Chapter 98

"Miss Hoshino, are you okay?" Holmes, noticing something was off with Hoshino, asked with concern, "That last strike took a lot out of you, especially after taking 2500 points of direct damage. If you keep pushing yourself like this..."

"I know, Mr. Holmes..." Hoshino shook her head, interrupting Holmes. "But look at the field now; I'm close to winning. It's not the time to worry about little mental fatigue."

After the reversal punch, Pegasus' field was empty. Even the continuous trap card [Solemn Wishes], which he relied on to restore life points, had been destroyed by the cyclone.

"The victory is almost certain, just one more hit. If I can hold on until the next turn, it'll be over..."

"It's not just a little mental fatigue, Hoshino-chan..." Da Vinci's voice from the wristband was equally concerned.

"Turn end, it's your turn, Pegasus!"

Though Hoshino's field was filled with [Mazinger Nobu Tokens] each with an attack power of 2000, due to their effect, the tokens couldn't attack in the turn they were summoned. So even though Pegasus had only 400 life points left, she couldn't defeat him directly this turn.

"Hoshino doesn't seem quite right," Yugi said softly, furrowing his brows, also noticing Hoshino's unusual state.

"Hoshino's mental strength is probably completely exhausted," Bakura, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. "What keeps her going now isn't physical strength or mental stamina, but sheer determination to win."

"But, look at Pegasus; he's not in great shape either," Jonouchi pointed at Pegasus, who stood motionless at the edge of the platform after taking a hit. "Now, Hoshino is just a step away from victory. Knowing her personality, there's no way she'd give up now."

"Chiyuki..."

On the other side of the platform, Pegasus kept his head down, hiding his expression under his bangs. The full-force strike from Hoshino's last turn must have dealt significant damage, likely more than what Hoshino expended in launching the attack. However, Pegasus' original mental state was better, and coupled with the dark power of the Millennium Eye, he hadn't lost consciousness like Hoshino had.

"Hey, Pegasus, stop pretending to be dead!" Jonouchi shouted at the unresponsive Pegasus, "If you're planning to surrender, hurry up and do it. Don't use such a despicable stalling tactic!"

"Hehehe, hahahaha!" Pegasus' head, still covered by his bangs, suddenly emitted a disgusting laugh in response to Jonouchi's outburst.

"Good, very good. None of you are leaving here alive!" Pegasus suddenly looked up, laughing maniacally. As he did, his bangs shifted, revealing the Millennium Eye, glowing ominously with black light, along with the bulging veins around it.

"Pegasus... was the Millennium Eye always this disgusting?" Hoshino looked repulsed, hesitant to look directly at Pegasus' veiny face.

"No, this can't be called Pegasus anymore; it should be called Millennium Pegasus!" Da Vinci said seriously from the wristband.

"Da Vinci, please, stop with the pointless jokes..."

"Ahem, in any case, Pegasus' personality has been completely consumed by the Millennium Eye. The person in front of us is not Pegasus, but the Millennium Eye using his body."

"The Millennium Eye using Pegasus' body..." Realizing she was dueling against something inhuman, Hoshino felt a chill. However, seeing Spartacus in her hand helped her regain some composure.

"Both sides have laid their cards on the table now. Even with all its power, the Millennium Eye can't pull off a miracle now, can it?"

"Hoshino-chan, could you stop setting such ominous flags..." Da Vinci quipped back, mimicking Hoshino's earlier tone.

"Hmm, it's my turn now," the Millennium Eye sneered, forcing a stiff, sinister smile. "Draw..."

"Hoshino-chan, Pegasus' draw seems off!" Da Vinci, who had maintained a steady tone, suddenly grew anxious. "Is this a D-Draw?"

"What, D-Draw? Pegasus can do that too?" Hoshino stared in shock as the card Pegasus drew emitted a black glow. Even a fool could tell it was no ordinary draw. "Da Vinci, you told me D-Draw was exclusive to the Millennium Bracelet!"

"It looks like D-Draw, but it's probably just a similar ability. Be careful, Hoshino-chan!"

