Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

The duel ends—the victor is Yugi Muto!

"So in the end, it was Yugi-nii who won, huh?"

Akasha, who had started to worry halfway through about the week's worth of snacks she bet, let out a quiet sigh of relief.

But seriously—when Jonouchi was still at full Life Points and had knocked Yugi down to just 100, everyone thought he had it in the bag.

"As expected, luck alone isn't enough to beat printed cards. What a pity, Jonouchi-nii!"

Jumping down from the stage after his semifinal loss, Jonouchi didn't seem nearly as upset as everyone had imagined. Instead, he gave Yugi a friendly punch to the chest.

"Well, I lost in the end. But strangely enough, I actually feel relieved. If I really had beaten you, Yugi… I wouldn't have known what to do afterward."

From the moment he first encountered Duel Monsters, Yugi had always been the one Jonouchi chased. And in that moment—when he held the upper hand and launched his dragon to attack Dark Magician—even if just for a second, Jonouchi felt afraid. Afraid that Yugi might not be able to stop it.

Yugi smiled in response. "You're the one who's amazing, Jonouchi. Back in school, I never imagined you'd grow this strong in such a short time."

"Next up is your duel with Hoshino, right? But now that you have Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, even she's gonna have a hard time with that."

Yugi shook his head. "It's not that simple. Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon is powerful, but it's still only a Level 8 monster—it won't stand a chance against the Gods."

"Oh, right… the God Cards..."

Jonouchi had nearly forgotten—both Yugi and Hoshino possessed God Cards far beyond what ordinary monsters could match. That meant Yugi hadn't even been using his full power against him.

"After battling in Battle City, Hoshino and I realized the God Cards completely broke Duel Monsters' balance."

The infinite ATK barrages, immunity to traps, suppression effects—against those monsters, standard cards didn't stand a chance.

"That's why I never include the Egyptian Gods in my Deck when dueling someone without them. I'm sure Hoshino feels the same. After all, the Evil Gods she holds are just as powerful."

"So that's why you didn't use your God Cards against me, huh..."

Realizing that, Jonouchi suddenly put Yugi into a headlock.

"Even knowing the reason, it still feels like you were holding back in our duel—like you had everything under control. It pisses me off!"

Yugi, trapped under Jonouchi's arm, gave a helpless smile.

"But the final match will be different. Since Hoshino has God Cards too, I'll go all out—bringing the full might of the Egyptian Gods!"

"You two seriously have time to sit around chatting like this?"

Anzu approached, her tone sharp with frustration.

"The B Block semifinals are about to start and Hoshino still hasn't shown up! Couldn't you guys have dragged your duel out a little longer?!"

Rebecca explained calmly, "It's not their fault. At that point in the duel, there was no room left to stall."

(***)

B Block Semifinals – Contestant Waiting Area

Sitting with his legs crossed, Zigfried von Schroeder had yet to see any sign of Hoshino and was starting to get irritated.

"Did she run away out of fear? To think the one who talked so tough would turn out to be such a coward."

He casually touched the Duel Disk on his arm, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

"I even prepared a little gift just for you. If you don't show… I'll be very disappointed."

Although Kaiba had beaten him in the race to develop holographic Duel Monsters tech, Zigfried hadn't given up.

By hacking into the core of KaibaCorp's Duel Disk system—and modifying it so the device could transmit signals through the skin to affect the brain—Zigfried had, just a few days ago, completed a system that could perfectly replicate the sensation of real impact from holographic projections.

Now, even without electric shocks, a duel could cause actual physical damage to the Duelist.

And likely, only Zigfried—the genius who built his own holographic technology—was capable of pulling off something like this.

Of course, his true goal was to drag both KaibaCorp and Seto Kaiba himself into ruin.

If a Duelist were to die on-air from damage caused by KaibaCorp's Duel Disk system… Kaiba's reputation would be shattered.

All Zigfried had to do was defeat Hoshino with his modified Duel Disk—and let her die right there on the spot. Just imagining the moment made him burst into laughter.

"I can't wait to see Kaiba's panicked face! Hahahahaha!"

Naturally, Zigfried's confidence in defeating Hoshino stemmed from his modified Duel Disk as well.

The Deck loaded into it allowed him to manipulate his draw order at will. That was the real secret behind his three one-turn-kill victories in the preliminaries—including the one against Bandit Keith.

Forget top-decking—every card I draw is exactly the one I want.

["B Block Semifinal will begin in five minutes. All contestants, please take your places."]

"It's time to pull Kaiba off his throne… and let him feel every ounce of pain I've carried all these years!"

Hearing the announcement, Zigfried adjusted his long, flowing hair and stepped out toward the biggest stage of his life.

(***)

"What's Kaiba's deal, rushing to start the second match so soon?!"

Looking up toward the platform where Kaiba stood, cold wind in his face, Jonouchi grumbled.

"With an event this big, couldn't they at least throw in some babes dancing between rounds? Y'know, lighten the mood and stall for time!"

Wearing white leather shoes, Zigfried stepped onto the stage with theatrical flair, addressing the crowd with a mocking tone.

"The Duel King still hasn't shown? Just like during Battle City—did she vanish again, or run away in fear? Still, to skip the two biggest matches in Duel Monsters history… Is this what it means to be the Duel King? Hahahahaha!"

"What, the Duel King's not showing up again? Are we just monkeys dancing for her entertainment?!"

"What the hell is going on?! Can someone come out and explain already?!"

