"Fusion Summon — Magical Girl – Yang Guifei Illya!"
[Magical Girl – Yang Guifei Illya ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][FIRE][Psychic/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2300/DEF 1000]
Camula sneered mockingly.
"So, you've summoned your so-called 'ace' again just to throw her out as a shield? With such low ATK, she won't stop my Vampire Vamp at all!"
Even after the change on Hoshino's field, Camula pressed her attack without hesitation.
"Any blood—shall become the nourishment for my vengeance! My strongest vampiress—drain her dry!"
"You've certainly got the courage to attack. Then allow me to show you the flame of a Descender who dwells among the stars! I activate the effect of Magical Girl – Yang Guifei Illya!"
Illya gracefully waved her hand.
The beloved imperial consort—like a candlewick that burns until the very end—continues to shine with undying radiance, even amid a vortex of rebellion.
"Take this! The blazing Demon-Star Fire Wheel!"
[If this card is Special Summoned: For the rest of this turn, apply the following effect. ● When this card becomes the target of an attack: Halve the attacking monster's ATK, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the amount reduced.]
Blue flames instantly engulfed the arena.
The fire that erupted beneath Illya's feet formed a blazing star-wheel, trapping the swooping Vampire Vamp.
[Vampire Vamp ATK 4800 → 2400]
Camula's expression twitched.
"A halving-ATK effect, huh? Unfortunately for you, my monster still has the higher attack!"
"Sore wa dō kana? Then I'll reveal Illya's ultimate effect!"
[②: If this card battles a monster whose current ATK is different from its original ATK, during damage calculation, this card's ATK becomes double.]
"Give it everything you've got, Illya! This flame of the Evil Star, capable of burning the galaxy itself—shall awaken the immortal love of the Song of Everlasting Sorrow!"
"I know, Master! I'll play with all my heart~!"
Lifting her pipa, musical notes blossomed into a rainbow-silk celestial gown, draping gracefully over her fair shoulders.
"Imperial Edict! In the name of His Imperial Highness's Consort, I, Yang Taizhen, proclaim thus! Open the Northern Gate of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure and summon the Yulin Imperial Guard! I shall leap and dance within their protection! I shall strike my pipa and crush our enemies! — Rainbow Feathered Robe!"
[Magical Girl – Yang Guifei Illya ATK 2300 → 4600]
"What!? A-ATK four thousand six hundred!?"
"—Melody of Eternal Love!!!"
The exploding star-wheel, the soaring heroic pipa notes, and the screams of the burning vampiress fused into a sensory shock unlike anything anyone had ever witnessed.
[Vampire Vamp — Destroyed]
"It's a total reversal, Camula! You take 2400 effect damage and 2200 battle damage—eat all 4600!"
Crowler jumped for joy, forgetting the pain from the earlier Shadow Duel.
"Magnifico! With this, it's the Headmistress's overwhelming victory, nanno-ne!!"
"No, wait!" Zane cut in sharply.
"Her Life Points didn't decrease—the Duel isn't over!"
"Hahaha… oh, how close… I almost died there…"
Camula flipped her last face-down card with a shaken yet triumphant laugh.
"Trap Card activate—Rainbow Life!"
[Discard 1 card; until the end of this turn, each time you would take damage, gain that amount of LP instead.]
"I discard 1 card! All damage I would have taken this turn becomes Life Point recovery—I gain 4600 LP!"
[Camula LP 3500 → 8100]
"You thought it was over? Heh… this ever-growing darkness of blood is the path of ruin that awaits you all!"
As her LP surged, the Shadow Game's space pulsed with a chilling, blood-red aura.
Even worse—the Vampire Vamp, who should have been burned to ashes by Illya, reformed on the field like undying smoke taking shape.
"Vampire Vamp's effect: If a card equipped to this monster is sent to the GY, I can Special Summon this card back to my field."
[Vampire Vamp ATK 2000]
"Mamma mia! Such a shameless vampire! How do you even fight this, nanno-ne!?"
Ending the Battle Phase, Camula eyed Illya hungrily.
"Now that she's been Special Summoned again without an Equip Card, my Vampire Vamp can steal a stronger monster once more."
"Stop rules-lawyering, Camula!" Hoshino snapped.
