"A 2v2 duel, huh? Yeah, that should give us a better chance of winning. I'm counting on you, Yugi!"
Since the opponents were Marik and the Queen of the Underworld working together, Hoshino wasn't arrogant enough to try taking them on alone. A duel that determined the fate of the world demanded the safest approach possible.
"Hoshino, teaming up with Yugi? That's amazing—you're unbeatable!!" Mokuba's excitement—something he had never shown before—startled Eve beside him.
"(・◇・)? Hm, is it really that exaggerated?" Eve asked doubtfully. "It's just a common Tag Duel, right? Even in a 2v2, we can't underestimate Hela's side."
"It's not just any Tag Duel—this is anything but common!" Mokuba clenched his fists, unable to hide his excitement. "This is the alliance of the two strongest duelists in the world—basically, the strongest duo in history!"
"T-The strongest duo in history?" Infected by Mokuba's enthusiasm, Eve began to feel excited too. "So that starfish-haired guy is that strong? In that case, I can't just sit around either!"
"Can't sit around? Eve, don't tell me you're planning to…" Hoshino tilted her head, glancing at Eve, who suddenly stepped forward.
"Heh heh heh, of course—I'll duel together with you, Hoshino." The wide sleeves of her shrine maiden outfit fluttered gently as Eve smiled mysteriously. "The power of the Star Chalice's shrine maiden—now, place it into your deck!"
A card refined by the power of the Star Chalice priestess materialized in front of Eve, then dropped onto the very top of Hoshino's deck.
"Eve… are you really allowed to do that?" Hoshino asked suspiciously.
"Of course! Don't hold back, Hoshino—use my power to your heart's content!"
"No, what I mean is—I already shuffled my deck. You suddenly putting a card on top like that… isn't that basically cheating?"
"It doesn't matter!" To Hoshino's surprise, Hela didn't mind at all—in fact, her smile grew even more arrogant. "Weak humans bound by life and death, and a useless priestess—working together won't give you any chance of victory."
"Weak humans? Looks like that old woman is underestimating us." Exchanging a glance with Atem, Hoshino drew her starting card.
Following her lead, Atem also drew and smiled. "How interesting, Hoshino. It's been a long time since I've felt this—the thrill of going all out."
"Duel—!"
[Hela & Marik LP 8000]
VS
[Hoshino Chiyuki & Yugi Muto LP 8000]
"My turn—draw!"
Taking the first turn, among Hoshino's opening six cards, one was clearly the card Eve had just placed on top.
That card, which only had Eve's image printed on it, shimmered with starlight that obscured its effect, giving it a mysterious and powerful aura.
"It feels kind of strong… let's go, Eve!" Hoshino declared, placing the card onto her Duel Disk.
"—Show everyone your power! I summon Crowned by the World Chalice in Defense Position!"
Eve: "Ikuzo! Star Chalice Shrine Maiden Eve—ultimate materialization, here I come!"
[Crowned by the World Chalice ★★ (Level 2)][WATER][Spellcaster][ATK 0/DEF 2100]
Despite the flashy introduction, her actual summoning was anything but—it was just Eve casually walking onto the field and taking a defensive stance.
And most importantly—
["It's a Normal Monster…"]
Mokuba: "It's a Normal Monster…"
Kaiba: "So it's a Normal Monster…"
Hoshino: "Why the hell would a Normal Monster like you contaminate my hand?!"
Hoshino finally understood why Queen Hela had no objection to Eve placing her card on top of the deck. If the opponent wanted to give you a 0 ATK Normal Monster, she wouldn't object either.
"Hey, what do you mean 'Normal Monster'? That's rude!" Eve protested. "At Level 2, I have a whopping 2100 DEF! What more were you expecting, Hoshino?!"
"…Sorry, I was wrong." Hoshino admitted sincerely. "The real idiot was me for expecting something from you. Now I'm certain—you really are a genuinely useless shrine maiden!"
"Th-That's so mean!"
"I set four cards and end my turn!"
After effectively losing one card from her hand, Hoshino felt the difficulty of the duel increase. To play it safe, she set multiple cards to stabilize the field.
[Hoshino's: 1 Hand Card | 4 Set Cards]
"Heh heh… hahaha! My turn—draw!"
After Hoshino, it wasn't Hela who took the turn—it was Marik, revived from the depths of darkness.
["Aibo, I was just thinking—are we sure that guy is really Marik?"]
Back then, the darker Marik was essentially an evil personality awakened by the Millennium Rod. After losing the Shadow Game, not only should his body have been destroyed, but his soul should have dissipated as well.
Hoshino nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. This Marik feels… different from before."
"Does it feel strange, Hoshino? I know exactly what you're thinking!" Marik's mismatched, exaggerated eyes seemed to see right through her concerns.
"In that battle back then, the soul you tore apart through the Shadow Game—that was the true dark personality of Marik… in other words, the 'other me'!"
"You're saying the dark Marik was another you?" Hoshino and Atem exclaimed at the same time.
["Then that means—you're actually the original Marik? Seriously? The difference is way too big!"]
Although they hadn't interacted much, the original Marik, as Hoshino remembered, was relatively normal—both in personality and expression.
"That's because I've returned from hell. After seven years, I now understand darkness even better than the personality born from the Millennium Rod!" Marik laughed maniacally, tearing at his own face.
Mokuba said nervously, "Is this the terror of a Shadow Game? It can twist a person's mind into something even darker than a dark spirit…"
"Don't try to bluff your way through this." With his arms crossed, Kaiba showed a look of disdain, clearly not believing Marik's words at all. "Marik, you disappeared after the semifinals back then. Who would've thought you've been hiding in the Duel Tower for seven whole years?"
