At first glance, the current field seemed unfavorable for Hikaru Tenjo.
Judai Yuki held four cards in hand and had a monster with 2400 ATK on the field.
Hikaru had five cards in hand, only a lingering Token on the field, and one set card.
But everything changed the moment Hikaru activated his Spell Card.
Blazing flames surged around him. Everyone familiar with the card and Hikaru's tactics couldn't help but cheer. The long wait was over—now came the counterattack!
"Continuous Spell Card—Flame Swordsman Domain! By sending one face-up monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard, I can Fusion Summon one 'Flame Swordsman' from my Extra Deck as a Fusion Summon. I send Proto-Cyber Wolf from my hand to the Graveyard—Fusion Summon!
Come forth, Flame Swordsman!"
BOOM!
The flames roared higher, and a gallant warrior strode forth from the blaze.
"Haha! Finally, it's my turn to shine!"
Flame Swordsman, Level 5, FIRE, Warrior, ATK 1800.
"No Fusion Materials needed—just a direct summon... It's here!"
"Tenjo's Fusion Deck!"
Fusion Club erupted in cheers.
"And I'm not done yet! I activate another Continuous Spell—Neo Future Fusion! This card has two effects that can be used once per turn! First, I reveal a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck—Labyrinth Battle Tank! Then I send Cannon Soldier from my Deck to the Graveyard. For the rest of this turn, I can't Special Summon or activate the effects of Cannon Soldier.
Next, I activate Neo Future Fusion's second effect! Once per turn, I can banish monsters from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon one DARK Machine Fusion Monster!"
"I banish Cannon Soldier and Proto-Cyber Wolf—Fusion Summon! Labyrinth Battle Tank!"
Back again—reliable little tank!
Labyrinth Battle Tank, Level 7, DARK, Machine, ATK 2400.
"Whoa! ATK ties with Thunder Giant!"
Tenjo looked to his set card.
The card he'd set last turn was Burning Chain—Blazeflame, an Equip Spell that could increase ATK. Activating it now would deal more damage… but he chose not to.
Dueling was about interaction and strategy. His hand had been dry on monsters for a while, but he hadn't rushed. He believed dismantling an opponent's setup methodically was the best tactic.
If he were using his deck from his old world, he'd be going all out with Branded Fusion and Miracle Fusion, overwhelming the field with power. But here, his Super Polymerization only gave him Fusion and Fusion Monsters, without any of the Destiny HERO or Branded support. He had to play smarter.
"Battle!"
"Both monsters have equal ATK!" Judai grinned. "You going to flip your set card?"
"No need! Labyrinth Battle Tank, attack! And I activate Flame Swordsman Domain's second effect! Once per turn, when a Warrior attacks, I can reduce one Warrior's ATK by 1000 and increase the ATK of all other monsters I control by 1000 until end of turn!"
Flame Swordsman ATK: 1800 → 800Labyrinth Battle Tank ATK: 2400 → 3400
"Over Thunder Giant!"
Judai braced himself, shielding against the blast.
"And now—Flame Swordsman, attack directly!"
Judai LP: 5000 → 4000 → 3200
"A solid counterattack." Watching from the stands, Ryo Marufuji—'Kaiser'—nodded subtly.
As the top duelist of his generation and someone who had once defeated Judai, he understood his style. Judai seemed reckless, but every move was calculated.
You could never underestimate Judai.
You had to corner him step by step, exhaust his resources, then strike in a flash—just as Tenjo was doing.
Especially now… Judai had grown even stronger than before.
Tenjo wiped sweat from his brow. This was the excitement he'd missed—the pure thrill of dueling.
In his own world, dueling had become routine. Either you ran uninterrupted combos against a defenseless opponent, or you surrendered as soon as they did. This, this back-and-forth, was something else entirely.
Pure joy.
And Judai wasn't even in his final form yet!
"End of turn. My monsters return to their original ATK."
Judai, inspired, drew his next card with renewed fire.
"I knew it… against you, I have to use this card!"
"Oh?"
"Back in the alternate dimension, it was your use of this card that turned the tide. That's when I realized—you think further ahead than I do." He beamed. "Now, I finally get to face you head-on!"
"I activate the Spell Card—Miracle Fusion!"
"Miracle Fusion?"
"Seems like he got the idea from Tenjo?"
Even Tenjo was surprised. "Where'd you get that?"
"Pulled it from one of Aunt Tome's packs. Lucky, right?"
So unfair. So filthy rich. So disgustingly blessed…
Tenjo could barely afford bread.
"Using Miracle Fusion, I banish Avian and Wildheart from my Graveyard—Fusion Summon!"
"Graveyard Fusion!"
"Definitely learned from Tenjo!"
"Fusion Summon—Elemental HERO Wild Wingman!"
Wild Wingman, Level 8, EARTH, Warrior, ATK 1900.
"Avian… that was the card discarded last turn for Thunder Giant's effect," Tenjo noted.
"Wild Wingman's effect—discard 1 card to destroy a Spell or Trap on the field! I target your set card!"
"I activate it in response—Burning Chain—Blazeflame! I equip it to Flame Swordsman! Then, it lets me flip one Effect Monster face-down—I target Wild Wingman!"
"Fine by me!" Judai grinned. "Wild Wingman, let's go!"
Flames and feathers clashed mid-air—Wild Wingman exploded into a burst of feathers, disrupting the chains, but was ultimately flipped face-down.
"Just as I thought. You chose defense over damage, just like when you stopped me from using Mirror Force."
"Hah! Not bad, Judai. You're learning fast."
"And now, with your defense down…" Judai's eyes gleamed. Behind him, a black-winged Avian spirit nodded firmly.
"I activate Field Spell—Fusion Gate!" The duel disk's field zone lit up as the battlefield turned black, green grids flickering across its surface.
"I fuse—Elemental HERO Wildheart, face-down on the field, and a second Avian from my hand!"
A second Avian.
That dark, brutal spirit emerged again, fusing with the monster on the ground.
"Fusion Summon—come to my side, my old friend… Elemental HERO Tempest!"
A violent tornado consumed the field. Students clung to railings. Skirts whipped skyward as shrieks echoed across the arena.
Through the gale, a weathered warrior stepped forward, cloak flaring, eyes sharp.
Elemental HERO Tempest, Level 8, WIND, Warrior, ATK 2800!
"Tempest's effect—when Fusion Summoned, all opponent's monsters' ATK and DEF are halved!"
Flame Swordsman: 1800 → 900Labyrinth Battle Tank: 2400 → 1200
"Whoa! That's powerful!"
"At 5000 ATK, anyone would bow!"
"Battle! Tempest, attack Flame Swordsman!"
Tempest spun, slicing through the weakened warrior with a fierce kick. Flame Swordsman shattered—and yet Tempest looked at Tenjo, waved lightly, and didn't strike him.
Tenjo LP: 4000 → 2100
"Hah! I end my turn!"
Tenjo rubbed his shoulder. Despite the flair, that Avian was still soft-hearted—not hitting him hard at all.
But now, his pride as a duelist had been fully ignited!
He drew his card, glanced at it… and burst out laughing.
"Judai, I admit you've gotten better since then… but when it comes to Fusion—I'll never lose!"
"This will be the final turn!"