Chapter 36: The Completed Puzzle—Invincible Old Al!

Chapter 36: The Completed Puzzle—Invincible Exodia!

"ROAR!" The roaring sound seemed capable of shaking the heavens and the earth as the white dragon revived from the graveyard and returned to its master's side.

Furthermore, unlike the other white dragon trapped by the swords, this newly revived 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】's attacks were completely unaffected by the restrictions of 【Swords of Revealing Light】.

"Crush that crawling insect on the ground! Burst Stream of Destruction!" From the beginning of the duel, Kaiba had been somewhat restrained, but the further the duel progressed, the more excited he became. His words became increasingly uninhibited, and he even began to passionately shout the names of his monsters' attacks.

"BOOM!"

Although 【Gaia the Fierce Knight】's 2300 ATK was not low, it could not compare to the terrifying 3000 ATK of Blue-Eyes. Unable to offer even a decent resistance, it was torn apart by the attack.

【Yugi: 750 LP → 50 LP】

The simulated impact brought a hurricane that made the hem of Yugi's clothes flutter violently. Looking at his remaining 50 LP, his will became even more steadfast than before.

"My turn!"

Yugi drew a card; it was a card named 【Left Leg of the Forbidden One】. As he added the card to the far left of his hand, Yugi realized that he had now collected all four pieces: 【Left Arm of the Forbidden One】, 【Right Arm of the Forbidden One】, 【Left Leg of the Forbidden One】, and 【Right Leg of the Forbidden One】.

"I summon 【Brutal Emperor】 in Defense Position. My turn is over."

"What a waste of time." Kaiba snorted at Yugi's constant defensive play and drew a card.

"My turn, draw!"

Glancing at the card, Kaiba froze momentarily before bursting into loud laughter. "Let me grant you the ultimate despair, Yu↗gi↘!"

"The third 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】 descends now!"

He slammed the card down heavily. Accompanied by a lingering spark from one of the three 【Swords of Revealing Light】 that had shattered, the third and strongest dragon descended!

"ROAR!"

"ROAR!!"

"ROAR!!!"

Three 【Blue-Eyes White Dragons】 gathered on the field. If they were allies, they would surely boost morale significantly, but as the opponent, Yugi could only feel a colossal pressure surging from the three giant dragons, crashing down upon him.

"From the moment 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】 fell into my hands, this duel was already decided, Yu↗gi↘!" With a wave of his hand, as if a commander ordering a charge, the 1600 DEF of Yugi's 【Brutal Emperor】 became utterly meaningless, crushed instantly by the dragons' advance!

Yugi's field was empty. Now, he had to face the intimidation of the three Blue-Eyes head-on. The virtual imaging system was so perfect that Yugi could even hear the heavy breathing of the three white dragons and the high pressure emanating from their gaze.

"Strong!" One white dragon spread its wings.

"Mother Hen!!" The trapped dragon struck forcefully against the Sword of Revealing Light, seemingly impatient to break free from its cage.

"Slay!!!" The final white dragon tilted its head back and roared loudly toward the sky.

Watching the dragons display their individual prowess alongside Kaiba's roars, Yugi—having moved past his initial fear—gradually closed his eyes. He took a deep breath to calm himself and placed one hand atop his deck.

"Kaiba!"

"Roar? Have you closed your eyes in fear, seeking my mercy?" Crossing his arms over his chest, Kaiba stared coldly at Muto Yugi on the opposite platform. "Your life is like a flickering candle in the wind. Blue-Eyes will tear through all your resistance. Don't even think about running!"

"No, Kaiba, I don't want to surrender. No duelist can calmly accept their own defeat." Yugi shook his head and calmly flipped his hand to show his cards to Kaiba. "I am telling you that I am going to defeat you, in this very turn!"

"With those meaningless cards of yours that are worse than a small fry's? Don't make me laugh, Yu↗gi↘!" A bloodthirsty, distorted smile appeared on Kaiba's face, filled with anticipation. "Hurry up and draw your card, then accept the attack of Blue-Eyes and welcome your total defeat! Hahahaha!"

*Joey, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Serenity... everyone is waiting for me...*

*Deck, if the power of the heart truly exists, please respond to me!*

"My turn—"

"Hmph, have you finally reached for your final despair?" Kaiba watched Yugi prepare to draw, an excited smile on his face. But just as he was about to throw out more taunts, a voice from nearby rang out: "That's not how it is, Seto!"

"Are you... Kobayashi Hayato?" Because "Seto" and "Seto" (the phonetic reading) were similar, Kaiba was annoyed that Hayato addressed him so directly. "I am not on such familiar terms with you that we call each other by our first names! And are you suggesting that Muto Yugi still has a chance to surpass me?!"

"As long as there are cards in the deck, and as long as Life Points haven't hit zero, a duelist has an infinite future. The way to defeat you is currently sleeping within Yugi's deck, and it is about to awaken." Hayato looked at Yugi, who was about to draw, his eyes exceptionally firm. "Even though there are so many cards left and hope seems slim, for a true duelist, everything is inevitable!"

"My turn, draw!"

The moment Yugi drew the card, a pentagram magic circle abruptly appeared in the center of the field. "Wh-what's happening!?"

Kaiba was shocked. He was the lead developer of the virtual imaging system and had handled the design of countless monsters, but in his memory, no monster's appearance had ever been like this.

"The card I drew is 【Exodia the Forbidden One】! I have now collected all five of its pieces in my hand!"

"What? It's 【Exodia】!? That invincible monster!" Kaiba never imagined that someone in the world could actually collect all the pieces of 【Exodia】 and summon it during a duel!

As Yugi placed the 【Exodia】 cards onto the duel disk one by one—Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg—the chain-bound limbs of 【Exodia】 slowly emerged from the magic circle, followed finally by its head. The originally towering 【Blue-Eyes White Dragons】 looked like mere small lizards in comparison to the terrifying height of 【Exodia】!

Yugi placed the card representing the "Torso" onto the field. 【Exodia】 was completely unsealed, and under the shocked gazes of everyone, it tore through the five chains binding it: "This is my rage, this is your sin! 【Exodia Inferno】 attack!"

An endless light flashed by. The moment Hayato recovered from the blinding glare, he looked at the LP calculator above the duel disk; Kaiba's LP, marked "KAIBA," had already hit zero. This meant Yugi had achieved the final victory.

But Yugi's punishment for Kaiba was not over.

Looking at the "I cannot accept this" expression on Kaiba's face, Yugi pointed a finger across the distance and shouted, "Mind Crush!" Kaiba suddenly collapsed to his knees before the duel disk, looking completely soul-shattered. Even as Yugi was helped away by Hayato, Kaiba remained in a daze for a long time.

The invincible Exodia's only appearance has ended.

This volume is now concluded. Overall, the protagonist has adapted to the Yu-Gi-Oh! world and has begun to gradually accept the concept of "solving everything through card games."

(End of Chapter)