Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"The woman he fancies? I think you're mistaken. I'm not a Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Hoshino, baffled by Noah's inexplicable words, scratched her head in confusion.

Hoshino silently retorted in her mind: Honestly, you'd be better off summoning a Blue-Eyes White Dragon to get Kaiba's attention. I'd bet anything that if you had a Blue-Eyes flying around in front of him, he'd have a heart attack on the spot.

Clearly, Noah didn't understand Kaiba as well as Hoshino did. If their positions were reversed, Kaiba would have been obliterated by Noah's plans in no time.

"For the sake of your friends, will you accept this proposal, Hoshino Chiyuki?"

Unnoticed, Noah had already equipped his Duel Disk and once again posed the question.

"Of course, refusing it is completely within reason. I can simply assume you trust your friends not to lose, or… that you value your own interests over so-called friendship."

Noah's words sounded smooth, but anyone could see through them: there was no way Honda could win.

"Friendship or self-interest, huh?" Hoshino muttered to herself.

"Hoshino-san..."

"Hoshino…"

Anzu and Shizuka both wanted Honda to avoid having his body taken over by that strange old man. However, they also knew they had no right to ask Hoshino to put herself on the line to save Honda.

"You two shouldn't look so conflicted." With a sigh, Hoshino replied, "Honda's my friend too. Of course, I'm not going to abandon him."

"Hoshino!" Shizuka's expression brightened immediately upon hearing Hoshino's answer.

However, Anzu's worry didn't lessen. Her furrowed brows remained. "Hoshino, is this really okay?"

Noah was clearly the final boss of this game, wielding absolute authority in this virtual world. Even for someone like Hoshino, defeating him seemed nearly impossible.

"Yes, I know, Anzu…" Sensing Anzu's concern, Hoshino turned to face the young boy who seemed barely older than ten. From what Noah had shown so far, it was evident that he wielded immense power in this virtual world.

"But even so, that's no reason to sit back and watch a friend's body get taken by some middle-aged man." With her resolve steeled, Hoshino swiftly activated her Duel Disk. At the same time, the unstable visual field manipulated by Noah stabilized into something clear.

This time, the group found themselves whisked away from the opulent castle to a vast, barren wasteland. The yellow earth stretched endlessly, with sparse patches of stubborn greenery dotting the landscape.

"This vast area should be more than enough for our duel," Noah said, spreading his arms as if savoring the artificial air and sunlight.

Scanning the surroundings, Hoshino remarked, "Going so far as to change the battlefield, huh? What a VIP treatment."

"Of course," Noah replied earnestly. "You managed to fight Seto to a draw. I wouldn't dare underestimate you. But precisely because you could only manage a draw, there's no way you can defeat me!"

"A draw? With Kaiba…" Hoshino tilted her head, thinking back. "You mean that time he insisted it was a tie? If that's how you're gauging my abilities, you might end up regretting it, kid."

"K-kid?!" For the first time, Noah's composed expression faltered, his face showing a rare hint of frustration. "Don't call me kid! My growth has only been halted because of this virtual world!"

"Well, if you can't grow, then you're just a kid to me!" Though Noah tried to appear mature, his flustered reactions were unexpectedly amusing, prompting Hoshino to tease him further.

"Enough nonsense! Declare your Deck Master already!" Noah, having realized Hoshino was merely toying with him, quickly regained his composure.

"Alright, alright~" Drawing her cards, Hoshino let out a confident laugh. "My Deck Master, of course, is my adorable eggplant, [Heroic Spirit – Mash Kyrielight]!"

The materialized Mash blinked in surprise. "E-eh?! Senpai, you're really choosing me as your Deck Master?"

Hoshino blinked back, confused. "Didn't you say you wanted to be the Deck Master?"

"But…" Mash lowered her head and nervously tapped her fingers together. "I thought the second duel would be against someone as weak-looking as the last opponent. Who knew you'd jump straight to the final boss!"

"Uh… fair point." Mash wasn't wrong. Even Hoshino hadn't expected the plot to jump from 1 to 100 in an instant.

