Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 704 - 704

["(°Д°) Ah, she passed out."]Looking at Eve lying silently on the ground from magical exhaustion, Hoshino said worriedly, "As expected, it was too much of a burden for Eve."

Putting away her staff, Skadi gently placed her fingertips against Eve's forehead, a soft, goddess-like smile appearing on her lips.

"This child worked very hard as well. The magical power she provided was actually greater than yours, Hoshino's, which is why she lost consciousness immediately."

"Eh, really?" Hoshino sighed emotionally. "If you worked that hard, then I won't call you a useless shrine maiden anymore. And when we get back, I'll have Emiya make you something delicious to help you recover."

"(¯﹃¯) W-Where? Where's the delicious food?!"

Eve suddenly opened her eyes and sprang upright like a carp flipping out of water, showing not even the slightest trace of magical exhaustion.

"Wasn't she supposed to be completely drained? How'd she recover so fast?" Hoshino looked suspiciously at Skadi before suddenly realizing something. "I see… Our goddess really is as compassionate as ever."

Though it lasted only an instant, the love of the Norse goddess contained within Skadi's touch had already removed the fatigue caused by Eve's magical exhaustion.

Skadi slightly narrowed her beautiful eyes and smiled gently at Eve.

"Girl from another world, I grant you the blessing of the Goddess of Ice and Snow~ I only hope you won't regret the choice you ultimately make."

"So cool…"

Feeling the ice crystal particles drifting around her, Eve quietly whispered to Skadi.

"But, Lady Goddess… could you please not tell Hoshino about that? Ah, I'm not asking you to deceive her or anything… Once everything is over, I'll explain it to her myself."

"Rest easy. Because I chose to 'love you,' you are now my 'child.' I shall simply watch quietly over the path my children choose to walk~"

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Hoshino complained with her hands on her hips and brows furrowed. Judging by the way Eve and Skadi kept talking while she couldn't hear a thing, it was obviously the magical ice crystals around Skadi blocking the sound.

"Nandemonai~"

With a smile, Skadi lightly spun on the tips of her toes before vanishing amidst drifting snowflakes.

"The mana here is far too hot. I'm going back to eat ice cream."

["That's super suspicious, Aibo. It totally feels like there's some kind of conspiracy going on."]

"I probably don't need to worry about it. I mean, it's Skadi after all." After thinking it over carefully, Hoshino gave an unconfident answer. "Probably nothing to worry about…"

"The mana is too hot, huh…"

Watching Skadi disappear into the snow, Akasha subconsciously rubbed her exposed arms.

"Honestly, I feel kind of cold instead."

"Feeling cold is the normal reaction right now." Hoshino glanced toward the frozen mountain ahead.

"ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ Since Hoshino-nee feels cold too, let's stick close together and keep warm!"

"Compared to a volcano ready to erupt at any moment, this ice mountain actually looks way more comfortable," Jaden remarked while staring ahead. "As expected of Sensei—she casually did something none of us could."

"No, wait, why are all of you still so calm and chatting casually about this?!"

Even after recovering from his shock, Minazuki still couldn't take his eyes off the frozen mountain in the distance.

And he wasn't the only one. Everyone present—even the students evacuating from the school buildings farther away—had been rendered speechless by the sudden frozen apocalypse before them.

"A god, huh? Akasha, I finally understand what you meant earlier." Minazuki nodded frantically while staring at the mountain. "From now on, Headmistress is the god in my heart too!"

"To instantly freeze lava… only a miracle could explain something like this," Bastion added.

"So… the crisis is over, right? It's over, right?" Completely abandoning any attempt to process the utterly worldview-shattering scene before her, Alexis simply looked toward Hoshino and sighed in relief. "Still, Senpai, it's really great that you came back. Now even if it's another King—"

"Duel King, Hoshino Chiyuki."

Before Alexis could finish, Harr, who had been standing nearby, finally turned his attention toward them.

"To neutralize the power left behind by Naglfar… then it's no surprise why the Light King and Death King both fell to you, nor why the World Legacy chose you."

