Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

“However, the effect of [V·hero Incremental] was negated by [Dolphin Seeker] in my last turn, so even if you use [D·hero Determined] as your Cost, you still can’t Special Summon it,” Kajiki Ryota reminded him.

“That’s enough.” Edward lifted his Duel Disk, showing Kajiki Ryota that his Duel Disk’s Monster Zone currently only contained two cards: [D·Hero Drillman] and [V·Hero Poison Man]. “The effect of [Wrath of the Sea Dragon God], if I understand correctly, is to first destroy the monster, and then seal off the area where the destroyed monster once existed, right?”

"In other words, you cannot block the area where indestructible monsters and monsters that have not been destroyed exist. And since [Wrath of the Sea Dragon] is a card that targets monsters upon activation, now that I have released [D. Hero Determined] and [E. Hero Skyman], the only monster you can destroy is [D. Hero Drillman]!"

"I would be more accepting of having only one monster area sealed off than all three monster areas being sealed off."

On the field of love, [V·hero Venom] received the energy sent by [E·hero Skyman] and emerged from the phantom state to gain a physical form, stepping into the front field. [V·hero Incremental], however, was still being suppressed by [Dream Shark] released by [Seeking Dolphins], and could only watch helplessly as [D·hero Determined] wasted his time and fell into empty space.

The next moment, Chain began to process the effect of [Wrath of the Sea Dragon God]. The vortex had somehow shrunk to only one monster, [D·hero Drillman], which was swallowed by the waves and swept into the seabed. At the same time, the land beneath its feet was also submerged by seawater and temporarily unusable.

Ed Phoenix: 200LP, 4 cards in hand

【V·hero Poisonous Man】【3☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[900/700]

[D-Power] [Nightmare of the Mirage] [V·Hero Incremental Man]

"After the effect of [Wrath of the Sea Dragon God] is resolved, it's time for the effect of [D·Hero Determined] that I Special Summoned earlier. Although he has been released from the field, his effect will still be resolved normally."

Edward showed the card of [D·hero Determined], which had just been released but had not yet entered the graveyard, and said, "The first and third effects of [D·hero Determined] can only be used once per duel. If [D·hero Determined] is successfully Normal or Special Summoned, I will add one [Hero] monster from my graveyard to my hand during the End Phase of this turn."

"Only the [Hero] field is required? That's quite lenient." Kajiki Ryota raised an eyebrow. "You can choose [E·hero Sky Knight] to search for other monsters or destroy my Spell/Trap Cards, or you can search for [V·hero Alone] to expand, or perhaps [D·hero Blood Demon-D], which you've been longing for?"

"What, are you so fixated on that card? Do you have to fight around it, or else you won't even duel?"

Hearing Kajiki Ryota's sarcasm, Edward closed his eyes and recalled. Although it was somewhat inappropriate, he suddenly felt like a philosopher, pondering the meaning of "fate."

Is it the destiny of the father's "blood"? Is it the destiny of DD's "hero"? Is it the destiny of Saiō's "absolute"? Is it the destiny of Caesar's "strongman"?

A heavy burden, a heart of justice, destiny, invincibility... Everyone's "fate" seems to have its own reasons, and every answer is somewhat close to Ed's thoughts, but Ed cannot confirm which one is the correct answer, or whether none of them are actually the correct answer?

"【V·Hero Poisonous Man】can only activate its third effect if it is successfully Special Summoned from the Spell & Trap Zone." Having no answer, Edward couldn't reply to Kajiki Ryota, so he chose to throw the question back at him, wanting to see his answer. "Choose a monster on the field and halve its ATK. The monster I chose is 【Spiral Dragon】 on my opponent's field!"

"Tsk, pretending not to hear?" Kajiki Yuta said with dissatisfaction, glancing at the snake-shaped hand cannon on Edward's field, which was even raised and aimed at his own [Spiral Dragon], which looked exactly like a snake's head. "But my [Fortress Whale] has the ability to chain-activate and destroy the effect of a Spell/Trap/Monster that targets only one WATER monster on my field once per turn!"

"It's useless. [V·Hero Poisonous Man] is an effect that doesn't target. Your [Fortress Whale] can't chain to negate and destroy the effect of my [V·Hero Poisonous Man]. It will only reduce the attack power of your [Spiral Dragon] by half." Edward glanced at the [Spiral Dragon] and said, "Although the [Spiral Dragon] currently has 3100 attack power, it will soon be reduced to only 1550!"

"No matter how powerful their bodies are, fish living in the sea can never escape the fate of being seen as prey and hunted!"

