Yugioh [624-629] (Patreon)

Chapter 624: Welcome to the Pirate Ship

The Atmosphere—one of the only three Sphere monsters ever turned into real cards, and the one that received the most significant boost during the process.

In the original manga, The Atmosphere required three tributes to summon. Unlike Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, which could be Special Summoned, this card needed three tributes for a normal summon—just like the Egyptian Gods. It was quite a hassle.

But once turned into a real card, the summoning requirements were greatly simplified. This card no longer needed three tributes for a normal summon, nor could it be normally summoned at all. Instead, it could only be Special Summoned by banishing two monsters from the field and one from the graveyard.

This made it much easier to meet the summoning conditions, although the resource cost was actually higher since it required banishing rather than tributing.

The original manga effect let The Atmosphere absorb an opponent's monster and gain its ATK/DEF upon summon.

The real card not only retained this effect but upgraded it to "once per turn," meaning it wasn't just a one-off effect anymore but could be reused each turn.

From both the summoning requirement and the actual effect, it was a significant buff—the card felt much better to use than the original.

At this moment, the Society of Light's Frost had the honor of being the first duelist to personally experience this buffed version of The Atmosphere.

But after being hit by the double attack of two Sphere Monster, Frost, having experienced a crisis of faith, actually started to envy Thunder, who got knocked out before him.

He envied how quickly Thunder was defeated—he didn't have to endure the same humiliation.

"Why did the Society of Light target me?"

Kira now stood before Frost. Frost struggled to look up, feeling only that the person before him, standing tall in the dark pipe, looked ominous and sinister under the tunnel's ceiling lights.

"Cough...cough..."

He coughed twice and looked at Kira gloomily.

"Revolver, your good days... cough... are about to end."

"Huh?" Kira raised an eyebrow.

Hearing this from a guy hanging on by a thread had little intimidation value. Rather than a threat, it sounded more like stubborn posturing.

But Frost said no more, simply giving a couple of dry laughs.

"Be prepared, Revolver," Frost said. "Your fate is now intertwined with the Society's."

"And those who stand in the way of the Society's future have only one end—destruction."

"Society of Light, huh?" Kira replied.

"Hahaha, that's right... the fate of light is like... Cough... like an unstoppable chariot, crushing all in its path."

He forced the words out.

"You may have defeated me, but don't get cocky. After the Society's baptism, for us, so-called 'death' is just becoming light itself.

And you... Cough..."

He squinted at Kira.

"You are the darkness that must be defeated. Light will ultimately... prevail..."

With those words, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

For a moment, Kira seemed to see a wave of light released from Frost's body, dispersing as a cloud of glowing particles down the long underground passage.

Kira could tell—he did not collapse because of a Shadow Game, but because of the light just released. That fragment of light had given these Society generals extraordinary powers, but also served as a tool for surveillance and control.

Once defeated, the light fragment would evaporate and dissipate. The member would return to being a normal person, losing the baptism of light and all key memories.

"An interesting insurance policy... But all this talk of light and darkness is a bit much."

Kira frowned.

"Why do they act like they're warriors of light and I'm the dark overlord?"

Today, the Silent Magician in her JK outfit stood quietly beside him, gazing at him wordlessly.

Kira glanced sideways: "Are you saying I am?"

The Silent Magician shrugged innocently, as if to say, "I never said that."

But suddenly, a sly smile appeared on her icy face.

Kira: "..."

Fine, let me be the Demon King then. After all, that's been his character setting all along.

Besides, in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, darkness doesn't mean evil.

The setting here is quite the opposite of tradition.

The lore says that the forces of light and darkness have been at war since the dawn of the universe. In most stories, light is associated with justice and darkness with evil—but here, it's the other way around.

Light represents the light of destruction, seeking to swallow all things and turn the once-dark universe into a blank, empty void—leaving nothing behind.

Darkness, on the other hand, stands for all things in the existing universe. The waves of darkness gave birth to the power that opposes the light of destruction. So here, darkness stands for justice and order, representing all things opposed to the Light of Destruction.

Even Pharaoh Atem, called the Dark King, is on the side of justice in the story.

