Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Heroes

"…I end my turn."

Looking at You Ye's Life Points, which had only dropped by 100, Kagurazaka glanced at the last card in his hand and could only announce the end of his turn with a hint of helplessness.

"My turn—draw!"

"I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity. I draw three cards from my deck, then discard two from my hand."

He examined the three cards drawn by Graceful Charity, then glanced at the two cards he got earlier from Bubbleman's effect, as well as the one card he had been holding since the beginning.

Six cards in total—causing the flag of victory to shine brightly in You Ye's heart.

'Let me be the one to write the conclusion of this duel!'

Decision made, You Ye discarded two cards into the Graveyard. But before doing so, one of them needed to be revealed for Kagurazaka to see.

"The Effect Monster Executioner – Demon Asura. According to its effect, during the turn it's sent to the Graveyard, I can activate one Trap Card directly from my hand—only once!"

Kagurazaka nodded in acknowledgment as he looked at the fiendish-looking monster that was, in fact, a Warrior-Type.

Executioner – Demon Asura, like "Monster Reborn," "Painful Choice," and "Foolish Burial," was a Limited Card—you could only run one copy of it in a deck.

This card's effect only activates when it's sent to the Graveyard. For that turn only, and only once, you're allowed to activate a Trap Card from your hand. That's its effect—and the reason it's classified as a Limited Card alongside some of the most powerful spells in the game.

"Thanks to Asura's effect, I activate the Trap Card Masked by Damage from my hand! This lets me ignore summoning conditions and Special Summon a 'Masked HERO' Fusion Monster from my Graveyard. The only drawback is that it'll be destroyed during the End Phase of this turn."

A surge of blue water shot out from You Ye's Graveyard—the return of Masked HERO Mist, who had been destroyed in battle by Dark Magician earlier.

"Mist not only has the resistance to card effects that prevent him from being destroyed, but once per turn, he can also return one card on the opponent's field back to the hand."

"Nani?!"

Monster, Spell, or Trap—it didn't matter! And it wasn't destroyed or banished either—it just bounced back to the hand? What kind of busted effect is that!?

As everyone stared in disbelief, the resurrected Mist locked eyes with the Dark Magician who had previously taken him down. He hurled his twin-tipped spear with force, slicing through the air like a meteor—and by the time anyone could react, the spear had already pierced through Dark Magician's chest!

"Wha…"

Watching Dark Magician revert into card form and return to his hand, Kagurazaka stared at the card now clutched in his left hand, the unease in his heart growing as he swallowed nervously.

He still had 3000 Life Points left and only Dark Magician Girl with 2000 ATK on the field. Normally, Kagurazaka would feel confident he could survive one more turn. But facing this opponent called "Kamishiro You Ye," he couldn't shake the feeling that… his next turn might never come.

"Don't worry. Mist's bounce effect comes with a huge drawback too."

Sensing Kagurazaka's concern, You Ye casually waved his hand in reassurance.

"And that is—he can't attack for the rest of this turn. So your Dark Magician Girl won't be defeated by him."

As soon as he said that, Kagurazaka visibly relaxed a little, thinking that since he wouldn't be KO'd this turn, he still had a chance to draw and turn things around next turn.

In response, You Ye decided to give him a thrill akin to riding a drop tower in an amusement park—the sensation of rising hope followed by sudden despair.

"I summon in Attack Position—Elemental HERO Blazeman!"

Another new HERO!

But by now, everyone was somewhat desensitized. Although they were still curious about each new HERO's debut, they no longer shouted in excitement like before.

(Flameman: "I show up late and don't even get a single round of applause! Tragic—")

"Flameman's effect activates! I can send one 'Elemental HERO' monster from my deck to the Graveyard, and until the end of the turn, Flameman's ATK, DEF, and Attribute become the same as the sent HERO monster!"

As You Ye selected a card and sent it to the Graveyard, a golden figure appeared behind Flameman on the field—its arms extending into blade-like arm guards.

It was Elemental HERO Bladedge, a monster Jaden had used in a tag duel with Shou (Syrus) just about two weeks ago.

"Bladedge has the highest individual attack power among the 'Elemental HERO' monsters in the Main Deck, so I included one copy in mine. It's not just for its piercing damage when Special Summoned, but also for Flameman's 'Power Inheritance' effect right now!"

As the golden silhouette of Bladedge merged into Flameman's body, the flames surrounding him shifted from orange to blazing gold, and his massive fists ignited in roaring fire!

(Elemental HERO Flameman, Level 4, ATK: 1200 → 2600, DEF: 1800, Attribute: FIRE → EARTH)

"Impressive! But even with all that, he can only deal 600 points of battle damage. Once it's my turn again, his stats will return to 1200—he'll just be a sitting duck!"

Kagurazaka swallowed hard and spoke with a slightly nervous tone. Mist couldn't attack, and Flameman would weaken next turn—he believed he still had a chance!

However, that shred of hope was instantly shattered when You Ye activated a Spell Card:

"I target Mist and activate the Quick-Play Spell—Form Shift!"

Part of the "Masked HERO" archetype, Form Shift is the counterpart to Mask Change. While the latter transforms a HERO into a same-Attribute Masked HERO, Form Shift allows a HERO Fusion monster to change into a different type of Masked HERO of the same level—perfectly matching the idea of a "form shift."

"I return Mist to the Extra Deck and Special Summon Masked HERO Radiance from my Extra Deck!"

If FIRE has Masked HERO Brute Blaze, WATER has Masked HERO Mist, and EARTH has Masked HERO Rock Solid, then naturally, other Attributes also have their Level 6 Masked HERO Fusion monsters.

The one summoned now—Radiance—was the evolved form of a Level 4 LIGHT-Attribute Masked HERO that hadn't yet appeared in You Ye's deck until this moment.

"Radiance's effect: Once per turn, I can target one face-up monster on my opponent's field. For each level that monster has, Radiance gains 100 ATK!"

Currently, Kagurazaka has only one monster left on his field: Dark Magician Girl, who is one level below her master, at Level 6.

So Radiance's ATK becomes:

(Masked HERO Radiance, Level 6, ATK: 2200 → 2800, DEF: 1000)

2800 - 2000 = 800.

And Flameman, who had inherited Bladedge's stats for this turn, had 2600 ATK.

That was a combined total of 5400 damage—400 more than Kagurazaka's remaining 3000 LP.

With the coordinated assault from the two HERO monsters, the young magician girl was completely outmatched. She couldn't protect her temporary master and suffered the same fate as her teacher—sent back into the deck as the battle ended.

P.S. The various "Masked HERO" cards appearing in this story—aside from those already existing in the official OCG—are DIY custom creations based on manga-style cards.

End of Chapter