Chapter 90

———The Night Before the Final Tournament

"Miss Hoshino, who do you think is your biggest enemy in the Duelist Kingdom?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly asking that?" Holmes, who had been silently playing cards, suddenly spoke, surprising Hoshino.

"The biggest enemy in the Kingdom is, of course, the owner of the Kingdom, Pegasus, with his Millennium Eye."

"Hmm, that's a good point. Pegasus is indeed difficult to deal with."

Holmes continued, taking a puff from his pipe, "Pegasus has the Millennium Eye that can read minds and a Toon World deck designed for himself. He's indeed a troublesome opponent, but…"

Then, another silence followed.

"But what, Mr. Holmes? Just say it already!" Hoshino, who was feeling a bit anxious, urged Holmes, who was dragging out his explanation.

"Direct attack, I win!" The cunning Holmes, after stopping his explanation, suddenly went all-out and easily won this round.

"That's too sneaky! I won't acknowledge a win like that!" Pouting, Hoshino threw her cards on the table and slumped back in her chair.

"You're upset over this? Miss Hoshino, you are like a child." Holmes laughed, his previously straight posture bending as he leaned closer to Hoshino, feigning mystery. "If you understood the true strength of Yugi Mutou, wouldn't you be even more disheartened?"

"Yugi? Why bring him up suddenly…?" Hoshino, initially puzzled, suddenly realized, "Mr. Holmes, are you saying that Yugi is the biggest enemy in the Kingdom?"

Holmes did not speak, indicating agreement.

"Yugi… I know he's strong, but is he stronger than Pegasus, who can read minds?"

"Yes." Holmes finally spoke, giving a definitive answer. "The spirit residing within Yugi Mutou, more precisely, within the Millennium Puzzle, harbors what might be the most profound mystery of this world."

Hoshino, who had thought the spirit within the Millennium Puzzle was just another personality of Yugi, gasped.

"Most of the mysteries in this world are tied to Shadow Games, and each Millennium Item, imbued with immense dark power, gives its holder an almost cheat-like advantage. If the power of the Millennium Eye is to see through hearts, what do you think the power of the Millennium Puzzle is?"

"Heart of the Cards, miracle draws, and plot armor?" Hoshino, guessing jokingly, tilted her head.

"Hahaha, that's a very vivid description." Holmes suddenly laughed heartily, as if Hoshino had told a funny joke. "You're right, though. My description of it is…"

"Localized probability manipulation."

"Localized? Probability manipulation? That sounds even more confusing." Hoshino scratched her head, recalling her almost nonexistent high school math education.

"Just understand it as you described, as the 'Heart of the Cards' and miracle draws. Of course, it won't be unlimited; just as the Millennium Eye can't predict your moves five turns ahead, the Millennium Puzzle can only alter the probability of drawing or setting certain cards."

"Changing the cards drawn and set?!" Hoshino repeated Holmes' words in shock. "You're making it sound simple, but in a card game, being able to draw the right cards is the most powerful thing."

"Exactly, that's why I'm telling you, the hardest opponent in the Duelist Kingdom tournament, and the greatest enemy, is Yugi Mutou. If Yugi were to face Pegasus in the final battle, the victory would likely go to Yugi."

"Yugi is amazing!" For some reason, when Hoshino heard that Yugi would defeat Pegasus, she felt a sense of relief. "In that case, I don't need to work so hard; I'll just let Yugi win and solve everything~"

"Hahaha, Miss Hoshino, you're so optimistic." However, Holmes' slightly eerie smile made Hoshino feel uncomfortable.

"Is there something wrong?" Hoshino asked, feeling a chill down her spine as she listened to Holmes' laughter. "If Yugi wins, everyone's souls will be saved, right? And Da Vinci said that the darkness that will come in the future should be dealt with by Yugi and the others, right? After all, I'm not from this world; even without my interference, they would surely manage."

"Yes, according to Miss Da Vinci's theoretical analysis, Yugi and his group are enough to handle all the challenges ahead, even without you." Holmes took another deep puff from his pipe, exhaling a long cloud of smoke.