Of course, the Great Evil God Zorc, as the embodiment of darkness, is on the opposite side. Good and evil can't simply be divided by light and dark—it's more about one's actions.

With Frost and Thunder dealt with, Kira picked up his new deck—including the two Monarch cards belonging to Thunder Monarch and Frost Monarch.

Just by holding them, Kira could feel the energy of the spirits bound within gradually dissipating.

It seemed the light's influence wasn't limited to duelists. The two Monarch spirits had also been tainted. That power made them stronger, but also clouded their minds and bound their freedom.

Now, as the light faded, the two Monarch were finally freed.

Naturally, the job of welcoming the newcomers fell to Caius. The Shadow Monarch quickly led the welcome, explaining the benefits of their organization.

Basically, ever since they started following Kira, they've been undefeated, sweeping all opposition. For a spirit, finding such a master was truly the luck of a lifetime.

Though he was originally captured by accident, looking back now, Caius felt that getting caught was the greatest opportunity of his life.

Just as he was bragging and the two newcomers were getting excited, a certain android chimed in:

"Undefeated, sure, but you've only been in a few fights yourself. Most of the time, you're just cheering from the sidelines."

At that, Caius exploded: "You bald cyborg, looking for a fight!?"

Jinzo was unfazed: "Bring it on!"

Everyone had a 2400 ATK stat—who's afraid of who?

The two new Monarch just looked at each other.

What a harmonious and friendly team atmosphere.

But then again...

Did they really board the right pirate ship?

Chapter 625: Do Aliens Duel Too?

Society of Light Headquarters.

"Defeated?"

Sartorius, as usual, sat in the dazzlingly bright hall, fiddling with tarot cards, but for once, a frown creased his brow.

In front of him was a computer, connected by remote communication. On the other end was his sister, Sarina.

"Yes," Sarina said calmly.

"I sent both Thunder and Frost. From what I gather, the two of them fought against one opponent, but still lost.

Both have been defeated, and their Monarch cards are missing—presumably seized by the enemy."

Sartorius's frown deepened, and he was silent for a moment.

"Brother," Sarina said evenly.

"Your prophecy..."

"Just a small hiccup, nothing worth worrying about," Sartorius cut her off brusquely.

But soon his expression returned to its usual calm.

"Like I said before, Revolver is just a minor character. He doesn't affect the Society's plans much. Let's revisit this later."

"...Yes, Brother."

Sarina fell silent.

But what she didn't say was this:

A hiccup?

Her brother's prophecies had always been perfect, never missing once—when had there ever been a "small hiccup"?

 Thunder and Frost were elite, but from Sartorius's perspective, they were still small fry. Their defeat itself proved nothing, nor did it prove their opponent was strong enough to trouble Sartorius.

But what was truly worrying was that the prophecy failed.

Revolver had not been defeated as predicted.

"Let's put this aside. Revolver can be dealt with later. More importantly..."

Sartorius flipped over a tarot card, narrowed his eyes, and said gloomily:

"Our real enemy is about to arrive."

…

A shooting star tore through the sky, splitting the night with a blazing tail.

The mountains and forests beneath were lit up by the intense light, trees standing out sharply in the glare. The air rumbled, first like distant thunder, then like the stampede of a thousand horses.

The animals in the forest scattered in panic. The light in the sky collided with the darkness below. A meteor, wreathed in flames, swept through the forest, sending dust and rocks flying in a towering plume.

A massive sphere of light flickered in the crater left behind, faint golden light illuminating the swirling dust.

Some time later, searchlights swept through the forest.

Planes marked with the KC logo landed one after another. Staff set up cordons, locked down the area, and built a camp.

Mokuba himself arrived at the camp in a hazmat suit, listening to experts explain the meteorite that had fallen from the sky.

"A miracle! This is a miracle from the heavens!"

The expert pointed excitedly at the complex readouts on the monitor.

"A powerful life force—there's no doubt this meteorite is alive! We just haven't found the right way to observe or interact with it."

They're still running safety tests—no one dares approach. After all, it could carry unknown viruses, dangerous cosmic radiation, or be dangerous in itself.

"But look here—this reading is unmistakable! It's the energy of a Duel Monster spirit!"

