Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Jonouchi, who had a rare moment of clarity, suddenly froze in confusion again. "Hoshino actually blocked Kaiba's Ring of Destruction damage? Why?"

Mai, hands on her hips, scolded him impatiently. "You idiot! Obviously, Chiyuki wants to target Marik first too!"

Kaiba was momentarily stunned that Hoshino had used Altera to counter his self-destruction strategy.

"Hmph. So we have the same goal, huh? Even though you already hold five God Cards, you're still unwilling to let go of The Winged Dragon of Ra. Greedy people are truly terrifying."

Lowering his Duel Disk, Kaiba acknowledged his defeat. With his field empty, there was no room left for more clever plays. "Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Picking up where Kaiba had left off, Yugi took a surprisingly direct approach.

"I summon the monster card Kuriboh in Attack Position!"

[Kuriboh ★ ][DARK][Fiend/Effect][ATK 300/DEF 200]

"Kuriii!?" The tiny, wide-eyed Kuriboh looked utterly bewildered. A card usually reserved for hand-trap duties was now marching boldly onto the battlefield in Attack Position.

"Sorry about this, Kuriboh! Help me out just this once!" Yugi, apologetic in tone, pointed toward Hoshino's Paul Bunyan. "Attack Paul Bunyan, Kuriboh!"

Jonouchi gasped in horror. "Even Yugi?! Stop this madness already! This isn't dueling at all!"

The trio's cycle of self-sacrifice was purely a strategy to compete for the chance to face Marik in the next round. Moments ago, Marik had been spitting venomous threats. Now, he was reduced to the "soft target" everyone was racing to take down.

"Good, excellent!" Marik snarled, his clenched teeth betraying his fury as veins bulged across his temples. Being completely disregarded by these three duelists was a humiliation that burned deeply.

"So, all of you are volunteering to die first? Fine! My Winged Dragon of Ra won't spare a single one of you who dares face me!"

On the field, the tiny Kuriboh fearlessly charged toward the towering Paul Bunyan, who sat crouched on the ground, hugging her knees. The size difference was so comical that Paul didn't even seem to notice Kuriboh's existence.

Hoshino grinned slyly and revealed her counterplay. "So that's your plan, Yugi! If Kuriboh manages to hit Paul Bunyan, your Life Points will be wiped out in an instant."

—The Reverse Kill! By turning her opponent's attack against them, Hoshino had devised a gambit on the fly to increase her own chances of losing.

Yugi's eyes widened. "You—!" His tense expression showed that he fully understood the destructive potential of her move.

"This is what I've been waiting for, Yugi! I activate my face-down counter trap card, [Limited/Zero Over]!" Hoshino flipped the card beneath her feet, and red, lightning-like energy surged out, flowing into Altera's body.

Kaiba, watching from the sidelines, couldn't hide his admiration. "So, it's this card, huh? Impressive." The moment Hoshino activated her trap, Kaiba's memories reignited—of the titanic clash between Karna and Obelisk, where infinite attack points collided.

[Limited/Zero Over Counter Trap Card Effect: Target 1 Level 6 or higher [Heroic Spirit] monster on your field; equip this card to it.

①: The attacking monster's ATK becomes 0, and it must attack the equipped monster this turn.

②: Opponents cannot activate effects in response to this card's activation.]

[Kuriboh ATK 300 → 0]

Due to Limited/Zero Over's effect, not only was Kuriboh forced to attack Altera, but even Yugi's Magician's Valkyria was compelled to charge toward her.

"I will destroy the target!" With both hands gripping her radiant, rainbow-hued blade, Altera locked her gaze onto the approaching monsters.

"I don't destroy lives. I turn civilizations to dust. Photon Ray!"

Leaping high into the air, Altera delivered a spiraling, rainbow-charged strike. The energy from her blade collided with the approaching monsters in a brilliant explosion, reducing them to fragments.

