"——Spell Card: Dimension Fusion!!"

[Dimension Fusion | Spell Card Effect: Pay 2000 LP; each player Special Summons as many of their banished monsters as possible.]

Bakura, utterly confused by what was happening, watched as Kaiba confidently activated the spell. The sky above churned with dark storm clouds, and a deep sense of foreboding welled up in his chest.

"Dimension Fusion? Just what exactly are you plotting, Kaiba?!"

Holding the Dimension Fusion card high in one hand, Kaiba stood at the edge of the Valley of the Kings and forcibly tore open a dimensional rift between two worlds.

"This is the future I created myself—take your so-called 'fate' and shove it up your ass, Bakura! With the effect of Dimension Fusion, I summon every monster from the banished zone onto this battlefield!"

Crack—!

The sky split apart in response.

Roooaaar—!!

An earth-shaking roar echoed from the countless undead. From the vast rift above, an innumerable host of Atlantean soldiers and Orichalcos-infused monsters surged down into the Valley of the Kings, where the Diabound were multiplying.

Two overwhelming forces—each monstrous in its own right—collided head-on in a brutal, no-holds-barred clash. The flames of war, once raging in the far north of Egypt, had suddenly shifted to its southernmost reaches.

Even Kaiba was briefly stunned. All Hoshino had told him was that once he saw the signal from the Lion King's holy lance, he should activate Dimension Fusion to bring back the banished army...

But this many?! Did she seriously banish the entire Ksois front's forces at once?!

Still, no matter how risky or double-edged the strategy, Hoshino always managed to flip the situation at the most critical moment. In those crimson eyes burned one unwavering goal—victory.

"Hoshino, you lunatic… You really can make it happen!"

Within the darkness, both Thief King Bakura and Hoshino—trapped in the Shadow Game—were left speechless by the sudden turn of events.

"These… these are the undead soldiers of Atlantis, and monsters infused with the Orichalcos?!"

Though Bakura had not personally taken part in the Doma Incident, he knew enough to recognize what he was seeing.

"Why?! Why would the undead of Atlantis appear in this world?! And how are they being summoned through Dimension Fusion?!"

Below, as the Diabound were torn apart in savage battle, Bakura shook his head violently, refusing to accept the reality before him.

"What's wrong? Is the Great Evil God Zorc already trembling at a little skirmish like this?"

With a smug slam of her hand on the tactical map, Hoshino taunted:

"Look carefully, Bakura. Sitting across from you now is the last heir of Atlantis—Chiyuki Hoshino!"

In truth, Hoshino was bluffing. She didn't know why the undead army of Atlantis had appeared, nor could she control the Orichalcos forces. All she had done was redirect them through clever strategy.

But whether it was truth or lie no longer mattered. What mattered now was pressing Dark Bakura harder—shaking his confidence, breaking his composure, and forcing him to lose control of the battlefield.

"Ora ora ora!!" boomed a familiar voice. "Through Nitocris's mirror, we really were warped straight into a new battlefield. Just like you said, kid!"

Charging out of the dimensional rift on his thunderous chariot was Iskandar, the Conqueror King. He gave a mighty pat to the shoulder of the man riding beside him—Waver Velvet.

The sheer force of Iskandar's broad hand nearly made Waver, already drained from using his Noble Phantasm, cough up blood like a tragic anime protagonist.

But as the proud strategist in service of his king, Waver adjusted his glasses and forced himself to stand tall.

"This was the optimal strategic choice, Rider. With no enemies left on the Ksois front, it was my duty as your tactician to deploy your power here and reinforce the new front immediately."

Waver had never imagined that he would once again ride at his king's side on the battlefield, charging forward on the legendary chariot of thunder.

Years of effort, striving to become the ideal support for his king, had finally borne fruit. A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at his lips.

"Let's go, Rider!"

"Then hold on tight, kid!"

Looking up at the lightning-charged chariot bursting forth from the rift, Thief King Bakura grit his teeth.

"So even Heroic Spirits can be summoned now? Removing Chiyuki Hoshino from the Shadow Game was completely pointless!"

"Hey, Bakura! Where the hell are you looking?! Now's not the time to get distracted!"

Shing!

A flash of silver cut through the air. Seizing on Bakura's momentary lapse, Marlene slipped past his guard with expert precision, her dagger slicing a sharp line across the scarred surface of his darkened face.

Though not fatal, the wound bled freely, fresh pain added atop old scars.

"Damn you, woman! If you're so eager to die, then I'll crush you like that last insect and send you to hell!"

Until now, Bakura had been toying with Marlene. But this strike enraged him. And with the undead army of Atlantis holding off the multiplying Diabound, he no longer had the luxury of dragging things out.

Gripping his curved sword in both hands—no longer playing—Bakura prepared to end it in three strikes, judging from the strength he had gauged from Marlene.

But standing firm against Bakura's full power, Marlene only smiled.

"Finally showing your true strength, huh? Too bad—you're already too late, Bakura. You can't beat me now."

From her thigh—where it had been tightly strapped in its sheath—Marlene drew a second dagger, her eyes blazing with killing intent.

"Even the brattiest kids go silent when they hear my name. I'm Marlene, the Grand Bounty Hunter—and today, I'll surpass even myself to defeat you head-on!"

"Dual wielding… and you only reveal it now?"

Bakura hadn't expected she had been holding back. Unlike him, who was playing around, it was clear Marlene had been aiming to kill from the start.

