Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

The collapse that began at Yubel's black wings quickly spread across her entire body. With a shocked expression, Yubel seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened in that moment.

"How is this possible… My power… is fading…"

"Well, of course it is. After all, the Death Line has already been severed." Finding a stable foothold, Shiki sheathed her dagger at her waist and said, "But don't worry—the one that was killed wasn't you."

Hoshino stepped in to explain, "I had Shiki 'kill' the power of your 'curse.' Now, all the duelists who fell unconscious because of your ability should be waking up soon."

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could sever, erase, and kill even spiritual abilities, supernatural powers, magic, and conceptual existences.

Shiki rolled her shoulder and muttered, "You sure know how to boss people around, don't you, Master?"

"Wait! If I lose my power, I won't be able to protect Jaden anymore! My beloved Jaden… If he loses a duel, he'll be sad!"

Even as her powers faded, Yubel's first concern was still Jaden.

Hoshino Alter reassured her, [You don't need to worry about that. He's far stronger than you think. If you need proof, just watch him~]

The finishing blow had been stopped by the Trap Card Hoshino activated. After a brief moment of surprise, Jaden accepted his defeat with a smile. Losing a duel wasn't shameful—it was simply a necessary step toward becoming stronger.

"I lost, weird onee-chan… Even summoning Yubel wasn't enough to win."

Placing a hand on his deck, Jaden grinned brightly and declared, "Even though I lost, that was a really fun duel! From now on, I'll keep getting stronger alongside my HEROes~"

[See? He isn't as fragile as you feared. With a heart like that, he'll only grow stronger with every duel.]

"Ah… Is that so? Jaden, my Jaden, my beloved Jaden… Was I just worrying too much and causing more harm than good?"

Seeing Jaden's beaming smile, Yubel—fading away completely—looked as if she had just received the greatest gift. With a peaceful expression, she murmured, "From now on, let's fight together…"

[Duel Over. Winner: Mysterious Cloaked Duelist]

The Evil God nodded, seemingly empathetic. [Even if her methods were a bit extreme, that spirit's concern for her master was absolutely genuine. Just like me~]

Hoshino Alter chimed in, [Right? If I didn't have you, Evil God-san, keeping me company in the Pyramid of Light every day, I probably would've gone insane from boredom~]

Hoshino's eyes widened, suddenly feeling a strange sense of betrayal. "Wait a second! This is the first I'm hearing about this! Just what exactly have you two been doing behind my back?"

Hoshino Alter's lips curled into a meaningful smile. [Why so flustered, partner? You should know that being trapped in one place for eternity can get pretty lonely. So the Evil God-san and I just comforted each other~]

"C-Comforted each other?! T-That's totally inappropriate! I don't approve of this!"

[This is completely normal! I mean, even Yugi probably spent time in the Millennium Puzzle playing with Dark Magician Girl…]

"Σ(っ°Д°;)っ WITH DARK MAGICIAN GIRL?! D-Don't tell me…?!"

[…Playing cards, obviously. How else would he pass all that free time?]

[=_= Yugi would never be as boring as you.]

On the other side of the duel arena, Jaden, who had looked a little nervous, stared at Hoshino for a while before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Phew… Weird onee-chan didn't pass out! I thought for sure…"

Hoshino waved her hand and jumped down from the duel arena, full of energy. "You thought I'd be cursed too? I already told you—that kind of rumor isn't true~"

Of course, the "curse" had indeed been real. But now that the cursed power had been severed by Shiki, Hoshino figured there was no need for anyone else to know.

"She's really okay? Then… I guess the rumor that Jaden was cursed must've been a lie. Sorry, Jaden!"

Seeing that Hoshino was totally fine after winning the duel, the other kids—who had doubted their friend—lowered their heads and apologized.

"But…" One of the little girls still looked uneasy. "Our neighbor's big brother is still unconscious today…"

Hoshino rolled her eyes playfully and said, "That's probably just his excuse for losing. When you get home today, I bet he'll have already woken up."

(Sorry, 'neighbor's big brother,' whoever you are. You're taking the fall for this one.)

"Anyway! Jaden, your HERO deck is seriously awesome! Since the curse turned out to be fake, let's duel next!"

"Count me in! I want to test my deck against a HERO deck!"

Cleared of all accusations, Jaden was finally welcomed back by his friends. Now surrounded by eager challengers, he scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

Hoshino gave him an encouraging pat on the back. "What are you hesitating for, Jaden? Didn't you say you'd grow stronger alongside your HEROes and challenge me again? Don't tell me you're already exhausted after just one duel?"

"No way! I can still fight alongside my HEROes!"

Reinvigorated by Hoshino's encouragement, Jaden clenched his small fists and jumped back onto the duel arena.

"—Come at me! No matter what field spell tricks you try, my HEROes will break through them all!"

"This should settle everything now."

Hoshino smiled with satisfaction. At first, she had stepped in simply out of curiosity and sympathy, but now, she felt like her encounter with this boy named Jaden was something fated.

[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete: Duelist Yuki Jaden, Overall Rating: E. Victory Reward: 5 Saint Quartz. Current Total: 20 Saint Quartz.]

[Limited-Time Event: Kara no Kyōkai Collaboration. Defeat monsters using "Ryougi Shiki." Achievement Reward: Card—"Sieg."]

"A reward? So this kind of feature exists too?"

The sudden flood of information left Hoshino momentarily stunned. She glanced at the newly obtained card in her hand, then looked over at the jellyfish-haired boy standing on the duel arena.

"Fate sure works in mysterious ways. Jaden… You're an interesting kid~"

"Hoshino-nee, you really are…"

Putting away her cards and turning around, Hoshino found herself face to face with a pouting Akasha.

"You're such a player!"

