On the helipad of KaibaCorp's rooftop—
"Mokuba! KaibaCorp headquarters has been breached! Hurry, get back!"
Jumping off the helicopter, Kaiba locked eyes with the white-haired man standing before him and, without hesitation, threw away his phone.
"Seto Kaiba, have you said your final goodbye to your beloved brother?"
"Hmph, I just told him to co ho on ti for dinner."
"As expected from the president of KaibaCorp—calm and composed no matter the situation. But I wonder if you can stay that way after seeing this."
The handso, white-haired man standing tall on the rooftop snapped his fingers loudly.
Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, countless n in black suits appeared, surrounding Kaiba, who had just jumped off the helicopter.
"Industrial Illusions? Now, this is quite unexpected." Kaiba imdiately recognized that none of these n were from his own company.
Their familiar uniforms were identical to those of the Industrial Illusions henchn he had encountered on Duelist Kingdom.
In re seconds, Kaiba deduced the identity of the man standing before him.
"Tenma Yako, I didn't expect to et you under these circumstances."
After Pegasus went missing, his adoptive son and apprentice, Tenma Yako, temporarily took over Industrial Illusions.
"I always thought it would be your older brother, Tenma Gekko—the one Pegasus praised as the perfect duelist—who would take over Industrial Illusions."
Even though he was heavily surrounded by the n in black, Kaiba didn't show the slightest sign of panic.
"But from what I see now, while Tenma Gekko may excel at dueling, he's not as shrewd as you are."
"Taking advantage of my absence during Battle City, you infiltrated KaibaCorp, seized control of my employees, and tampered with the Duel Disk central system, rendering it incapable of identifying banned or counterfeit cards!"
Kaiba furrowed his brows tighter and tighter, as if connecting all the dots to uncover the truth.
"And considering the Rare Hunters' blatant use of fake cards, it seems you and Marik are in a mutually beneficial relationship as well."
"Tenma Yako, you've played quite the clever ga!"
His voice tinged with visible anger, Kaiba locked eyes with Yako.
Clap, clap, clap.
Tenma Yako applauded Kaiba's analysis, unable to suppress his grin.
"Brilliant deduction! As expected of the genius mind of Seto Kaiba." However, despite Kaiba seeing through his plans, Yako showed no signs of worry.
"So, what's your next move, Seto Kaiba? Planning to call the police? The mont you do, my n will destroy the entire Duel Disk holographic system. If the grand spectacle of the Battle City Tournant is forcefully shut down in less than a day, KaibaCorp will be finished for good!"
The threatening tone in Yako's voice grew more pronounced. If he was willing to commit a cri of this magnitude, he undoubtedly had a powerful backup plan in place.
"Hmph, I never planned to rely on sothing as simple as the police to resolve this."
With a cold chuckle, Kaiba extended his Duel Disk from his arm.
"Pegasus' adoptive son and apprentice, huh? Let see just how strong you really are!"
"Oh? How interesting!" Yako's previously playful deanor instantly turned serious as he signaled to his n with a nod.
"Yes, Lord Tenma Yako!" Receiving Yako's signal, one of the black-suited n kneeled respectfully, presenting a Duel Disk already loaded with a deck.
Without hesitation, Yako accepted Kaiba's challenge, and Kaiba confidently praised him for it.
"You're quite bold. Surely you must know that I have Obelisk the Torntor. Charging headlong into danger despite knowing this—you must have a death wish! Anyone who dares to challenge the might of a god will be crushed by its divine fists!"
Yako, who had also activated his Duel Disk, showed no fear in the face of Kaiba's overwhelming presence. Instead, he smiled mysteriously.
"Obelisk the Torntor, huh? In my eyes, such a low-tier god is no different from ordinary trash."
"What?!"
"Let show you the monster that reigns supre over all gods—[The Wicked Avatar] will crush your laughable confidence!"
"Duel begins!"
(***)
"Mokuba! KaibaCorp headquarters has been breached! Hurry, get back…"
"Brother! Brother!"
After leaving this ssage, Kaiba had tossed his phone aside, leaving Mokuba completely bewildered by the situation.
