Borrowing the original X Alter card overlaid beneath the Xyz Monster as material, X Alter Infinity gained absolute immunity through the power of the Soul Gems, effortlessly blocking the destruction effect of Vicious Claw.
And because no monster was destroyed, the follow-up effect of Vicious Claw — which would have inflicted 600 points of damage — could not activate either.
"Tch, another troublesome immunity effect?"
After his destruction effect was blocked and the Battle Phase came to an end, Supreme King Jaden placed the recovered Vicious Claw back into his Duel Disk.
"Since Vicious Claw was activated through the Trap Card Armory Call, I can still activate the recovered Vicious Claw from my hand this turn and equip it to Infernal Wing again."
[Infernal Wing ATK: 1500 → 1800]
"So after equipping Vicious Claw again, it gains another destruction-substitution effect?"
"But the ATK reduction from Star Wars of the Servant Universe isn't something you can recover from."
Although Infernal Wing currently appeared to have 1800 ATK, 1400 of that came from Supreme King's Castle. Including the 300-point boost from Vicious Claw, its original ATK had effectively been reduced to only 400.
"Heh. Isn't there still a rather interesting Continuous Trap on your field?"
Pointing toward Hoshino Alter's active Continuous Trap Deliverers of Wishes, Supreme King Jaden smiled mysteriously.
[Deliverers of Wishes Continuous Trap Effect: Once per turn, during either player's Main Phase: Add 1 card from your Deck to your hand. Then your opponent draws 2 cards. Your opponent can discard 1 card to negate this effect.]
"During Main Phase 2, after the Battle Phase ends, I activate the effect of Deliverers of Wishes!"
Raising his Duel Disk as though gathering ultimate power, strange ripples reflected within the Supreme King's golden eyes.
"This power?"
Harr's eyes went wide with shock.
"The ultimate Darkness of the Universe… It's as though even separate dimensions are trembling under its influence. Is this the Supreme King's hidden absolute power?!"
"Through the effect of Deliverers of Wishes, I add Super Poly—"
"— Stop him, Hoshino-chan!"
"That voice… Da Vinci?"
Hoshino Alter exclaimed in surprise.
"You absolutely cannot let the Supreme King get that card into his hand! Deliverers of Wishes's effect can be stopped, right? This is not the time to be stingy with your hand!"
"So I can negate the effect? Got it!"
Although she had no idea what kind of terrifying card could make even the all-capable Da Vinci sound so anxious, Hoshino Alter obediently discarded one of her two remaining cards.
"I discard 1 card to negate the effect that lets you search your Deck!"
The ultimate power the Supreme King had begun to unleash was interrupted midway, and the trembling dimensions gradually returned to stillness.
Lowering his Duel Disk, Supreme King Jaden praised her:
"So you sensed the danger. Your instincts are pretty good, Sen—… Hoshino Chiyuki."
"Why does Jaden force himself to change the way he addresses her every single time? It sounds so awkward."
Minazuki tilted his head in confusion.
"Probably because he's deliberately maintaining his character image," Akasha analyzed. "I mean, he's already the Supreme King. If he keeps calling her 'Sensei,' it'll make him seem immature."
"I see. A delayed chuunibyou phase. Completely understandable."
Minazuki nodded in agreement.
"I don't think the reason is that shallow…" Alexis complained.
Placing all of his remaining hand cards into his back row as face-down cards, Supreme King Jaden chose to end his turn after failing to search for his card.
"I set all three cards in my hand and end my turn."
[Supreme King Jaden: 0 Hand Cards | 3 Set Cards]
[Evil HERO Infernal Wing ATK: 1800 → 400]
"So what exactly was all that about, Da Vinci?"
Hoshino Alter looked down at the Millennium Bracelet on her wrist.
The Fake Millennium item — the Millennium Bracelet, which had remained inactive for a long time, was glowing once again. It had been quite some time since Da Vinci had personally intervened in a Duel.
"To put it simply," Da Vinci explained, "the instant Supreme King Jaden attempted to search for that card, the alarm in Chaldea's Observation Room was triggered. SHEBA detected traces of dimensional vibrations."
"Dimensional vibrations? Can something like that really happen because of a single card?"
"It can. And the reality is even more extreme."
Da Vinci's tone turned serious.
