Chapter 600: The Immortal Phoenix (7k, seeking monthly tickets!!!)

A terrifying, muscular Spellcaster appeared in this dimension. Its body emitted a dreadful evil energy, and endless resentment swept across the entire dimension.

Countless conscious or unconscious spirits began to scurry instinctively. Even those spirits that had begun to transform into "Mo Wang" spirits were lost and panicked at the sight.

The leader of the Mo Wang Underworld tribe, a spirit formerly known as the Lion Sorcerer, took a deep breath.

"Lord Hikari!" it shouted solemnly. "The Dark Mage's resentment is about to be completely unleashed. Once it is fully unleashed, this world will likely vanish into smoke...

Thank you very much for your help to these forgotten, pitiful spirits, but it seems... it's time to say goodbye.

You... should leave here quickly."

It clearly held no hope for this duel.

Although this wasn't a "Shadow Duel" in the conventional sense.

However, the moment Exodia was completely unsealed, the moment its resentment toward the human world was unleashed, this dimension would be directly destroyed by its fury. At that time, no one would be able to survive in this dimension.

Tiera rarely refrained from refuting the ordinary spirit's words.

She looked at this Spellcaster, so massive it reached the heavens, and muttered to herself.

Based on her experience and knowledge, and what she had seen with Tiancheng Guang in the Magician's realm, there probably wasn't an ordinary spirit in the Magician's realm that could compare to this one, right?

Tiera glanced slightly at Tiancheng Guang.

"Thank you for your suggestion, but no need—I won't leave."

"But, Lord Hikari..."

"I believe in Edo," Tiancheng Guang said slowly. "He will definitely bring a true answer to me, to everyone, and to our friends."

Amon's face was as calm as water. Hearing his lover's scream and seeing her in a coma, his heart ached terribly. But for the sake of humanity and the Academy, he had to make this decision.

He said, "I have sent the Left Arm and Right Arm from my hand to the Graveyard. Based on Exodius's effect, for every 【Forbidden One】 monster in the Graveyard, its ATK increases by 1000."

Exodius, ATK: 0 -> 2000.

One thousand per card?

Edo looked at Amon's Graveyard.

So he has to recover the Forbidden cards from the Graveyard first, then start over from the beginning, sending 5 cards to the Graveyard to perform the "ritual"?

"Battle! Exodius attacks Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude!"

"Exodius's effect can be activated when it attacks. Send one 【Forbidden One】 card from my hand or deck to the Graveyard. I send 【Exodia the Forbidden One】 from my deck to the Graveyard!"

The black Dark Mage's body became even more massive, and the resentment swept around, making Edo feel a sense of suffocation.

Exodius, ATK: 2000 -> 3000.

Exodius slapped its palm toward Diamond Dude. With a bang, the monster on Edo's field was instantly destroyed.

At the same time, Edo also lost the corresponding Life Points—

Edo, LP: 4000 -> 2400.

"Guh—"

Edo clutched his chest. In that instant, the Dark Mage's power pierced his chest. It was as if thousands of spirits' curses, cries of pain, and wails were exploding in his ears simultaneously. Even having faced the Light of Ruin, Edo almost collapsed to the ground right then and there.

It wasn't just the Dark Mage's power; or rather, the reason this Dark Mage looked so "evil" was precisely because it bore the endless resentment of this Forgotten Dimension.

Not just their world, but the curses and pain of spirits from other worlds were also being transmitted to this "first forgotten one in the world." This piercing pain was undoubtedly the most heart-wrenching torture for a duelist.

"Sending Exodia from the deck to the Graveyard..."

He struggled to stand up.

"Edo, watch out for those five cards!" Tiancheng Guang cheered for Edo from the side.

Edo realized in his daze...

He can't gather all five!

Sure enough...

"That's right." On the other side, Amon didn't intend to hide it. In fact, even if Tiancheng Guang hadn't warned him, he would have said it here.

Because, as Exodius appeared by his side, he already understood that the Dark Mage's unsealing couldn't be done through underhanded tricks. He couldn't just gather all five cards right away; he had to tell his opponent, making the opponent realize he was working to gather these five cards.

Until he could completely unseal Exodia, he was worthy of dueling according to his own logic: "When 5 types of 【Forbidden One】 monster cards are gathered in the Graveyard, the owner of Exodius will directly win the duel!"

