"Jaden Yuki..."
Watching the red-jacketed youth standing before him, Lyman Banner narrowed his eyes and remained silent.
This deck was something he had been crafting ever since Jaden enrolled at the academy.
Noin truth, he had been assembling it from the very moment Jaden began making a name for himself across the dueling world.
Jaden's HERO deck was versatile, powerful, and brimmed with boundless possibilities.
Yet that did not mean Jaden's suppression was invincible.
Banner had observed countless duels between Jaden and other duelists.
Eventually, he discovered the true fatal weakness of the HERO deck.
Was it locking down their battle phase? Blocking their fusions? Or perhaps nullifying their effects?
No.
It was their bond.
The bond between HERO and HERO woven throughout the deck!
Stratos, Faris, Increase, Vyon, Shadow Mist, Liquid Soldier, Blazeman...
Each of these fundamental HEROes possessed humble attack power, yet held the immense strength required to mobilize the entire deck.
Jaden Yuki was a duelist who triumphed time and again by relying on his bond with his deck.
Show me then.
Show me the terrifying power that slumbers within you.
Jaden surveyed the state of the field before him.
D.D. Borderline. Prohibition. The Forceful Sentry.
Truly worthy of being the last of the Shadow Riders.
Professor Banner, your strength is truly incomprehensible.
Jaden rested his fingertips against the top of his deck.
Even before drawing, he could already sense the suffocating pressure.
With the battle phase completely shut down, the innate offensive advantages of his HEROes were entirely stripped away.
He had no viable HEROes in hand, and Fusion Destiny remained locked under Prohibition.
EN Shuffle... Could this truly be my defeat?
No... not yet.
"My turndraw!"
Jaden drew the top card of his deck.
"Kuri-kuri!"
The gentle voice of Winged Kuriboh chimed softly beside his ear.
Partner...
Warmth blossomed in Jaden's chest.
Without hesitation, he placed the drawn card horizontally onto his Duel Disk. "I Set one monster in face-down Defense Position! Turn end!"
Hum
In his monster zone, a face-down card materialized sideways across his field.
"Faced with this kind of board, even the Supreme King is forced on the defensive?"
Dark Magician Girl rested her chin in her hands, floating quietly nearby as she spectated the duel.
Alchemya mystical art that transcended science and reached beyond conventional magic.
It was undeniably fascinating.
"My turndraw!" Banner drew a card from his deck with fluid grace.
"It seems the duel has reached a stalemate," Yubel murmured, her brow furrowing slightly.
A stalemate?
Ash Blossom glanced over at her. To her eyes, the Supreme King was clearly taking the brunt of the disadvantage...
Suddenly, a realization struck her.
"Wait! The effect of D.D. Borderline applies to both players!"
Because neither duelist could conduct a battle phase, the Supreme King could exploit that very effect to safely stall his way into the next turn!
"Do you truly believe an opponent like him has made no preparations for what comes next?" Yubel folded her arms, coldly shattering Ash Blossom's fleeting optimism.
"Ah..."
Indeed, their opponent was no training dummy.
Since he had committed to this strategy, he had undoubtedly prepared his next move to dismantle the Supreme King's defenses.
Sure enough...
Before Ash Blossom could ponder any further, Banner initiated his next tactical sequence.
"I activate the Spell Card, Chaos Greed!"
Banner flipped the card in his hand face-up. "When I have four or more banished cards and no cards in my Graveyard, this card's effect allows me to draw two cards from my deck!"
Drawing two fresh cards, the corners of Banner's lips curled into a subtle smirk.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Silver Key to Special Summon Alchemy Beast - Moonface the Silver!"
Boom!
The distillation kettle roared with alchemical flames once more.
A massive, spherical silver Alchemy Beast materialized upon Banner's field.
"Jaden, bear witness once more to the grandeur of alchemy!"
Banner revealed another card from his hand. "I activate a second copy of Black Process - Negledo!
"When Chaos Distill is face-up on my field and this is the only card in my hand, all face-up Alchemy Beasts on the field are banished! For each one banished, I draw two cards from my deck!"
Again?!
The surrounding duel spirits stared in astonishment.
Banner currently controlled three Alchemy Beasts on his field.
Which meant... he drew six cards?!
The card advantage was completely absurd!
One card after another vanished from Banner's field into the depths of the distillation apparatus. An instant later, six freshly drawn cards slid into his grasp from his deck.
The counter on his Duel Disk ticked upward rapidly.
The total count of Banner's banished cards had now reached a staggering fourteen!
"Jaden, now that the bond among your HEROes has been fractured, you can no longer execute your usual strategies, can you?" Looking at the unyielding youth,
Banner drew a card from his hand and held it forward. "If your plan was to stall until you drew a second HERO monster and turned the tide using Polymerization in your hand...
