Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"How could this happen?" Odion finally let his composure slip, staring at the shattered remnants of his Tiki Curse.

"That's what happens when you mess with Sanson!" Hoshino shot back, holding up Sanson's card for effect. "Activating Sanson's special effect, triggered upon destruction!"

[Effect: If this card is destroyed by battle: You can Special Summon 1 [Heroic Spirit - Marie Antoinette] from your Deck.]

"Thanks to Sanson's effect, I'll Special Summon Marie in Attack Position!" Hoshino flicked her card into play. Amid shimmering crystal fragments, a dignified woman with a stern expression materialized.

[Heroic Spirit – Marie Antoinette★★★★ (4 stars)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK1000/DEF1400]

"With this card on my side, Marie's fiery wrath is about to turn the tide and take out your Tiki Curse!" Hoshino declared, pointing to the Quick-Play Spell card [Hero Creation] glowing on her field. Power surged around Marie, her presence intensifying as crimson light engulfed her.

[Marie ATK 1000 → 2000]

"And, oh, by the way—thanks to Hero Creation, whatever damage she deals is doubled!" Hoshino grinned.

[Odion LP 4000 → 3600]

"Tch, just a minor damage!" Odion grumbled, sliding his defeated Tiki Curse back into his Duel Disk's set zone. "With Tiki Soul's effect, the destroyed Trap Monster resets face-down! And thanks to my Spell, [Temple of the Kings], set Traps can activate right away. So rise again, Tiki Curse!"

As Odion spoke, the shattered remnants of Tiki Curse reassembled on his field.

Hoshino groaned, scratching her head. "Ugh, this is such a pain. If I don't take out Tiki Soul, these things are gonna keep bouncing back, but if I leave that creepy scorpion thing alone."

"Finally feeling the pressure, huh?" Odion sneered.

"Pressure? Pfft, as if!" Hoshino waved him off. "Activating Marie's special effect! When she's successfully summoned, I can change the position of one face-up monster on the field!"

Marie raised a commanding finger, directing her ire toward Serket. "You, sit down and behave!"

Despite its menacing appearance, Serket shrank back under Marie's glare.

[Mystical Beast of Serket DEF 2000]

"Hmph, Another weird effect no matter." Odion shrugged, setting a card. "I'll end my turn."

Odion's remaining hand: 1 card

"My turn! Draw!" Hoshino swept the card from her Duel Disk with a flourish. "Alright, time to turn this whole duel around! I Tribute Marie for a Tribute Summon!"

A radiant beam pierced the night as Hoshino held her card aloft.

"In Attack Position, I Tribute Summon [Heroic Spirit – Emiya]!" The red-clad figure materialized in midair, his twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya already in hand.

[Heroic Spirit – Emiya ★★★★★★ (6 stars)][WIND][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2300/DEF 2000]

"Alright, Emiya, let's show them what we've got!" Hoshino declared, slamming down a Spell Card. "I activate [Salem of the Heresy]!"

[Salem of the Heresy Spell Card effect: You can only activate 1 card with this name per turn.

Select 1 of the following effects:

①: Add 1 [Heroic Spirit] Field Spell from your Deck to your hand....]

Hoshino smirked, brandishing her choice. "I'm adding [Unlimited Blade Works] to my hand!"

Yugi's eyes widened. "A Field Spell… Emiya… Could it be!?"

"That card!" Jonouchi exclaimed, remembering its power during the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

Even Kaiba's gaze sharpened. "By playing this Field Spell, she'll destroy Odion's Temple of the Kings. A bold move."

But from the shadows, Marik chuckled darkly. "Fools. They underestimate Odion."

Hoshino confidently slid [Unlimited Blade Works] into her Field Slot. "Activating Field Spell—"

"MUDA DA!" Odion roared, triggering his Trap Card. "I activate [Dust Tornado]!"

[Dust Tornado Trap Card effect: Target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; destroy that target, then you can Set 1 Spell/Trap from your hand.]

A whirlwind burst forth, ripping Hoshino's Field Spell off the board.

