"You're telling you're Dartz?! No way—did the motorcycle shrink you or sothing?"
The silver-haired girl standing before Hoshino, still wearing a skeletal mask, bore almost no resemblance to the Dartz she had seen before—aside from the hair color. But Hoshino was confident in one thing: as a law-abiding citizen, she was absolutely certain she hadn't run over anyone else except Dartz.
The girl—apparently Dartz in a youthful form—twitched slightly, her expression complex. "Do you feel no guilt for what you did to ?"
Hoshino imdiately shook her head. "If it had been soone else, I might feel bad, but running over you? My only regret is not reversing and running you over again."
The silver-haired Dartz let out a sigh and began explaining. "This is just one of my forms. You see, I have lived for over ten thousand years. My original body no longer exists, but using the power of Orichalcos, I have replicated every stage of my life.
"The boy I once was, the youth, the man, the elder—all of them exist as independent entities. This is the power I possess, a miracle worthy of being called godlike!"
"Wait, wait, wait—ti out!" Hoshino's genuine shock made her cry out. Dartz, misinterpreting her reaction, smiled smugly.
"Ah, even soone as ordinary as you can sense a glimr of my greatness, can't you?"
"So you're a trap?!" Hoshino blurted out, her shock shifting gears.
The youthful Dartz's delicate and androgynous appearance completely threw her off. His silver hair and refined features made him look even cuter than most actual young girls.
Dartz's expression soured slightly. "This is not 'Dartz taking on the form of a boy'; this is the boyhood form of Dartz."
"Each version of Dartz from different stages of my life exists independently, with its own thoughts and equal power. This way, we regulate ourselves, ensuring that no single iteration of Dartz succumbs to madness after ten millennia."
Hoshino tilted her head, pretending to be impressed. "Ah, so you're like a Pokémon with every evolution of yourself in your party. Got it. Must be tough."
anwhile, Mokuba's jaw dropped. "So there are multiple versions of Dartz out there? That's... incredible."
Dartz ignored Hoshino's sarcasm and continued. "You truly are an enigma, Hoshino. I can't tell if you're too smart or just incredibly foolish."
Hoshino grinned. "I'll take 'too smart,' thanks. And if I'm right, your next words are…"
"Let's duel!" Dartz declared, smirking.
The Orichalcos beneath their feet flared to life, encasing them in a glowing barrier.
"So, you understand your predicant, Hoshino. Though you are not one of the chosen duelists, I shall grant you the 'honor' of becoming a sacrifice for the revival of the Great God!"
"I refuse!" Hoshino shot back, drawing her starting hand. "If you're challenging to a duel, then fine. Just know—I won't hold back."
Dartz casually drew his first card. "As the one who activated the Seal of Orichalcos, I'll take the first turn. I activate the Spell Card, [Enchanting Fitting Room]."
[Enchanting Fitting Room – Spell Card Effect:
Pay 800 LP; excavate the top 4 cards of your Deck and Special Summon all excavated Level 3 or lower Normal Monsters. After that, shuffle the rest back into your Deck.]
[Dartz's LP: 4000 → 3200]
Revealing the top four cards of his deck, Dartz smiled. "I can Special Summon three monsters. All of them will be summoned in Defense Position."
[Mokey Mokey ★ [LIGHT] [Fairy/Effect] [ATK: 300 → 800 / DEF: 100 → 600]
[Gigobyte ★ [WATER] [Reptile] [ATK: 350 → 850 / DEF: 300 → 800]
[Bunilla ★ [EARTH] [Beast] [ATK: 150 → 650 / DEF: 2050 → 2550]
The three small, cutesy monsters materialized on Dartz's field, their innocent designs clashing with the dark energy of the Orichalcos Seal.
"Of course, thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos, all my monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF."
Despite their boosted stats, the monsters still seed laughably weak—though their newfound aggression was evident from the glowing Orichalcos marks etched onto their foreheads.
Hoshino couldn't help but blink. "Uh… they're still pretty… adorable. Are we sure they're not just plushies?"
Dartz ignored the comnt, ending his turn with a sly smile. "Finally, I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
With that, Dartz concluded his first turn. Aside from activating the Seal of Orichalcos, he had only summoned three seemingly weak monsters that looked more like cannon fodder than an actual threat.
[Dartz's Field: 2 Hand Cards | 2 Set Cards]
"My turn! Draw!"
Just as Hoshino prepared to launch her offensive, sothing felt off.
She glanced at Dartz's field and noticed a glaring anomaly.
