Chapter 749 - 749

With 2950 ATK, Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King was awkwardly still weaker than Blue-Eyes White Dragon. However, with nearly all of Hoshino's monsters suffering from the halved ATK debuff, it had become an almost insurmountable wall.

"Prepare yourselves to face the wrath of Master Peace, Hoshino!"

Despite it being Hoshino's turn, the dragon girl — her eyes now gleaming with golden light — continued making plays as though it were her own turn.

"First, I activate the effect of the Continuous Trap True Draco Apocalypse, which was sent to the Graveyard as Tribute!"

[True Draco Apocalypse – Continuous Trap Effect: If this card is sent from the Spell & Trap Zone to the Graveyard: Target 1 monster on the field; destroy it.]

The remnants of Apocalypse's black mist wrapped themselves around Master Peace's blade.

Spreading its magnificent golden dragon wings, Master Peace leapt into the air and slashed toward the strongest monster currently on Hoshino's field — Heroic Spirit – Katsushika Hokusai.

"With True Draco Apocalypse's effect, I choose to destroy Heroic Spirit – Katsushika Hokusai! Perish beneath the blade that whispers the end of the world — Swordmaster's Final Slash!"

"So this is your Master Peace… If that's your ace, then I won't hold back!"

Hoshino reached toward the top of her Deck while simultaneously activating another card that synergized with the Graveyard.

"Since Heroic Spirit – Marie Antoinette was sent to the Graveyard earlier as Synchro Material for Hokusai, her effect lets me add one Heroic Spirit monster from my Deck to my hand."

"And what good will adding a monster do when destruction is right in front of you?" the dragon girl retorted.

"Hehe."

"As long as you can predict your opponent's next move and prepare accordingly, even a searched card can break through a desperate situation!"

Turning the card in her hand face-up, Hoshino revealed the monster she had chosen before Master Peace had even appeared.

"Heroic Spirit – Irisviel von Einzbern!"

"The power of the Holy Grail!"

Gentle, sacred light burst forth above Hokusai's head, colliding head-on with the black mist surrounding the True Draco Swordmaster's blade.

Irisviel smiled softly.

"O pure white Holy Grail… sing your hymn!"

[Heroic Spirit – Irisviel von Einzbern Effect: Discard this card from your hand, then target 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster you control; until the end of the turn, that monster gains 1000 ATK and is unaffected by the effects of cards other than itself and this card.]

["She predicted the destruction effect and searched Irisviel ahead of time! Now Hokusai is not only immune to card effects, but her ATK also surpasses True Draco Master Peace's!"]

Brandishing her enormous brush, Hokusai faced the descending sword without the slightest fear.

Empowered by the Holy Grail, her sweeping brushstroke became a blade of ink that clashed directly against Master Peace's sword.

"Hey now! I'm officially recognized as the Las Vegas Swimsuit Swordmaster, you know! Don't expect me to be scared of some Swordmaster!"

[Heroic Spirit – Katsushika Hokusai ATK 2300 → 3300]

"Yes!"

Eve cheered excitedly.

"Even though Master Peace is immune to Monster and Trap effects, it doesn't have protection against battle destruction!"

"Hokusai's higher ATK can defeat it!"

"Hahahaha! So you predicted my destruction effect? Interesting! But I'm still one step ahead!"

Holding up her Frost Duel Disk, the dragon girl continued her combo.

"I predicted that you would predict my destruction effect! You thought my target was Hokusai… but my true objective was…"

As Master Peace's blade clashed against Hokusai's brush, it suddenly twisted away.

After retreating a short distance, its golden wings flared once more before it charged again.

This time…

Its blade pointed not toward Hokusai —

— but toward Qin Shi Huang.

"This time, I activate Master Peace's own effect!"

[Once per turn, if you control this Tribute Summoned monster (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 Continuous Spell/Trap from your GY, then target 1 other card on the field; destroy it.]

Removing a card from her Graveyard into the banished zone, the dragon girl declared:

"I banish True Draco Apocalypse from my Graveyard! I destroy your Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang!"

"So simply banishing a Continuous Spell or Trap lets it destroy a card…"

Eve counted on her fingers before suddenly realizing something.