Mokuba looked at him in surprise.

"Are you saying there's a Duel Monster spirit inside the meteorite?"

"I think so."

"A spirit from the sky?"

"Most likely."

"An alien?"

Mokuba scratched his head.

By now, KaibaCorp had been developing Duel Monsters for over ten years. If he's learned anything, it's that anything can be a card.

That's not an exaggeration. The deeper their research, the more they realized cards are the core of the world. First, ancient monsters were sealed into cards, then fire, ice, storms, lightning, even cities and islands...

But aliens?

That was a new record.

Could it be, even aliens play Duel Monsters?

Mokuba couldn't help but imagine an ET-like alien wearing a duel disk and shouting "It's my turn, I draw!" in some alien language. The thought was... oddly cute.

"This will be another earth-shattering breakthrough!" the researcher said excitedly. "If we can communicate with aliens and turn that into Duel Monster power..."

"Yeah, that is pretty tempting," Mokuba said, putting down the equipment thoughtfully.

"Contact the Duel King."

He figured the Duel King wasn't just a duelist—though he wasn't the best at the actual card-making, when it came to creative R&D, no one in the world could match him.

Making cards from alien power was a whole new field. Maybe Kira would have some unique ideas. Even if not, it was too interesting not to share.

…

Mokuba's decision was the right one. Kira did have a clue as to what was going on.

He only had to hear a bit over the phone before guessing the truth.

After hanging up, Kira went to the Slifer Red dorm, found Jaden fishing by the shore, and, without explanation, dragged him onto a plane straight for Mokuba's camp.

In GX's second year, the alien from space descended a bit earlier than in the original, but Kira was pretty sure what it was.

It was the Elemental HERO Neos from space, chasing down the Light of Destruction with the power of darkness.

Years ago, KaibaCorp held a contest to design new cards inspired by cosmic rays, inviting kids to submit ideas.

Young Jaden entered, designing a card based on his favorite TV hero. The card absorbed cosmic power and, years later, returned from space with new strength, bringing new alien friends.

That's why he was called the Elemental HERO Neos.

Of course, Kira was only guessing. He couldn't be sure until he saw it himself.

But his suspicion would soon be confirmed.

Within a minute of the two arriving at the camp, the researchers started shouting:

"Target is emitting intense energy waves!"

Someone shouted.

"It's like it's about to wake up!"

Chapter 626: Invader

Jaden approached the crater, hesitated for a moment, then walked slowly forward.

"Wait!"

A researcher tried to stop him.

"We don't know what it is—it's dangerous—"

But Kira gestured for the researcher to stop. The researcher looked at him in surprise.

Mokuba asked, "Are you sure this is safe? I mean, it's from space, and we don't know—"

"It's fine," Kira nodded. "I know what I'm doing."

If he had any doubts before, now he was certain.

This sphere of light from the sky was coming for Jaden.

It was the very card Jaden had designed as a child and sent into space with KaibaCorp's rocket, now returned with new power and new cosmic companions.

Neos and the Neo-Spacians were not just aliens, but Duel Monster spirits with extraordinary powers.

In the anime, Jaden met them later. At that time, Sartorius had empowered Aster Phoenix's deck with the Light of Destruction and used it to influence Jaden, causing Jaden to lose his ability to see spirits and even the images on his cards.

To Jaden, every card became a blank slate. No doctor could explain it—only "psychological reasons." He couldn't even read the cards and was told he might never duel again.

That was when the Neo-Spacians appeared. The aliens infused his deck with new power, cleansing the Light of Destruction from his mind and giving him a second chance.

Jaden took a deep breath and reached out to touch the glowing red sphere.

The sphere reacted instantly. Brilliant light erupted, wrapping him in an irresistible pull.

Everyone saw a flash of light—so bright they couldn't see anything. Instinctively, they closed their eyes. When they opened them again, Jaden was gone.

"Where did he go?"

"Check the cameras!"

Mokuba looked at Kira in shock. "Is Jaden really going to be okay?"

"Relax, he'll be fine," Kira waved.

"Jaden, Jaden Yuki."

A voice echoed in a space filled with light.

Jaden shook his dizzy head and looked around in confusion.

