Chapter 168

[Heroic Spirit - Gilgamesh (Young)★★★ (3-star)] [LIGHT] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 700/DEF 1000]

"Moshi moshi, this is Gil-kun~" The young Gilgamesh materialized, his face full of innocent smiles.

"What a cute monster!" Akasha's eyes sparkled as she looked at the monster Hoshino had summoned.

"What a sinful boy. He's already captured the heart of my Akasha-chan," Hoshino teased the young Gilgamesh on the field, noticing Akasha's excited expression.

"Master, you're so mean. Can't you treat me like a little kid?" Gilgamesh pouted playfully.

"Alright, alright. But even little kids have to fight!" Hoshino dismissed Gil's comment as she drew another card and placed it onto her Duel Disk.

"I activate the Equip Spell Card [Fou of The Sun] from my hand! Equipping it to Gil-kun, increasing his Attack Points by 500!"

The adorable Fou appeared from the card and firmly perched on Gil's shoulder with its tiny paws.

"Though it looks cute, it hides tremendous power," Gil remarked with a satisfied smile, glancing at the Fou on his shoulder. "Yes, I'm very pleased. Just like me~"

"And thanks to Gil-kun's effect…"

[This card's ATK increases by 300 points for each Equip Card on the field.]

[Heroic Spirit - Gilgamesh (Young) ATK 700 → 1500]

"Ohh! My strength has recovered quite a bit!" Gil smiled excitedly, feeling the surge of his boosted attack power.

"Then let's press the attack and target the opponent's face-down monster!" Hoshino commanded.

"Yes, Master!" Receiving Hoshino's command, Gil leapt high into the air, unfurling the golden ripples of his Gate of Babylon.

"Here I go! Savagery is also a tactic, and treasures are meant to be used in this way!"

"Gate of Babylon!"

Though the number of treasures launched wasn't vast, the dazzling golden swords and spears accurately pierced through the face-down monster on Tenma Gekko's field.

"Did we successfully destroy it? It seems it wasn't a monster with high defense!"

Hoshino's probing attack had succeeded, indicating that Tenma Gekko wasn't using a strategy of surviving one turn with a high-defense monster to summon a higher-level monster.

Gil landed back on the ground with a triumphant smile. "Hehe, I had actually already seen through the opponent's monster, but I didn't want to tell Master~"

"Oh? Then what kind of monster was it that you destroyed?"

"It was just something like an arm, no real battle power, and no effect either," Gil answered honestly, unaware that things were not that simple.

"An arm?"

Just as they were talking, the true form of the monster Tenma Gekko had hidden on the field was revealed as it flipped over upon being destroyed.

[Right Arm of the Forbidden One] destroyed.

"Exodia!!" x2

Seeing the real identity of the monster Tenma Gekko had been hiding, Hoshino and Mokuba instantly lost their composure.

"The legendary monster card, one of the five parts of Exodia the Forbidden One!"

Since Yugi once used it to defeat Kaiba, Mokuba was also very familiar with the card.

"Tenma Gekko is actually a duelist who uses Exodia."

Although Hoshino had never seen Exodia in action, she had certainly heard of it. In Duel Monsters, as a representative of victory, if you gather all five parts of Exodia in your hand, you win the duel outright.

However, due to the extremely rare value of the card and the special nature of needing to gather all five parts to unleash its true power, very few duelists are able to use Exodia.

Furthermore, Exodia cards are famously difficult to use, and as far as Mokuba and Hoshino knew, the only person who had ever gathered all five parts in a duel was Yugi Muto.

"Hoshino-nee, is that monster really strong?"

Seeing the shocked expressions on Hoshino and Mokuba's faces, Akasha, who had never seen Exodia before, tilted her head and asked.

"Yes, it's very strong. Or rather, it's supposed to be very strong…"

However, Tenma Gekko's move had left Hoshino utterly bewildered.

"But why summon a part of Exodia by itself? Shouldn't it be kept in the hand?"

Tenma Gekko, who had been calmly smiling throughout, did not immediately answer Hoshino's question.

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"Tenma Gekko, what are you planning? Show me what you're up to," Hoshino thought to herself, fully aware not to underestimate this duelist.

