"My turn."
Hikaru drew a card, glancing at his hand and raising an eyebrow subtly.
Since his Duel with Sartorius and the Light Force, his Deck had undergone another evolution. Though it still retained his core cards, the power it now contained was on a completely different level.
Let's start with this one.
"Normal Summon: Elemental HERO Prisma."
[Elemental HERO Prisma] Level 4 | LIGHT | Warrior | 1700 ATK
"Prisma's effect: I reveal a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck and send one of its listed materials from my Deck to the Graveyard. Until the End Phase, Prisma's name becomes that material."
"I send Thunder Dragon from the Deck to the Graveyard. This turn, Prisma is treated as Thunder Dragon."
He revealed the card for Jain to see, then activated another:
"Spell Card: Thunder Dragon Fusion. This lets me return Thunder Monsters listed as Fusion Materials from my field, Graveyard, or banished zone back to the Deck to Fusion Summon a Thunder Fusion Monster.
I return Prisma on the field and the Thunder Dragon in the Graveyard to the Deck, Fusion Summon! Thunder Dragon Colossus!"
"Gah-roar!"
The little Thunder Dragon, tempered by trials, roared with pride as it appeared.
[Thunder Dragon Colossus] Level 8 | DARK | Thunder | 2600 ATK
"Thunder Dragon... Never heard of that one," Jain muttered with a tinge of surprise.
The Thunder Tribe was one of the allied realms of justice; that said, even they had never heard of this monster.
"Haha, Senior Hikaru is a Duelist who pursues ultimate Fusion. He's even achieved Fusions no one in the world has seen before, he's the most Fusion of Fusionists!" someone explained to the dimensional newcomers.
"The most Fusion of Fusionists?" Some Lightsworn spirits exchanged glances.
They were familiar with combining powers across dimensions. Fusion was nothing new to them, having a Duelist like this as an opponent, they found it agreeable.
"I set two cards and end my turn." Hikaru evaluated the field, smiled lightly, and placed two cards face-down.
He knew the Lightsworn archetype well. As pioneers of Graveyard-focused decks, they remained popular in "Mill-Control" builds, sometimes teaming with "Tearlaments."
The deck could go in many directions: Synchro, Xyz, Link, and even Fusion.
There was no need to overcommit Turn 1. Better to first see what variant he was dealing with.
"Fusion, huh... I heard there's a war in the human world recently, and one side is the Fusions," Jain remarked while drawing her card. Her tone was less than friendly.
The students were uneasy at that, still, they didn't jump to conclusions like they might have in the past.
They weren't the same as before. Even if something threatened other worlds and seemed linked to Hikaru, they wouldn't believe he was part of it.
Jain muttered while inserting a card into her Duel Disk, only to find it wouldn't activate.
"Trying to search? As long as Thunder Dragon Colossus is on the field, your opponent can't add cards from their Deck to hand except by drawing."
"So it's a lock effect," Jain nodded, showing tactical composure. "In that case, if it's just drawing, Colossus can't stop me.
I activate the Spell Card: Solar Recharge. Discard 1 Lightsworn monster to draw 2 cards, then send the top 2 cards of my Deck to the Graveyard."
"Whaaat? That works?"
"Of course! Colossus only blocks searching. Its real strength lies in its destruction protection."
"Despite that, Hikaru doesn't have any Thunder monsters in his Graveyard, right?"
True.
Many students murmured with surprise.
Jain drew 2 cards and sent the top 2 from her Deck to the Graveyard.
"Why send your own cards to the Graveyard?"
Some students still didn't get it.
Jain glanced down. "Wulf, Lightsworn Beast. When sent from Deck to Graveyard, it Special Summons itself."
"Awooo!"
A silver-white werewolf warrior emerged.
[Wulf, Lightsworn Beast] Level 4 | LIGHT | Beast-Warrior | 2100 ATK
"Ohh."
"Ah, I see."
The crowd caught on.
"Normal Summon: Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner!"
Jain's Teacher!
Hikaru chuckled.
[Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner] Level 3 | LIGHT | Spellcaster | 1000 ATK
"Lumina's effect: Discard 1 card, then target 1 Level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster in your Graveyard, Special Summon it."
