Chapter 762 - 762

"(╯°Д°)╯ No! Hoshino, you can't break the seal on Jormungandr! Not unless you step over my dead body… Ouch! You actually stepped on me!"

Stepping over the girl lying on the ground was ridiculously easy. Hoshino merely lifted her foot and stepped over her without the slightest difficulty.

"Let's go back, Eve, Kaiba. We don't have time to waste."

Without even looking back, Hoshino walked toward where the plane was parked. Her fluttering coat left the people behind her with the imposing silhouette of a 'Lonely King.'

Of course, it would have looked even cooler if her coat hadn't been dragging along the ground because of her height.

"That idiot. She doesn't even understand how to break the seal, yet she just walked away trying to look cool?" Kaiba said.

"Exactly! Exactly! Hurry up and tell us how to break the seal!"

Following Hoshino's example, Eve raised her foot and held it over the Dragon Girl's stomach, pretending to threaten her.

"Otherwise, this kick of mine won't be a joke!"

The next second, the Dragon Girl grabbed Eve by the ankle and flung her away.

"The method for breaking the seal? I don't know anything like that."

The Dragon Girl shrugged.

"It's like deciding you want to poison someone to death. Would you really bother preparing an antidote for them afterward?"

Ten thousand years ago, when the Ice King sealed away the Jormungandr at the cost of the King's name, it was meant to be a one-way path where everything was thrown into the effort.

She had never considered that someone might one day want to undo the seal.

"However, although I don't know how to break the seal, if Hoshino is willing to do it, no one can stop her… Even the power brought about by only five Star Relics is not something that can be underestimated."

The Dragon Girl had actually understood this from the very beginning.

Even those kings who had once been arrogant and invincible could not stop the wheels of history from moving forward.

Before a predetermined fate, only those who were chosen possessed the qualifications to create the future.

"Hehehe… The Chosen One, huh? I wonder which side will be able to take control of this turbulent world—the Prince or Hoshino? Omoshiroi~"

Hoshino herself had no idea why she'd gotten so carried away in the moment and left without asking anything.

But now that she'd come to her senses, after making such a cool departure, she was too embarrassed to turn around and go back.

["Aibo, do you even know where Jormungandr is sealed? Do you know how to break the seal? Do you know how to fight it after breaking the seal? Most importantly, what race is the final King?! This was obviously a perfect opportunity to gather information, and you just wasted it!"]

"Stop scolding me, stop scolding me! If you keep going, you're going to make me stupid. As for breaking the seal, Kaiba and the others should ask about that, right?"

"As for the… Jormungandr. Would it really be unreasonable to call it a Dragon?"

["Just because it's a Poison Dragon doesn't mean it has to be a Dragon-type!"]

"I feel like the Dragon race doesn't really fit something that causes the destruction of the world and brings about Ragnarok—the evil entity itself. Then, my other self, what race do you think the Eternal Realm King War is?"

["Reptile!"]

Hoshino Alter answered without hesitation.

"Huh? Why?"

["Because the Orichalcos from back then was also a Reptile. To me, the Reptile race gives off the feeling of being the kind of evil creature that would destroy the world. And don't you think the two worlds are somewhat similar?"]

"Somewhat similar? You mean the world that was divided ten thousand years ago and the civilization of Atlantis… Could they have something in common?"

["It's just my intuition."]

Hoshino Alter paused to think before continuing.

["Ten thousand years ago, the civilization of Atlantis was driven toward destruction because of the power of Orichalcos. And over here, the world was divided into the Fusion, Xyz, and Synchro Dimensions ten thousand years ago as well."]

"Although both events began ten thousand years ago, that period is still far too broad when you actually think about it. After all, fifteen thousand years ago and twelve thousand years ago could both technically be described as 'ten thousand years ago.' And when it comes to the oldest civilizations in human history, the earliest we can trace them back is only around six thousand years—to Mesopotamia."

["If we assume the two timelines actually overlap… I'm only saying if, okay?"]

Hoshino Alter carefully analyzed the situation.

["Then the Jormungandr, as a remnant of the concept of Ragnarok, could have attracted the power of Orichalcos and destroyed the civilization of Atlantis. If that's the case, then there's a very high probability that the true form of the Jormungandr is also a Reptile, just like the Orichalcos. At the same time, this would explain why Atlantis—a nation that originally lived peacefully alongside the Spirits and loved nature—would inexplicably attract a power like Orichalcos and suffer the tragedy of having its civilization destroyed."]

Hearing Hoshino Alter's almost divine-level speculation, Hoshino was left speechless for a moment.