"Who?"

"Who's speaking?"

"It's me, your friend from the stars."

"Friend? From the stars?"

Jaden blinked in confusion.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the light. He saw particles of light gathering, forming the shape of a person.

A streamlined silver body, a blue crystal on the chest, arms folded, shrouded in golden light, looking at Jaden...

"Whoa, Ultraman has appeared!"

Jaden exclaimed in awe.

"No, I'm your own Elemental HERO from the stars," the light said. "Years ago, I took your dueling passion and hopes for the future into space.

Now, the Earth faces invasion from evil cosmic beings. So I've returned. We'll fight together—"

Jaden's pupils shrank as memories of his childhood flashed through his mind—how he'd joined KaibaCorp's project, how he'd designed his greatest hero...

"Ah, it's you!"

Jaden blurted out.

"Yes. We don't have much time—the invaders are almost here. Now is when your power is needed most, Jaden!"

As it spoke, the silver figure dissipated, becoming countless light particles that gathered before Jaden, finally forming a shining golden card.

Jaden slowly reached out and took the card.

The card burst forth with brilliant golden light, engulfing him and the entire space.

"Unidentified flying object breaking through the atmosphere, coming in fast—"

Someone at the KaibaCorp camp shouted.

"It's heading right for us!"

Everyone saw it.

A massive disc, a mechanical craft unlike anything on Earth, spun down and hovered in midair.

A beam of light shot from beneath the disc. A figure—no, a monstrous being with mechanical tentacles, half-machine, half-organic—descended in the beam.

"An alien!"

The researchers were stunned.

This time, a real, live alien!

The alien tilted its head. Its mechanical eyes flickered, then calmed. It looked up.

"Language analysis complete.

Commencing operation: destruction. Purify this filthy world with the light."

It unlocked something on its arm—a device that transformed and assembled itself.

It looked just like a duel disk.

Mokuba looked conflicted.

"Even alien invasions happen through dueling?"

He looked at Kira.

"What do you think?"

Kira shook his head: "Not today. I won't steal this duel from him."

"Huh?"

"This is Jaden's job," Kira smiled. "Let's just watch."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished, the crater erupted in light, shooting up and landing before the alien.

Jaden reappeared in the light.

"So, you're the Light of Destruction? I'll be your opponent!"

The alien scanned him, as if running diagnostics.

Then it spoke.

"Darkness detected. Primary target locked.

Commencing operation: purging by duel."

"Bring it on!"

Jaden shouted.

"Duel!" x2

[Jaden, LP 4000]

[Alien, LP 4000]

"I'll go first," the alien said coldly.

"I discard two cards from my hand—"

Using its long mechanical arm, it sent two cards to the graveyard.

"Embodiment of purifying light—

Level 12, Candelato, the Beast of Light!"

A dazzling beam shot into the sky as a two-headed dragon appeared, lightning swirling in its chest core, electric arcs dancing in its mouths—its heads resembled Slifer the Sky Dragon.

[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 0]

"A Level 12 monster with 0 attack!?" Jaden was shocked. "And its attack is zero?"

A Level 12 with 0 ATK—usually a sign of something tricky.

"And, when Candelato is summoned, one of the discarded cards was the Spell 'Compensation Draw.'

Sent from hand to grave, it lets me draw two cards."

The alien drew two more cards.

"Candelato's ATK and DEF become my hand size x 1000!"

Chapter 627: Sky Dragon's Relative?

Mokuba: "..."

From the moment he saw the design of this dragon, he'd been wondering—does this thing have some family connection to Slifer Red? That head looks like it could be the same species.

And now, hearing the opponent say that this dragon's attack is "number of cards in hand x 1000"...

Hmm, must be a coincidence, definitely a coincidence.

Just like how the Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, also has an Slifer Red-like face and attack power calculated based on traps in the graveyard x 1000—surely, all just coincidences.

Candelato, the Beast of Light, this thing is also a card exclusive to the anime's Light of Destruction, and never got a physical card. Of course, unlike those old overpowered cards that couldn't be printed due to their brokenness, this one probably was just forgotten.

You have to discard two cards to summon it—in other words, you're spending three cards to get it on the field.

