Chapter 158

"Ahhhh!!" Keith's heart-wrenching screams echoed through the narrow alleyway.

"Alright, that's the second Evil God card in the bag!"

After retrieving the puzzle card from the unconscious Keith and drawing out his Evil God card, Hoshino still felt unsatisfied and stomped on his face one last time.

"Let's go, Mokuba!" Hoshino called out to the trembling Mokuba, hiding nearby, as she stepped out of the eerie alley and back onto the sunny street.

"Hoshino, wasn't that a bit too harsh?" Mokuba asked timidly, glancing back at Keith, who lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

"Who cares? He brought this on himself!" Hoshino huffed angrily. "This is just a little payback—I'd say I was being pretty generous."

She still hadn't forgotten how Keith had trapped her group in a cave during Duelist Kingdom, not to mention how he was now spreading rumors that she had killed Pegasus. For a scumbag like that, simply leaving him alive was already a sign of her mercy.

But in a society governed by law, Hoshino wasn't about to take anyone's life. "The rest is up to your bodyguards—just make sure he doesn't sneak back into Battle City again."

"Master, if you wish, I can make sure he never speaks again," Enkidu said calmly, following Hoshino out of the alley.

Mokuba, tugging on Hoshino's sleeve, nervously pointed at Enkidu. "Hoshino, what's going on with him?"

"Isn't this your company's product? Why are you asking me?" Hoshino chuckled helplessly, cleverly deflecting the question back to Mokuba.

"Anyway, Enkidu, could you return to your card for now? Walking around like this feels a little odd." Though Enkidu's outfit wasn't exactly strange, it still felt out of place in modern society. His striking appearance and mysterious aura had attracted quite a few stares along the way.

"You're right. I am rather interested in this world, but it wouldn't be good to cause trouble for you, Master." Realizing the attention he was drawing, Enkidu smiled and stepped into a quieter corner before gradually fading from sight.

Enkidu's appearance had given Hoshino a crucial insight—using the latest technology in the Duel Disks, it was possible to partially manifest a Heroic Spirit in physical form.

"Great! I won't have to sleep alone at night anymore!"

This was the first thought that crossed Hoshino's mind. Now she could pick a waifu to keep her company every night—how delightful!

With that cheerful thought, the frustration Hoshino had felt earlier because of Keith vanished, and she practically started humming as she walked.

[Duelist Level Assessment Complete: Duelist Keith Howard, Level B+. Duplicate level rewards deducted. Victory reward: 10 Saint Quartz. Remaining Saint Quartz: 35.]

A sudden system notification interrupted Hoshino's humming.

"Looks like I've got enough for another ten-pull. But man, running into old acquaintances in the first two rounds of Battle City really cost me a lot of Quartz."

Since both Yuta and Keith had dueled her before, she couldn't claim the first rewards again.

And both of them had been tough opponents. Thankfully, the rare cards she'd acquired from those duels were incredibly valuable.

"Alright, time to Gacha!" Without worrying about Mokuba nearby, Hoshino quickly opened the card shop. After all, Mokuba had already seen Enkidu materialize, and he seemed too focused on his terminal device to notice anything else.

[Saint Quartz Summon (Limited Pool): Featured Servants from the Mist City London]

[Summon X1] [Summon X10]

"Ten-pull summon, confirmed!" Hoshino, feeling flush with Quartz, completely disregarded the idea of single pulls and confidently opted for the quickest option.

Just to note, the "The Sealed End of the Four Seas, Okeanos" pool had ended the day before Battle City started. Thanks to farming Saint Quartz from Toy Store Duels (taking advantage of kids), Hoshino had pulled plenty of gold cards from that pool. However, she had barely touched the "Divine-Spirit Special Pool" since pulling Enkidu, as she hadn't gotten a single gold card from it and now feared it was cursed.

The first ten-pull sparkled with a golden light.

"Mommy! Jack's coming to find mommy~"

"Wow, it's Jack!" Hoshino was thrilled to pull SSR Jack the Ripper on her first ten-pull.

