— Hoshino obtained one ice sculpture of Oda Nobunaga.
["(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ That's not right! Who would want an ice sculpture posing like some comedy performer? Nobu, could you at least take this a little more seriously?"]
Unable to make sense of what had happened, Hoshino noticed that the Nobunaga card she was supposed to place in her Monster Zone hadn't reacted at all.
It was as though both the card's Summon and the Nobunaga on the field had been interrupted by the sudden freezing.
"Hehe, what a shame," the dragon maiden giggled. "In the Kingdom of Ice, creatures who casually surround themselves with flames aren't exactly welcome."
"I refuse to acknowledge such a ridiculous rule! Give my Nobunaga back!" Hoshino protested.
Pointing toward the Ice King soaring overhead, the dragon maiden replied:
"That's impossible. The moment Heroic Spirit – Oda Nobunaga was Special Summoned, I activated my own effect — the effect of Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice!"
[When your opponent would Special Summon a monster: You can Tribute 1 "Generaider" monster or Wyrm monster you control; negate that Special Summon, and if you do, destroy that monster.]
"As the cost, I Tribute Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix on my field to negate your Special Summon!"
Since the Special Summon had been negated, Nobunaga was unable to activate her effect that would place the Field Spell Burning Honnō-ji directly from the Deck upon being successfully Special Summoned.
A monster whose Summon is negated is sent directly to the Graveyard.
"So that's why the card on my Duel Disk never reacted… a Summon-negating effect. What a pain."
Picking up the Nobunaga card and placing it into the Graveyard, Hoshino accepted that although her Special Summon had been negated, the effect of Imaginary Around that forcibly ended the Battle Phase still resolved successfully, bringing the dragon girl's assault to an end.
"Before ending my turn, I'll also activate the Continuous Trap True King's Return! I Special Summon True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer from my Graveyard in Defense Position!"
[True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer DEF 3000]
Other than the Xyz Summoned True King of All Calamities, nearly every Wyrm monster on the dragon girl's field existed primarily to serve as Tribute fodder for Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice, allowing her to negate her opponent's Special Summons whenever she pleased.
Of course, there was also Dreiath III, the True Dracocavalry General, whose mere presence prevented the other True Dragons from being destroyed by card effects.
Eve looked worried.
"The Ice King locks down Special Summons, and also shuts down effects and attacks… Are Hoshino and Kaiba Man really going to be okay?"
"So you've finally realized how dire the situation is?" the dragon girl chuckled. "Well, I don't have any cards left in my hand anyway. I'll end my turn."
Lowering her Frost Duel Disk without the slightest hesitation, she decisively ended her turn.
[Ice King: 0 Hand Cards | 2 Set Cards]
"Don't make me laugh," Hoshino replied confidently. "I've been through situations far worse than this. My turn… Draw!"
Drawing her card for the turn and bringing her hand to three cards, Hoshino quickly calculated every resource still available to her.
"Alright! First, I'll—"
"I activate Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon's effect first!"
Once again mercilessly interrupted by Kaiba Man, Hoshino froze with her fingertips just touching the cards in her hand.
"Will you at least let me play? Here, why don't you just take my Deck and Duel for me too!"
"Hmph!"
Kaiba Man snorted.
"During each Standby Phase, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon lets me Special Summon one Normal Monster from my Graveyard!"
Throwing back its head, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon unleashed a mighty roar toward the frozen heavens.
"Answer the Silver Dragon's call! I Special Summon the Normal Monster in my Graveyard — Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
For the one hundred and first time, Kaiba had found another way to summon his beloved Blue-Eyes.
Amid the silver dragon's resounding roar, Blue-Eyes White Dragon once again soared across the battlefield.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon ATK 3000]
Since Blue-Eyes White Dragon was Special Summoned without any interference, it seemed the dragon girl had no intention of using her effect to negate the arrival of her so-called "love rival."
"Since you're not going to negate that Special Summon, then I won't hold back!"
After Kaiba Man successfully summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Hoshino continued her play. Pulling a card from her Graveyard, she declared:
"— I activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Katō Danzō, which was sent to the Graveyard because Heroic Spirit – Festive Wear: Bradamante left the field!"
Thanks to Bradamante's effect, Hoshino had negated two of her opponent's attacks, sending two cards to the Graveyard in the process.
