The Old Man of the Mountain lost his target, and his attack fizzled.
Only two Servants remained: Minamoto no Raikou and Illya.
"Then the Old Man of the Mountain attacks Minamoto no Raikou!"
With a single swing of his massive sword, Raikou was left with numerous deep gashes. It wasn't quite the space-distorting Tsubame Gaeshi, but rather an attack that seemed to erupt from within her body after the slash, like a delayed explosion. Through sheer martial skill, he had replicated the effect of Emiya Alter's Noble Phantasm.
Even the formidable Minamoto no Raikou couldn't withstand the attack and was immediately sent to the Graveyard.
"The effect of Old Man of the Mountain activates! Minamoto no Raikou is banished! And because she has a total defense of 2000, Illya, you take 2000 points of direct damage!"
Following King Hassan's gaze, nameless blue flames erupted beneath Illya's feet, engulfing her completely.
"Aaaaaah—!"
The flames from King Hassan were no ordinary fire; the soul-searing pain they inflicted caused Illya to howl in agony.
Illya's Life Points: 4000 → 3000 → 1000.
"...Old Man of the Mountain, please show mercy for now," Jiang You pleaded, remembering that this was a Shadow Game, where the pain was far more intense than in a regular Duel.
King Hassan remained silent.
He wanted to retort: "This is a mandatory effect. Besides, you were the one who initiated this attack!"
After launching his attack, Jiang You had no further actions left. As long as King Hassan remained on the field, Jiang You couldn't take any damage. Illya had no cards capable of removing King Hassan, and defeating him in battle required a servant with an original Attack Power of 4000.
In essence, Jiang You had already won the Duel.
"I end my turn. Illya, you should summon the Dress of Heaven in defense mode. Its 1200 Defense Power is just enough to end the battle, and you can control the damage output."
"Shut up!"
Illya scrambled to her feet. Had it not been for the Duel's rules, she would have suffered far more than mere pain. King Hassan's attacks carried a potent instant-death effect, almost guaranteed to trigger against her.
"You taught me never to give up until the very end!"
"Did I?" Jiang You mused. When I encounter a card my entire deck can't beat, I usually surrender at full speed, or maybe take one last shot for dignity. When have I ever clung on until the bitter end?
"My turn. Draw!"
To Jiang You's surprise, Illya beamed radiantly as she revealed her card. "Jiang You, I win!"
"Huh?"
Jiang You possessed every card Illya had, yet he couldn't fathom how she could possibly deal with King Hassan. Even if she had included Sakura Matou in her Imaginary State in her deck and managed to draw her, Sakura's effect—which removed all other cards from play—only lasted for one turn. Jiang You could still block the attack using Stealth Change from his Graveyard.
Moreover, Illya's card lacked any noticeable special effects, making it appear weak at first glance. Even Unlimited Blade Works had strikingly flashy visuals; how could such a plain card possibly overcome the seemingly invincible King Hassan?
Jiang You turned to King Hassan. "Old Man of the Mountain, did you somehow fry Illya's brain too?"
King Hassan wanted to roll his eyes, but his hermetically sealed armor betrayed no expression. After a long silence, he finally answered Jiang You's question. "My attacks bring only death, not mental harm. This Noble Phantasm belongs to you, Contractor. You should know its capabilities better than I."
"You're the one who's lost your mind! You broke our promise!" Illya slammed the card onto the field. "I activate the Spell Card, [ Dream Fusion ]!"
Jiang You recognized the card. He had obtained it through Illya's Favorability. It allowed him to use cards from his opponent's field as Fusion Materials, but since he lacked the corresponding Extra Deck Servant Card, he had never included it in his Deck. Yet here Illya was, activating it.
"The Fusion Materials are the [ Illya ] Servant and the [ Old Man of the Mountain ]. I fuse my [ Illya (Dress of Heaven) ] and the [ Old Man of the Mountain ] on the field to Fusion Summon—"
"What?!" Jiang You's jaw nearly dropped. The Fusion requirements were utterly absurd! Who ever heard of explicitly requiring the [ Old Man of the Mountain ] as a Fusion Material? Even Type-Moon characters were learning to design cards like this these days?
"Those who violate contracts deserve punishment," King Hassan intoned, nodding slowly as his form gradually faded from sight.
Illya also left the field, returning to her Main Battle Zone.
Amidst a dreamlike, kaleidoscopic swirl of seven colors, Illya underwent a transformation akin to a Magical Girl's. Her clothes dissolved into light, morphing into the attire of the Old Man of the Mountain, though the armor covered only her vital areas. The Old Man's signature skull-horned helmet materialized, perched jauntily on her head.
"—Illya (Old Man of the Mountain)"
Clad in her revealing armor, Illya landed in the Battle Zone, bashfully using her oversized greatsword to shield her bare midriff.
Illya (Old Man of the Mountain)
Assassin, 12 Stars, Attack Power 4000
This card functions identically to the Old Man of the Mountain. It's less a fusion and more like another overpowered countermeasure.
Of course, there's another advantage: if the [ Old Man of the Mountain ] card is already in hand, [ Dream Fusion ] allows you to summon this form directly without needing a 12-star tribute. It's a surprisingly effective summoning method.
"I can perform [ Dream Fusion ] with any Servant to gain their abilities!"
Illya watched her Old Man of the Mountain form on the field, nodding in satisfaction. Powerful cards always brought her such joy.
"Any servant?" Jiang You asked doubtfully, shuffling through his Extra Deck. This broken game had no limit on Extra Deck size, though his own deck was already quite small. He glanced at Illya's Extra Deck zone, which was even thinner than his. "How could you possibly mean any servant? No, this card must have just been printed!"
Jiang You had relied on printing cards to defeat the final boss in the previous script, but he never expected a game character to pull the same trick on him.
"Anyway, that's the card's effect. Now, the question is," Illya said, staring at her counterpart on the field, "if I'm still here, then who is she?"
"Um..."
The Illya on the field blushed crimson under everyone's gaze. "Could someone... please get me some clothes? This outfit is really... too embarrassing."