Chapter 22

"Even though I've given up on pursuing you, I still hope you'll remember me. If you think of me whenever you see this card, I'll be satisfied."

Monster Reborn, the magic card gifted to Hoshino by Ryota Kajiki at their farewell. Hoshino had personally experienced its powerful effect.

"Thank you, Yota." Hoshino looked at the card with a hint of gratitude. The hero who turned the tide, and the Monster Reborn that resurrected Blue-Eyes White Dragon, were both essential pieces for victory.

"No way, you actually revived my Blue-Eyes White Dragon." The huge contrast was too much for the fake Kaiba to accept. He frantically scratched at his face, causing his mask to start peeling off from the excessive force.

"Hmph, revive your Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Dream on." Hoshino sneered, looking at the imposter as if he were trash. "I revived Seto Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Not one stolen by a thief like you!"

"I am Seto Kaiba! I'm really dead!" The fake Kaiba, despite Hoshino's ridicule, continued to deny it. "Mokuba! I'm already dead, don't you feel sad?"

"You can't fool me anymore!" Mokuba began shouting at the fake from the audience. "Big sister Hoshino's actions have shown me that you could never be my brother!"

"Look at your own ugly face." With half of his human mask peeling off, the distorted and hideous face underneath was fully revealed. "Don't get too caught up in your act, Faker!"

"Let me show you the real anger of Seto Kaiba!" Hoshino roared, pointing at the fake Kaiba. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, direct attack on the scum pretending to be your true master!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon seemed to understand Hoshino's words. It roared and took flight. Instead of its usual direct attack, it flew straight toward the imposter, as if venting its anger, its massive maw wide open.

"Take this! Point-blank Burst Stream of Destruction!" The immense energy burst right in front of the imposter. Even as a virtual image, the effects of the Burst Stream of Destruction were incredibly shocking from a distance. The point-blank blast was powerful enough to knock out a normal person instantly.

The imposter, already mentally unstable, couldn't withstand the shock. In the blinding white light, he foamed at the mouth, eyes rolling back, completely unconscious.

**Seto Kaiba LP → 0**

"Duel victory, the winner is Hoshino Chiyuki!"

"We... we won!" The stunning effects left everyone in the audience speechless.

"So cool!" Mokuba looked at Hoshino on stage with stars in his eyes. It was a feeling of admiration and awe, just like the first time he watched his brother duel.

**...**

"How can virtual reality images achieve such effects?" Seto Kaiba, in front of his supercomputer, wore an expression of disbelief.

First, The hero's stella shot interfered with the satellite signal. Then, the circling Blue-Eyes White Dragon, seemingly expressing its own anger, unleashed a point-blank Burst Stream of Destruction, knocking out the imposter.

"That's impossible. I never programmed the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with such actions." As the developer of the holographic duel monster projection system, Kaiba knew that all the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's animation data were created by him. He never designed the dragon to have such a terrifying, reality-affecting effect.

"Could it be that cards really do have their own spirits?" Kaiba seemed to understand something and smiled knowingly. This seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

**...**

"This is so interesting!" Pegasus threw away his wine glass as if he had seen a long-sought treasure. "Hoshino-girl has interesting abilities."

"I want to meet Hoshino-girl. Send someone to bring her to me." Pegasus ordered his aide excitedly.

"Yes!" The butler, who had served Pegasus for many years, was puzzled. Normally calm and seemingly all-knowing, Pegasus was now agitated over an apparently ordinary girl.

"No! No, no, no!" Suddenly feeling this might not be appropriate, Pegasus shook his hand. "Even without your help, with her abilities, Hoshino-girl will surely come to Duelist Kingdom castle to see me herself."

"Track Hoshino-girl's duels for the next 24 hours. I want to watch every one of her duels!" Pegasus, regaining his composure, adjusted his hair, which had been messed up in his excitement.

"Yes!"

**...**

<Victory detected. Assessing duelist level.>

Although Hoshino hadn't dueled in Yugi's place for Saint Quartz, getting some as a reward was certainly a bonus.

"Ah, I almost forgot." Hoshino remembered she still had an SSR summon ticket to use.

"Who will be my first SSR? I'm getting a bit excited just thinking about it." Joyful from her victory, Hoshino felt her fatigue vanish, her steps lighter as she walked off the stage.

"Big sister Hoshino!" Mokuba suddenly threw himself into Hoshino's arms, wiping his eyes.

Hoshino, expecting a familiar hug from Anzu, was caught off guard by Mokuba, making her a bit flustered.

"Thank you for defeating that imposter." Mokuba, only as tall as Hoshino's waist, buried his face in her abdomen and cried loudly, "Thank you for telling me my brother is still alive. Thank you for believing in him."

Seeing Mokuba like this, Hoshino smiled with maternal affection. "After all, he's still just a kid."

She reached out and ruffled Mokuba's thick hair gently. "Get off! You're wiping your snot on my clothes!"

Pushing the bewildered Mokuba away, Hoshino then embraced Anzu. "A girl's hug is still the best, the perfect cure after an intense duel."

The sudden push left Mokuba in a daze, stopping his tears.

"Big sister Hoshino..." Mokuba's cheeks turned red, "Big sister Hoshino, you're so cool!"

Enjoying Anzu's scent, Hoshino couldn't have imagined she'd just gained a devoted fan, one who came from a wealthy family.