"Wouldn't choosing Lily, whose abilities you're familiar with, or the always-reliable King of Heroes be a better choice?" Mash suggested timidly, though a trace of unspoken anticipation flickered in her eyes.

But Hoshino saw right through her and shook her head resolutely. "No, I want Mash as my Deck Master!"

"Really, Senpai?!" The hope in Mash's eyes grew brighter.

"Of course! When have I ever lied to you, Mash?" Hoshino wasn't making this choice lightly.

Though Saber Lily had powerful offensive capabilities as a Deck Master, her abilities were better suited for weaker opponents like the Big Five. As for Gilgamesh, a Ritual Monster, he couldn't even be summoned through normal means, making him unsuitable as a Deck Master.

"I trust Mash the most to have my back!" Hoshino added.

Besides, since losing the Deck Master meant losing the duel, choosing the defense-oriented Mash was the wisest option against an unknown opponent like Noah.

"Have you made your choice? Then it's my turn." With Hoshino's Deck Master standing by her side, Noah calmly drew a card.

"This is my Deck Master, the Ritual Spell Card [Shinato's Ark]!"

"Eh? You can use a Ritual Spell Card as a Deck Master?!" Noah's unexpected choice left Hoshino utterly dumbfounded. Typically, one would think of a Monster Card as the go-to Deck Master, but there was no rule against using other types of cards.

"Isn't this unfair? How am I supposed to beat a Spell Card?"

Shrugging, Noah replied, "Unfair? This is simply sound strategy. Besides, most people don't summon their Deck Master into play anyway. Its abilities are usable whether it's summoned or not."

"Uh… that's… true…" Scratching her head, Hoshino realized Noah had pointed out a major oversight on her part. After all, summoning a Deck Master right away was practically begging for defeat.

"Then let's begin this world-shaping duel!"

"World-shaping duel?" Hoshino repeated, raising an eyebrow.

[Hoshino Chiyuki VS Noah Kaiba]

[Duel Start!]

With the sounding of the duel horn, the yellow wasteland ground began to quake violently.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Caught off guard by the sudden tremors, Hoshino nearly lost her footing.

"Senpai, are you alright?" Mash, noticing Hoshino swaying along with the ground, called out in concern.

"Haha, I'll take the first turn. Draw!"

Completely unfazed by the earthquake, Noah calmly drew his first card.

"That's cheating!" Hoshino shouted angrily. "Using something like this to steal the first turn!"

With such a move at the start, Hoshino could already foresee how tough this duel was going to be.

"Don't be so impatient, Hoshino—no, actually, I prefer calling you Chiyuki."

Standing firmly on the trembling ground, Noah seemed to be in a fantastic mood. "Snow is so pure and untainted, much like the Earth when it was first born."

"The Earth when it was first born? What are you talking about... Whoa! What's happening now?!"

By steadying herself and focusing on the environment, Hoshino finally realized it was just virtual imagery, nothing real. With that in mind, she managed to stay as composed as Noah.

But the trembling grew worse. The yellow wasteland began to crumble beneath Hoshino's feet, wide and dense cracks exposing flowing red magma. The dusty, barren wasteland disappeared entirely, replaced by a shattered landscape dyed crimson by molten lava.

"Anzu! Shizuka!" Hoshino quickly turned to check on her companions and saw that they were safely standing on unbroken ground. "Phew. It's just virtual imagery. What was I even worried about?"

"Even if it's just virtual imagery, this world is everything to me! This duel begins on an Earth reborn from its primordial chaos!"

Having prepared the scene, Noah officially began his turn.

"I summon [Giant Soldier of Stone] in defense mode and set one card face down. Turn end!"

Smoothly placing his two cards on the Duel Disk, a massive stone statue materialized on one of the few patches of land not swallowed by lava.

[Giant Soldier of Stone ★★★ (Level 3)][EARTH][Rock][ATK 1300/DEF 2000]

[Noah's Hand cards: 4 | Set cards: 1]

"Wow, all that yapping yet your opening move is surprisingly straightforward and practical, kid~." Drawing a card, Hoshino, unfazed by the flowing lava at her feet, couldn't resist teasing him.