So, a big monster that costs three cards to summon should be really strong, right?

But actually, it's not. Its only positive effect is cosplaying as Slifer Red the Sky Dragon, making its attack "number of cards in hand x 1000." But does it have a hard, dominating ability like Raigeki? Sorry, nope.

Instead, it has a severe downside: "As long as this card is on your field, you skip your draw phase."

Oh, and by the way, it can't attack the turn it's summoned.

So as a three-for-one big monster, its only use is for attack points, but it can't even attack the turn it comes out. And then it skips your own draw phase. With such a heavy drawback, its tiny positive effect is basically negligible.

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" said the alien.

"With your cards set, your hand size decreases, and so does your monster's attack!" Jaden said.

[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 5000 → ATK 3000]

"Even so, that's still Blue-Eyes White Dragon level attack." Mokuba commented, "Not that easy to deal with."

"My turn, draw."

Jaden drew a card, narrowed his eyes, and thought for a moment.

"I set a monster in face-down defense position, then set two more cards. Turn end."

"Jaden also started with such a defensive play?"

Mokuba was a bit surprised. He remembered Jaden as a hot-blooded, aggressive duelist when they first met.

Seems like his style has changed. He wondered who Jaden had learned from.

Thinking of this, Mokuba couldn't help secretly glancing at a certain someone next to him.

"At your end phase, I activate a set card," said the alien. "Trap Card 'Reckless Greed'! Draw two cards from the deck, but skip my next two draw phases!"

The alien drew two cards from their deck.

"My turn." The alien continued. "Of course, because of Reckless Greed, I can't draw.

But with Candelato, the Beast of Light on the field, I wouldn't be able to draw anyway. So I just skip directly to the standby phase."

"Must skip the draw phase?" Even Jaden was surprised. "Such a huge drawback for a monster?"

Even Mokuba was pondering: "True. You get a twelve-star, instant high-attack suppressor, but the price is huge. If you can't draw as long as it's on the field..."

Kira mused: "So if I can strip the opponent's hand bare at the start, then somehow force this thing onto their field, wouldn't they become 'the living dead'?"

Mokuba: "..."

He glanced at Kira, speechless for a while.

Well... What can you say?

This is Kira for you—his logic is just different from us normal folks.

If Kira really developed such a strategy, Mokuba tried to imagine it from the opponent's viewpoint and just picturing it made his blood pressure spike.

"Candelato, the Beast of Light's attack changes with hand size. After drawing for Reckless Greed, my hand is back to five, so Candelato's attack returns to 5000!"

[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 5000]

"Five thousand attack..." Jaden murmured.

"Go, Candelato, the Beast of Light!" the alien commanded. "Crush the wall monster!"

Candelato's two mouths opened wide, and lightning surged forth. Jaden's face-down monster flipped over—it was a small Dandylion.

[Dandylion, DEF 300]

Yep, Jaden calmly pulled out another card that's now banned.

Dandylion had already been limited in the GX era, and as the meta sped up, it bounced back and forth between limited and forbidden—a true legend.

And in the original, it was Jaden's card, gained after receiving Neo-Spacian power.

"Dandylion is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, so I Special Summon two 'Fluff Tokens'!" Jaden said. "Also, at this moment, I activate another face-down card.

Trap Card, 'Michizure'!

When a monster is destroyed by battle and sent to your graveyard, or another monster on your field is sent to your graveyard, you can destroy any monster on the field!"

Jaden pointed at the alien's Beast of Light.

"Destroy Candelato, the Beast of Light!"

It was obvious by now—this dragon was the opponent's ace, probably their deck's key card. And since they'd already played Reckless Greed, even if Candelato left the field, they wouldn't have a draw phase next turn anyway.

Getting rid of Candelato would make it hard for the opponent to rebuild.

"Not that easy." The alien replied coldly. "Counter Trap, 'Wiretap'! When a trap is activated, negate it and return it to its owner's deck!"

A golden shield enveloped Candelato, blocking Michizure's energy blast.

"Your trap is returned!"

"Then Counter Trap, 'Counter Counter'!" Jaden declared. "Negate and destroy the Counter Trap!"

The alien: "!"

