Currently, the situation is extremely dangerous for Judai.
Even though he had drawn a full hand of six cards again, he was still drenched in sweat.
Because he didn't have a way to defeat the Dragon Lord, which kept reviving infinitely.
Especially since each time a Dragon Lord was sent to the Graveyard, it destroyed one of his cards on the field.
In the first turn, his first Absolute Zero was destroyed by this effect before it could make any impact, and in the second turn, he thought to defend with a strategy of substituting destruction, but to his surprise, the opponent pulled out a second one against him.
Without thinking of a method to breakthrough, if the opponent still had the means to recycle its own cards, he'd face a rainstorm of bombardment.
No matter how well he defended, there would be mistakes, he had to address this situation while he could.
Every possible way flashed wildly through his mind, but then he gritted his teeth again.
If he used this strategy, he would definitely get hurt!
He looked at the students beside him, hesitating in his heart.
What should he do?
He remembered that time, when he was facing the Leader of the Seven-Star and Teacher Daitokuji.
Back then, he had hope for victory, but since he saw Teacher Daitokuji become his opponent, he thought even if he lost, Hikari was still there, and Daitokuji didn't seem that fierce, so he hadn't dueled with the fear of death.
But now?
This time, all the enemies were coming for him!
He was the "culprit."
At that moment, what did Hikari do...
He recalled his thoughts when he later chatted with Tenjo Hikari, trying to find support.
If it were the "self" known by Tenjo Hikari, what would he do?
Perhaps—
He looked at his classmates being bullied by the Tyrant King, a thought flashed through his mind.
Maybe, he could actively let the opponent directly take "life" from him?
Not placing the burden on his classmates, but on himself—yes, that was reasonable!
In an instant, he felt a clear and refreshed mindset, the previous confusion and pain were all released in that moment.
Even as a hero, he didn't have the right to gamble with others' lives!
"Grafa!"
"Hmm? What is it, Supreme King?"
"Don't you want my power? Tell your people to stop bullying my classmates. If I take the damage, just draw the power directly from me!"
"Brother?" "Judai!?" His friends exclaimed.
Grafa listened to Judai's words and was silent for a while.
In its impression, the Supreme King was a ruthless battle machine, only knowing domination and invasion, not protecting or caring for any other being.
It seemed he had no feelings, knowing only duels.
And yet, had he become such a person in his reincarnation?
It glanced at the Tyrant King, who still sneered, thinking this was impossible.
They had hostages in hand, of course, they had the say! Agreeing to duel was already a great gift from the Dragon God, how could they abandon such an advantage?
"Fine." The Dragon God's words were unexpected to it, "All I want is your power! These weak humans are just an excuse! If you want to protect this trash, then follow your heart!
Just don't regret it."
"Huh?" The Tyrant King didn't understand.
"Alright—" Judai managed a smile, "Then it's a deal!"
With determination, he summoned.
"I summon in Defense Position, Neo Space Connector."
A small Neos with stardust in its hands began to shine slowly on Judai's field.
Neo Space Connector, LV 4, Light Attribute, Warrior-Type, DEF 1800.
"When this card is successfully Summoned, activate its effect. From the Hand Card or Deck, Special Summon 1 Neo-Spacian or Neos in Defense Position. I will Special Summon this—Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!"
Neo-Spacian Dark Panther, LV 3, Dark Attribute, Beast-Type, DEF 500.
"Then, I activate Neo Space Connector's second effect, tribute itself to target 1 'Neo-Spacian' or 'Elemental Hero Neos' in my Graveyard. That Monster is Special Summoned in Defense Position!
Come forth, Grand Mole!"
"Squeak!"
A giant drill emerged from the ground, splitting into two to reveal a grinning mole.
Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, LV 3, Earth Attribute, Rock-Type, DEF 300.
"And then... activate the Spell Card, O - Oversoul! Target 1 Elemental Hero Normal Monster in your Graveyard. That Monster is Special Summoned!"
"Come, Neos!"
"Summon Elemental Hero Neos in Defense Position via Special Summon!"
"Hah!"