"Hehehe... this power is indeed powerful..."

"With this, no matter what enemy it is, I can easily defeat them, right?"

Amon wore a terrifying smile on his face.

"Is that really good?" Edo questioned him after standing straight.

"Hahaha, obtaining the strongest power in the world, what could be bad about that?" Amon clenched his hand, a ferocious, excited smile on his face. "As long as I have this power, I can save everyone! No matter what existence is behind the scenes, it cannot defeat the power of this Dark Mage!"

"..." Edo was silent for a long time. "【Saving】 everyone—but before that, you've already 【sacrificed】 one person, haven't you?"

The excitement and disguise on Amon's face slowly faded. In his heart, he was also struggling. He himself didn't want to sacrifice his most beloved, but if this was the only way to save everyone...

"It's okay, Edo—"

Just as the two were arguing about this issue again, a voice seemed to come from the unconscious Aiko.

Her soul floated beside the Dark Mage, persuading Edo: "If I can help Amon realize his ideal, I am willing to sacrifice myself..."

"Aiko..." Amon looked at her, his tone heavy.

"Stupid—stupid!" Edo had no intention of stopping his actions because of Aiko's words. "If this is the case, how can it be called protecting everyone? Before you save everyone, you've already murdered someone else!"

The group of spirits looked at each other.

Originally, although they feared Amon's actions, since the man and woman were like this, they felt Edo shouldn't have anything to refute.

But they didn't expect Edo to not care at all whether the other party was willing.

"Does being willing mean it's not murder?" Edo's tone was serious. "Fine, now, assume you succeed, assume you, Amon, obtain the Dark Mage's power and go out to defeat that mastermind, then what!

No matter the result, in this process, you have already 【murdered】 one person!

If all of humanity is saved because one woman was murdered, then, conversely, all of humanity carries the... sin of having killed at least one companion!"

He spoke a long string of words, which was rare for him.

"... I will bear this sin, forever... forever!" Tears streamed from Amon's eyes.

For him, the act of killing his own lover with his own hands was an unbearable pain. But if he could defeat the evil existence and even achieve peace and equality for all of humanity, then he was willing to pay the price—

"You bear it... then, standing before me is no longer a classmate with whom I have a written connection and some interaction, but a murderer." Edo's face was as calm as water as he reached toward the top of his deck.

"Anyone can talk big. Up until now, you haven't saved anyone either, have you?!" Amon said coldly.

Neither he nor Aiko were familiar with Edo. In the Academy, he and Edo were just nodding acquaintances who occasionally collaborated in the infirmary.

But now, Edo was entangled here...

"It's time to let go. Everything here has nothing to do with you in the first place!"

"Seeing evil happen before my eyes, as a HERO, I cannot sit idly by," Edo said, becoming uncharacteristically passionate and identifying himself as a HERO. "And now, I am going to save a classmate who is about to commit a crime and might go astray!

Do you have any other moves, Amon!"

"... If you insist, then no one can save you—" Amon said.

As long as it wasn't Edo's turn, Exodia was only unsealed, not completely unsealed.

But if Edo took his turn, Exodia would slowly unseal and eventually destroy everything!

Although he was ruthless in his words, Amon had also, to some extent, grown reluctant to hurt these classmates through his contact with them and Edo during this time.

"My turn, end."

"My turn, draw—"

Edo drew a card from his deck. That card seemed to be burning with flames.

Not just the card, but even his body seemed to be burning with flames at this very moment.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the card.

Thump, thump—

His heart, his heart seemed to be beating violently.

A raging fire centered on him, rising up with a roar.

That massive fire seemed to burn the entire dimension until heaven and earth changed.

"Oh oh oh—" The Lion Sorcerer was also somewhat amazed to see this.

This, this sky-high fire?

It seems he had underestimated these two humans.

At the time, he hadn't paid extra attention to these two humans because Lord Hikari was too stunning. Now it seems, these two humans are not ordinary duelists either—

"Last turn, the Harpie's Feather Duster sent to the Graveyard by Diamond Dude's effect will activate its effect now!"

"Destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field!"

A gale roared, and a terrifying storm blew from afar. Countless spirits were swaying, having to rely on the Lion Sorcerer to barely avoid being blown away. However, in the center of the storm, Edo and Amon just stood in place, staring at each other.

