"Activate the Spell Card from my hand, [Divine Three-Legged Race]!"
[Divine Three-Legged Race Spell Card Effect: ① Send the monsters listed as Fusion Materials for a [Heroic Spirit] Fusion Monster from your hand or field to the Graveyard, then Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck.]
Kaiba's eyes sharpened. "So it's a Fusion card exclusively for Heroic Spirit monsters?! You intend to create a miracle through Fusion? But small chances like that don't always come through, Hoshino!"
"This isn't a small chance, Kaiba!"
Watching the radiant fusion glow envelop Nobunaga and Okita on the field, Hoshino replied confidently.
"For me, this is a 100% guaranteed victory path! According to the card's effect, I send [Heroic Spirit – Okita Sōji], [Heroic Spirit – Oda Nobunaga], and [Heroic Spirit – Jeanne Alter] from my hand to the Graveyard for a Fusion Summon!"
"Again, me?! I'm just passing through!" Jeanne Alter grumbled with a disgruntled look, echoing words she'd said before.
"Are you ready, Okita?!"
"Enough talk, just do it, Nobunaga!"
This was already the third Fusion between the two of them, and their synchronization was flawless—no need for extra theatrics—
—They simply swung their fists toward each other!
"Can't you two find a more peaceful way to fuse?!"
"No, this is the most fitting way! It's the truest expression of the bond between Okita and me!"
"Fusion!" x2
A flash of lightning followed, and in an instant, a storm of fusion energy swept across the battlefield.
"I really can't handle these two!" Hoshino smiled warmly, then turned her gaze toward The Wicked Avatar and the swirling black energy on the field.
"Evil God, this is the final battle!"
Slamming down the card that triggered the fusion storm, Hoshino's Duel Disk lit up with an unprecedented glow.
"Fusion Summon! [Heroic Spirit – Majin-Okita Sōji (Alter)]!"
Slash!
A pitch-black blade sliced through the swirling energy on the field. Wielding the Rengoku greatsword, almost as tall as herself, Okita Alter pointed it forward.
"I am the one who cleaves demons, pierces gods, and channels the prayers of men. Counter Force, Okita Sōji!"
[Heroic Spirit – Majin-Okita Sōji Alter ★★★★★★★★★★ (10 Stars)][DARK][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 2500]
"According to Okitan's effect, her ATK increases by 1000 for each [Heroic Spirit] monster I've banished! Since I've banished Spartacus and Marie Antoinette, her ATK rises by 2000 points!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 3000 → 5000]
"5000 ATK?! Is this Hoshino's trump card?" Kaiba, though unfamiliar with the card, knew Hoshino wasn't bluffing when she claimed a 100% chance of success. That meant this wasn't her first time summoning Okita Alter.
"Can that monster really defeat the Evil God?" Mokuba wondered aloud.
"With moves that cool, she's bound to win! Go, Hoshino-nee!" Akasha cheered.
Within seconds, a similar black spiral rose from Yako's side of the field. "Interesting! So this is the final battle, huh? My Evil God will take it head-on!"
From within the swirling energy, The Wicked Avatar took on an identical appearance to Okita Alter.
"So this is the power to pierce the gods! You haven't disappointed me!" Mimicking Okita Alter's stance, The Wicked Avatar also sliced through the storm surrounding it.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 5001]
"No good. The Evil God's attack is still higher!" Kaiba gritted his teeth, locking his gaze on Hoshino. "Can your Heroic Spirit truly open a path to victory?"
"Let's go! Let's fight! For this burning moment, let our blood ignite! Okitan!"
Throwing all her cards from the Graveyard into the air, Hoshino scattered them skyward. The Heroic Spirit cards, glowing faintly, illuminated the dark space like stars.
"This is the final strike, harnessing the light of all Heroic Spirits! Okitan, attack The Wicked Avatar!"
"She's launching a direct attack?!" Yako was shocked, never expecting Hoshino to make such a bold move.
"Pierce the dust!"
In a blink, the two Rengoku greatswords clashed dozens of times on the field. Without the trailing sparks in the air, no one would have seen the blindingly fast exchange of blows.
"What level of battle is this? It's like a collision of auroras!" Mokuba was awestruck, watching trails of black and golden light streak across the battlefield.
"Even so, with its lower ATK, Okita Alter should already be destroyed!" Yako pointed at the clash in front of him, certain his victory was imminent.
"Yako, this is the crucial move I've prepared to defeat you!"
