Artoria, who drew the Caliburn and began her path toward becoming king—straightforward, positive, and always giving her all in everything. Though aware she's not yet fully capable of standing on her own, this slight lack of confidence is a minor flaw in an otherwise perfect character.
To become the ideal king, she trains herself every day as an ideal knight. Still somewhat inexperienced, she hasn't fully rid herself of her girlish side, and her heart remains filled with dreams and hope.
(***)
"Master, I'm a bit angry now!" Lily, with a fierce look in her eyes, glared at the white dragon with shining wings before her.
"The opponent isn't someone you can defeat just by acting on impulse. This is the time to be patient, Lily."
Though Hoshino didn't feel particularly against Blackbeard, her natural concern for her waifu meant she didn't want to see Lily upset.
"If we can just endure this turn and summon Siegfried, we'll have the strength to face Kaiba's Blue Eyes."
"It feels like this duel has turned into whether Hoshino can summon Siegfried or not," Jonouchi muttered, watching the back-and-forth struggle around Siegfried's summoning. "Seriously, Hoshino, if you'd summoned Siegfried last turn, none of this would have happened."
"No, if she summoned Siegfried directly, Kaiba would've traded it with his Blue-Eyes equipped with Tyrant Wing," Yugi quickly provided the answer with his usual impressive calculation speed.
"Even if Lily summoned Siegfried, with its anti-dragon effect, its attack power would only reach 3400, the same as the Blue-Eyes equipped with Tyrant Wing. But Kaiba has three Blue Eyes, while Hoshino only has one Siegfried. That exchange wouldn't be favorable."
"Ah, I see…"
Jonouchi, his analysis instantly debunked by Yugi, could only laugh awkwardly.
"Once Tyrant Wing destroys itself at the end of the turn, then summoning Siegfried would be a guaranteed victory!"
"That's not a sure thing," Yugi shook his head, with no hint of optimism in his eyes.
"Right now, Hoshino hasn't even used her normal summon this turn, which means her hand is likely stuck. She's probably holding at least three high-level monsters she can't play."
"I bet Kaiba knows that too…"
"Hehehe." Before Yugi could finish speaking, Kaiba, standing across from Hoshino, suddenly chuckled. "Being so cautious about one monster doesn't suit my style, does it?"
"Oh? So you're going to stop resisting and let me beat you?" Hoshino, confused, looked at Kaiba, who had started laughing.
"No, if I let you summon Siegfried, it'll be quite troublesome for me," Kaiba, now serious, drew a card and met Hoshino's gaze.
"I'm guessing you're stuck with your hand too, Hoshino. How about we make a gamble…"
"???" Hoshino looked even more confused.
"Activate spell card, [Card Destruction]!"
[Card Destruction – Spell Card Effect: Both players discard as many cards as possible from their hands, and then each player draws the same number of cards they discarded.]
"Damn, Kaiba had that card in his hand?" Yugi suddenly gasped as Kaiba threw down the card.
"Hoshino's plan to add Siegfried to her hand just backfired," Jonouchi also sensed the danger.
"You can't call it backfiring. This also frees Hoshino from her stuck hand. It's a gamble on Kaiba's part." Yugi's eyes became even more serious as he saw through Kaiba's intent.
"He's betting on which side's new hand can tip the scales of victory!"
"Interesting, Kaiba. Let's see whose luck prevails!" Without hesitation, Hoshino discarded all four of her cards into the duel disk's graveyard.
Naturally, Saber, Vlad, Okita, and the key card Siegfried all went to the graveyard.
"Kaiba, Siegfried isn't the only card in my deck that can defeat you." Hoshino drew four new cards and glanced at Kaiba, who was also drawing.
Everything should have been predictable—until Kaiba drew his third card.
A pressure far beyond anything before, like a lit bomb ready to explode, swept through the entire field. Even Kaiba's expression became strangely complicated.
