Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 370

"Quick-Play Spell activated—[Daily Life at the Beyond]!"

The Magical Girl card that Hoshino drew this turn required only a single key to activate, unlocking the hidden power within.

[Daily Life at the Beyond – Quick-Play Spell Effect: Choose one of the following effects to activate.

If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon 1 "Magical Girl – Illya" from your Deck or Banished zone.]

"Using the power of a Magical Girl to counter an Alter... Go, Illya!"

[Magical Girl – Illya ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]

[This card is also treated as a "Heroic Spirit."]

Floating into reality, Illya let out a long sigh, lowering her head slightly.

"Uuugh~ I can't even get a break in the middle of a duel? I never expected being a Duel Monster would be such exhausting work..."

[If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Add 1 "Phantasm Summoning" from your Deck to your hand.]

Drawing the searched Quick-Play Spell Phantasm Summoning from her Deck, Hoshino immediately chained it with her earlier play to complete a magical girl fusion without ending the Battle Phase.

"Quick-Play Spell [Phantasm Summoning] activated! When Fusion Summoning a Magical Girl Fusion Monster, you can banish one of its materials from the field instead!"

As Hoshino inserted the Quick-Play Spell into her Duel Disk, dazzling starlight began to spread across the battlefield.

"Now's not the time to complain, Illya! Once we win this duel, I'll take you home and marry you!"

Flustered, Illya quickly pulled out her Class Card.

"Eh~?! Master, don't you usually avoid saying these kinds of flags? Why are you setting such a classic death flag now?!"

"Setting up a flag on purpose to reverse-jinx myself is an advanced technique, Illya. Also..."

Hoshino turned toward Mash Alter, whose stunned expression showed she had completely frozen in place.

"M-Marry...?!"

All the overwhelming presence Mash Alter had when defeating Siegfried instantly evaporated.

"I absolutely won't allow Senpai to marry anyone but me! And besides, marrying a grade-schooler is illegal, Senpai!"

Screaming in denial like a jealous lover, Mash Alter declared her opposition.

Wait, you're already an Alter—why are you still so concerned with the law?

"Just teasing! I just wanted to see my kouhai alter get adorably jealous. Now... Fusion Summon in Attack Position—[Magical Girl – Hundred Faces Illya]!"

"—Class Card: Assassin! Install—Hundred Faces Hassan!"

Having transformed, Hundred Faces Illya wielded dual daggers, draped in the standard black cloak of the Hassan assassins, with a small skull mask tilted atop her cute little head.

[Magical Girl – Hundred Faces Illya ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][DARK][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2000/DEF 1000]

["Magical Girl – Illya" + "Heroic Spirit – Hundred Faces Hassan"]

The moment she arrived, Illya pressed her small hands against the ground, and the writhing shadows beside her signaled the activation of her Noble Phantasm.

"We are all as one, and one as all. A shadow with a hundred variations... Go, Zabaniya!!"

[When this card is Fusion Summoned: Choose one of the following effects to activate.

● Banish one "Heroic Spirit" monster from your Deck, then Special Summon one "Hundred Faces Token" to your field with the same Type, Attribute, Level, ATK, and DEF as the banished monster.]

Hoshino banished a Heroic Spirit monster from her Deck, causing the shadow next to Illya to morph into a towering figure matching the banished monster.

"Using Hundred Faces Illya's effect, I banish Heroic Spirit – Heracles from my Deck, then Special Summon a Hundred Faces Token in Attack Position with Heracles' battle power!"

"Berserker! I'm counting on you!!" Illya called out.

[Hundred Faces Token (Heracles) ★★★★★★★★★ (Level 9)][EARTH][Warrior/Effect][ATK 3000/DEF 2800]

"RAAAAAAARGH—!!"

The shadow, now transformed into a demigod resembling Heracles, let out a powerful roar in response to Illya's call.

Since Illya's effect allowed her to return to the field if used as Fusion Material by banishing herself, she nodded approvingly.

