon an Invoked monster? You sly bastard."
Crowley grinned. "Please, don't disrespect the name Mechaba. It took me forever to come up with that!"
Hayato ignored him. "No matter how strong it is, if it can't attack, it's worthless."
"I activate Change of Heart! I take control of your Mechaba until the end of this turn!"
"Ah-ah, not so fast!" Crowley raised a card. "Mechaba's effect: Once per turn, when a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect is activated, I can discard a card of the same type to negate and banish it!"
"This is a Spell, so I discard the Equip Spell Cursed Bamboo Sword! Mechaba negates and banishes your card!"
Mechaba's armor glowed with shifting lights, then settled on green. The energy from Change of Heart was absorbed and fired back — the spell shattered and vanished.
"And when Cursed Bamboo Sword hits the Graveyard, its effect lets me add a different Bamboo Sword card from my Deck to my hand. I choose Golden Bamboo Sword."
Hayato shrugged. "So you trade one card to negate and still get a replacement. But Mechaba's negate is once per turn, right? Which means..."
"Now you're wide open."
"I activate Polymerization! I fuse Cursed Dragon and Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight from my hand!"
"A knight soaring on cursed winds, charge forth with your dragon mount! Fusion Summon — Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion!"
> \[Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion]
> ATK 2600
"Arisen Gaia counts as Gaia the Fierce Knight. And when Cursed Dragon is used as Fusion Material, I can target Sky Galloping Gaia, treat him as Gaia the Dragon Champion, and negate the effects of all face-up monsters your opponent controls with equal or lower ATK until the end of the turn!"
"Also, when Sky Galloping Gaia is Special Summoned, I can add Spiral Spear Strike from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand."
"Chain resolve! First I add Spiral Spear Strike, then all of your monsters lose their effects!"
As Gaia and his mount took the field, a draconic roar echoed — sweeping over Mechaba and Magical Merchant, negating their effects instantly.
"I activate the Continuous Spell — Spiral Spear Strike! This lets Gaia inflict piercing battle damage to Defense Position monsters!"
"Battle Phase! Sky Galloping Gaia attacks Mechaba!"
"When Gaia declares an attack, the target's battle position changes!"
The dragon knight roared forward. Mechaba, helpless without its effect, was shifted into Defense Mode.
> \[Invoked Mechaba: DEF 2100]
"Charge and pierce — Spiral Cavalry Lance!"
"Our spiral power pierces the heavens!"
With a surge of spiral energy, Gaia's lance blasted through Mechaba, dealing piercing damage through its defense.
"Ugh!"
> \[Crowley: 4000 → 3500 LP]
---
Let me know if you want the next chapter, or a version where all card effects are also footnoted or formatted like a real duel log.
"Chapter 538: A Timeless Classic - I Summon Myself
Because of the effect of "Spiral Spear Strike", "Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion", while destroying "Invoked Mechaba", also inflicted piercing battle damage to Crowley. However, since "Invoked Mechaba"'s ATK and DEF were relatively balanced, it only inflicted a mere 500 points of damage.
However, inflicting damage was enough. Hayato's finger rested on top of his Deck, and he drew two cards: "When 'Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion', which is treated as 'Gaia the Dragon Champion', inflicts damage to my opponent due to the first effect of 'Spiral Spear Strike', I draw two cards from my Deck, then discard one card from my Hand."
"Then, I Set one card and end my turn."
It wasn't that Hayato didn't want to perform more additional actions; it was simply that he had no resources in his hand to use.
"Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" negated Crowley's search, and although "Harpie's Feather Duster" cleared the Trap Card like "Mirror Force", it triggered "Invoked Mechaba". To prevent "Polymerization" from being negated, he even had to use "Change of Heart" to bait out a negate. After that sequence of plays, Hayato truly had no resources left.
If not for the "Cards from the Sky"-like effect of "Spiral Spear Strike", Hayato wouldn't even have been able to Set that card in his Spell/Trap Zone.
[Hayato: 4000LP, Hand 0]
["Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion": ATK 2600]
["Spiral Spear Strike", Set Card]
"Phew, that was truly impressive. Well, it's my turn again. Draw!" Crowley said casually. "'Prescient Planter''s effect has passed one turn. In two more turns, I'll be able to increase my hand size by three cards in one go."
