Chapter 269: Super Polymerization - Even Duelists Can Be Fused!
"This is our chance, Amano!" Finesse called out, voice jumping.
Amano Rei knew it was a good chance. Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon had just Fusion Summoned using the Supreme King's entire board as material. With all three Evil HEROs gone, the Supreme King's field was completely empty.
He was also sitting without a single set card.
"Battle, Albaz!"
"ROOOAAR!!!"
What answered Amano was not the stubborn voice of the white-haired boy anymore. It was the Abyss Dragon's thunderous war cry.
Amano pointed at the Supreme King's open field. "Direct attack! Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon!"
The crimson dragon reared its head and drew the wild energy of the sky into its jaws, and with a roar that shook the bridge, launched it forward at the Supreme King.
The Supreme King's gold eyes swept over the four cards he had drawn off Mirage of Nightmare the previous turn.
"In the moment you declare that attack, I discard Ankha Kuriboh from my hand and activate its effect!"
[When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Discard this card; target 1 monster in either GY other than this card; Special Summon that target to your field in Attack Position. That Special Summoned monster is sent to the GY during the End Phase.]
"Not Winged Kuriboh?"
After falling into darkness, the Supreme King had even replaced the card spirit at his side.
"I discard Ankha Kuriboh from my hand and Special Summon Evil HERO Fallen Angel from my Graveyard in Attack Position!"
[Evil HERO Fallen Angel] [Level 7 / DARK]
[Fiend / Effect]
[ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2500]
The Evil HERO revived from the Supreme King's Graveyard matched Alba-Lenatus's 2500 ATK dead on.
DNA Surgery was still on the field, which meant the Evil HERO had been forced into Dragon type and could no longer benefit from Supreme King's Castle's Fiend-type ATK bonus during battle.
But a 2500-to-2500 clash where Alba-Lenatus got destroyed in the process was still a terrible trade. Fallen Angel would only sit on the field until the End Phase anyway.
"I call back the attack."
Fallen Angel lacked the built-in taunt effect of Evil HERO Malicious Bane. There was no forced engagement.
The moment Amano called back the attack, the surging energy in Alba-Lenatus's jaws halted abruptly, dissipating an instant before it reached Fallen Angel.
Finesse slapped her hand against her thigh. "So close. It really was a good opening. That resilience is something else!"
With no monsters to Normal Summon from his draws this turn, Amano had no choice but to repeat last turn's approach and push every remaining card face-down.
"I set three cards face-down. Turn end!"
Useful or not, at least they could serve as a bluff. The pressure from the Evil HERO lineup each turn was relentless, and anything that made the Supreme King second-guess was worth having.
Amano added: "At the End Phase, Evil HERO Fallen Angel, Special Summoned through Ankha Kuriboh's effect, is sent to the Graveyard."
The HERO who had blocked the Abyss Dragon's attack slowly faded from the field as Amano declared end of turn.
"My turn. Draw!"
Last turn, the Supreme King had refilled his hand through Mirage of Nightmare. Per that card's own drawback, he was now required to discard during the Standby Phase.
In the anime, this drawback existed mostly in theory, much like Card of Demise's delayed downside. But then again...
"During the Standby Phase, I activate Quick-Play Spell, Emergency Provisions from my hand!"
[Emergency Provisions]
[Quick-Play Spell: Send any number of other Spell/Trap Cards you control to the GY; gain 1000 LP for each card sent.]
"I send Mirage of Nightmare and Fiend's Chain from the field to the Graveyard. With Mirage of Nightmare no longer on the field, its draw-and-discard effect does not activate."
The classic Emergency Provisions combo: send Mirage of Nightmare before its Standby Phase effect kicks in, recover Life Points in the process, and skip the discard entirely.
On top of Mirage of Nightmare, the Supreme King also consumed the one remaining card on his field: the Continuous Trap Fiend's Chain, which had originally locked down the Elemental HERO Thunder Giant.
