"My turn, draw a card!"
Ed draws a card, glances at it, and immediately plays it.
"Magic Card 'Pot of Magic Book'. Both players draw three cards from their decks!"
Yugen and Ed simultaneously draw three cards from their decks.
Ed's eyes sweep over the drawn cards, and he squints, instantly spotting a new opportunity from his hand.
He raises his eyes to look at that eerie Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon across from him.
Like the Minotaur, huh? And won't let me attack, huh?
How about this trick?
"Activate the Magic Card 'Warrior's Survival', returning the Warrior Race from the graveyard to the hand. I'll return 'Destiny Hero: Demon Man' from the graveyard to my hand, then Normal Summon!"
"Come On! Destiny Hero: Demon Man!"
A crimson whirlpool swirls up, akin to a tornado, but when gathered together it is found to be a red cloak. The black-clad demon tosses aside the cloak and stands firm, the cold wind blowing, making the cloak flutter like a banner.
[Destiny Hero: Demon Man, Attack Power 600]
Even with just 600 Attack Power, it may be one of Ed's most favored Destiny Heroes. Not only was it initially used as the face of the Destiny Heroes, but it was also the hero Ed used most frequently during his nightly vigilante actions.
"Demon Man is a Destiny Hero possessing the ability to transcend time, able to banish monsters to the future."
Ed snaps his fingers.
"Vanish to the future, two turns later, Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon!"
Demon Man leaps forward, its claws striking savagely at Sacrificial Demon's bizarre large eye.
Space seems to warp, as though an invisible vortex opens up and sucks the entire Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon into it.
The doctrinal people originally attached to Sacrificial Demon lets out a furious roar, finally breaking free from the darkness. Yet, after detaching from Sacrificial Demon's body, Doctrinal People's form immediately explodes into fragments.
This is only natural. The absorbed Destiny Hero: Doctrinal People is currently regarded as an equipment of Sacrificial Demon, and as Sacrificial Demon equipped as a monster disappears from the field, Doctrinal People loses its equipment target and, naturally, is destroyed.
Though Ed loved to boast when describing the Destiny Hero's effects, speaking grandly, the so-called "sending to the future two turns later" is actually just banishing the target from the game.
The attack position Demon Man can once per turn banish one monster from the opponent's field. Yet the turn this effect is used, no battle can occur. Monsters banished by this effect return to the field in the same position during the second subsequent preparation phase.
"During the turn I activated Demon Man's effect, I cannot battle," Ed said softly, "Turn's over."
"Sending a monster to the future... truly a way of saying unique to you," Yugen chuckled.
Ed frowned: "Don't act like you truly understand me."
"I never claimed to," Yugen shrugged, "It's just that in your hands, Destiny Heroes feel like they're shackled by the heavy chains of destiny.
You make it seem as if being a hero means being destined to have no other choice."
"It's only right that those who are aware enough to bear destiny can call themselves heroes," Ed retorted.
"Is that so, was that your father's original intention when designing Destiny Heroes?" Yugen questioned, "Did your father create this deck so that heroes would bear your heavy destiny?"
Ed was stunned.
Destiny Hero was the most important thing his father left him, akin to his very soul's deck. In his heart, Destiny Heroes and he were always one, similar to his soul.
But what was his father thinking back then?
Suddenly, he realized he had never considered this question over the years.
"My turn, draw a card."
Yugen looked at the drawn card. Meanwhile, that enormous and shadowy clock tower stirred again, its pointer rotating, as if time was continuing to move forward.
A sonorous roar emanated from within the clock tower, suggesting something was impacting the clock tower's space from the inside. Heavy, clock-like echoes resonated throughout the field.
"Activate the Magic Card 'Pot of Greed', draw two cards from the deck."
Yugen continues drawing cards, pondering as he does.
"Hmm, Netherworld Clock Tower now has five indicators," Yugen said, "Looks like even if there's a battle, no damage can be dealt. So I'll forfeit the battle.
From my hand..."
He draws a handful of cards in one motion, horizontally placing one on the Duel Disc first.
"Cover one monster in the front field."
The covered monster emerges facedown on his field.
"Then set four cover cards in the back field, turn ends."
Ed's gaze flickered slightly.
The front-field monster, back-field cover cards, instantly five covers...
And he didn't change Synthetic Air Hummingbird to attack mode to strike down Demon Man... but of course. Synthetic Air Hummingbird's attack power is only 1000, and given the opponent's remaining Life Points, attacking wouldn't deal battle damage, possibly risking himself instead.
Given this scene, claiming Ed felt no pressure at all would surely be untrue.
But now is no time to shrink back.
"My turn, draw a card!"
Ed draws a card vigorously, his momentum even greater than before.
His eyes flash brightly, directly playing the card he drew.
"Field Spell—
—Dark City!!!"
Darkness dominates the entire field, skyscrapers of darkness rise from the ground.
Unlike Elemental Heroes' brightly lit skyscrapers, this is the city governed by Dark Heroes, a stage where sin breeds and villains run rampant.
"In Dark City, when Destiny Heroes attack opposing monsters, if their attack power is lower than the opposing monster, it increases by 1000 during damage calculation!"
Obviously, it's Destiny Hero's version of Skyscraper.
But perhaps this thing suffered from coming out later in the animation. Clearly, it's a reskin of Skyscraper, but unlike Skyscraper, it doesn't have the privilege of exclusive animation effects, and aligns with the physical card effect.
Skyscraper's animation effect boosts attack power by 1000 for Elemental Heroes when attacking, regardless of whether they initiate the attack or are attacked. However, the physical card was nerfed to only boost attack power when Elemental Heroes initiate the attack.
And as Skyscraper's reskin, Dark City matches Skyscraper's physical card, only activating when Destiny Heroes initiate the attack.
Of course, only one Field Spell can exist on the field. The activation of the new field naturally expels the previously existing field.
"Due to Dark City's activation, the Field Spell 'Netherworld Clock Tower' is destroyed," Ed stated.
Yugen nodded: "When the Clock Tower with four or more 'Time Indicators' is destroyed, its true power is liberated."
Ed couldn't help but frown again.
This guy... really knows everything.
Why?
Who exactly is Revolver? How could he possibly know so much about my deck?
But he had no time for further contemplation, only continuing.
"When the Clock Tower with more than four Time Indicators is destroyed, the beast sealed within is liberated!
Appear, my strongest Destiny Hero, prisoner of the Clock Tower—
—Destiny Hero: Fear Man, descend!!!"