This human even had another trick up his sleeve...

"So Wiretap is negated by Counter Counter, and Michizure's effect resolves." Jaden continued. "Candelato, the Beast of Light, destroyed!"

The trap shield on Candelato shattered like glass. A beam pierced through its body, its core shining with blinding light as its whole form melted away.

"Great! The twelve-star monster is taken down!"

Jaden was delighted.

"Then, Dandylion's effect: Special Summon two 'Fluff Tokens'!"

[Fluff Token, DEF 0]x2

Chapter 628: Some People Are Alive But Already Dead

"Sly Earthling."

The alien seemed a bit annoyed, grunting heavily.

"But the Beast of Light isn't so easily defeated!

Activate Spell Card 'Monster Reborn'! Revive a monster destroyed this turn.

Return to the field, Candelato, the Beast of Light!"

A deafening roar and blinding light. The twin-headed dragon spun back into form amidst the thunder.

[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 4000]

"This Beast of Light is the embodiment of the great Light's purifying force—the universe's purest power of destruction!" the alien proclaimed arrogantly. "It won't be beaten by a mere Earth insect!"

"Is that so? Then I'll have to step it up too."

Jaden rubbed his nose and grinned.

"Let me show you the power of my cosmic partners and brand-new heroes this turn!"

That made Mokuba's eyes light up.

"Is Jaden going to use the alien's power too?"

Kira only smiled: "Just watch."

"My turn, draw!" Jaden said. "Activate Continuous Spell 'Precious Cards from Beyond'. When I tribute two or more monsters for an Advanced Summon, I can draw two cards."

He gestured to his Fluff Tokens.

"Tribute both Fluff Tokens!

Appear, the miracle Elemental HERO who has accepted the righteous waves of darkness, coming from the distant Neo Space—

—Elemental HERO Neos!"

The two tokens vanished into light. The sky was filled with stars, the galaxy splitting the heavens. A sphere of light fell like a meteor, crashing onto Jaden's field.

Elemental HERO Neos, summoned!

[Elemental HERO Neos, ATK 2500]

Dandylion, despite being a frequent banlist guest, is actually somewhat weaker in the real card version. In the anime, tokens could always be used as tribute, but in the card game, the turn you summon tokens you can't tribute them.

But in this scene, Jaden's tokens were summoned last turn, so even by real card rules, it's legal.

"Precious Cards from Beyond: draw two cards!"

Jaden drew.

"Next, activate Spell 'Magic Planter', send 'Precious Cards from Beyond' to the grave to draw two more cards."

"Then activate Continuous Spell 'Common Soul'! Select a monster on the field, then Special Summon a 'Neo-Spacian' from my hand. The chosen monster gains ATK equal to that Neo-Spacian's ATK.

I'll summon my new partner—

—Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!"

[Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, ATK 600]

The moment Aqua Dolphin appeared, the researchers grew even more excited.

"Another spirit reading! This one's a spirit too!"

"Alien! It really is a cosmic spirit!"

"..."

Jaden had no time for them—the duel continued.

"Neos' ATK increases by Aqua Dolphin's ATK!"

[Elemental HERO Neos, ATK 2500 → 3100]

"Even so, it's still nothing compared to Candelato!" the alien shouted.

"Heheh, don't be so sure." Jaden grinned. "Aqua Dolphin's effect! Discard a card, choose a monster from the opponent's hand.

If your field has a higher-ATK monster, destroy the chosen card and inflict 500 damage."

Jaden discarded a card. "Aqua Dolphin's effect, sonar echo!"

Aqua Dolphin unleashed a sonic wave at the opponent's hand.

"Let's see your hand?"

"I locate your 'D.D. Scout Plane', which has lower ATK than Neos," Jaden declared. "So it's destroyed and you take 500 damage!"

The alien's card was shattered by Aqua Dolphin's echo.

[Alien, LP 4000 → 3500]

[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 4000 → 3000]

Aqua Dolphin's real card is "once per turn," but in the anime, there's no such limit. As long as you have cards to discard, you can keep activating it.

But unfortunately, sonar revealed there were no other monsters in the alien's hand, so it wasn't worth using again.

