"——Die alone, Anubis!"
The blade pierced his chest, and on the vast, snowy battlefield beneath the pitch-black sky, Anubis's massive body collapsed backward like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"Did she win...?" Jonouchi muttered, looking at Hoshino, who had racked up a life point debt of over 60,000.
Pegasus answered with a serious expression, "Of course! This is, without a doubt, a complete victory for our Duel King!"
"That last moment was really intense!" Chloe clutched her chest, trying to calm her rapid breathing.
Illya's eyes sparkled as she looked at Shirou, who had cut through the fiery explosion. "But thanks to Onii-chan, it was a flawless win! That was totally cool!"
Shirou humbly scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, it was all thanks to Master's setup—and the fact that the right monsters happened to be in the opponent's Graveyard. This victory was a team effort, right, Miyu?"
As the reality marble of the snowy battlefield dissolved, Miyu—now separated from Shirou—nodded happily. "Yes! Fighting together with Onii-chan and everyone else—and winning—it was wonderful!"
"But Anubis... did he really go down that easily?"
According to the usual boss fight tropes, the villain should fly into a rage and engage in a real fight using their own power after losing a duel.
Yet, the Anubis lying before Hoshino remained completely still, as if truly dead. Ironically, this made Hoshino—who had braced for a follow-up attack—feel a little uneasy.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Anzu asked, "Hoshino, who exactly were you fighting? Before you entered the pyramid, wasn't it just Yugi and Kaiba inside?"
"Well, that's a long story~" Now that the tension had eased, Hoshino simply sat cross-legged on the dueling platform, cleared her throat, and began.
"Gather around, folks, and listen to my tale—"
.
..
...
Imitating the tone of a seasoned storyteller, Hoshino vividly recounted her experiences inside the pyramid. She made sure to embellish the key moments, painting herself as a fearless hero who stood tall in the face of danger.
Her dramatic retelling had Jonouchi and the others utterly captivated—even Pegasus found himself drawn in, his expressions changing dramatically in response to every twist and turn.
"Subarashii! Hoshino–girl, that was magnificent! You prevented the resurrection of Anubis! Now, the Pyramid of Light will no longer threaten the world!"
Outside the exhibition hall, the spectators watching via live broadcast were also completely absorbed. Their earlier disappointment at not being able to witness the duel firsthand had completely faded.
"She went from 100 life points down to 0, locked herself in a survival state, and defeated Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon and that busted Sphinx?! She's insane!"
"This is the Duel King's level! The strongest duelist in the world really lives up to the name! I'm a fan now!"
"Her storytelling was a little weird, but for some reason, I'm super hyped after hearing it!"
"I wanna duel right now! When does Kaiba Land open?! Take my money!"
...
Finishing her tale, Hoshino shot Kaiba a subtle look that said, "That's the best I can do for you."
While part of it was just Hoshino having fun, she knew that if the event had ended abruptly, it could've cast a shadow over Kaiba Land's grand opening.
"Hoshino-san..." Mokuba was on the verge of tears at her thoughtfulness.
However, Kaiba didn't seem particularly grateful. "Hmph. Meddlesome fool. Our duel was interrupted this time—but next time, I'll win."
If Anubis hadn't interfered, you'd be the one lying there right now, Hoshino grumbled internally. Still, since Anubis hadn't moved this whole time, it really did seem like he was down for good.
"But if everything's over... why hasn't my skin returned to normal?"
Da Vinci had assigned her the mission to stop Kaiba and the Pyramid of Light—and she'd completed it flawlessly. So when would her half-dark-skinned fusion with Kuro wear off?
Kuro smirked mischievously. "Oh? Master, don't you like being fused with me? I'm really enjoying it~ Maybe we should stay like this forever?"
"Forever? That sounds like a nightmare! No thanks!" Hoshino firmly rejected the idea, crossing her arms in an X. If she walked around town or went to school looking like this, she'd attract way too much attention—for all the wrong reasons.
"Who said this is over? If you end things like this on your own, that'd be a big problem for me~"
A somewhat unfamiliar voice echoed from where Anubis had collapsed. At some point, another figure had appeared—one Hoshino hadn't noticed at all.
Jonouchi's jaw dropped. "No way... Impossible!"
Not just him—the entire audience, both live and watching the broadcast, was stunned.
"Is this real?! I'm not dreaming, right?"
"What is that? CG? A hologram? Some super realistic robot?"
"Oh my god, why are there TWO Hoshinos?! I must be sleep-deprived—I need to go back to bed..."
"Kiddo, I think we found out why you lost half your soul~"
Standing beside Anubis—and leaving everyone in shock—was an exact replica of Hoshino Chiyuki. Unlike her current fusion with Kuro, this version had her original pale skin, forming a stark contrast.
What's more, the voice, while subtly different, was unmistakably her own.
"Is that really me...? So this is what my voice actually sounds like..."
It's often said that the voice you hear yourself isn't the same as how others hear you. Unless through rare means, most people never hear their "true" voice.
"It's definitely your real voice, Master—but is that really the point here?!" Illya frantically interjected.
"How disappointing, Anubis. You lost way too miserably."
