Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Heroes

"When Lijin is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add a Normal Spellcaster-type monster from my deck to my hand."

Since Kagurazaka was using a replica of the Duel King Yugi Mutou's deck, the Normal Spellcaster he'd choose was obvious—

The Dark Magician, of course!

As Kagurazaka added the ace of his replica deck to his hand, Yuuya, now without any monsters left to attack, ended his Battle Phase and transitioned to Main Phase 2. He flipped over a face-down card by his left foot:

"Spell Card — Substitute Fusion! I fuse Elemental HERO Liquidman and Elemental HERO Gaia on my field!"

Unlike standard Polymerization, which depicts a swirling fusion vortex of a demon and dragon, this unheard-of fusion card manifested its artwork beyond the card itself — a dazzling sight that captivated the onlookers around the dueling arena, all peering at the glowing magic circle above the card.

"Power of freezing fury — Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!"

Following Gaia, Yuuya summoned yet another HERO born from the extreme force of the elements.

Clad in white armor and a white cape, Absolute Zero stood silently. The sheer cold emanating from him froze the surrounding air, covering everything within several meters in a white frost — instantly discouraging anyone from approaching.

(Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, Level 8, ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000)

"Just like Gaia, he's part of the same line of elemental fusion HEROES!"

"To summon him, I need one monster with 'Elemental HERO' in its name and one WATER-attribute monster as fusion materials."

After clarifying the connection between Absolute Zero and Gaia, as well as his summoning conditions, Yuuya pulled three cards from his Graveyard: Gaia, Liquidman, and the Spell Card Substitute Fusion, which was used for the fusion.

"Liquidman's effect — when he's sent to the Graveyard as fusion material for a 'HERO' monster, I can draw two cards, then discard one."

"Substitute Fusion's secondary effect allows me to banish it from the Graveyard, then return a Fusion Monster in the Graveyard to the Extra Deck, and draw one card."

With that, Yuuya drew three cards in total. After a moment of choosing, he discarded one, set another in his Spell/Trap Zone, and ended his turn. The turn then passed back to Kagurazaka.

"My turn — draw!"

Kagurazaka looked at the Spell Card he drew — illustrated with a female spellcaster launching an attack — and smirked, pressing the activation button on his set card.

"Quick-Play Spell — Magical Dimension! I tribute Spell Knight – Defender on my field to summon the most beloved disciple of the greatest magician—Dark Magician Girl!"

The chained coffin of magical power burst open, swallowing Defender into its depths. Seconds later, the coffin reopened — and out stepped a cute, vibrant girl in pastel colors.

She had long, wavy golden-blonde hair, and soft white skin, and wore a striped pink-and-blue conical magician's hat. Her outfit featured a blue, off-the-shoulder bustier attached to a pink mini-cape, a pink skirt, a yellow choker with a red gem, and blue wrist guards and boots with pink trim.

In her hand was a blue magic staff — a long rod topped with a round orb and a spiraling disc-shaped head.

She was the first waifu card for most duelists around the world—

Dark Magician Girl!

"Whoa! That's my wife—uh, I mean, Dark Magician Girl!!"

"That legendary card! Said to only be owned by the Duel King Yugi Mutou himself — a one-of-a-kind in the world!"

"…"

Her entrance instantly ignited the beach. The crowd's cheers were louder than anything summoned by Yuuya's new HEROES earlier.

As if she heard the students' excited shouts, Dark Magician Girl turned slightly, smiled sweetly at the crowd, and struck a cute pose — a peace sign by her left eye.

Accompanied by her sparkly (ゝω)☆ wink, nearly every male student on the beach collapsed to the ground in sequence — one thump after another.

AWSL! (Internet slang for "Aa I'm dead, it's too cute!")

"...Yare yare daze~"

Watching the guys fall one by one under her charm, Yuuya covered his face with one hand, shaking his head with a helpless smile.

"Even though she's a replica card, 'Onee-chan' still loves giving cute little responses to her fans!"