[Kuriboh DESTROYED]

[Magician's Valkyria DESTROYED]

Jonouchi scratched his head. "That counterattack was amazing, sure, but destroying Yugi's monsters just means he's lost the duel like he wanted!"

Proudly tapping her Duel Disk, Hoshino declared, "That's the beauty of Altera! Though she's unmatched in strength, she's also unmatched in kindness!"

[This card cannot attack directly. All battle damage inflicted by this card becomes 0.]

"So, Yugi, your self-sacrificial strategy won't work anymore. I suggest you surrender gracefully."

Placing his Duel Disk aside, Yugi smiled in relief. "Indeed, it seems the prey will inevitably fall into the hands of its hunter. Turn end."

"And at the end of your turn, Limited/Zero Over's final effect triggers!"

[③: During the End Phase of the turn this card was activated, the equipped monster is destroyed, and this card is banished. You take damage equal to the equipped monster's ATK.]

"Because Altera is destroyed by Limited/Zero Over, her ability to nullify effect damage no longer applies. I take damage equal to her ATK of 3350!"

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 1700 → 0]

Retracting her Duel Disk, Hoshino smiled contentedly. "Sorry, everyone! Well then, Marik, I'll be taking you on first!"

Marik, seething at being treated as a stepping stone, fumed. "Decided on the order you'll die, have you, Hoshino? In the next duel, I'll show you the true despair of unrelenting darkness!"

With that, Marik stormed off the duel platform without looking back.

Yugi turned to Kaiba. "Shall we continue our duel, Kaiba?"

Kaiba coldly retracted his Duel Disk, dismissing the notion. "Pointless. When the Battle City semifinals officially begin, that's when I'll settle the score with you, Yugi!"

Battle City Semifinals Duel Order Confirmed:

1. Hoshino Chiyuki vs. Marik Ishtar

2. Yugi Muto vs. Seto Kaiba

"Battle City Tournament semifinals. The first match is scheduled to begin in 30 minutes on the second-floor duel platform of the Duel Tower. Although we've had quite a warm-up from morning till now, take some time to adjust your condition."

Leaving these instructions and advice for the semifinalists, Kaiba headed back to the contestants' lounge on the first floor.

The second-floor duel platform, located at the heart of the Duel Tower, was specifically designed for the four-person semifinals. Only the winner of the semifinals would earn the right to ascend to the top of the Duel Tower, where the ultimate battleground—the pinnacle of duelist glory—awaited.

The construction of such a lavish tower, built purely to honor dueling, clearly reflected how much Duel Monsters meant to Kaiba. Of course, the entire tournament was being broadcast globally. With Kaiba's shrewd business acumen, even if the event didn't turn a profit, it certainly wouldn't incur much of a loss.

Amid the cheers of her friends, Hoshino returned alone to the lounge in the Duel Tower. No matter how strong Marik was, this would undoubtedly be the most important match for her in the entire Battle City tournament.

[Duelist level assessment complete. Duelist Adrian Randolph Crump III: Level D. Victory reward: 15 Saint Quartz. Current Saint Quartz total: 15.]

[Duelist level assessment complete. Duelist Noah Kaiba: Level B. Victory reward: 45 Saint Quartz. Current Saint Quartz total: 60.]

"Finally, the ultimate showdown. Feeling nervous?" The mischievous evil god materialized again, unwilling to miss any opportunity to remind Hoshino of her presence.

Hoshino's expression was unreadable. "To be honest, I wasn't feeling nervous at first, but…"

[Duelist level assessment complete. Duelist Marik Ishtar: Level ??, strength evaluation unavailable.]

"This is the first time something like this has happened. At first, I thought it might be because of the four-person battle format… but that doesn't seem to be the case." Hoshino recalled her past experiences with four-player free-for-alls—when she used to toy with kids at her grandfather's card shop to harvest easy victories.

Such scenarios had never resulted in an unrankable evaluation before. Most opponents back then were Level E.

