"The Equip Spell I'll add to my hand is—come forth, Favorite Hero!"
"(」゜ロ゜)」F-Favorite Hero, huh… that really does suit Jaden's style," Akasha muttered from the side. "That guy's probably planning to spend his whole life with heroes."
Placing the Equip Card he had just searched onto his Duel Disk, Jaden explained,
"Favorite Hero can only be equipped to a Level 5 or higher 'Hero' monster, so I can use the effect of Armory Call to equip it!"
A massive skyscraper suddenly rose from the ground. Even though Jaden had activated an Equip Spell, the HERO Field Spell—Skyscraper—was also activated along with it.
"Effect of Favorite Hero—at the start of either player's Battle Phase, I can activate 1 Field Spell from my hand or Deck! And of course, the perfect stage for heroes is—Skyscraper!"
"You idiot!" Nobunaga shouted angrily. "The opponent is using Elemental HERO monsters too! If you activate Skyscraper now, won't he benefit from it as well?!"
Holmes recalled,
"In this world, Skyscraper activates whether you're attacking or being attacked. In other words, Elemental HERO monsters on both sides gain the same boost."
Waver added,
"However, aside from Elemental HERO monsters, Frodi also uses Masked HERO monsters. Masked HERO monsters won't benefit from Skyscraper's effect."
"It's not just that!" Jaden proudly pointed at his field. "When Skyscraper is combined with Favorite Hero, that's when heroes can break their limits!"
[Favorite Hero Effect: If there is a card in the Field Zone, the equipped monster gains ATK equal to its original DEF, and cannot be targeted by the opponent's effects.]
[Brave Neos ATK 1600 → 3600]
"Favorite Hero, huh… Even after having its ATK halved by Great Tornado, it still reaches 3600. Impressive!" Frodi praised without hesitation.
"But—!!"
Throwing a Quick-Play Spell onto his Duel Disk, Frodi's tone suddenly shifted.
"The power granted by Equip Spells has its limits!—Quick-Play Spell, activate Form Change!"
[Form Change Effect: Target 1 'Hero' Fusion Monster you control; return it to the Extra Deck, then Special Summon 1 'Masked HERO' monster with the same Level but a different name from your Extra Deck as if by 'Mask Change'.]
Unlike Mask Change, which depends on attributes, Form Change allows a fused or transformed hero to shift into another battle form.
"I return my Fusion Monster, Elemental HERO Great Tornado, to the Extra Deck—and Special Summon a Level 8 Masked HERO!"
The raging wind transformed into flowing water. Guided by the transformation belt, Great Tornado's form changed completely.
"—Special Summon Masked HERO Acid!"
[Masked HERO Acid ★★★★★★★★(Level 8)][WATER][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2600/DEF 2100]
[Must be Special Summoned with "Mask Change". When this card is Special Summoned: Destroy as many Spells and Traps your opponent controls as possible, and if you do, all monsters they control lose 300 ATK.]
"Destroy all of your Spell and Trap cards—Acid!"
As if corroded by acid, all of Jaden's back row—including the Skyscraper that had only just appeared—collapsed instantly.
[Brave Neos ATK 3600 → 1600 → 1300]
Akasha: "∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ This is bad… not only did his ATK not increase, it actually dropped…"
Okita: "The good news is, Jaden still has plenty of Life Points left."
Nobunaga: "Yeah, lots of Life Points but no field—he's perfect as a punching bag now (laughs)~"
"Even at a time like this, you're still cracking jokes. Impressive, as always," Holmes raised an eyebrow before analyzing seriously. "But this isn't exactly a relaxed situation. The barrier that Frodi deployed earlier… is quite dangerous."
"Dangerous? More dangerous than a Shadow Game?" Akasha quickly asked.
"Hmm… how should I put it…" After a brief pause, Holmes continued,
"For Jaden, this barrier may actually be more dangerous than a Shadow Game."
"With Skyscraper destroyed and Favorite Hero gone, you've lost your means to resist, Jaden!"
Continuing his assault, Frodi had Masked HERO Acid lock onto Jaden's Brave Neos—whose ATK had fallen to 1300—and launched a Rider Kick.
"But my counterattack isn't over yet… Now—draw your blade, Brave—!"
Catching everyone off guard, Jaden launched a counterattack. Even though all his back row had been destroyed by Acid, his Brave Neos suddenly swung a massive greatsword—larger than its own body—cleaving the Masked HERO in half.
"What?! How is that possible?!"
"This is the card I set last turn—Artifact Moralltach!"
Revealing the card from his back row, Jaden showed the Artifact he had set earlier using the Quick-Play Spell Artifact Ignition after destroying Mirage of Nightmare.
[Artifact Moralltach Effect: Can be Set as a Spell. If destroyed during the opponent's turn and sent to the GY, Special Summon it. If Special Summoned during the opponent's turn, you can destroy 1 face-up card your opponent controls.]
"The moment you destroyed my back row with Acid, Artifact Moralltach activated and Special Summoned itself!"
[Artifact Moralltach ★★★★★(Level 5)][LIGHT][Fairy/Effect][ATK 2100/DEF 1400]
"And with its effect—since it was Special Summoned during your turn—I destroy your Masked HERO Acid!"
With a sweeping strike of its massive blade, the ancient weapon—wielded like a hero—shattered the Masked HERO on Frodi's field.
[Masked HERO Acid destroyed]
Minazuki sighed in admiration,
"I thought Frodi's Acid play wiping the field was already next-level… but Jaden's set Artifact Moralltach was waiting one level above that!"