"Vampire Vamp's equip-steal effect only activates when it is Normal Summoned, or when another 'Vampire' is Normal Summoned! And you already Normal Summoned once this turn!"
"You are correct."
Camula placed her final card horizontally onto her Duel Disk.
"But with the Continuous Spell Vampire Domain on my field, I can pay 500 LP to gain an additional Normal Summon for a 'Vampire' monster!"
[Camula LP 8100 → 7600]
"Another Continuous Spell she only ever activates when dueling me! This one's your fault, nanno-ne!"
Crowler… why do you think she wouldn't have used it if you hadn't been here?
"I Normal Summon Vampire Bat in Defense Position!"
[Vampire Bat DEF 1200]
"When Vampire Bat is on the field, all other 'Vampire' monsters gain 200 ATK, and while another 'Vampire' exists, this card cannot be chosen as an attack target."
[Vampire Vamp ATK 2000 → 2200]
Licking her lips, Camula's eyes gleamed with feral hunger.
"And since Vampire Bat was Normal Summoned—Vampire Vamp activates! Drain that adorable girl dry!"
[When this card or another 'Vampire' is Normal Summoned: Target 1 monster your opponent controls with higher ATK; equip it to this card.]
"Eh—!? Again with the sucking!? Yameteee~~!"
Illya tried to flee, but the vampiress seized her wrist and pulled her into a forceful back-hug kiss.
Fangs sank into Illya's neck—an intoxicating mix of agony and bliss flooded her like a narcotic, leaving her trembling and weak.
"A-ah… ahh~…"
Collapsing into the vampiress's arms, Illya's eyes dimmed to blood-red once more.
[Vampire Vamp ATK 2200 → 4500]
"Her ATK skyrocketed past 4000 again…"
"4500… That's on par with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Why? Headmistress is so strong, but this vampire just won't die…"
"4500 ATK, 7600 LP, and Headmistress has no cards left on the field…"
Despair washed over the students again.
Even Hoshino felt the crushing pressure—facing a non-human duelist was nothing like any normal duel.
"Hehahahahaha! Now you finally understand despair? From the very beginning—humans can never defeat vampires! Just as your precious light will be swallowed by this crimson darkness!"
"Are you done yapping yet?"
Unshaken, Hoshino replied calmly:
"If you're finished, hurry up and end your turn—so I can send you off."
Camula froze mid-laugh, enraged by Hoshino's audacity.
"You brat—don't think being a Headmistress makes you special! With only one card left in your hand, there's no way you're turning this around! In the end, your life will become an offering to my Sacred Beast!"
She closed her Duel Disk.
"Turn end! I'd love to see what kind of miracle you believe you can pull off…"
"Draw—!!"
Hoshino's declaration cut through Camula's gloating like a blade, shattering the oppressive despair.
And it wasn't empty confidence—because at that moment, a card glowing with hope returned to her hand.
"Did you forget something? Last turn, I activated First Premonition. The Spell I banished from my Deck now returns to my hand—my trump card to dispel this darkness!"
Camula's brow furrowed.
"Nani? Dispel… the darkness?"
"Listen up, everyone! Crowler was right—Dueling must inspire courage and hope in young people! A Duel that spreads despair and suffering should NEVER exist!"
"Headmistress…?"
Slamming the returned Spell Card onto her Duel Disk, Hoshino declared with burning conviction:
"As long as the courage and hope in one's heart do not fade, a Duelist will never lose to the darkness of a Shadow Game! The blazing soul within our chests will guide us toward a future of light and hope!"
"This is the lesson that Professor Crowler and I have taught you—together!"
"Headmistress Aaaah—!" Crowler burst into tears, completely overwhelmed by emotion.
"This is my One-Card Comeback!! I activate the Spell—Elizabeth, Henshin!!"
[Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster that lists "Elizabeth" as Fusion Material by sending the listed materials from your hand, Deck, or field to the GY. You cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate this card, except by this card's effect.]
"From my Deck, I send Heroic Spirit – Elizabeth Bathory and Heroic Spirit – Charles Babbage to the GY as Fusion Material! Witness the light of technology that transcends dimensions—Fusion Summon!! Alter Ego – Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II!"
[Alter Ego – Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][LIGHT][Machine/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3500/DEF 3000]
"Forged from blazing flames into ultimate steel—Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II, descend!"
