"When there are a full four counters on the Field Spell Clock Tower Prison, its controller takes no damage at all!"
As the resonant chime echoed, Aster, standing in the darkness, looked as though he had completely merged with the scene itself.
And the low, muffled growling that had faintly echoed from within the clock tower earlier was now far more distinct.
"So as long as there are four counters, he won't take any damage?!" Mash's eyes widened as she looked at Aster. "Then as long as that Field Spell stays on the field, wouldn't he be completely invincible?"
"As expected of my considerate little eggplant—you've already learned how to plant an invincibility flag for the opponent."
Continuing the Battle Phase—even if Aster couldn't take damage right now, Hoshino still needed to press the advantage and wipe out all the Destiny HEROes on the field.
"Go, Heracles Illya! Attack!"
With a ferocious swing of her massive stone axe, Illya unleashed power capable of pulverizing even diamond, instantly smashing Destiny HERO – Diamond Dude on Aster's field into scrap.
[Destiny HERO – Diamond Dude Destroyed]
"It's useless. No matter how much you keep attacking, you can't deal any damage to me anymore," Aster said with an air of invincibility, shrugging disdainfully.
"But your field is completely empty now," Hoshino shot back, smirking. "So this is what a 'Destiny HERO' amounts to? Just standing there and getting beaten like an M? In that case, I'd recommend adding Uria~"
["Aibo, if he actually pulls out a Uria later, you're the one who'll be crying."]
No damage plus infinite revival from Uria would indeed be a nightmare.
Fortunately, Uria should be helping out at Emiya's kitchen around this time.
"After the Battle Phase, I end my turn."
[Hoshino's: 1 Hand Card | 2 Set Cards]
"You destroyed all of my Destiny HEROes?" Aster said calmly. "Hoshino, swept up in the torrent of fate as you are, you can't see the truth at all."
As Hoshino declared the end of her turn, Aster flipped the Trap Card beneath his feet.
"At the very moment your End Phase begins, I activate my set Trap—Destiny Mirage!"
[Destiny Mirage – Trap Effect: Can only be activated when Destiny HERO monsters you control are destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. Special Summon all Destiny HERO monsters destroyed and sent to the Graveyard this turn to your field.]
The projected image of Aster's field shattered like glass—only to reform an instant later. The two Destiny HEROes that had just been destroyed now stood once again beneath the night sky.
Nothing had changed. It was as if everything Hoshino had done moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.
"My turn. Draw."
As Aster drew his card at the start of his turn, he pointed toward Heracles Illya on Hoshino's field.
"And now, it's your time to go. I activate the effect of Doom Lord—send Heracles Illya to the future two turns from now!"
"So I really couldn't escape it…!" Illya muttered helplessly, watching Doom Lord dive toward her, claws outstretched.
Even with Heracles' Spirit Origin and the protection of the Twelve Labors—
Doom Lord's effect was neither battle destruction nor sending to the Graveyard. There was nothing Illya could do but be sent away.
Sharp fingertips lightly tapped her pale abdomen, and Doom Lord—having already banished Tamamo—sent Illya even farther into the future.
"What kind of battle is this…?" Saber Santa muttered in shock as Illya vanished from his side without a trace. "Am I next?"
"No, I don't think so," Hoshino analyzed. "Doom Lord sends monsters two turns into the future. With Tamamo and Illya already gone, that should be the limit."
By this time next turn, Xyz Tamamo-no-Mae should return to Hoshino's field.
Which meant Doom Lord's control chain could banish at most two monsters.
"Next, I activate the effect of Diamond Dude. Once per turn, I can reveal the top card of my Deck. If it's a Normal Spell, I can activate it during my next turn."
Diamond light once again illuminated Aster's Deck. The revealed card this time was a Normal Spell Hoshino had never seen before.
"—Spell Card Fusion Destiny. After sending it to the Graveyard, I can activate it during my next Main Phase."
"Wait!" Jaden suddenly recalled something. "Didn't he also reveal a Normal Spell with Diamond Dude last turn?"
"That's right," Aster nodded, pulling a card from his Graveyard and showing it. "This Spell Card—Monster Reborn—was the one sent to the Graveyard by Diamond Dude last turn. And now is the perfect time to activate it."
Even resurrection light couldn't pierce the endless darkness surrounding the clock tower. Selecting a monster from his Graveyard, Aster placed the card onto his Duel Disk's Monster Zone.
"Monster Reborn… Is he reviving Shining Phoenix Enforcer?" Mash said anxiously.
"This is bad. With Heracles Illya's 2800 ATK sent to the future, there's nothing left that can overpower Shining Phoenix Enforcer."
"No. I won't revive an Elemental HERO. D far surpasses E. Under destiny's decree, there's no need for elemental power!"
In Aster's Graveyard—excluding Shining Phoenix Enforcer and its Fusion Materials—only the two Level 1 Destiny HEROes discarded by Graceful Charity remained.
"With Monster Reborn, I choose to revive Destiny HERO – Disk Commander!"
[Destiny HERO – Disk Commander ★][DARK][Warrior/Effect][ATK 300/DEF 300]
"When Disk Commander is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I draw two cards from my Deck."
["O(ﾟДﾟ)っ! I get it now—this is the Destiny HERO version of 'Pot of Greed Man'!"]
Like a street vendor tossing CDs beneath an overpass, Disk Commander flung his disc skyward as his effect replenished Aster's hand.
[Aster's: 5 Hand Cards]
"Now I have three D monsters on my field. This turn—I'll let you witness the true terror of Destiny!"
