"Okita—san—!"
Okita's sudden demise happened so quickly that Hoshino didn't even have time to react.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3499 → 3498]
"The number on the Life Points... This doesn't seem like something that would normally appear in Duel Monsters... but it does resemble the damage output of a certain pro player."
"Oh no, Hoshino's only monster on the field has been destroyed!" Now, the true power of The Wicked Avatar was revealed. No matter how high her monster's attack power, it couldn't stop The Wicked Avatar's attacks. Although The Wicked Avatar couldn't deal massive damage itself, it allowed other monsters on the field to attack without interference.
"Attack directly, Gene-Warped Warwolf!" Yako declared, targeting Hoshino, who now had an empty field.
"Awwoooo!" Although humanoid, the Warwolf howled like a lone wolf as it tore into Hoshino's defenses.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3498 → 1498]
"If this keeps up, I won't last much longer..." The combined pain of losing Life Points and having her soul stripped away made Hoshino realize that if she didn't end this duel soon, her soul might disappear before her Life Points hit zero.
"Delicious, absolutely delicious! The taste of a young girl's soul~" After Okita was destroyed, The Wicked Avatar, now transformed into Gene-Warped Warwolf, laughed.
Yako drew another card and threw it down. "My attack isn't over yet, Hoshino!"
"After the Battle Phase, I activate the Spell Card [Linear Accelerator Cannon]!"
[Linear Accelerator Cannon Spell Card Effect: Tribute 1 monster and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half that monster's original ATK. If you activate this card, you cannot activate any other Spell Cards this turn.]
"I tribute Gene-Warped Warwolf to activate Linear Accelerator Cannon! Fire the cannon!"
Sensing the Spell Card's activation, a giant cannon rose from the ground, swallowing Gene-Warped Warwolf. The energy beam shot straight toward the defenseless Hoshino.
[Gene-Warped Warwolf] tributed.
"Since Gene-Warped Warwolf's ATK is 2000, you take half of that as damage!"
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 1498 → 498]
"Turn end." Yako made no unnecessary moves to set cards. As long as The Wicked Avatar remained on the field, he believed his position was invincible.
"Not good, Hoshino-chan, this situation is very dire!" Da Vinci, usually optimistic, rarely voiced discouragement, but even she could see how bad things were. It wasn't just the battlefield; Hoshino's physical condition was also in serious jeopardy.
"Just one more monster... and I'll have all I need for my resurrection," muttered The Wicked Avatar, transforming back into a black orb. "I thought this Shadow Game would take many rounds to fully restore my soul, but you've far exceeded my expectations. The strength of your soul is almost godlike!"
"By the most powerful god... I hereby bestow upon you the title 'Mortal Who Stands Equal to the Gods'!"
"Spare me! I have no desire to stand equal to some third-rate god like you!" Hoshino spat in disgust, refusing the "honor" from the Evil God.
"You dare call me, the greatest Evil God, third-rate...?"
"My turn, draw!" Interrupting the Evil God's ramblings, Hoshino quickly drew a card from her deck.
"Hoshino-chan... you still haven't activated Destiny Draw. This is really getting tough."
"Destiny Draw? I'd almost forgotten about that..." A sly smile crept across Hoshino's face, even in this dire moment.
Before, Hoshino had relied heavily on Destiny Draw, but now, things were different. "Sorry, Da Vinci-chan, but I no longer need to depend on Destiny Draw."
"Hoshino-chan?" Da Vinci's puzzled voice held a hint of surprise as she caught sight of the confident smile hidden in Hoshino's expression. "Could it be... Hoshino-chan?!"
"That's right, Da Vinci. I've already seen it. I've seen a future that's even more distant and faint than Destiny Draw, but it's a future that truly exists!"
"In this duel, I'm going to surpass the gods and even transcend the predictions of Destiny Draw!"
In Hoshino's determined gaze, a light shone brighter than Destiny Draw, illuminating a future of victory that Destiny Draw had not foreseen.
"This is the strategy I've been building since last turn—to gather all the power of my Heroic Spirits in one place, the only way to defeat the Evil God!"
Playing the card from her hand, Hoshino's hidden smile of confidence finally blossomed.
"Now, I will gather all the light of the Heroic Spirits from the start until now and use the strongest human brilliance to sever the Evil God's immortality!"
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card, [The Place I Will Arrive]!"
[The Place I Will Arrive Spell Card Effect: ① Send 1 monster with [Heroic Spirit] in its name from your deck to the graveyard, then choose 1 of the following effects. ● Choose 1 monster with [Heroic Spirit] in its name in your graveyard, except the one sent to the graveyard by this effect, and Special Summon it. ● Choose 1 of your banished monsters with [Heroic Spirit] in its name, and return it to the graveyard.]
"I send [Heroic Spirit - Oda Nobunaga] from my deck to the graveyard to revive [Heroic Spirit – Okita Sōji] from the grave!"
"What?! Master, are you serious? You're sacrificing someone to bring back that sick woman?!" Even though it hadn't been summoned yet, Nobunaga's voice of disbelief came from the deck.
"Hahaha! Nobu, now you finally understand who the real ace of this deck is!" Okita's carefree laugh echoed from the graveyard. "Just because you were the MVP in one game doesn't mean you're back on top! When it comes to turning the tide at the last minute, it's always me, the strongest ace, Okita Sōji!"
One's in the deck, and the other's in the graveyard, yet they're still bantering. Quite the duo.
"Stop messing around; you both are indispensable in this situation..." Hoshino didn't immediately send Nobunaga's card to the graveyard but instead activate the spell card her hand again.
"Activate spell Card [Monster Reborn], Oda Nobunaga!"
Placing Okita and Nobunaga's cards on the Duel Disk simultaneously, their images quickly materialized.
Looking at Okita beside her, Nobunaga, now in a semi-transparent state due to being revived by the Monster reborn, asked, "Master, are we doing that now?"
"That's right, Nobu! To turn this duel around, we'll need to combine the power of the Heroic Spirits into one!"
"Fusion... and call upon the light of the Final Battle!"
(*****)
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