"Even with Medea destroyed, her effect still lets me add a card to my hand!" This small advantage Medea Lily had secured for Hoshino against the fierce assault of the Sky Dragon was not something she'd let Yugi dismiss so easily.
Hoshino's remaining cards in hand: 2 cards.
Kaiba, deep in thought, analyzed the situation. He'd never seen this hidden effect of Yugi's Sky Dragon before: "An effect that reduces 2000 ATK and DEF, huh? Against Slifer the Sky Dragon, any monster with less than 2000 ATK or DEF can't even survive being summoned. Even if it's above 2000, it would still be heavily weakened."
As a fellow wielder of a God Card, Kaiba couldn't help comparing it to his own Obelisk the Tormentor: "In terms of versatility, it truly surpasses my Obelisk."
"I'll set another card face-down and end my turn!" Yugi carefully placed a card onto his Duel Disk, his mind calculating every possible move. However, with fewer cards in his hand, Slifer's attack power diminished.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK 4000 → 3000]
"My turn, draw!" Facing the combined onslaught of both Kaiba and Yugi, even Hoshino was starting to feel the immense pressure of this duel.
"Facing two of the world's best duelists alone, not only am I starting five cards short, but they've each used Card of Demise twice! It's like I'm battling an entire deck on my own."
Noticing Hoshino's hesitation, Kaiba smirked. "Are you finally scared? Surrender now, and I might not hold a grudge against you."
Even Jonouchi, who usually jumped at the chance to bicker with Kaiba, didn't argue this time: "Yeah, Hoshino, maybe you should stop. Kaiba's a jerk, but Yugi's your friend, right?"
"Loser! If you have nothing useful to say, don't open your mouth!" Kaiba's sharp tone made Jonouchi flinch.
"Surrender? Who do you think I am?" Crimson lips curved into a sly smile as Hoshino responded to their "suggestions" with amusement. "If I challenged you two, I came prepared for the consequences!"
Yugi's expression grew serious. "Are you really determined to resist the power of a god until the end?"
"Yugi, aren't you mistaken?" With a pale, elegant hand holding a card, Hoshino glanced up at the roaring Sky Dragon on the field. "A god's strength is undeniable, but its wild, uncontrollable power is also its greatest weakness!"
"Defeat a god?" Yugi raised an eyebrow, clearly doubting her claim. "Don't forget that with Slifer's effect, you can hardly summon any other monsters."
"There's no need for more power. It's time to attack, Atalanta Alter!" Hoshino wasted no time, commanding Atalanta Alter to strike.
"Target: Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
"Hmph, you've finally given up." Kaiba barely looked up, dismissing it as Hoshino's last desperate move.
A blinding purple energy gathered at the tip of Atalanta's dark longbow. The silver-haired girl glared murderously at the enormous Sky Dragon towering above her, undeterred by its divine presence.
"I'll destroy…everything! I'm going to kill…everything!" Atalanta's voice dripped with venom, her bloodlust almost tangible in the air.
Even though Atalanta Alter's ATK was 1000 points lower than Slifer's, Yugi's instincts flared with danger.
"Die!" With Atalanta's enraged roar, a black arrow shot directly at the massive Sky Dragon.
Despite his unease, Yugi refused to back down: "Just an attack with 2000 points? Counter it, Slifer the Sky Dragon—Super Conductive Thunder Force!"
The clash between the black arrow and the bright thunderbolt created an ear-piercing explosion, the battlefield shaking under the intense energy.
At first, Slifer's thunder gradually gained the upper hand, overpowering the arrow. Yugi let out a slight sigh of relief. "Looks like I was just spooked for no reason. Keep pressing, Slifer!"
"Roar—!" Responding to Yugi's call, Slifer poured its full force into its attack, overwhelming Atalanta's black arrow and swallowing her slender form in a burst of lightning.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 5450 → 4450]
"So, it was just a reckless attack after all." Kaiba's tone was smug as he watched Atalanta Alter disappear in the aftermath.
Believing Hoshino had made a simple mistake, Yugi saw it as further proof of her faltering composure. "Surrender, Hoshino. There's no point in dragging this out."
Unfazed, Hoshino simply stared at the roaring Sky Dragon in the lightning-filled sky. "Yugi, let's go for round two!"
