Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Did… did she win?" Jonouchi asked, looking a bit confused. "Wasn't the duel supposed to still be going?"

According to the effect of Ramesseum Tentyris, Ra's effects were negated, and it was subsequently destroyed. At that moment, Ra's attack power dropped to zero, so Odion didn't suffer damage equivalent to Ra's original 7300 attack points.

"Jonouchi…" Mai tugged on his sleeve, gesturing in Odion's direction.

"Thud—!" With a heavy sound, Odion collapsed, his towering body now unconscious, crumpling like a puppet with its strings cut. The moment he launched the attack with the replica Winged Dragon of Ra, he endured divine punishment severe enough to tear his body apart. Holding on for an extra minute was a testament to extraordinary willpower.

In a duel, losing consciousness and being unable to continue means an automatic loss according to the rules.

But even if Odion hadn't collapsed, without the Winged Dragon as a shield, Hoshino's next direct attack would have drained his Life Points completely.

Yugi looked at Odion with a hint of respect. "Even though he's from the Rare Hunters, he's still a duelist with real resolve."

In contrast, Kaiba regarded Odion with disdain. "It's just trauma caused by the Duel Disk's powerful effects. Divine wrath? That's nonsense."

"Anyway, it means that Hoshino won, right?" Shizuka exclaimed, clenching her fists in excitement. Watching her first-ever duel, such a grand spectacle had her slender frame trembling with excitement.

"Yeah, Hoshino won…" Jonouchi, looking over at Hoshino on the duel field, suddenly froze, as if someone had hit the pause button on him.

"Whoosh—!" The flames around her vanished with the duel's end, and Hoshino finally let out a long breath. Her white shirt, soaked with sweat from the intense heat, clung to her skin, revealing a hint of her soft, pink complexion underneath.

Hoshino, oblivious to this, simply closed her eyes, relishing the cool night breeze after finally escaping that fiery hell. It was as refreshing as stepping into an air-conditioned room from a scorching 40-degree summer day.

"Th-this…" Yugi stammered, blushing.

Mai sighed and, seeing the flustered boys staring unblinkingly, yelled, "Come on, can't you look away?"

The reliable big-sister figure, Mai climbed up to the platform without hesitation, taking off her denim jacket and draping it over Hoshino. "Chiyuki, if you stay in the wind after sweating so much, you'll catch a cold."

"Thank you, Mai~" Hoshino, having enjoyed a moment of coolness, now felt a slight chill and instinctively wrapped Mai's jacket tighter around herself.

Kaiba walked onto the platform as well. "According to the Battle City rules, the victor can take one card from the defeated opponent." He then briskly removed the deck from the unconscious Odion's Duel Disk.

"There must be a card you need to take," he said, handing the deck to Hoshino, his gaze deliberately avoiding her translucent shirt.

"Yes, there is!" Without hesitation, Hoshino took the deck from Kaiba, retrieving the card Ramesseum. With that, along with Ramesseum Tentyris and the blank card she had drawn last night…

The blank card now bore the image of the proud Ozymandias.

"Welcome back~" Now in possession of all three powerful Ozymandias cards, Hoshino couldn't help but smile mischievously.

After Kaiba handed over the deck, he gestured to his employees. "Take the unconscious player to the infirmary in the ship's cabin."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba!"

Odion's tall frame was so heavy that even Kaiba Corp's burly bodyguards needed two people to carry him.

Watching Odion being carried away, Kaiba sighed. "Finally, it's over. For the first duel to cause such a commotion… this is just tiresome!"

But the true storm of Battle City was only just beginning.

"No, don't take Odion away!" Marik screamed, clutching his head, "Aaaahhh!"

Jonouchi looked over with a smirk. "What, you that upset about your lackey losing?"

Seeing Marik's nearly deranged state, Shizuka took a frightened step back, hiding behind Jonouchi. "Nii-san, this guy seems really dangerous."

Akasha, never having seen Marik in such a state before, also huddled behind Shizuka.

"What's going on?" Honda asked, standing next to Jonouchi to shield Shizuka.

"Marik's dark personality is coming out!" a mature female voice called from the entrance, drawing everyone's attention away from the struggling Marik.

"Ishizu! Why are you here?" Yugi asked in surprise, seeing the elegantly dressed Egyptian woman.

Kaiba turned to his staff and demanded, "Why is this woman on the ship?"

"S-sir, this…" The burly bodyguard stammered, instantly cowering under Kaiba's sharp glare.

Ishizu stepped forward, answering for him. "I'm here because I am the eighth participant in the Battle City finals."

"So, the one who boarded the ship at the last minute was you." Hoshino, who had previously met Ishizu, had a good impression of this beautiful, exotic woman.

"Hoshino," Ishizu replied, her gaze shifting to Hoshino, whose clothes were soaked through. "You managed to gather all the God cards except for Ra. Truthfully, you've already surpassed the future foreseen by my Millennium Necklace. But precisely because of that, the future this Battle City tournament was meant to follow is now beyond control."

Uneasily, Yugi glanced at the unstable Marik. "So what is this 'dark personality' you're talking about?"

"With Odion unconscious, there is no one left to suppress the spirit within the Millennium Rod!" Ishizu explained, looking at Marik with intense seriousness.

Marik stopped screaming and slowly lowered his hands from his head, his entire demeanor shifting. "At last, I'm free… long time no see, sister."

