"I didn't activate any set cards—so naturally, it must've been the effect of the monster being attacked."
"And as the ultimate being born from the fusion of three Elemental HEROes, Coreman isn't so easy to defeat!"
Yuuya pointed toward Elemental HERO Coreman on his field, drawing everyone's attention to the glowing red orb embedded in the hero's chest.
"One of Coreman's effects is this: when he is selected as the target of an opponent's attack, his ATK doubles until the end of that damage step! This effect can only be used once per turn."
Coreman, whose ATK had been reduced to 2100 due to Forbidden Chalice, doubled it to 4200. As a result, the Armed Dragon LV5—which had previously overpowered Coreman—was defeated instead.
"I see! But…"
Manjoume smirked, as numerous specks of light appeared before him. Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, these light particles gathered and began forming around the destroyed Armed Dragon LV5.
"What's going on?! Why did Armed Dragon LV5 return after being destroyed? And why are Manjoume's Life Points back to what they were?!"
Before everyone's shocked eyes, Armed Dragon LV5 had returned to the field, and Manjoume's LP was back at 8100—as if nothing had happened.
"If you know your opponent's effects, it's only natural to be prepared."
Grinning, Manjoume flipped his only set card face-up:
"Trap Card—Waboku! Until the end of this turn, my monsters cannot be destroyed by battle, and I take no battle damage!"
Everyone: "!!"
So it was Waboku! No wonder everything had been "rewound" to before the battle.
Because this was a duel conducted using holographic projection, unlike tabletop dueling where you can check known card effects, this setup made it possible to create "missed timing" illusions—when in reality, activation was still valid!
Take Waboku, for example: even though the battle had seemingly ended, Manjoume was still able to activate it and reset the situation—thanks to the projection duel system's limitations on verifying unknown card effects. A little "benefit" of this format!
Back to the duel—Waboku had saved Armed Dragon, but it wasn't considered a Special Summon, so since it had already battled, Manjoume moved to end his turn and set his cards.
But before he could, Yuuya reminded him that Coreman still had an effect to resolve.
"Don't be in such a rush to set cards—Coreman has one more effect."
"Nani?"
An effect… on the opponent's turn?
"Coreman's other ability activates! At the end of the Battle Phase in which he battled, he can destroy one monster on the field!"
Yuuya smiled, pointing directly at Armed Dragon LV5, which Manjoume had just saved.
"Waboku only prevents battle destruction—it doesn't protect against effect destruction!"
As he spoke, a thick orange-red beam shot out from the core in Coreman's chest, aiming straight at the recently saved Armed Dragon.
BOOM!
Another explosion rocked the field! But this time, Armed Dragon LV5 was truly destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
"Tch!"
That Coreman, born from the fusion of three HEROes, really wasn't to be underestimated! With two powerful effects, Manjoume admitted he'd miscalculated.
But it didn't matter—his advantage was still substantial. Even if he ended the turn with an empty field, his 8100 LP would be enough to survive Jaden's turn.
"I set two cards face-down, then activate the Continuous Spell—Mirage of Nightmare!"
Seeing the Spell Card activated by Manjoume, and the two other cards he set alongside it, Yuuya leaned toward Jaden and whispered:
"A Feather of the Phoenix and Mirage of Nightmare—this combo replenishes his hand and can also restore LP."
"Got it!"
Jaden nodded, then took the turn from Manjoume and started his draw phase for a new round of battle.
"At this moment, the Continuous Spell Mirage of Nightmare activates!"
As soon as Jaden finished drawing, Manjoume quickly activated the effect of the Spell Card he'd played at the end of the last turn.
"During my opponent's Standby Phase, I draw cards until I have four in my hand! However, as a cost for this powerful effect, during my next Standby Phase, I must randomly discard the same number of cards I drew this way."
With zero cards in hand, Manjoume maximized the effect of Mirage of Nightmare, instantly replenishing his hand to four cards.
"Spell Card Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards from my deck."
After replenishing his hand, Jaden turned to Yuuya and said:
"Yuuya! This time, I'll be borrowing the power of your card!"
"Trap Card Fusion Recovery! According to its effect, I show one Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck to the opponent—Manjoume, take a look—then I add one of the listed Fusion Materials from my deck to my hand."
As he spoke, Jaden retrieved a Fusion HERO from his Extra Deck and let Manjoume confirm it. Then he reached into his Main Deck and pulled out the HERO monster listed on that Fusion card.
"As for the second part of this card's effect—I can also retrieve one Fusion Spell from my Graveyard and add it to my hand."
Without hesitation, Jaden retrieved his Fusion Spell from the Graveyard. He then used that Spell, along with the HERO added via Fusion Recovery and a monster drawn with Pot of Greed, to perform a Fusion Summon.
"Using the Spell Fusion, I fuse the Elemental HERO Wildheart in my hand with King of the Swamp, which can substitute as a Fusion Material!"
Seeing Wildheart, the gray-green King of the Swamp writhed, seemingly understanding what was about to happen. Its body began to morph, as if molded by invisible hands, transforming into the fusion's other component—Avian, one of the iconic 'labor couple' HEROes.
"Wildheart plus Avian! Fusion Summon—Elemental HERO Wild Wingman!"
With green, eagle-clawed limbs and a pair of white wings as tall as its body stretching from its back, this fusion HERO retained the humanoid form of Wildheart.
(Elemental HERO Wild Wingman, Level 8, ATK: 1900, DEF: 2300)
"Wild Wingman's effect! By discarding one card, I can target and destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the opponent's field!"
Since Yuuya had identified Mirage of Nightmare and the unknown set card next to it as part of a combo with A Feather of the Phoenix, that meant the remaining face-down card was the key card to break. Now it came down to whether Jaden could pick the right one.
Discarding the only card left in his hand, Jaden pointed at the face-down card to the left of Mirage of Nightmare—the one beside it.
Receiving the order, Wild Wingman flapped his wings and soared into the air, gathering energy into the feathers along his wings in preparation to fire piercing feather darts at the selected face-down card.
"What a pity, Jaden!"
Manjoume shook his head with a look of mock disappointment. As Wild Wingman finished charging, Manjoume quickly activated the very card Jaden had selected:
"I activate the chosen card—Quick-Play Spell A Feather of the Phoenix! I send my Continuous Spell Mirage of Nightmare and the Continuous Trap Call of the Haunted to the Graveyard to recover 2000 Life Points!"
(Manjoume LP: 8100 → 10100)
This time, Jaden's luck didn't help him. The card he selected was indeed the very one Yuuya identified as the key to Manjoume's recovery combo: A Feather of the Phoenix!