Chapter 180

"This is the light that repels all darkness! Trap Card: [God is Here With Me]!"

[God is Here With Me – Trap Card Effect: This card can only be activated when your opponent declares an attack and has 3 or more attack-position monsters on the field. Special summon [Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc] from your hand or Deck.]

The Holy Light shining in the darkness filled Hoshino's once-empty field once again. Jeanne d'Arc, wielding her banner that stirred the hearts of all, slowly emerged from the radiant light.

[Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc ★★★★★★★★ (8 Stars)][LIGHT] [Fairy/Effect][ATK2500/DEF3000]

"Jeanne d'Arc, I was summoned to be the sturdiest wall for your Master!"

"Due to the effect of my Trap Card, I Special Summon [Heroic Spirit - Jeanne d'Arc] in Defense Position on my field. And since Okita returned to my hand, your Barbaros has no choice but to attack Jeanne!"

Screech—!

The clash between the Holy Banner and the long spear ignited sparks, a fierce battle between 3000 Attack Points and 3000 Defense Points, with neither side willing to back down.

From within Hoshino's hand, Okita's voice of admiration was heard: "Wow, truly worthy of being the Holy Maiden Savior! She blocked such a fierce attack without even needing any buffs."

"And because of Firefly's Flame of Integrity effect, I flip the top three cards of my deck, and select two of them to add to my hand!"

Hoshino's slender fingers deftly drew three cards from her Duel Disk. This kind of 3-for-2 search provided much more flexibility than just drawing two cards directly, at least allowing her to choose the cards most needed for her current situation.

"Master, make sure not to pick Graceful Charity!" Okita lightly reminded from within Hoshino's hand.

"Tch, you're just a hand card, why do you have so much to say." Hoshino clicked her tongue softly. "Well, lucky for you, Graceful Charity wasn't one of them."

"But given the current situation, these two cards should be useful," Hoshino added two of the three revealed cards to her hand and shuffled the remaining one back into her deck.

Hoshino's current hand: 4 cards

"All you did was barely block Barbaros' attack. Such a strategy is only good for stalling!"

With a furious shout, Yako continued to declare another attack.

"Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür, attack! Feel the impact!"

The charging aura, now twice as thick as before, combined with the grinding sound of mechanical movements. The gigantic Barbaros Ür launched toward Jeanne on Hoshino's field with an overwhelming presence.

"This is bad, Master! In this shadow game, I can't receive any divine guidance at all!" Jeanne's expression became panicked as the enormous mechanical king charged at her.

"Even though Hoshino's Jeanne is a monster with very strong defense..." From the sidelines, Kaiba recalled how his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons were blocked by Jeanne for two consecutive turns in a previous duel. "That was only when her effect wasn't sealed."

"But what will Hoshino do now? The opponent's monster has such high Attack Points, not even 3000 Defense Points can hold it off!" Mokuba anxiously asked Kaiba.

Kaiba shook his head, indicating that he couldn't think of a solution either. "Now we can only see how Hoshino handles this. If she continues to be suppressed by Yako like this, she might lose before she even has a chance to see his Evil God."

"Hoshino…"

In the face of such a massive difference in Attack and Defense Points, the attack of the Barbaros Ür still inevitably destroyed Jeanne in Defense Position on Hoshino's field.

"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't think I'd leave the field in just one turn…"

[Heroic Spirit - Jeanne d'Arc] Destroyed

After the scattering of holy light, Hoshino immediately drew a card from her hand without hesitation. "At the moment Jeanne is destroyed, I activate the special effect of the monster [Heroic Spirit - Gilles de Rais(Saber)] from my hand!"

[If a Fairy-type monster on your field leaves the field, you can discard this card or Tribute it to activate this effect. Special Summon 1 [Heroic Spirit - Gilles de Rais(Caster)] from your hand, deck, or graveyard.]

"Jeanne!!!" A sorrowful roar filled with grief resonated from the card.

"Such a strong emotional outburst…" Yako even found a trace of empathy within himself, a resonance with the sorrow of losing Jeanne, similar to how he felt when he lost Pegasus.

"Due to the effect of Gilles de Rais, I Special Summon it in Defense Position from my deck!" Hoshino declared, slamming her new monster onto the field, her brows furrowed in concentration.

