Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Eh?!?!" Marlene and Sid were dumbfounded, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Even the other Embodiment of Apophis entangled with Marlene froze when its companion was instantly slain, the curved blade in its hand halting mid-swing.

"Now's my chance!" Though she lacked an edge in speed and was completely overpowered in strength, Marlene still held the upper hand in real combat experience.

In a flash, Marlene regained her composure, gracefully leaping above the Apophis's head. She wrapped her sexy legs around its humanoid skull, seized the writhing black snake-head with her left hand, and slashed down with her silver dagger. (The sexy legs are important for the plot.)

"—Execution!"

With a shrill shriek, the serpent head hit the ground, and the towering body of the Apophis collapsed with a thud.

Just a second ago, the Pharaoh's guardian beasts had held absolute dominance. Now, they had been completely wiped out by Hoshino Alter and the others. The key factor that turned the tide of battle was the silver-furred giant wolf, Anubis, still standing in the center of the tomb.

"Is that... a Spirit Monster?" Even knowing Anubis was on their side, Sid was so terrified that his legs gave out, unable to move.

After instantly defeating the Apophis, Anubis lowered his massive wolf head toward Hoshino Alter, clearly expecting praise.

"There, there, good boy~ You did great!"

As she stroked his silvery-gray fur, Anubis's giant wolf form not only oozed style but was so luxuriously soft that Hoshino Alter was quickly becoming addicted.

"Awooo…" Anubis let out a low growl, clearly dissatisfied with this "reward." He wanted something more intense, more physical—like being stepped on by her heel.

Watching this affectionate exchange between human and wolf, Marlene was finally convinced of the unbelievable truth.

"You really can command Spirit Monsters... I thought only royal priests and Pharaohs with Millennium Items could do that."

Sid asked cautiously, "Hoshino, you can summon Spirit Monsters that only high priests are supposed to control, and Kaiba can read the royal script meant only for royalty... Just what are you two?"

Hoshino Alter scratched her cheek awkwardly. She hadn't expected that summoning Duel Monsters was an exclusive skill reserved for priests and Pharaohs in this world—back in her own time, it was practically a casual game for everyone.

"Our identity... hmm. If I had to say, I guess we're heroes of justice!"

Yep, that's right. Just a couple of Heroes... robbing a Pharaoh's tomb.

"Hero of justice, huh? You two are really something~"

Putting down her dagger, Marlene sat cross-legged on the ground. The battle against the Apophis Incarnation had lasted less than a minute, but the intensity had completely drained her.

"I don't know what this 'Hero of justice' thing means, but the fact remains you saved us, Hoshino. And I, the great bounty hunter Marlene, never skimp on gratitude. When we complete the job, you'll get half the reward."

A share of the mission reward, huh... Hoshino Alter did a quick mental calculation. Since it was a commission from a high-ranking figure involving the Pharaoh's remains, the bounty must be quite substantial. But still, it was money from this era—useless if she couldn't take it back to her own world.

Sid, now recovered from his fright and able to walk again, said, "Before we talk about splitting the bounty, shouldn't we retrieve King Aknamkanon's remains first? Otherwise, it's all meaningless."

He walked toward the final remaining sarcophagus—surely the one containing the previous Pharaoh's mummy.

"Once we finish this job, I'll finally be able to go ba—"

"Ahhhhh! Shut up!!" Hoshino Alter screamed, cutting Sid off at lightning speed just as he was about to trigger a death flag.

But it was too late. Once a flag is raised, it's like a candle in the wind—impossible to snuff out halfway.

"—Blasphemers! How dare you covet the holy body of the Pharaoh!"

A voice Hoshino Alter recognized instantly rang out—full of forced bravado yet undeniable conviction.

"Insolent fools, face the divine punishment of Nitocris, Reincarnation of Horus, God of the Sky!"

