"Dead? How could that be?!"

Everyone couldn't help but cry out in disbelief at the unexpected news. Just last night, they had seen Bakura steal the body of Pharaoh Aknamkanon right under their noses. And now they were being told he was dead? Who would believe that?

Marlene jumped up at once. "You're messing with me, right?! That's such a half-baked answer! Give me back my two silver coins!"

The bartender, naturally unwilling to return the coins he'd just pocketed, dropped the mysterious act and quickly explained himself.

"I'm not lying. Yesterday, it was said that the Thief King Bakura attacked the Pharaoh's palace, but he was utterly crushed by the royal family's summoned spirit monsters. He got beaten all the way from the palace to outside the city walls. A lot of people saw it happen."

Hoshino Alter and Kaiba exchanged a look. Bakura had absorbed the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—ordinary spirit monsters shouldn't have been able to beat him.

And the so-called royal spirit that the bartender mentioned… if it really had enough power to pummel Bakura from the palace to the outskirts, then it must have been on a level even beyond the Egyptian God Cards.

"Don't believe me?!" Just as everyone was still doubtful of the bartender's exaggerated tale, a drunkard reeking of alcohol chimed in.

"I was at the coronation of the new Pharaoh in the capital yesterday—I saw it all myself! Flames trailing out from the palace gates set the streets ablaze, and there was an explosion outside the walls that lit up the night like it was noon! It was spectacular!"

Hearing that vivid description, even Hoshino Alter started to believe it. No way a random drunk could've made up something so vividly surreal unless he'd seen it with his own eyes.

"Did Bakura… really die?"

Marlene asked again to confirm. Part of her felt relieved, but another part was frustrated—she hadn't gotten to avenge Sid by killing Bakura herself.

The drunkard took another swig and shook his head. "Oh, he's dead for sure. After a blast like that, there's probably not even a corpse left. What kind of idiot tries to take on the Pharaoh anyway? Fool got what he deserved."

With Bakura dead, he wasn't the only one who'd lost a target. Hoshino Alter and Kaiba were trying to find clues through Bakura to return to their original timeline, and Nitocris had been pursuing the stolen body of the previous Pharaoh. Now, they all found themselves unsure of what to do next.

Feeling aimless, the group left the Bounty Hunter Guild. Hoshino Alter wandered the streets, taking in the sights and culture of ancient Egypt. If she really couldn't find a way back to her time… she might have to live here forever.

While the quality of life had dropped by several millennia, at least she still had Nitocris at her side. And when bored, she could always summon Heroic Spirits with her Duel Disk—it wasn't the worst life.

"There she is! The girl with blue eyes!"

But just when she was finally relaxing, trouble came knocking.

Already annoyed, Hoshino Alter shouted at the few idiots who had shown up: "Again?! What's with you people?! Her eyes don't eat your food, do they?!"

"Ugh…"

This time, the ones coming for Kisara didn't seem to be townspeople, but rather guards in armor. Still, they were caught off guard by Hoshino Alter's sudden yelling.

"You useless cowards, getting shouted down by a woman!"

A cocky voice rang out from behind the guards. A heavily armored man strutted forward with a lazy swagger—clearly their captain.

"We're under orders from Lord Aknadin to arrest the girl with blue eyes. I suggest you cooperate. From the looks of you lot, you're not exactly law-abiding citizens either. You can come with us too."

Upon hearing their intentions, Kisara instinctively hid behind Kaiba, clinging to the back of his coat like a child pretending that if she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her.

"Aknodin? Aknadon? Never heard of the guy!"

Hoshino Alter slapped a hand on Nitocris's shoulder. "If anyone lays a finger on Kisara today, I'll say they've offended the mighty Medjed!"

Nitocris looked flustered. "Master, I haven't even transformed yet…"

Marlene narrowed her eyes. She had a bad feeling. "Wait… Lord Aknadin? You mean the high priest who serves the Pharaoh and wields the Millennium Eye?"

"The Millennium Eye?!"

So not only were Duel Monsters real in this world, but the Millennium Items existed too? A broken trail of clues was suddenly starting to reconnect. Hoshino Alter's spirits lifted.

