"Destiny Hero: Fear Man, direct attack!"
Ed ordered loudly.
"Heaven-Sailing Overhead Cloud-Dispelling Palm!!!"
Yugen: "..."
For a Destiny Hero set in a modern urban background, that's quite a wuxia-esque move name. It's strange that I never found it off-putting when I watched the animation before.
"Then I'll activate the Cover Card," said Yugen, "Trap Card 'Enemy Attack Alert.' When the opponent's monster attacks, Special Summon a monster from your hand. After that, the opponent must forcibly attack the Summoned monster." (Original effect)
Yugen revealed a card from his hand.
"Special Summon 'Air Hummingbird'."
[Air Hummingbird, Defense Power 300]
"Tch, using such small fry as a wall to stall again," Ed sneered, "Forced attack it is. Go on Fear Man, crush that small fry!"
"Don't rush."
Yugen smiled and waved his hand again.
"Activate the Trap Card 'Atmospheric Transmission'!" (Original Card)
The second back-row Cover Card flipped open.
"Atmospheric Transmission allows you, when your 'circle' is Special Summoned, to Special Summon a Level 4 or below 'circle' from your Card Deck."
Yugen drew a circle card that ejected from the Card Deck.
"Special Summon 'Synthetic Air Hummingbird'!"
[Synthetic Air Hummingbird, Defense Power 1000]
"Of course, you haven't forgotten the effect of Synthetic Air Hummingbird, right?" Yugen smiled.
Ed said grimly, "This guy's effect is that upon Summoning, it can further Summon other Air Hummingbirds..."
"Hahaha, as expected from a professional, your memory is quite good. That's right," said Yugen, "The effect of Synthetic Air Hummingbird, upon successful Summoning, Revives another Level 4 or below Air Hummingbird from the Graveyard.
I revive 'Changeable Air Hummingbird' from the Graveyard."
[Changeable Air Hummingbird, Defense Power 100]
Ed's face twitched uncontrollably.
Fighting against this bunch of Air Hummingbirds feels like pulling a radish and bringing out a bunch of mud with it, the more you fight, the more there are. You just give it a little nudge, and immediately it's like poking a hornet's nest, and a whole swarm jumps out.
Even if others don't matter, this damn Changeable Air Hummingbird again...
Of course, he remembered this Air Hummingbird with only one hundred Attack and Defense Points so vividly because this damn thing is a Minotaur...
Ed gritted his teeth.
His on-field Destiny Hero: Sprinter has the side effect of having to switch to defense after battle, and this Changeable Air Hummingbird just happens to have the ability to absorb defensive monsters. With this, the next turn's development can be foreseen.
If that's the case...
"Fear Man continues attacking," Ed said grimly, "First crush 'Air Hummingbird'!"
The effect of Enemy Attack Alert forces an attack on Air Hummingbird. So he'll first have Fear Man crush it. He still has Demon Man on the field, and then he can use Demon Man to break that pesky Minotaur bird to avoid being 'bullied' next turn.
But things didn't go as planned.
Fear Man's powerful palm strike, like a mountain collapsing, hit what seemed to be a transparent air barrier. The opposing birds remained completely unscathed, with not even the slightest damage.
Ed: "!? "
Why was that?
"Air Hummingbird's effect," Yugen explained with a smile, "As long as there are other circles on my field, the opponent cannot attack."
Ed: "......"
Never mind the Minotaur, now even attacks are blocked?
Is there no end to this?
Ed's face darkened.
I can't attack, does that mean I just have to wait to be 'bullied' by you?
What kind of bird Card Deck is this!?
Ed looked at the cards in his hand and pulled out one Trap Card.
D-Shield.
It can be equipped to his on-field Destiny Hero, and can be activated during an attack. The equipped monster switches to defense, and while equipped, it won't be destroyed by battle.
It's absolutely defensive, the strongest shield.
If his prediction is correct, the opponent will likely absorb his other monsters next turn, then aim for the Demon Man with the lowest Attack Power as the breakthrough point. So using D-Shield on Demon Man would turn it into his most solid shield.
"Set a card, turn end."
