"When Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Lancelot is summoned to replace Mash, he inherits the special effect of the Heroic Spirit – Mash Kyrielight card that returned to the hand — Lancelot, now in Defense Position, gains Taunt and cannot be destroyed!"
[Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Lancelot DEF 2000 → 0]
With Mash, who blocked two attacks in a row, now returned to the hand, Lancelot takes her place on Hoshino's field. Wielding Arondight, he stands firm like a one-man fortress, blocking the charge of the Gamma the Magnet Warrior army.
"And when Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Lancelot is successfully Special Summoned, I activate the Trap Card—Glorious Expedition!"
[Glorious Expedition – Trap Card Effect: Can only be activated when a "Knight of the Round Table" monster is Special Summoned to your field. Select 1 "Knight of the Round Table" monster from your Deck with the same Level as the summoned monster and Special Summon it to your field.]
"Since Lancelot is Level 7, I Special Summon another Level 7 Knight of the Round Table monster from my Deck—Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Mordred, in Defense Position!"
[Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Mordred ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)] [FIRE] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 2200 / DEF 2000]
Rebellious flames flare up as Mordred materializes on the field—immediately becoming the next target of Slifer's Thunder Force.
"—Thunder Force!"
"Watch out, Sir Mordred!" The Ideal King of Knights – Lily instantly raises her holy sword to form a barrier. Unlike Mash or Lancelot, who inherited Mash's effect, Mordred would be destroyed if hit directly by Thunder Force.
[Mordred DEF 2000 → 0]
The glowing barrier blocks the erupting lightning just before it strikes Mordred's face. As she looks up at the King of Knights shielding her, she's momentarily stunned.
Lily asks gently, "Are you alright, Sir Mordred?"
"Ah… ah! I'm fine, really~" Mordred, wearing her helmet, replies awkwardly.
But under that helmet, her cheeks are blazing red. Her heart races like a thousand deer.
What the heck is this?! Is this… the ideal Father King? Don't joke with me! Dammit, she's way too cute and dependable—this has to be a dream! And the younger version of Father is here too?! My heart's pounding like crazy. I can't take this!
Overwhelmed by the double impact of Artoria Lilys, the Knights of the Round Table—despite their usual stoic appearances—are nearly dying of cardiac arrest one after another.
"Since there are now two Knights of the Round Table on my field, Heroic Spirit – Knight of the Round Table Lancelot's effect activates! Destroy Gamma the Magnet Warrior!"
[Lancelot Effect: If you control another "Knight of the Round Table" monster, at the start of the Damage Step when this card battles an opponent's monster: Destroy that monster.]
[Gamma the Magnet Warrior destroyed]
"Now your offensive is completely blocked, Yugi!"
Because Lancelot inherited Mash's ability, he not only gets one opportunity to change battle position during the opponent's turn, but he can also destroy any opponent's monster before damage calculation. With Yugi's current field, there's no way through the wall of Round Table knights empowered by Mash's legacy.
"Hmph, amazing, Hoshino. I didn't expect that even under the pressure of Slifer's Thunder Force, you'd manage to fill your field with five monsters… It's like you're defying a god."
The roaring Slifer floating behind Yugi grows more furious, crackling with divine rage.
"And the reason you were able to summon so many monsters, Hoshino, must be that Ideal King of Knights – Artoria Pendragon Lily! Then I'll use Slifer to obliterate her!"
A god cannot be targeted or affected by monsters below Level 10. Even though Lancelot inherited Mash's Taunt effect, he's only Level 7 and thus cannot redirect Slifer's attack.
"—Superconducting Thunderwave!!"
With pinpoint aim, Slifer unleashes a divine lightning blast toward Lily, accompanied by a deafening thunderclap.
"I won't let you destroy my perfect Father so easily! I'm the only one allowed to bring her down!"
Mordred raises her sword, now cloaked in crimson lightning, and intercepts the Thunderwave aimed at Lily.
Lily is momentarily stunned. "Sir Mordred… why?"
"—Go, Mordred! In the name of the Rebellious Knight, activate the effect of the Trap Card Glorious Expedition from the Graveyard!"
[Glorious Expedition – Graveyard Effect: If an "Artoria" monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can send 1 "Knight of the Round Table" monster from your field to the Graveyard instead. Then banish this card.]
"To protect Ideal King of Knights – Lily from being destroyed, I send Mordred to the Graveyard! That also triggers her effect!"
[Mordred Effect: If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can shuffle this card into the Deck; then add 1 "Battle of Camlann" from your Deck to your hand.]
Mordred, having taken the hit for Lily, is shuffled back into the Deck. Hoshino then adds Battle of Camlann to her hand.
"Now your attack is over, Yugi!"
The only monster left that hasn't attacked is Apprentice Illusion Magician, who cannot break through Lancelot's defense. Yugi, of course, won't waste her needlessly.
"Indeed, you've perfectly blocked it. To maintain such resilience under Slifer's suppression… That's just like you, Hoshino."
With the Battle Phase concluded, the watching duelists are stunned into silence by a spectacle beyond anything they've ever seen—or imagined.
The legendary duelist Yugi Muto faces off against Duel King Chiyuki Hoshino. The monsters on the field grow more numerous each turn, and Thunder Force is being unleashed like it costs nothing. The crowd is electrified.
"This duel is amazing!"
"Yugi's Slifer is terrifying… Is this the power of a god?!"
"Nonsense! Hoshino's eaten so many Thunder Forces and still looks unfazed. The Duel King clearly doesn't even fear the gods!"
Of course, with a duel of this scale comes debate—and with debate, comes division. The audience quickly splits into two camps: one cheering for Yugi, and the other fangirling hard over Hoshino.
