Chapter 1423: Neos VS Destiny

"Cough, cough. Anyway, Elemental HERO Neos is a very important trump card of mine."

Jaden continued.

"Next, I'll summon a new Neo-Spacian partner to the field! Come on, Neo-Spacian Grand Mole!"

Grand Mole was on the clock again, its spinning silver drill breaking through the earth. The metal drill sprang out, revealing the head of that fluffy mole, which looked cute on the outside but was actually quite brutal.

【Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, ATK 900】

"And now, battle!" Jaden said. "Elemental HERO Neos, attack 'Destiny HERO - Decider'!"

Neos's body surged with brilliance, enveloped in that silver light like a shooting star. He feinted in front of Decider, then shot vertically into the air. His hand-blade, trailing a long line of light, slashed down, carving a crack right through the center of Decider's forehead.

Light radiated from the fissure, and Decider shattered into pieces upon impact.

【Aster, LP 4000 → LP 3100】

Aster raised his hand to block the shockwave, swayed slightly, and gave a disdainful snort.

Jaden: "Next is 'Neo-Spacian Grand Mole', direct attack!"

"Leave it to me, Jaden!"

Grand Mole let out a reassuring sound, curled its entire body up, and the shoulder armor on both sides merged into the shape of a drill, encasing its head.

Then, Grand Mole burrowed into the ground, a trail of cracks spreading all the way toward Aster's position.

"Then, at this moment, I discard 'Destiny HERO - Drillguy' from my hand, effect activate!"

Aster revealed another Destiny HERO from his hand and sent it to the Graveyard on his Duel Disk.

"Drillguy's effect: during damage calculation when a monster battles, discard this card from your hand to make the battle damage you take from that battle 0!"

Jaden: "Oh, a Destiny HERO hand trap, not bad."

"It's not over yet." Aster sneered. "And after that, we both take 1000 points of damage!"

Just as the name suggested, Drillguy's body appeared briefly on the field before exploding with a boom. His bloated body seemed to be packed with explosives, detonating instantly. The fire and blast from the explosion blew Grand Mole out from underground, sending it flying.

"You'd rather take more damage yourself just to drag me down with you," Jaden said.

Aster: "Not at all. At this moment, I activate the effect of 'Destiny HERO - Decider' from my Graveyard. While this card is in the Graveyard, and I am about to take effect damage, I can return Decider to my hand, and the damage I take becomes 0!"

And so, it turned out that only Jaden took the explosion damage.

【Jaden, LP 4000 → LP 3000】

"Not only did you deal damage to me unilaterally, but you also recycled your resources. Impressive, Aster." Jaden chuckled. "But this is what makes a duel interesting. Turn end."

Although they had only exchanged blows for one turn, Aster already seemed to find him unpleasant, saying coldly, "In our world, duelists like you who enter the battlefield with a playful mindset are the ones who die the fastest."

"It's not a playful mindset, though," Jaden said lightly.

Aster: "What?"

"It's just that dueling is supposed to be fun," Jaden said, tilting his head in thought. "But of course, I understand that dueling isn't just about entertainment.

Especially after growing up to become a real duelist, you realize that dueling isn't just about happiness. People always have times when they are forced to duel, forced to carry many things. During those times, it might be heavy, we might get hurt, we might encounter setbacks..."

He looked down at his hands, then clenched them into fists, smiled again, and said, "But even so, I don't want to lose that initial passion. Even if I have to carry a heavy burden forward, even if the results might be unsatisfactory, if I have to fight anyway, I might as well enjoy the process, right?"

As he spoke, he revealed an even more expectant smile.

"If you duel with that mindset, you'll look forward to every draw even more. Maybe a miracle will happen, who knows."

Aster: "..."

For some reason, at this moment, he suddenly felt that this jellyfish-haired boy was dazzling.

That smiling face opposite him was as bright as the sun, stinging him so much he didn't dare look directly at it.

But Aster quickly forced himself out of this abnormal state and shook his head.

What was he thinking?

He, Aster Phoenix, was the top commander of the Academy's Fusion Army, a top general under Lord Gulus. He had actually almost fallen into the opponent's way of thinking, even risking being brainwashed...

It was simply absurd.

"I can't understand a word you're saying!" Aster shook his head. "My turn, draw!"

He looked at the card he drew and looked up. "I don't care about all your messy nonsense. Let's see what you have to say after you've been turned into a card.

Activate Spell Card 'Polymerization'!"

He raised the Spell Card in his hand. A vortex of fusion immediately appeared behind him, turning into a massive whirlpool. Then, two Destiny HEROes appeared in the void, being stirred into that shining vortex.

Divine light erupted. The ones disappearing into the vortex were "Destiny HERO - Decider" and "Destiny HERO - Celestial". Two low-level Destiny HEROes fused, and a brand-new power burst forth from within.

"Fuse Decider and Celestial from my hand, Fusion Summon—"

"—Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Purple-black radiance erupted from the vortex, and armor resembling a bodysuit covered the hero. The golden helmet was clearly engraved with the letter "D".

【Destiny HERO - Dystopia, ATK 2800】

"Dystopia has appeared!" Jaden rubbed his hands. "Interesting, my Aster seems to have this card too."

Aster ignored him and continued on his own: "Destiny HERO - Dystopia, effect activate! When this card is successfully Fusion Summoned, select one 'Destiny HERO' monster in your Graveyard that was used as Fusion Material, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK!" (Anime effect)

The phantom of Decider, one of the two Destiny HEROes that had just gone to the Graveyard as Fusion Material, appeared again, was absorbed into Dystopia's body, and was then shot at Jaden like a cannonball.

【Destiny HERO - Decider, ATK 1600】

Yubel: "It's coming, Jaden."

"I know," Jaden said. "Then I discard 'Kuribohrn' from my hand, effect activate! This card can negate effect damage from monster effects!"

A round Kuriboh shell flew out, cracked open, and the fluffy Kuriboh inside popped out. Decider's phantom collided with the Kuriboh and was instantly dissolved and vanished.

Aster remained expressionless, only mechanically revealing another card from his hand: "Activate Equip Spell 'Delay Armor' from my hand.

This card can only be equipped to a 'Destiny HERO' monster. The monster equipped with Delay Armor cannot be destroyed by battle." (Anime card)

Aster said, raising his hand.

"Battle. 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia', attack 'Elemental HERO Neos'!" ===== CHAPTER 1424 =====