At the lunch restaurant, a duel suddenly unfolded with a date as the wager.
Irena VS Fused Duelists: Miles × Aisha
The spectators were the trashy loli Viel, who seemed to have figured something out and was frowning, and Alice, who remained petrified and motionless.
Aisha: "Mr. Miles, using this form to duel Senpai Irena… isn't that a bit…?"
Miles: "You mean too much bullying?"
"0v0 Mhm."
Miles had already warned Irena about this earlier, but unfortunately, she brushed it off with what looked like a cool declaration of her fetish.
After the fusion, the Utopia Deck enhanced by ZEXAL had already surpassed the current dueling decks on the Spirit Continent by far.
There was even [Number S0: Utopic ZEXAL], which Alester had identified as a forbidden power from the Gate of Truth.
Although the Gray Witch Irena could be considered among the top Duelists in the academy, to be honest, she had absolutely no chance of winning.
"Senpai Irena usually takes very good care of us. Treating her like this… wouldn't it be too cruel?"
"Does she really take good care of us?"
In Miles' memory, Irena's trashy side seemed to occupy the majority.
If he had to name something considerate, the most memorable thing was that Irena had used her position as the librarian to secretly help him and Aisha obtain crucial Magic Debt points before a duel.
As for the time that Irena stood in front of the Obelisk Tower to block the fanatics for everyone who couldn't summon Duel Monsters, because it didn't match the image of the trashy witch at all, Miles had already selectively forgotten about it.
"Wait, Aisha… you're not actually planning to accept the date invitation, are you? Let me make this clear first. Now is not the time for leisurely dating."
"It's not that I want to date. I just hope that, when the time comes, Mr. Miles can go a little easier."
"So you want me to hold back… I refuse! My motto, Miles' motto, is that no matter what duel it is, I give it my all. If you want someone to hold back, Aisha, you duel instead."
Anyway, control of this body could switch seamlessly between personalities. So who actually conducted the duel didn't matter at all.
"You want me to duel Senpai Irena? Mm… I kind of can't bring myself to do it either."
Irena was basically the senior Aisha had the best relationship with in the academy. Before Miles arrived in this world, Irena was one of the few people in the academy who would genuinely take care of the bottom-ranked Aisha.
Now asking Aisha, in their fused form, to utterly crush a senior she once respected… given Aisha's overly kind personality, she definitely couldn't do it.
"Then let me do it." At that moment, the trinity's Dark Aisha voluntarily stepped forward.
"If it's me, I can guarantee that I won't go too hard, and I won't feel guilty either."
"The other me?"
"I agree. Let the other Aisha go."
Caught between Miles absolutely refusing to hold back and Aisha being unable to strike, Dark Aisha really was the most suitable person for this duel.
Miles: "Then it's decided. Mode switch, Dark Aisha!"
Even though their souls could switch seamlessly during fusion, he still insisted on shouting a transformation slogan like something out of a tokusatsu show. That was probably what people called a sense of ritual.
Aisha: "Dark? Why is the other me Dark?"
Should it be called innocence, or just blind trust in Miles?
Even though their souls had already stacked and fused, Aisha still insisted on believing that the dark-side Aisha had been produced by Miles using some kind of magic trick.
With the dark-side Aisha controlling the body for the first time, the deck, enhanced by the Utopia power within the Spirit Eyes, seemed to unconsciously change its build as well.
"Let's begin." Dark Aisha looked toward Irena across from her.
"Don't forget. If you lose, you have to go on a date with me. And you have to date me in your fused form!"
"Don't worry. I won't lose!"
Dark Aisha spoke like a man of steel; an utterly straight, unromantic declaration.
"Duel!"
The Spirit Eyes shone brilliantly. Irena obtained the first turn of the duel.
But even the flash of Spirit Eyes when Irena took the first move was nowhere near as dazzling as the deck amplified by the Utopia power.
She had already lost momentum at the very start.
"A duel isn't about whose cards shine brighter! I also have a strategy for victory!"
