"With the effect of Firefly's Flame of Integrity, I can return Okita on my field to my hand, avoiding the erosion of the 'Cubic' Counters. Then, I reveal the top 3 cards of my Deck and add 2 of them to my hand."
Diva's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Running away in the middle of battle—what kind of tactic is that!?"
Flipping over the top three cards of her Deck, a mischievous glint flickered in Hoshino Alter's eyes.
"Yoshi, I'll take these two cards. Now the Battle Phase continues—Mysterious Heroine X, attack the Vijam the Cubic Seed whose effect has been negated!"
"Leave it to me, Master!"
The twin black-and-white swords in Heroine X's hands blazed with light and darkness, leaving luminous trails as she lunged at the dazed Vijam, already stunned from the earlier support bombardment.
"——Mistaking me for an Assassin was your error! At this moment, light and darkness entwine as the strongest! Kataphrakti Shift! Nameless Victory Swords!!"
With the most dazzling slash yielding the lowest possible output, she cut down the 0 ATK Vijam. But in this Dimensional Duel, the damage dealt to Diva was also 0.
"What a pity, Hoshino. You went out of your way to negate Vijam's effect this turn, and yet you still couldn't win."
Relying on the sheer number of his Vijams, Diva—who had just been slapped in the face by the support bombardment moments ago—seemed to have already forgotten the sting.
"If one strike can't break through, then I'll just use more strikes! When it comes to monster recovery, I'm the strongest!"
Drawing the card she had just chosen with Firefly's Flame of Integrity, Hoshino slammed it onto her Duel Disk the moment Heroine X's attack ended.
"This is the result of Okita Style Tactics! Quick-Play Spell, activate—Resolved in Unity!"
[Resolved in Unity – Quick-Play Spell Card Effect: Target 1 "Heroic Spirit" Fusion Monster on the field; return that Fusion Monster to the Extra Deck. Then, if all the Fusion Materials used for its Summon are present in your GY or banished, you can Special Summon that full set to your field.]
Three radiant lights split off from Heroine X, summoning back the Fusion Materials: Artoria, Marie, and Saber Lily.
"Triple Special Summon! Witness the fighting spirit I've been holding back—aaaaahhhhhh!!"
[Marie Antoinette ATK: 0 → 1000]
[Saber Lily ATK: 0 → 1200]
[Artoria ATK: 0 → 2400]
With the earlier "comedic" pair of characters, Hoshino's power-up shouts had lost some punch. But this time, with the triple Special Summon, she finally shouted to her heart's content. For the first time, she truly understood the liberating truth: in Dimensional Duels, "your power depends entirely on yelling."
Diva's eye twitched.
"In this dimensional field, to raise three monsters' ATK to their limits purely through spirit—you're the real monster here…"
"Time to get started, Aimagi!"
Since monsters Special Summoned during the Battle Phase could still attack, Hoshino raised her hand.
"Marie and Saber Lily, destroy the remaining two Vijams!"
"Understood, Master!"
"Let the flowers bloom and dance endlessly~!"
Though their ATK wasn't very high, it was still more than enough to crush two effect-negated Vijams with 0 ATK.
After a burst of dazzling effects, every monster on Diva's field shattered into dimensional cubes, scattering across the ground.
"Now you've lost all your defenses, Aimagi! Artoria Pendragon—direct attack!"
The holy sword in Artoria's hand gleamed brilliantly. Having been stopped by Cubic Counters last time, she struck this time with even greater caution.
"Artoria's special effect! During battle, reveal 'Heroic Spirit' monsters in my hand to boost her ATK by 500 for each revealed!"
Flipping her cards face-up, determined to maximize the damage, Hoshino revealed everything.
"I reveal the just-recovered Heroic Spirit – Okita and the Heroic Spirit – Yagyuu Tajima-no-Kami Munenori I searched earlier! Two monsters, that's a +1000 boost!"
[Artoria ATK: 2400 → 3400]
"Muda da! At the moment you declared a direct attack, my set Trap activates—Cubic Rebirth!"
[Cubic Rebirth – Trap Effect: When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: Target that monster; Special Summon as many monsters as possible with the same name from your hand, Deck, and GY. The targeted monster and those Special Summoned have their ATK become 0, place 1 Cubic Counter on them, and they cannot attack or activate effects.]
"Now then, Hoshino, Special Summon as many copies of Artoria from your Deck as you can! But even if you summon them, they'll all be Cubic-infested and unable to attack!"
Dimensional cubes invaded her body, and the raised holy sword in Artoria's hand froze once again.
"Damn it! To be stopped by the same move twice—it's humiliating!"
Seeing Hoshino unable to act, Diva sneered.
"Hmph, no duplicates? So only one of your monsters gets Cubic-fied. What a shame~"
In truth, Hoshino still had multiple Artorias in her Deck. But each had its own summoning restrictions and couldn't simply be Special Summoned through this effect.
"After that, thanks to Cubic Rebirth, I can Summon 1 'Cubic' monster from my hand! —Appear, my strongest Cubic! Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord!! (Modified effect)"
[Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DARK][Fiend/Effect][ATK 0 (3000)/DEF 0]
Unlike other Cubic monsters, this one wasn't summoned by stacking Vijams—it was a rare, self-standing monster with its own ATK value.
Though her attack had been stopped, Hoshino chuckled with some interest.
"Aimagi, under the rules of Dimensional Dueling, you'll need to raise its ATK yourself with sheer spirit."
"I know that! Now witness the fury I've kept hidden within—Aaaaaahhhh!!"
Blue veins bulged on his forehead as Diva roared at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing across the courtyard. As his spirit surged, his Cubic's ATK began to climb.
[Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord ATK: 0 → 1000]
Holding his stomach, Jonouchi burst out laughing mercilessly.
"Bwahahaha! That's pathetic! You screamed your lungs out and only managed a third-rate attack boost!"
Yugi, embarrassed, tried to console him.
"Come on, Jonouchi, Aimagi-kun really did give it his all…"
"Still, even with all that yelling, he's nowhere close to Hoshino's level, huh?"
"As expected, the spirit of a duelist… the gap between him and Hoshino is just too great."
"Such a flashy hairstyle, and yet such a pathetic performance… what a letdown."
The students watching, never missing a chance to mock, erupted into jeers and sarcasm, leaving Diva utterly humiliated.
Staring blankly at his Dark Cubic Beast, now reduced to only 1000 ATK, Diva muttered in disbelief:
"How could this be…? The hatred in my heart, the unwillingness I feel at Lord Shadi's departure… is it only worth this much…?"
Even his opponent, Hoshino Alter, couldn't help but show pity.
"A duelist's spirit isn't just about hatred. If you rely solely on hate to drive your cards, they won't respond to you."
"Shut up! What do you people know?! Lord Shadi was the only light in my life. He was as warm and gentle as the spring breeze—so why was someone like him not allowed a good ending?!"
With trembling hands, Diva tore the metal cross from his chest, shocking the onlookers with his next move.
"I'll show you all my resolve!"
"Aimagi… you—?!"
A stream of crimson blood gushed from his thigh, where the cross had been stabbed deep, soaking into the dimensional cube embedded in the ground.
Gritting his teeth, Diva roared at his summoned Dark Cubic Beast:
"My blood and rage shall be the price for ascension to the higher dimension! Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord—raise your attack power!"
[Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord ATK 1000 → 3000]
"Using the shock of pain to forcefully amplify his Cubic Beast's attack to 3000… this guy is insane."
Anzu, suddenly realizing, cried out:
"Wait a second! Hoshino only has 2400 Life Points left. If Aimagi's Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord destroys Artoria (ATK), wouldn't she lose instantly?!"
"That's exactly right, Hoshino!" Diva forced a pained smile through labored breaths.
"Your so-called Artoria… what's left is nothing more than an empty shell for me to crush!"
"I don't know what I did to Shadi that made you hate me so much. But at least now, I acknowledge your spirit as a duelist. That's why I'll respond in kind—Quick-Play Spell, activate! Formal Craft!"
Hoshino flipped her final set card. In an instant, the three shining LIGHT Servants on her field were engulfed by darkness.
[Formal Craft – Quick-Play Spell Effect: Declare 1 Attribute. Until the end of this turn, all 'Heroic Spirit' monsters on your field and in your Graveyard become the declared Attribute.]
"I declare DARK! All three of my LIGHT Heroic Spirits are now DARK! And next, from the card I drew earlier, I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Flash Fusion!"
The three Heroic Spirits, now transformed from light to darkness, fused together once again, their forms converging into a single point on Hoshino Alter's field.
If the fusion of light had been a cosmic meteor blade cutting across dimensions, then this dark fusion was a terrifying, unseen blade of annihilation.
"—Arise! Fusion Summon! Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter!!"
[Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][DARK][Dragon/Fusion/Effect][ATK 0 (3000)/DEF 0 (2000)]
["Artoria" monster + "Heroic Spirit" monster + DARK monster]
Dragging her crimson lightsaber, MHX urged, "Master-san, sugar time! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"As expected, Alter monsters really do suit me best! This is it, Aimagi—the finale! Aaaaahhhhhh—!!"
[Mysterious Heroine X·Alter ATK: 0 → 3000]
Jonouchi shouted excitedly:
"Her ATK skyrocketed back to 3000 again! That's the Hoshino I know!"
Diva, gasping from blood loss, rasped out:
"Same attack as Crimson Nova? If they destroy each other, I'll still have Life Points left to survive…"
"Mysterious Heroine X·Alter's special effect—once per turn, I can target 1 face-up monster on the field, and that monster loses 2 Levels!"
Raising her gauntlet, infused with the six primordial forces of Desire (Soul), Sugar (Power), Marketplace (Space), Retail Price (Reality), Production (Time), and Necessity (Mind)—manifested as six infinity stones—Hoshino Alter unleashed crimson lightning, binding Diva's Crimson Nova.
[Crimson Nova LV10 → LV8]
"Dropping its Level? What does that do?" Diva looked bewildered as two of his beast's stars vanished.
"That means Heroine X·Alter, at Level 9, now surpasses Crimson Nova in Level!"
Hoshino Alter, launching her final assault, commanded MHX, whose crimson blade bloomed with dark flowers, to slice through the dimensional battlefield.
"When MHX battles a monster with a lower Level than herself, her ATK doubles until the End Phase!"
[Mysterious Heroine X·Alter ATK: 3000 → 6000]
"The Alter reactor is breaking its limit! Beneath our dark radiance—return to particles! Black Dragon Twin Victory Sword!!"
The X-shaped slash detonated against Crimson Nova's grotesque body, shattering it back into cubic fragments and piercing the battlefield, inflicting massive damage to Diva's Life Points.
[Diva LP 6500 → 3500]
"Gaaahhhhhh!!"
"It's not over yet!" Clearly unwilling to give him any chance to recover, Hoshino Alter drew another card.
"I'll follow up with the effect of Heroic Spirit – Yagyu Tajima-no-Kami Munenori from my hand—"
"Stop!! Please, stop, Chiyuki Hoshino!!"
At that moment, a small figure rushed onto the battlefield. Diva's younger sister, Sera, spread her arms wide, shielding the nearly unconscious Diva with her own body, placing herself in the path of MHX's descending blade.