Jaden grabbed Akasha's arm, trembling with excitement.
"A full wipeout! That counterattack—ignoring her own Life Points—so reckless, but so insanely cool, Sensei!"
Akasha puffed out her chest proudly.
"I knew it! There's no way that guy could be a match for Hoshino-nee!"
"To use a monster with 0 ATK to wipe out Blue-Eyes White Dragon of all things… truly worthy of the Duel King. No one else would even dare to think of such a tactic."
A mocking voice cut in:
"Hey, weren't you the one who just said, 'I could do better than this'?"
Hoshino smirked.
[Well done, my other self. Now Kaiba's field is completely empty!]
"No, aibo… looks like we underestimated Kaiba after all." A faint shadow crossed Hoshino's face.
Even after Mash Alter's field wipe, Kaiba's side glowed with an unyielding, pure white light.
"—Power of eternal time itself, pure white radiance! Wings trembling with the echoes of souls, emerge from the azure abyss! Come forth—Deep-Eyes White Dragon!"
[Deep-Eyes White Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][LIGHT][Dragon/Effect][ATK 0/DEF 0]
[When a Level 8 or higher Dragon on your field is destroyed, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Summoned: inflict 600 damage to your opponent for each Dragon in both Graveyards.]
The brilliant dragon Kaiba cast from his VR hand flared with radiant, wing-like light instead of scales, channeling the power of every dragon soul in the Graveyard toward Hoshino.
"Now, witness the wrath of the White Dragon! A light of annihilation, born from the azure sky itself! With 5 Dragons total in both Graveyards—(3 Blue-Eyes, 1 Solid Dragon, 1 Saber Lily)—you take 3000 damage!"
The blast was so blinding that even Jonouchi could barely open his eyes.
"3000 direct damage in one shot?! That's way too strong! If this were under the old 4000 LP rules, that'd be a straight-up instant kill!"
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4800 → 1800]
"And now, Deep-Eyes White Dragon's ATK becomes equal to one Dragon in the Graveyard! Inherit the Blue-Eyes' soul—Deep-Eyes!"
[Deep-Eyes White Dragon ATK: 0 → 3000]
Kaiba sneered, arrogance blazing in his eyes.
"A fleeting darkness could never outshine eternal purity, Hoshino! Even if you destroyed my Blue-Eyes, my absolute advantage remains unbroken!"
"Tch… he's tougher than ever." Hoshino Alter bit down, then slid her fingertip across her virtual card.
"Mash Alter's effect—when it destroys opponent monsters by effect, I recover 500 LP for each! Since 4 monsters were destroyed, I regain 2000 LP!"
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 1800 → 3800]
"And at the end of the Battle Phase, Mash Alter automatically shifts to Defense Position!"
[Mash Alter Counter Type DEF 3000]
The black, bladed shield rose once more. Though it lost 1000 ATK compared to her normal form, its Defense now stood tall enough to rival even Blue-Eyes itself.
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
[Hoshino's: 2 Hand Cards | 2 Set Cards]
"My turn—draw!"
Kaiba's arm swept toward the already-active Future Fusion, which had been preparing for two turns. A deafening dragon's roar tore through the arena. With three Blue-Eyes heads, the ultimate evolution erupted from the distorted future.
"Perfect! The strongest! Invincible!! Behold—the newly transcended Ultimate Dragon, born anew to crush everything! Fusion Summon—Neo!!"
[Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 12)][LIGHT][Dragon/Fusion/Effect][ATK 4500/DEF 3800]
["Blue-Eyes White Dragon" + "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" + "Blue-Eyes White Dragon"]
"With Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, able to attack three times in one Battle Phase—face the mightiest emperor of dragons, Hoshino!"
Mana's mouth formed an "o" of shock.
"Wait, 4500 ATK and it can attack three times? But Mash shouldn't be destroyed by battle, right?"
Yugi shook his head.
"Normally, yes. But with that card on Hoshino's field—Wish Come True—this duel could take a very unexpected turn."
And just as Yugi foresaw, Kaiba immediately went for it.
"Now, I activate the Continuous Trap on your field—Wish Come True!"
The first thing Kaiba did this turn was exploit Hoshino's powerful search trap.
"Since both players can use it, I'll search my Deck for Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon! Hoshino, the choice is yours—discard 1 card to stop me, or let me add it to my hand."
Hoshino Alter frowned.
"Alternative White Dragon… its effect lets you destroy 1 monster per turn, but it needs to reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in hand to summon. And all of yours are in the Graveyard…"
"I'll draw two cards instead." She calmly chose to refill her hand, raising it to 4.
"Hmph! You think I can't summon Alternative without Blue-Eyes in hand? Wrong again, Hoshino!"
Kaiba drew the card with a grand flourish, then spread open his Graveyard.
"I activate the second effect of The White Stone of Ancients! By banishing it from the Graveyard, I can add 1 'Blue-Eyes' monster from the Graveyard to my hand. Return to me—Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The same White Stone that had once summoned Solid Dragon now gave its final service, banishing itself to retrieve Blue-Eyes. A card that served Kaiba twice over.
Revealing Blue-Eyes White Dragon to Hoshino, Kaiba slammed down another card.
"Now, Special Summon—Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!!"
[Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Dragon/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 2500]
"Rooaaarrr!!"
Bathed in storming lightning, Alternative White Dragon descended with fury. Its blazing azure eyes locked directly onto Mash—the one who had just annihilated its brethren.
"Targeting Mash Alter—effect activate! With this Bursting Lightning Blast, destroy the shield in defense reversal!"
[Once per turn, you can target 1 monster on your opponent's field; destroy that target. This card cannot attack during the turn this effect is activated.]
