Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Don't worry too much about it, Alister~"

Hoshino patted Alister on the shoulder with a resigned smile, trying to reassure him. Since she was now part of Doma, she figured it was best to build good relationships with her new comrades.

"Kaiba's not an easy opponent to deal with. Getting a draw against him is already pretty impressive! Well done!"

Is that how you're supposed to comfort someone?!

Valon, fully aware of Alister's deep grudge against Kaiba, looked on awkwardly as Hoshino's so-called "comfort" came off more like pouring fuel on the fire.

"Oh, oh! The draw you're talking about must be the duel with the God Card, right? That match was incredible!"

Valon quickly tried to smooth things over, but with Rafael's tactless remarks and this newcomer's unintentionally provocative "encouragement," he suddenly felt like the responsibility of keeping the group together had doubled.

"So, you once fought Kaiba to a draw?" Alister's tone turned serious as he brushed Hoshino's hand off his shoulder.

"Then duel me. I'd like to see for myself the strength of the so-called Duel King."

The sudden challenge caught everyone off guard—Valon, Rafael, and even Hoshino herself.

I was just trying to get along with my new comrades! How did this suddenly turn into a duel?!

Hoshino scratched her head awkwardly, completely baffled.

Rafael, ever the responsible one, stepped in to put a stop to it. "Alister, Hoshino is the Duelist chosen by the God. Challenging her so abruptly is highly disrespectful. Besides, Doma members are forbidden from using the Seal of Orichalcos to initiate internal conflicts."

"It's fine if we don't use the Seal, isn't it?" Alister countered, sounding almost self-righteous. "I just want to test the strength of Hoshino Chiyuki, the so-called Duel King. Even if the God chose her, I can't entrust my back to a stranger without understanding her true power!"

"Great, now it's getting out of hand~" Valon sighed, raising his hands in surrender. "If Lord Dartz and the Goddess scold us later, Rafael, you better testify that I had no part in this!"

"Or are you afraid to accept the challenge, Duel King?" Alister taunted, fully extending the black Doma-made duel disk on his arm. "If you truly want to be one of us, surely something this minor doesn't scare you."

Even Rafael, who had initially tried to intervene, seemed swayed by Alister's reasoning. Among the three of them, they were all familiar with each other's strength, but Hoshino, being new, was still an unknown variable.

"A duel, huh? As long as the Seal isn't involved, I don't mind~" Hoshino accepted the challenge. It seemed she'd have to prove her strength before fully integrating into this mysterious dueling cult.

On the bright side, demonstrating her power would earn Doma's trust more quickly. Not a bad trade-off.

"Alright then, to prove I'm worthy of being part of Doma, I accept this duel!"

Fully embracing her role within Doma, Hoshino planned to gain their trust and leave with them as soon as possible to find Yugi and the others. Otherwise, once Dartz woke up, explaining things would be a nightmare.

And most importantly, with the power of Synchro Summoning, there was no way she could lose!

[Duel Start!]

[Alister vs. Hoshino Chiyuki]

"I'll go first. Draw!"

Drawing six cards from her duel disk, Hoshino confidently scanned her hand.

However…

Huh? Where are my Tuner Monsters?

Her Synchro deck, supposedly filled with Tuners, was nowhere to be found!

"What? Was that power a one-time thing? But I was told all that power was handed over to me!"

She recalled how her deck had transformed after being touched by that white-haired girl, shifting into a specialized Synchro deck.

But now… where had her original deck gone?

After thinking it over, Hoshino could only come up with one plausible explanation: both decks were actually one and the same—rather, they shared the same cards as their foundation.

Under normal circumstances, she used her original Heroic Spirit deck. However, under certain conditions, that deck would evolve into the Synchro Heroic Spirit deck.

Like when the white-haired girl touched her cards, activating that brilliant light—that light must have triggered the deck's transformation.

Through her anime-like reasoning, Hoshino convinced even herself. It wasn't entirely baseless either—she couldn't ignore the sensation of inheriting power back then. Though she didn't yet know how to activate it, she believed that power still lay dormant, waiting to awaken.

"Even if my deck doesn't evolve into the Synchro form, this duel isn't beyond my ability to win."

Although slightly disappointed that she couldn't rely on her overpowered Synchro abilities, Hoshino still trusted in the bonds and strength of her original Heroic Spirit deck.

"Then, I activate the Spell Card—[Divine Three-Legged Race]! I send the Fusion Materials listed on a [Heroic Spirit] Fusion Monster from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon that monster!"

Hoshino slid the Spell Card into her duel disk, selecting two monsters from her hand as Fusion Materials and sending them to the Graveyard.

"Oh, starting with a Fusion, huh? Interesting," Alister remarked, intrigued by Hoshino's opening move and the unique design of her duel disk—unlike anything made by Kaiba Corporation or Doma.

