Chapter 273: Light and Darkness Dragon
"Therefore, you can continue to use my codename from the Ghouls—'Regulus'—to address me. Although we are not enemies for now, don't expect me to reveal my real name just yet."
With that, the burly man didn't even spare a glance for the people around him who had completely fainted due to the sudden return of a large amount of life force, and left the area.
Watching the retreating figure of the burly man, "Regulus," Hayato lowered his head, pondering the relevant information.
"First, I can rule out Oma Zi-O. Although they both pursue a sense of style, this isn't the set of Kamen Rider."
"Speaking of 'Regulus,' although it's one of the four Royal Stars in Persian astrology, it's also one of the fifteen Bethlehem Stars that guide the saints. But what it's most famous for is its guardian."
"In Catholicism, the Archangel who presides over healing, representing the Element of Wind, 'Raphael,' is the guardian of 'Regulus'."
"So, is that guy Raphael? Raphael of the Doma Three Swordsmen? In that case, wouldn't 'that person' behind him be Dartz, that old immortal?"
Even Hayato couldn't help but feel incredibly nervous at the thought of Dartz, subconsciously biting his fingernails.
He couldn't recall seeing Raphael, one of the Doma Three Swordsmen, appear in the Duel City storyline. Rather, the Doma Arc, where Dartz and the Doma Three Swordsmen are, was entirely original content from the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and didn't exist in the Manga Version.
So, what could be the reason for them appearing in Duel City? Is it because they want to seize the Three Egyptian God Cards like before? Or is it because of Hayato, this "Butterfly Effect"?
The information was too scarce; Hayato couldn't analyze any more. However, putting aside the matter of Raphael and the Doma Three Swordsmen for the moment, Hayato threw the card of Gaia The Fierce Knight in his hand without looking back, aiming it at the fallen Hesiod.
"Ding~"
With a crisp sound, Gaia The Fierce Knight and Bakura simultaneously revealed themselves.
"Hoho, you're as alert as ever, Hayato-kun." Bakura said with a light chuckle, toying with the card of Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder that Hesiod had used earlier. "You were just a little bit away from hitting me just now."
"But speaking of which, your Gaia The Fierce Knight is really impressive. I remember during Duelist Kingdom, he could only barely interfere with reality, right?" Bakura said, looking at Gaia The Fierce Knight who had already reached the Third Stage.
Thanks to the recent Duel, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder had gathered a large amount of life force, but it was intercepted midway by Quintet Magician for an attack. Although Hesiod used Absorption Barrier to absorb this power into his body, he spat it all out again with Quintet Magician's final blow, returning it to the surroundings.
However, it was like splashing water from high in the sky onto the ground. Although all the life force within Hesiod's body was returned, without guidance, the closer one was to the Duel Arena, the higher the concentration of returned life force, and the further away, the rarer it became. This was why the surrounding Duelists suddenly fainted.
Hayato could imagine that after these people woke up, probably more than half of them would awaken the ability to see the Card Spirits of Duel Monsters, and be surprised to discover such magical beings around them.
However, Hayato didn't forget to secure some benefits for himself, intercepting some magic power for his Spirits. Gaia The Fierce Knight directly broke through to the Third Stage with the help of this external power.
Actually, it wouldn't have mattered even if Hayato hadn't thrown the card just now, because Gaia The Fierce Knight can now interfere physically without the card. It's just that his ATK is higher when acting together with the card.
Hayato said with a cold chuckle, "Not at all, Bakura. Your progress is much greater. I can see the magic power on you clearly, and even the Millennium Ring is vibrating non-stop because of it."
"Just how many people did you harm to obtain such profound magic power?"
"Do you remember how many rice balls you've eaten?" Bakura chuckled lightly. Seeing Hayato about to step towards him, he quickly retreated back into the shadows. "I've already gotten what I wanted, so you don't need to see me off. I'll be leaving now."
Watching Bakura quickly disappear into the shadows, Hayato curled his lip in disdain. "This guy really maxed out his escape skill points. Truly worthy of being the Flying-type King. Too bad I don't have Mean Look."
Bending down, he picked up Hesiod's scattered cards one by one and put them into his pocket. As usual, he sent Kaiba an email telling him to call the police to clean up the mess. Hayato was thinking of leaving quickly while the people on the ground were still unconscious, to avoid the situation where he was surrounded and forced into Duels before.
"Mmm..."
One person on the ground let out an unconscious murmur, then opened his eyes. "Where am I..."
"Yo, you're awake." Hayato squatted down in front of the awakened Manjoume Jun. Should he say, as expected of the GX Era's secondary protagonist (?), this kid's psychic power is quite good. "You're the one with the best qualities among the newcomers this time."
