Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Victory! Even a Banned Card couldn't stop Vivian from advancing to victory! Let's give our congratulations to Vivian!!"

The duel had ended, but the commentator's hysterical shout made it sound like Hoshino hadn't just won an ordinary arena match—but had taken the championship title at the KC Grand Prix.

Sitting dazed on the ground, Ren wasn't struggling to accept defeat—he just couldn't figure out why he was still alive.

"This thing… did it break?" he muttered, cautiously touching the electric device around his neck, then looking up at Hoshino with a puzzled expression.

"Another malfunction, huh? Guess your luck's not too bad."

Hoshino shrugged, pretending not to know that Shiki had deliberately killed the electric device.

"If that device hadn't malfunctioned, you'd be dead right now."

Ren gulped unconsciously. After a few seconds, the fear of skirting the edge of death finally set in. The icy chill of nearly dying made the hairs on his body stand on end.

"Using a Ban Card in a death match... Do you really have the resolve to kill? Winning a duel like that is practically premeditated murder."

For some reason, Hoshino's instincts were screaming that Ren hadn't used that card of his own free will—maybe even entering the match wasn't his choice. She'd noticed the slight pauses every time he activated The Golden Palace—like he was hesitating.

"I just realized—I don't have the resolve to kill, or be killed." Ren shook his head, freshly returned from the jaws of death.

"I only entered this duel because I wanted to chase my dream..."

Hoshino twitched slightly, unsure what kind of face to make.

"You brat… What do you think this place is, a stage for dreamers? If you're gonna make up an excuse, at least make it believable."

Ren continued, "It's always been my dream to duel the Duel King—Yugi Muto. Just yesterday, my older brother told me that if I used Golden Palace and won, he'd let me enter and represent our family in the KC Grand Prix."

"The KC?"

"It's an incredibly important event for the honor of our family. To qualify, I had to prove my strength. I only joined the match and used that card because I wanted to challenge the duelists I respect most—Hoshino and Yugi."

"So you used a Ban Card in a death match for that?" Hoshino's anger flared.

"Kids are so naive. You really think using a banned card is a worthy way to earn your spot? That kind of ticket—do you really think that fulfills your dream of challenging the Duel King?"

[Phoenix Family – Keith vs El-Melloi Family – Kayneth]

Keith hopped onto the stage, grinning as he clapped Hoshino on the shoulder.

"Alright, enough lecturing the kid. Someone with blood on their hands doesn't have the right to scold others~"

Hoshino could only turn and leave the stage to avoid interfering with the next duel.

"It's exactly because of that—I don't want anyone else going down the same road as us. I'll destroy this underground dueling arena with my own hands."

[Keith 1:1.1]

The odds were vastly different from yesterday. Even if Clara dumped in a million, she'd only profit a hundred thousand. For reference, Hoshino's previous duel odds were 1.

"Good luck, Howard..." Clara quietly cheered as she watched Keith's back on stage.

Hoshino muttered inwardly,

"Is this what a girl in love looks like...? Seriously, what's so great about a guy like that?"

A naïve, well-bred lady falling for a bad boy—it sounded like something straight out of a drama. Hoshino figured that kind of story only happened on TV.

"This is love, Nee-chan~"

Akasha, clinging to Hoshino's side, whispered softly. Even without being told anything, she had somehow seen through Clara's feelings.

"If mountains and seas separate us, then I'll cross them all. Love can transcend status, age, and even gender~"

For some reason, Hoshino felt like those last two points were hinting at something. This girl was definitely binging weird dramas and movies lately.

And since she couldn't rely on Rowick the doting father to discipline her, Hoshino started to fear that this adorable gremlin might be heading straight for the wrong path.

"—Take this! Lord Keith's Italian Cannon! Revolver Dragon, direct attack!"

With three booming blasts, the smoke-covered arena saw Keith reduce his opponent's remaining LP to zero.

[Duel Over. Winner: Keith]

With Kayneth's eyes dulling as he collapsed, they proudly secured their sixth consecutive win in the underground arena, racking up a total of 21 points.

"Miss Clara," 9527 spoke up, "it's time to decide. Once you reach 20 points, you may choose to advance to the higher-tier dueling arena. But each family only gets one chance to do so."

In other words, if you choose not to ascend now, you'll never get another chance—no matter how many points you earn later. As 9527 put it, a place where powerful families gather has no room for hesitant weaklings.

"Make your choice, Miss Clara."

But this time, Clara didn't hesitate like she had yesterday. After sharing her doubts with Hoshino, she had made up her mind.

"I've decided. I'll use our 20 points to enter the high-tier dueling arena!"

"Understood." 9527 smiled, clearly pleased. "I'll begin the promotion procedure immediately. Please wait a moment."

"To think we reached the goal in just a day and a half… Keith, not bad at all~"

If Hoshino were doing this solo, she'd have needed at least twice the time. As much as Keith still got on her nerves, she had to admit—he was a dependable teammate.

Chomping on some fries from who-knows-where, Keith snarked shamelessly,

"You're lucky you didn't drag me down."

Hoshino ignored the provocation. With the path to the truth of the underground dueling scene and her match with Zigfried drawing closer, her mood had never been better.

20 points… 2 million dollars?

If Kaiba Corp's stock price goes up, and she's a major shareholder, she wouldn't even blink at that number.

[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete. Ren, Overall Rank: B. Awarded 45 Saint Quartz for victory. Current Quartz Balance: 65.]

Unfortunately, despite holding all that Saint Quartz, Hoshino had no card banner to summon from. Judging by the previous rotation, the next banner should feature Heroic Spirits from a singularity.