Hoshino's remaining hand cards: 3

"It's my turn, draw!"

"Hoshino, regarding the question you just asked, let me answer it for you now."

Tenma Gekko, his smile becoming slightly more enigmatic, glanced at the card he had just drawn.

"Exodia's use isn't limited to simply gathering all five parts in the hand. Facing different situations, using the most mysterious monster in legend with calm and flexible tactics is something a duelist must consider."

"Calm and flexible tactics? Are you saying Exodia has other uses?"

"It's so much easier talking to someone smart. Now, let me show you Exodia's other identity!"

Placing the card he had just drawn onto the Duel Disk, Tenma Gekko's smile took on an elusive, mysterious quality.

Suddenly, a tremendous pressure swept across the entire arena…

"Ugh, this feeling, is it a god card?!" Having battled divine monsters several times, Hoshino was familiar with the sensation that accompanied the summoning of a god card.

"No…"

But the monster before her, though possessing a godly pressure, felt completely different from the gods she knew.

"If you want to call it a god, you wouldn't be wrong." Agreeing with Hoshino's suspicion, the space on Tenma Gekko's field, previously empty, now began to gather a dark, mysterious energy.

"But this is a sealed god, one that will gradually unlock its seal as the duel progresses, ultimately gaining the strongest power to overwhelm any god!"

"Come forth! Special Summon from my hand! [Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord]!"

From within the dissipating dark energy, a fearsome, pitch-black monster materialized onto the battlefield.

[Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord ★★★★★★★★★★ (10-star)] [DARK] [Spellcaster/Effect] [ATK ? /DEF 0]

"Exodius The Ultimate... Forbidden Lord?" The immense pressure emanating from this mysterious monster caused Hoshino's pupils to quiver slightly. "Exodius?"

"Anything with 'Dius' in its name tends to be a tough opponent…"

"Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord?"

Mokuba was equally stunned by the aura of the monster summoned by Tenma Gekko. "Summoning a 10-star monster in just the second turn? That's just unbelievable!"

Even though the star level of a monster doesn't fully represent its strength, it does at least indicate one thing:

This monster's prestige is definitely not low!

"Wow, how did he do it? Summoning a huge monster!"

Akasha, though not as tense as Mokuba, was equally amazed at the monster's immense size.

"Because of the special effect of Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord, you can Special Summon it when you return all the monsters in your graveyard to your deck."

Showing Exodius on his Duel Disk to Hoshino, Tenma Gekko took the Right Arm of the Forbidden One from his graveyard and placed it back into his deck.

"He's putting it back in? So, after all, he still plans to win by drawing all five pieces of Exodia?"

Watching Tenma Gekko's move to return cards from his graveyard, Hoshino quietly speculated on Tenma's strategy.

"And then, I activate the Spell Card, [Graceful Charity]!"

[Graceful Charity Spell Card Effect: Draw three cards from your deck, then discard two cards from your hand.]

"Uh-oh, he's already starting to filter his cards," Mokuba sounded the alarm.

"I'll draw three cards from my deck first, then discard [Left Arm of the Forbidden One] and [Right Leg of the Forbidden One] from my hand."

"He discarded more pieces of Exodia? What is he planning?"

Facing the immense pressure of Exodia and Tenma Gekko's unpredictable moves, Hoshino seemed a bit anxious.

"According to the effect of Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord, its ATK increases by 1000 for each Normal Monster in your graveyard."

[Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord ATK 2000]

"So it gains ATK by increasing the number of monsters in the graveyard. No wonder you said this card would gradually surpass even the gods as the duel progresses."

"Hmph, the terror of Exodius doesn't stop there. Release your fury on the opponent's monster, Sealed God!"

Entering the Battle Phase decisively, Tenma Gekko launched an attack on the Gilgamesh on Hoshino's field.

Holding dark flames that had already gathered in its hands, Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord growled and hurled them forward in rage.

However, just as the attack declaration was made, Tenma Gekko didn't stop his moves.

"At the moment of attack declaration, the other effect of Exodius is triggered!"

[This card's effect activates during the attack declaration. Send one monster from your hand or deck to the graveyard.]

"According to the effect, I'll send the [Right Arm of the Forbidden One], which I just returned to the deck, back to the graveyard."

