Kagemaru clenched his teeth so hard his jaw trembled. Rage churned under his skin, hot, ugly, impossible to swallow, as he replayed the last few seconds of Yumi's play. The operation. The single attack. And he'd nearly been erased.
If only he hadn't set down that card, he might really have been OTK'd like Yumi's other victim, who also believed that it's just one attack, how bad can it be?
"My turn…" Kagemaru growled. His hand hovered over the top of his deck, each word dripping with venom. "Draw!"
He ripped the card free like he wanted to tear the entire duel apart with it. "I activate Fallen Paradise and draw two cards."
Two more cards slid into his grasp, and the flicker of relief in his eyes quickly hardened into determination.
"First, I discard a trap and revive Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"
A trap card hit his graveyard, and the ground rumbled. Flames rose, twisting upward in a spiraling column.
"Quickplay Spell, Effect Shut!" Yumi snapped, flipping a card on his field. "When you activate a monster effect, I can negate it and destroy that monster."
The pillar of fire stuttered, sputtered, and vanished like a candle in a storm.
Kagemaru's lip curled. "Tch…"
His fury simmered as he raised another card. "Then by discarding a card, I activate the Equip Spell, D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation!"
Purple circuitry lit up across the field as a spatial rift tore itself open.
"With this, I can bring back a banished monster of mine!" His voice boomed through the open field. "Return to my side, Chaos Summoning Beast!"
The black demon beast stepped out of the rift, silent and unsettling.
[Chaos Summoning Beast, 0 ATK]
"Now," Kagemaru continued, voice rising, "I tribute my Chaos Summoning Beast to Special Summon Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, from my hand!"
He slammed a card onto his Duel Disk. Azure lightning cracked downward, warping the very air as the blue demon erupted into being, towering over the field.
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, 4000 ATK]
"And I switch Hamon to attack position."
[Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, 4000 ATK]
A predatory smirk twisted Kagemaru's face as he raised his Duel Disk high. "Now I banish the trap Sacred Beast Calling from my graveyard! If all three Sacred Beasts are in my field or graveyard, I can add a card that mentions a Sacred Beast from my deck to my hand!"
A trap popped out before disappearing. Yumi instantly recognized this was the same ability as his, the power that all the Yu-Gi-Oh's Bosses have, the power to print cards.
Sacred Beast Calling never existed in the original works nor in real life.
Kagemaru pulled a card from his deck with a flourish. "I add Raviel, Lord of Phantasms – Shimmering Scraper to my hand!"
"And now, by discarding it, the Raviel on my field has its ATK doubled and can attack all your monsters once each until the end of the turn!"
The towering demon bellowed as blue aura exploded around its massive frame.
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, 4000 -> 8000 ATK]
"Battle!" Kagemaru roared, thrusting his hand forward. "Raviel, destroy those weaklings!"
Raviel lunged, claws sweeping in brutal arcs. Shining Blaze Wingman shattered under the first strike. The second followed instantly, annihilating the rest of Yumi's monsters in a single sweeping assault.
"Card Trooper's effect," Yumi said steadily. "When it's destroyed, I draw one card."
He drew smoothly, unshaken.
"And Inferno's effect. When he's destroyed, I can add a Spell from either graveyard to my hand."
A card flew from Kagemaru's grave straight into Yumi's waiting palm. "I'll take Painful Choice."
Seeing Yumi's field wiped clean, Kagemaru let out a low, dark chuckle.
"Go, Hamon, direct attack!"
The thunder demon roared, launching a bolt of divine lightning straight at Yumi.
"Quickplay Spell, The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!" His other face-down card flipped open, and he pulled out a card from his deck. "I Special Summon Winged Kuriboh in defense position!"
Yumi slapped the card down. A puff of brown fur materialized, a Kuriboh with two small white wings.
[Winged Kuriboh, 200 DEF]
The thunderbolt struck it head-on, the creature exploding in a crackle of sparks.
Kagemaru snapped, seeing that Yumi had survived again.
"Tch! Why won't you DIE already!?"
"Why don't you look into a mirror and ask that same question?" Yumi fired back, realizing that this bastard really, really, really wants him dead.
