"Phew… Sensei, that move of mine was pretty good, right~"
Letting out a long breath, Jaden forced out a faint smile and lightly closed one eye.
"Even though he managed to turn the duel around, Jaden-sama looks really exhausted…"
Blair placed a hand against her chest and asked worriedly.
"After all, losing nearly ten thousand Life Points inside the barrier is bound to put some strain on the duelist."
Having personally dueled inside the Flame King not long ago, Akasha understood all too well the real burden that the King placed upon duelists.
"Still, knowing Hoshino-nee's personality, she'd probably have some kind of defense prepared against a Dark Game like this."
Minazuki added:
"Then again, even in an ordinary duel, if you take a massive ten-thousand-point hit while using a standard Duel Disk, your body's going to feel awful anyway."
What Minazuki was referring to was the faint but very real physical impact caused by Duel Disk-generated holographic attacks.
And perhaps owing to Kaiba's obsession, the newer the Duel Disk model became, the more realistically it transmitted the damage from materialized Duel Monster battles back onto the duelist.
According to Kaiba's philosophy, Duel Monsters should be as close to real combat as possible in order to heighten the sense of immersion between duelists.
Though it was still nowhere near the life-or-death underground duel arena that Zigfried had once operated.
Even so, in recent years — whether in the Professional Duel League, Duel Academy, or even ordinary entertainment venues — scenes of duelists being blasted several meters away and rolling across the ground after taking heavy damage had become completely commonplace.
Hoshino, for one, could never understand this bizarre design choice of adding impact feedback to virtual holographic attacks.
Nor could she understand why so many duelists actually enjoyed this kind of realistic, rolling-around-on-the-ground combat experience.
If you really wanted the feeling of real combat, why not just put down the Duel Disk and punch the opposing duelist directly?
"Battle Phase, Sensei!"
After summoning Nebula Neos, Jaden made no further plays and immediately entered the Battle Phase.
"Nebula Neos, attack the effect-sealed Heroic Spirit – Mash Kyrielight Grand Order!"
With Nebula Neos's sealing light suppressing the mech exoskeleton, Mash's ATK had plummeted back to 1000. Naturally, Jaden wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. He clearly intended to use Nebula Neos's 3000 ATK to cut further into Hoshino's Life Points.
After all, compared to Jaden's twenty-thousand-plus Life Points, Hoshino's remaining 6000 seemed as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind.
"— Take this! Nebula Spiral Drill!"
Absorbing Dark Panther's shadow-like speed while inheriting Grand Mole's drilling power, Nebula Neos transformed into a black spiraling cyclone and pierced straight toward Mash, perfectly timing his charge.
"I activate my Set Trap Card! Become the wall that blocks the nebula — Virtuous Pike and Shield!"
[Trap Card Effect: When a monster you control is selected as an attack target: Special Summon 1 "Heroic Spirit – Mash Kyrielight" from your Deck in Defense Position, then switch the attack target to that monster and perform damage calculation.]
"Heh heh, didn't expect this, did you Jaden! Using Mash's shield to protect Mash's shield — this is the 'No banning nesting dolls' shield!"
Placing the Trap Card's Special Summoned virtual card sideways into the Monster Zone, Mash made a gallant entrance and raised her shield in front of her other self.
[Heroic Spirit – Mash Kyrielight ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 2000]
"Hide behind me, my other self!!"
"The Mash summoned by the effect of Virtuous Pike and Shield gains DEF equal to the combined DEF of all other 'Heroic Spirit' monsters on my field!"
[Mash Kyrielight DEF 2000 → 6000]
Gathering the power of X Alter and Xyz Mash into her shield, the radiant defensive light collided directly against the black whirlwind drill of Nebula Neos.
"— OOOOOOOHHHHH! Reflect the attack back, shield of tragic determination!!"
[Jaden LP 24900 → 21900]
Nebula Neos's 3000 ATK was completely incapable of breaking through Mash's boosted 6000 DEF. Once again, a massive 3000 points of damage was reflected directly back at Jaden.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Supporting his head with one hand, Jaden let out a heart-wrenching scream the instant the battle damage resolved.