"Even if he's just a shadow, Berserker is still so cool!"

[Magical Girl – Illya DEF 1000]

"I Special Summon Magical Girl – Illya back in Defense Position!"

Satisfied with the new battlefield setup, Hoshino surveyed the situation.

"The Battle Phase hasn't ended yet. Now, I have two high-ATK monsters on my field! Meanwhile, without the support of her Field Spell, Mash Alter's ATK has dropped!"

[Mash Alter ATK 1900 → 1000]

"Impressive... these two Hoshinos!"

Watching the intense exchange, Yugi couldn't help but exclaim.

"Even after Siegfried was defeated, rather than showing any weakness, she quickly rebuilt her field within the same Battle Phase. Looking at this situation, it seems her opponent is about to lose a lot of LP this turn."

Kaiba frowned, visibly irritated.

"Just how strong do you intend to become...?"

At this point, Kaiba had given up trying to calculate the probability of defeating Hoshino using mechanical logic.

As she had always said, every duel was another step toward making her stronger. Cold, unchanging calculations from a machine could never predict such evolution.

"The battle continues! Attack, Hundred Faces Token!"

"RAAAAAARGH—!"

Hoshino's command sent the monstrous shadow warrior charging forward, the colossal stone axe in its grip cleaving down toward Mash Alter's slender armored form.

"Marry... marry...?"

Yet even as the attack neared, Mash remained frozen, still obsessing over Hoshino's earlier comment.

"Senpai's marriage partner... can only be me! You...!!"

Finally snapping out of her trance as the charging wind howled around her, Mash's gaze turned ice-cold as she raised her lance, brimming with murderous intent.

"—You, too! Don't tell me you also want to marry Senpai?! I can already see it! But I absolutely won't allow it!!"

"Please don't decide I'm getting married—I'm still too young, Mash...!!"

"The only one who can marry Senpai is me!!"

Mash Alter shouted her inner desires without hesitation. Despite having only 1000 ATK, she showed no fear in the face of the 3000 ATK Hundred Faces Token.

With arms crossed, White Hoshino let out a cold laugh.

"Hmph. Magical Girl Illya... So this is what Da Vinci was hiding? At first glance, it seems to have immense potential, but it's still no match for Alter! Let your fury turn into strength and counterattack, Mash!"

Hoshino was taken aback, never expecting White Hoshino to launch a counterattack in this situation.

"You used Heroic Spirits – Holy Grail War to destroy all the cards on the field, leaving not even a single set card... Can you really counterattack like this?"

"Hmph, let her see the difference in power, Mash~"

White Hoshino's confidence remained unshaken. Though she had been caught off guard by Hoshino's strategy with Saint George and Siegfried, the fully optimized Alter deck still held a massive advantage in overall strength.

"Yes, Senpai! If Mash tries this hard, you must remember to reward me later~"

Receiving White Hoshino's command, Mash Alter gradually regained her composure from her previously flustered state.

Then, a surge of energy erupted into a massive pair of dragon wings extending from Mashu's smooth, bare back. The black wings flapped, generating a fierce gust that countered the momentum of the charging Hundred Faces Token.

"Senpai, what was that phrase you said earlier? 'He who fights dragons shall become a dragon'... After slaying Siegfried, it seems I can easily command the power of this demon dragon myself~"

"You're kidding me, right?!"

Hoshino's crimson eyes widened in shock, trembling as she locked onto Mash, now in dragon form.

At the center of the battlefield, two torrents of power clashed violently. The colossal stone axe wielded by the Hundred Faces Token, weighing thousands of pounds, was blocked by Mashu's slender arm, her lance piercing through and stopping the strike completely.

"Did you really think I couldn't counterattack without a card? With such naïve thinking, you'll never hold onto the title of Duel King!"

White Hoshino drew a card from the graveyard and inserted it into her Duel Disk. The "Dragon Heroic Spirit" materialized as a virtual projection, covering Mash Alter's entire body as new armor.

