"But when destroyed by Karna equipped with Vasavi Shakti, the Magician of Chaos isn't sent to the Graveyard—instead, it's banished from the game!"
[Magician of Chaos – Banished]
Staring at the chaotic monster now occupying Yugi's field—one who had inherited the mantle of Magician of Chaos and whose strength had clearly reached a new peak—Hoshino spoke solemnly:
"Magician of Black Chaos MAX, huh? Trying to turn the game around with just one monster… Well, normally I'd make some bold comment here, but I'm not gonna jinx myself. After ending the Battle Phase, I Normal Summon Heroic Spirit – Leonidas I in Defense Position!"
[Heroic Spirit – Leonidas I ★★★ (Level 3)][EARTH][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1400 / DEF 1900]
Leonidas patted the shield in his hand, clearly pumped after being benched for so long.
"Long time no see, Master! Been training the muscles in your brain?"
"Who the hell would train those kinds of muscles?! You think I'm a monster like you with biceps in your skull?!"
Summoning Leonidas, who boasts resistance against battle destruction by monsters with over 2500 ATK, was Hoshino's way of playing it safe.
And to play it even safer, she set every remaining card into her Duel Disk—whether they were useful or not. After all, as long as Yugi had Spell Sanctuary on the field, even Normal Spells could be activated during either player's turn.
"Lastly, I Set three cards. Turn end!"
[Hoshino's: 0 Hand Card | 3 Set Cards]
"My turn—draw!"
Whether it was just her imagination or not, the moment Yugi drew his card, the Millennium Puzzle on his chest flickered ever so faintly.
It was a subtle glow—but Hoshino noticed it.
[No way... Is Yugi packing a D-Draw, too?]
D-Draw—short for Destiny Draw—was a skill once granted by Hoshino's Millennium Bracelet, allowing her to draw comeback cards in a Shadow Game scenario.
But ever since she surpassed the predictive power of D-Draw in her duel with Pegasus, the function had never activated again.
Perhaps it was because the Bracelet had acknowledged her growth—sealing itself after deeming her no longer in need of its guidance.
"This is just another layer of difficulty... Didn't Holmes warn me already?"
If the Millennium Puzzle—the pinnacle of mystery in this world—unleashed its true potential, it could draw (or print) any card Yugi desired. This privilege, akin to a divine cheat code, was practically an officially sanctioned hack.
"I activate the Spell Card—Dimension Fusion!"
[Dimension Fusion – Spell Card Effect: Pay 2000 LP; each player Special Summons as many of their banished monsters as possible.]
[Yugi's LP: 3800 → 1800]
Yugi's draw exchanged a massive chunk of his Life Points for a spell that opened the gateway to another dimension.
"Thanks to Dimension Fusion, I can Special Summon Magician of Chaos and Dark Magician, banished by the Ritual Spell!"
The wall between dimensions shattered, and two Dark Magicians—each with distinct forms—returned to the battlefield.
[Magician of Chaos – ATK 2500]
[Dark Magician – ATK 2500]
"Don't forget, Yugi—my banished zone has monsters too."
Hoshino also reaped the benefits of Dimension Fusion, placing three monsters banished by Karna's effect back onto her Duel Disk in horizontal Defense Position.
"I Special Summon Ideal King of Knight Lily, Lancelot, and Artoria Pendragon from the banished zone in Defense Position!"
[Ideal King of Knight Lily – DEF 2100]
[Lancelot – DEF 2000]
[Artoria – DEF 2000]
With five monsters now on her field, Hoshino's defenses looked impenetrable. Kings, knights, and warriors stood united, forming a last bastion atop the walls of Uruk—no less formidable than the Absolute Demonic Front itself.
"Yugi, if that was your final draw, all you've done is help me build my defenses. Your three Dark Magicians can't even break through them."
"Sore wa dou kana?" Yugi smirked, uttering his iconic reversal line.
"Now witness the true potential of Magician of Black Chaos MAX—the apex of black magic! Let's battle!"
