[Zane, LP 4000]
[Aster, LP 2900]
As Aster added the card to his hand, his glare snapped right back to Zane, before he immediately slammed another card down.
"I activate the Spell, E - Emergency Call! This let me add an Elemental HERO from my deck to my hand!"
He flipped through his deck at practiced speed and pulled out his choice.
"I'll add Bubbleman to my hand!"
Without slowing down, Aster continued.
"Next, I Normal Summon this! Come on, Bubbleman!"
As the card hit his Duel Disk, bubbles erupted across the field, water splashing upward as the familiar blue HERO emerged, cape billowing proudly behind him.
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, 800 ATK]
"Bubbleman's effect, when he is summoned and is the only card on my field, I get to draw two cards!" Two cards slid into Aster's hand, his confidence visibly rising.
"Next, I activate the Spell, Hero Mask."
He pulled another card from his deck and tossed it into the graveyard.
"I target Bubbleman in my field and send Burstinatrix in my deck to my grave. Until the end of this turn, Bubbleman is treated as Burstinatrix!"
"Next, I activate the Spell, Silent Doom!" Aster didn't even pause.
"This Spell lets me Special Summon a Normal Monster from my graveyard in Defense Position! Come back, Avian!"
A burst of green light flared as Avian returned to the field, landing in front of Aster before kneeling and crossing his wings protectively.
[Elemental HERO Avian, 1000 DEF]
"Now I activate Polymerization!"
The familiar vortex spun open, pulling both HEROes into its swirling core.
"I fuse Avian and Burstinatrix!"
The fusion light flared blindingly bright.
"Come on! Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer!"
The fusion HERO burst forth in a wave of heat and wind, a muscular figure clad in black and crimson, massive white wings spreading wide. A green feathered mask covered the upper half of his face, a crimson tail swayed behind him, and three blade-like claws extended from his left hand.
[Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer, 2100 ATK]
Zane showed no surprise. He already knew how absurdly flexible the Elemental HERO series was. Both Yumi and Jaden can take the same Avian and Burstinatrix to fuse into multiple different HEROes with different effects.
"Here I go, senior!" Aster called out. "Phoenix Enforcer, attack Cyber Dragon! Phoenix Shoot!"
Despite the name, Phoenix Enforcer didn't fire anything. He surged forward, claws slashing down in a brutal arc, cleaving straight through Cyber Dragon.
The metal dragon shattered in a storm of sparks.
"Sorry, senior," Aster said, confidence creeping into his voice, almost mocking now. "Even though our attack points were equal, Phoenix Enforcer's effect prevents it from being destroyed by battle."
He placed one final card facedown.
"I set one card. Turn end."
The facedown card materialized behind Phoenix Enforcer as Aster crossed his arms.
"My turn. Draw."
Zane drew a card, then extended his hand without hesitation.
"I activate Cyber Serpent's effect, sending the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard."
Three cards slid cleanly into the graveyard slot.
"One of them is Cyberdark Keel. I draw."
He added the card to his hand.
"I set one card. Turn end."
A single face-down card materialized behind the coiling Cyber Serpent.
"My turn. Draw!" Aster snapped, clearly eager to continue his momentum. Without pausing, he placed his card down.
"I summon Sparkman!"
Electricity crackled across the field as the familiar yellow-and-blue HERO emerged, lightning dancing around his armored frame.
[Elemental HERO Sparkman, 1600 ATK]
"Trap card, open. Torrential Tribute."
Zane flipped his face-down card instantly.
"When a monster is summoned, destroy all monsters on the field."
Aster froze. This wasn't the kind of play Zane had been using throughout the Pro League.
"Trap card, open! Elemental Recharge!" Aster shouted, flipping his own card in response. "I gain 1000 Life Points for each face-up Elemental HERO monster I control!"
[Aster, LP 2900 -> 4900]
A massive wave surged across the arena, a roaring tsunami that swallowed every monster whole, Phoenix Enforcer, Cyber Serpent, Sparkman, before vanishing just as suddenly, leaving both fields completely empty.
