"Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode, attack Elemental HERO Flame Wingman—Ultimate Absolute Power Domination!!"
"ROAR!!"
Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode let out a soul-shaking roar. Crimson flames gathered in its right claw—the infernal fire from the depths of hell itself.
Seeing the dragon charging at his monster, Yuui smiled faintly. "Looks like my HEROES are being treated as easy targets… In that case, I activate my face-down card! Trap Card—HERO Barrier!
"When there's a face-up monster on my field with 'Elemental HERO' in its name, one opponent's attack is negated! I negate your Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode's attack!"
"What!?"
Ace's composure shattered the moment he saw that Trap.
His Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode had two effects: after it attacks, it destroys all other monsters on the field, and when destroyed, it Special Summons a Red Dragon Archfiend from the Graveyard.
He had planned that if his attack went through, he'd wipe out all of Alicia's (Yuui's) monsters—and even if it failed, if her face-down was a destruction Trap, he could still revive Red Dragon Archfiend to keep fighting.
Albeit he hadn't expected it to be a card that negated the attack entirely.
Still, there was a silver lining—at least if Nash destroyed his monster next turn, Red Dragon Archfiend could revive itself to protect him again.
Ace furrowed his brow but exhaled slowly. "Then my turn… ends!"
"My turn—Draw!!"
As Nash drew, his eyes narrowed slightly. 'This card, huh… In that case…'
He looked from Ace's Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode to Yuui's Elemental HERO Great Tornado and said calmly, "Since one of you has shown a Duel Dragon's evolved form, and the other has created an entirely new HERO Fusion Monster, I can't just sit idly by either."
Those words immediately gave both Ace and Yuui a bad feeling.
Nash reached inside his collar and pulled out a pendant shaped like a trident.
Yuui's mind went blank for a second. 'Oh crap…'
Gathering his magic, Nash raised his right hand high. "I rebuild the Overlay Network using my Rank 4 No.32 Shark Drake! Chaos Xyz Evolution!!"
"What!?" Ace shouted. "Using an Xyz Monster to rebuild the Overlay Network—and with only one monster!? That's impossible!!"
Abruptly, in the next instant, the unthinkable happened.
Nash's power surged into the sky, and a golden Xyz vortex appeared overhead.
Endless streams of purple light rained down from it as Shark Drake roared, spreading its wings and diving into the vortex.
Moments later, the vortex exploded in a blinding flash, scattering starlight particles across the battlefield.
For the first time, Nash's cold expression cracked—revealing obsession and madness, the raw emotion of one who lived for power. The trident pendant on his chest glowed with violet light, pulsing in rhythm with his fury.
"Appear—Number C32! The ultimate fang awakened from the abyss—Shark Drake Veiss!!"
Answering his call, a roar like that of a primordial beast echoed through the sky.
"ROAR!!!"
A colossal, bicolor creature emerged—white and violet scales, twin claws like blades sharp enough to cut the ocean itself, red orbs gleaming on its fins and legs, and broad wings spreading from its back.
The evolved form of No.32—Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss—descends!
[Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss] Rank 4│WATER│Sea Serpent│2800 ATK / 2100 DEF
For a moment, the arena fell silent—and then an explosion of awe followed.
"Holy crap, what is that!?"
"He just used an Xyz Monster to Xyz Summon again—so that's Chaos Xyz Evolution!?"
"Chaos Evolution looks insane!"
"This was supposed to be a class match! How did it escalate to this level!?"
"I know, right!? I understood the Duel up to now, but now I have no idea what's happening anymore!"
The students of Saint Fusion Academy, who had only just begun grasping the basics of Xyz Summoning, were now completely lost. They'd barely gotten used to one new mechanic, and suddenly a Chaos Evolution appeared—it was too much to take in.
Meanwhile, Yuui stood calm, though inside, a storm was raging.
'He can already perform Chaos Xyz Evolution as a first-year… No way… is this guy actually the reincarnation of Nash!? That shouldn't be possible! This world shouldn't have that much overlap with the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe!'
It wasn't that Yuui feared Shark Drake Veiss—he knew its effect well. Since Nash could summon it even with full Life Points, that meant it used the real TCG version's effect.
[Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss] Rank 4│WATER│Sea Serpent│2800 ATK / 2100 DEF
Still, it was strange… how could this version of Veiss have both its real-card effect and the anime's "Number protection," making it immune to destruction by non-Number monsters?
Even so, that only made it a powerful wall—an indestructible monster with 2800 Attack and immunity to battle and effect destruction.
Strong, yes. But in this situation, it was nothing more than an untouchable fortress.
...
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