Then she muttered:

"My other self, with an imagination like that, it's honestly a waste that you don't write novels."

["This is reasonable analysis! Aibo!"]

Hoshino Alter's attitude suddenly became forceful.

She had always been the one making sarcastic remarks, but this time, her momentum was surprisingly aggressive.

["Don't you think this is a battle of destiny that was inevitable?! If the birth of Orichalcos and the destruction of the Atlantean civilization were caused by Ragnarok, then this is our chance to put an end to this feud that has lasted for ten thousand years! No—not just ten thousand years! A feud that has crossed dimensions! Don't you think that's also why you, as the Princess of Atlantis, were chosen by the Star Relics?"]

"A feud spanning ten thousand years and dimensions… Atlantis, huh?"

Hoshino gently clenched her fist and looked down at her pale palm.

"I thought that when I fought the Orichalcos in Yugi's memories, I'd already severed the fate that had entangled us for ten thousand years."

Within the world of Yugi's memories, Hoshino had used the Threefold Radiance Barrier of Atlantis to gather the power of all the Duel Spirits from Ancient Egypt three thousand years ago, along with all the Heroic Spirits of Chaldea, for the final battle.

It was different from the original clash with Artoria's Holy Sword, which physically severed the darkness of Orichalcos.

The Orichalcos, after being severed by Ryougi Shiki's connection to the Root, had been completely erased on the conceptual level of space and time.

There was no possibility of it ever regenerating.

Yet Hoshino had already made up her mind.

After destroying the Orichalcos, she would abandon her identity as an Atlantean and live as an ordinary person.

However, because she had used the power of the barrier, she awakened the reverse-aging bloodline of Atlantis.

"Is this the fate that cannot be escaped? It really doesn't feel good… But I'm sorry, my other self. Although your analysis makes a lot of sense, this time, I'm only going to fight as myself."

["Aibo?"]

"I won't worry about Atlantis. I won't think about whether the darkness of Orichalcos was really caused by Ragnarok. I'll simply fight to restore this world as Hoshino Chiyuki."

To restore the world, she had to be prepared to accept the possibility of becoming the villain who destroyed it.

At a time like this, if she gave herself the noble justification of 'I'm doing this to avenge the Atlantean civilization,' perhaps it would make things easier for her to bear.

But Hoshino didn't need that.

The upcoming battle against Jormungandr had nothing to do with any of those things.

It was simply a battle where she would stake the entire world.

Nothing more.

Too many unnecessary concerns would only interfere with her performance.

"A monster that requires eight King to barely stand a chance against it… That isn't an opponent you can defeat casually."

["Yeah. I understand. But if it's you, Aibo… No matter what identity you choose to fight under… You absolutely won't lose."]

"If the opponent isn't a Reptile, that is. If it really is a Reptile, then I might not stand a chance."

After all, among the Heroic Spirits Hoshino currently possessed, the number of Reptile-type Heroic Spirits was exactly zero.

After returning to the back seat of the plane, Hoshino curled herself up inside her coat and waited for quite a while before Kaiba and Eve finally returned.

"Kaiba, about that…"

"She doesn't know how to break the seal either," Kaiba answered directly.

"Oh, I see. Then I guess we'll just have to rely on ourselves."

Hoshino sounded disappointed.

Kaiba climbed into the pilot's seat. While operating the complicated instrument panel in front of him and starting up the aircraft, he casually said:

"It doesn't matter what decision you make, Hoshino. You have the right to make it. A so-called strong person is someone who carries the will of the weak to continue living as they move forward. And you, Hoshino, have already carried that burden more than once. So this time, just take it a little easier."

Hoshino looked surprised.

"Kaiba, I feel like you've changed a little."

If this had been the Kaiba of old, he would definitely have said something like:

'You're a Duelist whom I acknowledge. I won't allow you to fall here!'

Or perhaps:

'Your power isn't limited to this, is it? Don't give up like this!'

So the fact that Kaiba had unexpectedly learned how to comfort someone and even told her to relax a little was completely beyond Hoshino's expectations.

"Hmph. Over these past few years, the only thing that has changed isn't your height. Sometimes, it's only by stepping outside the world of dueling that you can more easily see the things you were unable to see while caught in the spiral of battle."

Over the years, while moving further and further away from the path of a Duelist, Kaiba had come to realize that fighting wasn't the only way to push the world forward.

"Hey, hey! What are you two whispering about? Let me hear it too!"

Eve suddenly climbed into the back seat and squeezed herself next to Hoshino, her face filled with curiosity.

The space was already cramped, and now Eve had suddenly occupied half of it.

Hoshino complained unhappily:

"Eve, why did you squeeze in here? Didn't we bring two planes when we came?"

