Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1913 The True Ultimate Power

"[Hyper-Polymerization]?" Even the usually icy Jaden couldn't help but show a surprised expression upon seeing the [Hyper-Polymerization] card on his Duel Disk. "What is this—"

Similar situations to the current one have actually occurred before in Jaden's memories. They can be basically divided into two categories: either a card that "exceeds the deck's limits" was used in a duel, or the effect of a card that was activated was nullified or its activation was nullified by some force.

Although [Super Polymerization] is a card that cannot be chained, it can still counter "Ultimate Power" [Super Polymerization] if it is a negation effect that does not require a chain—for example, the Continuous Spell Card [Magician's Right Hand] held by Hayato Kobayashi has the ability to negate and destroy the effect of [Super Polymerization].

However, judging from Yubel's equally astonished expression, it was clearly not that; even Yubel himself had not anticipated such a situation.

So, is it the former? The so-called "exceeding the deck construction limit" is actually easy to understand. It means putting a fourth card into a deck that can only be put in three times, or putting in a limited card that can only be put in one time and a semi-limited card that can only be put in two times, exceeding the limit, and then trying to activate it in the duel.

Kaiba Corporation and Illusion International announce the updates to the Forbidden/Limited Card List well in advance and schedule a future date to announce the new Forbidden/Limited Card List will take effect on that day. This is to prevent some places from being out of touch with the news and receiving it a few days later than other duelists, so that they might accidentally use a card that has been put into the Forbidden/Limited Card List without knowing about the new card list. However, even so, unexpected situations do occasionally occur.

For example, when playing cards all night, if it's past midnight and the pre-loaded update in the Duel Disk is released and new rules are applied, and someone accidentally builds a deck based on the old ban/limit list, their opponent can even raise their hand and call the referee to check the deck, resulting in them being judged to have lost by the rules.

Even in a duel without a referee, simply using a card that has been restricted or prohibited during the duel can result in situations like the one just described where the card activation is invalidated.

As for the Forbidden and Limited Card List for Duel Monsters, which was determined by two multinational corporations in the human world, it can transcend dimensions and even affect the dueling rules of the Spirit World. Duel Monsters, isn't that amazing? As for the specific principles and things like that, you don't need to understand Duel Monsters so clearly.

However, putting aside the fact that the card 【Hyperfusion】, which is only held by Hayato Kobayashi and Jaden Hokage even if all dimensions are included in the statistics, is not on the restricted card list at all, the phenomenon just now should not have occurred if this card is not a banned card that cannot be included at all.

Since Jaden didn't even use a second [Super Polymerization] drawn from the deck, but rather the same [Super Polymerization] card that he had previously activated and retrieved from the graveyard, how could it exceed the deck building restrictions?
"I see, so that's the reason?" As if suddenly remembering something, Jaden of the Overlord showed an expression of sudden realization. "Oh right, that's why? You really got lucky and escaped with your life, Yubel."

"Huh?" Yubel was also confused when he heard Judai's riddle-like words. "So what's going on? Why are you suddenly acting like you know, I totally understand now?"

"I have no need to answer you, because you already knew the answer before."

Although it seemed that Jaden hadn't said anything, Yubel quickly recalled every word Jaden had said to her since the start of the duel—not because Yubel had any ability like absolute memory, but simply because her opponent was Jaden. So Yubel naturally remembered every word he had said, so that she could reminisce about it if she encountered a situation where she couldn't see Jaden again in the future.

Soon, she remembered a sentence that Jaden had said when he activated [Hyperfusion].

"Is it because [Hyperfusion] is incomplete? Is that all there is to it?" Yubel asked, her expression showing surprise as she voiced her guess. After all, she hadn't expected that she had survived for this reason.

"Although it won't cause problems in normal use, that's only true for the first use in a duel. An incomplete [Super Fusion] is ultimately a card that can't unleash its full power. It seems unable to withstand the consumption of a second activation, which is why the activation failed just now."

Jaden paused for a moment, then continued, "This problem has probably existed for a long time. I was too concerned about the completion of [Hyperfusion] and blindly poured too much power into it, which led to the hidden danger of an unstable foundation. It's just that the people who usually duel with me can't last until the second appearance of [Hyperfusion], so I didn't discover it until now."

"Thanks to your weak but tenacious struggle, I found the area that needed improvement. Otherwise, if I had only discovered this oversight when I encountered a truly formidable enemy, it might have caused problems. In that respect, I should thank you, Yubel."

Hearing Judai's words, Yubel frowned: "What do you mean by that, Judai? What do you mean by encountering a 'true formidable enemy'? I am your nemesis, your natural enemy, your sworn enemy, aren't I? You should be keeping a close eye on me with resentment and obsession. The only person you can keep your eyes on is me. Why can't you keep your eyes on me forever, Judai!"

