Yu-Gi-Oh!: This is the real duel!

"Go! Poison Root King! Attack Y'Dragon Head!!"

"At the same time, a new trap card is also activated—Itakua's Storm!!"

"This card changes the battle position of all monsters on your opponent's field."

"You Che, you will once again suffer combat damage from the Poison Root King!!!"

"Liao——————————————"

A strange bird cry echoed from the dark sky, followed by a dark green storm sweeping across the battlefield!

Seeing this, everyone watching held their breath in suspense.

Although Yuche's opening was very intimidating, Malik's counterattack was also very fierce.

Once the Y'Dragon Head is destroyed, not only will the game fall into a disadvantageous position, but it will also be difficult to summon XYZ'Dragon Cannon again when monster materials are in the graveyard.

If even the XYZ˙ Divine Dragon Cannon cannot be summoned, then the appearance of the Armed Dragon Strike Cannon is even more impossible.

As the only duelist among the top four in the Duel City Tournament without a God Card, Yuzuru can almost guarantee victory if he can summon Armed Dragon Cannon before his opponent summons a God Card.

But now it seems that realizing this plan has become even more difficult.

"boom------------"

Under Itakya's storm effect, the Y-dragon head, which was originally in a defensive stance, was forcibly reversed into a battle stance. It aimed its crimson dragon head cannon at the enemy, but the 500-point attack power difference made it completely unable to withstand the opponent's attack!

A dark whirlwind arose once more, and the plant-type monster—Poison Root King—empowered by a black necklace, launched its second attack!

But just as the sharp claws were about to strike, a scene that surprised everyone appeared!

Y'Dragon Head, who was initially at a disadvantage, suddenly blasted Poison Root King to pieces with a single shot, while Malik, who had taken the initiative to attack, suffered the impact and injuries from the Dark Duel!

"Bang—"

"Beep beep beep beep————————"

Malik, LP: 4000 → 3000

Amidst the gunfire, both cards shattered.

"Tsk! What...?" Dark Malik gritted his teeth and looked up in confusion.

At that moment, a glowing magic card was flipped up from Yuzuriha's back row. Under the effect of this card, all the Machine-Type monsters on Yuzuriha's field entered Overload mode, doubling their original ATK!

Y˙Dragon Head, Attack Power: 1500→3000

Yu Che said, "While you were attacking, I also activated my face-down card—Limit Removal! This doubles the attack power of all my Machine-Type monsters!!"

“Malik, you were right before. With all four monsters on the field being Machine-type, I can’t activate this card just to block an attack.”

"But now, our trump card, the android Psycho Shocker, has been defeated, and W's Ejector Wings have been tortured and restricted by its wheels. In this way, the cost of activating the restriction release has been minimized!!"

The crowd was taken aback at first, then cheered.

"Well done! You've got it!"

"Malik is still at a disadvantage!"

"That was brilliant! Not only did they successfully counterattack their opponent, but they also indirectly destroyed the torture wheel!!"

"Go for it, Youche!!"

However, Dark Marik suddenly let out a cold laugh: "Ha! Is that so? Is it really my disadvantage now?"

"You fools have such bad memories! Have you forgotten that King Poison Root is wearing a black necklace?!"

"When the Poison Root King is destroyed, the Black Necklace also enters the graveyard and triggers its effect, dealing 500 points of effect damage to the opponent!!"

"Enjoy the torment I'm going to inflict on you, Youche!!!"

"Bang!"

The black jewels scattered on the ground suddenly emitted a sinister demonic light, and a curse imbued with dark magic descended from the sky, striking You Che!

The moment he was hit, You Che's knees buckled, but he did not fall to the ground. Instead, he clenched his fists and slowly straightened up.

As the Dark Duel progressed, Yuzuru's adaptability continued to improve. Although the impact he had just endured was more intense than before, he managed to survive.

"Beep————————————"

A bead of cold sweat dripped down Youche's forehead and landed on the Duel Disk counter. He had 3400 LP left, slightly more than Dark Marik.

"Hmph~ It's not over yet!" Dark Marik continued, "When the Poison Root King is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon one Plant-Type monster other than the Poison Root King from the Graveyard!"

"Rise, Rending Fang!!"

The shattered vines suddenly began to twist and turn strangely. Under the control of dark forces, they seemed to be given new life and reassembled to form a new monster!

The resurrected plant monster was a giant eyeball with tentacles ending in poisonous spikes growing around it.

【Cracked mushroom tooth】

【Four stars】

[Water Attribute/Plant Tribe]

[Attack/Defense: 1700/500]

"N-what?!" Jonouchi exclaimed in disbelief. "When was such a disgusting monster sent to the graveyard?"

