"Damn it… I will never forgive you!!!"

Hela's figure gradually shattered and faded away, as if it were being cut out of the world itself, leaving no trace behind. Her final threat sounded like nothing more than powerless rage.

"Homogeneous cancellation"—that was how Eve had explained it before. By defeating Hela using the power of a Zombie-type monster as well, it was equivalent to completely stripping the concept of the "Death Realm King's" from this world and sending it back into the World Tree.

The last time something like this "homogeneous cancellation" occurred was when Zane's lethal six-hit combo completely crushed the Iron Realm King's.

As for the duel against the Light Realm Queen, since it took place within the World Tree itself, even if it was separated from the human world, the change wasn't particularly noticeable.

The Sword Realm King's, on the other hand, wasn't eliminated through "homogeneous cancellation." Instead, it released power beyond its limits and, after severing the Supreme King's Castle, lost the foundation sustaining its own concept—essentially destroying itself.

After all, at that time, Supreme King Jaden's final monster wasn't a Warrior-type, but a Fiend-type hero.

[Duellist Rank Evaluation Complete: Duelist Hela Overall Rank EX. Reward Granted: 200 Saint Quartz. Remaining Saint Quartz: 240.]

"(°Д°) Wait a second! This total doesn't add up! I clearly remember having around 200 after defeating the Light King!"

["Shh, shh…" (pretends to whistle)]

"== You're not even whistling! What exactly have you been doing behind my back? I can't believe you hid it this long."

If the system had given Saint Quartz during her duel with Shadow Hoshino earlier, she probably would've noticed the mismatch sooner.

["Ah… well, you know… when I was testing Illya's New Form last night, I used a tiny bit. New power doesn't just appear out of nowhere—energy conservation, right? Paying a cost is normal~"]

"'A tiny bit'? You burned through 200 for a simple outfit?! That's absurd."

And honestly, given how awkward the summoning conditions for that New Form were, even Hoshino—who valued bonds—felt it would brick just as badly as Okita.

["Look on the bright side, aibo. If you used 200 on gacha, you might've gotten nothing."]

"Wow… thanks for that…"

Thinking about Saint Quartz being consumed to maintain "energy conservation," Hoshino couldn't help but recall the mysterious Beast card that had once devoured countless stones under the guise of a system malfunction.

Though its identity remained unknown, judging by its black card frame, it was likely an Xyz-type card. However, without a Rank or summoning method specified, she still couldn't use it.

"A complete victory, Hoshino!" For the first time witnessing a Nine Realms King's being defeated, Eve's excitement was mixed with awe.

"As expected, defeating them requires the power of the World Legacy—like that, um… Synchro Summoning!"

"No… rather than Synchro Summoning…" Hoshino shifted her gaze to the World Legacy artifact that had been sealed by Queen Hela's deathly power. "Now that Hela's been defeated, it should return to normal, right?"

"Of course!" Eve replied confidently. "Since that old woman has been 'canceled out' by you, her power can't remain in this world anymore!"

Before her words had even finished, the black mist covering the World Legacy artifact suddenly burst apart as light shone from within.

Then, the light condensed into the form of a girl—one who resembled Hoshino herself—and met her gaze.

"…You've got to be kidding. Again?" Hoshino muttered uneasily.

After the Shadow Duelist, now a Light Duelist? If she had to fight herself every time she obtained a World Legacy, she really wouldn't be able to keep up.

Worse yet—those fights didn't even give rewards.

["Wait, aibo… this time feels different. There's no hostility."]

Compared to the dark shadow before, the radiant girl gave off a pure and gentle aura.

But that purity lasted only a moment.

Approaching Hoshino, the girl of light raised her hand and gently pressed her warm fingertips against Hoshino's chest.

"⁄(⁄⁄•⁄⁄•⁄⁄)⁄ W-wait! What are you doing?! Isn't this inappropriate?!"

Caught completely off guard, Hoshino froze—but strangely, she didn't feel any resistance.

It was… hard to describe. Something like self-draw—rinshan kaihou?

While Hoshino herself didn't feel much, the scene created an awkward atmosphere for everyone watching.

"Ahem." Eve coughed lightly. "Hoshino, this is probably the World Legacy's guardian spirit acknowledging your duel and entrusting its power to you."

"I see… so it recognized the duel. That explains the lack of hostility."

The guardian spirit, which had its own will, had been sealed by Hela's power of death—and now, after being freed by Hoshino, it responded accordingly.

The light expanded further. As the girl's form dissolved, a World Legacy artifact shaped like an armored arm gently fell into Hoshino's hands.

World Legacy — "Star Armor"

"Incredible—it's 'Star Armor,' Hoshino!" Eve couldn't hide her excitement as she stared at the armored arm.

"So it's called 'Star Armor'? Sounds strong already." Hoshino felt an inexplicable urge to equip it, as if it had been made specifically for her.

Eve explained, "Legend says 'Star Armor' belonged to the king of giants. Its full form is as massive as a mountain—but this size must have been adjusted so you can use it."

"So what does it actually do? It's just an arm piece… don't tell me I have to embed seven gems into it or something?"

"Uh…" Eve paused, thinking hard. "Unlike the 'Star Chalice,' which guides direction, Star Armor is probably more combat-oriented."

"Combat-type, huh… makes sense since it's armor. But don't tell me I'm supposed to just punch things with it. Is there anything more specific?" Hoshino pressed.

"Well… um…" After struggling, Eve finally came up with what she thought was a reasonable answer. "More specifically… it'll make cracking walnuts much easier!"

