"Hahaha, hahaha!"
The Flame Lord laughed maniacally.
But Jaden could sense the pain beneath that laughter.
He wasn't so injured that he couldn't stand anymore. In fact, he stood up quickly.
Golden light flickered in his eyes.
No matter the reason.
No matter how pitiful it might be.
There was no excuse for attacking and invading those weaker than oneself!
Whether it was Leo Akaba or the Legendary Flame Lord before him, it wasn't acceptable!
Leo Akaba acted out of self-interest. The Flame Lord, perhaps, was only lashing out from personal pain.
Regardless, taking joy in slaughter and destruction—that was something Jaden would never condone.
"I'll defeat you this turn."
"Defeat me? You, with your flickering candle of Life Points?" The Legendary Flame Lord burst out laughing again.
"My turn. Draw!" Jaden didn't say much more.
The reason was simple.
He was confident.
"I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization," Jaden revealed two monsters from his hand. "I fuse Elemental HERO Bubbleman and Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin from my hand."
"This HERO will send chills down your spine!"
"Fusion Summon!"
"My HERO, Level 8, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!"
Whoosh
A pure white figure appeared on the field, this time not glowing moss, but cold, solid ice.
A frigid HERO landed with the textbook HERO arrival pose on Jaden's field.
[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero] Level 8│WATER│Warrior│2500 ATK
"Never seen that monster before..." The Flame Lord's expression darkened.
Its Attack was already higher than his!
"I'm not done yet!" Jaden continued, "Now I'll show you a powerful Fusion tactic I learned from Hikaru!
Spell Card, Neos Fusion!"
Jaden activated his next card. "This lets me send Fusion Materials from my hand, Deck, or field to the Graveyard for a Fusion Summon, using two monsters that include Elemental HERO Neos, ignoring Summoning conditions! After this resolves, I can't Special Summon again this turn."
"Wha-Deck Fusion?!" The Flame Lord gritted his teeth.
Fusion became even easier. What chance did a Ritual Monster like him have now?
"I send Elemental HERO Neos and Neo-Spacian Grand Mole from my Deck to the Graveyard."
"Special Summon, the EARTH attribute Neos, Elemental HERO Grand Neos!"
Unlike Glow Neos, this new Neos looked far bulkier, with a massive drill replacing his right arm's lance.
[Elemental HERO Grand Neos] Level 7│EARTH│Warrior│2500 ATK
Thanks to Neo Space's effect, his Attack rose from 2500 to 3000.
"Damn it... breaking 3000 Attack again, and so easily..." The Flame Lord grumbled.
Jaden glanced at his face-down card.
It was Hero Blast.
A Trap that could retrieve an Elemental HERO Normal Monster and destroy an opponent's monster with a lower Attack.
Right now, if he recovered Neos, he could destroy the Flame Lord outright.
However...
"Grand Neos's effect, once per turn, I can return one monster on your field to your hand!"
"Nebula Vacuum!"
Grand Neos raised his drill, aimed at the Flame Lord, and with a sucking force, returned him to his starting point.
'Unbelievable…'
The Flame Lord's expression turned even uglier.
Just two monsters, yet Jaden had stacked up 5500 Attack Points with ease!
He had pushed himself to 2400 with everything he had, but now, just four cards later, Jaden had flipped the Duel!
Jaden slowly exhaled.
Truth be told, this opponent wasn't that strong. Compared to the Shadow Riders he met in this dimension, or even his previous dimension travels, the Flame Lord wasn't that dangerous.
And yet...
Jaden felt stifled inside.
"Battle!"
Yet, no matter what, he had to win!
His two loyal Spirits nodded, charged forward, and with two attacks, reduced the Flame Lord's Life Points to zero.
From just 200 LP remaining before, now Jaden stood with 5500 LP!
'Why…'
'Why had this happened…'
The Legendary Flame Lord writhed in agony.
"It's over, Flame Lord. I won." Jaden turned. "Now tell me, why did you attack this place? And... you need to make amends."
"Amends?" The Flame Lord froze, then laughed. "Hahaha....hahahaha!"
"Flame Lord?"
As Jaden and all the humans and spirits present watched in shock, the surrounding light condensed onto him. At the same time, black smoke began pouring from his body.
Then, raging flames burst from the ground.
"Flame Lord! What are you doing?!" Jaden, who had been about to check on the spirits, rushed toward him, trying to stop him.
"Bro! Stay back!!" Tyranno and Syrus quickly held Jaden back.
"Haha...hahaha..." The Flame Lord opened his eyes, falling to his knees, powerless.
In his final moments, he saw his former home, the slaughter he'd caused in this dimension, and... a pitch-black silhouette.
The flames burned everything away.
Tyranno and Syrus finally released Jaden.
Jaden stumbled forward, dropped to his knees as if collapsing, and reached out to the single remaining card.
A card, burnt down to just a third, barely recognizable.
The Legendary Flame Lord.
"I never wanted you to die..." Jaden whispered in pain.
It was complete death now.
He looked around.
The Spirit village—forget prosperity, there weren't even a few intact beams left. The entire village lay in blackened ruin, as barren as a wasteland. Standing at the village center, Jaden felt the world mock him.
He gripped the card tightly.
"Jaden... wait for me..."
A swirl of black energy dissipated from the card. Jaden whipped around—but saw nothing.
In the end, he could only accept Syrus and Tyranno's silent support as they helped him up. Wordlessly, he tucked the charred remains of the card into his chest.
That black mist...
That light curtain;
And that voice!
Was it all coming for him?
Jaden didn't know.
He turned to look at the spirits.
At least...
At least he had saved them.
Fortunately, none of the spirits were petty enough to say, "Why didn't you protect our home?" or "Why didn't you just let him win and leave happy?" Afterward, Jaden and the others were treated like heroes.
The spirits, unfamiliar with welcoming guests, were overjoyed at their arrival and promptly let go of their pain.
They had nothing to offer Jaden and the others, but as long as they lived, they still had hope.
After all, Duel Spirits lived long lives.
Ironically, their gratitude only made Jaden feel more conflicted inside.
He hadn't done his best.
Maybe he should have gone all-out from the start?
Maybe... he shouldn't have spent two days fishing halfway through, and could have reached the village before the Flame Lord arrived.
'Maybe…'
With all these thoughts swirling, Jaden decided to stay and help rebuild the village before moving on.
…
Meanwhile
"Hmm, looks like we can finally travel again?" Hikaru stood at the train station, asking curiously.
"That's right!" A KaibaCorp employee nodded. "Starting tomorrow, this station will reopen! Students may choose between direct routes to the Rainforest or the Volcano Zone!"
'The Rainforest or the Volcano…'