Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

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

With a dramatic slam, Hoshino Alter struck the floor with the card of Ozymandias, hoping that using a Pharaoh's power against another Pharaoh might tip the scales. Given how much respect Nitocris had for Ozy, she might show some restraint… or so Hoshino Alter thought.

"Ouch!"

Unfortunately, nothing happened—aside from her hurting her hand from the impact.

The mood in the room, which had been buzzing after the earlier success of summoning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, suddenly froze.

"Did I get it wrong? Why can Kaiba summon monsters by slamming cards, but I can't?"

Rubbing her reddened palm, Hoshino Alter looked to Kaiba and asked, "Is it my stance? Not arrogant enough?"

"You insolent wretch! Are you mocking me and insulting this sacred Duel Ritual?! What 'Sun Pharaoh'—I've never even heard of such a thing!"

"Huh? So this version of Nitocris hasn't met Ozy?"

Nitocris's reaction made Hoshino Alter realize something: they were currently in a time period before Nitocris and Ozy had ever met. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted so blankly to his name.

Fuming, Nitocris struck the ground again with her staff. The previously shattered stone slab—broken by the aura of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—began to reform.

"The spirit monsters who fight in the Pharaoh's Eternal Battleground are imbued with the power of undeath. Rise again—Pharaoh's Servant!"

[Pharaoh's Servant ATK: 900]

Watching the revived monster emerge once again from the slab, Hoshino Alter complained, "That monster doesn't have that effect! It's just a normal monster! This is pure headcanon—blatant headcanon!"

But then again, Duel Monsters cards were originally inspired by ancient Egyptian slabs. No one could really say for sure what the original monsters were capable of.

"Even if you resurrect it a hundred times, trash is still trash! Destroy it, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The destructive blast of white light surged out—but even with a direct hit, it failed to deal any real damage. In fact, yet another stone slab quietly rose in front of Nitocris.

"I told you, such attacks won't work. The Pharaoh's Servant revives… and another is summoned!"

[Pharaoh's Servant ATK: 900] ×2

Another materialized, now standing side by side with the first.

"Deliver judgment to the wicked, my servants!"

Following Nitocris's command, the two monsters lunged at the defenseless Hoshino Alter with their spears.

Dodging and stumbling to avoid the twin strikes, Hoshino Alter looked absolutely pitiful as she cried out:

"Hey! You can't attack the player directly when monsters are still on the field!"

But the monsters showed no intention of stopping, slowly thrusting their spears with relentless determination.

"Damn it! Why are they only going after me?! Do I look like that easy a target?!"

To be fair, among everyone present, she did seem like the physically weakest. So the spirit monsters probably figured they'd go after the easiest prey.

Realizing this Duel clearly wasn't bound by modern rules, Kaiba stepped forward and pointed directly at Nitocris.

"If attacks against monsters don't work, then take this one yourself! Let Blue-Eyes' light of destruction pierce through the darkness and obliterate your false, ghostly ways!"

Seizing the moment, Kaiba ordered a direct attack on Nitocris, bypassing the two Servants. And unlike their slow, clumsy strikes, the Blue-Eyes' assault was swift and devastating.

"Hmph! An accurate judgment—but such attacks mean nothing to a Pharaoh!"

With a flick of her staff, a light shimmered as a stone sarcophagus rose from the ground, shielding Nitocris from harm.

"Trap Slab — The First Sarcophagus! A protective coffin imbued with the Pharaoh's power. Not so easily shattered!"

As Hoshino Alter continued dodging the monsters' strikes, she shouted, "Even in this rule-breaking Duel, there are still trap cards?!"

Just as she marveled at the thought, she suddenly tripped over a clamp that appeared out of nowhere and landed squarely on her butt.

"Trap Slab — Trap of the Imperial Tomb! Stop running and accept your judgment!"

Another small stone slab rose beside Nitocris as she solemnly declared its activation.

"You're not supposed to use traps directly on Duelists!"

Hoshino Alter had all but given up complaining about the rules—until this trap slab nearly got her skewered by two glowing spear tips.

"Kaiba! Use your wife to save me already!"

