Chapter 54

"Jonouchi won?!" The spectators, except for Yugi and Hoshino, were all shocked that Jonouchi managed to achieve such a comeback on his own.

"Hand over your star chips!" Jonouchi unceremoniously took all the star chips from Kozuka's pile on the table and added them one by one to his own Duelist glove.

"I have collected them! I actually acquired all ten star chips, so no one can say I was a newbie!" Jonouchi was almost in tears as he slipped the final star chip into his glove, "Shizuka, big brother did it! Big brother finally made it!"

"Well done, Jonouchi!" Yugi, who had switched souls with the Yami Yugi again, sincerely congratulated Jonouchi, "Jonouchi, you really worked hard. I didn't expect you to be the first among us three to collect all 10 star chips."

"Not bad, Jonouchi." Hoshino, with her hands behind her back and a mischievous smile, reluctantly praised Jonouchi.

"Big brother, I lost? What do I do now? I've lost all my star chips!" Bonz, who had lost all of his chips, hysterically whined to Bandit Keith, who was sitting on a rock.

"Who cares about you? You even let this situation be overturned." Keith sneered at Kozuka, perceiving him as worthless after losing all of his star chips.

"How can you say that? I was following your orders!" Kozuka became enraged by Keith's attitude and seized Keith's garments.

However, the physical contrast was too extreme. Kozuka, who was only half Keith's height, was punched to the ground, "Losers should get out of Duelist Kingdom!"

"That's too much! Who are you to treat your own companion like this!" Jonouchi shouted at Keith, unable to take it.

"Companion? Don't make me laugh. I'm not companions with trash like him; it's just a relationship of mutual use." Keith shrugged dismissively with a smug smirk, "If you must know who I am, I'm Bandit Keith!"

"Bandit Keith?!" Yugi's expression became serious as he heard the name. "The bounty hunter who once challenged Pegasus and created a legend of undefeated dueling monster cards before being defeated by Pegasus, Bandit Keith!"

"Is he really such a formidable figure?" Jonouchi broke out in cold sweat after hearing Yugi's answer. "I dueled against someone commanded by such a guy? That was dangerous."

"It's a pity, Kozuka's luck was just too bad. I had already arranged a flawless strategy for him." Though Keith's statements appeared to sympathize with Kozuka, his true objective was to exploit rookies like Kozuka to eliminate more competition. If he could lead these rookies into Pegasus' palace, he would certainly win.

"This guy is awful, hiding behind others to duel while avoiding any risk himself." When Hoshino realized Keith's actual intents, she clinched her teeth and swore.

"Girl, you're quite cute, though your mouth is crude, splattering my name like that." Keith's eyes lit up when he spotted the star chips on Hoshino's duelist glove.

Keith inquired with a sneaky smirk, "Girl, what's your name?"

"Hoshino Chiyuki." Despite Keith's presence, Hoshino exhibited no fear because she was surrounded by her friends, giving her no reason to back down.

"Oh, Hoshino Chiyuki, huh?, I challenge you to a duel!" Keith lifted his right hand, while wearing the duelist glove, and pointed at Hoshino.

"Big brother, you're dueling yourself?" Keith's last two followers were apprehensive about Kozuka's defeat. However, learning that Keith was going to duel personally relieved their anxiety.

"Yes, let me show you my true dueling skills." Keith estimated that an unknown duelist like Hoshino had no chance of defeating him, America's unbeaten champion. Not even Yugi could. Nonetheless, he was a cautious individual, as seen by his proclivity to make alliances despite his single fighting abilities.

His life ethic was to avoid danger, and confronting Yugi was not the greatest option just now. So, this female with 7-star chips was the ideal victim. Defeating her would not only allow him to earn 10 star chips, but it would also restore his image in the eyes of his followers, tricking them into confronting Yugi and getting more vital information.

"Hoshino..." The unexpected challenge from such a powerful opponent had everyone concerned about Hoshino. Despite having observed Hoshino's prowess, the opponent was clearly not an easy prey.

"Don't worry about me," Hoshino soothed her worried companions with a grin, then turned to Keith with a serious expression. "Alright, I accept your challenge!"

"Hahaha, excellent, at this moment, you have great courage." Keith laughed as he jumped onto the just vacated duel stage.

Hoshino also entered the stage, removing 3 star chips from her glove, "The bet is 3 star chips, okay? More would be a disadvantage for me."

"Perfect; I only need three star chips." Keith removed his star chips and placed them on the table.

"Duel accepted, Duelist Hoshino Chiyuki VS Duelist Keith Howard." The loud electronic announcement of the stage sounded, likely due to the secluded location, as no official black-clad duel referees were around.

As the duel was about to begin, Holmes' familiar gentle voice once again echoed in Hoshino's ear, "Hoshino, be careful. Judging by this man's actions, he's not an honorable person. He might use some underhanded tactics in this duel."

"Don't worry, Mr. Holmes." Hoshino's confidence surprised Holmes, "I figured it out already; this man is definitely a scoundrel."

"Hehe, sorry for worrying too much, Hoshino." Realizing his over-cautiousness, Holmes laughed, "After all..."

"After all, it's common sense, my friend," they said in unison.

"Chiyuki Hoshino vs. Keith Howard, duel start!"

"Chiyuki Hoshino goes first."

"I go first, huh? Alright." Glancing at her hand, Hoshino decided on a conservative opening, "I summon the monster card [Leonidas I] in defense mode! And I set one card face-down, ending my turn."