Thanks to the mechanics of the True Draco archetype, the dragon girl had already accumulated quite a large number of Continuous Spells and Traps in her Graveyard.

Seto Kaiba frowned.

"With that many Continuous Spells and Traps in the Graveyard, she can freely activate a Quick Effect destruction ability whenever she wants."

"Exactly!"

The dragon girl laughed triumphantly.

"And Qin Shi Huang has already used his once-per-turn monster effect negation! From this point onward… there can only be one Wyrm on the battlefield!"

Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King's blade changed course and slashed across Qin Shi Huang's chest.

Without attempting to dodge, Qin Shi Huang accepted the strike head-on as though he had anticipated it all along.

"So… you've managed to wound my original immortal body. Hahaha…! How delightfully uncultured. And yet… you've managed to amuse me, if only slightly."

[Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang] destroyed.

"Oh no…"

"So the Ice King intended to destroy Hoshino's Wyrm from the very beginning?" Eve exclaimed.

Hoshino shook her head.

"I think saying things like 'I predicted your prediction' certainly sounds cool… but in reality… I doubt she actually predicted that I'd have Irisviel in my hand to grant Hokusai immunity and an ATK boost."

If the dragon girl had truly foreseen Irisviel, she would have targeted Qin Shi Huang from the very beginning.

Then, after Irisviel's effect resolved, she could have chained Master Peace's destruction effect afterward, preventing Hokusai from gaining the extra 1000 ATK.

["She wanted to destroy both of your monsters separately, Aibo…"]

"But she got greedy and ended up making a mistake."

Kaiba Man sneered.

"She was obviously just trying to save face. She didn't want to lose the battle of momentum against us."

"Shut up!"

The dragon girl snapped in embarrassment.

"No matter what! As long as you've lost your Wyrm monster… you'll never defeat me!"

"Even without my Wyrm… this battle will still be fought!"

At long last, the Duel officially entered the Battle Phase.

Hoshino immediately declared an attack with Heroic Spirit – Katsushika Hokusai, whose 3300 ATK now surpassed Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King.

"It's finally time for battle! Hokusai! Release your Noble Phantasm!"

"Alright! Let me show you the beauty that can only be painted in the depths of despair!"

Grinding her giant brush against the ground, Hokusai spread ink beneath her feet.

With brushwork that had already reached the realm of divine inspiration, she painted a masterpiece vast enough to engulf the entire battlefield.

["Although Heroic Spirit – Katsushika Hokusai normally reduces all of the opponent's monsters' ATK and DEF by 500 before damage calculation…"]

["Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King shouldn't be affected by that effect anymore, Aibo."]

Thanks to Hokusai's unique skill, "Pseudonym: Alien Octopus," she had fused with the abyssal Outer God, allowing her to paint using impossible, non-Euclidean geometry.

The artwork not only eroded the enemy's sanity… it also weakened their fighting strength.

"It doesn't matter anymore. As long as my ATK is higher, that's enough… Go, Hokusai!"

"Hah!"

"O Mysterious Emperor who comprehends all creation, Sovereign Star of the North that reigns over the eight corners of the world!"

Her brush danced across the air, shaking the heavens in every direction.

Countless strokes of black ink layered upon one another, merging into towering waves that rose skyward, forming a masterpiece unlike anything else in the world —

The floating world itself.

The forbidden masterpiece…

"I dedicate this stroke, poured with every ounce of my skill, to you!"

"Witness it!"

The masterpiece for which Hokusai was renowned throughout history.

Built upon the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, with the forbidden Ten Hidden Views added beyond them, her artistry had transcended all known limits.

"『Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji』— A Tour Through the Strange Seas off Kanagawa!!"

"Then I'll activate my final face-down card!"

Flipping over her last remaining Set card, the dragon girl declared:

"The King's power descends here!"

"I activate the Continuous Trap — King's Proof!"

"Hold it! Aren't all the King's Proof cards Continuous Spells?! Why is this one a Trap Card?!" Hoshino exclaimed in disbelief.

"Did anyone ever tell you they all had to be Spells?"

"Making assumptions is what leads to defeat, Hoshino~"

As King's Proof activated, a white tornado tore through the frozen battlefield around the dragon girl's bare feet.

"This card can only be activated if there are seven or more Wyrm monsters in my Graveyard!"