Fiend's Chain's own text specified that if the monster it was targeting left the field by destruction, Fiend's Chain would be destroyed alongside it. But at the time, Amano's Thunder Giant had not been destroyed: it had Tributed itself through its own effect. That meant Fiend's Chain had stayed on the field as dead weight, an inactive card occupying a zone with no effect to use.
Dead weight still had one use: being fed to Emergency Provisions for an extra 1000 LP.
Supreme King Jaden LP: 1400 -> 3400
"Next, I activate Spell Card Legacy of a HERO! With two or more Level 4 or higher HERO monsters in my Graveyard, I draw 3 cards!"
After bringing his hand back up to five cards, the Supreme King's gold eyes passed over them. They stopped on one card in particular.
"I will end everything here!"
Rather than playing that card yet, the Supreme King turned first to a monster effect waiting in his Graveyard.
"I activate the effect of Evil HERO Infernal Rider in my Graveyard!"
[Banish 4 monsters from your GY along with this card; Set 1 "Super Polymerization" from your Deck to your Spell/Trap Zone.]
Amano's chest tightened. "So it's finally here."
Ecclesia, from inside the deck: "What? What is it?"
Kit: "This feels dangerous!"
Of all the cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!, very few had the ability to search out Super Polymerization. And Super Polymerization was, in the truest sense, the release of the ultimate fusion power.
Even if Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon on Amano's field could not be used as Fusion Material, the anime version of Super Polymerization had the potential to affect reality beyond the boundaries of a duel.
The thought crossed Amano's mind: if the Supreme King could not fuse with his monsters, would he try to fuse with the Duelists themselves?
That was not entirely a joke. In the face of true Super Polymerization, even Duelists, even beings from different dimensions, were theoretically fusable.
Five cards erupted from the Supreme King's Graveyard zone as the effect activated.
"I banish Evil HERO Infernal Rider, two copies of Evil HERO Fallen Angel, Evil HERO Malicious Bane, and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix from my Graveyard!"
Five monsters total banished as the cost. In exchange, the Supreme King had set the ultimate fusion power face-down.
The good news: Super Polymerization was a Quick-Play Spell, and Quick-Play Spells set during the current turn could not be activated that same turn. Amano would not be on the receiving end of it this turn.
The bad news: the next card the Supreme King played carried its own brand of trouble.
"Spell Card, Dimension Fusion, activate!"
In the same instant, the space behind the Supreme King twisted, and five spiraling voids tore open as entry points for Special Summons.
[Dimension Fusion]
[Spell Card: Pay 2000 LP; both players Special Summon as many of their banished monsters as possible.]
Supreme King Jaden LP: 3400 -> 1400
Despite having Fusion in the name, the card had nothing to do with Fusion mechanics. Its effect was simple: both players Special Summoned every banished monster they could.
This was a brutal exchange in Amano's direction.
The Supreme King had just banished five monsters moments ago. He could immediately fill a completely empty field.
Amano, on the other hand, currently had no banished monsters at all. Not a single card to Special Summon.
Of course, not having the conditions did not mean he could not create them.
Scraping together everything available and turning even the opponent's card against them: that was Amano Rei's style. Even the opening created by Dimension Fusion had to be used.
Amano threw open one of his set cards. "I chain Dimension Fusion's activation and flip Trap Card, Soul Union!"
[Soul Union]
[Trap Card: Target 1 face-up monster you control and 1 "Elemental HERO" monster in your GY; that monster gains ATK equal to the targeted GY monster's ATK until the End Phase.
If a Normal "Elemental HERO" monster is on your field or in your GY while this card resolves, the following effect also applies: Banish monsters from your GY as Fusion Materials; Fusion Summon 1 "Elemental HERO" Fusion Monster.]
"Targeting Elemental HERO Neos in my Graveyard: I boost Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon's ATK by 2500!"
On the surface, Soul Union appeared to be a straightforward ATK-boost Trap. But the reason Amano had specifically chained it to Dimension Fusion was what came next.
[If a Normal "Elemental HERO" monster is on your field or in your GY: Banish monsters from your GY as Fusion Materials; Fusion Summon 1 "Elemental HERO" Fusion Monster.]
