Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"I add [Heroic Spirit – Nero Claudius Bride] to my hand!"

Alister, struggling to manage the two revived monsters on his Duel Disk, let out a breath before responding.

"Even without their field-wiping effects, the attack power boost from [United We Stand] has reached its peak!"

Ever the strategist, Alister shifted both of his revived monsters to Defense Position, leaving only Fire King High Avatar Garunix in Attack Position with United We Stand still equipped.

[Fire King High Avatar Garunix ATK 5100 → 6700]

Elizabeth frowned slightly, her earlier confidence wavering.

"An attack power over 2000 higher? That's a bit troublesome," she muttered.

Hoshino, however, remained unfazed, flashing a playful grin.

"What's there to fear? If one concert isn't enough, we'll just go for an encore!"

She glanced around, searching for a particular ally.

"Waver, are you still alive?"

The exhausted Waver—practically smoking in reverse—let out a deep sigh.

"Let me make this clear: if she sings again, I might not survive."

"Fantastic! As long as you're breathing, you can work overtime!"

Ignoring his protests, Hoshino discarded Okita from her hand.

"Activating the effect of [Heroic Spirit – Zhuge Liang]! Once per turn, I can discard one card to add a Spell or Trap with '[Heroic Spirit]' in its name from my Deck to my hand."

With the card gained from Okita's sacrifice, she swiftly inserted it into her Duel Disk. The once-blazing battlefield transformed—shimmering with falling white roses and a radiant silver laurel ring.

"I add the Ritual Spell [Ring of Bay Laurel] to my hand!"

[Ring of Bay Laurel – Ritual Spell Effect: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Heroic Spirit – Nero Claudius Bride." You must Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose combined Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster.]

"I Tribute [Oda Nobunaga] from my hand—a total of 8 stars! Ritual Summon—[Heroic Spirit – Nero Claudius Bride]!!"

Slipping her fingers through the gleaming silver ring, Nero descended, adorned in a resplendent white bridal gown. Wielding a dazzling silver blade, she arrived beneath the cascading white roses.

[Heroic Spirit – Nero Claudius Bride ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Fairy/Ritual/Effect]

[ATK 2500 → 2800 / DEF 2000 → 2300]

"Umu! Our previous recital was quite exhilarating, was it not? I'm still brimming with energy! Let's give an even grander performance!"

Elizabeth, reignited with determination, grinned.

"As expected of my greatest rival! I can't afford to lower my guard for even a second!"

"Activating Bride Nero's effect! Upon being Ritual Summoned, she can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Lily' monster from the Deck! Come forth, Saber Lily!"

Following the path of blooming white roses, a youthful knight stepped forward—her presence both radiant and reserved.

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

[ATK 1200 → 1500 / DEF 800 → 1100]

Lily looked around hesitantly, as if silently questioning why she had been summoned into this chaotic concert.

"Next, activating Bride Nero's second effect! Once per turn, I can select one [Heroic Spirit] monster to gain 1000 ATK!"

Scattering petals with a graceful toss, Nero flashed a blissful smile.

"For you, my dearest~! Attack power, up!"

[Brave Elizabeth ATK 4700 → 5700]

Alister furrowed his brows, calculating his next move.

"So you're boosting your attack power with Ritual Monsters... Impressive, but you're still 1000 short!"

Hoshino's grin widened.

"Is that so? Then take a closer look! This is the encore of our [Joint Recital]! Take the stage—Nero, Elizabeth, and Lily!"

With an exuberant flourish, she unveiled her final move.

"This is the grand finale: Joint Recital – Act II! Activating my set Trap Card—[Heroic Battle – United Assault]!"

[Heroic Battle – United Assault – Trap Card Effect: Target 1 face-up "Heroic Spirit" monster you control. Until the end of this Battle Phase, that monster gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of all other Attack Position monsters you control, and those other monsters' ATK become 0.]

"Rome!!"

"La~!"

Elizabeth and Nero harmonized with confidence. Meanwhile, Lily, caught completely off guard, looked around nervously.

"W-What's this…? Uh, um...!"

In a panic, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind—

"Merlin!!"

"This is the final strike! Pour all our strength into it! The sword of a hero, surpassing all limits!"

[Brave Elizabeth ATK 5700 → 10,000]

Valon's jaw dropped.

"10,000 attack points?! Is this real?!"

With a resounding battle cry, Nero and Elizabeth's united blades—empowered by their song—delivered a devastating dual slash. The sheer force of their final attack shattered everything in its path.

[Fire King High Avatar Garunix – Destroyed]

[Alister LP 1600 → 0]

Rafael sighed as he closed his eyes.

"So, it's finally over... What an ear-shattering duel."

Hoshino grinned triumphantly, raising her [Brave Elizabeth] card.

"Who said I couldn't beat the Doma? That was a flawless victory!"

She glanced at her remaining 4800 Life Points.

However—

Without warning, scorching flames erupted from Alister's Duel Disk graveyard zone, engulfing Hoshino in a blazing inferno. Her crimson eyes widened in shock.

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4800 → 0]

Alister calmly retracted his black Duel Disk, smoke still rising from its surface. The final wave of searing flames had emerged from the depths of the Graveyard.

Hoshino's breath caught.

"Impossible..."

She stared at her now-empty Life Points in disbelief. Victory had been within her grasp—only to be ripped away in an instant.

Unfazed, Valon gave her a casual thumbs-up.

"Brilliant entrance test, Hoshino-chan! Welcome to the Doma!"

"Valon's right. Managing to end in a draw with me without using the Seal of Orichalcos proves that your strength is worthy of joining Doma," Alister remarked, putting away his Duel Disk.