Following Hoshino's gaze, Yugi realized something was wrong: "What? She wasn't destroyed?!"
"Calydon…give me your strength!" Struggling against the onslaught, Atalanta Alter muttered through gritted teeth, refusing to be defeated.
"At this moment, I activate Atalanta Alter's special effect!"
[This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card battles an opponent's monster and you take battle damage, increase this card's ATK by the amount of damage you took. Also, negate the effects of the opposing monster, and this card can make an additional attack during the same Battle Phase.]
"Since I just took 1000 points of damage, Atalanta Alter's ATK increases by 1000!"
[Atalanta Alter ATK 2000 → 3000]
"Ohhh!" With her power surging, Atalanta Alter's sharp claws ripped through the surrounding lightning, her form radiating an even more ferocious aura.
Yugi's worst fears came true as Atalanta Alter's shadows began to engulf her. "She's matched the Sky Dragon's attack power, and she can attack again!"
"Blazing shadows…arrows of the hidden moon…accept my hatred!" The enormous darkness swirling around her petite form made Atalanta Alter's presence feel larger than life, her aura now rivaling the divine might of Slifer.
"This is my final card to push her power to its peak!" Hoshino's voice rang out as she played the card she had been holding back. With a dramatic flourish, she activated her Spell Card.
"Quick-Play Spell [Mad Enhancement EX]!"
[Mad Enhancement EX Quick-Play Spell Effect: ① Select 1 monster you control with [Heroic Spirit] in its name to activate. The selected monster gains 800 ATK until the End Phase. ② If the selected monster destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK.]
[Atalanta Alter ATK 3000 → 3800]
"End the god, Atalanta Alter! Deliver the earth-shattering blow!"
With a powerful leap, the silver-haired girl launched herself forward, her form a dark meteor streaking toward Slifer.
"—Tauropolos Skia Thermokrasía!"
With her entire body engulfed in violent darkness, Atalanta Alter charged at the Sky Dragon, explosive magical energy swirling around her and devouring the god's massive form from head to tail. The black aura, as sharp as a blade, slashed through the Sky Dragon's immense body. The god's wrath twisted into a desperate wail, echoing across the battlefield.
Yugi's eyes widened as he stared at the scene in disbelief. "Risking it all by sacrificing your own life points, huh? Quite the desperate play!"
Tauropolos Skia Thermokrasía—Atalanta Alter's Noble Phantasm, a double-edged attack that unleashed devastating power at the cost of her master's life points. If Hoshino hadn't raised her life points by 5000 with Holy Devotion earlier, she would never have dared to use such a reckless move at this stage of the duel.
Hoshino's gaze remained fixed on the Sky Dragon, its massive form dissolving into the air after Atalanta's attack. She spoke in a firm tone, her voice carrying over the battlefield: "Though the price was high, that was the blow to decide this duel. Due to Mad Enhancement EX's effect, Yugi, you'll take not only 800 battle damage but also Slifer the Sky Dragon's 3000 attack points as effect damage!"
Jonouchi gasped at the terrifying amount of damage. "That's 3800 points of damage in total—how much life does Yugi have left?" he asked, barely able to process the duel's intensity.
Honda quickly answered, his voice serious, "If I remember correctly, only 900…"
Jonouchi's eyes widened further. "Doesn't that mean Hoshino won?!"
However, Yugi's expression remained calm despite the dire situation. "Almost… but not quite," he muttered cryptically.
"?!" Hoshino narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Yugi smirked. "Slifer, show them your resilience!"
"Roar—!" In a final act of defiance, the Sky Dragon unleashed a brilliant beam of lightning that erupted from its fading form, slicing through the darkness and hitting Hoshino directly.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon] Destroyed
"What's going on? Even as it's being destroyed, Slifer fights back?" Hoshino exclaimed, gritting her teeth as her body tingled from the virtual damage.
[Yugi & Kaiba LP 100]
"As I said, that was way too close. If there had been even 100 more points of damage, it would've been over for us!" Yugi revealed the trap card he had set earlier. "But Slifer's final counterattack gave us the chance for a comeback!"
"Activate the trap card, [Barrel Behind the Door]!"
