Jaden nervously chuckled. On any other night, it would be the absolute perfect time to be on the beach. A clear sky, a full moon, no one around but him, his best buddy Syrus, and his favorite teacher that was currently acting super freaky.
“Sooo… is this some sort of late-night exam?” Jaden ventured hesitantly. He already had a feeling that it wasn’t, and that his favorite professor had much more nefarious thoughts, but it couldn’t hurt to check.
Professor Banner shook his head while chuckling dryly. “See, this is why I like you, Jaden. Always the optimist. Truly, it’s a shame I have to do this to one of my students. Jaden Yuki. I, Amnael, challenge you to a duel over the ownership of your spirit key. Let it be known that if you lose this duel, not only will I take your spirit key, but your entire existence – both body and soul, shall be trapped within the pages of my Emerald Tablet.”
Amnael paused for a few seconds to allow Jaden to digest his words, before continuing with a slightly hurried tone, as if he wanted to soothe the boy’s fears. “Worry not, unlike some of my… associates, I intend to bring no harm to those within the pages of my tablet. In fact, if my interpretations of the stars in the heavens above are correct, some might say that being in the tablet is safer than the real world for the next handful of years.”
Jaden looked at Amnael. He looked over to Syrus, who was sitting on the ground drawing shapes in the sand with a resigned expression. He looked back to Amnael.
“Yeah, I’m gonna be real with you dude, you lost me at ‘challenge you to a duel’ and ‘take your spirit key’. I don’t know why you’re with those Shadow Riders, professor, but I’ll take you up on your duel any day!”
“Haha.” Amnael laughed while readying his duel disk. “You seem to never truly change, Jaden. Perhaps that fortune teller will prove to be wrong after all. I shall allow you the first turn. Perhaps you can surprise me one last time before you are added to my book.”
Jaden: 4000 Amnael: 4000
“Fine by me dude! I draw!” Jaden shouted in his normal easygoing tone. “Sy, just sit back and enjoy the show, because I’m about to show you some rad plays. First off, lemme set the scene. I activate the field spell card Fusion Recycling Plant. I won’t activate its effect just yet, but I will use the Polymerization in my hand. By sending Elemental Hero Bubbleman and Elemental Hero Clayman to the graveyard, I fusion summon the big guy himself, Elemental Hero Mudballman (1900/3000) in defense position!”
Jaden glowed with satisfaction as the extremely beefy clay body of Elemental Hero Clayman thudded onto the field, only to be surrounded with a ring of blue bubbles that seeped into its grey skin to dye the joints and head of the hero a cool aqua blue color.
“Now of course, my buddy Mudballman does a pretty good job in the physical defense department, but I’d feel bad if he was lonely. Mudballman, say hello to your best friend! I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman (1000/2000) in defense position, and then I place one card face down. Then, during my end phase, Fusion Recycling Plant activates its effect to return one of the monsters I used as fusion material from my graveyard back to my hand. Come back to papa, Elemental Hero Bubbleman!”
Right next to the formidable bulk of Mudballman, a green hero with a body half-made of wood shimmered into existence with a fearsome scowl. His arms were crossed in a defensive gesture, and a thick cluster of roots seeped out of his wooden foot to ingrain themselves, and by extension, his body, firmly into the ground below.
“A formidable defense.” Amnael acknowledged with a nod of his head. “Unfortunately, I cannot crack it this turn. I place one card face down, and summon D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) in defense position. I end my turn.”
Contrary to Jaden’s field of defensive heroes, Amnael’s scout plane looked like a fragile yet large ping pong ball with several thin, spidery appendages that poked from the round frame of the ship, rotating eye-like objects at the end to gaze intently at not just the field, but the beach, the forest, and the distant shining stars.
Jaden couldn’t help himself. The situation was a bit serious, but still a grin spouted across his face. “Wow! I haven’t seen that card before! What does it do? I gotta find out! During my standby phase, Elemental Hero Woodsman adds my Polymerization from my graveyard back to my hand. Then, I activate Polymerization once more, fusing the Elemental Hero Bubbleman I retrieved from my graveyard last turn, with the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand, to fusion summon Elemental Hero Steam Healer (1800/1000) in attack position!
Amnael’s eyes flashed as he moved with a shout. “Not so fast! In response to your Polymerization, I activate my continuous trap card, Macro Cosmos! It allows me to special summon one Helios – The Primordial Sun (0/0) in defense position!”
