Yugioh [790-792]

Chapter 790: Evil Hero

"My turn. I draw."

Jaden drew his card, but didn't act right away. He lowered his head as if thinking—or hesitating.

Gelgo sneered: "What's wrong? Getting scared already? Heh. How about surrendering now? Maybe I'll even go easy on you."

Jaden ignored him.

"Jaden."

Neos's figure drifted into view at his side again.

"Power itself isn't inherently just or evil," Neos said. "What matters is wielding it with a righteous heart."

"Neos…"

Jaden turned to meet his spirit's gaze. Neos nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

Jaden gently closed his eyes and smiled in relief.

"You're right. Power is just power. It depends on the one who uses it. I've understood that for a long time. And I decided long ago—no matter how heavy or dark the past is, I'll carry it and keep moving forward."

He pressed the button for a set card in his back row.

"Activate set card, Spell Card—

—Dark Fusion!"

The set card flipped. The spell unleashed a vast vortex of darkness, a mass of terrifying chaos with thunder churning within!

Gelgo: "!"

This card… such powerful darkness!
The instant he saw it, he understood why this boy drew so much attention from the Light of Destruction—why they called him the antithesis of light and insisted he must be defeated at all costs.

"Fuse 'Elemental HERO Sparkman' and 'Elemental HERO Clayman' from my hand through the power of darkness!" Jaden declared.

"The HERO who takes on a demonic form to gain the strength to protect—show yourself—

—Evil HERO Lightning Golem!"

Clouds as black as ink splashed across the sky. Pitch-black thunder cleaved the heavens; serpents of black lightning coiled and intertwined like living things. It was as if pure darkness and lightning had forged an indestructible body—a titanic figure like a fortress that calls down the roar of thunder.

Evil HERO Lightning Golem, summoned!
[Evil HERO Lightning Golem, ATK 2400]

"Lightning Golem… never heard of a HERO like that."

Staring up at the colossal figure, feeling the roiling lightning and suffocating pressure, Gelgo momentarily felt he couldn't breathe.

Even the aura faintly emanating from the boy before him was like that of a giant of darkness—a superior being looking down from on high, making one's heart quail.

"Evil HERO Lightning Golem's effect: once per turn, destroy one monster on the field," Jaden said. "I'll destroy one of your 'White Knight Swordsman' on the field!"

The dark giant thrust out his right palm. Lightning pooled in his palm into a surging dark current and blasted one of the Swordsmen to pieces.

"Next, Evil HERO Lightning Golem—attack!"

Dark lightning gathered again, surging and erupting in the golem's palm!

Gelgo shook off the oppressive awe of the Evil HERO and shouted, "Activate set card, Trap Card 'Chaos Burst'! When your opponent declares an attack with a monster, tribute one monster you control; destroy the attacking monster, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!" (Anime effect)

It's a trap that appeared in the GX anime, though its OCG print was nerfed. The earlier parts remain the same, but the damage was changed to a flat 1000 instead of the destroyed monster's ATK.

"I tribute my second 'White Knight Swordsman'!" Gelgo grinned wickedly. "Send that demon HERO straight to hell.

Destroy 'Evil HERO Lightning Golem' and hit you for its 2400 ATK as damage!"

The second Swordsman vanished as a tribute. The released energy loaded into the trap like ammunition, becoming a stream of golden light that blasted at the Lightning Golem!

It did nothing.

The domineering light struck Lightning Golem square in the chest, but only washed across that indestructible armor, not leaving so much as a scratch.

"NANI!?" Gelgo was stunned.

"Dark Fusion's effect," Jaden said. "An Evil HERO Fusion Summoned by Dark Fusion can't be destroyed by your opponent's Spell or Trap effects this turn." (Anime effect)

The printed Dark Fusion keeps protection but changes it from destruction immunity to being unaffected by your opponent's card effects for the turn—pros and cons either way.

"So sorry, Chaos Burst doesn't work on Lightning Golem," Jaden said. "Evil HERO Lightning Golem's attack continues.

Attack your last remaining 'White Knight Swordsman'!"

Gelgo grit his teeth.

His three Swordsmen summoned in one turn were down to the last in an instant.