The dark smoke and the sky-high black flames remained unchanged at this moment.

"Hmph, but there are no Spell or Trap cards on my field. On the contrary, you're the one with those cards on your field. Could it be that this is your so-called destiny? If this is destiny, it seems destiny is actually on my side."

"No, this is the choice of destiny."

"Hm?"

"The card I destroyed is—Trap Card, Break the Destiny!"

The Trap Card flipped open automatically, revealing the posture of Blood-D fighting while shedding a rain of blood.

"Break the Destiny?" Amon was stunned to see this.

"The effect of Break the Destiny can only be activated once per turn—and this card can also activate its effect in the Graveyard!"

A Trap Card that can only activate its effect after being sent to the Graveyard?!

"Banish this card from the Graveyard to activate. Add 1 Spell or Trap Card that mentions 【Dragoon D-End】 or 【Destiny HERO】 in its card name, other than 【Break the Destiny】, to my hand!"

He silently opened his deck and revealed a Trap Card: "I choose Trap Card, D-Tactics."

He added the Trap Card to his hand, then played the card he had just drawn: "And finally, the power created by the Department Head in the light—

Normal Spell Card!

Fusion Destiny!"

"Fusion—"

Fusion and Destiny...

Amon looked at Tiancheng Guang.

Tiancheng Guang also showed excitement.

"This card can use monsters from my hand or deck as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster that uses 【Destiny HERO】 as Fusion Material! The monster Special Summoned by this effect is destroyed during the End Phase of the next turn. After this card is activated, I cannot Special Summon monsters until the end of the turn, except for Dark HERO monsters!"

Such a severe restriction.

But—

The effect gained is very powerful!

Fusion directly from the deck!

In other words, he can Fusion Summon Ruler with just one card?

But at this point, it's meaningless. Even if he Fusion Summoned Ruler now, it wouldn't change the current situation.

"The Fusion conditions are... a 【HERO】 monster of Level 6 or higher and a 【Destiny HERO】!"

Never heard of these Fusion conditions!?

What is this—

Amon widened his eyes.

A brand new... Fusion?

"I send Destiny HERO - Plasma and Destiny HERO - Malicious from my deck to the Graveyard!"

"The world, humanity, and the process of the duel will be reflected in justice and destiny, transforming into a brand-new form—"

"Fusion Summon!!"

Raging flames burned on Edo's body, and black flames lit up the entire dimension.

Tiancheng Guang instinctively reached into his pocket and saw a card shining with light.

It's coming—

Tiancheng Guang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Level 8!" "Become the immortal HERO!"

The scorching flames surged, and a HERO waved its hands, spread its wings, and slowly appeared behind Edo, just like his own shadow!

Destruction, death, pain, and finally, what will come is—the immortal fire that will never be extinguished.

"Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!"

Boom!!

Amon instinctively took half a step back.

This monster was just like Edo's shadow...

And his 【shadow】, his Fog King—

He looked at the Fog King in his hand, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.

Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, Level 8, Dark, Warrior, ATK 2500.

"While Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer is on the field, opponent's monsters lose ATK equal to the number of HERO monsters in my Graveyard x 200!"

"Excellent effect—but useless! Exodius is unaffected by the effects of the opponent's monsters, Spells, and Traps!"

"Is that so... then, change Doom Lord to Defense Position. Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's monster effect can be activated during either player's turn! Destroy 1 card I control and 1 card the opponent controls!"

"What?" Amon was stunned for a moment. He only had one monster on his field: "Didn't I say it? Exodius is unaffected by opponent's monster effects!"

"It doesn't matter!" Edo's expression was indifferent. "Activate Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect, destroy it and Exodius!"

The Phoenix leaped high, then crashed into Exodius with a death-defying spirit. The flames, which seemed capable of burning the entire world, fell upon the Dark Mage, but not even a layer of skin was lost; instead, its armor was burned even brighter.

"This..."

The monster he had worked so hard to summon ended up self-destructing?

Not to mention the watching spirits, even Amon was dumbfounded.

"Ha..." Tiancheng Guang couldn't help but chuckle.

Tiera was puzzled.

Why would he laugh?

She naturally knew the effect of Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer—after all, she had contributed to the birth of that card.