Hoshino Alter said admiringly, "Even after seeing so many supernatural things, he still sticks to his beliefs and refuses to believe any of it. Honestly, I kind of respect Kaiba for that sometimes."
"But the dark personality Marik relied entirely on the Winged Dragon of Ra's power. Now that he doesn't have a God Card, I doubt he'll be that strong," Hoshino speculated. "Or is he going to use copies of the God Cards again like before?"
Back then, using the Field Spell Mound of the Bound Creator, Marik had used counterfeit cards—fake cards—to forcibly summon all three Egyptian Gods onto his field.
"That's impossible. Marik can't use fake cards anymore," Kaiba said firmly. "This isn't seven years ago. Trying to insert fake card data into Kaiba Corp's current duel system is nothing but a pipe dream."
Back then, since Duel Disks were being introduced worldwide for the first time, Kaiba Corp's system wasn't fully mature, allowing Marik to hack in fake card data.
But after seven years of development, Kaiba Corp had advanced far beyond what an organization like the Ghouls could ever interfere with.
"So he can't use fake cards, and the real God Cards are with Yugi…" Hoshino suddenly realized, looking at Marik. "Then that means—you're just some creepy, expression-making loser now!"
"Heh heh… hahaha! You think I can't use the power of the Gods? Then just watch!"
Starting his turn, Marik immediately placed a Field Spell into the Duel Disk's Field Zone.
"—I activate the Field Spell Mound of the Bound Creator! Tremble—this is the sealed land that can even bind the Gods!"
Three massive stone pillars representing the three Egyptian Gods rose from the ground. Sparks of electricity flickered along iron chains across the field, as if awaiting their prey.
"Mound of the Bound Creator… a field that grants resistance to Level 10+ monsters and forcibly keeps the Gods on the field…" Atem frowned slightly. "What is he planning?"
"Hahahaha! After all these years… Winged Dragon of Ra, return to my side!"
Placing another Spell Card onto his Duel Disk, a thunderous divine chant echoed across the field.
"—Spell Card Lullaby of Obedience!"
[Pay 2000 LP and declare 1 Monster Card name; your opponent looks at their Deck, reveals 1 of the declared monsters if there is any, and chooses 1 of these effects to be applied.
●The declared monster is added to the hand of the player who activated this card.
●The player who activated this card Special Summons the declared monster to their field in Attack Position, ignoring its Summoning conditions.]
"I pay 2000 Life Points—Yugi, I declare The Winged Dragon of Ra in your deck!"
[Marik & Hela LP 8000 → 6000]
"What?!" Even Atem showed a hint of shock at this unexpected move.
"Do I need to check your deck myself, or will you hand over the God obediently?" Marik urged with a twisted grin.
"Damn it!" Unwillingly, Atem searched his deck, pulled out Ra, and tossed the card toward Marik.
Since this was a crucial duel, he had included all three God Cards in his deck despite the risk.
["Losing a God before even making a move… this is bad."]
Grabbing the card, Marik slammed it onto his Duel Disk as if resonating with its soul.
"—Spirits sing, ancient power governs all! Its life, its soul, even its corpse—return to me, Ra!"
[The Winged Dragon of Ra ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK ?/DEF ?]
Amid roaring thunder within the temple, blazing solar flames erupted. Bound by iron chains, Ra roared in anger and anguish.
"But since Ra was Special Summoned without tributes, its ATK should be 0. It's not that threatening," Hoshino analyzed.
[The Winged Dragon of Ra ATK 0]
"Huh, it looks so scary, but it has the same attack as me!" Eve, who had been cowering moments ago, suddenly straightened up.
"Then I, the Star Chalice Shrine Maiden with 2100 DEF, will block the God's attack for you, Hoshino!"
"You think that's the end?!" Marik continued, placing another Spell Card. This time, even Kaiba couldn't stay calm.
"I activate another Lullaby of Obedience! I pay 2000 Life Points and declare Obelisk the Tormentor!"
[Marik & Hela LP 6000 → 4000]
The effect activated again, mercilessly taking the second God Card from Atem's deck.
"—All living things shall become corpses! Descend upon my field, Obelisk!"
[Obelisk the Tormentor ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK 4000/DEF 4000]
A scorching wind swept across the field. Beneath Ra in the sky, the massive blue giant materialized, bound by chains.
Dropping to the ground in panic, Eve scooted closer to Hoshino. "Th-There's no way I can handle that! What kind of monster has that much attack?!"
"I never expected you to beat a God in the first place. Just stay put," Hoshino said seriously, ignoring Eve's antics as she stared at the two Gods.
Judging by Marik's expression and Hela's sinister smile, Hoshino was certain—this was a planned strategy targeting the Pharaoh's deck.
"—I activate a third Lullaby of Obedience! I pay 2000 Life Points and declare Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
[Marik & Hela LP 4000 → 2000]
After paying a total of 6000 Life Points, Marik had seized all three Egyptian God Cards from Atem's deck.
"When thunder roars across the heavens and chaos reigns, the ancient magic chained together shall grant infinite power! Come forth—Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
[Slifer the Sky Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DIVINE][Divine-Beast/Effect][ATK ?/DEF ?]
In a single turn, all three Egyptian Gods assembled on the opponent's field. Their overlapping roars shook the Duel Tower—and the entire Devil's Island.
["Alright… it's the traitor dragon—there's still hope!"]