As Shining Flare Wingman drew in his radiance, suppressing the energy surging from his body and returning to a stable state, You Ye continued explaining the special summon effect of Grandmerge:
"Grandmerge can tribute itself to special summon one 'Elemental HERO' Fusion Monster by ignoring its summoning conditions. It's a powerful effect, no doubt! However, it also comes with a downside."
"What kind of downside?"
Judai, passionate as ever about HERO cards, asked aloud.
Barely glancing over his shoulder at Judai before turning back to the field, You Ye replied:
"That Fusion Monster special summoned by Grandmerge can only attack face-down monsters or face-up monsters with a Level higher than its own!"
"So that means the Shining Flare Wingman you just summoned can only attack monsters from Level 9 to Level 12... or face-down monsters?"
"Exactly."
You Ye nodded again in response. Across the field, Manjoume let out a relieved breath after hearing the entire effect.
The four monsters currently on his field — Boss Cannon, Striking Tiger, Catapult Wings, and VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon — all fell outside that attack range. Even the highest-level one, VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, was exactly Level 8, the same as Shining Flare Wingman.
…Wait a minute! I forgot something important!
"Looks like you just remembered, didn't you, Manjoume?"
Watching Manjoume's changing expression, You Ye said teasingly.
"When I activated Storm earlier, I chained Level Conversion! This means your VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, the highest-level monster on your field, isn't Level 8 anymore—it's now Level 9! Which fits perfectly into the attack criteria for the Shining Flare Wingman summoned by Grandmerge!"
Because of Grandmerge's "restriction," the Shining Flare Wingman's field of attack was mostly obscured—except for the Level 9 Dragon Catapult Cannon, whose presence was now crystal clear in his sights. That made the target for attack unmistakable.
"Attack VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, Shining Flare Wingman!"
Hearing You Ye's command, Manjoume stubbornly made one final protest:
"Even if it fits the attack condition, so what? Don't forget that monster's strength—its ATK is 3000! That's on par with the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Shining Flare Wingman had 2500 ATK, while Dragon Catapult Cannon had 3000. With no cards left in hand, You Ye had no means to increase his ATK during the Battle Phase. If the attack went through and the system resolved the battle, the 500-point backlash would wipe out his remaining 500 Life Points completely!
"A hero born of the fusion of three others isn't that easy to defeat!"
Three heroic spirits appeared beside You Ye—Clayman, Sparkman, and Grandmerge, the very three used as Fusion Materials or contributed to the summoning of Shining Flare Wingman.
"For every 'Elemental HERO' in my graveyard, Shining Flare Wingman gains 300 ATK!"
"Nani?!!"
With three HERO monsters in the Graveyard, his ATK rose by 900, instantly overtaking Dragon Catapult Cannon and reaching 3400!
"Also, as the evolved form of Flame Wingman, Shining Flare Wingman naturally inherits a similar special ability! When it destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, it deals damage to the opponent equal to that monster's ATK!"
Manjoume's Life Points were only 1000 — just double You Ye's — far from enough to survive that damage.
And so, amid Manjoume's desperate cries of "Yamero! Yamete Kure!!" (Stop! Please stop!!), the sun-like burst of Shining energy engulfed him, destroying his strongest monster and reducing his Life Points to zero at the same time.
The winner: Shin You Ye!
———Scene Break———
As Manjoume fainted and was carried away by his two lackeys, You Ye was just about to step off the stage and return to the stands to continue spectating in peace when suddenly, a loud, energetic voice called out from behind:
"Hey~! Um, you're the one called 'Shin You Ye,' right? Would you duel with me? If possible, I'd like to make it my Monthly Practical Exam Duel too!"
"..."
You, Ye, retracted the foot he was about to step forward with and slowly turned around. What he saw was Judai, eyes sparkling like stars and face full of anticipation, practically screaming "Please say yes!" without actually saying the words.
"...Sorry. I won't accept this duel."
"Eh~? Why not? If it's because you're tired from the last duel, I can wait!"
Judai waved his hand casually as he spoke. He didn't mind even if he had to wait until all the other students finished their monthly practical exams—as long as You Ye would agree to duel with him.
"It's not that I'm tired."
"Then…"
"It's mainly because... as you are now, you're not qualified to be my opponent in a duel."
"...Eh?"
The moment those words were spoken, the entire gymnasium fell completely silent.
"...Excuse me, but what do you mean by that?"
Judai doubted what he'd just heard, but the words You Ye said next left no room for misunderstanding.
"Yuki Judai, even though you defeated Professor Chronos during the entrance practical exam a month ago… in my opinion, it wasn't so much your skill that earned you the victory, but your luck."
"Luck may help you once—but it won't help you forever. Even if your luck is as overwhelming as people say, I still won't duel you!"
"If your opponent isn't someone with terrible luck and stronger raw ability than you, then the one who'll lose… will be you, Yuki Judai!"
For the first time, You Ye raised his head and looked Judai directly in the eyes as he laid out the reasons for his refusal, clearly and bluntly.
After observing Judai for a month, You Ye had come to understand him more deeply.
Yuki Judai did have dueling ability—but only to an extent. In every one of his duels so far, his Life Points had been reduced to a flicker, and in situations where his field state and available resources were completely against him, he always drew the one card that turned everything around.
Extraordinary luck is important for a Duelist—but raw strength, or "hard power," is also essential for being a truly strong Duelist. And Judai, right now, only had the first. His actual skills were just barely passing.
He didn't pay attention in class and slept through lectures. His deck construction was a random mix based solely on personal preference. And during duels, he didn't fight with the mindset of "If we're going to duel, then I'll respond to my opponent with all I've got!"
You could say that right now, Judai was still just a kid who liked to duel—not a strong and qualified Duelist. And that's why You Ye had no intention of accepting his challenge.
After all, he didn't want to—
—make him cry!
Looking at Judai, who remained silent and unsure how to react to what he'd just heard, You Ye gave it a moment's thought, then added:
"It's not that I absolutely won't duel you. But if we do duel, you'd better be mentally prepared. If you end up crying from the outcome, don't blame me."
"No problem!"
Judai instantly swept away the negative feelings and responded with a smile. He grabbed his deck and duel disk, then leaped down from the audience stands straight onto the stage, not bothering with the stairs.
'This guy… is seriously such an optimist!'
Watching Judai leap down to the stage with a grin on his face, You Ye felt a deep, wordless sense of exasperation.
"Hero vs Hero! Now that's an exciting duel!"
Judai's voice rang out passionately, and the surrounding students suddenly remembered—Yuki Judai, the guy from Osiris Red, just like this red-capped You Ye, was also a Duelist who used the "Elemental HERO" series of cards.
Hero vs Hero… huh? Looks like this is going to be an interesting duel!
Nearly everyone conveniently ignored the fact that You Ye had just said Judai wasn't even close to his level. In their eyes, unless they fought, there was no way they'd believe that Judai—who had defeated Professor Chronos—was weaker than Manjoume, who hadn't lasted even a few turns against You Ye.
"Are you ready? (To accept the inevitable defeat?)"
"Yeah!"
Seeing Judai's cheerful face, You Ye didn't waste any more words. He once again activated his duel disk.
"Duel!"
Sakaki You Ye: 4000 LP
Yuki Judai: 4000 LP