"Go, [Heroic Spirit - Gilles de Rais(Caster)]!"

[Heroic Spirit - Gilles de Rais(Caster)★★★★★ (5 stars)][DARK][Fiend/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1500]

"This sorrowful wail... now that is truly a melody worthy of the heavens!" The purple, shadowy figure of Gilles materialized on Hoshino's field.

"But it's just another weakling! It poses no threat at all. Continue the attack, Enraged Battle Ox!"

"Moo!" With a fierce roar, the Enraged Battle Ox's heavy axe cleaved into Gilles de Rais's body.

[Heroic Spirit - Gilles de Rais(Caster)] Destroyed

"And don't forget the most important part—since two of your monsters were destroyed, offer up your soul!"

"!!!"

The repeated piercing of white currents through her chest caused Hoshino's pupils to widen, the pain so intense that she couldn't even make a sound.

"This is hilarious, Hoshino Chiyuki. You keep summoning weaklings just to have them destroyed by me. It almost seems like you're willingly offering souls to Lord Pegasus!" Yako laughed loudly.

"Is this your way of apologizing to Lord Pegasus, the very one you killed?!"

"No Yako, this is my conviction," Hoshino said with great effort. "Every Heroic Spirit that comes to the field isn't useless. Each of them lends me their strength so that, in the end, I can defeat you!"

"Nonsense. What can you possibly do now with an empty field and your monster effects sealed?" Yako sneered as he gazed upon the weakened Hoshino, her soul repeatedly torn apart.

"I set a card face-down and end my turn!"

Yako's remaining hand: 1 card, 2 face-down cards

"My turn, draw!"

"Hoshino-nee..." Akasha's voice trembled with worry as she noticed Hoshino's weakened state.

"Don't worry, Akasha-chan. I won't stay on the defensive forever!" Taking several deep breaths to regain her composure, Hoshino drew a card from her deck.

"Yako, this is the trumpet of my counterattack! The light of the Heroic Spirit will pierce the darkness, and when our hearts unite as one, that is the true light of Humanity!"

She threw down the card she had just drawn, and the Heroic Spirit in her graveyard began to shine with a radiant, unyielding light.

"Activate the Spell Card [Guardian of Humanity] from my hand!"

"My Heroic Spirit in the graveyard: Boudica, Jeanne d'Arc, Hyde, Jekyll, Gilles de Rais, and Gilles de Rais (Caster) —"

"— a total of six monsters. Lend your power to the [Guardian of Humanity]!"

[Guardian of Humanity Spell Card Effect: It can only be activated when you have at least 5 [Heroic Spirit] monsters in your Graveyard. Draw 2 cards from your Deck. If there are no other cards on your field or in your hand at the time of activation, add 1 Spell Card with [Heroic Spirit] in its description from your Deck to your hand.]

"So that's it! You intentionally sent Gilles de Rais to the Graveyard at the last moment to meet the activation requirement!"

Kaiba, eyes widening, quickly understood the significance of Hoshino's persistence in the previous turn. "Interesting! Let's see the light of humanity, Hoshino!"

"According to the effect of [Guardian of Humanity], I draw two cards from my deck. Additionally, since there are no other cards on my field or in my hand, I can select one [Heroic Spirit] Spell Card and add it to my hand!"

Hoshino, drawing and searching with smooth, practiced movements, was now completely in control.

"Hoshino-chan, you've gotten much stronger," Da Vinci said, gazing at Hoshino with a warm, approving look. "You've become so proficient; I bet you've fought through many difficult duels, haven't you?"

"That's right, Da Vinci-chan… It's been tough, you know? Do you have any idea how many duels I go through in a single day?" Hoshino, infamous for dominating toy shop duels, responded with a bit of sarcasm.

"The card I'm adding to my hand is this: [Chaldea's Mana Support System]!"

"Nice, Hoshino-chan! That's the card!" Da Vinci's voice was filled with pride, as it was a card she had personally created and entrusted to Hoshino.

"The light of humanity is shining here and now, at Chaldea! I activate the Continuous Spell Card [Chaldea's Mana Support System]!"

As Hoshino slotted the card into the Duel Disk, a glow of mana naturally emanated from the back of her pale hand.

A bright red mana symbol appeared on the back of Hoshino's hand, etched as if by a laser— a Command Seal.