At that moment, Hoshino noticed that the monster zones, previously occupied by Alister's cards, now held only three remaining monsters.

"Confused? Honestly, you went a bit overboard with that last turn." Noticing Hoshino's pouty expression, Alister explained, "Check the top card of your deck."

"Huh?" Following his suggestion, Hoshino drew the top card of her deck—Cu Caster.

"During Brave Elizabeth's final attack, you triggered a draw effect, and the next card you drew was a monster. That increased your attack power by 1000 points. However, Artoria Pendragon (Lily)'s Special Summon effect was negated by my Fire King Avatar Arvata, which also destroyed my Fire King High Avatar Kirin. As a result, with fewer monsters on my field, the attack boost from United We Stand decreased, dropping Fire King High Avatar Garunix's attack to 5800. That means your attack actually dealt 5200 damage."

"No wonder Lily didn't activate her search effect!" Realizing her oversight, Hoshino exclaimed. "But how does reducing your monster's attack relate to me losing all my Life Points?"

Alister pulled two cards from his Graveyard and displayed them: Sacred Phoenix Beast Kirin and Volcanic Counter.

"Of course, it's related. When Fire King Avatar Kirin was destroyed, its effect sent one FIRE monster from my deck to the Graveyard. I chose [Volcanic Counter]."

[Volcanic Counter Effect: When you take battle damage while this card is in your Graveyard: Banish it from your Graveyard, then if there is a FIRE monster other than "Volcanic Counter" in your Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the amount of battle damage you took.]

"Because of Volcanic Counter, the 5200 battle damage I took was reflected right back at you. That single attack didn't just wipe out my remaining Life Points—it also depleted yours. A perfect 'double knockout,' if I do say so myself."

Alister's tone was calm, yet there was an unmistakable hint of amusement—an unspoken acknowledgment of Hoshino's skill.

Hoshino, on the other hand, clenched her fists in frustration. "You traitorous dog! If I had known, I wouldn't have flexed with a 10,000 ATK stat! And now I've wasted the rewards I was about to earn!"

Though this was just a practice duel where winning, losing, or drawing didn't matter, for Hoshino, the stakes were very real. She needed the Saint Quartz to roll for rare Servants in the special shop—especially Raikou and Shuten, as a gift for Kintoki.

[Remaining Saint Quartz: 0]

[Special Summon Shop: Available Heroic Spirits: 2/3]

[Next Reset: More than 1 day.]

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

[SSR Shuten Douji – Cost: 100 Saint Quartz]

It was cruel. Even after receiving an absurd amount of Saint Quartz from her future self, she had burned through it all. And no matter how many duels she fought afterward, including against Paradox, the system refused to reward her with any more.

"I wish my future self would just adopt me already." Hoshino sighed wistfully. Living even for a moment as a Quartz-spending tycoon had been addictively blissful. If other gacha banners had been available at the time, she would have rolled through them all without hesitation.

But alas, the system wasn't about to let her exploit any loopholes.

Valon clapped Alister on the back. "You drew against Kaiba, and now you drew against Hoshino. Alister, you're really the king of draws!"

Alister shot him a look that clearly said, You idiot, but didn't bother responding.

Rafael chimed in, "If you had destroyed your own Attack Position monster instead, you could've avoided defeat and extended the duel another turn."

"It wouldn't have made a difference. Even if I dragged the duel out, I'd most likely have lost in the end. And while I didn't use the Seal of Orichalcos, I could tell my opponent wasn't going all out either."

Alister shook his head slightly. This brief clash had been enough for him to see Hoshino's true potential.

"Like us, she possesses strength forged in life-or-death battles."

Valon, feeling somewhat left out of the conversation, awkwardly redirected his attention to Hoshino. "Well then, let's move out for our first mission as Doma members! Our god has tasked us with hunting down the duelists who wield the Legendary Dragons!"

"I'm in!" Hoshino raised her hand without hesitation. She had already wasted enough time in this dreadful place—it was about time things got moving.

Rafael checked his watch and nodded. "It's about time. Let's depart from the island. If everything has gone according to plan, Professor Hawkins should already be in our custody."

Island? Professor Hawkins?

Hoshino followed the trio, her mind swirling with questions as they exited the dim, confined space.

Outside, the night sky stretched endlessly above, its faint starlight reflecting upon the vast ocean surface like a black galaxy beneath their feet. A welcome relief after being stuck indoors for so long.

Good thing I played along with this whole 'undercover agent' act.

The island was surrounded by an endless expanse of dark waters. Alone, there was no chance of escaping this place.

But Doma, with its wealth and resources, could seemingly do anything.

As soon as they stepped outside, the sky was illuminated by dazzling lights. Moments later, a fleet of military helicopters descended, landing in formation before them.

Hoshino's eyes widened. "Doma can even mobilize a military force? This organization is no joke!"

She glanced at the neatly arranged units of armed soldiers. "With power like this, why are you even bothering with duels? Just take whatever you want!"

From the lead helicopter, a fully armed officer stepped out and saluted Rafael.

"Master Rafael, as per your instructions, we have captured Professor Arthur Hawkins and destroyed his laboratory, along with all his research on Atlantis."

Arthur Hawkins... I knew that name sounded familiar.

At first, she hadn't given it much thought—foreign names often blurred together in her mind. But now she was certain.

Arthur Hawkins was the close friend of Sugoroku Mutou, the grandfather of Rebecca.

Research on Atlantis, huh? Looks like you stepped on a landmine this time, old man. But lucky for you... you've got me now.

(*****)

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