Chapter 176

"Ugh... this feeling!"

With great effort, Hoshino pressed her left hand against her head and struggled to open her eyes to look at the card she had just drawn.

"As expected, the second Evil God card has arrived."

The black energy in her eyes was more intense than before. Previously, only a few black lines had appeared, but now those lines densely covered the whites of her eyes.

"So this is the power of the Evil Gods... it's terrifying."

"Hoshino, are you okay?" Even Mokuba, who was watching from the side, noticed that something was wrong with her.

"I understand now... it's not that the Evil Gods corrupt someone's heart directly. Rather, it's the overwhelming power itself that's the true poison that corrodes one's heart..."

"Hoshino?"

"Sorry, but I've already won this duel!" Hoshino slowly lifted her gaze, her eyes, now filled with black streaks, brimming with a burning desire for victory.

"Hoshino, you're starting to look like Keith. Are you really okay?"

The recognizable ominous look in her eyes immediately reminded Mokuba of Keith, who had once used the Evil God card.

"I'm totally fine. I guess this is just something you have to endure when wielding the power of the Evil Gods."

Having faced the Evil God cards twice now, Hoshino had a clear understanding of what she was going through. At the same time, she also realized that even though it looked frightening, the dark energy within the Evil Gods could be suppressed by the willpower of the duelist.

The proof of this lay in the difference between Duke Devlin's experience with an Evil God card and Keith's. Devlin had been instantly taken over by the Evil God's will and turned into its puppet, whereas Keith retained his will, despite the darkness in his eyes.

The difference was that Devlin was not truly a skilled duelist, at least not at a high level. Keith, on the other hand, was a former American champion, and his strength of spirit as a duelist far surpassed Devlin's.

Naturally, the same applied to Hoshino. With the strength of her soul, suppressing two Evil God cards was well within her ability.

At least, that's what Hoshino believed...

"Haha, did you just say you've already won this duel?! Are you dreaming?"

Although the ominous aura in her eyes startled the Labyrinth Brothers, they weren't about to accept defeat so easily. After all, they held a tremendous advantage on the field, and their pride wouldn't allow them to back down.

"We have the unbeatable Gate Guardian on our field!"

"And you—your field is completely empty!"

"If you can beat the two of us in one turn, we'll eat our Duel Disks right here!" the brothers declared in unison.

Hoshino added the Evil God card to her hand, raised a finger, and with a mocking smile on her face, she looked at the Labyrinth Brothers. Her blackened eyes were filled with disdain.

"In one turn, I'll show you how the power of the Evil Gods crushes your ridiculous pride."

"Don't look down on us! Just because you became Duel King doesn't mean you're invincible! Even Pegasus himself shows us respect at Industrial Illusions!"

With a chuckle, Hoshino raised two fingers. "I only need two steps—"

"—to end this duel!"

"Hoshino-nee..." Akasha, who had been watching in a daze, was shocked. She had never seen this side of Hoshino before, but what really stunned her was Hoshino's seemingly groundless claim that she could win in just one turn.

"Watch carefully, you bald brothers!" Hoshino lifted her Duel Disk and dramatically played a card from her hand.

"This is the first step! I activate the Spell Card [Graceful Charity], which lets me draw three cards..."

Hoshino swiftly drew three cards from her deck, not even sparing them a glance before sending two cards from her hand to the graveyard.

"The performance... begins!"

As soon as Hoshino discarded her cards, a sinister aura exploded from her, enveloping the entire arena. A piercing wail emanated from her Duel Disk's graveyard zone, shaking everyone to their core.

"W-what is this?!" The Labyrinth Brothers, now panicking, looked at Hoshino, who was holding her Duel Disk high in the air.

"This is—The Evil God!" Along with the haunting cries filling the space, a thin shadow emerged from Hoshino's raised Duel Disk and began swirling above the field.

"The Wicked Eraser will wipe out everything on the field, including your Gate Guardian!"

"Roooar!" With a thunderous howl, the phantom exploded, raining a corrosive black liquid across the field.

The Gate Guardian, once it stepped onto the blackened ground, seemed to sink into an endless abyss before disappearing completely.

