"The face-down card, it wasn't Cybernetic Revolution?"
At the end of Judai's turn, Mitsuzawa Daichi looked at the card on the field, surprised.
"I thought Ryo's duel would always aim for Cyber End Dragon." Asuka, who considered herself well-acquainted with Marufuji Ryo, was particularly astonished upon seeing this card.
"No, that's not Ryo's duel." A true brother who shared life-and-death experiences with Marufuji Ryo, Tenjouin Fubuki immediately understood why, "Ryo's dueling is rational and full of calculations. Judai's deck is now packed with offense, so he wouldn't simply use Cyber End Dragon outright."
Fubuki smiled and said, "First, summon a defensive monster in advance, then, after the attack, leave some room to amass power and eventually win, that's Ryo."
As if responding to Fubuki's words, Marufuji Ryo drew a card.
"Normal Summon, Cyber Dragon Herz!" He revealed a Monster Card.
It was a miniature Cyber Dragon, with mechanical veins wrapped around it for testing, looking very tiny.
Cyber Dragon Herz, LV 1, Light Attribute, Machine-Type, ATK 100.
"In the field or graveyard, this card's name is treated as 'Cyber Dragon.' Then, Spell Card—Machine Duplication!" He revealed a new Spell Card from his hand, "Machine Duplication's effect, choose a Machine-Type monster with 500 or less ATK on your field, Special Summon up to two monsters with the same name from the deck!"
"What?" Manjome couldn't help but say upon seeing this, "Its card name now is…"
"Cyber Dragon!"
Caesar shouted loudly, "I Special Summon two Cyber Dragons from the deck!"
Buzz—buzz—
The silhouette of Cyber Dragon Herz duplicated on the field, then, the two silhouettes suddenly expanded, transforming into new machines!
Cyber Dragon, LV 5, Light Attribute, Machine-Type, ATK 2100!
"There are three Cyber Dragons on the field!" The Winged Kuriboh appeared beside Judai, nervously saying, "It's coming, Judai!"
"Spell Card, Polymerization!" Marufuji Ryo skillfully played a Spell Card from his hand, "Fusion summon the three Cyber Dragons on the field!"
"Hoo-hoo-hoo—bring it on!"
"Cyber End Dragon!"
The three mechanical dragons intertwined, finally transforming into a massive mechanical flying dragon with three heads!
Cyber End Dragon, LV 10, Light Attribute, Machine-Type, ATK 4000!
"Wow…" Marufuji Shou excitedly watched this great dragon.
"Sure enough, Ryo still uses Cyber End Dragon."
"But, why not use Fusion Gate's effect? That way, you could save a Polymerization."
"It's simple." Tenjo Hikari interrupted their discussion, "Because Caesar doesn't want the monsters banished, he wants to recover cards from the graveyard."
"Huh?"
Soon, their doubts were answered.
"Cyber Dragon Herz's effect. When this card is sent to the graveyard, I can activate it from the deck or graveyard to add one Cyber Dragon to my hand—I add the last Cyber Dragon in my deck to my hand!"
"Next, battle, Judai!" Caesar looked at his opponent, his face smiling, "Cyber End Dragon's attack!"
"Eternal Evolution Burst!"
The three-headed dragon gathered energy, then spewed flames, shattering the shining hero.
Yuki Judai LP: 4000→3200.
"At this time, The Shining's effect! When this card is sent to the graveyard, up to two banished Elemental Hero monsters can be returned to the hand! I'll add Bubbleman and Sparkman to my hand!"
"Interesting! Judai!" Caesar laughed seeing Judai's maneuver, "I see, with this, you've got the Fusion Material again, haven't you?"
"Then, Cyber Barrier Dragon's attack!"
Zap, the mirror refracted a light beam, striking Judai's abdomen.
Yuki Judai LP: 3200→2400.
"Amazing, truly, Caesar is amazing!" Judai exclaimed excitedly, covering his "wound."
"Heh… I set a card and end my turn." Caesar lightly chuckled upon hearing Judai's words and set a card from his hand.
