The final blow—the bombardment that severed the cycle of reincarnation—came far too swiftly.
For a moment, no one could even process what had just happened.
"But… didn't the opponent still have one hundred thousand Life Points?"
Minazuki stretched out both hands in disbelief, gesturing wildly.
"I saw it clearly—an entire 100,000 Life Points! How did it just… disappear?"
Jaden said blankly,
"Sensei… in a single turn, dealt 180,000 points of damage…"
Banner pushed up his glasses, forcing himself to stay calm—though his trembling fingers had already betrayed his inner turmoil.
"First forcibly reviving the Three Sacred Beasts, then instantly killing them all in one go… A strike that cuts through reincarnation after reincarnation itself, nya…"
"(」゜ロ゜)」W-We won! We really won!"
Akasha waved her arms and shouted.
"What's wrong with all of you—why do you look so stunned?! That was a comeback! Hoshino-nee reversed 100,000 Life Points with just 1,000!"
"OHHHHHHHH!! As expected of the Headmistress!!"
"We finally defeated the Sacred Beasts!"
"To hell with chaotic darkness! I'm a duelist of the Age of Light forever!"
One by one, the academy students finally snapped back to reality, truly feeling the weight of that undeniable victory—and the radiant network of light still shining across the sky.
Yet the two people standing at the very center of the duel were both sinking into despair, each for their own reason.
"My… my life force… The ideal I pursued my entire life… it's all slipping away… cough—cough—!"
With the Sacred Beasts' power gone, Kagemaru reverted to his original form—an old, decayed, and frail body.
Desperate to cling to existence, desperate to survive just a little longer, he painfully crawled toward the life-support device.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side—
"…My life force actually came back…"
Hoshino had thought that using this duel might at least let her recover a bit of her former figure.
She had calculated the course of the duel—but not its ending.
"…It only lasted for one duel, and then it went right back."
Evil God: "Reality is always this cruel, girl. Do look forward to the day you become like me."
["If she turns into a full-on evil god like you, she'll just be a pure kid. She probably wouldn't even be allowed into arcades anymore."]
…Is that really your biggest concern?
"So in the end, I didn't gain anything at all—just casually saved the world, huh."
Shaking her head helplessly, Hoshino turned her gaze toward the desperately crawling Kagemaru.
"Sorry, Chairman. I can't leave the Sacred Beasts' cards with you. Please hand them over properly."
With that, Hoshino mercilessly ripped the deck straight off the hundred-year-old man's Duel Disk.
Cards capable of threatening the entire world would become a ticking time bomb no matter where they were sealed—one that would keep her awake at night.
The safest place for them… was either on her person, or under Chaldea's custody.
"How could this be…?!"
Her finely shaped brows furrowed as she flipped through the deck faster and faster.
Yet no matter how she searched, she couldn't find the three most crucial cards.
"Kagemaru, you bastard—did you secretly hide the cards? Lost the duel but still not giving up? Planning a comeback?"
She planted her foot squarely on Kagemaru's arm as he crawled toward the life-support device.
Someone who would drag the entire world down with him even in death deserved no courtesy.
"My life… my ideal…!"
Ignoring both the pressure on his arm and Hoshino's questioning, Kagemaru continued muttering those same words over and over.
["Aibo, judging by this, Kagemaru's mind has collapsed. He's gone insane. He probably wouldn't do something like that anymore."]
"Hard to say," Hoshino replied cautiously.
"This old fox has lived over a hundred years—he's cunning. Who knows if this isn't just an act?"
Evil God:
"It's unlikely, girl. I can no longer sense the power of the Sacred Beasts nearby. Perhaps they were completely annihilated by that final blow. After all… that attack was layered with my own power."
"They… completely destroyed?"
The thought made Hoshino's chest tighten.
If they were destroyed together, then that meant Uria had vanished as well.
Though the Chaos Phantasm had indeed threatened the world, if Uria had truly never wanted to fight—as she claimed—then in the end, the Three Sacred Beasts were nothing more than victims, exploited by Kagemaru after their seals were forcibly broken.