"Hehehe, Chiyuki Hoshino, let me show you the true terror hidden within the depths of these cards," the Millennium Eye said in a mechanical voice, tossing a card onto the table. "I summon the monster card, [Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands]."

Alongside Hoshino's Spartacus, a new monster card, [Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands], appeared on the field. Because it was a face-up card, Hoshino knew it wasn't the one Pegasus just drew.

[Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands ★★★★ (4 stars) Light] [Fairy/Effect ATK1400/DEF1000]

True to its name, the body of the [Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands] was covered with countless arms. Although the card stated it belonged to the Fairy type, its menacing face resembled that of an Asura. In the eerie darkness of the field, it appeared even more terrifying.

"Upon summoning, [Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands] activates its special effect."

"[This card's effect activates when it is summoned or flip-summoned. Add 1 Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell Card from your deck to your hand.]"

"I add the Ritual Spell Card, [Black Illusion Ritual], to my hand." After a simple search, the Millennium Eye drew the Ritual Spell card.

"Adding a Ritual Spell Card to his hand? Could the card Pegasus drew this turn be a Ritual Monster?" Despite the mental fatigue that even affected her thinking, Hoshino tried to deduce Pegasus' intention. "But a Ritual Monster requires sacrifices of enough levels. To defeat the [Mazinger Nobu], the Ritual Monster should have a high level, right? But Pegasus now..."

Indeed, Pegasus only had the level 4 [Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands] on the field.

"Then I activate [Black Illusion Ritual]..."

"[Black Illusion Ritual: This card is used to Ritual Summon [Relinquished]. You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal 1 or more.]"

"'Relinquished'? Level 1?!" Completely contrary to Hoshino's expectations, she thought the Ritual Monster would be high-level, but it only required 1 level. "1 level? That's too much! Even lower than Shakespeare! Can this defeat Mazinger Nobu?"

After [Black Illusion Ritual] activated, a pot with a golden eye insignia suddenly appeared on the field, eerily similar to Pegasus' Millennium Eye. If performing a dark ritual to start a shadow game required a specific setting, it would certainly look like this scene.

"I tribute [Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands] on my field to Ritual Summon the monster from my hand." Finally, Pegasus placed the monster he had just drawn onto the table. "Come forth, my strongest monster, [Relinquished]!"

"[Relinquished ★ Dark] [Spellcaster/Effect ATK: 0 DEF: 0]"

After the ritual, the monster Pegasus claimed embodied the deepest darkness hidden in the cards, [Relinquished], appeared on the field.

"Ugh, what a disgusting monster!" The sharp contrast with the previous cute Toon monsters made Hoshino feel extremely uncomfortable.

A massive spinning top-shaped body with a spherical head resembling an eye and a gaping, mouth-like cavity in its abdomen, [Relinquished] was indeed a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

"And its ATK and DEF are 0..." For some reason, in this situation, seeing a monster with 0 ATK made Hoshino feel uneasy.

"Pegasus, what kind of bizarre monster is this? And why is its attack 0?" Jonouchi, completely oblivious to the tension, joked, "But this ugly monster does kind of match Pegasus' veiny state."

"Jonouchi..." Yugi called out helplessly, reminding him to be mindful of the atmosphere.

The tension was palpable on the darkened duel platform.

"Activate, [Relinquished]'s special effect." After a long wait, Pegasus finally activated the monster's effect. If someone told Hoshino that a monster summoned with such effort and having 0 ATK had no effect, she wouldn't believe it.

"Begin, endless devouring!"

Before she could finish her sentence, the gaping maw on the abdomen of [Relinquished] started emitting a thick, purple aura and slowly drifted towards [Mazinger Nobu]. Despite being one-tenth the size of Mazinger, Relinquished's maw expanded to swallow it whole. To accommodate the entire monster, the maw stretched nearly tenfold, revealing its muscular texture in a way that instinctively filled Hoshino with fear.

