Mokuba said worriedly, "Hoshino's new monster may not have low attack power, but the gap is still huge…"
Crossing his arms, Marik, already confident in his victory, mocked from the sidelines, "Is that all she's got? To be honest, I'm disappointed."
"You're disappointed too soon, Marik-nii." Surprisingly, Akasha spoke to Marik for the first ti since their encounter.
The fear Akasha had felt earlier was fading as she watched Hoshino battle courageously. "Hoshino-nee will win—just like always, she'll make a beautiful coback!"
"Well said, Akasha-chan! That was just the warm-up. Now I'll show you my true power!" Hoshino declared, reaching forward and clenching her fist as red lightning crackled in her grasp—or rather, in MHX Alter's hand.
"This is the Sovereign's Invisible Hand! Activating [Mysterious Heroine X·Alter]'s special effect!"
[Target 1 face-up monster on the field to activate. That monster's level decreases by up to 2 stars. This effect can be activated during the opponent's turn.]
The red lightning, like a force field, bound Ozymandias in the sky without him even realizing it.
[Ozymandias: Level 10 → Level 8]
"What a peculiar sensation…" Ozymandias remarked, sensing the strange sealing force and evaluating the magic power within himself. "It's a minor disruption, but it doesn't affect my strength at all."
"This forced reduction in monster level—it's the first ti I've seen such an effect," Kaiba muttered, briefly pondering before shaking his head. "What's the point?"
"There is a point!" Hoshino shouted excitedly, pointing at Ozymandias, bound by the force field in the sky.
"Attack, MHX Alter! Show these ignorant fools that only those who can turn the tide deserve the title of Heroine!"
MHX Alter's crimson lightsaber vibrated with a sharp tone in the night sky. Taking a battle stance, MHX forced a smile onto her otherwise expressionless face and said, "Of course! As the heroine, heh heh heh!"
"Battle!!"
Hoshino's declaration was like the gunshot signaling the start of a war.
With a crimson cot-like sprint, MHX dashed forward, dragging her lightsaber and leaving a dazzling red trail against the dark backdrop. "Alter-reactor, critical limits exceeded!"
"HAHAHA! You dare challenge the sun with a re mortal body? Then don't expect rcy!" Ozymandias laughed wildly as countless thin beams of light aligned at a 45° angle and swept forward. The blinding solar assault dispelled the darkness from the battlefield in an instant.
The clash between sun and darkness began—MHX, wielding her dual lightsaber, slashed through the beams of light with precise, graceful movents. Though she appeared slender, her crimson swordplay was a srizing display of elegance and ferocity.
"To think you could cut down the radiance of my sun?!" Ozymandias frowned unconsciously, watching MHX stride through his attack with ease.
Marik, visibly shaken, exclaid, "Impossible! With such a huge difference in attack power, her monster should have been destroyed instantly!"
"Attack power difference? You must be joking! I'll show you the true purpose of the Sovereign's Invisible Hand!" Hoshino shouted. MHX's fierce attacks and vivid swordplay were all part of her calculated plan.
"Even a small 2-star difference matters… MHX Alter's level has now surpassed Ozymandias' by one star!"
[Heroic Spirit - Mysterious Heroine X Alter: Level 9]
[Heroic Spirit - Ozymandias: Level 10 → Level 8]
Odion's low voice echoed, "Level difference? It doesn't affect attack power. What does it change?"
Hoshino smirked. "Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't matter. But MHX Alter is different! The level suppression has activated her special ability!"
[If this card battles a monster with a Level equal to or lower than its own, this card gains ATK equal to its original ATK until the end of the Battle Phase.]
MHX unleashed a circular wave of energy, shattering the remaining beams of light. "With the brilliance of my darkness, be reduced to elentary particles!"
[Heroic Spirit - Mysterious Heroine X Alter: ATK 3000 → 6000]
"What?!" Kaiba stumbled, unable to hide his shock as MHX's attack power doubled.
"She actually surpassed it!" Shizuka exclaid in excitent, witnessing such a dramatic reversal for the first ti.
Hoshino, reveling in her triumph, raised her hand in sync with MHX, who leaped high. "See this? This is my full power! Take him down, MHX Alter!"
