Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 342

"So, Pegasus, since you were the one who created the God Cards, you must have developed a card that surpasses even the Gods. According to our agreement, hand it over!"

Pegasus wasn't particularly surprised. This was something they had agreed upon before the duel began. Under the wager duel rules, Kaiba had staked his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, while Pegasus had put up a card capable of defeating the Gods.

"Kaiba-boy, I did agree to hand over the card if I lost, but I hope this serves as a warning about the consequences of pursuing power excessively..."

Lifting his bangs to reveal his left eye, Pegasus looked at Kaiba with a smile filled with indescribable bitterness.

Kaiba's expression flickered with a hint of fear. The hidden outcome behind Pegasus's smile—a fate awaiting those who pursued power to the extreme—manifested before his eyes. The unusual vision before him triggered an instant sense of resistance, even within his own heart.

Pegasus, lowering his bangs once again, turned silently and pointed to the transparent glass container on the table. "If you are truly prepared for this, Kaiba-boy, the card that surpasses the Gods is within that deck over there. Take it if you wish~"

CRASH!

Shattering the glass container barehanded, Kaiba hesitated for only a moment before choosing power.

"I don't believe in fate! No matter how much I pursue power, my life will not be dictated by something like that, nor will I walk the so-called 'path to ruin'!"

Flipping through the deck stored in Pegasus's container, Kaiba barely spared a glance at the rare cards within. Ordinary rare cards wouldn't catch his eye. A card that truly surpassed the Gods—such a thing would stand out even if hidden among hundreds.

"Hmph, so you actually made two of them? Even if your dueling skills haven't improved, at least you still live up to your title as the father of Duel Monsters."

With a cold smirk, Kaiba drew two chosen cards from the deck and left Pegasus's estate without looking back.

"Wait, two cards?"

A puzzled Pegasus tried to call out to him, but Kaiba had already vanished.

"But the only card I wagered was Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon... How did Kaiba-boy end up picking two cards?"

(***)

Domino City, Kame Toy Shop—

"No good, my brother isn't answering his phone. He told me to notify him immediately—did he run into some kind of trouble?"

Hanging up after another failed call, Mokuba looked worried.

Hoshino ruffled Mokuba's hair. "Don't worry. With Kaiba's strength, Pegasus definitely wouldn't be a match for him. He's probably just too absorbed in dueling to pick up the phone."

"Grandpa..."

After seeing the news report about the crystal pyramid, which bore a striking resemblance to the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi felt an inexplicable unease.

"Grandpa, do you know anything about the crystal pyramid?"

As a seasoned archaeologist, Sugoroku Muto had encountered countless artifacts over the years. Perhaps he knew something about the mysterious relic. Seeing the old man deep in thought, Yugi made a hopeful guess.

After a moment of contemplation, Sugoroku nodded. "It was a long time ago, but I once unearthed a stone tablet that described a similar object—the Pyramid of Light, wielded by the King of Light."

"The Pyramid of Light?" the group echoed in confusion.

Sugoroku looked at Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. "The tablet also mentioned the Millennium Puzzle, held by the King of Darkness. It recorded a fateful battle between the King of Light and the King of Darkness, in which the King of Light emerged victorious in the end."

"Wait, so Yugi lost?"

Jonouchi looked surprised.

Anzu frowned and lightly punched him. "That's not about Yugi! If it's an ancient stone tablet, it must be talking about another person from thousands of years ago!"

"But the tablet had more to say—after the King of Light claimed victory, the King of Destruction would descend upon this world..."

As Sugoroku continued, he suddenly faltered, scratching his head awkwardly. "Ah, sorry, I can't remember the rest. It's been so long~"

Yugi slumped in disappointment. "Grandpa, why do you always forget the most crucial part?!"

Hoshino tried to comfort him. "Regardless, that was something recorded thousands of years ago. It probably doesn't have much to do with our time."

"By the way, Yugi, speaking of the other 'you'… I should return the Egyptian God Cards to you. I remember that for the other 'you,' they were the key to recovering his lost memories, right?"