"Then the effect of 'White Knight Swordsman'," Gelgo said. "While this card exists in your GY, all monsters with 'White Knight' in their names on the field gain 300 ATK."

He raised his Duel Disk; golden light flared from the GY.

"I now have two 'White Knight Swordsman' in the GY. Their effects stack. My White Knights on the field gain 600 ATK total!"

[White Knight Swordsman, ATK 1200 → ATK 1800]

Still no match for Lightning Golem. Black lightning punctured his chest; the Swordsman's heart bloomed open—leaving a gaping hole.

But the Swordsman was stubborn indeed. Even with a chest so broadly opened, he wobbled but stood, not leaving the field. The black lightning that lanced through him crashed against a transparent white shield, not harming Gelgo himself.

"At this moment, I banished 'White Knight Gardna' from my GY," Gelgo said. "When a 'White Knight' monster you control battles, you can banish 'White Knight Gardna' from your GY; the battle damage from that battle becomes 0, and your White Knight monster is not destroyed by that battle."

In the anime, Chazz's description only said "battle damage becomes 0," but the on-screen resolution suggested the monster wasn't destroyed either. Perhaps a wording oversight—or in that season, "battle destruction" might have been rolled into "battle damage."

"You tanked Lightning Golem's attack. Not bad," Jaden smiled. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. I draw."

If Gelgo had been unsure about his target at first, he now knew. No wonder this person was seen as their number-one enemy—he's no pushover.

"Very well. This turn I'll show you the strongest White Knight!"

Chapter 791: Falling into Darkness

"The strongest White Knight? Oh-ho, sounds impressive!"

Jaden looked excited.

But Gelgo felt offended.

What's that supposed to mean—looking down on me? Think my ace of the White Knights is nothing to fear?

He snorted inwardly.

Time to show this cocky brat what's what.

"Activate Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'—I draw two cards from my deck."

Gelgo drew two, then considered a moment.

"Next, Spell Card 'Card Destruction.' Both players discard their entire hands, then draw two cards."

They both redrew. Gelgo's lips curled into a cold smile.

As expected.

"First, Spell Card 'Heavy Storm'!" Gelgo barked. "Destroy all Spell/Trap cards in both back rows. Whatever your set card is—begone!"

A black storm rose. Jaden instinctively raised an arm to shield himself. His set card was whirled up and shredded to dust.

"Too bad. The card you destroyed was the Trap 'Dummy Marker,'" Jaden grinned. "When this card is destroyed by an opponent's Spell effect, I draw two cards from my deck." (Anime card)
Jaden drew two.

"One of your set cards got destroyed too. Shame."

Gelgo snorted.

"Don't you worry. The set card I lost has its use. The one destroyed was…"

He held up the Trap that had just been sent off.

"Trap Card 'Sealed Gate'!"

The card art was a pure blank white—nothing at all.

"When this card is destroyed and sent to the GY: banish one each of 'White Knight Swordsman,' 'White Knight Lancer,' and 'White Knight Gardna' from your GY!
Then Special Summon the strongest White Knight—'White Knight Lord'—from your deck!"

"Ohh, so that's how you bring out your ace!?" Jaden looked thrilled. "So that means the 'Card Destruction' just now discarded…"

"Correct. I discarded another Gardna and Lancer, completing the materials.

I banish a Gardna, a Lancer, and a Swordsman from my GY—now appear—

—White Knight Lord!!!"

A blinding white radiance burst from the Trap, as if a sealed gate were shattered by light. The Lord in white armor strode forth with boundless majesty, as though the entire domain had fallen under the dominion of white light.

[White Knight Lord, ATK 2000]

"So that's the ace." Jaden rubbed his hands. "Looks strong indeed."

"And summoning the Lord was a Special Summon; I haven't used my Normal Summon yet," Gelgo said. "I tribute my last on-field 'White Knight Swordsman' for a Tribute Summon!
The ancient dragon that floats in the air driven by lightning—now appear—

—Wattaildragon, summon!"

Azure lightning gathered, as if forging a dragon's body from lightning itself, descending with overwhelming presence onto his field.

[Wattaildragon, ATK 2500]

"And with that, my last 'White Knight Swordsman' also goes to the GY," Gelgo said coldly.

