[Duke Devlin LP 4000 → 3800]
"Hell yeah! She blocked the attack!" Seeing that Hoshino managed to block the Terrorking Archfiend's attack, even without a set card, Jonouchi's mood greatly improved.
"What? You called me weak?" On the other hand, Devlin, suddenly insulted by Hoshino, was a bit irritated.
"You only gained a slight advantage by using the special effect of a rare monster. Don't get too cocky!" he retorted.
"You'll soon see whether this is a slight advantage or not." Hoshino, as arrogant as ever, completely ignored his advice.
"I set one card and end my turn!"
Duke Devlin's hand: 3 cards
"My turn, draw!"
"Watch closely, and you'll see how the balance of power shifts with this so-called slight advantage!" Hoshino declared confidently.
"I summon a monster in attack position from my hand, [Heroic Spirit – Caligula]!"
Throwing out a card from her hand, Hoshino successfully summoned another Heroic Spirit to counter the Terrorking Archfiend.
[Heroic Spirit – Caligula ★★★★ (4 stars)][Dark] [Warrior/Effect][ATK1500/DEF1200]
"Ah, Neroooo!" As usual, Caligula, the devoted Nero fan, screamed passionately.
"That Caligula card of Hoshino's!" Seeing the fierce monster Hoshino summoned, Jonouchi suddenly recalled something.
"Yes, it's extremely powerful and not inferior to Terrorking Archfiend!" Yugi, who vividly remembered Hoshino using this card during the Duelist Kingdom arc, reacted in agreement.
"I activate [Heroic Spirit – Caligula]'s special effect!"
[Once per turn, pay 500 Life Points to activate. This card's DEF decreases by 500 points, and its ATK increases by 500 points.]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4000 → 3500]
[Heroic Spirit – Caligula][ATK 1500 → 2000/DEF 1200 → 700]
"Strength is surging through me!" Caligula's eyes grew even more crimson, and his attack power instantly matched that of Devlin's Terrorking Archfiend.
"Go, Caligula! Destroy that monster!" Without hesitation, Hoshino gave the attack command.
"Heh, trying to trade blows with equal attack power? That's not impressive," Devlin said. Initially worried about what tactic Hoshino might use, he relaxed when he saw Caligula simply charging toward his Terrorking Archfiend.
"Who said anything about trading blows with a weakling like you?" Hoshino sneered, lightly tapping the card representing Boudica on the table. "I'll leave the support to you, Boudica!"
"Although I'm not thrilled about aiding Rome, since it's the master's command..." Boudica sighed quietly and raised her longsword.
"Queen of Victory!"
[As long as there are other Heroic Spirits on the field, all Heroic Spirit monsters on your field gain 200 ATK/DEF.]
"Let the sword of victory shine upon my army!"
The longsword glowed with a greenish light, and the gentle magic enveloped Caligula as he charged forward.
[Caligula ATK 2000 → 2200]
"Yes! The attack power is now higher!" Jonouchi cheered with excitement.
"Duke Devlin, this is the critical point at which the so-called slight advantage tips the scales!"
"Unleash your unrestrained assault, Caligula!" Hoshino shouted, though there was no need to urge the berserk Caligula to attack without hesitation.
Caligula's fist, swift as a bullet, pierced through the heavily armored body of the Terrorking Archfiend.
"Rrrooommme! ROOOOOMA!"
[Terrorking Archfiend] destroyed.
[Duke Devlin LP 3800 → 3600]
"Additionally, due to Caligula's effect, when he destroys an opponent's monster by battle, I regain Life Points."
[When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you gain Life Points equal to that monster's level × 200.]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3500 → 4300]
Enjoying the refreshing feeling of her rising Life Points, Hoshino glanced at Devlin, whose face had turned sour.
"That's why I said—you're weak!"
"Great, Hoshino has the upper hand!" Anzu cheered, clapping her hands with joy from the audience.
"Yeah, if she keeps suppressing Devlin's monsters like this, he won't be able to gather enough sacrifices for the Evil God!" Jonouchi, having seen through Hoshino's aggressive strategy, exclaimed excitedly. "As long as the Evil God can't be summoned, it doesn't matter whether it's an Evil God or a Divine Beast—they're just dead cards!"
"Damn it! I activate the special effect of [Desrook Archfiend] from my hand!" Devlin, frustrated from being outplayed repeatedly, felt his pride take a severe hit.
After all, the audience didn't just include Jonouchi's group; other duelists liked to watch duels at the store.
