"The Counter Trap I'm setting…—is the one banished last turn—Limited/Zero Over!"
Retrieving the card from the banished zone, Hoshino activated the Counter Trap without hesitation.
The power of the Spirit Origin surged explosively—perhaps the culmination of another existence known as Emiya Shirou in a different dimension, gathering strength to its absolute limit.
Now, through the connection of the Xyz Overlay Light Network, the powers of different dimensions overlapped, converging into a miracle that manifested upon Nameless.
"Counter Trap Card Limited/Zero Over effect! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, this card is treated as an Equip Card and equipped to a Level 6 or higher 'Heroic Spirit' monster!"
"So you want to face me head-on, big guy?"
An abnormal crimson glow spread across No Name's arm. With Limited/Zero Over activated, the sea of swords that had once been shattered by Dreadmaster reappeared once more.
"Sorry, but if there's one thing we're never short on here—"
"It's swords!"
Infinite blades transformed into a surging tidal wave, instantly engulfing Dreadmaster and Aster's entire field.
Swords and chains collided in a storm of sparks, flashing violently within the dimensional rift where the two forces clashed.
"When Limited/Zero Over is activated, the attacking monster's ATK becomes 0!"
"Quick-Play Spell Card—Activate!"
Hurling his final card into the Duel Disk, Aster launched a defiant counterattack.
"—Quick-Play Spell D·Decisive Burst! This card can only be activated if there are 3 or more Destiny HERO monsters on my field, and it grants additional effects based on their number!"
[D·Decisive Burst – Quick-Play Spell Effect:
● 3 or more: Destiny HERO monsters you control cannot be destroyed by effects until the end of this turn.
● 4 or more: Destiny HERO monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's effects until the end of this turn.
● 5: Destiny HERO monsters you control have their ATK doubled until the end of this turn.]
"Because of D·Decisive Burst, Dreadmaster is unaffected by the effect of the Trap Card Limited/Zero Over! And since I have 5 Destiny HERO monsters on the field—his ATK doubles!"
[Dreadmaster ATK 9100 → 18200]
"ROOOOAAARR—!"
With a deafening, rage-filled roar, the colossal Dreadmaster shattered the incoming sword wave, then slammed its massive legs into the ground and leapt straight toward Nameless.
"It's useless, Hoshino! No matter how many swords you have, they can't overcome the power of D!"
No Name replied resolutely,
"Once before, this state caused my Master to lose. But this time—I will not lose again!"
Mana surged violently into his arms. Enduring the pain of his Spirit Origin tearing itself apart, Nameless went all out—abandoning blades that could no longer harm Dreadmaster.
"Then try taking this instead—this armament that can even slay gods!—Trace On!"
Manifesting in both of No Name's hands were divine constructs that seemed capable of propping up heaven and earth themselves.
A colossal, boneless greatsword that once carved paths through a thousand mountains.
"—Ig-Alima!"
And a pure blade of flame that scorched and purified tens of thousands of seas, blazing at the edge of the empty ocean.
"—Sul-sagana!"
[Limited/Zero Over Effect: Once per turn, when the equipped monster battles, that monster's ATK increases by the ATK of the monster it is battling.]
[Heroic Spirit – No Name Archer ATK 4600 → 22800]
Hoshino Alter shouted,
["Are you sure about this, aibo?! When the turn ends, you'll take 20,000 points of recoil damage!"]
"Of course I'm sure—because this ends it right here!"
Hoshino thrust her hand forward and declared decisively,
"By the effect of the Counter Trap, all monsters on the field must attack No Name while he is equipped this turn!"
A massive bombardment erupted from the divine Mystic Codes, flipping over the desolate land filled with sword-shaped grave markers. Countless blades scattered through the explosion—true to their name as 'gravestones,' threatening to bury the very world of this Reality Marble.
"Sensei… wiped out all of Aster's Destiny HERO monsters during the opponent's Battle Phase?!"
The rapid reversals left Jaden and the others completely overwhelmed.
"So… does that mean Hoshino beat Aster?"
What was supposed to be a friendly match had escalated so far that Clara didn't even dare to speak.
[Aster LP: 900]
"No—his Life Points didn't change!" Mash warned.
"What a shame, Hoshino. In the very end… I still came out on top!"
Pierced by countless virtual sword projections and covered in wounds, Aster activated destiny's final effect.
"Dreadmaster, summoned by Clock Tower Prison, protects all Destiny HERO monsters on the field from all battle damage during the turn it's summoned!"