His deep and wise gaze carefully examined the young white-haired girl before him before concluding:

"Truly, appearances can be deceiving. If every planet possesses a guardian born from its Counter Force, then the one who serves as this planet's guardian… should be you."

"A guardian of the Counter Force?"

Hoshino's eyebrow twitched slightly. Hearing terminology that sounded straight out of Type-Moon lore after so many years—and from Harr of all people—was honestly unexpected.

"Even though you seem extremely confident, sorry to disappoint you. I'm just a passing duelist~"

A guardian of the Counter Force? That was basically just Alaya's overworked employee. And while Hoshino might only be a mere academy Headmistress, she was still management-level. Other people worked for her.

The roar of engines interrupted everyone's conversation as two jets descended from the sky.

Five minutes earlier, after dropping off Hoshino and Yugi, Kaiba and Mokuba had immediately rushed toward the hot spring inn at the base of the volcano.

If Hoshino had failed to stop the lava flow as planned, they at least wanted to begin evacuation and rescue efforts immediately.

Even if Kaiba stubbornly insisted it was for the sake of company assets, when lives were on the line, profit was absolutely not the real reason motivating him.

But now that the entire volcano had been frozen solid, not only did the hot spring inn no longer require rescuing, this once-in-a-lifetime frozen wonder might actually attract a whole new wave of business.

"You really are getting more ridiculous by the day."

Striking an arrogant pose as he leapt from the aircraft, Kaiba spoke to Hoshino.

"That's… Seto Kaiba?!"

Bastion's jaw dropped once again in shock.

"The president of KaibaCorp, Duel Academy's largest shareholder… I can't believe that today, I'm actually seeing the world's three strongest duelists all in one place."

"Oh my god, that's way too cool!" Jaden and Minazuki shouted with sparkling eyes.

"Uh… is it really that cool?" Hoshino tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, Jaden, haven't you met Kaiba before?"

"That's way too cool! Could this be the legendary globally limited custom machine—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Jet ver. 2.0?!"

"(゜-゜) What the heck is that? Why did it suddenly get such a professional-sounding suffix? So the cool thing wasn't Kaiba himself…"

"Hmph."

Though it sounded like the same usual snort, Hoshino could still detect a trace of pride hidden in Kaiba's tone.

"For students from Red, your taste is unexpectedly decent. I'll specially allow you to touch my personal aircraft. Then you may boast about it to others to your heart's content."

"As expected of President Kaiba! So generous!"

"What even is this…" Completely unable to understand Jaden and Minazuki's excitement, Hoshino sighed suspiciously. "I already rode in it once and honestly don't see what's worth bragging about. If anything, the flame-shooting rear design is kind of embarrassing."

"This is probably what they call a man's romance," Yugi Muto smiled.

No longer paying attention to the excited Jaden and Minazuki, Seto Kaiba shifted his gaze toward Harr standing nearby.

"King Harr, if I remember correctly. A king who already lost once still has the nerve to show his face here?"

"Seto Kaiba, merely defeating the shadow of my king was enough to make you arrogant. Just as the information I gathered described—you truly are excessively prideful."

"Oh? Only stray dogs bark desperately after losing their home. Looks like this time I'll have to beat you into silence for good."

"With your soul already fractured beyond repair, you pose no threat to me whatsoever. You should feel fortunate that you are not my target."

Even without Duel Links—already stripped away by Hoshino—it was obvious to anyone that Kaiba was only forcing himself to stand.

"My target? No, no, no. I think you've misunderstood the situation, pitch-black King."

Tilting her head, Hoshino grinned mischievously.

"In the current situation, we're the ones holding the advantage. Which means any one of us can duel you if we want."

As the ruler of the magic-using tribe from another world, King Harr's ideal opponent among everyone present was obviously Yugi.

Even if Hoshino could fight using her Magical Girl Deck, from a purely strategic standpoint, the Dark Magician master's chances of victory were undoubtedly higher.

"Or honestly, the three of us ganging up on you together wouldn't be a bad idea either~ Whether it's a one-on-one or a beatdown, Yugi, you decide."