Even though she never really put effort into studying dueling (she was even less diligent at it than she was with magic), Irena's natural talent was undeniable.
Sometimes, a month of effort from an ordinary person couldn't compare to a single day of effort from a genius. Reality was just that cruel.
So, to protect her fetish, the Gray Witch Irena, who was fighting with 120% seriousness in this duel, even against a fused opponent, could still overturn the situation if they were careless.
"I activate the effect of [Magicians' Souls] from my hand!"
[If this card is in your hand: You can send 1 Level 6 or higher Spellcaster monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, then activate 1 of the following effects.]
The monster depicted on the card—Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in a soul state—used the power of twin souls to draw a Spellcaster from the deck.
"From my Deck, I send [Dark Magician] to the Graveyard, then activate one of [Magicians' Souls]'s effects!"
[● Special Summon this card.
[● Send this card to the Graveyard, then you can Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl" from your Graveyard.]
"I send [Magicians' Souls] directly to the Graveyard and awaken the [Dark Magician] in my Graveyard!"
Choosing to activate the second effect, Irena's ace monster, Dark Magician, materialized and revived from the Graveyard onto her field.
[Dark Magician] Level 7│DARK│Spellcaster│2500 ATK
With his tall figure swinging the magic staff stylishly, Miles suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he had seen Irena's Dark Magician.
The last time he saw Dark Magician… well, that was when Miles himself summoned it in the Obelisk Tower after inheriting the Pharaoh's deck.
Having already experienced the power of a stronger Dark Magician, the trashy witch really had become outdated.
Successive flashes of summoning light sparkled at Irena's fingertips.
"When a monster with an original Attack of 2500 is Special Summoned to my field, I activate the effect of [Chronicle Magician] from my hand!"
[If a monster with 2500 original ATK or DEF is Normal or Special Summoned to your field: You can activate this effect. Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position.]
Following right behind the summoning of Dark Magician, the magician who bears the chronicles of time appeared on the field.
[Chronicle Magician] Level 7│DARK│Spellcaster│2500 ATK
Wearing a white magician's robe that was the complete opposite of Dark Magician's attire, the pages drifting from Chronicle Magician's hands transformed into an Xyz overlay effect that enveloped Irena's field.
"There are two Level 7 monsters on the field! Time to go! I overlay [Dark Magician] and [Chronicle Magician] to Xyz Summon!"
"A Rank 7 Xyz Summon?" Miles was slightly surprised.
In duels at Synchron Academy, Irena had indeed used a Rank 6 Xyz by using two Dark Magician Girls.
However, a Rank 7 Xyz using two Dark Magicians was something Miles was seeing for the first time.
It seemed that during this time, the trashy witch hadn't been completely slacking off after all.
"Black magic forms that overlap in the void—unleash the power of a new rank of sorcery! Xyz Summon—Ebon High Magician!"
[Ebon High Magician] Rank 7│DARK│Spellcaster│2300 ATK
[2 Level 7 Spellcaster monsters]
The Rank 7 Xyz magician who steps through the void materialized on the field, magical rings of sorcery glittering around his slender figure.
"Whether I can win or not depends on this monster!"
Irena used it as the surprise ace of this duel. To be extra safe, she added an Equip Card to [Ebon High Magician].
"I activate the Equip Spell [Magician's Defense]! When equipped to a DARK Spellcaster monster in Attack Position on my field, it cannot be destroyed by effects!"
Granting resistance to effect destruction specific to black magic, several layers of shadowy spell barriers appeared around [Ebon High Magician].
"Then I end my turn!"
"Eh, you're ending your turn already?" Aisha asked in confusion.
Logically speaking, Irena's Dark Magician deck contained mostly Spell and Trap Cards.
Yet despite going first, Irena didn't Set a single card. She only Xyz Summoned a 2300 Attack [Ebon High Magician] and immediately chose to end her turn.
"Hehe." Irena tried to suppress the smile that kept creeping up at the corner of her mouth.
This was the trashy witch's real hidden tactic.
Trap Cards? Of course, Irena had them.
