Chapter 30: Kuriboh, Forever the GOAT

"Even though both have 2,600 attack points, to use the [Great Moth] that you managed to summon just to force a double-KO with [Gaia]?!"

"Does that Insector Haga have some hidden trick up his sleeve?"

The onlookers murmured anxiously, and Hayato furrowed his brow. *'If I recall correctly, that guy Haga tried something similar against the Pharaoh in the original timeline. His justification back then was... wait, it couldn't be!'*

"Don't think of me as so naive. The wind stirred up by my [Great Moth]'s wings isn't the only thing it brought. Take a look at your field!"

Hearing Haga's words, Hayato looked down. To his surprise, a pale yellow powdery mist had somehow begun to drift across the previously clear field. Although [Gaia the Dragon Champion] was flying in the air, it inevitably inhaled some of the dust. As the powder settled, [Gaia] and the [Curse of Dragon] began to act as if they were suffering from a severe case of hay fever; their energy waned, and their attack points actually started to plummet.

"As expected, is it the toxic scales?"

"That's right! The moment the Great Moth was summoned, it scattered its scales all across the entire field. Any living creature is inevitably eroded by the poisonous dust!" Although it was essentially a vanilla card, relying on Haga's exceptional rule-bending eloquence, Hayato watched helplessly as Haga continuously whittled down Gaia's attack power.

[Gaia the Dragon Champion] [ATK 2600 → 1900]

"Strike while the iron is hot! [Great Moth], destroy the weakened [Gaia the Dragon Champion]!"

"Great Moth Flame Death Tornado!"

Haga watched as his EARTH-attribute, yet flying and fire-breathing [Great Moth] successfully destroyed [Gaia the Dragon Champion] without taking a single scratch, and laughed maniacally. "And now, [Flying Kamakiri], direct attack!"

"Guh!"

[Hayato: 3400 LP → 2700 LP → 1200 LP]

"Now the Life Points between us have finally flipped, Hayato. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you slink away from Duelist Kingdom in defeat after losing. This is the price for humiliating me earlier!" Haga slotted a card into his backrow. "I set one card face-down. End of turn."

[Haga: 2300 LP, Hand: 0]

[Great Moth] [ATK 2600]

[Flying Kamakiri] [ATK 1500]

"At the moment your turn ends, I activate my face-down card, [Time Machine]." Hayato watched as [Gaia the Dragon Champion] returned to the field once more, only for its attack power to be dragged down to 1,900 points yet again by the [Great Moth]'s toxic scales.

"Useless, useless! No matter how many times your monsters revive, my invincible [Great Moth] will crush them all," Haga sneered as he looked at the resurrected [Gaia the Dragon Champion]. "And on the very next turn, your flickering candle of a life will be completely snuffed out."

"My turn. Hmph." Feeling the sharp sting transmitted to his body by the impact simulation system, Hayato let out a long breath and looked across at Haga. "Should I be thanking you for the little health refill?"

Though he said that, Hayato couldn't think of any good way to turn the tables right now. Even if he drew [Dragon Seeker] to boost attack power, [Gaia the Dragon Champion] and [Great Moth] would still only manage to destroy each other in a mutual crash, and deploying an [Ojama] monster right now wouldn't be enough to reverse the situation.

*'If a duelist always draws the exact cards they need as a matter of destiny, then my deck, please answer my call!'*

"Draw!" *'Kuri~'*

Glancing at the card he had just drawn, Hayato froze for a second, then a smile spread across his face. "Is that so? I feel like this might actually work."

"I enter the Battle Phase! [Gaia the Dragon Champion], attack [Flying Kamakiri]! Spiral Serpent Strike!"

"Bang!"

The longest-surviving [Flying Kamakiri] was finally out of commission. However, although the monster was destroyed by battle, because the [Great Moth] had heavily lowered [Gaia the Dragon Champion]'s attack power, the damage dealt to Haga by this attack was pitifully small.

[Haga: 2300 LP → 1900 LP]

"With that, I end my turn." Without setting any cards from his hand, Hayato simply concluded his turn.

[Hayato: 1200 LP, Hand: 1]

[Gaia the Dragon Champion] [ATK 1900]

[Valuable Carp] (Note: translated from the continuous spell context)

Field: [Ojama Country]

Although Haga's Life Points had dropped slightly, he still held the absolute advantage. "Heh, trying to destroy my monster to minimize the damage you take? But unfortunately, you still cannot escape your destiny."

"My turn, draw!"

Glancing at the monster he had drawn, Haga smiled triumphantly. "It seems your plans have fallen through, Hayato. What a shame, the card I drew this time is none other than this: [Insector]." Displaying the monster in his hand, Haga summoned [Insector] to the field.

[Insector] [Level 2 / EARTH / Insect / Normal] [ATK 500 / DEF 700]

Seeing Haga summon this monster, Joey's expression darkened. "That monster... it's the one that took down Dinosaur Ryuzaki's [Two-Headed King Rex]."

"Even without those magic cards that usually come bundled with it, [Insector] still has 500 attack points on its own. Use the [Great Moth] to destroy [Gaia the Dragon Champion], and then use [Insector] for a direct attack—that handsome young man named Hayato is going to lose."

"What on earth are you blabbering about?" Anzu already held a poor impression of Mai Kujaku due to her appearance, and hearing her say that now made her glare fiercely. "I believe Hayato can overcome these difficulties."

"Duel Monsters isn't some idealistic game of blind faith, little sister." Mai calculated the state of the field and sighed. "Such a talented duelist, only to crash out right at the start of the Kingdom tournament? There's no point in watching this match anymore."

"No, Miss Mai, we believe in Hayato." To Mai's surprise, her words were not echoed by the others; in fact, Yugi Mutou, the person she cared about most, was the first to object. "A true duelist never gives up because of temporary adversity. Besides, look at Hayato's expression."

Mai looked over at Hayato and was suddenly startled to find that even though the total attack power of the monsters on Haga's field was more than enough to deliver a lethal blow, Hayato's face bore an expression of absolute confidence.

Haga burst into wild laughter, sweeping his arm across the field. "[Great Moth], kill that [Gaia the Dragon Champion] one more time! Hayato, after that, all [Insector] needs is one more attack, and you're finished!"

Watching [Great Moth] wind up for another assault, Hayato wore an enigmatic smile. "Heh heh, sore wa dou ka na?" (Are you so sure about that?)

"What?" Haga didn't catch Hayato's mutter.

"Haga, the moment [Great Moth] declares an attack, I activate my Aibo's effect from my hand!" Hayato slammed his card down. Right in the middle of the field, a brilliant rainbow suddenly manifested, wrapping tightly around the [Great Moth] soaring through the sky.

Within the rainbow, a round, spherical creature emerged, landing right atop the [Great Moth]—which was now bound by the rainbow and unable to execute its attack—and gave an adorable, innocent wink toward Hayato's side.

Among the watching duelists, many of the female duelists felt as though their hearts had been pierced by an arrow the exact moment they saw the cute little monster wink, letting out a synchronized chorus of: "So—so cute!"

"What's going on?! Why can't my [Great Moth] attack? And what on earth is that monster?!" Haga demanded harshly, staring in utter disbelief as his [Great Moth] halted its assault mid-air.

"The effect of [Rainbow Kuriboh]!" Hayato explained. "When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can target that attacking monster and equip [Rainbow Kuriboh] from my hand to it!"

"And a monster equipped with [Rainbow Kuriboh] is completely captivated by its charm, making it unable to attack!"