Chapter 219: Infinite

Chapter 219: Infinite

"Hmph, I successfully interfered with your XYZ Summon. Can you still smile, Kobayashi Hayato?" Keith looked at Hayato somewhat strangely.

Hayato's Monsters have been Banished six times so far. Doesn't he feel heartache for his own Monsters?

"They're just a few Monsters. For me, getting you to bait out your Trap Cards is worth it." Hayato glanced at the last Card in his Hand. "You don't have any Set Cards left to activate, so I can use this Card without any worries!"

"Card of Sanctity! Both players draw until they have 6 Cards in their Hand!" Hayato said, exchanging a look with Ishizu Ishtar. With empty Hands, the two of them simultaneously drew 6 Cards. Keith and that Lackey, on the other hand, drew 4 and 1 Card respectively.

"Keith, the equation for victory in my Deck is complete!" Hayato said with a smile, looking at the Cards he drew. "Face my infinite power!"

"Activate the Spell Card, Call Star Heavenly Instrument Platform! Return one Level 6 Monster from my Hand or Field to the Deck, then draw two Cards. I choose Ojama King to Return to Deck!"

"Activate the Spell Card, Double Summon! This Turn, I can Summon twice. I will Normal Summon Gearfried the Iron Knight and Blazing Maiden!"

Ojama King's figure disappeared from Hayato's Field, replaced by a steel Knight clad in heavy metal armor, and a witch wielding Flames.

"Heh, just a few Lackey Monsters. Where do you get the confidence to call them infinite power?" Keith sneered. Marik, hidden behind him, was quite disdainful of Hayato's declaration of "infinite" power. In his opinion, only the power of one of the Three Egyptian God Cards he possessed, Slifer the Sky Dragon, was worthy of being called infinite power.

"Don't be so impatient, you three-year-old. My equation is far more perfect than you imagine." Hayato said, activating three Cards in succession. "First is Mystical Space Typhoon, to Destroy that bothersome Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror on your Field. Then, the Continuous Spell Card Morale Boost and the Spell Card Graceful Charity!"

Mystical Space Typhoon swept away the Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, whose power covered the entire Field. Morale Boost, which has the ability to recover Life Points when equipping a Monster with a Card, also appeared on Hayato's Field.

Seeing this, Keith on the other side hadn't noticed anything amiss yet, but Ishizu Ishtar beside Hayato's pupils contracted. She clearly understood in an instant what Hayato's "infinite power" was.

*'When equipping a Card, Morale Boost recovers Life Points, and Blazing Maiden's Effect is to inflict Effect Damage to the opponent's Duelist when Life Points are recovered.'*

*'But what is Gearfried the Iron Knight's role? Doesn't it just Destroy Equip Cards directly?'*

After drawing three Cards, Hayato laughed under Keith's deadpan gaze, proudly showing Keith the Cards he was about to Send to Graveyard: "Now, Marik, I will show you infinite power. Are you Ready?"

Among the two Cards he Sent to Graveyard, one was Archfiend of Gilfer, which Yugi Mutou had used before.

"The moment it's Sent to Graveyard, Archfiend of Gilfer's Effect activates! Equip it as an Equip Card that decreases a Monster's ATK by 500 to one Monster on the Field!"

Looking at the soul form of Archfiend of Gilfer resurrected from Hayato's Graveyard, Marik still hadn't sensed the impending crisis: "Hmph, so you want to equip this Monster to my Machina Sniper? For a Monster in Defense Position, decreasing ATK is completely insignificant!"

"Who told you I was equipping it to your Monster? Archfiend of Gilfer is equipped to Gearfried the Iron Knight on my Field!" Hayato pointed his hand towards Gearfried the Iron Knight on his Field. "At the same time, because of Morale Boost's Effect, I recover 1000 Life Points!"

"Chain Blazing Maiden's Effect! When my Life Points recover, inflict 500 Damage to the opponent's Duelist!"

[Keith: 2500→2000 LP]

Unlike the 1500 Life Points Keith voluntarily paid to activate Solemn Strike, this time it was Effect Damage inflicted by Hayato's Monster.

"Cough!" Marik, who was sitting comfortably in a chair far away, concentrating on controlling the four people in the Duel, suddenly felt a wave of pain wash over him. Even Keith, whom he was controlling most deeply, couldn't help but show a pained expression.

"Th-this is impossible?!" Under Marik's control, Keith glared at Hayato with a distorted expression. "The one participating in the Dark Game isn't me, it's him! Why can you hurt me?!"

Ishizu Ishtar's gaze towards Hayato was also full of surprise. According to Marik, Hayato actually inflicted Damage on his True Form in this Dark Game through the puppet controlled by Marik?!

Although Ishizu Ishtar always tried to maintain a cold demeanor as if she had severed ties with Marik, upon learning that Marik might be in life-threatening danger, Ishizu Ishtar, as his Sister, instinctively felt worried for him.

Noticing the worry in Ishizu Ishtar's eyes, Hayato said with a smile, "Don't forget I'm the one who initiated this Dark Game. It's not like I'd get the target of the punishment wrong, right?"

