"So it devoured a god just like that… Chaos Dyson Sphere… any monster that battles it gets stacked beneath it as Xyz Material…"
Although Slifer, as a Divine Beast, isn't affected by the effects of monsters with Levels lower than its own, that restriction only applies to Levels—it has no effect against Xyz Monsters, which use Ranks instead.
Realizing the terror of the Xyz Monster summoned by Hela, Hoshino analyzed cautiously:
"There's no 'once per turn' limit… which means that as long as anything battles that thing, no matter what monster it is, it'll get swallowed."
It felt as if a cosmic black hole capable of devouring everything had appeared before them. With undead flesh writhing inside its mechanical body, that aberration essentially made destruction by battle impossible.
"This is bad," Kaiba said seriously. "With Proof of the King on the field, the opponent's Zombie-type monsters can't be destroyed by card effects either."
"Ugh—can't destroy it by effects, and if you try to destroy it in battle, it just absorbs you… what a cheating monster!" Eve complained.
"Your struggle—and your fate—ends here!" Hela commanded the God Slime that had yet to attack, launching a direct assault. "It's over—crush them, God Slime!"
The God Slime, deliberately modeled after Obelisk, swung its massive gray fist down at Hoshino and the Pharaoh.
"I'm counting on you, Illya!"
Flipping her face-down Quick-Play Spell—with Atem having already used all his cards, even Kuriboh—Hoshino had no choice but to block the follow-up attack herself.
"—Quick-Play Spell activated: You from Beyond!"
[If you control no monsters, you can Special Summon 1 "Magical Girl – Illya" from your Deck or banished zone.]
Placing the card from her Deck onto the Duel Disk, the small, adorable figure of Magical Girl Illya materialized amid sparkling starlight.
"In Defense Position—block God Slime's attack! Magical Girl – Illya!"
[Magical Girl – Illya ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
Used as a shield, Illya appeared on the field and, before she could even react, found herself facing the massive punch of God Slime—completely overwhelmed.
"You're making an elementary schooler block something like this, Master? That's too cruel—"
"(￣＃)3￣) Oof, that hurts—!"
Before she could even finish speaking, Hela didn't hesitate for even half a second—choosing not to cancel the attack—and God Slime's fist slammed straight into Illya's face.
[Magical Girl – Illya destroyed]
"D-Did it… stop it?" Eve asked nervously, wincing in sympathy at Illya's beating.
"It did stop the direct attack," Hela smirked. "But what about this next move?"
Ending the Battle Phase decisively, she immediately activated the effect of Chaos No.9, her grin growing even more manic.
"Return the power absorbed from the god back to you!—wipe everything out with the lightning of the Sky Dragon!"
[Once per turn: Inflict damage equal to the number of Xyz Materials × 300]
"—O star that covers the heavens, containing all creation! With 4 Xyz Materials attached, Chaos No.9 deals 1200 points of direct damage to you!"
[Hoshino & Atem LP: 500]
["With your current LP, you absolutely can't take that hit, aibo!"]
"I know that!"
That much didn't need to be said.
At some point, a monster card placed on Hoshino's Duel Disk began to shine—radiating the golden brilliance of a holy sword under the indiscriminate attack of the Heavenly Canopy Star.
"Split apart this lightning, Illya—!"
"Yes, Master!"
"W-What? Why is Illya still here?!" Eve exclaimed in shock. Just moments ago, she had clearly seen Illya get crushed by God Slime—yet now she stood on the field again, holding a holy sword.
"—Trap Card activated: Fading Away – At the Time of Reunion!"
Activated the instant Illya was destroyed, Hoshino pulled out her final face-down card from the Duel Disk and revealed it with a smile.
[When an "Heroic Spirit" monster you control is destroyed, you can banish Fusion Materials (including that monster) from your hand, field, Deck, or Graveyard to Fusion Summon from the Extra Deck. Then you take 400 damage for each banished monster.]
"When Illya was destroyed, I used her as Fusion Material together with Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily from my Deck to perform a Fusion Summon!"
"Wait—if you used two materials, wouldn't you take 800 damage?!" Eve asked in confusion. "Wouldn't that end the duel without Hela even needing to attack?"
"That would've been the case—but only if I hadn't Fusion Summoned this card!"
"—The flower-path knight of voyage: Magical Girl – Artoria Lily Illya!"
[Magical Girl – Artoria Lily Illya ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 1000]
["Magical Girl – Illya" + "Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily"]
"As long as this card is on the field, all effect damage I take becomes 0!"
Since the damage from Fading Away – At the Time of Reunion resolves after the Fusion Summon, it gets completely negated.
"And of course—not just that damage, but also the effect damage from Chaos No.9!"
Facing the sweeping lightning attack, Illya raised her golden holy sword high above her head. Layers of protective energy, blessed by spirits, wrapped around the blade.
"Become a barrier—Golden Victory Sword!"