When a Normal Monster HERO was present on the field or in the Graveyard, Soul Union gained a Miracle Fusion-style bonus: banish Graveyard monsters as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon an Elemental HERO.
Per chain resolution rules, last-in first-out, Soul Union would resolve before Dimension Fusion. That meant Amano could get his banished monsters onto the field through Dimension Fusion's effect too.
"Not bad, Rei. You found a way to turn even that into a play." The Supreme King immediately followed with another card. "Quick-Play Spell, Twin Twisters!"
[Twin Twisters]
[Quick-Play Spell: Discard 1 card; target up to 2 Spell/Trap Cards on the field; destroy them.]
The dual-tornado Spell that destroyed one card on each field. The Supreme King had obviously intended to pair it with Mirage of Nightmare originally, but the hand came together too late: he had only drawn it after using Emergency Provisions to clear his field.
"I destroy my own Dimension Fusion along with one of your Spell or Trap cards!"
Of course, chaining to an already-activated card could not stop that card's effect from resolving. Destroying Dimension Fusion now would not prevent it from resolving. The destruction was purely incidental.
The same applied to Amano's Soul Union: destroying an already-activated Soul Union could not stop its effect.
Which made the Supreme King's actual target for Twin Twisters obvious: DNA Surgery.
Leaving DNA Surgery on the field would continue to affect the Evil HEROs' type, locking them out of Supreme King's Castle's Fiend-type ATK bonus during combat. The Supreme King needed it gone.
"Then I chain Twin Twisters' activation and flip another set card!"
"How many layers deep is this chain going?" Sho, who had apparently forgotten entirely about running away, was watching the cascade of Spell and Trap activations with his head spinning. "What level of dueling even is this?"
The card Amano flipped at the outermost layer of the chain was the exact same card the Supreme King had just used at the start of his turn.
"I chain Quick-Play Spell, Emergency Provisions! I send DNA Surgery and Soul Union to the Graveyard, and gain 2000 LP!"
If they were getting destroyed anyway, might as well eat them first. And eating the already-activated Soul Union along with DNA Surgery added an extra 1000 LP on top. Just like with the already-activated Soul Union, consuming a card already in the middle of resolving did not stop its effect from going through.
The chain resolved from the outermost layer inward.
Emergency Provisions resolved first.
Amano LP: 3500 -> 5500
Twin Twisters resolved next.
[Dimension Fusion: Destroyed]
[DNA Surgery: Destroyed]
Soul Union resolved after that.
[Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon] [ATK: 2500 -> 5000]
Simultaneously, through Soul Union's bonus Fusion effect, the Normal Monster clause was satisfied by Elemental HERO Neos resting in the Graveyard. Three HERO cards were ejected from Amano's Graveyard zone as Fusion Materials.
"I banish Elemental HERO Neos, Elemental HERO Blazeman, and Elemental HERO Bubbleman from my Graveyard as Fusion Materials!"
"The pulse of the earth awakens here! The resonance of heroes and planet echoes with the heartbeat of the world's core!"
"Triple HERO Fusion! Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Core!"
[Elemental HERO Core] [Level 9 / EARTH]
[Warrior / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 2700 / DEF: 2200]
[3 "Elemental HERO" monsters]
[Effect 1: Once per turn, when this card becomes the target of an attack: This card's ATK becomes double its current ATK until the end of the Damage Step of that battle.
Effect 2: At the end of the Battle Phase, when this card has attacked: Target 1 monster on the field; destroy it.
Effect 3: When this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: Target 1 Level 8 or lower "Elemental HERO" Fusion Monster in your GY; Special Summon it, ignoring its Summoning conditions.]
The Level 9 Elemental HERO, requiring three Elemental HERO monsters to Fusion Summon, emerged from the boiling magma beneath the bridge of the Supreme King's Castle and rose to Amano's field.
The reason for Fusion Summoning Core was simple. First: this card was exceptionally capable of surviving the opponent's turn.
[Once per turn, when this card becomes the target of an attack: This card's ATK becomes double its current ATK until the end of the Damage Step of that battle.]