This time, though, Marik was an exception. "My gut tells me this isn't a good sign."

Sitting snugly on Hoshino's lap, the evil god tilted her head back to stare at her. "So you're scared? Even with me here to watch over you~"

Hoshino pinched her cheek, leaving a red mark. Lost in thought, she said, "Ishizu mentioned that the dark soul sealed within the Millennium Rod awakens another persona within Marik, granting him full control of The Winged Dragon of Ra."

The evil god rubbed her cheek with her small hand, grumbling. "What we currently know about Ra's effects includes inheriting attack points and paying 1000 Life Points to destroy all monsters on the opponent's field. Inheriting attack points isn't particularly scary—the real issue is that Phoenix Mode…"

"Phoenix Mode… you mean the form that burned Jonouchi into unconsciousness?" Prompted by the evil god, Hoshino began considering what she would do if Marik used the same technique against her.

"You and I seem to be concerned about different things. While Phoenix Mode does have tremendous destructive power over the soul and psyche, your spiritual strength has far surpassed that of ordinary humans, almost approaching divine levels. You should be able to withstand one or two hits."

Hoshino's soul had once been powerful enough to almost completely revive the evil god. Because of this, the godly entity had a deep understanding of her spiritual fortitude.

"What I wanted to remind you of is that even I cannot stop an attack in Phoenix Mode, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Eh?" Hoshino was surprised. "Even you can't handle it? But I thought you were immune to monster effects."

"That should be the case, but the moment I saw that attack, I felt it. That destructive force seems to stem from a rule-based annihilation—it bypasses all resistances. So whatever you do, don't try to counter Phoenix Mode with immunity-based effects."

"It's impressive that you could figure that out." The warning was invaluable; Hoshino might have otherwise fallen into a fatal trap.

"That's all the advice I can give. The rest is up to you, girl."

The evil god seemed to recall something else as she finished speaking. "Oh, one last thing. That guy probably also has fake God Cards on him."

"More fake God Cards? Doesn't he fear divine retribution?" Thinking of what happened to Odion, Hoshino couldn't help but shiver.

The evil god, still enjoying the soft warmth of Hoshino's lap, didn't respond. Perhaps even she couldn't extract any further information about Marik.

"No point in overthinking. I'd better adjust my deck first."

Hoshino activated the system, directly accessing the card shop.

[Da Vinci-chan's friendly tip: New items have been added to the Special Summon Shop! Fair pricing, act fast!]

As soon as she opened the interface, a chibi Da Vinci popped up, advertising cheerfully.

"Restocking so quickly… but I barely have time to earn Saint Quartz," Hoshino sighed over her impoverished state and entered the Special Summon Shop out of habit.

Even if she couldn't afford anything, window shopping was still a way to stay motivated.

[Special Summon Shop accessed.]

[Special Summon Shop: Remaining Servants: 3/3. Next refresh in: Over 1 day.]

[SSR Minamoto no Raikou – Exchange Cost: 100 Saint Quartz]

[SSR Shuten Douji – Exchange Cost: 100 Saint Quartz]

[SR Ibaraki Douji – Exchange Cost: 50 Saint Quartz]

"An Oni theme, huh? Interesting!"

Hoshino chuckled. She hadn't expected the chance to openly exchange Saint Quartz for her favorite characters. With her current funds, she could just about afford Ibaraki Douji.

If she exchanged for Raikou and Shuten as well, life at Chaldea for Kintoki would probably take a turn for the worse.

"No discount this time, huh? Feels like last time's 30% off deal was something Da Vinci-chan came up with on the fly to clear out my Quartz stash." Musing on this, Hoshino instinctively clicked the option to redeem Ibaraki.

[Ibaraki Douji redeemed. Remaining Saint Quartz: 10.]

"The Oni leader of Mount Ōe, Ibaraki Douji, has arrived!!"

(*****)

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