Marik, who had happened to collapse on the opposite side, climbed back to his feet as well, though his gaze was no longer as violent as before.
"Looks like the original personality has regained control of his body."
Marik and Isis's request had been completed.
At that moment, the awakened Marik approached Yugi, while Isis and Rishid also walked toward them.
Seeing this, Jonouchi, who did not know the full story, hurried over and stood protectively in front of Yugi. "Hey! What are you guys trying to do now, Marik? Are you trying to hurt Yugi again?"
The other companions also gathered around Yugi.
Yugi quickly grabbed the impulsive Jonouchi. "Calm down, Jonouchi-kun! Everyone! They don't mean us any harm now!"
"Huh!? Yugi, what are you talking about?"
Jonouchi and the others were somewhat confused.
However, Yugi soon explained Marik's situation and the request they had made of him earlier.
"I've done far too many terrible things to all of you. I'm truly sorry!"
Marik sensibly gave everyone a deep bow.
"Tch, since Yugi has decided to let bygones be bygones, we'll let you off for now. But if you ever dare do anything bad again, my fist will definitely land on your face!"
Seeing Marik's sincere attitude, Jonouchi and the others finally calmed down a little.
"Thank you so much, Yugi!"
"Thanks to you, Lord Marik was able to return to normal."
Isis and Rishid also bowed to Yugi.
Yugi calmly accepted their thanks.
"Yugi, this card should be given to you..."
At that moment, Marik handed over a blank yellow card.
Yugi accepted it instinctively, then glanced at it. "[The Winged Dragon of Ra]... Thank you, Marik."
Marik waved his hand. "No need to thank me. You earned it."
With that, he left with his sister and servant.
After they had all departed, Yugi placed the card into his deck and said to the King, "That's great, Other Me. You've already obtained two of the cards you needed."
The King looked at Yugi gratefully. "You've gone to a lot of trouble, AIBO. But we're still missing the final God Card—[Obelisk the Tormentor], which Kaiba has."
"Heh heh heh... Hahahaha! Ahahahaha!!"
The moment President Kaiba was mentioned, his signature laughter rang out from below the stage.
He walked over to Yugi with his younger brother.
The President arrogantly pointed at Yugi's face. "Three... no, four Gods have gathered here now. Whoever obtains them will rule the dueling world! I will definitely take them from you, Yu↓gi↑!"
"Uh..."
Yugi had no idea how to respond.
Jonouchi, however, became displeased. "Hey! Kaiba, hold it right there. Didn't Duel City clearly state that you can only take one Rare Card from the loser? Trying to steal all three of Yugi's Gods is against the rules!"
The President's smile froze instantly.
Since when did this loser become so sharp...?
"Besides, before you duel Yugi, you still have to duel me! I'm definitely taking your Rare Card and dueling Yugi!"
Jonouchi wanted to defeat the President too. After all, the President had way too many good cards.
The President crossed his arms with a look of utter disdain. "Hmph↑! You think you can do it, you mediocrity? You're a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck! Stop dreaming!"
Jonouchi, having been called a third-rate duelist by the President, immediately flared up. "Shut up, Kaiba! Duel me already! I can't wait to take you down!"
"Fine. Since you, a mere loser, refuse to surrender early and insist on challenging me without knowing your place, I'll grant your wish and let you taste defeat once more!"
After saying that, the President ignored him.
Then he had Isono, who had just gotten off work for a break, hurry back to continue hosting.
The President wanted to deal with Jonouchi early and face Yugi as soon as possible.
A while later, Isono stood in the center of the duel stage again, watching his President and Jonouchi shuffle each other's decks.
"Hmph↓! I'll give you some credit for not running away, you loser. But for daring to waste my time here, I will never forgive you. Prepare yourself to be crushed!"
"Tch, who's afraid of who..."
Isono calmly watched the two rivals glare at each other without interrupting them.
Soon, both decks had been shuffled, and they returned to their respective positions.
"Now beginning the second semifinal match: Seto Kaiba versus Katsuya Jonouchi!"
As Isono's words fell, the duel between the two officially began.
[Seto Kaiba: LP 4000] [Katsuya Jonouchi: LP 4000]
The President drew a card first.
"My turn, draw!"
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 5 → 6]
He glanced over his hand and said, "Hmph↓! How ordinary. I'll settle this with you right away and show you that we belong to completely different levels!"
With that, he slapped a card from his hand onto the Duel Disk.
"I summon [Hand of God] from my hand."