"However, there's also a certain probability that I won't even get to activate 'Prescient Planter''s effect, because before that, I might have already defeated you."
As he spoke, Crowley activated the card he had just drawn onto the field: "I activate the Equip Spell Card 'Broken Bamboo Sword' that I just drew, and equip it to my 'Magical Merchant' on the field. It increases its ATK by 0."
As Crowley inserted the card into his Duel Disk, a tattered bamboo sword, broken halfway down the blade, appeared in the hands of the 'Magical Merchant'. Just holding it made one worry about breaking it, let alone using it in battle. It was no wonder it didn't increase ATK at all; it was good enough if it didn't get in the way.
However, this seemingly meaningless Equip Spell Card had another purpose.
"Then, because I have a 'Bamboo Sword' Equip Spell Card on my field, I activate the Spell Card 'Golden Bamboo Sword', which was added to my hand earlier by the effect of 'Cursed Bamboo Sword'. I draw two cards from my Deck. Oh, good luck! I'll activate the second 'Golden Bamboo Sword' I drew, and draw two more cards."
As if by sheer luck, after activating the "Golden Bamboo Sword" he searched, Crowley actually drew the same card again. Because of this card's effect, his hand size instantly grew to a total of three cards.
Pulling out one of the cards from his hand, Crowley had a helpless expression, but it looked annoyingly smug: "Oh dear, oh dear. I wanted to maintain the dignity and elegance of a mage, but the first person to inflict damage wasn't me. Such a shameful thing! I can't help but get serious now."
"Therefore, I will perform a Normal Summon. The target is myself!"
As Crowley spoke, he flipped over the card in his hand to show it: "Attack Position Summon 'Aleister the Invoker'!"
Raising his hand above his head, Crowley spread his fingers, and a staff that had previously appeared on "Invoked Mechaba" materialized in his hand. Crowley—or rather, Aleister Crowley—stepped onto his field, standing beside "Magical Merchant".
["Aleister the Invoker": Level 4 / DARK Attribute]
[Spellcaster / Effect Monster]
[1000 / 1800]
Hayato watched Aleister Crowley perform a classic Yu-Gi-Oh! World maneuver—I Summon Myself—without much surprise, as he had already guessed his identity before.
Aleister Crowley, or rather, "Aleister the Invoker", is named after a real-life occultist from Hayato's previous world. He was known by titles like "The Great Beast," "The Beast of the Apocalypse," and "The Wickedest Man in the World," which sound profound yet also full of chuunibyou flair, making one want to quote the classic lines of the famous anti-chuunibyou expert, Miss Hatoko.
Based on such a figure, "Aleister the Invoker" is naturally not a benevolent sort. In the card art story of Duel Monsters, he is a powerful magician, even once called the "Great Sage of the Code," ranking among the "Three Great Sages."
The other two of the "Three Great Sages" are the absolute king of the 'Magical' Decks that focus on Spell Counters, the "Great Sage of Sacred Magic," "Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic". One of the Field Spell Cards Hayato possesses, "Magical City Endymion", was established by him and named after him.
The other is the "Great Sage of Crystals," "Witchcrafter Master Verre", the "big sister" of the 'Witchcrafter' Decks, who excels at activating Spell/Trap Card effects from the Graveyard. She was a great beauty in her youth and somehow became younger with age, also a magic master.
Beyond the card art story of Duel Monsters, "Aleister the Invoker" is also widely known. The reason is that he belongs to a system that focuses on Fusion Summon, but his only lower-Level monster is himself, "Aleister the Invoker". However, the 'Invoked' monsters he can Fusion Summon generally only have restrictions based on Attribute.
This makes the "Aleister the Invoker" system, which is incredibly small, best used as an engine in various messy deck builds, especially since he can search for his own Fusion Cards and has excellent recycling ability, making him incredibly generic.
Furthermore, because Decks that engine "Aleister the Invoker" are often composed of 'waifu' cards like "Sky Striker Ace", "Shaddoll", "Trickstar", "Dogmatika", "Witchcrafter", and even "Dragonmaid", "Aleister the Invoker", who performs "Contact Fusion" with "Ecclesia the Dracobringer" today and gets close with "El Shaddoll Nephilim" and "El Shaddoll Midrash" tomorrow, has earned the title of "Scumbag."
