"You little brat—if you're excited, just be excited. What are you doing copping a feel?"
Slipping out of Akasha's overly enthusiastic embrace like a greased eel, Hoshino swept her gaze over the remaining field on Nightshroud's side.
With Uria, Lord of Searing Flames destroyed, the only monster he had left was a single "Dark Beckoning Beast" in Defense Position with 0 DEF.
"Alright then, let's finish this in one go and hit him hard!"
Drawing another Quick-Play Spell and placing it onto her Duel Disk, starlight once again shone across Hoshino's field as another Magical Girl's glow burst forth.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Twinkling Stars!"
[Twinkling Stars — Quick-Play Spell
Effect: Choose 1 of the following effects to activate.
● If you control a 'Magical Girl' Fusion Monster: Add 1 'Magical Girl – Miyu' from your Deck or banished pile to your hand.]
"Since I control 'Magical Girl – Cú Chulainn Illya', I can add Miyu to my hand! Next, I activate the effect of 'Magical Girl – Miyu'!"
Miyu materialized on the field, gently taking Illya's small, delicate hand with a reassuring smile.
"Let's fight together, Illya. I'll pass this power to you."
[①: Discard this card from your hand, then target 1 'Heroic Spirit' Fusion Monster you control.
Return that monster to the Extra Deck, then Special Summon from your Extra Deck 1 'Heroic Spirit' Fusion Monster that lists 1 or more of the same monsters as material, but with a different card name, treating it as a Fusion Summon. This effect can be activated during either player's turn.]
"I send Miyu from my hand to the Graveyard! Cú Chulainn Illya returns to the Extra Deck—and is replaced by another Magical Girl Fusion that uses Illya as material!"
Bathed in the transforming light of a new Fusion Summon, Illya's Spirit Origin shifted. She landed gracefully, posture sharpened like that of a battlefield operative.
"Go! Fusion Summon—Magical Girl – Okita Soji Illya!"
[Magical Girl – Okita Soji Illya★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][WIND][Warrior / Fusion / Effect][ATK 2500 / DEF 2000]
Since this was a Special Summon during the Battle Phase, Okita Illya remained able to continue attacking.
"Magical Girl – Okita Soji Illya has the effect: When this card battles a Defense Position monster, inflict double piercing damage! Take this!"
She drew her katana. A secret sword technique born from extreme speed and precision—
"First step, swifter than sound... Second step, infinite suffering... Third step, the absolute sword!"
Illya's petite frame blurred forward, katana gleaming as she thrust toward Nightshroud's Dark Beckoning Beast.
"—Mumyou, Sandanzuki!!!"
With 2500 ATK and double piercing, her triple thrust tore open the space before the blade, dealing massive damage to Nightshroud's Life Points.
[Nightshroud LP 8000 → 3000]
A single strike worth 5000 damage—under standard 4000 LP rules, the duel would've ended on the spot.
"She's amazing… Is this senpai's power?"
Alexis stared wide-eyed, awe radiating from her expression.
Aside from her own duel with Hoshino, this was her first time witnessing so closely the overwhelming might of the Duel King.
"It's not over yet! Next—Silent Magician, direct attack!"
[Silent Magician — ATK 2000]
The tall, elegant sorceress unleashed a burst of pure white energy, detonating against Darkness and slicing away even more of his Life Points.
[Nightshroud LP 3000 → 1000]
"With Sensei and Akasha teaming up, even a Sacred Beast can't stop them!"
Jaden gulped, glancing nervously at how close the magma beneath their cage was rising.
"Looks like I worried for nothing. At this rate, we're safe."
"I Set 1 card and end my turn!"
As both Headmistress and Duelist responsible for her students' lives in a Shadow Duel, Hoshino was going all-out.
Nightshroud began his turn, drawing with a slow, heavy motion. Even beneath the mask, she could sense his frustration.
"Not only did you destroy Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, you dealt 7000 damage in a single turn… Duel King, your reputation is well deserved."
"If you surrender now, it's still not too late! Hurry up and release Jaden and Alexis!"
"Surrender? No—this is where the real show begins! Hoshino Chiyuki, did you really think you defeated Uria?"
Hoshino frowned. There was something off. Instinctively, she looked toward the molten pool where Cú Chulainn Illya had skewered the Sacred Beast moments earlier.
"It's… still moving down there?"
A familiar dark silhouette writhed within the magma's glow, accompanied by a gradually strengthening, guttural roar.