"You've discarded too many cards to activate [Super Polymerization], and now you don't have enough resources. Why do you look like you've already won?"

At this moment, Jaden has three monsters on his field: [E-hero Wings of Inferno - Hellfire], [C-hero Chaos Knight], and [E-hero Mirror Prisoner]. Although the effect of [Nightmare Pain] is negated, Jaden can freely attack any monster on Yubel's field, but [Yubel], which cannot be destroyed by battle, is a difficult obstacle to overcome.

So what if you bypass the monsters and directly reduce the duelist's Life Points? The problem is, even if all of Jaden's monsters could attack directly, what then? Thanks to the previous turn's "Giant Torture," Yubel's Life Points were restored by 3000 points, rising to 7000. Even if he took all of Jaden's monsters' attacks, he would still have 200 points left. Besides, Jaden couldn't possibly have so many monsters attack the duelist directly, could he?

Fortunately, I resisted the urge to Special Summon [Yubel] and didn't throw [Undead Torture Giant] back onto the opponent's field. It seems like I was really lucky.

not to mention--

Looking at the [Yubel Elf] in her hand, Yubel couldn't help but marvel at her acting skills. The struggle and despair that seemed to be truly helpless must have made Jaden think that she really had no way to fight back, right?
But that's exactly what Yubel wanted! Because despair has a freshness to it. While the constant pressure, like that of Jaden who has now become the Overlord, can certainly instill fear, this extremely superficial "fear" and "dread" will gradually dissipate over time, and even develop into antibodies similar to those found in the flu.

However, if someone who has been suppressed by Jaden suddenly pulls out a card that can stop everything and render all of Jaden's efforts in this turn futile, causing his painstaking kill to completely fail, the "despair" resulting from that instant change will be far more intense than the "terror" inflicted by Jaden!

What she longed for was that one moment, a moment when she could give all the "love" she had ever felt to Jaden. Although the failure to activate [Hyperfusion] was a slight flaw in this "confession of love," making Jaden less confident, it didn't matter. The time was almost here—the moment when she would unleash "despair" upon Jaden!
Yubel, who was exceptionally confident, only saw Jaden raise the card of the [Super Fusion] that had just failed to activate.

"You want to play that card again? Right now, right here?" Yubel asked, puzzled. "You noticed the flaw caused by the incomplete [Hyperfusion] even before I did, but you still tried to use that card? It's useless. The current [Hyperfusion] card doesn't have any power accumulated, so it's just an empty shell!"

"In your opinion, the so-called 'ultimate power' of [Hyperfusion] is just the power released from within it? What a weak and ignorant fool." Jaden held up the card and said, "Ever since this card appeared in Hayato Kobayashi's hand, I already knew one thing—the so-called 'releasing ultimate power' has never been 'releasing the power within the card'."

"The same card, if it falls into the hands of mediocre people and nobodies, will only become a boring fusion of using the enemy's monsters for meaningless field clearing. The true power of this card can only be shown in the hands of the right people, whether it is to give the card evolution or to create the card that is needed out of thin air."

"—In other words, the true 'ultimate power' is the ultimate power released from within the user's body. And I myself am power!"

The stagnant vortex in the sky was about to dissipate, but as Jaden pulled out the [Super Fusion] card, instead of placing it in the Magic Trap Zone of the Duel Disk, he held it directly in his hand and raised it above his head, releasing its previous power once again, even more immensely than before.

In this [hyperfusion], even space itself was distorted. Images from several neighboring worlds were interfered with by this immense power and subtly seeped into this world. Similarly, the scenery here was also transmitted to other distant worlds.

"My power, which governs all things and transcends time and space, unleash this true ultimate power!" Jaden shouted, "[Hyperfusion] activated!"

Instead of squandering the power accumulated within the [Hyperfusion] itself, Jaden used it as an outlet to release the power. He channeled the dark power contained within his body and single-handedly completed this [Hyperfusion] that surpassed all his previous ones!
The figures of [Yubel] and [E-hero Death Prisoner] were instantly shattered by the lightning within [Super Polymerization]. Subsequently, [E-hero Dark Gaia] was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by Jaden's [Super Polymerization], ignoring the Summoning conditions. Its ATK absorbed the power of the two fusion materials, instantly increasing to 1700 points—although still not very high, it at least crossed the threshold of "aren't monsters with less than 1500 points just weaklings?"

【E-hero Dark Gaia】【8☆/location】

[Demon Race/Fusion/Effect]

【? /0→1700/0】

"You actually activated [Hyperfusion] again at this time? Well done, Jaden!" Yubel said through gritted teeth, looking at Jaden. "But in order to pay for the power required to activate [Hyperfusion], your condition has suddenly become terrible—at least, it's affected by the decrease in your Life Points!"

