With five ZW Equip Cards covering it in a fully armed form, Number 39: Utopia's Attack soared to 13000—more than double the 6000 Attack of Tyrant Neptune on Zepha's field.
"So this is the power of Miles and Aisha after the two of them fused together?"
The dazzling and overwhelmingly cool armament of Utopia, and the terrifying strength released by a single monster, made even Alice gasp in amazement.
It was a complicated feeling. Her beloved little sister had "fused" with a man, and the power they unleashed together was this overwhelming.
So overwhelming that even the Kaiju hidden in Alice's Deck began to stir restlessly.
The devouring Kaiju loved monsters like the fully armed Utopia the most—single entities with godlike combat power.
"Zepha, if you still haven't recognized the true nature of this duel, then it will still be a one-sided crushing! Battle!!"
Flying beneath the pitch-black starry sky together with the fully armed ZW Utopia, Miles declared the first Battle Phase of the duel.
"With the power of the ZW weapons, shatter the strongest Planet card in a single strike! Number 39: Utopia—attack!!"
Gathering the souls of the five beasts—dragon, tiger, vulture, lion, and dragon king—Number 39: Utopia unleashed its fully armed power toward Tyrant Neptune ahead.
"—Hope Sword - ZW: Beast King Armament Slash!!"
The five beast spirits surged forward as a blade assault toward Zepha. With 13000 Attack, the damage inflicted when destroying [Tyrant Neptune] would also take nearly two of Zepha's lives along with it.
"As if I'd let that attack succeed!"
Zepha had three Set cards in his back row. If he couldn't even block the first strike, Miles would have found that strange.
Still, resisting a fully armed Utopia like this was not easy.
With the untargetable protection granted by [ZW - Tornado Bringer], along with the destruction-substitution protection provided by [ZW - Lightning Blade],
common powerful Trap Cards of this world—such as Magic Cylinder, Dimensional Prison (which targets), and Mirror Force (which destroys)—could not stop Utopia's attack.
The real variable now was what kind of Trap Card Zepha would reveal after assimilating the power of the god of destruction.
"Destroy yourselves with your own attack!" Beneath the starry sky, Zepha flipped over his Trap Card. "[Dimension Wall]—activate!"
At that instant, the chaotic starry sky twisted. Even though it was a relatively common Trap Card, when activated in this duel that had already reached the domain of gods, the ordinary Trap carried the force of world-destroying power.
It was as if the entire dimension had truly been twisted by Zepha and reflected before Miles.
Within the reflected dimensional wall stood another fully armed Utopia.
[When your opponent declares an attack: The battle damage you would have taken from this battle is inflicted to your opponent instead.]
It did not target and did not destroy the opponent's monster. The effect merely redirected the battle damage to the opponent—but even that was fatal.
"All 7000 points of battle damage—take it yourselves!"
The tide of victory shifted in an instant. Just a moment ago, Miles had been overwhelming the field with Attack power and was on the verge of victory. But after the Trap was activated, he might now lose immediately.
"Wait!" Irena suddenly realized. "[Dimension Wall] doesn't work against [Number 39: Utopia]!"
"Right, it's Utopia's effect!" Nova remembered as well.
Number 39: Utopia could detach one Xyz Material to negate a monster's attack declaration.
Naturally, that effect could also be used to negate its own attack.
In other words, Miles and Aisha could have Utopia cancel its own attack to avoid the reflected damage from [Dimension Wall].
Although giving up such a perfect attack opportunity would be a pity, it was far better than being defeated by their own damage.
"No—keep attacking, Utopia!"
But clearly, one person had no intention of giving up. That was Miles, who insisted on continuing Utopia's attack.
In a duel within the domain of gods, victory and defeat were often decided in an instant of choice.
If they failed to destroy [Tyrant Neptune] this turn, they would still have to endure another 5000 points of effect damage next turn. At that point, it would be them who lost.
Responding to Miles' command, the fully armed Utopia—empowered by the souls of the five beasts—thrust its radiant blade directly toward the dimensional wall ahead.
At the same time, the fully armed Utopia reflected within the twisted space of the dimensional wall thrust its own blade forward as well.