It was a pity Hayato didn't like the smell of cigarettes at all, otherwise, lighting one up would have made the cosplay more accurate.
"Mr. Hayato?" Manjoume Jun sat up from the ground, looking around at the fallen people with some confusion. If he hadn't clearly seen his Older Brother—Manjoume Shouji—with drool at the corner of his mouth, looking like he was sleeping soundly, he would have suspected that all these people were dead.
"Did something just happen?"
Hayato thought for a moment and decided it was better not to tell Manjoume Jun that Hesiod was dead.
"You don't need to understand too much about Duel Monsters; it's not something you can grasp just by being told." Hayato, speaking like an old Riddler, helped Manjoume up. "Simply put, I won, and that guy just now lost."
As he spoke, Hayato showed the total of seven Puzzle Cards he held in his hand. Although two of them were invalid duplicates, the three he took from Hesiod were not duplicates.
Now, Hayato had collected five different Puzzle Cards. As long as he got one more, he would have the Top 8 Qualification for Duel City.
"But speaking of which, how did you two brothers end up here, Dueling that guy?" Carrying Manjoume Shouji, who was sleeping like a dead pig and couldn't be woken up, on his shoulder, and after receiving Kaiba's reply, Hayato took advantage of the passersby still being unconscious and moved Manjoume Jun to another location, asking along the way.
"It's all because of this card." Brought up by Hayato, Manjoume Jun took out a card with some dissatisfaction and showed it to Hayato.
"It's because I unexpectedly pulled out a card like this and then unexpectedly lost to my Older Brother that his confidence swelled, causing him to run around the streets provoking others to Duels, and that's how he provoked that guy."
Hayato looked with some surprise at the strange black and white Dragon on the card Manjoume took out. Wasn't this the Ace Monster used by Manjoume Jun in the Manga Version of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Light and Darkness Dragon, nicknamed "Panda Dragon"?
"Don't look at its Level 8 and its ATK of a full 2800 points, but Mr. Hayato, this Monster is a huge pitfall!" Manjoume Jun complained. "Although it can negate Spell Cards, Trap Cards, and Monster Effects, its effect is mandatory for both players, and it comes with the cost of decreasing its ATK and DEF by 500 points!"
Manjoume Jun unhappily handed the card to Hayato. "Anyway, neither my Older Brother nor I have the ability to handle a Monster with such troublesome effects. Consider it our gratitude for saving us, Mr. Hayato, please accept this card."
Hayato was a little surprised, and was silent for a moment. "I think it's better if you keep it yourself. It doesn't feel quite right for me to take it."
"No, it's perfect, absolutely perfect!" Manjoume Jun said with great certainty, directly forcing the card into Hayato's hand. "I've thought it through during this time. Even if I had the qualification to participate in Duel City now, my strength is temporarily insufficient to support me reaching the Quarterfinals."
"But I'm also very unwilling to miss this rare feast just like that. So, Mr. Hayato, I want to ask you to take this card and succeed as King of Games. That way, I can at least comfort myself that even the King of Games needs my power."
Hearing this, Hayato gave a wry smile. "You really are a kid with big ideas. Do you want to defeat me, the King of Games, that badly?"
"Heh heh, my target has never changed, Mr. Hayato. 'Defeat you and then become the King of Games.' I'm not someone who gives up easily. Also, please call me Mr. Manjoume."
"Since you've said it like that, I'll accept it for now. Consider it stored with me until you have the ability to challenge me." Under Manjoume Jun's expectant look, Hayato put the card of Light and Darkness Dragon into his Deck. "Is that alright, Mr. Manjoume?"
Manjoume Jun was about to reply, but just as Hayato said "Mr. Manjoume," Manjoume Shouji, who had been sleeping soundly all this time, suddenly sat up, looking at Hayato with piercing eyes. "What did you call me for!"
"Bastard Older Brother, nobody called you!"
Shouji raised his hand and contemptuously pressed down on Jun, who was pouncing towards him. "Huh? My foolish little brother, when someone says Mr. Manjoume, they're obviously talking about me, right?"
"Yare yare, Ora!"
"Heh heh, Muda!"
The Manjoume Brothers started arguing spiritedly. Hayato watched their antics with a smile, but in his heart, he had some guesses about the situation he encountered today.
Regarding the appearance of the Three Sacred Beasts, he had initially thought it was due to his "Butterfly Effect" that the familiar storyline had changed. But the Manjoume Brothers' encounter today made Hayato feel that perhaps destiny was still following its original path.