"It's only 3000 points of damage. Does he really need to scream that badly?" Minazuki remarked.
"Jaden-sama…?" Blair trembled.
"No — this isn't because of the battle damage!"
Noticing something wrong with Jaden, Akasha looked toward his neck. The final sin mark, "Greed," which should have remained engraved on Hoshino's neck, transferred onto Jaden the instant the battle damage resolved.
Spreading both arms wide and pouring all his magical power into Harr, Harr laughed excitedly.
"The proof of sin has finally been completed! The time has come to awaken the soul sleeping deep within the darkness — Jaden Yuki!!"
"A soul sleeping deep within the darkness? You mean Jaden?" Hoshino asked, confused.
Having known Jaden for so many years, Hoshino had never once sensed any kind of dark power or hidden side lurking within him.
That was precisely why she had been so shocked when Kagemaru mentioned that Jaden possessed the spiritual power capable of breaking the seal of the Sacred Beasts.
"It's the Supreme King, Hoshino-nee!" Akasha shouted toward the violently shaking barrier.
"(°ヘ°) Supreme King? What's that, some kind of hair-growth tonic?"
Since she had not witnessed Jaden's duel against the Sword King earlier, Hoshino had absolutely no familiarity with the term and couldn't make sense of what Akasha was trying to say.
"…"
Jaden's agonized screams ceased.
As the trembling barrier gradually stilled, the Seven Deadly Sin marks had vanished completely from his body. In their place, however, his pupils had unmistakably transformed into an unnatural golden color.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Supreme King! Just as I predicted — the soul that inherited the 'Darkness of the Universe' has been sleeping all this time within a human body!"
With his plan to awaken the Supreme King through the Seven Sins succeeding perfectly, Harr laughed triumphantly.
"So this is a power born from exploiting humanity's inherent 'sin,' huh?" Raising his arm and examining himself briefly, Supreme King Jaden said coldly, "Nine Realm King — Harr. I do not like this method of awakening."
"Jaden? Is that really you?"
Though his appearance was undoubtedly still Jaden's, Hoshino felt as though the person standing before her was a complete stranger she had never met.
"Yes, Sensei… no, Hoshino Chiyuki. Let us continue the duel."
His expression ice-cold, the Jaden who had never once called Hoshino by her full name immediately changed the way he addressed her upon entering this Supreme King state.
"My plan has already succeeded. The battle is over. There is no need to continue."
Harr raised his staff and pointed it toward Hoshino, activating the barrier's power.
The Seven Sin marks that had mysteriously vanished from Jaden after the Supreme King awakened suddenly reappeared across Hoshino's body.
"This is the power of my barrier in its complete form! I hereby declare your sins, Hoshino Chiyuki — let your human consciousness sink into the void of darkness!"
Suddenly, everything before Hoshino's eyes went black.
She felt as though her consciousness had separated from her body, plunging downward into an endless abyss.
The true nature of the "Seven Sins" was not to awaken the Supreme King personality through sinful darkness. Rather, it sealed away a duelist's conscious personality by layering sin upon sin until their awareness fell into slumber.
Just like the duelists defeated by the Shadows of the King Wars.
The reason Harr had planned to awaken the Supreme King through the Seven Sins was that, after observing the Sword King's battle, he had concluded that beneath Jaden's surface personality there existed another, darker persona.
Once the surface consciousness fell asleep, the Supreme King would inevitably awaken.
"That is exactly why I said I dislike your methods, Harr."
Holding Nebula Neos's card high above his head, Supreme King Jaden declared mercilessly:
"Even if consciousness falls asleep, a duel that has begun must still end in your absolute defeat. I activate the effect of Elemental HERO Nebula Neos—"
[During the End Phase: Return this card to the Extra Deck, then banish all cards on the field face-down.]
"After returning Nebula Neos to the Deck, unleash the nebular calamity that will end this duel!"
The power erupting from Nebula Neos's card swept across the entire field.