"Jack snuck out, not fair! Nursery Rhyme was supposed to be first!" A soft, adorable voice followed. "Meeting Master again—it's like a dream!"

"Nursery Rhyme, too? This is amazing!" Hoshino was delighted by the back-to-back gold cards.

"Don't run ahead, everyone! We said we'd come together!" The third gold card flashing on the screen made Hoshino realize something was off.

"I, Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily, have arrived—ugh, bit my tongue!"

"Jeanne Alter Lily? How did you end up in this pool?" If Hoshino remembered correctly, Jeanne Alter Lily was supposed to be an event-exclusive Servant.

"Eve-ry-one~! Wait for Paul, please~" The long, drawn-out voice of Paul Bunyan, though not a gold card, still made her presence known.

"What's going on? Why... are they all kids?!" Hoshino was completely confused.

"Because mommy seems to really like children lately, so we all rushed over~"

"Yeah, yeah! Nursery Rhyme also wants to play with Master like the other kids!"

"Don't get the wrong idea! Even though it's still far from Christmas, I'm only here because I was worried about the other kids."

"Paul doesn't want to be left behind—it would be so lonely!"

"I really like children lately..." Hoshino furrowed her brow and tried to remember.

("Darn it! I lost to Hoshino!"

"I can't believe I lost so badly!"

"This time it's my turn to challenge Hoshino!"

"Mommy, I don't want to play anymore QAQ, it's too scary!")

"Could it be… the kids have found out about my farming tactics?" Hoshino twitched as she recalled the fear she had instilled in the children back at the Kame Toy Store.

"But since we've gathered the Kingdom of Children, there's no need for the adult Servants to make an appearance anymore!" Jeanne Alter Lily puffed out her little chest proudly.

"Yeah, yeah! We're super strong, too!"

"Mommy, go earn more Saint Quartz and summon even more kids~"

Suddenly transitioning from being a Master to becoming a parent, Hoshino felt a bit at a loss, but the sweetness of being surrounded by these little girls...

"Blackbeard, I think I understand you a little now!"

"Next, let's go find a new opponent and farm some Saint Quartz!" Feeling the sweet atmosphere, Hoshino waved her arm with the Duel Disk, full of energy.

"Eh, what are you going to farm on, Hoshino?" Mokuba, walking next to Hoshino while playing on his device, actually managed to pay enough attention to ask a question.

"Haha, of course, it's on puzzle cards!" Realizing she was a bit too excited, Hoshino turned and played it off with a laugh.

Then she curiously glanced at Mokuba's terminal device. "Mokuba, you've been messing with that thing the whole time. What's so interesting about it?"

However, Mokuba, who was tapping his terminal non-stop, furrowed his brows tightly. "I'm wondering if this thing got broken when Keith threw it earlier. It's showing that there are five locations in Domino City with energy levels comparable to a God Card's."

"Five energies comparable to God Cards, huh? If this thing isn't broken, maybe there really are five God Cards being used simultaneously in Battle City!" Hoshino glanced around the area. Based on experience, the appearance of a God Card would always cause some form of natural anomaly.

But likely due to the distance, Hoshino didn't sense anything unusual in the environment around her.

"Hoshino, where would there be five God Cards?" Mokuba, looking up from his device, gazed at Hoshino with a helpless expression.

"Did you forget that two of the God Cards are currently in your possession, Hoshino?"

"Huh?!" Mokuba's reminder suddenly made Hoshino realize something was off.

Right, where are these five God Cards coming from? Two of the Evil God Cards are already in her hands, and only one remains. Even if you count the three Egyptian God Cards, there should only be four God Cards left in the whole Battle City.

"Looks like that device is broken." Hoshino looked at Mokuba's terminal with a bit of regret. The downside of such advanced equipment was that it wasn't just expensive, but also not very durable.

"This is frustrating!" Mokuba grabbed his head, his face twisted in worry.

"If this thing is broken, we won't be able to accurately control the data for the super satellite. More importantly, I won't be able to monitor you."

