"Targeting Bubbleman, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Mask Change!"
A glow of evolution enveloped Bubbleman, and the water element in the air gathered, forming a massive sphere of water that encased him.
"Boom!"
The water sphere burst open, spraying droplets everywhere. From the downpour of mist emerged a brand-new Hero, replacing Bubbleman on the field—
You Ye's true Hero: Masked HERO Mist (Kirisame)!
"Masked HERO? I've never heard of that before!"
"Is this a new HERO series?"
"Whoa! It's Mist! That's You Ye's HERO!"
Those who didn't recognize the monster were upperclassmen who had never seen it before. Those who did were freshmen from the main campus—after all, only the freshmen had been notified about the incident where the Duel King's deck was stolen. That meant only the freshmen had witnessed Mist in action.
"Mist's effect! Once per turn, I can bounce one card on my opponent's field back to their hand!"
"Nani?!"
Bouncing a card back to the hand… What an OP effect! It left everyone exclaiming, "Goodness gracious!"
"Once Mist activates this effect, it can't battle for the rest of the turn. But since we're under a 'special rule' that prevents us from attacking anyway, it doesn't matter."
With the side effect overlapping with the duel's rules, there was no need to guess which card You Ye would target to bounce.
Manjoume, not being slow, instantly realized which card You Ye was aiming for. He quickly waved his hand to activate one of his face-down cards before Mist's effect could resolve:
"Quick-Play Spell Forbidden Chalice! I negate Mist's effects for the turn in exchange for a 400-point ATK boost!"
Trading 400 ATK for an effect negation is usually fair in a regular duel. Mist would go from 2400 to 2800 ATK, matching Manjoume's Armed Dragon LV7—a solid one-for-one.
But under these special exhibition rules, no matter how much ATK is gained this turn, if you can't attack, it's all for show.
"I set the rest of my hand and end my turn."
With no way to launch an attack, You Ye could only set his remaining two cards.
"My turn—draw!"
Seeing the two Spell Cards he drew, Manjoume burst out laughing again.
"You Ye! Judai! This time, you're finished!"
Everyone's attention was immediately hooked. What kind of cards would make Manjoume so confident as to declare victory a second time?
"Armed Dragon LV7's effect activates again! I discard the 2800-ATK 'Infernal Flame Emperor - Underworld Scorcher' from my hand to destroy the only Hero on your field!"
Judai and the other freshmen: ???
Using a destruction effect against Mist, who has effect resistance... That's some seriously questionable logic!
"How?!"
Manjoume was shocked—again—watching Mist remain completely unharmed under the blast of Armed Dragon LV7's Extinction Cyclone.
"Mist's other effect—he cannot be destroyed by card effects!"
Manjoume's knowledge of Masked HEROs extended only to Aqua, Blaze, and Goka. This evolved form, Mist, was one he had never encountered.
"Tch! If effect destruction won't work, then I'll just go back to basics—battle! Spell Card Monster Reborn! I revive 'Despair from the Dark' from my Graveyard!"
The final form of Armed Dragon with 2800 ATK, and the 2800-ATK Despair from the Dark discarded earlier by LV5's effect—two fearsome monsters now stood on Manjoume's side.
He had burned through both of his drawn cards this turn. It was clear he was going all-in: either end the duel in this Battle Phase or lose in Judai's next turn.
"Despair from the Dark! Attack Masked HERO Mist!"
2800 vs 2400—unless You Ye had a face-down to boost Mist's power, Mist was going straight back to the Graveyard, and You Ye would take a few hundred points of damage.
"Perfect! I've been waiting for your attack declaration!"
Earlier, Manjoume waited for Judai to activate Hero Barrier and negate LV7's attack. Now, You Ye was doing the same—waiting for Manjoume to declare his attack.
"Trap Card—Super Teen Tag Duel! I negate the opponent's attack declaration! Then, the weakest ATK monster on the opponent's field must battle the lowest DEF monster on my field!"
Manjoume was momentarily startled by the attack negation—but smiled again upon hearing the "forced battle" condition.
