"I add the 'Magical Girl' card to my hand—[Magical Girl – Miyu]!"
Hoshino had successfully retrieved the second core of her Magical Girl deck.
Not to be outdone, Jonouchi drew a monster card from his deck and slamd it onto his Duel Disk.
"Then I'll activate Red-Eyes Baby Dragon's effect! When it's destroyed, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' monster!"
Black lightning surged across Jonouchi's field as an unexpected 'Red-Eyes' monster materialized—not in the form of a black dragon, but sothing entirely different.
"Co forth, my new power—[Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning]!"
[Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning ★★★★★★ (Level 6)] [DARK] [Fiend/Gemini/Effect] [ATK 2500 / DEF 1200]
[This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard.]
The massive Archfiend of Lightning—reminiscent of a dark version of 'Summoned Skull'—gripped a bolt of lightning as it stepped onto the battlefield.
"And now, I activate Red-Eyes Baby Dragon's secondary effect! I equip it to my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning, increasing its ATK by 300 points!"
[Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning: ATK 2500 → 2800]
Sugoroku nodded in approval at Jonouchi.
"Even while facing such a strong offensive from Hoshino, he was able to summon a powerful monster for a counterattack. Jonouchi has truly grown from the beginner he once was."
Yugi agreed.
"Yeah, and while Jonouchi's Life Points are low, in terms of overall battle strength, he currently holds the advantage over Hoshino."
Jonouchi scratched the back of his head with a smug grin.
"Eh heh heh, don't flatter so much! You're makin' embarrassed~"
But Hoshino couldn't help feeling irritated at the sight of Jonouchi's arrogant smile, as if she were staring at the infuriating face of an overpowered lucksack.
"Don't get too cocky, Jonouchi! So far, I've only shown half of my deck's power. Now, it's ti for my full-force attack!"
Hoshino's words were half bluff to keep Jonouchi from getting ahead of himself—but the other half was absolutely true. With Miyu now in play, her deck had finally reached its near-perfect state.
Jonouchi responded seriously.
"Alright! Co at with everything you've got! Let's settle this—your full power versus my Red-Eyes Dragon!"
"Now, I activate Magical Girl – Miyu's special effect from my hand!"
As the second core of the deck, Miyu could not only fuse with Heroic Spirit cards like Illya to create new forms via Phantasm Summon, but also serve as a powerful support unit, greatly enhancing the deck's flexibility.
"I discard Miyu from my hand to return one of my Fusion Monsters from the field to my Extra Deck, then Special Summon a different Fusion Monster that includes at least one of the original materials! This effect can even be activated during the Battle Phase!"
Miyu's voice resonated:
『Illya, you can do it!』
Sensing the familiar magic from the Holy Sword, Illya's eyes burned with determination.
"If Miyu's power is with , then I can fight with everything I have!"
Hoshino picked up the card of Artoria Lily Illya from her Duel Disk and returned it to the Extra Deck. In response, Illya's Phantasm Summoned equipnt glowed with starlight—transforming into a new form.
"Class Card: Lancer!"
Scarlet flas erupted from Illya, engulfing the entire battlefield in intense heat—montarily suppressing even the black flas of Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
"—Install! Karna!"
"—Fusion Summon! [Magical Girl – Karna Illya]!"
With Karna, a Heroic Spirit known for his overwhelming combat power, as the fusion material, the flas now rivaled the brilliance of the sun itself—flas that had once bested even the Egyptian God, Obelisk the Torntor.
[Magical Girl – Karna Illya ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)] [LIGHT] [Warrior/Fusion/Effect] [ATK 2800 / DEF 2500]
["Magical Girl – Illya" "Heroic Spirit – Karna"]
[This card is also treated as a 'Heroic Spirit'.]
Reappearing amidst a golden firestorm, Illya had now transford into Karna's most powerful form—after relinquishing his golden armor. The young girl's delicate hands gripped a divine spear powerful enough to slay gods.
"With this power—I won't lose!"
"[Magical Girl – Karna Illya]'s effect activates!"
[When this card is Fusion Summoned: You can banish 1 monster from your field or GY; this card gains ATK equal to the banished monster's ATK.]
Hoshino retrieved a monster from her Graveyard and moved it to the Banished Zone. In that instant, Karna Illya's flas surged exponentially, and even her crimson eyes glead with an alluring, fiery glow.
"I banish Heracles Illya from my Graveyard! Based on the effect, Karna Illya gains ATK equal to the banished monster's ATK!"
[Magical Girl – Karna Illya: ATK 2800 → 5600]
"Her ATK just surpassed Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
The spectators shouted in unison. After Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon had powered up, Hoshino countered by summoning Karna Illya—who instantly outclassed it.
"Are you kidding ?! That kind of power?!"
Jonouchi could hardly believe it. His strongest Red-Eyes Black Dragon had been outmatched before it even got the chance to fight.
"This is my full-power strike! Tear through the strongest black dragon—consu the searing black flas! Take this, Jonouchi!"
The fiery array behind Illya flared in the shape of a blazing sun. Floating into the air, she pointed her divine spear at Red-Eyes Black Dragon, its tip radiating with devastating incandescence.
"Targeting Red-Eyes Black Dragon—don't hold back, Illya! Full mana release!"
Still mid–Battle Phase, Hoshino pointed a snow-white finger to guide the scorching flas, unleashing a bombardnt upon Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
"Annihilation—this strike decides everything! Burn completely—『Vasavi Shakti』!!"
Mokuba, Hoshino's number one fanboy, couldn't hide his excitent as he watched the battlefield reflected in his eyes, illuminated by the flas.
