It all began with Painful Choice.
Like a perfectly executed chain reaction, HERO after HERO began to materialize on Jaden Yuki's field.
"By the effect of the Malicious in my Graveyard, I banish it to Special Summon another copy from my deck! Come forth, Destiny HERO - Malicious!"
With a wave of Jaden's hand, a demonic hero roared as it emerged from a pillar of light.
*Destiny HERO - Malicious*
*Level: 6*
*ATK: 800 / DEF: 800*
"And don't forget Destiny HERO - Denier!" Jaden added with a confident smile. "When a Destiny HERO monster is on the field or in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon him back to the field!"
Hum.
A purple glow rose from the ground as a blonde man in a sharp purple suit and a silver-white mask materialized, a cold smirk playing on his lips as he stepped out of the summoning circle.
"From the Graveyard again... this person can manipulate the dead so easily," the Gravekeeper's Chief muttered, cold sweat drenching his brow.
Among all the duelists he had encountered in the past, even the sole individual who had passed the trial had never exerted such overwhelming pressure. What was the deal with this outsider, Jaden Yuki?
"Furthermore, when Denier is summoned or Special Summoned, I can place one of my Destiny HERO monsters from my deck or my banished zone back on top of my deck. Naturally, I choose the Malicious I just banished."
Jaden smiled as he retrieved the Malicious card from the banished zone and placed it firmly on top of his deck.
"Malicious and Denier... by utilizing these two cards, Jaden can essentially generate a never ending loop of resources," Ash Blossom noted, nodding slowly as she provided a serious analysis. "It's precisely because of those two that HERO decks can run so smoothly."
"Um, what exactly are you talking about, meow?" Professor Banner asked, his eyes squinted in confusion as he watched Ash Blossom talking to herself.
"I told you, it's nothing!"
Four heroes. Jaden's field was now occupied by four distinct shadows.
*Elemental HERO Solid Soldier, Vision HERO Vyon, Destiny HERO - Malicious, and Destiny HERO - Denier.*
The Gravekeeper's Chief swallowed hard, forcing a cold sneer. "You may have managed to summon a small army of heroes with a single combo and minimal cost, but they are nothing but weaklings in the face of my monster's power!"
The Chief raised his voice, shouting, "Have you forgotten? My Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist possesses a staggering 3200 ATK!"
Indeed, 3200 ATK was a height Jaden's current heroes could not hope to reach.
However...
"Are you serious? He's acting that confident over a measly 3200?" Ash Blossom couldn't help but scoff. "Forget 3200, it wouldn't matter even if it were ten times that! Without Necrovalley on the field, your monster is nothing but a vanilla beatstick!"
"You're right," Jaden said. "Individually, these heroes are weak. But heroes have their own way of fighting."
Jaden pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate the effect of Vision HERO Vyon! By banishing one HERO monster from my Graveyard, I can add one Polymerization from my deck to my hand. I banish Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"
Jaden removed the Shadow Mist card from his Graveyard and placed it in the banished zone before drawing a card from his deck.
"For a HERO, Polymerization is a card that represents infinite possibilities." Jaden glanced at his Extra Deck.
"A fusion? Which one will he pick?" Ash Blossom's eyes widened with excitement. "Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer? Or Sunrise?"
Sunrise possessed incredible finishing power and could trigger Miracle Fusion to bring out another fusion. On the other hand, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer had massive suppression capabilities; though its raw power was lower than Sunrise's, it was excellent for clearing the field. Since the opponent still had a face-down card, Jaden could use the Enforcer to test the waters.
However, Ash Blossom was more concerned about a specific card in Jaden's Graveyard: Break the Destiny.
The Supreme King hadn't sent that card to the Graveyard for no reason. If she remembered correctly, Break the Destiny was one of the key cards used to summon Destiny HERO - Plasma.
Could it be that Jaden intended to...
"I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization!"
A colorful fusion vortex spiraled into existence behind Jaden. Denier and Malicious leaped into the swirling maw together.
"I fuse Malicious and Denier! From the Extra Deck, I Special Summon Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!"
A scorching red lotus bloomed across Jaden's field as the fires of hell erupted. A hero wreathed in dark red flames descended, arms crossed, floating majestically beside Jaden.
*Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer*
*Level: 8*
*ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2100*
"He chose Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer... it seems Jaden really is going to use that card," Ash Blossom whispered, her anticipation growing.
"Ngh..."
Feeling the blistering heat radiating from the Enforcer, the white haired boy on the Chief's side of the field grimaced in pain. He dropped to one knee, his body trembling.
"W-what's happening?" the Chief's expression paled as he looked at the Enforcer.
"Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer reduces the ATK of all monsters you control by 200 for every HERO monster in my Graveyard," Jaden explained. "I currently have three HEROes in my Graveyard."
*Destiny HERO - Plasma, Destiny HERO - Malicious, and Destiny HERO - Denier.*
"Therefore, your monster loses 600 ATK."
"Aaaargh!" The white haired boy was instantly enveloped by the crimson flames, collapsing to the ground with a cry of agony.
*Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist*
*ATK: 3200 → 2600*
Despite the crushing suppression of the crimson fire, the white haired boy gritted his teeth and struggled to stand, glaring up at the dark red hero standing proudly before him.
Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer... it possessed a power just as terrifying as the youth named Jaden Yuki. But for the sake of the Gravekeeper clan...
"Still holding on?" Jaden watched the boy struggle, a faint glint of admiration appearing in his eyes.
One had to remember that this wasn't the outside world where duel monsters were mere holograms. In the Duel Spirit World, these entities were real. The burning sensation of those red lotus flames was very much physical.
"I... I won't give up..." the boy muttered through gritted teeth.
"Willing to give your life for such a foolish clan?" Jaden asked. "Or are you simply going to bow your head to fate?"
Jaden silently retrieved a card from his Graveyard. "I wonder..."
Looking at the boy, the image of Marik Ishtar suddenly flashed through Jaden's mind. If left to his own devices, would this boy become a second Marik?
That might be interesting...
A slight smirk curved Jaden's lips. If that was the case, he might as well give the boy a little shove. He wanted to see this spirit world descend into the same kind of beautiful chaos he envisioned.
"I activate the effect of Break the Destiny from my Graveyard! While this card is in the Graveyard, I can banish it to add a Spell or Trap card that lists 'Destiny HERO' or 'Dragoon D-END' from my deck to my hand."
The red trap card rose from the Graveyard before vanishing into the banished zone. Jaden caught the card that ejected from his deck between his fingers.
"Break the Destiny..."
The white haired boy looked at Jaden, his eyes filled with a trace of confusion.
"I add D - Force to my hand," Jaden declared. "And now, I activate the Continuous Spell, D - Force!"
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