Chapter 198
"My turn!"
[Tony Titan's Hand Cards: 0 → 1]
He casually caught the card that popped out of his deck, then swung his arm and said, "During my Standby Phase, the special ability of [Queen Demonic of the Gloomy Prison] in my Graveyard activates once again."
"The attack power of Fiend-type monsters of level four or lower [King of Extinction Demon] increases by 1000 points."
Roar--!!
The demon king roared, his muscles bulging wildly.
[King of Extinction Demon: Attack Power 2000→3000]
Asuka couldn't help but worry about Judai, "Oh no, if his attack power increases to 3000 points, Earth Hero's strength won't be able to stop him."
Judai: "..."
He couldn't refute that; it was all due to his carelessness that this happened.
Just then, Titan revealed the card in his hand and said, "I activate the Spell Card [Pot of Greed] from my hand and draw two cards from my deck."
[Tony Titan's Hand Cards: 1→2]
After glancing at his hand, he immediately placed one of the cards onto the Duel Disk, "Summon [Hell Soldier Demon] in Attack Position."
Buzz--!!
In a flash of golden light, a demon with a sword on its right arm and a shield-like left arm was projected.
[Hell Soldier Demon: Attack Power 1200]
[Tony Titan's Hand Cards: 2 → 1]
Then Titan swung his hand and commanded, "Take this! [King of Extinction Demon] attacks [Elemental HERO Earth Neos]!"
The king demon's chest heaved twice, then opened to the sides, revealing the emptiness inside.
A large number of demonic insects flew out from there, all heading towards Earth Hero. The demonic insects that stuck to him immediately exploded.
Boom--!!
Earth Hero didn't even have time to scream before he was burned to ashes by the explosion.
[Yusei Fudo: LP4000→3500]
Judai: Ouch... Huh? It doesn't hurt at all?!
He was mentally prepared for real harm, but nothing happened.
He was somewhat bewildered, "Hasn't the Dark Yami already started? Why isn't there the legendary physical and mental trauma?"
He quickly realized, "Could that guy be a fake Dark Duelist? The Dark Power I've been sensing has always been present at this altar? He hasn't even started Dark Duel?"
"I see. No wonder I didn't sense any overflowing Dark Power from the monster's battle just now, nor did I suffer any actual harm."
"Then his body disappearing was most likely an illusion or a form of hypnosis."
Thinking of this, Judai's expression became subtle; the person opposite him was probably just a liar.
At the same time, Titan took out a toy resembling the Millennium Puzzle from his pocket and made it emit golden light.
Then he said, feigning seriousness, "Disappear. Your body will gradually disappear along with your life points."
After the light faded, black mist filled the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, Judai also noticed the changes in himself; it did appear that a part of his body had disappeared, but he still didn't sense that it was the Dark Power affecting him.
Of course, Asuka didn't sense anything, she only noticed that a part of Judai's body was missing.
She was very worried about his condition. "Are you alright, Judai?"
Instead of answering the question, Judai turned to Asuka and asked, "I said, from Asuka's perspective, which part of my body is missing?"
"Huh? Isn't it the right foot?"
Upon hearing this, Judai immediately burst into laughter.
"As expected, my guess was right!"
Asuka grew increasingly confused. "What exactly is going on, Judai?"
Judai chuckled and explained, "That guy is a fake Dark Duelist."
Upon hearing this, Titan immediately became enraged. "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm playing a real Dark Yami!"
"In that case, how do you explain the discrepancy between Asuka and me seeing different parts disappear? In my eyes, the part that disappeared wasn't my right foot, but my right hand."
Upon hearing Judai's explanation, Asuka was stunned. "It's on his right hand?! So that guy was just a fraud?"
"This, this, I..."
Titan, facing the questioning, stammered and couldn't utter a word.
Finally, he clicked his tongue and said, "Tch, now that I've been seen through, there's no point in continuing the duel!"
So he forcefully threw down the fake Millennium Puzzle in his hand, and it immediately exploded.
Bang--!!
A low explosion rang out, and a large amount of smoke billowed out, obscuring Titan's figure as he prepared to flee.
"Wait! Don't run around!"
Upon seeing him step onto the center of the altar, Judai's pupils suddenly contracted.
However, it was too late. The moment Titan guessed the center of the altar, the Dark Yami mechanics above were triggered.
Suddenly, a huge symbol of the Eye of Ughert appeared on the altar, surrounding the Judai and the Titans.
"Oh no!!"
Judai immediately sensed something was wrong.
The next second, a massive amount of Dark Power converged like a vortex, centered on the Eye of Ughert.
Asuka was also startled by the scene before her and asked worriedly, "What happened, Judai!"
Just as she was about to step forward, Judai shouted, "Don't come any closer, Asuka!"
Startled by his shout, Asuka stopped in her tracks.
What's going on?
