"My turn—Draw!!"
As Yuui drew his card, an even stronger magical aura than Ace's erupted from her body. Feeling that power, Ace sharply turned his head toward Yuui, and Nash's gaze also grew heavy and serious.
"That's… Great Magician-level magic power!?" Ace muttered in disbelief.
For all his arrogance, Ace understood well the difference between a Magician and a Great Magician.
Even outside a Duel, in pure magic combat, a Great Magician could temporarily manifest Duel Monster spirits to physically strike him.
As for a mere Magician like himself, he could only counter with simple magic like Fireball… and couldn't even cast defensive magic yet, since that required reaching the Great Magician tier.
So now it made sense… Alicia (Yuui) must have dared to challenge them both at once because she possessed Great Magician-class magic!
However…
Ace's expression hardened again as he focused on her. 'If you think being a Great Magician alone means you can easily defeat me… then you're underestimating me too much!'
Under Ace's oppressive glare, Yuui remained fully unfazed—it didn't affect her in the slightest.
Yuui glanced at her hand, then waved her Duel Disk. "First, I activate the Spell Card Fake HERO! I can Special Summon one monster from my hand whose name includes 'Elemental HERO.' That monster cannot attack, and returns to my hand at the End Phase. I choose this guy—Elemental HERO Bubbleman!"
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF: 1200]
"Elemental HERO!? So it's a HERO Deck?" Nash raised an eyebrow. HERO decks weren't exclusive to the Bredt Kingdom—even the Chaos Empire had them; they were quite popular worldwide.
Yuui continued, "Bubbleman's effect! When this card is Summoned—Normal, Flip, or Special—and I control no other cards, I can draw two cards from my Deck!"
Two cards slid from her Deck. Alicia peeked at them, and her eyes lit up. "Yuui-san, that card's effect is—!!"
"Yeah, perfect timing!" Yuui smirked, pulling out one of the new cards. "I activate the Spell Card HERO's Bond! When I control a monster whose name includes 'HERO,' I can Special Summon two Level 4 or lower Elemental HERO monsters from my hand! I choose Elemental HERO Avian and Elemental HERO Prisma!"
[Elemental HERO Avian, ATK: 1000]
[Elemental HERO Prisma, ATK: 1700]
HERO's Bond—one of the rarer Spell Cards in the Elemental HERO series. Alicia had spent a decent amount of gold coins—twenty, to be exact—at the Academy Card Shop to get it.
"Next, I activate Prisma's effect! Once per turn, I can reveal one Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, then send one of its listed Fusion Materials from my Deck to the Graveyard. Until the End Phase, this card's name becomes that of the sent monster. I reveal Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, and send one of its Fusion Materials—Elemental HERO Burstinatrix—to the Graveyard! Prisma's name becomes Burstinatrix until the End Phase!"
As Yuui sent the card to the Graveyard, flames engulfed Prisma's body, and the shadow of Burstinatrix enveloped him.
[Elemental HERO Prisma (as Burstinatrix), ATK: 1700]
"Bubbleman, Avian, Prisma, and Burstinatrix…" Ace recited the names of Yuui's HERO monsters aloud, his eyes filled with disappointment. "Even if one of them's rare, if that's all you've got, then no matter how strong your magic is, you can't beat me!"
"Heh, don't be so sure!" Yuui chuckled lightly and drew another card. "After all, the main act always comes last! I Normal Summon—Elemental HERO Stratos!"
The roar of turbines echoed through the arena. Both Nash and Ace turned toward the sound—neither had ever heard of such a HERO before.
A blue-and-white armored hero descended, with a sleek jet pack of twin turbines extending from his back.
[Elemental HERO Stratos, ATK: 1800]
"Elemental HERO Stratos—a HERO I've never seen before! A brand-new HERO?" Ace exclaimed. As a commoner, he'd admired the HERO archetype once too, owning a few cards himself. But this was his first time hearing of 'Stratos.'
And in the next instant, he understood this new HERO's power.
"Stratos's effect activates! When this card is Summoned—Normal or Special—I can add one HERO monster from my Deck to my hand! I add Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier!"
"An effect that searches any HERO monster… that's a core ability for HERO decks! And that new HERO, Liquid Soldier… I've never heard of that one either. What kind of effect does he have?" Ace muttered in awe.
Around them, the students of Saint Fusion Academy couldn't help voicing their amazement.
"In such a short time, Alicia's already summoned four HEROES… and except for Avian, each one's a rare HERO!"
"Still, even if she's got all those HEROES out, it won't mean much without Fusion, right?"
"That's true, but… let's see what she does next. Someone of her skill wouldn't make pointless moves!"
As Yuui stood with four HEROES at her side, the crowd's astonishment grew. They had never seen Alicia's deck flow so smoothly before—had she actually gotten stronger?
Regardless, what mattered more to Yuui wasn't the crowd's reaction—it was something else.
Yuui: "Alicia, did you hear what your classmates just called you?"
Alicia: "Hm? Called me? Weren't they just saying my name?"
Yuui: "Exactly. They're calling you by name now. Not as the 'Nameless One' anymore."
Hearing that, Alicia finally realized what Yuui meant.
Yuui: "Haha, looks like during this time, everyone's started to subconsciously accept you. But we still have to keep working hard. Before long, everyone will be cheering for you!"
Hearing Yuui say that, Alicia inevitably pictured the scene in her mind, her face flushing scarlet with excitement.
"Then, let's keep pushing forward!" With that thought, Yuui drew out a card and declared, "I activate the Spell Card R - Righteous Justice! I can destroy a number of Spell and Trap Cards on the field equal to the number of Elemental HERO cards I control. I currently have four Elemental HERO monsters on my field, so I can destroy four Spell or Trap Cards! Heroes—destroy all the Set Cards that might stand in your way!!"
