Chapter 1425: Death City

"Alright Aster, this is going to hurt!"

Jaden swung his arm twice, just like Syrus's signature move.

"Elemental HERO Magma Neos, attack 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia'!"

Magma Neos raised his right arm high, and Jaden's half of the field seemed to distort due to the high temperature. The air rippled from the heat waves.

The lava boiled, crimson flames gushing from the gaps in Neos's armor like thousands of fire snakes, circling and intertwining in mid-air, weaving into a vortex. The golden-red flames spun crazily like a star, turning into a massive fireball several meters in diameter, like a supernova about to erupt.

But at this very moment, Aster also shouted: "Activate set card, Continuous Trap 'Death City'!" (Original card)

"'Death City'?" Jaden was intrigued.

He naturally associated it with the signature Field Spell "Dark City" used by the Aster he knew, which was the Destiny HERO version of Skyscraper.

"That's right, Death City is a Trap Card exclusive to Destiny HEROes," Aster said. "Once per turn, when the opponent's monster declares an attack, I can select one 'Destiny HERO' monster on my field and increase that monster's ATK by 100."

Jaden: "Eh? Only 100 points?"

At first glance, this effect seemed inferior to the Field Spell "Dark City" in every way. After all, Dark City could increase a Destiny HERO's ATK by 1000, and this Death City could only be triggered when the opponent attacked.

An attack-declaration trigger effect combined with a negligible 100-point boost made this card look like a waste of space.

However...

"Ah, right!" Jaden seemed to suddenly remember something. "The effect of that Destiny HERO called Dystopia is..."

"Oh? It seems you know Dystopia," Aster sneered. "That's right, I'm going to use another effect of Dystopia that hasn't been used yet.

Destiny HERO - Dystopia, once per turn, when its ATK changes, you can destroy any one card on the field! This effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn!" (Anime effect)

The physical card Dystopia can activate this effect at any time as long as its ATK is different from its original ATK. However, once it destroys a card, Dystopia's ATK is forced to return to normal.

The anime Dystopia can only be activated the moment its ATK changes, but as a trade-off for the relatively rigid activation condition compared to the physical card, Dystopia can retain its increased ATK without returning to normal.

"At the moment you declare an attack, according to the Continuous Trap 'Death City', Dystopia's ATK increases by 100!" Aster said.

【Destiny HERO - Dystopia, ATK 2800 → ATK 2900】

"Then at this moment, according to Dystopia's effect, at the moment its ATK changes, destroy one card on the field," Aster shouted. "Destroy your 'Elemental HERO Magma Neos'!

Sublime Justice!"

Radiance erupted from Dystopia's entire body, and astonishing energy surged from within. Magma Neos was struck head-on by that sublime light, and even with his best defense, he couldn't withstand it, exploding into brilliant fireworks.

"Oops, Magma Neos was destroyed too."

Jaden raised his hand again to block the blast wave.

"What a pity..."

Yubel, standing behind him, crossed her arms and scolded: "What are you doing, Jaden? Are you sleepwalking?"

"Oh, don't be so harsh. It's rare to meet an acquaintance in another dimension, so it's normal to get a little carried away," Jaden scratched his head and laughed.

Aster frowned.

What is wrong with this guy?

A powerful trump card like Magma Neos was destroyed, and a normal person, even if they weren't demoralized or losing their will to fight, should at least show a little frustration to give him some respect, right?

And this guy, having suffered such a heavy blow, was actually still so relaxed...

Aster's mind couldn't help but flash back to what this jellyfish-haired boy had said at the beginning of the duel.

"If I have to fight anyway, I might as well enjoy the process, right?" As this sentence echoed in his ears, he seemed to see those sincere eyes that seemed to have no impurities, and that smile so bright it was almost blinding.

Does such a thing, such a guy, really exist in this world?

Aster's heart wavered a little.

Even knowing it's a duel where lives are at stake, can one still enjoy the process?

Passion for dueling to the point of overcoming death, even disregarding life and death... does such a duelist really exist?

This realm... does it really exist?

For a moment, he absurdly felt that he, as the commander of the Fusion Army, was a head shorter than his opponent in terms of realm.

Jaden: "Turn end."

The declaration of the end finally pulled Aster back to reality.

No, what am I thinking? The situation is clearly in my favor, why should I act like I'm the one who's losing?

"My turn, draw!" Aster said.

It's all because of this weird jellyfish-head that I've become strange.

Yes, it's all this guy's fault.

Aster was convinced. As long as he defeated this guy, those inexplicable thoughts in his head would definitely disappear.

"Now comes my full power!"

Sharp brilliance seemed to shoot from Aster's deep blue eyes.

"Activate Spell Card—"

"—Fusion Destiny!!!"

The strongest Fusion Spell for Destiny HEROes, capable of selecting Fusion Materials from the hand and Deck, almost like a fusion that breaks through space and transcends time.

"This card allows me to fuse my Destiny HEROes from my Deck!" Aster revealed the two monster cards that popped out of his Deck. "Therefore, I will fuse 'Destiny HERO - Disk Commander' and 'Destiny HERO - Denier' from my Deck!

The Fusion condition is two Destiny HERO monsters! Once again, let the sublime judgment of justice descend—"

"—Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Dystopia Unit 2!

【Destiny HERO - Dystopia, ATK 2800】

Jaden's eyes lit up: "Oh, this impressive Destiny HERO actually has a second copy! As expected of Aster..."

"Instead of getting excited, you'd better worry about your own life," Aster said coldly. "Dystopia's effect activate. When this card is successfully Special Summoned, select one 'Destiny HERO' monster Level 4 or lower in your Graveyard, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK."

Aster revealed another monster card from his Graveyard.

"I select 'Destiny HERO - Celestial' in my Graveyard! Inflict 1600 points of damage to you, equal to Celestial's ATK!"

But Jaden only slowly revealed another card from his hand.

"Then I discard 'Winged Kuriboh' from my hand, effect activate. Until the end of the turn, all effect damage I take this turn becomes 0!" ===== CHAPTER 1426 =====