Aside from the perpetually bricky Okita Sōji, the remaining card was none other than Fūma Kotarō's "mother," Katō Danzō.
[Heroic Spirit – Katō Danzō Effect: If this card is in your hand or Graveyard: Target 1 Level 4 or higher monster you control; Special Summon this card, and if you do, reduce that monster's Level by 3. If this card Special Summoned by this effect leaves the field, banish it.]
["Mother and son really are alike… Even their effects are almost identical."]
"I target Blue-Eyes White Dragon on my field, reduce its Level by 3, and Special Summon Katō Danzō from my Graveyard!"
The dragon girl immediately interrupted.
"The moment you Special Summon it, I activate my effect! Once per turn, I Tribute a Wyrm monster on my field to negate that Special Summon!"
High above the battlefield, Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice spread her azure wings of ice, stirring up a freezing storm as she Tributed the True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer she had just revived last turn to seal the Summon.
"Oh, come on! You ignored that gigantic Blue-Eyes White Dragon just now, but you're negating the Special Summon of my tiny, innocent, helpless Katō Danzō instead?! Are you seriously targeting me on purpose?" Hoshino demanded.
"That's right. I am targeting you. So what?" the dragon maiden answered without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"Hehe… What an interesting little mind game~" Reines chuckled quietly from the Spell & Trap Zone, where she remained as a Continuous Spell.
Sima Yi said, "An emotional retaliation… yet it struck directly at Master's weak point. It seems it's finally my turn to step onto the stage."
If Blue-Eyes White Dragon's Special Summon had been negated, it would have been little more than a minor inconvenience for Hoshino.
But with Katō Danzō's Special Summon stopped, the key combo starter for this turn had been completely cut off.
"I activate the effect of the Continuous Spell Heroic Spirit – Sima Yi (Reines)!"
Removing the Sima Yi card from her Spell & Trap Zone, Hoshino launched a countermeasure against the Ice King's effect.
[While this card is in your Spell & Trap Zone, when your opponent activates a monster effect: You can negate that activation, then Special Summon this card. If this card Special Summoned by this effect leaves the field, shuffle it into the Deck.]
"I move Sima Yi from my back row back onto the field, Special Summoning her in Defense Position — and negate the effect of Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice!"
[Heroic Spirit – Sima Yi (Reines) DEF 1000]
"Now this is the crucial move."
Raising her arm, Sima Yi directed the flowing Volumen Hydrargyrum toward the frost dragon soaring overhead.
"Victory requires neither clever tricks nor a trump card. Perfection alone is enough to claim the inevitable triumph. 'Primordial Formation' — can you break through this formation?"
The Primordial Unity Formation. When the illusory sun and moon rose together above the horizon, it shattered the opponent's strengths and laid bare their weaknesses.
Enveloped by the formation, Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice immediately lost the icy storm stirred by her azure wings, and the effect that negated Special Summons was disrupted by Sima Yi, rendering it ineffective.
Although the effect was negated, Bahrastos, the Fathomer — which had already been Tributed as the activation cost — was still sent to the Graveyard.
With this single play, Hoshino had effectively used Sima Yi's effect to eliminate one of her opponent's monsters.
Most importantly…
Katō Danzō could now be successfully Special Summoned.
[Heroic Spirit – Katō Danzō ★★★ (Level 3)][DARK][Machine/Tuner/Effect][ATK 1500/DEF 800]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon LV8 → LV5]
"Katō Danzō online. Please issue your orders, Master!"
"It's time to catch them completely off guard!"
"I Tune the Level 3 Katō Danzō with my Level 5 Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The light of Synchro Summoning shone brilliantly as a white halo enveloped both Katō Danzō and Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"This is the trump card I've been saving for victory! The monument that engraves history — the sovereign who surpassed the Three Sovereigns and stood above the Five Emperors!"
"Synchro Summon! Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang!"
[Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Wyrm/Synchro/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2000]
[1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters]
Bathed in radiant light, Qin Shi Huang descended slowly with one hand resting on his waist. Behind him unfolded the ethereal wings unique to Wyrm monsters.
"Though the difference was caused by the distortion of causality in the timeline… I never expected to be summoned in my original immortal body ahead of schedule. You have my gratitude."
