Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"—When the sky roars with chaotic thunder, and the ancient chained grimoire awakens, its power becomes infinite!

Answer my call—Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

[Slifer the Sky Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DIVINE] [Divine-Beast/Effect] [ATK ??? / DEF ???]

From the swirling storm clouds above, the colossal Sky Dragon roared into the arena. Its massive crimson body stretched across the sky, as if blanketing the heavens themselves in divine wrath.

"You actually summoned Slifer on your first turn? You're something else, Yugi!"

Hoshino's pupils trembled slightly. She instinctively gripped her cards more tightly.

Slifer the Sky Dragon's terrifying suppressive power allows it to unleash a thunderous blast the moment any opposing monster is summoned, instantly reducing that monster's ATK and DEF by 2000 points. Judging from Hoshino's current hand, she had no immediate way to neutralize it.

"Since I Tribute Summoned Slifer the Sky Dragon using three Magnet Warriors, the effect of Precious Cards from Beyond activates—I draw two cards!"

With his hand emptied by the summon, Yugi quickly replenished it with two fresh draws.

Slifer's ATK is determined by the number of cards in its controller's hand. Normally, summoning it would leave your hand—and thus Slifer—empty. But thanks to the setup with Precious Cards from Beyond, the God remained armed and dangerous.

[Slifer the Sky Dragon: ATK ? → 2000]

A suppressive presence with ATK practically written as 2000. Summoning a God on the first turn wasn't just bold—it was oppressive.

"Lastly, I set one card face-down. Turn end."

[Yugi – 1 card in hand | 1 Set Card]

From the stands, Jonouchi furrowed his brows.

"Aren't you lowering Slifer's attack by setting a card? Isn't that risky?"

[Slifer's ATK: 2000 → 1000]

"He still chose to set a card?"

Drawing for her turn, Hoshino echoed Jonouchi's concern.

"Could it be… that annoying Mirror Force again?"

4000 and 3000 ATK suppression were leagues apart. At 3000, Slifer was basically just Blue-Eyes. With only 1000, it felt far less threatening.

"I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity! I draw 3 cards, then discard 2."

After refreshing her hand, Hoshino estimated that if Slifer's ATK was truly only 1000, she just might have a chance to strike back.

"Now I activate the Spell Card Polymerization from my hand!

I fuse Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon and Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily!"

Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly. He had seen many of Hoshino's duels, but never a fusion between two versions of King Arthur.

"A girl who dreams of becoming a king, tempered by the trials of humanity's incineration…

A hopeful future converges into a different King Arthur than history remembers—now take ideal form!

Fusion Summon—Ideal King of Knight – Artoria Pendragon Lily!"

[Ideal King of Knight – Artoria Pendragon Lily ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][LIGHT] [Dragon/Fusion/Effect] [ATK 2400 / DEF 2100]

["Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily" + "Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon"]

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

As long as this card remains on the field, your "Heroic Spirit" monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects.]

"The most empathetic King of Knights answers her Master's call—she comes forth to fight!"

Her radiant eyes glowed with hope. The smile on her face showed the confidence of someone who had trained to attain this form: the ideal Artoria Lily.

Yugi raised his hand and pointed at Slifer in the sky.

"Even the Ideal King of Knight must face Slifer's effect the moment she's summoned!"

[When your opponent summons, Flip Summons, or Special Summons a monster:

This card's effect activates—reduce that monster's ATK and DEF by 2000.

If either becomes 0, destroy that monster.]

A terrifying thunderbolt coalesced in Slifer's maw, locking onto the small and fragile Lily.

"Go, Slifer—Thunder Force!"

[Ideal King of Knight Lily DEF: 2100 → 100]

The lightning struck. Though summoned in Defense Position, Lily's DEF dropped instantly to a fragile 100.

From the stands, Kaiba scoffed:

"Hmph. As expected, the gods' suppressive power is overwhelming.

If Hoshino doesn't find a breakthrough soon, she'll be under constant pressure from Yugi's early Slifer summon."

"Ideal King of Knight activates her effect—once per turn, I can target 1 'Heroic Spirit' in my Graveyard and Special Summon it!"

Drawing her sacred sword and plunging it into the earth, Lily—even weakened—had her own way of standing tall.

"By the name of the Holy Sword, awaken—Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon!"

[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)]

[LIGHT] [Dragon/Effect] [ATK 2400 / DEF 2000]

Hoshino placed the revived Artoria in Attack Position. Now, the two Kings of Knights stood side-by-side to resist Slifer's divine suppression.

"Slifer—Thunder Force!"

As expected, Artoria was struck the moment she returned to the field.

[Artoria's ATK: 2400 → 400]

Sweating, Mokuba in the audience muttered:

"Even for Hoshino… taking two Thunder Forces in a row makes it really hard to launch any offense…"

"Slifer's suppression is nasty, but if that's all it has—and only 1000 ATK? That's not enough to stop me!

I activate Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon's effect—"

[During your Main Phase: Banish 1 "Avalon" card from your Graveyard; add 1 "Sword of Promised Victory" from your Deck to your hand.]

"I banish Avalon of Radiant Path, which I discarded via Graceful Charity, to add the Equip Spell Sword of Promised Victory to my hand—and immediately equip it to Artoria!"

In Artoria's hands, the golden brilliance of the holy sword ignited the battlefield, its light piercing even the thunder-laden heavens.

[Equip Spell – Sword of Promised Victory

Can only be equipped to an "Artoria" monster.

①: The equipped monster gains 500 ATK for each "Heroic Spirit" monster on your field and in your Graveyard.]