Having suffered multiple instances of damage exceeding 3000 points during the previous duel, and having unleashed the dark power within his body to activate [Super Fusion], even the Supreme King Jaden appeared somewhat weakened at this moment. However, in stark contrast to his diminishing dark magic power, his aura was further strengthening.

"So, are you going to try to take my attack, Yubel?" Perhaps due to the weakness of the dark power, although he still had a cold and cruel heart, Jaden's words and actions had regained some of the vitality of the Jaden of the past, and he could even say provocative words to Yubel, "You don't have a single monster card left on the field now."

"It's not like your monster's total attack power exceeds my base score." Smiling, Yubel retorted to Jaden's provocation, though his voice carried a hint of bluff. "Attacking me will bring you death and pain, Jaden~"

'That's right, hurry up and attack! I can't wait to Special Summon [Yubel]!' Contrary to his outward appearance, Yubel was inwardly urging Jaden to act quickly. Under his satisfied gaze, Jaden indeed waved his hand and entered the Battle Phase, declaring his attack: "Battle-Time! I use my [C·hero Chaos Knight] to attack [Lava Demon]!"

The two-colored beam collided with the giant lava fist and destroyed each other. Neither of them lost any life points due to the battle damage. However, after the lava blocking their path dissipated, the [E-hero Wings of Inferno - Hellfire] on the field of Jaden the Great launched an attack!
"The effect of 【E-hero Wings of Inferno - Hellfire】 can only be activated if a 【Hero】 monster destroys the opponent's monster in battle, inflicting 2100 effect damage to the opponent's duelist!"

[John/Yubel: 7000→4900LP, Hand: 1]

"Gurgle, it doesn't hurt at all!" Yubel actually felt some pain, but she still insisted on saying it.

How can this be called pain? This is clearly Jaden's "love" for himself!
"Now, I will use [E-hero Dark Gaia] to directly attack the opponent's duelist!"

"Gaia Energy Cannon!"

Seeing that Jaden was about to test him with the lowest attack power, [E-hero Dark Gaia], Yubel didn't seem to care and played the card in his hand without hesitation.

"Hmph, you were definitely thinking I was bluffing, Jaden? But you fell for it. This is my strategy—the effect of [Yubel Spirit] can be activated when an opponent's monster declares an attack, allowing me to Special Summon this card from my hand!"

Suddenly, a semi-transparent monster appears on Yubel's field, which was almost completely cleared out. It is none other than the "Yubel Spirit" that Yubel played from his hand.

"The [Yubel Elf] also possesses the effect of not being destroyed by battle, and the damage I suffer from battle becomes 0. It will be an insurmountable wall of sighs between you and those disgusting [Hero] monsters!"

Yubel played the card in his hand triumphantly, "Even at the moment of its successful Special Summon, I can still use its effect to extract it from my deck—Bug!!!???"

Before Yubel could finish speaking, [E-hero Dark Gaia] bypassed the [Yubel Elf] she had just specially summoned and slammed a punch into her face!
[John/Yubel: 4900→3200LP, Hand: 1→0]

"W-What happened!? Why was I attacked directly?!" After [E-hero Dark Gaia] was withdrawn to the field of Jaden, Yubel stood up, covering John's swollen face, and glared at [Yubel Elf] on his field, "Why didn't you block that monster, 'I'!"

"It's not that it can't, it's that it can't." Jaden said coldly, and revealed a card he had been waiting for in his back row, "Counter Trap Card [Breakthrough], can only be activated when a monster's effect is activated in your hand or graveyard, negate that activation and banish it!"

Jaden, who had long suspected the cards in Yubel's hand, had been holding back from activating the face-down card in the back row. Now, at the last moment, he finally banished the "Yubel Spirit" card that Yubel was about to activate!

This is why [E-hero Dark Gaia] can directly attack Yubel – she doesn't actually have any monsters that have been Special Summoned on her field, so what can she use to defend against the attack?

However, after [E-hero Dark Gaia], there is still one monster on the field of the Jade Emperor that has not yet made an attack!
"Next up is the attack from [E-hero Wings of Inferno - Hellfire]! Shatter the evil flames!"

"Well--!"

[John/Yubel: 3200→1100LP, Hand: 0]

The drop in base score is certainly painful, but for Yubel, what hurts even more is that Jaden actually attacked him with such a despicable monster, even though he hates E-Hero Flame Wingman and its variants the most!

"Well done, Judai! Thanks to you, the human body I've taken over is almost ready to explode!"