Drawing the monster card from his hand, Aster released all the monsters on his field as Tributes in one decisive motion—carrying the unmistakable air of someone summoning a god.
"Destiny HERO - Dogma's effect—this card cannot be Normal Summoned. It can only be Special Summoned by tributing three monsters, including 'Destiny HERO' monsters. I tribute Disk Commander, Doom Lord, and Diamond Dude!"
Born from the overlapping weight of triple destiny, the dark hero spread massive, demonic wings beneath the night sky.
[Destiny HERO - Dogma ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Warrior/Effect][ATK 3400/DEF 2400]
Unlike the Destiny HEROes with frail stats from before, Dogma Guy's overwhelming raw power—combined with the deep, resonant chimes echoing through the darkness—created an unparalleled sense of pressure.
"3400 attack points?!"
A Destiny HERO that leapt from mere hundreds of ATK straight to 3400—the abrupt shift in tone caught Hoshino completely off guard.
People often joked that the 3000 ATK Blue-Eyes White Dragon was the standard unit of combat power.
But excluding Fusion Monsters or boosts from Spells and Traps, very few monsters could surpass Blue-Eyes on pure printed stats alone.
And yet, this Level 8 monster—Dogma Guy—had done exactly that with 3400 ATK.
Standing beneath the towering, winged Dogma Guy, Aster declared:
"D is the superior card series. The Destiny HEROes designed by my father—those are the strongest heroes of all!"
"So that's what you meant…" Clara said softly. "Aster, when you talked about heroes designed by your real father, you meant the Destiny HEROes?"
"So Destiny HEROes were designed by his dad, huh? No wonder I've never seen them before," Jaden said, smiling brightly. "They're different from Elemental HEROes, but honestly—they're really cool!"
Unlike Jaden's pure admiration, Aster's expression showed no joy at the praise of his father's work.
Instead, an indescribable sorrow flickered across his face.
"But why?" Hoshino asked quietly. "Ever since you started using Destiny HEROes, I haven't felt even a trace of excitement from you while dueling."
"Because I've never dueled for fun," Aster replied solemnly.
"Destiny HEROes—because of their excellence, they stirred greed in people's hearts. In the end, my father was murdered. The killer stole the strongest D-HERO card."
["Someone killed for a card? That's seriously messed up—must've had lard clogging their brain."]
"No… in this world, that's absolutely possible. Remember—the Rare Hunters Marik created? Just because Marik vanished doesn't mean another organization like that can't emerge."
"In the end, the police never caught the killer. My father's death was left unresolved. Good people die, while villains walk free. This world doesn't have any true heroes!"
Clenching his fist, Aster spoke his heart aloud for the first time—to someone other than Sartorius.
"The Destiny HERO deck my father left behind carries that unresolved fate. Meanwhile, the murderer took the strongest D card. And I will use these Destiny HEROes to find that final D—and avenge my father!"
Clara sighed softly. "A hero who bears destiny… D HERO. Is that why you devoted yourself entirely to the Pro Duel League?"
Whoever possessed the strongest D card would likely ascend to the very pinnacle of dueling.
Winning—endlessly—was the only path Aster could see toward finding his father's killer.
"Battle—Destiny!"
With a wave of his hand, Aster entered the Battle Phase. His heart no longer wavered—this resolve had been forged many years ago.
"Dogma Guy attacks! Destroy Artoria Pendragon (Santa Alter)!"
"A hero burdened by destiny, fighting solely for revenge… huh. Dueling like this is far too heavy," Hoshino said calmly. "I don't believe your father would want the cards he designed to become tools for his son's vengeance."
Flipping the face-down card beneath his feet, Hoshino declared loudly:
"—A duel should be a clash of souls, fought with everything you've got! I activate the Counter Trap Limited/Zero Over!"
Explosive, exponentially expanding Spirit Origin energy erupted from Artoria Santa, pouring a mountain-crushing torrent of mana into the black holy sword in her grasp.
[Limited/Zero Over Counter Trap Effect: Can only be activated when your opponent declares an attack, targeting one Level 6 or higher "Heroic Spirit" monster you control.]
A Trap Card with limitless potential—one that had once slain even gods—came with tremendous drawbacks. Under 4000 LP rules, Hoshino would never dare include it in his deck.
But with 8000 LP, it became a weapon worth wielding.
"Limited/Zero Over's effect—the attacking monster's ATK becomes 0! Then, this card is equipped to a Level 6 or higher 'Heroic Spirit' monster!"
"Oooooooh—crush it to pieces!" roared Artoria Santa.
The black holy sword collided with Dogma's silver blade—Artoria's blazing Spirit Origin power surged forth, shattering the weapon Dogma Guy relied upon to attack.
[Destiny HERO – Dogma ATK 3400 → 0]
"And while Limited/Zero Over is active, if my opponent can attack, they must attack the monster equipped with this card! Your strongest Dogma is finished!"
[Once per turn, when the equipped monster battles, it gains ATK equal to the ATK of the monster it battles.]
Leaping into the air after destroying Dogma's weapon, Artoria Santa raised her black holy sword high overhead.
Her Spirit Origin surged to explosive levels—the jet-black aurora blade no longer restrained its mana.
The sword's power was no longer light—it became darkness capable of devouring light itself.
Like the breath of the dragon Vortigern that once manifested to protect Britain, the black radiance roared downward toward Dogma on the field.
"—Excalibur Morgan!!"