Chapter 407: Forgotten Past
Chapter 407: Forgotten Past
"It seems you still haven't recalled anything," the Judge observed, eyeing Judai.
"What are you talking about since earlier?" Judai frowned.
The Judge remained silent.
"My turn, draw!" The Judge declared, "I activate the Magic Card, 'Angel's Charity.' I draw three cards from my deck and then discard two cards from my hand."
He drew the cards and added them to his hand, then selected two cards to place in the graveyard.
He then lifted his gaze.
"Last turn, you defeated my 'End Knight.' Before that, the End Knight sent the 'Highway Patrolman of Hell' from my deck to the graveyard, joining the two Dark Attribute monsters already there.
And with the two cards I just discarded, I've sent another Dark Attribute monster to the graveyard. That makes a total of three Dark Attribute monsters."
Judai furrowed his brow, perplexed.
Three Dark Attribute monsters in the graveyard—so what? Yu Xuan, who was listening, knitted his brows as well.
Three Dark Attribute monsters... Could it be that thing?
"Thus, the summoning condition for this card is met. This card can only be Special Summoned when there are exactly three Dark Attribute monsters in the graveyard."
The Judge slowly raised the card in his hand.
"Obtain the power of darkness and descend—
—Black Armor Dragon, I summon you!!!'
"Black... Armor Dragon!?" Judai exclaimed in surprise.
Judai was familiar with the Armor Dragon, a secret card of the Northern Academy of Dueling, which was later inherited by Manjome.
But what was this Black Armor Dragon?
A fierce dragon's roar filled the air as a gigantic Armor Dragon covered in sharp steel spikes materialized. It resembled the "Armor Dragon LV7" from Judai's memory, but its entire body had turned pitch-black.
[Black Armor Dragon: 2800 ATK]
"Indeed," Yu Xuan muttered, a frown creasing his brow.
The Black Armor Dragon, both in name and appearance, seemed to be a darker version of the Armor Dragon. When this card was first introduced in the real-card environment, it had caused quite a stir. Its simple summoning condition, top-tier attack power for its time, and excellent removal capability led many players to predict that it would be a banned card, much like the "Chaos" series.
Of course, in the end, the Black Armor Dragon was not banned, but it had been a restricted card for over a decade, which was testament enough to its strength.
"I activate the effect of Black Armor Dragon," the Judge continued, "By removing a Dark Attribute monster from my graveyard from play, I can destroy a card on the field."
A card in his graveyard faded away, and a projection of a monster card appeared in the air.
"Remove 'End Knight' from my graveyard to serve as ammunition for the Black Armor Dragon.
Black Armor Dragon, destroy 'Elemental Hero Flame Wingman'!"
The image of the End Knight was consumed by a mass of dark energy, transforming into an energy stream that flowed into the Black Armor Dragon. The pitch-black energy surged towards the Flame Wingman.
Judai scowled.
Yu Xuan's warning proved accurate—he had to be vigilant and prepared for any possibility during this duel.
This Judge was indeed the type to use any deck in a duel and might not rely solely on his original ace.
But Judai had his own tricks up his sleeve!
"I activate my trap card, 'Bomb Defense'!" Judai declared, "When a card that includes the effect of 'destroying a monster on your side of the field' is activated, negate that activation and destroy it. Then, inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent!"
The trap's effect took place, and countless floating spherical bombs appeared in front of Flame Wingman, forming a shield wall of explosives! The Black Armor Dragon's pitch-black energy sphere failed to reach Flame Wingman and instead collided with the wall, triggering a series of explosions.
"What a brilliant counter!" Hiroto cheered for Judai, "Not only did he save Flame Wingman, but he also managed to strike back at the powerful Black Armor Dragon!"
"Impressive," Yuuki acknowledged.
But the Judge remained unperturbed and calmly played another card.
"Magic Card, 'Monster Reborn.' By discarding one card from my hand, I can return a monster from the graveyard to my hand."
He sent a card to the graveyard, and a surge of dark energy stirred in the graveyard zone of the Duel Disk, causing the Black Armor Dragon, which had just been sent there, to reappear.
"I return 'Black Armor Dragon' from my graveyard to my hand."
"That guy again," Judai said, "But Black Armor Dragon requires three Dark Attribute monsters in the graveyard to be summoned. The 'End Knight' in your graveyard has already been removed from play as ammunition."
"That is correct," the Judge reminded him, "But when I returned Black Armor Dragon to my hand with 'Monster Reborn,' I discarded another card, remember?"
"So that card was also..." Judai trailed off.
"Indeed," the Judge continued, "The card I discarded was also a Dark Attribute monster."
Once again, the Judge raised the card in his hand.
"And so, I bring forth the darkness once more—
—Black Armor Dragon, I summon thee!"
A dark aura erupted once more, and the pitch-black armored dragon twisted its massive body, descending back onto the field!
[Black Armor Dragon: ATK 2800]
"Now, I activate the effect of Black Armor Dragon. By removing a Dark Attribute monster from my graveyard from play, I can destroy a card on the field."
The Judge pulled out another monster card that had returned from the graveyard.
"The effect of Black Armor Dragon has no activation restrictions. As long as there is sufficient ammunition in the graveyard, it can be used any number of times in a turn.
Thus, I remove another Dark Attribute monster from my graveyard to destroy 'Elemental Hero Flame Wingman'!"
With its ammunition replenished, the black energy converged into an energy blast in front of the armored dragon, which surged toward Flame Wingman! This time, there was no Trap Card to defend against the attack, and the dark energy sphere hit Flame Wingman directly, causing him to explode into nothingness.
Judai raised his arm to shield himself: "Flame Wingman..."
"Let the battle continue," the Judge said, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
"And now, let me help you remember once again."
"What?" Judai asked.
The Judge casually waved his hand.
"Black Armor Dragon, direct attack!"
As he gave the order, a strange green light flickered in his eyes.
The black energy bomb detonated, exploding on Judai.
[Judai, LP 4000 → LP 1200]
A dark force swept over him, and he crossed his arms in front of him, bracing for the impact. But the expected pain did not come.
There was no pain, only endless darkness that devoured everything he could see and hear, as if his five senses had been stripped away.
And it was in this infinite darkness that the voice echoed once more.
"Judai... Judai..."
"Judai Yuki..."
(End of Chapter)
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