Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"—Attend ye well! The bell doth toll, and thy name it nameth! Lo, the end is come, as was foreordained by Destiny!!"

A deep, resonant bell rang across all of Egypt.

Raising the massive greatsword—capable of cleaving mountains and rivers—with Exodia's spinning flames coiled around its blade, King Hassan's towering figure radiated a power beyond mortal comprehension. Even from a thousand miles away, one could feel the scorching heat of that moment.

Of course, wielding such overwhelming might came at a steep cost. The Duel Disk on Hoshino's arm, which tracked her remaining soul energy, was draining like a broken dam. Every second maintaining Dynamax King Hassan consumed a terrifying amount of power.

"You can do it, Aibou!"

"Go for it, Hoshino!"

Hoshino Alter and Mana cheered with all their might, serving as good-luck charms in their own way. It almost felt like the louder they shouted, the stronger Hoshino's attack would become.

"This is the final blow! Prepare to die, Zorc!"

Without hesitation, Hoshino poured every last drop of her remaining soul energy into one decisive strike, betting everything on this final attack as the end drew near.

Feathers began to fall—pure white like snow, blanketing the sky and earth, each one heralding annihilation.

"Impossible! I am the God of the Underworld! An immortal, indestructible being! How could a mere human possibly harm me?!"

"No, Zorc… You're afraid, aren't you? If you weren't, you wouldn't have taken that step back."

"Afraid? Me?!"

Having regenerated his body torn apart by Exodia, Zorc looked down and realized something terrifying: without even noticing, driven purely by instinct, he had stepped back several paces.

The fear of death is instinctual to all living things. Even Tiamat, Mother Earth herself, when granted the concept of death, had shown raw, undeniable fear. And now, Zorc—facing a mortal blow—was no exception.

"Wait… where did King Hassan go?" Mana asked in surprise.

That towering figure had suddenly vanished without a trace, disappearing from the eyes of tens of thousands, as if King Hassan himself had dissolved into the deathly white feathers drifting through the sky.

"Were there no Death, Life would not be. Only through the Grave may a soul truly thrive!"

"Gramps… he's gone stealth!"

Presence Concealment: A. Unless he deliberately leaked his bloodlust, not a single trace of his existence could be detected.

His steps moved like one accustomed to walking the boundary between life and death. When everyone realized what had happened, King Hassan—sword raised—was already standing before the frozen-in-terror Zorc, who now fully grasped the certainty of his own impending demise.

"Repose thyself, foul wyrm of night, thou bane sprung forth from human sin. By the power invested in this Grand Servant, I bind the faith of all folk to this very blade—this solitary cleaving shall render the absolute verdict!"

Swinging down the sword engulfed in demonic flame, he unleashed a finishing blow worthy of the title Grand, embodying a lifetime of discipline and mastery over death.

No pain despite fear.

No agony despite dread.

No regret despite remorse.

"—Azrael!!"

The massive blade cleaved straight through Zorc's colossal form. The Exodia flames burned wildly along its edge, turning the slash into a devastating combo strike. In an instant, the dignity of the so-called God of the Underworld was obliterated.

"Impossible! I can't regenerate?! I'm immortal—how could this be…?!"

Zorc's body, cleaved and set ablaze by divine fire, could no longer rely on its supposed invincibility. The searing flames of destruction prevented any regeneration.

"We did it, Hoshino, Grandpa Simon!" Mana cried, thrilled that Zorc's cheap resurrection trick had been crushed.

"It's not over yet, Simon—got some fight left in you?"

"Of course, Hoshino! I'm not out of the game yet!"

"Alright! Then let's send the God of the Underworld straight back to hell!"

Dumping the last of her soul energy into one final burst, Hoshino launched another attack.

Following the first strike, King Hassan hoisted his blazing sword high and brought it crashing down again, unleashing an explosion on par with a nuclear blast. Zorc's severed body was engulfed in flames, along with Diabound and the battlefield hordes of spirit beasts—erased in one fell swoop.

"—Combo Attack: Demonic Flame Slash!!"

At that moment, the fire and light of the blade illuminated Egypt of 3,000 years past. It embodied humanity's indomitable will, transforming it into a shining beacon of hope and driving it straight into Zorc's darkness.

"AAAAHHHHH! I—I, the great Zorc, defeated… by humans?! UNTHINKABLE!!"

With a final, agonizing scream, Zorc was struck head-on by the ultimate move. Not only his body, but even his soul energy was completely annihilated.

"D… did we do it?"

Hoshino Alter whispered cautiously, afraid that speaking too soon would jinx everything with a premature victory flag.

"No need to be so careful," Hoshino replied with a weak smile. "After a hit like that, even Zorc's not getting back up. Though… maybe help me up…"

Having driven King Hassan to perform two titanic attacks back-to-back, Hoshino collapsed backward into Hoshino Alter's arms, her strength completely spent.