Upon entering the Pro League, Zane hasn't needed to use much of his traps and tactics he learn in Duel Academy to defeat his opponents, just using his overwhelming attack power style was more than enough.
But since this junior is going to be studying in Duel Academy, Zane decides to let him have a taste of the pain he had to endure during his time studying there.
"Turn end," Aster said through clenched teeth, clearly not expecting Zane to casually wipe the entire field like that.
"My turn. Draw."
Zane drew calmly, like the duel had already been decided.
"Spell card, Pot of Greed, this lets me draw two cards." The familiar green pot cackled briefly before shattering, and Zane added two more cards to his hand.
"Next, I activate the Spell, Painful Choice. I pick five cards from my deck, and you choose one to add to my hand while the other is sent to my grave."
Pulling out his deck, Zane quickly picked five cards.
Cyberdark Horn, Cyberdark Edge, Keeper of Dragon Magic, Alexandrite Dragon, Electromagnetic Turtle.
Aster's eyes flicked across the options only once.
"I choose the Electromagnetic Turtle!" Aster didn't hesitate to pick the monster with 0 ATK and a special graveyard effect.
Zane didn't react. He added Electromagnetic Turtle to his hand and sent the other four cards straight to the graveyard.
"Next, I activate the spell Cyberdark Impact!" Zane played another card in his hand. "With this, I return the Cyberdark Keel, Cyberdark Horn, and Cyberdark Edge in my graveyard back to my deck to fusion summon!"
Dark mechanical shapes rose behind Zane, three snarling, twisted machine dragons roaring as they were pulled together by a vortex of black energy.
"Fusion Summon."
The vortex collapsed violently.
"Cyberdark Dragon."
A massive black metal dragon emerged, wings unfolding as it hovered ominously over the arena, its crimson optics locking onto Aster.
[Cyberdark Dragon, 1000 ATK]
"When Cyberdark Dragon is Summoned, I can target a Dragon monster in either graveyard and equip it to this card," Zane continued coldly. "Cyberdark Dragon gains ATK equal to that monster's original ATK."
Metal claws shot forward, ripping Alexandrite Dragon from Zane's graveyard and locking it onto Cyberdark Dragon's frame like some accessory.
[Cyberdark Dragon, 1000 -> 3000 ATK]
"And Cyberdark Dragon gains 100 ATK for each card in my graveyard."
The dragon roared, power surging through its frame as dark energy rippled outward.
[Cyberdark Dragon, 3000 -> 4300 ATK]
"Battle."
Zane didn't raise his voice.
"Cyberdark Dragon, direct attack."
The black metal dragon unleashed a deafening roar, the shockwave alone rattling the stadium.
[Aster, LP 4900 -> 600]
Aster collapsed to one knee, gasping, barely keeping himself upright. Zane simply flicked his wrist.
"Trap card, Call of the Haunted. This let me bring back a monster in my grave in Attack Position."
His other face-down flipped open, and a spot on his field glowed brightly.
"I revive Cyber Dragon."
The familiar metallic beast surged back onto the field, roaring as if it had never fallen.
[Cyber Dragon, 2100 ATK]
"Cyber Dragon direct attack. Evolution Burst."
Zane didn't hesitate.
The metal dragon's maw opened, energy charging for barely a second before firing straight through the arena.
[Aster, LP 600 -> 0]
The hologram faded, signaling the end of the duel. Yumi turned off his phone shortly after, since the result was obvious.
Zane had won.
Just by existing, Yumi had already caused a butterfly effect large enough to shove fate off a cliff. Zane was supposed to lose this duel, supposed to begin his downward spiral here, eventually handing his Cyber Dragon deck to Syrus.
That clearly wasn't happening anymore.
In the original timeline, losing to Aster was the trigger. Zane fell, went full dark and edgy, picked up the Cyberdark cards, and somehow everyone agreed the heart condition came from "overusing Cyberdark cards". Yumi believes it was actually because of the stress, pressure, and shock collars that led to him having a heart problem.
Now Zane was using Cyberdark cards ahead of schedule and without frying his heart.