You Ye only had one monster, so Mist was the lowest DEF monster. Manjoume had two monsters, both with 2800 ATK—no matter which one was chosen, they'd still battle a 2400-ATK monster. The outcome wouldn't change.
But Manjoume completely overlooked something: the fact that You Ye still chose to activate the card, even knowing full well Mist couldn't win in battle.
2400 vs 2800 is a losing fight—anyone can see that. So why activate it? Naturally, You Ye had a way to power up his monster—
"Chain activation—Quick-Play Spell Form Change! Mist, Form Change!"
The magic power coursed through Mist's body, and the blue vapor surrounding him was instantly replaced by flickering orange sparks. Within seconds, those sparks erupted into flames, wrapping his entire body in a blazing fireball like a miniature sun.
"A power that burns everything to ash! Special Summon — Masked HERO Goka!"
A crimson-armored HERO clad in flames—following Mist, the second Masked HERO to be revealed before the crowd.
"Goka's effect activates! For each 'HERO' monster in my Graveyard, he gains 100 ATK!"
Due to the special duel rules of the exhibition match, You Ye and Judai were considered a team, meaning their Graveyards were shared. Therefore, even the HERO monsters in Judai's Graveyard could empower Goka.
You Ye's Graveyard: Core, Blazeman, Shadow Mist, Bubbleman
Judai's Graveyard: Avian, Burstinatrix, Clayman, Wildheart, Wild Wingman
(Masked HERO Goka, ATK: 2200 → 3100)
Surpassing even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Goka now overpowered both of Manjoume's 2800 ATK monsters.
With a blazing mini-sun thrown forth, Despair from the Dark was unsurprisingly burned to ashes, and Manjoume's Life Points dropped from 3100 to 2800.
"...Tch, so what if you destroyed it? I still have Armed Dragon LV7 on the field, and nearly 3000 Life Points. As long as that idiot Judai can't finish me off in one go, my next turn will be the moment I reclaim dominance!"
Even now, Manjoume stubbornly clung to his bravado, convinced that the next time his turn came around, he would defeat them both.
But with Judai's next series of plays, that hope was utterly crushed—
"Spell Card The Fifth Hope! I return these five HERO monsters from the Graveyard to the Deck—Avian, Burstinatrix, Clayman, Wildheart, and Shadow Mist!"
Judai's four HEROes and You Ye's Shadow Mist were returned to their respective Decks, allowing him to draw two new cards. However, as a side effect, Goka's power dropped from 3100 to 2600 due to the lost Graveyard support.
"Next, Spell Card Pot of Greed—I draw two more cards."
In this duel, it seemed like Pot of Greed had become standard for everyone—and this time, it gave Judai the card he needed to end the duel.
"You Ye! Lend me your Masked HERO!"
"Go ahead."
With You Ye's permission, Judai immediately played the Spell Card he had just drawn:
"Spell Card Fusion Substitute! I treat You to Ye's Masked HERO Goka as Flame Wingman for a Fusion Summon."
"Then, with the Spell Polymerization, I fuse the Elemental HERO Sparkman in my hand with Goka, now treated as Flame Wingman!"
Flame Wingman + Sparkman, is a fusion combining the power of the Fantastic Four's leader with the energy of the iconic duo.
"Fusion Summon — Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman!"
Having witnessed You Ye's Shining Flare Wingman previously, Judai had added one to his own Extra Deck. Its debut had helped him defeat an Obelisk Blue student during the second midterm duel exam.
"Shining Flare Wingman's effect activates! He gains 300 ATK for every 'Elemental HERO' in the Graveyard!"
"And when he destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, he deals damage to the opponent equal to that monster's original ATK!"
Sparkman, Core, Blazeman, and Bubbleman—the remaining four Elemental HEROes in their shared Graveyard—appeared briefly before turning into pure energy and flowing into Shining Flare Wingman.
(Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman, ATK: 2500 → 3700)
"The battle's decided—Manjoume Thunder!"
With Judai striking his signature victory pose, Shining Flare Wingman shattered Armed Dragon LV7 and approached Manjoume. Without lifting a finger, he simply released the radiant power within his body, engulfing Manjoume in brilliant, blinding light!