"Is this Evil God really that strong?" Even Da Vinci, who had remained calm when Skill Drain fully suppressed Hoshino's field, now wore an expression of surprise.
"With near-absolute resistance and the constant highest attack power on the field, defeating the Evil God head-on has become an impossible task."
"What are we going to do, Da Vinci? Come on, help me out!" Hoshino's furrowed brow showed her struggle as she tried to think of a way to defeat the Evil God. But deep down, she realized—there are limits to human ability.
"Stop struggling. There's no way in this world to defeat me." As if reading her thoughts, the Evil God, now in the form of Caligula after Nero's defeat, spoke with a sinister smile.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 1501]
"Now, surrender your soul!"
Even after changing its appearance, it wore the same eerie smile. "Your soul looks delicious. Offer it up for my revival!"
"Your revival?!" Hoshino barely had time to finish her question before an intense pain overwhelmed her, her soul feeling as if it were being torn apart.
"Wasn't your goal to resurrect Pegasus?" Hoshino questioned through gritted teeth, trying to withstand the pain. "This feels more like a ritual for the Evil God's revival!"
Yako's frantic reaction was more unexpected than anything else. "How could this happen? Didn't you say this ritual would revive Pegasus?! You lied to me, didn't you?"
"Don't say it like that, Yako~" The Evil God tilted its head at a mocking 45-degree angle. "We're in this together, remember? You're the one who offered your soul to summon me. But, to be honest, your soul isn't nearly enough. I still need quite a bit more before I can fully manifest!"
Its tone grew more menacing, eyes filled with killing intent. "Keep going, Yako. Take that girl's soul for me, and I'll grant your wish."
"Yako, this is the Evil God's whispering! Don't be deceived!" Hoshino suddenly recalled the message left by Gekko, realizing he had known all along that Yako was under the Evil God's influence.
"I've already…" Yako's hand, holding his cards, trembled slightly.
"It's no use! When Yako summoned me, his body was already taken over by the Evil God. Now he can't defy my orders."
"I've already… gone too far to turn back!" Yako continued his moves, playing cards from his hand.
"Remember, when you stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares back at you!" The Evil God, now in Caligula's form, let out a maniacal laugh, behaving more like a Berserker than Berserker itself.
"I activate the Continuous Trap Card [Ultimate Offering] again and summon a monster from my hand face-down!"
[Tenma Yako LP 600 → 100]
"Then, I set a card and activate the Quick-Play Spell [Emergency Provisions]!"
[Emergency Provisions Effect: Send any number of other Spells/Traps you control to the GY; gain 1000 LP for each card sent to the GY this way.]
"I send Skill Drain, Ultimate Offering, and the newly set card to the Graveyard. I gain 3000 Life Points as a result!"
[Tenma Yako LP 100 → 3100]
"Oh no, this is really bad now, Hoshino-chan…" Da Vinci exhaled sharply. "I was just calculating the possibility of using direct damage to defeat Yako, but now that's out of the question."
"And since the Equipment Spell [Black Pendant] was sent to the Graveyard, its effect activates!" Yako pulled three cards from his Duel Disk and placed them in the Graveyard.
[Black Pendant Effect: The equipped monster gains 500 ATK. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3999 → 3499]
"Even the Spell Cards he sacrifices deal damage. What a terrifying obsession…" Though it wasn't as painful as the soul-ripping earlier, Hoshino still felt uncomfortable from losing Life Points during the Shadow Game. Without thinking, she muttered Nero's, "Umu."
"Turn end!"
Yako's remaining hand: 1 card (Goblin Attack Force), set cards: 0
"My turn, draw!"
"Even though I can't think of a way to defeat the Evil God, at least I still have plenty of cards in my hand. The situation's not too bad."
With the extra draws from Card of Sanctity, Hoshino's hand had swelled to seven cards.
However, even with so many cards, her words were more a way to comfort herself. The Evil God's absolute resistance to card effects meant she couldn't banish it or return it to the hand, and she was stuck with only a 1-point difference in attack power.
