"Xyz Summon! Heroic Spirit – Spartacus, Morning Star of Rebellion!"
[Heroic Spirit – Spartacus, Morning Star of Rebellion ☆☆☆ (Rank 3)][EARTH][Warrior/Xyz/Effect][ATK 1500/DEF 1500]
[Materials: 2 Level 3 monsters]
His gigantic, muscular body erupted with all of its energy at once, unleashing a radiance comparable to the brilliance of the Morning Star itself as the light of rebellion tore open the heavens.
"He's… so unbelievably huge…"
In stark contrast to Merlin's appearance — which had carried almost no visual impact — nearly every Duel Monster materialized by Savior Mk. II was colossal. Yet the instant Spartacus emerged from the light of the Xyz Summon, everyone instinctively found themselves uttering those words.
It wasn't merely a comment on his physical size.
It was the overwhelming magnitude of his very will.
"This is the Heroic Spirit who'll decide the Duel, Yugi!"
Having successfully Xyz Summoned Spartacus, Hoshino looked toward Yugi in the neighboring cockpit.
"Perfect timing, Hoshino! Let this Rebellion that rends the heavens gallop upon the wrath of a god!"
As Hoshino completed the Rank 3 Xyz Summon using Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior and Spartacus, Yugi immediately flipped over his Set Trap Card.
"I activate the Trap Card Give and Take! I can choose 1 monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to my opponent's field in Defense Position!"
"He's deliberately Special Summoning one of his own monsters to the opponent's field? Why?" the Dwarf King asked in confusion.
Pulling the crimson Monster Card from his Graveyard, Yugi declared:
"The monster I'll Special Summon to my opponent's field is… Slifer the Sky Dragon!!"
"You're Special Summoning a God Card onto your opponent's field?! Yugi, what are you thinking?!" Kaiba roared.
Beneath surging bolts of lightning, Slifer the Sky Dragon's roar echoed across the night sky, igniting the wrath of a god above the sea.
Hoshino Alter exclaimed:
["The God Card after being enlarged by Savior Mk. II… it's absolutely magnificent."]
Even under normal circumstances, Slifer's appearance was overwhelmingly majestic, and among Duel Monsters, it was already one of the largest Divine-Beasts.
Now, empowered by the giant Duel Disk's projection system, its crimson body stretched across the entire sky.
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK 2000/DEF 2000]
Because Slifer had been Special Summoned to King Utgarda's field, its ATK was determined by the number of cards remaining in King Utgarda's hand.
Kaiba gritted his teeth.
"You two actually created a situation where you're standing against a God Card with your own hands… Hoshino… Yugi…"
"You're up next, Merlin!"
Hoshino picked up the Heroic Spirit – Merlin card from her Duel Disk and placed it directly into her Spell & Trap Zone.
"I activate Heroic Spirit – Merlin's effect! Treat this card on the field as a face-up Continuous Spell Card by placing it in the Spell & Trap Zone. Then, negate the effects of 1 face-up Continuous Spell or Trap your opponent controls until the end of this turn!"
The flower-lined path blooming across the ocean continued expanding until it reached the horizon where sea and sky met.
Even King Utgarda's colossal body — vast enough to rival a continent — was gradually enveloped by blossoms.
Warm magical energy spread throughout the entire space.
Now residing in the Spell & Trap Zone, Merlin began chanting his Noble Phantasm.
"The Inner Sea of the Planet, the Tower of Avalon.
From the utopia at the world's end, I speak unto you.
May your story be filled with blessings."
The destination of Merlin's magical energy was singular.
It all converged upon King's Proof – All Things, the card that possessed its absurdly overpowered effect.
"Only those pure and without blemish may pass! Garden of Avalon!"
Hoshino pointed toward her opponent's field and continued:
"The effect text of the Spell or Trap Card negated by Heroic Spirit – Merlin can be used this turn as the effect of Merlin while he's treated as a Spell Card in my Spell & Trap Zone."
Before everyone's astonished eyes, King's Proof – All Things — wrapped in flowers within the reflection of the isolated utopia — was transferred from King Utgarda's field to Hoshino and Yugi's back row.
"He's actually using the power of King's Proof – All Things as his own effect?" the Dwarf King exclaimed in disbelief, staring at the mysteriously smiling Merlin on the monitor.
"Changing the ownership of King's Proof – All Things' effects… That's practically the same as rewriting the laws of the world itself!"
"It's not that I've rewritten the world's laws," Merlin replied with a smile.
"I've merely deceived the world through illusion magecraft~"
"But as far as the end result is concerned… they're effectively the same."
Lightly tapping the stone tablet of King's Proof – All Things, now manifested behind him, Merlin smiled.
"Now then… the final puzzle piece is in place."
"Go."
"Claim your victory, proud Duelists."
Hoshino detached Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior — the Xyz Material beneath Spartacus — and activated its effect.
"I activate the Xyz Effect of Heroic Spirit – Spartacus, Morning Star of Rebellion!"
[Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card. For the rest of this turn, each time a monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect, you gain 500 LP, and your opponent takes 500 damage.]
Eve frowned.
"But the opponent still has 73,000 LP. A mere 500 points of damage is nothing more than scratching an itch."
"If one instance of damage isn't enough to decide the Duel…"
"…then I'll trigger it ten times!"
"…A hundred times!"
"Roar, Spartacus!"
"Rebellion is my very life!
O mighty oppressor!
I shall utterly shatter you with my blade!
Cry of the Wounded Beast!"
As a Noble Phantasm that remained continuously active, Spartacus transformed every wound inflicted upon him into explosive magical energy born from rebellion.
The greater the damage he suffered, the greater the power he unleashed.
It was the very light of rebellion that symbolized freedom — the power that had once withstood even the meteor strike of the First Emperor.
"I activate the Trap Card Call of the Powerful Rebirth!"
The moment Hoshino detached Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior and sent it to the Graveyard as the cost for Spartacus's Xyz Effect, Yugi immediately flipped over his second Set Trap.
[Powerful Rebirth Trap Card Effect:
Target 1 Level 4 or lower monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. Its Level becomes 1 higher, and it gains 100 ATK and DEF.]
"Using Call of the Powerful Rebirth, I Special Summon Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior in Attack Position!"
[Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior ATK: 800 → 900]
"You idiot! If you revive the Magnet Warrior at a time like this, then Slifer the Sky Dragon on the opponent's field—"
Kaiba stopped mid-sentence.
The instant Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior was Special Summoned, he realized —
No.
He perceived in that very instant the path unfolding across the battlefield.
A trajectory where every piece connected together…
…leading toward infinity itself.
"Is that your goal, Hoshino, Yugi?!"
"When Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior is successfully Special Summoned, the effect of Slifer the Sky Dragon — its Thunderbolt attack — will fire at it!"
[When a monster is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned to the opponent's field: reduce that monster's ATK/DEF by 2000, depending on its position. If a monster's ATK/DEF becomes 0 by this effect, destroy it.]
The Sky Dragon circling above King Utgarda's field opened its terrifying giant maw and blasted a Thunderbolt that reduced ATK by 2000 toward the Magnet Warrior.
"Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior only has 900 ATK. The instant it is successfully Summoned, Thunderbolt will reduce it to 0 ATK and destroy it!"
[Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior] destroyed.
Hoshino added: "And when Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior is destroyed, the effect of Heroic Spirit – Spartacus, Morning Star of Rebellion also triggers, restoring 500 of my Life Points and inflicting 500 damage!"
"Take this! This is the blade that topples oppression!"
After absorbing the Thunderbolt's energy with his Noble Phantasm, Spartacus swung the greatsword in his hand and unleashed berserk energy, slashing toward King Utgarda's main body.
[Hoshino & Yugi LP 1100 → 1600]
[King Utgarda LP 73000 → 72500]
"Only 500 damage? That really doesn't amount to much," Eve said.
Even though Spartacus's strike erupted with tremendous force, it still left no visible mark on King Utgarda's continent-sized body.
"No. The Duel is already over," Kaiba said, seeing through everything, arms crossed and the corners of his mouth curling upward. "This is the infinite loop that Hoshino and Yugi created together!"
"Y-You mean… infinite…?"
"More, more — keep it going, Rock Tribe warriors!" Merlin exclaimed, raising his magic staff. From the back row, he activated the copied effect of King's Proof – All Things.
[Effect of King's Proof – All Things: When a Rock monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect, you can activate this effect. Special Summon 1 Rock monster from your Graveyard with a different name from the destroyed monster.]
Following Yugi's declaration of the effect, another Rock monster was placed from the Graveyard onto the Duel Disk.
"I Special Summon Delta The Magnet Warrior from the Graveyard in Attack Position!"
[Delta The Magnet Warrior ATK 1600]
Delta The Magnet Warrior — which had been destroyed and sent to the Graveyard several turns earlier, sleeping until now — was revived once again by the effect of King's Proof – All Things.
"Of course, this Special Summon will also trigger Slifer the Sky Dragon's effect, reducing Delta The Magnet Warrior's ATK to 0 and destroying it!"
The second Thunderbolt bombarded the field. Slifer's effect did not care about the Duelists' wishes; it was a suppressive force that activated forcibly whenever a monster was Summoned.
[Delta The Magnet Warrior] destroyed.
"Mamma mia! If another Magnet Warrior is destroyed, wouldn't that trigger Spartacus's damage effect again, no ne?!"
After Thunderbolt and Cry of the Wounded Beast exploded for a second time, even Crowler began to grasp what was unfolding before his eyes.
[Hoshino & Yugi LP 1600 → 2100]
[King Utgarda LP 72500 → 72000]
"This is the infinite loop that deceives this world~" Merlin said with one eye narrowed in pride.
"Because of King's Proof – All Things, whenever a Rock monster is destroyed, another Rock monster from the Graveyard can be Special Summoned."
"Revive once more, Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior! With this alternating power of Magnet Warriors, Thunderbolt can be triggered infinitely!"
Yugi, driving King Utgarda into the Thunderbolt loop, kept repeatedly destroying and replacing Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior and Delta The Magnet Warrior on the Duel Disk.
Every Special Summon triggered Thunderbolt. After Thunderbolt destroyed a Magnet Warrior, Spartacus's damage effect triggered, which in turn triggered the effect of King's Proof – All Things, reviving another Magnet Warrior.
Repeating this over and over, forming a closed circle, they reached the truth of infinity.
Hoshino declared: "The Duel is decided, King Utgarda! No matter how high your Life Points are, this rebel morning star that reaches beyond infinity will blast you to pieces!"
"Hahahahaha! Tremble in despair, oppressor! Under this endless morning star!"
Spartacus, repeatedly enduring and absorbing the power of Thunderbolt, roared without exhaustion and again and again concentrated rebellious energy into the blade as he struck.
"What… what kind of Duel is this?!"
Finally snapping out of the shock of the infinite loop, the Dwarf King could only watch the monitor as Thunderbolt exploded again and again across the battlefield while rebellious light kept bursting forth.
"If each loop deals 500 damage, then to empty those Life Points, the effect has to be activated 146 times!"
"Only a hundred rebellions? Show them your grit, Spartacus!!"
"OOOOOOOH! Accept my glory!!"
With Spartacus's repeated surges of power, he grew fiercer and fiercer in battle. King Utgarda, having repeatedly endured the bombardment of the Noble Phantasm, found even its continent-sized body beginning to crumble.
More than 100 instances of Cry of the Wounded Beast — to be precise, 145 times.
What seemed like an endlessly long, infinite loop was, within the space of the utopia, also like a single instant.
Only after the long night of battle did the faint light finally appear on the horizon, marking both the passage of time and the victory at the end.
"The… sun is rising," the Dwarf King murmured blankly.
[Hoshino & Yugi LP 73600]
[King Utgarda LP: 500]
A 180-degree turnaround from absolute despair.
Empowered by the infinite loop, Hoshino — who kept recovering Life Points — and King Utgarda — whose Life Points kept being worn down — had completely reversed their positions at the last moment.
And King Utgarda's continent-sized abnormal body had become ragged and shattered under countless Cries of the Wounded Beast.
"Time to deal the decisive damage, Hoshino!"
After the final Thunderbolt strike, Yugi — having chosen not to revive the Magnet Warrior in the Graveyard any further — looked toward Hoshino.
"The finishing blow is yours, Enkidu! Seize the victory of this long battle!" Hoshino declared.
"Right! Only by using Rock Tribe Enkidu for the final strike can this truly be called a real victory!" Akasha suddenly remembered.
"But the Primal Being Token's ATK is extremely hard to surpass, and Slifer the Sky Dragon is in Defense Position. How are they supposed to deal the final damage?" Minazuki asked in confusion.
"With this final Trap Card — Collected Power!" Yugi, who had set up the killing blow, flipped his last Set card.
[Collected Power Trap Card Effect: Choose 1 face-up monster on the field. Equip all Equip Cards on the field to the chosen monster.]
"The reason I kept that troublesome monster with the highest ATK until now was for this exact moment!" Pointing toward King Utgarda's field, Hoshino declared:
"Using Collected Power, equip the Equip Spell Meteor Direct Hit — which grants piercing damage — to Heroic Spirit – Enkidu!"
With the piercing power gathered into one point, the countless Chains of Heaven behind Enkidu converged into a single line. He transformed his own body into divine constructed weaponry, turning his immense power into a wedge — piercing, binding, and fastening the enemy.
[Enkidu ATK 5900]
"— O mankind, wish for the binding of gods!"
The golden divine chains, together with Hoshino's attack declaration, pierced through Slifer the Sky Dragon in Defense Position.
And with the piercing damage effect from the Equip Spell Meteor Direct Hit, Enkidu's final attack brought everything to an end, causing King Utgarda — along with that enormous abnormal body — to vanish completely.
[King Utgarda LP: 500 → 0]
Duel over. Winner: Hoshino Chiyuki & Muto Yugi!
"They… they really won! That's amazing!!"
The Dwarf King pounded furiously on the control panel before her, unable to restrain her excitement.