[Unlimited Blade Works] destroyed

"Seriously?!" Hoshino threw her hands in the air, looking utterly deflated. "Come on, I even had a pose ready! This is just embarrassing!"

"That's awkward, huh, Master?" Emiya muttered, stifling his disappointment.

Kaiba scoffed. "Heh. Ridiculous."

Odion smirked as he reset a card in his Spell & Trap Zone. "Thanks to Dust Tornado's effect, I can set one card from my hand.

"No matter! Emiya, attack Tiki Soul!" Hoshino pressed forward.

Emiya's blades shattered Tiki Soul in a flurry of sparks.

[Tiki Soul] destroyed

Odion smirked. "Foolish move. By destroying Tiki Soul, you'll trigger Tiki Curse!"

[While this card is an Effect Monster, if another Trap Card that is a monster battles an opponent's monster, after damage calculation: Destroy that opponent's monster.]

A sinister glow enveloped Tiki Curse. "As per its effect, the monster that destroyed Tiki Soul will be destroyed. Face the wrath of the gods!"

Hoshino's grin widened. "Ahem." She cleared her throat. Then, imitating Yugi's tone, she finally said the line she'd been wanting to say for ages. "Sore wa doukana!"

"Aaaah!"Emiya clutched his head, a guttural scream tearing from his throat—not from the curse, but from a surge of dark energy erupting from Hoshino's Bracelet.

"This power!" Yugi and Kaiba, both at the same time, recognized the familiar sight—a darkness strong enough to change everything.

"Only fools gather here on the battlefield!" Emiya, or rather Emiya Alter, sneered coldly after breaking through the darkness and transforming into his altered state.

[Heroic Spirit - Emiya Alter★★★★★★★★ (8 stars)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 2400/DEF 2600]

"As expected, it's an Alter monster!" Kaiba clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed. Maybe it was because he'd lost to this deck before, but the sight of Alter transformations seemed to rub him the wrong way.

Jonouchi blinked in disbelief. "Wait, so Hoshino's still usin' cards like that?"

Yugi, however, remained calm, his expression understanding. "I think it's fine. Hoshino said it herself—light or dark doesn't matter. What matters is staying true to what's in your heart."

Meanwhile, Odion, thoroughly baffled, exclaimed, "Impossible! Emiya should have been destroyed by Tiki Curse's effect. How did he return—stronger than before?!"

Hoshino smirked, her confidence unshaken. "You're absolutely right, Odion. Emiya was destroyed. But the monster now on my field isn't the same one—it's something entirely new!"

While the attention had been on Emiya's transformation, Hoshino had smoothly swapped cards on her Duel Disk without missing a beat.

"This is [Heroic Spirit - Emiya Alter], a new monster that was searched when Marie's effect activated after going to the Graveyard. And when Emiya was destroyed, I triggered his effect from my hand."

[Cannot be Normal Summoned. Must be Special Summoned (from the hand) by banishing 1 [Emiya] from your GY.]

"According to Emiya Alter's effect, I Special Summon him to the field in Defense Position!" Hoshino rotated the card on her Duel Disk as Alter materialized, blade in hand.

[Heroic Spirit - Emiya Alter DEF 2600]

Odion scoffed, though a hint of unease flickered in his eyes. "Hmph. Laughable. Even if you summon a new monster, it changes nothing. Such desperation is futile."

Hoshino waved him off, unbothered. "Futile? Don't be so sure. You thought switching Serket to Defense Position was just for show?" She gestured dramatically toward Alter. "Emiya, handle that thing!"

With a deadly precision, Emiya Alter raised his blade, locking his sights on the scorpion-like Serket. His tone was ice-cold, devoid of empathy. "I don't hold beliefs, but I will end this."

Boom!

A magic-infused bullet tore through the air with pinpoint accuracy. The sound reverberated through the arena as the dark projectile found its mark.

The shot pierced straight through Serket's open maw, exiting its tail in a flash of light. The beast writhed in agony, its massive body twisting and screaming before finally collapsing in a heap of rubble.

"Such a disgusting creature. How dare you call yourself a fairy," Emiya Alter sneered, his glare filled with disdain.

[Mystical Beast of Serket] destroyed.