'Ehehe~!'

As if hearing Yuuya's inner monologue, Dark Magician Girl pulled her hand back, winked at Yuuya, and stuck out her little pink tongue while holding her staff with one hand. (´◡‿ゝ◡`)☆

Completely unfazed by the chaos around him, Kagurazaka continued the duel with a cold expression. He pointed at one of Yuuya's monsters and stated:

"Magical Dimension has another effect — after Special Summoning a Spellcaster-type monster, I can destroy one monster on the opponent's field."

The magical coffin shut tight once more. A moment later, a black magical laser shot out from the chest-like center of the coffin, aimed directly at Masked HERO – Bedrock, the warrior who could lower his power to strengthen allies during battle!

"Boom!"

The once-unshakable pillar of battle, Masked HERO – Bedrock, was utterly shattered into fragments by the magical blast from the coffin.

"But I'm not done yet! From my hand, I activate Dark Magician Girl's signature spell card—Dark Burning Attack!"

This wasn't just the name of Dark Magician Girl's classic attack move—it was also her exclusive power-enhancing spell card.

Empowered by her personal magic, Dark Magician Girl flashed a helpless smile toward Yuuya. Then, without hesitation, she swung her wand in his direction—

A pinkish-purple magical energy bomb shot out from the swirling head of her staff at high speed!

"So you're going to destroy my monster? Then yours isn't getting out of this alive either!"

"What?!"

Under Kagurazaka's confused gaze, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero suddenly crouched down. White mist poured from his fists as he slammed them into the ground with a loud "boom."

Before Kagurazaka could fully shift from confusion to shock, the freezing mist surged toward Dark Magician Girl at lightning speed, giving her no chance to react. The frost met her magic blast head-on—both attacks colliding at the same moment.

One attack blew its target to pieces—shattering her into a pile of frozen shards!

The other froze its victim to the absolute zero—turning her into a beautiful ice sculpture, still charming enough to make someone cry "AWsl!" (Aaaa I'm dead, it's too cute!)

Kagurazaka and Yuuya's monster zones were now completely empty.

But just then, two cards flared up from Yuuya's field—one with a magenta border (Trap Card), the other green (Spell Card). The area around him shimmered as if wrapped in a crystal-clear stream of water.

"Trap Card—Emergency Battle Line! And the second card: Quick-Play Spell—Mask Change!"

Author's Notes:

In the original anime, Kagurazaka uses a replica of Yugi's deck to battle Judai (Jaden), and their duel lasted about one and a half episodes. That was partially because the Yugi deck was slightly stronger than Jaden's HERO deck at the time, but also because Kagurazaka's mimicry of Yugi's playstyle was spot-on, and his draw luck was exceptional. If you gave that deck to someone else, it'd be like drawing three Blue-Eyes White Dragons with no Polymerization—a bricked hand.

So why does Kagurazaka seem underwhelming in this story compared to the anime?

The simple reason: his opponent is the protagonist.

Compared to Kagurazaka, the MC (Main Character) has overwhelming advantages—more information, better strategy, higher raw power, and superior draw luck. That's why his performance doesn't feel as impressive as it did in the show.

My Personal Power Level Breakdown for Duel Academy Duelists So Far (based on time progression):

Slifer Red students: Level 1–5

Ra Yellow students: Level 6–10

Obelisk Blue students: Level 11–15

People like Misawa (Bastion), Asuka (Alexis): Level 20–25

Judai (Jaden Yuki): Solo tier, around Level 30

Ryo Marufuji (Zane Truesdale): Solo tier, around Level 40

Protagonist (MC): Solo tier, Level 50

(These ranks consider: deck strength, card combo mastery during duels, and draw luck.)

So during the Seven Stars/Three Sacred Beasts arc, the MC is practically mini-boss tier.

In 1v1 battles, against duelists Level 30 and below, the MC basically dominates or even auto-wins! Only Ryo can push him to a draw, and Jaden can at least force him to work for the victory.