Back at the hotel, Hoshino collapsed onto the soft bed like a pile of cotton—completely exhausted and unable to get up.
Holding the large fries that Keith had bought for her, Akasha showed no signs of fatigue at all.
"Munch munch… Nee-chan, with your stamina, you probably wouldn't last more than three chapters in the Grey Legion."
Face buried completely in the pillow, Hoshino replied weakly, "Why would I need to last that many chapters? As long as I make sure they don't last more than three chapters in front of me, it's fine."
Akasha giggled dreamily, "That's why I like bossy women like you~"
[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete. Duelist Leon: Overall Rank C+. Victory Saint Quartz Reward: 40. Current Total Saint Quartz: 60.]
[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete. Duelist King: Overall Rank A. Victory Saint Quartz Reward: 60. Current Total Saint Quartz: 120.]
That was Hoshino's haul for the night. Compared to Clara's nearly five million USD in a single night, it seemed a little modest.
"Well, poor people have their own kind of happiness~ Money is just paper—waifus are eternal~"
[Special Summon Shop Opened.]
[SSR Ereshkigal – Exchange Requires 100 Saint Quartz]
[Confirm Exchange]
Half-asleep, Hoshino's fingers instinctively completed the sequence.
[Exchange Successful. Remaining Saint Quartz: 20.]
"Welcome home, Eresh-chan~"
On the card art, Eresh puffed up her cheeks. "Geez, you kept me waiting for so long! Took forever to summon… Honestly..."
".zzzzZzz"
Apparently not having had the chance to hear Eresh's complaints, Hoshino had already begun breathing softly in her sleep. After a night of nonstop battling, even a Chaldea Master has her unguarded moments.
"Honestly… it's like a dream. I'm so happy I get to see you again."
Materializing softly, Eresh appeared with a gentle smile, brushing the hair from Hoshino's forehead.
"You've done well, my dear Master. Rest well tonight. From now on, whether it's the bright day or silent night, I'll protect you as your irreplaceable friend."
(***)
Chaldea —
Mash: "Bad news! Kiyohime-san just broke through the reinforced room door!"
(***)
Next Day – Valkyrie Hall
[Jaden Yuki LP 4000]
[Akasha LP 4000]
"Yes! I drew the card!" As usual, Jaden's lucky draw made him slap the card onto the table with excitement.
"Now I've got the win in my grasp! Akasha, I'm determined to become your friend! I activate the Spell Card – [Double Fusion]! I pay 500 Life Points, and this turn, I can Fusion Summon twice!"
[Jaden Yuki LP 4000 → 3500]
Standing across the duel stage, Akasha had a strangely complex expression. She had just wanted to give Jaden a little lesson, but now he was going full throttle—dueling as if friendship was on the line.
"What's with all this 'we must be friends' talk... How can you say such embarrassing things so seriously?"
Double Fusion's effect activated on Jaden's field. He fused two HERO monsters from the field and two from his hand.
"I fuse Avian and Burstinatrix, and Sparkman and Clayman, to summon brand-new Elemental Heroes! Appear now—Elemental HERO Flame Wingman and Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!"
[Elemental HERO Flame Wingman ATK: 2100]
[Elemental HERO Thunder Giant ATK: 2400]
The two powerful Fusion Heroes stood tall between the skyscrapers of darkness. On Akasha's field, there was only a trembling Medea Lily crouching in Defense Position.
Watching from the sidelines, Hoshino muttered, "It's only been a day and Jaden already uses HERO fusions that fluently… He really is talented."
"Let's fight, heroes! Flame Wingman, attack Medea Lily! And when Flame Wingman destroys a monster, he deals damage equal to its ATK!"
"Attacking such a cute girl? That's not very heroic at all!"
With a confident smirk, Akasha flipped her set card.
"But I'm different. I'll protect the precious monsters entrusted to me! I activate the Trap Card – [Blazing Mirror Force]!"
In front of the huddled Medea Lily, flames surged up to form a fiery barrier that protected her, reflecting Flame Wingman's attack and triggering a chain explosion on Jaden's field.
[Blazing Mirror Force – Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Destroy as many Attack Position monsters your opponent controls as possible, and if you do, take damage equal to half the combined original ATK of those destroyed monsters, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the damage you took.]
"Due to Blazing Mirror Force, your two attacking Elemental HEROes are destroyed, and both players take half their combined ATK as damage!"
[Akasha LP 4000 → 1750]
[Jaden Yuki LP 3500 → 1250]
Jaden's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his obliterated field.
"No way… my heroes got wiped out because of their own attack?"
Akasha looked smug. "You think you can become friends with me like that? Maybe in another ten years!"
With a strategy like yours, Akasha, you'll be waiting more than ten years to make friends…
"It's not over yet! After the Battle Phase, I activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn] to bring back Elemental HERO Thunder Giant from the Graveyard!"
Unwilling to give up, Jaden revived Thunder Giant in a flash of holy light that pierced through the lingering flames.
"Thunder Giant's effect—during the Main Phase, I can discard one card to destroy a monster with less ATK!"
Thunder Giant's crackling fist aimed at Medea Lily. As Jaden discarded a card, a flash of light shot out.
"—Go! Lightning Thunderstrike!"
But Akasha smirked wider. "Knew you'd go for it! I activate my set Trap – [Icy Crevasse]!"
[Icy Crevasse – Trap Effect: When exactly 1 monster you control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by an opponent's card effect: Target 1 monster your opponent controls; send that target to the Graveyard, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK in the Graveyard.]
"When you destroyed Medea Lily, Thunder Giant gets pulled into the rift, and you take damage equal to his ATK!"
"N-Nani?!" Jaden watched helplessly as his remaining HERO vanished.
