"Duel!"
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Jaden, LP 4000]
The stadium was packed early on this weekend, with more than half the Academy's students flocking to the stands to watch. Yugen and Jaden were already famous freshmen; with the first semester more than half over, both had proven their peerless strength through actual battle records.
Therefore, this battle would not only determine who would represent the Headquarters in the upcoming tournament but also decide who truly deserved the title of this year's Rookie King.
"I'll take the lead! It's my turn, draw!"
Jaden drew his card and immediately pulled a card from his hand.
"Spell CardE - Emergency Call! I add one 'Elemental HERO' from my Deck to my hand."
Jaden pulled his Deck out and searched for a card.
"I add 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman' to my hand... then I Normal Summon Bubbleman in Defense Position!"
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF 1200]
"Bubbleman's effect activates! When he is successfully summoned and there are no other cards on my field, I draw two cards from my Deck!" (Anime effect)
Starting off with the "Pot of Greed HERO," Jaden immediately replenished two cards in his hand.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Take Over 5'! I send the top five cards of my Deck to the Graveyard." (Anime-original card)
This was an anime-original card and one of Jaden's frequent plays. It blind-milled five cards from the top of the Deck, and during the next turn, by banishing this card from the Graveyard along with another copy from the Deck, the player could draw one card. Its performance was incredibly powerful.
Yugen smiled strangely when he saw this card, his eyes narrowing slightly. "That card, huh? Interesting."
"My turn ends," Jaden said with a laugh. "I've faced all kinds of guys this semester, many of them quite powerful. But the one I wanted to play against the most was definitely you, Yugen."
He glanced at the cards in his hand, then at his Deck.
"To be honest, your Duels always give me a lot of inspiration. I feel like I've learned a lot and gotten much stronger... but I also feel that only a Duel with you can truly verify that."
"Fascinating. I was thinking the exact same thing," Yugen smiled.
To him, wasn't a Duel with Jaden the best test of the results he had achieved this semester?
"My turn, draw!" Yugen declared in a low voice. "The card I'm going to activate is the same as yours..."
With a wave of his hand, the image of a Spell Card manifested before him.
"Spell Card, 'Take Over 5'! I send the top five cards of my Deck to the Graveyard!"
Jaden's eyes widened. "!"
An uproar broke out in the audience.
"The same card as Big Bro's!" Syrus cried out in surprise.
"Jaden and Yugen have been learning from and influencing each other throughout this semester. It's only natural that their card choices have begun to overlap," the "Gold-tier Commentator" Bastion Misawa was already in position.
Alexis Rhodes smiled. "That's actually quite nice."
"..."
Yugen also flipped the top five cards of his Deck into the Graveyard. Jaden smiled and rubbed his nose. "How unexpected, the exact same card. What did I say before? Great Duelists really do make similar choices."
Yugen gave a faint smile but didn't reply. Instead, he continued, "Next, I Normal Summon 'Lancer Archfiend'."
[Lancer Archfiend, ATK 1600]
"Lancer Archfiend, attack 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman'!" Yugen commanded.
Lancer Archfiend charged forward, its twin blades slashing directly at the hunkered-down HERO.
"At this moment, Lancer Archfiend's effect activates! Once per turn, when my monster attacks a Defense Position monster, if its ATK is higher than that monster's DEF, it deals Piercing Battle Damage!" Yugen explained. "Therefore, Lancer Archfiend destroys 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman' and deals piercing damage!"
The sharp blades struck home, slicing through Bubbleman's body, which shattered with a loud bang.
[Jaden, LP 4000 → LP 3600]
"I set two cards in the backrow and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn, draw!" Jaden declared. "At this moment during the Standby Phase, I banish 'Take Over 5' from my Graveyard and another copy from my Deck to draw one card!"
The image of the Spell Card emerged from the Graveyard, vanishing into a flicker of golden light. Jaden immediately drew another card.
With the accelerated draw, Jaden's lips curled into a smile, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Yugen recognized that look.
Every time Jaden was about to summon one of his cool heroesthose boss monsters he was so proud ofhe wore that expression of intense anticipation.
"Here it comes!" Jaden raised the card in his hand and shouted, "I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I call forth my Elemental HERO"
Yugen smiled.
"I'm sorry, Jaden, but that won't work."
"Huh?"
"Since we said we'd go all out, it would be disrespectful to my opponent if I didn't make some specific adjustments," Yugen chuckled. "That's why I specially prepared this card for today
The Continuous Trap, 'Non-Fusion Area'!
As long as this card is on the field, neither of us can perform a Fusion Summon during this Duel!"
Jaden gasped, his breath hitching in his throat.
What?
No Fusions!?
The audience outside the field was also in an uproar.
Any student who knew Jaden knew that he used a HERO Deck comprised almost entirely of lower-level monsters. His "big brothers," the heavy hitters, were almost exclusively in the Fusion Deck. Being unable to use Fusion effectively sealed off more than half of his combat power.
Moreover, this was far more violent than the method used by the "Four Operations" in the original series, who used "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell" to ban just the Spell Card "Polymerization."
In the anime, Bastion only banned the Spell "Polymerization," but Jaden's Deck still contained the Field Spell "Fusion Gate," the "Miracle Fusion" that fused from the Graveyard, and more. Even if the card "Polymerization" was banned, he still had various ways to pull off fancy Fusions.
But "Non-Fusion Area" wasn't that limited. it banned the act of Fusion Summoning itself. It didn't matter if it was Fusion Gate or Miracle Fusion; all those flashy tricks were struck down with a single blow.
"Mmh... it is Yugen, after all," Bastion mused. "This certainly looks like his handiwork."
Furthermore, a card like "Non-Fusion Area" was quite rare in this world; it wasn't something just anyone could get their hands on. But for Yugen, everyone knew he had good relations with the two greatest "card printers" of the era...
"Eh? So that means Big Bro can't Fusion Summon anymore?" Syrus was dumbfounded. "How is he supposed to fight? This is too frustrating, isn't it?"
Syrus imagined himself in that position; most people would have already shut down, feeling both angry and cowardlywhat was commonly known as impotent rage. He would have already surrendered halfway in his mind, and the second half of the game would be as good as over.
However, the person on the field wasn't Syrus, but Jaden.
Jaden kept his head down, silent for a few seconds as he processed the situation.
Then, he suddenly looked up, his face filled with excitement. "I knew it! You really are incredible, Yugen! You aimed right for the Elemental HEROES' weakness. Haha, this is exactly how it should be! This is what your Duels are all about!"
He laughed heartily.
"If it weren't like this, it wouldn't be any fun at all!"
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).