"It was [Exchange]?"
Homar never would have expected that the boy before him—who looked dignified and righteous—would open the duel by pulling something this underhanded.
Among the five cards in his opening hand, there were clearly other A-rank rare Spell Cards that would have been far more useful to Miles.
Yet Miles had unwaveringly chosen to take the one card that was the least useful to him—[Left Leg of the Forbidden One].
Homar said sternly, "That's a dueling style devoid of knightly spirit."
"All's fair in war, Your Highness."
Miles wasn't foolish. Knowing full well that his opponent's Deck revolved around Exodia's alternate win condition, no matter how rare or powerful a Spell Card might be, it couldn't compare to the value of removing even one of Exodia's five pieces.
Right now, as long as Miles firmly held onto the [Left Leg of the Forbidden One] he had obtained through Exchange, Homar would be totally unable to achieve Exodia's victory.
"And there's one more thing that needs correcting. While it may be a duel lacking knightly spirit, it's a very heroic one!"
After the hand exchange, Miles flipped open a Normal Spell Card he had Set in advance in the back row.
"—Spell Card, activate [A Hero Lives]!"
[If you control no face-up monsters, you can activate this card by paying half your Life Points. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower 'Elemental HERO' monster from your Deck.]
This was the Deck Miles had chosen to face Homar's Exodia strategy.
At this moment, within the Spirit Eyes on Miles's arm, the blazing 'H' symbol representing the Hero burned fiercely.
Even though Ren had been forced to stay behind at the academy to attend classes, the spirit of the Hero was conveyed to Miles through the power sustained by the Millennium Puzzle.
As an aside, the card Miles had sent over when activating [Exchange] was none other than the most classic overworked monster of the HERO Deck—[Elemental HERO Avian].
[Miles, LP: 4000 → 2000]
Using half his Life Points as the cost to Special Summon an Elemental HERO from his Deck—even though he was left with only 2000 LP on the very first turn—against an Exodia Deck focused on rule-based victory, the remaining Life Points seemed far less meaningful than usual.
Pulling a Dark HERO card from his Deck, Miles immediately performed a Special Summon.
"Come forth, Hero! Special Summon in Defense Position—[Elemental HERO Shadow Mist]!"
[Elemental HERO Shadow Mist] Level 4│DARK│Warrior│1000 ATK
In an instant, black mist spread throughout Dragon Ravine. Leaping out as she materialized, the sexy heroine Shadow Mist hovered above the empty canyon battlefield.
"When [Elemental HERO Shadow Mist] is successfully Special Summoned, its effect activates!"
[If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 'Change' Quick-Play Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.]
"I add the Quick-Play Spell [Mask Change] from my Deck to my hand, then Set one card. Turn end!"
Having finished his sinful opening turn, the final Set card was clearly the Quick-Play Change Spell searched by Shadow Mist's effect.
And most importantly, the [Left Leg of the Forbidden One] was still clenched in Miles' hand.
"My turn, draw!"
As the second turn began, Homar—who had already lost one of Exodia's five pieces before even truly starting the duel—let the golden eyes that symbolized royalty grow intensely focused.
"Miles, you don't actually think that losing one of the five cards means Exodia has lost its combat capability, do you?"
"Isn't that the case?"
"How naive!"
Drawing a card from his hand, Homar slammed a Monster Card forward into the vast canyon.
"I Normal Summon [Right Arm of the Forbidden One] in Defense Position!"
[Right Arm of the Forbidden One] Level 1│DARK│Spellcaster│200 ATK
As one of Exodia's five components, [Right Arm of the Forbidden One] had indeed been part of Homar's opening hand as well.
It was just that when Miles activated [Exchange] on the first turn, he chose to take the Left Leg rather than the Right Arm. In truth, it made no difference which one he took.
"He summoned an Exodia piece directly?"
Homar's summoning choice this turn left the onlookers stunned.
Everyone knew that Exodia's special victory condition required all five pieces to be assembled in the hand. Summoning one to the field should, by all logic, be meaningless.
And a lone arm summoned by itself even looked a bit ridiculous.
"Now I'll let you witness another way the strongest Exodia can fight!"
As the light of a tribute flashed past, Homar flung out the card he had just drawn this turn.
