Chapter 151 - 151

[Esper Roba LP 2200] [Katsuya Jonouchi LP 50] "Jonouchi, your life points are hanging by a thread, and you don't have a single monster on the field. As for me..." [Jinzo★★★★★★(Level 6)][DARK][Machine/Effect][ATK 2400/DEF 1500] [Reflect Bounder★★★★(Level 4)][LIGHT][Machine/Effect][ATK 1700/DEF 1000] "My Jinzo not only has high attack power, but it also has the ability to seal your trap cards." With a smug expression on his face, Esper Roba had already locked in his victory. "Esper Roba is truly a strong duelist!" Rex Raptor, who was watching from the sidelines, had a bitter look on his face. "Honestly, Jonouchi, you're completely out of your league against a duelist of this caliber. You should just surrender! Even I lost to him in no time!" Indeed, before dueling Jonouchi, Roba had already defeated Rex. At this point, all three of Japan's top duelists had been knocked out of the tournament. "Shut up and watch!" Despite the nearly hopeless situation, Jonouchi, who couldn't stand to lose, barked at Rex. "Huh? You don't even have a hand. There's no way you can turn this around!" Rex retorted as he looked at Jonouchi's empty field and hand. "I can win, as long as I draw that card!" With a deep furrow in his brow, Jonouchi hesitantly placed his fingers on his deck. "Shizuka... Shizuka is definitely watching me from the hospital through the live stream. I can't lose in the first duel!" Thinking of his little sister Shizuka, Jonouchi clenched his teeth and desperately drew his final card. "Yosh!!" As always, Jonouchi's miraculous luck responded at the last moment. "Watch closely! I'll show you how I can turn this duel around in one move!" Jonouchi, now filled with confidence, slammed the single card he had drawn onto the duel disk. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Roulette Spider]!" [Spin a wheel centered around the monster with the highest ATK on the field. After it stops spinning, that monster must attack in the direction [Roulette Spider] is pointing.] (Anime Effect) "The effect of Roulette Spider activates, forcing the strongest monster on the field to attack where the roulette spider is pointing!" "A... another luck-based card?" Rex muttered in disbelief, eyes wide with shock. "First, Time Wizard, then Graceful Dice and Skull Dice, and now Roulette Spider. Just what kind of deck does this guy have, filled with so many luck-based cards?!" With the effect of Roulette Spider triggered, a cartoonish spider climbed on top of Jinzo's head. As the arrow on its tail began to spin, Jinzo's body started to rotate rapidly as well. "Spin, Roulette of Destiny! The final moment of this duel is about to be decided!" Even Jonouchi couldn't help but sweat nervously. "As long as it lands on Jinzo's direct attack on Esper Roba, I win!" The tense atmosphere caused everyone present to hold their breath. Sёarᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Final attack target: Reflect Bounder. "What a shame, Jonouchi. No direct attack," Rex, who had been just as tense, began to mock Jonouchi when he saw the gamble fail. "No, I've already won!" Jonouchi ignored Rex's jeers and pointed forcefully at Jinzo. "You should know the effect of your Reflect Bounder better than anyone, Roba!" [Reflect Bounder Effect: If this card is in Attack Position and attacked by a monster, the attacking monster takes damage equal to its own ATK. After damage calculation, this card is destroyed.] "Since your Jinzo attacked Reflect Bounder, you'll take damage equal to its ATK—2400 points!" "There's no way... no way this could happen..." Roba, consumed by rage, couldn't believe such a sudden reversal. "Go, Jinzo, attack!" Jonouchi commanded. "Aaaaahhhh!" [Esper Roba LP 2200 → 0] "Heh heh, I'll be taking your puzzle card and Jinzo as trophies, courtesy of the great Jonouchi!" (***) [Duelist Level Evaluation Complete. Duelist Yuta Kajiki, Level B+. Duplicated level rewards deducted. Victory reward: 25 Saint Quartz (55 - 30). Remaining Saint Quartz: 25] "Wow, you went straight from C rank to B+ in such a short time, Yuta. That's pretty impressive," Hoshino remarked as she reviewed the system's notification. "Huh? What did you say, Hoshino?" Although Hoshino had spoken softly, her companion, Mokuba, with