"The Wicked Eraser's special effect! When this card is sent to the graveyard, it destroys all cards on the field!"

This was the same effect that Keith had used to wipe out Hoshino's field twice. Hoshino never imagined she'd be the one using this effect one day.

"Now, all of your set cards, your monsters, everything is gone. Next comes the second step, and with it, the end of you both!"

"Impossible, this can't be happening..."

Without the protection of the Gate Guardian, the Labyrinth Brothers became even more flustered. For the first time, they felt there might be truth to Hoshino's one-turn victory claim.

"We're the strongest tag-team duelists from Industrial Illusions. There's no way we could lose in just one turn... Ah!!"

Frantically shaking their heads in denial, the Labyrinth Brothers suddenly froze in place, as if they had been turned to stone. Their trembling bodies betrayed their growing fear.

"I activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn]! Rise again from the depths of hell!"

Hoshino slammed the card down on her Duel Disk, pulling out the second Wicked God card she had discarded with Graceful Charity. "Behold, The Wicked Dreadroot!"

"Roaar!!"

A chilling and fearsome roar echoed throughout the massive duel arena, resonating up through the 200 floors of Kaiba Corporation's tower. The terrifying figure of the Wicked Dreadroot materialized on Hoshino's field, draped in a ghastly shroud of white bones.

[The Wicked Dreadroot ★★★★★★★★★★ (10 Stars)][DARK][Fiend/Effect][ATK 4000/DEF 4000]

"W-what is that thing?!" Overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the monstrous figure, the Labyrinth Brothers collapsed onto the floor, not even bothering to pick up the cards scattered around them.

With her thumb pointing down, Hoshino gave a mocking smirk and said, "This is what I meant earlier, the power of the Evil God that will crush your pride!"

"Attack, Wicked Dreadroot!" Hoshino traced a thumb across her neck as she gave her final attack command.

"Dread Crush!"

The monster's pale, skeletal claws reached out, one from the left and one from the right, closing in on the trembling, defenseless Labyrinth Brothers.

"No, nooooooo!!"

[Labyrinth Brothers LP 3400 → 0]

(***)

"Hahaha, Kaiba, is this the girl you said would make the gods tremble? How amusing!"

In the control room on the 200th floor, Yako laughed out loud at Kaiba while watching Hoshino use the Evil God to defeat the Labyrinth Brothers on the screen.

"She's completely consumed by the power of the Evil Gods. No matter how strong a duelist's soul is, it's impossible to resist the corruption of two Evil God cards simultaneously. That Keith sure did a fine job completing the task I gave him."

Kaiba, who had somehow appeared in the control room, leaned coolly against the wall without speaking, though his eyes were tightly focused on the screen, his brow furrowed.

"Hoshino, you wouldn't let yourself fall so easily into the temptation of this dark power, right..." Arms crossed, Kaiba silently 'hoped' to himself.

"Well, I suppose I should get ready to deal with this arrogant girl." Yako pressed his hands on his thighs and slowly rose from his chair.

"Those who are corrupted by the power of the Evil Gods will only grow more dependent on them. A duelist like that could never defeat me, nor could they ever hope to overcome my strongest card, The Wicked Avatar!"

...

"Yako Tenma!"

A sharp voice suddenly rang out, startling Yako, who had been rising to his feet.

"What???" The relaxed expression on his face instantly disappeared, and a disbelieving Yako turned his eyes back to the screen.

Somehow, Hoshino, who had detected the position of the camera in the dueling arena, now had her eyes, burning with fiery determination, locked directly onto it. The black veins that had filled her eyes were rapidly fading, visible even to the naked eye.

However, the strangest thing wasn't that. What stood out the most was the dazzling golden glow coming from Hoshino's bracelet.

The indescribable golden light, as if it embodied the power of countless spirits, was not like the holy radiance that banishes demons, but could instead be called the light of heroic spirits. It instantly dispelled the ominous aura left behind by the two Evil Gods on the battlefield.

"You're watching, aren't you, Tenma Yako!"

Pointing at the camera she had locked her gaze on, Hoshino slowly raised her glowing right hand.

"Did you think sending two small fry would reveal my true strength? How did you like that Evil God performance?"

