Chapter 142

"What kind of one-sided war is this...?" Jonouchi's eyes widened. Just a second ago, he was fuming over 'Duke Devlin's' attack, but now he actually felt a bit sorry for the Archfiend army on the other side.

Was this a war? No, this was a massacre.

Even though the Archfiends had all kinds of resurrection skills, each wave being wiped out and followed by another, it was clear that their numbers were rapidly dwindling compared to just a minute earlier.

"These monsters can really fight!" Even though he was the one controlling the demon army, 'Duke Devlin' shamelessly referred to the other side as the real monsters.

"Damn it, hasn't the Evil God taken care of that insect yet?" With no other options, 'Devlin' once again pinned his hopes on the Evil God.

However, his last hope was now also struggling to survive.

Thanks to the arrival of the Heroic Spirits, the fear in the arcade was gradually dissipating, which meant the energy the Evil God relied on was also steadily decreasing.

"Go for it, big sister with the glowing sword!"

"Defeat that ugly monster!"

"Ohhhhh!" Altera roared, and the three-colored flashes, which had severed the Evil God's arm countless times, struck again.

This time, the Evil God didn't regenerate as it had before.

"Finally, it's all been drained—this bad civilization!" Altera, hovering above the Evil God's head, raised the Sword of the War God high.

"The voice of the stars fills me!"

The Sword of the War God, originally made of three-colored light, was already a weapon capable of destroying all things on the earth.

"I won't take your life, but I will crush your civilization!"

Now, the blade, glowing with three colors, emitted a rainbow-like magic.

"Noble Phantasm! Photon Ray!"

"This strike will end it!"

Altera, having released the true power of the War God's sword, rocketed forward like a meteor, crashing into the gigantic body of the Evil God.

The normal range of the Noble Phantasm, which could annihilate up to 200 people, was now concentrated solely on the Evil God's body, increasing its destructive power exponentially.

The rainbow light mercilessly pierced through the Evil God.

"Arrrghhhh!!" The Evil God's final scream echoed as its body was completely consumed by the rainbow light.

"Master, my task here is complete." There was no trace of joy in Altera's voice as she reported her victory, as if she were simply stating a fact.

"Well, we can't take too long on our side either!" With a slight frown, Hoshino issued the final command for the ultimate weapon.

"It's your turn, Arash!"

"Uh-oh!" The moment they heard Hoshino's order, the Heroic Spirits still on the battlefield instantly knew something was wrong. "Retreat, it's coming!"

The violent storm suddenly stopped, and the Heroic Spirits quickly pulled back. The Archfiends, who had been on the verge of being slaughtered, finally got a moment to breathe.

However, the Archfiends who caught their breath had no idea of the gruesome fate that awaited them.

"Finally, it's my turn..."

Hiding in the back row, quietly shooting arrows, Arash hadn't dared to make a sound, hoping Hoshino wouldn't notice him.

But he couldn't avoid his fate.

"As expected, there's no escaping this... I'll finish this quickly, then get Emiya to make me some food later as compensation!"

Reluctantly, Arash drew his bow...

The light of a falling star tore through the darkness, sweeping across the battlefield.

"Stella!"

"Wow, what beautiful fireworks…"

(***)

"Is it over? The Shadow Game?" Jonouchi, still somewhat dazed, suddenly realized that the dark surroundings had dissipated.

"This is the first time I've seen such a completely one-sided Shadow Game..." Yugi, who had watched from the beginning, couldn't help but twitch his eye. At first, he thought the rules of the Shadow Game were too advantageous for the Evil God, but now he realized he'd been too naive.

"So, what exactly just happened?" The crowd, now free from the fear that had gripped them, began to grow rowdier.

"Isn't there a manager here to explain what's going on?"

"I only came to buy something! How are you going to compensate me for wasting my time?"

"You owe me for emotional damage!"

Without the oppressive atmosphere, human nature once again ran wild.

Only the innocent souls, untouched by society's corruption, knew how to express true gratitude.

"Was it the girl who defeated the demon?"

"Isn't that Hoshino from Kame Toy Shop?"

"It's really the Duel King, amazing!"

"Wahhhh, Kame Toy Shop is still the best. I'll never come to this scary store again!"

