NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 18: A Hero Emerges
[Yumi, LP 400]
[Momoyo, LP 3000]
"I'm impressed, little brother." Momoyo smirked, placing her hand on her deck. "My turn, draw!"
With practiced ease, she slipped the new card into her hand.
"I activate Card of Demise! I draw until I have five cards in hand. But at the end of my fifth turn, I'll have to discard my entire hand."
Just as she reached for her draws-
"I'll chain it with my quickplay spell- Mask Change!" Yumi interrupted, "Letting me target a Hero monster I control, send it to my grave, and Special Summon a Masked HERO with the same Attribute!"
He then pointed toward his Shadow Mist. "I'll choose my Shadow Mist."
The female dark heroine's body began to glow, turning into a fearsome warrior with glowing yellow eyes, body covered with sharp fangs, along with having a wolf motif.
"The warrior born in the abyss, the embodiment of the law of darkness! Henshin! Masked HERO Dark Law!"
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 2400 ATK]
The famous Unfriend Hero, who has been carrying the HEROes series for years before new supports came in, has descent.
"Shadow Mist's effect! When she's sent to the grave, I can add a HERO from my deck to my hand. I'll add Elemental HERO Woodsman." Yumi swiftly retrieved his card.
Momoyo drew four more cards, bringing her hand to five, but the moment she did.
"Dark Law's effect! Since you added cards to your hand outside your Draw Phase, I banish one random card from your hand!"
Dark Law raised a clawed hand, releasing a jet-black flash. A card flew from Momoyo's grip, swallowed by inky mist, and vanished into the void.
Momoyo clicked her tongue. "Tch! Such a nasty little effect." But her grin never faded. She plucked another card from her hand, eyes gleaming. "Fine then, let's see how you handle this!
"Spell card, Brain Control! Pay 800 LP, and I get to take control of one of your monsters until the end of this turn."
[Momoyo, LP 3000 -> 2200]
"And of course, I choose your Dark Law!"
Reluctantly, but unable to resist, Dark Law was pulled over toward her side of the field.
"Now, I'll Normal Summon my Al-Lumi'raj!"
A small blue spirit-like creature with a horn on its head appeared, standing on all four and glaring at the kneeling hero on the other side.
[Al-Lumi'raj, 1600 -> 700 ATK]
"When this card is on the field, all monsters lose 300 ATK/DEF for each Level."
The small creature's spiritual power spread out, affecting all other monsters on the field.
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 2400 -> 600 ATK]
[Masked HERO Divine Wind, 1900 -> 0 DEF]
"I'm not done, brother!" She said, pulling out another card. "Spell card, Change of Heart! Letting me take control of another one of your monsters!"
The WIND hero was also reluctantly pulled toward Momoyo's side.
"Momoyo-senpai's deck is really... nasty." Alexis commented, realizing that throughout the duel she had been taking and using her brother's cards against him.
"That's just how she likes to play." Zane suddenly appeared, startling the Obelisk Blue girl and causing Syrus to widen his eyes.
"Big brother!?"
However, Zane just ignored his young brother and focused back on the duel. He is also an Obelisk Blue third-year and has been friends with Momoyo for a long time, back during their first year in the Academy.
"Just how she likes to play?" Jaden murmurs, a bit confused.
"In her own words. Free stuff is always the best. Especially if it comes from a cute boy that she can bully and tease." Zane calmly explained.
Although Momoyo's deck might seem a bit odd and does not contain a full archetype like his, Zane couldn't deny that her style is very difficult and unpleasant to play against.
"I'll change Masked HERO Divine Wind to Attack Position." The once kneeling hero stood up, looking at the other side and seeing the calm look on his master's face, making him feel a bit guilty.
[Masked HERO Divine Wind, 300 ATK]
"Battle! Go Dark Law player, direct attack!"
"Trap card open! A Hero Emerges!" Yumi set card flipped open, revealing the familiar trap used by Jaden in the anime. "When you declare an attack, you have to choose one card in my hand; if it's a monster, I get to Special Summon it, if not, I have to discard it."
He said, holding up the lone card in his hand. "Since I only have one card for you to choose from." Flipping it over, he placed it on his duel disk. "Show yourself, Woodsman!"
The nature hero appeared on his field, crouching with his arms crossed, protecting his master.
[Elemental HERO Woodsman, 2000 -> 800 DEF]
"Since the number of monsters on your field has changed, a battle replay occurred. I'll stop my attack then." Momoyo said with a hint of annoyance plus amusement in her tone before she calmly slit the last card in her hand to her duel disk.
"I'll set one more card and end my turn."
With her turn coming to a close, the two HEROes quickly return to their master's side.
"My turn, draw!" Yumi quickly drew his card.
"During my Standby Phase, Woodsman let me add a Fusion Spell card from my deck or grave to my hand."
He swiftly added the Polymerization from his deck to his hand.
"Spell card Polymerization! I'll fuse Woodsman on my field and Ocean in my hand to Fusion Summon."
Appearing beside the Earth hero, the two elemental heroes jump into the spiraling vortex, fusing into one.
"Shine! Elemental HERO Sunrise!"
[Elemental HERO Sunrise, 2500 -> 400 ATK]
The red armor hero descended, his long blue cape billowing behind him, and he stood beside the other two HEROes, arms crossed, emitting a bright sunny aura.
"Sunrise's effect, when he is summoned, I get to add a Miracle Fusion to my hand, and all of my monsters gain 200 ATK for each different Attribute I control!"
Currently, he has Sunrise (LIGHT), Dark Law (DARK), Divine Wind (WIND), making it three different Attributes.
