How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

As the black mud receded, the ominous figure of the Fiendish Corpse Demon replaced the Hellish Imp on Angra Mainyu's field.

As an evil hero modeled after the Elemental Hero Necromancer, the Fiend Corpse Demon not only possesses the same attack and defense capabilities as the Necromancer, but also has a terrifying appearance with exposed bones and flesh covering its entire body.

[Evil Hero, Malevolent Spirit, Corpse Demon]

【5 stars】

[Demon/Dark]

[Attack power: 1600]

[Defense: 1800]

Looking at the Fiendish Corpse on the field of Angolan Mainyu, although Yudou was not quite clear about its effect, he knew that the effect of the Necromancer could only be activated in the graveyard.

Therefore, the effect of the evil spirit corpse demon, which is based on the Necromancer Dark Knight, should be similar, and should also be activated in the graveyard.

But in order to summon it to the field, it not only consumes a normal summon once per turn, but also sacrifices a monster. Isn't that a bit unnecessary?

You Du didn't believe that Angolan Manuel would be that stupid.

And Angolan Manuel's subsequent actions further confirmed his idea.

"Spell Card [Dark Fusion] activated!"

The black mud churned, and the ocean within the 'hole' underwent a dramatic change the moment he used the card.

A pitch-black vortex appeared beneath Angolan Manuel's feet, seemingly with no limit to its capacity, continuously devouring this ocean of black mud.

"This card allows me to use monsters in my hand or on the field as Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon a Fiend-Type Fusion Monster!"

"I will fuse the [Elemental HERO Winged Warrior] in my hand with the [Evil HERO Corpse Demon] on the field as materials!"

Angolan Manuel ignored the situation. A card in his hand, along with the ferocious corpse demon on the field, transformed into two orbs of light of different colors and flew into the vortex. He loudly proclaimed:

"The summoning conditions are a Fiend-type monster and a Warrior-type monster!"

Fusion Summoning—!

"Come and let us sink together in the ocean of malice!"

"Level 8! [Evil Hero Dark Knight]!"

Sharp claws, bat wings, scales, scorpion tail...

Born from the vortex of black mud is a being whose entire body is a weapon.

【The Evil Hero: Dark Knight】

【8 stars】

[Demon Race/Earth]

[Attack power: 1600]

[Defense: 0]

The Dark Knight swung his long, arrow-sharp tail and plunged his right hand into the dark ocean below. When he pulled his hand out, he held a blade the same color as the scales on his body.

An 8-star monster with an attack power of only 1600?

This thing definitely has some amazing effect.

At this moment, You Du was absolutely convinced of his judgment.

After all, as everyone knows, there's a saying in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Monsters with an attack power of 0 are all monsters.

This is because, in order to compensate for their weakness in attack power, some monsters with zero attack power often have stronger effects compared to other monsters.

For example, Yubel, who cannot be destroyed in battle and can reflect damage, and Gandora, who can destroy the entire field and increase her own attack power when summoned...

While this [Evil Hero Dark Knight] doesn't have zero attack power, 1600 attack power is clearly low for an 8-star fusion monster, and it's very likely that it has some kind of powerful effect.

As Yudo's thoughts raced, Angolan Manuguese placed a card and ended his turn.

"I set a card face down, and the turn ends! At that very moment, the other effect of [Evil Hero Hell Imp] activates!"

"During the End Phase of the turn I Tribute this card to Tribute Summon a 'Hero' monster! I draw one card from my Deck!"

Angra Mainyu added a card to his hand, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Yuuto, shrugging to indicate that he had nothing else to do.

It's time for the journey to the ferry.

"My turn, draw a card!"

As Yudo looked at the cards he had drawn, he kept guessing about the effects of Dark Knight.

Could it be the effect of a negated monster, spell, or trap card?

In short, let's test the waters first.

"I summon [Elemental HERO Skywalker] from my hand in Attack Position! Activate Skywalker's effect, add [Elemental HERO Liquidman] from my Deck to my hand!"

【Elemental Heroes: Sky Knight】

[Attack power: 1800→0]

"This is……"

Yudo had just added the android he had retrieved to his hand when he was surprised to see that the Sky Warrior he had just summoned on the field suddenly became extremely weak, and its attack power dropped to 0.

"That's right! This is the terrifying aspect of the [Evil Hero Dark Knight]!"

Seeing the surprised expression on Yuto's face, Angolan Manuel then laughed wildly and explained to him.

"While this monster is face-up on my field, the ATK of all monsters on your field is reduced to the sum of the original ATKs of the monsters used as Fusion Material for this card!"

That's 2600 attack power!

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Demonic Blade

So that's why Angra Mainyu dared to summon the Dark Knight Demon Attack Display, which only has an attack power of 1600, onto the field.

You Du nodded knowingly.

But... it actually reduces attack power?

Since each monster's attack power is reduced by 2600 points upon entering the battlefield, this means that to defeat Dark Knight Demon through battle destruction, you must summon a monster with an attack power of 4200 or higher, or a monster with an attack power of 1600 or higher that is not affected by the effects of other monsters.

As for using the effects to cause damage... he didn't think Angolan Mainyu wouldn't have thought of that, and must have already taken the necessary precautions.