Since Supreme King Jaden had only summoned Nebula Neos this turn without making any other plays, his own field suffered almost no losses.
In contrast, every single card on Hoshino's field was swallowed by the destructive nebula storm.
And in the eyes of both Supreme King Jaden and Harr, Hoshino — whose consciousness had supposedly been sealed by the Seven Sins — was now too unstable to resist.
"It's over, Hoshino-sen… no, Hoshino Chiyuki. In the end, I have won this duel. There is no longer anyone in this world capable of stopping my ambitions."
"NO!!!"
Just as Hoshino seemed about to collapse from losing consciousness, her swaying body suddenly lurched forward, forcibly regaining its balance.
"The effect of Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter—"
[If this card was Fusion Summoned using monsters with the same Attribute as material: this card is unaffected by other card effects.]
And the effect of the Quick-Play Spell Princess of Red Bean Paste had specifically Fusion Summoned Heroic Spirit – Mysterious Heroine X Alter using monsters of the same Attribute as material.
"Break through this nebular storm of destruction, Mysterious Heroine X Alter!!"
"— Galaxy Roaring Twin Dragon Sword!"
Answering Hoshino's call, the Mysterious Heroine X Alter trapped within the heart of the destructive nebula unleashed the absurd power of a Servant from the Servant Universe, carving her way free with her blazing lightsaber.
Since she was unaffected by other card effects, even the destruction nebula unleashed by Elemental HERO Nebula Neos could not banish X Alter face-down.
"How could this be possible?!"
Harr could not believe what he was seeing. The Seven Sin marks had unquestionably activated in full, and yet Hoshino still retained her conscious personality.
"There's no other explanation. Only one possibility remains."
Thinking rapidly, Harr arrived at the only conclusion he could, despite having no proof.
"You're the same as him, Hoshino Chiyuki! You possess another consciousness!"
"This time… I'm seriously angry."
Because Hoshino's surface consciousness had been plunged directly into sleep by the Seven Sins without any chance to react —
Hoshino Alter, her hidden inner personality, had been forcibly dragged out just like the Supreme King, even without the power of the Pyramid of Light.
"You can still stand?" Supreme King Jaden said, his tone grave. "Then let us continue this duel!"
"Jaden, I still don't fully understand what happened to you. But that irritating personality of yours… I'll correct it on behalf of my aibo!"
Sliding her fingers across the AR Duel Disk where Alter energy swirled around the Deck, Hoshino Alter drew her card for the start of her turn.
"My turn — draw!!"
"Nani? A black card?" Kaiba frowned in shock.
Ever since ancient Egypt, Kaiba had already known that, just like Yugi, another personality existed within Hoshino.
So when Harr declared the barrier's effect and claimed Hoshino's consciousness had fallen asleep, Kaiba had not been worried in the slightest.
However, the virtual card Hoshino Alter drew from her Deck — which should have been its normal pale blue color but was instead pitch black — left even Kaiba unable to make sense of what he was seeing.
"I banish Magical Girl – Illya, Magical Girl's Other Half – Chloe, and Magical Girl – Nero Bride Illya from my Graveyard!"
After banishing the three Magical Girl cards from the Graveyard as cost — including a Fusion Monster — Hoshino Alter forcefully threw out the black virtual card she had drawn this turn.
"— Form Shift! This is the Alter of 'Love, Justice, and Hope'… the Magical Girl of 'Sin, Darkness, and Corruption'! Special Summon Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form!"
[Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. It can be Special Summoned by banishing 3 "Magical Girl" monsters from your Graveyard, including a Fusion Monster.]
A pitch-black radiance burst forth.
Completely unlike the sparkling Magical Girl of love and justice who usually appeared amid radiant starlight, the dark Magical Girl awakened by White Star Alter's power — Magical Girl – Illya Testament Form — descended gracefully onto the field.
"Um, even though I already explained this before, let me emphasize it again."
Illya blushed slightly as she explained:
"Even though I'm a dark-type Magical Girl, this is only a simplified costume form, so my personality hasn't changed. Please don't expect any fallen-corruption plot developments…"