Although, Hayato has actually seen the "signature move" of engineering "Aleister the Invoker" in a Deck full of unspeakable alien reptiles like "Worm". It was so weird that Hayato even took a few extra glances at the time.
What's even more worth mentioning is that "Aleister the Invoker" once also received the honor of "He changed Fusion," but he was always in the process of competing for this glory with another powerful card that appeared in the same pack: the invincible "Predaplant Verte Anaconda".
Both have battled on the Forbidden & Limited List, entering the Forbidden/Limited List one after another, repeatedly jumping between Limited, Semi-Limited, and Unlimited. Ultimately, the struggle ended with "Predaplant Verte Anaconda" becoming an unusable Forbidden Card.
"When I Normal Summon or Flip Summon successfully, I add one 'Invocation' from my Deck to my hand."
Aleister Crowley didn't know that Hayato was mentally criticizing him. Instead, he searched for a card from his Deck and added it to his hand. "'Invocation''s effect is that I can send the Fusion Material monsters determined by a Fusion Monster from my hand to the Graveyard and Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck."
"However, as my most proficient magic, 'Invocation' has a special enhancement when used to Summon the 'Invoked' monsters. I can choose Fusion Materials from my field and from both players' Graveyards, and banish them to perform a Fusion Summon."
"I activate 'Invocation'! I will banish your 'Curse of Dragon, the Cursed Dragon' from your Graveyard, which is a DARK Attribute monster, and myself from my field!"
Slapping the 'Invocation' card into his Duel Disk, Aleister raised his staff above his head. A massive magic circle was constructed out of thin air above him by mystical power. Within the magic circle, a special six-pointed star, similar to but different from the 'Orichalcos Barrier', shone brightly!
"By my magical name 'The Great Beast', infuse the wildness, nature, and desire, pour in the pitch-black mystical power, and call forth the demon beast with the power of rebellion!"
"Fusion Summon! 'Invoked Caliga'!"
The power of "Curse of Dragon, the Cursed Dragon" in Hayato's Graveyard was extracted by the 'Invocation' magic circle. The color of the formation suddenly changed to an ominous dark red, sweeping down from above onto Aleister Crowley himself. His body drastically changed—
Amidst the dark red lightning, Aleister's robes were instantly ripped apart by rapidly expanding muscles, revealing his increasingly crimson, strong body. The dark red energy directly poured into Aleister's body, causing a pair of winding ram horns to even grow from his head. The staff in his hand, named "Aiwass," automatically flew out and stabbed into his own body from behind!
In just a few breaths, the hooded youthful mage from just now, after absorbing the DARK Attribute mystical power of Hayato's "Curse of Dragon, the Cursed Dragon", had transformed into a tall figure covered in strong red muscles, with bat wings on his wrists, spines on his back, a dragon tail dragging behind him, and ram horns growing from his head—a demon!
["Invoked Caliga": Level 4 / DARK Attribute]
[Beast / Fusion / Effect Monster]
[1000 / 1800]
Whether it was Level, Attribute, or ATK and DEF, the demonic beast before him, "Invoked Caliga", was identical to "Aleister the Invoker" himself. Even without seeing the entire process of change like Hayato did, one could somewhat guess the relationship between the two, not to mention that "Invoked Caliga" was even draped in Aleister Crowley's torn clothes.
Hayato looked at the appearance of "Invoked Caliga", feeling confused. Because in his impression, while Aleister did indeed Summon the demon before him in the card art story.
But after that, Aleister himself completely went berserk, and with his magical name "The Great Beast," he Fusion Summoned all of his 'Invoked' monsters in one go, calling forth his ultimate strongest 'Invoked' monster, a god-like giant 'Invoked' monster named after the afterlife world in Greek mythology, "Elysium"—'Invoked Elysium'.
Aleister himself, during the berserk Summon, first fused with "Invoked Caliga" to become one, further transforming into "Invoked Purgatrio" and falling into slumber. Then, he was taken away by his old acquaintance, "Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic", and remodeled into "Spellbook Library of the Crescent", with Aleister himself becoming like a battery deep within, being used.