"I have two 'White Knight Swordsman' in the GY. Each increases the ATK of all 'White Knight' monsters on the field by 300!"

[White Knight Lord, ATK 2000 → ATK 2600]

"Your back row defense is gone. Now let darkness be erased by the light! White Knight Lord, attack 'Evil HERO Lightning Golem'!"

The Lord slashed. The steel body of the lightning HERO split open, black thunder crackling as the golem exploded.

[Jaden, LP 4000 → 3800]

"In addition, for each monster destroyed by battle by White Knight Lord, inflict 300 damage to your opponent!"

[Jaden, LP 3800 → 3500]

"Then Wattaildragon!" Gelgo continued. "Direct attack!"

Blue lightning rained down like a barrage, tearing through Jaden's field with rolling thunder and leaving several smoking craters.

[Jaden, LP 3500 → 1000]

"I set one card and end my turn," Gelgo smiled. "See? This is the knight of light—White Knight Lord!

Darkness can never triumph over light. No matter how deep the night, dawn will come. Your evil HERO cannot defeat the knights of light!"

Jaden: "…"

Uh-oh. The more he said, the more I feel like I'm the villain.

Actually, there've been times I felt like the bad guy already.

When did that start?
Jaden reflected.

Maybe it's because I've been hanging around Kira too much…
Forget it, not important. Villain, then villain.

"My turn. I draw!"

"Activate Spell Card 'Card of Adversity.' If your opponent controls a Special Summoned monster and you control no monsters, draw two cards from your deck."

Jaden smiled.

"The strongest White Knight—pretty impressive. Then I'll use this.

I activate Polymerization!
I fuse 'Elemental HERO Necroshade' and 'Elemental HERO Wildheart' from my hand! Fusion Summon—

—Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman, in Defense Position!"

[Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman, DEF 1800]

Gelgo snorted: "A HERO of that caliber, and in Defense…"

But with Jaden's LP low, his choice of position did matter.

"Necroid Shaman's effect: when Special Summoned, you can tribute one monster your opponent controls," Jaden said, wagging a finger with a smile. "Then Special Summon one monster from your opponent's GY to their field." (Anime effect)

Gelgo: "!"

NANI?

Tribute my monster, then dig up my grave?
Your HERO didn't even need to go dark to be this dark!
But…

Jaden: "I tribute 'White Knight Lord'!"

Necroid Shaman tried to cast his ritual. A transparent whirlwind rose at the Lord's feet.

But the Lord snorted disdainfully and stomped. The whirlwind dissipated instantly, leaving nothing.

"Eh?" Jaden blinked.

"Hahahaha—too bad!" Gelgo laughed. "White Knight Lord's effect! This card cannot be tributed!"

"Huh?"

Jaden was shocked.

Can't be tributed… the natural enemy of Lava Golem?

He immediately thought: Kira would definitely hate this monster…
"Trying to cheese me?" Gelgo grinned ferociously. "Did you think the glorious Light of the cosmos would fall for such cheap tricks?"

"Alright… if I can't tribute that, then I'll tribute 'Wattaildragon,'" Jaden said. "Special Summon 'White Knight Swordsman' from your GY to your field."

[White Knight Swordsman, ATK 1200]

"Since your GY has one fewer Swordsman, the Lord loses 300 ATK!"

[White Knight Lord, ATK 2600 → ATK 2300]

"Heh, still stronger than your trash HERO," Gelgo scoffed.

"If one plan fails, use another," Jaden said. "I activate Spell Card 'Necro Sacrifice'!
Choose up to two monsters in your GY and Special Summon them to your opponent's field. Then you can reduce the number of tributes required to Tribute Summon a monster from your hand by the number of monsters Special Summoned this way!" (Anime card)
Jaden revealed two monsters in his GY.

"I'll gift you these two.

The 'Elemental HERO Wildheart' I fused earlier.

And 'Storm Caller,' which you made me discard with 'Card Destruction' last turn!"

Gelgo: "?"

What the heck is that?

Is that one an Elemental HERO too?
"Of course, the position of these Special Summons is chosen by the opponent," Jaden added.

Gelgo considered.

"Defense Position."

