Chapter 336: Phantom! (Seeking monthly tickets)

Having gained a Pot of Greed for free, Edo did not seem particularly happy, but continued the duel.

"Activate Spell Card, Polymerization."

He slowly placed a Spell Card into his Duel Disk: "Fuse the two Destiny HERO monsters on the field."

"The fusion condition is two Destiny HERO monsters."

"Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Following Edo's move, the two monsters on the field gradually merged into one, transforming into a high-tech hero. He had golden shoulder pads and a golden mask, with a large 'D' printed on the top of the mask.

Then, it rubbed its hands together in the air, manifesting two pitch-black energy orbs, as if clutching two black holes.

Destiny HERO - Dystopia, Level 8, Dark Attribute, Warrior-Type, ATK 2800.

"Activate the monster effect of Dystopia. When this card is Fusion Summoned, inflict damage to the opponent equal to the ATK of one Level 4 or lower Destiny HERO in my Graveyard! I choose Diamond Dude!"

"Pressure Palm!"

Dystopia rushed in front of Tenjou Hikari and pressed its right hand down toward him. The black energy landed on Tenjou Hikari's shoulder. At first, there was no sign of anything, but a second later, with a 'boom', Tenjou Hikari instinctively clutched his shoulder and gasped in pain.

Tenjou Hikari LP: 4000 → 2600.

"He dealt damage before Hikari!"

"As expected of a professional player."

"It's not over yet. Activate the effect of the second Malicious in the Graveyard, banish it, and Special Summon another Malicious from the Deck!"

Wow...

Compared to the loss of Life Points, seeing Edo summon a third 'Malicious' was even more interesting to Tenjou Hikari.

This was a 'third' Malicious that one would never see in a lifetime of OCG.

"Spell Card, Force!"

"Target two face-up monsters on the field. Until the end of the turn, one target's ATK is halved, and the other monster's ATK increases by that amount!"

"I halve the ATK of Dystopia, and increase the ATK of Malicious!"

Dystopia, ATK: 2800 → 1400.

Malicious, ATK: 800 → 2200.

"Huh, the ATK didn't change, what's the point?"

Some students voiced their confusion.

"Perhaps Edo Phoenix wants to deal higher damage—"

No!

Serena suddenly recalled.

Dystopia's effect is!

"At this moment, activate the monster effect of Dystopia!" Edo raised his right hand, "Once per turn, if this card's ATK is different from its original ATK, target 1 card on the field and destroy it. This effect... can also be activated during the opponent's turn!"

"Ah!?"

"It's over. If Flame Swordsman is destroyed now, Hikari won't have any monsters left to protect him!"

"Edo Phoenix, he intends to end the battle this turn!"

The watching students marveled at Edo's power.

With just a few cards, without using many cards from his hand, he had already fused into a powerful high-level monster, and by repeatedly summoning monsters, he could increase ATK while destroying monsters.

If Edo's chain resolved, Tenjou Hikari would lose this turn!

"Dystopia's effect, restore ATK, destroy 1 monster on the opponent's field!"

"Noble Justice!"

Dystopia, ATK: 1400 → 2800.

Dystopia rushed toward Flame Swordsman. Flame Swordsman swung his greatsword, doing his best to block the attack, but no matter how hard he tried, he was overwhelmed by the power and exploded into fragments with a 'boom'.

"With this, the battle...!?" Just as Edo decided to attack directly to draw the curtain on this duel that had disappointed him, he suddenly noticed that the ring of fire burning on the field had not dissipated.

Not only did it not dissipate, but the black flames on the field were still burning fiercely!

The flames turned from red to black, and then, those black flames spread to the surroundings of the field.

"What's going on?"

"Huh, does Flame Swordsman have an effect?"

"No, I remember it being a vanilla monster..."

The students looked around in surprise, none of them able to provide an answer.

And just as the flames engulfed the entire dueling arena, the flames slowly turned from black to blue...

"Activate monster effect!"

"Monster effect?!" Edo was stunned, "Could it be that Flame Swordsman from some dimension has a monster effect?"

"No—what I am activating is not the effect of Flame Swordsman, but..."

"Activate the monster effect of Phantom Flame Swordsman in the Graveyard!"

Who is that!?

Edo was shocked.

Graveyard?

It was the monster card sent to the Graveyard by Flame Sword Domain!

Boom!

Before he could think it through, the black flames on the field completely transformed into blue flames. In the sky, two long blades spun and appeared on the field, and then, a pitch-black figure slowly emerged near the two great blades.

Under the gaze of everyone, the armor on the pitch-black figure slowly shattered, and hidden beneath the black was a shining, bright gold.

"Haa!"

The swordsman grabbed the two great blades, spun in a wheel dance, and slashed forward, forcing the two Destiny HEROes attempting a direct attack to abandon their plans.

Then, he stood silently by Tenjou Hikari's side.

"If this card is in the hand or Graveyard, and a face-up FIRE Fusion Monster I control is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon it!"

"This is the brand-new form of the knight who has crossed countless hardships and paved the way for me!"

"Phantom Flame Swordsman!"

Phantom Flame Swordsman, Level 8, FIRE Attribute, Warrior-Type, ATK 2800!

Having experienced countless trials, acting as a stepping stone for Tenjou Hikari, and working tirelessly, Black Flame, after being exposed by Tiera regarding his inner thoughts, finally gave up on the insistence of only being a 'Fusion Monster' and completed his evolution.

"Phantom Flame Swordsman... could it be... Mirage Knight?" Edo was naturally knowledgeable, and he also knew that when Dark Flame Knight was destroyed by battle, Mirage Knight could be Special Summoned.

"That card, is it an evolution of Dark Flame Knight!"

"Changing from a Fusion Monster to a high-level monster?"

"But it's still a card related to Fusion."

"Tenjou Hikari, he even managed to do something like this."

Some were surprised, some respectful, some confused, and some found it unbelievable.

Although everyone had heard stories of cards resonating with duelists and evolving, seeing it happen right before their eyes still felt like a dream.

Phantom Flame Swordsman had 2800 ATK, and Dystopia, which had recovered its ATK, also had 2800 ATK, so attacking directly was obviously inappropriate.

After all, even if they clashed with equal ATK, Malicious couldn't end the duel, so for Edo, it was obviously more meaningful to keep Dystopia.

But compared to what happened this turn, Edo's heart, which had been like stagnant water, suddenly had ripples at this moment.

Moving forward together with monsters, and even evolving!

Such legendary stories appearing before his eyes were also a shock to him, someone who loved Duel Monsters.

But precisely because of this, when he regained a trace of vitality, and when he began to think about himself again... he felt even more pain.

Compared to Tenjou Hikari, who grew together with his monsters and persisted in Fusion, he was merely using HEROes to avenge his father.

(End of chapter)