Previously, Hoshino had sought to gather the Egyptian God Cards in an attempt to open a portal back to her original world. However, now that her Father had given her a card capable of returning, she no longer needed the God Cards.

Yugi didn't immediately take the cards. Instead, he shook his head gently.

"Hoshino, I think what the other me wants from you isn't the Egyptian God Cards, but something even more important."

Hoshino was puzzled. "Something more important?"

A golden glow flashed across the Millennium Puzzle. The kind expression on Yugi's face was instantly replaced by the confident smile of the Pharaoh.

"Hoshino, the final duel of the Battle City tournament—this is what I truly want from you!"

Their duel, meant to be the finale of Battle City, had been cut short due to Hoshino's sudden departure. And after her return from the future, she had immediately been swept up in the Dartz incident. Now, after overcoming countless obstacles, Yami Yugi finally had the chance to bring up their unfinished match again.

"Then let's duel, Hoshino! It's time to put an end to the Battle City finals!"

With his Duel Disk activated, Yugi looked eager and ready for battle.

Jonouchi and the others got excited as well. "Ohhh, it's finally happening! And today's been so slow—we've got no customers at all, so we can watch without any distractions!"

Sugoroku sighed. "Ahh, no customers at all... (;′⌒`)"

Mokuba was in disbelief. "Wait, wait! The finale of Battle City… is happening in this tiny toy store?! Isn't that way too underwhelming?"

Sugoroku sighed again. "Tiny toy store...（;´д｀）ゞ"

Honda defended the shop's honor. "It's not underwhelming at all! Even if it's held in some obscure little store, as long as the duelists are Hoshino and Yugi, this match will go down in the history of Duel Monsters!"

Sugoroku sighed a third time. "Obscure little store゜ロ゜..."

Sugoroku Mutou, died.

Despite everyone's enthusiasm, Hoshino looked a little sheepish.

"Uh... My deck isn't working properly today… I can't use it..."

.

..

...

"I summon [Heroic Spirit – Cú Chulainn] in Attack Mode!"

Just like Hoshino's attempts earlier that morning, the Duel Disk—clearly powered on—remained unresponsive. There wasn't even the faintest sign of projection activation.

"Ugh, so it really is malfunctioning? This has never happened before..." Hoshino muttered, shaking the Duel Disk strapped to her arm.

Seeing this, Yugi lowered the perfect opening hand he had just drawn. "It can't be helped. Under these conditions, a duel is impossible. What a shame."

Jonouchi leaned in. "Hey, Hoshino, could it be that your Duel Disk is busted? I've been meaning to ask since yesterday—what's the deal with that weird-looking Duel Disk of yours?"

I already told you it was a gift from your girlfriend. How are you still this oblivious?

But Jonouchi's words did remind Hoshino of something. Ever since returning from the future, she had been using this Duel Disk in intense battles without ever performing maintenance or charging it.

Not that she hadn't wanted to—it was just that this futuristic Duel Disk was far too advanced for her to even figure out how.

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Mokuba immediately stepped forward, confidently patting his chest. "I'll help you out, Hoshino! No matter how it looks on the outside, it's still a Duel Disk, right? Leave it to me!"

"Then I'll be counting on you~" Hoshino said with a smile, removing the Duel Disk to reveal her tanned arm before handing it over to the eager boy.

Bakura suddenly chimed in with a suggestion. "If we can't summon using the Duel Disk, why not just duel with the cards directly? Like we do when playing during break time. We don't actually need holograms to play Duel Monsters."

Oh wow, look at you finding the obvious answer!

Jonouchi's eyes lit up as he smacked his palm. "That's right! We don't have to use Duel Disks! Duel Monsters was originally a card game, after all!"

With that, he excitedly grabbed one of the old-fashioned dueling platforms from inside the shop—one that lacked any kind of projection technology. Having been spoiled by the advanced systems of this era, modern duelists had nearly forgotten the game's true origins as a tabletop card game.

