"Senpai? Could I talk to you alone?"
Wearing an innocent, harmless expression, Diva openly extended his invitation to Hoshino in front of everyone.
"Hey, hey, who's that guy? He looks kinda handsome!"
"You don't know? That's Aimagi-kun, a second-year. He transferred in recently and became really popular!" (Aimagi is an alias.)
Catching snippets of the surrounding chatter, Hoshino raised a brow and asked, "What is it you want with me?"
If she remembered correctly, Hoshino had never had any dealings with this transfer student. But his strange hairstyle gave her a faint sense that something was off—he definitely didn't seem like an ordinary background character.
"You're so dense, Hoshino~" Anzu nudged her in the side, leaning close to whisper teasingly, "If he suddenly asks to talk alone like this, it's obviously a confession from a younger student working up his courage."
"Confession, to me?" Hoshino couldn't make sense of it. They had never even interacted—how could something like a confession work under those circumstances?
The last time she'd been confessed to was back in Duelist Kingdom, when she first met Ryota. Ever since then, the word confession left her with an uncomfortable feeling—as if turning someone down would immediately lead to them whipping out their deck and forcing her into a duel.
With both hands pressed together, Diva closed his eyes and pleaded earnestly: "Please, Hoshino-senpai, this is the request of my life. It won't take too much of your time!"
The girls around them squealed again: "A request of his life—Aimagi-kun is so straightforward!"
"Well then, Aimagi." Since the adorable underclassman was being so sincere, it would have felt too harsh to turn him down. Reluctantly, Hoshino nodded.
"You're so kind, Hoshino-senpai~" Diva's smile lit up as he gestured behind him. "Let's go to the school courtyard. I heard that's where you had your duel against Seto Kaiba."
It was there that Obelisk the Tormentor's scorching storm had clashed against Karna's power in an ultimate collision, drawing the attention of the entire student body.
Though two years had passed since that battle, students still swore they could feel the faint scorch of burning heat when they walked past. Even if it had only been holograms, the fire tornado that had engulfed the courtyard left a lasting, almost tangible impression in everyone's minds.
"You didn't invite me here just for a trip down memory lane, did you?"
After all, that was her duel with Kaiba from her first year. He hadn't even enrolled then—it shouldn't have had much to do with him.
Without warning, Diva clasped Hoshino's hands, eyes alight with excitement.
"No, Hoshino-senpai. I deeply admire your dueling skill, and there's something I've long wanted to ask you!"
So he was just another duelist? Relieved, Hoshino let out a small breath—though his grip on her hands left her feeling awkward and flustered.
"Ah! They're holding hands! Aimagi-kun is way too forward!"
From afar, onlookers couldn't hear their words, but seeing the hand contact alone sent waves of excitement through the lovestruck girls.
"What?! Damn it! That guy—he just grabbed Hoshino's hand! Even I haven't gotten to yet!" Jonouchi clenched his teeth, feeling like he'd been chugging concentrated lemon juice since this whole thing started.
Bakura tilted his head in surprise. "Jonouchi? Don't tell me you also want to hold Hoshino's hand?"
"It doesn't have to be Hoshino specifically—any girl would do! I, a man among men, have gone my whole life without even holding a girl's hand!"
Honda sneered: "That's pathetic, Jonouchi. Why don't you just ask Anzu to let you hold her hand?"
Anzu shivered at the thought and quickly shook her head. "No way, that's gross!"
"You bastard Honda, laughing at me! Like you're any better—your love life's just as nonexistent!"
Honda puffed himself up proudly and answered with deadly seriousness: "For your information, back in kindergarten, I once held hands with the girl who sat next to me!"
Patting his shoulder, Jonouchi gave him a sympathetic look. "Honda, if that's what you're proud of, then I think you're even more pitiful than me…"
"Shut up! My heart belongs only to Shizuka now!"
Ever since meeting Jonouchi's sweet, gentle, beautiful little sister—so completely unlike her rowdy brother—Honda had been hopelessly smitten. But in two years, thanks to Jonouchi's relentless sister-complex interference, his progress with Shizuka had been painfully slow.
"Shut your mouth! I treat you like a brother, and you're trying to date my sister?! Not happening!"
"Hoshino-senpai, what I've always wanted to ask you…" Diva's grip on her hands tightened. His gaze hardened, his tone suddenly cold—stripping away every trace of gentleness.
"Do you remember Master Shadi?"
"Shadi?"
The familiar name made Hoshino's eyes narrow. She'd heard Ishizu and Odion mention him two years ago—after the KC Grand Prix, he'd entrusted the Millennium Key and Scale to them before vanishing.
She had expected Aimagi to ask about dueling, after all the buildup. But instead, this strange, unrelated question instantly put her on guard.
"Shadi—the guardian of the Millennium Items? Who exactly are you?"
"So you do know of Master Shadi, Hoshino-senpai. That puts my heart at ease. As for me? I am the heir to the will of Shadi—the man you killed!"
Releasing her hands, Diva pressed a glowing cube into her palms, a triumphant grin spreading across his face.
"Now then—I invite you to touch a dimension beyond this world, Hoshino-senpai!"
Looking down and realizing something had been forced into her hands—a strange cubic object—Hoshino's thoughts spiraled in confusion.
"Killed Shadi? Higher dimensions? What the hell are you talking about?!"
As the cube activated, she felt her body slowly unraveling—turning into gray, block-like particles that drifted away from the space around her.
"This is Master Shin's legacy—the power of the Other Dimension. Freed from the prison of flesh, the chosen one's soul and consciousness ascends to a higher dimension. But the unworthy… are erased from this world completely. Whatever the outcome, Hoshino-senpai, you've already said goodbye to this world!"