Simon, watching enviously, side-eyed Mana's ample chest before dramatically collapsing forward as well.

"Mana, catch this old man too~"

"No way, Grandpa Simon! You smell like old-man sweat!"

Mana dodged nimbly, letting Simon crash to the cold floor. But perhaps Simon's heart felt even colder than the tiles.

"Still, we owe you a lot, Grandpa Simon. Without Exodia's help, we wouldn't have beaten Zorc this easily."

On the battlefield, Zorc's form continued to burn, but no trace of dark energy remained. What was left was merely a lifeless husk.

"You really did it, Hoshino," Yugi said gratefully. "You saved us again."

With Dark Magician the Dragon Knight sweeping away the remnants, Yugi continued:

"You've saved this nation. As Pharaoh, I must offer you my highest respect, Hoshino!"

Seeing the Pharaoh kneel before the girl who had saved them all, the other priests also knelt, offering their sincere respect.

Hoshino scratched her head awkwardly. "Don't be so formal, Yugi… I don't even know how to respond. Anyway, since Zorc's defeated, shouldn't this be over by now?"

According to Dark Bakura, only the victor of this Ultimate Shadow Game could return to the real world. That's why Zorc had believed he'd revive in reality after winning.

But now that he'd been destroyed—nothing happened. No victory signal, no return. The sky remained gray and oppressive, as though the end of the world still loomed.

"Maybe we haven't met all the victory conditions?" Kaiba suggested. "Like… maybe we need to dispose of the body."

Though Zorc's corpse no longer radiated dark energy, the charred black carcass looked disturbingly out of place. With every passing moment, it grew increasingly unsettling.

"You might be right, Kaiba. The more I look at it, the creepier it gets. Partner, can I ask you to handle it?"

Shivering slightly, Hoshino pulled herself away from Hoshino Alter's soft embrace and stood with effort.

"Leave it to me, Aibou. You rest—I got this."

Hoshino Alter nodded solemnly. Having skipped the fight against Zorc thanks to Exodia, she still had plenty of soul energy left.

"Just a corpse? Let's purify it with the Lion King's! Go, Artoria!"

Channeling her magic into Lion King Artoria, the holy spear's radiance condensed into a deadly strike aimed at Zorc's burning remains.

"—Rhongomyniad!!"

Not bothering to conserve energy, Hoshino Alter unleashed Lion King's Noble Phantasm directly at the body. The shining spear—a pillar of light that upheld the surface of the world—held power equal to the Sword of Promised Victory.

It should have easily obliterated Zorc's remains.

However—just before the spear struck—the sky split open, and a massive serpent wreathed in starlight descended, swallowing Zorc whole in a single gulp.

"T-The Great Leviathan?!"

Seeing the terrifying being etched deep in their memories, Hoshino, Yugi, and Kaiba gasped in unison.

This was the original form of the God of Orichalcos—so vast it could devour stars. After Dartz's defeat, it had swallowed him—and Hoshino's group—transporting them to Atlantis 10,000 years in the past for a final showdown.

But this time was different. Unlike the Orichalcos God they'd faced before, this was the primeval form of the Star-Devouring Serpent, and this was Hoshino's first time seeing it up close.

Its crystalline body shimmered with cosmic dust, its gaping maw vast enough to consume Zorc with ease. Even the holy spear Rhongomyniad—an attack on par with Excalibur, the Sword of the Planet—failed to so much as scratch it.

Even without releasing the Thirteen Restraints, The Great Leviathan effortlessly blocked the strike from the Holy Lance. The difference in power between the two was as vast as the chasm between heaven and earth.

Yugi's pupils shrank in shock.

"Th-The Great Leviathan… swallowed Zorc?! What the hell is going on?!"

"This is bad… feels like we've been completely outplayed…"

Forcing herself to keep thinking despite the situation, Hoshino gradually pieced things together.

"The spirits of Atlantis, the Orichalcos monsters… and The Great Leviathan's ultimate goal—was to obtain the power of the other Beast: the Dark Evil God, Zorc."

The moment Zorc appeared, the Orichalcos forces halted their advance. From that point on, they had been plotting how to devour Zorc—who, like them, wielded the power of darkness.

Afterward, Orichalcos even pretended to be crushed and defeated by Zorc, playing dead—just to bide time until Hoshino and Zorc exhausted each other, so they could swoop in like a mantis stalking a cicada, only to be seized by the oriole.

Hoshino Alter swallowed nervously.

"Orichalcos was already terrifying enough… and now it's swallowed Zorc? That's a double-Beast class threat! How the hell do we fight that?"

"Watch out—it's attacking!"

Kaiba's voice rang sharp as the serpent, having consumed Zorc, gathered destructive light within its maw—power strong enough to annihilate an entire nation in a single blast.