"Then it's settled. So why did you try to scare me?" Seeing Holmes' softened attitude, Hoshino patted her chest, slightly relieved.

"What I'm going to say next is purely my speculation, something even Da Vinci doesn't know." After exhaling smoke, Holmes' gaze turned more serious than ever before.

"Is this another one of your so-called elementary ideas…"

"No, it's very much beyond that." Surprisingly, Holmes didn't use his catchphrase, indicating that he had little confidence in his upcoming deduction, feeling it might be quite far-fetched. "If you don't defeat Pegasus, you might never return to your original world. Worse, you might die!"

"Because, Miss Hoshino, this isn't your first time in this world."

"!!!"

(Final Elimination Match, Yugi VS Hoshino)

"It's because none of you understand the true terror of the Main protagonist!" Hoshino said with a bitter smile, responding to everyone's confusion.

"Hoshino, even if you praise me like that, I won't hold back." Yugi, with a serious expression, spoke from across the arena. "I can't afford to lose this match. I bear the responsibility for the souls of my family and friends. I must personally defeat Pegasus and save my grandfather and Kaiba!"

"I'm sorry, Yugi. I understand the weight of the responsibility you carry," Hoshino, standing on the sword hill, showed no signs of backing down. "But now I have my reasons for needing to win, for needing to defeat both you and Pegasus!"

"Even your trump card can't defeat my Dark Magician. Do you still think you can win?" Yugi frowned, deeply hoping Hoshino would give up.

But by this point, neither of them had any room for retreat.

"Majin-Okita Sōji has no monster she can't defeat." Looking confidently at the Majin-Okita gracefully sliding into the arena, Hoshino said, "Do you remember, Yugi, how even the 'Dark Guardian' of the Labyrinth Brothers fell before Majin-Okita?"

"Dark Guardian?" Yugi, startled, recalled the moment when that dark light pierced through the dungeon labyrinth.

"Jounouchi, weren't you wondering why I chose to use [Unlimited Blade Works] first instead of directly using [Dream Summon]?" Pointing at Yugi, who was now alert, Hoshino declared her prepared finishing move. "I can only tell you, the time is ripe. Now is the moment to reclaim all the setups!"

(Holmes: "In a crisis, the cards Yugi sets could be any in his deck, so to win, Miss Hoshino, you must eliminate all possibilities."

Hoshino: "But if Yugi sets many cards, I can't eliminate them all!"

Holmes: "That's why your chances of winning are slim. You must find the only path to victory among thousands of possible defeats.")

"Yugi, I know the most common trap cards in your deck, and those that can turn the tide are activated in response to attack declarations. So I used [Unlimited Blade Works,] a card immune to attack declaration triggers. If you could change the set cards, the best choice would have been to counter my equipment or monsters. The moment you chose to use [Magical Hats] to seize my equipment, your defeat was sealed! If you had set two more cards, you wouldn't have been able to take control of all four of Emiya's equipment cards, which would make Dark Magician's attack power lower than Emiya's. But with only one set card, you now can't defeat Majin-Okita."

"Exactly, Miss Hoshino! This is the only method among countless possibilities for the Servant deck to defeat Yugi!" Holmes, appearing in a half-ethereal form behind Hoshino at some point, shouted, "You finally found it, the key to the outcome."

"Ha, ha, that's common sense, my friend!"

"Show him the limitless power, Majin-san!" From her high vantage point, Hoshino called out to Majin-Okita, still gliding on the ground.

"Finally, I can attack, Master. If this took any longer, my shoes would catch fire." Majin-Okita, who had glided away after unleashing an endless beam of light to defeat Dark Magician, spoke with a hint of humor. The soles of her shoes had turned red-hot from prolonged high-speed friction. "One strike without interruption leads to two, two without interruption leads to a thousand, and a thousand without interruption leads to infinity!"

[When this card attacks and does not destroy a monster, you can banish one [Heroic Spirit] monster from your graveyard to continue attacking.]