She just didn't understand why Tiancheng Guang showed a look of relief when the situation clearly hadn't changed.

"At this moment, activate Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect! When this card is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon one Destiny HERO from my Graveyard during the next Standby Phase!"

"..." Amon was silent, shocked, and then his eyes widened more and more.

An immortal monster!?

"Set one card, end turn!"

"Alright, it's your turn, Amon!"

"... Edo, what kind of tricks are you playing? Just like this, you can't defeat the Dark Mage." Amon said seriously. "My turn, draw—"

"At this moment, activate Trap Card, D-Tactics!"

"During the Standby Phase of both players, HERO monsters on the field gain 400 ATK."

"400 points? A drop in the bucket. Even if 2500 increases by 400, it's only 2900, the same as Ruler..."

"Heh, watch, Amon—last turn, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect Special Summoned a Destiny HERO from the Graveyard. The one I choose is, naturally, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!"

Boom!

A sky-high pillar of fire burned.

The HERO that self-destructed last turn descended behind Edo once again!

Its posture hadn't changed in the slightest. It didn't look disheveled from having been in the Graveyard; the entire monster appeared exceptionally peaceful and calm.

"At this moment, D-Tactics' effect activates!"

"?"

"Activate when a Destiny HERO of Level 8 or higher or 【Dragoon D-End】 is Special Summoned. Banish 1 card from the opponent's hand, field, or Graveyard!"

"What!?" Amon's expression was one of great shock.

"Now, on my field, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer is Special Summoned, so—D-Tactics' effect, banish... Exodia the Forbidden One from your Graveyard!"

Oh no!!!

Amon watched as the card in his Graveyard was scorched by flames, losing its existence and dissipating its resentment. His pupils contracted, and he looked exceptionally shocked.

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, ATK: 3000 -> 2000.

"You can certainly choose to attack and increase your ATK by 1000, but... it's useless!"

Amon's expression was serious. He looked at the card in his hand: "... No, there's still a chance."

"Activate Normal Spell Card, Wrath of the Forbidden One!"

"Can be activated when only 1 Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord exists on my field. If a card activated this turn still has an effect, I can negate that card's effect."

Tiancheng Guang frowned as he watched from the side.

Another outrageous original card.

This card could be said to be quite outrageous in the original work, because it wasn't a Counter Trap or Quick-Play Spell that chained, but a Normal Spell that could make everything "revert" after the effect was processed!

How on earth did this thing come out!

Because of this effect, Amon could send the card banished by D-Tactics back to the Graveyard.

Despite this, cold sweat seemed to start seeping from Amon's face. He put Exodia the Forbidden One back into the Graveyard, and because of this, Exodius's ATK returned to 3000!

But—

Is this useful?

"Use Exodius to attack Doom Lord. According to its effect, send the Left Leg from my hand to the Graveyard!"

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, ATK: 3000 -> 4000.

Doom Lord shattered upon impact, but Edo was not in a hurry at all.

"With this, you don't have any other usable cards in your hand, right?" Edo clearly knew what cards Amon had in his hand at this time, because those cards were all added to his hand by card effects.

Amon had nothing to say.

"It's not that I believe in 【Destiny】, but that you have locked your own 【Destiny】!

Activate Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect! Destroy itself and the Exodius on your field!"

The Phoenix burned with flames again, rushing toward the Dark Mage without hesitation. Even knowing it couldn't destroy this invincible mage, it still rushed forward.

Boom!

In an instant, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer disappeared from the field once again.

"... End turn."

"Then—my turn! Draw!"

Edo drew a card from his deck: "At this moment, activate Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect! Special Summon itself!"

"Again—" Cold sweat flowed down Amon's face.

"No matter how many times! I will not... give up."

"At this moment, D-Tactics' Trap effect, banish... Exodia the Forbidden One from your Graveyard!"

Banish it again!

The Phoenix fire burned on the sealed Dark Mage. It didn't understand why this weak "bug" kept bothering it again and again. However, this Phoenix was like an immortal, continuously scorching its power.

To be precise, it was scorching its 【fury】 and its 【resentment】!

Exodius, ATK: 4000 -> 3000.

"Not only that, Doom Lord's effect: when this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can activate its effect during my next Standby Phase! It can Special Summon 1 Destiny HERO other than Doom Lord from my Graveyard!

