Chapter 29: Today's Target of Persecution is the Chaos Maker

“Summoning monsters on my field? Hmph, meaningless cards, and the ones you summon are just a bunch of small fry.” Hayato glanced down at the three original Disruptor monsters that Lachy had placed on his field to serve as "Tokens." In Lachy's eyes, their glaringly obvious 0 Attack and weak 1000 Defense made them nothing more than trash.

What he failed to see was that because he kept calling them "small fry," the three Disruptors were actually crawling from the field onto his body, punching and kicking him: "How dare you call us small fry?" "Only Big Brother is allowed to say that about us!" "Yeah, exactly~"

However, the "Spirit Power" Hayato had obtained—the essence of the ability to "communicate with card spirits"—was only at the lowest level. The Disruptors were merely hollow shadows with no combat capability whatsoever. Furthermore, even if their level increased, the Disruptor monsters with 0 Attack would still possess no destructive power.

【Lachy: Hand size 3 → 4】

"Well then, it's my turn. Draw!" Hayato drew a card, putting on an expression of great surprise. "Good heavens, Mr. Lachy, it looks like I've drawn an incredible card."

Flipping the card over, Hayato revealed he had drawn 【Toll】.

Lachy recognized this card: "A card that prevents attacks unless 500 Life Points are paid? Hmph, that's nothing to my 2000 base points. I only need one attack to finish off that monster of yours that refuses to die quietly."

"What, are you going to activate it?"

The corner of Lachy's mouth curled up, but before he could fully smile, he heard Hayato say with certainty, "Isn't that obvious?"

Hayato set 【Toll】 on the field. From this moment on, neither player could declare an attack unless they paid 500 Life Points.

"Although my 【Atlys】's Attack, even if doubled, wouldn't be enough to deal with your 【Rocket Launcher Spider】 and would only result in mutual destruction, I can still take out those three 【Disruptor Tokens】 you just summoned to my field." Hayato narrowed his eyes, his gaze drifting over the three Disruptor monsters under their terrified stares. "Now, I'm going to pick one lucky spectator at random to beat up. I wonder who's lucky enough?"

The three Disruptor brothers huddled together, trembling in fear.

"Summoning monsters to my field just to destroy them? Boring." Lachy looked at the squinting Hayato. "Attacking a Defense Position monster won't cause me any damage. Instead, you'll have to face my invincible 【Rocket Launcher Spider】 next turn."

"Attacking a Defense Position monster theoretically won't cause damage, but I happen to have just the right Spell card to make it work."

Hayato played a card from his hand; he now had only one card left.

"【Meteor Strike】? A card that grants piercing damage when attacking a Defense Position monster? So what? It's a mere 800 points of damage."

"No, it's not 800 damage, it should be 2600 damage." Hayato didn't mention that the 【Disruptor Tokens】 would also take effect damage when destroyed, because the 300 damage wasn't particularly important this time. He played the final card in his hand. "【Enlargement】. Depending on the difference between both players' Life Points, it can either multiply a monster's Attack or reduce it by half."

Lachy glanced at the card in Hayato's hand. This 【Enlargement】 was slightly different from the version circulating on the market. The market version unconditionally increased a monster's Attack and Defense by 20%, but Hayato's card had the terrifying effect of doubling it.

However, powerful cards come with risks. When Hayato's base points were higher than his opponent's, the doubling effect of 【Enlargement】 would become a double-edged sword, shrinking the monster's Attack to half its original value.

"That's quite a powerful effect. But kid, did you forget something?" Lachy flashed an arrogant smile. "Because of that 【Damage Vaccine】 you activated last turn, your Life Points are now equal to mine. This 【Enlargement】 won't take effect at all. It seems you've been driven mad by the fear of failure, hahahaha!"

"I didn't expect a brat like you to have such a powerful rare card. It's decided—once this game is over, that card is mine. The people at KaibaCorp have been collecting powerful cards everywhere lately; if I take this to the black market, I bet it'll sell for a lot of money. Thinking about it that way, you really are my lucky charm!"

Watching Lachy talk to himself, already imagining a beautiful life with money, Hayato gave a light cough. "Ahem, Mr. Lachy, I think you might have forgotten something?"

"Hmm?"

"If you've forgotten, let me remind you." Hayato pointed to the field. "Now, I will declare an attack with my 【Paladin Atlys】, equipped with both 【Meteor Strike】 and 【Enlargement】, against your 【Disruptor Token - Black】 on your field!"

"And, because of the effect of 【Toll】, I must pay 500 Life Points!"

"What?! That card!" Lachy's eyes bulged as he stared in shock at the 【Toll】 he had completely ignored since its activation. If Hayato paid 500 base points due to 【Toll】's effect—

【Hayato: 2000 LP → 1500 LP】

"At this moment, because my base points have changed, the effect of 【Enlargement】 must undergo a comparison of Life Points. Since 1500 is less than 2000, the effect of 【Enlargement】 triggers, doubling 【Atlys】's Attack!"

【Paladin Atlys: ATK 1800 → 3600】

"The target is the Disruptor Token with 1000 Defense. Because of 【Meteor Strike】, when attacking a Defense Position monster, 【Atlys】 gains piercing damage. Take this 2600 damage!"

Under the trembling gaze of 【Disruptor - Black】, the invisible 【Atlys】 engaged in combat. The enlarged 【Atlys】 raised his equally massive greatsword and thrust it down forcefully toward the 【Disruptor Black】, which was no larger than his toe.

【Lachy: 2000 LP → 0】

"My, my, what an interesting duel." Hayato began calmly tidying the cards on the table, speaking with a sarcastic tone. He looked up to face the pale-faced Lachy, who had lost the duel, and the revolver that Lachy had once again raised to his own forehead.

"Lost the duel and now you're throwing a tantrum? An adult's mental fortitude isn't all that strong, is it?" Even though he knew a gun was pointed at him, Hayato acted as if he hadn't noticed, continuing to organize the scattered cards on the table. "Are you going to pull the trigger, Mr. Lachy? Oh, wait, you don't seem very lucky right now. Mr. Unlucky."

"Shut up, you brat! I don't want to waste a bullet on a kid like you!" Lachy growled, his face dark with rage. "Tell me your bank card password, and hand over that 【Enlargement】 card!"