Chapter 408: Inherited Will

"Ugh..."

Judai shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the duel again. But when the darkness dissipated, he looked up and was taken aback.

For a moment, he mistakenly saw the Arbiter standing opposite him disappear, replaced by a humanoid monster. Heterochromatic pupils, wide bone wings, and a third eye on his forehead, looking at him with eyes that were between resentful and excited.

Judai was shocked and retreated half a step while shaking. But in the blink of an eye, that figure had disappeared and turned back into the Arbiter's appearance.

"I haven't performed a Normal Summon this turn yet. Set a monster in face-down Defense Position, turn end."

The Arbiter waved his hand casually and set a monster, then looked at Judai with a playful expression.

"What did you see, Judai Yuki?"

"... Draw."

Judai ignored him.

But his mind was a mess, and those chaotic memories that didn't seem to belong to him filled his mind. The figure that appeared briefly just now also lingered for some reason...

"Kurikuri!"

Winged Kuriboh's voice.

"Partner..." Judai glanced at it and smiled. "So that's it, you're here to cheer me on too. Thanks."

He stood up straight and set another card.

"Set a monster in face-down Defense Position, turn end."

He also had a face-down monster on his front field.

"Hmm, you really have memories hidden deep enough," the Arbiter said. "Looks like it's still a bit short... My turn, draw."

He waved his hand and flipped the face-down card on his front field.

"Flip Summon 'Magical Merchant'."

【Magical Merchant, ATK 200】

"When this card is Flip Summoned, flip cards from the top of the deck until a Spell or Trap card appears," the Arbiter said. "The Spell/Trap card that appears is added to the hand, and the rest are all sent to the Graveyard."

He flipped five cards in one go, and the fifth was a Spell Card.

"Add the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn' to the hand, and send the rest to the Graveyard."

Judai: "Replenished DARK resources to the Graveyard again..."

"Then sacrifice 'Magical Merchant', Tribute Summon."

He revealed another hand card.

"Appear, Hell Poet."

【Hell Poet, ATK 2000】

"Then activate the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn', which can revive a monster card from the Graveyard." He pointed his hand towards Judai. "Then choose this hero you love...

Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

The huge Reborn symbol appeared above the Arbiter, and flames burned from it, turning into the form of a flame hero, coming to the opposite side of Judai.

【Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, ATK 2100】

"Flame Wingman..." Judai was a bit distracted.

Mokuba started to get nervous for Judai: "Brother, this guy has set up such a powerful formation again in an instant, and there's that Dark Armed Dragon..."

Kaiba frowned and didn't speak.

Is Judai Yuki finally only able to go this far?

"Dark Armed Dragon's effect, banish a DARK monster from the Graveyard, and destroy any card on the field."

The Arbiter revealed a DARK monster card that exited from the Graveyard casually.

"Magical Merchant replenished sufficient DARK monsters to the Graveyard. I banish one of them to destroy the monster you set."

The pitch-black energy bomb blasted out again, locking onto the only barrier on Judai's field. Once this monster was broken through, he would be almost naked in front of the powerful lineup on the opposite side, with no defense at all.

Boom!

The pitch-black explosion tore apart the set monster, but the monster's small image flashed briefly on the field.

"Kurikuri!"

"Thanks, partner..."

Judai raised his arm to block in front of him, and an invisible barrier appeared in front of him, protecting him in the middle like a force field.

"The turn Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, all battle damage I receive becomes 0," Judai said.

"Is that so? Then set a card, turn end."

Judai took a deep breath.

His vision was starting to blur, and his brain seemed to be slowing down. He felt more and more that the opponent might not be bluffing without evidence.

What the opponent said might all be true. His memory had errors, and there were some secrets hidden in him that he didn't even know himself, some very important things he had forgotten.

But...

He raised his head, and in front of him, Xiang Hongye's tall back seemed to appear again.

"From now on... it's up to you, Judai."

"..."

Yeah, he had made up his mind to inherit Mr. Hongye's will and fight as a real duelist.

How could he...

"My turn, draw!"

"Oh?" The Arbiter observed him.

The momentum seems to have returned, and the eyes seem to be more determined...

"Summon 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman'!"

【Elemental HERO Bubbleman, ATK 800】

"When Bubbleman is successfully summoned, if there are no other cards on my field, draw two cards from the deck!" (Original effect)

Judai drew two cards.

"Then activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed', draw two more cards!"

It seems that Judai found his feeling back, starting with a Bubble-Greed combo.

Then he took out a card from his hand and stared at it for a while.

Then he closed his eyes gently.

"I won't let you down, Mr. Hongye..."

Then he opened his eyes, and the card in his hand was held high.

"Spell Card 'Polymerization' activate!

Fuse 'Elemental HERO Woodsman' from my hand and the WATER 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman' on the field! Bring the power that freezes all things to descend—"

"—Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!!!"

Snowflakes flew, ice crystals bloomed, and the pure white ice hero descended with arms crossed!

【Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, ATK 2500】

"It appeared, the hero left by Mr. Hongye!" Mokuba said.

Marufuji Ryo frowned: "It seems a little different..."

He could feel that the Absolute Zero in Judai's hand was different from the feeling when Xiang Hongye summoned it before.

But that was a difference at the extraordinary level of the spirit, just feeling that the strength was enhanced by the influence of the duelist, but he couldn't say exactly where it was for a while.

"Then activate the Spell Card 'Fusion Recovery', return the Spell Card 'Polymerization' and 'Elemental HERO Woodsman' sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material to the hand!"

Judai took the two cards that exited the Graveyard, and then played them again immediately.

"Activate 'Polymerization'! This time fuse 'Elemental HERO Woodsman' and 'Elemental HERO Ocean' from my hand!"

Everyone was surprised.

The second fusion?

"Fusion Summon, Mr. Hongye's soul, the Planet series hero—"

"—Elemental HERO Earth!!!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 409 =====