Chapter 66

"What a beautiful day!" Having lost track of time after being underground for so long, Hoshino looked up at the sky and estimated the current time. "If it was noon when we entered the cave, it's probably around 4 PM now. If we delay any longer, it'll be evening. Let's hurry and enter Pegasus Castle, everyone."

"Hoshino..." Everyone looked at Hoshino with concern as she prepared to head towards the castle.

"Chiyuki Hoshino, are you trying to run away?" Kaiba, having been ignored, raised his voice even louder.

"...." Hoshino turned her head in the opposite direction, covering her eyes with her hand, muttering to herself, "This illusion of Seto Kaiba is so realistic. It's all because I was thinking nonsense that I'm seeing this strange thing. Snap out of it, Hoshino. Don't pay attention to this illusion."

"Hoshino..." Anzu finally couldn't hold back and spoke up, "This is probably not an illusion. It's the real Kaiba."

"Hehe, don't joke around, Anzu. The real Kaiba wouldn't be here," Hoshino said with a bright smile, patting Anzu's shoulder. "Besides, why would Seto Kaiba challenge me? I'm just a nobody."

"Kaiba!" The Millennium Puzzle in front of Yugi suddenly shone brightly, and Yami took over Yugi's body again. "If you're just looking for a duel, I'm happy to oblige!"

Seeing Hoshino continuously avoiding reality, Yami couldn't help but step forward. "Hoshino has just gone through two intense duels and needs time to rest."

"Humph, Yugi, you and I are destined rivals. A duel with you is inevitable!" Kaiba sneered, then said, "But today, I'm here to duel Chiyuki Hoshino. According to the rules of Duelist Kingdom, the challenged cannot refuse a duel!"

"What rules of the kingdom! Kaiba, you just said yesterday you despise participating in the Duelist Kingdom tournament!" Jonouchi, annoyed by Kaiba's resolute attitude, retorted, "Besides, you're not even a participant!"

"Fool, you haven't been eliminated yet?" Kaiba laughed mockingly at Jonouchi's outburst. "Who told you I'm not a participant?"

Kaiba pulled out five star chips from his pocket and threw them on the ground, silencing everyone. "Now there's nothing left to say. Chiyuki Hoshino, you can't escape this duel today!"

"Kaiba, why Hoshino..." Yami, sensing Kaiba's determination, asked through gritted teeth.

"You can ask Pegasus yourself!" Kaiba replied, glancing down at Yami. "But by then, Pegasus will probably have been defeated by me."

"Pegasus? Pegasus personally instructed you to duel Hoshino?" Yami exclaimed in disbelief. "How could this be? Why would Pegasus notice Hoshino?"

Looking at the silent Hoshino, Yami pondered the same question, "Hoshino, what secrets are you hiding?"

At this moment, Hoshino knew that the Kaiba in front of her was undoubtedly real. "Seto Kaiba, an A-rank duelist. Although I've faced him before, it was a two-on-one battle. Can I really win against him alone?"

Thinking this, Hoshino looked up at Pegasus Castle above. "Damn it, I've already gathered ten star chips."

"I've come this far; I can't fail because of this." Lowering her head, Hoshino looked at the ten star chips embedded in her glove. On this island, star chips are equivalent to a duelist's life. From the beginning with Yuta, to Mai Valentine, and finally the Labyrinth Brothers, all their star chips were gathered here. "I've won step by step. Even though I was confused at first, I persevered! Every duel was a battle of dignity, with both sides giving their all. After taking away the hopes of so many, how can I back down now?"

"This is Duelist Kingdom, where duelists' dreams are at stake!" Driven by her strong desire for victory (and money), Hoshino's fighting spirit reignited. "It's not about whether I can win, but that I must win, absolutely must win!"

"Seto Kaiba!" Hoshino suddenly shouted, looking at Kaiba. "I, accept this duel! Don't regret not choosing Jonouchi as your opponent!"

"Me...?" Jonouchi pointed to himself awkwardly. If the goal was to gather ten star chips, Jonouchi would indeed be the best choice among the three.

"Humph, whether it's you, a fool, or Yugi, it doesn't matter to me," Kaiba sneered, seeing Hoshino accept the challenge. "None of you can beat me!"

"Hoshino!" Seeing Hoshino's renewed fighting spirit, Yami smiled, feeling reassured. "Kaiba, I advise you not to be overconfident. Hoshino's full strength is not below ours."

"Oh?" Kaiba raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. This was the first time he heard Yugi give such high praise to a duelist. "Interesting. Let me experience it firsthand, Hoshino!"

"What? You're not using your new Duel Disk system?" Hoshino asked, seeing Kaiba empty-handed. She suddenly regretted it, remembering the exhaustion from last night's disc-throwing. Her arms ached just thinking about it.

"This time, no Duel Disk. We'll have a proper duel on the duel stage!" Kaiba shook his head, walking on the nearby grass as if searching for something.

"But you know that Duel Disk only summoning one monster isn't proper." Hoshino couldn't help but tease Kaiba, hoping to see his reaction.

"I told you it was a prototype." Kaiba remained stoic, much to Hoshino's disappointment. "And the subsequent models are already designed in my mind. Duel stages will be obsolete in the future!"

With that, Kaiba stomped on a switch he found, and a large duel stage emerged.

"But for now, this duel stage is sufficient to defeat you." With a confident declaration of victory, Kaiba pulled out his deck and stepped onto the stage.

Hoshino shook her head, also taking out her Heroic Spirit deck. "Geniuses are really hard to deal with."

Standing on the duel platform, Hoshino took a deep breath to calm her overly excited emotions.

"The duel begins: Duelist Chiyuki Hoshino vs. Duelist Seto Kaiba!" the familiar synthesized voice announced.