Destiny Hero: Sprinter automatically switched to defense due to its effect.
"After the battle, 'Air Hummingbird' summoned by 'Enemy Attack Alert' returns to the hand."
Yugen said, as Air Hummingbird automatically returned to his hand.
"My turn, draw a card."
Yugen said.
"I Special Summon 'Micro Wind Air Hummingbird' from my hand."
[Micro Wind Air Hummingbird, Attack Power 700]
"Micro Wind Air Hummingbird can be Special Summoned when the opponent has a monster with 5 or more stars," Yugen said, "Then, remove the on-field 'Micro Wind Air Hummingbird,' 'Synthetic Air Hummingbird,' and another 'Synthetic Air Hummingbird' from the Graveyard from the game.
With the tribute of three monsters, I summon the ultimate air circle——
——Divine Air Hummingbird, summon!!!"
The whirlwind raged, the hurricane roared. The ultimate air circle spread its enormous wings, appearing amidst the storm!
[Divine Air Hummingbird, Attack Power 1000]
"Divine Air... Hummingbird!?"
The aura and style of this monster are completely different from the other small fry, making Ed's heart tighten.
"Divine Air Hummingbird's effect allows it to absorb any opponent's monster as equipment once per turn," Yugen waved his hand casually, "Let's absorb 'Destiny Hero: Fear Man.'
"Nani!?"
Ed's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Another 'bull'?
Won't this ever end?
Fear Man roared angrily and resisted with all its might, clanking its iron shackles and chains. But it was to no avail; it couldn't escape its fate of being absorbed.
"Of course, Fear Man's original Attack Power is ?, so Divine Air Hummingbird can't gain any Attack Power from him."
Yugen shrugged.
"But it's alright. I'll discard a card from my hand to activate 'Changeable Air Hummingbird's' effect. It absorbs the opponent's defense position monster.
Absorb the defense position 'Destiny Hero: Sprinter,' and gain its Attack Power."
Sprinter was absorbed by the nearby Air Hummingbird, causing the Air Hummingbird's Attack Power to soar.
[Changeable Air Hummingbird, Attack Power 100→Attack Power 2500]
"Activate Cover Card, Equipment Magic 'Interdimensional Revival,' discard a card from my hand to revive a monster that was removed from the game."
Yugen took out a card that was removed and waved it around.
"You said that this guy was sent to a future two turns ahead, originally to return during your next Standby Phase. But I prefer to give destiny a little speed-up, so let it return earlier——
——Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon, return!"
[Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon, Attack Power 0]
"Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon's effect allows it to absorb an opponent's monster as equipment once per turn. This time, absorb 'Destiny Hero: Diamond Man!'
[Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon, Attack Power 0→Attack Power 1400]
Ed: "..."
"Activate the final Cover Card, Continuous Trap 'Restricted Revival,'" Yugen said, "Revive a monster with less than 1000 Attack Power from the Graveyard.
I revive this one from the Graveyard, Sacrificial Demon!"
[Sacrificial Demon, Attack Power 0]
"Sacrificial Demon, absorb 'Destiny Hero: Demon Man.'
[Sacrificial Demon, Attack Power 0→Attack Power 600]
Ed: "......"
He felt speechless.
What else is there to say?
Four monsters, damn it, four whole monsters.
In one turn, all four monsters were absorbed. Not only was this unprecedented, he doubted such an absurdity happened in the Dueling Realm since the beginning of time.
This is insanely good, isn't it!?
In one turn, four monsters appear, all Minotaurs...
If the opponent had left him one, just one even with only 600 Attack Points like Demon Man, combined with D-Shield's defense, this turn could have been endured.
However, none were left.
Not a single monster was spared, all absorbed clean as a whistle. The D-Shield in the back row instantly became a decoration, completely useless.
"Changeable Air Hummingbird, Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon," Yugen waved his hand casually, "direct attack."
Ed looked up and saw standing before him were what he trusted most, like the soul within him, the Destiny Heroes now on the opposing side, an overwhelming shadow looming over like Mount Tai.
Ed was momentarily in a daze.
Could this really... be his destiny?
[Ed, LP 3000→LP 0]