"Next, I'll Contact Fuse 'Elemental HERO Neos' and 'Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin'!"

"Contact Fusion?" Mokuba was shocked.

"Neos' fusion doesn't need 'Polymerization'—you can fuse monsters directly from the field!" Jaden raised his hand. "The miraculous Elemental HERO, evolving with the power of a Neo-Spacian partner—take on the form of water—

—Elemental HERO Aqua Neos, summoned!"

Neos and Aqua Dolphin merged in a galactic vortex, transforming into the blue Aqua Neos.

[Elemental HERO Aqua Neos, ATK 2500]

"Aqua Neos' effect: once per turn, discard a card to randomly destroy two cards from the opponent's hand!" (Anime effect)

Of course, the real card was nerfed to "discard one to destroy one," a huge downgrade.

The anime version was extremely strong, but the writers later realized that such effects were too powerful. Also, for the duel to keep up with the plot, the protagonist needed constant draw engines, so effects that could wipe out the opponent's hand were a headache for the story. After its debut, Aqua Neos was basically banned from appearing again.

But in a way, that's proof of how overpowered this Neos form was.

Hand destruction is one of the most brutal effects in Yu-Gi-Oh!, and this card could hit two at once.

The alien thus became the first to experience the "hand destruction special."

[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 3000 → 1000]

With only one card left in hand, Candelato's attack shrank from Blue-Eyes level to "equal to Elemental HERO Avian."

"Damn..." the alien gritted his teeth.

With Candelato down to 1000 ATK, it would soon be defeated...

But surprisingly, Jaden didn't finish it.

"Aqua Neos returns to the Extra Deck at the end phase," Jaden said. "But I equip it with 'Instant Neo Space' from my hand.

With this equipped, Aqua Neos doesn't have to return at the end phase.

Turn end."

The alien: "?"

He's not attacking? Not finishing off Candelato?

So polite?

Wait...

The alien's eyes widened, suddenly realizing why.

Aqua Neos' ATK is 2500, so it could only deal 1500 damage, not enough for a KO.

But as long as Candelato stays on the field, the alien can never draw a card.

And his hand had already been nuked by Aqua Dolphin...

Now the alien realized how bad things were.

Na-na-na-NANI!?

Basically, as long as Jaden doesn't attack Candelato, the alien can only sit there helplessly!

His last card is the Spell "Block Attack," which can change an attacking monster to defense, but it's useless here. And Jaden already saw it last turn, so he can't even bluff.

If he uses Block Attack, Candelato's ATK will drop to 0, and he'd never win.

Maybe suicide attack with Candelato?

Nope. Doing so would take 1500 damage, dropping his LP to 2000. Next turn, a direct attack from Neos would finish him.

"Damn it..."

The alien gritted his teeth.

He really had no options left.

"Switch Candelato to defense mode."

"End... end my turn."

Yes, that's all he could do. Put Candelato in defense, at least to block one attack.

If Jaden destroys Candelato next turn, the alien can finally draw, maybe have a chance...

"My turn, draw."

Jaden said.

"I summon 'Elemental HERO Lady Heat' in defense."

[Elemental HERO Lady Heat, DEF 1000]

"Turn end."

The alien: "?"

Still not attacking? Another turn end?

But Jaden grinned.

"Lady Heat's effect: at my end phase, deal 200 damage to the opponent for each Elemental HERO on my field.

I have two, so you take 400 damage."

[Alien, LP 3500 → 3100]

The alien: "..."

Only now did this extraterrestrial duelist truly give up his last hope.

He finally understood what it means when "some people are alive, but already dead."

That's him.

Chapter 629: The Monster's Potential

The alien left howling.

It was a road of torment and despair. On this path, a simple alien from the stars personally experienced the feeling of watching death step by step approach, completely powerless.

With only one card left in hand—and the opponent knowing exactly what it was—he posed no threat. Unable to draw, it was like being tied to the stake, watching the flames pile up, rising higher and higher, inch by inch consuming him, and all he could do was watch helplessly.

Of course, while Lady Heat burned him for 400 LP per turn, the alien didn't actually die from burn damage.

If it were Kira, he might have just let his opponent slowly burn to death, 400 LP at a time, each turn.