The moment he said this, Ace and Nash both stiffened in shock, while the watching students immediately understood Yuui's strategy.
Summoning multiple HEROES in succession had just been a setup—the true purpose was to clear away Ace and Nash's Spell and Trap Cards. Especially Ace's three face-down cards, which looked particularly dangerous.
At once, the four HEROES unleashed their power together—bursts of water, flame, wind, and light striking out toward Ace and Nash's back rows.
Seeing this, Ace knew he had to act now or never. "I activate my face-down card—the Trap Card No Entry!! All Attack Position monsters on the field change to Defense Position!"
A wave of invisible force swept over the field, in a flash, forcing all monsters into Defense Position.
[Red Dragon Archfiend, ATK: 3000 → DEF: 2500]
[No.32 Shark Drake, ATK: 2800 → DEF: 2100, Xyz Materials: 3]
[Bahamut Shark, ATK: 2600 → DEF: 2100, Xyz Materials: 1]
[No.47 Nightmare Shark, ATK: 2000 → DEF: 2000, Xyz Materials: 1]
[Elemental HERO Avian, ATK: 1000 → DEF: 1000]
[Elemental HERO Prisma (as Burstinatrix), ATK: 1700 → DEF: 1100]
[Elemental HERO Stratos, ATK: 1800 → DEF: 300]
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF: 1200]
Everyone watching was puzzled—why would Ace turn all monsters to Defense Position? His own turn was coming up next. Wouldn't this just prevent him from dealing damage?
Nonetheless, Yuui, who knew Red Dragon Archfiend's effect, immediately understood Ace's plan.
He smiled and said, "I see now. By turning all monsters to Defense Position, you can trigger Red Dragon Archfiend's effect—when it attacks a Defense Position monster, it destroys all Defense Position monsters your opponent controls.
"That means, as soon as you attack any of our monsters, every monster on both my and Nash's fields will be wiped out. Even Nash's Number monsters, which can't be destroyed by battle, can still be destroyed by effects. Quite the clever tactic!"
The Saint Fusion Academy students who didn't know Red Dragon Archfiend's effect gasped in surprise. They all looked at Ace's fiery dragon, realizing just how powerful that move was.
One single card could turn all monsters to Defense Position, then use Red Dragon Archfiend's ability to annihilate every opponent's monster—including even the seemingly invincible Number monsters. It was a devastating strategy.
Even Nash couldn't help glancing toward Ace in astonishment—he hadn't expected that reckless boy to have such a dangerous tactic prepared. Though he had ways to protect some of his monsters, saving all of them was another story.
Among the crowd, the white-haired girl Lilith Haila frowned in concern. She hadn't expected that golden-haired girl to know Red Dragon Archfiend's effect. The Duel Dragons were the pride of the Axel Republic, and their effects were almost entirely classified knowledge—known only to the upper echelons of each nation.
The last time a Duel Dragon had appeared at Saint Fusion Academy was decades ago, and even then, it hadn't been Red Dragon Archfiend. Lilith had assumed no one here would recognize its power.
And yet this blonde girl had just revealed it outright. Could she be a noble from the Bredt Kingdom's upper circles?
On the field, Ace's expression darkened at being seen through, though he gritted his teeth and retorted, "So what if you know Red Dragon Archfiend's effect? All your monsters are in Defense Position now—you can't change their positions. When my turn comes, your monsters will all bow before the power of my dragon!"
"Is that so? We'll see about that!" Yuui raised his hand once more. "R - Righteous Justice's effect continues! I destroy the remaining three face-down cards on Ace and Nash's fields!"
With that, three of Yuui's HEROES (excluding Bubbleman) unleashed another wave of attacks, shattering the last of Ace and Nash's set cards.
Ace's destroyed Traps were Lineage of Destruction and Synchro Strike—the first would have let his Level 8 Synchro Monster attack again if a Defense Position monster was destroyed, and the second would have boosted that Synchro Monster's Attack by 500 points per Synchro Material used.
The spectators quickly pieced together Ace's original plan.
He had intended to activate No Entry!! during Yuui's End Phase, forcing all monsters into Defense Position. Then, on his turn, he would switch Red Dragon Archfiend back to Attack Position, destroy any Defense Position monster, trigger its effect to wipe Yuui's and Nash's monsters, then use his two Traps to grant his dragon another attack and boost its Attack to 4000.
With an empty field before him, he would have crushed both opponents easily. It was a risky but brilliant strategy—a one-turn sweep if it worked.
Regardless, risky it was. If either Yuui or Nash had a card capable of destroying Red Dragon Archfiend, Ace's plan would have backfired disastrously.
Still, the payoff was huge—one successful strike could end the Duel in his favor.
The audience then turned their eyes to Nash's destroyed Trap—Torrential Reborn. Its effect allowed him to Special Summon all WATER monsters destroyed and sent to the Graveyard that turn, then inflict 500 damage to the opponent for each one.
If Ace had gone through with his original plan, not only would he have failed to clear Nash's monsters, but he'd have taken effect damage himself!
Realizing this, Ace's expression turned grim.
"You two really are strong… but I'm stronger!" Yuui grinned. "Alright, now that the traps are cleared—it's time to continue!"
He drew a card and placed it into his Duel Disk's Field Zone. "Field Spell—Fusion Gate, activate!!"
A dark vortex engulfed the arena, shadows swirling beneath Yuui's feet as her golden eyes gleamed red—like the gaze of a sovereign.
...
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