"Because I got 1 head, I can destroy the Elemental HERO Absolute Zero on your field! At the same time, the Continuous Trap Proton Blast is triggered, dealing 500 Life Point damage to you!"
Flaming gun smoke pierced through the icy air, shattering Absolute Zero's crystalline armor.
[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero destroyed]
[Jaden Yuki LP 3700 → 3200]
"Now's the moment! Absolute Zero's effect activates—Freezing the World!"
With Jaden's furious declaration, frost erupted across the ground in an instant, sweeping through the entire courtyard and sealing the surroundings in a frozen wasteland.
[Absolute Zero Effect: If this card leaves the field: Destroy all monsters your opponent controls.]
An absolute destruction effect that triggered the moment it left the field.
Whether it was sent to the Graveyard, banished, or even returned to the Deck, Absolute Zero's final words would always activate. That was exactly why Jaden chose this card to counter Clara.
"Because of Absolute Zero's effect, all monsters on your field are destroyed!"
That was why Hoshino said Clara had fallen into the trap. Even if she summoned new monsters, they would still be wiped out by Absolute Zero's effect.
The frozen Desperado Barrel Dragon and Madolche Chouxvalier were completely encased in ice—and shattered together as Absolute Zero left the field.
"You're the one who got tricked, Judai!"
The familiar sound of mechanical gun barrels clashing echoed once more. The Desperado Barrel Dragon that should have been frozen and shattered suddenly broke free from the ice, once again taking the field.
"It wasn't destroyed?" Hoshino shook her head in denial. "No… it was destroyed. Which means the one on Clara's field is—"
"The second copy! When a DARK Machine monster on my field is destroyed, I can Special Summon this from my hand—Desperado Barrel Dragon, the second unit!"
[Desperado Barrel Dragon ATK 2800]
"That's amazing, Miss Clara!" Mash exclaimed excitedly.
"It really is impressive," Hoshino agreed.
With this level of strength, even in the professional circuit, Clara could dominate almost anyone—unless she ran into top-tier duelists like Jonouchi or Aster.
"She really is getting stronger," Aster said with a wry smile. "Even I've been struggling when I duel her lately."
Achieving this level of power with such an unusual combination—Madolche mixed with Barrel Dragons—was enough to embarrass some professional duelists.
"This is the power Keith left me!" Clara narrowed her eyes slightly as she placed her final Barrel Dragon onto the Duel Disk and declared an attack.
"Let's go, Jaden! Desperado Barrel Dragon, direct attack—Triple Revolver Burst!"
Three gunshots rang out. Since this second Desperado Barrel Dragon hadn't activated its coin-toss effect, it was free to launch a direct attack.
The impact of the solid-vision duel blasted Jaden backward, sending him crashing onto the frozen grass behind him.
[Jaden Yuki LP 3200 → 400]
"Ow, ow, ow… That attack really hurts," Jaden groaned as he struggled back to his feet.
Ending her Battle Phase, Clara placed her final card onto the Duel Disk.
"I set one card. Turn end!"
[Clara's: 0 Hand | 2 Set Card]
"Jaden doesn't have any monsters on the field again… This is really tough," Mash murmured.
"It's over," Aster concluded. "Given the limits of an Elemental HERO deck, if my sister's set card is that one, Jaden Yuki has no way to win."
"No—don't jump to conclusions," Hoshino countered. "If I'm right, the seed of hope Jaden's been nurturing since the opening turn is about to bloom."
Aster raised an eyebrow. "A seed of hope?"
"The miracle I believe in—the one heroes always answer to! My turn! Draw!"
As Jaden drew his final card, his HERO power surged to its absolute peak.
"It's here—IT'S HERE!! I activate the Spell Card—O - Oversoul!"
[O – Oversoul – Spell Effect: Target 1 "Elemental HERO" Normal Monster in your GY; Special Summon that target.]
"Come back! Avian, from my Graveyard!"
[Elemental HERO Avian ATK 1000]
Bathed in the blazing light of the O-shaped symbol, the Normal Monster Avian returned to the field from Jaden's Graveyard.
"Senpai, from the very first turn, Jaden's been activating these… strange letter cards, hasn't he?"
"They're not strange letters at all," Hoshino replied. "From beginning to end—everything Jaden's used… has been HERO."
["(°Д°) W-wait—why did Jaden's execution theme suddenly start playing?!"]