What was going on with the Aleister before him? Which time period was he in? Why could he Summon "Invoked Caliga" without going berserk?
Or was this the moment he was about to go berserk?!
But just then, Hayato saw that the magic circle beneath "Invoked Caliga"'s feet suddenly began to reverse, tracing back to the staff "Aiwass" that was stabbed into its back. The staff expanded and changed into a Passage, and an "Aleister the Invoker", identical to the one before, actually crawled out from inside!?
"Hehehe, how about that? Were you scared by my cool 'Invocation'? You know, this is almost an exclusive spell formula of mine; others simply can't use it," Aleister Crowley said proudly, hands on his hips. He didn't look abnormal at all, and even showed a card: "Although I, as the Invoker, was banished from the game along with 'Invocation', I didn't want to leave the field so easily."
"The second effect of 'Invocation' can only be used once per turn. 'Invocation' in the Graveyard returns to the Deck, and one 'Aleister the Invoker' that was banished from the game is added to my hand. Therefore, Lord Crowley, revive!"
Aleister Crowley looked energetic, and Hayato temporarily put aside the confusion in his heart. After all, if he really wanted to know, he could just ask his opponent slowly after winning the duel. "An excellent recycling system. Next turn, you'll be able to Normal Summon yourself again and then search for 'Invocation', right?"
"Although your system's loop is excellent, don't forget that the 'Invoked Caliga' you just Fusion Summoned is just a weak monster with 1000 ATK and 1800 DEF. It can't possibly block the attack of my 'Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion'."
"Heh heh, that's not necessarily true," Aleister chuckled, glancing at the three cards in his hand. Among them, "Aleister the Invoker", which was himself, couldn't be used this turn because he had already been Normal Summoned. Of the other two cards in his hand, one was a Trap Card that needed to be Set, but the other Spell Card could be used to take down that "Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion".
"I will use the Spell Card 'The Force', and activate its effect targeting your 'Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion' on your field and my 'Invoked Caligula' on my field."
"I will decrease 'Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion''s ATK by half, which is 1300, and then add that decreased ATK value to my 'Invoked Caligula', increasing its ATK!"
Aleister said proudly, "Now, in terms of ATK, I'm stronger! Enter Battle Phase!"
"'Invoked Caligula' attacks 'Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion'!"
"Claws of Rebellion!"
"Chapter 539: God Said, You Mustn't
[Gaia the Dragon Champion][ATK2600→1300]
[Invoked Caligula][ATK1000→2300]
Empowered by the opponent's power, the originally disadvantaged [Invoked Caligula] turned the offensive, charging towards the weakened [Gaia the Dragon Champion] under Aleister's command, raising its claws and striking down!
"Ugh!"
[Hayato: 4000→3000LP]
Losing a quarter of his Life Points in one go was not a minor injury that could be ignored, even for Hayato, who had experienced Dark Games more than once. As [Gaia the Dragon Champion] was destroyed, Hayato couldn't help but be pushed back half a step by the impact.
"Although [Magical Merchant] is in Attack Position and hasn't attacked, it's a pity. One of the effects of my [Invoked Caligula] on the Field is that both players can only use one monster to attack during the Battle Phase of their respective turns."
Aleister Crowley wore a regretful expression. "Therefore, I Set one card from my Hand onto the Field, then change [Magical Merchant], which hasn't battled this turn, to Defense Position. Then, I end my turn."
[Aleister: 3500LP, Hand 1]
[Invoked Caligula][ATK2300→1000]
[Magical Merchant] (Broken Bamboo Sword) [ATK200→DEF700]
[Set card]
Although the effect of [Power of the Guardians] only lasted for one turn, and after its effectiveness ended, the ATK of [Invoked Caligula] on Aleister's Field returned to only 1000 points, unable to even break through the defense of a weak monster like [Ojama Yellow].
However, having identified Aleister's identity, even if Aleister himself hadn't told him the full effects of the card in his Hand—[Aleister the Invoker]—Hayato knew he also had the ability to discard himself from his Hand to increase the ATK and DEF of one Fusion Monster on the Field by 1000 points, and this effect could be activated during the opponent's turn.
