""(Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder), declare a Direct Attack on Hayato!""
Hesiod issued the attack order, anticipating another victory.
Recently, relying on the immense power of this (Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder), which he had obtained from Marik, he had achieved victory after victory, simultaneously absorbing powerful Life Points to strengthen himself.
Yet, even among so many Duels, this current Duel with Hayato was the most satisfying one he'd experienced to drain from. Furthermore, it was also the most valuable.
Yugi and Hayato, after defeating the "Father of Duel Monsters"—Pegasus, could be said to be the two strongest Duelists in this world. If he defeated them, wouldn't he be the strongest Duelist himself?
In that case, Marik, no, that Marik guy, wouldn't be so intimidating anymore, right?
As Hesiod pondered, he suddenly realized that even though he had issued the attack order, his (Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder) behind him seemed to not have heard his command, making no move to attack and standing completely still.
""If your Direct Attack succeeded, I would indeed lose. But unfortunately, the Effect of (Wretched Ghost of the Attic), which was Destroyed by Battle and Sent to the Graveyard by you, Activates.""
Hayato picked up the (Wretched Ghost of the Attic) Card from the Duel Disk, showed it briefly, then Sent it to the Graveyard: ""Your Battle Phase for this Turn ends now. Face the invincible power of the 'female fist'!""
It was as if after (Wretched Ghost of the Attic) was Destroyed, it was frantically updating a blog and writing articles in the Graveyard, describing everything it encountered on the Field, constantly accusing the merciless (Total Defense Shogun) and (Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder).
Under pressure, an "Account Banned" symbol appeared above the heads of (Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder) and (Total Defense Shogun). It was also for this reason that even though Hesiod had just given the attack command, (Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder) remained motionless, like Rohan Kishibe.
""Tch, to think I was ambushed by such a Fodder Monster. Set one Card, I end my Turn."" Hesiod ended his Turn with an annoyed expression.
[Hesiod: 4000 LP, Hand 0]
[(Total Defense Shogun)] [DEF 2500]
[(Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder)] [ATK 4000]
[Set Card]
""Then, My Turn! Draw!"" After drawing the top Card of his Deck, Hayato activated the Card he had Set last Turn. ""Activate my Set Card on the Field, (Reckless Greed)! I can overdraft the future to draw two more Cards from my Deck, but as a Cost, my next two Draw Phases will be skipped.""
""Hmph, you've realized the gap between us, so you're forced to borrow Cards from the future?""
""No, actually, it's quite the opposite."" Hayato glanced at the Cards in his Hand, then said with a smile, ""The puzzle of victory is complete!""
""Activate the Spell Card, (Graceful Charity)! Draw three Cards, then Discard two Cards from my Hand!""
As he spoke, Hayato drew three Cards, and under Hesiod's gaze, Sent two Cards to the Graveyard.
""Next, Activate my second Set Card."" Looking at the five Cards in his Hand, Hayato flipped over a Card in his Spell & Trap Zone. ""Continuous Trap Card, (Cycle's Decree)!""
""Once per Turn, I can use its Effect: Declare one Type, then all Monsters in both Duelists' Graveyards become the Declared Type!""
""The Type I Declare is, Spellcaster-Type!""
Hayato's Field suddenly became transparent, allowing Hesiod to instantly see the state of the Graveyard beneath. A beam of Light swept across, and the images of the Monsters sleeping in both Graveyards transformed. Whether it was (Lava Golem), (Gaia the Fierce Knight), or the (Marauding Captain) in his own Graveyard, they all donned Spellcaster attire.
""Change the Type of Monsters in the Graveyard? And not Dragon-Type, but Spellcaster-Type?"" Hesiod frowned. He knew that some Monsters possessed the ability to utilize specific Type Monsters in the Graveyard, such as the renowned Dragon-Type slayer, "Buster Blader," which has the Power to Increase ATK based on the number of Dragon-Type Monsters in the Opponent's Graveyard.
But using Spellcaster-Type Monsters, he genuinely couldn't think of any immediately.
Furthermore, he also saw that in Hayato's Graveyard, besides (Lava Golem), (Gaia), and (Wretched Ghost of the Attic), there were also two Monsters that hadn't appeared before—two Fiend-Type (Newt).
Of course, these two Monsters had also been transformed into Spellcaster-Type Monsters.
""When did those two Cards—Ah, I see, was it from the (Graceful Charity) just now?"" Hesiod recalled the (Graceful Charity) that Hayato had just activated.
Although due to Hayato repeatedly using Card-drawing Effect Cards, leading many to become aware of the "card advantage" concept in the Hand, Cards with hand replenishment Effects gradually gained importance. However, among Card-drawing Cards, a portion of cards were not very popular, specifically referring to (Graceful Charity).
While it allows you to Draw three Cards at once, you then have to Discard two more Cards. And if you count (Graceful Charity) itself, spending three Cards from your Hand to replenish your Hand by three Cards was simply a waste of time.
Hesiod, like most others in the past, thought the same way. But Hayato was now showing him the true purpose of (Graceful Charity) beyond its Draw Effect—the important thing was never the Draw; Discarding two specific Cards to the Graveyard was what truly mattered.
""At this very moment, exactly five Monsters are resting in my Graveyard, and thanks to the Effect of (Cycle's Decree), they have all become Spellcaster-Type Monsters. With this, this Card can finally be Activated.""
As Hayato spoke, he revealed a green Spell Card and placed it on his Duel Disk: ""Activate the Spell Card, (Magicalized Fusion)!""
""From my Field and Graveyard, Banish Spellcaster-Type Monsters as Fusion Material, then Fusion Summon one Spellcaster-Type Fusion Monster!""
On Hayato's now transparent Field, Phantom Images of Monsters appeared in each of the five Monster Zones, and they were absorbed into a mirror, taller than a person, that appeared in Hayato's Back Row, merging into a Vortex.
""Wielding magic, engraving mystery, at this very moment, it is the pinnacle of time!"" A Fusion Monster Card appeared in Hayato's Hand, which he placed on his Duel Disk: ""Fusion Summon, Quintet Magician!""
(end of chapter)