[Elemental HERO Sunrise, 400 -> 1000 ATK]
[Masked HERO Dark Law, 600 -> 1200 ATK]
[Masked HERO Divine Wind, 300 -> 900 ATK]
Now that his monsters have attack surpassing 700, any one of his HEROes could easily destroy that spirit monster.
"Since a monster was summoned, my trap activates!" Momoyo's final face-down card flipped up. "Torrential Tribute, destroy all monsters on the field!"
A colossal wave erupted from beneath the field, swallowing everything in its path. The water crashed down, clearing both sides completely.
Yumi wiped water droplets from his cheek, then let out a soft chuckle. "As expected of Momo-nee..."
Momoyo smirked, nostalgia flashing in her eyes. "You always fall for that one, little brother."
She remembered all those times back home, her kid brother summoning his prized boss monster with excitement, only for her to wash it all away with one card. But unlike other kids who'd throw fits or sulk, Yumi never showed more than mild annoyance. And that calm, that quiet resilience, only made teasing him more fun for her.
"Maybe." Yumi's smile held steady as he lifted the card he'd just drawn. "But you know me, I don't give up that easily."
He slapped the card onto his Duel Disk.
"Spell card, Miracle Fusion! Letting me fuse my HEROes resting in the grave!"
Images of Woodsman and Ocean shimmered into view beside him, then leapt into a swirling fusion vortex.
From the light, a mighty figure descended, his white armor gleaming like polished stone, yellow eyes glowing beneath his helm.
"Fusion Summon, Elemental HERO The Earth!"
[Elemental HERO The Earth, 2500 ATK]
The ground beneath Yumi's feet trembled as his HERO landed, the weight of a planet in his step. The Earth's gaze locked on Momoyo, steady and unyielding.
Momoyo watched, pride flickering behind her grin. He'd grown so much since their last duel.
"Battle!" Yumi commanded. "The Earth, direct attack!"
The giant charged, fist drawn back, then hurled it forward with all the force of tectonic plates colliding.
"The Earth Impact!"
[Momoyo, LP 2200 -> 0]
As the dust settled and the hologram of The Earth dissolved, the duel came to its end.
Despite the loss, not a trace of disappointment showed on Momoyo's face. Swordsoul was a powerful archetype, but when Yumi first created and gifted it to her, he'd only managed to produce a few key cards, none of the Extra Deck monsters. If he had finished those, well... he might've needed an even stronger deck today to stand a chance against her.
Speaking of stronger cards, Yumi reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stack of newly-printed cards. The card at the back, a Fusion monster, faced him:
Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying.
He was planning to save up his Spirit Energy to finish his other cards, but after seeing his older sister again, he realized a few key cards in her deck were still missing. So Yumi spent his energy on printing those missing cards.
If he remembers correctly, the only Swordsoul cards in her deck right now are The Iris Swordsoul, The Golden Swordsoul, Incredible Ecclesia, The Abyss Dragon Swordsoul, along with a couple of spells and traps that support Swordsoul.
Which is why her deck mainly focuses on stealing her opponent's cards or just clearing the opponent's cards, making the game nearly unplayable for them.
Before he could say a word, Momoyo was suddenly at his side, throwing her arm around his head in a playful headlock.
"Good job, little brother!" she said, grinning widely before her gaze fell onto the deck of cards in his hand. "Oh?"
Yumi, his face pressed firmly against her chest, simply raised the stack of new cards toward her.
"Here, sis. A gift."
Her grin grew brighter. "Aw! I knew my sweet little brother would never forget his lovely big sister." She pulled him tighter into the hug, snatching the cards with glee.
Without hesitation, she started adding them to her deck, her eyes sparkling like a kid with a new toy.
"Yumi! Another duel! Let's see what these babies can do!" she said, already itching to test out her upgraded arsenal.
Yumi let out a long sigh. "Nah... I'm wiped out. I need to catch up on sleep."
Truthfully, he just wanted to go and print more cards. The Spirit Energy he'd gathered from the duel, printing more cards is a must. There were so many cards left to print: Masked HERO Acid, Blast, the rest of the Elemental HERO lineup... maybe even Contrast HERO Chaos. But his resources were limited, and there were so many choices.
Momoyo clicked her tongue. "Tch. Fine. Rest up, little bro, and don't you dare lose tomorrow." She ruffled his hair, then leaned down and planted a quick kiss on his head.
Turning on her heel, she called out to the crowd.
"Zane! Let's duel!"
Everyone followed her gaze, only to see nothing but a faint white silhouette where Zane had been. Their eyes tracked farther, spotting him sprinting away at impressive speed.
"Oi! Zane! Get back here and duel me!"
Without missing a beat, Momoyo released Yumi and shot off after him like a bullet.
Syrus and the others stared, wide-eyed. The legendary Kaiser, Duel Academy's coolest, most unflappable top student, running away?
Was this really the Zane Truesdale they knew?
Watching his sister give chase, Yumi sighed.
Yeah... it made sense.
Zane Truesdale, who practices the art divine draw, would struggle against a nether player like Momoyo.
In the GX anime, Zane Truesdale, after practicing in the Cyber Dojo. Using what he learn from the art of drawing cards, could easily start with three Cyber Dragons fused together, which could directly summon "Cyber End Dragon" with an attack power of 4000 and piercing effect.
A four-for-one combo.
But facing Momoyo, a nether player who likes to take her opponent's cards and make the game unplayable for them. His usual strategy doesn't go so well when he is up against her.
If he let her go first, then she might end the turn like how she left her little brother with no card in hand to even play, then during the draw phase, she would have something set up to make him discard the just-drawn card.
If he goes first, and uses his four-for-one combo summoning out his boss monster, Momoyo would just smile and be like our boss monster, taking control of the Cyber End Dragon.
So now, with stronger cards for her toxic play style.
Even the Kaiser was right to be afraid.