"Since I can't destroy Erda—Brynhildr, attack Brunhilde directly!"

With Hoshino's attack declaration, the clash between spear and shield began. A rare sight in dueling—a direct confrontation between two different Brynhildrs.

"Are you stupid?! Even if Valkyrie Brunhilde's shield is half-broken, don't forget—your Brynhildr's attack has been weakened too!"

1000 ATK vs. 1000 DEF — the damaged round shield clashed tightly with the tip of the blue spear.

Jonouchi muttered in frustration, "Damn it, that attack-reducing debuff is really a pain..."

"With equal ATK and DEF, nothing happens. You talked big about a one-turn kill, but in the end, you couldn't even break Brunhilde's shield. What a joke…"

Crack—!

The sound of metal shattering abruptly cut off Zigfried's laughter.

"What are you grinning about, you clown?"

The spear pierced through the shield. The fully shattered metal symbolized the breach in Valkyrie Brunhilde's defense.

Zigfried exclaimed in disbelief, "Impossible! How can 1000 ATK break through?!"

"—The power of the Valkyries is with me!"

Retracting her spear from the broken shield, Brynhildr returned to the embrace of the three cheering Valkyries.

[Effect ①: This card gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of all your on-field 'Valkyrie' monsters.]

"Please use our power freely, Sister!" ×3

[Brynhildr ATK 1000 → 4000]

"Thanks to Brynhildr's effect, her ATK rises by Valkyrie of the End's 3000! A full-powered strike backed by all the Valkyries can't be blocked by a flimsy shield like that!"

[Valkyrie Brunhilde DEF 1000 → 0]

With one blow, the shield shattered completely. With her DEF reduced to zero, Valkyrie Brunhilde could no longer activate her effect to protect other Valkyrie monsters.

"So, should I be praising you now?" Zigfried scoffed, slowly adapting to her provocations.

"Even if all your monsters attacked, all you did was break one shield. You're still far from your boast of a one-turn kill!"

Hoshino calmly activated another effect:

"That's enough. Now that your final shield is gone—you're already dead. Brynhildr's special effect activates: 'Hero's Bridesmaid!'—"

[Target 1 face-up monster on the field; reduce its Level by up to 4. This effect can also be used during the opponent's turn.]

"I'll reduce Brynhildr's Level by 3!"

[Brynhildr LV8 → LV5]

Kaiba furrowed his brow.

"Lowering her own monster's Level? What is she planning?"

Reducing a monster's Level could help with Tribute Summons—but dropping a field monster's Level like that left the audience confused.

"Controlling Levels…"

Only Yugi seemed to guess something. His intuition was razor-sharp.

Hoshino threw out her final card—a Quick-Play Spell—betting everything on this next summon.

"Let me show you—the summoning of a new era! Quick-Play Spell: Synchro Emergency Summon, activate!"

[Quick-Play Spell Effect: Can only be activated during either player's Battle Phase. Use your on-field monsters—including at least 1 'Heroic Spirit' Tuner—as Synchro Materials for a Synchro Summon.]

"Synchro Summon?!"

Kaiba nearly stumbled in the stands.

He'd thought Hoshino was merely showing off a new effect—but never expected her to unveil an entirely new type of summoning.

"I'll tune the on-field Tuner monster Heroic Spirit – Saint George, Dragon-Slaying Saint (Level 4) with Heroic Spirit – Brynhildr (Level 5) as Synchro Materials—Tuning!"

The two monsters were enveloped in halos of radiant light—light that had never before been seen in this world.

At that same moment, in the Blue-Eyes White Dragon airship above the arena, the Duel Runner brought back from the Island by Hoshino Alter suddenly activated its system interface—without anyone touching it.

"Summoning resonance activated. Particle diffusion... link complete... Full spatial overlay initiated. Synchro acknowledged!"

"—Gathering the light of a new age, the shattered dawn revives legendary myths! Synchro Summon! Evil Dragon, Be Annihilated—Heroic Spirit – Sigurd!!"

[Heroic Spirit – Sigurd ★★★★★★★★★ (LV5 + LV4 = LV9)]

[LIGHT] [Dragon/Synchro/Effect] [ATK 3000 / DEF 2500][Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters]

Wielding the technologically advanced sunblade Gram, Sigurd descended through Synchro Summon, opening a whole new chapter for this generation.