"Sacred Beasts are immortal! Uria, Lord of Searing Flames has the effect:
If this card is in your GY: You can send 1 Trap from your hand to the GY; Special Summon this card!"
Nightshroud discarded a Trap Card, and the molten surface burst upward—the resurrected Uria emerging, its oppressive heat even more intense.
"Since the number of Trap Cards in my Graveyard has increased to four, Uria's ATK rises to 4000!"
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames — ATK 4000]
"It can revive infinitely just by discarding Traps… and it doesn't even have a once-per-turn limit?"
Akasha trembled as the Sacred Beast's roar shook the entire chamber.
"This is even more ridiculous than The Winged Dragon of Ra… Hoshino-nee, I'm just going to ask: did you bring any God Cards with you?"
A threat equal to the Gods—only another divine power could compare.
"It's a shame—last month Da Vinci took all three God Cards back to Chaldea for analysis, so I don't have them right now."
And truthfully, Hoshino had never imagined the Sacred Beasts' power would surface before the Seven Seals were broken.
"Next—Uria, Lord of Searing Flames' effect! Trap Destruction!!"
A wave of blazing heat swept across the back row. Even the Trap Hoshino had just Set was instantly incinerated.
[Poster Girl — Destroyed]
"And thanks to the Field Spell Fallen Paradise, since I control Uria, I can draw 2 cards!"
[Nightshroud's hand: 6 cards]
"And now for my Normal Summon—'The Black Stone of Legend'!"
[The Black Stone of Legend★ (Level 1)][DARK][Dragon / Effect][ATK 0 / DEF 0]
Akasha groaned. "Seriously? Another monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF?"
"Wait—that card, I remember…"
Hoshino stared as the small black stone materialized. "I'm sure Jonouchi and Rhodes used this card before."
"Rhodes—you mean Alexis?"
"No, I mean the one who stood as a king at Duel Academy with Zane—Atticus Rhodes."
Finally, the pieces clicked. Nightshroud's voice, despite the mask's distortion, carried a familiar undertone—Atticus Rhodes' voice.
"Probably just a coincidence. Alexis isn't a redhead."
Nightshroud's hair was crimson—almost like molten flame—completely unlike the Atticus she remembered. Besides, Atticus was supposed to be studying abroad in America this semester.
"The effect of The Black Stone of Legend activates! I Tribute it to Special Summon 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' from my Deck!"
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][DARK][Dragon][ATK 2400 / DEF 2000]
"ROOOOAR!!"
The black flames of the Red-Eyes rose beside Uria, both monsters roaring in unison as they hovered above the molten battlefield.
"He really summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
Alexis's eyes narrowed suspiciously—she had the same guess Hoshino did.
"This turn, I'll use the combined flames of Uria and Red-Eyes to completely obliterate your monsters!"
Red-Eyes tilted its head, locking onto Okita Illya, and unleashed a massive torrent of fire.
"—Hyper Breath!!"
"Hot hot HOT!!"
With no backrow left to protect her, Okita Illya was engulfed in flames and obliterated.
[Magical Girl – Okita Soji Illya — Destroyed]
[Hoshino & Akasha LP 8000 → 7500]
"Oh no—we're sinking again!"
Jaden yelled. Every time Hoshino and Akasha lost Life Points, the platform carrying him and Alexis dipped lower toward the molten lava.
Seizing the momentum, Nightshroud continued:
"It's not over! Red-Eyes Black Dragon—attack Silent Magician! Inferno Fire Blast!!"
"You really let your guard down!"
Hoshino shot Akasha a signal, then flicked a card from her Graveyard into Akasha's hand with a dramatic snap.
"I'll leave it to you, Akasha. Magical Girl – Okita Soji Illya's effect carries on the will of the Phantasm Summon—!"
[③: If this card is sent to the GY: Add 1 'Phantasm Summon' from your GY to your hand.]
"Hehehe, I got it, Hoshino-nee! Thanks to Okita Illya's effect, I recovered Phantasm Summon—and that increased the number of cards in my hand!"
"And Silent Magician's effect—her ATK increases by 500 for each card in my hand!"
[Silent Magician ATK 2000 → 2500]
Akasha thrust her arm forward dramatically.
"With the radiance of silent magic—crush the black flames! Reverse everything—Total Silence!!"
Light and darkness collided. Silent Magician's strength surpassed Red-Eyes' attack by just 100—but that was enough. The counterattack shredded the roaring black dragon to pieces.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon — Destroyed]
[Nightshroud LP 1000 → 900]
"Don't underestimate the bond me and Hoshino-nee built over all these years, mask boy!"