"Hoshino's attacking! Jonouchi barely has any Life Points left—there's no way he can withstand this! I can't believe she's already this strong using this deck for the first ti. Hoshino really is a genius at dueling!"
Hoshino's second fanboy—who also happened to be a Jonouchi anti-fan—Honda, narrowed his eyes with a satisfied smile.
"No, considering Jonouchi's level, just being able to fight Hoshino to this extent is already impressive. He deserves so praise! But now, he should just accept his defeat."
"You two, don't just assu I've already lost!" Jonouchi shot back, exasperated.
Even so, with the searing heat pressing down on him—even though it was just a virtual projection—beads of sweat rolled down his temples.
"I can still struggle a bit longer! I activate my set Trap Card—[Skull Dice]!"
Hoshino's eyes widened slightly. "Damn, I got careless…"
[Roll a six-sided die. All monsters your opponent currently controls lose ATK/DEF equal to the result × 100 until the end of this turn.]
A tiny black imp materialized on Jonouchi's field, sneering as it tossed a crimson die into the air.
Letting this luck-sack roll a die… Hoshino was instantly filled with regret. She'd let Jonouchi's shonen-type speech distract her and had aid her attack at his most powerful Red-Eyes Black Dragon, completely overlooking the other potential weak point—Archfiend of Lightning.
Of course, attacking Red-Eyes Black Dragon wasn't necessarily a mistake. In a duel filled with unpredictability, there were no absolutely correct choices. If Jonouchi's set card had been sothing like a power-up, his Red-Eyes Black Dragon would've posed an even greater threat next turn.
[Dice Result: 5]
[Magic Girl – Karna Illya ATK 5600 → 5100]
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon ATK 4800]
The flas from her spear shot out, sweeping across Jonouchi's field without giving his dragon any chance to resist, burning the massive Red-Eyes Black Dragon to cinders.
Even with the high dice roll weakening her monster's attack, it wasn't enough for Jonouchi's dragon to survive. The only thing Skull Dice accomplished was letting him barely cling to life.
[Jonouchi LP: 350 → 50]
A perfect last stand—exactly what you'd expect from an ultra-lucky duelist. Rolling a 5 in that situation to survive with just 50 LP… Hoshino could feel her scalp tingling in frustration.
As the flas finally dissipated, Jonouchi wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a relieved sigh.
"Whew~ Barely made it! That was way too close. Good thing my luck's holding up today."
'Holding up just today?!'
Hoshino raged internally. 'Can you at least be self-aware of your ridiculous god-tier luck, you damn gacha god?!'
Even after throwing everything she had at him, Jonouchi still managed to survive with a sliver of LP. Begrudgingly, Hoshino ended the Battle Phase.
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
[Hoshino's: 1 Hand Card | 2 Set Cards]
"Finally, it's my turn! Draw!"
Jonouchi welcod his turn with gratitude. He was backed into a corner, with only one monster left standing on his field—Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning—and one…
"Standby Phase—I activate Dangerous Machine Type-6's special effect!"
"Oh, right, that thing is still in play…" Hoshino furrowed her brows. Two consecutive gambling effects? She had a bad feeling about this.
"That machine isn't about to roll another effect that destroys my monsters, is it…? But even if it does, he can't turn the duel around with just that."
Hoshino still had a dual-core setup on her field, with both Illyasviel and Magic Girl – Karna Illya standing as powerful threats. Even if Jonouchi destroyed one, the other would still be more than enough to finish him off next turn.
[Dice Result: 3]
"When I roll a 3, I get to draw one card from my deck!"
Just as expected, it was a beneficial effect for Jonouchi. That extra draw might help him more than simply destroying one of Hoshino's monsters.
Jonouchi glanced at his now two-card hand, steeling his expression before selecting one and sliding it into his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Continuous Spell—[Card of Safe Return]! Whenever one of my monsters is revived from the Graveyard, I can draw three cards!"
"…Deja vu…"
Hoshino's instincts scread danger.
Back in Duelist Kingdom, she had almost beaten Jonouchi, only for him to flip three busted cards in a row and turn the duel around.
"…Don't tell you're about to play Monster Reborn?! I'll report you for cheating!!"
However, Jonouchi hesitated—proving that his other card wasn't Monster Reborn. If he had it, there'd be zero reason to delay using it.
"Even if it's not Monster Reborn, I can still activate the special ability of my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!"
Regaining his montum, Jonouchi pointed to his lone monster still standing on the field.
Anzu tilted her head in confusion. "Gemini… What does it actually do?"
Yugi patiently explained, "Gemini Monsters have effects. Normally, they act as Normal Monsters, but if you use your Normal Summon on them again, they gain their full power."
"Exactly!" Jonouchi grinned. "I use my Normal Summon for the turn to give my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning its true power!"
A blinding surge of black lightning erupted from his field. The already intimidating Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning transford, becoming even more nacing.
[Once per turn: You can destroy all face-up monsters your opponent controls with DEF lower than this card's ATK.]
"Even if your monsters have sky-high attack power, their DEF isn't high enough to survive my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning! Now take this—Cursed Demon Lightning Storm!"
A barrage of black lightning crackled through the air, surging toward Hoshino's monsters with terrifying force.
"Like I'd let you take them down so easily! Illya, counterattack with the power of the Heroic Spirit!"
"Yes, Master!!"
Facing Jonouchi's raging thunderstorm, Illya took her spear and hurled it with all her might. The blinding avalanche of destructive light tore through the black lightning, shattering it completely.
"——'O Vritra, Curse '!!"
(*****)
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