[Barrel Behind the Door Trap Card Effect: When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated that would inflict damage to you: Your opponent takes the damage instead.]
"Thanks to Barrel Behind the Door, I only took the 800 battle damage, while you'll take the remaining 3000 effect damage!" Yugi declared confidently.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 4450 → 1450]
Jonouchi's jaw dropped in shock. "They actually turned it around, dropping Hoshino from over 7000 life points to just 1450!"
"And thanks to Cú Alter's effect, only one monster can attack per turn, so you can't attack again!" Yugi added.
Cú Alter's effect, which limited the number of attacks per turn, had been a double-edged sword throughout the duel. It had protected Hoshino from Kaiba's initial onslaught but now worked against her.
"It's all up to you now, Kaiba!" Yugi said, stepping aside for his partner to finish the turn.
Kaiba smirked, his confidence undeterred despite their precarious life point total. "Hmph, only 100 life points left, but that's all I need!"
Even with only two cards in hand and an empty field, Kaiba's composure remained unshaken. The smirk on his face was enough to rattle even the most confident opponent.
"Tch, I was so close!" Hoshino muttered under her breath, frustration creeping into her tone. Although she had dominated the early game, Yugi and Kaiba had steadily turned the tide with their teamwork and resourcefulness.
"I'll set one card, and end my turn!" she declared.
Hoshino's hand: 1 card; face-down cards: 1
Her unease deepened as she glanced at her dwindling cards. While the Alter Heroic Spirits were undeniably powerful, they consumed resources at an alarming rate. Each Alter required precise setups and constant sacrifices, leaving her with fewer options as the duel wore on.
"Hoshino, the more you crave victory, the easier it is to let rage and darkness consume you," Yugi said solemnly, the Millennium Puzzle glowing faintly as he sensed the turmoil within her heart.
But Hoshino wasn't in the mood to listen. "You're worrying about me when you've got an empty field and only 100 life points? Focus on yourself."
"Wait! Hoshino, what's that thing on your back?!" Jonouchi suddenly exclaimed, breaking the tense atmosphere.
Unlike Kaiba and Yugi, who faced Hoshino head-on, Jonouchi had a clear side view and noticed something strange—the Millennium Ring hanging from her back.
"Why is the Millennium Ring attached to you?" he asked, his tone filled with both confusion and concern.
"Jonouchi-nii, are you checking out Hoshino-nee's backside?" Akasha shot him a look of disdain, as if accusing him of something inappropriate.
"The Millennium Ring?!" The mention of the artifact immediately put Yugi on high alert. "Hoshino, why do you have Bakura's Millennium Ring?"
Though the others knew little about the artifact's dark powers, Yugi was all too familiar with the spirit that resided within it. A sinking feeling settled over him. "Is this the reason for the darkness in your heart, Hoshino?"
"Darkness, light—there's no scientific basis for any of this nonsense!" Kaiba interrupted, his skepticism cutting through the tension. "My turn! Draw!"
"Activate the spell card, [Magical Mallet]!"
[Magical Mallet Spell Card Effect: Shuffle any number of cards from your hand into the Deck, then draw that same number of cards.]
"I'll return both cards in my hand to the Deck and draw two new cards," Kaiba declared, shuffling his hand back with calm precision.
"Draw!" Despite the high stakes, Kaiba's demeanor was unnervingly composed as he looked at the two new cards in his hand.
"Then I'll activate the spell card, [Monster Reborn]!"
Hoshino's eyes narrowed. "You actually drew Monster Reborn at the last second, huh? Its effect is powerful, but I don't think there are any monsters in your Graveyard that can surpass my Alter Heroic Spirit."
Kaiba smirked, his confidence unwavering. "Heh, I told you—this is a tag duel."
Instead of selecting one of his own monsters, Kaiba turned his gaze to Yugi. "I'll be using one of Yugi's monsters!"
"The monster I'm reviving is Chaos Magician!" The light of revival burst forth, and from it emerged the shadowy, imposing form of Yugi's legendary spellcaster.
[Dark Magician Of Chaos ★★★★★★★★ (8-star)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2800/DEF 2600]
"When did that monster end up in his Graveyard?!" Hoshino exclaimed, her confident facade slipping slightly as she faced the revived Chaos Magician.
(*****)
If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!