Not only that… she even had two: one [Magic Cylinder] and one [Mirror Force]. She simply kept them both in her hand instead of Setting them.
As for why she didn't Set a single Trap Card, it was, of course, to lull her opponent into carelessness, creating the illusion that she had no backrow at all.
From the duel with Zepha, it wasn't hard to see that if there were too many face-down cards in the backrow, Miles would definitely find a way to guard against them.
And the core of this strategy was the effect of [Ebon High Magician].
[While this card with Xyz Material is on the field, during your opponent's turn, you can activate Quick-Play Spell Cards and Trap Cards from your hand by detaching 1 Xyz Material from this card.]
As long as the Xyz Summoned [Ebon High Magician] remained on the field, Trap Cards could be activated directly from the hand during the opponent's turn.
Irena was certain that this was the first time she had used [Ebon High Magician] in an actual duel.
So Miles and Aisha, who didn't know about this effect, would definitely assume she was defenseless and launch an all-out attack without restraint.
At that moment, she could let them taste the terror of the Noble Power of Hanoi. Or simply bounce their attack back and finish them off with Magic Cylinder.
"Hehehe~"
In the end, she couldn't hold back her laughter. Irena pulled down her witch hat to cover half her face.
"Don't forget about our promise for a date."
"I already said it. I absolutely won't lose.
"And I absolutely won't go on a date!"
Miles hadn't expected that the usually silent Dark Aisha would react so strongly to the mention of a date.
Or perhaps only when she was in a duel did Aisha's dark side become especially excited.
Thinking back to the duel right after she had been separated by the Millennium Key… yeah, it really did seem to be the case.
That said, could this version of Dark Aisha really hold back?
"My turn. Draw!"
Judging from the overwhelming intensity of that draw, as if she were a different person, it didn't look like someone who would show mercy.
However, the more fiercely she attacked, the more it would fall perfectly into Irena's strategy.
"I Normal Summon in Attack Position—[Gagaga Magician]!"
[Gagaga Magician] Level 4│DARK│Spellcaster│1500 ATK
Wearing the same triangular magician's hat as Dark Magician, the stuttering monster [Gagaga Magician] was summoned onto the field by Dark Aisha.
"Then I activate the Spell Card [Gagagawind] from my hand!"
[Special Summon 1 monster with "Gagaga" in its name from your hand. The monster Special Summoned by this effect becomes Level 4.]
"With the effect of [Gagagawind], I Special Summon [Gagaga Girl] from my hand and make her Level 4!"
[Gagaga Girl, Level: 3 → 4]│DARK│Spellcaster│1000 ATK
An extremely cute girl monster appeared—[Gagaga Girl], a stuttering monster whose cuteness rivaled that of Dark Magician Girl.
Even the slightly oversized triangular magician's hat, the iconic symbol of Dark Magician Girl's charm, perfectly captured its essence.
"Th-This!" Irena hesitated, but in the end still said it: "You're basically making a knockoff of my Dark Magician Girl."
"No, this is Gagaga Girl. It has nothing to do with Dark Magician Girl," Dark Aisha replied seriously. "Look. She isn't holding a magic staff, right?"
As a Spellcaster monster, what Gagaga Girl was holding indeed wasn't the classic magic staff, but… a slide phone.
"By the way, does this world even have slide phones?" Miles muttered.
It didn't make sense to have.
Then again, the world of Duel Monsters doesn't need to make that much sense. After all, this world doesn't have gigantic robots either.
"There are two Level 4 monsters on the field. I'm going in too!"
Although Dark Aisha spoke stubbornly, it couldn't be denied that the two girls did share some similarities.
Of course, only their appearances were similar. Their usage and battle styles were completely different.
"I overlay [Gagaga Magician] and [Gagaga Girl] to Xyz Summon!"
Facing the [Ebon High Magician] on Irena's field head-on, Dark Aisha also summoned her own Xyz Monster.
But in this deck, there was really only one Rank 4 Xyz it could be.