"I've got two 'Heroic Spirit' monsters on the field, and in the Graveyard are Artoria Lily and Heroic Spirit – Oda Nobunaga!

That's four in total—Artoria gains 2000 ATK!"

[Artoria's ATK: 400 → 2400]

Using the power of the Sword of Promised Victory, the weakening caused by Thunder Force was offset. Guided by golden radiance, Hoshino immediately launched the first attack of the duel.

"Attack, Artoria! Use your sword to destroy Slifer on the field!"

"—Breath of the heavenly stars, stream of resplendent life—take this! Excaliburn!"

The holy sword clutched in King Arthur's hands came crashing down, imbued with magical energy. The roar of the Red Dragon of Britain surged upward, striking toward the crimson Dragon looming above.

With a triumphant smirk, Yugi flipped over the only face-down card on his field.

"Hoshino, you said a Slifer with 1000 attack points couldn't hold you back. But how about this? I activate my face-down Trap Card—Magnet Conversion!"

[Trap Card Effect: Target up to three Level 4 or lower "Magnet Warrior" monsters in your GY; add them to your hand.]

"Using Magnet Conversion, I add Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Beta the Magnet Warrior, and Gamma the Magnet Warrior from my Graveyard to my hand! That brings my hand size up to four cards!"

"ROOOOAR—!!"

A thunderous roar echoed through the sky as Slifer's power surged with restored might. Thanks to the Trap Card refilling his hand, Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack power skyrocketed.

[Slifer the Sky Dragon ATK: 1000 → 4000]

Hoshino frowned. "Damn… I walked right into it."

She had assumed the face-down card Yugi set—despite lowering Slifer's attack—was something like Mirror Force, a typical defensive trap. In that case, she could have relied on Ideal King of Knight's effect to prevent destruction.

Kaiba shouted from the stands: "So it was a trap to replenish his hand all along. That bastard Yugi intentionally lowered Slifer's attack just to bait Hoshino into attacking!"

Raising his hand, Yugi pointed directly at Artoria.

"Take this, Hoshino—my counterattack that splits the heavens! Superconductive Thunderforce!!"

The lightning cannon that erupted from Slifer's mouth overwhelmed the radiant glow of the holy sword, engulfing Hoshino's Artoria in divine fury.

"Artoria's effect activates! During the damage calculation step, I can reveal any number of 'Heroic Spirit' monsters in my hand—she gains 500 ATK for each!" ThefullseriesishostedonMyVirtualLibraryEmpire,knownasMV7LEMPYR.

She revealed the only monster left in her hand. It wasn't enough to overpower Slifer, but at least it would slightly reduce the damage dealt.

"The 'Heroic Spirit' in my hand—Heroic Spirit – Paracelsus von Hohenheim! Artoria gains 500 ATK!"

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP: 4000 → 2900]

[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon destroyed]

"I was careless… But this duel isn't over yet!"

Just before fading from the field, Artoria raised her sword and declared:

"Knights of the Round Table—inherit the will of the holy sword and win this battle!"

[Sword of Promised Victory Effect: If the equipped monster is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Knight of the Round Table" monster from your Deck, Graveyard, or banished zone to your hand.]

"Thanks to Sword of Promised Victory's effect, I add a 'Knight of the Round Table' monster from my Deck to my hand!

Also, when Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon is destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon Artoria Pendragon Lily from the Graveyard in Defense Position!"

She placed the fallen monster sideways on her Duel Disk. Even after Slifer's mighty counterattack, Hoshino still had two Artorias present—though now, both were Lilies.

[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily ★★★★ (Level 4)] [LIGHT] [Dragon/Effect] [ATK 1200 / DEF 800]

"When Lily is Special Summoned, I can add one 'Heroic Spirit' monster from my Deck to my hand!"

"It's no use! With only 800 DEF, that Lily can't withstand Thunder Force!"

Yugi gave no breathing room. Another blast erupted from Slifer's mouth.

[Artoria Lily DEF: 800 → 0]

"If a monster's ATK or DEF is reduced to 0 by Slifer, it's destroyed immediately!"

"Not so fast! The effect of Ideal King of Knight – Artoria Pendragon Lily! As long as she's on the field, my 'Heroic Spirit' monsters can't be destroyed by effects!"

Lily poured mana into the sacred sword embedded in the ground and made a firm vow:

"Holy sword, raise your protective barrier. With your pure light, protect my loyal knights!"

A radiant shield flared into existence, dispersing the lingering destructive force clinging to Lily. Seeing this, the other Lily's eyes sparkled with awe.

"So this is me—after training and becoming stronger? She looks so dependable! I need to ask Master X to ramp up my training starting today!"

Honestly… if you're training with Master X, you might never reach that form in your whole life.

"After ending my Battle Phase, I still haven't used my Normal Summon! I Normal Summon Heroic Spirit – Paracelsus von Hohenheim in Defense Position!"

[Heroic Spirit – Paracelsus von Hohenheim DEF: 1600 → 0]

Just like Lily, Hohenheim's DEF dropped to 0 due to Slifer's effect—but thanks to Ideal King of Knight's protection, he remained on the field.

"Hohenheim's effect: When he's successfully summoned, I can add a Spell Card that mentions 'Heroic Spirit' from my Deck to my hand. Finally, I set 2 cards and end my turn!"

[Hoshino: 3 cards in hand | 2 Set cards]

Even against the crushing force of Thunder Force, Hoshino had managed to field three Heroic Spirits in Defense Position.

But the harsh truth remained...

All three of them combined only had a total DEF of 100.

[Ideal King of Knight – Artoria Pendragon Lily DEF: 100]

(*****)

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