pappabearbooks Chapter 695 - 695
Chapter 695 - 695
"(ﾉ)ﾟДﾟ( Emiya?! You mean that Emiya—the one who cooks insanely well?!" Eve suddenly cried out. "I thought he was just a chef?!"Even though she had only stayed one night at Hoshino's house, what left the deepest impression on Eve was that unbelievably delicious breakfast—and the chef Emiya, who could effortlessly handle cooking even while so many people were eagerly waiting to be fed.
Of course, there were also the three adorable little assistants—one in red, one in blue, and one in yellow.
"Summoning in the middle of battle?" Kaiba frowned.
"—Quick-Play Spell 'FGOTHESTAGE'!"
Throwing out the card she had gained earlier through 'Restricted Seal: Decision Start,' Hoshino declared:
[FGOTHESTAGE – Quick-Play Spell Effect: Tribute 1 monster from your hand to perform a Tribute Summon. If you successfully Tribute Summon a "Heroic Spirit" monster with this effect, you can return up to that number of "Heroic Spirit" monsters from your Graveyard to your hand.]
"So you're going to use a Quick-Play Spell to tribute Spartacus and forcibly stop the attack?" Mokuba realized.
"That doesn't look good," Eve said pessimistically. "If that happens, Hoshino loses her way to attack against Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."
"No." Picking up the monster card from the field to use as a Tribute, Hoshino smiled confidently. "The monster I'll Tribute to summon Emiya… is 'Heroic Spirit – Spartacus.'"
Spirit Kaiba responded, "Oh? Then Nobunaga's attack still won't rewind. If you can't withstand Ultimate Dragon's counterattack, the outcome won't change."
"Who said I can't withstand it?" Flipping her last set card, Hoshino unleashed a surge of boundary energy that enveloped Nobunaga, who still held the Demon King Sword.
"I chain the Trap Card 'Mature Gentleman'!"
[Trap Effect: Target 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster you control; that monster cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, and any battle damage you take is halved.]
"I'm not just using this card to change the outcome—I'm using it to change the future!"
Within the boundary that unfolded, the calm and seasoned "Mature Gentleman" granted Nobunaga the resistance needed to endure the twin dragons' attack, reducing the damage by half and preventing Hoshino's immediate defeat.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 500 → 250]
"Barely made it through… that was close, way too close!"
A bead of sweat slid down Nobunaga's pale cheek—whether from tension or from the intense heat of the Demon King Sword in her hand was unclear.
"As expected, my compatibility with Honnoji is just too poor. Well, nothing can be done about that~"
"Next, the effect of 'FGOTHESTAGE'—Tribute Summon! Come forth, 'Heroic Spirit – Emiya'!"
[Heroic Spirit – Emiya ★★★★★★ (Level 6)][WIND][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2300/DEF 2000]
With a flash of summoning light, Spartacus was replaced. Appearing in a half-crouched stance, Emiya manifested, an unusual projection light flickering in his right hand.
"To think I'd get another chance like this…" Emiya said seriously. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—while I'm no Siegfried, for my Master's sake, I'll become the strongest dragon-slaying Heroic Spirit today!"
Nobunaga muttered under her breath, "Ahem… even if you're not Siegfried, you two do share the same voice actor…"
["Beep—prohibited topic! Have some awareness, you comedic character!"]
"Even if Mr. Emiya's cooking really is amazing…" Eve said, wiping drool from the corner of her mouth, "2300 ATK isn't enough to challenge Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, right?"
Back then—on this very stage, in the same situation, with the same monsters—Hoshino and Kaiba had clashed. Even after pushing his limits, Emiya had still lost to Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
That was why Hoshino had once again said, "In the end… I still want to decide the duel with this monster."
"This time, I won't lose, Master!"
"This time, I won't lose, Emiya!"
Flames of projection burst from Emiya's hands, reigniting the inferno of Honnoji and once again recreating that blade—the Demon King Sword that embodied all possibilities of past, present, and future.
"Effect of 'Heroic Spirit – Emiya'—when this card is Normal or Special Summoned, it can ignore conditions and equip all Equip Spells on the field to itself!"
Pegasus exclaimed, "Equip Spells on both sides of the field—oh my God!"
"—Beyond the Aeons, ignoring its equip conditions, is now equipped to 'Heroic Spirit – Emiya'!"
"—!"
The projected blade appeared in Emiya's hand—the eternally burning sword. Resonating with the roaring flames of Honnoji, it created an even more imposing presence than when held by Nobunaga.
"(＃ﾟдﾟﾒ) Hey, what's going on here?! That's supposed to be my exclusive equipment—why does it look so natural in Emiya's hands?!"
Nobunaga stared wide-eyed at Emiya's figure standing within the flames.
"No, no—it's not just natural, it suits him too well! Just who does he think he is?! Damn it!"
"Well, Nobunaga, you're more suited to using a gun anyway~" Hoshino reassured her.
Still, the sight of Emiya wielding the sword amidst the flames gave Hoshino a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Maybe it's because, for some reason, the katana-shaped Beyond the Aeons has excellent compatibility with Emiya."
[Heroic Spirit – Emiya ATK 2300 → 3300]
"What a pity, Hoshino." Kaiba crossed his arms and said firmly, "Even with Beyond the Aeons's boost, Emiya still can't defeat the strongest Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, empowered by Twin Burst Dragon!"
"At a moment like this, why does he look kind of happy?" Eve complained.
"But don't forget—I still have one last card in my hand!" Hoshino declared. "A trump card isn't your ace—it's the hidden card you save for the final moment to tip the scales of victory!"
Slamming her final card onto the Duel Arena, Hoshino launched her all-out attack—just like Spirit Kaiba's counterattack, this was her last gamble.