After several turns of relentless clashes, her Graveyard — now filled with countless True Draco and True King monsters — had finally met the activation condition for King's Proof.

"As long as King's Proof remains on my field, whenever one of my Wyrm monsters becomes an attack target, I draw one card! If it's a Spell Card, I activate it immediately!"

"So she gets to activate the effect as long as she draws a Spell?" Eve cried.

"If she draws something like Raigeki or Dark Hole during Hoshino's attack, wouldn't our whole field get wiped out?!"

Seto Kaiba calmly analyzed:

"I don't know whether forbidden cards in our world are also forbidden in hers…"

"But Hokusai has been enhanced by Heroic Spirit – Irisviel von Einzbern. She isn't affected by other card effects. So simple destruction Spells won't stop this attack."

"I draw!"

The dragon girl glanced at the card she drew before smiling in satisfaction.

"Watch closely. This is the Spell I'll activate—"

After drawing a Spell Card, instead of placing it into her Spell & Trap Zone as expected, she opened the hidden Field Spell compartment of her Frost Duel Disk.

"Of all times, she draws a Field Spell…" Kaiba Man muttered.

"I can't decide whether that's fortunate or unfortunate."

"Field Spell — Dragonic Diagram!"

[Dragonic Diagram – Field Spell Effect: All "True Draco" and "True King" monsters on the field gain 300 ATK/DEF.]

A magnificent golden cross-shaped magic circle spread across the icy battlefield.

As Dragonic Diagram activated, the power of Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King increased once more.

"Because Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King was Tribute Summoned using both a Monster and a Trap, it isn't affected by Monster or Trap effects."

"But Spell effects still apply to it!"

[Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King ATK 2950 → 3250]

"What a shame! Even after gaining 300 ATK, it's still 50 points weaker than Hokusai!"

Hoshino continued the Battle Phase.

Even if her advantage was only fifty points, an advantage was still an advantage.

"Dragonic Diagram has a second effect! As long as it remains in the Field Zone, each Tribute Summoned True Draco monster cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn!"

Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King's blade split apart the ink waves.

Drawing upon the protection granted by Dragonic Diagram, Master Peace gathered the souls of every fallen True Draco warrior resting in the Graveyard and carved a path through Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

[Ice King LP 3100 → 3050]

"Hehe… I won't let you break through that easily, Hoshino!"

"It's still too early to say I can't! My attacks aren't over yet! Heroic Spirit – Katsushika Hokusai's effect activates!"

[At the end of the Damage Step when this card attacks: Tribute 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster from your hand or field; this card can attack another monster.]

"Tribute a Heroic Spirit monster?"

"But you don't have any Heroic Spirit monsters left except Hokusai!" the dragon girl protested.

"But I still have the power Qin Shi Huang left behind…"

"When Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang was destroyed by a card effect, I added a Heroic Spirit monster from my Deck to my hand. And now… I Tribute that card!"

A streak of white light flashed across Hoshino's fingertips.

The monster added by Qin Shi Huang's effect was sent to the Graveyard, becoming the ink Hokusai needed to unleash another attack.

"We're not done yet!"

"Master, I'm in perfect condition today! I'll show you the Ukiyo-e that transcends the Palace of the Stars!"

Once more, Hokusai painted against the raging current.

The ink-crafted waves of Kanagawa became even more mysterious and magnificent.

"Since Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King has once again become the attack target… King's Proof activates again! I draw!"

Looking at the card she had drawn, the dragon girl once again opened the hidden compartment of her Duel Disk.

"Sorry~, I drew a second Dragonic Diagram! With its effect, Master Peace gains another instance of battle destruction protection!"

[Ice King LP 3050 → 3000]

Locked in a desperate struggle against Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, the golden Wyrm danced across the raging sea with its sword, elevating the masterpiece to an entirely new level.

"Then I won't lose when it comes to drawing cards!"

"I activate the effect of the monster I just Tributed — Heroic Spirit – Festive Wear: Marie Antoinette!"

[If this card is sent to the Graveyard by the effect of a "Heroic Spirit" monster or a Spell Card that mentions "Heroic Spirit": Draw 1 card.]

"With this draw… I'll elevate Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji to its ultimate masterpiece! Draw… MONSTER CARD!"