Chapter 397: Neo-Space Overlord (4k, seeking monthly votes!!!)

Deep within the dark heart.

The area around Judai was filled with various shard-like mirrors. These mirrors displayed the environment of the outside world; it was not just what "eyes" could see, but as if the entire world were being illuminated by these mirrors for him to observe.

He felt a bit agitated.

He had naturally heard everything the Supreme King had said earlier—he hadn't deliberately sealed his own heart; rather, the Supreme King had sensed it was inappropriate, so he had placed his heart and consciousness into this shared mental world. Thus, he could clearly see and hear everything in the outside world.

And now, that Supreme King was finally dueling a person in the human world, displaying his true "duel." It wasn't just that it made him want to watch and absorb the essence of the duel; the duel between such "excellent duelists" also made him feel excited.

Whether it was Hikari or the Supreme King, they were both super-powerful duelists; he was the most aware of that!

"Draw." The Supreme King drew a card from his deck, then played it with one hand.

"Discard Evil HERO Adusted Gold from my hand. Activate the monster's effect."

The duel disk on his left hand began to rotate automatically, emitting a harsh, screeching sound: "Evil Assault."

A card flew out from the deck.

Evil Assault?

Tenjou Hikari frowned.

Tenjou Hikari had seen Judai use this card many times; it was a card he was relatively familiar with.

"Discard 1 card from my hand to activate the Normal Spell Card, Evil Assault."

After Evil Assault is activated, there is an extra deck restriction for "HERO" monsters, but neither Judai nor the Supreme King would likely care about such a so-called "cost."

"Special Summon an Evil HERO monster of Level 4 or lower from my deck."

"Come forth, Evil HERO Infernal Gainer."

Terrifying black lightning struck down from the sky. A rock floated onto the field and then slowly cracked open.

"ROAR!!!"

A pitch-black prism roared as it appeared on the field.

Evil HERO Infernal Gainer, Level 4, Light Attribute, Rock-Type, ATK 1700.

A strange feeling, completely different from Judai's—

Judai had already used this card several times, so Tenjou Hikari recognized it. However, when Judai used this card, it was more like Elemental HERO Prisma wearing an outer coat; at first glance it looked terrifying, but in reality, it didn't exert much pressure.

But this monster summoned by the Supreme King was something else entirely!

"The monster effect of the discarded Shadow Mist. Add one 'HERO' monster other than Shadow Mist from my deck to my hand. Bubbleman."

Clusters of purple liquid dripped from the sky. Those liquids were highly corrosive; just by dripping onto the floor of the fusion department, they easily burned holes into the ground.

"The monster effect of Infernal Gainer: once per turn, send one HERO monster from my deck to the Graveyard to activate. This turn, Infernal Gainer can be used as a substitute for any one card whose name is specifically listed on a HERO Fusion Monster."

"I send Elemental HERO Neos from my deck to the Graveyard."

"Refraction Change!"

Following his words, Infernal Gainer's form began to twist, refracting into countless images, as if it were every single hero.

"Spell Card, Dark Fusion."

"I fuse the Infernal Gainer on my field with the Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier in my hand."

"Appear—"

"Evil HERO Flame Wingman - Infernal Backfire!"

Who!?

Tenjou Hikari and Judai widened their eyes in shock.

A demon familiar to everyone extended its sharp claws and appeared on the field. But unlike the Flame Wingman used by Tenjou Hikari, this female demon summoned by the Supreme King looked colder and more glamorous, and her smile was even more treacherous and insane—

Evil HERO Flame Wingman - Infernal Backfire, Level 6, Fire Attribute, Fiend-Type, ATK 2100.

A completely unseen form of Flame Wingman!

"The effect of Infernal Backfire," behind the Supreme King, endless flames began to burn, "When this card is Special Summoned, I can add 'Dark Fusion' or a card that specifically lists that card name from my deck or Graveyard to my hand."

"Dark Calling."

"Then, the effect of Liquid Soldier: when sent to the Graveyard or banished as fusion material for a HERO Fusion Monster, draw two cards and discard one." He drew two cards from his deck, glanced at them, frowned, and said casually, "Discard Evil HERO Malicious Bane."

"Special Summon Bubbleman." He slowly raised the card he had searched, "It can be Special Summoned directly from my hand. Then, I will draw cards."

When Bubbleman is Special Summoned, if you control a Fusion Monster that can only be Special Summoned by the effect of "Dark Fusion," you can draw two cards.

"Spell Card, Dark Calling."

"By banishing monsters from my Graveyard, I perform a 'Dark Fusion.' I banish Elemental HERO Neos and Evil HERO Adusted Gold from my Graveyard."

Neos?

"Dark Fusion!"