"Marlene, if you know about the Millennium Eye, then do you know the Millennium Puzzle?"

Marlene gave her a look like she was a complete idiot. "Of course. Everyone in this country knows it. The Pharaoh wields it."

When the enemy nations invaded, the previous Pharaoh had used the power of the Millennium Items to summon spirit monsters and wipe them out. Leading the priesthood in battle was the Pharaoh with the Millennium Puzzle—that was common knowledge here.

Excited, Hoshino Alter turned to Kaiba, as if she'd just found hope of returning to their time: "See?! Kaiba! The Pharaoh who has the Millennium Puzzle—it has to be…"

"Yugi!"

Kaiba, catching her drift, clenched his fists in determination.

But Hoshino Alter had apparently forgotten—they were still in trouble.

"Since you know Lord Aknadin's name, you should know better than to defy him. Hand over the girl with blue eyes and avoid unnecessary pain."

The captain leered at Kisara, his gaze disgusting.

"Say, this girl's a real beauty. Hope Lord Aknadin's old bones can handle her."

Kisara trembled, shrinking further behind Kaiba.

"Master, want me to deal with them? Should I transform into Medjed ver.? Or just wipe them out?"

Nitocris's voice had a noticeable edge. Marlene, too, was fuming, her hand quietly moving toward the dagger at her waist.

These guards weren't just scum—they were bullies hiding behind power, abusing the weak. Frankly, no one would mourn them if they were gone.

"Hold on. I have a plan~"

Hoshino Alter's eyes gleamed. She turned to the captain with a sly grin. "Heh heh… Since you're following Akuradei's orders, then you must know the high priest Seto, right?"

"It's Aknadin, Master," Nitocris corrected her.

The captain sneered. "Didn't think a bunch of lowlifes like you would know Lord Seto's name. Let me tell you, Lord Seto and Lord Aknadin are like father and son. Of course we know him!"

"Then take a good look. Do you know who this is?"

With that, Hoshino Alter dramatically pointed to Kaiba—more specifically, to his perpetually scowling, stone-faced expression.

"Open your eyes and take a good look—who do you think he is?!"

Hoshino Alter pointed at Kaiba's perpetually grumpy face, her lips curling into a mischievous grin. These guys liked throwing their weight around behind someone else's name? Let's see how smug they stay now.

Because Hoshino Alter and Kaiba's strange clothing had been so eye-catching, the guards hadn't paid much attention to their faces. But now, with Hoshino Alter's prompt, they finally noticed—Kaiba's face looked exactly like Seto's. The captain of the guards immediately began to tremble.

"L-Lord S-S-Seto?! Why are you here? Weren't you... weren't you still in the capital today, leading troops to track down the Thief King's body?"

Just seconds ago, the captain had been cocky and threatening. Now, he was completely deflated, stumbling over his words.

"I told you already... I'm not Seto..."

But Kaiba, clearly pissed, didn't play along with her act at all. Instead, he flicked a card from his hand—it flew through the air like a shuriken and stabbed right into the pervy guard captain's hand.

"Whoa! That card throw could legit count as a weapon."

Hoshino Alter, eyes wide in impressed admiration, noted that the card Kaiba had thrown was the Trap Card Burst Rebirth.

"Stop calling me Seto. I'm Seto Kaiba!"

The way he spoke—as the CEO of KaibaCorp—carried so much weight and pressure that everyone, including Hoshino Alter, instinctively nodded in agreement.

"Damn it, that hurts!" the captain shouted. "You bastard! So you're not Lord Seto after all! As if someone like Lord Seto would ever associate with a bunch of lowlifes like you!"

He yanked the card from his hand and stared at the blood trickling from the wound. Eyes blazing with rage, he screamed:

"You dare deceive me?! You're all dead! Arrest them! Every last one of them!"

The moment the order was given, the guards all raised their spears toward Hoshino Alter and the others.

"Oh? So it's a fight now? Should've done that from the start and saved us the trouble~" Marlene grinned, drawing her dagger with excitement.

