Chapter 775 - 775

The boost from the three monster cards left a difference of 100 ATK.

That 100-point difference was just enough for the holy sword in Illya's hands to barely overcome the light embodied by the HERO.

Hoshino shook her head and sighed.

"Although I technically won the battle, I only dealt 100 points of damage in the end. I thought I could finish the Duel right here, but it seems I was the naive one."

After the Battle Phase ended, Supreme King Jaden was left with the rather peculiar number of 999 Life Points.

During that clash, all of Hoshino's hand cards had been revealed.

It was practically the equivalent of exposing every card she had up her sleeve to her opponent.

Of course, Supreme King Jaden's situation was even worse.

There wasn't a single monster or Set card on his otherwise empty field. His hand was practically an open book as well, containing only one card: Elemental HERO Neos.

If there was any advantage left to him, it was probably the additional draw effect Yubel had granted him through Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare.

"Since everything has already been exposed, there's no point in hiding anything anymore."

Hoshino lowered her Duel Disk.

"This is a failure. With the cards I have left in my hand, I can't do anything. I'll end my turn."

[Hoshino: 3 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]

Alexis encouraged her.

"Senpai, even with Okita and Nobunaga clogging your hand, you still managed to exert this much pressure! You're already incredibly, incredibly, incredibly amazing!"

Minazuki gave a precise retort.

"Rather, wouldn't Headmistress be even stronger if she could just remove those two monsters from her Deck…?"

On the field, Okita's ears twitched slightly as though she were pretending not to notice.

But she had secretly overheard Minazuki and the others talking.

Okita's inner thoughts: Why do you have to say that, Minazuki?! If I get removed from the Deck, what happens to my career as ace monster?!

Akasha helplessly said,

"It's useless. I already suggested that to Hoshino-nee a long time ago."

Okita's inner thoughts: Nani?! Something this dangerous actually happened?! I, Okita, had absolutely no idea! I was far too careless!

"But Hoshino-nee rejected the idea outright."

Okita's inner thoughts: Well done, Master! …But I never expected Master to defend me and Nobu so 'fiercely.'

"She said that no matter what happens, she would never remove her aces from the Deck."

Okita's inner thoughts: Waaaaah! Master values me and Nobu this much?! And yet we've been shamelessly clogging her hand all this time! This is so embarrassing! I'll definitely behave myself properly in the next Duel!

Standing on the field, Okita became emotional all by herself.

She buried half her face inside her scarf and secretly wiped away her tears.

Akasha continued,

"She also said that if she draws you into her hand, she can just find a way to discard you. Apparently, she feels uneasy if there isn't an Okita lying in her Graveyard."

"Damn it! Give me back that moment of emotion, you bastard!"

Hoshino looked confused.

"What's wrong with you, Okita? Why did you suddenly start screaming?"

From that moment onward, the probability of Hoshino opening with Okita in her starting hand increased by another 50%.

"My turn."

Supreme King Jaden began his turn.

"Because of Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare's effect, I draw one additional card during my normal draw. The power I share with Yubel — draw!"

He drew two cards consecutively from his Deck, bringing his hand back up to three cards.

"And during this turn's Standby Phase, the effect of Evil HERO Infernal Gainer, which was banished by its own effect, activates!"

[Effect: If this card was banished by its own effect, during your second Standby Phase: Special Summon this card in Attack Position.]

"Return to my field, Evil HERO!"

[Evil HERO Infernal Gainer ATK: 1600]

Hoshino said,

"A HERO that finally returns after two turns? Having another monster on your field is certainly useful. But now that you have a monster standing on your field, you won't be able to use the draw effect of the Elemental HERO Bubbleman you specialize in."

Bubbleman was the famous Pot of Greed-like HERO card Jaden relied on during desperate situations. Its draw effect requires you to control no other cards and have no cards in your hand when activating and resolving it.

"The cards in my hand are enough to deal with this situation. Spell Card — Monster Reborn!"

Supreme King Jaden inserted the revival Spell into his Duel Disk.

"Come back! The monster whose soul is intertwined with mine and Yubel's — Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare!"

On the battlefield where the radiance of Flare Wingman had disappeared, the mournful cry of the demonic dragon echoed once more.

[Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare ATK: 0]

["After Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare was defeated, Flare Wingman revived. Then after Flare Wingman was destroyed, Yubel revived again. Aibo, this feels almost as if… light and darkness cannot coexist?"]

Hoshino questioned Supreme King Jaden.

"Is that what you're trying to express, Supreme King Jaden?"

Jaden did not directly answer her question.

Instead, he continued operating his Duel Disk and immediately sent Evil HERO Infernal Gainer, which had only just returned to the field, back to the banished zone as a Tribute.

"Activate Evil HERO Infernal Gainer's effect! By Tributing and banishing this card, the Fiend monster on my field — Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare — can attack twice!"

The enormous demonic dragon's body was instantly covered in razor-sharp claws and blades.

"Battle, Hoshino Chiyuki! But with your current Life Points, you probably can't survive even one attack."

[Hoshino LP: 2000]

Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare prepared to attack.

Its ability to reflect battle damage meant that no matter which of the three monsters on Hoshino's field it attacked, the resulting damage would be enough to completely deplete her remaining Life Points.

"Bring forth destruction, Yubel! — Demonic Dragon: Nightmare Pain!!"

Energy erupted from the two dragon heads and the demonic eye embedded in Yubel's chest.

Supreme King Jaden declared his attack.

The destructive blast shot straight toward Illya, who stood holding the holy sword.

"You think I wouldn't prepare for Yubel's effect?"

Hoshino flipped open the only Trap Card remaining in her back row — the card that had been Set by Magical Girl – Artoria Illya's effect last turn.

"Trap Card — Garden of Avalon!"

The instant Hoshino activated the Trap, the black Supreme King's Castle was suddenly filled with flowers from a dream.

The scene resembled the underworld of Uruk from long ago, where dreamlike flowers seemed to float endlessly through the air.

[Garden of Avalon Trap Card Effect: For this turn, all damage you would take becomes 0. After that, you can add 1 "Artoria" monster from your Graveyard to your hand.]

Normally, whenever this Trap was activated, Merlin would quietly appear beside Hoshino.

With a tongue that was clearly unfamiliar with properly reciting incantations, he would babble out several remarkably elaborate and fantastical phrases.

And somehow, he always managed to make them sound rather impressive.

Perhaps because Hoshino had previously mentioned her fear of Caster-class Artoria, Merlin did not dare make such a grand entrance.

Instead, his white figure appeared before Hoshino for only an instant.

He rapidly deployed the barrier of Avalon and immediately disappeared again.

Although it was only for a brief moment and Hoshino couldn't get a good look at him, she could tell that this Merlin was completely different from his usual self.

His silver-white short hair, delicate and gentle features, and overall appearance were much more feminine — almost like that of a young girl.

At that moment, Hoshino suddenly remembered Merlin's final words from earlier —

"Hoshino! I'll leave everything from here to you. For the time being, I'll stay shut inside my room and operate under the virtual identity of Magi☆Mari!"

Hoshino murmured,

"Could that really have been Magi☆Mari…?"

Hoshino Alter shouted,

["Don't space out, Aibo! The attack is coming!"]

Yubel's demonic dragon breath descended.

The explosive black energy was completely blocked outside by Avalon's damage-negating barrier.

"It's useless, Supreme King! Because of Avalon's effect, I won't take any of the reflected damage caused by Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare this turn!"

"But after the battle, Yubel's other effect activates — destroy the monster that battled it!"

The destructive effect inherited from the evolved form of the immensely sorrowful dragon erupted inside Illya's tiny body, unleashing an explosion of despair.

Before Illya could even react, she was swallowed by the darkness along with the radiance of her holy sword.

All that remained was a single futon, which gently floated down to the ground before slowly disappearing.

[Magical Girl – Artoria Illya] destroyed.

"And thanks to Evil HERO Infernal Gainer's effect, Yubel can attack one more time this turn!"

Because the Wicked God possessed absolute resistance, Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare's effect couldn't destroy the Evil God itself.

Therefore, Supreme King Jaden's second victim was naturally the Xyz Monster:

[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji: Ikedaya Incident]

"Damn it!!"

"Why hasn't Okita finished screaming yet?"

[Heroic Spirit – Okita Souji: Ikedaya Incident] destroyed.

After Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare completed its double attack, even though all effect damage had been blocked by Avalon, two of Hoshino's monsters had still been destroyed in succession.

With Illya and Okita gone from the field, the monster with the highest ATK was now Yubel, whose ATK was 0.

As a result, The Wicked Avatar's ATK was reduced to only 1.

"The situation has been reversed, Hoshino Chiyuki."

After ending the Battle Phase, Supreme King Jaden Set one card from his hand and ended his turn.

[Supreme King Jaden: 1 Hand Card | 1 Set Card]

Alexis frowned.

"He destroyed two of Senpai's ace monsters with a single monster. Supreme King — and this Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare — really are troublesome."

Minazuki frowned even more deeply.

"And Yubel can't be destroyed by battle. Even if The Wicked Avatar always has the highest ATK, there's still no way to break through it."

"My turn! Draw!"

Hoshino began her turn.

Her available resources were extremely limited.

All she had was the card she drew this turn and the card she had searched with Purely Bloom last turn.

"I Normal Summon the Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily that I searched last turn in Attack Position!"

[Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1500]

[This card is also treated as "Heroic Spirit – Medea".]

"I came to help too, Master~"

The little Medea floated above Hoshino's field using magecraft, her bare feet dangling in the air.

Furthermore, because Medea had been Summoned, the monster with the highest ATK on the field changed.

The Wicked Avatar immediately transformed from its dragon form back into its little-girl form.

[The Wicked Avatar ATK: 1001]

"I think I actually prefer this humanoid little-girl form. When I turn into a monster, I can't even talk."

The Wicked Avatar casually resumed speaking, completely lacking any awareness that it was supposed to be a terrifying Evil God.

Ironically, after transforming into the pitch-black form of the immensely sorrowful demonic dragon, The Wicked Avatar had finally possessed at least a little of the aura befitting an Evil God.

Akasha nervously swallowed.

"There aren't many cards left that she can use. How is Hoshino-nee going to deal with that Yubel – Ultimate Nightmare this turn?"

Hoshino declared her effect.

"Activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily!"

[Effect: When this card is successfully Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 Spell/Trap Card from your Deck that mentions "Heroic Spirit – Medea" to your hand.]

[Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can gain 1000 Life Points.]

[Hoshino LP 2000 → 3000]

Hoshino activated all of Medea Lily's available effects in succession.

She barely raised her Life Points by another 1000, moving herself out of the dangerous range of Yubel's reflected damage.

Then she began searching her Deck.

"The card I'm adding to my hand is the Trap Card — High-Speed Divine Words! And while a Heroic Spirit – Medea exists on my field, I can activate this Trap directly from my hand!"

Hoshino immediately threw the Trap Card she had just searched onto her Duel Disk and activated it.

At the same time, Medea Lily on Hoshino's field cooperatively narrowed her eyes and began chanting.

High-Speed Divine Words were the language used during the various mythological Ages of Gods — the language of higher-order incantations.

Human vocal organs could not reproduce it.

It was the ability to activate magecraft without the need to connect Magic Circuits.

Through Single Action, even grand magecraft could be activated in the time required for a single magical process.

[High-Speed Divine Words — Trap Card Effect: Target 1 Quick-Play Spell in either player's Graveyard; Set it to your field. The card Set by this effect can be activated during the turn it was Set. After this card is activated, you cannot activate the effects of any Spell Cards other than that Quick-Play Spell during this turn.]

"It's limited to a Quick-Play Spell in the Graveyard. Pretty 'high-speed,' huh?"

Minazuki complained,

"But is there actually a usable Quick-Play Spell in the Graveyard? Purely Bloom was banished last turn too."

"No, there is!"

Alexis suddenly realized it.

Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"That Quick-Play Spell sleeping in the Graveyard — the one possessing infinite possibilities!"

Meanwhile, an obvious look of shock appeared in Supreme King Jaden's eyes.

"Hoshino Chiyuki, don't tell me you're planning to…"

"That's right, Supreme King. Let me borrow your ultimate power for a moment!"

Hoshino unleashed that ultimate power.

The space around her Duel Disk twisted violently before exploding.

The terrifying energy was powerful enough to affect even the dimensions themselves, once again shaking the entirety of Supreme King's Castle.

"— Quick-Play Spell! SUPER POLYMERIZATION!!"