"I apologize." Mr. Phoenix pulled his son back, looking apologetic, "Kids don't know how to speak properly."
"No worries, no worries," Youyu waved his hand generously and smiled, "What an interesting kid."
Even as he said this, Youyu thought to himself, it's fine, there's plenty of time ahead, and we'll have plenty of opportunities to teach young Ed well...
"Actually, there's another reason I wanted to meet you this time."
Mr. Phoenix moved on and said, "It's like this. Our Industrial Illusions Society is very interested in the Elemental Hero Deck you're using.
Honestly, the group has also been trying to develop a similar series. My department is directly responsible for designing a similar series myself..."
Youyu roughly understood.
It seems he guessed right; according to the progression of the animation story, the Hero Decks are about to take the big stage in the Yu-Gi-Oh World.
However, it seems Industrial Illusions Society wasn't curious why he possessed non-officially printed cards—strictly speaking, the Duel Monsters game wasn't originally created by International Fantasy Society but has existed since ancient times, only becoming globally popular again in the hands of President Pegasus.
Because of the uniqueness of this game, the distribution of Duel Monster Cards isn't exclusively patented by International Fantasy Society.
As long as one possesses advanced enough technology or extraordinary power to give the cards spirituality, other organizations and individuals also have opportunities to print new cards.
Even the monster spirits coming from the Spirit World might produce new cards through their own powers.
This is also why every generation of Yu-Gi-Oh bosses can always pull out a bunch of cards even Pegasus has never heard of.
There's another more typical example, which is that the protagonists of each generation have at least a few cards no one's ever seen...
It's only logical that the strength of International Fantasy Society managed to find out Youyu was a high-ranking officer of the Inner World organization's "Nightwalker World," so having mysterious cards wasn't anything unacceptable.
"Mr. Pegasus also expressed great interest in the Hero series," Mr. Phoenix said, "It seems Mr. Pegasus mentioned that when there's a chance, he hopes to chat with you about the deck design concepts and views on Duel Monsters games."
"If I have the chance to chat with the Father of Duel Monsters, I'd be honored," Youyu smiled.
Pegasus is known as the modern Father of Duel Monsters, making him the top authority in the card game field. Having any connection with such a figure would have its obvious advantages.
In any world, the strong are respected, and rising status naturally brings more connections and resources. This has become evident in just the few days since Youyu became the Duel King.
After all, in this world, the standard for measuring a strong person is basically directly linked to card skills.
Mr. Phoenix changed the subject, "Of course, today, I don't represent International Fantasy Society, but only myself. And I... well... have a bit of an unusual request."
Youyu watched as Mr. Phoenix slowly unzipped his backpack and pulled out a Duel Disc... he had a general idea of what was coming.
Mr. Phoenix said seriously, "Duel with me."
Little Ed's eyes widened in surprise, looking back and forth between Youyu and his dad.
Dad wants to duel with Youyu!?
"It's nothing special," Mr. Phoenix smiled slightly, "It's just that I've recently designed a deck myself and never had the opportunity to test it in actual combat.
But I think there's no more suitable opponent than you and your 'Elemental Heroes.'"
Now that he mentioned this, Youyu naturally guessed what the "new deck" the other person was referring to.
It's probably the last Hero series, Destiny Heroes, created by Ed's father before his death, as mentioned in the GX Animation.
However, if Mr. Phoenix was inspired to design this deck after seeing Youyu use "Elemental Heroes," and now he already has the finished product, this means Industrial Fantasy Society must have noticed Youyu and his Hero Deck before the Duel City tournament.
They likely noticed after Youyu tied with President Haima for the first time.
Otherwise, from the end of the Duel City tournament until now, in just a few days, there's no way they could have completed a finished deck.
Since the invitation was so earnest, Youyu couldn't possibly refuse. Not because he was itching to play but because...
"Ding!"
"Mission Triggered: Heroic Destiny Battle!"
As expected, the task description was straightforward, revealing that the opponent's deck truly was "Destiny Heroes," and as expected, it was an optional task. Youyu could choose to accept or refuse on the spot.
However, here he naturally chose...
"Alright." Youyu nodded, "I'll take this duel!"
"..."
Kidding! Why wouldn't I accept?
The mission reward clearly listed that the victory reward was a "Destiny Hero Captain Tenacious" card!
Destiny Hero Captain Tenacious, with an attack power of 800, has the effect of special summoning a Destiny Hero destroyed in battle in the previous turn during your preparation phase.
Although it has low attack power and a rather underwhelming effect, making it quite a useless card...
...but still, it's a Destiny Hero!
A new Hero series!
This means Youyu's card pool can expand again!
Of course, that's on the premise that Youyu wins this duel.
...
A moment later, the two came to an open space.
They exchanged decks, shuffled, inserted them back into their respective Duel Discs, and then moved to their designated positions.
Little Ed stood to the side, his eyes wide open as he watched.
"Duel!" x2
[Youyu, LP 4000]
[Mr. Phoenix, LP 4000]
"You go first," Youyu smiled, "Let me witness the strength of the deck you personally designed."
"Then I'll start," Mr. Phoenix didn't hesitate, "My turn, draw! First, I'll summon this one, the hero with the power to decide the future—
——Destiny Hero Diamond Dude!"
Light shadows and special effects appeared on Mr. Phoenix's field. The slender hero leapt forward, cloak swirling with a clear shout, and his body gleamed with sparkling diamonds.
[Destiny Hero Diamond Dude, Attack Power 1400]
Little Ed was quite excited on the side.
Here it comes! Dad's Destiny Hero!
"Go, Dad!!!" Little Ed shouted, waving his fist vigorously.
"Destiny Hero Diamond Dude." Youyu smiled, "I see, so this is your hero?"
"Yes, indeed. This is the brand new series I designed after gaining inspiration from your deck, Destiny Heroes!" Mr. Phoenix said, "Let's seize this opportunity to duel between your Elemental Heroes and my Destiny Heroes!
I activate the effect of 'Destiny Hero Diamond Dude'! Check the top card of the deck, and if it's a Magic Card, send it to the Graveyard. Next turn, I can activate that Magic Card's effect from the Graveyard. If not, send that card to the bottom of the deck."
Although it's a relatively luck-based effect, it's well-known that true Duelists will undoubtedly draw nothing but Magic Cards...
...Sure enough.
"The card I drew is the Magic Card 'Destiny Draw.' This card usually requires discarding a Destiny Hero to activate, to draw two cards from the deck.
But thanks to Diamond Dude's effect, I send this card to the Graveyard, and next turn, I can activate its effect without cost."
Though the practicality is questionable, the effect design of Diamond Dude is quite unique.
The ability to use effects without cost means that many Magic Cards with strict activation requirements can be activated without regard to those conditions.
For instance, the Magic Card "Ojama Delta Hurricane," which Manjome Jun had in the GX series, has an activation condition requiring "Ojama Green," "Ojama Black," and "Ojama Yellow" to all be on the field simultaneously, with the effect "destroy all cards on the opponent's field."
But if you drew "Ojama Delta Hurricane" with the effect of Destiny Hero Diamond Dude and sent it to the Graveyard, you could effectively destroy all cards on the opponent's field in the next turn without any condition.
Youyu vaguely remembered that there had been decks specifically built around Diamond Dude, focusing on using his effect to activate Magic Cards under difficult conditions to clear the field in earlier times.
"I set a card, end my turn."
Mr. Phoenix clenched his fist.
"Come, Youyu, don't hold back, attack with all your might! Let me witness the power of your Elemental Heroes!"