Putting away her Duel Disk, Hoshino of course didn't forget the original—and most important—purpose of coming here.
"I won. According to our deal, hand Yugi's Deck back."
"Owowow… You really don't hold back at all, Hoshino…"
Kneeling weakly on the ground, Dark Magician Girl was still faintly smoking from the burn marks Nobu's attack had left.
"That was me holding back. The Shadow Rider before you died way more miserably. So you should be grateful you only stole a Deck instead of starting a Shadow Game."
"Ehehe… a Shadow Game, huh…"
Dark Magician Girl stuck out her tongue awkwardly while obediently returning the stolen deck to Hoshino.
"Honestly, I can't even use something like a Shadow Game. That's why I thought stealing the Deck would be easier."
"You're one of them and you can't even initiate a Shadow Game? That's pretty strange."
Even Hoshino, an outsider, could start a Shadow Game if she wanted.
"W-Well, I'm just an unnamed Duel Spirit. I don't even have my own form—only borrowing other spirits' appearances."
Dark Magician Girl scratched her cheek shyly.
"I thought I could use the Sacred Beasts' power to boost my power a little… but it all fell apart."
What kind of stupid reason is that…
Compared to Camula's whole "revive the vampire race" agenda, your resolve is practically nonexistent.
Ironically, however, Dark Magician Girl with Yugi's Deck had been far more troublesome than Camula. Maybe Duel Spirits were naturally gifted duelists.
With Yugi Muto's deck safely retrieved, Crowler accepted it with both hands, bowing so deeply it looked painful.
"As expected of our Headmistress! To win even when facing the legendary Yugi's Deck—truly magnificent! I am saved!"
Since the deck had been lost under his watch, failing to recover it would mean Crowler shouldering all the blame. Docking his pay wouldn't even scratch the surface of the consequences.
"Don't get careless again, Crowler. Even if you go to the restroom, take this Deck with you. Everything needs to go smoothly this afternoon."
"Yes! I won't fail you, Headmistress Hoshino!" He saluted sharply.
"Um… and how should we deal with the culprit, Headmistress?"
"Eh? Deal with me? Shouldn't you just… let me go?"
Dark Magician Girl instantly panicked.
"Absolutely not! A criminal like you must be punished properly! Prepare for prison!" Crowler barked, unleashing all his pent-up frustration onto her.
Clinging to Hoshino's leg, Dark Magician Girl wailed:
"H-Hoshino! Save me! I don't want to get dragged away by this Pot of Greed!"
You're a Duel Spirit… even if you get locked up, does it even change anything for you?
"You're one of the Shadow Riders, aren't you? Where's your dignity, begging the enemy like this?"
Hoshino scolded her, though seeing that pitiful face clinging to her leg made it impossible to stay harsh.
"Don't be too hard on her, Hoshino," Uria unexpectedly spoke up.
"Among them, she's the least dangerous."
Dark Magician Girl nodded frantically.
"Exactly! I'm basically useless!"
Never seen someone proudly call themselves useless before…
"Fine. Then as Headmistress, I'll give you a chance at redemption. Use your Dark Magician Girl appearance to help boost the popularity of Red Dorm's festival booth. Being cute is your specialty, isn't it?"
A small compromise. With her natural popularity, she could at least make up for her crime.
"Umm… Will there be food?"
Banner answered cheerfully, "If pickled radish counts, you can eat as much as you want, nya~"
"Deal! ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)"
Well… that was a surprisingly wholesome win-win resolution.
For the past two years, Red Dorm's festival activities had always been depressingly empty.
But this time—with Alexis, Akasha, and now a flawless Dark Magician Girl cosplay—the place was livelier than ever.
As the dorm manager, Banner practically glowed with happiness.
"It really feels like Professor Banner has way too much energy today," Jaden commented.
"Makes sense. His daily life is just pickles and classes. Anyone would get pent-up," Minazuki nodded sympathetically.
"Alright, I'll leave things here to you then, Banner. I'll go check on—"
Just as Hoshino turned to leave, Banner grabbed her sleeve.
"Headmistress. You can't win and run away, nya~ According to the cosplay duel tournament rules, once you become king of the hill, you must win at least three consecutive duels—or until someone knocks you off."
Hoshino's brow twitched twice. She and Banner exchanged thin, sharp smiles.
"Red Dorm sure has a lot of strange rules for a place that's terrible at everything else~"
First the "must duel in cosplay" rule, and now a "win three in a row" rule.
"Uwah… Hoshino-nee's smile is scary…"
Akasha pulled her blanket tighter around herself like a cape.
"In this cold, cold world, only my blanket still has warmth…"
"Alright then. I'll stay right here and see who dares challenge me."
Standing with her arms crossed at the edge of the duel arena, Hoshino looked slender and delicate—but the pressure she radiated was overwhelming.
And those who had previously been excited about the cosplay duel tournament… could no longer bring themselves to approach her at all.
It was a primal fear.
Like a Bronze-rank player staring at a max-item, full-build King and not even having the courage to auto-attack.
"Alexis, should I try?" Jaden asked.
"No way. Today's Senpai is… actually scary."
Even Jaden, who normally accepted any duel, backed down.
"It's all Professor Banner's fault for running his mouth," Minazuki muttered, shifting all aggro toward him.
Syrus quickly chimed in:
"Yeah! Then Professor Banner should duel her himself! Otherwise Red Dorm's event won't progress, and you'll be fully responsible!"
"Eh? You want me to duel the Headmistress, nya?"