This meant that although [Invoked Caligula]'s ATK was only 1000 points and seemed like it could be broken through by any lower-level monster with decent ATK, its ATK could actually be increased to an excellent 2000 points among lower-level monsters at any time. Normal monsters couldn't break through it and would instead be countered.
Furthermore, Aleister had a Set card in his Spell/Trap Zone that he absolutely had to be wary of.
"My turn, draw a card." Hayato drew a card from his Deck. His luck was pretty good; it was [Pot of Greed], which allowed a two-for-one trade with no stakes. "Activate the effect of the Spell Card [Pot of Greed]! I draw two cards from my Deck."
Just as Hayato was about to draw two cards from his Deck, Aleister opened his Set card: "At this moment, I activate my Set card, the Counter Trap [Solemn Judgment]!"
As Aleister's Set card was revealed, a white-bearded old man with an outstretched palm appeared in his Spell/Trap Zone. He grabbed the [Pot of Greed] Hayato activated, his expression gloomy as if saying, "You mustn't."
"By paying half of my Life Points, I can Negate and Destroy the Activation of a Spell/Trap Card, as well as both players' Normal Summon, Flip Summon, or Special Summon of a monster." Aleister paid a large amount of Life Points without hesitation, saying proudly to Hayato, "I finally gained the upper hand and suppressed you."
"You want to draw a card with that [Pot of Greed] to turn the tables? You mustn't!"
[Aleister: 3500→1750LP]
As Aleister's Life Points dropped below 2000 points, the white-bearded old man from [Solemn Judgment] squeezed his palm forcefully, crushing the smirking [Pot of Greed] directly into dust, not even leaving behind [Pot of Greed Fragments].
Hayato thus lost the only card in his Hand, causing him to frown and feel bad.
He currently only had [Spiral Spear Strike] on the Field, which was only useful during an attack, and a Set card whose meaning was unclear. Other than that, he had no monsters in his Front Row and no resources in his Hand. He couldn't perform any field setup at all. Forget about getting rid of the monsters currently on Aleister's Field, next turn he would even take a direct attack.
Things were terribly bad.
Hayato, with a helpless expression, said resignedly, "Then, I end my turn."
[Hayato: 3000LP, Hand 0]
[Spiral Spear Strike][Set card]
"Oh? You're ending your turn just like that? Have you given up on meaningless resistance?" Aleister pushed up the glasses on his nose and said with a smile, "Not having a single monster really gives me the best opportunity. I can't help but imagine how much my spell formulas will improve after I get your body tissue."
"My turn, draw."
Glancing at the card he drew, it was a Quick-Play Spell Card. This made Aleister feel even more that victory was just one step away. All he needed was—
"I Normal Summon myself, then activate the effect of [Aleister the Invoker] to search [Invocation] from my Deck and add it to my Hand, and then activate it."
Walking to the Front Row, Aleister's staff, "Aiwass," struck the ground, conjuring a summoning formula that had appeared once before, and once again connecting himself with the monster in Hayato's Graveyard.
Although the process was the same, unlike the previous turn, this time there was one more monster in Hayato's Graveyard: [Gaia the Dragon Champion], which was battle destroyed by [Invoked Caligula] in the previous turn.
"I choose myself on the Field and the Fusion Monster [Gaia the Dragon Champion] in the Opponent's Graveyard as Fusion Material, and banish them from play." Feeling the powerful mystical power covering him, Aleister's mouth curved into a slightly ferocious/ghastly smile. "A higher-level Invocation will now be shown!"
"The entangled self and soul unite at this moment! In the name of the planet, I shall transform into a light body!"
"Fusion Summon, [Invoked Purgatrio]!"
The staff named "Aiwass" was thrust into Aleister's chest. The mystical power metal forming the staff disintegrated into countless ribbons that wrapped around Aleister's body, leaving only a green staff phantom.
The power of [Gaia the Dragon Champion] was extracted from Hayato's Graveyard and, along with the unfolded summoning formula, surged into the mystical power ribbons, engraving upon them. Aleister, spreading his arms as if to embrace the World, ascended into the air, his aura becoming increasingly oppressive!
Under Hayato's serious gaze, [Aleister the Invoker] "again" fused with a summoned monster, transforming into a gigantic humanoid figure suspended in the air like a deity!
