Chapter 750 - 750

"Draw! Come on, give me a monster already!"

The light of liberation once again flowed through Hoshino's fingertips. She sent the newly drawn Monster Card to the Graveyard, successfully triggering Hokusai's post-attack effect once more.

"This is the third attack! I have to use the final stroke of Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji to completely destroy Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King!"

Although Hoshino still had two cards left in her hand, neither of them was a Monster Card.

That meant after releasing this monster, this would truly be Katsushika Hokusai's final attack this turn.

"Then, thanks to the Continuous Trap Card King's Proof, I also draw 1 card from my Deck!"

Both Duelists were drawing cards in the middle of battle, but while Hoshino only needed to draw a Monster Card, the dragon girl needed to draw a Spell Card — and not just any Spell Card, but one that could immediately affect this battle.

The odds were clearly stacked against her.

"The advantage is ours!" Hoshino declared.

"No… I can already feel it. This draw…"

Resting her fingertips on the Deck atop her icy Duel Disk, the dragon girl narrowed her golden eyes and whispered:

"This Duel. This war. And this draw that wagers fate itself… will reveal the endless conflict that has always revolved around one thing."

"One thing?" Kaiba Man frowned.

She drew her card and flipped it face-up.

At that instant, beginning with the dragon girl herself, the endless frozen landscape surrounding everyone suddenly changed.

"The Quick-Play Spell Card I drew is — World Legacy Clash!"

"A battle… revolving around the World Legacy!"

Hoshino's eyes went wide in disbelief as the scenery transformed around them.

Gone was the frigid kingdom of ice.

Before everyone now lay a battlefield consumed by war.

Countless unfamiliar warriors, monsters, machines, and dragons clashed with one another. The heavens and the earth burned alike, blackened by smoke from endless explosions.

"How tragic… The war from ten thousand years ago."

"The Nine Realms, each once unique in its own way, were all reduced to the same ruined wasteland by a conflict that lasted longer than anyone can remember."

"The war from ten thousand years ago?"

Eve angrily retorted:

"Wasn't that war started because the Nine Realms were fighting over territory? It was the greed of rulers like you that caused it, and now you have the nerve to call it tragic?"

The dragon girl gave a scornful smile before glancing at Eve.

"Heh… So you believe it was merely a war born of greed? How ignorant…"

Then she tilted her head.

"…By the way, I've been meaning to ask since the beginning. Who are you?"

"(°Д°) I made such an awesome entrance by summoning the Star Shield, and you didn't even notice me?!"

Even Hoshino looked surprised.

"The way you spoke to Queen Hela made me think you already knew all the other Kings."

But considering the Ice King had apparently vanished for ten thousand years after the war, it wasn't strange that she didn't recognize Eve.

"I'm the Priestess chosen by the World Chalice! At least remember my name!"

"The Priestess of the World Chalice… Hmm…"

The dragon girl thought for a moment.

"I vaguely remember someone like that. Weren't you just a con artist taking advantage of the chaos of war?"

"C-Con artist?! You actually called my ancestors con artists?! Don't stop me! I'm going over there to beat her up!"

Rolling up her sleeves, Eve completely forgot about the freezing cold amid the holographic battlefield.

"…Huh? (;′⌒`) Why is nobody stopping me?"

After hesitating for a moment, Eve realized Kaiba, standing beside her, had absolutely no intention of holding her back. Her battle-ready pose immediately deflated.

Kaiba sneered.

"Go ahead. Beat her to death. That'll solve all our problems — we won't even need to Duel anymore."

"N-Never mind…"

Eve quickly shrank back.

"Interrupting a Duel brings divine punishment. I'll wait until Hoshino wins first, then I'll beat her up. She'll definitely win! That's the trust between partners!"

"You won't win."

The dragon girl gestured toward the devastated battlefield.

"Look around you. In this war that continues even now, no one can truly be called the victor."

"Continues even now?"

Hoshino frowned.

"But this war happened ten thousand years ago. It should have ended long ago."

"It never ended."

The dragon girl answered calmly.

"Listen carefully. The flames that engulf heaven and earth have never gone out — not even for a single moment."

