Chapter 136

"Let me show you the power of the evil god that surpasses even the gods—the power of fear!"

As Devlin slammed the card heavily onto the table, an ominous aura erupted from it, as if anguished roars from the depths of hell had been unleashed, sending shivers down everyone's spine.

"I sacrifice my three monsters on the field to perform a tribute summon of the evil god!"

"[The Wicked Dreadroot]!!"

After sacrificing three fiend monsters, a massive figure shrouded in pale white bones, as though awakened from the depths of hell, materialized on the duel stage.

"What… kind of monster is that?!" Hoshino gasped as she stared at the evil god on the field. The dark, oppressive aura surrounding the monster made it hard to breathe. Its massive arms resembled those of the Egyptian God, Obelisk, but this creature felt even more suffocating.

"Heh, even the Duel King is stunned, huh? This is the strongest card Pegasus created to suppress the gods—an evil god!" Devlin's madness grew more apparent after summoning the evil god.

"Pegasus, to suppress the gods?" Yugi repeated in disbelief after hearing Devlin's explanation. "Could it be that this evil god is stronger than the Egyptian Gods?"

"Whether it's stronger than the gods or not, witness it with your own eyes!" Devlin, brimming with confidence, pointed directly at Jonouchi.

"You're finished, Jonouchi! Attack the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Fear Crush!"

The two massive arms of the evil god grabbed the body of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and crushed it. The agonizing cries of the shattered black dragon echoed throughout the space.

[Jonouchi Katsuya LP 2600 → 0]

"The duel is over. The winner: Duke Devlin."

"He... he defeated Jonouchi in an instant. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon was like a toy in front of that monster." Honda's face was filled with shock as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

Jonouchi, standing on the platform, was equally dumbfounded.

"I lost… I had such a huge advantage just a moment ago..." Jonouchi, stunned, stared at the fading shadow of the evil god on the field.

"In front of that monster, there was no way to fight back. All I could feel was deep fear."

"Hahaha, fear! That's right, Jonouchi!" Devlin, who had overheard Jonouchi's muttering, laughed maniacally as he stepped off the stage.

"No, I can't call you Jonouchi anymore. I should call you my loyal dog."

"What is going on here, Jonouchi?!" Though the appearance of the evil god was shocking, Hoshino was more concerned about why Jonouchi had even dueled in the first place.

"I'm sorry, Hoshino... I lost..." Jonouchi, visibly dejected, slowly walked off the stage.

"Who gave you permission to speak, dog? You should only bark!" Devlin, who was some distance away, tossed a dice-like object with precision, hitting Jonouchi squarely on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Jonouchi instinctively winced in pain as the sharp edge of the dice struck him.

"What's your problem, using violence like that?!" Honda, unable to stand it any longer, furiously grabbed Devlin by the collar.

"Security!" Devlin, completely unfazed, snapped his fingers, and two men in security uniforms immediately restrained Honda.

"Why are you stopping me? He hit my friend first!" Honda protested, struggling against the security guards.

"Why? You're hilarious! Because this is my store!" Devlin's smug smile widened as he watched Honda's futile efforts.

"This toy store… is owned by Devlin?" Yugi was shocked upon learning the truth.

"So? Doesn't it far surpass your family's shabby toy shop?" Devlin spread his arms wide, proudly showcasing the store.

"I don't care how good the store is. The real issue here is Jonouchi..." Hoshino tried to bring the conversation back to what mattered.

"Oh? That loser?" Devlin interrupted her mid-sentence, casting a disdainful glance at Jonouchi. "He lost a bet with me, and now he has to be my dog for a week, doing whatever I say."

"What? Jonouchi, why would you make such a bet?" Hoshino asked, exasperated.

"All I did was say that your title of Duel King was undeserved, and he got mad, wanting to defend your honor. He's such a simple-minded guy."

"For something so trivial… wait, no." Hoshino suddenly realized something wasn't right.

"What gives you the right to say my title is undeserved?" She turned her frustration from Jonouchi to Devlin.

"Why? Because you used dirty tricks to defeat Mr. Pegasus. Pegasus, the Duel Father who could read minds, is a genius among geniuses. If you hadn't used dirty tricks, there's no way you could've won."

"I didn't use—" Hoshino tried to protest but suddenly recalled something. "Tricks..."

"Nobu?"

