Chapter 495: Past Life

"Evil HERO Malicious Edge, direct attack!"

Following the Supreme King's command, Malicious Edge seemed to let out a booming laugh. A monstrous darkness surged from within him like a raging sea, stripping away even the light and color of the Neo-Space, leaving behind nothing but pure, oppressive darkness.

The moment Judai was swallowed by this darkness, what reached his ears felt like the twisting and shattering of space itself, as if time and space were trembling beneath that sharp edge.

Even the strongest will would be dismantled by this terrifying power, and the sturdiest walls would crumble. The erupting darkness felt to him like a train charging at full speed, piercing his defenses and shaking his skin, muscles, and even his bones.

It felt as if his life force was rapidly draining away with the washing of that dark current; the unprecedented pain nearly made him faint.

But it wasn't just physical pain; there was a psychological impact as well. In that moment, Judai felt as if he saw countless familiar yet strange images—the faces of unfortunate spirits he had seen during his journeys across countless dimensions, everyone who had suffered under the Supreme King's flames of war.

There were even more images, ones more distant, that felt as if they no longer belonged to him, yet felt like memories.

He saw a battlefield filled with smoke.

He saw life-and-death separations, saw his best comrades die before his eyes, and saw something even crueler: the questioning, and even betrayal, from his best friends.

"What... what is going on!?"

Judai fell to his knees, clutching his head.

Fragments of memory, like those from countless reincarnations and different lives. He saw strange faces in those images, but the emotions welling up from the bottom of his heart were those of facing friends with whom he had shared life and death countless times.

Even the bone-chilling agony of losing these friends on various battlefields, or being betrayed by them, was so real.

But this feeling came and went quickly. Soon, Judai felt the world spinning, as if he had been churned countless times in a dark void before being thrown out heavily and crashing to the ground.

Judai breathed in the cold air in large gulps, stood up, and looked at the Supreme King in disbelief.

That just now, could it be...

This guy's memories?

No, it could also be his own...

He suddenly remembered what Fujiki You Xuan had told him about those settings regarding past and present lives. But no matter what, it was too absurd; he had always been skeptical.

Could those really be his own, or rather, the past lives he and this Supreme King before him had experienced?

Fujiki You Xuan said the Supreme King was the dark side of his own heart. So, how many lifetimes of pain and betrayal had they endured to give birth to such a personality?

Judai stood up, panting heavily.

"The effect of the Continuous Spell 'Damage Gate'. While this card is on the field, all battle damage taken by both players is halved."

The Supreme King said: "Evil HERO Malicious Edge's ATK is now 3200; even if halved, you will still take 1600 battle damage."

【Judai, LP 2300 → LP 700】

Judai barely managed to steady his footing.

He could still handle this level of damage.

"Do you understand now? There is no justice for the weak."

The Supreme King's cold voice came again.

"Without power, no matter how well you speak, it is just empty. In the end, you are nothing more than my redundant shadow."

Judai looked up, glancing at his opponent with a complex expression. For some reason, looking at his own mirror image now, he no longer felt it was as detestable as before.

"Evil HERO Malicious Edge cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects; he is a demon with absolute destruction resistance." The Supreme King paused and said, "Even so, you still have cards in your hand that can threaten Malicious Edge."

His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

Neo-Spacian Grand Mole—this insidious mouse had left a deep impression on the Supreme King after its brief appearance in the previous turn; it could not be ignored.

But it didn't matter; he already had a countermeasure.

"Spell Card 'Hand Destruction'." The Supreme King played the spell from his hand. "Both players discard their entire hands, then draw the same number of cards!" "Discard hand..."

Judai looked at his hand. He saw the spirit of Grand Mole floating out, sighing in frustration: "Damn it, this guy calculated it. Then I have to rely on you; I have to retreat first, Judai."

"Yeah."

Judai nodded, discarded Grand Mole along with the rest of his hand, and drew new cards.

"Finally, I set two cards and end my turn," the Supreme King said.

"... My turn, draw."

Judai drew a card and played it from his hand.

"Activate Spell Card 'Monster Reborn'!"

The classic spell card image, the ancient green symbol of rebirth, appeared above Judai's field, like a bridge connecting the living world and the Underworld.

"I can revive a monster from the Graveyard to the field. Of course, the card I want to revive is..."

Before the golden light could even emerge from Judai's Graveyard, the spirit had already jumped out energetically.

!. Read

"Neo-Spacian Grand Mole!"

Grand Mole returned to the field with hands on his hips, laughing loudly.

Didn't expect that, did you? I, the mouse brother, am back!

Even the arrogant Malicious Edge couldn't help but change his expression slightly upon seeing Grand Mole return, unable to stop himself from stealing a glance at the Supreme King.

Think of something, Boss; I can't handle this mouse brother...

The Supreme King snorted heavily.

Even after Hand Destruction, he still couldn't be settled... But this level was still within expectations.

"Ridiculous; that doesn't apply before the power of the King." The Supreme King said coldly. "Activate Set Card, Trap Card 'Call of the Haunted'."

"This card can only be activated when the opponent activates 'Monster Reborn', negating the effect of 'Monster Reborn'."

Judai: "?"

Huh? So targeted?

Did he print it on the spot?

He even had the urge to go up and check if the card was still warm and if the ink had dried...

But the Reborn mark on his field was indeed erased immediately, and the Monster Reborn spell was swallowed by darkness and vanished without a trace.

One can only say the Card-Printing Master is terrifying; Judai, who had always relied on Fate Power to bully opponents, finally arrived at the victim's perspective today...

But it still didn't matter.

"Then I Normal Summon 'Neo Space Connector'!"

The small Neo Space Connector arrived on the field, bearing markings similar to Neos and a conspicuous crystal like an Ultraman timer; it looked like a shrunken, Q-version Ultraman.

"'Neo Space Connector's effect: when this card is successfully summoned, I can Special Summon 'Elemental HERO Neos' from my hand or Deck."

Judai raised his fist high, the background instantly transforming into the universe and the galaxy.

"Come! The miraculous Elemental HERO from the distant Neo Space—"

"—Elemental HERO Neos, summon!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 496 =====