Amidst the buzz of spirit chatter, the turn passed back to Jaden.
He looked down at his hand, clearly conflicted.
"Jaden—whatever you do, don't let the Envoy of the Beginning flip face-up again!"
"I know!"
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning had the terrifying power to banish monsters or attack twice. No matter what, they couldn't allow it back into play.
If they did, their odds of victory would plummet.
But—Envoy had 2500 DEF.
Not easy to overcome!
"In that case, I activate the Spell Card: Polymerization! I fuse the Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand—!"
Seeing Infernal Wing in action earlier had gotten Jaden fired up. Now that he finally had the materials and needed a powerful monster, he didn't hesitate.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman – Level 6, WIND, Warrior-Type, ATK 2100
"Haha, Flame Wingman? Bro, isn't that you?" Gaia laughed, nudging Avian beside him.
"...Just a reflection of what once was," Avian replied calmly, arms folded.
"Jaden, one who sees only a hero's brilliance without recognizing the pain behind it... can never become a true hero."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Jaden blinked, caught off guard.
It sounded almost like... this guy knew him?
"And 2100 ATK? You think that's enough to defeat Lord Chaos Soldier? You're dreaming," Gaia sneered.
"Heh—heroes need a stage to shine on! I activate the Field Spell: Skyscraper!"
There it was!
Off to the side, Hikaru's blood began to stir.
The classic "Slayer of the 3000 ATK" had arrived.
Skyscraper was a Field Spell that gave an Elemental HERO a 1000 ATK boost when attacking a stronger monster.
For 2100 ATK Flame Wingman, that meant easy pickings for anything up to 3100!
"So you're counting on your field to beat Lord Chaos Soldier? Clever. But—naive!
I activate the Trap Card: Ring of Destruction!"
...WHAT. A BANNED CARD.
In Hikaru's time, it had been errata'd and taken off the Forbidden List.
But here? Still in full, terrifying force.
"Target one monster, destroy it, and both players take damage equal to its ATK!"
A massive spiked ring burst from the card and clamped around Flame Wingman.
With a massive boom, he was obliterated.
LP: Hikaru & Jaden – 4300 → 2200
LP: Avian & Gaia – 5500 → 3400
"Crap…" Jaden grimaced, sweat forming at his temple.
Avian chuckled from across the field.
"If that had been a Dark Fusion, this wouldn't have happened."
Jaden winced, guilt pooling in his stomach.
He wasn't afraid of staying here himself—he was just scared he'd dragged his new friend Hikaru into this mess.
"Don't listen to him, Jaden!" Hikaru shouted.
"Avian—stop pushing your ideals on others! Everyone has the right to pursue what they believe in.
To me, the pinnacle of Fusion is my goal. To Jaden, a Hero is a Hero!"
Avian's expression twisted, clearly irritated.
"You don't get to impose your path onto someone else!"
"Jaden—use my card!"
Use my card?!
The voice snapped Jaden back to reality.
He looked at the field, eyes flashing with clarity.
His trademark grin returned.
"Haha! So it's this card, huh?!
Hikaru—you planned for this all along!?"
"Of course. I told you I was going to rework my deck ahead of time," Hikaru smiled warmly and gave a thumbs-up.
"Fusion embraces all things! Tag Duels are just like Fusion.
Believing in your partner—and helping them—is Fusion too."
At that moment, the Duel Spirits roared.
"I've decided—I'll devote my power to that warrior for the rest of my days!"
"So this is the peak of Fusion! What elegance!"
"Dude—Flame Swordsman, can you introduce me after this? I'm a Fusion Monster too!"
Somewhere, countless warrior spirits began reconsidering their lives in this dimension.
Jaden inhaled deeply and stared straight at Avian.
"I Normal Summon—Elemental HERO Sparkman!"
Elemental HERO Sparkman – Level 4, LIGHT, Warrior-Type, ATK 1600
"What's the point of that?" Avian muttered.
"You won't be able to deal with the facedown Envoy of the Beginning this turn.
Next turn, I'll show you the true power of Dark Fusion!"
"Wait—Avian, you and Sparkman don't get along?"
"Hmph. That idiot always competes with me for Burstinatrix's attention—wait, why are you asking that?!"
"Hehe… darkness, huh…"
Jaden awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"Well, in that case, let's work things out while we still can!"
"...What?"
"I activate my Set Card—Miracle Fusion!"
"Miracle Fusion?!"
Avian's jaw dropped.
"How did that Fusion maniac sneak that card in?!"
"Haha! Hikaru's the ultimate Fusion duelist! Of course he'd include a card like this!"
"By Miracle Fusion's effect, I banish Fusion Materials from my field and Graveyard to Fusion Summon an Elemental HERO!"
"I banish Flame Wingman from the Graveyard and Sparkman from the field—
Witness Flame Wingman's rebirth in radiant light!"
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Shining Flame Wingman!"
Flame Wingman re-emerged, now clad in gleaming armor and shining with a luminous aura.
He was no longer WIND-attribute—he had become LIGHT, like Sparkman.
His base ATK had also risen to 2500.
"For every Elemental HERO in the Graveyard, Shining Flame Wingman gains 300 ATK!
There are three: Avian, Burstinatrix, and Clayman!"
ATK: 2500 → 3400
"N-No…!" Avian took a step back, visibly distressed.
"Shining Flame Wingman... inherited my ability…"
"You got it! When it destroys a monster by battle, it deals damage equal to that monster's ATK!"
Jaden pointed directly at the glowing hero high above.
"Black Luster Soldier has 3800 ATK—
In battle, Shining Flame Wingman gains 1000 ATK thanks to Skyscraper—bringing it to 4400!"
"We only have 3400 LP left!!"
Avian suddenly panicked, rounding on Gaia.
"Why the hell did you waste Ring of Destruction so early?!
You should've saved it for the Battle Phase—I don't even get another turn!"
"You damn hypocrite! You told me to go after the humans before the trial even started!"
"Tch! If I'd gone all out from the start… You're completely useless! Total dead weight!"
"Excuse me?! If your Dark Fusion's so strong, why didn't you fuse something useful!?"
"Ugh… why's it getting so bright—?"
"Huh?"
They turned just in time to see the radiant HERO flash before them, a blazing inferno erupting from his core.
"WAAAAAGHHHHHH—!"
A blinding white flame engulfed the field.
Avian & Gaia LP: 3400 → 0
"Victory goes to the warriors from another dimension!"
Black Luster Soldier rose, glowing with holy light, utterly unfazed that his own image had been destroyed.
"As promised—warriors of the other world, I shall return you to your dimension myself."
"WOOHOO! We did it!"
Jaden pumped his fist.
"What an awesome duel!"
Hikaru rubbed his temples, watching the prison doors swing open at last.
They'd crossed more death flags than he could count, but they'd made it through.
As he glanced out at the stands—at all the starry-eyed spirits staring at him—he couldn't help the huge, uncontrollable grin spreading across his face.
Totally worth the trip.