"In situations like this, when soone only says half of sothing important during a phone call..." Since Mokuba had the phone on speaker, Hoshino also heard Kaiba's words and tried to analyze the situation.
"They're usually dead before finishing the conversation~"
"Exactly, Hoshino-nee! Akasha has seen the sa thing in movies." To Hoshino's surprise, Akasha agreed with her analysis.
"In cases like this, they either get hit by a truck or are shot dead by the enemy."
"What are you two even talking about..." Mokuba, now extrely anxious, looked helplessly at the two girls who seed completely lacking in any sense of urgency.
"When I saw that the Duel Disks' system for detecting counterfeit and banned cards was malfunctioning, I had a suspicion. I never expected soone would really attack KaibaCorp during the Battle City Tournant."
"Maybe it's because your company has made too many enemies with your shady business?" Hoshino remarked casually.
"There are no rival companies! KaibaCorp has always held a monopoly on Duel Monsters holographic technology!"
Mokuba retorted in frustration, looking ready to rush off. "I can't wait any longer, I'm heading back, Hoshino!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Just as Mokuba tried to leave, he felt his clothes being pulled from behind, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
"What the heck, Hoshino! That hurt!" Mokuba grumbled, rubbing his head.
"What are you even planning to do?"
"Of course, I'm going back to save my brother and KaibaCorp!"
"And how do you plan to do that?" Hoshino calmly analyzed the situation. "Do you think you're good at dueling or good at fighting?"
"..."
Mokuba fell silent, not denying Hoshino's point. If he went back like this, he'd only be another person walking into a trap.
"But what do I do? From the tone of my brother's voice on the phone, it sounds like things are really urgent." Mokuba felt helpless, hating his own powerlessness.
"You idiot, don't you realize you have reliable allies standing right here?" Hoshino patted Akasha on the head, a confident smile spreading across her face.
Hoshino had completely understood the world's unwritten rule: even in life-or-death situations, dueling could still solve most problems.
And if sothing could be solved through a duel, it was no problem at all for Hoshino and Akasha.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if the opponent didn't follow the rules and refused to duel, Hoshino still had the power of Duel Disk materialization. If it ca to a physical fight, she wasn't afraid at all.
"So, what do you say? How about taking along?"
"Akasha, Akasha wants to co too!"
Seeing that Hoshino was ready to act, Akasha naturally couldn't sit still.
"No, no, no, Akasha-chan, in situations like this, that's not what you say." Hoshino shook her head, carefully teaching Akasha.
"What you should say is…"
"Give a break~"
(***)
The most iconic symbol of KaibaCorp is undoubtedly the life-sized statue of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in front of the company building.
"Kaiba really is a Blue-Eyes White Dragon fanatic," Hoshino sighed once again, gazing at the imposing presence of the dragon statue.
However, Mokuba, standing beside her, didn't look as relaxed. "It's too quiet..."
"Quiet? I think it's fine~"
Hoshino and the others were only standing outside the building. Normally, if you could hear activity from the inside at this distance, that would be the abnormal thing.
"You're not just scaring yourself, are you?"
"Mokuba is a scaredy-cat," Akasha, who had beco attached to Hoshino, started to echo her every opinion, fully becoming her little fan.
"How is that possible? You have to understand that the first two floors of KaibaCorp are open duel arenas. On a holiday like this, it should be packed with people by now."
"That is a bit odd," Hoshino admitted. She had never been to KaibaCorp before, so she didn't know the building's structure.
But judging by the scene in front of her, not only was it not packed, but there wasn't even a single person in sight.
As it turned out, human perception of unfamiliar situations can easily shift based on what others say. What Hoshino had previously found unremarkable now seed eerily silent, and even the expression on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon statue seed more nacing.
"Are we really going in...?" Hoshino swallowed nervously, feeling a little faint-hearted.
"Of course, we're going in! What are we going to solve just standing out here?" Mokuba said, not showing the sa hesitation as Hoshino. To him, this was like being at ho.
"Wait, Mokuba..." Just as Mokuba took a step forward, Hoshino grabbed him again.
But this ti, Mokuba had learned his lesson. He stepped back quickly, keeping his balance.
