The burning Noble Phantasm pierced through Supreme King Jaden's body. Through the combined assault of Illya and X Alter, his Life Points — still over 10,000 at the start of the turn — were reduced to a mere 400, even lower than Hoshino Alter's.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 750]
[Supreme King Jaden LP: 400]
"W-We actually overtook him!" Akasha exclaimed excitedly.
"After fighting all the way down from 30,000 Life Points, they actually managed to surpass the Supreme King at the very last moment?" Minazuki's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Go, Hoshino! Don't lose!" Eve shouted passionately.
"Master, it's time to unleash the hidden final attack!"
Illya retracted the Jeanne Alter Noble Phantasm in her hand and sighed.
"I honestly thought you were just putting on a brave face when you said this duel would end this turn, Master. But I didn't expect we'd really fight our way to this point~"
"(;ﾟдﾟ) A hidden final attack?"
Removing the scorched and damaged Infinity Gauntlet, worn down by the overwhelming energy output, Mysterious Heroine X Alter also urged her on.
"Come on, Master-san, hurry up. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back and eat dessert. After making such a cool declaration about your counterattack, you must still have a finishing blow in reserve, right?"
"(*ﾟﾛﾟ) A finishing blow?"
"What's wrong, Master? Stop hesitating and do it already!" Illya blinked her innocent eyes and turned toward the frozen Hoshino Alter.
"Uh… how should I put this…" Hoshino Alter stammered, instinctively shrinking her neck into her collar while avoiding eye contact. "You know, that so-called hidden final attack… the finishing blow and all that…"
"Master-san?"
"(๑><๑)"
Tapping her own head, Hoshino Alter attempted to play cute and muddle her way through.
"Ahaha, I really didn't expect that after taking an attack of that magnitude, he'd still have 400 Life Points left… After all, situations where someone has over ten thousand Life Points are pretty rare~"
When searching for Hero Creation, Hoshino Alter had actually calculated how much damage she could deal that turn.
But on Supreme King Jaden's side, he had first activated Aria, then Fiery Fervor, and finally searched and recovered equipment from his Graveyard.
Faced with such an intense exchange of counters and responses, Hoshino Alter had completely gotten swept up in the heat of the duel. She had thrown everything else out of her mind and focused solely on countering her opponent and attacking with everything she had.
"Sorry. I said such a cool line but failed to finish him off. I'll perform a dogeza in my heart afterward, orz!"
Hoshino Alter sighed.
["You really make it impossible to stop worrying. If you're going to act cool, at least stay cool until the end of the turn~"]
"Aibo!"
The familiar voice echoing within her mind made Hoshino Alter cry out in delight.
"Thank goodness! You're finally awake!"
Hoshino replied:
["Why are you making it sound like I overslept and neglected my job? It's not like I wanted to be asleep."]
Just as Da Vinci had predicted, after Mysterious Heroine X Alter used the Infinity Gauntlet's power to shatter and erase Harr's Barrier, the sleeping Hoshino awakened as well.
"Though Jaden doesn't seem to have changed at all. That makes things a bit troublesome."
Even after the barrier's destruction, Supreme King Jaden remained completely unmoved. It seemed he had fully suppressed the original Jaden's personality and wouldn't be awakened so easily.
"Although it's troublesome, by this world's rules, winning the duel should restore everything to normal, right?"
Hoshino Alter reminded her:
"But Da Vinci mentioned that card — the one capable of merging dimensions…"
"I know. Leave the rest to me."
The Pyramid of Light on her chest glowed. The substitute player switched once again, and the newly awakened Hoshino reclaimed control of both her body and the duel.
"Two cards left in hand, huh? But to prevent the Supreme King from using Deliverers of Wishes to forcibly search that dimension-merging card, I need to keep one card in hand to stop the effect."
Selecting one of the two cards in her hand, Hoshino set it face-down in her Spell & Trap Zone and ended her turn.
Meanwhile, Supreme King Jaden still held one unknown card he had added this turn, along with the Equip Spell Vicious Claw, which had returned to his hand as a substitute for destruction by battle.
[Hoshino: 1 Hand Card | 2 Set Cards]
[Illya Testament Form ATK 4000 → 1000]
"So… so they actually shattered my barrier directly through the power of Duel Spirits?"
