"It doesn't matter if we can only attack Obelisk. Let's show him our determination!"
"Yes, Master!" Karna answered faithfully, his fiery trajectory unwavering, as if his target had always been Obelisk the Tormentor.
Boom!
The collision between Obelisk's giant divine fist and Karna's spear echoed across the school courtyard. Despite the overwhelming size difference, Karna stood firm, not retreating an inch.
"No way! She's attacking a god with a weaker monster?"
"It's not weak! It's just that Kaiba's monsters are absurdly strong."
"Hmph, Hoshino, you're so obsessed with victory that you've lost sight of the situation!" Kaiba sneered, watching the clash between Karna's spear and Obelisk's fist, confident in his victory.
"The one who can't see the situation is you, Kaiba!" Hoshino shot back. "Stop worrying about the Duel Disk, Karna! Go all out!"
"The Duel Disk?" Kaiba glanced down at his Duel Disk, finally noticing the alarming sounds it was making—sparking and crackling.
"Master, you should be careful. If we go all out, we might destroy the thing on your arm!" Karna warned.
"Doesn't matter! Kaiba's got enough money to fix it. Right now, all we need to think about is winning!"
"Understood!"
With unshakable resolve, Karna summoned flames around him, channeling them into magical energy that surged into his spear.
"Mana Burst! Flame!"
[Effect: This card's ATK and DEF increase by the combined total levels of the banished monsters x100.]
"I banished Artoria (8 stars), Artoria Lily (4 stars), and Vlad III (8 stars)—for a total of 20 stars!"
"So Karna's final ATK increase is…!"
[Karna ATK 2800 → 4800]
Flames surged from Karna's body, engulfing both him and Obelisk the Tormentor in a blaze of fiery energy.
"Whoa! Those special effects are right out of a movie!"
"Her monster just overtook Kaiba's in attack power again!"
"Kaiba, do you see this? This is my monster surpassing even a god!" Fueled by the power of Mana Burst, Karna's blows now overwhelmed Obelisk, forcing the god to retreat.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each clash of Karna's blazing spear against Obelisk's fists sent waves of heat rippling through the air.
As Karna predicted, the duel had pushed the Duel Disks to their limits. Kaiba's mass-produced Duel Disk was the first to crack under the strain, emitting a faint puff of smoke.
While Hoshino's custom Duel Disk held on, Kaiba's standard-issue model was clearly on the verge of failure.
"Give it up, Kaiba! You won't beat Karna!"
"Give up? The word 'give up' doesn't exist in Seto Kaiba's dictionary. Keep going, Hoshino! I haven't lost yet!"
Judging by Kaiba's expression, it was clear that even if his Duel Disk fried his arm, he wasn't quitting.
"Then let's finish this, Karna!"
"Master wants to end it, but this thing's tougher than it looks!"
With a powerful swing of his fiery spear, Karna knocked Obelisk back. The massive god staggered, nearly crashing into Kaiba.
"So this is the end, Obelisk!"
Unexpectedly, after pushing Obelisk back, Karna lowered his spear, though the flames around it still burned fiercely.
"Weapons like these are unnecessary..."
Karna covered his eyes, gathering the flames into his palms—and his eyes.
"A true hero slays his enemies with his gaze alone!"
In an instant, the magical energy concentrated in Karna's eyes exploded, engulfing Obelisk in a crimson inferno.
"O' Brahma, Cover the Earth! (Brahmastra)"
[Obelisk the Tormentor] destroyed.
[Seto Kaiba LP 1250 → 450]
"Ahh, it's so hot!"
The virtual flames that filled the courtyard, despite not generating real heat, made some students scream in terror.
"Wait, how is it hot?"
"Because it feels so real!"
Boom!
Finally, after Kaiba's Duel Disk failed, Hoshino's custom Duel Disk on her arm also started to smoke.
"Master! Senpai! Are you okay?" Mash and Karna immediately turned back, concerned as sparks flew from Hoshino's Duel Disk.
"It's nothing, just a minor issue. Stay calm," Hoshino waved them off, gritting her teeth through the pain.
"Kaiba, you've lost your god. You have no cards in your hand, no face-downs. This duel is over!"
"No, I haven't lost yet! I still have my Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field!" Kaiba, refusing to give up, placed his last hope on his Blue Eyes. "Cut the chatter, just continue already, Hoshino!"
"Sigh, I don't know whether to admire your persistence or call you stubborn." Hoshino shook her head helplessly. Though she wasn't one to talk, Kaiba's refusal to give up truly made him a tough opponent.
"Sorry, Master. If I had the Spear, I could use my Noble Phantasm; that last attack could've ended this battle." Karna seemed a bit guilty as he noticed Hoshino's troubled expression.
"My luck's just terrible today. Drawing the key equipment from my deck was tough enough, and under those circumstances, there was no way to gather three tributes on the field. Otherwise, I would've made Kaiba suffer!"
What sounded like a discussion of their shortcomings was just the two subtly complimenting themselves, leaving Mash, who was listening nearby, speechless.
"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn!"
Though Hoshino was in an overwhelmingly advantageous position, she still chose to place her final face-down card into her sparking Duel Disk.
"Even with such a guaranteed victory, Hoshino's still setting cards?" Jounouchi asked in confusion.
"Jounouchi, no matter the situation, Hoshino always gives her all. That's the highest form of respect she can show to the duel, and her opponent," Yugi explained.
"They're still going at it?"
