"Anyway, let's beat him up first, Kintoki!"
After struggling with the decision for a while, Loptr's smug face proved far too irritating to tolerate. With Akasha fanning the flames at her side, Hoshino finally decided to try challenging the rules of this world.
"Got it, Boss! Leave this kind of rough work to me~"
Cracking his knuckles and grinning wide, Kintoki was clearly very pleased with Hoshino's decision.
"You despicable outsider! To dare refuse a duel challenge—unbelievable!"
Staggering back two steps in panic, Loptr had never in his life encountered an opponent who refused to follow the usual script like this.
"Who said I was refusing your duel challenge?"
Hoshino revealed a devilishly bright smile and explained, "My motto is that I never turn down anyone who comes knocking… But beating you up first and accepting your duel aren't mutually exclusive, right?"
It made far too much sense. Only then did Loptr realize that barging alone into enemy territory, openly taunting people in front of hundreds—no, thousands—of students, and still remaining completely unharmed until now was practically a miracle born of goodwill.
"Take this—Justice Knight Flying Kick! Justice Knight Iron Fist! And Justice Wheel Crush!"
If you add the word "Justice" in front of your moves, even a one-sided beatdown feels completely righteous. So Kintoki's red-green-green EX combo landed on Loptr without the slightest mercy.
Snap—
Just as the surrounding students were cheering Kintoki on for venting their frustrations, the lace of Hoshino's white sneaker suddenly snapped.
["(っﾟДﾟ)っ This is bad luck, aibo! Defying this world's rules might bring an ominous omen!"]
"That's enough, Kintoki. Stop for now."
Whether it was truly a bad omen or not, Hoshino couldn't say. But if this kept up, Loptr—who was already close to collapsing into Yamcha's classic defeated pose—might not even be able to duel.
Even if he was just a lackey, they still needed to squeeze some useful information out of him. Or at least use him to estimate the true level of strength on the King's side.
"Damn you… I won't forgive you, despicable human."
Forcing himself to stand, Loptr no longer carried the lofty arrogance from before—only boundless fury remained.
Unfolding his Duel Disk with crisp mechanical clicks, Hoshino pointed at Loptr and provoked him:
"Then, according to your King's rules, state your race. Don't start whining later that I bullied you."
["Aibo, Akasha already said this guy isn't a King. There's no need to obsess over race. Besides, what if he cheats and declares something like Dinosaur-type? You don't even have cards for that."]
"If that happens, we'll just beat him again until he declares Warrior-type."
Akasha chimed in, "Hoshino-nee, from his duel with Professor Crowler, you can tell he uses a Warrior-Type and Fairy-Type hybrid deck. And that Fairy-Type Xyz monster of his is really troublesome!"
"Warrior-Type mixed with Fairy-Type? Perfect!"
Hoshino pulled her deck from the card case at her waist and slotted it into her Duel Disk.
She had already confirmed with Kaiba Man that defeating the King with the corresponding race didn't mean restricting your deck to only that race.
It meant using the same race as the King—and displaying a presence that surpassed the King himself.
Just like Zane earlier: with Chimeratech Overdragon's fatal six consecutive attacks, he achieved an extreme comeback victory and completely surpassed the King's mastery over Machine-types.
Of course, that strategy was meant for facing a King—not merely a lackey like this one.
"You're just a small fry. Don't think beating Crowler gives you the right to run wild in this academy. That guy doesn't even qualify as a combat unit."
"Foolish human! It's impossible to defeat a great King. Something must have gone wrong before—I'll prove it now!"
Duel—!
[Loptr LP 8000]
VS
[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 8000]
"I'll go first. Draw! I summon 'Heroic Spirit – Cú Chulainn' in Attack Position!"
[Heroic Spirit – Cú Chulainn ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1600/DEF 1600]
"Oh? I've been getting quite a lot of screen time lately," Cú Chulainn said excitedly, twirling his crimson spear. "Does this mean I'm finally getting some kind of Xyz Mode?"
When in doubt, just throw out the dog. If you can't launch an opening offensive while going first, there's no need to rush your plays. Setting Cú Chulainn on the field as a steady presence isn't a bad option.
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
[Hoshino: 3 Hand Cards | 2 Set Cards]
"My turn, draw! I summon a monster in Defense Position—'Summoner Monk'!"
[Summoner Monk ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 800/DEF 1600]
An elderly man in black robes appeared, floating cross-legged on Loptr's field.
"Hey, isn't that a Spellcaster? Weren't you supposed to be using Warriors and Fairies? You're not sticking to the script," Hoshino accused.
["Aibo, we already said he's not a King…"]
"Spare me your excuses, weakling! I activate the effect of 'Summoner Monk'!"
[Once per turn: You can discard 1 Spell; Special Summon 1 Level 4 monster from your Deck, but that monster cannot attack this turn.]
Selecting a card from his hand and sending it to the Graveyard, Loptr summoned a knight clad in silver-white armor onto the field.
"I Special Summon the Level 4 monster, 'Daybreaker,' from my Deck!"
[Daybreaker ★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1700/DEF 0]
"And now, 'Daybreaker's' effect! When this card is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Daybreaker' from my hand!"
[Daybreaker ATK 1700]
The continuous flashes of summoning light consumed three cards from Loptr's hand, and before long, he had assembled three Level 4 monsters on his field.
"I'm going in! I overlay the three Level 4 monsters on my field as Xyz Materials—witness fear itself! Xyz Summon—Vylon Disigma!"
[Vylon Disigma ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][LIGHT][Fairy/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2100]
[3 Level 4 monsters]
["This thing… is as 'Fairy' as ever!"]
