# Chapter 22: I Overlay Myself!
Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy rapidly closed in on Yūga Hōzumi, its right fist poised to strike.
"When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack, Gagaga Guardian can be Special Summoned from the hand!"
At that critical moment, Yūga Hōzumi slammed a card from his hand onto his Duel Disk. A warrior appeared before him, blocking Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy's punch with its shield.
Gagaga Guardian DEF: 2000
After Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy smashed the giant shield with a single punch, Aster Phoenix sneered, "A pointless struggle! Destiny HERO - Drilldark, direct attack!"
"At this moment, I activate the Trap Card, Damage Diet! This turn, all damage I take is halved!"
The spinning drill struck Yūga Hōzumi. Although the damage was lessened by Damage Diet's effect, the physical impact from the direct attack still made him groan involuntarily.
Yūga Hōzumi LP: 2400 → 1600
"Still have tricks to save yourself?" Aster Phoenix frowned. "Then, the second Drilldark, direct attack!"
Another direct attack from Drilldark landed on Yūga Hōzumi. He groaned, swallowed the blood rising in his throat, and forced himself to stand upright.
Yūga Hōzumi LP: 1600 → 800
"I end my turn," Aster Phoenix said.
Yūga Hōzumi panted heavily. "Did I survive?" he said, his voice strained.
"That's right, you managed to endure this turn," Aster Phoenix replied. "But now, with an empty field and hand, how will you possibly break through my defenses?"
"Don't forget, I haven't drawn yet," Yūga Hōzumi said, staring fixedly at Aster Phoenix as he enunciated each word. At the same time, he took an item from the system's inventory.
"What is that?" Aster Phoenix frowned, looking at the object in Yūga Hōzumi's hand. It was a pale gold pendant.
"This? This is the hope of our XYZ Dimension," Yūga Hōzumi said.
[Warning! Warning! The current host's physical condition does not support using this item. Forcibly using it will worsen the host's injuries.]
[Warning! Warning!]
Ignoring the system's warnings, Yūga Hōzumi placed the damaged Emperor's Key over his heart and chose to use it.
A massive surge of energy erupted from the Emperor's Key, frantically rushing through every meridian in Yūga Hōzumi's body.
[The Damaged Emperor's Key has been used. The exclusive skill, Xyz Change - ZEXAL, has been temporarily unlocked.]
Forcing down the intense pain of the energy rampaging through his body, Yūga Hōzumi roared, word by word:
"I overlay myself! Xyz Change - ZEXAL!"
A brilliant galaxy slowly formed above Yūga Hōzumi's head. From its center, a pillar of light descended upon him, slowly taming the rampaging energy within.
Within the light, Yūga Hōzumi's messy black hair began to lengthen, slowly being dyed blonde.
His clothes transformed into a white bodysuit, as pieces of fiery red half-armor materialized one by one on his body.
"What is this?" The sudden transformation made Aster Phoenix's expression shift, a sense of unease rising in his heart.
The light slowly dissipated, revealing Yūga Hōzumi, now with blond hair and clad in fiery red half-armor.
"This form is called ZEXAL," Yūga Hōzumi said slowly. "It is the being that brings hope to this dimension, and the one that sounds your death knell."
[ZEXAL Transformation complete. CNo.39: Utopia Ray has been temporarily added to the Extra Deck.]
At this moment, Yūga Hōzumi felt that drawing the perfect card was as easy as breathing. In this state, every draw was a Destiny Draw.
"Enough with the theatrics," Aster Phoenix gritted his teeth.
"My turn! I draw!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Gagaga Draw!"
"I banish three 'Gagaga' monsters from my Graveyard—Gagaga Sister, Zubababa Bancho - Gagaga Coat, and Gagaga Guardian—to draw two cards!"
"For the strongest duelist, everything is inevitable," Yūga Hōzumi said cryptically before drawing.
As he finished speaking, the top card of his deck suddenly lit up with a dazzling light.
[Skill: Shining Draw. Place one Zexal Weapon or Zexal Servant from outside the Deck on top of your Deck.]
"I draw!" Yūga Hōzumi roared, drawing two cards.
"I summon Gogogo Golem in Attack Position!" Without even looking at his hand, Yūga Hōzumi slammed one of the cards onto his Duel Disk.
"I activate the effect of Dododo Dwarf - Gogogo Glove in my Graveyard!"
"While this card is in the Graveyard, if I control a 'Gogogo' or 'Dododo' monster other than 'Dododo Dwarf - Gogogo Glove', I can Special Summon this card."
"I overlay my two Level 4 monsters!"
Yūga Hōzumi pointed his right hand to the sky. The number 39 on the back of his hand lit up, and a dazzling light shot from his hand toward the heavens. A brilliant galaxy instantly formed. Within it, a shimmering Number 39 appeared, mirroring the one on his hand.
"Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Warrior of Hope! Number 39: Utopia!"
From the golden galaxy, Utopia, gleaming with iridescent light, slowly emerged and aimed its sword at Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy.
"Next, I overlay the Rank 4 Utopia once more!"
"Descend now! Sword of Hope, driven by the power of Chaos to crush all evil!"
"Chaos Xyz Change! Rank 4!"
"CNo.39: Utopia Ray!"
Utopia's armor began to retract on the field. After several transformations, it returned to its base form and fell into a black vortex that opened on the ground.
A moment later, Utopia returned, now in a darker form with a giant sword slung across its back!
CNo.39: Utopia Ray ATK: 2500
"CNo.?" Aster Phoenix frowned, looking at the monster before Yūga Hōzumi. His duelist's intuition screamed a warning.
"If my LP is 2000 or more lower than my opponent's, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"Appear! ZW - Pegasus Twin Saber!"
"I activate the effect of ZW - Pegasus Twin Saber!"
"I equip it to my 'Utopia' monster, increasing its ATK by 1000!"
The Twin-Winged Pegasus that had just appeared on Yūga Hōzumi's field leaped high, transformed into a pure white longsword in mid-air, and landed in Utopia Ray's hand.
CNo.39: Utopia Ray ATK: 2500 → 3500
"I activate the effect of CNo.39: Utopia Ray!"
"When my LP is 1000 or less, I can detach one Overlay Unit! Until the end of the turn, this card gains 500 ATK, and one monster my opponent controls loses 1000 ATK! Overlay Charge!"
CNo.39: Utopia Ray ATK: 3500 → 4000
Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy ATK: 2800 → 1800
"Fool! Have you forgotten Dystopia Guy's effect?" Aster Phoenix sneered. "I activate the effect of Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy!"
"When this card's ATK is different from its original ATK, I can target one card on the field and destroy it! Then, this card's ATK returns to its original value! Sublime Justice!"
"Not so fast! I activate the effect of the equipped ZW - Pegasus Twin Saber! Once per turn, while it's equipped to a monster, I can negate the activation of an opponent's monster effect!"
"What?"
The longsword in Utopia Ray's hand flashed, and the incoming purple, cross-shaped bolt of energy vanished into thin air.
"I detach Utopia Ray's two remaining Overlay Units to activate its effect twice more!"
CNo.39: Utopia Ray ATK: 4000 → 4500 → 5000
Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy ATK: 1800 → 800 → 0
"Battle! Utopia Ray, attack Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy! Hope Chaos Slash!"
Utopia Ray raised the greatsword in its hand and slashed down at Destiny HERO - Dystopia Guy.
"Am I really going to fall here?" Aster Phoenix murmured, watching the greatsword draw closer, before being instantly engulfed by the light of the blade.
Aster Phoenix LP: 4000 → 0
...
(end of chapter)