Chapter 118: Which Priest is Healing the Opponent?!
"The moment you declare an Attack, your Life Points will drop to 3500. Since that's lower than my Life Points, the Effect of (Megamorph) will turn positive, increasing (Masked Dragon)'s ATK to 2800?!" Bandit Keith was no Duel rookie; he instantly understood Hayato's Combo, his expression turned serious.
He currently had only 3700 Life Points. If (Masked Dragon)'s Attack succeeded, he would be in danger.
"You're absolutely correct, as expected of the All-American Champion, 'Bandit' Keith," Hayato complimented him, then commanded, "Now, entering the Battle Phase, I'll first use (Sand Moth) to attack your (Electric Torturer) in Defense Position."
"You want to clear my obstructing Monster first, then use (Masked Dragon) for a Direct Attack on me?" Bandit Keith gritted his teeth and said, "Then, because of (Toll)'s Effect, you must Pay 500 Life Points."
[Hayato: 4000LP → 3500LP]
At this moment, as the Life Points of both Duelists changed, the stone tablet clutched by (Masked Dragon) once again glowed. However, this time the light no longer caused shrinkage. Instead, after restoring (Masked Dragon)'s body to its original size, it continued to enlarge, until its volume doubled its original size.
[(Masked Dragon)] [ATK700 → 1400 → 2800]
"Just 500 Life Points! (Sand Moth)'s Attack continues! Sandstorm Burial!"
A sand vortex swept across Bandit Keith's Field. Although (Electric Torturer) had a powerful Effect, having previously destroyed all of Hayato's Set Cards, its intricate internal components resulted in extremely low ATK and DEF. It was easily destroyed by (Sand Moth)'s 2000 ATK and sent to the Graveyard.
At this moment, Bandit Keith hesitated for a moment. Among the two cards he had Set last Turn, one was (Time Machine), which could Revive a destroyed Monster. If he activated this card, he could Summon the recently destroyed (Electric Torturer) again to block (Masked Dragon)'s impending Direct Attack.
However, if he did that, even if he saved his Life Points, Bandit Keith would still have no effective way to destroy the 2800 ATK (Masked Dragon) next Turn. On the other hand, if he took the Direct Attack, his Life Points would plummet to just 900. Even if Hayato held a dangerous (Goblin Thief), it would be difficult to finish him off.
And due to the Life Point change, (Megamorph) would turn into a card that inflicted a debuff, causing (Masked Dragon)'s ATK to drop back to only 700. That way, he would have ample room for a Counterattack.
"Next is (Masked Dragon)'s Direct Attack! Go, (Masked Dragon), Megaton Crush with 2800 ATK!"
[Hayato: 3500LP → 3000LP]
Dragging its enormous body, (Masked Dragon) obeyed its trainer, Hayato's, command, unleashing Megaton Crush for a Direct Attack on Bandit Keith, dealing tremendous Damage!
"Ugh!" Even Bandit Keith, who considered himself a tough guy, couldn't help but groan in pain from the 2800 points of impact simulated by Solid Vision. His Life Points plummeted instantly like a freefall.
[Bandit Keith: 3700LP → 900LP]
Due to the Effect of Megaton Crush, (Masked Dragon) suffered recoil, rendering its body immobile while its ATK also dropped back to just 700.
"Set two cards." Hayato didn't play the (Goblin Thief) in his hand, instead Setting it along with another card on the Field. He didn't want to Activate that card now, as activating it would actively help Bandit Keith by further lowering his Life Points, essentially boxing him into a critically low state. After all, if he wanted to finish him off, he could Activate it from the Field anytime. Setting it could also bait a (Mystical Space Typhoon), protecting his other card.
"Oh, what a shame, I think Hayato made a mistake," Joey sighed. "If he hadn't equipped (Megamorph) to (Masked Dragon) earlier, but to (Sand Moth) instead, 2000 doubled would be 4000, right? Hayato would have won with a Direct Attack."
Mai Valentine glared at Joey, annoyed, after hearing his words. "Are you an idiot? Losing to someone like you would truly be a shame."
"What do you mean by that!" Joey protested. "Even if you're a beauty and in my strike zone, you absolutely cannot insult my dueling skills! Am I wrong?"
"Joey, actually, Hayato did the right thing." Yugi awkwardly tugged on Joey's sleeve, stopping him from making a fool of himself. "Hayato's (Megamorph) boosts a Monster's Original ATK."
Sheppard, who was standing nearby, saw that Joey still didn't quite understand even after Yugi's explanation, so he added, "Although (Sand Moth)'s current ATK is 2000, that's because its effect swaps its ATK with its DEF. Its Original ATK is still 1000. If you used (Megamorph), even if the doubling effect triggered, its ATK would still only be 2000."
"Hayato is so amazing, he managed to reduce Bandit Keith's Life Points by so much in one go." Bakura, from the 'amateur duelist' group with Tristan and Téa, looked at the Field with eyes practically sparkling with admiration. "Although (Masked Dragon)'s ATK has dropped back down, Bandit Keith's Life Points are only 900! He's like a flickering candle in the wind."
Hearing the voice from Bakura's side, Hayato couldn't help but turn his head and glare back—"Are you a double-crosser giving that guy Buffs? Everyone else is trying to maximize their DPS in a raid, and you're healing the Boss?!"
Bakura looked somewhat confused.
"Phew, that really hurt. It's my first time taking so much damage on a Duel Arena." Bandit Keith, with one hand on the railing of the Duel Arena, recovered from the pain and looked up at Hayato. "You're much more interesting than that amateur from the last match."
"Is that so? I'll take that as a compliment," Hayato said, just about to declare "End Turn," but Bandit Keith interjected before he could speak, "Before your Turn ends, I Activate my Set Card!"
"(Heart-Sealing Jar)!"
As Bandit Keith's Backrow Set Card flipped open, the two cards Hayato had just Set in his Backrow suddenly fell into a jar. A large stone was pressed onto the mouth of the jar, sealing both cards inside.
"You can only Activate (Heart-Sealing Jar) by targeting two Set Cards in your Backrow. As long as this card remains on the Field, those two cards of yours cannot be activated." Bandit Keith smiled triumphantly, remembering one of those two cards was (Goblin Thief). This kid clearly wanted to trick him into using a card like (Mystical Space Typhoon) to destroy his Set Cards.
Setting two cards at once, only for me to exploit it. Truly, it's biting off more than one can chew. Hmphahaha.
"Tch, I got greedy," Hayato regretted his recent play, but he couldn't blame anyone else. He just hadn't expected Bandit Keith to bring a card like (Heart-Sealing Jar). In Duelist Kingdom, where most other Duelists preferred Spell Card combos with Monsters, or even tactics that simply accumulated Monster numbers, few would actively Set Spell/Trap Cards.
'Could this guy Keith have adjusted his Deck specifically to counter me?' Hayato wondered.
(end of chapter)