[Invoked Purgatrio][Level 8☆/Light Attribute]
[Fairy Type/Fusion/Effect]
[ATK 2000/DEF 2800]"
Chapter 540: Your Life Points Are Like a Flickering Candle
As Invoked Augoeides looked down like a deity, just as before, Aleister himself returned to the Field, relying on the phantom of his staff, "Aiwass," which he had left behind.
Specifically, Invocation in the Graveyard returned to the Deck, and the Banished Aleister the Invoker was returned to his Hand.
Looking at Invoked Augoeides high in the sky, Aleister wore a proud expression. "The so-called 'Augoeides,' while it can be understood as 'Luminous Body' and is also considered to refer to 'Planet,' can also be linked to the Higher Self and Soul."
"Invoked Augoeides is my Higher Self, the Magician named 'Great Beast,' Aleister Crowley. I will use it to achieve victory in this Duel Ceremony and ascend to a higher place upon your sacrifice."
"Once per Turn, when Invoked Augoeides is Special Summoned, or when the Opponent Special Summons a Monster, I can Target one Monster on the Opponent's Field and Destroy it. Also, once per Turn, Invoked Augoeides has the ability to Banish one Fusion Monster from my Graveyard to Increase its ATK by the Banished Monster's ATK value until the Opponent's End Phase."
Aleister tried hard to show a fierce expression, but immediately his aura relaxed, replaced by a lazy expression. "Pity, due to the Restriction of Invoked Caliga, I can only Activate a Monster Effect once this Turn. That was when I Searched for Invocation myself earlier."
Aleister reached out and pointed at Hayato, who had no Monsters on his Front Row. "However, even without Increasing ATK, Invoked Augoeides still has 2000 ATK. I will Enter my Battle Phase, and then use Invoked Augoeides to Direct Attack you!"
"Golden Dawn!"
The giant, deity-like Invoked Augoeides's body began to bloom with magical radiance. The "bandages" transformed from magical metal gathered into a cylinder, and mystical power was released through the inscribed magic circle formula. A blue magic laser attacked towards Hayato!
"Ugh!"
Hayato's Life Points were originally only 3000. Invoked Augoeides' attack, without any reduction, hit directly and took away a full 2000 Life Points, leaving him with only 1000 Life Points remaining, making him extremely fragile in front of Aleister's Monsters!
Looking at Hayato, who still hadn't Activated that Set Card in the Spell/Trap Zone, Aleister felt somewhat relieved. "It seems it's really not a Card that can turn the tables. Was I being overly cautious? No, just a necessary probe."
"So, do you think you've survived this Turn?" But at this moment, Aleister instead Activated that Quick-Play Spell Card from his Hand!
"Pity, this Duel will end this Turn! I Activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Book of the Law! I Tribute Invoked Caliga on my Field and Send it to the Graveyard, and Special Summon one Invoked Monster with a non-DARK Attribute from my Fusion Deck as a Fusion Summon!"
"Giant of the moving continent that doesn't exist in this world, also the strongest Invoked Monster, descend under my command, Invoked Magellanica!"
In Aleister's Spell/Trap Zone, an ancient book opened. As the book pages turned one by one, the figure of Invoked Caliga, which restricted Monster Effects and Attacks, disappeared from Aleister's Field. It was replaced by a towering giant that suddenly appeared!
Its towering body seemed to pierce the sky as if a continental plate had been placed sideways. Hot lava flowed over its Rock-Type body. At the left hand position of the Rock Giant named "Magellanica," there was also a phantom of Aleister's Staff "Aiwass," proving that this terrifying existence before him was also Aleister's Invoked Monster!
[Invoked Magellanica] [Level 8 / EARTH]
[Rock-Type / Fusion]
[3000 ATK / 3300 DEF]
"Because it's during the Battle Phase, Invoked Magellanica, which was just Summoned, can also Attack. And because Invoked Caliga left, I no longer have the Attack Restriction!"
"Mountain Range Fist!"
Invoked Magellanica, whose ATK is equal to Blue-Eyes White Dragon's, raised its rock giant fist from which lava occasionally dripped. The rock fist, whose size was comparable to the entire size of a normal Monster, fell towards Hayato!
With Hayato's currently remaining 1000 Life Points, he absolutely could not withstand this Attack. And Hayato at this moment didn't even have a single Monster or a single Card in his Hand!
