"Elemental HERO Electrum, summon!"
[Elemental HERO Electrum, ATK 2900]
"When Electrum is successfully Fusion Summoned, all cards banished from the game for both of us return to the deck," Jaden said. "Therefore, all of Youxuan's banished cards are returned!"
Several cards flew out from the vortex of the Different Dimension, streaming back into Youxuan's deck. The deck then shuffled itself automatically.
In truth, as one of Jaden's early quad-fusion aces, Electrum's debut had plenty of flair, but its actual performance in battleoutside of very specific comboswas honestly a bit underwhelming.
That effect to "shuffle all banished cards back into the deck" seemed like something Jaden had "printed" on the spot during his duel with Lyman Banner. Since Banner's ace monster had an attack power determined by the number of banished monsters, Jaden had practically manifested this counter out of thin air.
However, even if one ignored that effect, the threat of summoning Electrum here couldn't be overlooked. Its attack power was 2900, and with the boost from Skyscraper, it could surge to 3900. That was terrifyingly only 100 points lower than the legendary Obelisk the Tormentor, and already higher than the ATK of Youxuan's Black Luster Soldier and Silent Magician.
Youxuan certainly wasn't about to let such a fusion pass through so easily.
"I activate my face-down card!" Youxuan flipped his backrow. "Trap Card: Bottomless Trap Hole! When a monster with 1500 or more ATK is summoned, it is destroyed and banished from the game."
The onlookers were speechless. "..."
Jaden was in the middle of a hot-blooded moment; he had just executed a perfect top deck to perform a quad-fusion and summon a magnificent boss monster.
Even the audience had been swept up in the emotion, anticipating a high-stakes clash of aces. One could almost hear a climactic victory theme beginning to swell in the background.
Then, the opponent didn't even look at the invitation for a grand showdown. With a casual wave of his handBottomless Trap Hole.
The BGM stopped abruptly. The momentum was shattered.
"Well, it certainly fits Youxuan's style..." Alexis said leisurely. "That's just the kind of duelist he is."
"Thus, by the effect of Bottomless Trap Hole," Youxuan said, "Electrum is destroyed and banished."
"Not so fast!" Jaden shouted. "Quick-Play Spell: De-Fusion! I undo the fusion of Elemental HERO Electrum!"
This was one of Jaden's most frequent tactics. In his hands, De-Fusion was a versatile tool used to dodge traps, evade attacks, or follow up for a finishing blow. It was a perfect balance of offense and defense, and Jaden used it often in his duels.
"I cancel Electrum's fusion and Special Summon the set of Fusion Material monsters from my Graveyard!"
Electrum's body erupted in a four-colored radiance, scattering away from the pit of the trap. His form split into four beams of lightearth, water, fire, and windlanding on Jaden's field.
[Elemental HERO Avian, ATK 1000]
[Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, ATK 1200]
[Elemental HERO Clayman, ATK 800]
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF 1200]
"Attack Position..." Youxuan noted.
Of the four low-ATK basic Elemental HEROes, only Bubbleman was in Defense Position. The other three were in Attack Position. Even with the boost from Skyscraper, they couldn't even graze Youxuan's monsters.
He definitely had another plan.
"Next, I activate this card from my hand"
Jaden swung his arm, playing another Spell Card.
"Spell Card: HERO Flash!! I can only activate this by banishing H - Heated Heart, E - Emergency Call, R - Righteous Justice, and O - Oversoul from my Graveyard!"
The four cards spelling out HERO appeared behind him, vanishing into a shimmering golden light.
Youxuan frowned slightly. So, he's using that move.
Jaden had already used E and R in this duel; the other two must have been sent to the Graveyard by an effect. Perhaps they were milled by Card Blocker earlier.
"By the effect of HERO Flash!!, I Special Summon one Elemental HERO Normal Monster from my deck!"
Jaden searched his deck for the only one of the four original vanilla heroes who hadn't appeared yet.
"Come forth, Elemental HERO Sparkman!"
[Elemental HERO Sparkman, ATK 1600]
This was the first time Jaden had used this move, and even his friends weren't familiar with this combo. Syrus couldn't help but wonder, "He summoned all five heroes at once, but even so, their attack power can't break through Youxuan's front line..."
"There's another effect to HERO Flash!!" Jaden explained with a grin. "This turn, all Elemental HERO Normal Monsters on my field can attack the opponent directly!"
The stadium erupted into another wave of excitement.
Direct attacks for everyone?!
The revenge of the vanilla heroes?
In other words, since every hero on the field except Bubbleman was a Normal Monster, the other four could bypass the front line and strike Youxuan directly. If the attacks hit, they would deal a staggering 4600 points of direct damage.
An Elemental HERO One-Turn Kill!
"Go, my heroes!" Jaden pumped his fist. "This is the soul-strike of my favorite heroes! Feel my burning passion, Youxuan!"
The four heroes flew out together, trailing storms of earth, light, fire, and wind as they charged straight for Youxuan!
Silent Magician stepped forward, trying desperately to intercept them and protect her master. However, these heroes were each skilled in their own right. Burstinatrix gave a slight feint, easily bypassing her. Avian flapped his wings and soared over her head, Clayman tunneled through the ground beneath her feet, and Sparkman simply transformed into a formless current of electricity to zip past.
Silent Magician could only look back at her master with a worried, tearful face, as if to say she had tried her best but couldn't stop them...
"I activate my Trap: Guard Barrier!" Youxuan said. "One instance of battle damage becomes zero, and I draw a card from my deck. I negate the attack from Elemental HERO Sparkman."
Sparkman's electricity slammed into a transparent barrier before his eyes and vanished. Youxuan drew a card.
"Heh, you blocked one. But there are three more coming!" Jaden yelled.
Burstinatrix let out a sharp cry, crossing her palms as flames erupted from her hands.
"Then I activate the effect of Kiteroid in my Graveyard," Youxuan said. "While this card is in the Graveyard, once per duel, battle damage from a direct attack becomes zero."
The phantom image of Kiteroid appeared. Burstinatrix's flames washed over the transparent barrier and were neutralized.
"Was that one of the five cards discarded by Take Over 5?" Jaden realized.
"Correct," Youxuan smiled.
Jaden tried to recall. Of the five cards milled, three had now appeared: Magician of Faithfulness, Blade Knight, and now Kiteroid. Two remained unknown.
He shook his head; deep thinking wasn't exactly his strong suit.
"Then I've still got a double-whammy!" Jaden shouted. "Avian and Clayman, direct attack!"
Though they were the weakest of the four, their combined output was still 1800.
[Youxuan, LP 1800]
It was exactly enough to finish him off!
"In that case, the effect of Necro Gardna in my Graveyard," Youxuan said. "By banishing this card from my Graveyard during the opponent's turn, one attack is negated. I negate the attack from Elemental HERO Avian."
Avian's projectile feathers hit a wall and dissipated under Necro Gardna's defense.
"You stopped that too... Then, Clayman's direct attack!"
Clayman charged forward and threw a heavy punch. This time, the attack finally connected. Youxuan raised his Duel Disk to brace himself, swaying and stepping back half a pace from the impact.
[Youxuan, LP 1800 -> LP 1000]
"Finally got a hit in."
Jaden didn't seem discouraged at all by the failed OTK.
"As expected of Youxuan, a truly airtight defense. But now, you've used up most of your survival cards, haven't you?"
"True enough," Youxuan admitted with a calm smile.
"Then I'll set three more cards and end my turn!"
Jaden set three cards in his backrow. After finishing his move, he paused for a moment as if thinking, then looked up.
"Hey, Youxuan... in this duel so far, are you having fun?"
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