Wang Yang replied, "It should be before the Poison Root King launched his second attack. At that time, Malik activated an Angel's Charity after replenishing his hand with the Heavenly Treasure Card. Apart from that, there was no other opportunity to use it."

“Malik is really strange,” Mai said, frowning. “These resource replenishment cards are all activated during the battle phase…”

Not far away, Seto Kaiba, who was standing on a high platform watching the duel, also heard what Mai Kujaku said.

Recalling the divine gift and angelic charity that Malik had unleashed during the battle, he also felt a strange sense of unease.

After this Duel City Tournament, as both the president of the KC Group and a participant, he had a vague feeling that the current dueling rules seemed to be inexplicably chaotic.

In his view, dueling should be conducted under rigorous calculation, but the current rules are vague and imperfect in many ways.

"This isn't the duel I'm really looking forward to," Seto Kaiba muttered to himself.

Kaiba Keihei, standing to the side, looked up in confusion: "What's wrong, brother? Wasn't this duel exciting?"

Seto Kaiba shook his head: "That's not what I meant, Keihei. After this tournament, I still need to continue to refine and modify the rules of Duel Monsters."

Kaiba Keihei laughed and said, "Then go for it! After the Duel City Tournament ends, my brother will become the world's most-watched Duel King. If the Duel King wants to change the rules of duels, I doubt anyone will object, right?"

Hearing his younger brother's praise and encouragement, Seto Kaiba couldn't help but smile, but he quickly pulled himself back to the battlefield.

"Hmph~ Since you've activated the restriction release, there's no point in me continuing my attack~" Dark Marik sneered, "End Battle Phase, activate Continuous Spell Card - Survival Card!!"

"Activate the Spell Card again—Monster Resurrection!!"

"A regenerated slime will be resurrected from the graveyard with a defense rating!!"

【Regenerated Slime】

【Four stars】

[Water Attribute/Aquarium]

[Attack/Defense: 1500/500]

"Tsk! It's that card!" Wang Yang couldn't help but frown.

"What's wrong, the game?" Jonouchi asked.

Wang Xiang said with a grim expression, "Regenerating Slimes are monsters that can revive on the field after being destroyed in battle. It seems... Malik is already preparing to summon Ra's Winged Dragon!"

"What?! It can revive every time it's destroyed?!" Jonouchi was somewhat shocked.

"Hmph~" Dark Marik's lips curled up, "At the same time as the Regenerating Slime is revived, the effect of the Survival Treasure Card is also triggered. Whenever a monster from either player's graveyard is revived, I can draw three cards from my deck!"

"Place two cards face down to end your turn."

"Youcha, I now have two monsters on my field. You should know what I'm planning to do next, right?"

"Don't worry~ The kind of torture we've been waiting for is about to begin. I'll let you enjoy it properly with the flames of the Winged Dragon of Ra~"

Hahahaha!!!

As Dark Marik's turn ended, the three Machine-Type monsters on the field also shattered, along with the incredibly disgusting Continuous Trap Card - Torture Wheel.

"My turn, draw!" Yu Che announced loudly. "Activate the Spell Card - Disruptive Mandala. Pay 1000 LP to Special Summon 1 Disruptive Yellow, 1 Disruptive Green, and 1 Disruptive Black from my Graveyard!!"

"Beep beep beep beep——————"

Cruise control, LP: 3400→2400

Malik raised an eyebrow and sneered:

"What's wrong? Are you so flustered that you're losing your composure?"

"As I said, I can draw cards whenever either side revives a monster from the graveyard!"

"Now I can draw cards from my deck again!"

However, Youche responded, "I know that, but what I don't understand is, if you don't have Osiris the Sky Dragon anymore, why would you put such a suicidal card in your deck?"

Dark Malik's expression changed slightly.

You Che continued, "I did this precisely because I understand the effects of the Survival Talisman!"

"Tribute my two Disruptor monsters on the field!!"

"A superior summons—out of the despair of darkness!!"

"Activate the Ritual Spell Card again—Doomsday!!"

"Using the eight stars of darkness and despair on my field as material, I ritually summon Demis, the King of the End!!"

"At the same time, since I have an 8-star monster on my field that has been sent to the Graveyard, I can activate the Spell Card 'A Deal with a Fiend' from my hand to Special Summon Raging Death Dragon from my hand or Deck!!!"

"Malik, the Berserker Death Dragon is a monster that can attack all monsters on the opponent's field once!!"

"As long as the Berserker Death Dragon attacks your Regenerating Slime, the Regenerating Slime will automatically revive, and the Berserker Death Dragon can continue its attack..."

"In this cycle, every time a Regenerating Slime is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, your Survival Card will be triggered!!"

"Ultimately, you'll be forced to draw all your cards because of your own combo!!"

"When your deck has no cards left to draw, you will lose immediately!!"