"!?"
"The time has come! Now, everything falls into place!" Hoshino revealed the card she had set earlier, its brilliant light enveloping Okita Alter as she fought.
"Trap Card! [Avalon of Radiance Path]!"
[Avalon of Radiance Path Continuous Trap Card Effect: Target 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster in Attack Position on your field. ①: As long as this card remains on the field, the targeted monster cannot be destroyed.]
"Thanks to Avalon's effect, Okitan can't be destroyed by battle!"
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 498 → 497]
"So what? Even if it can't be destroyed by battle, you still can't defeat my Evil God!"
"Oh, it has meaning! This is the Path of Radiance, the road that will annihilate evil!"
"Because Okitan wasn't destroyed, her effect activates!"
[When this card's attack does not destroy a monster, you can banish 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster from your Graveyard. This card can attack again.]
"I banish Boudica from my Graveyard. Keep attacking, Okitan!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 5000 → 6000]
"Show him the unstoppable infinity!"
"Yes, Master!" The aurora exploded once more, scattering across the field like a rainstorm.
"Useless! No matter how much your ATK rises, you won't defeat me!" As Okita Alter accelerated, The Wicked Avatar followed closely, refusing to be outdone.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 5001 → 6001]
Due to Wicked Avatar's continuous effect, its ATK is always 1 point higher than the highest on the field.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 497 → 496]
"It's not over yet! I banish Jekyll from my Graveyard! Keep attacking, Okitan!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 6000 → 7000]
"Pierce the dust! Cut off the divine will with boundless light!" The golden aurora, capable of destroying even gods, expanded infinitely, engulfing the battlefield.
"Interesting! I've never faced a battle like this! But it's not enough; this power alone won't defeat me!"
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 6001 → 7001]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 496 → 495]
"One strike, if not stopped, leads to a second. A second strike, if not stopped, leads to a thousand strikes…" The Heroic Spirit cards that Hoshino had just cast from the Graveyard floated above her, glowing with power. "I banish Hyde from the Graveyard!"
"If a thousand strikes continue, they become infinite!" Each time a monster was banished by Okita Alter's effect, the radiance from the Heroic Spirit card transferred to her blade.
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 7000 → 8000]
The ground could no longer contain the fight. As the two clashed, wielding their great swords, sparks flew, pushing them higher, with the sky as their final battleground.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 7001 → 8001]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 495 → 494]
"The moment of truth, Hoshino-chan! Will your light shine through?" Da Vinci asked, her eyes full of concern. The pain from the Shadow Game was far more than just the reduced LP.
"To have fought to this extent, how could I give up now!" Though her body weakened, the fighting spirit in Hoshino's eyes burned ever brighter, reaching toward victory within her grasp!
"I'll banish Jeanne d'Arc from the Graveyard!"
The Jeanne card floating in the air sent its radiant holy light toward her.
"Hold on, Master!" Jeanne's gentle voice echoed from the light.
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 8000 → 9000]
"Akasha can feel it—the brilliance of the Heroic Spirits, the gathering strength of their souls!" Akasha exclaimed, watching the intense light. "This is what Hoshino-nee was talking about!"
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 8001 → 9001]
"Useless, useless, useless! What can this meaningless persistence bring you?"
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 494 → 493]
"This persistence you call meaningless is what will bring me my final victory! I banish Gilles de Rais (Saber) from my Graveyard!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 9000 → 10000]
"The attack power has reached 10,000?!" Mokuba, who had been dazed by the intensity of the battle, snapped back to reality as he realized the magnitude of the fight.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 9001 → 10001]
This wasn't just a battle between monsters with over 10,000 attack points—this was an endless power struggle between two forces constantly growing stronger, fighting an unprecedented duel atop the KaibaCorp tower.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 493 → 492]
"I banish Gilles de Rais (Caster) from my Graveyard!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 10000 → 11000]
"Brother, if this keeps up, the satellite won't be able to handle it!" Mokuba warned urgently.
Kaiba had already noticed. This battle, tearing through the sky, had long surpassed the Duel Disks' capabilities. The only possible explanation, one Kaiba was reluctant to accept, was that this clash had transcended the Duel Disk's limits—just like when Hoshino's Karna faced Obelisk.
"No matter!" Kaiba made his decision. "Shut down all resources from the Battle City Duel Disks and focus all available power here! This duel will ascend to even greater heights!"
