The HERO's final Attack was 4300, while the god's Attack was only 2500.
Even so, because [Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu] itself could not be selected as an attack target, Miles, racing at full speed, had no choice but to forgo battle and ease off the D-Wheel's throttle.
Ren said, "How can this be? Our HERO clearly has higher Attack!"
Miles replied, "If we can't get rid of the Field Spell, these Earthbound Immortals are unexpectedly tricky."
Miles pulled two cards from the D-Wheel's slots and slapped them onto the blazing track.
"I set two cards. Turn end."
After activating [Double Fusion] to Summon [Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman], Miles had practically pushed in most of his resources.
He had 3 cards left in hand; setting 2 left just 1—the regular [Polymerization] that Blazeman searched earlier.
Of course, since it was searched on turn one by a HERO effect, the Shadow Duelist also knew that ordinary [Polymerization] was still in Miles's hand.
"Heh heh, you think you'll get to use that last Fusion?"
Relying on his unassailable Earthbound Immortal, the Shadow Duelist in front shifted into full taunt mode.
Miles's remaining Life Points were 2700.
In a Turbo Duel, activating a Normal Spell meant taking 2000 damage.
On the coming turn, he'd also have to endure a direct attack from the hummingbird Earthbound Immortal.
"No matter how you struggle, it's useless! You're already trapped in this Turbo hell—about to become an honorable offering to the Earthbound Immortal!"
"Why insist on hunting Turbo Duelists anyway?"
"Because Turbo Duels lead to a future of destruction, of course."
Miles had only asked offhandedly, but the Shadow Duelist actually answered honestly.
Since that was the case, he might as well fish for more information.
"Isn't it a bit exaggerated to say a simple card game leads to destruction?"
"Axet's prosperity is built on the energy generated by Turbo Duels—merely spending this nation's lifespan in advance."
"Spending the nation's lifespan in advance?"
"The so-called infinitely reusable magitek stones—their danger, the real truth hidden in the dark—the people of this country do not know. No, they're not allowed to know!"
For now, Miles couldn't quite parse the Shadow Duelist's theory.
After all, he'd only arrived in the Axet Republic today; he knew nothing about magitek stones—their properties, how they were charged, or the risks involved.
Despite that, he could tell this Shadow Duelist was different from the hysterical card muggers and abyss-invoking fanatics he'd met before.
This one seemed to be trying to prevent something from happening.
If so, could what they were trying to stop be connected to the attack years ago… when an Earthbound Immortal targeted young Ren and Aisha?
"Infinite energy only hastens destruction. Provoke the gods, and feel the boundless might slumbering in the earth! At your End Phase, I activate the Trap—[Contaminated Earth]!"
[During the turn a Level 5 or higher face-up monster you control is destroyed by a card effect: Special Summon 1 'Earthbound Immortal' monster from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot attack or activate its effects this turn.]
"This turn, my Level 8 [Earthbound Greater Linewalkert] was destroyed by [Call of the Haunted]'s effect, fulfilling [Contaminated Earth]' activation condition."
"You destroyed it yourself," Miles quipped. "And wait… you can have two Earthbound Immortals on the field? Isn't your card a little weird?"
"I Special Summon [Earthbound Immortal Cusillu] from my Deck!"
There was no clause on the card limiting the number of Earthbound Immortals. The Shadow Duelist drew out a second Earthbound Immortal, and the flaming walls raised by the Nazca lines began to contort, the figure on the ground shifting.
The hummingbird pattern transformed into that of a monkey.
"Let the body of wrath burst forth from the befouled earth and reveal the majesty of the divine! Special Summon—[Earthbound Immortal Cusillu]!"
[Earthbound Immortal Cusillu] Level 10│DARK│Beast│2800 ATK / 2400 DEF
The Earthbound Immortal's colossal ape form slowly lifted its head from the burning dark earth. Together with the hummingbird Earthbound Immortal hovering in the sky, they reigned over the Turbo Duel battlefield.
Two 'gods' descending… for his first Turbo Duel to turn into such a rare spectacle, Miles couldn't tell if he was lucky or doomed.
If he won this Shadow Game, wouldn't he get two Earthbound Immortals?
Then, back at Synchron Academy's Turbo Duels, facing students from other schools—with the unremovable Field Spell [Speed World] on his side… Wouldn't dropping an Earthbound Immortal be utterly devastating?
Of course, that ideal path only began if he could first win the Shadow Game—against two Earthbound Immortals.
Ren muttered fast, "Miles, what do we do? What do we do now?"
After the second Earthbound Immortal's arrival, the fear in Ren's voice was unmistakable. A doubled childhood nightmare tormented her even within the Millennium Puzzle.
"Ren, believe in your HERO."
"Believe in my HERO?"
"Resentful spirits that dwell in the earth and call themselves gods can't outshine the light of justice."
"Miles..."
Even with two Earthbound Immortals on the Shadow Duelist's field, on the burning track of the Turbo Duel, Shining Flare Wingman—transcending the shadow gods—still shone as the brightest light with the highest Attack.
That dazzling radiance of HEROic justice offered Ren a sliver of comfort.
Shining Flare Wingman was the Fusion HERO Ren herself created, fighting at Miles's side in their duel with the Legendary Dragons.
To Ren, [Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman] meant more than any other Fusion HERO.
"Can we really do it, Miles… defeat the Earthbound Immortals with my HERO?"
"No matter if we can or not—hold on to that hope until the very last moment, Ren!"
Whether he could do it, Miles himself wasn't sure.
Yet, faced with Ren, ensnared by the shadows of old trauma, Miles absolutely could not deny this light of HERO.