"Seto Kaiba will go first!"

"My turn, draw!" Kaiba glanced at his hand and smiled. "Chiyuki Hoshino, I've seen your unique deck twice now. You're heroes indeed possess unique powers that are hard to grasp."

"But in the face of absolute power, they are still pale and powerless!" Kaiba declared as he slammed his card onto the table, "I activate the Continuous Spell Card, [Future Fusion] from my hand!"

"Future? Fusion?" Hoshino furrowed her brow, hearing this card for the first time. She had a bias against cards with 'Fusion' in their name, feeling they were always troublesome.

[Future Fusion - Continuous Spell Card Effect: Reveal 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, then send the Fusion Materials listed on that monster from your Main Deck to the Graveyard. During your second Standby Phase after this card's activation, Special Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck. When this card leaves the field, destroy that monster. When that monster is destroyed, destroy this card.]

"I will fuse the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!" Kaiba drew the card from his Extra Deck and held it up for everyone to see.

"A fusion from the future, just like the card's name says," Hoshino murmured, watching Kaiba lift the Ultimate Dragon high. "Summoning Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon right at the start, Kaiba is serious this time."

"By sending the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard, in two turns, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon will be Special Summoned to my field." Kaiba's smile grew more confident as he sent the three White Dragons to the Graveyard. "Next, I set one card and end my turn."

"Kaiba, he's set up for summoning Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon but hasn't summoned any monsters?" Jonouchi said in surprise as Kaiba ended his turn.

"My turn, draw!" Even though Kaiba hadn't summoned a monster, the turn passed to Hoshino. "What is Kaiba planning?"

The empty field seemed like a perfect opportunity to attack.

But this was Kaiba. If it were any other minor duelist, Hoshino would attack without hesitation, but against Kaiba, she had to be more cautious.

"I summon the monster card [Heroic Spirit - Cu Chulainn] in attack mode." After thinking for a moment, Hoshino placed the big dog's card on the field. As a monster that could be directly summoned, Cu Chulainn's attack power wasn't low, and his excellent survivability meant that any unexpected changes could be minimized.

[Heroic Spirit - Cu Chulainn ★★★★ Light][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1600 DEF:1600]

"Yo master, starting a new duel just minutes after the last one?" Cu Chulainn appeared on the field, speaking his usual cheeky remarks.

However, seeing the empty field across from him, he barked in surprise, "Hey, there aren't any monsters on the other side. This is the perfect chance to attack."

"Although I want to caution you to be careful, that wouldn't be your style." Hoshino, who had been a bit tense, relaxed after Cu Chulainn appeared.

Hoshino knew she wasn't fighting alone. She had companions and reliable Heroic Spirits supporting her. "While caution is necessary, being overly defensive won't defeat Seto Kaiba. Attack, Cu Chulainn!"

"That's what I wanted to hear, master!" With Hoshino's command, Cu Chulainn, holding his spear, turned fierce. "Hey, you over there, take this!"

As Cu Chulainn charged straight at him, Kaiba remained calm, with an inscrutable smile on his face. "Activate the set trap card!"

"Of course, there's a trap card!" Hoshino knew Kaiba wouldn't just take the hit without a counter.

"Continuous Trap Card, [Call of the Haunted]!" Kaiba's momentum surged again as he activated the card.

[Call of the Haunted - Continuous Trap Card Effect: Target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in Attack Position. When this card leaves the field, destroy that monster. When that monster is destroyed, destroy this card.]

"Revive a monster from the Graveyard? Does Kaiba even have any monsters in the Graveyard?" Jonouchi asked, puzzled by the card's effect.

"Fool, how did someone like you collect ten star chips? The level of Duelist Kingdom is too low!" Kaiba shouted at Jonouchi, slamming the revived monster onto the table. "I will revive the Blue-Eyes White Dragon sent to the Graveyard by [Future Fusion]!"

The revived Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared, spreading its massive wings as it descended onto the battlefield.

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon ★★★★★★★★ Light][Dragon][ATK:3000 DEF:2500]

"Whoa, this monster suddenly appeared! I'm not sure we can win, master!" Cu Chulainn, initially fierce, began to panic at the sight of the White Dragon. However, once an attack declaration is made, it cannot be withdrawn.

"Blue-eyes White Dragon, crush this monster!" Kaiba's confident voice rang out as he issued his command. "Attack with Burst Stream of Destruction!"

"Go, Cu Chulainn! As the Child of Light of Ireland, how can you fear a dragon that breathes white light?" Hoshino's unwavering resolve caught Kaiba off guard.

"Master, you're making it hard for me to back down after saying that!" Cu Chulainn, smiling fiercely again, charged straight into the Burst Stream of Destruction.

Watching Cu Chulainn get engulfed by the white light, Kaiba laughed loudly, "Hahaha, what Child of Light of Ireland? He's no match for my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Is that so?" Hoshino raised her right hand towards the sky.

"Hm?!" Attracted by Hoshino's gesture, everyone looked up.

"I dodged it, master!" Cu Chulainn, having leaped high into the sky, had evaded the terrifying Burst Stream of Destruction. "This is the Blessing of Avoidance!"

[①: When this card is in face-up Attack Position, it cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn, and no battle damage is calculated.]

"Tch, just barely surviving," Kaiba clicked his tongue in annoyance at the failed attack.

"Is it really just barely surviving?" Hoshino countered, lowering her right hand to point at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Cu Chulainn, show them your perseverance!"

"Sure thing, master! Let's hit it hard!" Cu Chulainn, descending from the sky, gripped his red spear with both hands. Using the momentum of his fall, he roared and pierced the spear into the dragon's large head, running it through from top to bottom.

(*****)

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