"My turn, draw a card."
Judai drew a card, but did not take action immediately. Instead, he lowered his head as if in deep thought or perhaps hesitating about something.
Zepp Shokyo sneered: "What's the matter, scared so soon? Haha, why not surrender now, maybe I'll go easy on you."
Judai paid him no mind.
"Judai."
Neos once again floated by his side.
"Power itself has no difference between justice and evil," Neos said, "The key is wielding it with a just heart."
"Neos..."
Judai turned his head to meet his gaze, seeing his Elf nod and give him a thumbs up.
Judai closed his eyes gently and smiled with relief.
"You're right. Power is just power after all, it depends on the person using it... I've known this for a long time. And I've also decided long ago, no matter how heavy or dark the past, I will carry it forward."
He pressed the button for the card covered in his duel disc's back row.
"Activate card, Magic Card—
—Dark Fusion!"
The cover card flipped over. The magic unleashed a vast dark vortex, releasing a chaotic storm teeming with thunder and lightning!
Zepp Shokyo: "!"
This card... such powerful darkness!
The moment he saw this card, he seemed to immediately understand why this boy was worth the attention of the Light of Destruction, why he was said to be the opposite of the Light, someone who must be defeated at any cost.
"Use Dark Power to fuse the 'Elemental Hero Lightning Hero' and 'Elemental Hero Clayman' from my hand!"
Judai said.
"Transform into a hero with a demon's body to obtain protective power, appear now—
—Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon!"
Dense clouds gathered like the darkest ink splashed carelessly across the sky. Black lightning pierced the sky, with electric snakes intertwining like living beings, forming an indestructible body of pure darkness and lightning, a towering fortress that summoned thunder.
Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon, summon!
[Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon, Attack Power 2400]
"Lightning Giant Demon... never heard of such a hero?"
Faced with this colossal being and the oppressive surge of lightning, Zepp Shokyo found himself momentarily breathless.
The aura emitted by the young man before him also seemed like a towering dark giant, like a superior looking down, inducing shivers in one's heart.
"Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon's effect, once per turn, destroys a monster on the field," Judai said, "Destroy one of your 'White Knight's Swordsman' on the field!"
The dark giant's right palm surged, with Palm Thunder transforming into a dark stream that instantly shattered one of the swordsmen into powder.
"Next, Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon, attack!"
Dark thunder gathered once more, erupting from the giant's palm!
Zepp Shokyo quickly shook off the oppressive aura of Evil Heart and shouted, "Activate the cover card, Trap Card 'Chaos Burst'!
During the opponent's monster's attack declaration, sacrifice a monster on your field, destroy the opponent's attacking monster, and inflict damage equal to its Attack Power!" (Original effect)
Appearing in the GX animation, the trap was also nerfed in its physical card form. The earlier effects remained the same, but the final part of inflicting effect damage was changed to a fixed 1000 damage to the opponent, rather than being based on the Attack Power of the destroyed monster.
"I sacrifice the second 'White Knight's Swordsman' on my field!" Zepp Shokyo sneered, "That Demon Hero will be destroyed immediately.
Destroy 'Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon' and inflict 2400 damage equal to its attack power to you!"
The second swordsman turned into a sacrifice and vanished, with the released energy injecting into the Trap Card like ammunition, transforming into a golden stream and blasting towards the Lightning Giant Demon!
But it was completely ineffective.
The domineering stream hit the Lightning Giant Demon's chest, yet merely washed over its indestructible armor, leaving not even a scratch.
"What!?" Zepp Shokyo exclaimed in surprise.
"The effect of Dark Fusion," Judai said, "Evil Heart Heroes Fusion Summoned with Dark Fusion are immune to your opponent's Magic and Trap effects this turn." (Original effect)
The physical card of Dark Fusion retained its resistance, but the destruction resistance was altered to immunity to being targeted by opponent card effects this turn, an advantage and disadvantage of its own.
"So apologies, Chaos Burst is useless against Lightning Giant Demon," Judai said, "Evil Heart Hero: Lightning Giant Demon's attack continues.
Attack the last 'White Knight's Swordsman' remaining on your field!"
Zepp Shokyo gritted his teeth.
The Three Musketeers he had summoned in one turn, only a single one remained in the blink of an eye.
"Then the effect of 'White Knight's Swordsman'," Zepp Shokyo said, "As long as this card is in my graveyard, all monsters on the field with 'White Knight' in their name will have their Attack Power increased by 300."
He raised his duel disc, with golden light blossoming from the graveyard.
"Now that there are two 'White Knight's Swordsman' in my graveyard, both effects stack, increasing the Attack Power of the White Knights on the field by a total of 600!"
[White Knight's Swordsman, Attack Power 1200 → Attack Power 1800]
Of course, still no match for Lightning Giant Demon. Black lightning pierced through its chest, and the white knight's swordsman rejoiced with chest wide open, with a hole blown straight through.
Yet the swordsman proved astonishingly resilient, standing wavering yet unmoved, not leaving the field. The black lightning that pierced through him struck a transparent white shield, sparing Zepp Shokyo from any harm.
"At that moment I banished the 'White Knight's Guard' from my graveyard," Zepp Shokyo said, "During a battle involving a 'White Knight' monster on the field, banishing a 'White Knight's Guard' from the game makes the battle damage produced by the White Knight monster become zero, and prevents it from being destroyed in battle."
During the GX animation, Chazz's description mentioned only "battle damage becomes zero," but the actual process suggested monsters were not destroyed. Perhaps it was a descriptive oversight, or battle destruction was included in the "battle damage" concept in that season's animation.
"Surviving Lightning Giant Demon's attack, not bad," Judai smiled, "Then I place one card face-down and end my turn."
"My turn, draw a card."
Back when he first arrived, Zepp Shokyo lacked a clear assessment of the target he had come seeking, but now he seemed fully aware. No wonder the individual was regarded as their number one nemesis, apparently not an easy opponent.
"Very well. Then this turn, I'll show you the strongest White Knight!"