"Hoshino-chan, the face-down monster Yako just summoned must be Cyber Jar!" Da Vinci whispered, fearing Hoshino might focus too much on the Evil God and overlook other threats.
"You're right, Da Vinci. Every jar monster is trouble. I'll have to deal with it carefully."
Without rushing to play any cards, Hoshino moved directly into the battle phase. "Go, Caligula! Attack that face-down monster!"
"Nero!!" Caligula's fist, filled with hatred from Nero's loss, crashed down on the card.
The attacked card revealed a jar-shaped mechanical monster, which shattered into dust with one punch.
[Cyber Jar] destroyed
"Now, activate the Flip Effect of Cyber Jar!"
[Cyber Jar Flip/Effect: Destroy all monsters on the field, then both players reveal the top 5 cards from their Decks, then Special Summon all revealed Level 4 or lower monsters in face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position, also add any remaining cards to their hand.]
"And since the Evil God is unaffected by monster effects, only Caligula will be destroyed!"
The explosion from Cyber Jar engulfed the field.
[Heroic Spirit - Caligula] destroyed
"Now, reveal your cards and Special Summon any Level 4 monsters!"
"Another five draws, huh? That's a hand explosion if I've ever seen one." Unlike Yako, who was nearly empty-handed, Hoshino was now holding more cards than she could manage.
"Special Summon [Heroic Spirit – Spartacus] in face-up Attack Position!"
[Spartacus ATK 1500] "With love, I will destroy the oppressors!"
"Special Summon [Heroic Spirit – Marie Antoinette] in face-up Attack Position!"
[Marie Antoinette ATK 1000] "Master seems troubled. Shall I heal you?"
Of the five cards Hoshino revealed, only two were Level 4 monsters. She had to add the remaining three to her hand, bringing her total hand size to a staggering ten cards. If she didn't use them this turn, she'd have to discard down to six at the end of her turn.
"I have to find hope to defeat the Evil God in these ten cards…"
Hoshino scanned her hand repeatedly, her eyes finally landing on Okita… and…
"Based on the effect of Cyber Jar, I'll also Special Summon monsters with 4 stars or less."
Yako flipped through five cards and placed the monsters in order.
[Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei★★★★ (4-stars)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 2300/DEF 0]
[Goblin Elite Attack Force★★★★ (4-stars)][EARTH][Fiend/Effect][ATK 2200/DEF 1500]
Both had high attack power but switched to defense mode after attacking. Normally, they'd be summoned in combination with Skill Drain.
But that wasn't important now. Their main role was to provide attack power for the Evil God.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 2301]
"What a vulgar body paired with vulgar power!" said The Wicked Avatar, now in the form of the Indomitable Fighter, clearly dissatisfied with its new appearance.
"Hey, girl, don't you have any stronger monsters?"
"Damn, the two monsters on Yako's field are stronger than any of Hoshino's!" Despite being 4-star monsters, Yako's had significantly higher attack power, preventing Hoshino from launching another offensive.
"Stronger monsters? Of course, I have them!" Hoshino drew one of the ten cards from her hand and slapped it onto the Duel Disk. Right now, her biggest advantage was having plenty of resources.
"There's no way I'll stop attacking here! Even if the advantage is slight, I must fight for it!"
"I don't dislike the struggles of the weak~."
"Shut up, Evil God! How could someone like you, who relies on borrowed power, possibly understand? Victory is like the faint light of small advantages gathering together, forming a brightness even more dazzling than the sun! Quick-Play Spell [Heroic Spirit Summon]!"
[Heroic Spirit Summon Quick-Play Spell Effect: You can only activate one of this card per turn. The turn this card is activated, you cannot perform a normal summon, and non-[Heroic Spirit] monsters cannot be special summoned. ①: You can activate this card by banishing 2 [Heroic Spirit] monsters from your hand or field. Special Summon 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster from your hand.]
"I banish Spartacus and Marie Antoinette from the field to Special Summon!" Hoshino took out the card of Okita and slammed it down. "It's your time to shine, ace!"
In a flash of green light, Okita Sōji appeared, brimming with confidence. "Oh! The strongest and invincible Okita Sōji is here to bring Master the final victory!"