As the store owner, being publicly beaten one-sidedly like this was a massive blow to his reputation.
[Desrook Archfiend Effect: When [Terrorking Archfiend] is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard and Special Summon [Terrorking Archfiend].]
"I discard [Desrook Archfiend], and due to its effect, I Special Summon the [Terrorking Archfiend] that was just destroyed!"
A gigantic demon fortress materialized on the field, opening its massive mouth like a castle gate. From within, the Terrorking Archfiend emerged once more, standing in a kingly stance.
[Terrorking Archfiend ★★★★ (4 stars)][Dark] [Fiend/Effect][ATK2000/DEF1500]
"Also, due to the effect of my Field Spell [Pandemonium], when an Archfiend monster on the field is destroyed, I can add a lower-level Archfiend monster from my Deck to my hand!"
[When a Fiend-Type monster whose name includes [Archfiend] is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can add a lower-level [Archfiend] monster from your Deck to your hand.]
After quickly searching through his deck, Devlin didn't know how much pride he had saved with this series of moves, but for now, he had managed to stop her momentum.
"I add [Darkbishop Archfiend] to my hand from the Deck."
"You're surprisingly resilient. It would've been too boring if I had just kept beating you one-sidedly," Hoshino commented after watching Devlin's moves and finishing her battle phase. She then ended her turn. "I set one card and end my turn."
Hoshino chose not to switch Boudica into attack mode to deal additional damage, opting instead to keep her in defense position, playing a more cautious strategy.
At least for now, the revived Terrorking Archfiend, with 2000 ATK, couldn't break through Boudica's defensive chariot. As long as Boudica remained on the field, Caligula's attack power would continue to surpass the Terrorking Archfiend.
With the current field situation, Devlin's revived Terrorking Archfiend alone wasn't enough to turn things around.
Hoshino's remaining cards: 3 cards
Set: 1 card
"Why do I feel like Hoshino's starting to sound more and more like a villain?" Jonouchi, feeling a bit uneasy, whispered, worried that Hoshino might overhear.
"I heard you..." Hoshino, clearly annoyed, shot a glare at Jonouchi, who had been bad-mouthing her behind her back.
"Hahaha." Embarrassed that Hoshino's hearing was so sharp, Jonouchi awkwardly scratched his head.
"Jonouchi, did you misunderstand something?" Hoshino's tone was incredibly menacing.
"???"
"Do you think spending a week under me will be any better than spending a week under Duke Devlin?"
"Yikes! Scary, Hoshino! What are you going to do to me?" Jonouchi, now suddenly shy, clutched his chest and acted bashful.
"Jonouchi, you're so gross," Anzu, unable to tolerate it any longer, mercilessly insulted him.
"It feels like you're expecting something, Jonouchi," Honda also couldn't resist mocking him after seeing his disgusting behavior.
"My turn! Draw!" Devlin's angry shout as he drew his card interrupted everyone's conversation.
"I sacrifice my [Terrorking Archfiend] on the field to summon [Archfiend Giant]!"
Though Devlin had preserved Terrorking Archfiend's last turn using Desrook Archfiend's effect, Terrorking Archfiend's current battle power wasn't enough to break through Hoshino's defenses.
Thus, Terrorking had only one remaining value: being offered as a tribute for a higher-level monster.
A dark aura engulfed Terrorking's body; a soul sold to the devil only ends in misery, no matter how much they've conquered in life.
[Archfiend Giant ★★★★★★ (6 stars)][Dark][Fiend/Effect][ATK2400/DEF1600]
The grotesque figure of the giant rivaled the golden statues standing in the Pandemonium field spell, its presence looming ominously over the battlefield.
"Attack, Giant! Crush that insignificant monster!" Devlin, whose anger had now turned into cold malice, commanded his Archfiend Giant to attack Hoshino's Caligula on the field.
"2400 attack points, huh? It's as strong as my Red-Eyes. And with only one tribute, that's quite a powerful monster!" Jonouchi commented, showing envy as he admired the Archfiend Giant's sheer power.
"Whose side are you on, Jonouchi?" Honda scolded, knocking him on the head.
While the two were talking, the giant's enormous body smashed through Hoshino's Caligula without resistance.
[Heroic Spirit – Caligula] destroyed.
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4300 → 4100]
"Such a shame... Caligula has been destroyed!" Hoshino's tone was tinged with regret as she observed the remnants of Caligula disappearing from the field.
