Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

【M·hero Dark Demon】was a card that Jaden summoned last turn, intending to use it to directly attack "Amon". However, due to the effect of 【Messenger of Peace】, "Amon" did not take damage last turn. Therefore, Jaden changed his strategy and chose to use 【M·hero Dark Demon】【Mask Change】to replace 【M·hero Dark Claw】on his field at this moment. Although the former is the advanced form of the latter, Duel Monsters are very flexible.

At this moment, [M·hero Dark Demon] also exerted its last bit of power under the power of [M·hero Light Fang], transforming into a shockwave mixed with the power of light and darkness that shot towards [Red-Eyes Undying Dragon Emperor] on the field "Amon", instantly reducing its attack power to 0!
At the same time, [M·hero Lightfang] was also forced to fall into the undead aura released by [Giant Bone Dragon - Shining], the golden light on his body dimmed and the enhanced attack power disappeared.

【M·hero Light Tooth】【ATK5000→2500】

[Red-Eyes Immortal Dragon Emperor] [ATK2800→0]

The monsters on both sides fought to a standstill, causing "Amon" to frown and express his dissatisfaction at losing a monster he could use in battle: "Hey! Are these [Hero] monsters all monsters? They're such a nuisance!"

"But since Jaden, you chose to retaliate by lowering my monster's attack power, I'll retaliate in kind—[Magic Cylinder - Bayonet Demon] effect activated!"

"Once per turn, you can target one face-up monster your opponent controls. Lower that monster's ATK by 1000 for each monster your opponent controls. Jaden, you currently control three monsters." Pointing to Jaden's field, "Amon" said, "Experience the bitterness of betrayal—rebel against the beautiful Jaden!"

Grabbing the gun-shaped undead monster [Magic Cylinder - Bayonet Demon] on the field, "Amon" aimed at it with the purple-glowing muzzle and pulled the trigger. A beam of energy, guided by the red dot, struck Jaden's [M·Hero Atomic Fire], which had the lowest attack power on the field, reducing its attack power by a full 3000 points!

Just like the counterattack of [M·hero Koga] just now, "Amon" also reduced the attack power of [M·hero Atomic Fire] on the field of Jaden to 0 points!
【M·hero Atomic Fire】【ATK2600→0】

Keep in mind that Jaden only has 2000 Life Points left. 【M·Hero Atomic Fire】 means that either 【Red-Eyes Undead Dragon】 or 【Giant Dragon - Shining】 with an attack power higher than 2000 on the field can easily wipe out Jaden's Life Points and defeat him by attacking 【M·Hero Atomic Fire】!
“Look, Judai, what have the [Hero] you trust done? They can’t do anything, they can’t protect anything. Your trust in them will only turn into disappointment and hurt you.” Feeling confident of victory, “Amon” said calmly, “But I’m the only one who won’t do that. I will never leave you, Judai.”

"Make a choice, Jaden—either give up the boring and unreliable [Hero], or be defeated here by me?"

Faced with this choice, Jaden, as always, gave the same answer without hesitation: "I choose to stand with my trusted comrades and defeat you here!"

"Tsk, negotiations have broken down." With an annoyed smirk, "Amon" said coldly, "Then don't blame me for being ruthless, knocking you down here, and then dragging you to a place where no one can find you so we can slowly relive our past love."

"Enter my battle phase and attack [M·hero Atomic Fire] with [Red-Eyes Undead Dragon]!"

Jaden could have activated the effect of [M·Hero Light Fang] at this moment by declaring a chain attack, reducing the attack power of the corresponding attacking monster and turning the tables on "Amon". However, he had already used up the effect of [M·Hero Light Fang], which was now nullified, under the pressure of the effect of [Giant Bone Dragon - Shining].

However, if "Amon" thinks that this is enough to kill Judai, Judai will tell him that he's overthinking it.

"To counter the opponent's attack declaration, I must first activate this face-down card in my back row—the Trap Card [Hero Aura]!"

As a card that Jaden obtained from a special supplement pack distributed to each student when he first enrolled in school a long time ago, although there is no description of "Hero" on the card itself, the image of "E·hero Flame Winged Man" on the card alone is enough reason for Jaden to add this card to his deck, and it has indeed come in handy now.

"After activating, the [Hero Aura] card becomes an Equip Card, equipping it to one Warrior-Type monster on my field with 1500 or less ATK. I initially just set it up randomly to bait out a [Whirlwind], but now it's actually come in handy." Jaden said, pointing to the only monster on his field that met the requirement, "Equip [Hero Aura] to [M. Hero Atomic Fire]!"

