The golden golem raised its massive fist, swinging it ruthlessly toward Jaden Yuki.
Seventy-five hundred attack points...
If he took this hit directly...
Ash Blossom's eyes widened in horror.
The Supreme King had no hand traps left in his grip, nor did he control a single face-down card.
What could he do? What was left to do...?
Hum!
Yet, right as the crushing fist bore down on Jaden, a snowy white radiance erupted from his graveyard.
Before the astonished gazes of everyone present, the Winged Kuriboh sent to the graveyard earlier materialized as a shimmering phantom, shielding Jaden from harm.
"Winged Kuriboh?!"
Ash Blossom cried out in sheer delight, slapping her forehead in self-reproach. "Right! How could I have forgotten!"
"When Winged Kuriboh is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, all battle damage taken this turn becomes zero!"
"What?"
Hearing Ash Blossom's words, Banner froze, genuine shock washing over him.
Winged Kuriboh...?
Does Jaden's deck hold cards I've never even seen before?
Impossible... Throughout his duel records, he has never once played this card...
Pure white feathers drifted and slowly scattered. The crushing blow from Golden Homunculus ground to an abrupt halt amidst the swirling plumes.
[Jaden Yuki: LP 4000]
Completely unharmed?!
A flicker of dread slipped into Banner's eyes.
"Professor Banner, it seems your strategy has fallen completely flat," Jaden said, meeting Banner's gaze with calm composure. "The bond between my deck and me isn't nearly as fragile as you imagined."
"..." Banner narrowed his eyes, falling silent.
He had indeed underestimated the bond between Jaden and his deck. He had assumed that simply shredding his hand would sever his connection to his duel spirits.
But now it seemed... he still understood far too little about this boy.
Glancing down at the final card in his hand, Banner felt a tangle of conflicting emotions.
He simply could not fathom Jaden Yukineither his temperament nor his deck.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn."
Setting his last card onto the field, Banner closed his eyes.
"He actually survived... thanks to Winged Kuriboh's effect..."
Ash Blossom slumped onto the ground, her eyes brimming with disbelief and awe.
It had been terrifying. An assault of that scale would have exerted an insurmountable, suffocating pressure even in the OCG. Yet Jaden had managed to turn the tables using a card as seemingly humble as Winged Kuriboh.
Is a King of Games... really someone capable of commanding any monster to turn the tide, no matter the circumstance?
This is way more absurd than just topdecking luck! Who in their right mind would ever run Winged Kuriboh in a HERO deck?!
...
The counterattack was about to begin.
Hum
Jaden drew a card from the top of his deck.
"My turn."
He glanced down at the drawn card.
[Megamorph]!
With this, the duel ends this turn.
"I activate the effect of Cross Keeper in my hand!"
"By sending this card to the graveyard," Jaden declared, sliding Cross Keeper into his graveyard slot and revealing the monster in his hand, "I can Special Summon an Elemental HERO monster from my hand!"
"Appear! Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"
[Elemental HERO Shadow Mist]
[Level: 4]
[Warrior-Type]
[ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1500]
"Through Shadow Mist's effect, I add one Mask Change from my deck to my hand."
Jaden retrieved the spell card from his deck.
"Next, from my hand, I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Stratos!"
[Elemental HERO Stratos]
[Level: 4]
[Warrior-Type]
[ATK: 1800 / DEF: 300]
"I activate Stratos's first effect!"
"I can destroy spell or trap cards on the field up to the number of HERO monsters I control, other than this card!"
"I target your face-down card." Jaden pointed across the field toward Banner's backrow, his tone composed and steady. "Professor Banner, if I'm not mistaken, that face-down card is Macro Cosmos, isn't it?"
"You didn't activate it at the start of the turn because you wanted to choke off my combo at the absolute most critical juncture, didn't you?"
As soon as his words fell, the turbines behind Stratos whipped up razor-sharp winds that slashed across Banner's face-down card. Blown open by the fierce gale, the artwork of Macro Cosmos flashed into view for a split second before shattering into pieces.