"What the heck did Kaiba draw?" Even when the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon appeared, Hoshino didn't feel this kind of pressure. Yet now, she was overwhelmed by the monster still unplayed in Kaiba's hand.
"Heh, Hoshino, it looks like the scales of victory are tipping in my favor now!" Kaiba, regaining his composure, wore an expression brimming with confidence as if he had already secured the win.
"I'll set one card and end my turn!" As Kaiba ended his turn, the glowing wings of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon disappeared.
[Tyrant Wing: At the end of the turn in which the equipped monster attacks an opponent's monster, this card is destroyed.]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon ATK 3400 → 3000]
Kaiba's remaining hand: 2 cards.
"My turn, draw!"
"I don't know what you drew, Kaiba, but..." Hoshino, sweeping a glance over her refreshed hand, showed a confidence that was no less than Kaiba's.
"To think you can tip the scales of this duel with just one card—isn't that underestimating the Duel King a bit too much?"
"It's time to show them, Lily! There's a time to be patient and a time to let them know just how strong we are!" With a commanding voice, Hoshino slapped a card onto the duel disk, and the field was instantly engulfed in golden light.
"Yes, Master!" At the center of that golden light was Lily, holding the golden sword.
No, it was now the legendary sword from the lake, Excalibur.
"Activate the equip spell card, [Excalibur]!"
[Excalibur – Equip Spell Effect: Can only be equipped to a monster whose name includes [Heroic Spirit - Artoria Pendragon]. ①: The equipped monster's effects are negated. ②: The equipped monster's ATK increases by 500 for each monster on the field or in the graveyard whose name includes [Heroic Spirit].]
"Counting both on my field and in my graveyard, I have 5 [Heroic Spirits], so Lily's attack power is increased by 2500!" (Blackbeard was banished by his own effect.)
"This is the will of the Heroic Spirits entrusted to the Holy Sword, and the girl's body!"
[Heroic Spirit - Artoria Pendragon Lily][ATK 1200 → 3700]
"The attack power surpassed Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The golden light that swept through the courtyard stirred the crowd once more.
"Oh no, I think I'm in love."
"I want to buy it now! Don't tell me this is also an ultra-rare card?"
"I don't know. I've never seen a monster like this before…"
As expected, after revealing Excalibur, public opinion immediately swung toward Hoshino's side.
"Go, Lily! Destroy Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Riding the wave of public sentiment, Hoshino decisively declared the attack.
"Yes, Master! Blackbeard, I'm avenging you now!"
The girl, holding the golden light, charged toward the much larger white dragon with a determined look in her eyes.
"Sword of Selection, grant me your power!"
Her seemingly frail arm gripped tightly onto the hope for victory.
The golden sword in the girl's hand pierced directly into the massive body of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"It's not over yet! I can do even better!"
"By your power! Cleave the wicked! Caliburn!"
With all her strength, Lily swung the golden sword embedded in the white dragon, leaving a giant golden-glowing wound across the dragon's body.
"Roar!!" The White Dragon's painful scream echoed throughout the courtyard, its deafening sound forcing the crowd to cover their ears.
"What kind of duel is this?!"
"This is way more intense than a movie at the cinema!"
The dying roar of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, combined with the golden light illuminating the entire courtyard, caused the duel disks on both sides to strain under the overload.
"This thing... it's not going to explode, is it?" Though Kaiba boasted that this was the most cutting-edge product, the overloaded sound coming from the duel disk on Hoshino's left arm made her a bit concerned.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] Destroyed.
[Kaiba Seto LP 4000 → 3300]
Looking at his destroyed Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kaiba offered his unique form of praise. "You never cease to surprise me, Hoshino."
"It's an honor to receive praise from the president of Kaiba Corporation." Pretending to be humble, Hoshino glanced at the smoking duel disk on Kaiba's arm.
Although her duel disk was also overloaded, it seemed to be of better quality since it was custom-made. At least, it wasn't in the same condition as Kaiba's.
"Maybe this duel disk needs some more fine-tuning."
