Even though this man in purple didn't seem as detestable as he had imagined, Chazz hadn't forgotten, this was the person who defeated "Jaden Yuki," the one he had to take down.
So, after focusing entirely on the duel and blocking out external distractions, he quickly set two cards in his Spell/Trap Zone.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
"Then, it's my turn." Hikaru swiftly drew a card and immediately revealed a Spell Card from his hand.
"I activate the Normal Spell, Instant Fusion!"
'Fusion already!?'
Chazz was taken aback.
"By paying 1000 Life Points, I can Special Summon a Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck as a Fusion Summon. However, the summoned monster cannot attack and will be destroyed at the end of the turn."
[Hikaru, LP: 4000 → 3000]
"I Fusion Summon, come forth, Thousand-Eyes Restrict!"
A grotesque, eyeball-covered eldritch god emerged from the card. Just looking at it made one's skin crawl and stomach churn.
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict?" Chazz hesitated briefly upon seeing it but didn't waste a second to flip over one of his set cards.
"Wait, during your Special Summon, I activate my Trap Card, Burst Breath!"
Under the watchful eyes of all the examinees and instructors, the WIND Armored Dragon took a deep breath, unleashing a furious torrent of flames.
"This card allows me to Tribute a Dragon-Type monster on my field and destroy all monsters on the field with defense points lower than that monster's attack!"
"Armored Dragon's attack is 1900, and Thousand-Eyes Restrict has 0 defense, so it's destroyed!"
The emerald flames engulfed the eldritch god, reducing it to dust.
At the same time, the dragon, seemingly exhausted, dissolved into light and vanished from the field.
"Huh? Why did Chazz use that Trap Card?" Syrus, who had nothing better to do due to his low ranking, watched the duel, asking.
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict couldn't attack anyway, so wouldn't it have been fine just letting it get absorbed?"
"No. That wouldn't do." Someone interrupted his train of thought.
"Eh!? Misawa, you're here?"
"I've been here the whole time!" Bastion's forehead twitched in annoyance. "Hikaru claims to be competing with me for the top spot in our grade, so of course, I have to watch this."
"Then why did you say that just now? Wouldn't not using Burst Breath save a card?"
"No, you're thinking too simply." Misawa shook his head. "If you know this, then Hikaru obviously does too. Instant Fusion is a powerful card with drawbacks. As a Fusion Duelist, Hikaru understands this better than either of us.
That means he must have a way to take advantage of it."
"Haha, like Flame Swordsrealm!" Jaden suddenly interjected. "I've seen him use that combo before."
"Ohhh." Syrus finally understood.
"But, Chazz doesn't even know who Hikaru is." Bastion crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Does he know what cards are in Hikaru's deck? To make such a decision at that moment. He really is Kaiba's disciple."
"It's instinct, pure instinct!" Jaden beamed from the side. "A Duelist's natural reaction! That's the Chazz I know!"
Yes.
Chazz's play just now had been entirely based on instinct. He recognized Thousand-Eyes Restrict and knew what it could do. Logically speaking, there had been no real need to react so aggressively.
Regardless, he chose to destroy it anyway because something in his gut told him if he didn't, things would only get worse!
Hikaru glanced at his hand and helplessly shook his head.
"Then, I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Future Fusion." Hikaru stroked his chin. "I'll set one more card and end my turn."
"In that case, at the end of your turn, I flip over my set card! Quick-Play Spell, Armed Dragon Flash! I Special Summon Armed Dragon LV3 from my Deck!"
"Let's go, Armed Dragon!"
"Graaaah!" At Chazz's call, a small dragon flew out from the depths of his deck.
"Next, it's my turn, draw! Now, I activate Armed Dragon LV3's effect. During my Standby Phase, I can send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon an Armed Dragon LV5 from my hand or Deck!"
"Evolve, my dragon!"
"RRAAWR!" The small dragon clenched its fists, raised them toward the sky, and let out a cry. Its youthful voice deepened as its body grew larger and more muscular.
[Armed Dragon LV5] Level 5│WIND│Dragon│2400 ATK
"Moving on, I Normal Summon, Masked Dragon!"
[Masked Dragon] Level 3│FIRE│Dragon│1400 ATK
"That's it! Now, Armed Dragon, direct attack!"
[Hikaru, LP: 3000 → 600]
"Next, Masked Dragon, direct attack!" Chazz's excitement grew. If this attack landed, he would win.
"Too naive. I flip my set card, Quick-Play Spell, Scapegoat!"
"!!"
The four classic, fluffy, and smug goats, red, blue, yellow, and pink, appeared.
Seeing them, the thrill of victory and the thought of having defeated Jaden vanished from Chazz's mind. It was as if he'd been doused with cold water, bringing him back to his senses.
Each sheep was essentially a shield with 0 ATK and 0 DEF!
"Scapegoat." Chazz tensed up as he saw the four ghostly sheep standing on the field. "You could have used Scapegoat right away to reduce damage, but you didn't. You knew about Armed Dragon's effect and wanted to prevent it from evolving, didn't you?"
Hikaru nodded and looked upward.
"A student from North Academy used an Armed Dragon deck before. His performance wasn't great, but afterward, I specifically studied the effects of the Armed Dragons. So I know if Armed Dragon LV5 destroys a monster in battle, it evolves into LV7, right?"
"Ugh..."
"As expected of Hikaru," Bastion exclaimed. "Even I didn't know about Armed Dragon LV5 before."
"Knowing your opponent as well as yourself is part of Fusion tactics!"
"Jaden, that sounded really cool just now." Syrus looked back at Jaden in admiration, surprised he could say something so impressive and logical.
"Hahaha~" Jaden scratched the back of his head. "Hikaru said that back in the alternate dimension!"
"Yeah, that makes sense." Syrus awkwardly turned back to watch the duel.
In any case, since he couldn't achieve an OTK, Chazz had no choice but to have Masked Dragon destroy one of the pink sheep.
"Just in case, I set a card and end my turn!"
As expected of a duelist capable of defeating Jaden, he was no pushover.
'Knowing your opponent as well as yourself, huh?'
He overheard Jaden and the others talking, but he had no interest in chatting during a duel, nor did he want to rely on reminders from others.
However, he recalled his previous "training" and started to sweat a little.
Despite having trained for a month with his company's AI, the AI only ever used a HERO deck.
"It's my turn." Hikaru drew a card. "I also activate an effect in my Standby Phase. According to Future Fusion's effect, on the first Standby Phase after activation, I reveal a Fusion Monster to both players, and the materials listed on that card will then be sent from my Deck to the Graveyard."
Hikaru revealed Elemental HERO Flame Wingman.
Shortly thereafter, Chazz suddenly perked up!
'Wait, wait, yes, yes! This was the feeling!'