"It seems you still haven't recalled anything."
The Judge observed Judai.
"You've been saying things since earlier, what are you talking about?" Judai frowned.
The Judge didn't speak further.
"My turn, draw." The Judge said, "Activate the Magic Card 'Angel's Charity', draw three cards from the deck and discard two cards from the hand."
He drew the cards, added them to his hand, and then selected two cards from his hand to place in the graveyard.
Afterward, he lifted his gaze.
"Last turn, you defeated my 'Apocalypse Knight', and before that Apocalypse Knight sent the 'Hell Highway Patrol' from the deck to the graveyard, making two Dark Attribute monsters in the graveyard.
And just now, from the two discarded cards, I sent another Dark Attribute monster to the graveyard. So, there are now three Dark Attribute monsters in total in the graveyard."
Judai was taken aback.
Three Dark Attributes in the graveyard... So what?
Yugen tightened his brow upon hearing this.
Three Dark Attributes, could it be... that thing?
"Therefore, the summoning condition for this card is met. This card can only be Special Summoned when there are three Dark Attribute monsters in the graveyard."
The Judge slowly raised the card in his hand.
"Let the power of darkness descend—
——Dark Armed Dragon, Summon!!!"
"Dark... Armed Dragon!?" Judai was greatly shocked.
He knew of Armed Dragon, a secret treasure card from Duel Academy Northern Academy, later inherited by Chazz.
But what is this Dark Armed Dragon?
The fierce dragon roar, the giant Armed Dragon bristling with steel blades, descended violently, resembling the 'Armed Dragon LV7' Judai remembered, except its body had turned jet black.
[Dark Armed Dragon, Attack Power 2800]
"It really is..." Yugen frowned.
Dark Armed Dragon, from its name and appearance, clearly a darkened version of Armed Dragon. When this card was released, it caused quite a stir in the physical card environment, with its simple summoning condition, top-tier attack panel in the environment at the time, and excellent removal ability. For a long time, many players predicted it should be banned like the 'Chaos' series.
Of course, in the end, Dark Armed Dragon wasn't banned but did have over ten years of restricted card history, which is enough proof of its strength.
"Activating Dark Armed Dragon's effect." The Judge said, "By banishing a Dark Attribute monster from the graveyard, a card on the field can be destroyed."
He pushed out a card from the graveyard, and the projection of the Monster Card appeared midair.
"Banish 'Apocalypse Knight' from the graveyard to serve as ammunition for Dark Armed Dragon.
Dark Armed Dragon, destroy 'Elemental Hero Flame Wingman'!"
The image of Apocalypse was engulfed by a mass of dark energy, transforming into a stream of power that entered Dark Armed Dragon. The stream of black energy surged toward Flame Wingman, ready to engulf it.
Judai frowned.
Indeed, as Yugen said, one must be wary of encountering anything in a duel.
This Judge is certainly the type who might use any card deck in a duel, not necessarily his original ace.
But he also has his strategies!
"Activate Trap 'Bomb Defense'!" Judai said, "When a card effect that destroys a monster you control is activated, negate that activation and destroy that card, then inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent!"
The Trap effect takes place, countless spherical bombs hover in front of Flame Wingman, creating a shield wall made of bombs!
The black energy ball from Dark Armed Dragon couldn't reach Flame Wingman and crashed into the wall, triggering a series of explosions. The chain reaction from the bomb wall backfired towards Dark Armed Dragon, engulfing it in flames.
[Judge, LP 1900→ LP 1400]
"Nice counter!" Hibiki Midori couldn't help but cheer for Judai, "Not only did he save Flame Wingman, but he also countered such a powerful monster like Dark Armed Dragon..."
"Not a bad spirit."
But the Judge calmly revealed another card from his hand.
"Magic Card 'Resurrection of the Dead'. Discard a card from the hand to return a Monster Card from the graveyard to the hand."
He sent one card to the graveyard, the duel disc's graveyard region surged with dark energy, and the Dark Armed Dragon just sent to the graveyard immediately emerged again.
"I return 'Dark Armed Dragon' from the graveyard to my hand."
"That guy again..." Judai said, "But Dark Armed Dragon needs three Dark Attributes in the graveyard to summon. Your 'Apocalypse Knight' was just banished from the game as ammunition..."
"Indeed." The Judge reminded, "But when I used 'Resurrection of the Dead' to return Dark Armed Dragon to hand, remember I just discarded a card?"
Judai said, "So that card is also..."
"Correct, the card I just discarded is also Dark Attribute."
The Judge once again raised the card in his hand.
"Thus once more bring the descent of darkness—
——Dark Armed Dragon, summon!"
The dark aura erupted again, the hulking black dragon twisted its massive frame, and returned to the field!
[Dark Armed Dragon, Attack Power 2800]
"Then activate Dark Armed Dragon's effect again, banish Dark Attribute from the graveyard to destroy a card on the field."
The Judge drew out another Monster Card from the graveyard.
"Dark Armed Dragon's effect has no activation limit, as long as there's enough ammunition in the graveyard, it can be activated any number of times per turn.
Therefore, banish another Dark Attribute to destroy 'Elemental Hero Flame Wingman'!"
The ammunition refilled, the black energy converged into a light bullet gathered in front of the Armed Dragon, crashing mightily into Flame Wingman!
This time without trap defense, the ball of dark energy exploded directly on Flame Wingman, and the latter groaned, disintegrating in the energy.
Judai raised his arm to shield himself: "Flame Wingman..."
"Now, proceed to battle."
The Judge spoke, with a mysterious smile.
"Taking this opportunity, let me help you recall a bit more."
"What?"
With a casual wave, the Judge commanded.
"Dark Armed Dragon, direct attack."
As he gave the order, an eerie green glint flashed in his eyes.
The black energy bombed, exploding on Judai.
[Judai, LP 4000→ LP 1200]
The dark current swept over him, his arms crossed defending against the impact, but he found the expected severe pain didn't come.
No pain at all, only boundless darkness. It devoured everything he could see or hear, seemingly depriving even his five senses.
And in that endless darkness, the voice echoed again.
"Judai... Judai..."
"Yuki Judai..."