"Then now, Kaiba—can you explain why you were fighting in such a suicidal way?"
With a tone mixed with reprimand, Hoshino pressed him.
Even though she hadn't seen the details of Kaiba's duel firsthand, the still-flickering, damaged Duel Links light—and the utterly wrecked state of his body—were more than enough for her to piece things together.
"Hmph. I don't need you worrying about me."
Kaiba forced himself upright, at the very least making sure he didn't look like he was about to collapse in front of Hoshino.
Hoshino's eyebrow twitched in irritation.
"I swear, I—seriously—Kaiba, do you even know how to be grateful?!"
Now that the tension had finally eased, Mokuba spoke up in Kaiba's stead with heartfelt gratitude:
"Thanks to you and Yugi arriving in time, we were saved again. I really don't know how we can ever repay you."
"No need to repay us." Hoshino shrugged and shook her head.
"If Kaiba Corp goes under, I'd lose my livelihood too. What surprised me more is that you came as well, Yugi."
Hoshino had originally been heading back to Domino City alone from Duel Island, but unexpectedly ran into Yugi fighting the Shadows of the King's War in front of Kame Shop.
Yugi explained,
"Last night, the Duel Alliance was attacked. Sensing something was wrong, my aibo rushed back to Domino City overnight… probably worried about his grandfather."
To completely cripple humanity's Duel Monsters power, duel facilities across the world had been attacked by the Shadows. What Hoshino hadn't expected was that even an old, run-down card shop like Grandpa's wouldn't be spared.
That alone showed how widespread the invasion of the Shadows of the King was—they were determined to push all human-related Duel Monsters forces into a corner.
"So since Yugi's here, that means the toy shop is safe now, right?" Mokuba asked with concern.
Hoshino grinned confidently.
"Not just the shop—we cleared out the Shadows across Domino City on our way here. At least for now, the town's safe."
Facing enemies with A+ level dueling strength, being able to casually describe it as "clearing them out along the way"—in the entire world, probably only Hoshino and Yugi standing here had the right to say that.
"Kaiba, why aren't you using your own deck?" Hoshino continued, pressing further.
She had long been suspicious about Kaiba abandoning Duel Monsters. Combined with his forced use of the Duel Links system today, it only confirmed to her that something was off.
Hoshino Alter added,
["Aibo, if there are still only three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards in existence… then where did the ones Kaibaman used come from?"]
Hoshino had personally seen the Blue-Eyes in Kaibaman's deck. What Hoshino Alter implied was clear—Kaiba might no longer possess his own Blue-Eyes cards.
Even if the Duel Links system could temporarily access the consciousness of Blue-Eyes like earlier, it was still like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"I already told you—you don't need to worry about me!" Kaiba snapped back.
"More importantly, Hoshino—leaving Duel Academy at a time like this, are you sure that's okay?"
"Yeah, Hoshino!" Mokuba also realized the severity of the situation.
"With duel facilities all over the world being attacked, there's no way they'd ignore Duel Academy. Is it really okay for you not to be there?"
Even with an optimistic estimate—Jaden was missing and unreliable, and among the students capable of fighting A+ level duelists were only Zane Truesdale, Atticus, Akasha, and maybe Professor Banner.
"Relax, I already made arrangements." Hoshino smirked, revealing a mysterious smile.
---
Meanwhile — Duel Academy
"I activate the Field Spell—[Mystic Mine]!"
With a cigarette hanging from his lips, Waver impatiently inserted the card into the Field Zone of his Duel Disk. Instantly, the surrounding scenery near the academy warped along with the activation.
"As long as Mystic Mine is on the field, if you control more monsters than I do, you cannot activate monster effects or declare attacks."
During his duel against the Shadows of the King, Waver hadn't summoned a single monster—purely to maximize Mystic Mine's effect and completely seal off the Xyz Monsters' offensive capabilities.
"So you're planning to stall with this?"
The masked Shadow's impatience was evident even beneath the mask.
"Oh, it's not just stalling."
Placing two more Spell Cards onto his Duel Disk, two magic-charged cannons rose on either side of Waver.
"I activate two Continuous Spells—[Wave-Motion Cannon]!"
[Wave-Motion Cannon – Continuous Spell Effect:
During your Main Phase, you can send this face-up card to the Graveyard; inflict damage to your opponent equal to 1000 × the number of your Standby Phases since its activation.]
Having set up his strategy perfectly, Waver flicked the ash from his cigarette and taunted:
"This is your countdown—four turns. If you can't break through my grand strategist's barrier, I'll wipe out all your Life Points in one go."
Holmes commented dryly,
"To call such a friendship-ending card a 'grand strategist's barrier'… I've never seen someone so shameless."
Fighting alongside Waver, Holmes formed one half of the heroic duo defending Duel Academy against the Shadows' invasion.
After all, they were the champion and runner-up of the Chaldea Duel Tournament—their intellect and dueling skill needed no explanation.
"They're so strong… who are these two, meow?"
Professor Banner stared in disbelief. Even after years at the academy, he had never seen people this powerful.
The students hiding in the dorms and peeking outside were equally stunned.
"I heard from Akasha—they're bodyguards hired by the principal."
"Bodyguards this strong? They'd dominate even in the pro duel league!"
"But the pro duel league has already fallen… does resisting here even matter?"
"Don't say things like that! The Headmistress used to be the Duel King! You think she'd hire just anyone weaker than pros?"
"…Though it doesn't look like everyone is stronger than pros…"
Their gaze shifted toward a loud, energetic figure up ahead—and they couldn't help but complain.