"Are you stupid, Hoshino? Even if we brought two planes here, now that Kaiba Man is gone, we can't fly the other one back!"

She was right.

After the disappearance of Kaiba Man, one of the two jets parked there would have to be abandoned.

Hoshino swallowed in distress.

A plane specially modified by Kaiba was worth an astronomical amount of money—an amount that was practically impossible to estimate.

"We might never come back here again. Are you really okay with wasting an entire plane like this, Kaiba?"

"Don't worry about it. We're leaving!"

Kaiba abandoned the other plane without the slightest hesitation and started the engine.

Flames erupted from the rear of the jet, which was designed in the shape of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, producing immense thrust.

With a tremendous roar, the aircraft instantly shattered the silence of the pristine white ice field.

Clinging to the window, Hoshino looked back regretfully.

"Now that's what I call being loaded. If we converted this plane into money, how many Saint Quartz packs could I buy?"

["Aibo, if you're really that reluctant to leave it behind, why not have Mysterious Heroine X fly it back? After all, if her Riding skill is EX-rank, shouldn't she even be able to pilot a spaceship?"]

"Forget it. Although X-san has EX-rank Riding, that woman's accident rate with spaceships is ridiculously high. She can somehow manage to crash even those incredibly sturdy spaceships. What if she flies this plane over the academy and suddenly blows up and breaks apart in midair, hurting innocent people?"

[Duelist Level Assessment Complete]

[Ice King Overall Rank: EX]

[Saint Quartz Reward: 140]

[Remaining Saint Quartz: 440]

Bored on the plane, Hoshino idly browsed through the System Shop.

As expected of an EX-rank opponent, she had received a massive amount of Saint Quartz.

However, unlike Utgarda, her Saint Quartz reward hadn't been doubled because of the King's.

So apparently, the reason her reward had been doubled last time was because Merlin had copied the Void King's Proof.

"Let's see… Is there anything I can pull?"

Looking at the considerable 'wealth' in her possession, Hoshino happily opened the Summoning screen.

[Limited Summoning Banner: Artoria All-Class Completion Project — Rate Up!]

"Hm?"

"Artoria… What does 'All-Class Completion Project' mean, Da Vinci-chan?"

Hoshino instinctively asked Da Vinci, but received no response.

The universal genius was probably off tinkering with some strange invention again.

After searching through her limited knowledge, Hoshino realized that, as far as she knew, the only Artoria class she hadn't summoned and used was the swimsuit Archer.

"Then doesn't that mean there's only one Servant I can pull from this banner? Trying to trick my Saint Quartz with such a low-level strategy, Da Vinci-chan? You're still too naïve!"

Under normal circumstances, a banner with only one Gold Servant could be terrifying.

If Hoshino happened to have terrible luck, she could throw 400 Saint Quartz into it and get nothing but the sound of her Quartz disappearing.

But times had changed, my friend—

"Your time to shine, Eve! After resting for so many days, you should be able to activate the enhanced summoning ritual again, right?"

According to Hoshino's understanding, Eve's enhancement as the Holy Grail Maiden worked somewhat like a Lucky Bag Summon, guaranteeing an additional SSR in a ten-roll.

And when the entire banner contained only one SSR, using this method would most likely allow her to completely clear the banner.

"⊙︿⊙ We're doing this again…?"

Eve was somewhat reluctant to overdraw her magical energy.

But in the end, she simply couldn't resist Hoshino's expectant gaze and reluctantly gave in.

"(ﾉ｀⊿´)ﾉ Fine! Just consider it a little fanservice before the final battle! Magic Blessing, activate! Here we go, Hoshino!"

"Yosh!"

Hoshino stylishly swiped her finger across the ten-roll button.

"My turn! Give me the goods! Come forth, Swimsuit Artoria Pendragon — Archer!"

Golden light filled the cramped interior of the plane.

In the pilot's seat, Kaiba didn't ask a single question.

He simply calmly put on his sunglasses and continued piloting the aircraft.

But when the golden summoning effect finally faded, the card in Hoshino's hand wasn't the swimsuit-clad Artoria Pendragon (Archer) she had imagined, displaying her healthy, fair-skinned figure.

Instead, it was Artoria wearing a beret and holding a staff.

"Hello! I'm Caster, Artoria! Actually, I'm not really sure what a Servant is, but if a little bit of magecraft can help you, please don't hesitate to use it! Hehe~"

Hoshino stared at the card in her hand.

Artoria was wearing a brilliant, warm smile.

But Hoshino's face was covered in question marks.

"Artoria… Since when did you get a Caster class?"