"Amid the baptism of flame and storm, Barrel Dragon has evolved into an entirely new form. And this time, this single throw will decide the duel! I activate the effect of Desperado Barrel Dragon from my hand—!"
[If a face-up DARK Machine monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand.]
Slamming the card into the Monster Zone of her Duel Disk, the lingering flames and storm effects faded away, and a completely renewed Barrel Dragon returned to the field.
[Desperado Barrel Dragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Machine/Effect][ATK 2800/DEF 2200]
Clad in silver-gray armor, the new Barrel Dragon raised its three gun barrels, each one locking onto one of Jaden's three HEROes left behind after De-Fusion.
"With the ATK of the HEROes on your field, Jaden, you can't continue attacking. And Desperado Barrel Dragon's effect can even be activated during your turn—"
[Once per turn, during the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): You can toss a coin 3 times; destroy face-up monsters on the field, up to the number of heads, then if the result was 3 heads, draw 1 card.]
The familiar three coins appeared once again. With a flick of her fingers, Clara sent them spinning into the air, one after another.
"Gambling on luck again? I already let you win last time—this time I won't give in!" Jaden clenched his fist, staring at the golden coins spinning midair. "After all, my luck isn't bad either!"
Coin toss results: Heads, Heads, Heads.
"…I really can't see what part of that is 'good luck,' Jaden," Hoshino muttered.
"Sorry, Jaden. I did say I was feeling especially lucky today. Days blessed with this kind of fortune don't come around very often~"
Pointing toward the three HEROes on the opposite field, Clara triggered a triple-barrel blast. In an instant, Jaden—who had been just one step away from victory—watched his entire field get wiped out.
[Elemental HERO Avian destroyed]
[Elemental HERO Sparkman destroyed]
[Elemental HERO Bubbleman destroyed]
Mash said in disbelief, "Including the first coin toss, Miss Clara has flipped heads five times out of six already. Could it be…?"
Mentioning a Barrel Dragon deck inevitably reminded Mash of Keith, and of how he had cheated with coin tosses during Hoshino's first duel against him.
"No—this time, it really is just Clara being lucky. There's nothing wrong here."
If Hoshino in her younger days might have been fooled by such tricks, the current Hoshino—after countless duels—would never miss something like that.
"Clara does have unusually good luck, but Jaden's isn't bad either. Except for unreasonable old gambling addicts like Jonouchi, luck usually comes and goes. Let's just watch."
Clara continued resolving the effect. "Because I tossed three heads, I can draw one additional card."
"So unlucky… not a single monster left," Jaden sighed, scratching his jellyfish-like hair.
That plunge from heaven straight into hell was hard to swallow, even for Jaden.
"Then I'll set one card and end my turn."
[Jaden's: 1 Hand Card | 1 Set Card]
After burning through most of his hand in an attempted one-turn kill, Jaden had fallen straight into the trap laid by Desperado Barrel Dragon in Clara's hand, and the situation suddenly became dire.
"My turn—draw!"
Compared to Jaden's predicament, Clara now had far more resources in hand and a much wider range of tactical options.
"Trying to survive this turn with a set card? I won't give you that chance!"
She practically repeated Jaden's opening line from the previous turn word for word. Despite being a noble lady, Clara showed a surprisingly childish side.
"I Normal Summon, in Attack Position, Madolche Anjelly!"
[Madolche Anjelly ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Fairy/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
A cute, young angel monster descended from the sky, landing atop a soft jelly cushion. The scene looked warm and soothing.
"So cute! Senpai, I didn't know there were Duel Monsters this adorable!"
Mash's eyes sparkled. If this weren't a duel, she probably would have rushed forward and hugged Anjelly on the spot.
Pinching Mash's excited cheeks, Hoshino smiled. "Don't forget, Mash— in this world, you're a Duel Spirit too. When it comes to cuteness, my junior won't lose to anyone!"
"Hey, stop it, Senpai… I-I'm not that cute…" Mash said shyly, her cheeks flushing red under Hoshino's fingers.
"But Madolche paired with Barrel Dragon… the aesthetics really don't match."
A rough, gambling-themed revolver monster alongside delicate, pastel dessert monsters—it was an odd combination. Yet perhaps this deck truly was the one Clara had poured her soul into.
After all, Clara herself came across as cute, but also bold and carefree. A typical noble lady wouldn't casually throw millions of dollars around in an underground casino.
"But with only 1000 ATK, even combined with Desperado Barrel Dragon's 2800, that's not enough to one-shot Jaden—especially with a face-down card still in play."
"Don't rush, Hoshino. The dessert show is just getting started~ I activate the effect of Madolche Anjelly."
[You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 "Madolche" monster from your Deck, and if you do, it cannot be destroyed by battle, but shuffle it into the Deck during the End Phase of your next turn.]
"I Tribute this card and send it to the Graveyard, then Special Summon from my Deck—Madolche Petingcessoeur!"
