## Chapter 122: Master, the Times Haven't Changed
"I remember, one of them seemed to be a [Goblin Thief]? So what, even if you gain a mere 500 more Life Points, in front of my Machine Monsters, it's just cannon fodder." Keith, being a Professional Duelist who played Gambling Cards, had a memory no worse than a Dealer like Kujaku Mai. Naturally, he hadn't forgotten the Goblin Thief he had seen in Hayato's Hand before.
But the Card Hayato Activated first was not the [Goblin Thief]. Instead, it was the Card he had wanted to use as a Shield to protect, even when he had Set [Goblin Thief]: "The Card I Activate is this one, Reckless Greed!"
"Because of its Effect, I can Draw two Cards." Drawing two Cards from his Deck, Hayato continued, "And then, the Effect of Pot of Greed. I Draw two more Cards."
Looking at the three Cards in his Hand, Hayato saw a Path to Victory revealed before his eyes.
"Powerful Cards often come with extremely high risks. Because of the Effect of Reckless Greed, my next two Draw Phases will be skipped."
"However, it doesn't matter, because in this Turn, I will end this Battle!"
"Overdrawing Cards from the next two Turns, trying to take me out in one Turn? Heh, a fool's dream!" Keith's face was full of disdain. "I have a Barrel Dragon with 2600 ATK on my Field. With your Armed Dragon LV7 already Destroyed by me, can you still Draw any Monster with higher ATK?"
"Is it your Gaia The Fierce Knight? Or its Fusion with Curse of Dragon, Gaia the Dragon Champion?" Seemingly having done a considerable amount of homework on Hayato's Deck, Keith quickly ran through the Monsters Hayato possessed in his mind. Even Gaia the Dragon Champion only had ATK equal to Barrel Dragon.
This put his mind at ease: "Even if you Draw that kind of Monster, so what? You can't even Summon it. The outcome of this Duel will only be my Victory!"
"Don't underestimate me. Who says I don't have a Monster that can defeat Barrel Dragon?" Hayato knew that the Information Keith had about him was definitely outdated. Monsters like [Earth Spirit God] or [V to Z] were probably unknown to him. "However, the revenge for this guy being taken out, it's best if this guy handles it himself."
"Activate Magic Card, Level Up! Playing the Card he Drew, several Dice appeared on Hayato's Field. "This Card's Effect allows the opponent Duelist to Draw two Cards, and then I can Special Summon a Monster with the [LV] Archetype from my Graveyard."
The Dice were rolled and stopped on the Duel Field, their final total adding up to 7.
"Revive, Armed Dragon LV7!"
The majestic Giant Dragon appeared once again. However, this time, upon being Revived from the Graveyard, it saw the Barrel Dragon on the opposite Field that had killed it before. Meeting its enemy, its eyes turned red with fury.
However, despite its desire to take out the opponent, its strength was insufficient.
"A Monster Revived by Level Up! cannot Activate its Effect or Attack this Turn."
Keith, who had been startled by the Revive of Armed Dragon LV7, heard Hayato declare the final Effect of Level Up! and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Armed Dragon LV7 had 2800 ATK. If it could Attack and Hayato then Activated Goblin Thief, his Life Points wouldn't be completely wiped out, but they would drop to a mere 800.
But, unable to Attack? Heh, in that case, there's nothing to fear.
Not knowing he had just set a Flag for himself, Keith thought: It doesn't matter what Card I Draw next Turn, because hidden in the Sleeve on my wrist are three [7 Completed] Cards, Equip Spell Cards specifically for Machine Type monsters, intended for cheating in situations like this to achieve Victory.
Next Turn, I'll take out Armed Dragon, and then Victory will be within reach! Next up is that guy Pegasus—
"Hey, Armed Dragon!" Hayato's shout brought Keith back to his senses, but what he didn't expect was that Hayato wasn't talking to him, but rather to the Armed Dragon on his Field. "Right now, do you really want to take out that Barrel Dragon?"
"Hmph, have you finally gone mad? Talking to a Duel Monster." Keith wanted to laugh out loud—no, he was already laughing out loud. "Hmph ha ha ha ha, you idiot, the Virtual Projection Images of Duel Monsters are pre-designed. How could they possibly Communicate with you?"
But what he didn't expect was that the Armed Dragon LV7 on Hayato's Field, after glaring fiercely at Barrel Dragon, actually lowered its head. Its gaze met Hayato's, and it seriously nodded.
"Killed so unfairly by a small toy it looked down upon, and even after being Revived, it can only watch the opponent swagger while being unable to even move. Engrave such annoyance and anger firmly in your Heart." Hayato raised the last Card in his Hand above his head. "Then turn that anger into fuel and step into the final Evolution!"