That bizarre yellow-and-black Fairy-Type monster had once easily shattered Professor Crowler's ace monster. Now, its spearhead turned toward the Cú Chulainn on Hoshino's field.
"Effect of Vylon Disigma—once per turn, detach one Xyz Material from this card and target one face-up Attack Position Effect Monster your opponent controls; equip it to this card as an Equip Card!"
Detaching Daybreaker from beneath the Xyz card and sending it to the Graveyard, the hidden maw within Vylon Disigma's body opened wide and devoured the Cú Chulainn Hoshino had summoned just to hold the field on turn one.
"Damn it! Why this trick again?! I haven't even used Battle Continuation yet!!"
Amid Cú Chulainn's final curse, the card from Hoshino's Duel Disk vanished and appeared in Loptr's back row.
Hoshino twitched. "Instant betrayal. Same old script… Figures you'd pull this, you traitor."
Pressing the advantage, Loptr played two Spell Cards. "Not done yet! I activate Reinforcement of the Army and Monster Reborn!"
[Reinforcement of the Army Effect: Add 1 Level 4 or lower Warrior monster from your Deck to your hand.]
"I add the Level 4 Warrior Daybreaker from my Deck to my hand, then use Monster Reborn to revive the other Daybreaker I sent to the Graveyard earlier!"
[Daybreaker ATK 1700]
"When Daybreaker is Special Summoned, I activate its effect again—Special Summon the Daybreaker I just searched from my hand!"
[Daybreaker ATK 1700]
"Now witness the gap in power! I overlay the two Level 4 monsters on my field—Xyz Summon Heroic Champion - Excalibur!"
In a single turn, he performed two different Xyz Summons. With the Xyz Field built by the World Tree and no limit on Overlay Network summons, the Kings could wield this power more skillfully than modern humans—just like Kaiba Man had said.
[Heroic Champion - Excalibur ☆☆☆☆ (Rank 4)][LIGHT][Warrior/Xyz/Effect][ATK 2000/DEF 2000]
[2 Level 4 Warrior monsters]
Within the overlapping Xyz light, Heroic Champion – Excalibur materialized, gripping a massive sword and radiating the aura of "nothing in this world I cannot cut."
"I activate Heroic Champion – Excalibur's effect—once per turn, detach two Xyz Materials; its ATK becomes double its original ATK until the end of your next turn!"
Detaching all materials beneath Excalibur and sending them to the Graveyard, Loptr doubled its attack power.
[Heroic Champion – Excalibur ATK 2000 → 4000]
"You talked big before the duel, but you're no different from that ugly loser." With 6500 total ATK on his field, Loptr mocked Hoshino—and took a jab at Crowler again.
"Now, let's begin this turn's inevitable battle! Vylon Disigma, attack directly!"
With the traitorous Cú Chulainn equipped, Vylon Disigma revealed blades hidden beneath its wings and lunged at Hoshino.
"That so-called Fairy is wrecking my sanity! Watch closely—this is what a real angel looks like!" Flipping her set card, Hoshino countered, "Trap Card—A Prayer for the Sword, A Wish for Life!"
[A Prayer for the Sword, A Wish for Life Effect: When a Special Summoned monster declares a direct attack, Special Summon one 'Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc' from your Deck. Return it to the hand at End Phase.]
[Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Fairy/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 3000]
Waving a pure white banner, the angelic maiden appeared in radiant judgment light.
"As the Ruler—the final fortress of humanity—Jeanne d'Arc has arrived! Enemy of mankind, you shall not take another step forward!"
["Yep, a Fairy like Jeanne looks way more pleasing to the eye… though a younger Jeanne would be even better~"]
In the clash of Fairies, Jeanne's 3000 DEF stood before Vylon Disigma's 2500 ATK—but Loptr didn't pull back.
"Hahaha! Final fortress of humanity? Effect of Vylon Disigma—when it battles a monster with the same Attribute as the monster equipped by this effect, destroy that monster without damage calculation!"
Equipped to it, Cú Chulainn shared the LIGHT Attribute with Jeanne.
"Using humanity's own power to break humanity's fortress—how ironic!"
Blade and holy banner collided violently, Xyz radiance and judgment light exploding at a single point.
"I told you…" Jeanne's slender body held back the terrifying angel. Her golden hair fluttered, glowing with sacred prayer.
"I told you, you won't take another step forward—'Luminosité Eternelle'!"
Through her sacred banner, her EX-ranked Magic Resistance converted into defense against even physical attacks—the legend of a banner-bearing saint who survived countless battlefields.
Hoshino declared, "Effect of Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc! Her ATK drops by 1000, but none of my monsters can be destroyed this turn!"
[Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc ATK 2500 → 1500]
"With an attack like that, don't dream of breaking humanity's final fortress!"
"Damn it, what an annoying effect!"
Facing an absolute barrier of magic, Loptr knew he couldn't break through. And Excalibur's doubled ATK wouldn't last until his next turn. He had no choice but to end his battle.
"I set one card and end my turn. Then, by A Prayer for the Sword, A Wish for Life, Heroic Spirit – Jeanne d'Arc returns to its owner's hand!"
A Level 8 monster isn't easy to summon again without another Special Summon method.
"Sorry, Jeanne, now's not the time to rest! I activate my face-down Quick-Play Spell—Phantasm Summon!"
Flipping her second set card, Hoshino filled the fading prayer light with starlit magic, transforming it into continuing hope.
"I send Illya from my hand and Jeanne on the field to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials! Fusion Summon—Magical Girl – Jeanne Illya!"