"Those things on their arms look like they're about to explode!"
"Could they be disposable?"
"I can't afford to play with something like that."
Even the students watching from the sidelines noticed the fragile state of the Duel Disks and began to question the quality of KaibaCorp's products.
"My turn! Draw!" Kaiba roared, almost pulling his card through a haze of sparks. The crackling current trailed along the card as it carried Kaiba's unyielding will.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, lend me your final strength!"
Kaiba looked at his Blue Eyes on the field with a complicated expression but then slammed the card he drew onto the Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card, [Advanced Draw]!"
[Tribute 1 face-up Level 8 or higher monster you control; draw 2 cards.]
With the activation of the Spell, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had once stood on Kaiba's field turned into a golden light and entered the Graveyard, illuminating Kaiba's deck.
"Hahaha! I feel it! The will of the Blue Eyes and my final hope!"
As his deck glowed with a golden light, Kaiba couldn't help but laugh.
"This is bad... something feels off..." Hoshino felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her forehead.
If Kaiba had simply used Pot of Greed to draw, she wouldn't have been so worried. But the fact that Kaiba had sacrificed his Blue Eyes for one final gamble made it seem like his deck was bound to give him something powerful.
"Watch closely, Hoshino!" Kaiba reached into the crackling current and drew his final two cards.
"Let me show you the legacy of the Blue Eyes and the majesty of a god!"
"I activate the Spell Card, [Monster Reborn]!" Kaiba proudly displayed the card he drew, his face lighting up with the joy of a comeback.
"Rise again, Obelisk the Tormentor, the blazing wind that scours the earth!"
[Obelisk the Tormentor★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][Divine][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK4000/DEF4000]
"Huh? Who turned on the BGM?" Hoshino muttered as she felt a background track titled [God's Anger] playing in her ears. She stared at the enormous form of Obelisk, which had reappeared on the field thanks to Monster Reborn.
"So Spell Cards work on gods, huh..." Hoshino thought. The fact that Monster Reborn could revive a god meant gods weren't completely immune to Spell Cards. This gave her more ideas on how to counter them in the future.
"But even Obelisk alone can't defeat Karna!" Despite Obelisk's return, Hoshino, standing behind Karna, remained calm.
"If I beat you once, I can do it again!"
"Heh heh, we'll see about that!" Kaiba smirked, holding his final card between his fingers, pointing it confidently at Hoshino.
"Hoshino, let me show you why gods stand above all Duel Monsters!"
"I activate my final Spell Card, [Fires of Doomsday]!"
[Special Summon 2 [Doomsday Tokens] (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position on your side of the field.]
Two shadowy figures flickered into existence on Kaiba's field, dark flames emanating from their barely visible eyes.
[Doomsday Tokens ★][Dark][Fiend/Token][ATK 0/DEF 0] x2
"Two monsters with no attack power? What's Kaiba planning?" Jounouchi was puzzled by the appearance of the two flame creatures.
"Only fools wouldn't understand. This is the price one must pay to unleash the majesty of a god!" Kaiba sneered, not missing a chance to insult Jounouchi, as he raised his Duel Disk high.
"Now, witness Obelisk's ultimate power! I activate Obelisk the Tormentor's effect!"
[Obelisk the Tormentor's Effect: Tribute 2 monsters you control; during this turn, when this card battles, its ATK becomes infinite. This effect can also be activated during your opponent's turn.]
"I tribute my two Doomsday Tokens! Awaken, Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"Divine Energy MAX!!!"
As though infused with the essence of the black flames, Obelisk's already enormous arms ignited with dark energy, becoming enveloped in a terrifying power.
[Obelisk the Tormentor ATK 4000 → ∞]
"Infinite attack power?!" Hoshino's mouth dropped open as she saw the unimaginable attack stat rise on Obelisk.
"Does Duel Monsters' rules even allow that?"
Infinite attack power, as the name suggested, meant that no matter how many life points or attack power an opponent had, they would be instantly defeated.
"So this is the true power of a god... terrifying." Even Yugi, who stood behind Hoshino, was stunned. "Though this is my first time seeing such a monster, why does it feel so familiar?"
"This ends now, Hoshino!" Kaiba roared, his coat dramatically flaring as he pointed forward.
"Crush Karna, Obelisk!"
"MAX God Hand Crusher!!!"
If ever there was a sight of divine fury laying waste to the earth, it would be Obelisk's mighty fists swinging down. The overwhelming heatwave radiating from the attack made it difficult for anyone to keep their eyes open.
Boom! The deafening explosion from Kaiba's Duel Disk filled the courtyard as it finally overloaded, giving out under the weight of infinite attack power.
Kaiba's Duel Disk flickered off, its lights dimmed, and even his Life Points stopped displaying. Yet, despite the Duel Disk shutting down, Obelisk's attack surged forward, as though it transcended the game's rules.
"Is this what it means to be a god, to surpass the Duel Disk and the rules of the game itself?" Hoshino murmured, watching the unstoppable force approaching her field.
"Master!!" Karna called out, standing firm and ready for the final blow.
"Even though gods may be rare in this world, in Chaldea, they're everywhere!" Despite the pressure of Obelisk's overwhelming power, Hoshino showed no signs of retreat.
"Infinite attack power? I'll face it head-on with the infinite flames of my burning spirit!" Hoshino raised her Duel Disk, which was sparking dangerously, and pressed the button to activate her final set card.
(*****)
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