"You little brat who didn't manage to die, I'll let you live an extra turn then," Saiou scoffed, "Now I'll perform a Normal Summon from my hand, the second 'Arcana Force 0 - The Fool', also in Defense Position!"
[Arcana Force 0 - The Fool, Defense Power 0]
The upright and reversed effects of Arcana Force are akin to a Double-Edged Sword, a fact that's particularly evident with 'The Fool'. An upright Fool is almost like an immovable fortress, while the reversed can trap its owner in dire straits.
Of course, such risks are negligible to Saiou Takuma, the so-called Tricky Master.
The Fool's card stopped spinning, unsurprisingly landing upright once more.
"The Fool's upright effect," Saiou declared, "This card cannot be destroyed by battle nor can it become a target for your opponent's effects, immune to opponent's magic, traps, and monster effects!"
Judai found himself gradually numb to the pattern of every card tossed resulting in an upright position.
"Set one card, and that's the end of my turn!"
"Then it's my turn, I draw!" Judai said, "Magic Card 'Card of Adversity'! When the opponent controls a specially summoned monster and I have no monsters on my field, I draw two cards from my deck!" (Anime card)
Drawing two cards, Judai quickly selected two from them.
"I'll cover three cards from my hand onto the field, then activate the Magic Card 'Card of Self Sacrifice'! Draw until I have five cards in my hand, and discard all cards in hand during the preparation phase after five turns."
Saiou chuckled lightly, "Oh, you plan to replenish your hand to mount a counterattack right away?"
"When 'Watapon' is Special Summoned to the field by a card effect from the hand, it can also be Special Summoned!"
[Watapon, Attack Power 200]
"Activate the Magic Card 'Fusion' from the field!" Judai announced, "I'll fuse the 'Elemental Hero Neos' and 'Neo-Spacian Grand Mole' from my hand!
The Fusion condition is 'Elemental Hero Neos' plus any Level 4 or lower Effect Monster! Fusion Summon!
The gleaming Hero, courage embodied—
——Elemental Hero Brave Neos, Fusion Summon!"
The cards of Neos and Grand Mole fused together, forming a humanoid figure in mid-air. The Hero's white body was decorated with red and blue stripes; a green circular Energy Core adorned its chest. It bore resemblance to Neos, save for the altered pattern and colors on its body, with a more pronounced shoulder armor.
[Elemental Hero Brave Neos, Attack Power 2500]
Saiou looked coldly at the reappearing Neos, "Another new form? But however many forms you have, they're pointless..."
"I summon 'Neo Space Connector'!" Judai declared.
[Neo Space Connector, Attack Power 800]
"When Connector is successfully summoned, it can Special Summon one 'Neo-Spacian' from the hand or deck!" Judai drew the card that ejected from his deck, "Come forth! Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab!"
A fireball erupted from the earth, morphing into a Hero dressed in black beetle armor, its helmet bearing an antenna pointing skyward.
[Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab, Attack Power 500]
"Neo Space Connector's subsequent effect! Sacrifice itself to Special Summon 'Neo-Spacian' or 'Elemental Hero Neos' from the graveyard!
I Special Summon 'Elemental Hero Neos'!"
A white column of light burst forth, Neos in its basic form took the stage once more!
[Elemental Hero Neos, Defense Power 2000]
"I'll return 'Elemental Hero Neos' and 'Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab' from the field to the deck for a Contact Fusion!" Judai raised his fist.
"With blazing power, burn fiercely! Fusion Summon——
——Elemental Hero Flare Neos!!!"
The white Hero and fire-wielding beetle broke through the atmosphere, merging into a fiercely burning fireball which descended back to earth!
The shock wave of heat spread across the ground, Neos donned a new set of black-red armor, his back adorned with wide metallic wings, the armor scorched red by the flames.
[Elemental Hero Flare Neos, Attack Power 2500]
Saiou furrowed his brow, "Summoning two different forms of Neos in one go, are you...?"
"It's not over yet!" Judai pressed on, "From my hand, I activate the Magic Card 'Hero Mask'! Send one 'Elemental Hero' from the deck to the graveyard, and for this turn, one monster on the field can be used as if it's that 'Elemental Hero's same-name card."
A card popped from Judai's deck.
"I'll send 'Elemental Hero Neos' from the deck to the graveyard, until the end of the turn, 'Watapon' on the field can be used as Neos!"
The shadow of Neos emerged behind Watapon.
"Use the name as Neos?" Saiou was taken aback, "What are you planning?"
"Uncover the Set Magic Card 'Miracle Contact'! Return Fusion Material Monsters from the field and graveyard, including 'Elemental Hero Neos', to the deck to Fusion Summon Neos' Fusion Monster!"
Judai was exhilarated.
"I return 'Watapon', used as Neos on the field, and 'Neo-Spacian Grand Mole' in the graveyard to the deck for a Contact Fusion!
Power of courage, the stance of earth! Appear once more—
——Elemental Hero Grand Neos!!!"
The heavy-armored Hero who exited hastily last round returned, landing with a perfect score and raising a curtain of dust from the crash on the ground.
[Elemental Hero Grand Neos, Attack Power 2500]
Saiou gritted his teeth.
"Summoning three different forms of Neos in one turn!?"
Such a storytelling pace is incredibly remarkable in this era, even within the pro circle few can perform such feats in a single turn.
Last turn, Saiou skipped multiple turns in one leap with 'The World', yet this kid consecutively thwarted them. Climbing from that abyss, Judai managed to muster such a fierce counteroffensive in merely one round...
Saiou's gaze towards Judai wavered slightly.
This kid... Is he really just a student?
Even if he's the Duel King's disciple, this is too much, no? With such prowess, wouldn't he just wreak havoc in the pro leagues?
"Field Magic 'Neo Space' activate!"
The Field Magic was inserted from the side into the Duel Disc, transforming the environment. The waves of multicolored aurora quickly filled the entire field.
We're even summoning M78 directly!
"In the Neo Space field, all 'Neos' monsters gain 500 attack power!"
[Elemental Hero Brave Neos, Attack Power 2500 → Attack Power 3000]
[Elemental Hero Flare Neos, Attack Power 2500 → Attack Power 3000]
[Elemental Hero Grand Neos, Attack Power 2500 → Attack Power 3000]
"Brave Neos' attack power increases by the number of 'Hero' monsters in my graveyard x100," said Judai, "My graveyard contains 'Elemental Hero Neos' and 'Elemental Hero Neos Alius', increasing attack by another 200."
[Elemental Hero Brave Neos, Attack Power 3000 → Attack Power 3200]
"Elemental Hero Flare Neos, attack power increases by the number of Magic and Trap cards on the field x400," said Judai, "Currently, there's the Field Magic 'Neo Space' and one Set Card on each side of the field, so it increases by 1200!"
[Elemental Hero Flare Neos, Attack Power 3000 → Attack Power 4200]
"But just having high attack power isn't enough to defeat 'The Fool', right?" Judai smiled.
Saiou's brows furrowed evenly, staying silent.
Indeed, no matter how high the attack power, it cannot penetrate the defenses of 'Arcana Force 0 - The Fool'. Though Fool's defense is zero, it cannot be destroyed by battle and is unaffected by effects. As long as Fool remains there, Saiou's side is untouchable.
However...
"Then I'll activate the effect of the 'Kaiju Turtle - Gameciel' from my hand once more!" Judai drew that card, "Sacrifice 'Arcana Force 0 - The Fool', and Special Summon the kaiju turtle to your field!"
Saiou: "..."