Jaden crossed his arms and struck a powerful HERO stance. Behind him, rotating images replayed the spirit of heroism that had run through the entire duel since the opening move:
H – Heated Heart
E – Emergency Call
R – Righteous Justice
O – Oversoul
"Watch closely—H·E·R·O. When combined, this is the radiance of a true hero!"
Jaden played the last card in his hand. Behind him, the four letters that represented HERO aligned in a single row, blazing with blinding light.
"—I activate the Spell Card Hero Flash!!!"
[Hero Flash!! – Spell Effect: Banish "H – Heated Heart", "E – Emergency Call", "R – Righteous Justice" and "O – Oversoul" from your GY; Special Summon 1 "Elemental HERO" Normal Monster from your Deck. All "Elemental HERO" Normal Monsters you currently control can attack your opponent directly this turn.]
"Burn brightly! By the effect of Hero Flash, I Special Summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix from my Deck!"
[Elemental HERO Burstinatrix ATK 1200]
"And this turn, the Elemental HERO Normal Monsters on my field can attack the player directly!"
"Hero Flash?!" Aster exclaimed in shock.
Even he had only heard rumors of this HERO card before. With such harsh activation requirements, Aster would never consider including it in his own Deck.
Restrictions on par with Exodia—only a duelist like Jaden, who truly embodied the spirit of HERO, would ever use a card like this.
Mash cried out excitedly, "Jaden has two Elemental HERO Normal Monsters on the field—Burstinatrix and Avian! If they skip Revolver Dragon and attack directly, that's a total of 2200 ATK!"
Clara immediately activated a card in response.
"You want to bypass Revolver Dragon and attack directly? I won't let you get away with that! I activate my Set Trap—Wild Tornado!"
[Wild Tornado – Trap Effect: Target 1 face-up card in the Spell & Trap Zone; destroy that face-up card.]
A violent tornado erupted on her field as Clara deliberately chose her own Continuous Trap.
"By the effect of Wild Tornado, I destroy my Proton Blast! And when Proton Blast exists in my Graveyard, Revolver Dragon gains one chance to treat all three coin tosses as Heads!"
This was the Set card Aster had mentioned earlier—the perfect combo with Proton Blast, allowing Clara to guarantee three Heads.
Even if Jaden summoned a third Normal HERO, the moment he entered the Battle Phase, Revolver Dragon's triple-shot effect would wipe them out before they could attack.
Pointing at Jaden, Clara declared, "This is my full power, Jaden! Show me the HERO strength that's different from Aster's!"
"So close…" Aster said regretfully. "The seed of hope Jaden planted from the very start—Hero Flash—still can't break through the barrier my sister set up."
"Aster," Hoshino said calmly, her eyes fixed on Jaden's field—especially the final Set card in his back row. "The seed of hope Jaden planted from the very beginning wasn't just H·E·R·O."
Jaden shouted, "Elemental HERO—if what you saw earlier was the power of HERO, then now witness the power of the elements! I activate my Set Trap—Magistery Alchemist!"
[Magistery Alchemist – Trap Effect: Banish 4 "HERO" monsters from your GY and/or face-up field, then target 1 "HERO" monster in your GY; Special Summon it, ignoring its Summoning conditions.]
Jaden removed four cards from his Duel Disk and banished them. Brilliant elemental energy gathered on his field.
"I banish Burstinatrix and Avian from my field, and Bubbleman and Clayman from my Graveyard! I Special Summon Elemental HERO Sparkman from the Graveyard!"
[Elemental HERO Sparkman ATK 1600]
"And when Magistery Alchemist banishes all four attributes—Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth—its additional effect activates!"
Fire — Burstinatrix
Wind — Avian
Water — Bubbleman
Earth — Clayman
[If you banished EARTH, WATER, FIRE, and WIND Attributes to activate this effect, the monster's original ATK becomes doubled, also negate the effects of all face-up cards your opponent currently controls.]
"Grasp it, Sparkman—this blade forged from the Magistery Alchemist!"
[Sparkman ATK 1600 → 3200]
Elemental power erupted, instantly sealing the effects of Clara's Revolver Dragon.
"This ends it! Sparkman's ATK has doubled—and as a Normal Monster, he can attack directly thanks to Hero Flash!!!"
Wrapped in lightning and wielding the blade of the elements, Sparkman surged forward in a streak of blinding light—
"This is the strike of my soul!—Elemental HERO Flash!!!"
The blade of the Magistery Alchemist pierced through Revolver Dragon and cleaved straight toward Clara, delivering Jaden Yuki's finishing blow.
[Clara LP 3000 → 0]
[Duel End]
[Winner: Jaden Yuki]