As the black-and-white figure materialized before everyone's eyes, this newly appeared hero instantly set off a wave of shock throughout the stadium.
"Contrast HERO?"
"Wait... what kind of hero is that?"
"Contrast HERO... A HERO with a 'C' archetype name?"
"It's my first time seeing a hero like this..."
Watching the new hero on the field, Chancellor Sheppard and Principal Foster both wore expressions of utter astonishment.
Beyond Elemental, Destiny, Masked, Vision, and Evil HEROes, was there really another branch of the HERO family?
"Contrast HERO... To think the Supreme King's deck even contained a card like this!"
Within the spirit space, Ghost Reaper watched the hero on Jaden Yuki's field, her eyes flickering with a strange light.
Contrast HERO Chaos.
Although it possessed immense suppression power, its summoning requirements were notoriously difficult for a HERO deck to meet. Because of this, despite its strength, its appearance rate was extremely low.
And yet, Jaden had actually managed to bring it out...
"Is it possible that this guy truly can surpass the Duel Kings of every era and become the strongest of them all?" Ghost Reaper murmured under her breath.
She didn't know the answer, and she didn't dare draw a conclusion. After all, every generation of Duel King was a peerless powerhouse unique to their own era. Even for the spirits of the future, it was difficult to determine who was truly the strongest.
But Jaden's performance today had completely exceeded her imagination.
Perhaps... just perhaps, he really could...
"Contrast HERO? Fine! So what if you summoned a new hero? Its attack power is only exactly the same as my Armed Dragon!"
After a moment of daze, Chazz quickly snapped back to his senses. Though he didn't know what kind of effect this new hero possessed, he believed his Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 was invincible. He didn't believe Jaden could bypass his dragon and defeat him in the next turn.
"Turn end!" Chazz shouted. "Come on, Jaden! Let me see what this Contrast HERO is made of!"
"I'll show you."
Jaden placed his fingers on the top of his deck. "This next draw will be the final draw of this duel!"
Chazz swallowed hard, a look of extreme gravity entering his eyes. He knew that whenever Jaden said something like that, he was prepared to end the match.
But... how could that be? He still had 4000 Life Points. He had Armed Dragon on the field with 3000 Attack. Furthermore, because it was Special Summoned by its own effect, Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 could not be destroyed by battle!
Against such a monster, how could Jaden find a breakthrough in a single turn?
"Now, it all comes down to the luck of the draw," Ghost Reaper watched Jaden nervously. She knew that while Armed Dragon Thunder had battle protection, that kind of resistance was actually quite easy to deal with.
Even so, the attack power of Contrast HERO Chaos wasn't enough to finish Chazz off.
Unless...
Unless Jaden could manipulate his deck as he pleased, drawing exactly the card he needed.
But that... that was simply too...
Suddenly, a sentence flashed through Ghost Reaper's mind.
For a true Duelist, everything is inevitable.
"That's right... if Jaden really is the strongest Duel King in history, then this draw must inevitably give him exactly what he wants."
"No way... Could such a Duelist really exist in this world?"
If he truly could do it...
Not only did the spirits in the consciousness space hold their breath, but everyone in the audience was also paralyzed with tension, watching Jaden's hand. With the television broadcast, this duel was being watched across the globe. In front of TVs, computers, and giant city screens, everyone was looking at Jaden looking at that one decisive card beneath his fingers.
"My turn."
"Draw!"
Jaden drew a card from his deck. With a flash of light, the card he drew was slammed onto the Duel Disk before he even looked at it.
"I activate the Spell Card: Pot of Greed!"
"What?!"
"He... he didn't even look at the card before playing it?"
"Unbelievable!"
A green spell card appeared on Jaden's field amidst a glow of light, and a pot with a wretched, wide grin appeared beside him.
It really was Pot of Greed!
Chazz stared blankly at the scene, instinctively taking two steps back. "No, impossible... how can this be real?"
The pot shattered. Jaden drew two more cards in response.
"Chazz, the game is over."
Jaden smiled as he revealed the two cards in his hand: Raigeki and Traptrix Mantis.
"Raigeki destroys every monster on your side of the field!"
"And Traptrix Mantis has 1500 Attack!"
"Combined with the field's Contrast HERO Chaos, the total damage exceeds your remaining Life Points!"
Jaden waved his hand, slapping Raigeki onto the Duel Disk.
"How... how is this possible!" the North Academy students wailed. Everyone could see that Chazz's situation was dire.
"You actually drew it! But wait!" Chazz tried to make one final struggle. "Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 can discard a card during the opponent's turn to destroy one card on the field! And its Attack increases by a thousand!"
"It's useless!" Jaden shouted, cutting him off. "Before Chaos, your effects are powerless! I activate the effect of Contrast HERO Chaos!"
"Once per turn, I can negate the effects of one face-up card on the opponent's field until the end of the turn!"
The black-and-white body erupted with immense power. Under the pressure of that terrifying force, the Armed Dragon on Chazz's field let out a heavy roar. Its lightning was completely suppressed in an instant. The Contrast HERO leaped high into the air, appearing directly in front of the dragon.
Boom!
In a cloud of explosive dust, Chazz was thrown backward, falling heavily to the ground. His Life Points rapidly plummeted to zero in the wake of the blast.
"Ugh... I lost...?"
Lying on the ground, staring up at the bright stadium lights, Chazz let out a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
As expected... Jaden...
Silence.
The stadium was dead silent. Not only were the students in the stands quiet, but even Chazz's two brothers, Slade and Jagger, were speechless with shock. Although they wanted to blame Chazz for losing such an important duel, after witnessing Jaden's play, they couldn't find a single word of reproach.
"...Chazz probably really did give it his all."
"Yeah."
Slade and Jagger looked at each other silently and sighed with helplessness.
It took a long time before the audience finally snapped out of it and the applause gradually began to swell. Everyone was still replaying Jaden's draw in their heads that moment of absolute confidence. It felt as if he could draw exactly what he needed at any moment.
"Perhaps Jaden has already reached the level of a Duel King," Chancellor Sheppard said, slowly standing up and clapping lightly. His voice was full of wonder and admiration.
"I wonder if having such a duelist is a good thing for the world of dueling..." Principal Foster replied, his expression solemn. As he looked at Jaden, another figure appeared in his mind. "The Jaden of today is just like the Duel King of back then, Mr. Muto... no, I'm afraid he might have already surpassed Mr. Muto."
"...You shouldn't say such things lightly, Foster."
Jaden walked over to Chazz and slowly opened his hand. Three rays of light surged out from Chazz, condensing into three cards in Jaden's hand.
Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion. Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit. Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries.
"It looks like the recovery went smoothly... surprisingly, this spirit didn't offer any resistance." Yubel's phantom appeared beside Jaden, looking at the three cards.
"Yeah..." Jaden nodded slightly before turning his gaze to Chazz, who was slowly waking up. "You okay?"
"Hmph." Looking at Jaden's extended hand, Chazz's cheek twitched. Though clearly reluctant, he reached out and took Jaden's hand. "You... sooner or later, I will definitely..."
"I'll be waiting." Jaden smiled and pulled him up from the ground.
Having a rival who was determined to beat him wasn't a bad thing. At least his future life wouldn't be boring.
[Congratulations to the host for recovering the card: Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries.]
[Unlocked Deck: Buster Blader Deck.]
[Unlocked Special Card: Greater Polymerization.]
Hearing the system prompt in his ear, Jaden was slightly stunned.
Because my opponent used Armed Dragon, the system unlocked the Buster Blader deck for me? That's... actually quite fitting.
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