"I return Neos and Yubel to the Deck! Miracle Contact Summon — Elemental HERO Neos Kluger!"
The ace representing Jaden, Elemental HERO Neos, and Yubel herself were returned to the Deck.
It was almost as if the moment when the Supreme King and Yubel's souls had merged earlier was being recreated, except this time through a miraculous Contact Fusion.
[Elemental HERO Neos Kluger ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 2500]
["Elemental HERO Neos" + "Yubel"]
An Elemental HERO Neos with Yubel's demonic wings, its body interwoven with black and white, materialized on Supreme King Jaden's field.
Slamming the card onto his Duel Disk, Supreme King Jaden declared seriously:
"This is the monster born from my fusion with Yubel — the monster capable of surpassing the Wicked God!"
"Surpassing the Wicked God? You sure are arrogant, kid!"
The Wicked Avatar clicked its tongue in disdain.
In an instant, its appearance changed from the form of Space Ishtar. Its ATK rose to 3001, surpassing Neos Kluger's.
"There is no monster in this world capable of surpassing me!"
[The Wicked Avatar ATK: 3001]
As if provoked by the Wicked God's fighting spirit, the two massive Neos Kluger-like monsters on the field stared each other down and slowly approached.
The atmosphere was thick with hostility.
The battle was about to explode.
Minazuki stared blankly at the two burly men approaching one another.
He seemed to be experiencing a visual hallucination.
"Huh? Is this the set of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or something?"
"Let's battle, Hoshino Chiyuki!"
"Come on, Supreme King!"
After activating Miracle Contact, Supreme King Jaden immediately entered the Battle Phase.
Just as the Supreme King had arrogantly provoked her earlier, Elemental HERO Neos Kluger did not target Space Ishtar, whose ATK was 100 points lower.
Instead, it charged straight toward The Wicked Avatar.
The battle erupted in an instant.
Heavy fists collided.
The two monsters exchanged a storm of punches, their blows crashing together like torrential rain.
Neos Kluger: "ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
The Wicked God: "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
Minazuki: "┌(.Д.)┐ It really is JoJo! But wait, Neos can talk?!"
At first glance, the clash appeared evenly matched.
But with its superior ATK, it was only a matter of time before The Wicked Avatar completely overwhelmed Neos Kluger.
Hoshino and Jaden stared calmly at their battling monsters, almost like Stand users facing each other.
In terms of raw combat power, the Wicked God was unquestionably stronger.
But the Neos Kluger summoned by Supreme King Jaden through his fusion with Yubel felt completely different from an ordinary Neos Fusion Monster.
If he dared to challenge a god, then Supreme King Jaden must definitely have something planned.
"I'm still one step ahead, brat!"
The Wicked God spotted an opening in the middle of their exchange.
It gathered its strength into one devastating punch and drove it straight toward the core in Neos Kluger's chest.
However —
In the very next instant, Neos Kluger disappeared from the battlefield.
The Wicked God's supposedly fatal punch struck nothing but empty air.
More precisely, Neos Kluger had flashed away, teleporting from directly in front of the Wicked God to Hoshino's side.
The Supreme King's cloak billowed behind him as he declared:
"Don't forget — this is a monster created through fusion with Yubel! Elemental HERO Neos Kluger's effect activates!"
[Before damage calculation, if this card battles an opponent's monster: You can inflict damage to your opponent equal to that opponent's monster's ATK.]
"Before damage calculation, Elemental HERO Neos Kluger will inflict damage to you equal to The Wicked Avatar's ATK!"
Alexis realized the danger.
"Neos Kluger has 3000 ATK, but it also inherited Yubel's full reflected-damage effect?!"
Because The Wicked Avatar had transformed into Neos Kluger's form, its ATK had risen to 3001.
That meant Neos Kluger would inflict 3001 points of damage directly to Hoshino!
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3000]
"It was all part of your calculations, wasn't it, Jaden?!"
Looking up at the massive Neos Kluger standing in front of her, Hoshino finally understood why Jaden had deliberately avoided attacking the Wicked God.
"(°Д°) You're not seriously planning to beat me up with both hands, are you?!"
"YES! YES! YES!!"
Neos Kluger rapidly swung both fists.
A barrage of punches descended upon Hoshino like a torrential rainstorm.
"Even though you recovered 1000 Life Points last turn with Medea's effect, 3001 points of direct damage is still enough to defeat you, Hoshino Chiyuki!"
"— I activate the Set Quick-Play Spell Card, The Golden Apple!"