The tips of the swords collided, followed by a crisp cracking sound.
The attack declaration Miles insisted on had actually allowed Utopia to pierce straight through the dimensional wall with a single strike.
Zepha frowned slightly. "What's going on?"
"Fly, Eagle Claw!"
At the moment the dimensional wall shattered, Utopia swung its arm and hurled the equipped [ZW - Eagle Claw]. The claw reverted to the form of a giant eagle, streaking across the sky and tearing through the activated [Dimension Wall] in Zepha's back row.
"This is the effect of [ZW - Eagle Claw]!"
[While this card is equipped: Once per turn, you can negate the effect of a Trap Card activated on your opponent's field.]
The ZW Miles had equipped specifically to counter Zepha's three Set cards negated the activation of the Trap [Dimension Wall], allowing Number 39: Utopia's attack to safely continue.
"I won't let you escape, Zepha!"
"You bastard! Don't think you'll break through!"
Their shouts clashed beneath the starry sky, neither side yielding an inch in the heat of battle.
"Then I'll use this card!"
Zepha flipped over his second Set card. Countless blades of light surged toward the fully armed Utopia.
"—Continuous Trap Card [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] activated!"
[When your opponent declares an attack, you can pay 1000 Life Points to activate this effect once. Negate that attack.]
The countless sealing blades of light circling around fully armed Utopia in the sky forcibly negated the attack.
Of course, negating it came with a cost.
[Zepha, LP: 4000 → 3000]
Every time an attack was negated, 1000 Life Points had to be paid. Since the duel began, Miles had finally reduced Zepha's Life Points for the first time.
But this small reduction was far from enough.
Looking up at Utopia halted by the light swords in the sky, Zepha smiled confidently.
"As long as [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] exists, your monster cannot destroy Tyrant Neptune."
At this point, the battle of this turn had essentially become a survival game for [Tyrant Neptune].
No matter what, Zepha intended to protect the Tyrant Neptune on his field and, on the next turn, strike Miles with another 5000 points of effect damage.
Naturally, Miles could never allow that to happen.
"If the first attack gets stopped, then I'll just attack a second time!"
Miles' shocking declaration was followed by another shift in the ZW armament on the field.
This time, Utopia directly removed the equipped [ZW - Leo Arms] from its body.
The armor reverted to its roaring lion form, floating beneath the starry sky as the beast king passed on its final strength.
"Activate the effect of [ZW - Leo Arms]!"
[During the Battle Phase in which the equipped monster attacked: You can send this equipped card to the Graveyard; the equipped monster can attack an opponent's monster one more time during that Battle Phase.]
"I send the equipped [ZW - Leo Arms] to the Graveyard. Inherit the will of the lion and attack once more, Number 39: Utopia!"
[Number 39: Utopia, ATK: 13000 → 10000]
With the lion armor exploding off and separating, Utopia lost the 3000 Attack boost it had provided.
Even so, with 10000 Attack remaining, Utopia still posed a lethal threat to Zepha's remaining Life Points.
"Second attack! —'Hope Sword - ZW: Lion Roar Slash'!"
As the roar of the lion's soul accompanied the slash, Zepha had only one possible response to the sudden second assault.
"Continuous Trap [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] effect! I pay 1000 Life Points to activate it and negate Utopia's second attack as well!"
[Zepha, LP: 3000 → 2000]
As long as the Life Point cost could be paid, the Continuous Trap [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] had no limit to the number of times it could be activated in a single turn.
With blood as its blade, countless rays of sharp light once again tore across the night sky and surrounded Utopia.
Miles' lips curled into a confident smile.
"Heh. Just as I expected. I've been waiting for this exact moment!"
Staring at the gathering sealing blades of light in the sky, Miles held a card between his fingers. In the next instant, a storm of different-colored winds erupted across both Duelists' fields.
"—Quick-Play Spell Card [Double Cyclone] activated!"
[Target 1 Spell/Trap you control and 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; destroy them.]
A Quick-Play Spell used to destroy back-row cards.
According to the rules, the effects of Continuous Trap Cards must remain on the field to resolve. If they are destroyed in a Chain, their effects will no longer apply.