"The Duel King… your confidence isn't unwarranted," Odion admitted grudgingly. "But I anticipated your move. I activate my trap card: [Mirror Force]!"
[Mirror Force Trap Card: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters they control.]
"This is bad! He set a perfect counter!" Yugi exclaid, recognizing the trap's threat.
"At this crucial mont, if her attack is blocked, the reversal will collapse," Kaiba analyzed calmly.
The shield of light separated MHX from Ozymandias, seemingly sealing Hoshino's fate.
ZZZ—!
As the crimson lightsaber cut through the shield, the huge reflected energy bounced back toward Hoshino's field, swallowing the defenseless Saber Lily.
[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily] destroyed.
"The battle is over. Stop struggling Hoshino." Odion, now at ease, lowered the arm he'd used to activate the trap.
But instead of despair, MHX tightened her grip on her lightsaber and struck the shield with all her strength.
"No, you're the one who should stop struggling!" Hoshino's defiant shout echoed as the shield shattered. The shards reflected the fiery brilliance of MHX's blade, encircling her like starlight.
Odion, stunned, demanded, "Why wasn't your monster destroyed?"
"If I couldn't counter basic traps, my title as Duel King would an nothing! This is darkness capable of swallowing the sun!" Hoshino explained.
[Fusion Effect: [Artoria] Monster [Heroic Spirit] Monster DARK Attribute Monster ①: If this card is Fusion Summoned using only DARK Attribute monsters, it cannot be targeted by the effects of other cards.]
"That's why I fused three DARK monsters! This boundless darkness cannot be stop!" Hoshino raised her duel disk high as MHX unleashed a surge of power, overwhelming Ozymandias.
"It's over! Unleash the final strike, MHX Alter! Give him an 'Muda Muda' for three whole pages!"
In a flash, MHX unleashed a thousand strikes at lightspeed, crimson slashes erupting across Ozymandias' form.
"This is it! Take this final blow!"
With a powerful X Slash, MHX Alter shattered the radiant sun.
"—Crosscalibur!!"
"On earth, nothing is impossible for a pharaoh… but we're on an airship, bleh—!"
[Heroic Spirit - Ozymandias: Destroyed]
[Odion LP: 3600 → 3100]
"Did... did it work?!"
After the intense clash, the only sound left on the silent battlefield was the hum of MHX's lightsaber.
Pointing forward, Hoshino declared, "It's over. The tables have completely turned. I have the monster with the strongest attack and the greatest resistance, while you have no monsters left!"
Odion looked on in disbelief. "The Pharaoh has been defeated? The sun has been swallowed by darkness? Has my clan's righteousness failed…?"
"Ugh… she actually this strong!" Marik clutched his head tightly, his ntal state beginning to unravel from the drastic shift from victory to defeat.
"Damn it, we were so close! Damn it!"
Seeing Marik muttering to himself, Jonouchi asked in confusion, "What's with this guy? Does he get this worked up over losing a duel?"
"Could it be...?" Odion's expression shifted as he realized sothing was wrong with Marik. His face turned pale.
Rembering that Marik had ntioned before how his own personality was becoming increasingly unstable, Odion felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. Not even when Hoshino had destroyed Ozymandias did he look this anxious.
"Lord Marik, I won't lose!" Odion shouted, attempting to stabilize Marik's mind. "I decided long ago to devote my life to you and your goals! Now is the mont to stake my life. I will offer my body to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"The Winged Dragon of Ra?!" The group gasped collectively.
Kaiba beca alert. "Did he just say the Winged Dragon of Ra? Does this an he not only possesses a Heroic Spirit card but also the Winged Dragon of Ra?"
"I thought the loli god was referring to Ozy with that divine power... I didn't expect this guy to have the Winged Dragon of Ra as well."
Frustrated, Hoshino had assud that Odion was just a mid-boss-level opponent. But after summoning Ozymandias and now possibly the Winged Dragon of Ra, Odion seed more like a final boss than Marik.
Taking on Ozymandias had already been a challenge, and summoning MHX had nearly depleted Hoshino's resources. If the Winged Dragon of Ra was summoned now, things would get tricky.
