Chapter 225 - 225

"From my Extra Deck, I summon the Fusion Monster—[Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias]!" "Huh?!" Hearing the name, Hoshino's expression twisted into a mix of disbelief. Beside her, Emiya Alter, still on the field, furrowed his brows as if sharing her sentiment. The spectators were equally stunned; this was the first time someone other than Hoshino had pulled out a Heroic Spirit card. "A Heroic Spirit?" Kaiba muttered, his tone laced with suspicion. "I didn't expect the Rare Hunters to have one too, but the power a single Heroic Spirit card can exert is still limited." For some reason, though, Kaiba couldn't shake a faint sense of familiarity with this Heroic Spirit, even though it had yet to fully materialize on the field. "O great Pharaoh, please lend the power of your sun to the Tombkeeper clan!" Odion's voice was filled with reverence as Temple of the Kings crumbled, its effect allowing him to summon the Fusion monster Ozymandias to the field. Seeing the card played, Hoshino's anger surged. Her hands clenched tightly, and her gaze burned with fury as she glared at Odion. "So you do have it! You destroyed Akasha-chan's family for this card, and now you have the nerve to use it right in front of me?!" "How naive, Hoshino!" Odion fired back without hesitation, his expression unwavering against her accusations. "Justice in this world cannot be measured by a single life! Protecting the legacy of the Pharaohs has always been the duty of the Tombkeeper clan. The sacrifices my clan has made—don't they count as justice too?!" "This isn't justice—it's madness!" Hoshino snapped, raising her Duel Disk like a weapon, aiming it directly at him. Her voice carried a cold resolve. "If this endless cycle of blood and suffering is what you call justice, then today, I'll stand proudly on the side of evil!" Odion roared in response, his voice echoing across the airship. "Then prepare yourself—to face the brilliance that rivals even the Sun God himself!" A blinding, radiant light shot into the night sky, illuminating the entire platform of the airship until it looked as though day had broken. "HAHAHAHAHA!!" "You actually summoned him?" Hoshino muttered, her irritation barely concealed. By now, she'd grown almost used to seeing familiar faces appear unannounced. And that eerie laugh—yes, it was unmistakably him. Still, unease prickled at her. "Rowick once said the Rare Hunters gave up on seizing the last of the three cards because they couldn't figure out how to use it." But Odion's words earlier doesn't make sense—if protecting the Pharaoh's legacy was the duty of the Tombkeepers, they would never have let Ramesseum slip through their fingers. This was their way of using it, even if it wasn't the proper method. Although Ozymandias was a Fusion monster, it hadn't been properly Fusion Summoned; instead, it was brought out through the effect of another card. Technically, it wasn't a legitimate summon. [Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias ★★★★★★★★★★ (10-Star)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Fusion][ATK 3000/DEF 3000] "I am Ozymandias, King of Kings! To dare summon me—surely, you are prepared to die!" Slowly descending onto the battlefield, Ozymandias cast a haughty gaze at Odion, clearly sizing him up. Odion immediately dropped to one knee, bowing low in submission. "Yes! If the great Pharaoh lends his power to us Tombkeepers, I am willing to offer my life!" "HAHAHAHA!" Ozymandias let out a deep, hearty laugh, apparently pleased by Odion's display of devotion. "Then allow yourself to bask in a mere fraction of my radiance. Any who stand against me shall be burned to nothingness by the heat of my sun!" "Fantastic! We can't lose now!" Marik exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement. His tense grip on the Millennium Rod loosened as confidence replaced his earlier anxiety. "Let me see the faces of those who dare defy me—beings without light, who will soon crumble beneath my power!" Ozymandias declared, lifting his head high as he surveyed the field. "Yo~ Ozy, you're on the wrong side of the field!" Hoshino quipped, raising her hand in a playful wave. Her grin carried a dangerous edge, as though silently warning him, Wait until we get back to Chaldea—you're in trouble. "HAHAHAHAHA!" Upon seeing her, Ozymandias threw his head back, roaring with laughter, his voice echoing like thunder. "....." "Farewell." "What, leaving already? Why not stay, reminisce a little, and maybe incinerate me with your 'radiance' while you're at it?" Hoshino taunted, her tone dripping with sarcasm. She had no intention of letting him off so easily. "HAHAHA, don't joke with me. I take back my earlier words—there's no way I'm fighting this battle!" Ozymandias's form began to fade as though he were ready to