Jaden shrugged, but then his eyes widened as he watched the heroes he used to fusion summon Steam Healer go to the banished zone instead of the graveyard. “What the heck?”
“Ah, yes. The other effect of Macro Cosmos.” Amnael smiled grimly. “While this trap card of mine stays face up on the field, every card that would normally be sent to the graveyard will get banished instead. In addition, My Helios – The Primordial Sun gains 100 attack points per banished monster. Unfortunately that number is a rather paltry sum at this precise moment, but you may find that changing in the near future.”
Helios – The Primordial Sun (0/0 -> 200/200)
“Wow! That’s crazy!” Jaden shouted with glee. “Woodsman, switch to attack position! We’d better take care of that sun dude before he gets too big! Elemental Hero Steam Healer, destroy D.D. Scout Plane! Elemental Hero Woodsman, destroy Helios – The Primordial Sun!”
While the half tree, half man hero unrooted himself from the ground to smash a club-like fist into the side of the abstract, feminine figure wrapped in bandages with a sun for her head, the other hero took a different approach. Pink and purple arms worked in harmony with the gouts of steam bursting from the pipes on its back. A three-fingered hand rotated to point towards the strange, eye-shaped plane, and a single superheated blast of scalding steam burned the monster to a crisp.
“Sadly, since that plane of yours got banished instead of going to the graveyard, I can’t activate Steam Healer’s effect to boost my life points, but them’s the breaks.” Jaden sighed dramatically.
Amnael chuckled and shrugged his head. “Truly, you continue to amaze me, Jaden. Unflappable, even in the face of my shadow duel. Ah, and during your end phase, since D.D. Scout Plane was banished this turn, I get to special summon it in attack position. My turn, I draw.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
“Is this my life now?” Syrus wondered numbly from where he sat on the sandy beach. “Watching my bro duel for crazy high stakes? What the heck… at least I’m not dangling over lava this time. And Jaden isn’t phased at all! For him, it just looks like it’s a normal middle-of-the-night duel! Man… I keep thinking if I watch closely enough, I can pick up on how bro manages to keep himself all chill during these scary duels, but I don’t know if I’ll ever figure it out for sure.”
“The boy is indeed scared.” A deep voice that sounded like it was steeped in age and wisdom answered Syrus’s aimless question out of nowhere. Syrus let out a startled gasp and turned to face the speaker.
A grizzled old man with a long, white beard slowly moved his wheelchair across the sand to get closer to Syrus. The boy gulped, and then despite his best judgement he moved across the sand to help the elder move along the beach. It was slow going, as the thin wheelchair wheels were definitely not a good choice for traveling on sand, but with no small amount of effort, Syrus was able to get the two of them back to the spot he was watching the duel at.
“Thank you, Syrus Truesdale. Such a young, outstanding gentleman.” The old man in the wheelchair kindly praised the boy. “Yes, I admit. It wasn’t my greatest idea to take this feller out into the sand for a spin.” He said while patting the wheelchair with equal parts fondness and irritation. “But, unfortunately all my helpers are somewhat indisposed tonight, so this old man must make due with what he has. I simply could not bear wasting another precious night cooped up in my life support pod, not when my goals are so close to fruition.”
Syrus turned to the old man with question marks in his eyes. “Who are you sir? And what did you say about bro being scared?”
The old man laughed gently, the chuckles raising in volume until they were abruptly broken off with a series of ragged, wet coughs. “I, my boy, am called Kagemaru. I have some amount of relation to this academy, and some interest in the progress of the duels that are happening on the island tonight. And as for that Jaden lad, he is indeed scared. He simply overpowers that fear with a love for dueling and his care for his friends. You can still see bits and pieces of his fear each time he momentarily glances over this way.”
Syrus looked back over to Jaden with studious eyes. “Scared… but he still duels…”
“Mhm. Indeed.” Kagemaru stroked his long, white beard with trembling hands spotted with age. “He is an outstanding young gentleman for doing so. Jaden Yuki has learned a lesson most do not until they are quite old. The lesson that everyone is scared. It is simply a matter of acknowledging that fear and not letting it control you. Ah. I have missed seeing sights like this. It’s enough to make this old man’s blood boil. At least, until the exhaustion seeps back into these brittle bones.”