"You're such a hassle… Trap Card — Attack Guidance Armor! I activate it targeting Blue-Eyes White Dragon—now your monsters can only attack it!"

[Attack Guidance Armor — Trap Card Effect: Activate during opponent's attack. Choose another monster on the field. Change the attack target to that monster.]

Kaiba once again slammed his card to the ground. Metal armor materialized and attached itself to the Blue-Eyes, forcibly redirecting the two Pharaoh's Servants' attacks.

Why did nothing happen when I slammed a card, but Kaiba keeps pulling it off? Everyone's showing off while I'm getting beat up—this blatant favoritism is killing me! Hoshino Alter fumed internally.

But grumbling aside, Kaiba's trap had saved her. Redirected by Attack Guidance Armor, the monsters foolishly tried attacking Blue-Eyes—only to be instantly annihilated by its retaliatory light.

"Thanks to Attack Guidance Armor, even if your monsters revive, they can only target Blue-Eyes now!"

That finally put an end to the monsters constantly chasing Hoshino Alter. Though it seemed like a quick response, Kaiba's move was clearly calculated.

Nitocris's expression grew strained. "To think such a trap could interfere with me… It appears I still have much to learn as a Pharaoh."

"It's working, my Master! The opponent's strength is weakening!"

Still pinned to the wall by Nitocris's power, Anubis finally caught a breath.

"Even though this era's Duel doesn't use Life Points, it still consumes the Duelist's soul. No matter how strong a Pharaoh, taking that many Blue-Eyes attacks back-to-back can't leave her unscathed."

Turning to him, Hoshino Alter asked, "Wait a second… Anubis, you actually know the rules of this era's Duel?"

Anubis was at least an Egyptian deity—so it wasn't surprising that the locals had some understanding of these dueling rules.

"Then why couldn't I summon a monster?! I even slapped the floor really hard!"

Having broken free from Nitocris's restraints, Anubis returned to his small dog form and ran toward the pile of glittering burial items arranged in the tomb—most of which had been used by Aknamkanon during his lifetime.

"In this era, summoning Spirit Monsters requires a special item as a medium—like that staff the opponent is holding. Generally, Pharaohs and Priests would use… Ah! Found it!"

Excited, Anubis grabbed a uniquely shaped golden object from the burial goods and sprinted back to Hoshino Alter.

"—A Duel Disk! This should be the one Aknamkanon used when he was alive, a medium for summoning Spirit Monsters. If we want to defeat the Pharaoh, we'll need my master's power!"

"Duel Disk?" Hoshino Alter took the object from Anubis and held it in her hands. She and Kaiba both gasped in shock.

"Is this... a Duel Disk?! They already had Duel Disks in this era?!"

The golden device, referred to as a "Duel Disk," looked strikingly similar to modern Duel Disks in both shape and how it was worn—though it lacked slots for inserting and placing cards.

"Once you put on the Duel Disk, you just need to call the name of the Spirit Monster you've made a contract with, and you should be able to summon it. But only regular monsters can be summoned this way—Fusion and Ritual Monsters still require special methods.

Also, the number and strength of Spirit Monsters one can control is directly proportional to one's soul power. Overloading your summons will only end up hurting yourself."

By the time Anubis finished explaining, Hoshino Alter had already strapped the golden Duel Disk to her arm. Through it, she could clearly sense the spirit energy clashing in the space around her.

Using her soul to summon Spirit Monsters was right up Hoshino Alter's alley. Even though her soul had been halved after splitting from Hoshino, she could still easily overpower ordinary people.

"But if what you said is true, then how come Kaiba can summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon without using any medium?"

"That's just my guess—perhaps he has a special bond with the Blue-Eyes…"

Before Anubis could finish, Nitocris—having recovered from the damage dealt by Blue-Eyes—revived two of the Pharaoh's Servants on her field and summoned a third as well.

[Pharaoh's Servant ATK 900] x3

"I won't let you be arrogant any longer, sinners coveting the Pharaoh's body! Magic Tablet—'Thousand Energy'! Boost the Pharaoh's Servants' power!"