As light flickered across the card, a bizarre angel covered in countless arms was projected before him.
[Hand of God: ATK 1400]
"And this card's special ability activates."
When this card is successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned: Add 1 Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell Card from your deck to your hand.
"A Ritual!?"
Jonouchi was somewhat surprised.
After selecting the card he needed from his deck, the President inserted it directly into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Ritual Spell [White Dragon Advent]! Offer a Level 4 or higher tribute, and let [Paladin of White Dragon] descend!"
"I offer [Hand of God] as a tribute! Ritual Summon! [Paladin of White Dragon]!"
Hand of God vanished from the field, and then a knight riding a white dragon appeared before the President.
[Paladin of White Dragon: ATK 1900] [Seto Kaiba's hand: 6 → 4]
"Next, I sacrifice [Paladin of White Dragon] to Special Summon one [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from my hand or deck!"
Paladin of White Dragon vanished as well, and the President's wife appeared.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon: ATK 3000]
"Finally, I set one card and end my turn."
The President ended his turn cleanly and decisively.
[Seto Kaiba's hand: 4 → 3]
The duel between them had officially begun.
Chapter 64: Making Use of Side Effects
"My turn, draw!"
[Katsuya Jonouchi's hand: 5 → 6]
"This is really troublesome. He summoned his ace monster right from the start..."
But Jonouchi was not without a countermeasure. "I'm going, Kaiba!"
He slapped a card from his hand onto the Duel Disk. "I summon [Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight] from my hand in Attack Position!"
After light flashed across the card, the overworked knight was projected before him.
[Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight: ATK 1800] [Katsuya Jonouchi's hand: 6 → 5]
Seeing this monster, President Kaiba looked utterly disdainful. "Hmph↓! A loser is still a loser. Even if it's a low-level monster with high base attack power, you still use monsters with Side Effects. A monster that cannot use Equip Spells cannot possibly compete with [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] in attack power!"
Rather than getting angry at his mockery, Jonouchi smiled. "Heh, you're right. [Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight]'s Side Effect is really troublesome, but Yugi told me that no matter what kind of Side Effect it is, there will always be exceptions."
As he spoke, he turned to glance at Yugi below the stage.
After meeting the latter's eyes, he turned back ahead and picked up another card from his hand.
"That's why I activate this card from my hand: the Equip Spell [Fusion Weapon Murasame Blade], increasing [Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight]'s attack power by 800 points."
A blade fused into the Iron Knight's arm guard.
[Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight: ATK 1800 → 2600] [Katsuya Jonouchi's hand: 5 → 4]
"Nani!? Why wasn't the Equip Spell destroyed!?"
The President was stunned by the sight before him.
Jonouchi wiped his nose and said smugly, "Heh heh, that's because [Fusion Weapon Murasame Blade] cannot be destroyed by effects while it is equipped to a monster. So [Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight] can equip it normally. It's also the only card that can be equipped to him."
"Hmph↓! I see. But so what? [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]'s attack power is still higher than—"
Just as the President was about to say that his White Bride had higher attack power, Jonouchi cut him off.
"Then how about this card? Spell Card ["Attack" Prohibition], changing [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] to Defense Position."
Blue-Eyes White Dragon immediately curled up.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon: DEF 2500] [Katsuya Jonouchi's hand: 4 → 3]
"Tch!"
The President could not help clicking his tongue. The Iron Knight's attack power was higher than White Bride's defense, which made things rather unpleasant.
Jonouchi immediately launched his attack, sweeping out one arm. "Go! [Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight], attack!"
The Iron Knight charged forward with his sword drawn.
"Damn it! I won't let you touch [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]!"
As he spoke, the President hurriedly pressed a button and flipped over his set card.
"I activate the Trap Card [Tyrant's Wing]! This card is equipped to [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] as an Equip Card, increasing its attack and defense by 400 points."
"Also, while [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] is equipped with this card, it can attack monsters up to twice during the same Battle Phase."
White Bride's wings instantly expanded and began glowing.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon: DEF 2500 → 2900]
"Not good! Its defense is higher now!"
But Jonouchi could no longer stop the attack.
"[Blue-Eyes White Dragon], send that weak, powerless attack flying back!"
White Bride beat her wings powerfully, creating a fierce gale that blew the Iron Knight back.
[Katsuya Jonouchi: LP 4000 → 3700]
"Ah! What a shame!"
Jonouchi was clearly unwilling to accept it.
Before you continue