"Even if you destroyed all my Traps, that giant monster of yours with 0 ATK still can't beat my Silent Magician, can it?!"
Having her entire backrow burned away by Nightshroud, Akasha was clearly unhappy with Uria's effect. Still, she forced herself to act tough and taunted him.
"Don't be so eager to die, Academy girl. The power of the Sacred Beasts… is only beginning to reveal itself."
Nightshroud pulled out the monster card Chaos Summoning Beast—the offering he had sent to the Graveyard—and tossed it straight into the boiling magma beneath him.
Before it even touched the lava, the Duel Monster card combusted instantly from the sheer heat, turning into ashes.
"With your soul and body, awaken the paradise of the Sacred Beasts! Chaos Summoning Beast—activate your effect!"
[②: Banish this card from your GY; add 1 "Fallen Paradise" from your Deck to your hand.]
Nightshroud opened a hidden slot on his Duel Disk and placed the newly-searched Field Spell into it.
From the bubbling magma, a grotesque black tree surged upward—an eerie plant forged from lava and dark energy. Its twisted, unnatural form felt as if it could drain the life out of everything around it.
Jaden looked around at the changing environment and whispered, "Alexis… does it feel like we're sinking faster?"
Holding a hand to her chest, Alexis stammered, "D-Don't say scary things, idiot! Senpai and Akasha are seriously dueling right now—we need to st-stay calm!"
Jaden scratched his cheek. "Uh… you're the one who doesn't look calm."
Nightshroud continued:
"Field Spell—Fallen Paradise! Sacred Beasts on my field cannot be targeted by your card effects, and they cannot be destroyed by card effects. Also, as long as I control a Sacred Beast, once per turn I can draw 2 cards!"
Refilling his hand back up to five cards, Fallen Paradise allowed Nightshroud to summon Uria, Lord of Searing Flames—effectively at zero cost.
Akasha exploded in outrage.
"Drawing two cards per turn for free?! Isn't that basically activating Professor Crowler every turn? This Field Spell is totally unfair!"
But Hoshino immediately noticed something off.
Fallen Paradise clearly mirrored the Field Spell Marik once used for the Egyptian Gods—Mound of the Bound Creator—but redesigned for the Sacred Beasts. Except this version was even more broken, especially with the 2-card draw.
"If the Sacred Beasts are sealed and shouldn't be able to awaken… is this Fallen Paradise the reason they can still be summoned?"
Back then, Mound of the Bound Creator let Marik manipulate fake Egyptian God Cards. Fallen Paradise might be serving the same function here. Whether the Uria Nightshroud summoned was genuine or counterfeit was still uncertain.
"I Set one card. Turn end."
Nightshroud placed his final card and ended his turn. Aside from destroying Akasha's Traps and drawing cards with Fallen Paradise, he still hadn't used any other effects of Uria, nor had he attacked with its 0 ATK body.
"Finally my turn. My turn—draw!"
Hoshino began her turn. Against an enemy monster with unknown powers, she immediately turned to her reliable opener.
"I Normal Summon Heroic Spirit – Cú Chulainn in Attack Position!"
[Heroic Spirit – Cú Chulainn ★★★★ (Level 4)]
[LIGHT / Warrior / Effect]
[ATK 1600 / DEF 1600]
Cú Chulainn materialized over the lava, effortlessly floating without any foothold.
"Whoa, feels like my body was rusting. It's been ages—let's tear something apart, Master!"
Spinning his crimson spear, Cú Chulainn pointed it toward the towering Uria.
"So this is the prey? Hah! Looks all bark and no bite. I don't sense an ounce of fighting spirit from it!"
"Well, it does have zero ATK. Go, Cú Chulainn—slay the beast!"
Hoshino immediately entered the Battle Phase.
"Cú—attack Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"
Laughing wildly, Cú Chulainn leapt over the molten lava, spear aimed straight at Uria's skull.
"I'll take your heart!"
"Face-down card—activate!"
"So there was a Trap after all."
Just as Hoshino expected, Nightshroud flipped his set Trap as Cú Chulainn's attack landed.