She had indeed used a somewhat trick to block Pegasus's Millennium Eye from reading her mind.

"Hmph, have you admitted it now?" Devlin sneered as if this reaction was exactly what he expected.

"You don't understand the situation at all! Pegasus's mind-reading technique was far more underhanded!" Hoshino retorted.

"Anyway, Jonouchi will be my dog for the next week. Say goodbye to your dear friend!" Devlin turned to leave, waving dismissively for Jonouchi to follow. "Let's go, loser. Time to return to your kennel."

"Duke Devlin!" Feeling responsible for Jonouchi's predicament, Hoshino called out to him.

After all, Jonouchi had stood up for her, and now things had turned out like this. She couldn't help but feel partly to blame.

"Let Jonouchi go..."

"Hahaha, let him go just because you asked? What a joke!" Devlin tilted his head at a dramatic 45-degree angle, putting on a mocking expression.

"Then name your terms. As long as they're reasonable, I'll accept."

"Hoshino..." Jonouchi and the others looked even more worried after hearing her offer.

"Hoshino, you don't have to do this for me. It's my fault for losing. A week will go by quickly."

Though he appreciated Hoshino standing up for him, Jonouchi didn't want her to suffer because of him.

"Oh? Terms, huh? Then let's duel for your title of Duel King!" Devlin's ultimate goal had always been to lure Hoshino into a duel. His earlier exit was merely a ruse, and now that Hoshino had offered, there was no way he would pass up this opportunity.

"If you win, I'll let Jonouchi go. But if you lose, you'll announce to the world that you cheated to defeat Pegasus and that you don't deserve the title of Duel King!"

"Duke Devlin, you're going too far!" Yami, having taken over Yugi's body, glared fiercely at Devlin.

"Jonouchi is my dear friend too. Let me be the one to duel you."

"Oh? Yugi Mutou, huh? I'm a bit intrigued, but you're not my target." Devlin glanced at Yami with mild interest before turning his attention back to Hoshino. "So, what do you say? Can you accept these terms?"

"No, the stakes don't match. You'll need to add something more," Hoshino responded, sensing her Millennium bracelet vibrating intensely as if Leonardo da Vinci was trying to send her a message.

"I want you to wager that evil god card as well!"

"Bet the Evil God card?!" The group was shocked, never expecting Hoshino to propose such a condition out of the blue.

"How about it? I'll wager my Duel King title against the Evil God card, along with the week-long rights to Jonouchi. Seems fair, right?" Hoshino repeated the terms, confident that Devlin would accept.

"I'm… just a side bet?" Jonouchi awkwardly pointed at himself, suddenly feeling far less important.

"Hahaha, this is interesting. To use the Evil God card, you need to sacrifice your soul. Are you truly prepared for that?" Devlin, amused by Hoshino's sudden proposal, responded with a grin.

"So, does that mean you accept?" Hoshino pressed.

"Interesting. I accept. But let me tell you, with the power of the Evil God in my hands, there's no way I can lose!" Devlin, who had just stepped down from the platform, returned to the stage once more.

"Hoshino, are you sure about this? Wagering your Duel King title…" Concerned that Hoshino was acting impulsively, Yugi quietly voiced his worries after Devlin left.

"Don't worry, Yugi. I wasn't even afraid of Kaiba's Obelisk. This is just an Evil God—no big deal."

"Hoshino, don't underestimate the Evil God. When I faced it, I could feel the overwhelming sense of fear taking hold," Jonouchi warned, recalling his own experience. "You have to be careful. I'm certain this card's power is no less than Obelisk's."

"I got it!" Hoshino confidently replied to Jonouchi as she drew her deck and stepped onto the stage.

"Come, Hoshino Chiyuki, and feel the terror from the depths of hell."

"Cut the nonsense. Be it gods or evil gods, I'll crush them all!" Hoshino shot back confidently.

"Let the duel begin!"

"It's my turn. Draw!" After learning from her duel with Kaiba, Hoshino was much more aware of the importance of seizing the first move. Her fingers were already poised on her deck before the duel had even started.

"I summon [Heroic Spirit - Boudica] in Defense Position!"

[Heroic Spirit - Boudica ★★★★ (4 stars)][Earth][Warrior/Effect][ATK900/DEF1200]

"Master, leave this to me!" The manifested Boudica held her shield high. "Goddess Andraste, grant me strength!"