The final Evolution? Keith was startled: "Hey, don't tell me!"
"Tribute Armed Dragon LV7! Years temper the Body, time forges the Armor, the invincible killing weapon, the ultimate Strongest Dragon!"
"Come forth, Armed Dragon LV10!!!"
The light of Evolution once again enveloped Armed Dragon. Unlike the Evolution from [LV3] to [LV5] and [LV5] to [LV7], the evolutionary light appearing on Armed Dragon this time was more dazzling and brilliant than ever before, almost becoming a small sun.
And before the light even dissipated, Keith felt an extremely terrifying strong wind assault him. There was an extremely rich/dense smell of death in the wind, as if some ancient demon god had Descended.
"Roar!!!" A giant dragon roar tore through the light of Evolution, and a compelling Aura came from within the Smoke. Appearing before Keith was a massive dragon head, its size even larger than the previous Armed Dragon LV7.
Although the Armor on Armed Dragon grows with Evolution, it also brings an increasingly heavy burden to the Armed Dragon Monster. At [LV3], it still retained some flying ability, at [LV5], it could only stand on the Ground, and by [LV7], even Armed Dragon's Toughness Body could only maintain a four-legged crawl. This was reflected in Armed Dragon LV7's DEF dropping from 1700 at [LV5] to only 1000.
But, Armed Dragon LV10, it stood up! Bearing even heavier Armor than at [LV7], Armed Dragon LV10, which had Evolved into its true "final form," stood tall upon the Ground!
[Armed Dragon LV10] [LV10☆/Wind]
[Dragon Type/Effect]
[3000/2000]
"Its ATK is actually equal to the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kujaku Mai in the Spectator Area exclaimed in surprise. Her [Harpie Lady] Deck wasn't good at reaching high ATK, and the appearance of Armed Dragon LV10, besides shocking her, also cast a slight shadow in her Heart—'That guy Hayato Kobayashi, he didn't seem to be using his full strength when he Dueled me?'
"Battle Phase, unleash your fury to your heart's content, [LV10]!" Hayato glanced at the Armed Dragon standing upright behind him, a smile on his face. "The wind today is quite noisy~"
"Then, just for me, use Eight-Pointed Light Wheel on Barrel Dragon!"
[Hayato: 1000 LP → 500 LP]
From the abdomen Armor area of Armed Dragon LV10, several high-speed rotating cutting rings flew out rapidly, simultaneously locking onto Keith's Barrel Dragon from three angles. In the blink of an eye, Barrel Dragon's three gun barrels were simultaneously cut off, and its entire Body instantly exploded.
Watching the Destroyed Barrel Dragon, Armed Dragon LV10 satisfyingly flicked its long tail behind it and snorted, as if saying, "Master, the times haven't changed."
[Keith: 1900 LP → 1500 LP]
"And then, the Goblin Thief that has been sealed for a long time!"
[Keith: 1500 LP → 1000 LP]
[Hayato: 500 LP → 1000 LP]
"Ha, ha, ha," Having his Life Points reduced twice in a row, the simulated Impact brought a great burden to Keith's Body due to his Life Points repeatedly nearing their minimum. Panting heavily, a smile appeared on Keith's face: "Damned brat, you're out of moves now, aren't you? To treat me like this again and again."
"What did you say, ending the Duel this Turn? You still haven't done it."
Hayato looked at Keith and shook his head: "No, the rules of Victory have been determined. My Equation for Victory is much more perfect than you imagine."
"Activate Magic Card, [Spiritual Energy Entity], then End my Turn." Hayato played his last Card from his Hand. This Card was one of the Cards he had 'borrowed' from Bakura, along with Goblin Zombie, Morphing Jar, and Change of Heart. This Card's Effect is—
"Both players, at the end of their respective Turns, have a chance, only once, to Tribute one of their Monsters to Activate the Effect of [Spiritual Energy Entity]." Sending the Armed Dragon LV10 on his Field to the Graveyard, Hayato looked up. "Half of that Monster's Original Attack Points will be inflicted upon the opponent Player."
"Go, Armed Dragon, perform the final Attack on the opponent Duelist!"
[Armed Dragon LV10] [ATK 3000]
Watching the giant Armed Dragon LV10 start running and charging towards the Duel Platform, Keith couldn't help but show a look of despair on his face: "You, don't come near me!!!"
[Keith: 1000 LP → 0]
Just as the Duel Platform where Keith stood was engulfed by Armed Dragon LV10's Self-Destruction Attack and the numbers on the panel displaying Life Points completely reached zero, the Old Butler appeared at the right moment:
"I announce that the winner of the second match of the Duelist Kingdom Top 8 Qualifiers is Hayato Kobayashi!"