"As you declare an attack—Mash's effect activates! I draw! Monster Card—Heroic Spirit – Valkyrie Hildr! I Summon her in Defense Position!"

The second Valkyrie descended from the sky, her outfit and aura similar to Ortlinde's—save for her red hair, which set her apart.

[Heroic Spirit – Valkyrie Hildr ★★★★★★ (Level 6)] [LIGHT] [Fairy/Effect] [ATK 1400 → 400 / DEF 2500]

"Let's get pumped!"

Compared to Ortlinde's calm demeanor, Hildr's tone was bright and energetic as she raised her round shield to deflect Valkyrie Erda's sacred blade.

"Valkyrie Hildr's DEF is 2500—higher than Valkyrie Erda's ATK. So, you know what that means..."

At that moment, the smile forming on Hoshino's lips looked devilish in Zigfried's eyes—sending a chill straight down his spine.

"Divine spear—All-Father, grant me strength!"

Same counterattack. Same piercing spear. But this time, the damage hit even harder, and Zigfried's screams grew louder.

"AAAHHH! Stop it already!!"

[Zigfried LP: 3300 → 2800]

Despite being overwhelmed by darkness, to the audience Zigfried just looked like a lunatic screaming for no reason.

"What's his deal? It's just a duel. Why's he yelling like that?"

"He's dressed so flamboyantly, now he's acting like a total drama queen."

"What a wimp. Even a grade-schooler's braver than him."

Kicking him while he was down, Hoshino taunted:

"What's wrong, Ziggy-boy? Hurry up and continue the duel—or have you lost the courage to attack?"

"How dare you make a fool of me in public... Unforgivable! Valkyrie Brunhilde's special effect activates!"

[When this card is in Attack Position, it gains 300 ATK for every face-up monster on the field.](Modified Effect)

"You have two monsters on your field—so Brunhilde's ATK increases by 600! Continue the attack on Valkyrie Ortlinde!"

[Valkyrie Brunhilde ATK 1800 → 2400]

Her white steed neighed, and her sacred sword charged with power. Brunhilde locked onto Ortlinde, the Valkyrie with the lowest DEF.

"Formal Dress: Mash Kyrielight's effect activates—draw a card…"

Despite having already drawn two Valkyries, Hoshino showed no signs of slowing down. Almost as if to say:

—'I didn't even shuffle my deck. Deal with it.'

"Monster Card! Heroic Spirit – Valkyrie Thrud! Special Summon in Defense Position to take the attack!"

[Heroic Spirit – Valkyrie Thrud ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)] [LIGHT] [Fairy/Effect] [ATK 2300 → 1300 / DEF 3000]

The third Valkyrie descended—long, golden hair flowing, her

shield glimmering with immense magic. A stalwart defense at 3000 DEF—even Brunhilde's enhanced blade couldn't pierce it.

[Valkyrie Brunhilde ATK 2400 → 2700]

"In Odin's name—Almighty All-Father, grant me strength!"

Her round shield clashed with Brunhilde's sacred sword, sparks flying in every direction. The recoil once again surged straight toward Zigfried.

"Nooo! Make it STOPPPPP!!"

[Zigfried LP: 2800 → 2500]

Zigfried had launched four attacks this turn—and suffered damage every single time.

He had never felt the pain of a Shadow Game before. Now, his body was trembling, his resolve cracking.

(***)

Earlier…

[Special Summon Shop: Remaining Heroic Spirits 4/4]

[SSR Brynhildr – Requires 100 Saint Quartz]

[SR Valkyrie Ortlinde – Requires 50 Saint Quartz]

[SR Valkyrie Hildr – Requires 50 Saint Quartz]

[SR Valkyrie Thrud – Requires 50 Saint Quartz]

With a deadpan look, Hoshino stared at Da Vinci's commercial-grade grin glowing on the screen.

"Dear Da Vinci, riddle me this—Valkyrie was originally one SR card with three Ascension forms. But now you've split her into three separate units just to milk me dry. Don't you feel even a little guilty?"

