[King Utgarda LP 10900 → 10400]
Valkyrion, stirring up a raging dragon-like cyclone, had surpassed the gigantic Megalith statue in terms of ATK. However, thanks to the Field Spell Megalith Portal — which grants a Ritual Monster immunity from battle destruction once per turn — Megalith Phaleg spread its wings and evaded destruction despite being unable to counterattack.
"So even if it couldn't destroy it in battle, that should still count as stopping that guy's attack, right?" the Dwarf King sighed in relief.
In that brief clash, the continuously fluctuating Life Point and ATK values drew a data graph on the electronic display before her that was even more turbulent than crashing waves.
["I didn't expect you to bring this Trap Card, Aibo. Hope of Escape is usually pretty difficult to make effective, isn't it?"]
"Of course. I calculated all of this in advance~"
Even before the Duel began, Hoshino had already made her prediction.
Judging from the absurdly enormous size of King Utgarda, she guessed that its Life Points during the Duel would likely be abnormally high as well.
That was why she had prepared this Trap Card — which replenished a large number of cards based on the Life Point difference — as part of her strategy from the start.
However, chaining Soul Strike to deliberately pay an additional 1000 Life Points in exchange for increasing their monsters' ATK had been something Hoshino came up with on the spot — an unexpected improvisation.
After Hope of Escape resolved, Hoshino's hand smoothly increased from two cards to five.
The price, however, was steep.
After repeatedly paying Life Points through various effects, Hoshino and Yugi were left with a pitiful 1500 LP.
In contrast, King Utgarda possessed over 10,000 LP, with the ability to recover massive amounts of Life Points without restriction.
After setting the stone tablet card in its hand and ending its turn, the effect of King's Proof activated once again during the End Phase. Meanwhile, the ATK boost granted to Valkyrion returned to normal.
[Valkyrion the Magna Warrior ATK 6000 → 3500]
[King Utgarda LP 10400 → 20400]
After this turn's battle, the number of Rock monsters on both sides' fields and Graveyards had increased dramatically.
King Utgarda now had five Rock monsters in the Graveyard, along with three Megalith monsters on the field.
As for Yugi, excluding the three Magnet Warriors that had been banished as materials, he had Delta The Magnet Warrior in the Graveyard and Valkyrion the Magna Warrior on the field, bringing the total number of Rock monsters to ten.
"If it can recover 10,000 Life Points in just one turn… how are we supposed to beat that?" Eve said despairingly.
"The enemy's Life Points just keep increasing, while Headmistress and Yugi are about to run out of Life Points…" Crowler, easily swept up in Eve's despair, despaired right along with her.
"You two are so noisy!" Akasha scolded. "Even if it's difficult, Hoshino-nee and Yugi-nii still haven't given up! Do you know what plot armor is? When those two fight together, they'll definitely pull off a miracle!"
"And now…" Kaiba declared seriously.
"It's Hoshino's turn!"
"My turn… Draw!"
Inside the mech's cockpit, Hoshino drew her card for the turn and looked over her now six-card hand.
"So this is the path opened by Hope of Escape… In that case, all I can do now is go all out on the offensive!"
Just like Yugi's all-out assault last turn with Gandora-X, if they didn't unleash everything they had, the Life Point gap would only continue to widen.
"— I activate the Continuous Spell Card Limited Deployment!"
The mech's Duel Disk shifted modes, sounding the signal for an all-out attack.
The very first Spell Card Hoshino activated this turn was Limited Deployment — a card comparable to Future Fusion, capable of performing a Fusion Summon directly using materials from the Deck.
[Limited Deployment – Continuous Spell Effect: Banish from your Deck the materials listed for a "Heroic Spirit" Fusion Monster, then Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, provided it requires exactly two monsters as materials. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot declare an attack, and is destroyed when this card leaves the field.]
"So it can choose Fusion Materials directly from the Deck," Yugi observed. "But the drawback is that the summoned monster can't attack."
That meant this wasn't the time to summon a finisher like Okitan, whose purpose was dealing massive damage.
Instead, the Fusion Monster needed to be one whose value lay in its effects.
In short…
A support unit.