On the Nazca-flame track of the Turbo Duel, he had to believe that a HERO's light could pierce the darkness.
"My turn, draw!"
The Shadow Duelist's rough draw signaled the most dangerous turn yet.
[Shadow Duelist, SPC: 3 → 4]
[Miles, SPC: 3 → 4]
Shining Flare Wingman's Attack far surpassed that of the Earthbound Immortals.
However, while a Field Spell existed, all Earthbound Immortals shared certain effects:
They could not be attacked, were unaffected by the opponent's Spell/Trap effects, and could attack directly.
"Let the twin Earthbound Immortals crush you with absolute might—embrace your annihilation!"
Without a shred of doubt, the accelerating Shadow Duelist declared the Battle Phase.
The hummingbird Earthbound Immortal's wingbeats roared into tempests; the monkey Earthbound Immortal's flailing limbs shook the land.
The two colossal deities of Nazca looked eager to overrun Shining Flare Wingman and pulverize Miles's racing D-Wheel.
"Both Earthbound Immortals—attack directly! In a Turbo Duel, receive the judgment of the shadow gods!"
At the instant of the declaration, the two giants surged in tandem, unleashing their fury upon Miles's D-Wheel streaking down the track.
Razor lasers from a keen beak raked explosions across the ground; boulders hurled by slender simian wrists pounded the track.
In a Shadow Game, being swallowed by a dual onslaught of gods meant certain death.
Concluding as much, the Shadow Duelist's lips curled beneath his hood as he began easing off his jet-black D-Wheel.
"Heh... in the end, you lost to the Earthbound Immortals. No matter how strong you are—before two gods—"
A violent engine roar cut off his gloating monologue.
Eyes wide, the Shadow Duelist watched in stunned silence as a ray of light burst out of the blast, lancing past his slowing black D-Wheel and taking the lead.
"Bakana!"
The semi-transparent frame gleamed brilliantly, reflecting the HERO's radiance overhead. At breakneck speed, the D-Wheel traced a shining arc across the track, cutting through the darkness the Earthbound Immortals had spread.
[Miles, LP: 50]
"Fifty Life Points... how is that even possible?"
Reeling, the Shadow Duelist stared at the blazing D-Wheel now in front, and at Miles—still alive after a barrage from two Earthbound Immortals.
"A HERO doesn't flee the field!"
Breaking through annihilation by a hair's breadth, Miles relied on the custom D-Wheel's performance—and on the Trap he'd flipped beside it.
"Trap Card—[Damage Diet]!"
[This turn, halve all damage you take.]
The hummingbird Earthbound Immortal's 2500 Attack plus the monkey's 2800 made a total of 5300.
Halved by [Damage Diet], their direct-attack damage became 5300 / 2 = 2650.
Just enough for Miles, who had 2700 Life Points remaining, to lock in his final 50.
"Fifty! Fifty Life Points! You actually slipped from the gods' hands with the last 50!"
As victory slipped through his fingers—and as Miles overtook him on the track—the Shadow Duelist roared his fury.
"I locked it in first—keep up if you can!"
For the first time in a Turbo Duel, Miles felt the exhilaration of surviving the brink and slicing through the wind in the lead.
Maybe this first Turbo Duel wasn't so awful after all!
Facing Miles's 50 Life Points, the Shadow Duelist now had 4 Speed Counters banked. If he had a Turbo Spell in hand, he could trigger [Speed World 2] to burn Miles for 800.
But he couldn't. All he held was the Trap [Sakuretsu Armor]. He had no way to deal direct damage.
"Useless struggles only make you suffer more, little girl!"
He slammed [Sakuretsu Armor] onto the track.
Even if Miles had scraped by with 50 Life Points, the Shadow Duelist didn't believe he could lose.
Two massive Earthbound Immortals on the field, full Life Points, and a face-down Trap to boot.
Meanwhile, Miles had only a single Normal [Polymerization] he couldn't possibly afford to activate.
The chance of losing was not even 0.001%.
"I set 1 card. Turn end!"
Turns switched. The final chance fell to Miles—blazing at the front of the fiery track with just 50 Life Points.
"Miles..."
Crushed beneath the twin gods' pressure, Ren couldn't think of any way to win.
Back then, her brother Edigo Austin had faced a single Earthbound Immortal and wagered his dueling career just to fight it to a draw.
And now, two Earthbound Immortals were towering before Miles… in a Turbo Duel that fatally restricted HERO… with even the last Fusion unplayable.
"The HERO's light hasn't gone out, Ren!"
"...Miles?"
"That light includes Edigo Austin's. Even if he is no longer a Duelist, the light of HERO in his heart never faded."
"You mean... Edigo?"
"Then let the legacy of HERO light be forged with this one draw!"
At this final moment before the clash with the Earthbound Immortals, the will of the hero who had once protected his sister burst forth from Ren Austin's Deck.
"This light..."
It was a light Ren knew better than any other—the light that had always bathed her most trusted back when she was small.
"Miles, is this..."
"Leave it to me, Ren!"
''Leave it to me, Ren!''
"!!!"
Just like that Shadow Game behind the academy hills, Miles's voice overlapped with Edigo Austin's in Ren's heart.
"My turn, draw!"
Long present within Ren's Deck, the will of HERO's legacy awakened at last in this fated clash with the Earthbound Immortals.
"This card is... Honest Neos—no, that's not it!" Ren gasped.
The [Elemental HERO Honest Neos] Edigo had entrusted to Ren shed its ornate wings—becoming a HERO warrior of endless possibility.
"It's Neos!"
Ren could never forget her brother Edigo's ace monster.
[Elemental HERO Neos]
...
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