"Sending another piece of Exodia to the graveyard…" The more Tenma Gekko repeated this, the more Hoshino sensed something ominous.

"Because the number of Normal Monsters in the graveyard increased, Exodius's ATK rises again!"

[Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord ATK 2000 → 3000]

"His attack power is now on par with Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" It seemed that in Mokuba's mind, the unit of measure for combat power was still Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Take this, the flames of divine wrath! Flame Strike!!"

Due to the increase in attack power, the ferocity of the dark flames surged even higher, engulfing Hoshino's field and Gil-kun completely.

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4000 → 2500]

"Hot, hot, hot!!" ×2

Feeling the heat of the demonic flames, both Hoshino and Gil-kun complained aloud.

"But thinking you could defeat Gil-kun with that is still a bit lacking!"

Shaking off the dark flames clinging to her (holographic image), Hoshino sent the equipped card, Fou, to the graveyard.

"As a substitute for being destroyed by battle, I send [Fou Of The Sun] to the graveyard."

[Heroic Spirit – Gilgamesh (Young) ATK 1500 → 700]

"Sigh, I was hoping to be defeated quickly so I could go back and rest…"

Looking up at the overwhelming presence of Exodius before him, Gil-kun sighed softly.

"Finally, I activate the Continuous Spell Card [Heart of the Underdog], and end my turn."

[Heart of the Underdog Continuous Spell Card Effect: During your Draw Phase, when you draw a Normal Monster(s): You can reveal it; draw 1 more card.]

Tenma Gekko placed his cards down to end his turn, clearly satisfied with the results of this round.

Tenma Gekko's remaining hand cards: 3

"My turn, draw!"

Bracing herself against the immense pressure brought by Exodius The Ultimate Forbidden Lord, Hoshino slammed her monster card onto the Duel Disk.

"It's just Blue-Eyes White Dragon-level attack power. Do you think this can stop me?!"

Although it sounded like she was just hyping herself up, Hoshino's indomitable spirit did manage to stir up a counterattack on her field.

"I'll tribute Gilgamesh on my field to Tribute Summon a Monster Card, [Heroic Spirit – Li Shuwen (Lancer)]!"

"Time for a substitution. I'll leave the rest to you~"

Knowing he wasn't a match for Exodius, Gil-kun obediently yielded the field.

"Rest assured and leave it to me. I'll use my spear, which has reached the realm of the gods, to bury the opponent!"

Vigorously twirling his spear, Li Shuwen materialized on the battlefield in a battle-ready stance.

[Heroic Spirit – Li Shuwen (Lancer) ★★★★★★ (6 Stars)] [WIND] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 2000/DEF 1900]

"Wow, it's Li Shuwen!!" Akasha excitedly exclaimed upon seeing the dashing arrival of Master Li.

"Akasha, you know Li Shuwen?" Mokuba turned his gaze to Akasha beside him.

"No, I haven't…"

"What?! Then what are you getting excited about?"

"So this is a martial artist, huh? It looks cool. I've seen it in movies before!"

"Hahaha, what a cute little girl!" Li Shuwen laughed heartily, slinging his spear over his shoulder and looking at Akasha with a doting gaze.

"Hey? Do you like kids?"

Seeing this side of Li Shuwen for the first time, Hoshino curiously probed.

"I wouldn't say I dislike them. After all, young bodies represent the potential to reach even higher realms."

"Isn't this… a bit too young, though?" Imagining Akasha wielding a spear, Hoshino couldn't help but twitch her lips.

"Well, no time to worry about that now, let's attack!"

"Attacking with a 2000 ATK monster?"

"It's here, Hoshino-nee's signature move—winning with a weaker monster!"

"Akasha-chan, this isn't winning with a weaker monster; Li Shuwen was stronger than the opponent to begin with!"

Waving her hand forward, Hoshino's arm movement perfectly aligned with the trajectory of the spear's swing.

"Take this, one-hit kill spear!" ×2

[When this card attacks a monster with higher ATK, this card's ATK increases by half of the attacked monster's ATK during damage calculation only.]

[Li Shuwen ATK 2000 → 3500]

"Shen Qiang Wu Er Da!"

(*****)

If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!