"Appear, No.39! My battle begins here. White wings of hope entrusted with victory! Messenger of Light—[Number 39: Utopia]!"
[Number 39: Utopia] Rank 4│LIGHT│Warrior│2500 ATK
Within the brilliant Xyz light of hope, No.39 materialized, spreading the white wings behind its back.
"The effect of [Gagaga Girl], which is an Xyz Material!"
"What? An Xyz Material still has an effect?" Irena exclaimed in surprise.
"That's why I said—it's [Gagaga Girl]! A battle style unique to [Gagaga Girl]!"
[If an Xyz Monster is Summoned using this card and another "Gagaga" monster as material, it gains the following effect.
[● When this Xyz Summon succeeds: You can target 1 Special Summoned monster your opponent controls; its Attack becomes 0.]
When used together with another Gagaga monster as Xyz Material, it granted Number 39: Utopia a brand-new effect.
Appearing in a phantom-like state behind Utopia, Gagaga Girl flipped open her phone and began rapidly tapping the buttons with her thumb.
"Turn [Ebon High Magician]'s Attack into 0! Zero-Zero Call!"
After finishing dialing, Gagaga Girl energetically held the phone forward to display the screen.
[Ebon High Magician, ATK: 2300 → 0]
The [Ebon High Magician] on Irena's field took the debuff.
"So that's a battle method like that. But it doesn't matter!"
Irena secretly glanced at the two Trap Cards in her hand.
Even if [Ebon High Magician]'s Attack had been reduced to 0, as long as Dark Aisha attacked, she would still be struck by the hidden power of the Hanoi Noble Force in her hand.
Irena prayed: Come on, attack already. Seeing my monster with 0 Attack, you definitely can't resist the urge to strike.
Dark Aisha did plan to launch a fierce attack with Utopia, but not with the original form of [Number 39: Utopia].
Within the Spirit Eyes deck on her arm, new power awakened by the Utopia force surfaced, and an Xyz card appeared at Dark Aisha's fingertips.
"This card…? No way!"
Miles was certain that during the duel with Zepha, this card hadn't been in the Utopia deck.
However, judging from Dark Aisha now, she had drawn the card almost effortlessly.
Miles guessed, "Could it be that even the fused Utopia deck changes depending on the user?"
The fused Utopia deck belonging to Miles represented the ZEXAL of hope.
And the fused Utopia deck belonging to Dark Aisha was…
"Wait, Aisha! If you use that card, can it really count as holding back?"
"I never said I would hold back, Miles. I only said I wouldn't go too hard!"
Dark Aisha flicked the glowing Xyz card from her fingertips onto Number 39: Utopia on her field.
"I overlay on top of the [Number 39: Utopia] on my field!"
Absorbing the power of Utopia into its body, Utopia's light of hope surged to a higher rank, shining like lightning piercing the heavens.
"Lightning stacked upon hope, let the flashing wings carve a path to victory! Overlay Xyz Summon, Rank 5! [Number S39: Utopia the Lightning]!!"
[Number S39: Utopia the Lightning] Rank 5│LIGHT│Warrior│2500 ATK
[3 Level 5 LIGHT monsters]
[This card can also be Xyz Summoned by using a Rank 4 "Utopia" monster you control as material.]
Just like Utopia Ray, it could be overlaid directly on top of Number 39: Utopia.
A brand-new evolved form of Utopia bearing the "S" prefix—[Number S39: Utopia the Lightning] descended amid roaring thunder.
"You summoned Utopia the Lightning to battle directly… how is that not going too hard, Aisha?" Miles said, already too tired to complain.
"I held back!" Tracing a streak of lightning with her fingertips, Dark Aisha swung her arm forward. "Battle!"
"Huh?" Before Irena could even understand what had just happened with that flash of Xyz light.
With lightning speed, Dark Aisha had already declared entry into this turn's Battle Phase.
"Destroy [Ebon High Magician], Utopia the Lightning!"
By the time Irena truly reacted, the Sword of Hope wrapped in blinding lightning was already rushing toward her.
"You attacked, huh? Perfect!"