"The fusion conditions are a Fiend-Type monster and a Warrior-Type monster."

"Appear, my cavalry, Evil HERO Dark Gaia!"

A pitch-black, furious wind seemed to tear everything around it to shreds. In the eye of the gale, a pair of pitch-black wings slowly flapped. Then, a demon clad entirely in armor, wielding a greatsword, slowly made its entrance.

Evil HERO Dark Gaia, Level 8, Earth Attribute, Fiend-Type, ATK 1600.

"ATK 1600?" Tie La asked from the side, "Using Neos to fuse, yet only resulting in 1600 ATK?"

There must be other effects.

But—

It wasn't over yet!

The Supreme King raised another card: "Finally, I activate—the Normal Spell Card, Dark Contact!"

?

Dark... Contact!?

While Judai was stunned, that banished Neos had already appeared on the field.

Only this time, Neos's expression was quite terrible, and terrifying scarlet light glowed in his eyes.

"Dark Contact allows me to shuffle monsters from my field, Graveyard, or banished state back into the deck as fusion materials to perform a 'Dark' fusion."

Countless bolts of lightning struck from all directions, crazily bombarding Neos.

On the ground, Bubbleman's body struggled for a moment, then let out a scream. Immediately after, amidst the wailing, he was torn into pure energy and mixed into Neos's body.

"The fusion conditions are Neos and an Effect Monster on the field."

"Witness the absolute power that leads me to victory!"

"Dominator of heroes, use the power of darkness to enforce justice."

"Appear!"

"Dark Fusion!"

"Evil HERO Neos Overlord!"

Following his call, armor continuously manifested on Neos's body—that pitch-black armor, the massive cape, the heroic mask—all of it was displayed upon him—

It was as if Neos had donned the Supreme King's armor and was wielding the Supreme King's power!

Without a doubt!

He was the true symbol of the [Supreme King]!

Tenjou Hikari felt that at this very moment, this Neos he was so accustomed to was like a butcher, coldly staring at him, ready to kill him at any moment!

Evil HERO Neos Overlord, Level 10, Dark Attribute, Fiend-Type, ATK 2500.

"Set one card, end my turn."

The Supreme King set a card on the field with an expressionless face, then without saying another word, ended his turn.

Invisible pressure spread throughout the building; Tenjou Hikari even felt sweat instinctively dripping down his forehead.

It wasn't fear.

It was the excitement generated under such high pressure!

"Wait, at this moment, I activate the effect of Thunder Dragon in my hand, discarding it to add another Thunder Dragon from my deck to my hand."

Tenjou Hikari sent the Thunder Dragon in his hand to the Graveyard, then searched for another. Looking at those demons that seemed to be closing in on him, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

Such strong pressure!

It was different from every duelist he had encountered before!

"So, so amazing—" In the mental world, watching the Supreme King easily Special Summon three Fusion Monsters without any effort, Judai once again felt that overwhelming pressure!

Although none of the three monsters had particularly high stats, standing there, they were like an army of thousands, an invincible force capable of destroying everything.

Excitement and anticipation appeared on his face. He had dueled the Supreme King many times, but those "duels" were only sparring matches in the mental world. Although he had obtained many powerful cards from the Supreme King, today, the Supreme King had still shown him brand-new power!

Neos Overlord, and those other two Fusion Monsters—what kind of effects would they have!?

He was looking forward to it.

"My turn. Draw—" Tenjou Hikari felt his chest heaving as he drew a card from his deck.

He looked at the card in his hand.

Then he looked at his opponent.

Three Fusion Monsters, all of which were Fusion Monsters he had never seen before. The effects of these monsters were unknown to him!

Therefore, Tenjou Hikari couldn't be sure if these monsters had negation capabilities, nor did he know how their restriction abilities worked.

There was one set Spell on the field, and at least one "Malicious Bane" in the Graveyard.

When a HERO on the field is destroyed, Malicious Bane can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard, and if there is a "Dark Fusion" or a card that specifically lists it in the Graveyard, it can even destroy one card.

Although this effect "can only be used once per duel," it still couldn't be underestimated.

Any destruction could be the end.

So, test it out with this first.

"Pay 1000 Life Points. Activate the Normal Spell Card, Instant Fusion."

Tenjou Hikari played the cup noodles that Tie La loved to eat, then grinned and said, "This card can Fusion Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster directly from my Extra Deck!"

Tenjou Hikari, LP: 4000 -> 3000.

"Simple and efficient fusion." The Supreme King praised casually, "However, it won't be that simple.

Activate Trap Card.

Dark Hegemony."

A trap card slowly flipped open. Neos Overlord, surrounded by flames and demons, marched forward, as if he were the strongest existence ruling over everything.

