"— I activate the Trap Card Shining Starlight That Reverses Darkness! The moment Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form is destroyed, I banish all Alter monsters from my hand and Graveyard, including this card itself!"
[Shining Starlight That Reverses Darkness Trap Card Effect:
You can only use effect ① of this card name once per Duel.
①: When "Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form" on the field is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can banish any number of "Alter" monsters from your hand and Graveyard as Fusion Materials, then Special Summon 1 "Magical Girl – Illya Zwei Form" from your Extra Deck to your field, treating it as a Special Summon by its own effect.]
"I banish Heroic Spirit – Cú Chulainn Alter from my hand, along with Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form, Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter, and Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc Alter from my Graveyard — a total of four Alter monsters — as Fusion Materials!"
Even though the Fusion Materials were Alter monsters that embodied darkness and inversion, each card Hoshino banished caused the starlight pouring from the shattered heavens to shine even brighter.
"— Shine forth! Reverse the darkness! Let the hope born from the radiance of the stars illuminate the world! Special Summon Magical Girl – Illya Zwei Form!"
[Magical Girl – Illya Zwei Form ★★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 11)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
[When this card is Special Summoned: Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards your opponent controls.]
"Use the path traced by the stars to shatter Supreme King's Castle, Illya!"
"Yes, Master!"
Guided by Illya's small hands, the power of the stars descended from the shattered sky. Countless points of light rained down upon the Field Spell Supreme King's Castle, bombarding the fortress of darkness and evil until it crumbled to dust.
[Supreme King's Castle] Destroyed
Feeling the collapse of his castle behind him, Supreme King Jaden spoke solemnly.
"The stars that reverse darkness… But in terms of attack power, Malicious Bane is still stronger!"
"If we're comparing attack power, then Malicious Bane isn't even qualified to stand against her!"
Within the blazing Duel Links system in Hoshino's eye, the four black Alter cards banished as Fusion Materials merged into the shining card art of Illya of the Constellations.
Behind her, rainbow-colored energy wings formed from her magical circuits expanded and blossomed, stretching across the heavens like a radiant rainbow that divided the sky itself.
[This card is unaffected by other card effects. Its ATK and DEF increase by 300 × the total Levels of its Fusion Materials.]
"I activate the effect of Shining Starlight That Reverses Darkness! The four Alter monsters banished as Fusion Materials for Constellation Illya were: Cú Chulainn Alter (Level 9), Mysterious Heroine X Alter (Level 9), Illya Testament Form (Level 9), and Jeanne d'Arc Alter (Level 8) — for a combined total of 35 Levels!"
"Thirty-five Levels total?!"
Eve's jaw dropped as she hurriedly did the math.
"I-If each Level gives Illya 300 ATK, then thirty-five Levels means…"
"An increase of 10,500 ATK."
Kaiba frowned deeply and gritted his teeth.
"To unleash power like this at the very end… She's like a monster whose limits cannot be seen, Hoshino!"
[Magical Girl – Illya Zwei Form ATK 1000 → 11,500]
Hoshino Alter exclaimed:
["We did it, Aibo! With this ATK, Jaden would never dare crash Malicious Bane into her!"]
"However, the power of the Constellations can't last for very long. You know that too, don't you, Master?" Illya asked softly.
[During the End Phase of the turn this card was Special Summoned: Destroy this card, then Special Summon the Fusion Materials that were banished to Special Summon it, ignoring their Summoning Conditions.]
"Even if we can't maintain the Zwei Form until our next turn, as long as we survive this turn, Illya will be destroyed during the End Phase, and all four Alter monsters used as Fusion Materials will return to the field."
The plan was simple.
Use Illya's overwhelming 11,500 ATK to eliminate any desire Supreme King Jaden had to attack this turn.
Then, during the End Phase, Constellation Illya would be destroyed, and the entire cast of Alters would return to the field.
With no cards left in his hand or back row, Supreme King Jaden would have no possibility of making a comeback.
"This power… unbelievable!"
Harr's aged face gradually twisted.
Although Illya was also a Spellcaster like him, the magic she wielded completely surpassed anything he had ever witnessed. Even as a mere spectator, he could feel the crushing rejection imposed by the very laws of the world.