Suddenly shoved onto center stage, Banner panicked. "B-But I don't even have a cosplay outfit! Technically, that means I'm not qualified to participate…"
Minazuki plucked the green hat from the Blue Flame Swordsman cosplay and slapped it onto Banner's head.
"You're buffed now. Go get sacrificed!"
"Professor Banner dueling Professor Hoshino? That actually sounds really interesting!" Jaden suddenly perked up. "I've never seen you duel before, Professor! I'm excited!"
"Is it that exciting?" Akasha tilted her head. "He's the dorm manager of Slifer Red… he shouldn't be that strong, right?"
But Jaden's enthusiasm caught Hoshino's attention.
In the three years since Duel Academy was founded, even she—its headmistress—had never once seen Banner duel.
Where did this man come from? Why was he assigned as Slifer Red's dorm manager?
She had no idea. It was as if his role came pre-written into the story—existing simply because it did, and nobody questioned it.
"Come on, Banner. For the sake of your beloved Red Dorm's festival, why don't you show us a little of your strength?"
Hoshino tried to provoke him. While she didn't know much about Banner, everyone knew his devotion to his students and the Red Dorm.
"Uu~ nya…" Banner scratched the hat, forcing a laugh.
"If I duel the Headmistress, I'm obviously going to lose horribly… I'm going to embarrass myself..."
His words said "no," but his feet carried him straight onto the Duel Arena, taking his place opposite Hoshino.
"Ohhh! So we're jumping right into the second match! Since Professor Banner—our original host—is now participating, I, the Dark Magician Girl, will take over commentary!"
Taking up Banner's role, Dark Magician Girl grabbed the mic and winked at the crowd.
"(•̀ •́)✧ And I'll be here too! No way I'm letting some knock-off steal my spotlight!"
Mana hopped into the commentator's seat, puffing her cheeks. If she didn't stake her claim now, even her status as the real Dark Magician Girl felt in danger.
"Two Dark Magician Girls commentating together? Adorable!"
"Double the Dark Magician Girl means double the happiness… Dammit, this is impossible… They're both too cute, I can't choose…"
"What do you mean choose? Only kids make choices. Adults want both!"
[Duel!]
[Hoshino Chiyuki — LP: 4000] vs. [Banner — LP: 4000]
"Then I'll go first, nya!"
Banner pushed up his glasses and began.
"For this turn, I'll simply Set two cards~"
He placed two cards face-down on his Duel Disk, summoned no monsters, and ended his turn just like that.
Dark Magician Girl commented,
"Only setting backrow on the first turn with no monsters? What a strange tactic. Other me, what do you think?"
Mana tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"He probably just bricked."
"What a completely worthless analysis. I'm dumb for expecting anything from you~"
"Ehehe… thanks…" Mana scratched her head sheepishly.
While the two Dark Magician Girls bickered like comedians, Hoshino started her turn—then paused, staring at her hand.
"This opening hand… did I forget to shuffle?"
The cards were far too familiar. Hoshino couldn't believe she was about to pull off a Kaiba-style shameless combo.
"I activate the Spell Card Polymerization, fusing the Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji in my hand with Heroic Spirit – Lancelot! Fusion Summon—Servant – Okita J Sōji!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita J. Soji ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)] [WATER]
[Machine/Fusion/Effect] [ATK 2500/DEF 2000]
["Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji" + 1 WATER "Heroic Spirit" monster]
Even Okita herself stared in disbelief.
"Two appearances in such a short time? Am I dreaming? Please don't let me wake up!"
"Quick-Play Spell—Grand Convergence! Activate!"
As soon as Okita J appeared, Banner flipped one of his face-downs.
"Grand Convergence's effect: destroy all monsters on the field and deal 300 damage to the opponent!"
Jaden nodded.
"A Quick-Play Spell that wipes every monster! No wonder Professor Banner didn't summon anything last turn."
"No, that won't work on Hoshino-nee," Akasha said calmly. "You're forgetting Okita J's effect."
[If 'Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji' exists in the GY, this card cannot be destroyed by card effects.]
"Banner probably didn't expect Hoshino-nee to open with that hand. If she's immune to destruction, Grand Convergence can't do anything."
Just as Akasha explained, the explosion created by Grand Convergence failed to catch Okita J—jetpack and all.
"Heh heh~ When it comes to speed, Okita-san is unbeatable! A true swordswoman never looks back at explosions!"
Okita was getting way too full of herself—
—and naturally, karma struck.
Her jetpack suddenly sputtered and died.
The mid-air Okita J lost all propulsion and plummeted straight toward the explosion below.
"EH?! Why am I crash-landing?!"
"Okita J's immunity requires Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji to be in the graveyard. But what if… the graveyard doesn't exist?"
Banner's narrow eyes curved into a mysterious smile for the first time.
"The first card I activated wasn't Grand Convergence. It was this—Continuous Trap: Macro Cosmos!"
[While this card is face-up, any card sent to the Graveyard is banished instead.]
"As long as Macro Cosmos is active, nothing goes to the graveyard—including the Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji used as Fusion Material!"
"H-He blew up the graveyard…?!"
Deprived of her beloved graveyard support, Okita went limp like a child losing her home, falling helplessly into the explosion.
[Heroic Spirit – Okita J Soji — Destroyed]
[Hoshino LP 4000 → 3700]
Dark Magician Girl: "He sealed the entire graveyard?! What kind of tactic is that?! I've never seen anything like it!"
Mana: "I knew it! Narrow-eyed characters are always monsters!"