The "original immortal body" Qin Shi Huang referred to was this Synchro form, completely different from the two forms he had previously assumed during the Duel against Paradox.
Possessing three stages of Synchro evolution was a privilege unique to Qin Shi Huang.
"A… Wyrm!"
The dragon girl stared in shock as Qin Shi Huang slowly descended onto the frozen battlefield.
"What? You think you're the only one allowed to have a Wyrm?" Hoshino grinned.
Stroking his chin, Qin Shi Huang mused:
"A Wyrm, you say? Strictly speaking, my true totem should be the Black Bird. If I'm classified as a Wyrm, then I suppose it's because of the legends that arose in your era."
Across all of China, only one ruler bore the title of the First Emperor.
Considering that, it wasn't unreasonable for Qin Shi Huang to be defined as one of the rarest Wyrm monsters.
"Next, I activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Katō Danzō, which left the field as Synchro Material and was banished by its own effect!"
[②: If this card is banished: Add 1 Level 4 or lower "Heroic Spirit" monster from your Deck to your hand.]
"With Katō Danzō's effect, I add Heroic Spirit – Marie Antoinette from my Deck to my hand, then Normal Summon her in Defense Position!"
After searching Marie, Hoshino immediately placed her onto the Duel Disk.
Following the brilliance of Qin Shi Huang, the roses of the Queen of France gracefully bloomed upon the field.
[Heroic Spirit – Marie Antoinette ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1400]
[When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Target 1 face-up monster on the field; change its battle position.]
"With Marie's effect, I change your Dreiath III, the True Dracocavalry General from Defense Position to Attack Position!"
Enchanted by the elegance of the Queen of France, Dreiath III, the True Dracocavalry General reluctantly lowered his shield and raised his lance.
[Dreiath III, the True Dracocavalry General DEF 2800 → ATK 2100]
With its 2800 DEF, neither Hoshino's Qin Shi Huang with 2500 ATK nor Kaiba Man's Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon with 2500 ATK could have destroyed it.
But by forcing it into Attack Position…
They had finally created an opening.
"You're planning to attack? I won't let you have your way!"
"I activate the effect of True King of All Calamities!"
Removing its final Xyz Material, the dragon girl unleashed the same battlefield-locking effect as before.
"I declare the LIGHT Attribute!"
"After all of your monsters become LIGHT Attribute, every LIGHT monster will be unable to activate its effects or declare an attack!"
Once again, the overwhelming pressure descended.
The Law Beast's earth-shaking roar erupted into visible black shockwaves that swept across the entire battlefield.
"So you were finally forced to activate that effect…"
Hoshino smiled.
"I've been waiting for this very moment!"
Having faced the Law Beast's roar for the second time, not the slightest trace of fear remained on her face.
"I'm counting on you, Qin Shi Huang!"
"This is the clash between the Wyrm of Light… and the Wyrm of Darkness!"
Raising his arm high, Qin Shi Huang awakened the magical power within his immortal body, releasing waves completely opposite to the Law Beast's dark oppression.
"What utterly hopeless beings. Know your place before me!"
Light and darkness collided.
One represented the Law Beast that twisted the very laws and truths of the world.
The other represented Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who established those very laws and truths.
The two Wyrms locked eyes, like a coin spinning endlessly above the frozen earth before deciding which side would face upward.
"Between Heaven and Earth stand the people of this world!"
"Here and now… I establish a new code of law!"
With Qin Shi Huang's confident declaration, the Laws of Causality surged across Heaven and Earth, completely overwhelming the beastly darkness that had once been powerful enough to suppress even the Ultimate Dragon.
"Sorry," Hoshino smiled.
"The coin landed on heads."
The dragon girl stared in disbelief.
"Impossible… We're both Wyrms, yet your power has actually surpassed the might of the supreme True King of All Calamities?"
"Now the game is finally becoming interesting."
Walking along the very path of causality he himself had created, Qin Shi Huang smiled with satisfaction.
[Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang Effect: Once per turn, when your opponent activates a monster effect: You can negate that effect, and if you do, this card gains 500 ATK.]
[Heroic Spirit – Qin Shi Huang ATK: 2500 → 3000]
"To fight alongside you… it seems even I shall reach heights never before attained."
"How truly exciting."