Chapter 35: A Game at the End of the Line

Although the monster Hayato gave him had weak attack power, if the effect on the card were to resolve, it could easily destroy even a powerful monster like Blue-Eyes.

"Did you draw that card?" Hayato seemed to read something in Yugi's eyes and nodded, shouting loudly, "Go, Yugi! Let Kaiba witness the power of my Tamashii!"

Yugi did not comment on the fact that Hayato's number of Tamashii had increased again; instead, he gave a serious nod in response and turned his head back to focus on the duel.

"Unlike you, who stands alone, I have the strength brought to me by my friends—the power of trust born from the resonance of our hearts!" Yugi launched into a classic monologue, slapping a card onto the field. "This is the power of the heart! I will show you that I can surpass your simple and pathetic strength any moment now."

"I set one monster and end my turn!"

"Hahaha! You talk a big game, but in the end, aren't you just gasping for breath? My turn!" Glancing at the card he had just drawn, Kaiba burst into another fit of excited laughter. "It seems even destiny is on my side! Yugi, I've drawn the second [Blue-Eyes]!"

Violent currents of air spread recklessly in all directions from the unfolding wings as the mighty [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] appeared once more, meaning there were now two on Kaiba's field.

"With this, no matter how many walls you summon, I can easily crush you! Attack that monster, Blue-Eyes!"

Blue-Eyes launched its attack again, and a blue-white light swallowed the monster Yugi had just summoned. But before Kaiba could continue his mockery, a pair of insect mandibles suddenly lunged out from the thick smoke covering the position of the destroyed monster.

"You've stepped into my trap, Kaiba!" A smirk played on Yugi's lips. "The monster I set is [Man-Eater Bug]. When it is flipped, its effect activates! It can choose any monster on the field to destroy."

"Nani!? Masaka!"

"That's right. The one I'm destroying is the Blue-Eyes on your field! Accept the resentment of the monsters you've destroyed and sleep in the Graveyard, oh strongest dragon!"

The Man-Eater Bug emerged from the smoke. Its lower body had been reduced to ash by Blue-Eyes's previous attack, but it continued to move solely due to the incredible vitality of an insect.

Though it was only a Level 2 monster with a fragile 450/600 stat line, even facing the mighty [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], the tiny insect dared to take up the challenge.

The massive white dragon's throat was pierced by the Man-Eater Bug's remaining mandibles. Its holy body crumbled into fragments and drifted into the Graveyard. Because of this attack, Kaiba's Life Points plummeted from a relatively ample 1800 to a mere 300.

"Damn it! To think you'd destroy my Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba glared at Yugi through gritted teeth, letting out a cold snort. "Hmph, so what if you destroyed one? Not only is there another Blue-Eyes on my field, but the third [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] also sleeps within my deck!"

"And how many more times can you summon those annoying monsters?"

Yugi could not refute Kaiba's words. The hot blood that had just been ignited by defeating Blue-Eyes quickly cooled.

It was true; although he had used Hayato's power to break through one Blue-Eyes, another was still looming menacingly on Kaiba's field. Furthermore, a third Blue-Eyes lay dormant in Kaiba's deck.

Simply playing defensively was not a sustainable strategy. Even though his Life Points were currently higher than Kaiba's, a single strike from Blue-Eyes could end him. He had to find a way to break the deadlock!

Looking down at his hand, the worry between Yugi's brows refused to dissipate. He had five cards in total, but aside from [Gaia the Fierce Knight] having decent strength and one weak Normal Monster with less than 2000 ATK, the other three were monsters that looked... suspicious.

*'What was Chicken-chan thinking? There are clearly much stronger monsters to choose from, so why put these kinds of cards in the deck?'*

*'Please, Chicken-chan, if you are still watching, point out to me where the possibility of victory lies!'*

"My turn, draw!" He flipped the top card of his deck—it was the Spell Card [Lightforce Sword]!

"I activate [Lightforce Sword]!" Yugi played the card, and three swords shimmering with holy light descended from the sky onto the head of the remaining [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], trapping it within a formation of blades. "Kaiba, the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] on your field will be trapped and unable to battle for three turns!"

"Muda, muda, muda! [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] is the strongest monster card! Even if it cannot attack, your monster cannot break through this high wall!" Kaiba laughed confidently. "A futile struggle! Even if you have three turns, what can you possibly achieve?"

"I believe my deck will respond to my heart!" According to the rules, if he had no monsters on his field at the end of his turn, he would lose the duel immediately. Yugi summoned [Gaia] to the field and ended his turn.

"Hey, Yugi!" Suddenly, Yugi heard Hayato shouting to him from outside the duel area.

"Hayato-kun?"

"Yugi!" Hayato cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, shouting toward Yugi on the high platform. "Trust your deck! No monster is useless! Until the puzzle is complete, no one can guess what the pattern inside actually is!"

"A puzzle?" Hayato's shout suddenly reminded Yugi of something from earlier today—

After Honda finished writing his message on the confession puzzle, he had scrambled the pieces. Joey had picked up one piece and said

"If you just take one piece out like this, you can't tell at all what that guy Honda wrote."

"Because a puzzle has no real interest when viewed piece by piece; it only gains meaning once the puzzle is completed."

That was what Anzu had said to Joey at the time.

—

*'Could it be... these cards are...!'* Yugi suddenly remembered Chicken-chan once telling him that there was a special type of monster in the Duel Monsters card set that could only exert its true power when a specific set was collected.

"My turn!"

Kaiba could not know the thoughts racing through Yugi's mind; he simply drew a card from his deck. Seeing the "Ankh," the symbol of resurrection, on the card face, Kaiba laughed triumphantly. "Hahahaha! You're finished, Yuuuu-gi!"

"I activate the Spell Card, [Monster Reborn]!"

"The effect of this card is to revive one monster sleeping in either player's Graveyard. And the one I shall revive is, of course, my own monster!" With an arrogant expression, Kaiba bellowed the monster's name

"Return to my field, Blue—Eyes—White—Dragon!!!"