Syrus fell silent, letting the strange old man’s words wash over him as he turned back to watch his best friend duel. Beside him, Kagemaru folded his hands in his lap and watched the battle with the kind of patience in his eyes that only came with extreme age.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
“Allow me to further test your defense by turning up the pressure!” Amnael sternly shouted. “I activate my continuous spell card, Soul Absorption, which will heal my life points by 500 points for each card that is banished from the game from this point on. Now, I call upon an old acquaintance of mine, a fellow alchemical collaborator from a bygone era! I summon Dimensional Alchemist (1300/200)! Then, I call upon the law of equivalent exchange. By activating my monster’s effect, I can banish the top card of my deck in order to boost Dimensional Alchemist’s attack by 500 points until the end of my turn. Though, as any true alchemist could tell you, even the law of equivalent exchange can be bent slightly through other factors to provide more gain than it normally would. In this case, by banishing that card off my deck, I gain 500 life points from Soul Absorption!”
Dimensional Alchemist (1300/200 -> 1800/200).
A swirling vortex of black and purple energy formed around the golden gauntlets of the masked, silver-armored man that loomed menacingly over the field next to Amnael. At the same exact time, several blue orbs of fire split off from the swirling vortex to sink into Amnael’s body with cold, silent impacts that made the man grunt and gasp with each impact.
“Now… Jaden! Prepare yourself! I order Dimensional Alchemist to attack your Elemental Hero Woodsman!”
Jaden’s breath caught in his throat as a hole was blasted through the woodsman’s head by the swirling vortex of black and purple energy. The backlash of the attack swept over his own head, leaving a thin trail of blood leaking from his nose and the feeling that someone had just sucker-punched him in the chest.
“Not… cool…” Jaden gasped in equal parts annoyance and pain as Amnael ended his turn after placing one card face down and switching D.D. Scout Plane to defense position. “You know, this is an exciting duel, but I could do without the ‘shadow game’ bits. Pain’s a real buzzkill.” He grumbled. “I draw. First off, I activate E – Emergency Call to add Elemental Hero Stratos (1800/300) from my deck to my hand. Then, I normal summon my boy Stratos, and activate his effect to destroy spell and trap cards on the field equal to the number of other heroes I control. Say goodbye to your Macro Cosmos!”
“Not so fast!” Amnael shouted. “When your Emergency Call goes to the graveyard, I gain 500 more life points. Then, I activate my quick-play spell in response to your effect, Grand Convergence! When the planets align, the stars show the future for one thousand years! Since I control Macro Cosmos, I can inflict 300 damage to your life points and destroy all monsters on the field!”
Jaden grinned in response, taking a quick moment to wipe away the trail of blood leaking out of his nose with a hand. “Sorry to break it to you prof, but I think it’s time to show you a new addition to my deck, courtesy of an all-nighter dueling session with the guys! I activate a quick-play spell of my own, My Body as a Shield! By paying 1500 life points, I can negate the activation of a spell, trap, or monster effect that would destroy any number of monsters on the field. Oh, and my spell will also destroy yours, as well.”
Jaden: 1700 Amnael: 5500
Amnael frowned in irritation as in short order a blue-clothed hero with wings made of two fans jumped energetically onto the field. The surroundings darkened, enough to vaguely see the distant shapes of the planets in the sky far above, but just as the field began to heat up from the perfect convergence of the solar system, a determined and rough-looking warrior in full plate armor jumped in front of the blast of planet-powered energy to save the life of Jaden’s heroes. The alignment was broken, and more cold blue flames flashed into Amnael’s body as his quick-play spell was destroyed and banished due to Macro Cosmos. Then, all it took was one rev of Stratos’s wing-fans and the delicate alchemical equation of Macro Cosmos was disrupted, blown right off the field and into oblivion.
“I’ll go ahead and move into my battle phase now.” Jaden declared. “Steam Healer, destroy Dimensional Alchemist! Stratos, destroy that scout plane again!”
Another blast of superheated steam from the figure clad in purple and pink armor disintegrated the mysterious silver-armored alchemist in one fell blow, while another gust of wind from the fan wings of Stratos, this time blown so fast that the wind was as sharp as a sword blade, cut right through the paltry defense points of the scout plane. This time, however, as the attacks of both of the monsters faded away, the vents on the back of Elemental Hero Steam Healer let loose a gush of cool, healing mist that surrounded Jaden with a pleasant sensation that immediately halted his nosebleed.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Jaden: 3000 Amnael: 4500
“Ah. That’s better.” Jaden smiled. “Since Steam Healer destroyed a monster by battle and sent it to the graveyard this time, my life points are healed by that monster’s original attack.”