"Come on, Hoshino-chan~ You can't look at it like that. Splitting them into three just means Valkyrie is now three fully independent cards! And it wasn't my decision… If I could, I'd give them to you for free~"

[Total Exchange Cost: 250 Saint Quartz]

[Remaining Quartz: 265]

"Who are you trying to fool, you scammer?! You clearly priced it this way knowing exactly how many Quartz I had!"

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened since the Special Summon Shop opened. Hoshino was convinced Da Vinci had her wallet under constant surveillance.

"Let's see… yep! Your Quartz balance is exactly enough!" Da Vinci's smile sparkled like a gacha animation.

"But really—it's all just coincidence, Hoshino-chan~ Trust me!"

"Like hell I trust you! I ← would rather starve ↑, die in a ditch ↓, than let Da Vinci scam even one more Quartz out of me →!!"

"Oh, I forgot to mention, Hoshino-chan! If you exchange now and pay just 15 extra Quartz—you can get an SSR Summon Ticket too~"

[Exchange Complete]

[Hoshino's Remaining Quartz: 0]

"Heh… So worth it. (¯﹃¯)~~"

(***)

Present—

"To think you drew four monster cards in a row—three Valkyries at that—and each one just happened to have enough DEF to block my attacks…"

To the audience, it looked like a textbook display of perfect synergy between duelist and deck—an example of the Duel King's overwhelming luck.

But to Zigfried, it was something else entirely.

Because he was cheating. He had rigged his custom Duel Disk to rearrange his deck's top cards at will.

"Don't tell me... you're also—"

"I would never use such methods in a duel."

Before Zigfried could finish his accusation, Hoshino shut him down cold.

"However… if my opponent chooses to cheat first in this Shadow Game—then the field will automatically be equalized. And what counts as 'equal' is entirely up to me."

This was the manifestation of Hoshino's soul—her inner world:

A Shadow Game of Absolute Judgment. Absolute Fairness.

It sounded noble on the surface—but in truth, as long as the opponent played fair, it was no more dangerous than the games Pegasus or Marik once used. Just a battlefield that caused minor psychological stress.

But if the opponent dared to cheat...

Then Hoshino's Shadow Game would show its true power.

As its creator, she became instantly aware of all illicit tactics used by her opponent—and could either nullify them outright… or copy them exactly, to make the field "fair."

Just now, she had copied Zigfried's card order manipulation and stacked the top of her deck with four monster cards—three of them Valkyries. Thanks to Mash's effect, she had blocked every attack and summoned all three Valkyrie monsters in a single turn.

"Due to the secondary effect of Ride of the Valkyries, all Valkyrie monsters summoned by this effect return to the deck at the End Phase. Now that your all-out assault has failed, Zigfried—you're out of options!"

With no monsters to defend him, Zigfried would have to endure direct attacks from Hoshino's three Valkyries. After suffering four separate damage effects last turn, his Life Points wouldn't survive another hit.

"Heh... Hoshino. Did you really think I didn't anticipate this? I'm not just capable of OTKing anyone—you think this is all I've got?"

Zigfried inserted a set card into his Duel Disk, and just as he was about to end his turn, he played his last card.

"At the End Phase—Anti-Magic Arrows' effect ends! And now, I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Mischief of the Time Goddess!"

[Mischief of the Time Goddess – Quick-Play Spell: Skip the current turn. Proceed directly to your second Battle Phase.] (Modified Effect)

"Because this skips my End Phase, the Valkyries summoned by Ride of the Valkyries won't return to the Deck!"

Time was forcefully twisted. Hoshino was robbed of her next turn, and Zigfried instantly transitioned into his second Battle Phase.

"Let's begin Round Two! Let's see if you can survive another assault from my Valkyries!"

In the first round, all four of Zigfried's attacks were blocked, and only he took damage. His pride—and his body—were both near their breaking point.

"What makes you think I can't withstand it?" Hoshino raised an eyebrow. "Even in this second round, your Valkyries still can't break through my monsters' defense."

"This time's different! I activate my set Trap—Reckless Greed!"

[Reckless Greed – Trap: Draw two cards. Skip your next two Draw Phases.]

Drawing two fresh cards from his deck, Zigfried grinned.