"During the first turn of this duel, I discarded a DARK-attribute Heroic Spirit monster to activate the effect of Black Holy Grail. That monster was none other than the fallen dragon's power—Heroic Spirit – Elizabeth Báthory Alter!"

The dragon armor covering Mashu fully infused its overwhelming power into her slender frame.

[Heroic Spirit – Elizabeth Báthory Alter Effect: When an "Alter" monster on your field is targeted for an attack, this card can be activated from the graveyard as an equip spell, increasing the equipped monster's ATK by 1000 for each face-up Attack Position monster the opponent controls.]

"At the moment Mash Alter was declared as the attack target, Elizabeth Alter's effect activates! She becomes an equip spell and attaches to Mash!"

A black flame dragon erupted from Mash's lance, locking its fangs onto the massive stone axe of the Hundred Faces Token, crushing it in its jaws.

"Since Elizabeth Alter is now an equip spell, she increases Mash's ATK by 1000 for every Attack Position monster you control!"

On Hoshino's field, the Attack Position monsters were:

[Hundred Faces Token]

[Magical Girl – Hundred Faces Illya]

[Mash Alter ATK 1000 → 3000]

"Their ATK is equal now!"

Watching the intense duel unfold, Jonouchi finally snapped out of his trance amid the deafening dragon roars.

White Hoshino pointed at the battlefield with a triumphant smirk.

"Even though their ATK is the same, you should know that I've already won this exchange!"

Mash Alter's effect prevented her from being destroyed by battle. In other words, with equal ATK values, only Hoshino's monster would be destroyed.

"Senpai, shall I sing you a song? I promise it'll be far better than Elizabeth's~ Unleash my battle cry and devour my enemy! Take this—'Bloody Demon Dragon Black Flame!!'"

With a spear driven by the roaring black flames of the dragon, Mash attacked mercilessly. The eerie "melody" of her dragon's roar filled the air as she ruthlessly shredded the massive Hundred Faces Token to pieces.

[Hundred Faces Token Destroyed]

With one Attack Position monster gone from Hoshino's field, Mash Alter's ATK decreased.

[Mash Alter ATK 3000 → 2000]

"In the end, a shadow is just a shadow. If that had been the real Heracles, this battle wouldn't have ended so easily..."

Flapping her dragon wings, Mash Alter returned to White Hoshino's field, relieved that her opponent had only been a shadow of the true Heracles.

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White Hoshino grinned confidently.

"Admit it, this exchange was my victory~ That makes the current score 1:1—an even match!"

"A tie? I refuse!"

To White Hoshino's surprise, even after her strongest monster was taken down, Hoshino refused to accept the outcome.

"My Battle Phase isn't over yet! I'll continue my attack with Hundred Faces Illya!"

[Hundred Faces Illya ATK 2000]

Seeing Illya suddenly crouch low into a sprinting stance, White Hoshino scoffed.

"You still haven't learned your lesson? In a clash between equal ATK values, only Mash Alter will survive!"

"I know that! But Hundred Faces Illya has a special ability! She can bypass Attack Position monsters and directly attack the opponent's Life Points, though the damage is halved!"

Illya's figure vanished, her dark form melting into the shadows.

"A direct attack with halved damage... That's only 1000 damage. It's practically nothing!"

White Hoshino's LP stood at 3625, an oddly specific number, but undeniably still a healthy amount. 1000 damage wouldn't significantly alter the duel's outcome.

Even so, she gulped nervously. Having Illya lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike with a hidden blade, sent chills down her spine.

"I know that 1000 damage isn't enough to change the game. That's why, to truly gain an advantage, I've decided... to steal back my precious Mash this turn!"

"Impossible?!"

White Hoshino's eyes widened in alarm.

The glint of Illya's dagger, reflected in her crimson pupils, wasn't aimed at her...

It was aimed at the dragon-fused Mash on the field!

(*****)

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