"—Mumyō, Sandanzuki!!!!"
Okita's triple-thrust attack pierced through the Leviathan's head, the force ripping down its spine and into the sea behind it. The ensuing fiery explosion painted the sky in a brilliance that outshone even the most dazzling energy blasts.
"Yeah! Even without a swimsuit, Okita-san still claims a great victory!"
Descending gracefully, Okita landed with her crimson haori fluttering in the wind. She even flashed a V-sign toward Hoshino.
"This is Okita-san's ultimate form—Demon King Ver. 2.0! A spectacular light show that puts those so-called ace monsters to sha!"
Hoshino shifted her gaze toward the dissipating black mist, watching the Leviathan's remains scatter into nothingness. "Dartz must have perished alongside it. A fitting end for him."
But Shota Dartz shook his head. "It's not that simple. The Leviathan feeds on the darkness of this world. In other words…"
"…as long as darkness exists, the Leviathan is immortal and will keep reviving!"
From within the swirling black mist, Dartz's eerie voice echoed once more. The colossal serpent, which had been reduced to ashes by Okita's attack, began reconstructing itself at an unnatural speed, as if ti itself had reversed.
"No matter how many tis you destroy it, it's useless. Ten thousand years ago, the Legendary Dragons failed. And ten thousand years later, they are still powerless to save this world."
Within the Leviathan's reforming body, Dartz could be seen fusing with its dark scales. The exposed half of his body had already transford into sothing grotesquely inhuman.
"So this is what you've been striving for?" Hoshino sneered. "Not only has your heart been consud by darkness, but even your body has succumbed to it. You are unworthy of being called a king!"
With a sharp motion, she drew three cards in quick succession.
"You think you can dictate this world's fate without the resolve of a true king? What a joke!"
A golden light flared, and the figures on her newly drawn cards materialized onto the battlefield.
"Hoshino, even the power of the Legendary Dragons couldn't defeat the Orichalcos God. No matter how many monsters you summon, they won't even leave a scratch on its divine form!"
"Is that so, you mongrel?"
A barrage of golden Noble Phantasms rained down, piercing straight through the Leviathan's body. Thunderclaps roared in their wake as the very sky trembled beneath the rolling sound of divine chariot wheels.
"LALALALALA! Via Expugnatio!!"
With a thunderous battle cry, the King of Conquerors charged forth on his chariot. The violet lightning trailing behind him crashed into the Leviathan's black horns with divine force.
CRACK—!
The massive horn shattered instantly. The Leviathan's supposed invulnerability crumbled—not only under the sheer force of the Noble Phantasms but also due to the divine lightning imbued with Zeus' authority. The combined onslaught broke through its defenses.
"Impossible! How could re Duel Monsters, without the power of the Legendary Dragons, harm the great Orichalcos God?!"
"Hahahaha! Impossible? When a Pharaoh stands on this earth, nothing is impossible!"
From both the sky and the sea, two colossal pyramid-like temples materialized. With overwhelming force, they crashed down upon the Leviathan, striking precisely at its weak point—its vital seven-inch spot.
"Strike the serpent at its weak point—Rasseum Tentyris!!"
As expected of the Pharaoh—he had even mastered this practical little technique!
Standing before Hoshino were three mighty figures: Gilgash, Ozymandias, and Iskandar, each exuding an aura of absolute kingship. They gazed down upon the writhing Leviathan and the grotesquely deford Dartz, who had lost all remnants of humanity.
"Dartz, this is the difference in the caliber of a true king! You who abandoned your people and destroyed Atlantis with your own hands lost the right to be called a king long ago!"
Shota Dartz hesitated for a mont before speaking, his voice tinged with sothing akin to admiration. "Incredible, Hoshino. You managed to shake the mightiest god of Orichalcos without even relying on the Legendary Dragons. That guy was right to place his hope in you."