As for why Miles did not activate [Double Cyclone] during Utopia's first attack to destroy Zepha's [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light], the reason was simple.
With five ZW weapons equipped, Miles had no free Spell/Trap Zone left to activate a Quick-Play Spell.
Only after [ZW - Leo Arms] was sent to the Graveyard to trigger the second attack effect did Miles finally gain the precious back-row slot needed to break through.
"With the effect of [Double Cyclone], I destroy my [ZW - Eagle Claw] and your [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] at the same time!"
A raging gale swept through. The eagle formed from the ZW weapon sacrificed itself within the storm, destroying the Continuous Trap Card [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light].
[ZW - Eagle Claw] Destroyed
[Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] Destroyed
With the Continuous Trap destroyed in a Chain, the effect of [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] that negated the attack would no longer resolve.
At the same time, losing Eagle Claw caused Number 39: Utopia's Attack to drop by 2000.
[Number 39: Utopia, ATK: 10000 → 8000]
Even so, 8000 Attack was still enough to push Zepha into lethal range.
This was precisely because Miles had destroyed [Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light] at the very moment Zepha activated it.
Although the card was destroyed and its effect would not resolve, the 1000 Life Points paid as the cost would not be refunded.
Which meant Zepha's remaining Life Points were now 2000.
Utopia had 8000 Attack, Tyrant Neptune had 6000 Attack, and the resulting battle damage would be exactly 2000.
"Roar with your armaments, Utopia!!!"
Within a single battle filled with layered mind games, Miles had finally seized victory. The combined strike of the weaponized beast spirits gathered upon Number 39: Utopia completely shattered the massive body of Tyrant Neptune.
[Tyrant Neptune] Destroyed
"Ughhhhhhh!"
With the strongest Planet card destroyed, Zepha—floating beneath the starry sky—was blasted hundreds of meters away by the ZW impact of the five-colored beast spirits.
"It's not over—not over yet, Miles!"
Even as his body was sent flying, Zepha still flipped over his final Set card.
His desperation was understandable. If he did not activate it now, he would not survive to use it later.
"—Trap Card [Nutrient Z]!"
[During damage calculation, when you are about to take 2000 or more battle damage: Gain 4000 LP first.]
A survival card that first restored a large amount of Life Points before applying the battle damage.
[Zepha, LP: 2000 → 6000 → 4000]
After recovering, Zepha steadied himself midair, spreading the chaotic black-and-white wings behind him and regaining his balance.
Seeing his Life Points restored, Zepha finally felt slightly relieved.
"To think you could destroy the strongest Planet card… I must commend you, Miles, Aisha Carlos!"
"Relaxing now is still too early, Zepha!"
Miles' declaration sounded to Zepha like a death sentence from hell.
Even after Number 39: Utopia unleashed its terrifying fully armed double strike, Miles' Battle Phase was still not over.
"Activate the effect of [ZW - Dragonic Halberd]!"
[When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle: You can Special Summon any number of "ZW" monsters equipped to that monster.]
"Since the fully armed [Number 39: Utopia] destroyed [Tyrant Neptune] by battle just now, the final effect of the ZW weapons activates! Come forth—'Dragon and Tiger Formation'!"
The armaments that represented the final offensive separated. The twin wind-and-thunder blades and the dragon king halberd detached from Number 39: Utopia and fought independently in their original forms.
"I Special Summon [ZW - Dragonic Halberd], [ZW - Tornado Bringer], and [ZW - Lightning Blade] to my field in Attack Position! Don't think the weapons themselves have no fighting power!"
[Dragonic Halberd, ATK: 3000]
[Tornado Bringer, ATK: 1300]
[Lightning Blade, ATK: 1200]
Two dragons and a tiger roared beneath the starry sky. The three ZW monsters that had been Special Summoned to fight independently possessed a combined Attack of 5500.
"Th-That's incredible!" The spectators could not help but exclaim.
The combined assault of the ZW weapons created by [Shining Draw] was like an endless storm. Five fierce beasts and Number 39: Utopia continued launching relentless attacks toward Zepha within a single turn.
"ZW… this is the power Miles and Aisha gained after fusing together? That's insane!" Irena blinked in astonishment, her eyes shining.
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