…So she'd never get to see that masochistic little girl again.
Never even got to properly say goodbye.
Evil God:
"Child, I know exactly what you're thinking.
Even with me by your side, you're reminiscing about other spirits…
But this time, I'll make an exception and not scold you~"
"Whatever. Let's go back. I'm kind of tired."
Pulling herself together, Hoshino put away her Duel Disk, shoved her hands into her pockets, and walked toward the academy exit.
Though the sky still shone like daylight under the Xyz Network, the actual time had already passed midnight.
By schedule, even the Duel Academy's after-festival should have long since ended.
"S-So… Headmistress, y-you're leaving already, no-ne?"
A flustered Crowler looked from Hoshino's expressionless face to the struggling Kagemaru on the ground.
"Kagemaru… the Chairman… shouldn't we… deal with him, no-ne?"
"Leave him be. What's crawling on the ground now is just an old, washed-up man who's lost his dream. There's no need to bother—he'll destroy himself eventually."
With no desire to entangle herself further with Kagemaru, Hoshino ignored the academy's shattered buildings and cracked floors—ruined by the seven sealing pillars that had erupted from the ground.
Those repair jobs weren't her problem.
After all—
Isn't that exactly what a tool-man principal like Sheppard is for?
Hoshino handled the card duels; Sheppard handled the academy's internal affairs and external relations.
Perhaps, given Sheppard's personality, being a "tool person" actually suited him just fine. Or maybe, in Sheppard's eyes, Hoshino was the real card-playing tool instead.
After all—how could a fish ever understand another fish's joy?
The radiance of the Xyz · Overlay Network did not gradually fade until the next day. According to Kaiba's theory, now that the global quantum network had been officially activated, it no longer needed to release such an excessive amount of energy to sustain itself.
Though invisible to the naked eye, the entire planet was indeed enveloped by the Xyz Network.
And on that day, the world of Duelists was forever changed.
In collaboration with Industrial Illusions, KaibaCorp officially announced the method of Xyz Summoning to the entire world.
This era-defining change was not merely a shock to professional duelist leagues.
It marked the dawn of a new age for Duel Monsters—a brand-new summoning method usable by any monster, one that drastically altered the existing flow of duels. If the potential of Xyz Summoning were fully developed, it would undoubtedly stand shoulder to shoulder with the currently dominant Fusion Summoning.
However, Xyz Summoning still had its limitations at this stage.
Because the Xyz · Overlay Network was still in its trial phase, the rules restricted each Duelist to only two Xyz Summons per duel.
Yes—unlike Fusion Summoning, which had no such restriction, Xyz Summoning could only be used twice in a single duel.
Even so, when used properly, two Xyz Summons were more than enough to decisively tip the scales of victory.
That night—bathed in light as bright as day—nearly every Duelist in the world was too excited to sleep.
Naturally, that included Hoshino after she returned home—
"Ahh, I just can't take it~~~ That final, climactic strike from you, Hoshino, practically pierced my soul~"
The moment Hoshino entered her room, she was greeted by Uria sprawled limply across her bed, openly and shamelessly "in heat."
Standing off to the side, a blonde girl asked timidly, "U-Uriel… Uria… Is it really okay for us to just barge into someone else's house like this?" She looked so nervous it seemed as though she might be discovered at any moment.
"This place is amazing! So this is what a rich person's house looks like? I've always wanted to live in a mansion like this at least once!"
Unlike the shy blonde girl, the blue-haired girl showed absolutely no restraint, casually wandering around Hoshino's room as if it were her own.
"Uria! You're still alive?" Despite the countless questions swirling in her mind, Hoshino asked the one she cared about most.
"I almost died, you know~" Uria replied with a flushed face. "Your attack nearly felt too good~"
What kind of unhinged line was that supposed to be?
Still, the fact that Uria hadn't disappeared at all was enough to put Hoshino at ease, wiping away the faint sense of loss she'd been carrying.
