"When The Dark Magicians is destroyed by battle, you can activate this effect—Special Summon 1 Dark Magician and 1 Dark Magician Girl from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard!"

Struck by the Golden Lord's attack, the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl on Atem's field exchanged a glance. In perfect sync, they leapt to opposite sides, allowing the golden alchemical spike to pierce harmlessly through the space between them.

[Dark Magician DEF 2100]

[Dark Magician Girl DEF 1700]

["So in the end, it's come down to stalling with Kuriboh, huh…"]

Familiar with Atem's dueling style, Hoshino knew that Kuriboh was essentially his hidden trump card—like inserting a coin in an arcade game for "+1 life."

After using Kuriboh to block 700 damage, at least for now, the Slime on the opponent's field—with its attack power—couldn't deliver a decisive blow to Hoshino and Atem's remaining 500 Life Points.

Even though things looked stable on the surface, Hoshino's unease deepened at the fact that Hela had Special Summoned her own 800 ATK form in Attack Position.

"Four monsters, huh? Just enough delicious fuel to replenish my strength~"

Licking her crimson lips, Hela slowly surveyed the monsters on Hoshino and Atem's field.

"Such handsome men and beautiful women… At this level, even as undead, you'd be quite popular in the Land of the Dead."

"I-Is that so? Popular, huh…" Okita blushed faintly, clearly pleased.

"Calm down, Okita," Dark Magician Girl kindly reminded her. "What's the point of being popular with undead?"

"But we are undead now, aren't we?" Okita pointed at the floating status panel above her head. "Because of the Field Spell, our races have all been changed."

[Dark Magician Girl – Zombie]

"(||ﾟДﾟ) W-w-wait, Master! This is bad—we're not Spellcasters anymore!"

Panicking, Dark Magician Girl hurriedly waved her staff. "No, wait—if I can still use Dark Magic, I guess I'm still a magician… An undead magician actually sounds kind of cool!"

"However, upon this land of Zombie World, no undead can resist me!"

Placing a Continuous Spell onto her Duel Disk, Hela activated it. Thanks to Atem's Spell Sanctuary, all Spell Cards could now be used like Quick-Play Spells—even during the Battle Phase.

"Submit, be destroyed, and become part of my flesh!—Continuous Spell: Proof of the Dead King – Nether World!"

"This is bad, Hoshino—it's a King's Proof!" Eve suddenly tensed. "Normally, the King's Proof only targets the race controlled by the King. But because of Zombie World, everyone is now Zombie-Type!"

A corrosive mist spread across the entire field, slowly enveloping Hoshino and Atem.

"The effect of the Proof of Death! My Zombie monsters cannot be destroyed by effects, and once per turn, when I declare an attack, I can Tribute all Zombie monsters on the field!"

"So that's why she summoned herself in Attack Position…" Hoshino realized.

["Tribute all of the opponent's Zombie monsters? This Proof of the Dead King is even more oppressive than Light King Proof!"]

As Eve had mentioned before, there were two key reasons why the Nine Realm Kings were so difficult.

First, you had to use monsters of the same race as the King to duel—at least for the finishing blow—to weaken the World Tree's influence.

But contradicting that was the second factor: the King's Proof granted overwhelming dominance when fighting within that same race.

["Back when we fought the Light King, we exploited a loophole and finished it with Robin Hood's Noble Phantasm. But this old woman made sure there'd be no loopholes the moment she activated Zombie World."]

"Now receive it—my ultimate strike that grasps the entire Zombie World in my hand! Proof of the Dead King! Turn those four monsters on your field into the power of my new body!"

With her attack declaration, the corrosive mist devoured Atem and Hoshino's monsters—Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Okita, and the Fuuma Token—converting them into undead energy grasped within Hela's skeletal claw.

"So this is the power of undeath gathered in my hand… Young flesh truly is exquisite."

After absorbing the energy, Hela's pale skeletal claw was covered once more with flesh and skin, forming slender, flawless fingers.

Shivering, Hoshino muttered, "Did this old woman just absorb the essence of Duel Monsters…? That's seriously twisted…"

"Heh. Through the effect of Proof of the Dead King, my attack increases by 1000 for each monster Tributed!"

[Hela, Generaider Boss of Doom ATK 800 → 4800]

"4800 ATK… and it can't be destroyed by effects… a direct attack?" Eve swallowed nervously, sweating for the two duelists.

"Perish! In this land of Zombie World, I alone am the true god!!"

Behind Hela, a massive purple claw formed from the nether mist. Accompanied by her sharp, arrogant laughter, it slashed toward the now-empty field of Hoshino and Atem. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"So this is your full power, King of the Dead! I activate my face-down Trap!"

Flipping his set card, Atem unleashed a surge of Dark Magic beneath his feet, slipping past the incoming claw and surging toward Marik.

"You call yourself a god with power like this? You're not even close!—Dark Spell Regeneration!"

[When your opponent declares an attack, you can use a Spell Card in their Graveyard.]

"With its effect, I revive the Spell Card in Marik's Graveyard—Monster Reborn! And the resurrected magic shall call forth the true god slumbering in the Graveyard!"

Raising his arm high, Atem pointed to the sky. Dark clouds churned, thunder roared, and lightning split the heavens.

When a true god descends, it is nothing like the silent arrival of a Slime god.

This thunderous roar, as if tearing apart both the sky and the land of Zombie World—this was the true wrath of a god.