Amnael curtly nodded. “Of course. In addition, since Dimensional Alchemist was destroyed and sent to my graveyard, I can take one of my banished monsters and add it to my hand. I choose to add back Helios – The Primordial Sun.”
Jaden ended his turn with a nod, and Amnael drew a card to start his own.
“Interesting…” Amnael muttered. Then, he looked right at Jaden. “Now, I am rather curious. I’ve been your teacher for almost half a school year now. Yet, I haven’t seen you run that quick-play spell before, and in fact I hadn’t pegged you for someone who would even consider that card. It is, after all, very situational, especially since destruction by battle is the most popular form of card removal these days.”
Jaden shrugged with a bashful grin. “Oh, you know. Weekends gaming with my friends. Walk into Phil’s Torrential Tribute once, shame on him. Twice? Still shame on him. Three times? Shame on him. Four? Well, I’d have to be stupid not to start thinking about ways to stop that. Plus, Alexis has this crazy cool Cyber Angel card that can blow up fields, Chazz has a bunch of dragons that do the same, and even Syrus has started playing around with Dark Hole. It’s like Bastion always says. ‘Necessity is the mother of invention!’ I will say, that card has come in handy more times than I can count off the top of my head!”
“I see… then it appears that I am not the only one who learned a few new tricks from this year’s batch of students. In fact, I’ll show you one right now. I activate the spell card Allure of Darkness, which allows me to draw two cards! Of course, I must then banish one dark monster from my hand. If I can’t, then my whole hand gets sent to the graveyard.”
Amnael drew two cards, and then his mouth split into a grim smile. “And I choose to banish Necroface from my hand. That action will activate Necroface’s effect. Since it was banished, we will both banish the top five cards of our deck from the game. Soul Absorption will net me 500 life points from Necroface, and then 5000 more from the combined total of 10 cards we will be banishing from the top of our decks.
Jaden: 3000 Amnael: 9500
“A-almost ten thousand life points!” Jaden gulped. His eyes were wide with equal amounts of disbelief and excitement. “What a rad play!”
“Truly.” Amnael couldn’t help himself and laughed at Jaden’s wording. “Now from my hand, I activate the effect of Luna the Dark Spirit (1600/1200), banishing my dark-attribute D.D. Scout Plane from my graveyard to special summon her in defense position. Then, by sacrificing Luna the Dark Spirit, I tribute summon my alchemical creation, the Golden Homunculus (1500/1500) in attack position! While it’s on the field, it will gain 300 attack and defense points for each of my banished cards! Also, I gain yet another 500 life points since scout plane was banished!”
Golden Homunculus (1500/1500 -> 3900/3900).
Jaden: 3000 Amnael: 10000
“Golden Homunculus, use your unbreakable fists to crush Elemental Hero Mudballman back into the slabs of clay that were used to create its body!”
The towering golem of golden-colored rock grunted and groaned as it stumbled with unsteady steps towards the slightly smaller defensive figure of Elemental Hero Mudballman. The field shook and quaked with its every step, until finally a singular golden fist hammered right through the defending hero with a single haymaker punch.
“I now move to my end phase. Since D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) was banished this turn, it will return from the other dimension to my field in attack position.”
Jaden wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he stared down the towering form of Amnael’s golden golem. “Holy moly professor. That is one big boy! A super chunky fella! I wonder how I can deal with that…” Jaden’s voice trailed off near the end of his sentence as he considered his scant options. Then he shrugged.
“Well, I just gotta do what I just gotta do. I’ll start things off right by getting rid of that crazy-good continuous spell of yours. I activate the spell card R – Righteous Justice! It allows me to destroy spells and traps on the field equal to the number of heroes I control. Sadly, since I have two heroes but you only have one spell card, it will also destroy my face down trap to meet that two-card requirement. Goodbye, Hero Barrier. I hardly knew ye.”
Amnael nodded to Jaden. “Well-played regardless.” He said as he watched a giant red ‘R’ blast both his Soul Absorption and Jaden’s face down trap, Hero Barrier, into scraps fit only for the graveyard.