"Then I am afraid this card will disappoint you."
Banner flipped the card aroundit was none other than D.D. Designator!
"With D.D. Designator, I declare one card name and look at your hand.
"If the declared card is among the cards in your hand, that card is banished from the game! If not, I must randomly banish one card from my own hand.
"The card I declare is the Spell Card: Polymerization!"
Jaden's hand was laid bare before Banner once more.
Among them, the Polymerization card shattered into sparkling motes of light, fading into the surrounding gloom.
"That guy! He already saw the Supreme King's hand earlier, so of course he knew what cards were in there!" Ash Blossom gritted her teeth in frustration. "That's completely unfair! How can a card be so dirty?!"
Jaden stared in silence at the remaining cards in his hand.
Elemental HERO Solid Soldier, EN Shuffle, and the forbidden Fusion Destiny...
His expression remained completely calm.
His resolve to grasp victory did not waver in the slightest!
"You still remain composed? Is it because of the EN Shuffle in your hand?"
Banner produced a second card from his hand. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Mind Wipe!
"When the opponent has exactly three cards in their hand, they must shuffle their entire hand into the deck, then draw the same number of cards!"
The three cards in Jaden's hand dissolved into beams of light and returned to his deck, which automatically shuffled itself.
The EN Shuffle that held his potential for a comeback vanished into the deck.
"It's over! His chance to turn the tables... EN Shuffle is gone..."
Ash Blossom clutched her head in dismay, her fox ears drooping limp against her crown.
The Supreme King was practically fighting against the entirety of the opponent's deck using only three cards.
How could anyone win a duel like this?!
An atmosphere of despair began to spread.
Yet Jaden silently drew three cards from the top of his newly shuffled deck.
Cross Keeper. Elemental HERO Shadow Mist. Elemental HERO Stratos.
Looking at the three cards, an electric spark seemed to flash across Jaden's mind.
This is enough.
Every single piece required to construct victory has gathered in my hand!
And now, the most crucial component of all...
Jaden raised his head and looked at the lone card lying face-down on his field.
I'm counting on you, Winged Kuriboh.
"Kuri-kuri."
A distant, resonant chime echoed in his ear.
Hearing that familiar sound, Jaden's heart instantly settled into perfect tranquility.
He knew.
This duel was already won.
"Now that I have thoroughly disrupted your hand, it is time to breach your defense head-on, Jaden Yuki," Banner announced, holding aloft another card. "I activate the Spell Card: Chaos End!
"When seven or more of my cards are banished, all monsters on the field are destroyed!"
Boom!
The distillation kettle behind Banner swallowed the card.
In the next heartbeat, a roaring tempest of alchemical flame washed over the entire field.
Jaden's face-down monster was forcibly flipped face-up before being consumed.
"Kuri!"
The fluffy little creature with pristine white wings was instantly shattered by the searing blast, bursting into fragments as white feathers fluttered down like snowflakes.
Jaden raised an arm to shield himself from the violent shockwave, faint golden light shimmering deep within his dark pupils.
Seeing the monster on Jaden's field destroyed, Banner let out a dry chuckle.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Mystical Space Typhoon! I destroy my own D.D. Borderline!"
Two more cards were sucked into the churning flames of the distillation apparatus.
The sealed battle phase was instantly restored!
And the monster that had guarded Jaden's field was gone without a trace.
Banner looked across at Jaden and drew one final card from his hand.
"The barrier hindering our battle has dissolved. This is the end, Jaden Yuki.
"I activate the Spell Card: White Process - Albedo!
"Through this card's power, I Special Summon Golden Homunculus straight from my deck to my field!"
Rumble!
Beams of brilliant light flared across the field.
A colossal stone figure wrought of pure gold emerged upon Banner's side.
Its towering, mountain-like physique sent a chill down the spines of all the duel spirits watching from the sidelines.
[Golden Homunculus]
[Level: 6]
[Warrior / Effect]
[ATK: 1500 / DEF: 1500]
"This card's attack and defense increase by 300 points for each of my banished cards!"
Banner raised his Duel Disk, displaying his banishment zone. "The total number of my banished cards is twenty!
"Therefore, this monster gains six thousand attack points!"
[Golden Homunculus]
[ATK: 1500 → 7500]
7,500 Attack?!
Seeing that monstrous figure, even Yubel trembled in disbelief.
If a direct hit landed...
Every spirit turned their gaze toward Jaden, their breath caught in their throats.
"Is this as far as you go, Jaden?"
Banner murmured softly, slowly raising his hand to issue the final command.
"Go, Golden Homunculus! Attack Jaden Yuki directly!"
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