[Elemental HERO Wildheart, DEF 1600]

[Storm Caller, DEF 2000]

"Therefore I can reduce the tribute count by two and perform a Tribute Summon," Jaden said. "Come forth! I Tribute Summon—

—Elemental HERO Bladedge!"

[Elemental HERO Bladedge, ATK 2600]

"Higher ATK than the Knight Lord?" Gelgo muttered.

Jaden: "Elemental HERO Bladedge, attack 'White Knight Lord'!"

Bladedge's thrusters flared as he lunged in a golden afterimage, arm blades slashing down.

With the Lord at only 2300 ATK now, he couldn't match Bladedge. But he neither dodged nor retreated—he raised his blade and, with a clear clang, parried solidly.

"Hahaha, too bad!" Gelgo laughed. "The Lord is the strongest White Knight—unbeatable in battle!

White Knight Lord cannot be destroyed by battle, and any battle damage to me becomes 0!"

"Eh? Can't be tributed, can't be destroyed, huh."

Jaden nodded.

"Alright, I set a card and end my turn," he said.

"Out of ideas?" Gelgo sneered. "Seems even if you fall into darkness, a HERO is only so much.

I won't be so polite—time to go all out!
My turn—"

But before he could act, Jaden smiled with confidence.

"No. The HEROes have already won. You just haven't realized it."

"What?" Gelgo froze.

Jaden snapped his fingers.

"Activate set card, Trap Card 'Edge Hammer'!
Tribute 'Elemental HERO Bladedge' you control; destroy one monster your opponent controls, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's original ATK!"

Gelgo frowned.

"You intend to use this to take down my Knight Lord?"

"No, actually, I don't."

Jaden grinned.

"The monster I'll destroy is… 'Storm Caller'!"

"Huh?"

Gelgo glanced, bewildered, at the Storm Caller that had been forcibly shoved onto his field. He didn't get it.

Destroy that thing?
"Storm Caller's effect," Jaden said. "When this card is destroyed by a card effect, its controller must take damage equal to this card's ATK!"

Gelgo paused two seconds.

Edge Hammer destroys Storm Caller and deals him damage equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK—2300.

Then Storm Caller's own effect triggers and deals damage to its controller—another 2300.

Stack them and…
Gelgo: "!!!!"

Nani!?
His eyes bulged as he stared at the Storm Caller on his field.

The Storm Caller stood proud like his senior, Lava Golem—thumping its chest with a look that said, "Yup, I'm the mole."

Wait—
In that instant, a hundred different curses surged to Gelgo's tongue.

Bladedge, Edge Hammer, Elemental HERO Storm Caller…
When you said the HERO fell into darkness, you really weren't kidding, huh?
"Go, Bladedge—Edge Hammer!"

Bladedge hefted a giant hammer, turning into a streak of golden lightning as he threw himself forward.

Boom—

[Gelgo, LP 4000 → LP 0]

Chapter 792: Mello's Whereabouts

Clap clap clap clap—

On a dark, windy night in the forest, a crisp string of claps rang out.

Having just finished an enjoyable duel, Jaden stowed his Duel Disk and turned toward the sound. His buddies Kira and senior Joey emerged from the trees, heading his way. Kira gave him a round of enthusiastic applause for his performance.

"Kira? Joey-senpai?" Jaden was surprised. "You're here."

"Just got back," Kira said.

Joey: "I caught a ride on Kira's private jet. He gave me a lift…"

He couldn't help showing a face full of envy and resentment.

"Kuso! Stingy Kaiba—ten years and he's still got it in for me! Won't even give me a new Duel Disk, yet he's handing out private jets to other people…!"

Jaden laughed and patted his shoulder. "Don't mind it. Kira and President Kaiba's relationship is… special."

"Is it?"

Joey looked skeptical.

"How special?"

"I don't really know," Jaden scratched his head. "I only heard they get along pretty well. A lot of Kira's cards apparently came from KaibaCorp…"

"NANI?!"

Joey's eyes widened. Thinking back on Kaiba targeting him his whole life, he couldn't help turning to look at Kira.

"Rumors," Kira said innocently. "I've only met the President a few times—we're not close."

Joey eyed the newest non-retail KaibaCorp Duel Disk on Kira's arm.