But upon hearing Edward's words, Kajiki Ryota scoffed, "Huh? Destiny? First 'hero' and then 'destiny'? Kids this age are really full of incomprehensible words. I can understand why you're so popular with your audience now. Being a bit chuunibyou can indeed give people a cool feeling during duels."

"But I'm sorry, I'm way past that age, and even at that age, I've never been someone who believed in 'fate.' Otherwise, why would we be fishermen, going out to sea to brave storms and catch fish?"

Kajiki Ryota, who never flaunts anything fashionable or fancy in duels and always lets his strength speak for itself, said as he pressed the button to activate the face-down card, "A twitching left eyelid means good fortune, but a twitching right eyelid means bad luck. I just consider it feudal superstition. As for fate, I'll accept what I want, but if I don't like it, I'll fight against it!"

“Listen up, Edward. Fate and such things have only one use—to be broken!”

"Open the face-down card, the Continuous Trap Card [Undersea Raid]! While [Sea] is on my field, this face-up card gains an additional effect!"

As he spoke, Kajiki Ryota picked up the card "Spiral Dragon" from the Duel Disk. "Effect 1! Once per turn, banish one face-up WATER monster I control until the End Phase to activate this effect. During this turn, face-up Spell/Trap Cards on my control cannot be destroyed by my opponent's card effects!"

"What I'm releasing is naturally the [Spiral Dragon]! It will make it avoid the effect of [V·Hero Poison Man], while also granting my spell and trap cards on the field resistance to destruction!"

The vortex enveloped the body of [Spiral Dragon], dragging it into the deep sea and causing it to disappear temporarily. This caused [V·Hero Poison Man]'s corrosive venom to miss its mark, quickly being diluted by the endless seawater. The vortex then suddenly exploded, turning into water droplets that landed on Kajiki Yuta's field spell cards and the only remaining [Dive of the Sea] in the back row. The water droplet coating flowed calmly, preventing them from being removed by Edward at least for this turn.

Ed, however, was more concerned about Kajiki Ryota's previous answer than the changes in the cards on the field.

"'Fate is meant to be broken'... Is that your answer, Mr. Kajiki?" Looking at the four cards in his hand, Edward took a second look at the one with the word "Break Fate".

He has two other cards in his hand that allow Edward to retrieve [D·hero Blood Demon-D] from the graveyard and to gather the other two required tribute monsters, so he can indeed summon [D·hero Blood Demon-D] again if he wants. With the support of [D-Power], he can still effectively suppress and even break through Kajiki Ryota's current lineup.

But that's not enough. At best, he can only "resist" him, not "win" him. With everything he has, he is not yet capable of defeating Kajiki Ryota.

Involuntarily, Edward thought of the rival he had encountered before who had changed the course of his career, Marufuji Ryo, who called himself "Hell Caesar".

"Abandoning all old friends to gain new power, the so-called 'fight to the death'? That kind of thing..." Looking at the last card among the four cards in his hand, Edward drew it without hesitation and said, "...I can do that too!"

"Spell Card [Molten Hammer] activated! Return this card and any number of cards in my hand to the deck, shuffle, draw the number of cards returned, and I choose to return all cards in my hand to the deck!" Leaving himself no room for retreat, Edward chose to return four cards in one go, then placed his fingers on the deck. "So, respond to me! And... power! Give me more power!"

"I have four cards returning to my deck, so I can draw four cards from my deck. Draw!"

By forsaking the chance to resurrect [D·hero Blood Demon-D] and shattering the destiny called [Breaking Fate], the power Edward gained in return was—

"Spell Card, Pot of Greed activated! I return five monster cards from my Graveyard to my Deck, shuffle them, and draw two cards. I choose three of them: D. Hero Demon, D. Hero Resolve, and D. Hero Phoenix of Destruction!"

After returning the five cards to the deck and shuffling them, Edward drew cards without even looking at what he had drawn. He waved his hand and said, "Then, send the Fusion Material Monsters determined by the Fusion Monster Cards in my hand and deck to the Graveyard—"

The card Edward was using at this moment wasn't the trap card he'd been using before, which could be translated as "Fate Fusion" [D-Fusion]. Instead, it was a spell card with the artwork of his two strongest high-level [D-Hero] cards—a card that left a deep impression on countless card players in another world, a card whose music would even automatically play in their heads.

"Spell Card [Fusion Fate] activated!" Edward shouted, holding the card high. "I cannot see the whole picture of fate, so let me use this card to unify everyone's answers!"

"I will Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck, using a [D·hero] monster as Fusion Material!"