[Chaldea Mana Support System Continuous Spell Effect: When this card is activated, place 1 [Command Seal] counter on it. During your Standby Phase, place 1 [Command Seal] counter on this card.]

[Command Seal] x1

"Then, I activate the effect of another [Chaldea's Mana Support System] from my hand!"

"Hoshino has two of the same card in her deck?" Mokuba, who had seen many of Hoshino's duels, was surprised to discover that Hoshino's deck contained duplicate cards.

Mokuba's suspicion wasn't without reason. Due to the special nature of Heroic Spirit cards, only one copy of each card could exist in a deck. However, this card that Da Vinci had handed to Hoshino was the exception, and her deck was filled with three copies of it.

[When a face-up card with the same name exists on the field, you can discard this card from your hand to place 1 [Command Seal] counter on that card.]

Once again, the red light flickered.

[Command Seal] x2

"Let's finish this, Yako!" Fully prepared, Hoshino raised her hand, her Command Seal shining brightly.

"Now, by the power of the Command Seal, I summon you once more! Jeanne d'Arc!"

[Remove 1 [Command Seal] counter to Special Summon 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster from your Graveyard. The monster will be destroyed at the end of the turn.]

A red light pierced through the dark fog, spreading a vast amount of mana across the field.

"Jeanne d'Arc, return to the battlefield to lend the power of holy flag!" Though her body was still semi-transparent, Jeanne d'Arc responded to her Master's call and returned to the field.

Seeing Jeanne back on the field, Yako couldn't help but laugh. "Hahaha, what can a ridiculous monster like this, with no effects, possibly do?"

"It can open the path for those who come after!" To Yako's surprise, before Hoshino could speak, Jeanne slammed her holy flag into the ground, sternly rebuking him.

"A Heroic Spirit who can stand against thousands, invincible in battle! Answer the call of the holy flag and gather here!"

"Hmm, answering the call of the flag doesn't sound too bad!" A crimson figure began to appear beneath the fluttering flag.

"Go, Nero!" Hoshino threw down a monster card. "By Tributing Jeanne d'Arc on the field, I Tribute Summon [Heroic Spirit – Nero Claudius]!"

"Now, I fight not only for Chaldea but also for Rome!"

The golden-haired girl's voice, filled with regal authority and infectious confidence, marked her majestic entrance as if bathed in the light of gold.

[Heroic Spirit – Nero Claudius ★★★★★★ (6 stars)][FIRE] [Warrior/Effect][ATK2300/DEF1900]

"And due to Nero's successful summoning, I activate the effect of [Heroic Spirit – Caligula] from my deck!"

[If [Nero Claudius] exists on the field, Special Summon this card from the Graveyard or deck.]

"Let's go! It's your turn!" Hoshino threw out another monster card.

[Heroic Spirit – Caligula★★★★ (4-star)][DARK][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1500/DEF 1200]

"Neroooooooo!!!"

"Even if you summon more of these monsters with no effects, what can you hope to accomplish?" Yako was starting to feel uneasy at Hoshino's rising momentum, but the overwhelming advantage on his field was undeniable.

"It seems I'm being underestimated, Master~!" Nero smirked confidently.

With her marked right hand extended once again, Hoshino returned Nero's confident smile. "Let's show this fool just how powerful the unbeatable combination of Rome and Chaldea is!"

[Remove 1 [Command Seal] counter to target 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster you control. Add 1 Spell or Trap Card that mentions that monster's name from your deck to your hand.]

"The mana is flowing, Nero! We're ready to begin!"

"UMU~, there's no problem on my end, Master!" Nero placed her elegant white hand on her passionate heart, closing her eyes and beginning to chant.

"Behold my talent! Hear the applause of thunderous cheers! Feel the glory of the ruler! Bloom like a flower!"

"By targeting Nero Claudius on the field, I add the Field Spell [Golden Theater! Laus St. Claudius] to my hand! Then…" Hoshino activated the hidden field zone of her Duel Disk and placed the newly searched card inside.

The luxurious structure, bathed in resplendent golden light, rose in stark contrast to the surrounding darkness, dispelling all despair from the field.

Two voices spoke in unison…

"Let the curtain rise! Welcome to Golden Theater! Laus St. Claudius!!" x2

(*****)

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