But Jaden was too kind-hearted to watch someone suffer. After a few turns of burning, with the alien's LP low enough, he had Lady Heat finish off Candelato, and then Aqua Neos delivered the final blow, ending that vanguard of the Light of Destruction.

But even during those few turns of torment, the alien's mentality changed.

He went from cursing pointlessly ("no sportsmanship!"—like a kid who just learned the language, his insults weak and ineffective), to blaming everything—especially his "Light Incarnation," his ace, Candelato.

Why does my ace card stop me from drawing? What kind of card is this?

This might be the first time he's ever doubted his Light Incarnation. For a moment, he even thought: if Light's power is this stupid, maybe the darkness is better—look at them, with their hand destruction, clearing your hand in a blink.

What's the point of Light then?

He used to have no choice; now he wanted to join the dark side...

But darkness wouldn't let him. That shameless Elemental HERO Neos finished him off with a karate chop, taking his life and resentment together.

"Won!"

Jaden cheered, striking a pose.

"That was a fun duel!"

Alien: "@#%&"

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but didn't have the strength left.

"Aliens aren't so tough after all."

Jaden stood with hands on hips, excitedly looking at his new deck.

"Or maybe my new deck is just too strong? The deck of righteous cosmic heroes! It's like a dream come true—amazing!"

Kira pondered: probably both. The opponent wasn't strong, and Jaden's Neo Space deck—at least with these anime effects—was just too powerful.

No once-per-turn on Aqua Dolphin's hand destruction, Aqua Neos blowing up two cards per activation... In the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! card pool, that's top-tier hand destruction.

As soon as Jaden finished, the KaibaCorp people swarmed over.

Some took care of the alien's body, others surrounded the crashed alien spaceship. This was a real alien—even KaibaCorp had never caught one before. This wasn't just a duelist sensation, it was a world-shocking event.

After tonight, everyone would know humanity isn't alone in the universe. There is other life, other civilizations...

And they play cards.

This also proved Seto Kaiba's theory: no matter how different life is—language, culture—there is one thing that connects all beings in the universe.

Card Duel.

Only by dueling can we communicate with friends from the stars and make companions from the cosmos.

Only by dueling can we fight interstellar evil and repel invaders.

So naturally, Jaden became the center of attention, everyone surrounding him like a rare animal, afraid he'd run off.

Jaden couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the KaibaCorp researchers. They insisted on keeping him for research.

They soon confirmed, to their shock, that Jaden had received a whole new set of spirit cards.

The deck he got from the falling ball of light—from little monsters to aces, even humble Dandylion—not a single card wasn't a spirit.

And the one called Neos, its energy readings left everyone dumbfounded.

By spirit standards, it was absolutely legendary.

And they'd only seen the tip of the iceberg. More potential than power.

Neos, like the original Dark Magician, is a late-bloomer spirit. At first glance, it's just a 7-star 2500 ATK monster, easily outclassed by Summoned Skull, but that's just appearance.

A spirit's true strength isn't just in its card form. Like Atem's Dark Magician, with a dozen dedicated support spells and traps, fusions, transformations—Neos, as the M78 official, is just as formidable. (Ultraman reference. Here, Neos keep getting called as Ultraman.)

Neos' alternate forms are among the best of any protagonist's ace monster. It can adapt its form to the environment and enemy to maximize effectiveness.

Put simply, it's easier to print new cards.

Often, anime "big monsters" seem pointless to card players, but that's because their effects are locked in and may not fit the environment.

But in the anime, it's the other way around.

Anime protagonists often face unique situations, and the card is created specifically as the optimal solution for that duel—sometimes so overpowered that even the characters and bosses end up on the card art.

So for the anime protagonists, their aces are always the best solution for the given situation.

But for card players, trying to find an environment that suits the card is hard.

But for anime duel kings, they never look for the environment for the card—they create the card for the environment.

Neos is the prime example of such potential. He can truly "switch forms to adapt," not just in theory.

Kira followed the busy researchers through the blockade and over to the crashed alien spaceship.

"Light of Destruction..." Kira murmured.

This is just the beginning.

The war between Dark and Light is only just beginning.