"So who are the other two? And more importantly—how did you even get in here?"
Even though it was already past midnight, with an entire group of Heroic Spirits living downstairs, breaking into her room without an army would have been nothing short of impossible.
And judging by their hair colors, Hoshino already had a pretty good idea who these two really were.
The blonde girl nervously tugged on Uria's sleeve. "I-I knew it… I said we shouldn't just come in like this. She's mad now…"
"Relax, Hamon," Uria reassured her. "Hoshino doesn't get angry that easily. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to work so hard just to enjoy being scolded by her."
"Hamon?"
"E-Excuse me… g-good evening…" Hearing her name, the blonde girl quickly turned to Hoshino and bowed politely.
"My name is Hamon. I'm the Duel Spirit of Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. I caused you trouble earlier—I'm truly very sorry."
"Hamon, huh?"
Hoshino finally remembered—Hamon was the Sacred Beast summoned by Kagemaru who had been sent straight to the Graveyard by Illya before she could even activate a single effect. Completely forgettable.
"No need to be so formal. It's not like you caused any trouble. Honestly, compared to the other two, you were much easier to deal with."
"Right? Right? Hamon's super weak, even though she's one of the Sacred Beasts!" the blue-haired girl chimed in cheerfully. "No strong effects, and such a soft personality—how embarrassing."
"I-I'm n-not weak! Raviel, you're so mean!"
"She's crying already? That was fast…" Hoshino didn't quite know how to react as Hamon suddenly started wiping away tears.
"Raviel, don't bully Hamon like that," Uria said, gently patting her head. "If you want to bully someone, bully me instead!"
"Raviel?" Hoshino guessed. "Then you must be Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, right?"
"That's right!" Raviel proudly pointed at herself with her thumb. "I'm the strongest—the one known as Raviel!"
Hamon and Raviel were both small in stature, but compared to Uria's outright childlike appearance, they looked a bit more mature—about a sixth-grade level, maybe.
"I never thought all three of you would be little girls… but why are you all gathered in my room in the middle of the night?"
Raviel explained, "Well, the sealed land was destroyed, so we don't have anywhere to live anymore. We can only trouble you for a while—just borrowing a place, okay~?"
Uria added, "And our powers were basically erased by your attack. Maintaining these bodies is already our limit. If we end up wandering the streets, who knows when we might disappear completely."
"I-I don't want to disappear…" Hamon sniffled. "Please, Hoshino… save us~"
Hearing all of this, Hoshino felt like she had somehow cornered three little girls into a dead end. With the three of them playing off one another—and Hamon openly begging—there was no way she could refuse.
Especially since she had already planned to personally keep the Sacred Beasts' cards.
"Alright… I guess letting you stay for a while is fine—"
"That's a huge problem!" a sharp voice suddenly interrupted.
A jet-black figure materialized, hands on her hips, glaring unhappily at the three.
"Do you Duel Spirits even know whose territory this is?! Borrowing a place without my permission—do you think that's allowed?!"
"Evil God-san… isn't this my place?" Hoshino tried to argue.
"That presence—?!"
The three froze instantly. Their Duel Spirit instincts dragged back memories of the terror they had felt when, as Chaos Phantasms, they were completely dominated and suppressed by the Wicked Avatar.
"Big Sis!" all three shouted in unison.
"B-Big Sis?" Even the Evil God was caught off guard, surprise flickering across her face.
Raviel spoke up enthusiastically, "That's right! Among Duel Spirits, the strong rule supreme—and with your overwhelming power, Big Sis, you're absolutely worthy of being called that!"
"Cough… overwhelming power, huh. Well, you're not wrong," the Evil God muttered, looking oddly pleased.
"Please, Big Sis! Take us three useless little underlings under your wing!" Raviel pleaded, even pulling a mysterious box out from somewhere.
"What are you all standing around for?! Hurry up and light a cigarette for me!"
…These Gods were way too gangsta, weren't they?