[①: Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; equip it to this card as an Equip Spell. ②: This card's ATK/DEF becomes equal to that of the monster equipped by this effect. If this card is destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead. Your opponent takes all battle damage that you would have taken from battles involving this card.]

[Relinquished][ATK: 0 → 4000 DEF: 0 → 3500]

Pieces of the disassembled Mazinger were scattered across Relinquished's body after being devoured.

"To think it would defeat my monster in such a manner…" Hoshino shivered, finally understanding the meaning behind Pegasus's (Millennium Eye's) words about the dark fears hidden within the cards.

"Checkmate, Hoshino-girl~" Pegasus's right hand, previously caressing the Millennium Eye, made an elegant sweeping gesture, issuing an attack command, "Relinquished end this duel."

"Relinquished Radiant Beam!"

At the Millennium Eye's attack declaration, Relinquished, now enlarged from devouring Mazinger, emitted a green beam of light, which pierced through the [Mazinger Nobu Tokens] on Hoshino's field, effortlessly breaching their sturdy mechanical bodies.

"By destroying the [Mazinger Nobu Tokens], you will take 2000 points of damage." The Millennium Eye laughed maniacally, "In your current state, can you endure such a terrifying blow?"

"Damn!" Holmes realized the danger and glanced at Hoshino's remaining life points.

Hoshino Chiyuki LP 2100 → 100

"AAAAAAH!!" The already extremely weakened Hoshino suffered another potentially fatal blow, akin to the one inflicted by the [Toon Summoned Skull].

"MISS Hoshino!"

"She won't wake up again~" The Millennium Eye, well-acquainted with Shadow Games, knew the limits of human endurance to mental damage, "Hoshino Chiyuki, this Shadow Game is my victory."

"Hoshino!" "Chiyuki!" The friends in the audience, shouting desperately, also realized the grave threat this blow posed to the weakened Hoshino.

"Damn it, we were so close, how did it end up like this!" Jonouchi, nearly moved to tears, shouted in frustration.

"Damn, damn you, Pegasus! You despicable Millennium Eye!" Honda, equally frustrated, pounded the hard railing in front of him, his knuckles bleeding from the force.

"Chiyuki…" Mai, unable to bear the sight of the stage, turned her gaze to the unconscious Anzu. At this moment, Mai could no longer bring herself to tell Hoshino to hold on.

"Hoshino…"

"Anzu, Anzu, you're awake?" No one expected Anzu, who had been unconscious, to regain consciousness at such a moment.

"Did Hoshino win?" Anzu's weakly opened eyes asked the question she had been worrying about even in her dreams.

"...." Silence, no one answered.

"What's wrong with you all?" Still lying in Mai's arms, Anzu smiled faintly upon seeing the silent expressions, "Hoshino will win, right? That's Hoshino, who even defeated Yugi."

"Yes, Hoshino will win." Yugi, squatting down, tightly held Anzu's cold hand, "Hoshino bears all our wills; she won't lose easily!"

"Yes, if even we don't believe in Hoshino, who else will?" Following Yugi's actions, Jonouchi and Honda also tightly held Anzu's hand, "Although we don't have the Symbol of Friendship, the power of our friendship will surely reach Hoshino."

The Symbol of Friendship was a symbol that Anzu had drawn on everyone's hands with a marker during Yugi's duel against Kaiba. When the four of them put their hands together, it formed a smiley face-like face. Though the marker's marks had long faded, the symbol of friendship was deeply engraved in their hearts.

"Please, Symbol of Friendship, convey our thoughts to Hoshino!"

….

"Mr. Holmes…" Hoshino, who had been hanging her head, spoke weakly.

"MISS Hoshino, Hoshino! How do you feel?" Holmes, who had been extremely worried from the beginning, called out in surprise upon seeing Hoshino finally regain consciousness.

"I feel… my chest is so hot…"

"Your chest? Hot?" Realizing something, Holmes looked up, then smiled in relief, "I see."

----------Earlier

"What is this feeling?" Hoshino, now at the stage, felt her heart swell with warmth.

"Miss Hoshino, that's the power of friendship," Holmes smiled, looking at her supportive friends.