Hoshino frowned, irritation creeping into her voice. "That guy, that guy—you keep ntioning 'that guy' over and over. Who the hell are you talking about?!"
Dartz faltered, realization dawning upon him. He had been taking it for granted all this ti, only now noticing that Hoshino had no idea who he was referring to.
"The other Dartz—the one who saw through your Dartz's plan to consu and absorb others. The one who fled to another world long ago. There, he took on a different na… Hoshino Ryuichi."
For a brief mont, Hoshino's mind went blank. "Wait… that na sounds familiar. Hoshino… Ryuichi…"
"He's your dad!"
"No way! My old man looks nothing like Dartz, aside from the hair color!"
If her father and Dartz were the sa person, she should have recognized the resemblance imdiately upon eting him.
"Ryuichi abandoned his original na, appearance, and status when he fled this world, seeking a fresh start in another."
"So you're telling … I ended up here because my old man dragged into this ss?!"
Shota Dartz shook his head, looking at the dumbfounded Hoshino with a newfound seriousness.
"No. The other world has no Orichalcos. Ryuichi, who only wanted to live in peace, could never have imagined that his own daughter would one day stand here, battling against the very darkness of this planet—the Orichalcos God."
Hoshino furrowed her brows, puffing her cheeks in frustration. "Then why didn't my dad just use his power to send back to my original world sooner?!"
"Because Ryuichi is gambling." Dartz's expression grew heavier. "Whether it's , Dartz, or Ryuichi, we are all just lingering remnants of this world—like the undead of a bygone era. Ryuichi is betting on whether your arrival here was a re accident… or if, as the last surviving Atlantean, you were always ant to bear this destiny, Hoshino!"
Hoshino's breath hitched. "So… I'm the last Atlantean in this world?"
"There's no ti to hesitate, Hoshino!"
Observing the Leviathan preparing another attack, Kaiba swiftly commanded Mirror Force Dragon to shield Hoshino.
"Whether you're Atlantean or not, right now, you stand here as one of the Duelists fighting against the darkness!"
Just as Hoshino reeled from the revelation of her father's true identity, the Leviathan, having recovered from the Three Kings' assault, once again began gathering energy.
"So even if we land a hit, we still can't change the fact that this thing is immortal?" Kaiba commanded Mirror Force Dragon to take a defensive stance, its transparent wing mbranes spreading wide in preparation for impact.
But this ti, Mirror Force Dragon failed to absorb and reflect the attack as it had before. The Leviathan's energy blast, laced with an eerie miasma, instantly unraveled the fusion between Critias' Fang and the Trap Card Mirror Force upon contact.
"It can even counter our defense? Tch—this thing may look like an overgrown snake, but it really is a god…"
If their opponent were just a mindless beast, then even if it could endlessly revive, their side wouldn't be in too much danger as long as they could hold the line.
But, of course, things were never that simple. The Leviathan clearly possessed intelligence. By targeting their defenses directly, it had forcibly severed the Legendary Dragon's fusion—eliminating their only ans of countering its attack.
"Kaiba, look out!"
Yugi's warning ca just as the Leviathan's energy blast tore through Mirror Force Dragon.
"In the na of the Sun God—sektet!"
At the last mont, a massive solar barge erupted from the solid ground, lifting Kaiba and the others high into the air, barely avoiding the Leviathan's attack. The shockwave from the blast grazed the ship's stern, causing it to tremble violently.
"Are you alright, old man? A human body isn't suited for standing at the front lines," Ozymandias remarked, floating beside the vessel as he turned to Kaiba.
"Wait…" Hoshino furrowed her brows, staring at Ozymandias in confusion. "Did you just call Kaiba old man? Does he really look that old?"
Sure, Kaiba always had a scowl—like he was constantly chasing down debtors—and combined with his role as KaibaCorp's CEO, it definitely made him seem more mature than a typical high schooler. But old man? That was pushing it. Especially coming from Ozymandias, a Heroic Spirit who was literally ancient.