But to everyone's surprise, the one who stepped forward to shield Kaiba wasn't Marlene or Hoshino Alter—it was Kisara, who had always been timid and soft-spoken. In the face of drawn weapons, she spread her arms and stood protectively in front of him.

"Seto—no, Kaiba! Look out!"

That was the first time Kisara called him by his real name, not "Seto." Even though she now knew Kaiba wasn't the same person who saved her as a child, she was still willing to put herself in danger to protect him.

"Kisara, you..."

"I'm sorry I kept this from everyone... You're all good people. I couldn't just watch and let you get hurt."

Perhaps because she didn't understand how strong Hoshino Alter and the others really were, Kisara thought the armed guards posed a serious threat.

"Inside me... there's a power. I'll use it to protect Kaiba—and everyone!"

Blinding white light burst forth from Kisara's body. A powerful roar followed. The guards holding spears froze, eyes wide in terror.

And Kaiba—who Kisara had been shielding—was just as stunned. No... more accurately, he was being shielded by the White Dragon itself.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon?! No way... I didn't summon it… Unless...!"

In Kaiba's mind, a memory flickered again—the vision of himself in strange robes, holding a battered Kisara in his arms, weeping before a stone tablet of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Hoshino Alter gasped. "Blue eyes, snow-white skin, the girl who holds the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—Kisara!"

Now it all made sense. No wonder Kisara was so attached to Kaiba—Seto Kaiba was the world's biggest Blue-Eyes fanboy. And maybe... the Blue-Eyes liked Kaiba just as much.

"ROAAAAAR—!!"

With a mighty roar, the Blue-Eyes flared its wings and whipped up a gust of wind, blowing the guards off their feet like leaves in a storm. Civilians scattered in panic, fleeing from the dragon's sudden appearance.

Kaiba, still dazed, murmured:

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon… What a beautiful and noble form. This… this is true perfection. The strongest, most invincible spirit monster!"

Hoshino Alter side-eyed him. Really? You can describe the dragon like a poet, but you can't say a single nice thing to human Kisara?

Three massive claw marks were carved into the stone ground beside the captain. He felt his pants go warm—and then bolted, screaming, crawling, and rolling away like his life depended on it.

The rest of the guards, seeing their boss flee in utter terror, didn't hesitate to follow.

"That intimidation factor... Way stronger than even Lord Medjed~"

Nitocris pouted, not wanting to admit defeat. "Lord Medjed wins hearts with virtue, thank you very much!"

With the guards gone and the danger passed, Kisara reverted back into her human form. Shyly, she looked up at Kaiba, her pale cheeks tinged with pink.

"There's such a terrifying spirit inside me… You must hate me now, Kaiba…"

Hoshino Alter immediately shook her head and cheered silently in her heart: Be confident, Kisara! With the Blue-Eyes inside you, Kaiba—the world's top White Dragon fanatic—might just fall head over heels for you!

But instead of any dramatic reaction, Kaiba simply looked away with a tsundere huff:

"It's… not that bad. I don't dislike it."

Hoshino Alter teased, "Pretty composed there, President. Even though your phone ringtone is literally Kisara's voice~"

Kisara blinked in confusion. "Phone ringtone? What's that?"

"Hehehe~ I'll tell you a secret, Kisara. It means you're Kaiba's special—"

"Enough from you!"

Kaiba's gritted-teeth tone shut her up halfway through the sentence.

Kisara's expression turned soft but a little sad. She looked down and muttered:

"You and Kaiba… seem really close. I'm kind of jealous…"

Hoshino Alter waved her hand in front of Kisara's eyes. "Hmm? Kisara, are you nearsighted now that you've transformed? How could you think I'm close with Kaiba?"

Marlene chimed in with a smirk, "Kaiba, I remember you said Hoshino was your rival. I didn't ask back then, but now I'm curious. What kind of rival exactly?"

Hoshino Alter folded her arms and shut her eyes thoughtfully. "Hmm… that's hard to explain. I guess we're the type who are 'rivals' but in reality… more like co-shareholders."

(*****)

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