Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

The dragon of judgment, shrouded in light, hadn't even had a chance to display its towering and majestic form before it vanished from the dueling arena along with the old man, accompanied by the light...

The light faded, and everything returned to calm.

"Ah this..."

Seeing her ace monster disappear, Saotome Rei finally realized what was happening and instinctively looked in Yusei's direction.

"……Hey!"

Reflected in Saotome Rei's dilated pupils was Yusei's smiling face.

Although he didn't say anything after activating [Divine Declaration], his smug expression undoubtedly revealed his true thoughts.

"Hmm..." Saotome Rei, whose equation for victory was interrupted by the old man, looked at her hand with a moment of confusion.

There, a dark-skinned man holding a grimoire was staring at her with innocent eyes.

Um... please accept my condolences?

The inscription on the card, "[Light Morui Okus]", seems to be intended to convey this meaning.

"Use whatever tactics you have against me!"

Despite having no hand traps in hand and no other face-down cards on the field, Yusei, who was actually panicking inside, outwardly maintained a calm and collected demeanor.

In duels, mindset is very important.

Don't panic!

"I summon [Light Daorui Okus] (Attack Power 1200) in an attack stance."

Holding a silver-gray Holy Scripture of Light, dressed in a white priest's robe, with red scapulae and golden tassels adorning his shoulders...

A serene, dark-skinned man—Hikaru Orcus—appeared before Rei Saotome.

"Next, we will enter the battle phase."

Unsure of Yusei's intentions, and after being tested by Turtleman and Old Man God, Rei Saotome abandoned her plans to continue and opted for the safest approach: an attack.

"【Sea Turtle Kaibun - Gamesis】attacks 【Elemental Hero - Sky Warrior】, take this, high-pressure water jet!"

"Then came a direct attack from [Lightlord Okus]! Holy Light of the Sun!"

Saotome Rei gave the order to attack the two monsters in front of her.

After receiving Saotome Rei's order, the turtle, which had already defected to the enemy, immediately opened its huge mouth and sprayed a huge jet of water towards Sky Warrior without hesitation.

Unable to withstand the impact of the water column, Sky Knight instantly transformed into countless particles of light and was sent to the graveyard.

(Sky Knight: ...)

(Yusei LP: 2000→1600)

Following the turtle Kaimon, [Light Daorui Okus], who looked like a priest in a church, also opened the holy book in his hand and shot a golden, blazing beam of light towards Yusei.

(Yusei LP: 1600→400)

"...!"

Yusei, who was directly hit by the beam of light, couldn't help but take a half step back.

"Although we didn't manage to reduce your health to 0... this is enough..."

Seemingly satisfied with her results, Saotome Rei waved her hand to end her turn: "End of turn. Based on the effect of [Light Dao Rui Okus], I send two cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard."

"Hiss—she actually managed to push Yusei to this point? Is Saotome Rei really that strong?"

On top of the cliff.

Marufuji Sho, who had been internally criticizing Saotome Rei and trying to find fault with her, couldn't help but gasp when he saw the situation on the field.

Even the invincible Yusei struggled so much against Saotome Rei; if it were him, he'd probably be dead on the spot...

Damn it, she's so strong!

Unforgivable! Pegasus!!!

(Pegasus: ???)

Like Tokiomi Tohsaka in Fate, Pegasus, influenced by the "Millennium Eye," unleashed his inner darkness and became an early villain, gloriously becoming the scapegoat in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world.

……

"Yusei, are we going to lose?"

Asuka, filled with worry, couldn't help but mutter these words to herself.

Saotome Rei's HP is still at full 4000, while Yusei's HP has dropped to 400, almost like a candle flickering in the wind!

There wasn't a single card on his field at that moment.

In this situation, no matter how you look at it, Saotome Rei has a huge advantage.

"Asuka, don't worry, Yusei won't give up on that man so easily..." Glancing at the worried Asuka, Ryo Marufuji immediately comforted her, "See the smile on his face? That's proof that he hasn't given up yet!"