And so, without realizing it, Hoshino once again won back business for Grandpa Sugoroku.

"What... what am I doing?" Devlin, now free of the Shadow Game's influence, looked at his hands in confusion.

"This guy was playing dead a minute ago, and now he's pretending to have amnesia? I'm going to beat him up!" Jonouchi, unable to bear it any longer, worried that this amnesiac act would cause more trouble, jumped onto the stage and grabbed him.

"Jonouchi!" Honda called out as he saw Jonouchi dragging Devlin by the collar.

"Honda, don't you try to stop me! I don't care who tries, I'm not stopping!" Jonouchi, fully fired up, had his fist ready to strike.

"I was going to say count me in..."

One not-so-friendly punch landed squarely on Devlin's face.

"Manager!!" The security guards, who had been bewildered by the Shadow Game, suddenly realized it was their manager who had just been punched.

Their instincts told them that their jobs were now on the line, and they rushed over.

"Don't do anything rash, I'm fine!" To everyone's surprise, Devlin, who had just been punched hard, stopped the guards from retaliating.

"I'm sorry, I caused all this trouble," Devlin said, his tone filled with regret, a stark contrast to his earlier arrogance.

He looked at Hoshino, who had stepped down from the platform, but hesitated to speak.

"It seems that the entity possessing you has been dispelled," Hoshino, sensing the difference in Devlin's demeanor, quickly understood the situation. "You lost the Shadow Game so badly. I wonder how the mastermind behind all this is feeling now."

"Chiyuki Hoshino..." After a long moment of hesitation, Duke Devlin finally spoke.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry I wronged you before. I listened to someone else's lies and mistakenly believed you caused Pegasus's disappearance."

"After dueling with you, I've come to understand. You truly deserve the title of Duel King."

"Oh? So, you're apologizing, huh?" Hoshino smiled slightly as she looked at the remorseful Devlin.

Devlin nodded silently.

"Just apologizing with words doesn't feel very sincere," Hoshino smirked mischievously, clearly not planning to let Devlin off so easily.

"If you want compensation, as long as it's within my ability..." Devlin, showing genuine remorse, offered sincerely.

"Then give me a Dark Magician Girl dice!" Hoshino shamelessly teased.

"This is the Evil God card, huh~" Hoshino couldn't help but raise the Evil God card she received from Devlin and examine it.

"It seems like the ominous aura from before is completely gone. Now, it just looks like a normal card."

The reason she made Devlin bet this Evil God card was entirely because of Da Vinci's persistent hints before the duel.

As for why Hoshino was able to understand Da Vinci's hint through a simple vibration from her bracelet, it can only be attributed to her intuition.

"Could there be some secret hidden within this card?" Knowing that Da Vinci wouldn't do anything useless, Hoshino guessed.

However, in the next moment, a message flashed before her eyes, and she completely understood Da Vinci's true purpose.

[System detection: Duelist No. 001, Hoshino Chiyuki, has obtained a God card. Special limited-time summoning pool opened, with increased chance for Heroic Spirit with divinity.]

The message, visible only to Hoshino, left her momentarily stunned.

"What's wrong, Hoshino?" Yugi, noticing that she had been staring at the Evil God card with a strange expression, couldn't help but ask, concerned.

"Could it be that the Evil God card possessed her?" Jonouchi, suddenly alert, assumed a defensive stance. "Damn, if Hoshino's been possessed, then I guess we'll have to let Yugi handle it."

"Idiot, you're the one who's possessed!" Despite his defensive stance, Hoshino didn't hesitate to land an uppercut to his chin.

"And don't forget, you have to be my dog for a week! Go get me a bottle of 'gamer juice,' and of course, use your own money."

"Gamer juice?" Jonouchi asked, completely confused by the term.

"It's soda!"

"Got it!" Jonouchi dashed off toward the vending machine.

"So, Devlin, you really don't remember who gave you the Evil God card?" Hoshino asked again.

"Sorry, Hoshino…" Devlin shook his head, still unable to recall.

"Forget it. I didn't expect the mastermind to reveal themselves so easily anyway," Hoshino sighed, her expression softening slightly. She had already anticipated this outcome.