Hoshino subtly hinted to Kaiba that if their first public duel ended with the duel disk exploding, it would certainly harm KaibaCorp's future.
"It's fine. After all, this is just the testing phase. I'm curious to see what its limits are," Kaiba, unconcerned, was essentially encouraging Hoshino to push it even further.
"Oh? Then don't blame me later." Rolling her eyes at Kaiba, Hoshino drew another card and placed it in the duel disk.
"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."
Hoshino's remaining hand: 3 cards, face-down cards: 2.
"The transfer student took the lead, huh? A monster with 3700 attack power."
"Kaiba doesn't have any monsters left now."
"As expected, the King of Duelists is strong!"
Among the crowd, Duke Devlin, who had been leaning against the window the whole time, no longer had the relaxed expression he had at the beginning. "Hoshino Chiyuki… she has some skill."
"However, if this is all she's got, she definitely can't defeat Pegasus. Just like Marik said, she must have done something to Pegasus to win the title of Duel King."
"But what worries me more is the card Kaiba just drew. That familiar pressure… it's just like what Marik did at the time…"
"My turn, draw!"
"Hoshino, let me show you something interesting!" Glancing at the card he drew, Kaiba's smile grew more arrogant.
"At this moment, I will display the true power of a god!" After making his bold declaration, Kaiba, radiating a tremendous aura, slammed his card onto the duel disk.
"The power… of a god?" Sensing something seriously wrong, Hoshino realized that the card Kaiba drew the last turn carried an aura that rivaled, if not surpassed, that of Hercules.
"And now, this turn, you'll be defeated by the absolute power of a god! I activate the spell card [Premature Burial]!"
[Premature Burial Spell Card Effect: Activate this card by paying 800 LP, then target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in Attack Position and equip it with this card. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster.]
[Kaiba Seto LP 3300 → 2500]
"Revive, my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" As the duel disk sensed the effect of the card, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon resurrected from the graveyard, bursting forth from the ground.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon][ATK3000]
"So after all that talk, you just summon your Blue-Eyes White Dragon again?" Hoshino sneered at the resurrected white dragon on Kaiba's field. "Now that Blue-Eyes White Dragon is no longer a match for Lily. No matter how many times you summon it, the result will be the same!"
"Don't be in such a rush to die, Hoshino. The final performance is just about to begin!" Kaiba retorted with a professional cold smile in response to Hoshino's mockery.
"I hope you can still laugh after seeing this card. I activate the spell card from my hand, [Soul Release]!"
Kaiba once again slammed the spell card onto the duel disk.
A gentle blue wind swept through as if it could bring peace to all restless souls.
[Soul Release Spell Card Effect: Target up to 5 cards in any GY(s); banish them.]
"The monsters I will banish are [Heroic Spirit – Siegfried] and [Heroic Spirit – Okita Sōji] from your graveyard, and three [Giant Germs] from my graveyard, for a total of five monsters!" As Kaiba made his selection, the gentle blue wind blew through both graveyards, banishing the chosen monsters one by one.
"I see! That's Kaiba's plan!" Yugi suddenly realized what was happening.
"As long as Hoshino's Heroic Spirits are banished from the graveyard, the attack power that Lily gained from Excalibur will naturally decrease!"
"Exactly, as expected from the man I acknowledge, Yugi!" Kaiba glanced at Yugi with approval, nodding silently as he appreciated Yugi's quick insight into his strategy.
"Since two Heroic Spirits have been banished, Lily's attack power drops by 1000 points!"
[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon Lily][ATK → 2700]
"Blue-Eyes' attack power is higher again!"
"But why did Kaiba banish his own Giant Germs? Wouldn't it be better to just banish all the Heroic Spirits from my graveyard for a stronger effect?"
Feeling that things weren't that simple, Hoshino kept a close eye on Kaiba's last remaining card.
(Okita: "QAQ As the ace, I didn't even get to show my face before getting banished! Could this get any worse?!")
(*****)
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