Because he was attacked several times in a row, even though John's body was protected by Yubel's power because Yubel still needed to use it, and he was not seriously injured, the unexpected facial attack at the beginning still made his mouth a little swollen. Yubel's speech was a bit unclear, just like a Blade fan.

"—But all your efforts have only reduced my base score to 1100 points. My base score is still higher than yours!" Yubel covered his swollen cheek, releasing his power to heal his injuries, and moved his chin as he said, "Such passionate 'love,' I'm really looking forward to the feeling of repaying you with all of this in my next turn!"

But looking at Yubel, Jaden simply played his last card: "No, you don't have a next turn, Yubel. The victor of this duel is me!"

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Form Change] activated! Return my Level 8 EARTH [Hero] monster [E-hero Dark Gaia] to my Extra Deck, and Special Summon one [M·hero] monster from my Extra Deck that originally had the same Level 8 but a different Attribute, as a [Mask Change] effect!"

"I hereby Special Summon [M·Hero Lightfang]!"

As if a manifestation of alchemy, the rough, rocky demon's body disintegrated and reformed into a dazzling gold, a monster radiating divine light appearing on Jaden's field. Although it might seem strange to include "M. Hero Lightfang" in an "E-hero" deck dominated by Fiend-Type monsters, Jaden's deck actually includes monsters like "E-hero Neos," "E-hero Light Golem," "E-hero Golden Dark Star," and "E-hero Mirror Prisoner," all of which are LIGHT monsters, making it perfectly acceptable to include "M. Hero Lightfang."

With an attack power of 2500, [M·hero Light Fang] is enough to wipe out Yubel's remaining life points and defeat him here, even if all other effects are nullified!
【M·hero Light Fang】【8☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2500/1800]

The [M·hero Koga] that appeared on the field of Jaden the Great revealed his pair of arm blades wrapped in sharp light, preparing to attack. However, just after he took a step, the dark magic power of Jaden that was wrapped around him suddenly froze, and his originally chaotic eyes suddenly regained their clarity.

Turning around abruptly, [M·hero Koga] was surprised to find that its wielder, Jaden, had somehow donned strange armor, and that it had been in a daze, unable to remember anything, as if it had lost its memory.

"Huh? What are you doing, [M·Hero Koga]?" Frowning, Jaden Haoh looked at the strange changes in his summoned [M·Hero Koga] and was puzzled. Then he saw that the light on the other party seemed to be stimulated by the dark power and suddenly began to indiscriminately attack the surroundings, with himself standing next to it being the first to be hit!

Because of his disregard for damage in his dueling style, Jaden had accumulated excessive fatigue from previous battles. Even though his immense dark power could sustain him, his body couldn't withstand the strain. After the campaign ended, without even a chance to rest, he faced off against Jim, in which he compressed his Life Points to a terrifying level. Then, in his duel with Yubel, his Life Points similarly dropped to an extremely dangerous level.

Then, because of the forced use of [Super Fusion] a second time, Jaden consumed his dark power again. The accumulation of these factors led to Jaden summoning [M·Hero Koga], but because he had poured too much power into his card Pokémon, the dark power in his weakened state could not suppress it, and instead, he was backfired by the power of his own Pokémon!?

Even if all of this was not out of the will of [M·hero Koga] himself, at this moment when [M·hero Koga] himself was still unaware of what was going on, Yubel's eyes lit up when he noticed that Jaden had entered an unprecedented period of weakness.

"Snap—"

Instead of taking advantage of the situation, she chose to run away quite decisively. Even though the next moment, the Jade Emperor had already adjusted his state and realized her plan, the dark energy, which was controlled by the Jade Emperor and suddenly materialized into a black mist, still missed its target and only grabbed Yubel's cloak, which was left on the spot like a lizard with its tail cut off!
"Hmph, what a cowardly weakling!" Somewhat annoyed, Jaden threw down his cloak and turned to look at [M·hero Koga], unhesitatingly using his dark power to corrupt him.

'Don't let your passion die out, Jaden.' [M·hero Koga] didn't understand what had happened. He just stared at the seemingly cold and ruthless Jaden, who was wearing thick armor, and shouted in his heart. His eyes were once again out of focus because they were completely controlled by the dark power.

However, whether it was seeing the heavily armored Jaden, or the Jaden beneath the armor whose heart was shrouded in darkness and who resisted everything, no one knew.
Today's update is a little late (meaning it's postponed to the next day) mainly because I was outside watching fireworks.

Although it's explicitly prohibited to set off fireworks, because the relatives I visited today live in a rather rural area, nobody seemed to care.

Hmm? What does watching fireworks have to do with a late update? Actually, there's nothing, I just couldn't think of a reason, so I made one up (looks up at the sky).
This chapter is 6k words long, currently owed 6/9.