Overlord: "!"
What is this kid talking about?
He's actually trying to make me—the ruler of the Twelfth Dimension, the embodiment of Darkness—see a bright future?
Did that last impact scramble his brains?
But Judai's voice had already cut off his train of thought.
"My turn, draw!"
Judai said.
"I activate Magic Card 'Gate of Contact'! I banish two different 'New Space Hero' monsters from the Graveyard, one of each kind, and Special Summon two 'New Space Hero' from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard."
Judai slid two cards out of his Graveyard.
"I banish 'New Space Hero: Dark Panther' and 'New Space Hero: Radiant Moss' in my Graveyard, and Special Summon 'New Space Hero: Flame Beetle' from my Deck!
And the 'New Space Hero: Earth Mole' that was returned to the Deck by Fusion last turn!"
[New Space Hero: Flame Beetle, Attack Power 500]
[New Space Hero: Earth Mole, Attack Power 900]
The Overlord narrowed his eyes.
Mole, that mole again…
But it wasn't a big problem.
He still had a full 5400 Life Points. Even if Evil Blade Death Demon got bounced…
"I return 'Elemental HERO Neos', 'New Space Hero: Flame Beetle', and 'New Space Hero: Earth Mole' to the Deck, and perform a Triple Contact Fusion!"
Overlord: "Triple Contact?"
"Power of flame and earth united, blazing might, burn—
—Elemental HERO Magma Neos!!!"
One of the trump cards Judai often used in the later part of the anime, the Divine Artifact with the strongest finishing power—a triple Fusion, Magma Neos!
Magma Neos's base Attack Power is 3000, and it gains Attack Power equal to the total number of cards on both sides of the Field x 400.
With the New Space Field present, the Field Spell gives it a 500 Attack Power boost, and Magma Neos's effect will gain 400 from that Field card. Counting itself as a card as well, the minimum is an extra 1300 Attack Power.
Adding the total of all other cards on both sides of the Field, it can easily reach six or seven thousand Attack Power.
The Overlord didn't know Magma Neos's effect, but a triple Fusion, plus that overwhelming summoning visual, was enough to show it wasn't something small.
So the Overlord responded without hesitation: "Counterattack Trap 'Heaven-Ascending Horn'.
When the opponent Special Summons a monster in the Main Phase, that Special Summon is negated and those monsters are destroyed.
After that, the opponent can draw one card from their Deck, but… the opponent's Main Phase ends immediately!"
Judai: "!"
Not only was Magma Neos blown away before it could even hit the Field, Judai's Main Phase was also forcibly ended. He looked at his Duel Disc display as it skipped straight into the Battle Phase, his Field still completely empty. Clearly, the plays he could make this turn were already extremely limited.
That meant either he somehow summoned a monster during the Battle Phase, or he directly ended the Battle Phase and moved to Main Phase 2 to make plays—which would be the same as giving up his right to attack this turn.
"...Then I'll draw one card, and move to Main Phase 2." Judai said.
"Do you understand now? Your struggling is meaningless." the Overlord said. "You can't even battle…"
"I'll win." Judai said.
The Overlord froze stiffly.
"What?"
"I said, I'm going to win." Judai looked up and gave him a brilliant grin. "This very turn."
Overlord: "!"
This guy's battle rights had already been stripped away, and he still dared to brag about winning this turn?
What kind of joke was that?
"You don't have to rely on attacking to win a Duel. That's something I learned from a friend I could never replace."
Judai's smile grew even brighter, so bright that even the Overlord who ruled the Twelfth Dimension began to feel a faint sense of unease.
"Now I'll share it with you.
I activate Speed Attack Magic 'Burial from Another Dimension', which returns up to three banished monsters to the Graveyard.
I return 'Elemental HERO Wingman' and 'Elemental Hero Blazing Lady' that were banished by 'Gate of Fusion' to the Graveyard."
"Next I activate Magic Card 'Spider Silk', which lets me retrieve a card that was sent to the opponent's Graveyard one turn ago." Judai said. "What I'm taking from your Graveyard is Speed Attack Magic 'Trap Propulsion'!"
"Then I activate Trap Propulsion! I discard one card from my hand, and I can activate a Trap Card from my hand directly."
"I activate Trap Card 'Chain Material'!
The turn this card is activated, when I perform a Fusion Summon, I can banish Fusion Material monsters from my hand, Field, Graveyard, or Deck as I like."
"You can pick any Fusion Materials you want." the Overlord said coldly. "But the turn Chain Material is activated, you can't attack, and any Fusion Monster you summon will be destroyed at the end of the turn.
Not to mention your Battle Phase is long gone; even if you Fuse, what good will it do?"
"You'll find out very soon whether it's any good." Judai said. "I activate Field Spell 'Planet Transformation', and add a Field Spell from my Deck to my hand.
I add a second copy of 'Gate of Fusion' from my Deck to my hand."
"Then I activate 'Gate of Fusion' again! By banishing monsters, I can conduct a Fusion Summon."
"Next I activate Continuous Magic 'Dimensional Rift'! As long as this card is on the Field, any monster either of us sends to the Graveyard won't go there, but will be banished instead."
The Overlord's frown deepened; he still couldn't see where this was going.
"With that, preparations are complete."
Judai gently closed his eyes.
Before him, as if projected, appeared the scene from some time ago on the lawn of Duel Academy, under the warm sunlight, where he and Yugen had swapped Decks, sparred, and studied together.
It was then that Yugen had shown him a path he had never even imagined.
"That's amazing!"
Judai had almost jumped up in excitement back then.
"Elemental Heroes can be played like this too?"
"Yeah."