The holy blade clashed with the lightning from the Chaos Dyson Sphere, the two forces canceling each other out and dissolving into silence within the undead world.
"And when Illya is banished as Fusion Material, she can Special Summon herself back to the field!"
[Magical Girl – Illya DEF 1000]
"And when both Magical Girl – Illya and Magical Girl – Artoria Lily Illya are Special Summoned, I can add one Phantasm Summon and one 'Magical Girl' monster to my hand!"
["You've mixed a Magical Girl engine into a Synchro Deck… aibo, you really have no right to criticize Yugi for running Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon."]
"Of course—because as long as the bond is strong enough, you'll never brick~"
From the Graveyard, Okita shivered. "Suspicious…! Master, are you saying your bond with Illya is stronger than with me?!"
With her decisive finishing damage blocked, Hela frowned slightly in irritation.
"How tenacious, Hoshino Chiyuki! No… at this level, it should be called pointless stubbornness!"
Thanks to the hand replenishment from Card of Sanctity, Hela—now rich in resources—placed four cards onto her Duel Disk in one go, filling her back row.
"You have no more chances. The Chaos Dyson Sphere I summoned, combined with the power of Proof of the King, will devour everything in this world with absolute force!"
[Hela: 4 Set Cards]
"As long as my Life Points haven't dropped to zero, I still have a chance! My turn—draw!"
At last, it was Hoshino's turn again. After two rounds of Card of Sanctity and Illya's search effects, her hand had grown to a terrifying size.
"With all of you here, there's no way I'll lose!" Her determined gaze swept across every card in her hand as she officially began her turn.
"The bond between cards and duelist can create the possibility of a comeback, no matter how desperate the situation! From my hand, I activate the effect of the card I just searched—Magical Girl – Miyu!"
A second magical girl, Miyu, emerged from the card, gently taking Illya's hands as she gripped the holy sword.
"Thanks to Magical Girl – Miyu's effect, I can return one Fusion Monster on my field to the Extra Deck, then Special Summon a Heroic Spirit Fusion Monster that shares at least one of its materials!"
Miyu: "Go, Illya! With our power combined—awaken the hero of Avalon!"
"I return Magical Girl – Artoria Lily Illya to the Extra Deck, and Special Summon a Fusion Monster that also uses Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily as material!"
"You're summoning another Artoria Fusion Monster, Hoshino?" Atem asked, surprised.
He had expected another Magical Girl, but this time Hoshino clearly wasn't following the usual play.
"This is the form of perfection—the dream path prayed for by a girl from Avalon, born from infinite possible futures!—Special Summon: Ideal King of Knights – Artoria Pendragon Lily!"
[Ideal King of Knights – Artoria Pendragon Lily ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Dragon/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2400/DEF 2100]
The fusion of two Artorias created an ideal form—perhaps the ultimate future Lily could reach in some timeline.
"Now then, let's go all out, Master! No matter the future, we will protect it to the end!"
"Activate the effect of Ideal King of Knights—"
[Once per turn: Special Summon 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster from your Graveyard.]
"In Attack Position—Special Summon: Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji!"
For the third time, Okita returned to the field, guided by the radiant light of the ideal king's holy sword, her hand resting lightly on her blade.
[Okita Soji ATK 2500]
"This time, we'll settle it, Master!"
"Yeah!" Hoshino replied, setting a card from her Deck. "When Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji is Special Summoned, I can set one card from my Deck that mentions her!"
"Endlessly summoning monsters—are you trying to mask your fear?" Hela mocked, relying on the oppressive power of the Chaos Dyson Sphere.
"Even Slifer, the god of the human underworld, could not escape its fate. To me, these monsters will simply be devoured all the same!"
"Who told you humanity only has one god of the underworld?" As Hoshino drew a card from her hand, the power within her Graveyard resonated, as if it had been waiting for this very moment.
"I activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Ereshkigal from my hand!"
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. Return 2 "Heroic Spirit" monsters from your Graveyard to the Deck to Special Summon it.]
"I return Marie and Kiyohime from my Graveyard to the Deck. With the conditions met—I Special Summon the Mistress of the Underworld to my field!"
"The mistress of the underworld?" Hela raised a brow in surprise. "So many gods… This only proves how weak humans are, placing their hopes in countless deities. A truly powerful realm of the dead has no need for such things!"
"That has nothing to do with weakness, Queen of the Dead!" Amid brilliant summoning light, Ereshkigal descended, her spear striking the barren ground of the undead world.
"A dead world without life or hope cannot give birth to gods. It is precisely because humanity has wishes—because it yearns for something better—that its history shines so brilliantly!"
[Heroic Spirit – Ereshkigal ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DARK][Fairy/Spirit/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 2000]
"Realm of the dead? Undead world? Don't make me laugh!" Her golden hair flowed with magical energy as her crimson eyes swept across the desolate land.
"We won't lose, Master! Absolutely won't lose to a world that has nothing but power—and nothing else!"