"Sigurd, summoned and ready! Give the order, Master—I'll finish this fast!"

"It worked!"

Though it was a gamble, Hoshino couldn't hide her excitement at successfully performing the Synchro Summon.

This was her first time pulling it off in this era since her battle with Paradox. Sigurd was also the only Synchro Monster she had access to—an SSR Heroic Spirit she obtained from Da Vinci using 15 Saint Quartz for a summoning ticket.

"Tuning, Synchro Summon, Synchro Monsters… Hoshino, you've shown something incredible!"

Yugi, whose prediction had come true, stared wide-eyed at Sigurd and the white-bordered Synchro card in Hoshino's hand, his fingers trembling with excitement.

"Now you, too, are a duelist pushing Duel Monsters into a brand-new age!"

Facing this new-age Siegfried head-on, Zigfried gritted his teeth and shouted:

"What is this?! Synchro Summon?! I've never even heard of it! That monster's attack and defense—at best, it's just Blue-Eyes level!"

"You don't need to understand. From this moment on, you're being left behind by the times! A relic of the old era—go wander lost like a ghost!"

Raising her arm and pointing at the wall of Valkyries, Hoshino gave the attack command:

"Go, Sigurd! Attack Brunhilde!"

Hearing her command, Sigurd paused briefly, then understood. His magical sword Gram began to glow.

"Only those who live by the sword understand true resolve. Let's make this real, Master!"

Rather than a simple swing, he hurled Gram at full power—its flames blazing as it streaked toward its target.

"Sigurd's special effect: When this card battles a Dragon-type monster, its ATK is doubled until the end of the turn!

And thanks to Heroic Spirit – Saint George, Dragon-Slaying Saint, sent to the Graveyard as Synchro Material—all monsters on your opponent's field are now treated as Dragon-type!"

The dragon-slaying hero's lingering effect, paired with the "You're a Dragon too" combo, instantly boosted Sigurd's power.

[Heroic Spirit – Sigurd ATK 3000 → 6000]

"—Heaven's Wheel of Destruction!"

After throwing Gram, Sigurd followed up, driving it into Brunhilde's chest with crushing force.

[Valkyrie Brunhilde – Destroyed]

"Hahahaha! That's it, it's over, Hoshino! Even if you destroyed Brunhilde, I still have three Valkyries left! You should just give up already!" Enjoying the story? Discover more on M|V|LEM6PYR.

"Yeah, it's about time you gave up—finish it, Sigurd!"

Pulling Gram from Brunhilde's shattered form, Sigurd summoned dragonic energy into his blade. With a mighty sweep, he roared and struck again.

[Sigurd's effect: When battling Dragon-type monsters, during damage calculation, ATK is doubled. Then, destroy all Defense Position monsters your opponent controls.]

"This is for Keith! Your vile tactics in duels are finally getting the punishment they deserve!"

[Valkyrie Erda – Destroyed]

[Valkyrie Sigrun – Destroyed]

[Valkyrie Viertes – Destroyed]

"How can this be—AAAAAHHHH!!"

With 6000 ATK and overwhelming force, Sigurd wiped out four monsters. The impact from the Shadow Game was so powerful, Zigfried's perception of reality cracked.

"Next—this second strike is for Clara!

For the manipulation of a girl's emotions, for your delusions—this is the miserable end you've earned!"

Without pause, Sigurd's flames intensified.

[When Synchro Summoned using "Heroic Spirit – Brynhildr" as material, this card can attack up to three times during the same Battle Phase.]

[Zigfried LP 500 → 0 (-5500)]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Before he could even scream, Zigfried's LP hit zero. The Shadow Game's backlash and Sigurd's strike shattered his soul.

"And this third slash… is for myself!

This is the price you pay for pissing me off!"

One final blow. The flames of Gram surged as Hoshino gave the order.

"O Demonic Sword of the Sun, with that blade—give rise to destruction! Bölverk Gram!!"

[Zigfried LP: -5500 → -11,150]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

His final scream, more guttural and horrifying than any before. Over ten thousand points of damage in the Shadow Game. Zigfried's soul was utterly obliterated—cast into Shadow Realm.

(*****)

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