"Come on, Shadows of the King! Let me, Okita—top eight of the Chaldea Duel Tournament—be your opponent!"
Waving her Duel Disk excitedly, Okita—whose deck only contained a single monster, Heroic Spirit – Okita—eagerly stepped forward, thrilled to finally duel freely.
"Don't go throwing your life away, Okita."
Pulling her back, Nobunaga mercilessly exposed the truth:
"Top eight? There weren't even eight participants in that tournament to begin with."
"—Fire! Double Wave-Motion Cannon, charged for four turns!"
Taking advantage of Mystic Mine's effect, Waver easily stalled for four turns. Then, with both cannons firing simultaneously, he wiped out the Shadow's full Life Points in a single strike.
[Shadow of the King's LP 8000 → 0]
"AAAAAAAHHH—!"
Under the overwhelming blast of light, the defeated Shadow was reduced to ashes—its very existence erased along with it.
"We've won. As expected of the grand strategist who once defeated me," Nobunaga nodded in approval.
Looking around, Okita—who hadn't gotten the chance to duel as she had hoped—spoke with obvious disappointment,
"Even though the World Tree is inside the academy, there are surprisingly few Shadows invading."
"That aligns with my thoughts as well."
Stroking his chin, Holmes stared at the World Tree as he analyzed:
"Rather than saying they can't, it's more like they simply don't need to waste their Shadows' combat power invading the academy. The only purpose of doing so would be to show off just how abundant their forces are."
In other words, they were merely toying with them—those few Shadows meant nothing. If they truly wanted to invade, the most efficient method would have been like last night: sending a King directly.
But before Holmes could finish speaking, the World Tree began to emit its unique glow.
"So it's here…"
Waver tossed aside his cigarette. Even before it fully appeared, the overwhelming pressure in the air forced him to become cautious.
"The human world really does hide warriors of this caliber."
A golden greatsword slammed heavily into the center of the academy grounds. From the radiance of the World Tree, the masked King of the Sword Realm—King Frodi—slowly emerged.
Holmes straightened his expression.
"So this is one of the Kings Miss Hoshino mentioned? This is… someone you don't even need deduction to realize is extremely troublesome."
"Perfect. Yesterday's duel didn't satisfy me. Human duelist—come entertain me with a proper battle!"
With a mechanical, elegant transformation, the golden greatsword reshaped into a metallic Duel Disk, attaching itself to Frodi's arm.
"What a troublesome Master…" Waver muttered softly.
According to the Star Grail Priestess Eve's calculations, the Kings possessed too much energy to pass through the World Tree's pathway all at once. Just like the three Kings who descended last night, today's group should have had to wait until nighttime.
That was why Hoshino entrusted Waver and Holmes to hold back the Shadows during her absence—completely forgetting that among the three Kings who descended yesterday, one had not been defeated.
"But since we've accepted the task, we'll have to stop him before Master returns."
Waver's sharp gaze locked onto Frodi.
"Or perhaps… eliminating him directly would be fine as well?"
Okita quickly warned,
"The last person who raised a flag like that—Mr. Emiya—never came back, you know."
"Hahaha! The human world truly never ceases to amuse me!"
Letting out a bold, booming laugh, Frodi showed no sign of being shaken by Waver's confidence.
"Come at me together if you wish—try to satisfy this king's surging desire for battle!"
"No—your opponent is me, King Frodi!"
Running at full speed from the direction of the Red Dorm, Jaden—who had been missing all night—reappeared as if perfectly timing the Sword King's arrival.
"Jaden?" Professor Banner exclaimed in shock.
"Where have you been all night, meow?"
"Sorry, Professor Banner, for making you worry."
Standing before King Frodi, Jaden confidently snapped open his Duel Disk, his signature grin returning.
"I just took some time… to figure out the path I should walk."
"I see, meow."
Though Jaden didn't explain in detail, Banner could tell from his clear, unwavering eyes that his doubts had been completely resolved.
"Jaden Yuki?"
Jaden's sudden appearance surprised King Frodi slightly—but more than that, it delighted him.
"To think you'd find the courage to stand before me again after just one night… I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
"Do you require assistance, Mr. Jaden?" Holmes asked.
"He did say earlier that he wouldn't mind fighting multiple opponents."
"Thanks, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Waver."
Jaden shook his head and declined.
"But I want to defeat King Frodi with my own strength—using the new heroes I've obtained!"
"New heroes? Interesting!" King Frodi's excitement grew.
"Then show me, Jaden Yuki—whether your resolve in wielding heroes can overcome the King of Swords!"
"But this time, you won't need to give me half your Life Points," Jaden added firmly.
"Let's settle this fairly—with our heroes!"
Duel—!
[Jaden Yuki LP 8000]
VS
[King Frodi LP 8000]
"I'll go first—draw!"
Drawing his opening card, Jaden immediately activated a Spell Card from his hand.
"I use Fusion to fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix from my hand—Fusion Summon Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"
[Flame Wingman ATK 2100]
Jaden's signature Fusion Monster materialized on the field instantly.
"…It doesn't look that different from before, meow?" Banner muttered in confusion.
"I'm not done yet—this is my new power!"
Throwing another Spell Card into his Duel Disk, the freshly summoned Flame Wingman was immediately engulfed in light and split apart.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell—De-Fusion! Separate Flame Wingman and Special Summon Avian and Burstinatrix to my field!"
[Avian ATK 1000]
[Burstinatrix ATK 1200]
"Now—the Neo-Spacians have a new hero!
I tribute my two heroes to Tribute Summon—Elemental HERO Neos!"
Akasha: "(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ What kind of ridiculous play is that?!"