John exclaimed in shock: "Is it really a direct attack effect?"
"Battle!" Judai shouted, "First, 'Elemental Hero Nebula Neos,' attack 'Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger'!"
[Elemental Hero Nebula Neos, ATK 3000]
[Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger, ATK 1600]
This strike will inflict 1400 points of battle damage, and with Glow Neos able to attack directly, Judai can deal a total of 3900 points of damage this turn.
However, John's Life Points remain at 3500.
The finishing blow has been achieved!
But of course, things won't be so easy.
"Activate Set Card! Continuous Trap 'Crystal Conclave'!" John shouted, "Send this face-up card to the graveyard, then return one of my Crystal Beasts on the field and one card on your field to the owner's hand!"
"Ah!?" Judai was stunned. "Return to hand?"
John waved his hand: "I return your 'Nebula Neos' and my 'Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus' to the hand!"
Of course, Sapphire Pegasus is returned to the hand. But as a Fusion Monster, Nebula Neos will not return to the hand; it is returned to the Card Deck.
Yes, returning to hand is not destruction; it's perfectly fine.
Watching Neos fly back to the deck, Yubel floated out beside Judai again.
"Such a useless Cosmic entity," she muttered.
To be fair, Judai's graveyard has always had a "Neos Fusion," which can negate a destruction once, whether from battle or effect.
But last turn, John bypassed the "destruction" process with "Crystal Abundance," sending his Neos directly to the graveyard. And now it's returned to the hand, leaving no chance for Neos Fusion to take effect.
So it seems like John really has no "Destroy Monster" cards in his deck; the Neos Fusion in the graveyard testifies to this.
"And if 'Sapphire Pegasus' returns to the hand, it can be Summoned next turn to place a 'Crystal Beast' on the field again," Yubel analyzed, "As a Fusion Monster, Nebula Neos doesn't just return to the hand, it also comes back and evades Nebula Neos' powerful end-of-turn effect to 'banish all cards on the field face-down'."
After all, John's deck only has seven Crystal Beasts, and now his field has most of them gathered. If they were all banished by Nebula Neos' effect, he would indeed have to surrender on the spot.
"Amazing, he calculated so much!" Judai admired.
"Not exactly," Yubel said, "The opponent is probably a Duelist like you. Preferring to rely on intuition over thoughtful tactics.
But this boy's intuition... might be extremely accurate."
"Still amazing!" Judai smiled, "But I can't back down now! 'Elemental Hero Glow Neos,' direct attack!"
Having destroyed the Field Magic, Glow Neos can directly attack this turn! He soared high and launched a beam spear across the field towards John!
"John, watch out!" this time, it was Topaz Turtle speaking.
"I know!" John flipped open another card from his back row, "Trap Card 'Crystal Pair!' It can only be activated if there are at least two 'Crystal Beasts' in the Magic and Trap Zone. This turn, all battle damage dealt by the opponent becomes 0!" (Animation effect)
The three jewels in the back row burst out with purple, green, and red lights, forming a wall in front of John.
As if they were protecting him like family.
Glow Neos' attack crashed into the barrier, the energy dissipating instantly after hitting the wall.
"Even that was blocked!" Judai praised, "John, you're amazing."
With this, Judai's Battle Phase came to an end. Neos Fusion Monsters can only exist for one turn in the field, and this turn has passed without dealing further damage, so Judai will face John's Crystal Beasts' all-out attack next turn.
John clenched his fist.
I've won!
"John, you're really strong!" Judai's eyes lit up.
Unable to deal battle damage, Judai naturally ended the Battle Phase, moving into the turn's Main Phase 2.
"But my turn isn't over yet," Judai said, "I activate the Magic Card 'Sacred Sword of Seven Stars' from my hand, banishing Level 7 'Elemental Hero Glow Neos' from the game, to draw two cards!"
Since Glow Neos must return to the deck at the end phase, it's better to use it as cost to draw cards faster.
Now Judai has a large hand. Although this turn's battle phase is over, and with 'Crystal Pair' protecting him, John can't help but feel a little uneasy looking at Judai's large hand.
And there's even a bit of anticipation.
"Then I activate 'Polymerization' from my hand!" Judai shouted.
John: "You're still going to fuse at this critical moment!?"
"I fuse 'Elemental Hero Necroshade' from my hand with the Wind Attribute Monster 'Storm Caller'!
The fusion requirement is, an Elemental Hero plus any Wind Attribute monster! Fusion Summon—
—Elemental Hero the Great Tornado!!!"