"We're not falling for some illusion created by a card!" Eve shouted.

"Which is exactly why I called you ignorant."

The dragon girl raised her hand.

"The war surrounding the World Legacy is no different now than it was ten thousand years ago! I activate the effect of the Quick-Play Spell Card World Legacy Clash!"

The flames of war spread across the field.

Tempered by fire, the countless phantom images of Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King charged toward Hoshino's field.

"World Legacy Clash lets me banish 1 monster I control until the End Phase!"

She removed Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King from her Duel Disk before pointing toward Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon.

"Then I choose 1 monster my opponent controls. That monster loses ATK and DEF equal to the banished monster's original ATK and DEF!"

Because Hoshino's Hokusai was protected by the power of Irisviel's Holy Grail, making her unaffected by other card effects, the dragon girl had only one possible target.

Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon.

[Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon ATK 1250 → 0]

At the same time, as the Quick-Play Spell resolved, Hokusai, wielding her ukiyo-e brush, lost her attack target amid the raging battlefield.

Hoshino frowned.

"The number of monsters on the field changed, yet the attack wasn't replayed? The attack just ended?"

The dragon girl explained:

"World Legacy Clash was activated at the instant before battle damage would be inflicted. At that timing, there's no opportunity for an attack replay."

She smiled confidently.

"And now, the only monster left on your field is an Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon with no combat strength left. The situation has changed, Hoshino!"

Hoshino Alter clicked her tongue.

["Damn it! They keep top-decking the perfect Spell Cards! I guess humans really can't beat luck!"]

"I can't keep attacking…"

A bad feeling washed over Hoshino.

"If Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King stays on the field until next turn, its destructive power will be overwhelming."

"Continue the attack, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"

Just as Hoshino was about to give up the Battle Phase and end her turn, Kaiba Man suddenly spoke up and made what seemed like a completely meaningless move.

He ordered Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, whose ATK had been reduced to 0, to launch a direct attack against the dragon girl's empty field.

A torrent of silver light pierced through the burning battlefield, flying straight toward the dragon girl. The shockwave lifted her blue hair, and for a brief moment, an expression of bewilderment flashed across her golden eyes.

[Ice King LP 3000]

Her Life Points didn't change in the slightest.

With an attack of 0 ATK, dealing no damage was only to be expected.

"Why… why did you still attack, Kaiba Man?" the dragon girl asked. "Does Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon have some hidden effect?"

"No hidden effect."

Kaiba Man answered calmly.

"I simply wanted to make that attack."

The dragon girl clenched her teeth as the surprise in her eyes slowly turned into anger.

"You did that on purpose… to provoke me, didn't you, Kaiba Man?"

"Provoke you?"

Kaiba Man folded his arms across his chest.

"No. The one who's angry here… is me."

His gaze swept across the battlefield engulfed in flames and explosions.

As the effect of the Quick-Play Spell World Legacy Clash came to an end, the solidified holographic battlefield gradually faded, the frozen kingdom beginning to return.

"Standing in a battlefield that's burned for ten thousand years… doing nothing just doesn't sit right with me."

"Kaiba Man…"

Looking at him, Hoshino felt as though she finally understood what he had wanted to convey with Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon's futile attack.

Even so, she couldn't quite put it into words.

Meeting Hoshino's eyes, Kaiba Man continued:

"If the war surrounding the World Legacy has truly lasted ten thousand years… then let this Duel prove the difference between ten thousand years ago and today — between that moment and this one!"

Hoshino smiled.

"Since you're that confident, then I'll leave the next turn to you, Kaiba Man!"

She set her remaining two cards face-down on her Duel Disk.

"I end my turn."

[Hoshino: 0 Hand Cards | 3 Set Cards]

"At the end of the turn, Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King returns to the field! Furthermore, the effect of World Legacy Clash does not Special Summon the banished monster — it simply returns it to its previous state!"

In other words, everything about Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King remained unchanged.

Whether it was the protection it had gained from being Tribute Summoned, or the fact that it had been Tribute Summoned in the first place, none of it was reset.

As Hoshino's turn ended, the burning battlefield vanished completely, restoring the brilliant blue scenery of the frozen kingdom.