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"Gramps' shop may not have much, but when it comes to outdated duel platforms, we've got an endless supply!"

Jonouchi, stop rubbing salt in the wound! Gramps still hasn't recovered from the last few hits!

"Come on, come on! The duel between Yugi and Hoshino is back on~"

Anzu tilted her head, looking a little conflicted. "So in the end, the Battle City Finals… are going to be decided on a tiny table with no holograms? This feels… kind of underwhelming."

Hoshino turned to Yugi, meeting his gaze. "So, Yugi, are we doing this?" she asked softly.

"Anzu has a point," Yugi admitted. "We can duel like this, but Duel Disks have become an integral part of Duel Monsters. They're a crucial tool for duelists to ignite their passion and pour their souls into the game."

Naturally, he didn't want to settle his duel with Hoshino in such a makeshift manner. Besides… whenever he looked at Hoshino's skin, he felt an inexplicable urge to avert his gaze—like something was stirring deep within his memory.

"Also, Hoshino… you're not quite yourself today. Neither your deck… nor you."

For some reason, the sight of this darker-skinned Hoshino caused fragmented memories to surface in the Pharaoh's mind—visions of another girl with the same complexion. A familiar yet distant, adorable figure. Even if he couldn't recall her clearly, just the thought of her filled his heart with warmth.

"Yugi, you're overthinking things. If that's the case, let me take over! I'll finally get my rematch from Duelist Kingdom!" Jonouchi declared.

Seeing that Yugi wasn't keen on a no-hologram duel, Jonouchi—who never sweated such details—excitedly placed his deck on the table.

"Ah, Hoshino, this Duel Disk of yours…!"

Mokuba's voice suddenly interrupted the moment. It had taken the genius boy quite a bit of effort just to dismantle this unfamiliar device.

"The projection system, the mini supercomputer—most of the components in here are made of cutting-edge KaibaCorp technology! Some of them haven't even entered production yet!"

Mokuba's eyes sparkled like he'd just uncovered a hidden treasure. "Where did you get this Duel Disk? It's incredible!"

It's a Duel Disk from the future, so of course it uses future tech.

But even knowing that, Hoshino obviously couldn't say it out loud. She just scratched her cheek and laughed awkwardly. "Wow, that's amazing! Haha, I don't really know either~"

Jonouchi scowled. "Hey, don't interrupt, Mokuba! I was in the middle of challenging Hoshino!"

Hoshino shrugged, glancing at the self-assured Jonouchi. "Going from dueling Yugi to dueling you… kind of kills the tension."

"Don't underestimate me! In the month you were gone, my skills have improved drastically!"

Yugi, arms crossed, nodded in agreement. "I can vouch for that. Jonouchi's growth over the past month has been nothing short of phenomenal. If you take him lightly, you'll regret it."

"Wow, even Yugi's backing you up? In that case…"

For a brief moment, Hoshino saw something behind Jonouchi—an illusion of his future self, standing at the pinnacle of the dueling world.

—You'll never know just how strong you'll become in the future.

"Yeah… even against Jonouchi, I have to give it my all."

Fueled by sudden excitement, Hoshino didn't mind the lack of a Duel Disk anymore. She was eager for battle.

"Alright then—DUEL!!"

Hoshino VS Jonouchi

"I'll take the first turn! Draw—"

Just as Hoshino confidently drew her opening hand, preparing to execute her strategy, the Millennium Bracelet around her wrist began to tremble violently. A faint heat radiated from it.

Then, without any warning, a certain swordswoman materialized right in front of everyone.

Hoshino's eyes widened in shock. "Okita?! How are you here? I haven't even sent you to the Graveyard yet—why did you just summon yourself?!"

But she quickly noticed Okita's expression was anything but playful. Her fingers clenched tightly around a katana tainted with black mud. Draped in her signature green haori, she stood before them, covered in wounds.

Even so, upon seeing Hoshino, Okita managed a faint, relieved smile.

"Master… I'm so glad… you're safe…"

(*****)

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