"Jaden Yuki... you even saw through my face-down card?"
Banner murmured under his breath, overwhelmed with emotion. Dueling someone like this truly brought nothing but an oppressive, suffocating pressure.
However...
"Jaden, even if you could read my face-down card, do you have any way past my monster?" Banner smiled faintly. "My field still has Prohibition, which seals off your Fusion Destiny, and your Polymerization has already been banished from the game."
"As you are now, do you really have a second chance to mount an offense?"
"Relying solely on the weak HEROes on your field, even with Mask Change, you cannot overcome the wall of Eldlich the Golden Lord."
Banner was not wrong.
In Jaden's hand, the only cards available were Mask Change and the Megamorph drawn this turn.
Megamorph's effect doubled the equipped monster's original attack while its controller's Life Points were lower than the opponent's. But whether it was Stratos or Shadow Mist, even doubling their attack would not be enough to break through the 2500 attack of Eldlich the Golden Lord.
What was worse, their Life Points were currently tied, meaning Megamorph's effect could not even trigger...
"It's already over, Professor Banner..." Yet, even in this situation, Jaden's voice remained calm.
"What?" Banner blinked, momentarily failing to grasp Jaden's meaning.
"The moment you returned Fusion Destiny from my hand to my deck, the outcome was already sealed."
Deep gold light swirled within Jaden's eyes.
He removed the cards of Stratos and Shadow Mist from his monster zones and sent them to the graveyard.
"I use Elemental HERO Stratos and Elemental HERO Shadow Mist on my field as Link Materials!"
Chime!
In the darkness, the Extra Monster Zone flared with bursts of crimson light. Shadow Mist and Stratos dissolved into glowing red arrows that locked into the bottom-left and bottom-right Link Markers of the Extra Monster Zone.
A Link Summon?!
Banner's eyes widened.
No, waitin a situation like this, what Link Monster could he possibly summon? Cross Crusader? Wonder Driver? Impossible! Neither of those has the power to reverse this duel! Could it be... a brand-new card?!
"Link Summon! Predaplant Verte Anaconda!"
Jaden drew a dark blue card from his Extra Deck and placed it onto the Extra Monster Zone.
"Skreeeech!"
In an instant, thick, verdant vines erupted from the ground. The monstrous plant parted its gaping maw lined with needle-sharp fangs, unleashing a raspy, jarring hiss.
[Predaplant Verte Anaconda]
[Plant-Type]
[Link Markers: Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right]
[ATK: 500 / LINK-2]
"Next! I activate Verte Anaconda's effect!"
As Jaden spoke, his Life Points plummeted like water draining away.
[Jaden Yuki: LP 4000 -> 2000]
"By paying 2000 Life Points and sending one 'Fusion' or 'Polymerization' Normal or Quick-Play Spell from my deck to the graveyard, this card's effect becomes the same as that spell's effect when it is activated!"
"Which means Verte Anaconda's effect becomes the effect of Fusion Destiny!"
With that, Jaden drew Fusion Destiny from his deck and sent it directly to the graveyard.
"Huh? But Prohibition is still on the field! Doesn't Prohibition completely lock down the effects of Fusion Destiny?" Ash Blossom asked, utterly bewildered.
"What Prohibition forbids is the card itself," Yubel said with a grave gaze, arms folded over her chest. "What activated here was not the effect of Fusion Destiny, but the effect of Predaplant Verte Anaconda."
In short, Verte Anaconda had bypassed Prohibition entirely to unleash the effect of Fusion Destiny!
"I send Destiny HERO - Malicious and Destiny HERO - Denier from my deck to the graveyard!"
"From my Extra Deck, I summon the ultimate HERO!"
Blazing crimson flames surged around Jaden in every direction. Spreading magnificent wings with arms crossed, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer emerged slowly from the crimson inferno.
Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer has arrived!
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