"You're asking how we fight this? Honestly, I've got no idea either."

In utter despair, Hoshino realized that with her remaining energy, she couldn't even form a proper defense.

Worse yet, the enemy left no room for hesitation. From the moment it appeared and devoured Zorc to now preparing to attack the royal capital—it had taken mere seconds. Most hadn't even processed what had just happened.

Just as Hoshino was about to succumb to despair, a large, firm hand gently pressed down on her head, ruffling her snowy bangs.

"Don't give up so easily, Master. Don't forget—you're the one who led Heroic Spirits to save human history!"

A bold voice filled her ears. After giving Hoshino's head a final pat, the King of Conquerors climbed up onto his chariot.

"I don't know how much I can do against a monster like that—but let me buy you time to recover and think."

"Rider! Take me with you! I'm not letting you go alone this time!"

Following Iskandar's lead, Waver jumped onto the chariot beside him.

"Got guts, kid! Then this time, we'll face the enemy together—to win Master her hope!"

Crackling with thunder and lightning, Iskandar's chariot roared as it charged toward The Great Leviathan, which was readying its attack.

"—The expedition is not over! As long as ambition burns in our hearts—let the cry of victory ring out! Ionioi Hetairoi!!"

The Reality Marble unfolded. Just as the serpent unleashed its destructive beam, it was swallowed into the domain of the King's Army.

But before such overwhelming power, even the King's Army couldn't inflict harm upon The Great Leviathan. The reason for Iskandar's action was clear: to sacrifice himself in order to buy Hoshino precious time.

"It… it's gone?" Mana gasped, eyes wide, as the colossal serpent, which seemed to stretch beyond the horizon, suddenly vanished from the battlefield.

Thanks to the lingering connection of the Command Seals, Hoshino Alter could feel Iskandar's energy depleting rapidly. Even his Reality Marble couldn't contain the serpent for long.

"If the King of Conquerors was willing to sacrifice himself to buy us time, then we can't just sit around, aibou!"

Clenching her fists so hard that her nails bit into her palms, Hoshino muttered,

"I know… We've come so far—I'm not ready to let it end like this…"

But how could they possibly defeat a fused Orichalcos-empowered Great Leviathan that was twice as strong as Zorc, especially with her energy nearly depleted?

"ROOOOOAAARRR—!"

Lost in doubt, Hoshino didn't know how much time had passed—maybe a few minutes, maybe mere seconds. But what was certain was that when the serpent's roar rang out again, the world was plunged back into despair.

"Looks like Master hasn't found a solution yet. Then I guess it's time for my Reality Marble!"

Nobunaga leapt from the city wall, red cloak flaring behind her like the King of Conquerors before her, charging straight at the enormous serpent.

"Even you, Nobu… But even if you buy me time—I still have no idea how to win…"

"No, Master! It's not that we believe we can win—we just refuse to give up. Even knowing our limits, we Heroic Spirits understand that…"

Okita drew her blade, her eyes filled with unwavering trust as she looked at Hoshino.

"That's why Iskandar and Nobunaga, even if it costs them their lives, are buying time—because deep down, we believe you, Master, are the one with potential!"

"Okita, you…"

"I'll leave the rest to you, Master! For now, I've got to back up that reckless Nobu!"

With those final words, Okita's slender form followed Nobunaga off the wall, rushing toward the serpent.

"When the gods of the Three Realms turn to ash, when the heavens collapse and the four seas churn—! Great serpent! This is the Sixth Heaven Demon King's ultimate divine barrier! You won't escape so easily! Activate—Demon King of the Sixth Heaven!!"

Just as The Great Leviathan returned from Iskandar's Reality Marble and regained its stance, it was instantly shifted again—this time into a vast, scorching hellscape.

"Dammit, stop sacrificing yourselves in such cool, dramatic ways! You idiots! You're putting so much pressure on me! And even if you do buy time, I still—"

"No, we made it in time, Hoshino-chan! Thanks to the time Iskandar and Nobunaga bought us."

"That voice—?!" Hoshino's eyes widened, a glimmer of hope sparking in her gaze.

It was a voice that was always dependable, one that made you feel safe the moment you heard it. No matter the crisis, if he was around, you'd believe a solution could be found. That unmistakable voice of someone known as a universal genius—

"Da Vinci-chan! It feels like I haven't heard your voice in ages!"

The gentle voice coming from the Millennium Bracelet was the sweetest sound in the world.

"I'd love to catch up too, Hoshino, but time is short. I'll quickly explain why the Orichalcos appeared in this Ultimate Shadow Game—and how we might be able to get out of this."

"You mean—you know why the Orichalcos barged in?"

"Listen closely. Whether it's the spirits of Atlantis or The Great Leviathan of Orichalcos, they only have one target—you, Hoshino-chan."