Chapter 42: What on earth is Field Magic?

"Go, [Flame Swordsman]! Crush that zero-attack small fry!"

Only after Buta Goro summoned [Flame Swordsman] and issued his attack declaration did Hayato interrupt him.

"You did just say you were going to attack, right?" Hayato flipped over one of his three face-down cards. "Before your attack lands, I activate the Spell Card [Mystic Chinese Pot]. The effect of this card allows me to tribute one monster on my field to restore either its attack or defense points."

"Hahaha, I wonder which unlucky soul is about to be sacrificed as a tribute?" Watching the Spell Card Hayato activated, [Disturbance Yellow] laughed so hard its eyes narrowed into slits. In its eyes, whether it was [Baby Dragon] or [Flying Dragon Warrior], the Life Points they could restore were far greater than its own.

"The monster I am tributing is [Disturbance Yellow]!"

"Hmm, hmm, the one being sacrificed is—huh, [Disturbance Yellow]!?" At first, it hadn't reacted, still wiggling its hips happily. But it quickly realized what was happening, turning its head to look at Hayato with a look of pure disbelief, pointing at itself.

"This monster is just a useless piece of trash with 0 attack. Even if it stays on the field, its fate is to be destroyed by you; I might as well fry it and eat it."

Ignoring [Disturbance Yellow]'s cries of "Nooo, Aniki~!", Hayato ruthlessly sent it to the Graveyard, choosing to restore 1000 Life Points based on [Disturbance Yellow]'s defense.

[Hayato: 2000 LP → 3000 LP]

"You're just playing with me, aren't you? Fine, then I'll attack your [Baby Dragon]."

Although current Duel Monsters didn't have a "combat redirection" setting, because Hayato activated [Mystic Chinese Pot] before the battle occurred, Buta Goro was able to re-select [Flame Swordsman]'s attack target. This time, [Baby Dragon] was successfully destroyed in battle.

"My turn end—"

"The moment you end your turn, I still have a card to activate." Amidst the side comments from Joey and Honda—"It's that card again"—Hayato flipped his face-down card. "[Time Machine]! Because of its effect, the destroyed [Baby Dragon] returns to my field once more."

Hayato performed his signature "double jump" maneuver once again, bringing [Baby Dragon]—which had been sent to the Graveyard before it even had a chance to bond with [Disturbance Yellow]—back onto the field.

"You're like a persistent ghost! Turn end!"

[Goro: Hand 6 → 7 → 6]

Buta Goro's mood had absolutely no impact on Hayato's performance. Hayato drew a card from his deck: "During my Draw Phase, I activate another face-down card."

"Again?!"

"Don't worry, it's not an overly ridiculous effect. With the effect of [Reload], I return all cards in my hand to the deck, shuffle, and then draw the same number of cards." After flipping [Reload] and sending it to the Graveyard, Hayato returned his five cards to the deck. After several shuffles, he drew five new cards.

"Buta Goro, right? Actually, I'm quite an introverted person. I like being passive, even with Duel Monsters." As Hayato spoke these nonsensical words, he set two cards on the field. "I set two cards. My turn is over."

[Hayato: Hand 4 → 5 → 3]

"Tell you what, Hayato isn't good at attacking; he's an introvert," Joey remarked casually. "He must have set something that requires an attack to trigger its effect."

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

"My turn, draw!" Buta Goro drew a card. Instead of summoning a monster immediately, he scrutinized the two cards Hayato had just set. Last turn, he had attacked Hayato's monsters, and while he had achieved some success, it could also be said he had achieved nothing at all.

Aside from that even more pathetic [Disturbance Yellow] being sacrificed to the Graveyard to boost Hayato's Life Points to 3000, the other two monsters remained exactly as they were. Furthermore, due to the combat redirection, the destruction, and the immediate resurrection, Hayato's series of maneuvers made Buta Goro feel as if he were being toyed with in the palm of his hand.

'I haven't summoned a monster this turn yet. Should I summon one? That way I can clear all the barriers on his field in one go,' Buta Goro hesitated, clutching a card in his hand. 'But that blond guy doesn't seem to be lying. This fellow might have set another strange trap.'

"I use the [Flame Swordsman] on my field to attack that [Baby Dragon]." After much hesitation, Buta Goro did not summon a monster, but instead used [Flame Swordsman] to launch a direct attack. Against the monsters currently on the field, [Flame Swordsman]'s attack power was more than sufficient; there was no need to create extra openings for the opponent. That was Buta Goro's thought process.

Then, without any further action from Hayato, [Baby Dragon] was sent to the Graveyard.

"He didn't even activate a face-down card!?"

Hayato looked troubled: "Oh dear, I wanted to, but I didn't meet the activation requirements. One of my walls was destroyed; how troublesome."

*Damn it, I actually got bluffed by this guy's posturing!* He glared indignantly at Joey, who looked at him with confusion. Buta Goro said, "I end my turn. Since my hand has reached the limit, I discard one card."

[Goro: Hand 6 → 7 → 6]

"Now, my turn."

Drawing a card, Hayato glanced at the monster Goro had discarded—a common, low-level monster. Confirming it wasn't a Graveyard trap like [Super Electromagnetic Turtle], Hayato smiled. "Hey, Goro, I heard you're a fan of Pegasus. Well then, have you heard about the new type of cards he's planning to release soon?"

"I activate the Field Spell, [Disturbance Village]!"

"What, a Field Spell?!" For the first time, Buta Goro showed a look of panic. "Impossible! I've memorized every card produced by Industrial Illusions. There is absolutely no such thing as a 'Field Spell'!"

"Regrettably, Field Spells do exist, and this card in my hand is the proof. Moreover, in the near future, even more new types of cards will be released." Hayato placed [Disturbance Village] in the Field Zone and then activated its effect.

"The first effect of [Disturbance Village]: while it is on the field, once per turn, I can send one card with the [Disturbance] attribute to the Graveyard to Special Summon one [Disturbance] monster from my Graveyard."

Displaying [Disturbance Black] in his hand, Hayato resurrected [Disturbance Yellow] from the Graveyard, then played another card: "[Dark Mass Production Factory] allows me to recover two Normal Monsters from the Graveyard to my hand. I recover the [Disturbance Black] I just sent to the Graveyard, as well as the previously destroyed [Baby Dragon]."

"And now, I activate the [Polymerization] I set earlier!"