"She can attack endlessly as long as she doesn't destroy a monster!" Jounouchi finally realized why the Majin could defeat the Dark Guardian in the maze so effortlessly.

"That's why Majin defeated the Dark Guardian," Hoshino said, waving her hand to banish [Lu Bu] from the graveyard. "And now, Majin-Okita will defeat you too!"

"With [Heroic Spirit - Lu Bu] banished, Majin Okita's attack power increases by another 1000 points!"

[Majin-Okita ATK 5000 → 6000]

"This strike is truly checkmate, Yugi!"

"My ray of light...open a path towards endlessness.!" Majin Okita announced coldly, her expression unchanged as she struck the final blow. "This is the last strike. Fall into the void, Dark Magician, the ace monster!"

On the [Rengoku], the blade matched its name, channeling an aura of terror seemingly from the underworld. "Majin Blade!"

If the golden radiance was the energy to destroy evil, then the black radiance from the underworld was the power to pierce all things, infinity.

"Zekken, Mukyusandan!!!"

The black light easily pierced through the Dark Magician, undeniably sealing Hoshino's victory in this duel.

Yugi Muto LP: 100 → 0

"..."

"The Duelist Kingdom final match is over, and the winner is..."

"Chiyuki Hoshino!!!"

Silence. With the end of the duel, the holograms vanished, and the once-burning space of Unlimited Blade Works returned to normal. There were no usual cheers or excitement from companions, only an overwhelming silence of disbelief.

"Yugi lost..." Anzu, covering her mouth, couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Chiyuki beat Yugi?" Mai, who had supported Hoshino all along, couldn't believe it either when the moment finally came.

"Hoshino... Yugi..." Even Jounouchi, usually the most enthusiastic after a match, was speechless, not knowing what to say.

*Clap... clap... clap...* Suddenly, solitary applause echoed in the hall, breaking the silence.

"Hoshino, you fought well. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly," Yugi said, clapping alone, with a sad but genuine smile, truly complimenting Hoshino.

"Yugi..." Seeing Yugi's expression, tears welled up in the eyes of his familiar companions.

"Chiyuki, you did great, that was fantastic!" Mai was the second to react, applauding vigorously and shouting her praise.

"What are we standing around for?" Holding back tears, Jounouchi urged the others, "Hoshino won fair and square! We should be congratulating her! We should, like always, give her our praises!"

"Hoshino, you were amazing!!"

The applause completely replaced the earlier silence. Although there weren't many people in the hall, the prolonged applause deeply moved Hoshino.

"Did I finally win?" To everyone's surprise, Hoshino was the last to realize her victory. Feeling her trembling hands, she noted that this time it was from excitement, not like the trembling after her duel with Kaiba. "Did I... finally win? Did I beat Yugi?"

"Hoshino!" As Hoshino came back to her senses, Yugi, who had stopped clapping, called out to her from across the stage, "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Mm?"

"As a friend, I ask you to defeat Pegasus and save the souls of my grandfather and Kaiba!"

"Is there any need to ask, Yugi?" Hoshino replied cheerfully, with a bright smile. "That's my responsibility to fulfill!"

<[System detected a duel victory. Assessing Duelist level for Yugi Muto.]>

"Splendid, truly the best duel, Yugi-boy, and Hoshino-girl!" Pegasus stood up from his throne, offering sincere praise to the two duelists.

"I thought you'd never leave your throne. Are you nervous, Pegasus?" Hoshino remarked with a smile upon seeing Pegasus rise. "After all, you're next."

"Hahaha, I am very much looking forward to it, Hoshino-girl," Pegasus laughed, standing with his hands behind his back.

"Then please, look forward to it," Hoshino replied, leaving Pegasus a parting remark.

After exchanging a glance with an old butler, Pegasus exited the Duelist Hall through a side door to the left of the throne.

The old butler, with a slight nod to indicate his understanding of Pegasus' instructions, announced, "According to the tournament rules, the winner of the final match, Miss Chiyuki Hoshino, has earned the right to duel the master of the kingdom, Master Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters."