Still, this makes Yumi wonder.
How was Syrus even supposed to grow now?
Seeing how so many events that benefited him have changed.
He didn't get the confident push in the duel with Jaden against the Paradox Brothers to learn how to use Power Bond correctly.
Hell Kaiser is buried beforehand, it means later Zane won't give Syrus a shock collar to wear while they duel each other.
And the biggest change, Syrus might not get Zane's deck when his brother has to retire that deck to avoid dying from another heart attack.
"Hmmm," Yumi hummed.
Although the Roid series in this current era isn't exactly weak, it mostly depends on the duelist's own skills to make that deck work.
That was Syrus's real problem. Not his deck. He just has a skill issues.
Speaking of skill issues, Yumi found that his current deck is a bit too strong for others to keep up, which causes the enemy to have to grow even stronger than in the original works just to be able to keep up with him.
And that caused a ripple effect, buffing enemies to the point where other characters couldn't handle them anymore.
Kagemaru was the clearest example. With all the indirect buffs piling up, a straight one-on-one between him and Jaden would probably end with Jaden losing.
Unless plot armor activated at the exact right frame.
And even then, it'd be close.
With his second year starting, Yumi figured it was time to tone things sideways instead of upward. He could try saving up to print busted cards, like the God Cards, the true Legendary Dragons, but there was no point. They were too strong. Overkilling NPCs wasn't interesting.
Evil HEROes crossed his mind, but that was Supreme King Jaden's territory. Stepping into that felt… weird.
Every HERO duelist had a branch.
Aster had Destiny HERO.
Jaden had Neo-Spacians.
Yumi had Masked HERO.
The Supreme King had Evil HERO.
Mixing them all together would work, but it would still look messy.
Then there was that problem.
The Supreme King.
Somehow, everyone who knew about him mistook Yumi for his reincarnation, and Raye for Yubel. Which raised a question.
If Yumi makes a Yubel deck… What would happen when Yubel returned from her cosmic field trip?
Would she see through it? Or would she also believe Yumi was Haou and lose it upon seeing another Yubel at his side?
"Nah," Yumi muttered. "Having a yandere is way too troublesome."
Yubel's effects were strong, sure. But her personality was an absolute nightmare. And he already had multiple demonesses. Switching things up sounded healthier.
Then the idea hit him. And a devilish grin spread across his face.
Midori: "!?"
She flinched at the expression alone. That grin was way too familiar.
Momoyo used to make that exact face right before disappearing to either cause trouble or bully someone into emotional damage.
Midori immediately felt a headache coming on.
As the Kaiba Corp helicopter descended over Duel Academy, both Crowler and Bonaparte rushed out to greet it, fully expecting the President himself to step onto the island.
The door slid open.
"…Yumi?"
"Yumi Uzushi, please don't open the helicopter door like that," the black-suited bodyguard said calmly, already understanding just how much importance the President placed on this particular Slifer Red.
Yumi ignored him completely and jumped. Much to everyone's shock and horror.
Just before he could hit the ground, Dark Law overlaps their body, causing Yumi to strike a superhero landing without suffering any damage.
"Yo, sensei," Yumi said casually, waving at the two still-stunned teachers before heading straight toward the Slifer Red dorm.
Back inside the helicopter, Midori, the bodyguard, and the pilot all sat there in silence, collectively recovering from near-fatal heart attacks.
If something were to happen to Yumi Uzushi, then the President might have their head for it.
Sure, this fall wasn't enough to kill someone, but it would likely crippled many ordinary people.
After a few minutes, they all managed to calm down.
Midori reminded herself that Yumi is the younger sibling of Momoyo Kawakami, and there is nothing normal about that family.
While both the pilot and bodyguard reminded themselves that their President also has a habit of jumping off his Blue-Eye White Dragon jet instead of landing like a normal person.
As Yumi made his walk back, he was abruptly stopped by a large group of freshmen, eager, loud, and visibly confident.
Clearly, many of them still believed Slifer Red was the weakest dorm and easy prey, so they target the strongest Slifer Red.
