Chapter 337

"Set two cards, end my turn."

After the attack ended, Aster set two trap cards on the field and then ended his turn.

With that, it was once again Hikari Tenjou's turn.

"My turn."

"Draw." Hikari Tenjou glanced at his hand, but instead of activating anything directly, he looked toward his opponent.

It seemed that because of the appearance of Flame Swordsman, Aster had regained some spirit and was no longer as dead inside as before.

After all, having dueled in this world for nearly two years and having taught Serena, Hikari Tenjou could more or less sense his opponent's state of mind during a duel.

However, it still didn't seem like enough.

"I activate the effect of Flame Sword Domain again, sending a monster card from my hand to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon another Flame Swordsman."

Hikari Tenjou sent a monster from his hand to the Graveyard and Fusion Summoned a second Flame Swordsman.

"Haha, I'm back!"

Flame Swordsman shouted randomly and inappropriately.

"Flame Swordsman again."

"But, even if you summon a second Flame Swordsman, it's useless, right?"

"Wrong. Did you forget the other effect of Flame Sword Domain? He can lower the ATK of 1 Warrior-Type monster on his field until the end of the turn to increase the ATK of all other monsters on the field by 1000!"

"Oh!!" Someone realized with a start.

"Battle!" Hikari Tenjou entered the Battle Phase directly.

"... At this moment, I activate a trap card!" Aster flipped over his set card. "Continuous Trap, Call of the Haunted, to revive a monster in the Graveyard."

"I will revive, Diamond Dude."

"And then—it's not over yet!" Aster didn't stop his play and immediately flipped over another card. "Trap card, D-Fusion!"

"A Fusion trap!"

"Aster is also fighting back with Fusion!?"

"I recognize this card; he used it when he dueled Kaiser!"

D-Fusion?

Hikari Tenjou raised an eyebrow slightly.

So that's how it is.

"This card can Fusion Summon using Destiny HERO monsters on the field, and the Fusion Summoned monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn."

Aster picked up the Malicious and Diamond Dude on his field: "The Fusion requirements are... a Destiny HERO monster and a DARK monster card."

*Clink, clink—*

*Jingle, jangle. *

Countless chains rattled, the monsters turned into streams of light and merged into the chains, and then, a warrior wearing silver-white armor with a cape like a demon's claw appeared, clutching his face and roaring as he entered the field.

Unlike Elemental HEROes, the Destiny HERO series of monsters emphasizes "darkness" and "depth," and this Fusion monster was one of the representatives of that.

"Fusion Summon, Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Destiny HERO - Dystopia, Level 6, DARK, Warrior-Type, ATK 2000.

Aster gripped the last card in his hand and said: "The effect of Flame Sword Domain is that when a monster declares an attack, it lowers the ATK of 1 Warrior-Type monster on your field by 1000, and then until the End Phase, all other monsters on the field gain 1000 ATK.

So—I just need to stop it before the attack!"

Aster sent the card in his hand to the Graveyard: "I activate the monster effect of Destiny HERO - Dystopia. During either player's turn, discard 1 card to activate. Send 1 Destiny HERO monster from your hand or Deck to the Graveyard!

After that, if there is a 【Destiny HERO】 in your Graveyard, all 【Destiny HERO】 monsters on your field gain 200 ATK for each 【Destiny HERO】 monster in your Graveyard until the end of the turn!"

He explained the card's effect: "I discard Destiny HERO - Disk Commander from my hand and send Destiny HERO - Divineguy from my Deck to the Graveyard! Increase the ATK of all Destiny HEROes on the field!"

Now, there were Diamond Dude, 1 Malicious, Disk Commander, and Divineguy in his Graveyard, totaling 4 monsters, so the Destiny HEROes on his field would gain 800 ATK.

Dystopia, ATK: 2800→3600.

Dystopia, ATK: 2000→2800.

"At this moment, Dystopia's effect activates! Restore its ATK and destroy your Flame Sword Domain!"