"…Got it." Hoshino crossed her arms and smiled. "In critical moments, I can use it to pry open your skull and see if there's actually anything inside!"

"(」＞＜)」That's terrifying, Hoshino! Opening someone's skull would kill them!"

"You useless shrine maiden… you can't even explain what a World Legacy does properly. Do you have any self-awareness at all?" Hoshino complained irritably.

"Well, don't get mad just yet, Hoshino." At some point, having already switched bodies with Atem, Yugi stepped in to smooth things over. "Since World Legacy items can turn into cards, a combat-type one might be something you can actually use in a duel."

"Oh, right—you can think of it that way too? Then let's just try it!"

Following Hoshino's will, the "Star Armor," which was originally meant to be worn on her arm, gradually transformed. In the end, it became a Duel Monsters card and returned to her hand.

"This effect! It really can be added to a deck and used in a duel—just as expected of you, Yugi!"

Hoshino glanced at Yugi with admiration. He had only just come into contact with a World Legacy item, yet he was already more reliable than the shrine maiden who had obtained the Star Chalice. The comparison was painfully obvious.

"Don't waste time. Let's move." Turning around, Kaiba took the lead and headed toward the top of the Duel Tower.

"Yeah, Hoshino, every second counts—we can't afford to delay!" Eve quickly added, eager to change the topic and avoid getting her head pried open.

"If I remember correctly, the second location shown on the Star Chalice map… is Duelist Kingdom Island, right?" Mokuba recalled.

"Duelist Kingdom Island, huh… that brings back complicated feelings." Hoshino sighed.

As the starting point of everything—the place where she first set foot after being transported to this world—the Duelist Kingdom carried her earliest dreams.

And now, after overcoming countless challenges and meeting like-minded companions, seven years had passed without her even realizing it.

["So this is what they call 'the place where the dream began,' huh? At least it wasn't a bad start."]

"If anything, I'm really glad I started at Duelist Kingdom. So now, to avoid a bad ending… let's go back there one more time~"

Duelist Kingdom Island—

Squeezing into the back seat of the jet with Eve again, the trip this time was much shorter. Unlike the two-hour journey from Domino City to Duel Tower Island, it only took thirty minutes for Hoshino and the others to arrive.

Looking down from above at the familiar scenery, Hoshino could still vaguely make out the massive staircase that had nearly taken half her life back then.

And scattered across the island—the seaside, the mountains, the forests—were the old duel arenas.

Even though those bulky duel stages were now practically ancient relics compared to modern Duel Disks, Hoshino still felt the urge to stand on one again.

"Ohhh! Welcome to Duelist Kingdom!"

After landing at the castle platform in the center of the island, the group was immediately greeted by Maximillion Pegasus and his trademark "construction-site English."

"Long time no see, my friends! Hoshino girl, Yugi boy, Kaiba boy, Mokuba boy~ and this lady here…"

His gaze shifted to Eve, who was hiding behind Hoshino, as he observed her with interest.

Leaning in to whisper into Hoshino's ear, Eve said nervously, "What do we do, Hoshino? I instinctively dislike this guy. It feels like he can see right through my thoughts—so scary!"

To be honest, Hoshino used to dislike Pegasus too. It wasn't until the KC Grand Prix, when Pegasus personally knelt and apologized to Sugoroku at the toy shop, that her impression of him improved a little.

"Reading minds, huh? Even without the Millennium Eye, someone as simple-minded as you would still be easy to read."

After scanning the surroundings, Kaiba asked, "Pegasus, were you attacked by the Shadows of the King's here?"

"Shadows of the King's? Oh, this morning, a few strange boys suddenly came to challenge me to a duel!"

"Huh? You got attacked too, Pegasus?" Hoshino asked in surprise. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

But thinking about it, as the creator of Duel Monsters, Pegasus being targeted by the King's War wasn't strange at all.

"So the fact that you're standing here just fine means…"

"Heh heh heh~" Pegasus replied smugly. "Those strange boys had some skill, but they were no match for me."

["Even A+ rank King's Shadows couldn't defeat Pegasus together… I guess that's what you'd expect from the father of Duel Monsters. Even without the Millennium Eye, he's stronger than he was back during Duelist Kingdom."]

"So, in such a very dangerous time, what brings you all here?" Pegasus asked, his tone suddenly turning serious.

"We're obviously not here to chat or practice English with you," Hoshino teased. "Eve, can you sense the World Legacy?"

"Yes! And it's really close—somewhere within this castle!" Eve nodded eagerly.

"Just as I thought." Hoshino wasn't surprised. If a World Legacy item tied to her existed here, it would most likely be in the castle where the final battle took place.

"Even if it's somewhere in the castle, can you guess the exact location like you did at the Duel Tower?" Eve asked expectantly.

Once someone gets used to being lazy, it's hard to go back. For Eve, if Hoshino could guess the location, why bother spending effort searching herself?

"If I had to guess… the most likely place would be the finals arena," Hoshino said thoughtfully.

Whether it was her duel with Yugi or her life-and-death battle with Pegasus, both took place there. Based on previous patterns, the final arena seemed the most probable.

"No… it's not here, Hoshino." After sensing the area around the arena, Eve shook her head.

"┌(.Д.)┐ Wait, I actually got it wrong?!" Even though she had been more confident than before, Hoshino's guess missed this time.

"Ugh, this is giving me a headache." Hoshino frowned. "A place more likely than the final arena… I can't think of anything right now."

"—Follow me!"

Leaving behind a proud silhouette, Kaiba took the lead and headed toward the castle entrance.