Only after Hoshino's turn ended did Harr truly realize what Mysterious Heroine X Alter's snap had erased.
It hadn't merely eliminated Evil HERO Malicious Fiend from Jaden's field.
"The Supreme King and Hoshino Chiyuki, both possessing dual souls… They're clearly human, yet both possess power equivalent to that of a King. No — if they can shatter a King's Barrier through combat alone, then their power has already surpassed mine by a considerable margin."
In that moment, there were two things Harr felt most grateful for.
First, unlike the previous Kings, he had not arrogantly declared war on them as a ruler.
Second, Supreme King Jaden, despite being human, was similar to him — a King born from darkness.
"Now I can only hope these two end up destroying each other. Damn it, what a miscalculation. After planning for a thousand years, I completely misjudged two children."
"So the ultimate power has finally arrived."
Placing his fingers atop his Deck, Supreme King Jaden's golden eyes shifted into heterochromatic colors.
"Although it was delayed by one turn, nothing has changed, Hoshino-sensei~"
"Sensei? Did Jaden finally forget to correct himself this time?" Minazuki asked.
"It feels a little different somehow," Akasha observed, studying the Supreme King's mismatched eyes. "The Supreme King seems a bit more like the original Jaden now."
"I see."
Hoshino nodded.
"I thought you'd completely suppressed Jaden's personality, but it seems the disappearance of Harr's barrier has affected you as well, Supreme King."
Even though he hadn't returned to himself the way Hoshino had, the awakened personality of Jaden Yuki was still influencing Supreme King Jaden to some degree.
"It's useless. Everything will disappear before this ultimate power."
The tremors of the dimensions echoed once more.
There was no need to use Deliverers of Wishes to search for it.
The card Supreme King Jaden had drawn this turn was undoubtedly the very card Da Vinci had feared — the one capable of merging dimensions.
"As I said from the very beginning, after I defeat Hoshino-sensei, no one in this world will be able to stop me."
"My turn! Draw!"
"And then — I Normal Summon Evil HERO Adusted Gold from my hand!"
[Evil HERO Adusted Gold ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Fiend/Effect][ATK 2100/DEF 800]
[This card cannot attack if there are no Fusion Monsters on your field.]
The Evil HERO raised its black cape. Despite being only Level 4, it possessed an impressive 2100 ATK. As a restriction, however, it could only attack while its controller had a Fusion Monster on the field.
A monster that couldn't attack on its own was typically summoned to serve as Synchro or Xyz Material, or as material for a Fusion Summon performed while on the field.
"Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form's effect activates! During the opponent's turn, I return 1 Alter monster from my Graveyard to my hand and destroy 1 monster on the field!"
Once again retrieving the Cú Chulainn Alter card from the Graveyard as ammunition for the magical girl, Hoshino pointed toward Evil HERO Adusted Gold on Supreme King Jaden's field.
"— Dark Element Burst! 'Quintet Fire Saturation Barrage (Quintet Fire)'!!"
A jet-black energy bombardment tore up the floor and surged toward Jaden's monster. Whether Jaden intended to use it for a Fusion Summon, Xyz Summon, or as a Tribute for a Special Summon, destroying it first would disrupt his setup.
"You're too slow, Hoshino-sensei!"
With a grin, Supreme King Jaden raised the card he had drawn this turn high above his head.
The tremors shaking heaven and earth intensified. What had once merely been a natural disaster was now advancing toward the complete collapse and distortion of the dimensions themselves.
"I chain to Illya's effect and activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Super Polymerization!!"
[Quick-Play Spell Effect: This card's activation cannot be responded to by Spell, Trap, or Monster effects.
①: Discard 1 card; Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck using monsters from either side of the field as Fusion Materials, sending those materials to the Graveyard.]
"I discard Vicious Claw from my hand as the cost for activating Super Polymerization! This causes Illya's destruction effect to lose its target. Furthermore, no effect can be chained to Super Polymerization!"
The vortex created by Super Polymerization resembled a black hole of light, swallowing Illya's black Quintet Fire Saturation Barrage whole.
"A Quick-Play Spell that absolutely cannot be chained to…" Yugi muttered, frowning.