"Not just this dimension — every dimension observable through the SHEBA Lens, including the dimension where you used to live, Hoshino, was affected by the Supreme King's power just now."
"Not just one dimension?"
Hoshino Alter blinked.
"Then if dimensions start vibrating like you said, Da Vinci, what kind of bad outcome could happen?"
"The barriers separating dimensions would become destabilized. In the worst-case scenario, multiple dimensions could merge together. Beyond that point, theory can no longer adequately explain what happens."
Da Vinci paused before adding:
"Actually, why don't we let a certain detective who's been quiet for a while analyze it?"
"Do we even need analysis for something like this?"
A familiar voice suddenly joined the communication.
Holmes sounded utterly exasperated.
"Claiming it can't be explained by theory is simply Ms. Da Vinci's excuse for being lazy. This doesn't require theory at all — it can be explained with common sense."
"I know this one! It's Elementary again, my friend!"
Hoshino Alter brightened.
"Holmes, are you about to use your Noble Phantasm?"
"My apologies, Miss Hoshino."
Holmes sighed.
"Those previous instances where I claimed things were 'Elementary' were mostly just me bluffing. But this time, it truly is Elementary."
"Just imagine different dimensions as soap bubbles. If multiple soap bubbles collide with one another, what happens?"
"They merge into a bigger soap bubble?"
"They might merge into a larger bubble. That's a low-probability outcome, but it would be the best possible ending — multiple dimensions combining into a single larger one."
Holmes' voice grew more solemn.
"The far more likely bad ending is that every bubble bursts."
"After all," Da Vinci added, "once the barriers between dimensions are disrupted, those dimensions become even more fragile than soap bubbles."
"I completely understand now."
Hoshino Alter nodded.
"(I absolutely do not understand.)"
"But basically, whether it's the good ending or the bad ending, both are incredibly troublesome, right?"
She turned her gaze toward the Supreme King across the field.
"I originally thought the darkness hidden within Jaden's heart was similar to Aibo's or Yugi's."
"But now… it's completely different."
The ability to casually draw out a power capable of disrupting dimensional stability and merging entirely separate realities was far beyond a simple "three-times-stronger corruption."
"More importantly, is Aibo okay, Da Vinci?"
Hoshino Alter asked anxiously.
"She's fine, so don't worry."
Da Vinci gave an immediate, reassuring answer.
"The other half of her soul is probably just asleep. As long as Harr's barrier is destroyed, she'll most likely wake up as though she'd simply had a dream."
"Then there's nothing left to worry about!"
Drawing her card for the turn, Hoshino Alter glanced at the few cards remaining in Supreme King Jaden's Deck. She estimated that the card possessing the power to fuse dimensions had a high chance of being drawn naturally, even without a search effect.
"So all I need to do is end this Duel this turn!"
"But the opponent still has more than ten thousand Life Points, Master. Can we really deal enough damage in a single turn?" Illya asked worriedly.
[Supreme King Jaden LP 11400]
"It's only ten thousand damage. Back when Aibo fought the Sacred Beasts, she dealt a hundred thousand damage in a single turn. If I can't even manage ten thousand, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
"Can we please stop bringing up that time I took a hundred thousand damage in one turn?" Raviel muttered from the sidelines.
"One hundred thousand damage… what a wonderful and exhilarating memory~"
Touching her flushed cheeks, Uria drifted off into her own fantasies.
A card was automatically ejected from White Star's Deck into the Graveyard through her AR Duel Disk as she activated the effect of Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form.
"Once per turn, I can send an Alter monster from my Deck to the Graveyard, and Illya Testament Form gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK until the End Phase!"
"Dark Noble Phantasm Deployment!"
Infused with Alter power, Ruby transformed into a Noble Phantasm adorned with a black dragon banner.
"The Alter monster I'm sending to the Graveyard is Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc Alter!"
"— 'Gah! I'm so pissed off!'… No, wait — 'Roar, My Wrath!'"
[Illya Testament Form ATK: 1000 → 4000]
Gaining 3000 ATK from Jeanne Alter, Illya Testament Form waved a black holy banner as dragon flames erupted beneath her feet.
"Hoshino's monsters have a combined total of 7000 ATK now!"
Mokuba exclaimed excitedly.
"And Infernal Wing's ATK has been reduced to only 400! If she summons another monster with Blue-Eyes White Dragon-level ATK, she'd have a chance to break ten thousand damage!"