Mash Alter, who could neither be destroyed by battle nor affected by Spell/Trap effects, had only one true weakness: destruction by monster effects. And Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon just so happened to perfectly possess that very ability.
Blinding lightning, interwoven with surging currents of electricity, engulfed the darkness cloaked in white radiance—erasing it in an instant from the battlefield.
[Heroic Spirits – Mash Alter – Destroyed.]
"The shield of Mash you depended on for survival has now been completely shattered, Hoshino!"
With Mash gone, Kaiba no longer had any reason to hold back. He immediately commanded his Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to attack.
"—Be annihilated within the ultimate white light! Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, direct attack!!"
"Kaiba, my cute kouhai's shield won't be broken so easily! The monster I searched last turn with Saber Lily—that's the key to stopping your Ultimate White Dragon this turn! I activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Formal Dress: Mash Kyrielight from my hand—!"
A shield rose high above Hoshino Alter's field, manifesting with the shimmering brilliance of a Heroic Spirit Summon—like the radiant glow of a premium gacha pull.
"Another… Mash!?" Kaiba snarled. Facing this girl with a shield, who thwarted his assaults again and again, he certainly wasn't fooled by her cute appearance.
"The effect of Formal Dress Mash can only activate if you control no monsters at the start of the opponent's Battle Phase!"
Yugi nodded in admiration. "So that's why, aside from Mash Alter, Hoshino didn't summon a single monster last turn… she was setting this up."
If Kaiba failed to destroy Mash Alter, Hoshino Alter would naturally withstand Neo Ultimate Dragon's assault. But even if Alter was destroyed, once the Battle Phase began, with no monsters left on her field, Hoshino Alter could counter with Formal Dress Mash. A true double-layered, absolute defense.
Akasha added, "But if I remember right… Formal Dress Mash's defense relies heavily on luck, doesn't it? If Hoshino doesn't draw a monster…"
[Formal Dress: Mash Kyrielight Effect: When your opponent declares an attack, draw 1 card. If it is a "Heroic Spirit" monster that can be Normal Summoned, Special Summon it. The attack target changes to that monster, then damage calculation is conducted.]
"As long as Hoshino draws even a single blank instead of a Heroic Spirit, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's overwhelming 4500 ATK will instantly wipe out her remaining 3800 Life Points."
From the audience, Jonouchi swallowed hard. "Hoshino, you're actually pulling a gamble so big even I'd be sweating right now…"
"Hmph, relying on luck now, are you?" Kaiba sneered, raising his arm high and pointing toward the heavens.
"Then let's see it—on which side will fortune's scales descend?! Continue your attack, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!"
At Kaiba's command, Neo Ultimate Dragon unleashed a torrent of triple white lightning, so powerful it shook the dueling platform itself as it surged toward the seemingly empty field.
"Luck, Kaiba? No… for a true duelist, even the next draw is already decided!"
Hoshino Alter's lips curved into the faintest smile. Despite the overwhelming attack bearing down on her, she showed not a shred of panic. Her graceful fingers brushed her deck, slender arm sweeping through the moonlit night as she drew a glowing AR card.
"Because of Formal Dress Mash's effect—Draw! Please answer my call… Saint George!"
[Heroic Spirits – Saint George DEF 1600]
The very first victim of Neo Ultimate Dragon's attack, poor Saint George barely lasted a second on the stage. Before the crowd could even get a good look at him, he was obliterated by the roaring white light.
"Second strike—Ultimate White Lightning!!"
So close to the victory he had long craved, Kaiba didn't even notice that the light of his barrage was altering Hoshino Alter's Duel Avatar attire.
"Draw! To block your white dragon's assault—Monster Card, Leonidas I!"
[Heroic Spirits – Leonidas I DEF 1900]
[This card cannot be destroyed by battle against monsters with original ATK of 2500 or more.]
Anzu's eyes widened. "Leonidas, at a time like this!? It really looks like luck is on Hoshino's side!"
"It's useless, Hoshino! The strongest Ultimate Dragon's attack will not be stopped! I activate the Trap Card I set last turn—The Ultimate Creature of Destruction!!"
[The Ultimate Creature of Destruction – Trap Effect: Target 1 "Blue-Eyes" monster you control; this turn, that face-up monster is unaffected by other card effects, cannot be destroyed by battle, and any monster that battles it is destroyed at the end of the Damage Step.]
"Targeting Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! This turn, any monster that battles it will be destroyed after the Damage Step! I won't let you stop my chain of attacks so easily, Hoshino!"
Leonidas's shield was shattered by sheer force, and Neo Ultimate Dragon's rampage did not cease.
"Third strike—Ultimate Jet White Lightning!!"
"Kaiba, you really are stubborn. But no matter how many defenses you pierce through, I'll just keep drawing monsters to block you!"
Kaiba couldn't see it clearly through the blazing light, but the spectators could. After two waves of attacks, they realized Hoshino Alter's Duel Avatar outfit had changed completely—gone was the white skirt with thigh-high socks. In its place, a dazzling uniform cloak appeared, recreated perfectly by the Duel Disk system, paired with sleek black stockings that hugged her legs, drawing the gaze of tens of thousands in the audience.
[Mage's Association Uniform – Quick-Play Spell: Choose 1 of the following effects to activate. ● Select 5 "Heroic Spirit" monsters from your Deck and place them on top of your Deck in any order. During the End Phase, banish the top 5 cards of your Deck face-down.]
"Now then, let's invite the next victim onto the stage!"
Having already arranged five monsters atop her deck in anticipation, Hoshino Alter had no worries about drawing blanks. The only surprise was that Kaiba had actually managed to break through the Spartan's defense.
"Hngh? Why is this card so hard to draw out…?"
Clutching the deck desperately, Nobunaga howled in despair:
"Nooo!! Don't make me go to my death! I can still carry this fight!!"