"What an interesting Duelist~ I wonder if she has the strength to defeat Alister." Even Rafael, usually serious, was drawn in, his curiosity piqued by the special charm in Hoshino's every card play.

"You'll see my strength firsthand, so there's no need to just talk about it!" Hoshino declared confidently. "With the effect of my card, Fusion Summon—[Heroic Spirit - Elizabeth Báthory: Brave]!"

[Heroic Spirit – Elizabeth Báthory (Brave)★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Dragon/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2400/DEF 2500]

[Materials: Heroic Spirit - Elizabeth Báthory + Heroic Spirit - Elizabeth Báthory (Caster)]

"Manager, it feels like it's been ten years since I've seen you!"

The newly summoned Brave Elizabeth appeared and immediately began lamenting to Hoshino.

"It hasn't been that long, okay? Don't just throw around time units after a mere time-travel experience!" Hoshino mercilessly shut her down before inserting another card into her duel disk.

"I set one card and end my turn!"

[Hoshino: 2 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]

"Grrr, my sympathy-gaining strategy failed! Looks like I'll have to show my full power as a brave idol to win your heart, Manager!"

"Rawr!" Elizabeth struck a heroic pose, raising her sword high.

"…Are these two idiots?" Alister muttered, exasperated, before activating his duel disk and playing a card.

"Spell Card activated—[Onslaught of the Fire Kings]!"

[Onslaught of the Fire Kings - Spell Card Effect: If only your opponent controls a monster: Special Summon 1 FIRE Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast monster from your Deck, but its effects are negated, also destroy it during the End Phase. You can only activate 1 'Onslaught of the Fire Kings' per turn.]

Without warning, flames engulfed Alister's field, taking the form of a fiery bird.

"Using the effect of Onslaught of the Fire Kings, I Special Summon [Fire King High Avatar Garunix]!"

[Fire King High Avatar Garunix★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][FIRE][Winged Beast/Effect][ATK 2700/DEF 1700]

"Wow! Alister summoned a Level 8 monster right away!" Valon whistled in surprise.

"And with higher attack than Elizabeth's," Rafael analyzed seriously. "Looks like Alister has more plays in store."

"Next, I summon [Fire King Avatar Barong] from my hand!" Alister declared. Another burst of flames erupted, revealing a beast-faced warrior wielding dual weapons.

[Fire King Avatar Barong★★★★ (Level 4)][FIRE][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 1800/DEF 200]

Valon groaned and facepalmed. "Seriously, Alister? I told you to stop using the monster with a name that sounds like mine. It's embarrassing!"

Alister ignored him and raised his hand dramatically. "Battle! Fire King High Avatar Garunix, attack Elizabeth with Blazing Inferno!"

The fiery bird spread its wings, summoning a towering wall of flames that surged toward Elizabeth.

"Well, we're not going down that easily!" Hoshino countered with a confident smirk. "This is the crimson legend of the Gambler King! [Elizabeth Báthory (Brave)]'s effect activates!"

[Elizabeth Báthory (Brave) - Effect: When this card battles, draw 1 card. Reveal the drawn card to both players, and this card gains the following effect based on the card type drawn:]

Elizabeth raised her shield against the approaching flames, the crimson jewel on her sword gleaming brightly in the heat.

"So that's how she plans to recover her resources," Rafael noted, nodding. "Drawing cards during battle is a clever way to maintain hand advantage."

Alister scoffed. "It doesn't matter. Your monster will still be destroyed, and the card you draw won't change that. You're making a bad trade here, Hoshino!"

"Like hell I am! Watch this!" Hoshino drew her card and revealed it with a flourish. "The card I drew is [Heroic Spirit - Zhuge Liang (Waver)]! This activates Elizabeth's monster effect!"

[● Monster Card: This card gains 1000 ATK during this turn.]

[Elizabeth Báthory (Brave) ATK 2400 → 3400]

"Elizabeth, go full power—Hero Slash!"

Elizabeth leaped high into the air, taking a deep breath before exhaling with all her might.

"Oh no, here it comes!" Hoshino quickly covered her ears.

Valon tilted his head in confusion. "What's coming?"

"La~♪… Get! 'Báthory Brave Erzsébet!'"

A devastating soundwave, accompanied by a crimson tornado, tore through the battlefield, paralyzing Alister's monsters. Elizabeth then unleashed a high-speed spinning strike, shattering Fire King High Avatar Garunix in a deafening explosion.

At that moment, the three Doma members finally understood why Hoshino had covered her ears—the sound was excruciating.

Even the usually stoic Rafael looked stunned. "To think a Duelist could harness such power through their cards… Truly, Hoshino Chiyuki is a Duelist chosen by the God."

(*****)

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