But it's understandable; the Light of Destruction has been the enemy of the Gentle Darkness since the beginning of time. With him claiming to be Darkness, of course, Light would want him dead.
And despite Kagemaru being juiced up on three Sacred Beasts and Light's power… Yumi still felt like the bigger threat.
Kagemaru spat the words out through clenched teeth. "Turn… end."
Raviel's monstrous aura dimmed, its power sinking back to its baseline.
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, 8000 -> 4000 ATK]
"My turn, draw!" Jaden slid the top card off his deck, eyes narrowing as he checked what he pulled.
"I activate Monster Reincarnation! By discarding a card, I can add a monster from our grave to my hand." Jaden sent a card in his hand to the grave before his gaze shifted toward his AIBO.
A card popped out from Yumi's grave as he threw it toward Jaden.
The jellyfish-haired boy caught it with a confident smirk before continuing.
"Since this is the only card in my hand… I Special Summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman!"
A surge of rising bubbles filled the field as the blue hero emerged.
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, 800 ATK]
"Bubbleman's effect! Since I control no other cards, I draw two cards!" Two fresh cards slid into Jaden's hand.
Kagemaru instantly lifted a hand. "Raviel's effect! When you Summon a monster, I can Special Summon a Phantasm Token!"
A small demon materialized at the feet of the towering Sacred Beasts.
[Phantasm Token, 1000 DEF]
Jaden didn't react.
"I activate the Spell, Metamorphosis." He placed down the card. "I transform Bubbleman into Neo Bubbleman!"
Bubbleman's form shifted and tightened, evolving into his new shape.
[Elemental HERO Neo Bubbleman, 800 ATK]
"Neo Bubbleman's effect, since he's summoned while I control no other cards, I draw two more."
Another pair of cards slid into his hand. Another small demon appeared.
[Phantasm Token, 1000 DEF]
"I activate E–Emergency Call! I add an Elemental HERO from my deck to my hand." Jaden searched quickly. "I'll add Blazeman."
He placed the newly-added card down. "I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Blazeman!"
The fiery-armored warrior appeared.
[Elemental HERO Blazeman, 1200 ATK]
"Blazeman's effect adds Polymerization to my hand!"
And with the arrival of his third HERO, a third token appeared, completely filling Kagemaru's monster zones.
[Phantasm Token, 1000 DEF]
"Spell card, Polymerization! I fused my Elemental HERO Blazeman and my WATER monster Neo Bubbleman!"
Both heroes jumped into the swirling vortex and merged.
"Fusion Summon!"
Frost quickly spread through the field, as cold wind gathered around them.
A warrior in gleaming white armor with a long white cape stepped forward; he landed, causing ice to spread from the ground.
"Come forth, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!"
[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, 2500 ATK]
Kagemaru's eyes narrowed, recognizing that Yumi also has an Absolute Zero. "So you have one of Darkness's cards too…"
Jaden looked at the two cards left in his hand, then set one down. "Spell card, Fusion Deployment!"
The Spell formed on his field as he revealed a card from his Extra Deck. "By showing Elemental HERO Wildedge, I can Special Summon one of his materials from my deck or hand!"
He pulled his deck out and placed a card down. "I Special Summon Elemental HERO Bladedge!"
The golden warrior appeared, staring down the demons.
[Elemental HERO Bladedge, 2600 ATK]
"AIBO," Jaden said, looking over at Yumi with a sincere smile. "Thank you for always looking out for us. I haven't been a great help to you… but now let me carry some of this with you."
Then he set his final card. "I activate the Equip Spell, Favorite Hero!"
Yumi's eyes widened slightly as Absolute Zero gained a glowing golden aura. Favorite Hero, part of the archetype made to honor Jaden's legacy.
Yumi remembers printing his own Favorite Hero, but he didn't print one for Jaden, and he knew that Favorite Hero couldn't be opened in card packs, meaning Jaden had actually used his own power to print out cards.
"...Aibo, where did you even get that?" Yumi asked.
Jaden shrugged with a clueless grin. "I don't know. I just drew it."
Yumi: "..."