"—Quick-Play Spell activated: 'Projection Loading'!"
As Hoshino's final trump Spell activated, all of Emiya's magical energy poured into the blazing sword. In that instant of reinforcement—even a fake could unleash flames more brilliant than the original before its destruction.
"Shared Growth Experience!"
"Recreate the years of accumulated experience!"
"Surpass and complete countless works—!"
"At this very moment, complete—and transcend—the sword born from gathered fantasies!!"
[Projection Loading – Quick-Play Spell Effect: You can only activate 1 of this card's effects per turn. ①: Discard 1 card; add 1 Equip Spell that mentions "Heroic Spirit" from your Deck to your hand. ②: Send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard; this turn, when your "Heroic Spirit – Emiya" equipped with an Equip Card battles, its ATK is doubled.]
"Th-that is… my sword?!" Nobunaga stared in shock, unable to close her mouth as she fixed her gaze on Emiya, standing at the center of the flaming vortex with the blade held steady in his hands.
Beyond the Aeons had completely changed form. Its spine resembled serrated teeth, each notch embedded with flowing flames. It no longer looked like the blade was burning—instead, it had been reforged and fused entirely with fire.
"Have you prepared yourself, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon?!" Pointing the enhanced Beyond the Aeons forward, Emiya's fighting spirit erupted alongside the blazing flames in his hand.
"It's time, Emiya—go claim the final victory!" With her attack declaration, Hoshino triggered the effect that would double Emiya's ATK in this final clash.
"So activating Projection Loading doubles Emiya's ATK during battle if he has an Equip Card…" Mokuba analyzed. "That's strong, but…"
"But even if Emiya's ATK doubles with Beyond the Aeons, that's only 6600, right?" Eve cut in. "Against Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's 7500 ATK, it's still not enough—this attack will only lead to self-destruction, Hoshino!"
"No… it's over. Hoshino wins," Yugi declared.
With narrowed eyes, Kaiba seemed to agree. "So this is the final outcome… not bad. A fitting reversal of past defeat."
"W-what?! What happened? Tell me too!" Eve urged anxiously, unable to understand their calm certainty.
After all, beyond revenge, what mattered most was whether Hoshino could obtain World Legacy – 'World Lance'.
The 'World Armor' they had previously obtained in Domino City only pointed to the locations of these two World Legacies. If they failed to obtain the Lance here, the trail would end.
"Look closely… at Emiya's ATK," Kaiba said.
"Emiya's ATK? If 3300 doubles, shouldn't it be—"
[Heroic Spirit – Emiya ATK 10600]
"W-what?! It's over 10,000?!" Rubbing her eyes, Eve thought she was seeing things, but when she looked again, the five-digit ATK value remained unchanged.
This explosive increase was real. At the moment of Projection Enhancement, the magical energy Emiya poured into the Demon King Sword had reforged it like a blacksmith breaking past its limits.
"That's impossible! ATK can't just skyrocket like that without reason!"
"There is a reason—I already said it earlier," Hoshino explained, pulling a card from her Graveyard. "I said, 'I'm not just using this card to change the outcome—I'm using it to change the future.'"
[Mature Gentleman – Trap Effect (Graveyard): You can banish this card; look at up to 3 cards from the top of either player's Deck, then return them in any order.]
"I see… by rearranging the top of the Deck, you changed the future?"
Eve felt like she was starting to understand, but also sensed that wasn't the key point.
"No, wait—even if you changed the Deck order, Emiya's ATK still shouldn't change!"
"Emiya's ATK didn't change—but Beyond the Aeons's did," Yugi explained in Hoshino's place.
"Beyond the Aeons—through the power of the Legendary Dragon Hermos—awakens the potential within the card using the concept of Oda Nobunaga. It's the strongest anti-divine blade Hoshino created, and it only reveals its true power when facing a god."
"—The equipped monster gains ATK equal to 2000 × the number of Divine-Attribute monsters on both fields and in the Graveyards!"
Hoshino revealed the final card in her Graveyard—the one sent there by the effect of Projection Loading. The source of the Sword's power—the god that had been slumbering in her Deck.
[Wicked Avatar | Attribute: Divine]
["After rearranging the Deck, you placed the God card on top! What a stylish comeback, Aibo!"]
Wicked Avatar: "But haven't I had way too few appearances lately? After finally showing up, I get treated like that idiot Okita…"
"Because there's a Divine monster in the Graveyard, Emiya's ATK rises to 5300!" Hoshino clenched her fist and thrust it forward. "And with Projection Loading's final doubling—that makes it over 10,000! Take this, Kaiba!"
Within the blazing blade, Emiya's unyielding figure surged forward—as if he had returned to the battlefield of the past.
"Even as a Heroic Spirit, I can still grow! This power—born from beyond death—will overturn everything with this strike!"
"—What lies here is the culmination of endless refinement! Forged from countless blades, piled into a mountain of swords! What lies here is the gathering of all things! What is shown here is the wish of all creation! What converges here is every unfulfilled fate— My entire life exists for the sake of reaching this blade! The pulse of swords… is here!!"
Beyond the Aeons, reforged by Emiya, clashed against the Ultimate Burst Stream—a fusion of the two White Dragons' power—and in an instant, cleaved it apart.
"Muramasa and Emiya really are alike…" Watching Emiya swing the Sword with full force, splitting even the Duel Arena apart along with the white light, Hoshino couldn't help but murmur.
"Final slash! The Great Thousand Heavenly Demon King Sword!!"
The projected Demon King Sword tore through everything, carving fiery scars into the massive body of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon before exploding from within and shattering the strongest dragon.
"Victory… or defeat!"
[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] destroyed
[Spirit Kaiba LP 2000 → 0]
[Duel End — Winner: Hoshino Chiyuki!]