"For real?" Hoshino asked skeptical

"For real." Holmes smiled answering her.

"Power of friendship?" Hoshino smiled, looking at her right hand about to draw a card. "I used to think 'friendship' was fake and cheesy, but this feeling, this warmth in my chest, makes me stronger!"

(***)

"So, this is the so-called power of friendship!" Awakened by the surge of warmth, Hoshino looked up with determination. Her once hollow eyes were now filled with a burning fighting spirit.

"Impossible! To wake up after suffering such damage, what a strong soul! How can a human have such a vast soul?" The Millennium Eye, showing fear, looked in disbelief at the revived Hoshino, "Such a dazzling soul…"

"Millennium Eye, this is the power you, lost in darkness, can never surpass! The power of friendship!" Hoshino, gradually regaining her composure, raised her right hand, which shone with a golden light, "It's my turn now, isn't it!"

"Hoshino-chan!" Da Vinci, equally thrilled by Hoshino's revival, shouted excitedly, "Destiny Draw, has activated!"

"Impossible, impossible that there's still a chance to turn this around." The Millennium Eye, terrified, instinctively retreated, shaking his head in denial, "Not to mention you can't defeat [Relinquished]. Even if you could destroy it, you'd have to bear the damage due to its effect. You're like a candle in the wind…"

Realizing he had misspoken, the Millennium Eye quickly covered his mouth.

"Millennium Eye, you just said it…" Smiling at the flustered Millennium Eye, Hoshino reached for her final deck with her golden-glowing right hand, "You just said it! Like a candle in the wind!"

"This is hope! This is the power to reverse fate, Destiny Draw!"

"This is the Destiny Draw that will change fate!" The radiant draw stood in stark contrast to the dark draw from the previous round with the Millennium Eye. Unlike the despair brought by the Black Illusion Ritual, this trace of light, defying fate, was sure to bring hope for victory.

"Did Hoshino feel the power of our friendship?" Watching Hoshino's regained spirit and the Millennium Bracelet glowing gold on her right wrist, Yugi couldn't help but recall the similar golden glow that pierced the darkness of despair during Bakura's shadow game yesterday.

"But in this situation, is there a way to win?" Though happy about Hoshino's recovery, based on his understanding of the duel, Jounouchi felt the situation was almost hopeless.

"I remember Hoshino has a Spartacus card. If she summons it directly and crashes into Pegasus, triggering Spartacus's destruction effect, then with Pegasus's remaining 400 life points..." This was the only way Jounouchi could think of, but doing so would undoubtedly lead to Hoshino's defeat first.

"Heh, heh, even if we rack our brains here, it won't do any good, Jounouchi," said Yugi, arms crossed and smiling, looking relaxed. "We just have to watch quietly and see how Hoshino creates a miracle..."

"That's right... just as she protected all our soul cards and perfectly defeated the Millennium Wheel yesterday." Yugi thought to himself, full of confidence in Hoshino. "This time, she won't lose to the Millennium Eye either!"

"She's just bluffing..." Quickly regaining his composure, the Millennium Eye was no longer in a panic. "I don't care what friendship power brought you back, if you can't win this shadow game, you're still on a path to destruction!"

"I will win, Millennium Eye!" Without even looking at the card she drew, Hoshino seemed to know exactly what it was. "I believe in the cards that have fought alongside me until now, and I also believe in the perfect functionality designed by the genius Da Vinci."

"Millennium Eye! If there's any card in my deck that can send you to hell, it has to be this one!" Surprisingly, Hoshino didn't even look at her card, placing all the remaining cards on the table. "This is the will of humanity, the will of heroes, the will that transcends mystery! The power of the Guardian Spirits!"

"Summon [Heroic Spirit - Spartacus]!"

[Heroic Spirit - Spartacus ★★★ (Level 3) Earth] [Warrior/Effect][ATK1500/DEF1500]

"To destroy with love, to create with love, to pave the way for the future with love!"