Yumi smiled.
Seeing so many fresh Spirits Energy Packs delivering themselves to him.
By the time the helicopter fully touched down, Midori, the pilot, and the bodyguard rushed out, only to freeze alongside Crowler and Bonaparte.
The five of them stared. Seeing Yumi dueling ten freshmen at once.
Just as the tenth freshman finished setting her cards, it was finally Yumi's turn.
"Draw."
Yumi drew, smiling as the duel officially shifted into the Battle Phase territory.
"Spell card, Giant Trunade, return all cards in the Spell and Trap zone back to their owner's hand."
A massive cyclone tore through the arena, bouncing every single set card straight back into the freshmen's hands.
"Spell card, Polymerization." Yumi placed another card down without hesitation.
"I fuse Sky Striker Ace - Raye and the Level 10 Tyrant Neptune in my hand."
Both monsters appeared before him, then were pulled into a spiraling fusion vortex.
"Fusion Summon!"
A pillar of flame erupted from the ground, expanding outward into a blazing shockwave that rolled across the entire field.
"Sky Striker HERO - Firefly!"
A towering armored figure landed before Yumi. Raye now wore the Firefly suit, gleaming white armor venting orange flame through its joints. The chest and mask split open slightly, fire spilling out like a thousand fireflies.
"I… shall set the seas ablaze."
Her voice boomed through the suit, distorted, mechanical, deeper, almost masculine.
[Sky Striker HERO - Firefly, 4000 ATK]
Those who simped for Raye were losing it, seeing their armor Waifu now possessed a new suit of armor that turned her into a Kamen Rider.
The open mecha suit is cool and all, but this is even cooler for many.
While the simps were busy simping, the freshmen looked tense seeing their senior just summoned a 4000 ATK powerhouse to greet them.
"When Firefly is Summoned," Yumi said calmly, "we skip directly to the Battle Phase. All monsters are forced into Attack Position."
Panic quickly set in for all the freshmen. As their defensive monsters flipped instantly.
"D-Don't panic!" one freshman shouted. "It's just 4000 ATK! He can't take us all out in one turn!"
Trying to boost the team morale.
"Quickplay spell, Pump Up! Double the ATK of Firefly until the end of this turn." Yumi placed down a card, and Firefly's power rose.
[Sky Striker HERO - Firefly, 4000 -> 8000 ATK]
Every freshman turned to stare at the one who spoke, causing him to feel a bit nervous.
He swallowed.
"I-It's fine! He still can't take us all out in one turn!"
"Firefly can attack all monsters my opponent controls, once each," Yumi added casually.
This caused the other freshmen to turn back at the boy once more.
The silence was deafening.
Good job! You jinxed it!
A monster with 8000 ATK that can attack all the opponent monsters once each is more than enough to kill all of them.
"Battle," Yumi said. "Firefly, attack Celtic Guardian. Complete Combustion."
Flames roared from Firefly's armor, forming massive incandescent wings as glowing embers gathered like living fireflies. She shot into the air, fist blazing white-hot, and crashed down in a flaming arc.
The punch shattered the elf warrior instantly.
[Freshman #1, LP 4000 -> 0]
Firefly shifted her gaze toward the other monsters on the field, flame spreading out from her armor.
[Sky Striker HERO - Firefly, 8000 -> 8500 ATK]
"When Firefly destroys a monster by battle, she gains 500 ATK," Yumi added calmly, though it hardly mattered at this point.
One by one, the remaining monsters fell.
In a single turn.
The ten freshmen suffered a complete and total destruction, not just of their Life Points, but their confidence, pride, and self-image as duelists.
The duel ended far faster than anyone expected.
Their senior, Slifer, had delivered them all a reality check.
Meanwhile, back at the Pro League...
Despite his loss to Zane, Aster stood tall, declaring to the press that he would challenge Duel Academy's HERO users, Jaden Yuki and Yumi Uzushi, to prove who the true HERO duelist really was.
Jaden was excited about getting to duel another HERO user, while Yumi didn't care; he was still too busy focusing on printing new cards.