Judai explained with a grave expression, "Titan triggered the Dark Yami of this altar, and this time it's a real Dark Yami."
Sensing the increasingly intense Dark Power around him, he was certain that this time it was real.
So he instructed the girl, "Listen to me, Asuka, wait for me outside!"
Asuka could only trust his abilities. "I understand. Make sure you come out safe and sound. I'll pray for you."
Judai gave her a thumbs up and smiled, "Leave it to me!"
Before long, the Dark Power gathered on the altar quickly created a huge black sphere that engulfed Judai and Titan.
Within the alternate dimension created by the Dark Yami, Judai and Titan face off once again.
However, Titan's eyes were now glowing an eerie red light, and he seemed to be in an abnormal state.
Just now, when it entered this place, countless dark slimes merged into the Titan's body, as if it were being controlled by those things.
Of course, Judai was protected by Winged Kuriboh and was not corrupted by those things.
After a short while, the controlled Titan finally spoke, "Yusei Fudo, alright, let the duel continue, the true Dark Yami."
Chapter Seventeen: The Diamond
"Once the Dark Yami begins, you cannot escape from here until a winner is decided."
As soon as Titan finished speaking, the duel that had just been paused resumed, restoring the scene from when it was paused, and the surrounding environment returned to the appearance of Pandemonium.
Judai clenched his fist and shouted, "Since you want to play, then I'll play along to the end!"
Titan chuckled coldly and said, "Hmph~, then my turn continues."
"[Hell Soldier Demon], attack the player directly!"
At his command, the soldier demon rushed forward and swung his sword, striking Judai.
"Ughhh--!!"
[Yusei Fudo: LP3500→2300]
Judai clutched his chest in pain, grimacing as he said, "This pain is completely different from the one before... It really is Dark Yami."
At this time, Titan inserted the remaining four card on his hand into the duel disk. ▲erˇ∞,.) [
"Finally, set one card face down to end the turn."
[Tony Titan's Hand Cards: 1 → 0]
"And the effect of [Queen Demise] ends this turn, and the attack power of [King of Extinction Demon] returns to normal."
[King of Extinction Demon: Attack Power 3000 → 2000]
Meanwhile, Judai has no cards in hand right now, and he has to gamble on the cards he draws this time if he wants to turn the tide.
"My turn, draw a card!"
[Yusei Fudo's hand cards: 0→1]
Judai glanced at his hand, his eyes lighting up. "Yosh! I got one..."
As he spoke, he showed the card in his hand.
"I activate the Spell Card [Act 5: Hope] from my hand!"
Select 5 cards with "[Elemental HERO]" in their names from your Graveyard and shuffle them into your Deck. Then, draw 2 cards from your Deck. When this card is activated, draw 3 cards if you have no other cards on your field or in your hand.
He's always been lucky; in this dangerous situation, he just happened to draw Spell Card that would replenish his hand.
Judai took five cards from the graveyard and said, "I'll return Winged HERO, Burst Lady, Ocean HERO, Forest HERO, and Prism HERO from the graveyard to my deck, and then draw three cards from the deck."
After shuffling the deck, quickly draw three cards from it.
[Yusei Fudo's card pack: 1→3]
After glancing at his hand, he picked up one of the cards and announced loudly, "Due to the effect of [Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman] in my graveyard, I can summon one [Elemental HERO] monster without tribute."
"Using this effect, I summon [Elemental HERO Wildheart]!"
Buzz--!!
A flash of golden light appeared, and a warrior seemingly cast from gold emerged from the light.
[Elemental HERO Wildheart: Attack Power 2600]
[Yusei Fudo's card pack: 3 → 2]
Looking at the monster, Titan calmly said, "As long as [Hell Soldier Demon] is on the field, the opponent cannot attack any [Demon] monster other than [Hell Soldier Demon] on their field."
He then flicked his hand and shouted, "Then activate the Trap Card, [Shield of Conspiracy]!"
"Equip this card to [Hell Soldier Demon] as an Equip Card. As long as the equipped monster is on the field in Attack Position, the equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn, and all damage dealt to you by battle against it becomes zero."
A shield of light appeared on the soldier demon's shield-like left arm, and it stepped forward to protect the king demon.
Titan sneered, "With only one monster present, you, brat, have no chance of breaking through my defenses."
However, Judai shrugged and asked with a smile, "Is that really true?"
"What...?"
With a wave Judai his arm, Judai shouted, "Go! [Elemental HERO Wildheart] Attack [Hell Soldier Demon]! Power Engine Attack!"
Under his command, Golden Blade charged forward, its blade slashing at the light shield on the soldier demon's arm.
Click--!!
The light shield shattered instantly upon impact, rendering it temporarily useless.
"It's useless. This attack won't destroy the [Hell Soldier Demon], and I took zero damage."
"How about this one?"
Judai immediately revealed his second Spell Card, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Mask Change] from my hand!"