Mokuba swallowed hard, staring in disbelief at Hoshino's field, which should have been scorched by flames.
"Isn't it Tenma Gekko's turn? But Hoshino summoned three monsters?"
"So cool!" Akasha's eyes sparkled, her small body trembling with excitement.
"Heh, the last move went a little off-track, huh?" Gekko chuckled helplessly, gazing at the radiant summoning light storming through Hoshino's field.
"Knowing it's a duel you're bound to lose, yet still persisting this far... It seems Mr. Pegasus was right—Hoshino, you truly are a duelist unafraid of darkness and fear."
"Gekko, this truly is a duel destined for loss..." Hoshino's confident smile radiated with infectious determination, her eyes brimming with desire.
"But it's you who's bound to lose this duel!"
That deep desire to grasp victory.
"Let's see if you can really create a miracle, Duel King!"
Maybe the words of the girl in front of him were just too compelling. Though they were opponents in the duel, Gekko now found himself filled with curiosity—he wanted to see how she could possibly turn such a hopeless situation around.
"Still, that said, I won't make it easy for you! I set a card, end my turn, and activate the effect of [The Legendary Exodia Incarnate], returning one piece from the graveyard to my hand..."
"I retrieve the [Left Leg of the Forbidden One]."
The card Gekko set was undoubtedly the continuous trap card Obliterate!!!, which had been returned to his hand by Elizabeth in the previous turn. After retrieving a piece from the graveyard, Gekko now had four of the five Exodia pieces—'Head,' 'Right Arm,' 'Left Arm,' and 'Left Leg.'
And the last piece, the Right Leg of the Forbidden One, was at the top of his deck.
[Exodia, the Summoned God ATK 4000 → 3000]
"Your turn, Hoshi..."
Mid-sentence, Gekko, who was about to politely signal Hoshino, caught a glimpse of a sly, triumphant smirk on her face.
Suddenly, a green flash shot out from Hoshino's graveyard. Within that flash, an agile figure swiftly dashed along the walls of the hallway, circling behind Gekko.
"What is that?!" Gekko turned his head to follow the light.
The figure leaping into the air was a beautiful girl dressed in a green outfit, shaking her cute cat ears and swaying her cat tail.
But in stark contrast to her adorable appearance were the longbow she aimed directly at Gekko and the sharp, focused look of killing intent in her eyes.
"At the start of this turn, I activate the special effect of [Heroic Spirit – Atalanta], which was just sent to the graveyard!"
[①: If this card is sent to the graveyard, during your next standby phase, special summon it from the graveyard.]
While everyone was distracted by the green figure, Hoshino quietly drew a card from her deck and placed it onto the duel disk.
[Heroic Spirit – Atalanta ★★★★★★ (6-star)]
[WIND] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 2000/DEF 1800]
"So this is your card for a counterattack. I'm not sure what effect it has, but to prevent any mishaps..."
Despite being surrounded from both sides, Gekko remained calm, activating his set card without hesitation. "Continuous trap card [Obliterate!!!]. No need for me to explain the effect, right?"
"I send [Right Arm of the Forbidden One] from my deck to the graveyard and return your [Heroic Spirit – Atalanta] back to your hand!"
Since Gekko had already gathered the necessary pieces, he casually selected one part as the cost to send to the graveyard.
[The Legendary Exodia Incarnate ATK 3000 → 4000]
The massive figure of Exodia Incarnate turned to Atalanta, who had been lurking behind Gekko, raising its hands and gathering the flames of the forbidden god once again.
"I won't let you get away with that, Medea, it's your turn now!" Hoshino shouted as she threw the card [Rule Breaker] onto her duel disk.
"Alright! Leave it to me, Master!"
Despite her small frame, Medea Lily was filled with courage and determination beyond her size. Responding to the activation of the card effect, an oddly shaped dagger appeared in her hand.
"I might not be good at fighting, but I'll do the job properly for Master!"
Her feet quickly danced across the ground as Medea's purple hair flowed in the wind from her swift sprint.
