"Ugh..."
Judai shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the duel again. But as the darkness dispersed, he looked up and was taken aback.
For a brief moment, he was stunned to see the Judge standing opposite him had vanished, replaced by a humanoid monster. With differently colored pupils, expansive bony wings, and a third eye on its forehead, it gazed at him with a look somewhere between melancholy and excitement.
Judai's heart dropped, and he staggered back half a step. But in the blink of an eye, that figure had vanished, reverting to the form of the Judge.
"I haven't conducted a Normal Summon this turn. I'll set a monster in Face-down Defense Position. That's the end of my turn."
The Judge waved his hand casually, setting a monster, then looked at Judai with a playful expression.
"What did you see, Yuki Judai?"
"...Draw card."
Judai ignored him.
But his mind was a mess; chaotic, seemingly foreign memories flooded his brain. The fleeting figure just now seemed to linger inexplicably...
"Kurikuri!"
The voice of Feathered Chestnut Ball.
"Partner..." Judai glanced at it and smiled, "I see, you're encouraging me too... Thank you."
He stood upright and placed another card.
"I set a monster in Face-down Defense Position. That's the end of my turn."
He also set a monster in his field.
"Hmm... Hidden memories indeed." the Judge said, "Seems like it's still a bit... My turn, draw card."
He waved his hand to flip open a card set in his field.
"Flip Summon 'Magic-guided Grocer'."
[Magic-guided Grocer, Attack Power 200]
"When this card is Flip Summoned, cards are revealed from the top of the deck until a Magic or Trap Card appears." the Judge explained, "The Magic or Trap Card revealed is added to the hand, and the rest are sent to the graveyard."
He flipped five cards in a row; the fifth was a Magic Card.
"Add the Magic Card 'Revive the Dead' to my hand, and send the rest to the graveyard."
Judai: "Filling your graveyard with Dark Attribute resources again...?"
"Then I offer the 'Magic-guided Grocer' as a tribute for an Upper-level Summon."
He revealed another card from his hand.
"Appear, Hell Poet."
[Hell Poet, Attack Power 2000]
"Then I activate the Magic Card 'Revive the Dead', which revives a monster from the graveyard." He gestured towards Judai. "I'll choose the hero you loved...
...Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"
In the anime, the Flame Wingman can be revived from the graveyard, though in the physical card game this isn't possible. A massive revival symbol appeared above the Judge, igniting flames that transformed into the form of the Flame Hero, standing against Judai.
[Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, Attack Power 2100]
"Flame Wingman..." Judai appeared dazed.
Keihei began to worry for Judai: "Brother, this guy has instantly set up such a powerful formation, and there's also the Dark Armed Dragon..."
Kaiba frowned in silence.
Yuki Judai... It seems this is as far as he can go.
"Dark Armed Dragon's effect banishes a Dark Attribute from the graveyard to destroy any card on the field."
The Judge casually revealed a Dark Attribute banished from the graveyard.
"The 'Magic-guided Grocer' has replenished the graveyard with ample Dark Attributes. I'll banish one to destroy your set monster."
A pitch-black energy bullet was shot out again, targeting the only barrier on Judai's field. Once this monster was breached, he'd be exposed before the opponent's formidable formation, with no defense left.
Boom!
The black explosion tore through the set monster, but the small image of that creature briefly flashed on the field.
"Kurikuri!"
"Thank you, partner..."
Judai raised his arm to shield himself, an invisible barrier appearing like a force field to protect him.
"In the turn that Feathered Chestnut Ball is destroyed, all battle damage taken becomes 0," Judai explained.
"I see, then I set a card, end the turn."
Judai took a deep breath.
His vision began to blur, and his mind seemed sluggish. He increasingly felt his opponent might not be bluffing.
What the opponent said could very well be true. There were errors in his memory; he was hiding secrets he himself didn't know, important things he'd forgotten.
But...
He looked up, and it seemed he saw Mr. Hibiki Momiji's towering back again.
"From now on... it's up to you, Judai."
"..."
Yes, he's resolved to inherit Mr. Momiji's will, to fight as a true Duelist.
He can't just...
"My turn, draw card!"
"Oh?" the Judge scrutinized him.
The momentum seemed to return, his gaze appeared more resolute...
"Summon 'Elemental Hero Bubbleman'!"
[Elemental Hero Bubbleman, Attack Power 800]
"Upon a successful summon of Bubbleman, if there are no other cards on the field, draw two cards from the deck!" (Original effect)
Judai drew two cards.
"Then I activate the Magic Card 'Pot of Greed', draw two more cards!"
Judai seemed to regain his touch, instantly pulling two cards with Bubbleman's and Pot of Greed's effects.
Then he took out a card from his hand, staring at it for a moment.
He then gently closed his eyes.
"I won't let you down, Mr. Momiji..."
He then opened his eyes again, raising the card high.
"Magic Card 'Fusion' activate!
Fuse 'Elemental Hero Forest Hero' from my hand with 'Elemental Hero Bubbleman' on the field who possesses a Water Attribute! Bring forth the power to freeze all—
—Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!!"
Snowflakes danced, ice crystals blossomed, the pure white Icy Hero descended with arms folded!
[Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, Attack Power 2500]
"Here comes the hero left behind by Mr. Momiji!" Keihei exclaimed.
Marufuji Ryo frowned: "Something's different..."
He could feel that the Absolute Zero Hero emerging from Judai's hand had a different aura compared to when Hibiki Momiji summoned it.
But it was a transcendent difference in the elf's level, as if the strength was enhanced by the duelist, though it was hard to pinpoint the exact changes.
"Then I activate the Magic Card 'Fusion Recovery', returning the 'Fusion' Magic Card and 'Elemental Hero Forest Hero' used as Fusion Material from the graveyard to my hand."
Judai retrieved the two cards that returned from the graveyard, then put them into play again.
"Activate 'Fusion'! This time fusing 'Elemental Hero Forest Hero' and 'Elemental Hero Ocean Hero' from my hand!"
The crowd was shocked.
A second fusion?
"Fusion Summon, embodying Mr. Momiji's soul, the hero from the Planet Series—
—Elemental Hero Earthman!!!"