Yugen gathered up the few cards he had used for the demonstration, put them back into Judai's Card Deck, shuffled and cut it before handing it back, smiling as he did so.
"I'm just throwing out a brick to attract jade here, to show you that even with Elemental Hero, you can completely open up your thinking."
As he spoke, he patted Judai's shoulder with a heavy, earnest hand.
"Your Elemental Heroes have infinite possibilities, Judai."
"You also have infinite possibilities."
"You just need to discover them yourself."
"..."
Judai opened his eyes again.
Yeah, his future had infinite possibilities, even the Duel King had told him that.
So how could he possibly stop in a place like this?
"I activate the effect of 'Gate of Fusion', and use Gate of Fusion to perform a Fusion Summon!" Judai declared. "At this moment I chain the effect of 'Chain Material', letting me choose Fusion Material from the Card Deck and the Graveyard.
So I remove from the Game the four Monsters 'Elemental Hero Wingman', 'Elemental Hero Blazing Lady', 'Elemental Hero Clayman', and 'Elemental Hero Bubbleman', quadruple Fusion! Reveal yourself—
—Elemental Hero Eternal Hero!"
Earth, water, fire, and wind combined in fourfold union; under the blessing of quadruple energy, Yuki Judai's strongest ace of his early days, the hero who in the anime equipped the Philosopher's Stone to defeat the Three Phantom Demons—Eternal Hero!
[Elemental Hero Eternal Hero, Attack Power 2900]
"When Eternal Hero is Fusion Summoned, all cards removed from the Game return to their owners' Card Decks." Judai said. "So the four great heroes I just removed as Fusion Material all go back into my Card Deck!"
Wingman, Blazing Lady, Lightning Hero, and Bubble Hero appeared floating in midair, then turned into four-colored lights and flew back into Judai's Card Deck.
"Then I tribute 'Elemental Hero Eternal Hero' for an Upper-level Summon!"
Judai's movements paused for a moment. He glanced at the card in his hand and murmured softly.
"Yugen, lend me your power too..."
Then he raised his head.
"Upper-level Summon, Bouncing Turtle!"
Overlord: "?"
What the hell?
At the very climax of the showdown between righteous and wicked heroes, the art style suddenly shifted; a green-shelled turtle carrying an Electromagnetic Cannon on its back arrived on Judai's Field.
[Bouncing Turtle, Attack Power 1000]
Elemental Hero Bouncing Turtle, summoned!
"Because of the effect of 'Dimensional Rift', the Eternal Hero I used as a tribute isn't sent to the Graveyard, but removed from the Game." Judai said. "Next I activate the Field Spell 'Gate of Fusion' once again!
And using the effect of 'Chain Material', I remove from the Game Wingman, Blazing Lady, Clayman, and Bubble Hero, which I just shuffled back into my Card Deck, to Fusion Summon—
—Elemental Hero Eternal Hero, Number Two!"
[Elemental Hero Eternal Hero B, Attack Power 2900]
"Then, when Eternal Hero is Fusion Summoned, the four Fusion Materials just removed by Gate of Fusion, and Eternal Hero A that was just tributed and removed, all get shuffled back into the Card Deck!"
Judai swept his arm in a grand gesture.
"Then Bouncing Turtle's effect—tribute a Monster on the Field to inflict damage to the opponent equal to half that Monster's Attack Power.
I tribute 'Elemental Hero Eternal Hero B' to inflict damage equal to half his Attack Power!"
[Overlord, LP 5400 → LP 3950]
This level of damage, with his Life Points, he could still fully endure. But even so, the Overlord's expression had already begun to change.
"This is..."
"Eternal Hero B, tributed by Bouncing Turtle, is removed from the Game because of the effect of 'Dimensional Rift'!"
"Then I activate 'Gate of Fusion' once more, and according to the effect of 'Chain Material', I fuse Elemental Heroes of the four Attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind from the Card Deck! Fusion Summon—
—Elemental Hero Eternal Hero A!"
"When Eternal Hero A is Summoned, the four great heroes that were removed, and Eternal Hero B, are shuffled back into the Card Deck."
"Then Bouncing Turtle's effect—tribute Eternal Hero A, fire!"
[Overlord, LP 3950 → LP 2500]
The Overlord dropped to one knee, already starting to gasp for breath.
Infinite LOOP!
And this was the famed Elemental Hero-exclusive LOOP from the Physical Card environment back in the day, known as the 'Eternal Life Cannon'. Two Eternal Heroes took turns appearing; their respective effects could infinitely loop and recycle each other and the required Fusion Materials. Once it took shape, the opponent would be plunged into a Hell of endless Eternal Hero bombardment.
This was Elemental Hero—limitless possibility.
In the most literal sense of "infinite."
"Impossible..."
For the first time, a hint close to fear appeared in the Overlord's golden pupils.
He was the Overlord.
He was the invincible Overlord, master of ultimate Darkness, the embodiment of power. With such strength, he would never lose again, never lose anything again, never feel pain again.
That was how it was supposed to be.
How could he possibly be brought to this by his own frail shadow...
Then he jerked his head up, and saw Judai looking at him.
Still that same sunny smile, as warm and gentle as the sunlight of spring.
"It's already over." Judai said softly. "All that pain you sealed away, all that Darkness, from here on out...we'll shoulder it together."
Overlord: "..."
[Overlord, LP 1050]
The last strike.
"Bouncing Turtle's effect, activate again." Judai said. "I tribute 'Elemental Hero Eternal Hero' to inflict damage to the Overlord equal to half of Eternal Hero's Attack Power."
[Overlord, LP 1050 → LP 0]