[Jaden Yuki LP 1250 → 0]
[Duel Over – Winner: Akasha!]
Akasha struck a cool pose, pointing at Jaden. "See that, brat? That's the true power of my Lily Deck!"
Hoshino scratched her head, a little dazed. "I could've sworn… Lily decks aren't supposed to work like that…"
The spectators beneath the duel arena looked on helplessly as Jaden was completely overwhelmed, and soon, they all began talking amongst themselves.
"Wow, that was amazing. Jaden couldn't even fight back."
"Who's that girl on the other side? I've never seen her before."
"Jaden, are you even trying? That was pathetic."
Feeling humiliated by the overwhelming loss, Jaden turned around and complained, "Aren't you guys supposed to be on my side? At least cheer me on a little!"
"No way. The girl on the other side is way too cute, like a doll. I'm rooting for her now."
"Jaden, you're always so obsessed with becoming friends with people. Don't tell me... you like her?"
As his friends teased him, Jaden's face flushed red. "L-like...? No way, I don't!"
The reason Jaden wanted to beat Akasha in the first place was simply because Hoshino had casually mentioned wanting Akasha to have a friend her own age.
Maybe because he understood what it felt like to be isolated by his peers, or maybe to repay Hoshino for pulling him out of that loneliness, the kind-hearted Jaden had come to see Akasha as Hoshino's sister—and he wanted to do something for her.
But now, teased by his friends and focusing on the duel, Jaden finally realized that the golden-haired Akasha really was as cute as a doll.
"How could someone so cute not have any friends? That doesn't make sense."
"Because duelists who rely on trap-heavy decks don't deserve friends, Jaden-kun..."
Hoshino chuckled and shook her head. Though Jaden had been improving quickly, against Akasha's trap-based tactics and her Lily Deck's search and recovery capabilities, he was clearly outmatched.
"That's why a little brat like you doesn't even count as my warm-up... better just give up~"
After winning the duel, Akasha got more and more smug, calling Jaden a "brat" every other sentence—completely forgetting that she was barely any older than him.
"No way! I'm not giving up that easily. I challenge you again!"
Channeling his hot-blooded shounen protagonist energy, Jaden once again issued a duel challenge to Akasha.
"Hmph~ fine, I guess. Even though I have a super packed schedule, someone like you won't take more than a few minutes to deal with. Let's keep going!"
Akasha, you clearly just came here to kill time. Since when are you super busy?
Hoshino silently grumbled to herself, watching Akasha—who was clearly enjoying herself despite the tsundere act.
Surprisingly, once the new duel started, the spectators suddenly began to cheer.
"Wait, if Jaden becomes friends with her, then that means we might also get a chance to be friends with her, right?!"
"You're a genius! Don't lose too badly this time, Jaden—we're all rooting for you!"
Drawing his card with renewed spirit, Jaden shouted, "Haha! No worries, this hand is absolutely broken—there's no way I can lose!"
Watching the duel unfold in such a lighthearted way, Hoshino was suddenly struck by a dreamlike feeling. Compared to this, the deadly, life-or-death duel that happened last night felt like nothing more than a hazy dream.
.
..
...
"Nee-chan, Nee-chan~"
A small hand waved in front of Hoshino's face. Akasha was trying to snap her out of her daze.
Clara looked concerned. "The duel's about to start. Are you alright, Vivi?"
"Ah, sorry... I was spacing out."
Snapping back to reality, Hoshino looked up at the screen displaying the randomized duel order:
[Vivian VS Ren]
It was the second day of the underground death duels. After their four consecutive victories yesterday, their accumulated points had reached ten. If they could win two more in a row today, they'd be even closer to Hoshino's goal.
[Partner, want me to take this one for you? After all, yesterday's duel with King wasn't technically a life-or-death match.]
Since both of them had destroyed the electric shock devices, it had become just a regular duel.
"No need this time, my other self. I've figured it out—if I'm going to kill, I need to be ready to be killed too. I've stepped into a death game. I can't hesitate anymore. Besides..."
[Limited-time event: Kara no Kyoukai Collaboration Event. Use the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception" to kill that which should die, and increase your Rank.]
[Current Rank: Tier II. 0/1]
Equipping her deck into the duel disk, Hoshino confidently leapt onto the high-stakes duel arena, drawing everyone's attention.
Announcer: "Our Duelist, Vivian, steps confidently onto the stage! The mysterious powerhouse who defeated both Leon and King last night."
"Oh yeah! Go, go Vivian!"
"I brought a ton of money tonight—I'm gonna clean up!"
The treatment she received today was completely different from yesterday. Same location, same crowd, but in this place where strength is everything, the voices around Hoshino had shifted from boos to cheers full of expectation.
"And on this side, as per tradition, the first round features a representative from a newly admitted family—known as a dueling prodigy—Wilson Family's Ren!"
The boy timidly stepped onto the stage across from Hoshino. He looked slightly older than Akasha, probably around eleven or twelve.
"What prodigy? He's facing Vivian right off the bat. Kid's done for."
"Crush him without mercy, Vivian! I need to win back everything I lost yesterday!"
Already a bit nervous when he took the stage, Ren's face fell even further hearing the jeering crowd.
It was an ironic scene—just like when Vivian had faced Leon, the five-win streak champion, on her debut yesterday. The public opinion was entirely one-sided. Only this time, the tables had turned. Hoshino was now in Leon's shoes.
[Partner, you said earlier that if you're going to kill, you need to be prepared to be killed. But are you truly ready to destroy this boy—whose hands haven't even been stained with blood yet?]
Since it was Ren's first match, it meant he hadn't experienced a death duel before. He hadn't crossed the line of taking a life.
"In that case, if I answered yes... wouldn't that make me the same kind as Leon?"
(*****)
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