"Pff—hahaha!!"
"Hahahaha!! This is hilarious! His own monster attacking his own monster! Hahaha!!"
"This is the first time I've ever seen something like that! I'm dying of laughter!"
"Hahahahaha…!"
When Vanguard of the Dragon was slapped into pieces by Armed Dragon LV7, waves of laughter erupted from the audience.
The boy known as Armed Tyrant Dragon flushed bright red, shaking with fury.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Never before had he felt such shame… such humiliation. Rage overtook him.
"You dare make me lose face like this!? I'll tear you apart!! Armed Dragon LV7—attack Elemental HERO Clayman! Armed Shredder!!"
"Roar!!"
Realizing it had been used as bait moments ago, Armed Dragon LV7 roared furiously. Three massive buzz-saws ejected from its abdomen, shooting straight toward Clayman.
"I activate my face-down—Trap Card Kid Guard! I Tribute 1 Hero Kid I control. The opponent's attack is negated, and I add 1 'Elemental HERO' monster from my Deck to my hand."
Alicia flipped her final set card without hesitation.
One Hero Kid rushed forward, crossing his arms as he shielded the blow.
"I add Elemental HERO Neos from my Deck to my hand!!"
Hearing the name "Neos," and seeing the girl draw the card, the boy finally confirmed her identity.
She truly was that first-year student dominating the Academy—Alicia.
Even so, he had no intention of forgiving someone who had humiliated him this badly.
"I Set two cards. Turn end!!"
"My turn—draw!"
"I activate my face-down—Trap Card Battle Mania!!" the boy suddenly roared. "During your opponent's Standby Phase: all your face-up monsters become Attack Position and cannot change their battle positions this turn. Also, all your monsters that can attack must attack this turn!"
Instantly, every monster on Alicia's field was forced into Attack Position.
[Elemental HERO Clayman, DEF 2000 → ATK 800]
[Hero Kid, DEF 600 → ATK 300] ×2
"Battle Mania, huh." Alicia glanced at the Trap, then at the two cards she had drawn earlier—courtesy of her opponent—and couldn't help smiling.
"Since you want my monsters to fight, fine. Though before that—I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!!"
She revealed two cards.
"I fuse Clayman on the field with Bubbleman in my hand! With your sturdy body, build an unbreakable defense, and protect all that I hold dear! Fusion Summon! Appear—Elemental HERO Mudballman!!"
[Elemental HERO Mudballman, ATK 1900]
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Shield & Sword! When this card resolves, the original ATK and original DEF of all face-up monsters on the field are switched until the End Phase.
That means the ATK/DEF of every monster on the field swaps!"
[Elemental HERO Mudballman, ATK 1900 → 3000, DEF 3000 → 1900]
[Hero Kid, ATK 300 → 600, DEF 600 → 300] ×2
[Armed Dragon LV7, ATK 2800 → 1000, DEF 1000 → 2800]
"Tch! So it's an ATK/DEF switching tactic!" the boy ground his teeth.
But he was not out of options yet. Not this turn.
"Next, I Tribute my two Hero Kids to Tribute Summon—Elemental HERO Neos!!"
A rainbow nebula opened in the sky. The two aspiring heroes exchanged a final look before leaping in. A beam of pure white descended.
[Elemental HERO Neos, ATK 2500]
"Elemental HERO Neos…? What kind of HERO is that!?"
"It's a Spirit!? This monster… feels dangerous!"
"This girl's dueling is fun to watch! Golden Princess really lives up to the name!"
"Looks like this duel is already over… didn't think he'd lose this fast!"
As Neos appeared, thousands of spectators began murmuring in excitement, finally paying attention to the duel.
In the VIP room, Alice watched the black-robed, masked girl below, her gaze flickering with complex emotions.
Somewhere in the stands, a person stared at Alicia's back, eyes filled with bloodlust.
Elsewhere in the audience, a teacher in disguise sighed helplessly—being dragged out to supervise a midnight duel was exhausting.
"Battle Phase!! Mudballman—attack Armed Dragon LV7! Mudball Smash!!"
Mudballman charged forward. The boy immediately reacted.
"I activate the Trap—Impenetrable Attack!! During the Battle Phase, I select 1 monster on the field. I choose the second effect: this turn, all battle damage I take becomes 0!"
He didn't want Armed Dragon LV7 to be destroyed, but with his remaining LP, he couldn't survive more direct damage.
For now, survival was more important.
Mudballman's iron fist smashed into Armed Dragon LV7, shattering it and sending a shockwave that forced the boy back several steps.
But Alicia couldn't finish him off this turn—not without damage.
"I Set one card. Turn end! And now, all monsters' ATK and DEF return to normal."