Pawns are disposable, used without fear of consequences. The fact that Devlin had only lost part of his memory could be considered lucky. A more ruthless villain might have destroyed him outright.

Whoever the villain was, Hoshino knew there was only one thing she could do: prepare for battle.

Since Da Vinci had hinted this situation couldn't be avoided, Hoshino would face it head-on. And that was her plan.

Now that the Evil God card was in her possession, she could consider this a strategic advantage.

"Well, that's that. Don't forget you promised me a Dark Magician Girl dice~" Hoshino waved her hand at Devlin, casually stuffing the Evil God card into her deck as if it were nothing special.

Although Devlin had promised to give Hoshino a Dark Magician Girl dice, even as the shop owner, it was impossible to get such a rare item immediately. He could only promise to keep an eye out for her.

Despite creating the game, Hoshino was reminded of the rumor that FGO staff were paid in Saint Quartz but still had to spend money like everyone else to get the characters they liked.

"It's getting late. We should head back~" Yugi looked outside and reminded them of the time.

What had originally been a quick scouting trip had turned into a long, drawn-out ordeal.

If they got back too late, Grandpa Sugoroku's scolding would be unavoidable.

"By the way, what's taking Jonouchi so long to buy a drink!" Hoshino grumbled, realizing how late it had gotten after Yugi's reminder.

"Hey, guys, I'm back!" Speak of the devil—just as Hoshino finished complaining, Jonouchi came running back with a can of soda.

"Jonouchi, you open that soda yourself later," Hoshino said coldly. Seeing how much the can had been shaken from his running, anyone with common sense would know what would happen when it was opened.

"Why are you in such a rush, Jonouchi?" Honda glanced at him, sensing that his long absence wasn't just about buying a drink.

"Check this out, guys! Look what I got!" Jonouchi opened his hand dramatically. "Ta-da, it's a Dragon Gate dice!"

"You're wasting money again, Jonouchi," Anzu scolded, seeing the obviously expensive dice in his hand.

"It's not a waste! I bought this as a thank-you gift for Hoshino, to thank her for saving me today!" Jonouchi handed the Dragon Gate dice to Hoshino.

"I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful… though it's only one dice…" Hoshino trailed off as she realized something.

This was a dice Jonouchi bought.

A strong premonition hit her—she had a feeling there was a rare monster model inside.

"This feeling… It must be Dark Magician Girl! I can't believe my dream is coming true on the first day!"

Eagerly tearing open the dice, Hoshino couldn't wait to see the rare monster hidden within.

"…"

"Let me take a look…" Bakura glanced at the model in Hoshino's hand, then flipped through the promotional flyer to check its rarity.

"Here it is: Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Wow, that's incredible! It's a five-star rare, just like Dark Magician Girl! One in 500 dice!"

"This is a rip-off!" Hoshino nearly smashed the ugly Red-Eyes Black Dragon model in her hand, but after considering its value, she reluctantly decided to keep it.

"It's money… it's all money. After all, we still need to eat."

(***)

Meanwhile…

"Did Duke Devlin lose?" In a dimly lit room, Marik lounged arrogantly on a lavish sofa, a sly smirk on his face. "What a shame. He was quite useful."

"A useful pawn? Don't joke around! That fool lost my Evil God card. It's—cough, cough…" The white-haired man sitting across from Marik spoke with a mix of anger and frustration, his voice faltering.

"Heh, looks like you're not doing so well. Is it the side effect of the Shadow Game?" Marik raised an eyebrow, curious. "It was just a puppet Shadow Game, yet it left you in this condition. You must have lost badly."

"Marik, don't get too cocky. Don't say I didn't warn you—Hoshino Chiyuki is on a completely different level than those national tournament champions."

"It's rare to hear you speak so highly of someone…"

(***)

At Kame Game Shop…

"Grandpa, we're home!" Yugi's voice echoed as he and Hoshino entered the shop.

"Yugi, Hoshino, you're back?" Sugoroku's familiar voice greeted them warmly.

"Yeah. Do we have guests, Grandpa?" Yugi asked, noticing two extra pairs of shoes neatly placed in the hallway.

"Hmph, making me wait this long. You've got guts, Yugi."

"Kaiba?!" Yugi exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.

(*****)

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