"Impossible!" Odion's normally stoic composure cracked into visible shock. "Your monster couldn't even attack this turn. How did Serket fall?!"

Hoshino grinned smugly, sliding Emiya Alter's card forward on her Duel Disk. "Who said you have to attack to destroy? Emiya Alter's got plenty of ways to take care of your monsters, and the choice is all mine!"

"When Emiya Alter is Special Summoned, his effect activates—destroying all face-up Defense Position monsters on your field. You thought I made Marie switch Serket to Defense Position for fun?"

Odion's eyes widened as realization hit him. "From Sanson to Marie, then Emiya, and now Emiya Alter… Each move you made was deliberate. You planned all of this from the start, didn't you?"

Yugi nodded in admiration. "She set this entire strategy in motion the moment the duel began, patiently layering her moves until she delivered that decisive blow with Alter."

Even Odion's gaze softened, tinged with respect. "I see now… You're a truly formidable duelist, Hoshino."

"Glad you noticed!" Hoshino shot back with a wink. Drawing her next card, she continued her turn, confident as ever. "Turn end! And now, activating Emiya Alter's secondary effect!"

[Once per turn, during your End Phase: You can add 1 Spell Card with [Heroic Spirit] in its name from your GY to your hand.]

Hoshino's fingers deftly sifted through her Graveyard before plucking out her chosen card. "Naturally, the card I'm retrieving is this: [Unlimited Blade Works]!"

She slid it into her hand, grinning. "Don't think you're getting off easy, Odion. The next round is mine."

Hoshino's Remaining Hand: 2 Cards, 2 Set Cards

Yugi stroked his chin, intrigued. "She recovered Unlimited Blade Works again. That's supposed to be Emiya's exclusive Field Spell. Does that mean Emiya Alter can use it too?"

"It's my turn. Draw!" Odion declared, his tone firmer than before.

"Stop wasting time!" Marik's impatient voice boomed from the spectator area. He rapped the Millennium Rod against his palm, visibly frustrated. "Odion, play the card. If you don't, she'll completely overpower you!"

Under Marik's command, Odion clenched his jaw, visibly struggling. His hand hovered over his cards as if weighed down by invisible chains. "Marik… this pain… It isn't just from my body—it's from my heart."

"What's wrong, Odion?" Hoshino teased. "Thinking about throwing in the towel?"

Odion raised his Duel Disk sharply, his eyes filled with determination. "Hoshino Chiyuki, I shall play my card of destiny this turn! I will do everything I can to block your path to victory!"

Slamming a card onto his Duel Disk, Odion activated his next move. "I activate the Continuous Spell [Card of Safe Return]!"

[Card of Safe Return Continuous Spell Effect: When a monster(s) is Special Summoned from GY You can draw 3 card.](Anime effects)

"And next, I activate the Continuous Trap [Call of the Haunted]!" Odion tapped his Duel Disk, flipping over the Trap he had set earlier. "Revive from the Graveyard, [Mystical Beast of Serket]!"

[Mystical Beast of Serket ★★★★★★ (Level 6)][EARTH][Fairy/Effect][ATK 2500/DEF 2000]

"Thanks to Card of Safe Return, when I Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard, I draw three cards!"

Odion's Remaining Hand: 3 Cards

Hoshino grimaced as Serket reappeared. "So you brought that creepy thing back again. But its attack is reset to 2500—it's not strong enough to beat Alter's 2600 DEF!"

Odion ignored her, raising his Duel Disk toward the sky. "Now, watch closely. I activate the final effect of [Temple of the Kings]!"

[Temple of the Kings Effect: You can send 1 [Mystical Beast of Serket] in your Monster Zone and this card you control to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 monster from your hand or Deck, or 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.]

"I offer up [Temple of the Kings] and [Mystical Beast of Serket] as tributes! In exchange, I summon a name worthy call the sun themselves!"

The temple crumbled, and Serket's grotesque form dissolved into light. Odion's voice rose with fervor as a magnificent aura filled the arena.

"From my Extra Deck, I summon the Fusion Monster—[Heroic Spirit - Ozymandias]!"

(*****)

If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!