“Ha, thanks teach.” Jaden grinned and gestured a thumbs up. “Now that I can banish my stuff without making you harder to take down, I’d be a fool not to do that! I activate the spell card Miracle Fusion! By banishing Elemental Hero Clayman from my graveyard and Elemental Hero Stratos from my field, I can fusion summon the wonderous windy warrior, Elemental Hero Great Tornado (2800/2200)! Of course, once he hits the field his super special effect activates to halve the attack and defense of all monsters you currently control.”
Golden Homunculus (3900/3900 -> 1950/1950), D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200 -> 400/600).
Massive tornadoes swept around the sandy beach, reducing visibility to nearly zero as a cloaked hero garbed in a flashy green and yellow costume directed the cutting blades of wind to lash out at the two monsters Amnael had under his control. The wind battered and bruised them, catching both of the creatures off-balance in a perfect position for Jaden’s monsters to strike.
A second later, the wind-wielding hero attacked the golden golem with a furious war cry, its fists battering through the golem’s lowered attack points to slice its body of golden rocks into tiny little pebbles. The attack of Elemental Hero Steam Healer followed up right after the tornadoes calmed down into a simple windy gale, the superheated steam from the hero melting D.D. Scout Plane into molten slag once more. As a final gift, Elemental Steam Healer’s effect also activated to heal Jaden’s life points by 800.
Jaden: 3800 Amnael: 7750
Amnael’s lips thinned as his powerful monster was taken out in one blow. “I have seen this time and time again throughout the semester. Yet, I am constantly surprised by your luck, Jaden.” He eventually acknowledged through a scowl. “I draw.” Amnael glanced at the new addition to his hand and his face took on an intrigued look.
“Interesting. Jaden, I wonder if you have the ability to make that play again. While it pains me to skip the proper process to perfectly align the celestial bodies for this next move, the fact that these two cards are in my hand is auspicious indeed. I cannot ignore this chance, it would be a great folly and an insult to alchemist’s everywhere. I activate the spell card Foolish Burial to send Helios Trice Megistus from my deck to my graveyard.”
Amnael took a deep breath and arranged his face into a solemn look. His eyes darkened, and the veins covering his face bulged further and further out from his skin. “Though this vessel of mine may not last much longer due to this, my spell card shall reveal your fate, Jaden! I activate Monster Reborn! Feed fuel into the life-giving suns to wash away all within their reach through their unimaginable heat! A smaller sun becomes larger, a larger sun splits into three! I special summon from my graveyard, the trio of the cosmos, Helios Trice Megistus (0/0)! While they’re on the field, they gain 300 attack points per banished monster!”
Helios Trice Megistus (0/0 -> 3300/3300).
Similar to how Helios – The Primordial Sun had appeared earlier, three feminine figures wrapped in bandages swooped out of the night sky. Their heads were blazing orbs of sun and fire, and faint giggling sounds could be heard emanating from where their mouths would normally be.
“Helios Trice Megistus, show your high ranking in the order of life! Annihilate that measly hero of wind!”
The three bandaged ladies giggled once more as they swooped and soared in the air around Elemental Hero Great Tornado. Several sparks glistened in the sky, slowly approaching the trio of ladies as if they were sailors being called from their celestial ship by a group of fearsome sirens. One by one the sparks got closer and closer until they began to slam with frantic motions into the hero’s arms and legs. Each hit dissolved sections of his skin. Scraps of cloth, pieces of flesh, and even his eyeballs disappeared into nothingness, dissolved by the mere touch of the sparks until the great hero was utterly disintegrated. The same scene happened again to Elemental Hero Steam Healer, as Amnael swiftly revealed the effect of his monster to make a second attack in a row since Jaden still controlled a monster after Amnael’s first attack.
Jaden: 1800 Amnael: 7750
Jaden shook his head, his feet standing firm despite his muscles that trembled with every spark from the attack that landed on his clothing. “And you called my luck crazy. Dude, you summoned a super big monster, watched it get destroyed, and then immediately summoned another one with only slightly less attack!” Jaden grinned in spite of the situation at hand. “Man! I just gotta say, the back and forth of this duel is! Just! SUPER!”