Before Jaden activated the effect of "Amon's" [Magic Cylinder - Bayonet Demon], Jaden didn't have a single monster with less than 1500 ATK on his field. He thought that drawing this [Hero Aura] was a bad idea, and he really only intended to use it to "bait out the wind." But even he couldn't have imagined that "Amon" would switch decks halfway through the duel, and that the Zombie deck he used would happen to have a card like [Magic Cylinder - Bayonet Demon] that could greatly reduce the opponent's monster's ATK.

“Perhaps, this is fate, ‘Amon,’ my deck is responding to me!” Jaden paused, explaining the card’s effect, “Because of the effect of [Hero Aura], monsters with an attack power of 1900 or more cannot attack the equipped monster!”

Unlike effects that prevent a monster from being attacked, the effect of [Hero Aura] is "cannot attack." Due to this subtle difference—commonly known as the "K language"—the effect of [Hero Aura] is determined as follows: if a monster with 1900 or more ATK activates this card and equips it to the attacked monster during an attack, unless it is activated during the Damage Step, which would allow the attack to continue, or if it is like "Amon" which only allows [Red-Eyes Undead Dragon] to declare an attack, the attack will trigger the rollback rule.

"Tsk, those annoying [Hero] decks, how many times are you going to interfere between me and Jaden!" Despite being blocked by the effect of [Hero Aura] and having no [Hero] field on any of his cards, "Amon" still directed his displeasure at Jaden's [Hero] deck. "Then I'll crush that disgusting [M·hero Dark Claw] before it recovers its effect!"

"Soul Flame Bullet!"

The iconic attack of the former Red-Eyes Black Dragon has been transformed into "Soulfire Bullet" due to changes in itself. A solid blue fireball is spat at Jaden's M·hero Dark Claw on the field.

(In the alternate version, he really does become a Rider-Kick)
Despite having his effects nullified, [M·hero Dark Claw] mustered his strength and managed to retaliate with a flying kick, but numbers are numbers. He was engulfed and destroyed by the flames, though he also negated most of the damage from the flames, only reducing Jaden's base score slightly.

[Yuki Jaden: 2000→1900LP, 3 cards in hand]

"It's not over yet! Next up is [Giant Skeleton Dragon - Shining]'s attack!" Because of the interference of [Hero Aura], even though [M·hero Atomic Fire] with 0 attack power was on Jaden's field, "Amon" couldn't use these high-attack monsters to disrupt Jaden's life points. So he simply used them to destroy the other two monsters on Jaden's field first - first [M·hero Dark Claw], and then [M·hero Light Fang].

"Target: [M·hero Light Fang], Shining Decay Breath!"

In the original attack move name of [Shining Dragon], "Shining Breath", corresponding to the current "Undead Corpse" state of [Giant Bone Dragon - Shining], "Amon" has been described as "rotten". And the dragon breath it spits out is indeed not as pure gold as the old [Shining Dragon], but presents a strange blackish-purple color.

【M·hero Light Fang】snatched his arm sword, slashing and weaving sword energy in front of him, constantly reducing the opponent's attack. However, he was also affected by the nullification effect and could not muster enough power to completely negate the attack. Otherwise, even if he could only receive the attack power boost from one monster, he could still overpower 【Giant Bone Dragon - Shining】 - but there are no ifs.

"Oh!"

[Yuki Jaden: 1900→1600LP, 3 cards in hand]

Another monster was destroyed, and Jaden's Life Points dropped again. What's worse, although the high-attack monster on "Amon"'s field had already attacked, there were still two other monsters on "Amon's" field whose attack power was not limited by "Hero Aura"!

"【Hero Aura】can only defend against monsters with 1900 or more ATK, but my 【Crazy Killer Clown】 and 【Magic Cylinder - Bayonet Demon】 are not subject to that limitation and can easily crush your 【M·Hero Atomic Fire】!" "Amon" sneered: "Your only unnegotiated effect on the field, 【M·Hero Atomic Fire】, has the ability to be undestroyed by effects or battle once per turn, right? But I have two of my monsters!"

"I will crush your last [Hero]!"

[Magic Cylinder - Bayonet Demon] fired its energy cannon again, and [M·hero Atomic Fire] immediately raised the laser gun directly connected to the reactor in his hand to counterattack and shatter the energy cannon. However, there were two monsters attacking him at the same time. [Crazy Killer Clown] took the opportunity to sneak up on him, and his dagger pierced through the gap in [M·hero Atomic Fire]'s armor, destroying his heart.