I Special Summon Disc Commander in Defense Position, draw two cards from my deck!"

All Standby Phase effects!

This is the tactic of 【Destiny】!

"Spell Card, Pot of Avarice, recover 5 monsters from the Graveyard and draw two cards. I return Ruler, Diamond Dude, Plasma, Doom Lord, and Dashguy from my Graveyard to the deck, and draw two cards again!"

Edo drew two cards from his deck.

Spell Card, Great Fusion!

Seeing this Fusion card, Edo instinctively smiled.

Fusion, Fusion Destiny, Great Fusion—these excellent powers Tiancheng Guang showed him had changed him.

This Great Fusion was also a card he had exchanged from Tiancheng Guang after that.

Tiancheng Guang changed him in the duel, in the light, and now, he was going to use his own way to create the future.

"Amon... at this point, I can't hold back in the duel anymore—"

"Activate Malicious's effect in the Graveyard, banish it, and Special Summon another Malicious from the deck."

"Spell Card, Great Fusion. This card can use monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Materials for a Fusion Summon. In that case, there must be 3 or more Fusion Materials. I use Malicious, Disc Commander, and the Decider in my hand to Fusion Summon. Descend again!

Destiny HERO - Ruler!"

"... A monster Fusion Summoned by Great Fusion can inflict piercing damage..." Amon clearly knew this card too. "You even thought of this?"

Amon's deck was thicker than Edo's. If Amon changed Exodius to Defense Position and there was no piercing damage, Edo would have no way to win. As long as Amon dragged it out until Edo had no cards in his deck, he would win.

However, Edo had also thought of this—

"Ruler's effect, look at the top five cards of the opponent's deck!"

Ruler raised its hand, and five cards flew off Amon's deck. Edo examined them for a few moments, placed "Burial from a Different Dimension" at the fifth position, and then selected one card to place on top.

"Then—Phoenix Enforcer, burn again!"

Phoenix Enforcer nodded at Edo, then turned into flames without hesitation, bombarding Exodius.

The Dark Mage, who had always been indifferent and whose body was as black as ink, was finally moved slightly by the impact of the flames. Aiko, who was in its hand, also fell out at this moment, landing on the ground with a thud.

Amon rushed over and reached out to catch Aiko.

"Amon... sorry... I..." Aiko felt somewhat guilty. If she had sacrificed herself to Exodia earlier, this situation wouldn't have happened.

"It's okay..."

The two looked at each other, and Amon wore a gentle smile: "It's okay. Everything is over."

"Turn... end." Edo took a deep breath and declared the end.

The next turn arrived.

The immortal Phoenix descended again!

This HERO, who constantly burned itself but would never be extinguished, seemed to symbolize Edo's heart.

No matter how terrifying the outside world or the existence of Darkness was, no matter how many classmates were sacrificed, he would never lower the noble head of humanity!

At the same time, Exodius's ATK dropped back down to 2000.

Ruler's ATK increased to 3300.

Amon drew a card.

He looked at the card and couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

"Ha..."

Cloudian!

His own card...

The card he liked.

His heart had always been like a cloud, drifting with the wind. He wanted to protect his family and friends, but before he knew it, he had reached this point.

Fortunately, it seemed everything wasn't too late, and nothing regrettable had happened.

So...

"I Tribute Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord on my field!"

What?

Countless spirits exclaimed loudly.

Exodius roared toward the sky, and the dark power began to surge. But those dark powers that had been scorched again and again, those resentments, had long since been burned layer by layer by the Phoenix's flames.

Following Amon's action, this monster born of resentment gradually began to disappear...

Replacing it was a massive rain cloud, a rain cloud that looked like a person.

Cloudian - Nimbusman, Level 5, Water, Fairy, ATK 1000 -> 400.

"Cloudian?"

"That's right—" Amon wore a smile. "Battle! Nimbusman attacks Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!"

"Then meet it, Phoenix Enforcer!" Edo finally showed a smile on his face as well.

Saiou—

You were right.

I really did make a new friend again, a friend who made me stronger and better!

"Surpass Destiny!!"

Boom!

The rain cloud and the Phoenix collided, and countless steam erupted. But this steam wasn't scorching; instead, it made people feel warm.

This was Amon's true heart—

Amon, LP: 2100 -> 0.

(End of chapter)