his sharp ears, still managed to catch her words. "I was just wondering why we haven't found a duelist willing to duel me yet." Though she gave a random excuse to brush off Mokuba, it was indeed something bothering Hoshino. Unlike Duelist Kingdom, which had strict competition rules, Duel City was much more relaxed, which led to a situation where other duelists, upon seeing Hoshino, the Duel King, would flee as if she were the plague. Every time Hoshino asked an opponent to duel, they would look as though they wanted to swallow their own duel disks. "Sigh, if I end up missing the finals because of this, you'll have to help me explain to Kaiba." Hoshino sighed in frustration, ruffling Mokuba's messy hair. "Hehe, hehe." All Mokuba could offer was an awkward chuckle. Thud... A shadowy figure bumped into Mokuba before he could even react. "Ouch..." Mokuba, who had been giggling just moments earlier, suddenly cried out in pain. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Angrily, Mokuba demanded an explanation, realizing the person had deliberately bumped into him. The cloaked man didn't seem normal and ignored Mokuba's complaint, quickly picking up his pace and leaving the scene. "Tch, I told you not to send your bodyguards away. If your men had been following us, they could've caught that guy and given him a good punch." Hoshino, swinging a little pink fist, was equally displeased with the rude behavior of the strange cloaked man. "I thought you wouldn't feel comfortable having bodyguards follow you, Hoshino..." Mokuba mumbled as he reached into his inner pocket, feeling something strange. Instantly, his face darkened. "Hoshino, chase that guy! He stole my terminal!" "Your terminal?" Hoshino furrowed her brow, thinking back for a moment. "You mean that thing that looks like a smartphone you were holding earlier?" "Yeah, that's the terminal that controls all the satellite computer data for the duel disks. If it falls into the wrong hands, Kaiba Corp will be in serious trouble!" "What!? I thought you're a genius? You just kept something that important in your pocket?" Realizing the gravity of the situation, Hoshino lifted her head to look around. The strange cloaked man was still in sight but was walking even faster. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Yanking Mokuba along, Hoshino suddenly realized something serious. Given her and Mokuba's physical abilities, there was no way they'd be able to catch up if the person ahead was a regular adult male. "Something feels off, Mokuba..." But reality was the exact opposite of what Hoshino imagined. The man ahead was still only walking briskly, without showing any signs of trying to run away. It was as if he was deliberately keeping a certain distance between them. If someone had really stolen something, they would typically try to flee immediately after obtaining it, not casually stroll and wait for the victims to catch up. Maybe he had a leg injury? Impossible. Just moments ago, the way he bumped into them with that quick, almost arrogant stride—it was even faster than Jonouchi's usual walk. There was no way his legs were impaired. "Sigh~ I feel like I've been thinking more and more like Sherlock Holmes lately." Hoshino sighed lightly and slowed her pace. "Hoshino? What's going on? Are we not chasing anymore?" Mokuba asked anxiously, worried about the stolen Kaiba Corp terminal in the hands of the mysterious figure. "No point in chasing. It's clear he's not trying to escape, and even if he was, we couldn't catch up." Slowing down, Hoshino removed the deck from her waist and equipped it onto her Duel Disk. "His purpose is obvious by now. He's using the terminal as bait to lure us somewhere. I bet he's going to turn into the next alley." With a serious look, Hoshino kept her eyes locked on the cloaked man. "He turned! He really turned into the alley!" Mokuba exclaimed, both amazed by Hoshino's deduction skills and increasingly concerned. "So... should we go in?" Mokuba asked timidly. If the man was deliberately luring them, then leading them to a secluded alley obviously meant he was expecting them to follow. "Hmph~" Hoshino sneered. "You know what they say, 'no guts, no glory.' Contact your bodyguards, Mokuba, and tell them to be