Even though it was only a virtual projection, Hoshino absolutely did not want to get pummeled by Neos Kluger.
She ducked behind Space Ishtar, flipped up the Set card, grabbed the golden apple that appeared, and immediately took a bite.
"You! Don't touch my butt!"
The skin-tight black outfit emphasized Space Ishtar's figure so much that, honestly, it was hard to blame someone for wanting to touch it.
[The Golden Apples — Quick-Play Spell Effect: Gain 2000 LP. Then, add 1 DIVINE monster from your Deck to your hand.]
This was the card Hoshino had obtained from Yami Yugi back when she fought the Three Sacred Beasts, specifically a card designed to work with DIVINE monsters.
The ability to immediately recover 2000 Life Points was extremely powerful.
However, it could only be activated if there was a DIVINE monster in the Deck.
If the Deck contained no DIVINE monster — or if Hoshino had already drawn her DIVINE monster into her hand beforehand — this card couldn't make use of its Life Point recovery effect.
Alexis exclaimed in surprise:
"Senpai's Deck actually has another God Card in it?!"
Hoshino drew the card and revealed it.
"I add The Wicked Dreadroot from my Deck to my hand! By recovering my Life Points, I'll also offset the damage from Neos Kluger!"
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3000 → 5000 → 1999]
Calling it "offsetting" was a bit generous. Recovering 2000 Life Points still left her 1001 points short of the damage Neos Kluger had inflicted.
Minazuki exclaimed:
"This is Headmistress's second Wicked God card!"
Once Neos Kluger's damage effect had resolved, the battle naturally continued.
Perhaps angered by the attack, The Wicked Avatar turned around and struck back.
This time, its fist landed squarely on Neos Kluger.
[Supreme King Jaden LP: 999 → 998]
[Elemental HERO Neos Kluger] destroyed.
"This is the price you pay for foolishly challenging a god!"
Having successfully counterattacked, the Wicked God became arrogant once again.
"Whew, that was close. I almost got beaten to death by that brat. Fortunately, I'm superior."
Looking at the shattered remains of Neos Kluger after the Wicked God's punch, Hoshino said:
["But why? Since Neos Kluger has an effect that can inflict damage directly, why didn't Supreme King Jaden attack Space Ishtar instead of forcibly challenging the god?"]
If he had attacked Space Ishtar, Neos Kluger could only have inflicted 2900 points of effect damage.
However, the difference between 3000 ATK and 2900 ATK meant that the remaining 100 points could have been made up through the subsequent battle, leaving the total damage only 1 point lower than attacking the Wicked God directly.
More importantly, Elemental HERO Neos Kluger would not be destroyed by battle.
"The opponent's assault probably isn't over yet. Be careful, Ishtar."
Hoshino had sensed that Supreme King Jaden must still have another trump card hidden up his sleeve, so she cautiously warned her.
Picking up the destroyed card from his Duel Disk and sending it to the Graveyard, Supreme King Jaden continued exactly as Hoshino had expected.
"When Neos Kluger is destroyed, the Sage inherits this intertwined power of light and darkness!"
The tenacious Chaos energy lingering on Supreme King Jaden's field showed no sign of dissipating, even after taking a direct blow from the Wicked God.
"Elemental HERO Neos Kluger's effect activates! When this card is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon 1 Neos Wiseman, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
The endlessly renewing light of Neo Space and the darkness of the universe were inherited together.
A monster resembling Neos Kluger appeared on Supreme King Jaden's field.
[Neos Wiseman ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 3000]
Supreme King Jaden took the Neos Wiseman Fusion Monster from his Extra Deck and slammed it onto his Duel Disk in Attack Position, continuing the Battle Phase.
"A Special Summon during the Battle Phase. I don't need to explain what happens next, do I?"
Neos Wiseman raised its head.
"Attack, Neos Wiseman! — 'Ultimate Nova!'"
This time, there was no hard-hitting, manly fistfight.
Neos Wiseman unleashed a scorching Nova laser from its chest, sweeping across Hoshino's field.
"Neos Wiseman possesses an effect even greater than Neos Kluger's!"
"When this card battles, at the end of the Damage Step, it inflicts damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of their monster, and I recover LP equal to that monster's DEF!"
"Another effect that inflicts direct damage?!"
The Life Point recovery effect could be ignored for now.
Even after eating the Goddess's Golden Apple, Hoshino's remaining Life Points still weren't enough to withstand another 3001 points of damage.
"I have no choice. I'll leave this attack to you, Ishtar!"
Hoshino flipped up her final Set Trap.
"— I activate the Set Trap Card, Formidable Enemy Blocking the Way!"
[Formidable Enemy Blocking the Way — Trap Card Effect: When your opponent declares an attack: You can target 1 face-up monster you control. For the rest of this turn, your opponent can only target that monster for attacks, and all face-up Attack Position monsters they control must attack that monster.]
"I use the effect of Formidable Enemy Blocking the Way to forcibly change Neos Wiseman's attack target to Heroic Spirit – Space Ishtar!"
Hoshino flipped up her final Set Trap and locked its effect onto Ishtar, forcibly twisting the trajectory of the Ultimate Nova.
Originally, this Trap had been prepared as part of a combo centered around The Wicked Avatar.
Once Formidable Enemy Blocking the Way was activated, even if the opponent desperately wanted to avoid fighting the monster with the highest ATK — The Wicked Avatar — they would be forced to attack it.
However, what Hoshino hadn't expected was that the power created by Supreme King Jaden's fusion with Yubel would be this troublesome.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he could actually contend with the Wicked God.
One attack after another came crashing down, and none of them showed the slightest intention of choosing another target.
Every single attack was aimed at the strongest Wicked God.
"It's useless, Hoshino Chiyuki!"
Supreme King Jaden retorted:
"Even if you forcibly change the attack target to Space Ishtar, the resulting 2900 points of effect damage based on her ATK will still be enough to reduce your Life Points to zero and end this Duel!"
"I'll bet everything on this draw!"
"Heroic Spirit – Space Ishtar's effect activates—!"
Facing the incoming Ultimate Nova, Space Ishtar drew two differently colored blades from her waist.
"I have to show you what I can really do, and make you recognize the dignity of a goddess once again. Venus Spiral! This is the power that makes Venus itself move!"
With the blessing of Venus, Space Ishtar further increased the power of her Noble Phantasm.
At the same time, she could change its attribute, with blades of different colors corresponding to different effects and unique abilities.
[When this card becomes the target of an attack: Draw 1 card from your Deck. If it is a Trap Card, negate that attack, destroy the attacking monster, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster.]
"This time, I don't have any room left for another death flag or another screw-up!"
"Draw!!"
Hoshino drew the top card from her Deck.
Under the fateful choice of destiny, the three types of cards representing the three basic card types in Duel Monsters seemed to transform into Space Ishtar's three-colored Noble Phantasms.
"YADAZE!"
Hoshino flipped the card over and revealed it.
"The card I drew is the Counter Trap Rule Buster! According to Heroic Spirit – Space Ishtar's effect, I negate Neos Wiseman's attack!"
In an instant, the twin blades of Space Ishtar's Cosmic Divine Yin Style erupted in her hands.
Brilliant blades of two different colors tore through the air, completely cutting apart the storm of the Ultimate Nova.
Because the attack had been negated, the subsequent Damage Step never occurred.
Therefore, Neos Wiseman's effect that inflicted damage and restored Life Points could not activate.
"And now for the additional effect! Space Ishtar can destroy the attacking monster and inflict effect damage equal to that monster's ATK!"
Neos Wiseman had 3000 ATK.
If Ishtar could destroy it, Hoshino would instead be able to inflict 3000 points of damage to Supreme King Jaden.
"Let me show you what the real me looks like. Let me show you true despair. Return to the swirling primordial dust — 'Crown Shining in the Primordial Universe!'"
The radiance of the Noble Phantasm reflected across the battlefield.
A reversal strike exploded toward Neos Wiseman on Supreme King Jaden's field.
"Block it, Neos Wiseman!"
Facing the retaliatory brilliance hurled at it by Space Ishtar, the cosmic sage assumed a defensive stance.
It forcibly held its ground and refused to be destroyed.
"Neos Wiseman cannot be destroyed by card effects! And since it wasn't destroyed, the effect damage cannot be triggered either!"
The clash in the Battle Phase finally ended.
Over the course of the turn, the battlefield had been filled with spectacular explosions of special effects.
Fists had clashed like storms.
Lasers had swept across the battlefield.
But in the end, neither Hoshino nor Supreme King Jaden was willing to give an inch.
The result was essentially a dead-even battle.
Hoshino had lost 1001 Life Points.
Supreme King Jaden, meanwhile, had lost one Elemental HERO Neos Kluger.
Akasha couldn't help but admire him.
"The difference between them was so enormous before, but after fusing with Yubel, Jaden managed to fight Hoshino-nee to a draw…"