"A deck fusion like [Red-Eyes Fusion]!?" Kajiki Ryota stared at the [Fusion Destiny] card art, his eyes widening in slight shock. After all, while there are many fusion cards specific to each deck these days, very few can actually achieve deck fusion. "And that card art... could it be a fusion of [D. Hero Blood Demon - D] and [D. Hero Doctrine]?"

"But that doesn't make sense. Aren't those two cards still in Edward's graveyard? Wait a minute, didn't [D·Hero Phoenix Man of Destruction] just go back to the Fusion Deck?!"

The next moment, just as Kajiki Ryota had guessed, Edward revealed the two cards he had chosen from his deck: "These are the two monsters I'm sending to the Graveyard! [D·hero Demon] and [D·hero Disc], which are [Hero] monsters and [D·hero] monsters that meet the material requirements of Level 6 or higher!"

"Heroes of this wicked world, heroes burdened with the sins of the disc-shaped creatures, now unite as one, becoming the immortal and indestructible hero of ultimate destiny, and descend upon this land!"

"Fusion Summon, Level 8☆!"

"Come again, [D·hero, the Phoenix Destroyer]!!!"

【D·hero Destroys the Phoenix】】【8☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2500/2100]

Although [D·hero Destroyer of Phoenix] left the stage very casually before, it never meant that Edward's [D·hero Destroyer of Phoenix] was weak; it was just that [The Forbidden Drop] was too powerful.

After a period of reflection, he returns, making his second appearance and reborn as the most beautiful new person ever—[D·hero Destroyer Phoenix]—unleashing the power he had accumulated during his time in the graveyard!

"A monster Special Summoned by the effect of [Fusion Fate] will be destroyed during the End Phase of the next turn, and after [Fusion Fate] is activated, I cannot Special Summon any non-DARK [Hero] monsters until the end of this turn." Edward waved his hand, "But now—the effect of [D·hero Phoenix Man of Destruction] reduces the ATK of monsters on your opponent's field by 200 points equal to the number of [Hero] cards in my Graveyard!"

"Absolute justice prevails!"

Chapter 1470, "Undersea Surprise Attack," is a cheating card.

Eleven.

Disc, Demonic Nature, Blood Demon-D, Doctrine, Drill, Denial, Dynamite, Self-interest, Biomimicry, Gravity, Sky—at this moment, in Ed's graveyard, there are a total of eleven [Hero] cards: [D·hero], [V·hero], and [E·hero].

Carrying the will of his companions in the graveyard, the [D·hero Phoenix of Destruction] reappears and transforms this power into tangible oppression. Raging flames burn on his body while constantly evaporating the surrounding water—on the sea, the [D·hero Phoenix of Destruction] manages to evaporate a clearing with his own power!

The power of eleven [Hero] cards, representing a reduction of up to 2200 points in attack power, caused the attack power of both monsters on Kajiki Ryota's field to plummet in an instant due to the decrease in the surrounding moisture!

[The Legendary Fisherman III] [ATK2700→500]

[City Fortress Whale] [ATK2550→350]

Just moments ago, these two arrogant monsters turned into weaklings that could be easily crushed even by the [V·hero Poison Man], who only had 900 points of attack power!

However, that's not enough. If the [D·heroic] effect had successfully taken effect once before, that would have been sufficient, but now Kajiki Ryota's base score is still the original 4000 points. Edward needs even greater power to defeat his opponent!

“Next, I banish [D·hero Demon] from my Graveyard to activate its effect, Special Summoning a second [D·hero Demon] from my Deck.” Taking the retrieved card and placing it on the Duel Disk, Edward disregarded the slightly increased attack power of Kajiki Ryota's two monsters on the field, which had recovered somewhat due to the decrease in the number of [Hero] cards in his Graveyard. Instead, he played another card. “Then I activate the Spell Card, [Phantom Fusion]!”

A rather eerie-looking [Phantom Fusion], consisting of two pale skulls spinning around, unfolded on Edward's field. He said, "Just as [Fusion Destiny] is a Fusion Spell Card exclusive to [D·hero], [Phantom Fusion] is also a [Fusion] exclusive to [V·hero]."

"This card allows me to send the Fusion Material Monsters specified by the [Hero] Fusion Monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard, and Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck. Also, if a Fusion Material Monster exists in my Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Trap Card, I can banish up to two of them as Fusion Material."

Picking up the newly Special Summoned [D·hero Demon] from the Duel Disk, and the [V·hero Increment] whose effect was negated in the back row, Edward took out a Fusion Monster card with a purple border: "Hero of the evil world, hero who makes the Phantom Pain proliferate, now unite as one, become a sublime preacher, and let the gospel descend upon this land!"

"Fusion Summon, Level 8☆!"

"Worship! [V·hero worshipper]!"