[Madolche Petingcessoeur ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Fairy/Effect][ATK 1400/DEF 1400]
Clara Tributed Anjelly and replaced it with a new monster on her Duel Disk.
From Hoshino's point of view, pudding and jelly were basically the same category of dessert anyway.
"Next, I activate the effect of Madolche Petingcessoeur."
[If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Madolche" monster from your hand or Deck, except "Madolche Petingcessoeur", and if you do, reduce its Level by 1, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "Madolche" monsters.]
"By the effect of Madolche Petingcessoeur, I Special Summon Madolche Puddingcess, and its Level is reduced by 1!"
[Madolche Puddingcess ★★★★ (LV 5 → LV 4)][EARTH][Fairy/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]
Following Petingcessoeur, Puddingcess herself was summoned as well. If the first was the younger sister, then this blonde little girl must be the older one.
However, compared to the sisterly relationship between the two Madolche, what caught Hoshino's attention more was the Level adjustment Clara had made through monster effects.
"Two Level 4 monsters… could it be?"
"Prepare to be surprised, Hoshino. I've done my homework on this brand-new Summoning!"
Her pale fingers brushed across the two dessert monsters on her Duel Disk. Clara stacked the two Madolche horizontally, constructing an Xyz Network.
"—Xyz Overlay! This is the Afternoon Dessert Storm! I overlay the two Level 4 Madolche monsters on my field and Xyz Summon—Madolche Queen Tiaramisu!"
[Madolche Queen Tiaramisu][Rank 4][EARTH][Fairy/Xyz/Effect][ATK 2200/DEF 2100]
[2 Level 4 "Madolche" monsters]
The two adorable Madolche overlapped, forming a brand-new Xyz Monster. The elegant crowned lady represented a dessert more refined than pudding—tiramisu.
"That's amazing! I didn't expect anyone besides Sensei to use Xyz Summoning!"
Jaden, completely lacking any sense of urgency, marveled at the Summon—even though his opponent had just brought out a monster strong enough to defeat him.
Hoshino waved her hand helplessly. "No, no. Xyz Summoning has been public for days now—most Duelists should have already figured out how to use it. Honestly, Jaden, with that attitude, you clearly haven't studied Xyz at all."
"Hahaha… busted~" Jaden scratched his head awkwardly.
"It's not that Xyz is bad, but Fusion Summoning still feels more 'HERO-like' to me. So you could say this duel is Fusion vs. Xyz!"
"But this duel is going to end with my victory, Jaden~"
Clara detached one of the Xyz Materials stacked beneath Madolche Queen Tiaramisu and sent it to the Graveyard, activating its effect.
"—Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and target up to 2 'Madolche' cards in your Graveyard; shuffle them into the Deck. Then, return to the Deck the same number of cards your opponent controls."
If there were a form of removal more absolute than destruction or banishment, it would undoubtedly be returning to the Deck.
Cards sent to the Graveyard or banished could still be reused somehow—but being shuffled back into the Deck meant starting over, and it wouldn't trigger many "sent to the Graveyard" effects either.
"I return Madolche Anjelly from my Graveyard to the Deck, and then your face-down card in the back row returns to the Deck as well!"
The only thing Jaden had left on the field was that set card. If it were returned to the Deck like this, facing a combined 5000 ATK, he would be completely defenseless.
"I was waiting for this effect! I chain my set Trap Card—Jar of Greed!"
[Jar of Greed – Trap Effect: Draw 1 card.]
Due to the chain rules, effects resolve in reverse order. Before Tiaramisu's return-to-the-Deck effect could resolve, Jaden was able to draw one card with Jar of Greed.
"What are you doing, Jaden?" Hoshino complained. "You knew you were in a dangerous empty-field situation, and you still set a Jar? That's way too reckless!"
Jar of Greed had no defensive power whatsoever. Even if Clara ignored it completely and attacked directly, Jaden wouldn't have been able to stop her.
"Heh-heh, I was gambling too~" Jaden rubbed his nose smugly. "I bet that if I set a card on an empty field, you'd definitely try to deal with it before attacking. That way, I could start a chain!"
"Start a chain?" Clara frowned slightly.
"That's right! Once a chain starts, I can activate this card's effect!"
Flipping his hand to reveal it, the last monster Jaden held wasn't a HERO at all.
"—I activate the special effect of Winged Kuriboh LV9 from my hand!"
[①: When a chain occurs, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.]
"Let's go, aibo!"
Placing Winged Kuriboh LV9 onto his Duel Disk, Jaden's chain-based summoning tactic gave him a chance to survive Clara's assault this turn.
[Winged Kuriboh LV9 ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][LIGHT][Fairy/Effect][ATK ?/DEF ?]
Clad in heavy red armor, Winged Kuriboh LV9 took up a defensive stance, standing firmly on Jaden's field.
"I thought all Kuribohs were low Level," Hoshino said in surprise. "I didn't expect a Level 9 Kuriboh. Jaden's Kuriboh is even one Level higher than Blue-Eyes White Dragon."