It seems that Jaden has just accidentally printed this card out without even knowing it. Thinking back, Yumi suspects that Jaden, after hearing that he was killed, grew enraged and accidentally used the power of the Supreme King, and printed this card by accident.
But now is not the time to think about that.
"Battle!"
Entering the Battle Phase, the ground around them shook, and the once dead and dying land suddenly shook as tall skyscrapers and buildings rose all around them.
"When I enter my Battle Phase, Favorite Hero lets me activate a Field Spell from my deck! I activate Skyscraper!"
With a different field spell activated, the Fallen Paradise disappeared.
"If I control a Field Spell, Favorite Hero increases Absolute Zero's ATK by his DEF!"
[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, 2500 -> 4500 ATK]
"Absolute Zero! Attack Raviel!"
Ice spread across the battlefield as Absolute Zero slammed his fist down, sending a wave of freezing ice spikes toward the blue demon.
With Fallen Paradise gone, Kagemaru's Sacred Beasts have lost their protection against opponents' card effects.
Kagemaru's face darkened, since Absolute Zero was also in Yumi's deck, so he knew about Absolute Zero's effect.
If Absolute Zero died, he'd wipe the entire board.
If Absolute Zero lived, he'd become a massive threat.
Either option was bad.
Yumi Uzushi is already dangerous enough with just one card; he can't allow Jaden to become another threat.
"I activate Raviel's effect! I Tribute Hamon and one Token!" Kagemaru raised his hand as the two monsters vanished, and Raviel's strength grew. "Raviel gains their ATK until the end of this turn!"
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, 4000 -> 8000 -> 9000 ATK]
Jaden widened his eyes in shock, but instead of being afraid, he stood his ground.
"Skyscraper's effect! When my Elemental HERO battles a monster with higher ATK, my hero gains 1000 ATK during the damage calculation only!"
[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, 4500 -> 5500 ATK]
Raviel roared and swung. Absolute Zero was crushed instantly.
"Ahhhh!" Jaden dropped to one knee as the pain hit him.
[Jaden, LP 4000 -> 500]
But even kneeling, he still raised his voice.
"Absolute Zero's effect… when he leaves the field… he destroys all monsters you control!"
A cold burst exploded across Kagemaru's side of the field. Every demon froze solid, then shattered into ice and snow.
Jaden held himself from collapsing with a shaky breath.
"Bladedge… direct attack."
With nothing left to defend him, Kagemaru was cut down by Bladedge's strike.
[Kagemaru, LP 4000 -> 1400]
Jaden forced out a breath. "Turn... end."
"Aibo already alright?" Yumi asks, helping Jaden up. He, too, knew just how painful the effect of a Shadow Game could be to one body; his Aibo had nearly gotten himself killed, suffering 3500 damage.
How does Yumi know?
Look at Kagemaru; if he doesn't have a large health bar, the old man might really cough up blood and die from suffering a 4000 damage hit. It is only thanks to his multiple buffs did Kagemaru could still stand up and continue fighting.
"My turn. Draw!" Kagemaru roared.
The white aura choking the air around him pulsed, tendrils of light crawling across his arm and into his deck. He ripped the top card free like he was tearing out someone's soul.
The moment his eyes landed on it, his lips twisted. A low chuckle escaped him, then erupted into a full, unhinged laugh.
"Looks like your fate has been decided. Today is your last!" His long black hair lifted as if gravity had given up on him, whipping behind him while the white aura flared violently around his body.
"I activate the ultimate Spell, Dimension Fusion Destruction!" The card slammed onto his Duel Disk, and the ground beneath him trembled. "By banishing from my grave or field, my three Sacred Beasts, I can Special Summon their ultimate form!"
Behind him, Raviel, Hamon, and Uria roared in unison, before their bodies distorted, melting into each other. Bones cracked. Light twisted. The air vibrated violently as the three demons fused into something far worse.
A towering monstrosity emerged: Raviel's massive upper body, a second jagged jaw splitting open beneath its chin; Hamon's skeletal ribs forming armor across its chest, its large wings spread out behind it; Uria's serpentine lower half coiling endlessly beneath it, with the red demon's head fused grotesquely as its left hand.