It was Judai's turn, he drew a card, and beside him, Bubbleman, who could cosplay as Batman with another color, appeared and said, "Judai, let me handle this!"
"Bubbleman—alright, then!"
"My turn, draw a card, I activate the Field Spell Card, Fusion Gate's effect, to fuse Sparkman and Bubbleman from my hand!"
"Oh! With the same Fusion Materials, what will you Fusion Summon this time?" Watching Judai fusion, Caesar Ryo showed an interested expression.
"The Fusion Conditions are a 'Hero' and a Water Attribute monster!
Don't blink, Caesar!
This hero will give you chills down your spine!
Fusion Summon—
Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!"
With Judai's call, cold winds blew through the dueling arena, Asuka unconsciously tightened her clothes, frost appeared all over the field, and in the air, it seemed ice and snow were condensing.
A white-clad hero with a cape flapping descended from the sky, striking a standard "heroic arrival" pose.
Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, LV 8, Water Attribute, Warrior-Type, ATK 2500.
Tenjo Hikari immediately sat up straight upon seeing this card, hurriedly examining Absolute Zero's 3D image.
Nearby, several friends noted Tenjo Hikari's attentive posture, suddenly realizing—this is no ordinary Fusion Monster!
After all, Hikari is so excited!
"Elemental Hero, Absolute Zero?" Caesar looked at Judai's card, softly smiling, "It seems, Judai, you've grown a lot, but with only 2500 ATK, it's no match for Cyber End Dragon."
"Ah, but Absolute Zero's effect is not so simple!"
Judai flashed a Monster from his hand: "It's time, one of my favorite cards!
Using Absolute Zero on the field and the Blazing Lady in my hand for fusion!"
"The Fusion Conditions are an Elemental Hero monster and a Fire Attribute monster!
I fuse Elemental Hero Absolute Zero and the Blazing Lady from my hand!"
"Huh?" The crowd was startled by his action, "Why banish a freshly fused monster?"
"Fusion Summon, the hero rising from the flames! Elemental Hero Nova Master!"
Amidst the blaze, a hero crossed his arms over his chest, took a leap, and stood in front of Judai.
Elemental Hero Nova Master, LV 8, Fire Attribute, Warrior-Type, ATK 2600.
"Replacing a 2500 monster with a 2600 one?"
"It's only 100 points higher, what does it matter against Cyber End Dragon?"
Some classmates were puzzled.
"Don't rush." As friends looked at him, Tenjo Hikari couldn't help but say, "That card, it's about to unleash its true power."
That card?
"Now, activate the effect of the banished Absolute Zero."
"Oh?"
Excitedly, Judai raised his hand as the dueling arena, lit by the Nova Master's appearance, suddenly again experienced frost, the entire field growing cold again.
"Absolute Zero's effect! When this card leaves the field, it destroys all opponent's monster cards!!"
"What!!!???"
"Destroy all monsters?"
"Just leaving the field can trigger this??"
"This, wow—"
As frost descended, all of Ryo's monsters on the field were covered in ice and snow, soon turning into pure ice crystals, utterly losing all function.
"Such… such a powerful effect." Manjome watched wide-eyed.
"It just needs to leave the field, so whether it's by battle, sent to the graveyard, or by self-fusion, the effect can activate…" Mitsuzawa Daichi was also surprised, "How could there be an effect triggered so easily…"
"Interesting—indeed, a graduation duel with you is correct." Seeing his field wiped out in an instant, even his Ace Monster, Cyber End Dragon, disappearing just like that, Marufuji Ryo immediately showed an excited expression, "Awesome, Judai."
"Hahaha~" Judai extended a finger, gently wiping his lips, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
"Lately, I've noticed you often seem absent-minded, I wanted to see what was going on with you during this duel, if that's the case, I'm reassured—" Marufuji Ryo's smile remained, appearing quite satisfied.
"This way, when I leave this school and head to a new place, I can go with peace of mind."
However—
Judai, who had been quite happy, suddenly froze upon hearing these words.
The hand that was about to enter battle suddenly stiffened there.