"Another Heroic Spirit? How many Heroic Spirits does Hoshino have in her deck, anyway?" Honda muttered to himself. Every time Hoshino pulled out another Heroic Spirit, it felt like a new piece of the puzzle, and the group was left wondering just how many of these legendary figures Hoshino had collected.

"If each of these cards represents a manifestation of a legendary Heroic Spirit, then Hoshino's deck must be as endless as the stars," Yugi commented with a smile.

"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn," Hoshino declared calmly.

It was a standard opening, and it was clear that Hoshino was in a better position than during her duel with Kaiba, as she at least had a low-level monster on the field.

Hoshino remaining hand card: 4

"My turn. Draw!" Devlin glanced at Hoshino's field and then at his hand. His eyes gleamed as he quickly formulated a plan.

"A monster in Defense Position—she's trying to bait me into attacking, probably with a trap card. In that case…" Devlin threw a card onto the table with a flourish.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Mystical Space Typhoon] from my hand!"

[Mystical Space Typhoon (Quick-Play Spell): Target 1 Spell or Trap card on the field; destroy that target.]

"Thanks to Mystical Space Typhoon, your set card will be destroyed!" Devlin said with a grin. The blue whirlwind from the spell shredded Hoshino's back row, wiping out her set card.

Hoshino's Trap Card [Nagging Storekeeper] was destroyed.

"Tch," Hoshino clicked her tongue in frustration as she watched her trap get obliterated.

"Just as I thought, you planned to lure me into attacking with a trap. You're a greedy one, Hoshino," Devlin said confidently. He drew another card from his hand and slapped it onto the table. "I summon [Terrorking Archfiend] in Attack Position!"

[Terrorking Archfiend ★★★★ (4 stars)][Dark][Fiend/Effect][ATK2000/DEF1500]

A fiend, heavily armored and wielding a blood-stained blade, appeared on Devlin's side of the field. Its presence was as ominous as it was powerful.

"This monster again?" Hoshino narrowed her eyes. This was the same monster Jonouchi had faced earlier, one with a high attack for a Level 4 monster.

"A 4-star monster with such high stats—there's got to be some kind of drawback," Yugi analyzed, frowning.

"Yeah, there's a price. This monster comes with a cost," Jonouchi chimed in. "Every turn during Devlin's Standby Phase, he has to pay Life Points to keep the monster on the field."

[During each of your Standby Phases, you must pay 800 Life Points.]

"A monster that devours its own master—truly terrifying," Yugi remarked, still trying to understand Devlin's strategy.

"It doesn't matter, Yugi," Jonouchi warned, shaking his head. "The real problem is if he gets that card…"

Before Jonouchi could finish, Devlin revealed his next move.

"I activate the Field Spell [Pandemonium] from my hand!" Devlin declared, placing a card into his Field Zone.

Four massive statues depicting demons rose around the battlefield, casting long shadows over the duel arena.

[Pandemonium (Field Spell): Fiend-type monsters with [Archfiend] in their name do not need to pay Life Points during the Standby Phase.]

"Hahaha, how convenient!" Devlin laughed. "Now I can freely use the power of devils without having to sacrifice my life force!"

Without the Life Point cost, Devlin was free to unleash the full power of his fiendish army without any drawback.

"Go, Terrorking Archfiend! Attack Heroic Spirit - Boudica!"

"Soul Shatter Strike!"

A malicious grin spread across Devlin's face as his Archfiend raised its blood-stained blade, ready to cut down Hoshino's Heroic Spirit. The blade descended its dark energy aimed directly at Boudica.

"Sigh," Hoshino let out an exasperated breath, clearly unimpressed by Devlin's flashy move. "Just because you destroyed my Trap card doesn't mean I'll let you hit me for free."

At the moment of impact, Hoshino signaled to her Heroic Spirit. "Boudica! Block that attack!"

With a fierce look, Boudica raised her shield and deflected the blow. "Chariot of Boudica!"

At the moment the fiend's blade clashed with her shield, a glowing wheel from Boudica's chariot spun around her, easily parrying the powerful strike.

[As long as this card is in Defense Position, its DEF is increased by 1000.]

[Heroic Spirit - Boudica][DEF 1200 → 2200]

"Devlin, you may think you're clever, but it doesn't change the fact that you're weak!" Hoshino taunted, unfazed by the attack.

(*****)

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