“That’s exactly what I was saying!” Upon hearing Marufuji Ryo’s words, Yuki Judai picked up the conversation and continued, “That Yusei guy won’t fall here! Who knows, he might snatch the advantage from Saotome Rei in the next round!”

"We should have faith in him!"

When Yuki Judai said these words, a bright smile appeared on his face.

Having fought Yusei many times, he knew all too well the true strength of Yusei, the duelist he considered his lifelong nemesis.

294. You can't play unless you're low on health.

Although Saotome Rei, a girl who sneaked in disguised as a boy, is surprisingly strong in duels.

However, the one who will ultimately win this duel will definitely be Yusei!

At this moment, Jaden Yuki believed just that.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as he had predicted.

"Is the round over...?" Upon hearing Saotome Rei announce the end of the round, Yusei, who had survived the round, felt a surge of relief and a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"……Um?"

Noticing Yusei's change in expression, Saotome Rei suddenly felt a strange sense of crisis.

Clearly, she's the one who has the advantage right now.

But why did her intuition warn her that an upheaval storm was about to engulf everything...?

Could it be that Yusei, in this state, is still able to fight back... and defeat himself?

"My turn, draw a card!"

Freed from the shadow of the ruler of color, Yusei, suppressing his inner joy, forcefully drew a card from his deck.

As Yusei moved, the card also drew a bright arc in the air.

That fierce and ruthless aura transformed into a howling wind, blowing away all the surrounding sand and stones.

"This card is... [Beloved Hero]?!"

Looking at the card he had just picked up, Yusei's expression froze for a moment.

Originally, he could have turned the tide against all odds with just his original hand of cards.

The reason we couldn't get going in the last round was simply because the spell cards were locked.

Upon seeing the card he had drawn, Yusei suddenly had a new idea in his mind.

Let me show you!

The infinite possibilities of Fusion Summoning!

"Hmph... Without the suppression of the Ruler of Color, it's my turn to make my move!"

Life points reduced to 400, no cards on the field...

However, there was not even a trace of despair on Yusei's face.

It was as if, at this moment, it was not he who was at a disadvantage, but rather the opposite, Komichi Saotome.

"With only 400 health points left, what can you do in this state?" Saotome Rei couldn't help but look confused at Yusei's current condition.

If she were in Yusei's position at this moment, the outcome of the duel would basically be decided by now.

"...Solvador Kana (That's hard to say)!"

In response to Saotome Rei's question, Yusei spoke words filled with strong emotion.

Not yet, it's not over yet.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that now that their health is locked, the duel is truly beginning!

"I activate the Spell Card [Reinforcement] from my hand. According to this card's effect, I can add one Level 4 or lower Warrior monster from my Deck to my hand!"

"I've chosen to search my deck for the monster I need to draw: Elemental HERO Liquid Man (Warrior/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1400/DEF 1300)!"

Yusei showed his magic card to Saotome Rei across from him, and then added the Warrior-type "Elemental HERO Liquidman" to his hand from his deck.

"Liquid Hero... Is there such a monster in Elemental HERO?" Saotome Rei couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as the name of the HERO monster she had never heard of before echoed in her ears.

In his mind, the lower-level monsters of Elemental Heroes should all be ordinary creatures or weaklings with little threat.

However, the Hero Monsters in Yusei's deck completely overturned her understanding.

Although the Four Heroes of the Mortal Realm were present in Yusei's deck, there were many more cards that she had never heard of before...

Whether it was Skyman just now, or Liquidman now...

This is all the case.

"Next, I will summon Liquid Man in normal mode and activate his effect!"

"When 【Elemental HERO Liquidman】is successfully summoned, it can revive one 4-star or lower 【Hero】 monster in the graveyard."

Along with the blue waters floating in the air appeared a hero clad in cyan armor.

He glided across the water he created, maintaining his skating posture, and appeared in front of Yusei.

"Hero monsters of level 4 or lower in the graveyard, could it be...?"