"—Scatter and perish before the Higanbana Sesshouseki!!"

The shattered Killing Stone bloomed into a deadly curse, injecting violent poison into Diabound's body. Bakura, riding atop Diabound, was flung off before he even had time to react.

"You bastard—!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Bakura was ambushed. For a moment, he couldn't even tell who was the real villain here.

Standing beside Tamamo-no-Mae on the rooftop of the main hall, Hoshino looked down at Bakura, who had crashed to the ground.

"I don't know how you survived, Bakura, but to show up again right after getting your ass kicked? There's no way you're not scheming something shady."

"Migu~ So this is the so-called King of Thieves? Unexpectedly wild, huh~"

Bakura glanced at Diabound, which had collapsed after Tamamo's strike. Even the power of the Millennium Ring failed to activate. Sweat trickled down his neck as he sensed danger closing in.

"What did you do, Hoshino?!"

Hoshino grinned wickedly, making no attempt to hide her satisfaction, and pointed toward the faintly glowing barrier surrounding the main hall.

"This is what they call 'luring the enemy into the—ugh, what was it again? Anyway, you walked right into the trap! Since your target is the Millennium Items, I knew you'd come. The moment you stepped into Tamamo's barrier, your defeat was already sealed."

Higanbana Sesshouseki—also known as the Red Spider Lily—represents the land of the dead; execution is a disastrous omen in six-star divination.

[Tamamo-no-Mae's Effect: ① As long as this card is face-up in the Monster Zone, negate the effects of all other face-up monsters on the field.]

"Don't bother struggling. With the divine nature of Spirit Beast Diabound, there's no way it can break through Tamamo's barrier. Whatever tricks you had planned, they've all been neutralized, Bakura!"

A magic barrier surged from the ground, sealing Diabound's abilities completely. Without its powers of possession and evolution, it was reduced to nothing more than a measly 1800-ATK creature.

"Damn it! You resorted to such underhanded tricks!"

"Says the last person qualified to call anyone underhanded! Tamamo-no-Mae, finish him off!"

At Hoshino's furious command, icy shards formed from condensed frost and pierced Bakura's arms. His screams of pain echoed through the palace.

"This world's duel rules really are convenient—you can bypass monsters and attack players directly. And speaking of which, your proud Diabound isn't even good enough to act as a shield anymore."

"—Spirit of song, ancient power that governs all things! Your life, your soul, your bones—feel the wrath of both god and man, Bakura! Answer my call—The Winged Dragon of Ra!"

With Yugi's thunderous cry, divine flames shattered spatial barriers, manifesting as The Winged Dragon of Ra soaring above the barrier.

"This time, I won't give you any chance to crawl away, Bakura! Let divine fire reduce you to ash—this is for Mahad! Divine Phoenix Mode!!"

Crimson flames enveloped the golden god as Ra transformed into its most powerful form.

But just as it was about to unleash judgment, Ra froze mid-transformation. The flames vanished, as though its connection to the divine had been severed. Yugi stared in stunned disbelief.

"That damn old man… he sure moved quickly. But this isn't a good time for a fight anymore."

Bakura, barely standing, his arms numb from frost seeping into his bones, instinctively bolted for the edge of the barrier.

"Naruhodo!" Hoshino instantly pieced it together. "No wonder he dared to challenge us head-on—it's because he sabotaged the God Cards!"

"Shit! I'm not dying here!"

Seto: "Then kindly die right here. Spirit Summon—Battle Ox!"

A massive, muscle-bound beast wielding a colossal axe materialized and brought it crashing down, blocking Bakura's escape. He froze, dragging his numbed arms behind him.

"Let's use Mahad's beloved monster to seal your path, Thief King Bakura!"

Seto, who had come to assist, used the same tablet Mahad once favored to block Bakura's way.

And he wasn't alone.

Four High Priests—excluding the late Mahad and the treacherous Aknadin—each stood at a corner of the barrier, summoning spirit monsters to block every route of escape.

"Mahad must be avenged!" the priests declared in unison.

Cornered and desperate, Bakura had never expected Hoshino to perfectly counter Diabound. One wrong move, and now he stood at the edge of a bottomless abyss.

"Even if you tampered with the God Cards, you're dying here today, Bakura!"

Hoshino signaled to Karim, instructing Tamamo to channel healing energy into Ra's damaged tablet.

Receiving the command, Karim raised the Millennium Scales high.

"—O Millennium Scales, weigh this soul with your divine body!"

"Migu~? My tail's power is returning!"

Feeling the solar spirit flow into her, Tamamo-no-Mae's divine form reconnected with its primordial source. Her radiant, alluring body shimmered with golden brilliance.

"Go, Tamamo-no-Mae! Shatter the wall between Heroic Spirits and Gods! Let the fused Sun God descend in purifying flames—Fusion Summon!!"

A divine being with nine tails—Tamamo's root form, the divine spirit once believed to embody the Sun and reflect the highest deity in Japanese myth: Amaterasu.

Of course, such a being could never be summoned by a mere human. But fused with The Winged Dragon of Ra, Tamamo appeared like the sun reflected upon still water—manifesting divine power in a unique form.

"Fusion Summon—Caster Regalia Tamamo-no-Mae!"

[Caster Regalia Tamamo-no-Mae ★★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 11)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Fusion/Effect][ATK ?/DEF ?][Heroic Spirit – Tamamo-no-Mae] + [The Winged Dragon of Ra]

[This card is also treated as a "Heroic Spirit".]

This form, connected to Tamamo's origin and fused with the Winged Dragon of Ra, surpassed even Nero's Saber Regalia form in divine rank.

"It's time to send you off, Bakura. This time, you'll be burned until not even a trace of your soul remains!!"

(*****)

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