A silver, steel dragon-maiden descended from the sky, shining brilliantly as she made a heroic fusion entrance.
"Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II's effect! When this card is Fusion Summoned: target 1 Machine monster in your GY and equip it to this card!"
Jaden's eyes widened as he realized what was coming.
"A Machine monster in the GY… don't tell me—!"
"Watch closely, Crowler! You did not lose to the Shadow Game. You sowed the will of light—that is the meaning behind your battle! Using Mk.II's effect, I equip Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem from my GY!"
The silver steel body reconfigured, merging with the colossal Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem.
The strongest mech was forged in that instant—surpassing even the darkness of despair, its brilliance reached beyond the heavens.
"—Final Combat System, activate! Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II—Mode Shift! With ancient super-technology as the core, reassembled into a final weapon surpassing the gods—this is…!"
Hoshino & Eli shouted together:
"Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II — SUPER MODE!!!"
[②: This card gains ATK equal to the ATK of the monster equipped by its own effect. It also gains that equipped monster's effects.]
[Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II ATK 3500 → 7900]
Zane's eyes shot open.
"One-card comeback! Headmistress used just a single card to raise her ATK to 7900!?"
"(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) Headmistress Hoshinooo!!"
Crowler sobbed uncontrollably, his pot-shaped face wrinkled into something too ugly to bear.
"Headmistress! I wronged you so much, nanno-ne!! I shouldn't have caused such trouble—please forgive me, nanno-ne!!"
"Let's go, Headmistress!!"
"We can feel the power of hope!"
"This is a lesson from both the Headmistress and the Professor—we'll remember it for life!"
With a mighty battle cry, Hoshino commanded the towering Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II, whose sheer presence seemed powerful enough to shake the earth.
"This time, it really ends, Camula!! Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II—shatter the darkness and crush the vampire!"
"My hand burns like crimson flame! Its radiance and roar shall seize victory! BURNING—!!!"
Channeling the overwhelming power of Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, Mk.II's devastating Super Punch obliterated Camula's Vampire Sorceress.
"—'Ultra-Ancient Steel Sky Demon-Maiden'!!!"
[Vampire Vamp — Destroyed]
[Camula LP 7600 → 4200]
"Damn it… to unleash such power at the final moment…! But it's useless! When Vampire Vamp, equipped with a card, is sent to the GY—she returns to my field!"
Drenched in blood and reborn, Vampire Vamp reappeared in Defense Position.
[Vampire Vamp DEF 2000]
"Your struggle ends here, Hoshino Chiyuki! Next turn, I'll Normal Summon another Vampire, absorb your monster again, and your strength will be mine!"
"The one whose struggle ends now is you, Camula! My assault isn't over yet! Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II's final effect—!"
From the giant mech's body, the original Eli detached, soaring into the air with flame-propelled thrusters.
"Super Mode Shift—Assault Mode, Engage! Target locked! I won't stop until the enemy is completely annihilated!!"
Minazuki shouted in shock:
"Wait—another monster separated from the giant mecha!?"
"That is—!? Professor Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem?!"
[③: If this card destroys a monster by battle: you can banish 1 Machine monster from your GY; this card can make a second attack.]
Drawing a card from her GY, Hoshino pointed forward as she delivered the finishing command:
"I banish Ancient Gear Golem from my GY! Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II can attack once more!!"
The airborne Mk.II re-fused with the Ancient Gear Golem systems, transforming into a new Assault Mode equipped with a colossal drill.
"This is the soul-strike of Mecha-Eli-chan Mk.II—'Billion-Heaven Piercing Mega-Drill'!!!"
The massive spinning drill whipped up a storm as it pierced through the vampire.
With a final breakthrough strike, Camula was engulfed along with her monster.
"Since Mk.II gains the equipped monster's effects, this attack also gains Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's piercing damage effect!!"
Toppled by the drill's impact, Camula stared in disbelief and terror.
"Impossible… impossible!! A noble vampire wielding the power of a Sacred Beast… defeated by a mere human?!"
"Piercing damage—5900! A 'mere human'? — 'Who do you think I am?!'"
[Camula LP 4200 → 0]
As her LP hit zero, Camula was dragged into the gate behind her.
Defeated at last, her soul and body were swallowed by the wicked doorway, leaving behind only fading screams.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!"
[Duel Over!]
[Winner: Hoshino Chiyuki!]