"The winner of this Duel is me! The wind of victory is blowing from behind me!" Aleister said with certain victory.
But looking at the incoming Attack, Hayato instead let out a light laugh: "Sore wa dou kana!"
"Activate Trap Card, Silent Wailing!"
"Nani?!"
As Hayato's Set Card was revealed, countless evil spirits flew out from the Card, blocking Invoked Magellanica's rock fist. And some wrapped around the body of the Magical Merchant nearby?
"Silent Wailing can only be Activated during the Opponent's Battle Step. It Negates the Attack of one Monster, and you choose another Face-Up Position Monster on the Opponent's Field to Attack instead. If it's a Defense Position Monster, it changes to Attack Position." Hayato's finger pointed towards the Magical Merchant. "I choose the Magical Merchant on your Field!"
[Magical Merchant] [700 DEF → 200 ATK]
The rock giant, entangled by the evil spirits, was forced to stop its Attack. It was replaced by the Magical Merchant, with an unwilling expression on its face, swinging the Broken Bamboo Sword and cutting into Hayato's body.
[Hayato: 1000 → 800 LP]
Although it was only 200 points of damage, it still hurt a lot. But compared to taking 3000 points of damage directly, Hayato could still endure the mere 200 points of damage.
Aleister, annoyed, looked at the Magical Merchant on his Field. He shouldn't have Summoned Invoked Augoeides just now; instead, he should have Summoned Invoked Mechaba one more time using Magical Merchant. But now it's a little late to regret.
"You got away with your Life. In that case, I End my Battle Phase." He glanced at his own 1750 Life Points, and then glanced at the mere 200 ATK of the Magical Merchant that was forced into Attack Position. Aleister put it aside for now. "Because Invoked Caliga left, it's not just the Monster's Attack Restriction that's lifted."
"In Main Phase 2, I Activate Invoked Augoeides' second Effect. I Banish Invoked Mechaba from my Graveyard, Increasing its ATK by 2500 until the End Phase of your Turn."
"Then, I End my Turn." Having no Hand Cards to Set, Aleister said, annoyed, "I'll let you struggle for one more Turn. Next Turn, the Prescient Planter I Activated earlier will Take Effect. I can increase my Hand resources by three Cards. The winner will still be me."
[Aleister: 1750 LP, Hand 1]
[Magical Merchant (Broken Bamboo Sword)] [200 ATK]
[Invoked Magellanica] [3000 ATK]
[Invoked Augoeides] [2000 ATK → 4500 ATK]
"Your Life Points are already like a flickering candle."
Hearing Aleister Crowley say this, Hayato, placing his finger on his Deck and preparing to Draw a Card for this Turn, knew that he had it secured.
Author's Notes:
* Invoked Mechaba, because of its Omninegate Effect similar to Arcana Knight Joker, is the one with the highest appearance rate and strongest presence in the Aleister System. The name Merkabah in Hebrew merkavah means "chariot" or "that which comes by chariot". Its source is the vision of "a chariot flying through the sky" recorded in the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament of the Bible.
* Furthermore, Merkabah can be composed of three small words, Mer-KA-ba, which come from Egyptian. It can be understood as the unified merging and sublimation of light, spirit, and matter, which is the ability of the Light Summon to Negate and Banish Monster Effects, Spell Cards, and Trap Cards.
* The origin of the name Invoked Magellanica is due to Aristotle's concept of an "unknown southern continent," which was later continuously refined by Ptolemy and others. Then, in the 15th century, Magellan sailed through the then unknown straits of Antarctica into the Pacific Ocean, leading Europeans to believe he had reached that "unknown southern continent," so they named it "Magellanica."
* Then, in Magellan's "Map of the Myriad Countries of the World" the famous Catholic missionary Matteo Ricci marked "Magallanica" with the strange Chinese characters "Magellanica" (Magellanica), which then became the name for the EARTH Summon.
* In the map, the southern continent is very large, but ultimately it was just a fantasy. Therefore, the ATK and DEF of the EARTH Summon are the highest among the other Invoked Monsters besides Invoked Elysium, but it has no Effect.
* The next chapter will end the Duel.
End of Chapter
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