"I use Evil HERO Adusted Gold on my field and Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter on your field as Fusion Materials for Super Polymerization!"
Since X Alter had been Special Summoned from the Graveyard through Infinity's effect, although she possessed an enormous 6000 ATK, she no longer retained the immunity to all card effects she had enjoyed earlier.
Within the effect of Super Polymerization, X Alter and the Evil HERO converged into a single beam of darkness. Above them, the sky itself appeared to fracture into black and white, as though shattered by the collision and fusion of opposing forces.
"— Fusion Summon! Evil HERO Malicious Bane!"
[Evil HERO Malicious Bane ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Fiend/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 3000]
[1 "Evil HERO" monster + 1 Level 5 or higher monster]
Clad in black demonic armor with grotesque blades protruding from every part of its body, the Evil HERO emerged from the dimensional chaos of Super Polymerization.
"He actually used Hoshino-nee's X Alter as Fusion Material?!" Akasha exclaimed in shock. "Doesn't that mean she just lost her strongest monster?!"
"If all that's left is Illya with 1000 ATK, then with Senpai's remaining Life Points, she won't survive this attack…" Alexis said grimly.
If Jaden had simply summoned Evil HERO Malicious Bane outright, Illya could have redirected the attack, forcing it to battle X Alter's 6000 ATK instead.
But the tyrannical, unchainable effect of Super Polymerization had directly fused away Hoshino's strongest monster.
"I activate my face-down Continuous Trap Card — Unforgettable One! I can Special Summon 1 'Heroic Spirit' monster that was sent to the Graveyard this turn!"
Throwing the card that had been sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material back onto the field, Hoshino broke free from the dimensional restrictions imposed by Super Polymerization.
X Alter, her clothes torn to shreds, returned to the battlefield once more.
[Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter ATK: 3000]
"I'm starving, Master-san," the tattered X Alter complained.
"The sugar reserves in my Alter Reactor are completely depleted. If this battle keeps going, there is a serious risk of system shutdown and labor strikes."
"It's already too late, Hoshino-sensei!"
Standing amidst the shattered dimensional space created by Super Polymerization, Supreme King Jaden declared:
"If your highest-ATK monster had still been on the field before Super Polymerization activated, I might have been cautious. But now, every monster on your field will become a soul claimed by the blades of Evil HERO! I activate Evil HERO Malicious Bane's effect!"
[During your Main Phase: Destroy all monsters your opponent controls whose ATK is less than or equal to this card's ATK. This card gains 200 ATK for each monster destroyed by this effect. After this effect resolves, only "HERO" monsters can declare attacks this turn.]
"This is the dark blade that shatters all things! Even the 6000-ATK Mysterious Heroine X Alter falls within Malicious Bane's hunting range!"
With a wave of his hand, countless black blades erupted across the field, slashing through the sky and earth, both of which had begun to shift in color after the activation of Super Polymerization.
[Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter] destroyed
[Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form] destroyed
[Evil HERO Malicious Bane ATK 3000 → 3400]
"It's over, Hoshino-sensei! Your defeat will mark the end of this dimension! Accept this final direct attack!"
"Jaden…"
Looking into the Supreme King's heterochromatic eyes, Hoshino spoke softly.
"I only realized it now, and for that, I'm truly sorry. From the very beginning, you've been asking me for help, haven't you…?"
"Help? You call this asking for help?" Supreme King Jaden scoffed.
"From the very beginning, you wanted me to stop you. More precisely, you wanted me to stop the soul of the Supreme King. Yet I only realized it now. As your teacher, I've completely failed you."
("It's over, Sensei… Hoshino Chiyuki. In the end, I won this duel. Now there is no one left in this world who can stop my ambition.")
"Don't make me laugh. Excuses like that can't change the reality of your defeat and the fusion of dimensions. Everything is already too late!"
"It's not too late yet —!"
Flipping over her final face-down card, the Duel Links system in Hoshino's right eye blazed with azure flames, releasing the duelist's willpower and fighting spirit.
"With the ultimate radiance of the stars themselves, I'll overturn Super Polymerization! — I activate the Trap Card Shining Starlight That Reverses Darkness!"
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