"Noble Justice!"

The raging field of fire was pulled frantically by a powerful suction force. Not long after, the flames were absorbed into Dystopia's hand, and after a crisp "pop," they vanished.

Dystopia, ATK: 3600→2800.

Hikari Tenjou looked at the scene, but he wasn't panicked.

The field of Dystopia and Dystopia was actually quite powerful. After all, in this world, there weren't that many ways to interfere during the opponent's turn. So, at least in this world, Aster's combo was actually very intimidating.

But thinking that Dystopia + Dystopia was just a beggar's version of Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, Hikari Tenjou wasn't that afraid.

It could only be said that after being hit so many times, Hikari Tenjou's "resistance" had become high.

"Although he blocked this round of attacks, it feels like he lost out, doesn't it?" Whispers arose around them, all feeling that Aster's move was somewhat foolish.

"Yeah! If he had just used Dystopia to destroy Flame Swordsman directly, wouldn't that have been better? There were no other monsters anyway. There was no need to worry about Flame Sword Domain at all."

No—

Aster silently denied these people's thoughts in his heart.

Although he didn't know the full effect of Flame Swordsman, his duelist's intuition, as well as his understanding of Hikari Tenjou, told him that Flame Swordsman must have an effect related to Fusion!

"... Ha, Aster, then I'll use Flame Swordsman to attack your Dystopia!"

"Come on!" Aster responded aloud.

The two warriors leaped up almost simultaneously, rushing toward each other. One's dual-sword dance was full of stunning swordsmanship, while the other's body surged with energy, a brilliant display of psychic power. The two were evenly matched, and with a boom, they both vanished from the field.

However, what shocked everyone was that although Flame Swordsman's figure had disappeared, the flames spreading around Hikari Tenjou, protecting him, had not vanished.

"Flame Swordsman's monster effect!" Hikari Tenjou raised his voice and lifted his hand. "If this card is destroyed by battle or by another card's effect, I can Special Summon one 【Flame Swordsman】 or a Level 7 or lower monster that mentions that card name from my Deck or Extra Deck!

Come forth—

Special Summon in Defense Position.

Dark Flare Knight!"

The blue flames slowly turned back to black. Before long, the cold knight appeared on the field again, holding a black flame sword in one hand, staring at his opponent.

Dark Flare Knight, Level 6, DARK, Warrior-Type, DEF 800.

Sure enough, it was an ability related to Fusion Summoning!

Aster nodded slightly in his heart.

"... Is it the opposite of Mirage Knight?" At the same time, he frowned again. "So that's it. Even if Flame Swordsman dies, as long as there is a FIRE Fusion monster on the field, it can be revived. And even without Flame Sword Domain, Flame Swordsman himself can directly summon Fusion monsters."

"What a powerful card." Aster sighed.

As long as there is a FIRE Fusion monster, it can keep reviving, reincarnating, and reviving!

Just like a phoenix born from the ashes!

At this moment, many students also realized the danger just now.

If Aster hadn't destroyed Flame Sword Domain but instead destroyed Flame Swordsman just now, Flame Swordsman would have called out Dark Flare Knight, and then used Flame Sword Domain's effect to destroy Dystopia by battle. Not only would it have dealt battle damage, but it would have also kept Flame Sword Domain on the field, making the sustainability even stronger!

Is this the card evolved from the power of Fusion!?

Aster looked at the Dystopia on his field and couldn't help but fall into a struggle.

His surname, Phoenix, was exactly 【Phoenix】.

But now, he was like a bound prisoner.

"Set one card, end my turn." Hikari Tenjou couldn't continue the pursuit, so after setting another card, he said, "Aster, what exactly have you encountered recently? Tell me, and I might have a way. Maybe I, or someone else, have encountered something similar to you."

"A way?" Aster's handsome face couldn't help but twist. He lowered his head, his voice trembling. "How could you possibly understand me!"

(End of chapter)