"Last turn, because of Anti-Magic Arrows, I couldn't use Spells or Traps during the Battle Phase—but this time I can! I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Pegasus Wings!"

As the spell activated, the Valkyries' white steeds sprouted radiant wings and ascended as mythical pegasi.

[Pegasus Wings – Quick-Play Spell: If "Fortune Chariot" is in your Graveyard, cards with "Valkyrie" in their name can halve their ATK and attack directly this turn.] (Modified Effect)

"Last turn, when I activated Valkyrie Viertes's effect, one of the two excavated cards was Fortune Chariot, so the condition is met!"

[Valkyrie Brunhilde ATK 2700 → 1350]

[Valkyrie Erda ATK 2000 → 1000]

[Valkyrie Zweite ATK 1600 → 800]

[Valkyrie Viertes ATK 1400 → 700]

"The other card sent to the Graveyard was the Trap—Skill Successor!"

[Skill Successor – Trap: Banish this card from your Graveyard; one face-up monster you control gains 800 ATK until the end of the turn.]

"I activate Skill Successor—boosting Valkyrie Brunhilde's ATK by 800!"

[Valkyrie Brunhilde ATK 1350 → 2150]

"With that, the total combined ATK of my Valkyries exceeds your LP! Go forth—Valkyries, direct attack!"

"Ugh! One Battle Phase is bad enough, but now they're attacking directly?! That's so underhanded!" Honda groaned.

Jonouchi added, "This guy just wants to win in one turn! Where's the fun in a duel like that?!"

"ROOOAAARRR!!"

A demonic roar echoed from the depths of the underworld, silencing their complaints. The sky darkened—from bright blue to a mass of swirling black clouds.

"Quick-Play Spell from the set zone—FGO THE STAGE!"

When Hoshino flipped the card, her three Valkyries on the field vanished. In their place rose a towering shadow that pierced the cloudline.

[FGO THE STAGE – Quick-Play Spell: Tribute Summon 1 monster from your hand.]

From the upper spectator seats, Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the storm-torn heavens. Lightning flashed behind the colossal silhouette. He recognized it.

"No way… a god?"

"From the depths of hell, I summon a vengeful grudge given form—the evil god of darkness! Zigfried, I'm giving you no more chances!"

"I Tribute my three Valkyries—come forth, The Wicked Eraser!"

[The Wicked Eraser ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [Divine Beast/Effect] [ATK ??? / DEF ???]

The ground shook with a thunderous roar. The evil god's serpentine form towered over KaibaLand, so massive it dwarfed even its giant Ferris wheel.

"What irony. This Evil God card... I originally got it from Keith. And now you—using such despicable methods to defeat and kill Keith—you're even more vile than he ever was."

Hoshino never included the Evil God card in her deck when dueling fair opponents. But this duel wasn't fair—and this opponent wasn't normal.

Using The Wicked Eraser, the card she'd taken from Keith, to defeat Zigfried... was something Clara had once asked of her, after learning the full story between Hoshino and Keith.

("Maybe Howard couldn't accept how it ended... being defeated like that. So, Miss Hoshino, would you please carry the power that once belonged to Howard—and help him finish his last battle?")

"Hmph. Keith... compared to the scum in front of me, you might've actually been a good duelist."

Oblivious to the ruin he was about to walk into, Zigfried sneered and pressed forward.

"So what if it's a god? It still can't stop the Valkyries' direct attacks this turn!"

With a cold wave of her hand, eyes sharpened by the burden of wielding an Evil God, Hoshino faced the four charging Valkyries—and uttered just two words:

"Eradicate—"

[The Wicked Eraser – Effect: This card's effect can only be activated when it is sent to the Graveyard. Destroy all cards on the field. You can release (tribute) this card on your field to activate the effect. This effect can be activated during your opponent's turn.]

The monstrous form of The Wicked Eraser writhed violently, releasing a tsunami of dark energy that swallowed the battlefield—devouring all of Zigfried's Valkyries in one massive burst.

"Zigfried... this destruction—the cries from the abyss—are the embodiment of Keith's grudge... and the wrath of all the duelists you've trampled underfoot. And today, you vanish into that same darkness."

(*****)

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