At a crucial moment like this, they naturally had to prioritize the highest chance of victory possible. When the survival of the world was at stake, Hoshino had no intention of lecturing anyone about a duelist's pride.

"Heh heh heh… Did you really think I would appear here without sufficient trump cards prepared?"

As the black staff struck the ground, countless dimly glowing mysterious cards appeared floating above Harr.

"Since last night until now, the humans defeated by the King Battle Shadows created by me have yet to awaken. Why do you think that is?"

"Don't tell me…"

Seeing the enormous number of floating cards above King Harr, Yugi's expression darkened.

"So your attacks against duelists across the world weren't simply to destroy the Duel Alliance?"

"Destroy the Duel Alliance? That gathering of weaklings is nothing more than children playing pretend. Does it even possess the slightest value worth destroying?"

Pointing toward the cards overhead, Harr said coldly:

"The souls of countless duelists have been sealed within these cards, to serve as bargaining chips in my negotiations with this entire world. Even humans as dull-witted as yourselves should understand what that means."

Yugi frowned.

"So they really are soul-sealing cards!"

Hoshino cautiously probed him.

"Bargaining chips against the entire world? Don't tell me you're planning to threaten us with the souls of duelists and force us to surrender immediately? That's quite the move you've played there."

"Hahahaha! Trying to bait information out of me? Naive!"

Harr burst into laughter.

"Victory achieved through threats holds no meaning in this world. Surely you understand that better than anyone else, Hoshino Chiyuki."

"I didn't expect a villain to understand things so clearly." It was the first time Hoshino had encountered an enemy who understood the laws of this world so thoroughly, and it sparked genuine curiosity within her.

"The moment I arrived in this world, I understood. Unless victory is achieved through duels, no matter how brilliant one's schemes may be, the rules of this world will forcibly twist events against them."

"So after all that talking, it still comes down to deciding everything through a duel," Akasha complained.

"However, I will decide the duelists. You have no right to refuse! Otherwise, the unconscious humans shall never awaken again."

"This guy seriously sounds like he's chickening out," even Jaden could tell, unable to stop himself from mocking him. "Because you're scared of losing to Sensei and Mr. Yugi, you want to pick weaker opponents instead. A king acting like that feels pretty lame."

"So that's your real objective." Hoshino nodded in understanding. "But let me make this clear beforehand—if you pick rookie duelists like Syrus or Minazuki, even if you win, it won't accomplish anything."

Minazuki & Syrus: "Why do we suddenly feel personally attacked?"

"I believe you misunderstand. I said I would choose the duelists, but I never said that I would participate in the duel."

The sinister nature of Harr's plan gradually revealed itself. Holding countless human souls hostage had given him absolute confidence.

"—Duel King, Hoshino Chiyuki!"

Raising his arm and pointing directly at Hoshino, Harr declared her name.

"You said you're not participating in the duel?" Hoshino looked utterly confused after being singled out. "Don't tell me there's another King here?"

"I can't sense any other magical presence," Eve answered. "At the moment, King Harr really is the only one left."

Then King Harr's pointing finger slowly shifted away from Hoshino… toward someone else.

"—And you as well, Jaden Yuki!"

"Me?"

Even more confused than before, Jaden pointed at himself in disbelief.

"You want me… to duel Sensei?"

"Even if Jaden and I duel each other, there's no benefit in it for you!" Hoshino immediately objected.

"I will repeat myself once more—you have no right to refuse."

Harr struck the ground again with his staff before storing away the cards containing the sealed souls of unconscious duelists.

"However, I can promise you this: once the duel concludes, I shall release every sealed soul. A promise wagered through a duel carries absolute binding power in this world, so you need not fear that I will betray my word."

"That part is true," Hoshino nodded.

If Harr promised to release the hostages, then as long as the duel proceeded properly, there was no possibility of him breaking the agreement.

But facing the cunning and calculating King Harr before her—who held countless souls hostage—Hoshino simply couldn't believe he would offer conditions this generous without ulterior motives.

["What exactly is he plotting?"]