At the same time, the 1,000 ATK boost granted to Katsushika Hokusai disappeared, returning her to 2300 ATK.

"My turn… Draw!"

The dragon girl drew her only card.

At the moment, the only monster capable of fighting on her field was Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King.

[Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King ATK 3250]

Eve nervously said:

"Even if Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is the strongest True Draco monster, with only one card left in her hand, Hoshino and the others should be able to stop her!"

The dragon girl placed her only card onto her icy Duel Disk.

"I activate the Spell Card — Monster Reborn! I Special Summon Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix from my Graveyard!"

[Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix ATK 2700 → 3000]

Bathed in holy light, the revived Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix received the blessing of the Field Spell Dragonic Diagram, raising her ATK to rival that of Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Next, I activate the effect of my Field Spell, Dragonic Diagram!"

[Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 card in your hand or field, except "Dragonic Diagram"; add 1 "True Draco" or "True King" card from your Deck to your hand.]

The sigils of Dragonic Diagram glowed, converging upon the resurrected Dracophoenix.

"I destroy Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix revived by Monster Reborn and add the Continuous Spell Disciples of the True Dracophoenix to my hand!"

"And when Mariamne is destroyed, her own effect activates, allowing me to add 1 non-WIND Wyrm monster from my Deck to my hand!"

Drawing the searched card from her Duel Disk, the dragon girl declared:

"You cannot win! Even if Hoshino and Kaiba Man fight together, you cannot extinguish a war that has burned for ten thousand years!"

"The monster I add to my hand is — Metaltron XII, the True Dracombatant!"

Without pausing, she continued her combo after adding both searched cards to her hand.

"I activate the Continuous Spell — Disciples of the True Dracophoenix! I shuffle 3 'True Draco' cards from my Graveyard back into the Deck, then draw 1 card!"

She returned the True Draco Maiden, True Draco Fighter, and True Draco Knight from her Graveyard to the Deck before drawing another card.

"Next, I activate the Continuous Trap True King's Return and Special Summon True King of All Calamities in Defense Position!"

[True King of All Calamities DEF 3000]

The beastly True King emerged once again from the Graveyard.

Although its ATK and DEF remained unchanged, without its Xyz Materials, it could no longer exert the terrifying suppression it once possessed.

"Finally!"

"I Tribute the Monster Card True King of All Calamities, the Spell Card Disciples of the True Dracophoenix, and the Trap Card True King's Return — three cards in total!"

"Tribute Summon — Metaltron XII, the True Dracombatant!"

Three pillars of brilliant light erupted across the dragon girl's field.

Unlike before, each beam came from a different card type — Monster, Spell, and Trap — guiding the colossal mechanical Wyrm onto the battlefield.

"Three Tributes?!" Eve gasped.

"Isn't that how you Summon a God?"

Seto Kaiba scoffed.

"Don't make such a fuss. Plenty of monsters besides the Egyptian Gods require three Tributes."

Among the most famous examples was Gilford the Lightning, the monster once used by Jonouchi, which destroyed all monsters on the opponent's field when Tribute Summoned with three Tributes.

After all, monsters that demanded such a steep cost usually offered equally tremendous rewards.

[Metaltron XII, the True Dracombatant ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][LIGHT][Wyrm/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 3000]

[Requires 3 Tributes to Normal Summon (cannot be Normal Set). To Tribute Summon this card face-up, you can Tribute Continuous Spell/Trap Card(s) you control, as well as monsters.]

The gigantic mechanical Wyrm, clad in gleaming golden armor, towered over the battlefield.

Its ATK rivaled Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and its massive humanoid frame possessed the scale of a true dragon.

"A Tribute Summoned Metaltron XII, the True Dracombatant is unaffected by the effects of cards that share the same original card type — Monster, Spell, or Trap — as the cards Tributed for its Tribute Summon!"

The dragon girl proudly held up the card.

"Since I used a Monster, a Spell, and a Trap as Tributes…"

"Metaltron XII, the True Dracombatant standing before you has reached its ultimate form — completely unaffected by the effects of any cards!"