And second: fusing Core required three Elemental HEROs as material, letting Amano banish three cards from his Graveyard in one move.
With the outermost chain resolved, Dimension Fusion at the core of the chain finally activated.
From both players' banished zones, the monsters punched back through the dimensional voids and descended to their respective fields.
Five monsters Special Summoned simultaneously to the Supreme King's field: Evil HERO Infernal Rider, two copies of Evil HERO Fallen Angel, Evil HERO Malicious Bane, and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, every last one in Attack Position.
Simultaneously, the three Elemental HEROs Amano had just banished as Fusion Materials came back in Defense Position: Elemental HERO Neos, Elemental HERO Blazeman, and Elemental HERO Bubbleman. Together with Alba-Lenatus and Core, all five Monster Zones were filled.
What had been an empty field with only the Abyss Dragon moments ago had transformed into a five-versus-five HERO showdown in an instant.
Both players declared effects at the same time.
"When Evil HERO Infernal Rider is Special Summoned, I add Dark Fusion from my Deck to my hand!"
"When Elemental HERO Blazeman is Special Summoned, I add Polymerization from my Deck to my hand!"
Finesse was completely riveted. "Neither side is giving an inch! A duel like this, and only I get to watch it. What a waste!"
In that moment, Finesse felt the HERO's fire inside her own chest beginning to quietly smolder.
After this duel, Finesse thought, she could become stronger herself.
"Only a duel against you makes me feel the pulse of the ultimate power!" The Supreme King raised a card high. "Come on, Rei! My final Dark Fusion!"
The Supreme King activated the Dark Fusion he had just searched with Infernal Rider's effect, pulling Evil HERO Fallen Angel and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix on his field into the darkness as Fusion Materials.
Using Elemental HERO Burstinatrix as a Fusion Material for a Dark Fusion: the same combination that had opened this entire duel with Evil HERO Inferno Wing - Backfire.
But Inferno Wing - Backfire, even with Supreme King's Castle's ATK bonus during battle, could not have beaten Alba-Lenatus sitting at 5000 ATK, or Elemental HERO Core doubling its own ATK when attacked.
And Amano noticed something: the Supreme King was almost certainly in the same situation as himself. Even when his Main Deck carried duplicate monsters, his Extra Deck held only one copy of each different Fusion HERO. Duplicate Extra Deck Fusion HEROs had never once appeared simultaneously in the anime.
So this Dark Fusion was, without question, the appearance of an entirely new Evil HERO Fusion.
"The reins of justice have been severed. All that remains are iron hooves trampling what was once righteous!"
"Descend, dark knight who bears malice upon a blade of darkness!"
"Fusion Summon! Evil HERO Dark Gaia!"
[Evil HERO Dark Gaia] [Level 8 / EARTH]
[Fiend / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 1600 / DEF: 0]
[1 Fiend-Type monster + 1 Warrior-Type monster]
[Must be Special Summoned with "Dark Fusion."]
[Effect 1: All monsters your opponent controls lose ATK equal to the combined original ATK of this card's Fusion Materials.
Effect 2: This card can attack twice during each Battle Phase.
Effect 3: If this face-up Special Summoned card leaves the field by the opponent's card effect: Target 1 Fiend or Warrior monster in your GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position.]
The Evil HERO Fusion, born from the combination of a Fiend and a Warrior, landed on the field.
For a Level 8 monster, however, what stood there was remarkable in a specific way: only 1600 ATK, the lowest attack value of any Evil HERO card yet.
"That lowest ATK will become the sharpest blade to cut through every line of attack!"
The Supreme King slammed the Fusion card onto his Duel Disk and declared Evil HERO Dark Gaia's effect.
[All monsters your opponent controls lose ATK equal to the combined original ATK of this card's Fusion Materials.]
Dark Gaia's Fusion Materials were Evil HERO Fallen Angel at 2500 ATK and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix at 1200 ATK: a combined total of 3700.
As long as Dark Gaia remained on the field, every monster Amano controlled would lose 3700 ATK.
