Keith Howard 19xx~20xx

In front of Keith's gravestone, Clara—finally discharged from the hospital—clasped her hands in silent prayer. At the moment Hoshino defeated Zigfried, she had sensed a gentle, long-lost presence lingering in the air.

"Thank goodness, Howard… Miss Hoshino did it! Now that Zigfried's been defeated, my family won't be bound by someone like him anymore. I won't have to marry him either."

Choking back tears, Clara bent down and picked up the deck Hoshino had placed before Keith's grave. Her teary eyes grew more resolute.

"I'll never forget the courage you gave me, Howard. So just watch from the heavens, okay? I'll definitely restore my family…"

(***)

[Duel Winner: Chiyuki Hoshino!!]

As the Shadow Game faded, Zigfried—struck down by Hoshino's three consecutive finishing blows—collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

A complete beatdown… even more than that. Hoshino still had 4500 LP—500 more than her starting total.

[This guy really brought it on himself. Normally, a Shadow Game only destroys the duelist's soul. Even if you lose, at worst you're left an empty husk… technically still alive.]

But Zigfried just had to modify his Duel Disk to replicate the real damage effects of Duel Monsters.

Even though he set the system to only deliver one-tenth of the original damage, he clearly underestimated the scale of the attack.

That was a Noble Phantasm. Sigurd's "Bölverk Gram" was Anti-Fortress—and she used it three times. Even with the damage scaled down… was his body even one-tenth as tough as a fortress wall?

The white smoke still curling from his body proved Zigfried had truly been defeated by the very shock system he'd designed.

Hoshino, however, disagreed with Alter's analysis.

"Letting him die that easily is a mercy. My real plan was to leave him a soulless husk—so he'd have to watch his entire empire crumble before his eyes."

While Hoshino dueled Zigfried, the footage she submitted to Industrial Illusions had already become critical evidence for Pegasus to shut down the underground dueling and expose the higher-ups involved.

A classic case of pulling one thread and unraveling the whole tapestry. Even if she didn't catch every criminal, exposing a few was enough to bring down the rest.

So even if Zigfried hadn't died in the duel, he'd still have ended up with a bankrupt family and a lifetime prison sentence. Thanks for reading—brought to you by M|VL|EMPYR.

Hoshino's chilling tone made the Evil God girl beside her shudder.

"Damn, girl… you really don't mess around. Maybe you should be the next Evil God…"

The arena had fallen eerily silent. The moment Hoshino initiated her Synchro Summon, the crowd had been stunned into silence. It wasn't until Zigfried hit the stage with a heavy thud that the spectators began to stir.

"What the hell was that summon?! That was sick!"

"White cards?! Are those new God Cards?"

"No wonder she's the Duel King—she's reshaping the future of Duel Monsters!"

In their shock over the Synchro Summon, almost no one paid attention to Zigfried's crumpled body on stage.

Later, Zigfried—rushed away by medics—was officially confirmed dead the next day.

After a KaibaCorp investigation into his Duel Disk and reviewing Zigfried's mid-duel confession about "rigging his deck order," the truth was clear: he cheated and endangered Hoshino's life.

A bitterly ironic end—Zigfried, who cheated all the way through, couldn't even land a hit on Hoshino and ended up killed by his own over-engineered system after taking over 10,000 points of real damage.

Of course, with his family's fall, the entire incident quietly vanished from history…

.

..

...

Victorious, Hoshino stepped down from the dueling stage, welcomed by her friends, their eyes shining with admiration.

Akasha, overwhelmed with emotion, cheered,

"You were amazing, Nee-chan! So your 'training' was for a new summoning method, huh? I knew it—was it that mysterious master across the bamboo grove?!"

Shizuka added, "No, no, Akasha-chan. I bet Hoshino trained by drawing cards under a waterfall! That's how she summoned three Valkyries in a row at the last second!"

Hoshino sighed. "Bamboo... waterfall… What do you two think I've been doing?"

She couldn't exactly tell them she'd been practicing Shadow Games, so she let their imaginations run wild.

"In 10 minutes, Semifinal Winner of Group A, Yugi Mutou, will face Semifinal Winner of Group B, Chiyuki Hoshino, in the KC Grand Prix Final Match!"

Above the stage, Kaiba's voice rang out. Watching Yugi and Hoshino, both now bearing new powers, Kaiba's hands trembled inside his coat pockets… A clear sign of his duel addiction flaring up.