"What is it this ti, Hoshino? Don't tell you've changed your mind again."
"Shh, I hear sothing!" Hoshino frowned slightly, covering Mokuba's noisy mouth and following the direction of the sound. She tilted her head upward toward the KaibaCorp building.
KaibaCorp was probably the tallest building in Domino City. Hoshino didn't know the exact number of floors, but it was nearly impossible for the average person to make out the top.
However, Hoshino wasn't an average person...
"Soone's dueling on the rooftop! And that shape... it's Obelisk the Torntor!"
"No way, Hoshino! You can actually see that?" Mokuba, following her gaze, could only see the rooftop blending into the clouds.
"Akasha can't see anything either!" Akasha, jumping up and down in a futile attempt to see what Hoshino was talking about, thought she might get a better view by being higher off the ground.
How cute...
"What? You guys can't see it?" Hoshino realized sothing strange.
When did I gain the ability to see so far?
Hoshino's vision wasn't bad, but it was far from exceptional. After all, as a shut-in who spent all day staring at screens, the fact that her eyesight hadn't deteriorated was already a blessing.
But now, while she couldn't make out the people dueling on the rooftop, she could clearly see the massive form of Obelisk the Torntor.
It seed that ever since she had returned from the VR world—or rather, the otherworld—her vision had mysteriously improved.
Could it be that I retained so of Archer's abilities? Hoshino mused.
And indeed, her guess was correct. After summoning EMIYA's spirit origin twice in the otherworld, Hoshino's body had slowly adapted to so of his skills. This adaptation triggered a hidden potential within her body, allowing her to quickly master new abilities.
It's similar to learning to ride a bike. Once your body adjusts to the feel of it, you're likely to retain that skill forever. People often say that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.
And what Hoshino had retained wasn't just Hawkeye. She hadn't realized it yet, but she had gained several of Archer's skills.
"Wait a minute... why are there two Obelisks?"
Hoshino, still watching the rooftop, suddenly cried out in surprise.
"Hoshino, you must be seeing things." Mokuba, who had doubted Hoshino's ability to see that far in the first place, beca even more skeptical. "There's no way there are two Obelisks. It's a one-of-a-kind card."
"I'm telling you, there really are two! But one of them is black!" Hoshino's firm tone made it clear she wasn't joking.
"A black Obelisk...?"
Mokuba seed to recall sothing, quickly pulling out the terminal from his coat pocket.
"It's true! Hoshino, there are two God Card signals coming from the rooftop!"
"They're attacking! The black Obelisk is making a move!" Even from afar, Hoshino was visibly excited by the spectacle of the two God Cards battling.
"What's happening? I want to see too!" Akasha tugged at Hoshino's clothes, trying to pull herself up to see what was going on. "Give one too!"
"Oh, they disappeared!" Hoshino said suddenly, her eyes wide as she looked at the rooftop again. "After the black Obelisk attacked, both of them vanished within seconds!"
As if to confirm her words, Mokuba's terminal also lost both God Card signals at the sa ti.
At first, Mokuba thought the terminal had malfunctioned. But considering the situation, it seed Hoshino was telling the truth, and the device wasn't broken after all.
If all of this were real, then it revealed a terrifying truth.
The black Obelisk, and the seventh God Card hidden in Domino City, were both real.
"This tournant has barely started, and we've already had so many incidents. What a disaster this Battle City Tournant is turning out to be." Rubbing her temples, Hoshino muttered to herself. Whether it was from information overload or simply staring up for too long, she felt a headache coming on.
"I wonder if my brother won..." Mokuba's face was filled with concern.
The one dueling on the rooftop with Obelisk must be Seto Kaiba. The one wielding the black Obelisk was likely the intruder who had attacked KaibaCorp.
"Hmph, just as I suspected, it all cos down to dueling in the end," Hoshino chuckled smugly, feeling a surge of confidence as she started walking ahead. "Let's go! We're going to raid KaibaCorp!"
"Oh! We're raiding KaibaCorp!" Akasha excitedly followed Hoshino's lead.
"Hoshino, this doesn't count as a raid..."
(*****)
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