A dark-skinned beauty holding a scepter stepped out from the full-length mirror among Aknamkanon's treasures. Dressed in splendid gold ornaments and a sheer skirt like gossamer, she radiated both nobility and allure.

Hoshino Alter exclaimed joyfully, "Nitocris! It really is Nitocris!"

Back when she saw the inscription before entering the tomb, Hoshino Alter had suspected it: if the Ozy of this world was the same as Chaldea's, then Nitocris—must be that Nitocris too.

"It's me, Nito-chan! Hoshino! I'm so glad to see you here—it really puts my mind at ease~"

Finally able to relax, Hoshino Alter was relieved to find a familiar face in this strange world—and such a powerful one, too. If she could just team up with this Pharaoh-level big shot, maybe she could find a way back home.

But not even two seconds later, a searing blast of energy shot from Nitocris's scepter, grazing Hoshino Alter's cheek and exploding against the tomb wall behind her.

"Don't act so familiar! As a Pharaoh, how could I possibly know a tomb robber like you?!"

"Eh?! What?!" Hoshino was stunned. Nitocris didn't sound like she was joking at all. And more importantly, that attack just now had clearly been lethal.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire!"

Marlene picked up her dagger and went on full alert. Her battle-hardened instincts told her this opponent was bad news—on a whole different level from the previous two Apophis Incarnations.

"Grrr!" Furious that Hoshino Alter had been attacked, Anubis growled lowly. But under the crushing pressure of divine authority, he couldn't exert his strength.

In Egypt, Pharaohs held ultimate rule—even above most gods. Powerful ones like the King could command both Ra, the Sun God, and Osiris, God of the Underworld.

"To dare raise your blade against a Pharaoh... I hope you're ready to die!"

With a mere flick of her hand, Nitocris unleashed a wave of immense magical energy. Marlene and Anubis were blown away, crashing into the far wall with a sickening thud—completely incapacitated. The overwhelming gap in power left them no room to retaliate.

"Why doesn't this Nitocris have her memories from Chaldea? Where did things go wrong? Ozy should have—ah, wait! Could it be...?!"

Hoshino Alter suddenly realized: the connection between Chaldea and this world had only opened after she summoned Ozy. In other words, this Nitocris had no memories of Chaldea because Hoshino Alter hadn't summoned her yet.

"What a harsh and brutal truth... But if that's the case, Da Vinci-chan must have planned for this."

Skillfully pulling up her system menu, Hoshino Alter rapidly tapped her way to the Store.

[Emergency Special Summon! SR Nitocris requires 50 Saint Quartz to redeem]

"Yes! I knew Da Vinci-chan would come through!" Hoshino Alter cheered. "Now I just need to summon Nitocris from Chaldea, and the memories of both worlds should link up."

But just as she moved to press the summon button, she realized an even more serious problem.

[Warning: Insufficient Saint Quartz remaining!]

"Huh? How could I not have enough Saint Quartz? I just finished the KC tournament! Even if the match with Partner ended in a draw, didn't I beat Zigfried earlier?"

[Duelist Level Assessment Complete. Duelist Zigfried — Rank: C. Saint Quartz Reward: 30. Current Remaining Saint Quartz: 30.]

Hoshino Alter spat in contempt. "Tch! That useless waste of space! Totally worthless—might as well be used as a decoration!"

But now, the possibility of summoning Nitocris was gone. Let alone gathering the remaining 20 Quartz—she didn't even have the chance for another duel right now.

"This is bad... I really am at a dead end now..."

Striking her staff firmly against the ground, Nitocris declared loudly:

"Now, in the name of the Pharaoh, I shall pass divine judgment upon you through the sacred Spirit Monster Duel Ritual!"

"Wait! There might still be a chance!"

Kaiba asked curiously, "Spirit Monster Duel Ritual? You mean duels exist in this time too?"

From the Apophis emerging from sarcophagi earlier to Pharaoh Nitocris suddenly stepping out of a mirror, Kaiba had long given up on trying to rationalize anything. At this point, nothing could surprise him.