Black iron chains burst forth from the ruined land, forming the Destiny HEROes' final barrier—shielding Aster from the divine armaments' assault.
["No way… Dreadmaster, summoned by Clock Tower Prison, retained the tower's effect—it's completely immune to battle damage."]
Even Hoshino Alter hadn't foreseen Aster holding a card like this in reserve.
["If the duel doesn't end this turn, then aibo, you—"]
"End Phase!"
Standing on the brink of victory, Aster declared the turn's end.
"Due to the side effect of Limited/Zero Over, Hoshino—you take recoil damage equal to No Name's ATK! I win! No one can overcome the power of Destiny HEROes!"
(***)
Sartorius's Residence—
"How can this be… the Light of Destruction has been overwritten by another light!
The 'Fool' of 0, and the 'World' of 21—they've overlapped!"
Sensing the duel's conclusion, Sartorius performed one final divination to learn the outcome.
Yet that very last reading shattered all of his perceptions.
On the crystal table, the Tarot cards lay in complete disarray—utterly devoid of logic. It was as if the Tarot itself had overturned every prophecy that had come before.
It was as if the Tarot cards before Sartorius were telling him—
Sorry, pal. I'm just messing with you. There's actually nothing I can divine at all.
(***)
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 50]
"W-Why…?"
Staring at the display on his Duel Disk, Aster spoke in disbelief.
"Why… can't I end my turn?"
Yes—he couldn't end it.
Even though Aster had clearly declared the End Phase, the turn flow that should have concluded remained completely frozen.
At that moment, Aster felt as though even time itself had stopped. Just like the card Sartorius often spoke of—the final one among the twenty-two Major Arcana of the Tarot.
The World.
"The reason you can't end your turn—isn't that obvious?!"
Raising her arm and pointing toward the sky, Hoshino narrowed her eyes, unaware that she had already stepped beyond the Fool's 0 and was walking toward the World's 21.
But Tarot readings held no meaning for Hoshino. Word by word, she declared the duel's true conclusion.
"The reason you can't end your turn… is because my counterattack isn't over yet!
This is the final blow, Archer—!"
In the direction Hoshino pointed, No Name abandoned the infinite blades and instead drew his signature longbow. Resting upon the black bowstring was a weapon used as an arrow—Caladbolg.
"Broken Phantasm! Caladbolg—!"
As an Archer, No Name's trump card was to convert a projected Noble Phantasm into an arrow, fire it, and upon impact, destroy the Noble Phantasm with its immense magical energy—using the weapon itself as a container of mana and detonating it like an explosive, dealing catastrophic damage to the opponent.
The result—
Overwhelming destructive power.
To put it simply, in the most intuitive terms—
A nuclear explosion.
"Equip Spell Card Caladbolg effect activates—at the end of the Battle Phase, send this card to the Graveyard. Destroy all Equip Cards on the field, then inflict effect damage to your opponent equal to 500 × the number of Equip Cards destroyed."
After Caladbolg was sent to the Graveyard, the Equip Cards remaining on Hoshino's field were Azrael, which she had searched from her own Deck, and Opti-Camouflage Armor from Aster's Deck.
"Right now… that makes exactly two Equip Cards!"
["Two Equip Spells means Edo will take 1000 points of effect damage—and Aster's remaining Life Points are…!"]
[Aster Phoenix LP: 900]
Suddenly realizing the truth, Hoshino Alter recalled what Hoshino had said after activating Unlimited Blade Works.
(Hoshino: 'How could a card ever be meaningless? It might look useless right now, but who knows—maybe this is the key to victory.')
With a trembling voice, Hoshino Alter exclaimed in shock,
["Opti-Camouflage Armor ended up providing the decisive damage?!
Aibo… don't tell me you'd already planned this from back then—!"]
"I still have to catch a flight later, you know. I'm not about to raise an 'everything-went-according-to-plan' flag," Hoshino replied with a grin.
"There was no calculation at all. I just fought with everything I had."
Raising her finger high, then slashing it downward, Hoshino commanded No Name in the sky to unleash the final strike.
"I win, Aster! Destroying two Equip Cards deals you 1000 effect damage—this is the blow that surpasses fate!"
"—Caladbolg!"
[Aster Phoenix LP: 900 → 0]
From attacks soaring beyond ten thousand, to a victory decided by a mere 100 Life Points—
The fantasy nuclear explosion detonating across the overturned wasteland marked Hoshino's battle of transcending fate.
Duel End.
Winner: Hoshino Chiyuki.