"Duel!" x2
[Hibiki Momiji, LP 4000]
[Judge, LP 4000]
"Then I'll start with the first move, draw a card." Judge said.
Hibiki Momiji was fully alert, focusing intently on his opponent.
Though Judge was a new face to him today, Hibiki Momiji had quickly realized this person was no ordinary opponent.
He might even be stronger than the Dark Duelist he faced on the night he became champion.
It was in defeat then that he had a vague premonition. The pinnacle he fought for on the battlefield might only be the limit within the field of view of ordinary people.
The emergence of that Dark Duelist proved that the world of dueling was much broader than he could imagine. The truly strongest and most dangerous entities don't bother claiming glory in the arena.
That night, what he had encountered was just the tip of the iceberg of that hidden dark world.
Now he had seen it with his own eyes and felt the terror of the Dark Duels. But even so, he would not back down.
He was a Professional Duelist, resolved from early on to dedicate his life, his all, to dueling. No matter how dangerous the road ahead, he would never turn back.
Moreover...
Hibiki Momiji glanced sideways at Keihei and exchanged a look with Judai in the audience.
Unusually, Judai wasn't excited or cheering for the duel today but instead had an expression of complex emotions as he looked at Hibiki Momiji.
"Mr. Momiji..."
Judai had a very bad premonition, especially after watching the previous duel and what happened afterward.
Even he could sense that the opponent on stage opposite his friend was dangerous.
"Cover one Monster face-down in Defense Position."
Judge calmly placed a Monster Card facedown on the Duel Disc.
"Then I'll set two more cards and end the turn."
Seto Kaiba in the audience was also intently watching Judge.
"Hibiki Momiji, the World Champion... Perhaps enough to test that guy's strength."
Seto Kaiba squinted at Judge.
If he had to say, this was actually the opponent he most wanted to face in this tournament.
There were few people Seto Kaiba had lost to in his life, and even fewer he hadn't had the chance to avenge himself against. Although Dazi was no more, the Orichalcos' Snake God was somewhat of an old acquaintance.
Hibiki Momiji also noticed, that although his opponent was facing him, those squinted eyes seemed more interested in something outside the arena.
This match, only two people interested Judge: one was Seto Kaiba, the other was Yugen, who had taken the Sealing Artifact and whose full intentions were unclear.
"Does he mean to dismiss me...?"
Hibiki Momiji said in a low voice.
"Then I will make you regret that. My turn, draw!"
He drew a card and immediately played one from his hand.
"Summon 'Elemental Hero Sky Hero'!"
The renowned Brother Sky from the Physical Card Realm made his appearance with turbines on both sides stirring up a gusty storm. But of course, Sky Hero wasn't the same powerful entity from the physical cards yet; he was merely a promising card with decent stats.
[Elemental Hero Sky Hero, Attack Power 1800]
Sky Hero had the ability to halve attack power for a direct attack, but Hibiki Momiji glanced at the opponent's field before deciding to target the Monster.
"Sky Hero attacks the face-down Monster!"
Even if direct attack damage would only be nine hundred points, it was better to probe the opponent's Monster first.
"Counterattack Trap 'Attack Powerlessness'."
Judge nonchalantly raised his hand. A powerful vortex from the Trap Card absorbed all of Sky Hero's attack like a Black Hole.
"Protecting that Monster?"
Hibiki Momiji frowned. He glanced at his hand cards, quickly strategizing.
"Then I'll set three cards and end my turn."
"To my turn, draw a card."
Judge casually waved his hand.
"Flip the face-down Monster to Attack Position, 'Death Camel' Flip Summon!"
The card flipped, revealing a sinister undead camel. Its blood-red body wrapped in bandages exuded an eerie aura.
[Death Camel, Attack Power 500]
"Upon a successful Flip Summon of Death Camel, I draw one card from the Deck."
Judge drew from his Deck but didn't even look as he played the card immediately.
"Use Death Camel as a tribute for an Upper-level Summon. Call forth the Guardian of the Sphinx—
—Guardian Sphinx."
Death Camel turned into golden particles and vanished, as the large golden statue of a Guardian Sphinx towered on the field.
[Guardian Sphinx, Attack Power 1700]
"Sphinx." Yugen pondered.
Though not typically a mainstay card, he himself owned a copy of it... But that didn't mean much. Guardian Sphinx's Flip Summon ability to return all Monsters is still somewhat universally powerful in this era.
This card, though rare in this world, posed no barrier for a Doma leader to obtain.
"Is the new Doma leader using a Deck focused on Flip Effects?" Keihei pondered.
But Seto Kaiba only frowned without speaking.
Judge lightly chuckled.
"You are all trying to understand the Deck I'm using, attempting to grasp my tactics." Judge said calmly, "but soon you'll all realize it's futile.
You can't understand my tactics, just as mortals cannot comprehend the measure of a god.
The divine does not show its entirety to mortals, but only the parts it wishes for them to see. Just like this..."
He slowly drew a card from his hand.
"Activate the Magic Card 'Fusion'! Fuse 'Elemental Hero Wingman' and 'Elemental Hero Blazing Lady' from my hand!"
The audience: "!?!"
Hibiki Momiji was equally surprised.
Elemental Heroes!?
"Fusing heroes of Wind and Fire, let the Phoenix Power born among them come to my hand. Fusion Summon—
—Elemental Hero Phoenix Lad!"
[Elemental Hero Phoenix Lad, Attack Power 2100]
"What!?" Judai was astonished, "The Fusion of Wingman and Blazing Lady is supposed to summon the Flame Winged People..."
"Elemental Heroes have the trait of being able to summon different Monsters even using the same Fusion Material."
Yugen explained to him, smiling.
"Judai, though you're not interested in the theoretical knowledge, you should at least be familiar with your own card series, right?"
"Ah... I see..."
Judai scratched his head.
"Elemental Heroes..." Keihei also looked dazed, "Doma's leader, Judge, is using an Elemental Hero Deck?"
"No, I don't think so."
Seto Kaiba squinted his eyes.
"It's simply because this match's opponent is known as 'the strongest hero on the surface,' Hibiki Momiji."
Keihei was taken aback but quickly understood.
This could be either blatant taunting... or absolute confidence?