[Armityle the Chaos Phantasm, 0 ATK]
"I activate Armityle's effect!" Kagemaru howled. "I target it, and perform a damage calculation! Its ATK becomes 10,000!"
A colossal black orb, dense, crushing, like it was swallowing the light around it, formed in front of Armityle's chest.
Jaden's eyes widened, his voice cracking. "Sorry… Aibo… I-"
"You have the courage to continue dueling, right?" Yumi's voice cut in sharply, stopping Jaden's spiral cold.
Jaden blinked, startled. Yumi wasn't smiling or joking. His eyes were dead serious.
"Dueling might be fun…" Yumi continued, voice steady even as the demon charged its attack. "But not every duel is going to feel that way. Sometimes you fall. Sometimes you can't even see the point of getting back up. But as long as you don't lose hope... If you can still stand back up..."
The orb launched.
The world shook.
"Then miracles can still be created." Yumi's eyes flared crimson. He raised his Duel Disk toward the incoming apocalypse.
"By paying half my Life Points, and banishing Transaction Rollback from my grave, I target Rainbow Life, and activate its effect!"
[Yumi, LP 4000 -> 2000]
The orb slammed into them.
A chromatic explosion swallowed everything, wind tearing at their hair and Slifer coats, light bending and shredding around them. But when the smoke cleared, a radiant rainbow barrier stood intact… and so did they.
[Yumi, LP 2000 -> 12,000]
Kagemaru staggered. His rage twisted so violently he almost choked on it. Veins ballooned along his neck. His aura turned feral.
"DARKNEEESSS!!" he shrieked, voice cracking with hatred.
Even with extra buffs and directly printing a card that wasn't in his deck, he still couldn't finish off Yumi Uzushi.
No matter how hard he tried and how much effort he put in, he still couldn't damage Yumi once. Throughout the entire duel, he has been targeting Yumi and only Yumi.
But he couldn't even cause a single damage to the opponent.
"I activate Armityle's effect…" Kagemaru growled, breath shaky, "sending it to your control until the end of the turn."
The demon vanished from his side and materialized behind the two Slifers, towering silently and waiting.
"I end my turn…" he muttered bitterly. "Now Armityle will banish all other monsters on the field before returning to my side."
Bladedge screamed as a dimensional rift opened beneath him, dragging him into oblivion. Armityle flickered, then tore itself back across the field to Kagemaru's side once more.
Seeing the butterfly effect caused by his presence, Yumi feels a bit guilty. It was due to him that the difficulty increased. Armityle the Chaos Phantasm is a sub-boss monster that appears during Season 3 of GX. The Light of Destruction revealed itself as the true final boss of Season 2.
Because of him, the enemies leveled up and surpassed the current level of the others.
Jaden did his best, but without his true ace monster, Elemental HERO Neos, he didn't have the strength to battle against the Light of Destruction.
And that's not mentioning the other hidden forces out there lurking and waiting for the time to strike.
"Draw!"
Yumi snapped the top card off his deck, didn't even look at it, then slapped it straight onto his field with absolute confidence.
"I Normal Summon Sky Striker Ace – Raye!"
Blue data swirled into existence, pixels flooding upward like rising flames before solidifying into the slender form of his ace. Raye landed gracefully, blade in hand.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 ATK]
Kagemaru's eyelid twitched so hard it looked painful. His eyes went bloodshot in an instant, and a thick vein pulsed on the side of his forehead like it wanted to explode.
Armityle couldn't be destroyed by battle, but with 0 ATK, the demon was basically a giant bullseye. Even a Kuriboh could have poked it and dealt damage. He was hoping that Darkness didn't drew a monster with more than 1400 ATK.
Yumi didn't hesitate.
"Raye, attack Armityle!"
Raye burst forward, her movements light and precise. She leapt up the length of Armityle's massive serpentine body, raised her blade...
"Ace Striker!"
The strike connected.
The impact didn't just echo; it detonated.
Armityle recoiled from the force, but the real damage hit Kagemaru. He was thrown to the ground like a ragdoll, smashing into the dirt, the white aura around him sputtering violently before disappearing.
[Kagemaru, LP 1400 -> 0]