"Hahahaha!!"
Ozymandias suddenly burst into laughter, looking between the bewildered Hoshino and Kaiba.
"That face—it's unmistakable! He looks just like old man Set! Those perpetually furrowed brows, as if the whole world owes him money—even if he were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize him!"
Hoshino was convinced.
If Ozymandias had given any other reasoning, she might have hesitated. But the ntion of those debt-collector brows? That was a solid argunt.
Adding that to the ancient stone tablet they had seen at the exhibition—depicting a priest and a Pharaoh, Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician, Kaiba and the Pharaoh… So this guy, who prided himself on his belief in science, was actually connected to a Heroic Spirit?
anwhile, Kaiba's expression practically scread: What the hell is this guy talking about?
"Oh, right! If you know Kaiba, take a look at this one too~"
Hoshino casually nudged Yugi forward. "This guy's also a Pharaoh, but he seems to have amnesia."
For so reason, as she said it, the complicated feelings swirling inside her suddenly settled.
In this group—consisting of a Pharaoh, a high priest, and herself, an Atlantean—her presence didn't seem all that strange anymore.
Yugi, now under everyone's scrutiny, looked a little embarrassed. No one had expected that, in the middle of a crisis, they would sohow gather a whole Pharaoh's table.
"Hm? I don't recall seeing this one before," Ozymandias mused, glancing at Yugi. "A Pharaoh who has even forgotten his own great na… How pitiful."
"HAHAHAHA! I haven't seen him before either!" Iskandar laughed heartily. "Though I count as a Pharaoh due to my conquest of Egypt, I never got to know many personally."
Hoshino scratched her head awkwardly before shooting Yugi an apologetic look. "So that's how it is… Guess I can't cheat my way into finding out your real na after all."
"Listen up, mongrels!"
A commanding voice cut through their conversation.
Gilgash, his red eyes sharp with irritation, scowled at them.
"I'm not interrupting your little tea party because I feel left out for lacking a Pharaoh title. It's because—"
He suddenly roared:
"Could you all at least pick a better ti for casual chit-chat?! We're still dealing with this damn snake! In this world, its status is on par with Tiamat!"
Despite the sektet's supersonic speed, their once-precise evasions were becoming increasingly difficult as the Leviathan's attacks intensified.
Ozymandias nodded. "The golden one is right. This creature—unworthy of being called a true god—is growing stronger. My solar barge won't hold out much longer."
"That's bad news! Use your Sha Naqba Imuru to co up with a plan, Goldy!"
Gilgash scoffed, as if to say, Oh? Now you finally rember my power?
[Sha Naqba Imuru EX: A Noble Phantasm symbolizing Gilgash's omniscient insight—allowing him to devise the optimal course of action in battle.]
"Of course! If this thing is the god of this world, then we must counter it with the power of this world. Mongrel, the Legendary Dragon in your hands—!"
"The Legendary Dragon?"
Hoshino's eyes widened as she turned to Okita, who had faded into the background ever since the Three Kings joined the fray.
Okita, looking relieved, held out her sword.
"Hmm? Master, do you need the Sword? Here, take it! Honestly, holding onto it for too long is kinda hot."
"The dragon isn't in its true form—that's why it always relies on other cards in battle! If we want to win this fight…"
Gilgash, now fully taking command of the strategy, turned to Yugi with a piercing gaze.
"You—starfish one! You have it, don't you? The key card that can summon a miracle! Be grateful that I will awaken this god-slaying power!"
"The card!?"
Realization dawned on Yugi.
Reaching into his Deck, he pulled out the card they had obtained after their journey to Industrial Illusions in Arica—
Legend of Heart.
"Excellent! Now we have a chance to win!"
Gilgash's eyes burned with resolve as he signaled to Yugi.
"With my power as the catalyst—let us transform the Legendary Dragon into the ultimate Legendary Knight!"
(*****)
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