"I banish Heroic Spirit – Merlin and Magical Girl – Illya from my Deck as Fusion Materials! In Defense Position, I perform a Fusion Summon — Magical Girl – Merlin Illya!"
[Magical Girl – Merlin Illya ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
["Magical Girl – Illya" + "Heroic Spirit – Merlin"]
Enlarged to a colossal scale by Limited Deployment, Illya appeared wearing Merlin's white robes.
"At the same time, I activate the effect of Magical Girl – Illya, which was banished as Fusion Material! This card Special Summons itself to the field in Defense Position!"
[Magical Girl – Illya ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
Materialized through Savior Mk. II's Duel Disk, the gigantic elementary school girl lightly touched down on the ocean's surface.
"If giant Saber Lily is called Saber Big…" Hoshino pondered.
"What do you call a giant elementary school girl…?"
["A college student!"]
"That's nonsense! How can a college student compare to the pure cuteness of an elementary school girl?!"
After a brief moment of thought, Hoshino proudly reached her conclusion.
"A giant elementary school girl is simply… the very essence of her cuteness, magnified right along with her!"
"— W-Wait a second!"
While Hoshino was still marveling at the beauty of a giant elementary school girl, the gigantic Illya standing on the sea hurriedly covered her skirt with both hands and cried out in embarrassment.
"Master! What's going on?! If I'm this huge, won't it be really easy for everyone to see under my skirt?!"
"(゜-゜) What's there to worry about? Look at Okita — she's wearing a skirt too, and she's completely enjoying being gigantic~"
"That's because our sense of shame is completely different!" Illya protested, desperately holding down her skirt.
"Okita doesn't have any shame at all!"
The giant Ruby laughed teasingly.
"Illya's just too self-conscious. Besides, what's there to worry about? There's only the ocean underneath us. It's not like some gentleman could be hiding at the bottom of the sea, secretly peeking up at Giant Illya~"
Hoshino's eyes went wide with amazement.
"Hiding underwater just to admire Giant Illya… Ruby, that's a stroke of genius!"
["Yep, yep. Officer, we've got a potential criminal right here."]
"Actually," the Dwarf King added, "the display angle on Savior Mk. II can be adjusted."
"Of course… that's assuming, Hoshino, that you actually want to look…"
"(°Д°) W-What?! Such a wonderful feature exists?!"
"If you really want to look, Hoshino, I can adjust the camera angle for you… Yeah, right! As if I'd ever say something like that!"
The Dwarf King snapped angrily:
"Focus on the Duel! Take it seriously! Do you have any idea why I built Savior Mk. II and am standing here in the first place?!"
Scratching the back of her head, Hoshino smiled awkwardly.
"Don't be so mad. The atmosphere was getting a little too heavy and hopeless, so I just wanted to lighten things up a bit. If everyone's already this exhausted by only the second turn, we won't have the mental energy to keep going."
"That's just Hoshino's style," Yugi chimed in with a wry smile, trying to smooth things over. "If she stayed serious all the time, she probably wouldn't be able to perform at her best."
"You humans…" the Dwarf King sighed, resting one hand on her hip. "Your civilization is so underdeveloped in every conceivable way, yet you always obsess over the strangest things!"
She tapped the control console helplessly before declaring:
"Fine then! You want to look under someone's skirt? Win the Duel first, and I'll let you look under my skirt all you want!"
"All right! Right now, I'm unstoppable — strong as a demon god!"
Raising her Duel Disk, Hoshino immediately activated two effects in succession, launching her full-speed combo.
"When Magical Girl – Illya is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add Phantasm Summon from my Deck to my hand!"
After searching her Deck, Hoshino shifted her gaze toward Magical Girl – Merlin Illya, who had been summoned by Limited Deployment and therefore couldn't attack.
"Next, I activate Merlin Illya's effect!"
[If this card is Fusion Summoned: Add 1 card that mentions "Magical Girl" from your Deck to your hand.]
"I add the Spell Card Azure Magical Girl to my hand… and activate it immediately!"
