The thunderous cheers echoed throughout the duel arena. This level of enthusiasm was completely beyond what Slade and Jaggar had anticipated.
"Chazz… that kid's even more popular than we expected…"
Back on the duel field, after Setting two cards, Jaden was feeling extremely uneasy.
With only 1600 LP left, even though Armed Dragon LV3 only had 1200 Attack, any additional monster with 400 Attack would be enough to wipe out his remaining LP.
And more importantly, the monster had "LV" written right in its name. Even without fully understanding the special nature of LV monsters, Jaden could instinctively tell that its level would likely increase.
Yet the closer he was pushed to the brink, the more excited he became.
"Come on, Chazz!"
"I don't need you to tell me that!"
TURN.3
"My turn, draw—Standby Phase! Armed Dragon LV3's effect activates. During my Standby Phase, I can send this card on the field to the Graveyard to activate its effect. I Special Summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my hand or Deck. I Special Summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my Deck!"
After surviving Jaden's turn, the Armed Dragon LV3 on Chazz's field evolved into a far more powerful form.
"Even if it starts off weak, as long as it's tempered by time, it can grow stronger. That's my new ace—Armed Dragon!"
"I enter the Main Phase. I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards."
"Next, I activate the Normal Spell Level Up!. I send a face-up monster on my field with 'LV' in its name to the Graveyard to activate this effect. I then Special Summon the monster listed on that card from my hand or Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions. Let Armed Dragon LV5 evolve once more—appear, Armed Dragon LV7!"
The once-again-evolved Armed Dragon appeared on Chazz's field, but his momentum didn't stop there. Instead, it surged even higher.
"I activate Graceful Charity! I draw three cards, then discard Ojama Green and Ojama Black from my hand."
"Don't think it ends here. I Tribute the Armed Dragon LV7 on my field to Special Summon Armed Dragon LV10!"
A massive red-and-black Dragon clad in armor, its jaw so impressive even certain dark monsters would envy it, and its body bristling with countless blades, roared as it descended onto Chazz's field.
"Armed Dragon LV10… so cool… That's amazing, Chazz!"
Seeing Chazz's new ace reach its final form, Jaden shouted excitedly.
Rubbing his temple in exasperation after being rendered speechless yet again by Jaden, Chazz yelled, "Are you an idiot, Jaden…?"
"This is the monster that's going to crush you!"
"I also Normal Summon Armed Dragon, the Armored Dragon. I enter the Battle Phase! Armed Dragon LV10, attack him directly! If you have a set card, use it now!"
"I actually do! I flip my set card, Counter Gate~ This card can be activated when your opponent declares a direct attack. That attack is negated, and I draw one card. If the card I draw is a monster, I can Normal Summon it in face-up Attack Position."
"Oh, I saw Alexis and Youmi use it once in their duel earlier, and it looked pretty good, so I added it too~ Anyway, Armed Dragon LV10's attack is negated, and I draw one card!"
Placing his hand on the Deck, Jaden drew with force. As Counter Gate opened, what emerged to block Armed Dragon LV10's strike was—
Jaden glanced at the card he had just drawn and slammed it onto his Monster Zone in Attack Position. "Alright! I summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier! This is a brand-new HERO I picked up today!"
This kind of spur-of-the-moment deck modification might turn into a brilliant surprise—or a fatal oversight leading to defeat. Chazz hadn't expected Jaden to be so bold. "You actually changed your long-standing Deck on the very day of the duel? That really is your style, Jaden."
"Because it felt like Solid Soldier was calling out to me, of course, I had to answer."
"I activate Solid Soldier's effect. When this card is Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower HERO monster from my hand. I Special Summon Elemental HERO Stratos from my hand in Defense Position."
"Next, Stratos's effect activates—I add Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier from my Deck to my hand~"
"Just how lucky can you get? But… you're going to regret that your set card wasn't Waboku! Armed Dragon, the Armored Dragon, attack his new monster!"
Even without a Duel Disk that could display the opponent's monster effects, Chazz's instincts as a duelist told him that leaving this monster on the field would only make things worse. He immediately ordered Armored Dragon to strike.
[Jaden, LP: 1600 → 1000]
Chazz swept his right arm forward, whipping up a storm crackling with lightning in front of him. "Solid Soldier, destroyed! This card's effect activates when it destroys an opponent's monster by battle. I can Special Summon one Level 5 or lower WIND Dragon monster from my hand or Deck, except Armored Dragon. That monster can't attack directly this turn. I Special Summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my Deck!"
From within the storm emerged a second Armed Dragon LV5.
"It can't attack directly, but it can attack monsters. Crush that Stratos!"
The newly arrived Armed Dragon LV5 lunged forward, knocking down Jaden's Stratos. At the same time, a faint glow signaling its impending evolution flickered across its body.
Noticing this, Jaden muttered to himself, "That glow… Could it be that destroying a monster is the condition for Armed Dragon LV5's evolution?"
"Main Phase 2. I Set three cards and end my turn!"
"End Phase—after being tempered enough, Armed Dragon LV5 will evolve once more. During the End Phase of the turn, it destroys a monster by battle. I can send this card on the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon Armed Dragon LV7 from my hand or Deck. So, Jaden, can you break through my Armed Dragons?!"
"That's something I won't know unless I try~ Anyhoo, I'm not going to let you end your turn so easily. During the End Phase, I flip my set card, Necro Fusion!"
"The fallen HEROes' indomitable souls are reborn here! Its effect lets me banish the Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion Monster from my Graveyard face-down, then Fusion Summon that monster from my Extra Deck. The monster Special Summoned by this effect can't attack this turn, but that's more than enough!"
Chazz watched Jaden flip the card without much surprise. "I see. So this was part of your plan too?"