"Trap Card—Dark Scheme!"
[Each player discards 2 cards, then draws 2 cards.]
"…Huh?"
Both Hoshino and Akasha blinked, dumbfounded.
His monster was being attacked, yet Nightshroud didn't activate a defensive card. Instead he activated a Trap completely unrelated to battle.
Still—the effect actually benefitted Hoshino. She discarded two cards, then drew two more. A free Graveyard load and hand refresh was nothing to complain about.
"I discard two Trap Cards from my hand to the Graveyard! With that, the true power of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames finally ignites!"
The moment those cards hit the Graveyard, Uria let out a piercing roar. Its jaws widened, rows of razor fangs glowing. It counterattacked Cú Chulainn with overwhelming force.
A torrent of scorching divine flames burst forth—packed with destructive magic and blistering heat—engulfing Cú Chulainn instantly.
"Lancer ga shinda!"
"I'M NOT DEAD! Don't just announce my death, Master! Protection from Arrows—!"
[①: Once per turn, if this Attack Position card would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed and the battle damage becomes 0.]
Barely surviving thanks to his protective skill, Cú Chulainn wiped cold sweat from his brow.
"What the hell? That weakling suddenly exploded with power?!"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames – ATK 3000]
"Hey, hey—this Attack Points value… isn't this already catching up to that gun-crazy Archer who shoots everything he sees?" Cú Chulainn complained.
Nightshroud lifted Uria's card from his Duel Disk and explained:
"This is the hidden power of Uria. Its ATK increases by 1000 for every Trap Card in my Graveyard."
Last turn, Nightshroud had tried to use Graceful Charity to discard Traps and raise Uria's ATK, but Silent Magician had interrupted him.
Now, with the two Traps he discarded via Dark Scheme, plus Dark Scheme itself, he had a total of three Traps in the Graveyard—giving Uria an ATK high enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon… or even Oda Nobunaga.
"With 3000 ATK… with what Senpai and Akasha have on the field right now, there's no way they can break through it," Alexis said anxiously. With every second that passed, the magma beneath them crept closer. Staying calm was becoming impossible.
"No… it can be beaten. If that's the extent of Uria's power, then it's nothing more than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon at best!"
Hoshino tossed out a Quick-Play Spell—starlight magic flared across her field.
"Quick-Play Spell—Phantasm Summon – Install!
I banish Cú Chulainn from my field as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon a Magical Girl monster!"
Cú transformed into a Phantasmal Summon catalyst and flew into Illya's hands as her Spirit Origin card.
"Here we go, Ruby! Magical Girl—transform!"
Illya crossed the Spirit Origin with her magical outfit. In an instant, her gear changed—Ruby reshaping into Cú Chulainn's scarlet spear.
"Install Lancer card! Magical Girl – Cú Chulainn Illya!"
[Magical Girl – Cú Chulainn Illya ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)]
[WIND / Warrior / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK 2000 / DEF 1600]
[①: The turn this card is Special Summoned, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. Any battle damage you take involving this card becomes 0.]
"Illya, attack again! This time, we're taking the Sacred Beast's heart for real!"
Thanks to the effect preventing her destruction and damage, Hoshino launched another assault on the 3000-ATK Uria.
But the real finishing blow came from—
[②: Once per turn, at the end of the Damage Step, if this card battled an opponent's monster but did not destroy it: send that monster to the Graveyard.]
Ignoring the destruction immunity granted by Fallen Paradise, Illya's upgraded Noble Phantasm simply sent Uria to the Graveyard. A pure "cause reversal" strike.
The spear of reversed fate.
"Take this!!" Illya roared as she hurled the crimson spear, magic surging through it. The weapon pierced Uria from head to tail in a single line.
"Gae Bolg!!"
"ROOOOAAARRR!!"
Uria's enormous scarlet body writhed, then plunged back into the magma with a thunderous scream.
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames – Destroyed]
Akasha grabbed Hoshino tightly, shaking her in excitement.
"To think you beat a Sacred Beast that easily! As expected of Hoshino-nee—the strongest duelist who once defeated even a God monster head-on!"