"Wait a second... why does that rabbit have such ridiculous defense stats? A Level 1 monster with 2050 DEF? Did soone accidentally add an extra zero during printing?!"
The adorable monsters, which Hoshino had initially written off as harmless, suddenly seed a lot more threatening.
She squinted at Dartz. "I see what you're doing here. You're trying to bait into attacking! Using sothing this cute as a trap... as expected of Dartz!"
Dartz simply smiled, his calm deanor unwavering.
Mokuba, unimpressed, chid in. "It's just a high-DEF Normal Monster, Hoshino. There's no need to overthink it."
Hoshino shot him a glare. "Typical rookie mistake, Mokuba. Sotis, overconfidence is the greatest trap of all. I'm just playing it safe."
"Alright, then. I summon [Heroic Spirit – Charles-Henri Sanson] in Attack Position!"
[Heroic Spirit – Charles-Henri Sanson ★★★ (Level 3)] [EARTH] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 1100 / DEF 1000]
Hoshino smirked. "Sanson's effect allows to bypass the DEF stat of any monster Special Summoned in Defense Position and destroy it outright. Even your steroids rabbit is no exception!"
Sanson, gripping his executioner's blade, stepped forward. "Leave it to , Master! Decapitation is my specialty."
Hoshino chuckled nervously. "You don't have to take it so seriously, Sanson. It's just a rabbit."
She continued her turn, playing a Spell Card from her hand.
"I activate the Spell Card [Triple-Linked Crane Wings]! This card halves Sanson's ATK but allows him to attack three tis this turn!"
[Sanson's ATK: 1100 → 550]
"Alright, Sanson! Take out everything on his field!"
Sanson hurled his massive guillotine-like sword, striking down Dartz's monsters one by one, ignoring their DEF stats and wiping the field clean.
"Death is Hope for Tomorrow (La Mort Espoir)."
[Bunilla – Destroyed]
[Gigobyte – Destroyed]
[Mokey Mokey Adrift – Destroyed]
Watching from the sidelines, Kaiba scoffed. "Hmph. Cannon fodder is cannon fodder, no matter how much you try to dress it up with Orichalcos buffs. Not even worth one turn."
Hoshino smirked. "I'll set two cards and end my turn." She decided not to overextend, preferring to observe Dartz's strategy before committing further.
[Hoshino's Field: 2 Hand Cards | 2 Set Cards]
[Sanson's ATK: 550 → 1100]
Dartz, however, showed no concern. If anything, his innocent face lit up with a sinister smile.
"You really did live up to my expectations, Hoshino. You wiped out my monsters in one turn... just as I planned."
Hoshino's stomach sank. "Planned?!"
"I activate my Trap Card, [Human-Wave Tactics]!"
[Human-Wave Tactics – Continuous Trap Card Effect:
Once per turn, during the End Phase, if your Level 2 or lower Normal Monster(s) was destroyed by battle this turn: Special Summon Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters from your Deck, equal to the number of your Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters destroyed by battle this turn.]
Dartz gestured dramatically to the now-empty field before him. "Since three monsters were destroyed, I can summon three more from my Deck during the End Phase!"
This ti, instead of Defense Position, Dartz chose to summon them in Attack Position.
Hoshino squinted as the new monsters materialized, her curiosity piqued. "Let guess... more adorable critters?"
Dartz's smile turned wicked. "Oh, not this ti. The monsters I summon are Skull Servants!"
[Skull Servant ★ [DARK] [Zombie] [ATK 300 → 800 / DEF 200 → 700]X3
The field filled with three terrifying skeletal monsters crawling out of the ground, their sinister forms a stark contrast to Dartz's initial wave of cute creatures.
Mokuba shivered. "Those things are disgusting! And strong, thanks to the Orichalcos buff... What are you planning to do with them?"
The childish expression on Dartz's face twisted into sothing far more sinister as he raised a card.
"Now... it's my turn to counterattack."
"My turn! Draw! I activate the Spell Card [Fusion Substitute], fusing two of my Skull Servants!"
Two of the skeletal monsters were engulfed in a vortex of energy, rging into sothing far more sinister.
Mokuba scoffed. "What could you possibly fuse from two Level 1 monsters? Fusion Summons are supposed to be flashy! At least my brother uses dragons for his!"
Dartz's crimson eyes glinted behind his skeletal mask. "You underestimate . Allow to educate you on what real terror looks like."
"Fusion Summon! [Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon]!"
A monstrous dragon erged from the swirling darkness, its skeletal body radiating an aura of death as its bony wings spread wide.
(*****)
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