Under the effect of the Spell Card Brain Control, the only monster on Manjoume's field—Armed Dragon LV3—was forcibly taken by Yuuya.
"Manjoume, want to see what kind of power is born from the fusion of three HEROes?"
The way Yuuya said it carried strange magic, sparking Manjoume's curiosity about what kind of monster could be born from fusing three HEROes. But at the same time, a sense of dread welled up inside him—as if that fusion would unleash a terrifying beast.
"Targeting Armed Dragon LV3, I activate the Spell Card Mask Change! I send Elemental HERO Shadow Mist from my Deck to the Graveyard. From now until the end of this turn, Armed Dragon LV3 is treated as Shadow Mist."
A blue-haired female warrior clad in black armor appeared briefly on the field before merging with the dragon. Under the power of Mask Change, Armed Dragon LV3's form began to alter.
"Shadow Mist's effect activates! When she's sent to the Graveyard, I can add 1 'HERO' monster—other than herself—from my Deck to my hand."
"And with that effect, I'll add and summon—Elemental HERO Blazeman!"
Once again, Blazeman, retrieved via Shadow Mist, stepped onto the field as the go-to HERO for searching Polymerization.
"When Blazeman is successfully summoned, I can add 1 Polymerization Spell Card from my Deck to my hand."
Now Yuuya had four HEROes, and with Polymerization in hand, the setup for his earlier fusion declaration was complete.
"Spell Card—Polymerization! I fuse Jaden's Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, Elemental HERO Avian, and Armed Dragon LV3, whose name is now treated as Shadow Mist, into one!"
With the help of his previous Deck searches, Armed Dragon LV3 had been fully transformed to resemble Shadow Mist. Now, under the power of fusion, the hardworking married couple (Burstinatrix and Avian) and the newly added Shadow Mist, who had no direct connection to them, combined their strength.
"Born from the earth's deepest core—Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Coreman!"
A body of pure white, with a glowing orb embedded in the chest like a power reactor. Magma-like orange-red patterns radiated from the core and covered his limbs.
This was the evolved form of Gaia, one of the ultimate endgame bosses of the HERO series—Elemental HERO Coreman!
(Elemental HERO Coreman, Level 9, ATK: 2700, DEF: 2200)
"Coreman? Shadow Mist? Blazeman? I've never heard of any of these HEROes!"
"They all carry the 'Elemental HERO' name. Could this be a newly released series?"
"That's possible… but why hasn't Industrial Illusions announced anything on their official site?"
"Coreman… and Gaia… are they related somehow?"
"…"
The appearance of three completely unheard-of but clearly "Elemental HERO" monsters stirred intense discussion among the students and faculty present—and even more so among the citizens watching the duel broadcast live.
"…Hmph! So what if you summoned such a powerful monster? Under these special rules, you still can't attack, so all you can do is stare helplessly at my Life Points!"
Manjoume tried to calm himself, mocking Yuuya for his combat restriction under the special match rules. Yuuya gave no response. Instead, he silently took three of the four cards in his hand and placed them face-down in his Spell & Trap Zones—then ended his turn.
"Tch!"
Seeing Yuuya ignore him, Manjoume clicked his tongue in frustration. But just before the turn fully ended, he activated one of his set cards:
"Continuous Trap—Call of the Haunted! I Special Summon Armed Dragon LV3 from my Graveyard!"
The Armed Dragon—previously transformed by Mask Change and used as Fusion Material—was returned to the field. With its revival, turn control passed back to Manjoume.
"My turn—draw!"
"And at this moment, Armed Dragon LV3's effect activates! During my Standby Phase, I Tribute it to Special Summon its evolved form!"
"Come forth! Armed Dragon LV5!"
A radiant light of evolution enveloped LV3, and within the golden glow, a towering black silhouette emerged. Where LV3 had once stood at the height of a small child, the new form now loomed as large as a building.
When the light faded, the formerly petite dragon had been fully replaced with a tank-like beast. Its orange skin turned blood-red, the light brown armor had darkened to charcoal gray, and the previously small silver spike on its belly was now replicated across its entire body—razor-sharp and saw-like.
(Armed Dragon LV5, Level 5, ATK: 2400, DEF: 1700)
"Armed Dragon LV5's effect activates! By sending the final form of the Armed Dragon series—LV7, which has 2800 ATK—from my hand to the Graveyard, I can destroy your Coreman, who has 2700 ATK! Armed Missiles—fire!"
As Manjoume sent Armed Dragon LV7 from his hand to the Graveyard, LV5, now empowered, slammed both of its dragon claws onto its belly. The silver-gray spikes covering its body transformed into a barrage of missiles, trailing orange-red flames as they launched toward Yuuya's Elemental HERO Coreman.
"Quick-Play Spell—Forbidden Lance! By reducing Coreman's ATK by 600, he becomes immune to effect destruction this turn!"
(Elemental HERO Coreman: ATK 2700 → 2100)
The sacred garment of the divine realm descended, manifesting as a shimmering barrier that enveloped Coreman, shielding him from LV5's brutal missile bombardment!
"Hmph! If I can't destroy you with effects, then I'll just take you down in battle! Go—Armed Dragon LV5! Attack!"
Although the Lance protected Coreman from destruction by effects, its side effect also weakened his power by 600 ATK. That flipped the power dynamic—LV5 now had the upper hand!
Seeing the furious Armed Dragon LV5 charging in with a mighty roar, Yuuya didn't flinch. He simply smiled.
"BOOM!"
Not one to go down quietly, Coreman clenched his fists, gathering fiery energy. Just as LV5 approached, he countered with a double-fisted strike of his own—meeting the dragon head-on in a fiery clash.
Smoke and dust filled the entire Duel Arena. Even the broadcast screen outside was swallowed in a grey haze.
No one could see what had happened. Time seemed to stretch… until the smoke finally began to clear.
And once it did—everyone's eyes turned back to the field, only to widen in shock.
Armed Dragon LV5, who had initiated the attack… had vanished!
And Elemental HERO Coreman, who had taken the hit head-on… still stood!
"What… how!? You didn't even activate any face-down cards!?"
Manjoume couldn't accept it. Coreman, whose ATK had been reduced by Forbidden Lance, had somehow taken down LV5 in a direct clash.
"I didn't activate any face-down cards," Yuuya replied with a grin. "So naturally, that means the attacking monster was defeated… by Coreman's effect."
He calmly continued to explain:
"As the ultimate being born from the fusion of three HEROes, Coreman isn't so easily defeated!"
"One of Coreman's effects allows him, once per turn, when targeted for an attack, to double his ATK until the end of that battle!"