Knowing a bit about it, Sid explained:

"The Spirit Monster Duel Ritual is a sacred ceremony said to be exclusive to the Pharaoh and High Priests. By summoning spirit monsters that reflect the opponent's inner evils, they defeat and seal them into stone tablets."

"Enough talk! O sinners—let the sacred duel draw out the darkness within your hearts!"

With a wave of her staff, a two-meter-tall stone tablet rose from the ground in front of Nitocris. Powered by her magic, a monster carved on its surface materialized before them.

"Appear now, Pharaoh's Servant! Deliver judgment unto these sinners!"

[Pharaoh's Servant ★★ (Level 2)] [DARK] [Zombie] [ATK 900 / DEF 0]Wearing a vulture-and-serpent headdress, the Pharaoh's Servant emerged from the tablet, spear in hand, and lunged at Hoshino Alter.

"Wait, wait! If this is supposed to be a sacred duel, shouldn't you at least explain the rules?! How are we supposed to duel?!"

Seeing the monster attacking with no hesitation—while they didn't even have Duel Disks and Anubis was still pinned against the wall—Hoshino Alter panicked. No way could she summon a massive stone tablet out of thin air like Nitocris!

With no way to fight back, survival came first. She dodged quickly, and the spear stabbed precisely where she'd been standing a second ago.

"And hey! You're not supposed to attack players directly on the first turn! That's cheating!"

"Attack players directly?" Nitocris tilted her head in confusion, clearly not understanding what she meant.

"This sacred duel is a real battle, you know. Of course the monster will attack you. Only through real attacks can the evil in a sinner's heart be drawn out."

"First of all, I'm not a sinner! Second, I have no monsters hidden in my heart!" Hoshino Alter shouted while dodging attacks from the Pharaoh's Servant.

Thankfully, the monster seemed pretty weak and moved slowly, making it easy to avoid. But still—why the heck was it only chasing her?! There was a whole other person—Kaiba—standing perfectly still nearby!

"This stupid farce ends now!"

Roaring with authority, Kaiba drew a card from the deck in his coat pocket.

"Sacred Spirit Monster Duel? I don't care about that crap. We have our own way of dueling!"

Kaiba's commanding shout froze both Hoshino Alter and the attacking monster in their tracks.

"Dueling? Kaiba, do you mean—?"

"I don't believe in spiritual mumbo-jumbo like hidden monsters in people's hearts! A true duelist puts their heart and soul into their cards!"

"—Let me show you! The card infused with the very essence of my soul!"

Kaiba slammed his thick palm onto the ground, and with his roar and the power in the card he had just drawn, he poured energy into the earth beneath him.

"Go!!!!!!!"

A brilliant white light shot through the ground. Kaiba's miracle had called forth his strongest dragon.

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)] [LIGHT] [Dragon] [ATK 3000 / DEF 2500]

"ROAR——!"

The thunderous dragon's cry shook the entire pyramid. The streamlined body of the materialized Blue-Eyes White Dragon glowed even in the dim chamber.

"No way... a mere sinner could summon such a powerful spirit monster...?"

Nitocris gasped, mouth wide open. "But... even though it's a 'sinner's' monster... it feels so divine..."

The power gap was overwhelming. Blue-Eyes didn't even need to attack—just its presence and pressure alone shattered the Servant of the Pharaoh and the stone tablet used to summon it.

"Tch. A weakling like that isn't even worth one scale from Blue-Eyes."

Hoshino Alter nearly retorted, "It doesn't even have scales or fur!" but Kaiba's overwhelming display had shown her a path forward.

"So even high-level monsters can be summoned without tributes? That's super convenient!"

Mimicking Kaiba's gesture, Hoshino Alter held her card firmly and slammed it down onto the ground.

"Then behold—the divine might of the Sun Pharaoh! — Heroic Spirit – Ozymandias!"

(*****)

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