Yudu's gaze fell on the cover card in the backfield of Angolan Manuel.

He guessed that the card was most likely used to protect the Dark Knight from being destroyed by its effects.

So, it's pretty clear what to do next, right?

"I activate the Spell Card [Fusion] from my hand! I fuse [Elemental HERO Liquid Man] from my hand with [Elemental HERO Sky Man] on the field!"

"Come on! [Elemental Heroes Absolute Zero]!"

That's right! When it comes to clearing the field, nothing is more powerful than the classic tactic of turning zero into acid water!

After clearing the front and back of the field, he transforms into a master of clearing the field, leaving the opponent's problematic areas spotless!

Our hero players are so kind!

After drawing two cards using Liquid Man's effect and discarding [Neo-Spatial Man Flame Beetle] into the graveyard, Yuto immediately chose this tactic after seeing [Masked Change] in his hand.

"Quick-Play Spell! [Mask Change] activated! Send my Absolute Zero to the graveyard! Appear! [Mask Hero Acid]!"

【Masked Hero Acid Water】

[Attack power: 2600→0]

"At this very moment! The monster effects of Acid Water and Absolute Zero activate! Reduce the ATK of all monsters on your field by 300! And destroy all Spell/Trap Cards and monsters on your field!"

【The Evil Hero: Dark Knight】

[Attack power: 1600→1300]

In an instant, endless cold and acid erupted from Yudu's field, and just as it was about to sweep across Angra Mainyu's field, he quickly flipped over the card he had set down in the previous turn.

"Then I'll activate the face down! Continuous Trap [Necromancer's Shield]! And immediately use its effect!"

When asked to help with the cleanup, Angra Mainyu refused without hesitation. A streak of light flew out of his grave and formed a barrier in front of the Dark Knight.

"Once per turn, when your opponent activates a card-destroying effect, you can banish 1 Fiend/Zombie monster from your Graveyard to activate this effect, and negate that activation!"

"I banish Hellish Imp from the graveyard to nullify the activation of Absolute Zero's monster effect!"

Crack——

The barrier blocked the sweeping cold air, but it was also completely dissolved by the acidic water that followed.

Angolan Manuel successfully saved his Dark Knight on the field.

Seeing this, You Du disregarded his regrets and immediately chose to enter the battle phase.

"【Masked Hero Acid Water】attacks your 【Evil Hero Dark Knight】!"

"What?! You actually used a monster with 0 attack power to attack a monster with 1300 attack power on my field? Are you trying to commit suicide?"

Even Angolan Manuel was shocked by his choice and momentarily forgot to continue using his strange theatrical tone.

However, Yudou simply shook his head with a wry smile.

"Suicide? Impossible! The only thing that will perish is your monster!"

"I discard [Elemental Hero: Sincere Neos] from my hand! Increase [Masked Hero: Acidic Water]'s attack power by 2500 points!"

A massive phantom of wings appeared behind [Masked Hero Acid], who was charging towards the Dark Knight Demon. With a slight flap, it propelled him into the air. Then, countless streams of water surged out of thin air, enveloping his entire body and kicking him towards the Dark Knight Demon.

【Masked Hero Acid Water】

[Attack power: 0→2500]

The two exchanged blows for only a moment, and in the blink of an eye, the Dark Knight was kicked through the body by the Acid Knight.

[Angola Mainyu LP: 4000 → 2800]

Even the aftershocks shattered a small portion of Angolan Manuel's body, which was made of black mud, causing him to groan softly.

"Activate the effect of Dark Knight Demon sent to the Graveyard! If this face-up card Special Summoned leaves the field due to your opponent, I can target 1 Fiend/Warrior monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon that monster in Defense Position!"

"I hereby Special Summon [Elemental HERO Winged Knight] in Defense Position!"

"I'll set another card down, and that's the end of the turn."

Like Angolan Mainyu, Yuto also chose to set a card face-down before ending his turn.

【Masked Hero Acid Water】

Attack Power: 2500→5100→2600

"...My turn, draw a card!"

"Heh, you actually managed to hurt me and take down my Dark Knight. Not bad!"

After replenishing his body with the endless sea of ​​black mud beneath his feet, Angolan Manuel revealed a sinister smirk.

"But do you think that just because the monsters on the field have regained their original attack power, they can block my next attack?"

"That is impossible!"

"I activate the monster effect of the Wraith Corpse Demon in my graveyard! Banish this card and Special Summon [Evil Hero Evil Blade Demon] from my Deck!"

[Evil Hero Evil Blade Demon]

【7 stars】

[Demon Race/Earth]

[Attack power: 2600]

[Defense: 1800]

"Then I cast the Normal Spell [Dark Contact] from my hand!"

"This card allows you to return monsters from my field, graveyard, or banished state to your Deck as Fusion Material, and to Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster that can only be Special Summoned by the effect of 'Dark Fusion' as a 'Dark Fusion' Fusion Summon."

The familiar black vortex reappeared, and the dark light made Angolan Manu's face, covered in hieroglyphs, appear even more eerie.

"I want to fuse the [Evil Hero Evil Blade Demon] on the field with the [Evil Hero Dark Knight] in the graveyard!"

"The fusion requirements are [Evil Hero Demon Blade] + a 6-star or higher Demon-type monster!"