"I Tribute the [Right Arm of the Forbidden One] on my field. Using one of the 'Forbidden' cards as a guide, awaken the slumbering summoning god! Special Summon—[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate]!"
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate] Level 10│DARK│Spellcaster│? ATK
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. Must be Special Summoned by Tributing 1 'Forbidden' monster you control.]
The legendary Exodia descended in a way Miles had never anticipated.
Its massive body, wreathed in demonic flames, instantly occupied half of the Dragon Ravine's cliffside.
"To think Exodia, a strategy centered on rule-based victory, could take the field and fight in this form?"
By Tributing a Level 1 sealed component to directly summon a Level 10 monster—this was the other combat method Homar had spoken of.
Facing the colossal form blazing with scorching demonic fire, Miles could already tell that this duel would not simply be a boring affair of watching the opponent draw nonstop.
"[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate]'s effect! This card is unaffected by other cards' effects, and its Attack increases by 1000 for each 'Forbidden' monster in my Graveyard!"
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate, ATK: ? → 1000]
It possessed full immunity to all card effects, while also being able to increase its Attack based on the number of 'Forbidden' monsters in the Graveyard.
The Right Arm that had just been Tributed and sent to the Graveyard provided The Legendary Exodia Incarnate with 1000 Attack.
"Just 1000 isn't nearly enough, Homar!"
The [Elemental HERO Shadow Mist] on Miles's field was in Defense Position with 1500 Defense. With only 1000 Attack, The Legendary Exodia Incarnate couldn't break through it.
Of course, Miles also knew that Homar had a follow-up prepared.
After all, the cards in Homar's opening hand had already been fully revealed to Miles's last turn.
"Then—Spell Card [Painful Choice]!"
[Select 5 cards from your Deck and reveal them to your opponent. Your opponent chooses 1 card to add to your hand, and the remaining cards are sent to the Graveyard.]
"There it is!" Just as Miles had expected, to further raise the Attack of [The Legendary Exodia Incarnate], Homar naturally needed to load the Graveyard.
And there was no A-rank forbidden Spell Card more convenient for filling the Graveyard than [Painful Choice].
Homar revealed the five cards he had selected from his Deck to Miles.
[Left Arm of the Forbidden One]
[Right Leg of the Forbidden One]
[Exodia the Forbidden One]
And two Monster Cards—[Treasure Panda].
Sure enough, among the five cards revealed by [Painful Choice], three were 'Forbidden' monsters.
No matter which 'Forbidden' monster Miles chose to add to Homar's hand, the other two would be sent to the Graveyard, allowing The Legendary Exodia Incarnate to gain an additional 2000 Attack.
The plan was perfect.
However, what Homar never expected was that this time, the one who would suffer from [Painful Choice] was not his opponent—but himself.
Miles waved his hand and flipped up his Set card. "I chain to [Painful Choice]—I activate the Quick-Play Spell I Set, [Mask Change]!"
[Target 1 'HERO' monster you control; send it to the Graveyard, then Special Summon 1 'Masked HERO' monster from your Extra Deck with the same Attribute as that monster.]
"I send [Elemental HERO Shadow Mist] to the Graveyard! Henshin—Dark Armor, full coverage!"
Jet-black armor wrapped around Shadow Mist's sensual body, then instantly sealed together, transforming her into a Masked HERO of darkness.
"—Special Summon [Masked HERO Dark Law]!"
[Masked HERO Dark Law] Level 6│DARK│Warrior│2400 ATK
[This card can only be Special Summoned with the effect of 'Mask Change'.]
Using [Painful Choice] to fill the Graveyard and increase the Attack of [The Legendary Exodia Incarnate] was, in itself, a perfectly sound tactic.
Homar's mistake was failing to account for the fact that Miles already knew he was holding [Painful Choice] in his hand.
Making full use of all known information and adopting the optimal counter-strategy was basic duelist discipline for Miles.
You want to use [Painful Choice] to load the Graveyard?
Then you'll have to ask whether the hero approves.
"This is the effect of [Masked HERO Dark Law]!"
[While this card is in the Monster Zone, any card that would be sent to your opponent's Graveyard is banished instead.]
All of the opponent's Graveyard-loading actions were shut down, replaced by a friendship-ending effect that banished every card instead of sending it to the Graveyard.
Well… heroes don't really need friends anyway.
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