The black ribbon fluttered in the wind, the hero's figure descended from the sky, like a warhammer striking the earth!
[Vision Hero Adoration, Attack Power 2800]
"Vision Hero, is it?" Tragoedia said solemnly, "Hmph, a troublesome monster."
"Next, I activate the Magic Card 'Fusion' from my hand!" Youyu said, "Fusion the Fire Attribute 'Elemental Hero Heat' and 'Elemental Hero Liquidman' from my hand!
The fusion condition is, Elemental Hero plus a Fire Attribute monster! Fusion Summon—
—Elemental Hero Nova Master!"
Columns of fire and water shot skyward and merged into one. Bathed in flames, the red-gold armor shimmered, the hero's cloak fluttered, and his sweeping arm tore through the fiery curtain.
[Elemental Hero Nova Master, Attack Power 2600]
Youyu raised his arm: "The effect of 'Vision Hero Adoration'! Once per turn, choose one monster on the opponent's field and one 'Hero' on your field. The attack power of the opponent's monster decreases by the value of the attack power of the monster on your field!
I choose my 'Elemental Hero Nova Master', let 'Elemental Hero Earth' have its attack power decreased by 2600 points!"
The Vision Hero's arm danced, the black ribbon fluttered behind him. The energy surge burst forth like a twisting fire dragon, brushing against Earth's solid body.
[Elemental Hero Earth, Attack Power 2500 → Attack Power 0]
"Battle!" Youyu initiated the attack, "Use 'Elemental Hero Nova Master' to attack 'Elemental Hero Earth'!"
Nova Master's cloak billowed, spiral flames shot from his palms. Earth's body was penetrated by the domineering impact of high heat, shattering its gigantic body.
[Tragoedia, LP 4000 → LP 1400]
Tragoedia's controlled body staggered back two steps, the darkness surrounding it flickered violently, like a candle in the wind almost blown out.
"Nova Master's effect!" Youyu said, "When a monster is destroyed by battle, draw a card from the deck."
He drew a card, glanced at it, and added it to his hand, then continued with a grand wave.
"The final blow. Vision Hero Adoration, direct attack! Ambition Punishment!!"
Adoration spread its arms, incandescent transparent energy rapidly accumulated beneath Tragoedia's feet, like a volcano ready to erupt!
"Don't underestimate me too much, Duel King." Tragoedia hummed lowly, "Activate Trap! 'Pinpoint Guard'! When the opponent's monster declares an attack, select a monster from your graveyard level four or below to special summon in defense position!
Also, the monster special summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle or effects this turn!"
A card popped out from the graveyard on his Duel Disc.
"I special summon 'Elemental Hero Ocean'!"
A stream of water appeared out of nowhere, the ocean-blue Elemental Hero crouched defensively on the ground. The light blue water body acted like a transparent iris, standing like a barrier before him.
[Elemental Hero Ocean, Defense Power 1200]
Protected by 'Pinpoint Guard', Ocean cannot be destroyed in any way this turn, whether by continued battle or destruction effects.
"Then the battle ends." Youyu drew two cards from his hand, "Entering Main Phase 2. I set three cards, ending my turn."
Tragoedia's face remained cold, the darkness enshrouding him grew increasingly dense.
"Duel King Youyu... your presence, the pressure of dueling, is indeed different from ordinary duelists."
After a pause, his eyes widened, his aura suddenly exploded, and overwhelming darkness engulfed the dueling field.
"But, ultimately, just a human strongman!" He sneered coldly, "The so-called 'Duel King' might be the title for the strongest among humans, but it's limited to that!
Someone holding this title, I've defeated one before... and now it's your turn."
"Oh?" Youyu showed interest, "You've defeated a Duel King before?"
"Indeed." Tragoedia sneered, "Like you, he had the strongest power among all duelists of this era. And he is the Duel King who succeeded you, the new generation's master of 'Elemental Hero'—
—Hibiki Koyo!"
Now Youyu remembered.
Hibiki Koyo, the world champion from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga equivalent to the "Duel King," almost the strongest duelist in the manga. The whole "Elemental Hero" deck used by Yuki Judai in the storyline was inherited from his hands.
A few years ago, Kaiba held a new "Duel City" tournament, inviting duelists from around the world to compete for the title of second-generation Duel King. The winner of that tournament was Hibiki Koyo, and he became the next generation Duel King succeeding Yugi and Youyu.
Later, he was active in various tournaments for a while, but soon after, there was not much news about him. There have been rumors saying that the Duel King fell ill due to years of traveling and overwork, but there is no hard evidence.
"Was Hibiki Koyo's case because of you?" Youyu asked.
"Exactly." Tragoedia boasted, "The so-called Duel King is nothing, humans are simply not my match. You can't possibly understand what kind of despair and grievances gave birth to my power, the evil object known as 'Millennium Item' was born, the obsession of countless lost souls, the aggregation of endless despair, it's unimaginable ultimate darkness you can't fathom...
...What!?"
Tragoedia suddenly exclaimed halfway through his speech.
He saw Youyu casually take out an artifact from his bosom, a golden ring threaded with rope that swung in his hand, the metallic pointer on it clanged softly against the ring.
Millennium Ring!
"The darkness you speak of," Youyu said, shaking the Millennium Ring in his hand, "is it like this?"
With that, he shook the Millennium Ring again. Then, to Tragoedia's stunned gaze, a terrifying dark force, possibly rivaling even his own, erupted from the Millennium Ring, manifesting a pitch-black demon in mid-air...
...and then bowed its head respectfully to Youyu.
Uh, it bowed both its upper and lower heads simultaneously.
It felt as if Youyu shook a bell and instantly summoned a loyal servant.
Tragoedia was somewhat dumbfounded.
After a moment of shock, "So, you're... you're that Evil God..."
No.
He quickly realized.
Initially, he thought it was the Great Evil God Sock, but soon he realized it wasn't it. Although the evil thought and force emanating from the Millennium Ring seemed quite similar to Sock, this power fell far short of Sock's true self, perhaps even far less than Tragoedia's self.
Could it be the evil thought residing in the Millennium Ring post the great massacre at Kruelna Village?
Now, Tragoedia was a bit enraged.
If this was indeed the evil thought born from the same disaster, then the entity in the Millennium Ring would technically be Tragoedia's brother. Yet here this guy, as a manifestation of darkness, acted like a husky leashed by a human, readily summoned and dismissed!
Even he, as a sibling, felt embarrassed!