But who knew when it'd drop—or whether Da Vinci's twisted sense of humor would sneak something weird into it.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, 9527, dressed smartly in a butler uniform and exuding a heroic presence, returned to the group.

"Thank you for waiting, members of the Phoenix family. As of now, your family has been upgraded to a High-Rank Duel Family and can no longer compete in standard duel arenas. Both Vivian and Keith still have one duel remaining today. Would you like to proceed to the High-Rank Duel Arena now?"

Keith confidently clasped his fists and answered first: "Of course we'll start now! There's no point fighting these small fries anymore. One match, one million—time for me to rake it in!"

"Since Howard said so..." Clara exchanged glances with Hoshino. The two had already agreed last night to move on to the High-Rank Duel Arena, and now that Keith had no objections, it was naturally for the best.

Even if he did have objections, he'd have to keep them to himself.

Following 9527, the only thing separating the standard and high-rank duel arenas was a single lavish door.

But despite being divided by just one door, the scene that greeted them inside was completely different from the standard arena outside.

If the outside resembled a casino for the ordinary wealthy—noisy and lively—then the inside was a true high-roller's den. It was so quiet it sent chills down Hoshino's spine.

Thud—

A body collapsed heavily. At the very moment they entered, the only duel platform in the venue had just finished a match.

There were no cheers, no excited commentary. At this level, families didn't need 'professional' commentators to analyze the match.

And rather than looking at the defeated duelist lying on the ground, most of the gazes turned to the newly arrived group. The death of a defeated opponent was treated with chilling indifference.

"This is the High-Rank Duel Arena, huh? What an uncomfortable place," Hoshino muttered.

Clara looked around at the environment, her expression complicated.

"So many high society figures are here... some of them I've only seen in my father's study materials."

"Looks like this is the real power behind these places. An activity where people die daily couldn't have survived this long or become so influential without the support of the upper class," Hoshino replied.

Finally coming into contact with the truth hidden in the shadows, Hoshino secretly activated the special recording function on her duel disk.

Before coming here, Industrial Illusions had sent her a specially modified duel disk equipped with micro-camera features and top-tier espionage technology. Not even professional equipment could detect it.

[Partner, you're like a spy chick right now. Kinda badass.]

"Shhh, shut up. I know what kind of endings spy chicks usually get. And don't think I don't know how many 'books' you've read."

Pretending to adjust her deck, Hoshino discreetly captured a full 360° view of the surroundings and transmitted it live to Industrial Illusions. How Pegasus planned to use the footage wasn't Hoshino's concern.

"Alright, now all that's left is the key figure."

Hoshino didn't know Zigfried personally, but Clara had seen him before. According to her, none of the big family heads present matched the target.

"Guess that makes sense. A final boss hiding in the shadows wouldn't be so easy to spot."

"Hey, Vivi! The latest match has just been posted!" Clara pointed at the screen flashing overhead.

[Zigfried von Schroeder VS…]

…Okay, scratch that—he showed up way faster than expected. Hoshino even began to doubt if this guy was really meant to be the "hidden boss."

[Zigfried von Schroeder VS Phoenix Family – Keith]

"Huh? Howard's up first?"

"Be careful, Keith. Facing this guy right off the bat won't be easy," Hoshino quietly warned. After all, even Sheppard had cautioned her about this duelist.

But Keith didn't seem to care. With everyone watching, he leapt onto the stage without hesitation. "Looks like my popularity really is unmatched—no matter where I go, the crowd just can't wait!"

Unlike Keith's boisterous entrance, Zigfried gracefully ascended the stage.

"So that's Zigfried? He kinda looks... femboy."

Reputed to be a genius rivaling even Kaiba in intellect, Hoshino had expected another arrogant, nose-in-the-air type. But the long-haired man in a red suit before them gave off a completely different vibe.

"Duel Start!"

With arms crossed, Zigfried didn't seem to care about going first or second. His eyes remained on Clara and Hoshino offstage.

"Hey, what are you looking at? First move's mine!" Keith shouted, drawing his card and launching into his turn.

"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card [Polymerization]! I fuse 'Barrel Dragon' and 'Blowback Dragon' to summon the ultimate gun dragon—[Gatling Dragon]!"

[Gatling Dragon – ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK] [Machine/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2600/DEF 1200]

[Materials: "Barrel Dragon" + "Blowback Dragon"]

The massive, steel-bodied Gatling Dragon appeared on the battlefield with its heavy rotating barrels.

"Then I activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn], bringing back 'Barrel Dragon' from the Graveyard! Lastly, I set one card and end my turn."

[Barrel Dragon – ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][DARK] [Machine/Effect][ATK 2600/DEF 2200]

Two high-level Dragons stood side by side—an explosive opening turn that left Keith radiating confidence.

When Zigfried's turn began, he still didn't act immediately. His gaze lingered on Clara.

"What's wrong? Scared?"

"Hmph. A fool like you could never understand the gap between our strengths."

Clearly not taking Keith seriously, Zigfried drew his card and gracefully slid it into his duel disk.

"A duel this trivial will be over in an instant! I activate the Spell Card—[Ride of the Valkyries]!"

As the Spell Card activated, Valkyries riding white steeds materialized and galloped across the battlefield, fluttering through the air. With slender fingers gripping silver blades, the flashes of their swords effortlessly shattered the tough mechanical bodies of both Dragons.

[Keith Howard LP 4000 → 0]

Clara covered her mouth in disbelief.

"This... this has to be a joke..."

(*****)

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