"After the Battle Phase, I haven't used my Normal Summon this turn. I Tribute my remaining two Magnet Warriors to Tribute Summon—Dark Magician in Attack Position!"
As expected, the inevitable occurs. The Dark Magician, previously searched using Apprentice Illusion Magician's effect, now descends stylishly onto the battlefield with the release of two Magnet Warriors.
[Dark Magician ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)] [DARK] [Spellcaster] [ATK 2500 / DEF 2100]
Seeing her idol appear on the field, Apprentice Illusion Magician lights up with joy, adorable blushes blooming across her dark cheeks.
"And since I Tribute Summoned using two monsters, I activate the Continuous Spell Precious Cards from Beyond's effect—I draw two cards from my Deck!"
Drawing a card, Yugi glanced at the remaining five cards in his hand and selected two to set on his Duel Disk.
"Lastly, I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
[Yugi's: 3 Hand Cards | 2 Set Cards]
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK 4000 → 3000]
"My turn. Draw!"
As her turn began, Hoshino looked over the field, filled with Heroic Spirits devastated by Slifer's Thunder Force, all with their DEF reduced to zero.
"You've all done well, holding out this long... Now it's my turn to fight back!"
Drawing the long-awaited monster card, a cold and ominous aura suddenly began to spread from Hoshino's field.
"Next comes the battlefield of gods! I Tribute Hohenheim, Saber Lily, and Lancelot to Tribute Summon—"
As thunder rumbled in the skies, it felt as though a gateway to hell had opened on earth. A screech of terror pierced through the clouds.
"Fear that dominates the depths of the underworld! A soul that chains all things—inescapable! Answer my call—The Wicked Dreadroot!"
[The Wicked Dreadroot ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DIVINE] [Divine-Beast/Effect] [ATK 4000 / DEF 4000]
Following Yugi's earlier godly summon, Hoshino now summoned a god of her own. The massive Wicked Dreadroot, clad in ghostly white bone armor and rivaling Slifer in size, stood tall and imposing beneath the darkened sky above Hoshino.
"So huge! So this is what the true form of a God Card looks like!" Akasha exclaimed, tilting her small head so far back she nearly lost her balance, finally understanding the weight of divine power.
Clenching his fists in anticipation, Yugi said with excitement, "You finally summoned your god, Hoshino! But even a god must face the wrath of Thunder Force upon being summoned!"
Sensing the presence of another god across the field, Slifer roared in challenge. Following Yugi's command, it unleashed the long-charged Thunder Force, exploding against the massive bone-plated body of The Wicked Dreadroot.
[The Wicked Dreadroot ATK 4000 → 2000]
However, since gods can only be affected by monsters below Level 10, this debuff would only last until the end of the turn. Wicked Dreadroot's ATK would return on Hoshino's next turn.
"Even if it takes Thunder Force head-on, Slifer can't stand against The Wicked Dreadroot! I switch Ideal King of Knights Lily to Attack Position and enter the Battle Phase!"
[Ideal King of Knights Lily ATK 2400]
"Go, Wicked Dreadroot! Target Slifer the Sky Dragon—it's time for a battle of the gods!"
With a roar, Wicked Dreadroot swung its pale giant claw. As the Battle Phase began and Hoshino declared her attack, the blow surged upward, crashing toward the thunderclouds where Slifer hovered.
Mokuba swallowed nervously. "She's attacking a 3000 ATK Slifer with a 2000 ATK monster? I've seen Hoshino use Wicked Dreadroot before, but the duel ended so fast she didn't even need to activate its effect…"
He recalled how, back at KaibaCorp, Hoshino had summoned Dreadroot and wiped out the Paradox Brothers in a single turn.
"Counterattack, Slifer—Superconductive Wave Thunderclap!"
At Yugi's command, Slifer unleashed its divine bolt—but Wicked Dreadroot raised a claw, catching the lightning with its bare hand.
Gripping the roaring energy, the Dreadroot followed the blast's trajectory—then hurled it back, making the skies quake. The massive energy detonated directly inside Slifer's gaping maw.
"Wicked Dreadroot's effect—while it is face-up on the field, all other face-up monsters' ATK and DEF are halved!"
A terrifying aura enveloped the field, sparing none—not even Slifer, who raged amidst the clouds.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK 3000 → 1500]
[Dark Magician ATK 2500 → 1250]
[Apprentice Illusion Magician ATK 2000 → 1000]
[Ideal King of Knights Lily ATK 2400 → 1200]
"Despair before the power that shakes both heaven and earth! — Wicked Smash Fist!"
After swallowing the Thunderclap and gaining a 500-point ATK advantage, Wicked Dreadroot charged forth. Slifer's massive form writhed in the heavens before exploding from head to tail in a burst of divine energy.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon is destroyed]
[Yugi's LP 3200 → 2700]
Following the clash of these two divine beasts, the already hyped-up audience erupted into pure chaos.
"Holy crap, what kind of duel is this?! A battle of God versus Evil God is too damn awesome!"
"Hoshino's Wicked God actually beat Yugi's Egyptian God Card?! Is her god stronger just because she's the Duel King?!"
"You're kidding—Yugi still has two more Egyptian Gods he hasn't summoned yet. This duel's far from over!"
While the spectators' chatter turned wild, Kaiba, watching from the stands, narrowed his eyes slightly and did some quick mental calculations.
"So this is the true power of the Wicked God in Hoshino's hand... An aura that halves the ATK of all monsters... terrifying. Even Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon wouldn't stand a chance…"
At that moment, Kaiba couldn't help but admit—
Perhaps... Hoshino had been holding back during their previous duel.
(*****)
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