"Hah~!" Ace exhaled a heavy breath.
…At this very moment, he might well have been the weakest one on the field.
Even though his Red Dragon Archfiend could clear Nash's monsters through its effect, he had a feeling—no, an instinct… that if that was all he did, Nash would annihilate him in the next turn.
It wasn't foresight. Just a Duelist's intuition screaming at him.
And that was why he needed more power… enough to crush all disadvantage and overturn the situation entirely.
Ace looked down at the card in his hand, then up at his Red Dragon Archfiend. "So lend me your strength, Red Dragon Archfiend! Let's crush them with absolute power!!"
"ROAR!!"
The demonic dragon let out a deafening roar. In the next beat, a crimson flame ignited on Ace's right hand, and a dragon-wing-shaped mark burned into his arm.
The sudden phenomenon stunned everyone present—no one had expected something like this to happen mid-Duel.
Among the crowd, Professor White instantly recognized what was happening. 'The spirit is answering the Duelist's heart... so this is the power of the so-called 'Signer'!' he thought.
At the same time, Ace's childhood friend Lilith Haila clenched her fists. 'So, you're using that power now, Ace…'
On the field, Yuui also realized what was happening—and rather than fear, curiosity flickered in his eyes. He wanted to see just what Ace could do.
Ace placed his burning right hand on his Deck and shouted, "My turn—Draw!!"
As he drew, a fiery dragon's silhouette soared from the Deck, and in that moment, everyone could hear what felt like the beating of a living heart—the Deck itself responding to Ace's will.
He glanced at his drawn card and immediately declared, "I switch Red Dragon Archfiend to Attack Position!"
[Red Dragon Archfiend, DEF: 1000 → ATK: 1500]
"Battle Phase! Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Bahamut Shark! Absolute Power—Domination!!"
"ROAR!!"
The fiery dragon spread its wings and charged, flames surging around its right claw before slamming into Bahamut Shark.
BOOM!!
The blazing strike smashed into the deep-sea ruler, reducing it to ashes in an instant.
Ace raised his hand again. "Red Dragon Archfiend's effect! After it attacks a Defense Position monster, destroy all Defense Position monsters your opponent controls! Demonic Meteor!!"
"ROAR!!"
Red Dragon Archfiend's roar shook the heavens, and countless meteors of flame rained down upon Nash's remaining monsters.
BOOM!!
The flames engulfed the field—Nightmare Shark, which had yet to act since its summon, was obliterated instantly. Yet Nash's expression didn't waver in the slightest.
When the firestorm cleared, only one monster still stood on Nash's field—No.32 Shark Drake.
"It survived!?"
"I thought all Defense Position monsters were supposed to be destroyed! Number cards can't be destroyed by battle with non-Number monsters, but nothing says they can't be destroyed by effects!"
"Could it be… this one can't be destroyed by effects either!?"
"No way… immune to battle destruction and effect destruction? That's insane!"
The crowd erupted in speculation as they watched the Shark Drake stand unscathed amid the flames.
Nash finally spoke in a cool tone. "The effect of Left-Hand Shark—when used as Xyz Material for a WATER monster, that Xyz Monster cannot be destroyed by card effects."
Everyone turned to see the faint phantom of a steel shark hovering before Shark Drake—it was unmistakably Left-Hand Shark.
"So that's it… he's protected his Xyz Monster using the material's effect," Ace muttered, his burning eyes showing no hint of retreat—only fiercer determination.
He revealed the card he had drawn. "But it doesn't matter. My goal is already achieved! I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Assault Mode Zero! I tribute one Synchro Monster I control; then, Special Summon one monster from my hand whose name includes that Synchro Monster's name, treated as its Burst Mode form! I tribute Red Dragon Archfiend to Special Summon—Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode!!"
BOOM!!
Hellfire erupted, engulfing Red Dragon Archfiend. Yet instead of being destroyed, its body was reforged—dark red armor plating itself across its form, a demonic visage emerging upon its chest.
When the flames faded, a far more terrifying version of the dragon stood on the field.
Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode—descend!
[Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode] Level 10│DARK│Dragon│3500 ATK│2500 DEF
"This… it evolved!? What even is Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode!?"
"I've never seen it either! This is my first time even seeing a Synchro Monster today!"
"I've read about it! Some Synchro Monsters can awaken through a Trap Card called Burst Mode, allowing them to evolve into their ultimate forms—those monsters always have '/Burst Mode' in their names!"
"Wait, that was a Quick-Play Spell he used, wasn't it?"
"Maybe it has the same effect as the Trap version—I've never seen one before either!"
"For just a class match, and now we're seeing a Burst Mode monster for the first time!? Where's this Duel even going!?"
Ace blocked out all the noise. His eyes burned solely with the desire to win.
And this time, his target wasn't Nash. With Shark Drake unaffected by both battle and effect destruction, attacking Nash would be meaningless.
No—the true prey now was Alicia's (Yuui's) field of HEROES.
"Since Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode was Special Summoned during the Battle Phase—it can attack again! Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode, attack Elemental HERO Flame Wingman! Ultimate—Absolute Power Domination!!"
...
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