"boom!"

The self-destructing [M·hero Atomic Fire] stirred up a whirlwind, and Jaden's Life Points continued to drop. The monsters on the field were completely wiped out, and even his own Life Points became as fragile as a candle in the wind!
[Yuki Jaden: 1600→1100→700LP, 3 cards in hand]

Seeing Jaden panting heavily in pain as his Basic Score plummeted to a very low level, "Amon" was unusually excited and kept asking Jaden, "Can you feel it, Jaden? Can you feel it? This kind of pain, this kind of uncomfortable feeling, this kind of loneliness where everyone is drifting away from you?"

"Can you feel it? My love for you is exactly the same as the love you give me!"

Hearing these words, Judai forced himself to stay alert and retorted, "Whose love is as twisted as yours!"

"I'm glad you still have this spirit, Judai, but I don't like what you said." Looking very unhappy, "Amon" frowned. "I won't give you any more chances. Although you've survived this round, you're in this situation because of my mistake, which saved your life."

"During my Main Phase 2, I send my Level 2☆ Tuner monster [Crazy Killer Clown] and Level 1☆ Non-Tuner monster [Magic Cylinder - Bayonet] as Synchro Materials to the Graveyard. The material requirement is to have one Tuner monster plus one or more non-Tuner monsters."

"On the banks of the River Styx, where souls linger, let the shamisen resound—Summon in Synchro, Level 2☆+1☆=3☆!"

"Monster Cat Demon - [Lin Hui's Three-Stringed Cat]!"

【Phosphorus Returns: The Three-Stringed Cat】【3☆/Dark】

[Undead/Synchro/Adjustment/Effect]

[1600/1200]

[Red-Eyes Undead Dragon] [2900/2500→3100/2700]

A new Synchro Monster appeared on "Amon's" field, and the attack power of "Red-Eyes Corpse Dragon" was increased due to the increase in the number of Zombie monsters in the Graveyard. Jaden also understood the meaning of "Amon".

—If the opponent had Synchro Summoned [Phosphorus Returns Sanjuro Neko] during the first Main Phase, Jaden's Life Points wouldn't have been reduced to 700 points; they would have been wiped out long ago. That's why "Amon" said he had been given a second chance at life.

However, Jaden knew in his heart that there was still a [Necromancer] in his graveyard. If he wanted to, he could banish it to activate its effect and defend against an attack from the opponent's monster. Even if "Amon" Synchro Summoned [Phosphorus Cat], he could still survive this turn. He just needed that card for another purpose, so he didn't use its effect.

Even if "Amon" were to Synchro Summon [Phosphorus Return of the Three-Stringed Cat], his [M·Hero Atomic Fire] would not be destroyed by being attacked twice. Instead, he would be able to retain more power for the next turn. However, there was no need to tell the other party these things. It was fine to let the other party maintain his current arrogant mentality, which was perfect for his counterattack.

“I don’t have any cards in my hand that need to be set, but these two cards in my graveyard can activate their effects.” “Amon” said, taking out a Spell Card and a Trap Card from the graveyard. “These are the cards that were sent to the graveyard earlier this turn by the effects of [Coral Dragon] and [Corpse Ninja]. I’m activating the second effects of the Quick-Play Spell Card [Undead Struggle] and the Trap Card [Undead Swarm].

"If this card is in the Graveyard, select one of my banished Zombie monsters and return it to the Deck. Set this card on my back row. If this card is set by this effect and leaves the field, banish it."

“That’s it, my turn ends here.” “Amon” said, looking at his field. “At the same time, because my turn has ended, the ability of [M·hero Koga] has been disabled, and the attack power of [Red-Eyes Undying Dragon Emperor] has been restored.”

【“Amon”: 4000LP, 1 cards in hand】

【Red-Eyes Undead Dragon】【ATK3100】

【Giant Bone Dragon - Shining】【ATK2800】

[Red-Eyes Immortal Dragon Emperor] [ATK0→2800]

【Phosphorus Returns: The Three-Stringed Cat】【DEF1200】

Backcourt: [Face Card] x2
However, it wasn't just "Amon's" field that changed at the end of the round; golden points of light also gathered on Jaden's field.

"C·hero Chaos Knight, who left my field due to [Elemental Blessing], returns to my field at the end of the turn."

[Yuki Jaden: 700LP, 3 cards in hand]

【C·hero Chaos Knight】【ATK3000】(End of Chapter)