Kaiba: "It's finally time, Hoshino. My rematch for Battle City!"

Raising his fist, Yugi looked straight at Hoshino, unable to hide his excitement.

Let's be honest—if you think Yugi has less duel addiction than Kaiba, you're deluding yourself.

Hoshino matched his fist with a smile.

"We've really been through a lot since Duelist Kingdom… but I'm not going to lose to you!"

Just then, the Evil God girl popped up beside her, whispering cautiously into her ear.

"Hey girl… this Yugi guy gives off an entirely different level of pressure than anyone you've faced before. Don't forget—he's still got the three Egyptian God Cards. Are you sure you've beaten someone like this before?!"

Let's be real—if there's anyone in the world who could make an Evil God nervous, it's Yugi Mutou. His power and card-drawing instincts were once described by Holmes as bordering on reality manipulation.

Compared to that, Zigfried and his hacked Duel Disk were child's play.

Hoshino: "It was a tough fight back then too… especially since neither of us had god cards at the time."

Yeah—she wasn't feeling super confident about this rematch.

Back then, Yugi's Dark Magician had completely overwhelmed her Heroic Spirits, casting a shadow in her heart that still lingered.

"But I'm not the same duelist I was then. Everything I've been through has made me stronger."

[That's the spirit, partner! And don't forget—you're not fighting alone. Last time, Yugi had two souls. But now, it's 2v2—totally fair!]

Wait… how is two souls fair? One duels and the other plays background music?

Hoshino rubbed her chin, thinking:

"Would it be better to let my 'other self' take over? Back in Duel City, Alter deck did hold its own against Yugi and Kaiba's tag team…"

Sensing her thoughts, Hoshino Alter's voice echoed weakly from the Pyramid of Light.

[Ugh… I'm beat. Stayed up all night collecting dark energy. I need a nap. Can't even provide BGM today. You got this, aibo~]

Seriously?! She's bailing at the critical moment? After claiming it was a two-person battle?!

.

..

...

After a short break and deck adjustments, Hoshino and Yugi stood across from each other on the final stage, Duel Disks at the ready.

"KC Tournament Finals: Chiyuki Hoshino vs. Yugi Mutou! The Duel—Start!!"

Kaiba's voice thundered from the stands above. The air itself seemed to spark as the final battle ignited.

"OOOOHHH!! We've been waiting so long for this battle!"

"Only these two are worthy of standing on the KC Finals stage!"

"Continue the myth that began in Duelist Kingdom—let it begin!"

Faced with the roaring crowd, Yugi smiled in satisfaction.

"Hoshino, it seems it's not just the two of us who've been waiting for this duel."

She smiled back softly.

"Then let's not disappoint duelists around the world. Let's go all out!"

"Sorry, Hoshino, but I'm not giving you the first move in this duel. My turn—draw!"

Unfazed by her playful impression of Kaiba, Yugi took the first turn.

"If I don't suppress you from the start, this duel will only get harder. I activate the effect of 'Valkyrion the Magna Warrior' from my hand!"

[Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by Tributing 1 'Alpha The Magnet Warrior', 'Beta The Magnet Warrior', and 'Gamma The Magnet Warrior' from your hand and/or field.]

"I tribute the three Magnet Warriors in my hand and send them to the Graveyard to Special Summon—Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

[Valkyrion the Magna Warrior ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)] [EARTH] [Rock/Effect] [ATK 3500 / DEF 3850]

Formed through the magnetic union of the Magnet Warriors, they combined into the mighty Valkyrion—summoned on the very first turn.

A familiar recipe, a familiar flavor—just like fusing Blue-Eyes in hand, this combo required all three parts and the big piece.

"Yugi, I can't believe you of all people started skipping shuffling too!"

"That's not all! I activate the Continuous Spell Card—Precious Cards from Beyond!"

[Continuous Spell Effect: When you Tribute Summon a monster using 2 or more Tributes: Draw 2 cards.]

"Then I activate Valkyrion's effect—by tributing this card, I can Special Summon the three Magnet Warriors from my Graveyard!"

The newly summoned Valkyrion immediately split back into Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.

"Now I've got three monsters on my field, Hoshino!"

She instantly caught on.

"Three monsters on the field—don't tell me you're going to—"

"That's right. This turn—I'll summon a god!"

Yugi raised a crimson card high. Thunder roared overhead—the divine aura of a god descending.

"—When the sky roars with chaos, the chained ancient tome awakens—its power is infinite! Answer my call—Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

(*****)

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