If only she had made it to her next turn, Caligula could have activated its effect to raise its attack by 500 points again. At that point, it would have been able to outmatch the Archfiend Giant.
Devlin, even after being taunted by Hoshino earlier, had kept his composure.
"Did you think I'd just let your monster keep growing?" Devlin, having slightly regained control of the duel, was now more composed than before.
"Your move. End turn."
Devlin's hand: 2 cards; Set cards: 1.
"My turn! Draw!"
"Archfiend Giant, huh? It's not too difficult to deal with." Glancing at her hand, Hoshino already had a strategy in mind.
"But it's not exciting," Hoshino sighed softly, feeling that compared to her duel with Kaiba earlier that afternoon, Devlin's level was far inferior.
"If only this could end peacefully... From the current state of things, Devlin hasn't drawn his Evil God card yet."
The reason Hoshino was so confident that Devlin hadn't drawn the Evil God was because of the ominous aura those kinds of cards exuded.
It was like when Kaiba had drawn Obelisk the Tormentor—the overwhelming sense of pressure was almost indescribable. Cards that transcended understanding carried a distinct fear when they were drawn.
Even if she wasn't sure about how the others felt, at least Hoshino felt that way.
"I activate the Spell card [Mana Transfer] from my hand!" Hoshino began her counterattack by playing this card.
[Mana Transfer (Spell Card): This card can only be activated once per turn. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower [Heroic Spirit] monster from your deck, then shuffle your deck. The turn this card is activated, you cannot Normal Summon or Special Summon non-[Heroic Spirit] monsters.]
"I Special Summon [Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon (Lily)] from my deck!" After finishing the search, Hoshino dramatically placed the card on the table.
[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon (Lily) ★★★★ (4 stars)][Light][Dragon/Effect][ATK1200 → 1400 / DEF800 → 1000]
With a burst of blue particles, Lily appeared on Hoshino's field.
"We meet again so soon, Master!" As always, Lily greeted Hoshino with a radiant smile as pure as an angel's. Even though she had appeared in the duel against Kaiba earlier that afternoon, Lily didn't forget to greet Hoshino again.
"To see you so many times in one day makes me very happy, Master~"
"Normally, Master rarely brings me out. Spending time in Chaldea with Jeanne was so cold and lonely~"
"Alright, alright, that's enough, Lily. My conscience is starting to hurt," Hoshino clutched her chest. Although she knew Lily didn't mean to, she wished the girl would adjust her slightly devilish innocent personality.
While Hoshino and Lily were chatting, a commotion started to stir within the shop.
"That monster looks familiar."
"Isn't that the one from that viral video on YouTube, where the Duel King went up against Kaiba Seto this afternoon?"
"Wait, so that means this girl is the Duel King? No wonder she looks so familiar."
"She's even cuter in real life than in the video."
"So, Devlin's been dueling the Duel King all this time? No wonder he's struggling!"
Thanks to Lily's summoning, after standing on stage for so long, Hoshino was finally recognized by the audience.
"Is it the cards these people are seeing?" For some reason, Hoshino felt strangely annoyed that she was only being recognized now, thanks to Lily's appearance.
"When Lily is Special Summoned, her effect activates!" Hoshino slapped the table, venting her slight frustration.
[When this card is successfully Special Summoned, you can add 1 monster with [Heroic Spirit] in its name from your deck to your hand.]
"O heroic spirits who stand as an unbreakable wall, answer the call of the holy sword!" Lily, activating her effect, lifted her holy sword to her eyes and chanted softly.
"The card I'll add to my hand is… [Heroic Spirit – Lu Bu Fengxian]!"
After finishing her search and setting down her deck, Hoshino immediately slammed the Lu Bu card onto the table.
"Thanks to Lu Bu's special effect, if your opponent has a monster on the field, he can be Special Summoned from my hand! So come forth, Lu Bu!"
[Heroic Spirit – Lu Bu Fengxian ★★★★ (4 stars)][Earth][Warrior/Effect][ATK1600/DEF0]
With a roar akin to a speeding train, Lu Bu's towering figure, no less imposing than the Archfiend Giant, materialized on Hoshino's field.
"Show them the unstoppable power of the Warlord!"
[Once per turn, you can pay 500 LP to increase this card's ATK by 1000 until the end of the turn.]
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4100 → 3600]
[Lu Bu Fengxian ATK 1600 → 2600]
"God Force: The Five Soldiers of the War God!"
(*****)
If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!