Unmoved, Noah seemed immune to Hoshino's banter.

"Tch, no fun!" Realizing Noah wasn't taking the bait, Hoshino got serious. "I summon [Heroic Spirit – Kiyohime] in attack mode!"

[Heroic Spirit – Kiyohime ★★★ (Level 3)][FIRE][Dragon/Effect][ATK 800/DEF 500]

Similar to the Giant Soldier of Stone, Kiyohime materialized on one of the intact patches of ground. Even though she was capable of swimming in magma, this wasn't the time to showcase such skills.

"Ohhh~ Such a burning environment! It's almost as passionate as my love for my Master!"

"As fiery as magma? Please, that's just dangerous." While tossing a card from her hand to the graveyard, Hoshino quipped back.

"I activate Kiyohime's special effect, discarding [Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc] from my hand."

[Effect: Discard 1 [Heroic Spirit] monster from your hand. This card's ATK and DEF increase by half of the discarded monster's ATK and DEF until the end of the turn. This effect can be activated during your opponent's turn as well.]

"Thanks to this effect, Kiyohime's ATK increases by half of Jeanne's ATK—1250 points!"

[Kiyohime ATK 800 → 2050]

"Go, Kiyohime! Transform into a dragon and attack!"

"Ahhh, Master's presence makes my body hotter than even magma~!" Blushing furiously, Kiyohime clutched her chest.

A fiery blue dragon emerged, its heat visibly more intense than the red magma.

"Tenshin Kashō Zanmai!"

The dragon roared and engulfed the Giant Soldier of Stone in its blue flames. Under the intense heat, the soldier slowly melted, its remains sinking into the magma.

[Giant Soldier of Stone] destroyed

Seeing his monster disintegrate, Noah remarked, "To think you'd destroy my 2000 DEF Giant Soldier so easily in the first turn. Truly impressive, Chiyuki."

"If you're trying to negotiate, kid, you should've done that before the duel started, not during it." With the battle phase over, Hoshino set one card face down and lowered her Duel Disk.

"Once the duel starts, I don't hold back—not even for a kid. Turn end!"

[Hoshino's Hand cards: 3 | Set cards: 1]

"My turn! Draw! I summon [Chiron the Mage] in attack mode!" Ignoring Hoshino's teasing, Noah began his turn by summoning a new monster.

[Chiron the Mage ★★★★ (Level 4)][EARTH][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 1800/DEF 1000]

The centaur wielding a ruby-tipped staff stepped onto the molten terrain.

Hoshino chuckled, "Haha, my Chiron is way cooler. I win on aesthetics!"

"I activate Chiron the Mage's special effect!" Noah's Chiron aimed his glowing staff at Hoshino's face-down card.

[Effect: Once per turn: You can discard 1 Spell, then target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; destroy that target.]

A brilliant beam shot out, shattering Hoshino's face-down card after Noah discarded a Spell card.

"Now your monster is left defenseless. Attack, Chiron the Mage!"

Chiron raised his staff, hurling three powerful magic blasts toward Kiyohime.

"Master! It's dangerous!" Kiyohime cried out. "Quick, discard Okita to boost me again!"

"Sorry, Okita didn't make it to this duel…" Hoshino muttered.

"But it's fine! I activate my deck master's special ability: [Heroic Spirit – Mash Kyrielight]!"

Standing tall behind Hoshino, Mash finally received her orders.

"Thanks to the deck master ability, Mash can use her effects without being summoned to the field!" Hoshino pointed dramatically. "Go, Mash! Show them your strength!"

"Yes, Senpai!" Mash raised her shield, a gentle radiance spreading across the battlefield.

[Effect: Once per turn, during either player's turn: Target 1 monster you control. Until the end of this turn, that monster cannot be destroyed by battle.]

"Obscurant Wall of Chalk!"

A divine shield of light surrounded Kiyohime, neutralizing Chiron's three magic blasts.

(*****)

If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!