"—When thunder rumbles across the chaotic sky, and the ancient grimoire of chains gathers its power without limit… Awaken from your slumber in the Graveyard! Special Summon—Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK: X000/DEF: X000]

Emerging from the storming thunderclouds, the crimson dragon ignited the sky with explosive lightning.

Slifer the Sky Dragon faced head-on the overwhelming undead power unleashed by Hela, who had absorbed all the monsters from Hoshino and Atem's field.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Marik shouted angrily. "Slifer's ATK is equal to the number of cards in its controller's hand × 1000—and right now, you don't even have a single card!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK: 0]

"So this is your 'god,' Pharaoh? A god with 0 ATK? How ridiculous!"

Unfazed by Slifer's Special Summon, Hela swung her claw of nether mist, attempting to tear apart the massive divine body.

"I've been waiting for the moment you attack—roar and thunder, Slifer!!"

With a confident smile, Atem flipped the Spell Card he had set at the very start of the previous turn the instant Hela declared her attack.

"Because of the Continuous Spell Spell Sanctuary, Normal Spells can be activated like Quick-Play Spells!—Take this, Card of Sanctity!"

Hoshino stared in disbelief. "You're activating Card of Sanctity now?! Yugi… don't tell me you already…"

("Hoshino, you've become even more reliable than before." With a slight twitch at the corner of his eye, Atem smiled as he set the card he had drawn, gladly accepting Hoshino's support.)

"So the card you drew back then was already Card of Sanctity?! Then my search was completely unnecessary!"

Realizing it now, Hoshino couldn't help but feel she had worried for nothing about the Pharaoh lacking resources.

"No… it's thanks to your support, Hoshino…"

Bathed in roaring lightning, Atem looked at Hoshino with an unusually gentle smile.

"Because of the card you searched last turn, I was able to push Slifer's thunder to its absolute limit at this very moment! By the effect of Card of Sanctity, my hand is replenished to six cards!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK: 0 → 6000]

"ROOOOAR—!!"

Lightning exploded as the Divine Beast howled. Slifer's ATK surged past the King of the Dead in an instant, as if declaring who the true god of the underworld was.

"You… you dared to scheme against me like this, human?!"

If Slifer had started with 6000 ATK, Hela would never have declared an attack so carelessly.

That 0 ATK was bait—the key to breaking the Proof of the Dead King and luring the ruler of the underworld into Slifer's trap.

Slifer the Sky Dragon was never going to remain a powerless decoy!

"Pierce this land of death with thunderous radiance! Slifer's counterattack—Superconductive Thunder Force!!"

With 6000 ATK, the lightning blast reversed the tide, instantly overwhelming the purple claw formed from Hela's nether mist. The thunderstorm that erupted across the land of the undead completely obliterated the body Hela had just reconstructed.

[Hela, Generaider Boss of Doom destroyed]

[Hela & Marik LP 1600 → 400]

"Damn you… to toy with me like this!" With her Duel Monster form destroyed, smoke rose from Hela's body as if scorched by lightning.

"I will not forgive you! No matter what it takes, I will destroy you here! The effect of Proof of the Dead King!"

After Hela's monster was destroyed by Slifer, the mist—now without a host—spilled wildly across the ground.

"When I am destroyed, I can Special Summon a Zombie monster from my hand using Proof of the Dead King!"

Throwing down the third Eldlich the Golden Lord from her hand, the mist flooded the battlefield even further.

[Eldlich the Golden Lord ATK 2500]

"After that, I can use this Special Summoned Zombie as material, along with monsters on my field, to perform an Xyz Summon!"

Her skeletal fingers traced across three cards on her Duel Disk. Three Level 10 Golden Lords overlapped under the effect of the mist, forming a sinister Xyz network.

"A sinister star that flickers upon the World Tree—chaotic Xyz power, descend upon this undead land!"

Half prayer, half command, Hela's Xyz Summon—using three Level 10 monsters—unleashed a chaotic aura that rivaled even the gods.

"—Xyz Summon! Number C9: Chaos Dyson Sphere!"

[Number C9: Chaos Dyson Sphere ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (Rank 10)][LIGHT][Machine → Zombie/Xyz/Effect][ATK 3600/DEF 3200]

[3 Level 10 monsters]

Its mechanical form was indescribable. Floating above the land of the undead, its joints sprouted grotesque, purple-red veins after its type shifted from Machine to Zombie.

"The moment you're Special Summoned, Slifer's effect activates—Thunder Force!!"

A lightning blast that reduced ATK by 2000 struck the Dyson Sphere head-on.

[Chaos Dyson Sphere ATK 3600 → 1600]

"Useless! Useless!" Even after losing 2000 ATK, Queen Hela remained completely unfazed.

"This is the devouring star that consumes everything! Living beings, the undead—even gods can be devoured! Attack, Number C9: Chaos Dyson Sphere!"

The spherical mechanical body expanded, opening a mouth-like space.

But now, as a Zombie-Type, that opening was filled with violently pulsating, nauseating red veins as it lunged straight at Slifer.

"The effect of Number C9: Chaos Dyson Sphere—monsters that battle it skip damage calculation and are instead attached beneath it as Xyz Material!"

Devouring the god completely, the grotesque fusion of machine and undead looked even more horrifying than an EVA Angel. At the same time, Slifer's card was forcibly overlaid beneath Hela's Xyz Monster on her Duel Disk.

["So it became material on the opponent's side… I guess this is just Slifer's fate, huh?"]