"I need to escape while there's still chaos and reorganize my forces and plans… Otherwise I'll lose. With only my current power, I absolutely cannot win!"
In his thousand years of schemes and calculations, this was only the second time Harr had encountered a power that could not be overturned through manipulation and strategy alone.
That absolute power reminded him of the supreme Kings of the Three Realms atop the World Tree Yggdrasil, before whom he had bowed a thousand years ago —
An existence engraved at the very end of causality itself. Something that could not be resisted.
"I won't let you escape, Harr."
Facing the power of the stars head-on, Supreme King Jaden spoke quietly.
"The moment Super Polymerization activated, you already lost your chance to leave."
"The moment Super Polymerization activated… d-don't tell me —!"
Harr's body suddenly trembled violently.
Only then did he realize that Super Polymerization had fused together not only monsters and dimensions, but the very concept of his existence as well.
"I proceed to the Battle Phase! Evil HERO Malicious Bane attacks Constellation Illya!"
"He's attacking?!"
Hoshino couldn't understand it.
She had assumed the Supreme King would simply end his Battle Phase and wait for Illya's power to fade on its own.
"Supreme King Jaden! You fused me into this Duel as well?!"
Unable to move at all, Harr's dark body was dragged by an irresistible gravitational force, as though pulled into a black hole.
He was forcibly drawn onto the Duel Field.
When Hoshino saw Harr's terrified face appear on the field before her, bound to the Duel in place of Supreme King Jaden, she finally understood his intention.
If Illya's attack connected after Harr took over, the Duel would end immediately.
And as the ruler of the Spellcasters, Harr would be erased by the rules of the World Tree.
"W-Wait, Supreme King Jaden! If you lose my power, can you really control this world by yourself?!"
With his life suddenly on the line, Harr desperately searched for a way to persuade him.
"If you spare me, I can give you control of all the Shadows of the King! I'll support your ambitions and help you stand at the pinnacle of this world!"
Supreme King Jaden replied coldly:
"Support my ambitions, huh? That certainly sounds tempting…"
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Harr hurriedly pressed on.
"My power will be yours from now on! If the two of us join forces, neither Hoshino Chiyuki nor the remaining three Kings will be a problem! We will rule both worlds together!"
"A tempting offer."
Jaden's voice remained utterly emotionless.
"But unfortunately, controlling and ruling the world was never my ambition. Someone like you could never understand that."
Continuing the Battle Phase without the slightest hesitation, he declared:
"I told you from the beginning that I never liked your methods. Now your only value is serving as the one who accepts the outcome of this Duel in my place."
"W-Wait! Whatever you want, we can still negotiate —"
"No need."
Supreme King Jaden's eyes narrowed.
"This world only needs one King."
Consumed by his desperate instinct to survive, Harr had completely failed to realize that no matter how tempting the conditions he offered were, Supreme King Jaden's attack declaration had already been made.
There was no way to stop it now.
"Counterattack, Illya!"
Meeting the attack of Evil HERO Malicious Bane, Illya gathered the power of the stars throughout her entire body under the guidance of the dazzling Mystic Code Ruby, illuminating the whole sky.
Ruby announced:
"Muscular system, nervous system, vascular system, lymphatic system — suspected Magic Circuit conversion complete!"
"— This is my full power!! 'Quintet Fire Saturation Barrage (Quintet Fire)'!!"
As a Spellcaster empowered by the stars, Illya unleashed a rainbow-colored tidal wave of magical energy from her hands.
With over 11,000 ATK behind it, the attack engulfed the final Evil HERO — and Harald, who stood helplessly on the opposing field.
[Evil HERO Malicious Bane] destroyed
[Harr LP: 400 → 0]
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! I — I actually lost in such a ridiculous way! You tricked me, Supreme King!!!"
His scream echoed across the shattered sky, giving voice to both his refusal to accept defeat and his fury toward Supreme King Jaden for having used him as a pawn.
But all of it amounted to nothing more than powerless rage.
Under Illya's full-power strike, everything was erased without leaving a single trace behind.
[Duel Ended]
[Winner: Hoshino Chiyuki]
"Is… is it over?"