[Thousand Energy - Spell Card Effect: All face-up Level 2 Normal Monsters on your field gain 1000 ATK and DEF.]

[Pharaoh's Servant ATK: 900 → 1900]

Wild energy surged into the Pharaoh's Servants, their ATK now surpassing even Apophis. Their agile, swift movements were entirely different from before.

"Even powered-up weaklings are still weaklings! They're not even close to Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba, who ordered a counterattack, clearly didn't take these low-level monsters seriously.

"Hmph, activating Magic Tablet—Gift of the Martyr! I sacrifice one of the Pharaoh's Servants and transfer its strength to another to launch an attack!"

[Pharaoh's Servant ATK: 1900 → 3800]

Now doubled in power, the empowered Pharaoh's Servant thrust its spear straight through Blue-Eyes' massive body.

Caught completely off guard, Kaiba's pupils dilated. The soul-tearing pain he felt was even worse than in the Shadow Games. Monsters summoned at the cost of one's soul would, when destroyed, deal equivalent damage to the duelist.

"Now take the final judgment, sinner!"

With Blue-Eyes—who had been the target of Attack Guidance Armor—destroyed, the remaining Pharaoh's Servant pointed its spear at the defenseless Kaiba and lunged.

"Please, George!" In that moment, Hoshino Alter swiped a card across her Duel Disk. The spiritual energy materialized into a Heroic Spirit who entered the battlefield.

[Heroic Spirit – Saint George ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Fairy/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1600]

Finally, a monster was successfully summoned—no awkward failure this time. Hoshino Alter exclaimed in excitement, "Saint George's effect! While he's on the field, he must be the attack target! Hey you with the spear—look over here!"

Kaiba had already proven it: in this rule-free duel format, monsters could directly attack players. But attack redirection effects still worked.

Once again, the target was easily changed. The Pharaoh's Servant abandoned Kaiba and lunged at Saint George.

"Damn it, I die again…"

[Heroic Spirit – Saint George destroyed]

His heavy armor was pierced by the spear. The Pharaoh's Servant, boosted by 300 more ATK than Saint George's DEF, instantly eliminated the teacher mere seconds after he arrived.

Hoshino Alter rubbed her ears in disbelief. "Did I hear that right? Did a saint just curse?"

"This is trickier than I expected…"

The final assault blocked, Nitocris didn't launch a follow-up attack. Apparently, even in this ancient format, monsters were limited to one attack per turn.

"Rise again, Pharaoh's Servant!"

The Servant that had been sacrificed by the spell reappeared once more. Thanks to the environmental effect of the Pharaoh's Tomb, these undead monsters were incredibly cost-efficient as tribute fodder.

[Pharaoh's Servant ATK 1900] x3

"And thanks to the effect of 'The First Sarcophagus', I now place 'The Second Sarcophagus' on the field!"

The second coffin rose beside the previously summoned First Sarcophagus, creating a strange sense of pressure.

"—Ending my turn!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Hoshino Alter quickly interjected, staring at Nitocris. "When did turns become a thing?"

Nitocris looked genuinely puzzled. "There have always been turns—how else could you call it a duel?"

"But wasn't all that chaos earlier just a free-for-all brawl? Wait—how many turns have even passed? Whose turn is it now?"

"It's my turn!" Drawing a card, Kaiba glanced at the confused Hoshino Alter. "From the beginning until now, this duel has been progressing in turns. It's just different from our usual tag-team format. Didn't you notice?"

"You mean we've actually been taking turns?!" Hoshino Alter counted on her fingers and mentally reviewed the duel so far:

Nitocris summoned Pharaoh's Servant and attacked Hoshino Alter → Kaiba summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon and attacked the Servant → Hoshino Alter skipped her turn (actually tried to slap out Ozy)

Nitocris summoned a second Pharaoh's Servant and attacked Hoshino Alter → Kaiba ordered Blue-Eyes to attack Nito and used Attack Guidance Armor to protect Hoshino Alter → Hoshino Alter skipped again

Nitocris summoned a third Pharaoh's Servant and used a Spell.

"Damn—it really was taking turns this whole time! And I was the only one who didn't know?!"

(*****)

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