"Huh? Monitoring me is more important than controlling the super satellite's data?!" Annoyed, Hoshino lightly tapped Mokuba on the head with her fist.

Instead of getting angry, Mokuba seemed to remember something. "Oh, right! Hoshino, why don't you come back to KaibaCorp with me? I'm planning to switch to a new terminal device."

"Me? No way, I'm a tournament participant. How can I let you waste my precious dueling time?"

"You don't have any precious dueling time! The small fry on the street get so scared when they see you that they probably want to eat their Duel Disks. Who even dares duel you?"

"Still, I don't want to waste time going to KaibaCorp. If I see Kaiba's face, it'll ruin my mood!"

"Come on! My brother is definitely out dueling somewhere right now. He won't be in the company, so you won't see him!" Mokuba, now hanging onto Hoshino's arm, began to act spoiled.

"Hoshino, if you come with me, I'll use the new terminal to help you locate high-ranked duelists. That way, you won't have trouble finding opponents anymore!"

Seeing that Hoshino was still resistant, Mokuba reluctantly pulled out his trump card.

"Really?!" Hoshino, who had been looking at Mokuba with disdain, was suddenly tempted.

In reality, it wasn't that she disliked KaibaCorp, but rather the high concentration of corporate culture in the building that made her uncomfortable. The experiences she had as a child, witnessing the corporate woes in her father's company, probably left some kind of psychological trauma.

But if a quick trip to KaibaCorp could resolve her problem of not finding strong opponents, it seemed like a good deal after all.

"Of course! I can definitely help you with something like that, Hoshino!" Mokuba patted his chest, guaranteeing his promise.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Excuse me..." Just as the two of them reached an agreement, a soft and tender voice suddenly spoke up from behind.

Hoshino, in the middle of discussing such a sneaky strategy with Mokuba, jumped in surprise from the sound behind her. "Whoa! You scared me! When did someone start standing behind me?"

"Um, excuse me, are you Hoshino Chiyuki-nee?" Hoshino turned to see the reason she hadn't noticed the person earlier. Standing behind her was a little girl, even shorter than Mokuba, with a shy expression. She spoke in a soft, timid voice, and it seemed like she probably walked silently as well.

Though she had been startled, Hoshino's heart was immediately filled with affection for the little girl, who had a sweet, cute face and stunning blue eyes.

As expected, cuteness is justice!

"Yes, that's me. What can I do for you, cute little girl?" Hoshino responded with a sunny smile and a gentle tone, completely different from the annoyed look she gave Mokuba earlier.

"Ugh, betraying loyalty for beauty!" Mokuba clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and turned away, crossing his arms.

"I want..." The little girl seemed nervous upon seeing Hoshino, her words coming out haltingly.

"You want?" Hoshino, however, showed great patience toward this cute little girl.

"I want to duel you. Is that okay?"

"Huh?"

Both Hoshino and Mokuba were equally surprised. They hadn't expected this girl to be a participant in Battle City.

Attracted by the girl's delicate features and adorable demeanor, Hoshino hadn't even noticed the Duel Disk strapped onto her arm, which she had been hiding behind her.

Hoshino then turned with a face full of complaints toward Mokuba, "Hey, Mokuba, didn't you guys have an age limit for Battle City registration?"

"There's no age limit! To promote the Duel Disks, anyone who buys one is eligible to participate in Battle City." Mokuba shrugged helplessly and then turned his gaze toward the Duel Disk the little girl was hiding behind her back. "But I didn't expect a kid to afford a Duel Disk."

"Where are your parents? Are you here all by yourself?" Hoshino asked, feeling that something was strange.

"Akasha doesn't have parents. I only have my brother." The small girl, who introduced herself as Akasha, answered softly, fidgeting as she spoke.(Akasha is OC Character)

"No parents..." Upon hearing this, a fleeting sadness passed through Hoshino's eyes, but she quickly replaced it with her usual kind expression.

"So your name is Akasha, huh? That's a lovely name! Where is your brother now?"

"Marik-nii told me to find you and duel you so we could take the Evil God Card you're holding."

(*****)

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