abandon the fight entirely. "What's happening?! Why is he retreating?!" Marik's voice cracked as his initial confidence crumbled. He stared at the scene with wide, disbelieving eyes. Odion, equally stunned, turned to the half-transparent form of Ozymandias. "Great Pharaoh?! Didn't you vow to incinerate the enemy with your sun's radiance?" Abruptly, Ozymandias realized that leaving after making such bold claims would harm his majestic image as Pharaoh. he fully rematerialized, standing tall once more. "Since I'm already here, I might as well exert myself a bit!" he said with exaggerated nonchalance, gripping his scepter in a battle-ready stance. Hoshino smirked, mirroring his posture with her own Duel Disk. "That's more like it. If you'd run away, I wouldn't even have a reason to kick your royal ass!" According to Da Vinci's theory, when a Heroic Spirit card is used by someone other than a her, it's nothing more than a blank card with no effect. A Fusion monster with 3000 attack points might seem powerful, but if it lacks any abilities, it's no more intimidating than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Hoshino had no reason to be afraid. "Tch, what a hassle I've gotten myself into," Ozymandias grumbled, quietly muttering complaints as he waved his scepter. Seeing Ozymandias ready for battle, Odion's confidence surged again. "O great Pharaoh, let your sun's radiance shine upon the enemy!" "Then witness the valor of the Pharaoh!" Ozymandias bellowed, raising his scepter high. The night sky lit up once more, transformed into a blazing day by his power. "Let my radiance burn you to ash!" A massive pillar of light descended from the heavens, accompanied by a deafening crack that reverberated across the battlefield. Its target: Emiya Alter on Hoshino's field. "If that's the best you've got, Ozy, I'm gonna be disappointed!" Hoshino retorted, smirking as the blinding light bore down on her field. But just before it could land, the attack was intercepted, completely neutralized by a seven-layered, shimmering shield shaped like cherry blossoms. "Activate the face-down Trap Card—[The Seven Rings that Cover the Burning Heavens]!" At the moment Hoshino revealed her set card, the Emiya Alter on the field raised his right hand toward the sky. A calm, steady voice echoed across the battlefield: "Rho Aias!" [The Seven Rings that Cover the Burning Heavens - Continuous Trap Effect: If [Emiya] is on your field or in your GY: Activate this card by placing 7 Ring Counters on it.] [Ring Counter] x7 A seven-layered, sakura-like ring shield materialized, encasing Hoshino's side of the field in a spinning, protective barrier. The outermost layer instantly cracked, pierced by the radiant power of the sun. "And instead of Emiya Alter being destroyed in battle," Hoshino continued with a confident smirk, "I remove one Ring Counter and send the top card of my deck to the Graveyard." [②: Once per turn, if a Heroic Spirit monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect, you can: Remove 1 Ring Counter from this card, then send the top card of your deck to the GY.] [Ring Counter] x6 The attack dissipated harmlessly, and the battlefield fell silent once more. Odion stood firm, his expression unreadable, before carefully switching his Tiki Curse to Defense Position. He drew a card and placed it face-down. "I set one card and end my turn," Odion declared coolly. [Odion's hand: 2 cards; Set cards: 1; Continuous Spell: Card of Safe Return; Monsters: Tiki Curse (DEF 1000), Ozymandias (ATK 3000)] Watching the sakura shield shimmer and rotate around Hoshino's field, Jonouchi scratched his head. "Man, that shield looks cool and all, but doesn't it cost a lot to keep up? Odion must have something big planned." "I'm not so sure," Yugi replied, frowning in thought. "We've never seen anyone but Hoshino use Heroic Spirit cards before. No one knows what Ozymandias is really capable of." Kaiba sneered, folding his arms. "Even if it doesn't have special effects, that attack power alone is enough to pressure Hoshino. 3000 ATK rivals my Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Hoshino raised an eyebrow at Kaiba's remark, a smirk tugging at her lips. Please. Since when have I ever been scared of a Blue-Eyes? "My turn! Draw!" Hoshino announced, her confidence undimmed. She turned Emiya Alter, previously in Defense Position, upright on her Duel Disk. "I switch Emiya Alter to Attack Position!" [Heroic Spirit – Emiya Alter ATK 2400] Odion's eyes narrowed, his tone dismissive. "It's pointless. Your monster with 2400 attack points is no match for the Pharaoh's divine power!" seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "HAHAHAHA!" On the opposite side of the field, Ozymandias himself began laughing boisterously, his voice booming across the airship. Hoshino's brow