"Target face-up cards on the opponent's field, up to the number of 'Dark Fusion' and cards that specifically list that card name in my Graveyard. Negate the effects of those cards until the end of the turn."

Wow—

[Negate].

In Yu-Gi-Oh, a common method of interruption is to "erase" the "effect" of a card, turning it into a card with no effect. This type of effect is called a "negate."

However, it was fine.

This was just a card he had used to test the waters.

Compared to Instant Fusion being negated, if the following card were negated, that would be a real loss.

"Activate the Normal Spell Card, Shaddoll Fusion!"

Tenjou Hikari played the brand-new fusion in his hand: "This card is a dedicated fusion for Shaddoll monsters; I can use monsters in my hand and on the field to perform a Shaddoll fusion.

But, if the opponent controls a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use fusion materials directly from my deck to fuse!

I send Shaddoll Beast and the Light-Attribute Thunder Dragon from my deck to the Graveyard to perform a fusion!"

"Be born, El Shaddoll Construct!"

A purple halo rose in the sky. A towering giant appeared in the light, shining with divine majesty.

El Shaddoll Construct, Level 8, Light Attribute, Fairy-Type, ATK 2800 -> 0.

However, before the divine light could shine for long, Construct's body shrank drastically, eventually becoming pocket-sized, losing the stature of the giant from mythology entirely.

0?

Tenjou Hikari looked at the Construct beside him, somewhat surprised.

"Dark Gaia is on the field. The ATK of monsters on the opponent's field is reduced by the total ATK of its fusion materials." The Supreme King spoke as coldly as a machine, stating its effect.

That meant 2100 and 2500—4600 points!?

Tenjou Hikari's expression changed slightly.

Such a strong effect!!

Yes.

In Tenjou Hikari's view, this effect was ridiculously strong!

Although ATK is not the factor that determines everything in a duel, sometimes, having high ATK is a lead!

For example, Destiny HERO - Plasma has the ability to negate the effects of all monsters on the opponent's field, but it only has 1900 ATK, so making Plasma first only provides decent suppression—but if there are enough "HERO" monsters in the Graveyard, and you add a "Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer" that reduces the opponent's ATK by hundreds or thousands, then the suppression of Plasma would rise by several tiers!

4600-point level suppression is already quite ridiculous in this competition.

However—

It was fine.

Tenjou Hikari shook his head.

He just happened not to be using the battle destruction strategy.

Construct could destroy Special Summoned monsters directly; even Dark Gaia couldn't stop Construct.

"Then, I will process the subsequent effects!"

"The effect of Shaddoll Beast sent to the Graveyard: draw one card; the effect of Construct: when successfully Special Summoned, send 1 Shaddoll card from my deck to the Graveyard."

Compared to the at-best one-for-one Instant Fusion, Tenjou Hikari loved this amount of advantage from Shaddoll Fusion.

But—

Just as he thought this, he suddenly noticed that the Neos Overlord on the opponent's field suddenly had its eyes erupt with a strange green light.

Tenjou Hikari was stunned for a moment.

"Then, at this moment, the effect of Neos Overlord will also activate."

!!

The onlookers and the duelist all became focused.

After all, this was clearly the effect of an "ace"!

"When Neos Overlord is Special Summoned, or when it is in a monster zone and a monster is sent to the opponent's Graveyard, target 1 face-up monster on the opponent's field and activate.

Take control of that monster!"

What?

Tenjou Hikari widened his eyes slightly.

Not giving it back!?

"The effect of Neos Overlord! Take your monster into my army!"

"Mind Control!"

Neos Overlord extended his right hand, and terrifying black lightning exploded from it, then crashed down onto Construct. Construct had no ability to resist; the pocket-sized monster was dragged directly to the Supreme King's field.

Not only that, but once it left Tenjou Hikari's field, Construct's body quickly returned to its original size, only the puppet strings wrapped around it had been replaced by black lightning!

An effect that can be used just by Special Summoning, and... it's a "Neos" Fusion Monster; in other words, this monster could actually be brought out directly with "Favorite Contact"?

Tie La saw the monster she had created being controlled by another power, her brows knitted together, looking very unhappy.

That massive giant stood directly in front of Tenjou Hikari, and Tenjou Hikari felt that the pressure on him was even more pronounced.

No, it wasn't just pressure.

At this moment, the Supreme King's figure seemed to be growing crazily in front of him, larger than the monster, larger than the high-rise, larger than the world!

As if everything, all things, were prostrating at the Supreme King's feet!

Is this the power of the Supreme King?

Tenjou Hikari felt the pressure, his body trembling, yet he was even more excited—

Sure enough, it was a completely different fusion power!

"The one who can win until the end is justice!" The Supreme King said as usual.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 608 =====