"Let's fuse, Aisha!"
"/(//o/ω/o//)/ F-fuse?"
Seeing Miles make his cool return and suddenly say something so shockingly suggestive, Aisha's cheeks flushed bright red.
There was no need to think about it… Aisha Carlos had once again misunderstood in a very inappropriate direction.
"Now is not the time for you two to joke around."
In her mature form, Rilliona gathered magic in both palms and hurled it toward the pitch-black sky overhead.
After using the summoning contract to overlay his soul with Numerounius and obtain the power of the God of Destruction, the first thing Zepha naturally intended to do was eliminate all unstable factors.
And what counted as unstable factors? Obviously, everyone gathered in the palace.
Suspended in the starry sky with black-and-white chaotic wings spreading behind him, Zepha—now able to wield a portion of the God of Destruction's power with his own body—merely waved his arm lightly toward the ground, and terrifying, destructive energy crashed downward.
The magic Rilliona had released just moments earlier was precisely to counter that sudden, shameless sneak attack from the sky.
Rilliona, the Magistus of Crystals, constructed a spell at the fastest speed of her life, unfolding a crystalline barrier over the open-air palace.
The violent collision of the two waves of magic sent tremors through the entire imperial capital.
"I can't hold this for long, Miles—hurry!"
Though it looked evenly matched at a glance, that strike from Zepha was clearly just a casual attack, while this crystalline shield was Rilliona's full-powered ultimate spell.
"I'd love to hurry," Miles replied helplessly. "But how are we supposed to fuse?"
He had been counting on Rilliona to explain that part.
From beginning to end, she had only mentioned fusing with Aisha as their trump card, without offering even a single word about the actual method.
"Let me be honest, Rilliona… humans don't come with that function built in."
"The method…" Straining to maintain the crystalline barrier above, Rilliona could barely spare the focus to answer him.
Even so, she forced out a sentence.
"You don't need a method! As long as your bonds are connected, that's enough!"
That answer was painfully abstract.
But in a situation like this, they could only try it and hope for the best.
"Then let's do it! Get ready, Aisha!"
Miles's call of Aisha was not only directed at Aisha Carlos beside him, but also at Dark Aisha hidden among the crowd under another identity.
"Mr. Miles!"
"Miles!"
Responding to his call, both Aishas gathered at his side.
No method required. Only bonded hearts.
If the condition for creating the miracle of soul overlay was the depth of their bond, then Miles had absolute confidence.
From the very beginning, after he crossed into this world, they had met, fought side by side, overcome countless hardships, and even defeated the Emperor together.
And the other soul separated from Aisha's body—the darker aspect who had spent the longest time with Miles within the Millennium Puzzle's inner chamber, sharing countless days and nights.
"With you here, I won't lose!"
"Miles… mmph!"
The simplest and most direct way to express his feelings—Miles pulled both Aishas into his arms at once.
For most of the time since crossing into this world, Aisha, Miles, and Dark Aisha had shared a single body.
Now, guided by their bond, the three-in-one souls resonated fiercely once more.
The Millennium Puzzle at Aisha's chest and the King's Key hanging at Dark Aisha's chest shone with dazzling golden light.
Soul Compatibility: MAX!
Soul Synchronization Rate: 100%!
Unlike Zepha, who forcibly overlaid his soul with Numerounius through a summoning contract, Aisha and Miles achieved a true soul overlay that broke beyond their original limits.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you!" Rilliona exclaimed excitedly.
Because of the National Transmutation Array, Duelists within the capital could barely summon monsters.
But support from outside the capital finally gave Rilliona, who was desperately resisting Zepha's bombardment, a precious moment to breathe.
High above, two massive Duel Monsters—[Invoked Elysium] and [Malefic Truth Dragon]—were being controlled by Alester and Sylvia, temporarily blocking the God of Destruction's assault.
Sylvia said with mixed emotions, "To think that one day I'd be teaming up with a perverted man like you to fight against the god I worship."
Alester shot back, "Save it, you lecherous nun who likes little boys. Now's not the time to lose focus!"
Even though Invoked Elysium and Malefic Truth Dragon were enormous by Duel Monster standards, compared to Numerounius looming beneath the stars, they were still several orders of magnitude smaller.
Rilliona's resistance and the ambush from outside the capital were merely stalling tactics.
Watching the Millennium Puzzle and the King's Key blaze with light, Rilliona said excitedly, "Your bonds have awakened the sleeping power. Now there's only one final step left before the fusion!"
"One final step?"
"The final step of fusing is all about spirit!"
Once again—an answer grounded entirely in willpower.
But Miles did not dislike such power. Bonds first, then spirit… weren't those exactly what made a Duelist strong?
"Let's go, Aisha!"
"Osu!"
Clad in a silver robe, Miles stood in the center. To his left, Aisha held the shining Millennium Puzzle. To his right, Dark Aisha gripped the glowing King's Key.
Of the three, only Miles had no artifact in hand… which hurt the dramatic impact a little.
"Miles…"
Forcing herself upright despite her weakness, Emperor Quaedes rose to her feet.
"This should have been the Varian Empire's responsibility. Yet in the end, we can only place our hope in you."
"Don't worry about it. Saving other countries isn't exactly new for us."
"Then take this power as well!"
Using the last of her strength to approach him, Quaedes removed the blue ring from her slender, pale finger.
"The crystal ring that contains the raging power of the ocean. This is all I can do now. Please, take my power with you and stop my foolish brother."