In the same instant, the wave of dark pressure bursting from Dark Gaia crashed over all five of Amano's monsters.
A 3700-point ATK reduction. Even Blue-Eyes White Dragon, walking onto this field, would drop to 0.
Of Amano's five monsters, only Alba-Lenatus at 5000 survived the cut with any ATK remaining: 5000 minus 3700 left it at 1300. The other four Elemental HEROs all hit 0.
Elemental HERO Core had even been Fusion Summoned in Attack Position. When attacked, Core could double its own ATK. But 0 doubled was still 0.
"Let this blade sever the bonds of the past! Spell Card, Power of Heritage! I send Evil HERO Infernal Rider to the Graveyard and boost Evil HERO Dark Gaia's ATK by 2100!"
[Evil HERO Dark Gaia] [ATK: 1600 -> 3700]
The Evil HERO, sharpened further by the sacrifice of one of its own kind, rose with its ATK stacked on top of the power it already held. On top of that, Dark Gaia carried a built-in ability to attack twice per Battle Phase.
"Battle! Dark Gaia, consecutive double attack! Shatter both the Abyss Dragon and Core at once!"
"You're not shattering both at once, Jaden!"
As the Battle Phase opened, Amano raised his Duel Disk arm and ejected a card that had been sitting in his Graveyard, waiting.
Fallen of Albaz's effect had been negated by Forbidden Droplet, but the card itself had still been sent to the Graveyard as the activation cost at the time. That much was unaffected.
"I banish Nioh Stance from my Graveyard and activate its effect!"
[Nioh Stance]
[Trap Card GY Effect: Banish this card from your GY; target 1 monster you control; this turn, your opponent can only attack that targeted monster.]
Without a word being exchanged, Amano and the Abyss Dragon met each other's gaze.
"I'm counting on you, Albaz! I activate Nioh Stance targeting Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon!"
You must attack the monster with the taunt.
And Nioh Stance carried a subtler layer to its effect: even if the taunting monster was destroyed and left the field, the restriction still held. The opponent could not redirect to other monsters for the rest of that turn.
Spreading its enormous crimson wings wide, Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon covered all four Elemental HEROs at 0 ATK behind the dragon's wingspan.
"You are the real HERO, Albaz."
"ROOOAAR!"
Backed by the taunt effect, Alba-Lenatus squared off against Evil HERO Dark Gaia's slash.
The Supreme King's eyes narrowed. "Fallen of Albaz! An admitted failure who ran mid-duel, and yet here you are, standing in front of me again and again!"
"Supreme King's Castle's effect activates! I send Level 8 Evil HERO Malicious Fiend from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard and boost Evil HERO Dark Gaia's ATK by 1600!"
[Evil HERO Dark Gaia] [ATK: 3700 -> 5300]
"Dark King's Blade!"
The blade carrying 5300 ATK, surpassing even the Ultimate Dragon Knight in raw power, came down and cut through the taunting Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon in a single stroke.
[Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon: Destroyed]
Amano LP: 5500 -> 1500
The 4000 points of battle damage hit Amano with the corresponding physical pain in the same instant.
But the Battle Phase was over. Through Albaz's struggle, Amano had scraped open a path through two consecutive turns of total darkness.
"Albaz managed to hold that off twice."
With Nioh Stance's effect still preventing Dark Gaia from attacking any other target, the Supreme King had no choice but to set one card and end his turn.
"I set one card. Turn end!"
Amano: "Then here comes the third."
Albaz, from inside the Graveyard: "Leave it to you, Amano Rei! This is the blade for the final breakthrough! You have to win this!"
"The effect of Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon activates!"
[During the End Phase of the turn this card was sent to the GY: Add 1 Polymerization Normal Spell from your Deck to your hand.]
"I add Double Fusion from my Deck to my hand!"
The trump card for Amano's final showdown was now in hand. A Polymerization that surpassed standard Fusion: Double Fusion, ready to face whatever ultimate fusion power the Supreme King had set face-down.
"My turn! Draw!"