The White Robe Phantom Thief immediately shattered on his own.
"This is terrible. [Headless Knight] has 1700 Defense Points. The only monster that can break through it is [Dark Magician], but he'll definitely equip the Spirit Attachment to [Dark Magician], so you can't attack. There's only one turn left. Think of something, Yugi!"
Mokuba was pessimistically talking down the King from below the stage.
"Hmmph! Yugi will definitely win! I believe he won't disappoint me!"
President Kaiba, on the other hand, had faith in the King. After all, the King was the rival he acknowledged.
"Yugi! Go!"
"Don't you dare lose, Yugi!"
"..."
Their companions cheered the King on together.
"I've received everyone's feelings. I'll definitely win this for you."
With that, the King drew a card.
"My turn, draw!"
[Yugi Muto's hand: 3→4]
After glancing at the card he had drawn, the King shook his head. However, he was not disappointed and instead flipped over the card he had set earlier.
"Although I didn't draw that card, I still have a chance. I activate the Spell Card [Card Destruction]."
Players with cards in their hands discarded all of them. After that, each player drew the same number of cards from their deck as they had discarded.
There was an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
The King replaced all four cards in his hand, further thinning his deck, then inserted one of the cards into his Duel Disk.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card [Pot of Greed and Humility]."
Only one card with this name could be activated per turn. During the turn this card was activated, its controller could not Special Summon monsters.
: Reveal the top three cards of your deck, then choose one and add it to your hand. After that, return the remaining cards to the deck.
There was an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
"This time, it has to be there..."
Then, after seeing the three revealed cards, the King smiled. Seeing that expression, Bakura began to feel uneasy.
The King selected one of the cards and activated it.
"Spell Card [Dark Magic Attack]!"
This could only be activated if [Dark Magician] was on your field. Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on your opponent's field.
There was an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
"What!?"
Bakura had not expected the King to clear the field in such a simple and brutal way.
Very soon, Dark Magician summoned a pitch-black magic blast that blew away all of Bakura's back-row cards, dispelling the bizarre space known as Dark Sanctuary.
"Change [Magician Knight Defender] and [Black Magician] to Attack Position."
[Magician Knight Defender: ATK 1600]
[Black Magician: ATK 1200]
"This ends now. [Dark Magician], attack [Headless Knight]! Dark Magic Attack!"
Headless Knight was instantly shattered.
"Then, [Magician Knight Defender] and [Black Magician], attack him directly..."
Just as the King was about to eliminate Bakura's remaining Life Points, "Marik" suddenly appeared.
Marik was about to stir up trouble.
Hostage
"That guy is..."
The King uneasily looked toward the tall figure approaching them.
"Marik, what are you doing here?"
Jonouchi asked angrily, preparing to go over and settle things with his fists.
"Jonouchi, calm down!"
Honda Hiro and Otogi Ryuji, the two close friends, hurriedly stopped him.
"I won't let you interfere with someone else's duel!"
Mokuba stood vigilantly behind President Kaiba and said.
"Listen carefully. That boy has already been controlled by the Millennium Rod and turned into a puppet."
At that moment, "Marik" spoke and raised the microphone in his hand.
"What did you say? What's going on? Bakura should already have been controlled by the Dark Yami inhabitant..."
The King could not quite understand.
"That's right. That boy's spirit has been controlled by two forces. I'll show you the proof now. I'm about to release that boy's spirit."
After "Marik" finished speaking, Bakura suddenly fell to his knees.
"Urgh—! It hurts! It hurts!"
Bakura clutched his injured left arm, his expression filled with pain.
""Bakura!""
Their companions were deeply worried about Bakura's condition.
"This is bad! Bakura's dark personality has actually joined forces with Marik..."
Yugi anxiously said to the King.
"This is!!"
The King did not respond to Yugi's words, because he had suddenly noticed something wrong on the field. It seemed that an additional force had appeared.
"Yugi-kun, where is this place? Why am I here? Why do I have this wound?"
At that moment, Bakura looked at the King across from him and fired off three questions in a row.
"Bakura..."
The King did not know how to answer him.
"As you can see, that boy has already been seriously injured. The moment control over him was released, the Dark Yami placed on him as a safeguard was activated. If you dare reduce his Life Points to zero, you will completely take his life."
"Marik" coldly said to the King.
"What did you say? You're using Bakura's life as a shield!? Marik!!"
The King angrily questioned "Marik," but he ignored him and simply turned around and left.
"Bakura..."
The King was extremely conflicted. He did not know how to resolve this problem, because the Dark Yami could no longer be stopped. Yet if he did not end the duel quickly, Bakura's injured body would not be able to hold on.
Referee Isono urged him to continue the duel from the side, throwing the King's thoughts into disarray. Yugi could not think of any good solution either.
Just as they were still hesitating, the Millennium Ring on Bakura's chest suddenly emitted an intense light.
Bakura stood up again, wearing the same sneering expression as before.
"What!? The dark personality has taken control of Bakura's body again!?"
The King looked utterly surprised.
"Hehehe! It's fine if I lose this time. Hurry up and attack!"
Bakura said to the King with a completely unconcerned expression.
"What..."
The King was stunned.
"What's wrong? I won't let your companion Bakura die, so don't worry. This host is the most important thing to me. I can't let him be killed here. Hurry up and do it, Yugi!"
Bakura spread his arms and urged the King on.
"It seems the dark personality doesn't want to be controlled by Marik. This is our chance, Other Me!"
Yugi reminded the King to seize this opportunity.
"Right! [Magician Knight Defender] and [Black Magician], attack him directly!"
The King immediately reacted and ordered his remaining two monsters to attack.
Magician Knight Defender raised his short sword and slashed at Bakura, while Black Magician fired a magic bullet at him.
"Yugi, one day I'll bury you in eternal darkness. The one who will ultimately obtain Dark Power is me! Hahahaha..."
Bakura received both attacks amid his laughter.
[Bakura: LP 1950→0]
"The winner is Yugi Muto! He advances through the first elimination match!"
Isono raised his hand and announced the result of the match.
Afterward, Bakura's dark consciousness disappeared, and he returned to being Bakura. Everyone hurriedly took the injured Bakura back for treatment.
"Phew! Bakura-kun's situation was a close call, but he's safe..."
After sending Bakura back for treatment, Yugi let out a sigh of relief.
"Luckily, the dark personality took the attacks in order to preserve Bakura's life as its host."
The King also felt somewhat fortunate.
"Still, I have a feeling that dark personality will eventually appear before us again as an enemy."
Yugi remembered Bakura's final words and could not help feeling worried.
"Yes, AIBO..."
The King felt the same way.
Next came the other contestants' matches. It was still unknown whether Marik would cause more trouble afterward.
Jonouchi VS "Marik"
The duel platform at the top of the Duel Airship slowly rose, and the two people drawn for the second match stepped onto it.
"From this moment onward, the second elimination match will begin: Katsuya Jonouchi versus Marik Ishtar."
Isono loudly announced the two competitors.
Jonouchi stared at "Marik" with an unfriendly gaze. At the referee's request, the two shuffled each other's decks.
After shuffling, they walked to opposite ends.
"Marik! I'll definitely beat you until you're crawling on the ground! You'd better prepare yourself!"
Jonouchi pointed at "Marik's" nose and made a fierce threat, though it did not have much intimidation behind it.
In response, "Marik" merely raised the Millennium Rod and aimed it at Jonouchi.
"Eek—!"
Jonouchi's face suddenly stiffened. He had PTSD from that thing.
"That is..."
"A Millennium Item! Is he going to use that to control Jonouchi again?"
Before you continue