"Because Medea lily is on the field, I can activate the counter trap card [Rule Breaker] from my hand!"
[Rule Breaker - Counter Trap Effect: If you control a [Heroic Spirit – Medea], you can activate this card from your hand. ①: When a spell or trap card is activated while you control a [Heroic Spirit] monster, you can activate this card. Negate the activation, return that card to the owner's deck, and your opponent cannot activate the returned card or any cards with the same name this turn.]
In stark contrast to Exodia's enormous form, the petite Medea firmly gripped Rule Breaker and stabbed it into Exodia Incarnate's back.
"Magical providence, oh natural master of this world, return all to its origins—Rule Breaker!"
A small wound erupted with an enormous burst of magical energy across Exodia Incarnate's back.
"Roar!" Exodia bellowed as the flames it had gathered to attack Atalanta instantly dissipated.
"Yay! I did it, Master! >v<"
"Now your [Obliterate!!!] can't activate anymore, Gekko. You've got no way to stop me now!"
After successfully interrupting the trap card, Hoshino drew another card from her deck and placed it down, "Now I activate the effect of [Heroic Spirit – Atalanta]!"
[②: When this card is successfully special summoned, equip it with a [Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven] from your deck or graveyard.]
"Come to me, the ultimate weapon bestowed by the Moon Goddess Artemis..."
[Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven - Equip Spell Effect: Equip this card only to [Heroic Spirit – Atalanta]. ①: When the equipped monster attacks a defense-position monster, inflict battle damage to your opponent equal to the difference between this card's ATK and the DEF of the defense monster. ②: ...]
"Gekko, this is my final card to create a miracle—let's go! [Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven]!"
"Bow?" Mokuba, still puzzled, repeated quietly to himself. "It's just an equip card, can it really turn the tide in a situation like this?"
Right now, it wasn't just a matter of the field. With Gekko's Exodia Incarnate boasting 4000 attack points and being immune to other card effects, the power boost from a mere equip card seemed rather limited.
What's more, this equip card didn't appear to increase any stat.
"Just watch, Mokuba. Try not to drop your jaw, okay?" Hoshino chuckled, snapping her fingers and gesturing towards Atalanta, who was positioned behind Gekko. "Go ahead, Atalanta!"
"Yes, Master! Now it's hunting time!"
Atalanta's brief but characteristic response was followed by a wink as she pulled back the Bow of Heaven, her aim locked tightly on Gekko.
"Is she going for a direct attack on the player?" Mokuba wondered aloud, recalling the strategy used by Yuta, combining Legendary Fisherman III and Shooting Star Bow – Ceal. "Does this have a similar effect? But Gekko still has 4000 Life Points."
Without addressing Mokuba's concerns, Hoshino merely focused her gaze on Atalanta as she drew back her bow. "Get ready to witness my attack!"
"I won't let the prey escape!" With Hoshino's declaration, Atalanta released the bowstring, and two green arrows shot out from the Bow of Heaven, tracing beautiful arcs through the air.
"Two arrows?!" Mokuba exclaimed.
The Bow of Heaven could manipulate the trajectory of its arrows using magical power. As long as Atalanta had her target in sight, it was impossible for a normal target to escape.
The arrows, bending through the air via magic, flew past Gekko's body and struck… not the player, but the only card left face-up in Gekko's back row: the continuous spell Heart of the Underdog.
Like a shattered mirror, the struck card crumbled into pieces of data before disappearing completely.
[Heart of the Underdog] destroyed.
"You're still targeting my spell card at this point? It's pointless," Gekko remarked, shaking his head as he watched his magic card get destroyed.
His next draw would bring him the final piece of Exodia, and Heart of the Underdog was a card he wouldn't be using again.
"Hoshino…" Gekko trailed off.
"Don't be so hasty, Gekko. That was just the prelude!" Hoshino smirked.
"That's right, Hoshino just shot two arrows!" Mokuba suddenly realized, his eyes darting around in search of the second green star still hiding in the air.