ready." "But the terminal is with him, so I can't contact them..." "Oh, for real? So that thing really is a phone, huh?" Hoshino muttered in exasperation, feeling less and less confident in the self-proclaimed genius boy beside her. "Ugh, forget it. Let's just go. I doubt he'll try anything drastic in broad daylight." After all, both Yugi and Sugoroku had told Hoshino that the crime rate in Domino City was always quite low, making it one of the safest places in Japan. And while the alley might be a bit deserted, it was still connected to a main street outside. There shouldn't be too much danger involved. "Let's go..." Hoshino took a deep breath and signaled Mokuba. Once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. This was also why Hoshino had equipped her Duel Disk. She had already figured out the only reason the man could be luring her. "Duel King, Hoshino Chiyuki! Duel me!" As expected, the cloaked man was already waiting for her inside the alley, Duel Disk ready. "You don't have the option to refuse..." The man held up the stolen terminal, his voice all too familiar to Hoshino. "This thing is pretty important to Kaiba Corp, right? If you refuse, I can't guarantee what'll happen to it." "Old man, if you just wanted to duel me, there was no need to go through all this trouble. You know, I'm pretty famous for never turning down a challenge." Hoshino, frowning, was already racking her brain trying to place the annoying voice with a face. "Still as slick-tongued as ever, Hoshino Chiyuki!" But before Hoshino could think further, the cloaked man dramatically removed his hood, revealing a face full of arrogance and malice. "Bandit Keith?!" Hoshino was shocked. She never expected to see this face again. Once the American champion, he had been defeated by Hoshino in the cave battle. Back then, Martha had humiliated him with her scolding for three full pages. In the end, Keith had sealed the cave exit, trapping Hoshino and her companions in the labyrinth and forcing them to duel against the labyrinth brothers. "I never thought I'd run into you here, my punching bag!" Despite her surprise, Hoshino knew that she couldn't let her opponent intimidate her. "Hahaha!" Hoshino's taunt seemed to strike a nerve, as Keith's bizarre laughter echoed from within his bulky, cloaked frame. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment, Hoshino. Crawling out of the dark abyss of hell, just so I could finally stand here and crush you underfoot!" "Now that you've accepted the duel, this thing is useless." Keith casually tossed the stolen terminal aside as if it were trash, his eyes focused only on Hoshino. "Hey! The terminal!" Mokuba hurriedly ran over to pick it up, distressed at seeing the Kaiba Corp creation treated so carelessly. "Damn it, Hoshino! Teach this guy a lesson for me!" "You don't need to tell me. I'll take care of this." Hoshino confidently responded to Mokuba, the sound of her Duel Disk clicking into place as she prepared for battle. "Of course, it's not for Kaiba Corp. It's for the purpose of settling things with a ghost from my past!" Hoshino Chiyuki VS Keith Howard "Let's duel!" "I'll take the first move!" Keith, the former American champion, wasn't to be underestimated, as he actually won the right to go first. "Draw!" "This feeling...?!" To Mokuba, it seemed like a normal first draw, but Hoshino's expression was full of shock. "Hmph, you sense it, don't you? As expected of the Duel King." Keith's smirk grew more sinister as he glanced at the card he'd just drawn. Hoshino's expression turned serious, instantly wiping away her earlier carefree demeanor. "So the second Evil God card is in your hands... The ominous aura overflowing from that card is unmistakable." "So, you've encountered the other Evil God card, huh? Interesting!" Keith's expression also turned intense, full of intrigue. "That means there's a high chance you hold the other Evil God card. I'm really lucky today! Not only can I crush you, but I'll also get my hands on another Evil God card." "Who knows?" Hoshino didn't give him a direct answer, refusing to back down. "I've only seen one ending, and that's you saying goodbye to your precious Evil God card." (*****) If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!