A card was added to Jaden’s hand as he drew to start his turn. His grin flickered but eventually held firm. “Well, it could have been better, but I do wonder what I can draw with this… I activate my spell card Legacy of a Hero, which lets me return Elemental Hero Mudballman and Elemental Hero Great Tornado from my graveyard back to my extra deck in order to draw three cards.” Jaden’s grin widened. “Perfect! Professor Banner, or Amnael, or whatever you want to call yourself, I won’t judge. Prepare yourself for my consecutive fusion summons! I discard Elemental Hero Necroshade to activate the effect of Fusion Recycling Plant, adding one Polymerization from my deck to my hand. Then, by using that very same Polymerization spell, I fuse Elemental Hero Poison Rose with Elemental Hero Sparkman to summon Elemental Hero Gaia (2200/2600)! When this big guy is summoned, I can halve the attack of one of your monsters until the end phase, and Gaia will gain that same amount of attack!”
Elemental Hero Gaia (2200/2600 -> 3850/2600), Helios Trice Megistus (3300/3300 -> 1650/3300).
“Now that I have Elemental Hero Necroshade in the graveyard, he’ll allow me to summon one level five or higher Elemental Hero monster from my hand without tributing. Say hello to Elemental Hero Bladedge! My second Miracle Fusion, activate! By banishing Elemental Hero Sparkman from my graveyard and Elemental Hero Bladedge from my field, I fusion summon Elemental Hero Plasma Vice (2600/2300)! I place one card face down, and then to battle phase we go!”
Amnael’s face took on an ashen complexion as a black-armored golem monster, the so-called Elemental Hero Gaia, thundered across the beach to pummel apart the physical bodies of Helios Trice Megistus. Following up right after, several massive lightning bolts surged from the golden gauntlets of the yellow and blue Elemental Hero Plasma Vice to strike directly into Amnael’s chest, physically blasting the man several feet backwards. Then, as Jaden entered his end phase, Fusion Recycling Plant activated to add Elemental Hero Poison Rose back to his hand.
Jaden: 1800 Amnael: 2950
“Impressive once more.” Amnael gasped from where he kneeled on the sand. One of his hands was clutching his chest near his heart, and his face had large cracks in several places. Even some of the protruding veins from his forehead had burst, though there was no blood leaking from them. Instead, a pale, silver liquid that Jaden eventually recognized as mercury oozed from the broken vessels to pool onto the sand.
“Unfortunately, Jaden, that attack simply was not enough to end this.” Amnael eventually said once his breath had steadied somewhat. “During your end phase, the effect of Helios Trice Megistus activates to bring itself back, gaining an additional 500 attack and defense on top of its earlier 3300 points. You will have to try much harder than that to extinguish these three suns. I draw.”
Amnael grinned. “Now if you thought my monster was strong earlier, time to make it doubly-so. I activate the equip spell D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation, discarding Aqua Spirit from my hand to special summon Necroface from my banished cards. It won’t stay on the field for long, though, because I activate the continuous spell Different Dimension Gate, which will banish both my Necroface and your Elemental Hero Plasma Vice from the field. Of course, that then triggers Necroface’s effect to banish another five cards from the top of each of our decks!”
Jaden let out a small sigh of relief as only three monster cards were banished in total from their decks, meaning that Helios Trice Megistus was only at 4700 attack and defense points after the number of banished monsters was added with the 500-point boost it gained earlier.
“Helios Trice Megistus! Show my student that he still has much to learn! Strike Elemental Gaia to end this duel!”
It felt to Jaden like the trio of women with blazing-hot suns for heads were moving in slow motion. Even being on the other side of the duel field felt unbearably hot to him, just from their presence alone. His mouth felt as dry as he imagined the Sahara Desert to be. No, even dryer and hotter. It felt like he was choking on a mouthful of cherry-red coals fresh from the fire. Coals served up extra-hot with toppings of jalapenos and ghost peppers, of course!
But despite all that, his face was lit up with a fearsome grin of joy.
“Don’t they say that teachers can learn from the student as well?” Jaden shouted back. “You may still be able to destroy my monster, but during the damage calculation I activate my trap card, Half Counter! This will give Elemental Hero Gaia an attack boost equal to half the attack of your sun ladies. It won’t be enough of a boost to beat them, but it sure beats getting added to your weird-looking book for sure!”
Jaden: 1650 Amnael: 2950
“My turn!” Jaden continued to hold his grin, even after getting another taste of Helios Trice Megistus’s heat blast from the destruction of Elemental Hero Gaia. “Well, I think it’s time to show off another new addition to my deck.”