"A spirit within the Millennium Rod, huh? Isn't that similar to the one in the Millennium Ring?" Remembering the twisted expressions of Dark Bakura and comparing them to Marik's equally unsettling expression now, Hoshino seemed to realize something.

Marik grinned wickedly at her, saying, "Hoshino Chiyuki, I really have to thank you for taking care of Odion for me."

Jonouchi shouted, "Taking care of Odion? Aren't you two supposed to be on the same side?"

"HAHAHAHA!" Marik only responded with a maniacal grin.

Ishizu's expression grew worried as she looked at Marik, now fully under the control of his dark persona. "Odion's loyalty has always been a restraint on Marik's other personality," she explained.

Hoshino tilted her head, saying, "So that's the relationship between Odion and Marik? I thought they were just close allies."

"In his youth, Marik broke a clan rule, and Odion willingly took the punishment in his place, nearly losing his life. That incident triggered the awakening of Marik's other persona. Only Odion, who awakened it, could keep it in check."

"So… did I cause trouble by accident?" Hoshino muttered awkwardly, glancing at Ishizu. After all, Odion had lost consciousness because of their duel.

"Hahahaha, silly sister! Did you really think he could keep me suppressed forever?" Marik sneered.

"It was only a matter of time before I gained control of this body. But without his influence, it's really freeing," he added.

Ishizu reassured Hoshino, "As he says, there's no need for guilt, Hoshino. According to the future shown by the Millennium Necklace, Marik's dark personality would have awakened regardless."

Kaiba abruptly interrupted, "Whether it's split personalities or mental illness, the tournament must go on! All participants, return to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon random selector to determine the next duelists!"

"Yeah, Chiyuki, don't stand around in the cold wind like that," Mai said, concerned. "Wearing those soaked clothes, you'll catch a cold easily. You've made it to the semifinals, so don't let something like this affect your condition."

Mokuba added, "Hoshino, there's a bathroom and laundry machine in the participants' rooms. You should change and rest a bit. Since you've won the quarterfinals, you won't have to duel again until tomorrow, after we reach the next destination."

"No, I want to watch the remaining duels," Hoshino replied, shaking her head. She didn't want to rest while her friends were still battling. Besides, watching more duels could help her gather information.

"Heh heh, but you can't just stand around in those clothes," Ishizu said with a smile. "Come to my room. I have spare clothes for you. You should wash your clothes as soon as possible."

Mai, who initially planned to bring Hoshino to her own room, was a bit peeved by Ishizu stepping in first. "Don't you need to go for the random selection? You might be next."

"No, you're up next," Ishizu replied, offering a polite smile. "With the Millennium Necklace, I can glimpse the immediate future. I'll be dueling last."

"Who believes in that fortune-telling nonsense!" Mai scoffed.

Just then, the announcement rang out: "Sky Duel Arena, second round – Mai Valentine vs. Yugi Muto!"

Jonouchi's jaw dropped. "Whoa, she was right!"

"Well, I guess there's no helping it…" Mai, narrowing her eyes, gave up on the idea of taking Hoshino to her room and resigned herself to the upcoming duel.

"Good luck, Mai! I'll be back soon," Hoshino said, waving as she followed Ishizu quickly, eager to get out of her wet clothes.

"Don't lose too quickly!" Hoshino teased.

"I won't!" Mai shot back, though the thought of facing Yugi did make her a bit nervous.

"Let's both give it our all, Mai," Yami Yugi said as he stepped confidently into the arena elevator.

…

In Ishizu's Room—

"Hoshino, I left a change of clothes outside," Ishizu called.

As expected of a mature, lady-like figure, Ishizu was gentle and reliable in every way.

"Thank you!"

Under the warm shower, Hoshino enjoyed the sensation of the water washing away the sweat from her skin, relieving her tired body.

"Heh heh, even though it was just a replica card, you managed to defeat the Winged Dragon of Ra with ease," came a familiar, mischievous voice as the evil god of chaos seized the opportunity to pop up.

"Please! That version of the Winged Dragon barely had half your power," Hoshino said while lathering shampoo in her hair. "Inheriting the attack and defense of three tribute monsters is probably Ra's most trivial effect."

"Oh?" The evil god looked surprised. "So even you humans can understand the power of the gods?"

"No, it's just intuition."

"How amusing. Tell me, what else does your intuition say?"

"My intuition says a sneaky evil god watching me bathe is going to suffer dearly."

"Eep!"

…

"It suits you well, Hoshino~" Ishizu said, admiring the girl dressed in her spare clothes.

"Haha, really?" Hoshino laughed sheepishly, scratching her head. This exotic style was new to her, though it was probably ordinary attire in Ishizu's homeland, Egypt.

"Thanks for lending me your clothes. Let's hurry back and watch Mai's duel against Yugi!"

Ishizu shook her head. "No need. I've already seen the outcome of that duel – Yugi will be the victor."

"I see." Although she knew Mai had little chance of winning against Yugi, Hoshino still felt a bit disappointed hearing the confirmation. "Even if I know the result, I still want to cheer for her…"

"Don't waste time on such meaningless things~"

Removing her veil, Ishizu revealed her long, sleek black hair. "Since it's just the two of us, let's do something more worthwhile."

"Something… more worthwhile?" Hoshino swallowed, recalling Ishizu's assertive demeanor when she'd led her back to the room. She began to feel a bit expectant.

"Hoshino Chiyuki, duel with me."

"Ishizu, you destroyed my hopes and dreams."

(*****)

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