She discarded Charge of the Light Brigade and revived the monster she had milled earlier:
"Special Summon: Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn."
[Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn] Level 4 | LIGHT | Warrior | 1700 ATK
"Raiden's effect: During your Main Phase, send the top 2 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard. If any are Lightsworn monsters, Raiden gains 200 ATK until the End Phase."
She sent two more cards.
That's the Lightsworn playstyle, pile on Graveyard resources to overwhelm.
"One was Felis, Lightsworn Archer. Raiden's ATK increases by 200."
[Raiden, ATK: 1700 → 1900]
"Felis's effect: If sent from Deck to Graveyard by a monster effect, Special Summon it."
[Felis, Lightsworn Archer] Level 4 | LIGHT | Beast-Warrior | 1100 ATK
With just one card from hand, Jain had summoned four monsters to the field.
"Whoa, four monsters in the blink of an eye?!"
"That's insane! Barely used any hand cards and just kept thinning her Deck."
"Still, even if she has more monsters, their ATK still isn't higher than Colossus..."
A dragon soared above the student and chuckled.
"Not so fast. For justice, General Jain has trained long and hard."
Jain raised two monsters: "I tune Level 4 Felis with Level 3 Lumina!"
"Tuning?!"
"Woooah!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 7, our commander, Archangel Michael!"
A gold-armored archangel descended with wings unfurled, surveying the battlefield.
[Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn] Level 7 | LIGHT | Dragon | 2600 ATK
"Same ATK!"
"Is she going for a crash?! But if she attacks directly with Wulf and Raiden, that's over 4000 damage!"
"Justice shall not die, only vanquish evil! I pay 1000 LP to activate Michael's effect: Target 1 card on the field, banish it."
[Jain, LP: 4000 → 3000]
Michael pointed his sword of light at Thunder Dragon Colossus.
The holy glow enveloped Colossus, phasing it out of existence.
"Ahh"
"Damn..."
They had hoped Hikaru could send a Thunder monster to the Graveyard to protect Colossus, though instead, it was outright banished!
"Is that all?" Jain scowled. "In that case, return to the human world! Battle."
"Wait! I activate Trap Card: Chain Material!"
'Huh?'
"If I Fusion Summon this turn, I can banish Fusion Materials from my hand, Deck, field, or Graveyard instead. But the Fusion Monster is destroyed at the End Phase, and I can't attack this turn."
Jain knew this card. It was an old one; despite that, it was unexpected from a Duelist pursuing ultimate Fusion.
"Next, I activate another set card: Quick-Play Spell, Flash Fusion. I send Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion Monster from the field to the Graveyard and Fusion Summon it. The monster is destroyed at the End Phase."
Two "destroy at End Phase" clauses effectively canceled each other.
"Thanks to Chain Material, I can banish materials from my Deck. I banish Predaplant Chlamydosundew and D.D. Scout Plane from my Deck."
"Fusion Summon!"
Hikaru clasped his hands. The earth churned, vines erupted across the Duel Field, and a giant blossom emerged.
"Level 7: Predaplant Chimerafflesia!"
[Predaplant Chimerafflesia] Level 7 | DARK | Plant | 2500 ATK
"A Plant Fusion monster now?" Jain frowned. "But it only has 2500 ATK!"
"Battle resumes. Michael, attack!"
Jain didn't hesitate. She didn't even consider another play. She ordered Michael to strike the lower-ATK Chimerafflesia.
Some students and staff exchanged looks, they knew what was coming.
Nearby Lightsworn spirits grumbled.
What was she thinking?
"General Jain, I deeply respect the Lightsworn's devotion to justice and protecting the weak... however, recklessly charging forward in the name of justice, is that really 'justice'?
It lacks reason, and may only worsen the situation!
Chimerafflesia's monster effect activates!"
"What?!" Jain blinked.
"When it battles an opponent's face-up monster, during the attack declaration: That monster loses 1000 ATK, and Chimerafflesia gains 1000 until the End Phase!"
[Chimerafflesia, ATK: 2500 → 3500]
[Michael, ATK: 2600 → 1600]
Jain's pupils contracted. Then she opened her mouth wide and shouted:
"Crap!!"