Chapter 84: The Sharp-Eyed Detective Has Found the Key Detail!

"Things are looking really bad for him, bro..." Syrus muttered, face scrunched in misery as he watched Jaden's predicament.

And for good reason. Rowan still had a second Masked HERO Dark Law on the field with 2400 attack points, and it hadn't attacked yet. Jaden's side, meanwhile, had exactly two face-down cards and one Bubbleman in attack position sitting at 800 attack points.

Both players were tied at 2000 LP, each having paid half their Life Points for Solemn Judgment earlier. If this next attack connected cleanly, Jaden would be left with 400.

"Battle continues. Second Masked HERO Dark Law, attack Elemental HERO Bubbleman! Double Friendship Strike!"

The second black-armored figure leaped from the field and came crashing down toward the blue-caped Bubbleman.

"Open face-down! Trap, A Hero Emerges!"

Jaden immediately flipped one of his two remaining face-downs. A trap card bearing the image of a black caped hero against a vivid red background rose from the field.

"This card activates when an opponent's monster declares an attack. My opponent randomly selects one card from my hand. If it's a monster, I can special summon it to my field."

He held up his hand with a somewhat serious expression, revealing the single card left in it.

"I only have one card in hand. And it happens to be a monster."

"Come on out! Elemental HERO Bladedge!"

A golden flash erupted from the field, and a gleaming metallic figure materialized, golden blades running along both wrists, landing heavily on Jaden's side.

Elemental HERO Bladedge. Level 7. Earth attribute. ATK: 2600. DEF: 1800.

"Stubborn as ever," Rowan said, raising an eyebrow with a mild smile.

He had to hand it to Jaden. The guy's resilience and raw ability were genuinely on another level compared to someone like Bastion or Chazz. No contest.

But A Hero Emerges had only special summoned the monster. It did nothing to negate Masked HERO Dark Law's attack.

The black claws came down and hit Bubbleman square on. Bubbleman detonated in a burst of fire and smoke, and the shockwave rolled across Jaden's side of the field, washing over him as his Life Points ticked rapidly down from 2000, dropping 1600 points.

400 LP remaining.

But Bladedge was still standing there on Jaden's field. 2600 attack points.

The situation had become, unexpectedly, a little complicated.

"Bro might actually have a chance again!" Syrus said, suddenly brightening.

"Still though..." Chumley, the big heavyset kid nearby, tilted his head with a puzzled look. "If Masked HERO Dark Law's effect works just by being on the field, banishing everything that would go to Jaden's Graveyard, then why did Rowan bother special summoning a second one? What's the point?"

A beat of silence followed.

Chancellor Sheppard and Professor Crowler nearby, and Alexis on the other side of the stands, all paused at the question.

He had a point.

They all suddenly realized there was something slightly off about the picture. If Dark Law's only effect was Graveyard banishment, one copy was more than enough to maintain that. And Mask Change's effect was to special summon a Masked HERO Fusion monster that shared an attribute with the tributed monster. It didn't have to specifically summon Dark Law.

"Maybe," Professor Crowler offered, in an attempt to contribute something, "this amateur's little dark HERO deck only has one type of dark-attribute Masked HERO Fusion monster? Dark Law being the only option?"

Nobody acknowledged him. Alexis, Bastion, Chancellor Sheppard, and the others all wore expressions of quiet unease as they kept their eyes fixed on the duel field, and on Rowan's face after he'd ended his turn, still carrying that easy, unhurried smile.

All of them had the same feeling creeping in.

Something worse was coming.

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but drawing a card seems like the right move. My turn, draw!"

Jaden had picked up on the unease too, though after turning it over in his head without getting anywhere, he scratched at his hair and decided to stop overthinking it. He pulled the top card from his deck.

"And what great timing. This is exactly what I needed right now!"

He looked at the card, his expression immediately lifting, and placed it on his duel disk. A large green pot materialized on the field with a heavy thud.

"Spell card from hand, Pot of Greed! I draw two cards from my deck!"

Jaden reached into his deck and pulled out two more cards.

What he didn't notice was that the moment he activated Pot of Greed, Rowan's expression became radiant. The kind of warm, selfless, wholesome smile that belonged on a community volunteer poster.

"Here it comes."

Almost simultaneously, Alexis, Bastion, and Kaiser Zane, all of whom had been keeping one eye on Rowan throughout, caught that signature expression and felt something shift in their chests.

"Activating Masked HERO Dark Law's special effect!"

Rowan raised his hand the very next second, as if he'd seen this coming from a mile off. Dark energy pulsed across both armored figures on his field, and that same shadowed light reached out across the field toward Jaden's hand, settling over the two cards he'd just drawn.

"Masked HERO Dark Law's second effect. Once per turn, when the opponent adds a card from their deck to their hand outside of the Draw Phase, I randomly select one card from their hand and banish it."