"Do you even know what 'player' means?"

The jealous Akasha tugged at Hoshino's cloak sleeve. "Of course I do! It means someone like you, who flirts with everyone—a total player! You said you'd take me out to have fun, but now you're giving all your attention to some kid you just met!"

"Who said we were out here to have fun? Before we left, I clearly said this was work time!"

"So your job is just to flirt with boys? You already slept with me, and now you won't even take responsibility!"

Just sleeping together—why would she need to take responsibility for that? If Akasha's words ever reached Uncle Rowick, someone might actually die.

Their argument was loud enough to attract attention, even in the bustling hall. Especially with Akasha's misleading phrasing, this scene would probably become dinner gossip all across San Francisco.

Feeling slightly embarrassed by the stares, Hoshino gently pressed a finger to Akasha's lips and whispered, "Shh… We're here to gather intel. If you keep calling me 'Hoshino,' it'll be too easy to blow our cover."

Akasha, feeling the soft touch of Hoshino's fingertip, immediately lost half of her jealousy. "Mmm… Then what should I call you?"

"Just call me 'Nee-san.'"

"Nee-san…"

Letting go of Hoshino's cloak, Akasha's delicate cheeks flushed slightly, and whatever jealousy remained disappeared completely.

"Then… N-Nee-san…"

The Evil God remarked,

[You really are a sinful woman.]

With Akasha's jealousy diffused, Hoshino took another lap around the hall to survey the area. However, no matter how closely she examined 'Valkyrie Hall,' it appeared to be a completely ordinary dueling facility. For a moment, she even wondered if those two losers had fed her false information.

"Nee-san! Everything looks normal. What do we do now, Nee-san?"

Akasha clung to Hoshino's wrist, happily repeating "Nee-san" over and over. Ever since changing how she addressed her, she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.

After a moment of thought, Hoshino concluded, "It looks like this kind of underground dueling arena, which operates outside legal supervision, is too hard for outsiders like us to detect. If we want to uncover the truth, we'll have to wait until nightfall."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that, Nee-san. So in the meantime, let's play together, okay, Nee-san~?"

Akasha wasn't especially interested in exposing secret duel rings—she just wanted to spend time with Hoshino.

During the month Hoshino had vanished from Duel City, Akasha had nearly fallen into depression, according to Rowick. She shut everyone out, becoming completely unapproachable—to the dismay of her father.

So, the moment she learned Hoshino had returned, Akasha immediately insisted on seeing her. However, as much as Rowick doted on his daughter, he had his own research to deal with and couldn't let her travel overseas alone.

But now that Hoshino had coincidentally come to the U.S., Akasha finally got her chance. And when Rowick personally handed his daughter over to Hoshino at the airport, he felt an eerie sense of loss—like he was giving his daughter away in marriage, never to return.

Hoshino gently patted Akasha's golden hair. "Alright, alright. What do you want to do? Or what do you want to eat? Just say it—don't hold back~"

After all, Pegasus was footing the bill.

"I want to play with Nee-san—wait, no…!" Akasha nearly let her true desires slip but quickly shook her head.

"Let's go pull some card packs! I heard that if you buy enough from Duelist King of Heroic Spirits, you can collect ten Replica Spartacus cards and exchange them for a giant Duel King poster! But Uncle barely gives me any allowance, so I could never afford enough…"

Hoshino wanted to question why Akasha was so determined to collect ten copies of Spartacus to trade for a Duel King poster—especially when the real Duel King was standing right in front of her.

But then she realized, since she didn't have to pay for it herself, it wasn't a bad idea. If she could pull some Replica Heroic Spirit cards for her deck, it might help with the issue of only being able to use one copy of each Heroic Spirit.

"Alright, let's go pull some packs! Not to brag, but my Spartacus luck is incredible—second only to my crazy Okita pulls!"

[Ladies and gentlemen——!]

Just as Hoshino was about to head for the card shop, a familiar deep voice rang out from behind her, making her freeze in place.

"Kaiba?"

Inside the hall, a massive overhead screen was broadcasting Kaiba's image—arms crossed aboard an airship. His commanding voice instantly seized everyone's attention.

[Ladies and gentlemen! Do you miss the adrenaline-pumping duels of Battle City? Do you long to witness the clash of top-tier duelists once more? Well, the blazing duels are about to begin again!

One week from now, the grandest professional Duel Monsters tournament—co-hosted by KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions—will kick off in San Francisco!]

Hoshino still couldn't understand why Kaiba always insisted on making announcements from an airship. He'd done the same thing back during Battle City. Maybe he just liked the way the high-altitude wind flared his coat—it definitely boosted his style points.

"So even Kaiba is teaming up with Pegasus to host a tournament, huh? I guess in business, there are no eternal rivals—only eternal profits."

As a major shareholder of KaibaCorp, Hoshino was now in a position to evaluate Kaiba's decisions from a business standpoint.

After opening Kaiba Land, he immediately followed up with the globally anticipated KC Grand Prix. Clearly, a move designed to recover the company's plummeting stock price.

The broadcast continued, showing Kaiba standing dramatically in the wind while detailing the tournament format. Unlike Battle City, which had been open to the public, the KC Grand Prix would be invitation-only—featuring elite duelists from across the world.

To ensure a high-quality broadcast, the participant list would remain small—likely no more than a dozen duelists.

[——At the end of the tournament, the final two duelists will face off against the two Battle City semifinalists, Yugi Muto and Hoshino Chiyuki. The ultimate victor will be crowned the KC Grand Prix Champion!]

"What the fuck! He never tells me anything before making these decisions! Is this how he treats one of the company's shareholders?!"

Hoshino, the KaibaCorp Tool, had officially become just another profit-making asset for the company.

(*****)

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