Entering the Battle Phase, Magician of Black Chaos MAX raised his pitch-black blade. A slashing wind, infused with black magic, tore through the air toward Ideal King of Knight Lily.
"—MAX Chaos Severing Slash!!"
The shadowy arc cleaved through Lily's sword, destroying the youthful, idealistic King.
[Ideal King of Knight Lily – Destroyed]
"When Ideal King of Knight Lily is destroyed by battle, I can add one 'Heroic Spirit' monster from my Deck to my hand!"
"And at the same time—! Magician of Black Chaos MAX activates its effect when it destroys a monster by battle—"*
[When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can target 1 Spell in your GY; add it to your hand.]
"I add the Spell Card Card of Sanctity from my Graveyard to my hand! And since Spell Sanctuary is still on the field, I can activate it during the Battle Phase as if it were a Quick-Play Spell. Both players draw until they each have 6 cards!"
Card of Sanctity activated once more. Only now did Hoshino realize: Yugi hadn't used Dimension Fusion just to bring back his own monsters—he did it to give Magician of Black Chaos MAX targets to destroy on her field.
[Yugi's: 6 Hand Cards]
"This… This is the possibility born from Magician of Black Chaos..."
"And that's not all—since I activated a Spell Card, Magician of Chaos's effect activates!"
[Once per turn, when a Spell/Trap Card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can target 1 card on the field; destroy it.]
Magician of Chaos raised a hand, summoning a swirl of dark energy—an effect different from MAX's battle destruction.
"It's useless, Yugi. Because of my Field Spell—Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia—'Heroic Spirit' monsters on my field aren't affected by your monster effects."
Pointing directly at Hoshino's Field Spell, Yugi declared:
"The target I'm destroying isn't a monster—it's your Field Spell Card: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia!!"
A massive blast of dark magic surged forth—an apocalyptic Noble Phantasm in its own right. The explosion consumed the battlefield in chaos, shattering the very bastion that once protected humanity.
It was as if the era of gods had ended in that one, sweeping blow.
[Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia – Destroyed]
"Next, I activate the Spell Card from my hand—Monster Reborn, to revive Dark Magician of Chaos from my Graveyard!"
"Monster Reborn... and he didn't use it to revive one of the gods?"
Hoshino sensed something was off, frowning slightly.
[Dark Magician of Chaos ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2800 / DEF 2600]
Dark Magician of Chaos, previously sent to the Graveyard by the effect of Magicians' Souls, returned to the field. With four distinct forms of Dark Magician now assembled, the dense layers of dark energy surrounding them surpassed even the dread of the gods—as though heralding the world's collapse.
Yugi, his arm raised and burning with the soul of a Duelist, slammed the decisive card onto his Duel Disk.
"It's over, Hoshino! The strongest Dark Magicians are assembled on my field! Their power surpasses that of the gods—heralding the Twilight Dawn that breaks all limits! I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Ragnarök!"[Ragnarök – Quick-Play Spell Effect: Activate only while there are any 2 of "Dark Sage", "Dark Magician", "Dark Magician Girl", or "Magician of Black Chaos" on the field. Remove from play all monsters in your hand, Deck, and Graveyard. Destroy all of your opponent's monsters. Your opponent cannot activate any Spells or Traps in response to this card's activation.]
The four Dark Magicians soared into the sky. Their overlapping dark magic radiated an oppressive might far beyond even divine descent. True to its name—it was the Twilight of the Gods. The heavens themselves seemed ready to fall.
Up in the stands, standing higher than anyone and closest to the sky, Kaiba felt the crushing pressure more intensely than anyone else.
"So you were hiding such power, Yugi!—Even Hoshino could be overwhelmed by this. Is this your final trump card!?"
"—Take this, Hoshino! The ultimate Dark Magic: Ragnarök!"
With Yugi's thunderous declaration, the ultimate dark spell engulfed the skies, crashing down with overwhelming force toward Hoshino's field.
"So I can't activate any Spell or Trap Cards in response to this? You think that leaves me defenseless, Yugi!? I activate the effect of the monster I added to my hand earlier with Lily's effect!"