"Monsters on the level of Blue-Eyes White Dragon aren't so easy to summon."
Kaiba glanced at Mokuba and assessed the situation.
"Besides, Infernal Wing's Vicious Claw can substitute for its destruction and destroy another monster afterward. Not to mention the ATK boosts provided by the Field Spell Supreme King's Castle."
"But if Hoshino intends to commit fully to offense this turn," Yugi stated confidently, "she'll definitely use Deliverers of Wishes to search for that card."
"That card?" Mokuba asked.
"— I activate the effect of Deliverers of Wishes! I add a card from my Deck to my hand. And since Supreme King Jaden has no cards in hand, he can't stop this effect!"
As if confirming Yugi's prediction, Hoshino Alter revealed the virtual card she had searched out.
"I add the Quick-Play Spell Hero Creation from my Deck to my hand!"
The Quick-Play Spell Hero Creation possessed a powerful effect: increasing a Heroic Spirit monster's ATK by 1000 and doubling the battle damage it inflicted.
Although X Alter Infinity was unaffected by other card effects, using Hero Creation on Illya — boosting her ATK by 1000 and doubling her damage — did make it theoretically possible to wipe out the Supreme King's Life Points this turn.
However, considering that Jaden had set three cards at the end of his last turn, Hoshino Alter was not optimistic enough to believe victory would come so easily.
"In exchange for your activation of Deliverers of Wishes, I draw two cards from my Deck."
Unlike the previous turn, no eruption of ultimate power occurred this time.
Apparently, the Supreme King still hadn't drawn the card capable of fusing dimensions.
"Next, I activate the Xyz Effect of Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter Infinity!"
[Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material; all monsters your opponent controls lose ATK and DEF equal to this card's Rank × 300 until the end of the turn. During the turn this effect is applied, when this card battles a monster whose current ATK differs from its original ATK, this card's ATK becomes doubled during damage calculation only.]
"Power Stone — activated!"
A crimson ring extending from the Infinity Gauntlet passed through Infernal Wing's body, stripping away the last of its remaining power.
"After detaching an Xyz Material, I reduce Infernal Wing's ATK to zero!"
[Evil HERO Infernal Wing ATK: 400 → 0]
"And this turn, when Mysterious Heroine X Alter Infinity battles a monster whose current ATK differs from its original ATK, its ATK will double during damage calculation! Full assault!"
Hoshino Alter entered the Battle Phase.
With X Alter Infinity, Illya's 4000 ATK, and the Quick-Play Spell Hero Creation waiting in hand, she committed every ounce of offensive power to ending the Supreme King this turn.
"Reality Stone — activated!"
Drawing forth the familiar crimson lightsaber from the Infinity Gauntlet, X Alter Infinity surged forward, carving a path of annihilation toward Infernal Wing.
"— I activate the Trap Card High Speed Aria! By sending a Normal Spell Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I immediately activate that Spell's effect!"
The same combination Supreme King Jaden had once used to reverse the tide against King Frodi — High Speed Aria and Dark Fusion — was being deployed once again.
"I activate the Normal Spell Card in my hand — Dark Calling!"
[Effect: Banish 1 "Dark Fusion" from your Graveyard. Then banish the Fusion Materials listed on a Fiend Fusion Monster from your hand, field, or Graveyard, and Special Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck. This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon using "Dark Fusion."]
"Come forth — the Divine Dark Fusion that transcends all three realms!"
"I banish Evil HERO Infernal Wing on my field and Evil HERO Malicious Edge in my Graveyard as Fusion Materials!"
Without hesitation, the Supreme King sacrificed Infernal Wing, whose ATK had been reduced to zero and had become dead weight in battle.
The two Evil HEROes from his field and Graveyard merged under the effect of Dark Calling, awakening a darkness even deeper than before.
"— I Dark Fusion Summon Evil HERO Malicious Fiend in Attack Position!"
[Evil HERO Malicious Fiend ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][FIRE][Fiend/Effect][ATK 3500/DEF 2100]
["Evil HERO Malicious Edge" + 1 Level 6 or higher Fiend monster]
[①: While this card is in the Monster Zone, during your opponent's Battle Phase, all monsters your opponent controls are changed to face-up Attack Position and, if able, must attack this card.]
"This battle will be the stage upon which my strongest Evil HERO delivers your complete defeat!"
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