But the truth was—Marlene had always been fighting with everything she had. The reason she now revealed the dual-wielding style she hadn't fully mastered…

"——Was because she trusted the tactician's guidance, the strategist's commands, and his discerning insight! Now, strike!!"

"—Command of the Strategist! Advice of the Strategist! Discerning Eye!"

With three buffs active, Marlene moved like a demon possessed, brandishing her twin blades. Her sleek, seductive figure combined with the arcs of silver steel danced like dazzling ripples blooming across the battlefield.

"Amazing! It's the first time I've felt this agile! Is this the 'Dad-Approved' buff little Hoshino mentioned? It really hits so hard, even your dad would be impressed!"

Marlene had previously attempted dual-wielding daggers, but mastering two blades was never as simple as 1 + 1 = 2.

Despite her efforts, she never truly grasped the technique. Forcing herself to wield both often left her clumsy—her effectiveness even worse than with a single blade. Frustrated, she sealed away the second dagger as an emergency backup, strapped to her thigh.

But this time was different. Fundamentally different. Not only did her body feel faster, her perception had sharpened dramatically. The balance between her blades—something she had never been able to coordinate—was now perfectly in sync.

This style of unleashing her full potential with dual blades could only be described with one word—exhilarating!

In contrast, Thief King Bakura's expression twisted like he'd just swallowed a pile of dung. Brimming with confidence and ready to fight at full power, he now found himself being driven back—by a bounty hunter he had once dismissed as beneath him.

Faced with Marlene's increasingly precise, hard-to-follow twin blades, Bakura was forced onto the defensive. But this defense was no longer arrogant or effortless—he was now fighting to survive.

"What's wrong, Bakura? Where's all that swagger from before?!"

"It's just magic-enhanced strength—don't get cocky, woman!"

"Sorry! When you've got buffs, you can do whatever you want!"

Marlene spun and slashed with both blades. Though Bakura barely blocked the strikes with his scimitar, the explosive power granted by the strategist's command left his hands numb, nearly disarming him.

Bakura grunted, eyes flashing with malice.

"Watch out, Marlene!" Kaiba, battling atop his Blue-Eyes White Dragon against a split Diabound, suddenly shouted a warning.

Following Bakura's hidden command, several Diabounds charged headlong into the dragon's destructive white beam. Despite the overwhelming firepower, one broke through the Blue-Eyes' defenses, rushing toward Marlene and Bakura.

"So you resort to cheap tricks because you can't win head-on? Too slow!"

Already anticipating this, Marlene flipped gracefully aside, evading the ambush with ease.

"Heh, you thought I was using the Diabond to attack you? Watch this!"

The Diabond Marlene dodged didn't stop—it sprinted forward toward Bakura. With a brutal swing of his scimitar, he cleaved it in half. Black blood splattered across his dark, muscular frame, sizzling against his skin.

"Don't think you're the only one who can grow stronger through shady means. Absorbing a Diabond's power puts a horrible strain on the body—but I don't have time to care!"

The black blood seeped into Bakura's veins like a living parasite. His expression twisted with pain and madness.

Marlene winced. "You're the real monster here..."

"Round two! This time, I won't give you any openings!"

Now empowered by the Diabond's blood, Bakura's strength and speed had doubled. His scimitar carved through solid rock with ease.

The sharp clash of metal echoed once more. Bakura, wielding brute force like a beast, regained the upper hand. Yet the more power he unleashed, the more his grotesque veins contorted his body, making him look less human—more like a Diabond himself.

"The weak will always be weak! An ant can never defeat an elephant! Die, woman!"

"How pitiful... In the end, you even sacrificed your humanity, Thief King Bakura."

Marlene glared with disgust and pity. Her twin blades, glowing hot from relentless friction, moved even faster.

"Muda muda muda! I'm invincible!"

"We'll see if you're invincible—after this move!"

With a mighty kick off the rock wall, Marlene launched into the air. Using gravity to her advantage, she poured every ounce of strength into a dual-blade strike.

Boom!

The earsplitting sound of steel rang out. Her twin blades, already strained from heat and friction, shattered completely against the scimitar.

Crack—!

But Bakura's weapon was just as overstrained. A heartbeat later, his scimitar splintered apart under the impact.

"Destroying both weapons at once—was that your final desperate play, woman? Hahahaha!"

With a laugh that dripped madness, Bakura gathered dark energy in his palm and lunged for Marlene's chest, crouched low after the fall.

"We're both unarmed now! My raw power will crush you! Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart!!"

"Who said I'm unarmed? Get a clue—you're the only one empty-handed now, Thief King Bakura!"

Still crouched, Marlene ripped open a hidden pocket inside her tall leather boot, pulling out a small dagger—half the length of a regular blade.

You thought the thigh dagger was her only backup? Please. As a legendary bounty hunter feared across the land, one spare weapon was never enough.

"This bounty hunter's insanely strong but ridiculously cautious!"

"Today's the day you die, Bakura!!"

With a furious roar, Marlene gripped the short blade in both hands, slashing off his attacking fingers and tearing along his arm—straight for his throat.

—Draw Blood, Seal the Throat!

Blood infused with Diabond's power gushed like a fountain from Bakura's severed neck. A man who had lived by force, a man who thought himself invincible—never imagined he'd fall to a mortal's blade.

"Sid... I finally avenged you..."

[Thief King Bakura – Defeated]