[Heroic Spirit - Leonidas I★★★ (3 stars) Earth][Warrior][ATK: 1400 DEF: 1900]

"It's been a while since I could stretch my muscles, feels great!" The familiar Spartan appeared on Hoshino's battlefield again, "Master, have you been slacking on your muscle training? Your muscles seem a bit softer recently."

"I don't have muscles, you muscle-head!" Hoshino muttered quietly. Ever since Yugi and the others learned she could talk to spirits, she felt a bit embarrassed chatting with her heroic spirits openly.

"Leonidas I, the protagonist of the famous movie 300 Spartans!" Honda, realizing the nature of Hoshino's deck, paid more attention to the names of the monsters, "The King of Sparta, a hero who fought against the Persian army with just 300 men!"

"A hero deck, huh? Interesting." Keith's expression showed more interest after hearing Honda's words, "But that won't make me go easy on you. My turn, draw!"

"I summon in attack mode, Mine Spider!" Slamming the monster card on the table, Keith pulled out a duel coin from his pocket.

[Mine Spider★★★★ (4 stars) Earth][Insect/Effect][ATK :2200 DEF: 100]

"A 4-star monster with 2200 attack points?!" Jonouchi asked Yugi in surprise, looking at the Mine Spider.

"Such high attack points usually come with downside." Yugi, unfazed, understood the nature of [Mine Spider].

[Effect: When this card declares an attack, toss a coin and call it. If you call it right, continue the attack. If you call it wrong, your life points are halved before attacking.]

"So that's it!" Realizing the situation, Jonouchi hit his palm, "So if Keith guesses wrong this turn, he'll have to pay 2000 LP to attack. Who can rely on such a luck-based card?"

"Then I'll call heads!" Keith casually tossed the coin onto the table, his dark sunglasses hiding his cunning eyes.

Result: Heads!

"Hahaha, looks like it's my lucky day!" With a favorable outcome, Keith laughed and pointed at Leonidas I on Hoshino's field, "Attack, Mine Spider! Mine Spray!"

"Boom~!" Several mines shot from the spider's mouth exploded on Leonidas, destroying his 1900 defense points instantly.

"How about that? Whether in strength or luck, Bandit Keith is first-class." Keith loudly mocked Hoshino as Leonidas was destroyed, "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" With the 2200 attack points Mine Spider on the field, Hoshino wiped off some cold sweat, "I thought Leonidas' defense would last a turn as a tribute for a higher-level monster, but Keith is a strong opponent."

"Master, let him experience the beauty of France~"

"Haha, good idea." Agreeing to the request, Hoshino drew a card, "I summon in attack mode [Heroic Spirit - Marie Antoinette]."

[Heroic Spirit - Marie Antoinette★★★★ (4 stars) Light][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK:1000 DEF: 1400]

"Vive la France! And Whassup!" Marie cheerfully appeared on the field.

"Not just heroes, but even legendary queens, huh?" Jonouchi admired the lively and cute Marie on the field, "Marie, she's really adorable, hehe."

"Summoning such a cute monster, planning to feed it to my Mine Spider?" Keith mocked, "Duel Monster cards aren't about summoning cute cards to win!"

"So?" Hoshino calmly retorted, "Do you think Marie's cuteness means she has no combat power? Duel Monsters isn't just about attack points!"

"I activate [Heroic Spirit - Marie Antoinette]'s special ability!"

[Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can target 1 face-up monster on the field; change it to Defense Position.]

"Your Mine Spider might have 2200 attack points, but its defense is only a pathetic 100!" Pointing at Mine Spider, Hoshino declared her attack, "Marie, tear apart that ugly spider!"

"Master! You can't use such vulgar words~" Unexpectedly, Marie refused Hoshino's attack declaration, "You must use love, to touch it with love."

"Little spider, please leave the field nicely." Gently stroking the trembling Mine Spider in Defense Position, Marie radiated kindness.

"Vive la France!!!!" Feeling Marie's gentle touch, Mine Spider shouted and jumped into the graveyard on its own.

"..." The whole field was silent.

"Is this even possible?" Hoshino, her mouth twitching, looked at the unbelievable scene before her and rubbed her forehead, "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Oh... my turn." Slightly embarrassed by his Mine Spider jumping into the graveyard, Keith's momentum was a bit diminished, "I activate the Spell Card [Shallow Grave]!"

[Shallow Grave Spell Card Effect: Each player selects 1 monster from their graveyard and Special Summons it in face-down Defense Position.]

"I choose [Mine Spider] from my graveyard for Special Summon!" Keith placed Mine Spider from the graveyard back on the field.

"Then I'll choose [Leonidas I]." Hoshino's graveyard had only this monster to summon.

"Humph, and then I activate the Spell Card [Soul Exchange]!" Keith smirked as he placed the Spell Card on the table.

"Master, what's happening?" Marie asked, confused by the white light surrounding her.

"Just take a little rest, Marie." Hoshino gently explained with a bitter smile.

"Okay, then Marie will take her leave, master." Marie gave a cheering gesture to Hoshino and left the battlefield.

[Soul Exchange Spell Card Effect: This turn, you can Tribute 1 opponent's monster as if it were your own, but you cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn.]

"I use my Mine Spider and your Marie as Tributes to summon my monster." The Mine Spider, feeling fulfilled, disappeared along with Marie in a white light.

"[Revolver Dragon]!"

[Revolver Dragon★★★★★★★ (7 stars) Dark][Machine/Effect][ATK: 2600 DEF : 2000]

[Effect: Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; toss a coin 3 times, and if at least 2 results are heads, destroy that target.]