Neos leaped onto the field, once again gallantly standing guard in front of Judai.
Elemental Hero Neos, LV 7, Light Attribute, Warrior-Type, DEF 2000.
"Now it's all set!"
"Return Neos, Dark Panther, and Grand Mole on the field to the deck for a Triple Contact Fusion!"
"Triple Contact Fusion?"
"Ah, it's a new Neos!?"
"Transform into a cosmic nebula to protect this world!"
The three monsters jumped into the air, forming a massive spinning nebula in the sky. From the dark nebula, a warrior emerged, his right hand equipped with a huge drill while his left hand casually manipulated the Power of Darkness, slowly descending from the air.
"Elemental Hero Nebula Neos."
Elemental Hero Nebula Neos, LV 9, Earth Attribute, Warrior-Type, ATK 3000.
"Attack Power 3000? Hmph, is that all?" The Dragon Lord sneered upon seeing it.
"Effect of Nebula Neos! When this card is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, draw cards equal to the number of cards on the opponent's field!"
"What is that??" The Dragon Lord was dumbfounded upon hearing the effect.
Say that again?
"You have 5 cards on your field, so I draw five cards!"
Judai swiftly drew five cards and carefully examined the cards in his hand.
"After this effect is activated, I can choose 1 face-up card on your field to negate its effect until the end of the turn. I choose Dark World Archives."
Nebula Neos aimed at the archive, its left-handed drill shooting out to smash it, destroying it.
"Eh, why not negate The Gates of Dark World? That way, Nebula Neos's attack power would be even higher."
"Judai has his reasons, besides, destroying it serves no purpose for the Dragon Lord, right?"
Judai pondered over his substantial hand for a while.
"I'll end my turn like this."
"What??"
Judai's words shocked everyone.
"Nebula Neos will return to the Extra Deck due to the lack of cosmic force," Judai instructed Nebula Neos, "Return, Neos!"
Nebula Neos, without a word, flew towards the sky.
"In this moment, the effect of Nebula Neos activates! Returning to the deck, all cards on the field are banished in face-down position!"
"!!" The Dragon Lord was shocked.
"Ah! I see!" Kenzan excitedly patted the vehicle, "No matter how resurrectable a monster is, if it's banished, there's nothing to be done. Plus, it's in [face-down banishment], which means even with various retrieval cards, there's no way to recover them!"
In a duel, cards with different information exist; face-up represents known information, while face-down represents unknown. A face-down banished card, due to its "unknown" information, cannot be recovered using conventional banishment retrieval cards.
So, once banished, it essentially disappears!
Almost permanently!
"Amazing—" Grafa applauded Judai's declaration, lightly clapping its claws in admiration, "Using such a method? Looks like I have only one choice left… Activate the Trap Card, Excessive Performance!"
A Trap Card slowly flipped up.
This card was initially set to counter Neos-like entities, such as Flame Neos, but ended up being used in this situation.
"When the ATK of a face-up monster on the field is higher than its original ATK, all those monsters are destroyed!"
"Self-destruction?" Jim frowned.
"But it's the best decision," O'Brien nodded gently.
Yes, it's the best choice!
"Tsk—" Judai sneered.
He was concerned that the Dragon Lord's Set Card might be a discard card, enhancing the archive's synergistic effects for hand card replenishment, but he didn't expect this.
The two Dragon Lord's monsters on the field, bloated and swollen from excessive power, exploded into fragments at their limit from within.
Simultaneously, in the sky, Nebula Neos raised its right hand, gathering all power.
The massive black nebula ascended in the sky, spinning, attracting all card elements towards it. Moments later, everything vanished into stardust, disappearing from the field.
At least, the archive and The Gates of Dark World were dealt with.
Judai mentally affirmed.
He looked at his hand cards: "Since the hand exceeds 6 cards at the end of the turn, I discard the hand cards…"
He discarded Neos, Undead Dark Hero, and Glow Moss from his hand into the Graveyard.
Though future threats are mitigated… however, his field is now empty.
Next, he'll have to withstand the attack using his own body!