"And that?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, that's from KaibaCorp."

"Rare cards?"

Kira nodded again. "That too."

"Your jet?"

Kira tilted his head, thought for a second.

"Kaiba's."

Hard to deny.

Joey nearly slammed his Duel Disk. "So you're saying, you're not close to that bastard Kaiba, and he gave you all that just because he likes your face?"

"I know it's hard to believe…" Kira thought. "If I have to say something, I'm very close with his little brother."

"Mokuba, huh? Compared to that bad-tempered big bro, Mokuba is a good guy."

Joey grew nostalgic.

Back then, even if they didn't get along with Kaiba, they were friendly with Mokuba. They'd gone through hardship together, after all—and Mokuba wasn't prickly and tsundere like his brother; he was happy to hang out with Yugi and the others.

Though, it had probably been years since Joey last saw Mokuba.

"You did well just now—a beautiful duel," Kira smiled at Jaden. "You're getting stronger, Jaden."

"That goes without saying."

Jaden grinned at Kira.

"We need a rematch sometime. I might not lose now."

"I'll be waiting. But not now—we've got more important things to handle. Let's save that match."

"Got it!"

They bumped fists with perfect timing.

The scene stirred Joey's memories. He thought of his own best friends back then, when their bonds were unbreakable and their friendship was ironclad. Now everyone had gone their separate ways; getting the gang back together was hard.

But also…
You guys call that "getting stronger," huh?

Joey had seen Jaden's duel just now. He thought Jaden was strong, sure, but there was something… he couldn't quite put into words.

He felt that when he first met this Sllifer Red kid, his dueling wasn't like this… or at least it was only trending that way, not so blatant.

At the very least, back then Jaden wouldn't "give the opponent a big present, then finish with a Edge Hammer to the face"—the kind of tactic that sends blood pressure soaring.

Maybe that's because he's currently in sync with the Supreme King?

Yeah, that makes sense. The Supreme King is said to be a ruler of darkness, with fathomless dark power. Fuse with a being like that and it's reasonable your dueling gets darker.

Of course, he wouldn't say that in front of the Supreme King—or the lord of the other dimension might cry foul:

Hey hey hey, I only rule twelve dimensions tops; my darkness factor can't even match half of those two!

Glancing at Gelgo sprawled on the ground unconscious, Joey thought, this guy definitely wouldn't call that a "beautiful duel"…
Joey pondered.

Come to think of it, he'd felt this way before—Yugi's duels sometimes had that flavor too. Not Atem's—he meant his best friend Yugi Muto.

Maybe this is how the strong are meant to duel?

If I get the chance, should I try developing some new… techniques…
Before his thoughts drifted further, Kira pulled him back.

"Mr. Joey, you said you obtained important intel?"

"Huh? Oh, right."

Joey refocused, his expression turning serious.

"Pegasus is down."

"That Pegasus?" Jaden looked surprised.

"I'm afraid so," Joey nodded. "I helped him break free—at least for now.

But he said that while he was under control, he designed a very dangerous Duel Monsters card, and it's in the hands of someone named Mello."

He paused and looked at the guy lying unconscious.

"This one was sent by them too. They call your newly gained power a part of the 'Dark Wave.' I suspect that means the Supreme King."

"They fear the Supreme King's power?" Jaden asked.

"As the faction of the Light of Destruction, the power you wield would make them nervous," Kira said. "Maybe that's why they accelerated their offensive."

"We can't let those bastards get cocky," Joey clenched his fist.

"We strike back! We find that Mello guy and settle it in a duel!"

"I think he might be thinking the same," Kira said. "Controlling Pegasus likely wasn't just for a single card.

Pegasus is the father of modern Duel Monsters—the best designer in the world. He's designed monsters like the Egyptian Gods and Wicked Gods. Only he can harness the strongest powers and give them form as cards.

Mello probably wanted to leverage his abilities to further refine his deck—and perhaps also Industrial Illusions' cutting-edge gear, top-secret research data, resources, and…"

Kira suddenly stopped.

"What is it?"

Jaden and Joey looked at him together.

Thoughts raced through Kira's mind. Then he raised a brow.

"I think… I might have guessed where Mello is right now."