[Elemental HERO Mudballman, ATK 3000 → 1900, DEF 1900 → 3000]
"My turn—draw!!"
A surge of Great Magician-class magical power erupted as the boy drew a shining silver-white card—exactly the card that could overturn the duel.
Monster Reborn.
"I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn! I Special Summon 1 monster from either Graveyard! I choose… I choose to Special Summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman from your Graveyard!!"
Alicia could only sigh helplessly as Bubbleman, her own trusted HERO, emerged on her opponent's field.
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF 1200]
"Heh… good thing I remember his effect. Now let me make use of it!"
The boy smirked proudly and declared, "I activate Elemental HERO Bubbleman's effect! When this card is Summoned or Special Summoned and you control no other cards, I draw 2 cards from my Deck!"
Two new cards slid out of his Deck. He glanced at them—and his eyes lit up.
"I activate the effect of Pile Armed Dragon! By sending 1 WIND or Level 7 or higher Dragon monster other than this card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand.
"I send the WIND-Attribute Armed Dragon LV3 from my hand to the Graveyard and Special Summon—Pile Armed Dragon!!"
A dragon nearly identical to Armed Dragon LV7 appeared—except on its right arm, it wore a massive industrial drilling pile-driver.
[Pile Armed Dragon, ATK 2800]
"Next, I activate Pile Armed Dragon's other effect! I send 1 Armed Dragon monster with a different name from my hand or Deck to the Graveyard, then target 1 face-up monster I control. This turn, I can only attack with 1 monster, but the targeted monster gains ATK equal to the sent monster's Level × 300!
"I send another Armed Dragon LV5 from my Deck to the Graveyard—and target Pile Armed Dragon! Its ATK increases by LV5 × 300… that's 1500!!"
"ROOOOAR!!!"
A violent surge of power erupted as the second LV5 hit the Graveyard, flooding into Pile Armed Dragon.
[Pile Armed Dragon, ATK 2800 → 4300]
"4300 ATK!! This could be the finishing blow to break the stalemate for Armed Tyrant Dragon!!" the announcer shouted.
"Battle Phase! Go, Pile Armed Dragon—attack Neos! Fortress Breaker!!"
The massive dragon lunged forward, pile-driver roaring like a battering ram aimed straight at Neos.
The boy chose to attack Neos instead of the lower-ATK Mudballman for a reason: Neos had access to terrifying exclusive Spell/Trap support, and could fuse with both HEROes and Neo-Spacians to become even stronger. Letting Neos survive would risk total defeat next turn.
So he chose to eliminate the threat now—even at the cost of lower immediate damage.
Suddenly, just as the steel drill was about to crush Neos, the corner of Alicia's mouth curled beneath her mask.
She raised her arm and shouted:
"A HERO never fights alone!! Open face-down—Trap Card, Covering Fire! When an opponent's monster attacks a monster I control: during damage calculation, the attacked monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of 1 other face-up monster I control!
"I choose Neos—and he gains Mudballman's 1900 ATK!!"
[Elemental HERO Neos, ATK 2500 → 4400]
"1900!? Then that means—"
A perfect, clean 100-point difference.
"Wha—!?"
Before the boy could even finish reacting, Mudballman stepped forward, bracing Neos' stance.
Together, the two HEROes caught Pile Armed Dragon's massive drill—then hurled both dragon and drill into shattering fragments.
[Armed Tyrant Dragon, LP: 3200 → 3100]
The boy staggered backward.
"Y… you—"
Alicia cut him off coldly:
"Your Battle Phase is over. Your turn is over. You have nothing left."
"D-Damn it!!" Behind his mask, the boy's eyes were like those of a wounded, cornered beast; yet, in this duel of no mercy, all he could do was scream in despair:
"My turn… ends!!"
"Then it's my turn—draw! Straight to Battle Phase! Neos! Mudballman! Attack together!!"
Both HEROes charged him, landing a left-and-right strike that sent him flying.
[Armed Tyrant Dragon, LP: 3100 → 600 → 0]
"The winner is—our newest rising challenger—Golden Princess of Gun and Shield!!!"
"Goddammit!!"
"Shoot…should've bet! It was 3-to-1 odds!!"
"Bloody hell, I lost again!!"
"Next time, I'm betting! This girl's strong!"
"Maybe we should try contacting her… but her background might be dangerous…"
As the announcer proclaimed Alicia's victory, gamblers across the arena wailed in agony. Some seemed eager to approach her—while others hesitated, wary of her mysterious origins.
Alicia ignored them entirely. She happily skipped off toward the betting counter to collect her winnings.
Meanwhile, as she left the arena—several individuals who had been waiting for this moment began to move.
...
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