[Azure Magical Girl – Spell Card Effect: Reveal 1 "Heroic Spirit" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck; Special Summon, in Defense Position, 1 Fusion Material whose name is listed on that monster from your Graveyard. If the revealed monster is a "Magical Girl" Fusion Monster, you may instead Special Summon 1 of its listed Fusion Materials directly from your Deck.]
As she revealed a card from her Extra Deck, the starlight of Summoning flowed in reverse, illuminating Hoshino's Deck.
"The Fusion Monster I reveal is Magical Girl – Medusa Miyu! Since she's a Magical Girl Fusion Monster, I can Special Summon one of her Fusion Materials directly from my Deck!"
[Magical Girl – Miyu ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
Wearing the same elementary school uniform as Illya, the gigantic Miyu materialized onto the battlefield.
Unlike Illya, however, she remained remarkably composed.
"You can't leave yourself so exposed, Miyu!"
Illya hurried over and used her free hand to hold down Miyu's skirt as well.
"Onii-chan always told me that girls have to learn how to protect themselves!"
"But, Illya…"
Compared to worrying about accidentally exposing herself due to her gigantic size, Miyu's blushing face seemed far more concerned about where Illya's hand had ended up.
"If you do that… I won't be able to fight."
"I'll just end up causing trouble for Master."
"I already told you, we're standing on the ocean!" Hoshino insisted.
"Nobody's going to be peeking!"
At the same time, with three Magical Girl monsters now assembled on her field, Hoshino slammed down a Quick-Play Spell Card.
Magical power split into three streams, erupting into a triple burst of starlight.
"— I activate the Quick-Play Spell Quintett Feuer!"
[Quintett Feuer – Quick-Play Spell Effect: Target up to the number of "Magical Girl" monsters you control in your opponent's field; destroy those monsters.]
"Quintett Feuer — Target Locked!"
Hoshino pointed toward her opponent's field.
"Since I control three Magical Girl monsters, I can target the three Megalith monsters on the opponent's field and wipe them all out in one shot!"
"Go, Illya!"
Miyu encouraged her with a determined smile.
"We have to win this Duel for Master!"
Encouraged by Miyu, Illya finally stopped worrying about her skirt and focused on gathering magical energy together with the others.
["Wait, Aibo! There are more than three monsters on their field now!"]
"Huh?"
Only after Hoshino Alter pointed it out did Hoshino notice.
Without her realizing it, the number of Megalith monsters on King Utgarda's field had increased.
Thanks to the Continuous Trap Megalith Emergence, which could revive a Megalith monster from the Graveyard once per turn —
"ROOOAAARRR!!" ×3
The colossal three-headed stone dragon —
Megalith Aratron —
Let out a deafening roar.
After repeatedly being sent to the Graveyard and recovered as Ritual Material, it had finally been Special Summoned back to the field through the revival effect.
"So it's four targets, but I can only destroy three."
Hoshino didn't hesitate.
"I won't change my targets! I'll destroy the original three Megalith monsters!"
As long as she could destroy the gigantic warrior statue —
Megalith Phaleg —
The ATK and DEF of all the Megalith monsters on King Utgarda's field would be drastically reduced.
Only then would Hoshino have a chance to deal enough damage in a single turn to exceed the Life Point recovery provided by King's Proof.
"Quintett Feuer — Fire!!"
Starlight artillery erupted simultaneously from the hands of Illya, Miyu, and Merlin Illya, surging across the sea in a massive tidal wave toward King Utgarda's field.
"ROAAARR!!"
At the same moment, Megalith Aratron roared in response.
All three dragon heads unleashed torrents of earth-elemental energy, colliding head-on with the Magical Girls' combined bombardment.
[Megalith Aratron Effect: When your opponent activates an effect that targets a card(s) you control: You can return 1 Ritual Monster from your Graveyard to the bottom of your Deck; negate that activation, and if you do, destroy that card.]
Returning the Ritual Monster Megalith Bethor — the pitch-black stone dragon statue — from the Graveyard to the bottom of the Deck…
Aratron's mighty roar activated its own countermeasure.
The moment it became the target of the Magical Girls' bombardment, it negated and destroyed the Quick-Play Spell, causing the destructive energies of both attacks to cancel each other out over the open sea.