Perhaps it was the first time Quaedes had referred to Zepha as 'brother.'
But standing beneath the shadow of the colossal god in the night sky, Zepha could no longer hear those words.
"Quaedes, you…"
Solemnly accepting the blue ring Quaedes handed over, Miles read emotions beyond those of a solitary Emperor within the girl's ice-blue eyes.
"I understand. I'll deal with that idiot properly on your behalf!"
Sliding the blue ring onto the middle finger of his right hand, its oceanic fury flashing with the power of the Empire's strongest Emperor, Miles finally had an artifact of his own to brandish.
"Let's go, Aisha!"
Miles raised the arm wearing the ring high. Two beams of golden light and one beam of blue light intertwined and converged beneath the night sky, where the colossal god loomed.
"I overlay myself with Aisha Carlos! This is a bond fusion that transcends limits!"
Once triune souls reunited within the light.
But this time, strengthened by multiple divine artifacts, the "vessel" bearing their three souls manifested in an entirely new form.
At the end of the converging radiance in the sky, the fused Miles and Aisha appeared clad in blue, white, and gold interwoven attire, magnificent, luminous twin wings extending from their backs.
Irena and the others looked up at the sky in stunned disbelief. "Is that Miles… or Aisha?"
The fused form possessed a neutral beauty—retaining Miles's resolve while carrying Aisha's gentleness and innocence.
More than the change in appearance, Rilliona, as the Magistus of Crystals, could feel the overwhelming magnitude of this power.
"Whether it's Miles or Aisha, that is our hope for victory!"
What excited Rilliona most was that the recreated King's Key she had forged was finally displaying its true purpose.
Miles and Aisha's fusion proved her theory correct. She truly was a genius among geniuses.
"Hmph, Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame. You probably never imagined—even in death—that the overlay of human souls could unleash power rivaling a god's!"
Yet even Rilliona's excitement was nothing compared to Miles's.
The sensation after fusion, the endless power surging from body and soul—Miles felt invincible.
Aisha and Dark Aisha, equally within the fused state, felt the same awe at this power.
"So amazing… so strong, Mr. Miles!"
"So this is our power? Our power together with Miles? It's incredible!"
After fusion, the two Aishas did not compete for control. Instead, they tacitly entrusted the new body entirely to Miles.
After all, in the final boss battle, it went without saying that Miles would be the one to take command.
"Leave it to me," Miles said firmly. "With this power, I'll wrestle with the god that would destroy the world!"
The radiant wings behind him spread further, casting brilliant light across the night sky.
"Take off!"
Aiming at the enormous Numerounius in the sky—and Zepha hovering before it with chaotic wings unfurled—Miles streaked upward like a beam of light cleaving the heavens.
At this moment, Miles desperately wanted to shout those words.
"You are all my wings!"
"That's… Miles?"
Riding atop the massive [Malefic Truth Dragon], Sylvia stared in disbelief at the streak of light that shot past her and soared toward the colossal god.
"This… isn't this a bit too outrageous?!"
Standing atop [Invoked Elysium], Alester smiled with quiet satisfaction. "It needs to be this outrageous. Only the fusion of Miles and Aisha Carlos has a chance to stand against a god that once destroyed the world."
Alester had personally acknowledged both Miles and Aisha Carlos as beings capable of touching the forbidden monsters beyond the Gate of Truth.
When those two powers—two of the strongest souls from different worlds—overlaid, calling it a miracle that locked in future victory was hardly an exaggeration.
"What is that?!"
If Sylvia, riding Malefic Truth Dragon below, had merely been shocked by the streak of light that flashed past her—then, high in the starry sky, when Zepha noticed the luminous figure charging straight at him, his stunned expression twisted into fear as he failed to dodge in time.
"An opening!"
Though Miles knew that at this level of ascended power, physical attacks were essentially meaningless, he still seized the opportunity of a high-speed surprise approach and threw a full-force punch.
Not for strategy—this punch was purely to vent his anger, to express his fury at Zepha for deceiving everyone.
"This punch is for the dignity of everyone who ever trusted you!"
"Gah!"
The righteous face-breaking punch landed squarely, warping Zepha's features into an inhuman distortion.
Blasted away, Zepha's body was hurled several hundred meters through the sky.
A normal human would have died several times over from such an impact.
Regardless, Zepha merely wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.
"You're… Miles? No. Aisha Carlos… No, no! What did you do?!"
That it was both Miles and Aisha Carlos was not even what shocked Zepha most.
What stunned him was that the overlay of human souls could produce power rivaling his fusion with the God of Destruction.
Zepha wiped the blood from his lips.
At this level of power, trading physical blows would never determine victory.
Both of them understood.
To truly settle this, they would need to invoke the rules that governed the world itself.
And on the Spirit Continent, the power of world-level rules was—
"Then let's decide this with a Duel!" ×2
Suspended in the sky, the two spoke in near-perfect unison.
In this otherworldly sky, even those with the greatest power must decide victory through cards.
That was the rule capable of saving the world—or destroying it.
Activating the fused Spirit Eyes, light different from before shimmered along Miles's arm.
If Aisha Carlos's Spirit Eyes had once been a pure white symbolizing untainted mortal flesh—then now, after fusion, its color had become pure radiance.
Radiant Spirit Eyes—and within them, an evolved radiant Deck.
"With this light, I'll cleave through the God of Destruction's chaotic darkness!"
"Duel!"
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