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 10001 → 11001]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 492 → 491]
"I banish Nero Claudius from the Graveyard. Don't give up, Okitan!"
"Umu! This is a battle so epic even Rome would be shaken! You must defeat that monster in my place!" Nero's voice rang out.
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 11000 → 12000]
"You think you can defeat me? Dream on!" The Wicked Avatar, unfazed, remained confident in the face of the relentless attacks.
[The Wicked Avatar ATK 11001 → 12001]
"I banish Caligula from the Graveyard!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji Alter ATK 12000 → 13000]
(***)
In the Domino city—
"Hey, did the Duel Disk visuals just cut out? Did it break? This thing's expensive!" Jonouchi slapped his Duel Disk, confused.
"Look! Isn't there some kind of fight happening on top of KaibaCorp?!" Since the Duel Disks had all stopped, duelists and spectators alike turned to look up at the KaibaCorp building.
"It's true! Although you can barely see two small figures fighting, they look like silhouettes!" A passerby with sharp eyesight squinted, managing to make out the faint, shadowy battle.
"No way! Silhouettes fighting in the sky? And with effects like that?!"
(***)
Back on the duel—
"It's connected!" Hoshino shouted, filled with excitement.
"Hoshino, what do you mean connected?" Even Da Vinci was bewildered by Hoshino's relentless attacks.
"Da Vinci, the wills of the Heroic Spirits have connected!" Hoshino smiled, raising her arm toward the heavens. The Heroic Spirit cards, glowing like distant stars, were linked by an invisible silver thread. "This is their legacy, Da Vinci—the combined power of each Heroic Spirit, with the flame of hope growing brighter and breaking through limits!"
"Broke through the limits?"
"Heh heh, burn bright, Okitan! Channel the power of all Heroic Spirits into your blade and unleash your full strike!" Drawing a set card from her Duel Disk, Hoshino activated it with a triumphant shout.
Boom—!
Flames erupted from Okita Alter's blade, engulfing the entire battlefield in a wave of fire.
"This is my final trump card, Yako! Evil God!"
"—Go to hell! Continuous Trap Card, [Demon King of the Sixth Heaven]!"
[Demon King of the Sixth Heaven – Continuous Trap Card Effect: Once per turn, you can target 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster in your Graveyard. Banish that monster. At the end of each turn, both players take damage equal to the number of [Heroic Spirit] monsters banished x 300.]
"Using the effect of this Trap Card, I'll banish Oda Nobunaga from my Graveyard! This brings the total number of [Heroic Spirit] monsters in my banished zone to 11!"
"What?!" Yako's eyes widened, his shock evident as he processed the consequences.
"In other words, at the end of the turn, both players will take (11 x 300) = 3300 points of effect damage!"
[Tenma Yako LP: 2700]
"Cut them down, Okitan, with your final flame strike!" Watching as Okita Alter raised her fiery blade, Hoshino's lips curled into a confident smile.
"End of turn!"
"Eat this, Evil God!" Within the flames, Okita Alter roared as she swung her massive, flame-covered blade with all her might. "The sword lives up to its name—this is true purgatory!"
"Impossible! How could something like this happen?" The Wicked Avatar, staring at the oncoming flames, frantically denied the inevitable. "I am invincible! I cannot lose!"
"You've already lost, Evil God!" Hoshino pointed at the panicking Wicked Avatar, unleashing all her pent-up fury.
"You dare drag the great me down with you?!"
"Drag you down with me?! The only one dying here is you!" At that moment, a giant white figure appeared behind Hoshino, a gentle light enveloping her.
"I will eradicate all poisonous and harmful things! I will do everything in my power to bring happiness to the people..."
"This is my final set card! Trap Card [Nightingale Pledge]!"
[Nightingale Pledge Trap Card Effect: Can be activated when you are about to take damage that would reduce your Life Points to 0. That damage becomes 0. Afterward, restore your Life Points equal to the number of [Heroic Spirit] monsters on your field, in your Graveyard, and in your banished zone x 200.]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 487 → 3287]
"This is truly the final blow, Evil God!"
"Rengoku Absolute Sword—"
The black light, engulfed in flames from Okita Alter's blade, obliterated everything in its path, burning all creation in its wake.
"Zekken, Mukyusandan!"
[Tenma Yako LP 2700 → 0]
[Duel over. The victor: Hoshino Chiyuki!]
(*****)
I'm sorry, but I won't be able to post a chapter for the next few days due to a blackout caused by the storm.
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