"But remember this: the one who will defeat you is neither the Evil Gods nor the Egyptian Gods..."

"It's me, Hoshino Chiyuki, Duel King, along with the heroic spirits that span time and history!"

Bang—Zzzt—!

In an instant, both the camera on the 199th floor and the screen on the 200th floor shattered simultaneously, leaving Yako standing in the control room, gritting his teeth.

"Hahahahaha!" At that moment, Kaiba's loud, untimely laughter erupted from behind Yako.

"How amusing! It seems your gamble, Yako, of sending both Evil God cards has failed miserably!"

Indeed, this had all been Yako's gamble.

After Hoshino obtained the first Evil God card, Yako had used Keith to send the second Evil God card into Hoshino's hands, hoping that the combined power of the two Evil Gods would consume her soul.

As for the Labyrinth Brothers, Yako had never expected them to defeat Hoshino.

It was merely a cautious move on his part to further accelerate the Evil Gods' corruption, or perhaps just to test her before the final confrontation.

"To think there's a human capable of controlling two Evil Gods..." Yako's voice trembled with disbelief. Using the Evil God cards without succumbing to corruption meant she had fully mastered them.

"What kind of person is capable of even using the Evil Gods for her own ends?"

"Hahaha, the many secrets hidden within Hoshino, I still haven't fully uncovered them myself!" Kaiba, clearly having nothing to do with it, displayed a proud expression anyway. "Yako Tenma, I'm getting more and more excited to see the look on your face when you lose!"

(***)

"Hoshino, were you just talking to Tenma Yako?" Scratching his head, Mokuba seemed surprised. He hadn't known that Yako had installed a camera on the 199th floor. It seemed even he was unaware of its existence.

"Hoshino-nee, what just happened?" Akasha, who had been in a daze ever since Hoshino summoned the Evil Gods, finally snapped back to reality.

"You really beat those two small-time duelists in just one turn, Hoshino-nee! You're way more amazing than I thought!"

Though Akasha had come back to her senses, her cute little mouth was still open in astonishment, her red lips slightly parted like small cherries.

"Hehe, that was just thanks to the power of the Evil God cards. It doesn't mean I'm that amazing."

"No wonder Marik-onii wants the Evil God cards so badly. If I had an Evil God card, would I become as strong as you, Hoshino-nee?"

Shaking her head, Hoshino patted Akasha on the head. "Relying too much on such power won't help a duelist grow. In fact, power that's too great can make someone overly dependent on it, like a poison you can't escape from."

"So if you want to get stronger, Akasha-chan, you should focus on building your own deck!"

Looking at Akasha's slightly parted mouth and her adorable expression, Hoshino mischievously gave her a playful flick on the smooth surface of her forehead after patting her head.

"Ow, it hurts—!" Akasha covered her forehead. "Hoshino-nee is so mean! You must have been corrupted by the Evil Gods if you're bullying me!"

"Stop teasing her, Hoshino." Seeing the dark aura had completely faded from Hoshino's eyes, Mokuba let out a small sigh of relief.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Mokuba's gaze shifted to the Labyrinth Brothers, who were lying on the ground unconscious and foaming at the mouth.

"You're asking me what to do..." Hoshino scratched her head awkwardly. Although she hadn't been controlled by the Evil Gods, she had impulsively relied on their power to crush the duel.

The result? Two knocked-out duelists, overwhelmed by the sheer power of the Evil Gods.

"Maybe they have the key to the door. Mokuba, why don't you check them?" Unceremoniously pushing Mokuba forward, Hoshino's face donned a business-like smile. "Surely, you wouldn't expect girls like me and Akasha-chan to do that, right~?"

"Sigh~" Mokuba sighed deeply as he rolled up his sleeves, helplessly.

As a guy who had already been outmatched by Hoshino and Akasha in dueling, if he backed out now, he'd really be the useless one.

With that resolve in mind, Mokuba started searching the two unconscious men.

"Got it! This must be it!" The gate blocking the passage to the 200th floor was clearly of Chinese design, so the matching key was also a distinct iron ring with Chinese elements.

"It's been a tough journey, but finally, we can meet the boss hiding behind all this!"

(*****)

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