Even Diva hadn't expected it to work so easily. Once separated from the body, a consciousness bound for higher dimensions should never return. Watching her dissolve, he felt a rush of awe, like the first time Shadi had described the multiverse to him as a child.
But then—
A brilliant azure light tore through the cube's power. Against all logic, Hoshino's body reformed under the radiance of a golden pyramid.
"No… Impossible! A consciousness uplifted by the Dimensional should never be able to resist a higher realm's power!"
And then—
"No! Before you throw my precious partner into some so-called higher dimension, did you even bother asking my opinion first?"
"What consciousness sublimation? Higher-dimensional binding? That kind of thing can be overcome with spirit alone!"
Crushing the half-disintegrated Dimensional Cube in her hand, Hoshino Alter—who had seized control in place of Hoshino's consciousness—locked Hoshino's sublimated soul into the Pyramid of Light at the last second, halting the irreversible sublimation process just in time.
"I really let my guard down… Thanks to you this time, my other self."
Having lowered her defenses when Diva approached disguised as a school junior, Hoshino never expected to be ambushed by the so-called Dimensional Cube.
"What happened, Hoshino?"
Their companions, who had sensed something was wrong halfway through, rushed over. Yet the scene before them looked nothing like a confession.
Hoshino Alter warned, "Be careful, everyone. This guy is extremely dangerous."
Although she could forcibly stop the sublimation of Hoshino's soul through soul-swapping, none of the others—aside from Yugi—had any way to resist Diva's methods. Extreme caution was necessary.
"Aimagi-kun… dangerous?" Yugi, ever gentle, struggled to understand how their harmless school junior had suddenly become such a threat.
"Pharaoh's vessel, Yugi Muto! As the accomplice in Master Shadi's death, you are unforgivable as well!"
"I killed Shadi? What are you talking about!?"
"Don't worry, Yugi Muto. Once I've dealt with Hoshino, it will be your turn! Still, I didn't expect the soul of the Duel King to be this resilient."
Unable to explain what was happening, Diva concluded that Hoshino's soul was simply stronger than the Dimensional Cube itself. Duelists naturally possessed resilient souls, and as the strongest duelist, Hoshino's might indeed rival higher dimensions.
"I see now. To truly sublimate your soul, I must first defeat the pride you hold as the Duel King, Hoshino!"
"To defeat the pride I hold as Duel King… don't tell me you mean—?"
Raising his arm, Diva reformed the shattered Cube into countless small blocks, which assembled into a uniquely square-shaped Duel Disk mounted on his arm.
"The rules of soul combat—let's settle this with a Duel in the Dimensional Duel, Hoshino!"
"Dimensional Duel? Well, a duel is a duel! I'll accept your challenge!"
"Catch this, Hoshino!"
"Jonouchi!"
Hoshino caught the Duel Disk Jonouchi tossed to her and quickly slotted in her deck.
"Eh? A duel? But didn't Aimagi-kun just confess a moment ago?"
The surrounding students, who had gathered around, were completely baffled by the sudden 180° turn of events.
And once again, the battlefield was the school courtyard—the same place everyone usually ate lunch and relaxed. Truly, a cursed spot.
[Diva VS Hoshino]
[Duel!]
As the duel began, orange cube-like particles filled the area, sublimating into a unique battlefield.
"This is… a Shadow Game? A Field Spell? No, it feels different from both."
Sensing the strangeness, Hoshino Alter couldn't make sense of it.
"This is the duel style of higher dimensions—the Dimensional Duel! In this field, all monster Summons and Special Summons are transformed into 'Dimensional Summons.'"
"Dimensional Summon? What does that mean?" Hoshino Alter muttered as she drew her opening hand.
"You'll understand once you duel for real, Hoshino!"
Taking the first turn, Diva placed two cards into his strange cube-shaped Duel Disk.
"Now, with the power of the 'Cubic' monsters left behind by Master Shadi, I'll crush you completely! I set two cards and end my turn."
"No monster summon, huh? Then it's my turn—draw!"
Drawing her card, Hoshino Alter suddenly noticed the Duel Disk prompting her that she could perform a Normal Summon this turn, despite having no monsters of Level 4 or lower.
"So this is Dimensional Summon… I get it now. It lets you Tribute Summon higher-level monsters without tributes."
Throwing a high-level monster card onto the Duel Disk, she bypassed the usual procedure. In the Dimensional Duel, a golden light materialized into form.
"Summon! Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon!"
[Heroic Spirit – Artoria Pendragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Dragon/Effect][ATK 0/DEF 0]
"ATK and DEF both 0?" Even though she had successfully summoned a high-level monster, its stats appeared blank.
"Heh… In the Dimensional Duel, monsters summoned through Dimensional Summon start with 0 ATK. Their stats can only be raised by the duelist's spirit."
Seeing Hoshino Alter's Artoria with 0 ATK, Diva sneered.
"In theory, you can raise a monster's stats to their original values through sheer spirit, but the difficulty is something no ordinary person could manage."
"Then you've picked the wrong opponent!" Holding Artoria's card aloft, Hoshino Alter radiated with brilliance that illuminated the field.
"—Holy Sword's light cleaves through dimensions! Answer my resolve, Artoria! Aaaaaah!!"
"Woooahhh!!"
Channeling Hoshino Alter's spirit, Artoria gripped her sacred sword tightly, her stats soaring from zero in an instant.
[Artoria Pendragon ATK: 0 → 2400]
Diva's eyes widened in panic. "Her first Dimensional Duel… and she instantly pushed her monster's stats to full? That's impossible!!"