With that in mind, Hoshino set her last two cards. "Set two cards, end turn!"
[Hoshino Chiyuki's Remaining Cards: 1 card in hand, 2 set cards, [Heroic Spirit - Mysterious Heroine X Alter ATK 6000 → 3000]
"My turn, draw! Then I activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn]!"
Since he had used his trap card last turn and the Equip card was destroyed when Ozymandias left the field, Odion now had room in his back row to activate a Spell.
"The monster I'm reviving is... the Pharaoh, Ozymandias!"
Hoshino laughed. "Looks like he hasn't had enough yet."
Without the support of the Equip Card, the plain Ozymandias stood no chance against MHX.
[Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias ★★★★★★★★★★ (10-Star)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Fusion][ATK 3000/DEF 3000]
Surprisingly, Ozymandias didn't reappear with his usual maddening laughter. The silence was so unusual that it made Hoshino feel uneasy.
"Hey, hey, aren't you supposed to be the kind of handso guy who's a bit too talkative?" Hoshino muttered, noticing sothing strange on Odion's duel disk. The Ozymandias card was starting to fade, as if it were disappearing.
"So that's how it is…" Hoshino realized what was happening.
"Since a card was special summoned from the graveyard, Card of Safe Return activates, letting draw three cards from my deck!" At this point, Hoshino wasn't even keeping track of how many cards Odion had in his hand. Card of Safe Return had already replenished nine cards for him.
"Then I activate the Spell Card [Magical Stone Excavation], discarding two cards from my hand to retrieve [Monster Reborn] from the graveyard. I'll use it to revive [Behemoth the King of All Animals]!"
[Behemoth the King of All Animals ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][EARTH] [Beast/Effect][ATK 2700/DEF 1500]
"Roar—!" The enormous beast materialized on the field with a fierce growl.
"Thanks to Card of Safe Return, I get to draw three more cards!" Drawing another set of three cards, Odion's eyebrows twitched slightly. "It's here—I finally drew it!"
Jonouchi, watching nervously, grabbed Honda in a headlock. "Don't tell he just drew the Winged Dragon of Ra!"
Honda choked. "Ugh..Jonouchi, just because Shizuka smiled at doesn't an you should take out!"
Odion, with unwavering eyes, flipped his final set card. "I activate [Remove Trap] to destroy [Rasseum] on the field, and then activate the Continuous Trap Card [Embodint of Apophis]!"
[Embodint of Apophis Continuous Trap Card Effect: During the Main Phase: Special Summon this card as a Normal Monster (Reptile/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 1800). (This card is also still a Trap.)]
[Embodint of Apophis ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Reptile][ATK 1600/DEF 1800]
Despite its na, the creature was rely a black serpent wielding a curved blade.
After all his maneuvers, Odion's field was now full of monsters. "Since the Rasseum was destroyed, Ozymandias can be use as a tribute! Now I have all three sacrifices I need to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"It's happening!" The intensity of the mont made Yugi clench his fists involuntarily.
"Oh, Lord Marik, witness my resolve! I offer my body and my life to the great sun, to pave the path of victory for my clan!" shouted Odion with all his might, pouring his emotions into his declaration.
Odion knew well that this would likely be the last card he played. If he successfully summoned the Winged Dragon of Ra, divine retribution would surely follow. The card in his hand wasn't the true Winged Dragon of Ra, but a replica. Using a fake God card would invoke the god's wrath, consuming him entirely.
"By offering the three monsters on my field as sacrifices!" Yet, Odion harbored no hesitation. He believed this was the fate he had to bear.
"All mighty protector of the sun and sky. I beg of thee, please heed my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring victory in this fight. I beseech thee, grace our humble ga, but first, I shall call out thy na: Winged Dragon of Ra!"
With determination, Odion played the replica of the Winged Dragon of Ra.
As the three monsters on his field vanished, flas erupted across the dueling arena. Amid the surging waves of fire, a golden divine bird rose, lifting its head high and soaring into the sky. The previously peaceful night was now consud by fire and lightning.
[Winged Dragon of Ra ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK: ??? DEF: ???]
(*****)
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