"Even if you summon such a small fry monster at this point, it won't do any good." The Millennium Eye, with a twisted and contorted expression, yelled at the roaring Spartacus on the battlefield.

"And now, activate the final Spell Card, the Ritual Spell [Call of the Guardian Spirits - Death]!" This card, which Hoshino hadn't even looked at, was the crystallization of the Destiny Draw, and the only card Hoshino believed could send the Millennium Eye to hell.

[Call of the Guardian Spirits – Death Ritual Spell: Necessary to summon [Heroic Spirit] Ritual Monster. From your hand and field, release monsters whose total levels equal or exceed the level of the Ritual Monster to be summoned, and summon 1 [Heroic Spirit] Ritual Monster from your hand or Deck.]

"She can tell what card she drew without looking!" Honda shouted, amazed by Hoshino's confident actions. "So Hoshino is going to use a Ritual Monster to face Pegasus's Ritual Fiend?"

"It's not about facing Pegasus, it's about destroying the Millennium Eye!" Correcting Honda, Hoshino waved her hand, deciding on the monsters for the ritual tribute.

"I sacrifice the 3 [Mazinger Nobu Tokens] on my field for the ritual!" The mysterious light of hope quickly enveloped the only three remaining tokens on Hoshino's field. "Total ritual level..."

"Twelve stars!"

"!!" The group was utterly shocked. The one-star ritual monster Pegasus had just summoned was already strange enough. But here, Hoshino was raising the level straight to the maximum.

"A twelve-star ritual monster! Does Hoshino's deck still have such a powerful card?" Although they hadn't seen its true form yet, Yugi was certain that a monster with a level as high as twelve stars wouldn't be weak.

"Yes, I knew you were always there..." As if answering Yugi's question or speaking to someone beside her, Hoshino closed her eyes and quietly felt.

A faint bell rang in the dark space.

"Why is there a bell ringing?" Anzu, still unable to get up and relying on sound to judge the situation, was the first to react. "This bell... it sounds so peaceful, like..."

"Like a requiem~"

"What is this sound!" The Millennium Eye, hearing a completely different tone from Anzu, held his head, struggling against the long, funeral-like sound.

"— Hast thou heard this bell's toll? It marketh the end of thy destiny."

"Who's talking, who's there?!" The Millennium Eye, already somewhat mentally unstable, asked in fear.

"It's the one who will sever your millennium-long fate, Millennium Eye!" Hoshino, pleased with the card now in her hand, finally grasped victory with slightly trembling hands.

"Ritual Summon Monster!" Placing the final card on the table, the entire space seemed to fall into the silence of a deep valley. "[Heroic Spirit – Grand Assassin Old Man of the Mountain]!"

There were no special effects or sounds, not even the operation of the holographic projection device could be felt. In the silence, an old man, cloaked in a linen robe and face obscured, stood on Hoshino's field.

[Heroic Spirit – Grand Assassin Old Man of the Mountain ★★★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 12) Dark] [Fairy/Ritual/Effect ATK:0 DEF:0]

"A twelve-star ritual monster, but it has 0 attack power!" Watching the peaceful old man who seemed to blend into the surrounding darkness, Jounouchi found it hard to believe.

In contrast, the increasingly frantic Millennium Eye, like staring into the abyss, looked at the old man before him, "You want to sever my millennium-long fate?! Do you dare to make a move? If you even scratch my [Relinquished], that girl with only 100 life points will never leave here alive!"

"No death, no life; only by death doth life endure. The fate thou dost speak of is not just, but wicked. This vessel of calamity, begotten of human iniquity. The darkness that doth seek return is the root that doth cast thee aside..."

"What are you saying?!" The Millennium Eye, now shaking uncontrollably, could only watch as the cloaked old man slowly approached him, revealing a large sword hidden under the cloak.

Just as naturally as swinging his own body, the old man gently swung the huge sword with one hand. In an instant, the entire dark space shattered and crumbled.

"The title of Grand is unneeded; the proof of mightiest strength doth lie solely in this single stroke….Azrael [Angel That Foretells Death]!"

(*****)

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