The pale-skinned Hoshino casually kicked Anubis's massive body twice.
A two-meter-tall, muscular warrior being kicked around by a slender teenage girl—no one had any idea how to react to the absurd sight.
"M-My lord..."
And yet, to everyone's astonishment, the supposedly lifeless Anubis stirred under her kicks, regaining a faint trace of consciousness.
"My lord... I fought with all my might..."
"Hah? A loss is a loss! What does it matter to me whether you gave it your all or not?!"
Hearing Anubis try to make excuses, Hoshino grew even more irritated, grinding her foot harder against his chest.
"Hey, you over there…"
Not knowing how to properly address the other version of herself, Hoshino had no choice but to refer to her as, "that one over there."
"Isn't this a bit much?"
After all, she was watching someone with her own face behave in a way that completely shattered her image. It was unsettling to just stand by and watch White Hoshino stomp on him like that.
"Do not stop her! This is the punishment I deserve!"
To Hoshino's surprise, Anubis himself rejected her attempt to intercede.
"No matter the reason, losing the duel is an undeniable fact! Please, do not hesitate—punish me as you see fit! I will gladly accept it until you are fully satisfied!"
Anubis, you bastard... Not only are you a simp, you're also a masochist?! You're completely disgracing the title of King of Destruction!
White Hoshino, clearly just realizing the same thing, visibly shuddered and pulled back. "Ugh, forget it. This is killing my mood. Just stay quiet and stop making things even more awkward."
She lightly tapped the crystal pyramid on Anubis's chest with her toe, snapped the cord with a flick, and gracefully kicked it into the air. The golden pyramid—resembling the Millennium Puzzle—landed neatly in White Hoshino's hand.
"Since you've lost, the only thing left for you to do is provide me with the energy I need to stay in this world."
Just as Hoshino had stabilized her existence by fusing with Chloe's Saint Graph, it seemed White Hoshino's method of remaining in this world was linked to the crystal pyramid.
"M-My master… why…?"
Anubis stared up at her in disbelief as she severed his connection to the pyramid without hesitation.
"The energy stored in this pyramid over the past thousand years is more than enough. And honestly, it's better this way—one less person wasting it. Someone like you, who's wasting air just by breathing, shouldn't be hogging all that power."
Now wearing the golden crystal around her neck, White Hoshino looked visibly satisfied.
Meanwhile, Anubis—having lost the energy sustaining his form—began to melt like wax, dissolving into a puddle of black mud.
"Woof!"
A tiny black-furred pup suddenly popped out of the sludge, shaking the liquid off its sleek coat.
"Ahh, now this form is way more pleasant to look at~ Why did you even bother taking on that ugly human shape, Anubis? You should've stayed a dog from the start!"
Grabbing the little black pup by the tail, White Hoshino lifted it into her arms and happily ruffled its fur.
Hoshino was dumbfounded. No wonder Anubis had been such a suck-up—he was literally a dog all along.
And to be honest, he actually looked kinda cute in puppy form.
"Woof! My master! We were supposed to conquer this world together! I can't be eliminated here!"
White Hoshino raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about conquering the world? Why would I even want to do that? It's a hassle with zero payoff. Only brainless people go after that kind of thing."
Despite their differences, both versions of Hoshino clearly shared a similar worldview—ruling or conquering the world was a job for fools.
"So…"
Feeling awkward about being sidelined, Hoshino hesitated before finally shouting:
"—So what the hell is going on here?!"
Exactly what everyone else was thinking, too.
"Heh, you should know—before you beat a dog, you ought to check who its owner is~"
White Hoshino chuckled lightly, then casually tossed the tiny black pup aside. "Not that I care about Anubis getting beaten. But there's one thing I can't overlook—he can't lose to you!"
Realizing that the situation was escalating, Kaiba quickly ordered, "Mokuba! Cut all live broadcasts! Lock down the exhibition hall! We can't let this footage get out!"
"Understood, Brother!"
Two versions of the Duel King suddenly appearing? If the media got wind of this, Hoshino would be in serious trouble. With the whole world paying more attention to Duel Monsters than ever, even a hint of controversy would instantly explode online.
"My, my, how considerate of you, Kaiba~"
White Hoshino shot him a knowing smirk. "But you needn't worry. After today, that fake over there will disappear forever."
"Fake? You're calling me a fake?!"
Caught off guard, Hoshino snapped, "You're the fake here! You've been acting weird from the start!"
"Oh my?"
White Hoshino covered her mouth in mock surprise. "For a fake, you sure are confident. If you really wanted to impersonate me, at least get the colors right. Anyone can tell just by looking at you that you're the knockoff~"
That hit a nerve.
Hoshino had been so focused on everything else, she'd only now realized her biggest flaw. After fusing with Chloe's Saint Graph, her complexion had darkened slightly, resembling Chloe's. Meanwhile, the other Hoshino looked exactly like how she'd originally appeared to the world.
If the global audience were to vote on which one of them was the real Duel King, there was no doubt—tanned Hoshino would lose.
"It doesn't matter what strangers think! As long as my friends believe in me, that's all I need! Right, Jonouchi?!"
Jonouchi: "...."
"You bastard, say something!"
(*****)
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