"!!!" But before Gekko could even process it, the second green arrow had already grazed his cheek, lifting strands of his white hair as it passed by.
If it weren't for the fact that these were holographic projections, Gekko's face would likely be marked with a thin scratch from the arrow's wind.
"So it was a direct attack after all!" Mokuba shouted in surprise.
"No, that's not it! The target is…" Akasha, equally shocked, keenly sensed a difference.
"The target is his hand!" she cried out.
The second arrow's true target was revealed as it struck Gekko's hand, something no one had anticipated.
In a flash, one of the four cards in Gekko's hand was knocked down by the glowing green arrow.
The sound of the arrow striking the ground reverberated, and the fallen card landed on Gekko's side of the field.
"This… this can't be happening!" Gekko's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the card that had been shot from his hand.
For Exodia's victory condition to be met, all five pieces must be in hand. In the very last turn before victory, Gekko's hand was suddenly disrupted, something he had never expected.
"That was a good move, Hoshino."
Grinding his teeth, Gekko's wide-eyed shock was undeniable. Even if it was hard to believe, there was no denying that this situation had been orchestrated by the girl standing before him.
"Care to explain how you pulled that off?"
"Of course," Hoshino said confidently, flashing a smile and pointing at Atalanta's card on her duel disk. "I activated [Heroic Spirit – Atalanta]'s effect!"
[Effect ③: Once per turn, you can destroy up to three face-up Spell/Trap cards you control. For each card destroyed, target that many Spell/Trap cards on your opponent's field, and send them to the Graveyard. Then, if you destroyed two or more cards, you can add one [Complaint Message on the Arrow] from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand.]
"But your field only has one face-up Spell card…" Gekko furrowed his brows as he scanned Hoshino's field.
"Exactly!"
"That's right, the only face-up card on my field is the Bow of Heaven! I destroyed it with Atalanta's effect, taking out your Heart of the Underdog in the process."
"The first arrow did that, but the real issue comes from the second arrow, doesn't it? It must have something to do with the Bow's effect."
"You're quite sharp, Gekko." Hoshino raised an eyebrow, impressed that he was able to remain so composed even after being countered. It was likely due to his naturally calm demeanor, or perhaps his vast dueling experience.
"This isn't about staying calm. I'm actually quite agitated right now…" Gekko stretched out his trembling right hand, his fingers clutching his cards tightly from sheer emotion. "But my physical condition won't allow me to show it."
"What a strange person you are," Hoshino murmured softly, before removing the Bow of Heaven from her duel disk's card slot.
"When the Bow of Heaven is destroyed, its second effect activates…"
[Effect ②: If this face-up card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, reveal your opponent's hand, then select one monster from it. Special Summon the selected monster to your opponent's field, with its effects negated.]
After declaring the card's effect, Hoshino raised the Bow of Heaven and pointed it towards the green arrow embedded in the ground. "The monster I choose is the [Exodia the Forbidden One] in your hand!"
With a whoosh, the green arrow exploded, forcibly summoning the pierced card onto the field.
[Exodia the Forbidden One ★★★ ][Dark][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
The comical head of Exodia, having been struck down by Atalanta's arrow, stood defenseless in front of Hoshino.
"Alright! Now that Gekko's missing one piece of Exodia, he won't be able to complete it next turn!" Mokuba cheered, feeling the momentum shift in Hoshino's favor.
"Hoshino, I think you're forgetting something," Gekko interrupted, his voice calm but resolute. "I just used Obliterate to send the head back to the graveyard. Even if you force it out of my hand, next turn I'll just return it to my hand with Exodia Incarnate, and I'll still win!"
"Heh, Gekko… everything is going according to plan." Hoshino's confident smile remained unwavering as she raised her arm and pointed toward Altera on the field.
"If I were just trying to destroy your hand, I wouldn't call this my final, decisive move!"
"Destroy their civilization and bring them ultimate despair, Altera!"
(*****)
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