With his incredibly muscular arms crossed over his chest, [V·hero worshipper] shattered the two skulls that formed [Phantom Fusion] blocking his path and landed on Edward's field. His long skirt and shawl fluttered, revealing the armor he wore underneath. His overall image resembled a taciturn ninja or a fanatical believer who disdained to communicate with heretics.

【V·hero worshipper】【8☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2800/2100]

Compared to [D·hero Phoenix Man of Destruction], [V·hero Worship Man] is even stronger. Although [V·hero Increment Man] was banished and did not enter Edward's graveyard, [D·hero Demon Man] made up for the number of [Hero] cards missing in the graveyard for the purpose of Special Summoning itself, so that the attack power of the two monsters on Kajiki Ryota's field remained unchanged, with one increasing and the other decreasing.

Strictly speaking, Edward now has the ability to directly break through the monsters set up by Kajiki Ryota on the field and wipe out their Life Points in one fell swoop. However, when he looked at the last card in Kajiki Ryota's hand, he remembered his previous card, "D. Hero Dynamite".

Also, although I haven't seen Kajiki Yuta use the card "Undersea Raid" much, I always feel that the effect of this card should not be limited to this. Just in case, it's better to summon more monsters.

—However, despite this, because of the previous [Wrath of the Sea Dragon God], Edward only had one empty slot left on the field. Among his remaining three cards, he still had a monster card [D·hero Divine Man], but Edward had already used his normal summon on the previous [D·hero Drill Man], so he couldn't summon it again.

However, I still have a copy of [D·hero Demon] in my deck. By banishing a second copy of [D·hero Demon] from my graveyard, I can Special Summon the third entity. Although its attack power is only 800 points, which is less than [V·hero Poison Man], it can at least attack and deal some damage—just like when Kajiki Ryota attacked himself directly with [Dream Shark].

Thinking of this, Edward took out [D·hero Demon] from the graveyard and banished it, saying, "I activate the effect of [D·hero Demon] again, banish it, and Special Summon the third [D·hero Demon] from my Deck to my field in Attack Position!"

【D·hero's captivating charm】【ATK800】

With the appearance of [D·hero Demon], and due to the reduction in the number of [Hero] cards in Edward's graveyard, the attack power of the monsters on Kajiki Ryota's field has been slightly restored.

[Ryota Kajiki: 4000LP, 1 in hand]

[The Legendary Fisherman III] [ATK500→700]

[City Fortress Whale] [ATK350→550]

[Underwater Surprise Attack]

Venue: [Legendary City - Atlantis]

Although it has rebounded, it hasn't rebounded much at all. Even the attack of the highest-attack card, [Legendary Fisherman III], is not as strong as the attack of the lowest-attack card on his side, [D·hero Demon]. After checking the three cards in his hand, Edward said, "During my main phase, I will use the effect of [V·hero Worshipper].

"Once per turn, you can target one face-up monster your opponent controls and one [Hero] monster on your field other than this card. My targets are [Legendary Fisherman III] on your opponent's field and [E-Hero Phoenix of Destruction] on my field." Edward pointed to Kajiki Ryota's field. "The ATK and DEF of the targeted opponent's monster are reduced by the ATK of the targeted monster until the End Phase!"

"A Ritual of Worship!"

Although [V·hero Worshipper] does not have the same non-targeting effect as the previous [V·hero Poisoner], because it targets more than one monster at the same time, Kajiki Ryota's [Castle Whale] on the field, despite having a target-targeting effect, still had no chance to use it.

The legendary Fisherman III, whose mount was already dried out and could only thrash around on land like a Magikarp using Water Splash, was suddenly struck by flames from the E-hero Phoenix Destroyer. While he wouldn't take 1/16 of his maximum HP damage each turn, his attack power was significantly reduced, and like some other Pokémon, his defense was also lowered due to the burning status.

[The Legendary Fisherman III] [700/2200→0/0]

While it is common knowledge that monsters with both attack and defense power of 0 are mostly monsters, that is on the premise that they are born with 0 attack and 0 defense. Those whose attack and defense power are reduced to 0 later are nothing special. Just like crystals, which can reach a level that a string of stones can never reach in a lifetime with just a little effort.

Based on the name, Edward suspects that the card "Dive into the Sea" might have the ability to change a monster's attack position to defense position. If he uses "D. Hero" with low attack power to attack "Legendary Fisherman III", but the opponent changes the position and uses 800 attack power to deal with 2200 defense power, wouldn't he lose all his life points due to the reflected damage?

Therefore, we just need to reduce its attack and defense to 0.

As for the [Fortress Whale], there's nothing we can do but let [D·hero Destroyer Phoenix] attack it.