"Duel!" ×2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Jaden, LP 4000]
The stadium was packed early on the weekend, with most of the academy's students gathering to watch. Kira and Jaden were already well-known freshmen in the academy. Now that more than half of the first semester had passed, both had proven their unique strength among the new students with real results.
So, this duel would not only decide who would represent the main campus, but also who truly deserved the title of Rookie King this year.
"I'm going first. My turn, draw!"
Jaden drew a card and immediately played another from his hand.
"Spell Card—E Emergency Call! Add an 'Elemental HERO' from my deck to my hand."
Jaden searched his deck and added a card.
"I add 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman' to my hand. Then, in Defense Position, I Normal Summon Bubbleman!"
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, DEF 1200]
"When Bubbleman is successfully summoned and I have no other cards on my field, I draw two cards!" (Anime effect)
Starting right off with a Pot of Greed effect, Jaden refilled his hand.
"Then I activate the Spell Card 'Take Over 5'—send the top five cards of my deck to the Graveyard." (Anime-original card)
A card unique to the anime, and one of Jaden's staples. It mills five from the top of the deck, and on your next turn, by banishing this card from the graveyard along with a same-named card from the deck, you can draw one. Very powerful.
Kira smiled strangely and narrowed his eyes when he saw this card: "That card, huh... interesting."
"My turn's over." Jaden smiled. "This semester, I've dueled all kinds of people, including some really strong ones. But the one I most wanted to face is you, Kira."
He glanced at his hand, and his deck.
"To be honest, your duels always inspire me. I feel like I've learned a lot and gotten much stronger. But I also feel that only by dueling you can I truly prove it."
"Interesting, I feel the same way," Kira smiled.
For him, dueling Jaden was also the best test of his progress this semester.
"My turn, draw!"
Kira said solemnly.
"I'm going to activate the same card."
With a wave of his hand, the image of a Spell Card appeared before him.
"Spell Card—Take Over 5! Send the top five cards of my deck to the Graveyard!"
Jaden: "!"
The audience stirred.
"It's the same card as Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed.
"This semester, Kira and Jaden have been learning from each other and influencing each other. So their card choices have started to overlap," said top commentator Misawa, already in position.
Alexis smiled, "That's nice."
Kira also sent the top five cards of his deck to the grave. Jaden laughed and rubbed his nose, "Surprising to see you use the same card as me. What did I say earlier? Strong duelists tend to make similar choices."
Kira just smiled and continued, "Then I Normal Summon 'Lancer Archfiend'."
[Lancer Archfiend, ATK 1600]
"Lancer Archfiend attacks 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman,'" Kira declared, waving his hand.
Lancer Archfiend charged, dual blades slashing at the crouched Bubbleman.
"At this moment, Lancer Archfiend's effect activates: when my monster attacks a Defense Position monster, once per turn, if my attack is higher than their defense, I deal piercing damage," Kira continued. "So Lancer Archfiend destroys Bubbleman and deals piercing damage!"
The sharp blades cut through, Bubbleman's body split and exploded with a bang.
[Jaden, LP 4000 → 3600]
"Then I set two cards face-down in my back row and end my turn."
"My turn, draw," Jaden said. "During the Standby Phase, I banish 'Take Over 5' in my graveyard along with a same-named card from my deck to draw one card!"
The Spell Card's image emerged from the grave, then faded in a flash of golden light. Jaden drew another card.
Having accelerated his draw again, Jaden's lips curled up as he looked at his new card, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Kira recognized that look.
Whenever Jaden was about to summon his cool heroes and show off the monsters he was proud of, he'd always have that expectant expression.
"Here we go!" Jaden raised the card in his hand. "I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! Calling forth my Elemental HERO!"
Kira smiled.
"Sorry, Jaden, but I can't let you do that."
"Huh?"
"If we're both going all out, not making targeted adjustments would be disrespectful," Kira grinned. "So today I've specially prepared this card—
—Continuous Trap: 'Non-Fusion Area!'
As long as this card is on the field, neither of us can Fusion Summon in this duel!"
Jaden gasped.
What?
No Fusion!?
The spectators were stunned.
Everyone who knew Jaden knew he used a HERO deck focused on lower-level monsters, and all his big hitters relied on Fusion. If he couldn't use Fusion, half his power was sealed!
And this was even more brutal than the original anime's "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell" that just negated Polymerization—Jaden's deck still had Field Spells like "Fusion Gate" and "Miracle Fusion" that could fuse from the graveyard. Even if one Fusion method was blocked, he had other ways.
But "Non-Fusion Area" wasn't so limited—it blocked Fusion Summoning itself. No matter what, all those fancy Fusion tricks were dead on arrival.
"Well, that's Kira for you," Misawa mused. "Definitely his style."
Non-Fusion Area was rare in this world—not just anyone could get it. But everyone knew Kira had good connections with the top card dealers.
"Huh? Now Jaden can't Fusion Summon at all," Syrus was dumbfounded. "How can he fight like this? It's too unfair!"
Syrus imagined himself in that situation—most people would be devastated, frustrated, maybe even give up before the duel was over.
But the one on the field was not Syrus—it was Jaden.
Jaden lowered his head, pondering for a few seconds.
Then suddenly looked up, excited: "As expected! You really are amazing, Kira, targeting the weakness of my Elemental HERO deck. Haha, this is what your duels are all about!"
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode