"—Special Summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!!"

Just as Atem declared, among all monsters born of chaos, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying in terms of destructive power.

[Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Dragon → Zombie/Ritual/Effect][ATK 4000/DEF 0]

[This card cannot be targeted or destroyed by your opponent's effects.]

Through the "last words" effect of Magician of Chaos, the inherited power of chaos manifested. The undead Chaos MAX Dragon shattered the ground of the zombie world beneath its feet, roaring face-to-face with Obelisk the Tormentor, both radiating equal 4000 ATK pressure.

Although Magician of Chaos can indeed summon "Chaos" monsters while ignoring conditions, the sudden development still left Hoshino momentarily stunned.

"You… you actually have Chaos MAX Dragon?"

She clearly remembered—this card definitely belonged to Kaiba.

Watching Atem and Kaiba exchange a knowing smile, Hoshino quickly pieced it together.

"You two… did some shady deal behind our backs, didn't you?!"

Thinking back, during Yugi and Kaiba's earlier duel, Hoshino hadn't seen any Blue-Eyes cards among the messy pile on the table. Perhaps Kaiba had already handed it over back then.

"Well… I wouldn't call it shady," Atem said awkwardly. "Entrusting this card and adding Chaos MAX's power into the deck… that was Kaiba's wish."

Unable to fight due to his condition, Kaiba had set aside his pride and entrusted his power to someone else.

Seven years ago, Kaiba would never have done such a thing. The fact that he did now showed just how much he had changed.

"Adding Chaos MAX into your deck… honestly, both Kaiba and you agreeing to that is impressive in its own way," Hoshino muttered.

For an average duelist, building a deck like that would brick instantly. But Atem was no ordinary duelist—no matter what cards he used, "bricking" simply didn't exist for him.

And the perfectly timed appearance of Chaos MAX Dragon, blocking Obelisk's lethal direct attack, proved it.

"With both at 4000 ATK, it can at least fight Obelisk evenly!"

Eve, whose heart had nearly leapt out of her throat when Obelisk revived, finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Didn't expect that starfish-haired guy to actually be this good… If that's the case, Marik probably won't want to trade his God Card one-for-one."

"No—the battle will continue," Kaiba said, his eyes locked on the field. "God Cards are only affected by Spell effects for one turn. And Obelisk, revived by Monster Reborn without the support of Mound of the Bound Creator, will return to the Graveyard at the end of the turn."

"So either way it gets destroyed… better to take something down with it?" Mokuba confirmed.

"More than that—if Obelisk uses its effect…" Kaiba added grimly.

"Obelisk the Tormentor's effect—Soul Energy MAX! I offer two monsters on my field as tribute—its ATK becomes infinite!"

Kaiba's greatest concern had come true—Obelisk's ultimate move: infinite attack power.

With infinite ATK crushing everything, even a 4000 ATK Chaos MAX would be insignificant.

"You dare sacrifice my monsters? Bold, Marik," Queen Hela laughed coldly. "But it doesn't matter—if it means using the power that once defeated King Harald to erase them completely."

Marik cackled wildly:

"Gahahaha! You'll experience the terror of endless hell! Absorb infinite power, Obelisk!"

"Not so fast, Marik!" Atem flipped his set card just as Obelisk's fists gathered Soul Energy MAX.

"—Activate Trap Card: Curse of the Circle!"

"A binding trap? You should know that's useless against a god!"

"I never said it was targeting the god!" Atem shot back. "I use Curse of the Circle to seal Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!"

A glowing pentagram rose beneath Lancelot, transforming into magical shackles that bound his skeletal body.

[Target 1 monster your opponent controls; your opponent cannot Tribute it]

Pointing forward, Atem declared:

"With that, you can't tribute Lancelot for Obelisk's effect—meaning you can't reach infinite ATK!"

"I can't tribute monsters…?! Damn you!" Marik roared in frustration as his plan collapsed mid-attack.

"Counterattack—Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! Unleash the strike that pierces even gods—Chaos MAX Burst Stream!"

In a violent clash, the white light of Chaos MAX collided with Obelisk's twin fists, tearing through the battlefield. The impact shattered the undead world itself as both forces annihilated each other.

[Obelisk the Tormentor] destroyed

[Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon] destroyed

"What kind of battle is this… this is insane…"

Even after witnessing Dragoon wipe out all three Egyptian Gods earlier, Eve was still deeply shaken by this second clash between Chaos MAX and Obelisk.

"I didn't think that starfish-haired guy was this strong… Mokuba, I think I finally understand what you meant by the strongest duo in history."

["If Yugi still had cards in hand and suddenly dropped a Deep-Eyes White Dragon here, I honestly wouldn't even be surprised."]

"I didn't expect that aside from the chosen maiden of the Star Grail, there would be duelists of this level in this world," Queen Hela remarked. "That old fool King's information is truly outdated."

With the Battle Phase over and no victory achieved this turn, she added in a tone that almost sounded like praise:

"But it doesn't matter. Even the strongest humans only amount to this."

Despite Obelisk and Chaos MAX destroying each other, Queen Hela still had Lancelot and Eldlich the Golden Lord on the field—her advantage was undeniable.

"I set two cards and end my turn."

Placing her remaining cards onto her bone Duel Disk, Queen Hela concluded calmly.

"When both sides wager everything and clash, the overwhelming difference in field presence speaks for itself," she said with a seductive smile. "You humans, struggling despite knowing you can't win… you're just like the resentful dead crawling through my underworld."

"Shut up, old hag," Hoshino snapped back without hesitation. "Explain something to me—what exactly do you mean by 'both sides wagering everything'?"

"Don't forget—because of the effect of Card of Sanctity, my hand has also been replenished to six cards. Even with Lancelot's all-card negation, you absolutely cannot stop my offense this turn!"

Starting her turn, Hoshino now had the most resources on the field. With a full hand and a deck resonating with the Star Relics, it opened up endless combo possibilities.

"My turn—draw! I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Heroic Spirit – Emergency Summoning!"

[Can only be activated if you control no "Heroic Spirit" monsters. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Heroic Spirit" monster from your Deck in Defense Position.]

"A Spell that Special Summons directly from the Deck?"

The moment Hoshino activated the Spell Card, the Queen of Hela could have chosen to activate Lancelot's negation effect by detaching 1 Xyz Material.

"Hmph. Just a Level 4 or lower weakling—not worth worrying about."

In the end, however, the Queen chose not to negate the effect.

After all, Lancelot only had one Xyz Material left. Without materials, it wouldn't be able to perform direct attacks. That final negation had to be saved for a more critical moment.

"You're not going to stop my Special Summon?"

Drawing the monster from her Deck and placing it onto the Duel Disk, Hoshino smiled confidently.

"Then let me make it clear—this will be the gravest mistake you make in this duel! I Special Summon in Defense Position—Heroic Spirit – Spartacus!"

[Heroic Spirit – Spartacus ★★★ (Level 3)][FIRE][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1500/DEF 1500]

"Oppress with love, overturn with love, and destroy everything with love!"

The Berserker of Love roared as he entered the field.

Seeing the familiar and reliable figure, Mokuba couldn't hold back his excitement.

"That's Hoshino's soul card—Spartacus! This is it, we've got this!"

Kaiba sneered.

"Hmph. What a serious misplay—failing to stop that summon."

Atem nodded in approval.

"To summon Spartacus at a time like this… impressive, Hoshino."

Looking at the roaring Berserker and hearing the others' reactions, Eve was completely confused.

"(・◇・)? What are you all talking about? This means we've won? Is that monster really that strong? And why is that Hoshino's soul card anyway?!"

"Are you all mocking me?"

Seeing their half-teasing, half-pitying expressions, anger began to rise on the Queen of Hela's face.

"Whether it's mockery or not—you'll find out soon enough!"

Hoshino flipped another card from her hand.

"I activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Formal Dress: Kiyohime, which I added to my hand last turn!"

[Effect: Reveal 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster in your hand other than this card; Special Summon this card from your hand.]

"You keep summoning these worthless monsters—what could they possibly accomplish?!"

Still not using Lancelot to negate the effect—likely thrown off by the others' reactions—the Queen failed to notice the crucial word on Kiyohime's card: Tuner.

[Heroic Spirit – Formal Dress: Kiyohime ★★★ (Level 3)][FIRE][Dragon/Tuner/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]

"To call us 'worthless monsters'… now you've made me angry," Kiyohime said, fanning herself as she glared forward.

"Let us burn you away with this flame combination!"

"Love will burn everything!" Spartacus echoed.

"The next battle will enter the domain of the stars! I use Level 3 Kiyohime and Level 3 Spartacus as Synchro Materials!"

Raising her Duel Disk, Hoshino combined the two cards. White particles surrounding them burst into motion, forming rings of light that enveloped both Heroic Spirits.

"—Boil over! O oni-blood-stained naginata, carve a path of azure flames! Synchro Summon—burn forth, Heroic Spirit – Tomoe Gozen!"

[Heroic Spirit – Tomoe Gozen ★★★★★★ (Level 6)][FIRE][Warrior/Synchro/Effect][ATK 2300/DEF 2000]

[Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters]

"Infernal Archer… here to engage—just kidding. Tomoe Gozen answers her master's call to suppress the enemy!"

With a flaming naginata and blazing bow in hand, Tomoe Gozen locked onto Lancelot on the Queen's field.

"I'm counting on you!" Hoshino declared.

"I activate the effect of Heroic Spirit – Tomoe Gozen!"

[Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned, target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it.]

"The monster I choose to destroy is your Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!"

"I've long heard of the Round Table Knight Lancelot's valor. Now that we cross blades, I shall fight with everything I have!"

A wave of flames swept across the field as Tomoe charged, her Noble Phantasm igniting with overwhelming force.

"—Noble Phantasm deployed! Grant me the radiance of the blazing sun! 『Mantra: Sacred Avalokitesvara』!"

"Synchro Summoning… how is that possible?! It's actually Synchro Summoning?!"

Shaken by Hoshino's play, Queen Hela's proud expression finally wavered.

"Lancelot's effect—activate! Negate that destruction!"

Flames and the white blade clashed, canceling each other out. In the end, this negation was something Hoshino had deliberately forced out of her opponent.