“I summon Vision Hero Vyon (1000/1200), who will send Elemental Hero Avian from my deck to my graveyard on summon. After that, I use his second effect to banish Avian in order to add another Polymerization from my deck to my hand. Now, I’ve been holding out on this card for a couple of turns, so it’s time for that wait to pay off. I activate Parallel World Fusion! By shuffling my banished Elemental Hero Avian, Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, Elemental Hero Clayman, and Elemental Hero Bubbleman back into my deck, I call together wind, fire, earth, and water to summon the master of four elements! Elemental Hero Electrum (2900/2600), I call for your aid in this duel!”
“What?” Amnael stuttered the words in shock. “That card… it’s influenced by the theories of alchemy!”
Jaden nodded with a slight smile on his lips. “Yup. You may be trying to do a bad thing tonight, but I sometimes did pay attention in your classes. Electrum, activate your effect! Return all banished cards into their owner’s decks, pronto! Oh, and he’ll also gain 300 attack points for each monster you control that shares an attribute with him. And while he’s officially a light monster, his effect also allows him to be wind, water, fire, and earth as well. He’s just that cool!”
As quickly as it had shot up in value, the attack points of Helios Trice Megistus dropped down to a measly 500 attack and defense, while Elemental Hero Electrum’s attack rose to 3200 points.
“Sorry professor, this was a super sweet duel, but if those sacred beasts get out, it’ll cause my friends to get hurt! Elemental Hero Electrum, destroy Helios Trice Megistus! Vision Hero Vyon, attack Professor Banner directly to end this game!”
Flashes of fire, spurts of water, green vines soaked in vitalizing energy, and blades of wind lashed out across the beach as a gold and silver-armored hero walked out from the water with confident, purposeful strides. A smooth visor covered his eyes, but his mouth was set in a grim frown. Elemental Hero Electrum raised his right fist into the air and the various elements rampaging around the field collected into a multi-colored gauntlet that decorated his golden fist. A quick blast of color engulfed the sun-headed women, vaporizing them just like they had vaporized Electrum’s fellow heroes.
Behind the shiny golden-silver hero, a dark purple shadow flickered across the water as a hero that looked more robot than man dashed across the waves. His entire face was nothing but one head-sized robotic eye. Though he looked far weaker than his fellow hero, the damage that Elemental Hero Electrum had done to Amnael was great enough that the purple energy emanating from Vision Hero Vyon’s singular eye was enough to tear Amnael’s life points down to zero.
“Well done… Jaden. What luck indeed.” Amnael gasped between the mouthfuls of silver mercury that leaked from between his lips. “Thus… the student surpasses the teacher.”
Jaden ran forward, but by the time he reached Amnael’s body, it was cold and lifeless. A cat with brown fur speckled with dark brown stripes ran up next to Jaden.
“Pharaoh…” Jaden turned sadly to Professor Banner’s cat. “Sorry buddy…”
“It’s quite alright, actually.” Jaden jumped several feet into the air as Professor Banner’s voice began to come out of the cat’s mouth. “That was a homunculus vessel of mine. My original body died many, many years ago. I’m rather surprised myself.” The cat went on while licking his paws. “To think that my soul would attach itself to my cat. Happenstance? Or perhaps it was our bond that did the trick.”
“So… what now?” Jaden asked in utter confusion. None of his classes had ever covered what he should do in the event of a teacher trying to shadow duel him, losing, and then turning into a cat. This was a new one for sure. In fact, as the cat continued to speak in Professor Banner’s voice, Jaden increasingly began to wonder if he was hallucinating it all.
“Oh knock it off Jaden. Through alchemy, anything is possible. Anyways, go over to my old homunculus body and grab my book. Shadow charms like that shouldn’t be left laying around. Also, in the breast pocket of my old jacket, there is a card that you might find handy, since your spirit companion is what it is.”
Jaden looked at the cat – no, at Professor Banner, for a few seconds with skeptical eyes, but eventually he did was he was instructed. The book, which appeared to be a strange object bound in purple cloth with a millennium eye affixed to the cover, was tucked away in the waistband of the professor’s old body.
“Sabatiel – The Philosopher’s Stone…” Jaden read out after retrieving the card from Banner’s pocket. “A card that works with my buddy Winged Kuriboh. Huh. He’ll be happy to see this.”