Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Heroes

"Thanks to Shadow Mist's effect, I add the (new) HERO—Masked HERO Fire—from my deck to my hand."

Another monster card no one had ever heard of. Judging by the name, it seemed to belong to the same series as the "Spring" currently on the field.

"…Tch. I set one card and end my turn."

Not only had he failed to destroy Yuuyo's monster, but now their Life Points were completely even! And that Phoenix Blade was a real problem—its 300-point ATK boost had completely shut down his other two Hell Warriors, both of which had only 1200 ATK.

"My turn—draw!"

After drawing a card, Yuuyo glanced at Manjoume across the field. Hm, both his hands were empty—he had clearly used up most of his resources last turn. The only unknown now was the face-down card.

"First, I equip Spring with the Spell Card 'Assault Air Armor.' Then, I send Assault Air Armor to the Graveyard to activate its second equip effect!"

Spring, cloaked in ocean-blue armor, was suddenly surrounded by an orange-yellow aura that looked like blazing energy. However, within the next second, the shimmering energy burst and faded, giving way to a clone splitting off from the original Spring.

"By sending 'Assault Air Armor' to the Graveyard, the monster it equipped—Spring—can attack twice during this Battle Phase!"

Hearing that, both the original and the clone Spring looked at each other, then turned toward the two Hell Warriors on Manjoume's field—each with 100 ATK less than themselves.

Though their faces were hidden by masks, the Hell Warriors could still feel the menacing aura coming from the two Springs. In the corner of the field where Manjoume couldn't see, the Hell Warriors trembled and huddled together in fear.

"Next, I summon Masked HERO Fire in Attack Position!"

Following Spring, the second Masked HERO emerged—wearing blazing crimson armor, with small orange flames burning on both hands, both feet, and his chest, symbolizing the elemental power known as "Fire."

"Fire's effect—he gains 300 ATK for each other 'HERO' monster I control!"

Water and fire don't mix—but now, Fire drew power from Spring's presence, boosting its ATK to the "Elite Axe King" tier of 1900.

(Masked HERO Fire, Level 4, ATK: 1600 → 1900, DEF: 1000)

"Battle Phase! Spring! Attack Manjoume's two Hell Warriors!"

The familiar story of 1300 ATK versus 1200 ATK unfolded once more. Manjoume again activated the second copy of Infantry Battle from his deck.

"The second Infantry Battle not only inflicts 700 damage to you but also deals additional damage based on how many previous Infantry Battle cards are already in the Graveyard!"

(Manjoume: 4900 LP → 4700 LP)

(Yuuyo Sakaki: 4900 LP → 3700 LP)

"But now, Manjoume! You've only got one Hell Warrior left on the field. According to the effect of the Equip Spell Hell Alliance, if there are no other monsters with the same name, that Equip Spell becomes inactive!"

"In other words, your final Hell Warrior, now back to 1200 ATK, is about to be roasted by my Fire!"

A blazing fireball surged forward, engulfing the last Hell Warrior in flames. As a result, both players took another 700 points of damage.

(Manjoume: 4700 LP → 4000 LP)

(Yuuyo Sakaki: 3700 LP → 3000 LP)

"Now, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Mask Change from my hand, targeting Fire!"

Yuuyo played a spell card with a lightning symbol at the top right corner. The five flames burning on Fire's body suddenly flared up with fierce intensity, engulfing the HERO in a searing red inferno, forming the shape of a flaming humanoid.

"Masked HERO! Hen Shin!!"

A brilliant light burst from within the flames! As the fire dissipated, what emerged was a brand-new warrior—

Donning bold crimson armor that represented blazing passion, his six-pack abs and inner thighs were pure black, and a bright orange belt wrapped his waist. At the center of the belt gleamed a fiery orange kanji—"火" (Fire).

This was Fire's evolved form through burning flames: Masked HERO Goka (Blazing Fire)!

"Gorka's special ability—he gains 100 ATK for every 'HERO' monster in my Graveyard!"

There were currently only two HERO monsters in Yuuyo's Graveyard—Shadow Mist, who fetched Fire to his hand, and Fire himself, who had just become Goka. Therefore, Goka's effect only granted him a 200-point ATK boost.

(Masked HERO Goka, Level 6, ATK: 2200 → 2400, DEF: 1800)

"Since Goka was Special Summoned during the Battle Phase, he can still attack!"

With Manjoume having neither cards on the field nor in hand, Goka's 2400 ATK was like a punch to the gut! In a flash, the Life Points he'd painstakingly clawed back dropped well below Yuuyo's.

(Manjoume: 4000 LP → 1600 LP)

"1600 LP… I still have a chance!"

Enduring the scorching heat, Manjoume looked at his Life Points now below 2000 and gave a faint grin. As long as he could survive this turn, he still had a chance to win! Even if everything depended on his next draw, with his skills—Manjoume Jun would surely pull off a comeback with just one card!

But… would Yuuyo give him that chance?

Of course, the answer was—

"As much as I hate to do this, for the sake of a One Turn Kill—Manjoume, take the full brunt of Goka's ATK thanks to the Ring of Destruction he's wearing!"

Manjoume: ?!!

He looked toward the sound—and saw that Goka's belt had somehow been rigged with a ring of six green grenades. As Manjoume's expression changed dramatically—

BOOM!!

A massive explosion erupted, and one blast from the grenade ring wiped out the last of his 1600 LP.

With his duel disk and deck neatly packed up, Yuuyo walked over to the unconscious Manjoume, crouched down beside him, and softly muttered to his back:

"After seeing my Masked HERO deck, there was no way you ever stood a chance at winning."

With that, Yuuyo stopped paying attention to Manjoume and headed for the shoreline. Without hesitation, he took off all his clothes—now just in shorts—and, unfazed by the cold, dove into the sea to retrieve each of the cards Manjoume had thrown into the water.

Scene Break

Inside the Academy Duel Arena.

"Where the heck is Manjoume?"

Professor Chronos muttered as he pulled out a golden pocket watch to check the time.

The "Dorm Switch Duel" had been scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM sharp. But now, over fifteen minutes had passed—still no sign of Manjoume anywhere!

"Don't tell me he's still in the dorm?"

Grumbling to himself, Professor Chronos turned to Misawa and told him to wait a bit. He was going to check the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm, which he supervised, to see if Manjoume was still hiding out in his room.

However—just as Chronos turned to leave the Duel Arena, a voice rang out from the front entrance.

"No need to go! Manjoume's not in the dorm."

"Huh? Then where is he?"

Startled, Professor Chronos asked without thinking. Yuuyo didn't hesitate and simply laid it out:

"He already withdrew from the Academy. Voluntarily."

"Oh, he dropped out on his own?"

Chronos nodded, but then suddenly froze.

"W–W–Withdrew on his own?!"

What kind of ridiculous development was that? No one present had a clue how to react.

Yuuyo glanced at Misawa, Chronos, and the rest of the crowd—Judai, Asuka, and the others—and casually handed Misawa his recovered deck.

"He stole Misawa's deck and threw it into the ocean. I caught him in the act, gave him a lesson via Duel, and then he chose to drop out."

Everyone: ???

What kind of bizarre accident—no, story—was this?!

(End of Chapter)