"Unfortunately, due to the distance, it's just some mental pain at most; it won't take your life. You got lucky, you... *cough*... Marik."

Ishizu Ishtar noticed that although Hayato seemed to be speaking harshly to Marik, his eyes were looking towards her. She understood that he was saying these things to reassure her. While feeling relieved, she also felt grateful towards Hayato.

"Keith" took a few deep Breaths. Although he couldn't quite maintain his zombie-like face, he finally recovered from the pain. Although he often conducted Dark Games to inflict abuse on others, Marik was particularly cowardly. He always used his Millennium Rod to control puppets to fight, so even if the Dark Game's punishment was inflicted, he wouldn't feel pain himself.

Suffering because of a Dark Game, this was the first time, which made him harbor a considerably deep malice towards Hayato. Although it hurt, he still outwardly shouted, "It's just a mere 500 Damage! It doesn't hurt at all! If you have the guts, keep it coming, Kobayashi Hayato!"

"Hey, you're the one who said that. I wasn't forcing you."

Hayato immediately seized the opportunity, causing Keith's expression to stiffen.

*'This guy can actually do it again?'*

"Honestly, I've never heard such a cheap request." Hayato spread his hands towards Ishizu Ishtar beside him, then looked at Keith. "Speaking of which, have you noticed the change in Gearfried the Iron Knight equipped with Archfiend of Gilfer?"

Keith subconsciously looked towards Gearfried the Iron Knight.

[Gearfried the Iron Knight] [Level 4 / EARTH]

[Warrior-Type / Effect]

[1800 ATK / 1600 DEF]

"Gearfried the Iron Knight hasn't changed? Huh?! There's no change at all!?" At first, Marik didn't react, but the lingering pain on his body suddenly made him remember: Didn't Hayato just equip Archfiend of Gilfer to Gearfried the Iron Knight?!

"Gearfried the Iron Knight has quite excellent ATK and DEF among Warrior-Type Monsters, but as a cost, he cannot use any Equip Cards and will Destroy Equip Cards." Hayato said lightly. "This was supposed to be a drawback."

"But a true Duelist not only knows how to use a Monster's strengths, but can even utilize its drawbacks." Ishizu Ishtar said with a smile, continuing Hayato's words.

Just as Archfiend of Gilfer, which had been resurrected from the Graveyard earlier, was about to attach itself to Gearfried the Iron Knight, it was Destroyed by a hand chop and Sent to Graveyard. Then, under Marik's horrified gaze, Archfiend of Gilfer, which had been Sent to Graveyard, resurrected again!

"The old simp Archfiend of Gilfer tries to possess Gearfried the Iron Knight again, but because of Gearfried the Iron Knight's coldness, it gets kicked away again!" Hayato explained in a strange way. "At the same time, Morale Boost and Blazing Maiden appreciate each other, Best Match!"

"Th-this is!"

Stream after stream of Flames flew out from Blazing Maiden. Accompanying them was the life force from Morale Boost appearing and disappearing repeatedly, and Archfiend of Gilfer persistently crawling out from the Graveyard!

-500!

[Keith: 2000→1500 LP]

"Ergh!"

-500!

[Keith: 1500→1000 LP]

"Ahhh!"

-500!

[Keith: 1000→500 LP]

"Heh ahhh!"

"Controlling someone else's body yet trying to escape punishment, Marik, ask yourself, where in the world is there such a good deal?" Hayato pointed his hand towards Keith. Marik, who was controlling Keith from behind, felt as if Hayato was pointing directly at him amidst the pain.

"Now, count your sins!"

-500!

[Keith/Marik: 500→0]

"Hmph, heh ahhhhhh!!!"

Accompanied by Marik's scream, the Millennium Rod in his hand slipped and fell. The four people controlled by him, including Keith, all screamed in unison and fell backward onto the ground.

"Looks like that three-year-old has tasted some bitterness." Looking at the Shadow Game Field that was gradually dissipating because one side was no longer able to fight, Hayato put away his Duel Disk. He looked at Gearfried the Iron Knight and the others who were also gradually disappearing. "It's rare to use such a powerful Combo, but I didn't get to fully enjoy it."

"If the Duel just now wasn't satisfying enough, I'd be quite happy to play a few more rounds with you, Mr. Kobayashi." Ishizu Ishtar said with a smile.

Hayato waved his hand: "Ah, I was just saying, just saying. It's getting quite late too. We still need to catch these guys and send them to the Police Department. We can talk about it later."

Just kidding, I'd rather go Smurf and Bully Newbies who just started playing Duel Monsters than Duel against a Hand-Graveyard Strategy.

Ishizu Ishtar said with a smile, "Then next time for sure, Mr. Kobayashi."

Not necessarily next time either! Hayato quickly changed the subject: "Calling me Mr. Kobayashi feels a bit strange. Everyone else calls me Hayato, Ms. Ishizu, you can just call me Hayato too."

"Okay, Hayato-kun."