"Now then, the two of you owe me an explanation, don't you?"
The Class Year Team Duel Challenge on the second day of the Academy Festival had officially come to a close.
But in the first-years' prep zone, Kevin showed no intention of letting his two trusted teammates leave just yet.
"Explain the name 'Miles'. What's going on with that?"
"M... Miles?"
Neither Aisha nor Ren expected Kevin to pull them aside to ask this.
For many reasons, the two of them—now glancing at each other with guilty expressions—weren't sure if they should answer or not.
So they tried dodging the question with cuteness.
Aisha made the first move, cupping her cheeks. "Kevin, what are you even talking about? That makes no sense at all."
Ren immediately followed, tilting her head, blinking innocently. "Yeah, where'd you even hear that name? Sounds super weird."
"You called her that during the Trial Duel!"
Unmoved by their moe tactics, Kevin pointed straight at Ren's nose, face growing more serious.
"In the Tag Duel against the Headmaster, you repeatedly called Aisha Carlos 'Miles'. If you still consider me your friend, I hope you'll stop hiding things."
"Kevin..."
The cute deflection had failed. Ren could already guess she was the one who blew their cover.
She'd been so thrilled and excited to Duel with Miles that she forgot Kevin, who had been watching from the sidelines, didn't even know Miles existed.
"...That really was my slip-up. If you're saying this much, Kevin, then I guess there's no helping it."
"Hmph. So you're finally going to fess up."
"From now on, we're no longer friends."
"..."
Ren Austin: decisive to the core. As they say, a HERO doesn't need friends.
Even Aisha flinched.
"Was that… really necessary, Ren-chan?"
"It was a carefully weighed, strategic decision!"
For Ren, choosing between Kevin and Miles wasn't even a contest.
"No need to go that far."
From the golden glow of the Millennium Puzzle on Aisha's chest, Miles emerged, taking over her body.
Since Kevin had already asked, there was no point in hiding anymore—not from his destined rival.
"This presence... It's the same feeling Aisha Carlos gave off during the Duel!"
But before Miles could say anything, Kevin had already sensed the Soul Exchange.
He'd noticed it several times before—and his intuition for this sort of thing was sharper than even those who knew about Miles.
"As expected of you, Kevin. Explaining things to you makes everything simpler. That's right—I'm Miles."
"Miles?"
...
"So the Duelist with Soul Exchange... that's what this is."
After hearing Miles recount everything, Kevin showed no particular shock or doubt.
In fact, it seemed as though Miles's explanation cleared up a lot of things that hadn't made sense before.
"So in our first Duel, the one who beat me... was you, wasn't it?"
"It was."
"I see."
Still wearing a serious expression, Kevin turned and walked away without another word.
"Kevin, don't you have anything to say?"
Miles had expected some kind of reaction—maybe a bit of complaint about being kept in the dark, or feeling deceived.
However, Kevin said nothing.
"There's nothing to say. Whether it's Aisha Carlos or you, Miles, it doesn't change anything. Whoever fate designates as my rival, I only have one goal—to keep winning until I become the strongest Duelist."
"To win until the end... to become the strongest Duelist. Yeah, Kevin—that's exactly what a rival should sound like."
With both aiming to become the Duel King, finding a kindred spirit in this new world was more exciting to Miles than even finding rare cards.
"Next time we Duel, I'll be the one who wins, Miles."
Leaving behind only the image of his raised fist, Kevin made their promise.
No extra words were needed between men who shared the same battlefield.
"I won't lose either, Kevin."
…
That evening, at the Seth estate.
Due to their exalted status in the Kingdom of Livorden, the Seth family was one of the few with a villa near Fusion Academy.
Inside the master bedroom of that villa, Reigun Seth—known as the Kingdom's Iron Lion—sat grimly at his black wooden desk.
Even without changing expressions, the maids knew full well the Duke's mood was at rock bottom. And the reason was clear: his eldest son, Kaima Seth, had lost to the Carlos family during the festival.
Reigun sat silently, waiting.
Soon, the head maid entered and bowed deeply. "Master, young masters Kaima and Kevin have arrived."
"Send them in."
After receiving a formal summons from their father, Fusion Academy had granted the brothers permission to leave campus after curfew.
"Father."
In most families, such rigid formalities wouldn't be necessary. Regardless, not in House Seth. Reigun's authority reigned supreme—even his sons had to greet him with utmost respect.
"Everyone else, leave."
Reigun's deep voice carried a weight that needed no shouting. Though intimidating, the maids who heard it breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly fled.
Click.
With the final door shut, only the father and sons stayed.
Minutes of dead silence passed. Even Kaima, normally unshakable, swallowed nervously.
It was the calm before the storm.
This was the first time Kaima had failed to meet Reigun's expectations—by losing a Duel he absolutely shouldn't have lost.
How furious would Reigun be?
"Kaima. Do you know why you lost today's Duel?"
But the words that broke the silence weren't the expected thunderous rage.
"Father…"
Thrown off by the unexpected question, Kaima didn't know how to respond.
Why did he lose? No one had ever asked him that before.
"Because of my own shortcomings, Father. I've brought shame to the Seth family."
He chose an answer that seemed reasonable—and one that wouldn't provoke his father's wrath or shift blame elsewhere.
In truth, he had simply lost because his opponent was better. Kaima didn't want Reigun's anger redirected at the Carlos family.
"That's not it, Kaima!"
Reigun stood, his towering figure casting a heavier presence.
"You lost to that Carlos girl because you lacked one thing."
"I lacked... something?"
Truth was, Reigun had never intended to scold Kaima.
He believed deeply in the prophecy made during his wife's pregnancy—that Kaima would change the nation and elevate the Seth family to greatness.
So if something went wrong, it couldn't be Kaima's fault.
Reigun walked to a bookshelf along the wall. Pressing the sixth book on the second row, a hidden mechanism activated with a heavy gear sound.
The entire bookshelf rotated, revealing a golden chest.
"You lacked a Millennium Item!"
"A Millennium Item!" Kevin's heart skipped.
He'd just heard Miles mention the Millennium Puzzle… and now, their father was talking about the same thing.
…Was this truly just a coincidence?
Kevin remained silent, carefully masking his surprise.
"A Millennium Item?"
Kaima could grasp what that meant. Irena had once been ensnared by the Millennium Ring, and Aisha's pendant clearly resembled such relics.
"After returning, I did some research. That pendant around the Carlos girl's neck… It's definitely the Millennium Puzzle. I never imagined it could grant such immense power. Even you couldn't overcome it."
'Immense power?'
Kevin scoffed internally.
All the Puzzle did was house the soul of a Duelist named Miles. It wasn't some overwhelming force like their father imagined.
Kaima hadn't lost to the Item—he lost to Miles.
Yet, Reigun thought otherwise.
He opened the golden chest behind the bookshelf and drew out a tool engraved with the Eye of Horus.
"We can't let a lesser family ride high on the back of a Millennium Item. It's time. One of the Millennium Items long sealed by our family... Kaima, you're the one who can wield this power from the abyss."
What Reigun now held was a sinister, shadowy artifact—
The Millennium Rod.
...
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