The sudden twist in the final moments left everyone present unable to fully comprehend what had just happened.
To outside observers, it simply looked as though Harr had inexplicably rushed onto the Duel Field and heroically sacrificed himself by taking Illya's finishing blow in Supreme King Jaden's place.
"Jaden — no, Supreme King. What exactly are you trying to do?" Hoshino demanded through the dust cloud raised by the magical girl's bombardment.
As the dust gradually settled, Harr was nowhere to be seen.
Standing on the opposite side of the field was only Supreme King Jaden.
At some point, Harr's black armor had vanished, replaced by the familiar red uniform of the Slifer Red Dormitory.
"Just as I thought," Supreme King Jaden sighed as he put away his dark Duel Disk. "It's difficult to defeat you when I interfere midway through a Duel, Hoshino-sensei."
"The game ends here, Jaden."
Hoshino's tone carried a quiet edge of warning.
"If you keep acting this stubborn, I'll cancel every fried shrimp day in the Red Dorm from now on."
Minazuki immediately panicked.
"That's far too cruel! If you want to punish Jaden, don't drag the entire Red Dorm into it! I'll eat all of Jaden's fried shrimp for him instead!"
"Heh. Please spare me from at least that."
A faint smile briefly crossed Supreme King Jaden's lips before he turned away from everyone.
"The Dimension Fusion has already begun. This is no longer the Academy you know."
Everyone looked upward in the direction he indicated.
In the strange sky above, both a sun and a moon hung simultaneously.
"This is now a world created by dimensional fusion. Through the power of Super Polymerization, two neighboring dimensions have merged together and become a completely new dimension."
Hoshino Alter exclaimed:
["Two dimensions merging into a brand-new dimension? That's exactly what I predicted — it became an even bigger soap bubble!"]
"'Two neighboring dimensions merged together' sounds so casual, like visiting the dimension next door…"
Suddenly realizing something important, Hoshino hurriedly looked around.
Searching for something that should have been impossible to miss.
Something unimaginably massive.
Yet it was nowhere in sight.
"The World Tree Yggdrasil is gone!"
"Σ(ﾟдﾟlll) W-What?! When did it disappear?" Eve cried in shock.
"I'm the Star Grail Priestess, and I didn't notice anything!"
For a so-called Star Grail Priestess, she wasn't particularly useful at anything except eating.
"To be precise, it's not that Yggdrasil disappeared."
Supreme King Jaden stomped lightly on the ground beneath his feet.
"It's that our dimension and the dimension contained within the World Tree have fused into a single whole."
He continued:
"The world beneath our feet is now an entirely new world that has never existed before."
Hoshino's expression grew serious.
"By fusing our world with the world of the World Tree, what exactly are you trying to accomplish, Supreme King Jaden?"
"To fulfill my own path of supremacy."
His gaze drifted into the distance.
"And to keep the promise I once made with Yubel."
He stretched out a hand.
Before him, space split open into a vast darkness resembling the depths of the cosmos itself.
"It is time for us to part ways, Hoshino-sensei."
Taking a step forward, he began walking into the void.
"If you can survive in this newly fused dimension, then I imagine we'll meet again someday."
"Jaden-sama!"
Blair called out helplessly toward his departing back.
"What is happening? Why are you leaving, Jaden-sama?"
He did not turn around.
Ignoring Blair's voice, he continued deeper into the darkness of space.
"Jaden, you idiot! Wait a second!!"
Unexpectedly, Akasha's shout brought him to a stop.
"It's pointless, Akasha. No matter what you say, I have to leave."
"You think I'm going to tell you not to go? Don't flatter yourself~"
Akasha raised her middle finger toward him.
"凸(艹皿艹) I just wanted to say that black armor looks terrible on you. It's ugly as hell!"
"Akasha, maybe try reading the mood a little at times like this."
Alexis tugged helplessly at Akasha's sleeve.
"And one more thing."
Akasha added:
"Go wherever you want."
"But no matter where you run, you'd better be prepared."
Her voice carried absolute certainty.
"Because I'm definitely going to find you, beat the crap out of you, and drag you back here, Jaden!"
Comments