"Before Master Pegasus's challenge begins, the challenger will be given time to rest and make final adjustments to their deck. Miss Chiyuki Hoshino may proceed to the specially prepared player restroom to prepare for the duel against Master Pegasus," the butler continued, gesturing towards the direction of the restroom.

"Rest and deck adjustments before the final duel, indeed necessary," Hoshino thought, calculating in her mind. Aside from the fatigue washing over her after dueling Yugi, there was also the opportunity to use the Saint Quartz she had earned to enhance and adjust her Heroic Spirit cards, increasing her chances in the final duel.

"Alright, I'll go rest for a bit," Hoshino said.

"Hoshino, let me come with you," Yugi said, seemingly wanting to advise Hoshino on something.

"We, we want to go too..." Jounouchi and the others naturally didn't plan to sit idle. Since Hoshino had defeated Yugi, she was now their only hope to defeat Pegasus and thus became their focus of protection.

"I'm sorry, but only Miss Chiyuki Hoshino, the challenger, is allowed to proceed," the butler interjected, denying the others' request.

"Is that so..." Mai, who also wanted to cheer for Hoshino, expressed her disappointment.

"Don't worry, everyone. There's no danger in Pegasus's castle, really," Hoshino reassured them, then turned to Yugi. "Yugi, I know what you want to say. I'm well aware of Pegasus's abilities after seeing his duel with Kaiba, but that's no reason for me to back down. On the contrary, to rescue Kaiba's brothers and your grandfather's souls, I must defeat him."

"Hoshino..." Yugi felt a bit guilty, knowing that Hoshino was shouldering such a heavy responsibility.

"Well, I'll go rest now!" Chiaki waved to her friends as she walked towards the restroom.

"Chiyuki, I'll be waiting for you to come back!" Mai waved her hand like she was seeing off a family member.

"All we can do now is trust Chiyuki."

Hoshino preferred to adjust her deck alone, as she needed to use Saint Quartz to draw cards and perform upgrades. If everyone came along, she would be the center of attention during the final challenge, preventing her from discreetly strengthening her deck using the system as she had done before.

<[Evaluation 70 complete. Duelist Yugi Muto, Level: A+. Victory reward of Saint Quartz granted. Total remaining Quartz: 86.]>

"A+, huh!" Hoshino, walking down the corridor, took a deep breath upon hearing the system notification. "This must be the highest-level duelist I've faced so far."

Before defeating Yugi, Kaiba's level A was the highest she'd encountered. Yugi's A+ indicated he was superior in some respects.

"I wonder if there are S-level duelists?" Hoshino pondered, her thoughts drifting. In many games, the S-rank is above the A-rank, suggesting the existence of an S-level. "But if even Yugi, the holder of the most potent mystery in this world, the Millennium Puzzle, is only A+, then perhaps A+ is the current cap for duelists."

"What about Pegasus's level? According to Mr.Holmes, Pegasus's strength is below Yugi's?" This thought puzzled Hoshino further. "Having easily defeated the A-level Kaiba and yet being below the A+ Yugi, what level does that make Pegasus?"

"A truly mysterious man," Hoshino concluded, unable to settle on an answer. She didn't realize that having defeated both an A-level Kaiba and an A+ Yugi made her level even harder to define.

Lost in thought, Hoshino finally reached the door at the end of the corridor.

"This must be the player restroom," Hoshino said, standing before a rather ostentatious red wooden door. She finally understood why the butler hadn't escorted her, merely pointing the way. The lavish red door frame contrasted sharply with the white decor of the castle. The red and gold-bordered carpet extending from the door seemed to flaunt the room's luxury to anyone outside.

"Having money truly allows one to do anything," Hoshino sighed as she silently pushed open the door to the player restroom.

"Oh, Hoshino-girl, you've kept me waiting for quite a while," came the familiar voice of Pegasus, who was lounging on a prominent sofa in the lavishly decorated red room.

"Jounouchi, earlier I said [there can't be any danger in Pegasus's castle], I was wrong," Hoshino thought, swallowing nervously as she regretted her earlier words.

(*****)

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