Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"It's over, Hoshino. Victory ultimately belongs to me! Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, unleash your direct attack to claim victory!"

[Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon ATK 6000]

Shining with a radiance surpassing even the gods, Kaiba's Neo Blue-Eyes gathered a blinding, terrifying energy and launched it straight at the defenseless Hoshino.

"—Destructive Burst!"

The devastating attack bombarded Hoshino's field, its overwhelming light engulfing her slender frame.

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4000 → 0]

[Duel Over. Winner: Seto Kaiba!]

"Amazing! The President has secured his fifth consecutive victory!"

Despite their stunned expressions, the staff at the control panel wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity to flatter Kaiba.

"In just one morning, the President has completely surpassed the Duel King. At this rate, even if we go for another five rounds, he will still claim total victory!"

At that moment, Kaiba was at peak arrogance.

"This is the true power I strive for—PERFECTION! SUPREME! INVINCIBLE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

(***)

"Huh? You want me to test your new deck?"

Hearing Hoshino's proposal, Jonouchi pointed at himself, confused.

"Yeah, I think you're the perfect choice. It has to be you, Jonouchi—no one else will do!"

Feeling the sincerity in Hoshino's words, Jonouchi's face suddenly flushed, and he scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

"I see... So that's how it is. I didn't realize I held such an important place in your heart, Hoshino! Alright, let the dashing Jonouchi help you test your deck!"

Indeed, no one else was suitable. If she tested an unfinished deck against Yugi, it would be like walking into a nightmare. Bakura's dueling skills were a mystery, and the other duelists weren't even worth mentioning.

All things considered, Hoshino's words—"It has to be you, Jonouchi."—were entirely reasonable. As for how Jonouchi himself interpreted it… well, that was his problem.

"No time to waste! Let's begin!"

Inserting her prototype Magical Girl deck into her Duel Disk, Hoshino prepared for the duel.

"Oh? We're using Duel Disks? Now I'm really fired up!"

For Jonouchi, who didn't even mind dueling with just cards, the chance to duel using full-fledged holograms against Hoshino was too good to pass up.

[Hoshino Chiyuki VS Jonouchi Katsuya]

"Duel!!"

Jonouchi was the first to draw.

"I'll take the first move! Time to show you the results of my month-long training!"

Instead of summoning a monster right away, Jonouchi activated a Continuous Spell.

"—I activate the Continuous Spell, [Dangerous Machine Type-6]! It won't take effect immediately, but starting from my next Standby Phase, it'll activate based on a dice roll!"

Hoshino sighed.

"Opening with a luck card, huh? Don't tell me you spent an entire month just practicing your dice rolls?"

"Of course not! I've got more tricks up my sleeve!"

After playing his Spell, Jonouchi finally summoned a monster.

"I Normal Summon [Red-Eyes Baby Dragon] in Defense Position!"

Placing his card on the Duel Disk, a small, pitch-black dragon materialized before him. Its deep crimson eyes shone brightly.

[Red-Eyes Baby Dragon ☆☆☆ (Level 3)][DARK][Dragon/Effect][ATK 1200/DEF 700]

"I'll also set one card face-down and end my turn!"

[Jonouchi's: 3 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]

"My turn, draw!"

Hoshino glanced at her hand and immediately realized a serious problem.

"I didn't draw Illya, huh? Just as I expected."

Her deck revolved around Illya as the core, but if she only had one copy of Illya, the chances of drawing her were too low. Unlike Kaiba, Hoshino wasn't the type to shamelessly stack her deck, so the only way to mitigate this fatal flaw was…

"I activate the Spell Card—[First Premonition]!"

[First Premonition – Spell Card Effect: Discard one card to activate. Banish one Spell Card from your deck. During your next Standby Phase, the banished card is added to your hand.]

"Using its effect, I discard Marie Antoinette from my hand and banish Phantasmal Summon Install from my Deck. During my next turn's Standby Phase, that card will be added to my hand."

To compensate for inconsistencies, she had no choice but to run plenty of search cards—whether they were meant to fetch Monsters or Spells, anything that could enhance the Magical Girl deck's consistency was crucial.

"Now, I activate the effect of Marie Antoinette from my Graveyard! I can add 1 'Heroic Spirit' monster from my Deck to my hand—come forth, Illyasviel!"

By using Marie's effect, Hoshino finally secured Illya in her hand, allowing her to begin her full offensive strategy.

"Now, I Normal Summon [Magical Girl – Illyasviel] in Attack Position!"

[Magical Girl – Illyasviel ☆☆☆☆ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]

[This card is also treated as a 'Heroic Spirit']

Unlike the magical girl attire Illya usually wore, her physical manifestation as a Duel Monster took the form of a cute elementary school outfit—though she still held the gentlemanly Ruby Magic Wand in her hands.

Illya scratched her cheek with a sheepish smile.

"Ehehe, this is my first time materializing as a Duel Monster. I'm a little nervous~"

Ruby: "There's nothing to be nervous about! Just fight the way you normally do—seductively!"

"I don't fight seductively!"

"Now, I activate the effect of Illyasviel! When this card is successfully Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 'Phantasmal Summon Install' card from my Deck to my hand!"

Ruby's wand gleamed brightly, guiding Hoshino's hand as she retrieved her search card and immediately proceeded with her battle phase.

But as Illya attacked, a massive black dragon suddenly loomed over her.

She froze instantly.

"Oh no… I think I messed up… QAQ"

Jonouchi, whose monster had just been destroyed, grinned triumphantly with an exaggerated expression.

"Heh heh, you fell for it, Hoshino! That Red-Eyes Baby Dragon was meant to be destroyed on purpose—bet you didn't see that coming!"