twitched in irritation. "Oi! What's so funny, Egyptian Dio?" Ozymandias tilted his head back, still chuckling. "You, of course. Facing you reminds me of battles fought long ago—entertaining, but ultimately futile." He smirked and absently touched his neck. Hoshino's expression darkened, her smile sharp as a blade. "Oh, yeah? Well, this time, you won't have the Ramesseum Temple Complex to keep your head on straight." Her words struck a nerve. Odion flinched slightly, his sharp eyes catching a glimpse of the card Hoshino was twirling casually between her fingers. "That card…!" Odion muttered, realizing what it was. "Ding-ding-ding! You guessed it," Hoshino said, holding the card up triumphantly. "This is Unlimited Blade Works, the card I pulled from my Graveyard last turn using Emiya Alter's effect!" In the spectator area, Yugi leaned forward. "But isn't Unlimited Blade Works exclusive to Emiya? Emiya Alter shouldn't be able to activate it, right?" "That's technically true," Hoshino admitted with a grin, sliding the card back into her Duel Disk. "But Unlimited Blade Works isn't just a move—it's a concept. And concepts? Oh, they're flexible." Instead of playing the Field Spell, Hoshino pointed toward Odion's field. "Alright, Emiya Alter—attack Ozymandias!" "Mana supply engaged." Raising his gunblade, Emiya Alter took aim, his steely gaze locking onto Ozymandias. "I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my heart, and fire is my mind. I have created over a thousand blades. Unknown to hope, nor known to meaning. Having accepted pain, embraced futility, I am lost to the world and myself. My despair is—" With a flash, a bullet infused with immense mana erupted from the barrel of the gunblade, tearing through the air and striking Ozymandias directly in the chest. "Nani?! You actually wounded me?" Ozymandias gasped, staring down at the fresh wound as crimson seeped through his golden armor. He looked more surprised than pained. Still, the self-proclaimed King of Kings refused to falter. "HAHA! Not bad. To scratch the Pharaoh's divine body—commendable." Emiya Alter's voice was as cold as the edge of a blade. "A scratch? No. The sun has already fallen." "!?" "Unlimited Lost Works!" The bullet lodged in Ozymandias's chest began to glow with a deadly light. Within seconds, the full destructive force of Emiya Alter's ability was unleashed. Unlimited Blade Works was a form of magecraft focused on forging blades—a realm only attainable by a mage who has dedicated their life to it. Within this Reality Marble lies every sword that Emiya has ever seen, possessing the concept of "Sword." "Unlimited Blade Works isn't just a field—it's a weapon!" Hoshino declared, her voice brimming with confidence. "Activating [Heroic Spirit – Emiya Alter]'s effect!" Rather than manifesting the Reality Marble externally, Emiya Alter had implanted it within Ozymandias's body. Inside the Pharaoh, countless blades materialized, slicing outward with devastating precision. [Discard 1 Field Spell Card. Destroy 1 monster your opponent controls. If that monster is in Defense Position, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its DEF.] "I'll send Unlimited Blade Works to the Graveyard to activate Emiya Alter's effect!" Hoshino declared triumphantly. [Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias] destroyed As the explosion of swords tore Ozymandias apart, Hoshino raised her Duel Disk. "Odion, you could never wield Ozymandias's full power. This duel is over!" Odion remained silent, his head bowed as his eyes closed in concentration. Then, with quiet reverence, he whispered, "O great Pharaoh, may your sun's radiance shine once more!" Hoshino's confident smirk faltered. "No way… that card shouldn't have any effects left!" But Hoshino overlooked—or perhaps missed—a final card created from Ozymandias's stone tablet. Odion revealed his card—a trap card imbued with the Pharaoh's will. "Activating my face-down Continuous Trap: [Ramesseum]!" As the trap activated, the battlefield shifted. A grand temple rose from the ruins, its magnificence rivaling even a Field Spell. From its depths, the light of the sun reignited. [Ramesseum Continuous Trap Card Effect: You can Special Summon 1 [Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias] from your GY or banished zone, ignoring its Summoning conditions.] With a triumphant laugh, Ozymandias reappeared on the field, completely restored. [Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias ★★★★★★★★★★ (10-Star)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Fusion][ATK 3000/DEF 3000] "HAHAHA! Nothing is impossible for the Pharaoh!" Ozymandias declared, his presence as commanding as ever. "The sun rises and sets at my will. Everything is within my grasp!" (*****) If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!