Hoshino raised the monster card high, facing the descending Ragnarök, and called out the name of a legendary Hero:
"Arash—!"
"No need to yell that loud, Master~ I can hear you just fine," came the voice.
Arash materialized beside Hoshino, gently patted her shoulder, then walked calmly toward the battlefield, where the berserk energy of Ragnarök raged.
"A person who does what they need to do when the time comes—that's what they call a hero. Not that I really get it myself. But..."
Leaving behind only his proud, upright back for Hoshino to see, Arash climbed atop the crumbling walls of Uruk and drew his bow with all his strength.
"Hero or not, that doesn't matter. Whether it's a hundred or a thousand times—if you, Master, are in danger, I'll stand up without hesitation to protect you. Simply because I want to."
"—Because I am Arash, the one who ended war and split the heavens from the earth!"
[Heroic Spirit – Arash Effect: When a card effect that would destroy cards on the field is activated, you can banish this card from your hand to negate that activation.]
"────Stella!!!"
Standing atop the broken wall, Arash unleashed his ultimate shot toward the sky, directly into Ragnarök—a blast as brilliant as a meteor, just like the legends say.
"There are countless who can shoot down stars... but only one who can shatter them."
His glowing arrow collided head-on with the quadruple-layered magic of Ragnarök. Light clashed with darkness—energy canceled out—and at last, the skies were split, and Ragnarök was shattered.
[Ragnarök – Activation Negated]
[Heroic Spirit – Arash – Banished]
"Yugi, your ultimate Dark Magic has been stopped—by Arash!"
As she looked up at the now-tranquil sky, its darkness torn open by the trail of a shooting star, Hoshino almost felt a twinge of guilt.
"To actually stop Ragnarök... Arash really is a great hero."
Shocked by the shattering of Ragnarök, Yugi stood still, momentarily stunned.
He had never imagined that a card immune to Spell and Trap responses could still be negated.
"But because Ragnarök was negated, I didn't have to banish all the monsters in my hand, Deck, and Graveyard. So I activate the effect of the revived Dark Magician of Chaos!"
Though Ragnarök failed, the King did not falter. Yugi, unshaken, pressed forward—demonstrating the indomitable will of the strongest Duelist.
[Dark Magician of Chaos Effect: If this card was Normal or Special Summoned this turn: You can target 1 Spell in your GY; add it to your hand.]
"I add the Spell Card Graceful Charity from my Graveyard to my hand—and thanks to the Quick-Play effect from Spell Sanctuary, I can activate it immediately!"
Drawing three cards and discarding two, Yugi revealed one of the discarded cards to Hoshino:
"This turn, I discarded the monster card Makyura the Destructor."[Makyura the Destructor Effect: During the turn this card is sent to the Graveyard, its owner can activate Trap Cards from their hand. (Anime Effect)]
After discarding Makyura, Yugi slotted two more cards into his Duel Disk.
"Just like I said earlier—let's finish this with Magician of Black Chaos MAX! I activate the Spell Card—Diffusion Wave-Motion!"[Diffusion Wave-Motion – Spell Card Effect: If your opponent controls a monster: Pay 1000 LP, then target 1 Level 7 or higher Spellcaster monster you control; this turn, it must attack all monsters your opponent controls once each, also other monsters you control cannot attack. The effects of monsters destroyed by these attacks cannot activate and are negated.]
[Yugi LP: 1800 → 800]
"It says your monster must attack all monsters, right?" Hoshino asked.
"But with Magician of Black Chaos MAX's ATK, if it's forced to attack Karna, you'll lose all your Life Points instantly."
Yugi smiled, unfazed.
"You're right... but before that happens, you'll lose first, Hoshino! Thanks to Makyura's effect, I activate the Trap Card Meteorain—directly from my hand!"[Meteorain – Trap Card Effect: During this turn, when your monsters attack with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points.]
A second meteor—this time in the form of burning fragments—spiraled behind Magician of Black Chaos MAX, imbuing him with the power to inflict piercing damage.
(*****)
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