Spurred on by Zigfried, the KC Grand Prix audience began to stir restlessly, their frustration boiling over into criticism. The unresolved disappointment from never seeing the Battle City finals now exploded alongside the rising chaos.

Jack: "Akasha, is it our turn now?"

Nursery Rhyme: "Let's go, let's go! I feel like it's been forever since I last dueled. I'm so lonely~"

Sensing that things were about to spiral out of control, Akasha nodded silently—preparing to take Hoshino's place and deliver a ruthless beatdown to the scumbag responsible for Keith's death.

"Silence!!"

From atop the observation deck, Kaiba's commanding voice thundered across the arena, instantly silencing the uproar.

With a single word, he crushed the disruptive momentum Zigfried had stirred up. This—perhaps—was the aura of a true king. An insurmountable difference between them.

Kaiba then looked down at Zigfried with open scorn, as if staring at something rotten.

"The one who will bring your judgment will appear. So shut your mouth and wait quietly, head of the Schroeder Corp—Zigfried von Schroeder!"

"Oh? How interesting, Kaiba~" Zigfried chuckled, accepting the provocation as he glanced at his wristwatch.

"There's one minute left. Let's see if the Duel King makes it in time. Even if they're one second late, I won't accept the match. Unless the president of KaibaCorp comes down and apologizes to me personally."

Standing next to Kaiba on the observation deck, Mokuba's eyes widened as he gazed into the distance.

"Big bro! Hoshino's here! She's a little off schedule, but she still made it!"

"What's that sound?"

The crowd—only just silenced by Kaiba's roar—turned their heads toward the sky, drawn by a rising noise… and suddenly, a massive Blue-Eyes White Dragon airship appeared, hovering above the dueling arena.

"A Blue-Eyes White Dragon airship?! No way..."

Yugi and the others gasped in unison.

Far larger than the blimp used during Battle City, the airship looked like a mythical beast soaring through the clouds, its wings stretching across the sky as it hovered steadily above the stadium.

Onboard, fully geared up, Hoshino adjusted the wind goggles on her face.

"—Duel King Hoshino Chiyuki, ready to deploy. Requesting permission to land!"

Kaiba snapped back with his usual gruff tone.

"Stop wasting time. Do you have any idea how much it cost to send that airship to pick you up from Dartz Island?!"

"You're the one wasting money, Kaiba. You could've just sent a helicopter like last time... I seriously don't get why you needed a whole airship for this."

Mokuba: "Of course her entrance has to be flashy—it's the Duel King appearing in front of a global audience! Go for it, Hoshino!"

"Alright, watch this!"

With a fearless leap, Hoshino jumped from the airship. As the wind howled past her ears, she felt the rush of skydiving for the very first time.

Yugi: "Wait—has Hoshino ever done a skydive before?!"

Akasha: "Could her so-called training have actually been skydiving practice?!"

Of course not. Hoshino would never waste time before an important duel practicing something that irrelevant. The parachute behind her was fully automated—controlled remotely by KaibaCorp professionals. All Hoshino had to do was enjoy the ride.

This kind of entrance was the very definition of "rich and willful."

"That's way too extravagant! The Duel King's entrance really is something else!"

"Told you! There's no way an event this big would leave us hanging!"

The crowd, easily swayed by spectacle, instantly flipped from complaints to cheers. The moment Hoshino appeared, all previous dissatisfaction vanished in a wave of applause.

Free fall. Chute deployed. Trajectory corrected. Landing perfect.

With ten seconds left on the match countdown, Hoshino landed squarely in front of Zigfried.

"As promised… I'm here to take your miserable life."

Zigfried stared, stunned. He clearly hadn't expected that kind of entrance. But even though she'd arrived on time, unless Kaiba himself apologized, Zigfried's plan wouldn't change.

He lowered his voice.

"A duel to the death—that's the promise between us. But since I can't use the electric shock device here at the KC Semifinals, I've already prepared an alternative."

He was about to reveal the modified Duel Disk that inflicted actual physical shocks—when Hoshino casually waved a hand.

"Forget about that. Knowing you, it'd be foolish to think you wouldn't have a backup plan."

Then, ignoring him completely, she calmly walked to her designated duel position.

Zigfried's brow twitched.

Hoshino shouldn't know anything about the Duel Disk modifications. Her attitude shift made him wonder if she was bluffing—and if she truly wouldn't go through with a death match in front of a global audience.

Smirking to himself, Zigfried thought:

"Hmph. Duel King, Hoshino… you don't have a choice now. Once the duel starts, I'll make you feel the pain of being struck by real Duel Monsters!"

As Hoshino had correctly guessed, Zigfried's scheme was even more sinister than it seemed. Though the duel system now delivered physical shock, he had rigged it so he only suffered one-tenth of the damage that Hoshino would take.

KC Grand Prix – Group B Semifinals: Zigfried von Schroeder vs. Hoshino Chiyuki

"Duel start!!"

Zigfried made no move. Of course he wouldn't go first—his entire strategy hinged on going second and winning in one strike, just like he had in the preliminaries.

"Hmph. Of course you're clinging to your one-turn strategy… I've already seen through your petty tricks!"

Even knowing his tactics, Hoshino didn't hesitate. She drew her card and began her turn with confidence.

"But this time, all your schemes will be useless! Let me show you the trump card I perfected just for you!"

As the duel began, black mist unfurled from beneath her feet—cold and thick—quickly swallowing the entire platform in shadows.

"—You can't escape. Welcome to the Shadow Game, Zigfried von Schroeder!"

(*****)

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