Seeing Jonouchi's cocky attitude, Hoshino gave a helpless smile.

"No, I saw through it right away. Honestly, it was way too obvious—it'd be strange if I didn't notice."

"Ah… is that so…?"

Jonouchi's confidence wavered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Even if you saw it coming, Red-Eyes Baby Dragon's effect still activates!"

[When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 7 or lower "Red-Eyes" monster from your Deck.]

"I Special Summon in Attack Position from my Deck—[Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

A massive black dragon soared into the sky and let out a thunderous roar. Drawn by the desperate cry of its fallen offspring, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon locked its piercing crimson eyes onto Illya.

Illya trembled in fear.

"I'm doomed… I think I really messed up… The dragon's mom is here for revenge! QAQ"

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][DARK][Dragon][ATK 2400/DEF 2000]

Hoshino observed the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and commented.

"Hmm… this one does look a bit meaner than usual. Could it actually be mad?"

Jonouchi retrieved his destroyed Red-Eyes Baby Dragon and placed it into his Spell & Trap Zone.

"Heh heh, when Red-Eyes Baby Dragon's effect is used to summon a monster, it equips itself to that monster as an Equip Card, boosting its ATK by 300!"

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon ATK 2400 → 2700]

"ROOOOAAR—!"

Hoshino smirked.

"Not bad, Jonouchi. At the very least, you've got the theatrics down."

"Of course! As one of the top duelists in Battle City, I've been constantly challenged by duelists from all over this past month! After going through all those battles, I have been reborn!"

Without ending the Battle Phase, Hoshino immediately placed a newly searched card into the Duel Disk.

"And yet, just a little praise and you're already getting cocky. Looks like your evolution isn't complete yet! I activate the Quick-Play Spell—[Phantasmal Summon Install]!"

The card Hoshino had searched using Illya's effect was a Quick-Play Fusion Summon exclusive to "Heroic Spirits." But its true potential lay in fusing Magical Girls.

"It allows me to Fusion Summon a 'Magical Girl' Fusion Monster by banishing just one of its listed materials from my field!"

Receiving the card's effect, Illya quickly retrieved a Class Card from the deck box strapped to her thigh.

"Using Phantasmal Summon Install, I banish Magical Girl – Illyasviel from my field to Fusion Summon a monster that requires Illya as material!"

She drew a Class Card labeled Berserker. The card briefly passed over Ruby's wand before a radiant white light engulfed Illya's small body.

"——Magical Girl – Heracles Illyasviel!!"

With her first use of Phantasmal Summon, Illya's entire style underwent a drastic shift. Gone was the soft and cute magical girl—her petite frame was now draped in a wild fur cloak, and she wielded a massive stone axe that was even larger than her body with just one hand.

[Magical Girl – Heracles Illyasviel – ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][EARTH][Warrior/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2800/ DEF 1000]

Watching Illya's transformation sequence, Anzu initially looked on with admiration—until her expression turned incredibly complicated.

"H-Huh? So this is what magical girl transformations look like…?"

Somehow, it felt quite different from the magical girls she had idolized in her childhood.

Hoshino continued.

"Now I activate the effect of the banished Illya! When this card is used as Fusion Material and banished, I can Special Summon it back to the field!"

[Magical Girl – Illyasviel ATK 1000]

As Illya reappeared on the field, she glanced at her new Berserker form standing beside her and muttered.

"Master, using this form for my very first transformation… I have mixed feelings about this."

Her Berserker self, however, confidently swung her massive stone axe.

"A battle must be fought with full force! We're still in the Battle Phase, so I can still attack, right?" Berserker Illyasviel asked.

"Of course! Why else do you think I activated a Quick-Play Spell during the Battle Phase?"

Pointing toward the enraged Red-Eyes Black Dragon on Jonouchi's field, Hoshino issued the attack command.

"Attack, Illya!!"

"OOOHHH!!"

Overcome with Berserker's furious strength, Illya let out a battle cry, lifting the stone axe and leaping high into the air. She swung down fiercely at the dragon's head.

"A family should stay together! You're going to the graveyard too!"

The sheer brute force of the attack shook the ground. The axe, with enough power to split mountains, shattered Jonouchi's powered-up Red-Eyes Black Dragon into pieces.

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon Destroyed] [Jonouchi LP 4000 → 3900]

Yugi, watching from the sidelines, nodded in admiration.

"With just a 100 ATK point advantage, she managed to take down Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon?… I can't even tell that Hoshino is using this deck for the first time."

Jonouchi sent his destroyed card to the Graveyard and activated another effect.

"I activate Red-Eyes Baby Dragon's special ability! When the equipped monster is sent to the Graveyard, I can add 1 Level 1 Dragon-Type monster from my Deck to my hand!"

Jonouchi retrieved a new card from his Deck and added it to his hand.

But the battle wasn't over.

"This duel isn't finished yet! Since Illya was resummoned, she can attack again! And Jonouchi—you've got no more monsters on your field. Illya, direct attack!"

Illya grinned.

"A breakthrough, huh? Alright, ready, Ruby!"

Repositioning herself, Illya gathered magical energy into Ruby's wand, unleashing another wave of pink light.

"——Magic Slash!"

With a sweeping motion of the wand, a razor-sharp wave of pink magic cut through Jonouchi's body.

[Jonouchi LP 3900 → 2900]

Clutching his chest, Jonouchi managed a strained smile.

"Damn… First time using this deck, and you're already overwhelming me? Hoshino, you're a real dueling monster."

Hoshino's expression grew serious.

"I'm taking this very seriously, Jonouchi. My Final Defense System Illya—if my last-resort deck isn't strong enough, I won't be able to handle the trouble that's coming."

(*****)

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