[Heroic Spirit - Okita Sōji★★★★★★★ (7-Stars)][WIND][Warrior/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2000]
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 2501]
"Not bad. I like the feel of this monster," The Wicked Avatar smirked, fully transformed into Okita's form. Its voice, now matching Okita's, sounded noticeably pleased.
"Though it's not as impressive as that red one, this one is still quite good..."
Hoshino's eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean, 'not as good as the red one'? Okita-san is super strong too!"
Drawing her sword, Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune, Okita dashed forward with lightning-fast footwork, creating afterimages as she moved.
"Thanks to Okita Sōji's effect, after a normal attack, she can make additional attacks equal to the number of monsters on the opponent's field! Go, Okita-san, destroy Indomitable Fighter and Goblin Elite Attack Force!"
"This time, it's not a sneak attack, but a direct and honorable fight! Okita Style True Assassination Sword... Double Slash!"
Slash! x2
Two clean sword slashes instantly severed the two monsters Yako had just summoned.
[Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei] destroyed.
[Goblin Elite Attack Force] destroyed.
"Hmph, I knew those weaklings couldn't be relied on." For some reason, the cold smile on The Wicked Avatar's face, now wearing Okita's form, felt unsettlingly out of place.
"Now, let me..." The Wicked Avatar stopped mid-sentence, its expression shifting suddenly.
Then...
Cough! x2
Okita Sōji's notorious weakness activated twice.
[Okita Sōji ATK 2500 → 2300]
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 2501 → 2301]
"Why?! Okita-san's illness should have been cured already!" Okita, shocked, looked down at the two pools of blood she had just coughed up, filled with confusion.
"I forgot to tell you: with Skill Drain no longer on the field, your illness has returned." With a sympathetic look at the despairing Okita, Hoshino comforted her, "Well, rest in peace."
"How can this be?! How could something like this happen!" On the other hand, The Wicked Avatar looked even more shocked than Okita, its worldview seemingly shattered.
"I actually got hurt? The invincible me got hit without even seeing the enemy's attack, and I coughed up blood!?"
"Heh heh, how does that feel, Evil God?" Watching the Evil God, now in Okita's form, take damage, Hoshino couldn't help but feel proud.
"This is the second stage of Okita's battle style: sharing is caring!"
"The fact that the Evil God also took damage... Hoshino-nee is so strong!" Akasha, not fully understanding but still impressed, looked up with admiration.
"Does that... really count?" Kaiba's mouth twitched, unable to fully process what he had just witnessed.
"But don't forget the rules of the Shadow Game, Yako. You've had two monsters destroyed this turn; make sure to savor the experience!"
[Tenma Yako LP 3100 → 2700]
Once again, white energy surged from Okita's sword, striking Yako. "Ahh! Okita-san's automatic follow-up attack is as cool as ever!" Hoshino cheered, satisfied.
"Even though your soul isn't that flavorful, it's better than nothing," Okita in her black-clad form wiped the blood from her lips, her expression turning serious once again.
"You'd better step it up, Yako, and harvest more souls from the opponent! Just a few more monsters, and the container will be full."
"I'll set three cards and end my turn." Even with Okita's weakness active, her attack power remained lower than The Wicked Avatar's, so Hoshino wasn't going to recklessly launch another attack.
Hoshino's remaining hand: 5 cards, set cards: 3.
"My turn, draw!"
"I'll summon the monster [Gene-Warped Warwolf] in attack mode!"
[Gene-Warped Warwolf★★★★ (4-stars)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior][ATK 2000/DEF 100]
Yako immediately played the drawn card. Instead of summoning the Goblin Attack Force from the previous turn, he chose the effect-free Gene-Warped Werewolf.
Cough! Another familiar sound of Okita coughing up blood echoed as her frail body weakened further, split open by a pitch-black blade the moment the werewolf was summoned.
"Heh heh, you talk big, but you're just a weak monster."
[Okita Sōji] destroyed.
"My blade... has once again cut down something worthless."
(*****)
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