"The material requirements are Elemental HERO monsters plus a WIND monster. I banish Bubbleman and Stratos from my Graveyard as Fusion Materials and Fusion Summon the storm-riding hero—Elemental HERO Great Tornado!"
A tempest no less fierce than the Armed Dragons swept across the field, and a new Elemental HERO clad in a black cloak appeared.
"I activate Elemental HERO Great Tornado's effect! When this card is Fusion Summoned, all monsters on your field have their Attack and Defense halved! That weakens all of your Armed Dragons!"
Looking at his now-weakened Armed Dragons, Chazz frowned. "Did destroying Stratos end up triggering a disadvantageous setup instead?"
TURN.4
"My turn, draw. I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards… then I activate Terraforming to search Fusion Gate from my Deck, and activate it immediately!"
Skyscraper gradually faded away, replaced by an entirely new field.
"I Normal Summon Liquid Soldier. Liquid Soldier's effect activates. When this card is Normal Summoned, I can target one Level 4 or lower HERO monster in my Graveyard, except Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier, and Special Summon it. I Special Summon Solid Soldier from my Graveyard!"
"So the monster you just searched has such a complicated effect?"
With the two monsters assembled, the field around Jaden began to glow.
"I activate Fusion Gate's effect. While this card remains on the field, the turn player can banish Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion Monster from their hand or field to Fusion Summon that monster from the Extra Deck."
"I banish Elemental HERO Solid Soldier and Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier. The material requirement is Elemental HERO monsters plus an EARTH monster. Fusion Summon the earth-shaking hero—Elemental HERO Gaia!"
A massive hero clad in jet-black armor with luxurious golden lines descended from the sky and slammed into the ground. If it were a fully materialized monster, the impact alone would have made the earth tremble.
"Elemental HERO Gaia's effect activates!"
"When this card is Fusion Summoned, I target one face-up monster on your field. Until the end of this turn, that monster's Attack becomes half its current value, and this card's Attack increases by the same amount. I target Armed Dragon LV10!"
"At the same time, I activate Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier's effect. When this card is used as Fusion Material for an Elemental HERO Fusion Monster and is sent to the Graveyard or banished, I draw two cards, then discard one card from my hand."
"Not so fast! I activate the Quick-Play Spell Level Down!?"
"I target one monster on the field with 'LV' in its name. Return that monster to its owner's Deck, then Special Summon one lower-level LV monster with that monster's name in its text from the owner's Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning conditions. Come back—Armed Dragon LV5!"
Jaden sent one card from his hand to the Graveyard, then declared the Battle Phase.
"Battle Phase! Great Tornado attacks Armed Dragon, the Armored Dragon!"
"I flip my set card, Dark Factory of Mass Production. I send one monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard to draw one card. I send Armored Dragon from my field to the Graveyard and draw one card!"
"Then Great Tornado attacks Armed Dragon LV7—Ultimate Typhoon!"
Before the typhoon could strike, Chazz flipped another set card right away.
"When you declare an attack, I flip my set card—the Continuous Trap Ojama Pajama!"
[Chazz, LP: 1600 → 400]
"Ugh! Because of Ojama Pajama's effect, when one of my Armed Dragon monsters or a LIGHT Machine Fusion Monster I control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish one Ojama card from my hand, field, or Graveyard instead. I banish Ojamagic!"
After banishing Ojamagic from his Graveyard, Chazz pressed another button on his Duel Disk.
"As long as I activate Ojama Pajama's effect during your Main Phase 2, I can search Ojamassimilation from my Deck and discard Ojama Yellow… In that case, next turn you'll be facing my XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"
Cold sweat beaded on Chazz's forehead as he worried whether Jaden still had another play.
"But that's something you can only do on your next turn, isn't it?"
"What?!"
"I'm saying this duel should end right here~ I activate the Quick-Play Spell Flash Fusion!"
"I send Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion Monster from my field to the Graveyard, then Fusion Summon that monster from my Extra Deck. The monster Fusion Summoned by this effect is destroyed during the End Phase. Chazz, since you've shown me your brand-new ace, I'll show you my brand-new Elemental HEROes too!"
"The material requirement is an Elemental HERO Fusion Monster plus one or more Warrior monsters! I use Elemental HERO Gaia and Elemental HERO Great Tornado as materials—Fusion Summon! These are the HEROes I admire and love! Fusion Summon—Wake Up Your Elemental HERO!!!"
Fusion light exploded into a cascade of brilliant colors, filling the entire field. Countless Elemental HEROes—and even HERO Kid, who isn't technically a "HERO"—stood behind Jaden, all fighting together as a single monster.
"Wake Up Your Elemental HERO's original Attack is 2500, but it gains 300 Attack for each monster used as Fusion Material, and it can attack up to the number of Fusion Materials used! Go, Wake Up Your Elemental HERO! Attack that Armed Dragon LV5 with 2400 Attack! This is our HERO's shining moment!!"
Watching Wake Up Your Elemental HERO charge forward in a blaze of dazzling light, Chazz tightened his grip on the Swift Scarecrow in his hand and raised his head. "So in the end, I still wasn't good enough…"
"This duel is your win, Jaden! But remember this—I, Chazz Thunder, will strike back with even greater force! I, my Armed Dragons, and Light and Darkness Dragon will crush you someday!"
In response to Chazz's declaration of a rematch, Jaden clenched his fist and extended it toward him. "Yeah! I won this duel, but let's keep having fun duels like this from now on, Chazz!"
As the two made this promise, the Seven Stars Gate Key that Chazz still hadn't returned to Jaden glowed brilliantly in his pocket.
Almost imperceptible sparks of electricity flickered across the Armed Dragons.
[Chazz, LP: 400 → 0]
...
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