"...Hmph! So what if it was negated? Don't forget, you've got no monsters on your field right now, and only a single face-up Continuous Trap—'Dimensional Gate'—remaining in your back row. Not to mention, your Life Points aren't even in the four digits anymore. You're like a candle flickering in the wind!"
"So tell me, just what do you plan to use to turn this duel around?!"
Manjoume spoke with a look of envy and jealousy, spouting a classic "how can you lose with a dragon on your face" kind of flag. In response, Yuya said nothing, only pulling his cap brim down in silence.
"Tch! I set one card and end my turn!"
Seeing that Yuya didn't respond, Manjoume clicked his tongue in irritation, set a card, and ended his turn, bringing his back row to a total of three cards.
"My turn. Draw!"
After drawing his card, Yuya glanced at it, then immediately slid it into his Duel Disk's Spell/Trap slot and activated:
"Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'—I draw two cards from my deck… Next, I play the Spell Card 'Ace's Holy Grail'. If the coin I flip lands heads, I draw two cards; if tails, my opponent draws two cards."
With a crisp ding~, the coin projected in midair by the hologram flipped and landed—on heads.
"Heads. I draw two cards… Then I set one card face-down. After that, I activate the Spell Card 'Heavy Storm'! It destroys all Spell and Trap Cards on my field, and then I can destroy the same number of cards on your back row!"
Just after setting a back row card, Yuya immediately activated "Heavy Storm," a Spell Card that would destroy all of his back row.
"Chain to 'Heavy Storm'—I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Level Modulation'! It increases the level of my 'Dragon Cannon of Destruction' by 1."
Because Quick-Play Spells can't be activated the same turn they're set, Yuya deliberately chose to put the card before activating Heavy Storm. Then, by chaining and activating the Quick-Play Spell from his hand during the resolution of Heavy Storm, even if its effect resolves early, the card won't be sent to the Graveyard until the entire chain resolves. This lets him increase the monster's level and maximize the destruction of Manjoume's back row!
"Then I chain and activate 'Return from the Different Dimension'! I pay half of my Life Points to Special Summon as many monsters as possible from my banished zone!"
(Manjoume: 2000 LP → 1000 LP)
Seeing Yuya activate "Heavy Storm" and chain "Level Modulation," Manjoume quickly slashed his Life Points in half to revive four monsters from his banished zone.
Appearing one after another were: 'X-Head Cannon', 'VW-Tiger Catapult', 'V-Tiger Jet', and 'W-Wing Catapult'—all brought back to the field. Yuya then selected and destroyed all of Manjoume's face-down back-row cards.
Among them were Trap Cards: 'Mirror Force' and 'Sakuretsu Armor', which Yuya glimpsed just before they were destroyed.
Even though Manjoume had practically seized complete control of the duel at that point, he still cautiously set two powerful battle traps… just in case.
"The destroyed Continuous Trap 'Dimensional Gate' also has another effect. When it's sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon the monster it had banished."
The shimmering gate of dimensional energy opened once more, and Clayman, who had escaped the cannon fire of the Dragon Cannon, took several heavy steps through the gate, returning to the field under Yuya—his rightful master.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I fuse the 'Elemental HERO Clayman' on the field with the last card in my hand—'Elemental HERO Sparkman'!"
Clayman and Sparkman—one known for having the highest DEF among the four basic HERO monsters, and the other for having the highest ATK.
"Clayman and Sparkman are fusing… Don't tell me—it's Thunder Giant?!"
Junko, one of Asuka's friends, instantly recognized the fusion materials Yuya was using and was reminded of a certain night a month ago…
"…But so what if he successfully summoned it?!"
"Even setting aside the fact that Fusion HERO's power doesn't come close to Manjoume's fusion monster 'VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon', that guy—what was his name, Shin Yuya?—doesn't even have any cards in his hand to pay the cost for activating its effect! And on top of that, the effect only destroys monsters with lower original ATK than itself, so Dragon Catapult Cannon isn't even a valid target!"
Yuya's other friend, Momoe, offered her analysis, which was logical and well-reasoned. But even she found herself puzzled by the end.
She knew Yuya wouldn't overlook something so basic. So why had he fused these two HERO monsters?
Unless… he was summoning some Fusion HERO they didn't know about?
"Earth, Fire, Wind, and Thunder—combine into a transcendent hero! Fusion Summon—Elemental HERO Grandman!"
Even though only two HERO monsters were used in the fusion, this brand-new HERO's appearance included features of all the "Four Useless Heroes":
Wingman's wings
Burstinatrix's flame-patterned armor
Clayman's earth-toned shoulder and gauntlets
And finally, Sparkman, the "big brother," formed the base of the whole figure.
"W-What is that HERO? I've never seen it before!"
"Is there even a HERO fusion monster like that in the Elemental HERO lineup?"
"If you look closely, you'll see that this new Fusion HERO's appearance is entirely made up of the 'Four Useless Heroes'."
"SUGOI! Who would've thought those four trash HEROes could fuse into something this cool?! I've decided—from now on, I won't call them trash HEROes anymore, but the Fantastic Four!"
"..."
The brand-new monster "Elemental HERO Grandman," born from the fusion of four Normal HERO monsters, stunned everyone present.
Boys and girls alike were captivated by the sheer coolness radiating from Grandman's form.
A HERO monster—looking this cool?! OMG, WSL! (Note: exaggerated slang, like "Wow So Legendary")
But the moment Yuya began to explain Grandman's effect, the entire crowd gasped in unison, as if they were about to raise the global temperature with their collective exhale!
"Grandman's ATK and DEF depend on the combined Levels of the two Normal HERO monsters used as Fusion Material. For each Level they have in total, Grandman gains 300 ATK and DEF!"
Clayman and Sparkman are both Normal monsters, and their Levels total 8—so Grandma's final stat is:
(Elemental HERO Grandman, Level 6, ATK/DEF: 0 → 2400)
"Grandma attacks! Target: V-Tiger Jet—Elemental Burst Cannon!"
A multi-attribute energy beam blast fired from Grandman, instantly obliterating the 1800 DEF V-Tiger Jet and sending it to the Graveyard as molten scrap.
"At this moment, Grandman's second effect activates! When he destroys an opponent's monster by battle, I can Tribute him to Special Summon an 'Elemental HERO' Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, ignoring the summoning conditions!"
"Come forth—scatter the darkness and shine with light, the skyscraper HERO—Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman!!"
Blinding light instantly filled the entire arena. As everyone's vision gradually returned to normal, a new HERO slowly emerged from the light, as radiant as the sun itself.
The high-level fusion HERO combines the strengths of the Four Heroes:
Big bro Sparkman, and the workhorse couple—Avian and Burstinatrix—
This was Shining Flare Wingman!
"Tch—this Grandman guy is insane! As long as he destroys an opponent's monster in battle, he can tribute himself to summon any Elemental HERO fusion monster, no conditions needed!"
"Seriously, who even is this red-hatted dude?! First, he's pulling off Counter Traps from his hand, and now he's got this cool and insanely powerful Grandman! I'm dying of jealousy over here!"
"..."
Utter chaos.
That was the only way to describe the state of the students and teachers witnessing the duel.
"So cool!! I want that kind of HERO too!!"
Recalling the image of Grandman, Judai's eyes sparkled with stars as he mumbled to himself in awe.
That noble figure, that power—it was even more overwhelming than Flame Wingman!