Adjusting her expression, Irena pulled the hidden Trap Card from her hand—[Mirror Force].
"When you declare an attack, I activate the Xyz effect of [Ebon High Magician]. During the opponent's turn, I can activate Trap Cards from my hand! Hey, why…"
Just as Irena prepared to dramatically throw out the hidden Trap Card for a counterattack, she suddenly realized even her fingers were bound by the crackling lightning.
"What's going on?!"
"You can't activate it! That's the effect of [Number S39: Utopia the Lightning]!"
[When this card battles, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step.]
A complete effect lock during battle. Whether Dark Aisha intended it or not, Utopia the Lightning's thunderous assault mercilessly crushed Irena's hidden Trap strategy.
Unable to activate her Trap Card, and with [Ebon High Magician]'s Attack already reduced to 0 by [Gagaga Girl], the outcome was grim.
Irena frowned. "So I'll take 2500 battle damage. But I still have a follow-up!"
The second effect of the Xyz Monster [Ebon High Magician] would activate when it was destroyed by battle.
[If this Xyz Summoned card is sent to the Graveyard by battle or by an opponent's effect: Special Summon 1 DARK Spellcaster monster from your hand or Deck. Then you can destroy 1 card on the field.]
When [Ebon High Magician] was destroyed by battle, Irena could Special Summon [Dark Magician Girl] directly from her Deck, then use the follow-up effect to destroy [Number S39: Utopia the Lightning].
Even though she would lose Life Points, she would at least regain control of the field.
"It's over." Dark Aisha declared the finishing blow.
As [Number S39: Utopia the Lightning] rushed toward [Ebon High Magician] like a bolt of thunder, the lightning-wreathed Sword of Hope in its hand suddenly split in two, unleashing twice the brilliance.
"When [Number S39: Utopia the Lightning] battles a monster, its final effect activates!"
[If this card has a "Utopia" monster as Xyz Material, during damage calculation when it battles an opponent's monster: You can detach 2 materials; this card's Attack becomes 5000 during that damage calculation only.]
"I detach the Xyz Materials [Gagaga Magician] and [Gagaga Girl] to activate the effect!"
[Number S39: Utopia the Lightning, ATK: 2500 → 5000]
Not only did it seal effects during battle, it could also unleash the terrifying offensive power of lightning to raise its Attack directly to 5000.
An unstoppable assault; Utopia the Lightning charging toward victory at maximum speed.
"Hey! Is that even fair?!"
Watching the merciless double lightning slash descend toward her, Irena could no longer maintain her composure.
[Ebon High Magician], whose Attack had already been reduced to 0, now had to face [Number S39: Utopia the Lightning] head-on without being able to activate any effects.
The result was obvious.
"Hope Sword: Double Lightning Slash!"
Utopia the Lightning's inevitable blade split the void, destroying Irena's Xyz Monster [Ebon High Magician] instantly, without even giving it the chance to activate its last effect.
[Ebon High Magician] Destroyed
The battle damage from 5000 Attack pierced through to its controller. Crackling twin bolts of lightning left Irena completely numb.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
[Irena, LP: 4000 → 0]
A merciless one-turn kill with Utopia the Lightning. Miles could only think that this wasn't quite the script they had agreed on.
Aisha: "Didn't we agree to go easy, the other me?"
Dark Aisha: "I already went easy."
Miles: "No, no. The moment you pulled out Utopia the Lightning, the phrase 'going easy' stopped applying."
Miles had finally realized something.
Even though Dark Aisha was usually quiet, once a duel started, she became incredibly excited and had no concept of what it meant to hold back.
"My date… my date…"
Irena, her gray hair puffed up and frizzy from the electric shock, was still obsessing over her fetish.
Even though Irena lost the duel, Viel, who had watched the entire battle, suddenly jumped up as if struck by lightning, enlightenment flashing across her face.
"I know it! The way to separate you two!"
---------------------
Meanwhile, in a graveyard where certain God Cards had gathered, the Three Polar Gods, the strongest Wicked God, and the strongest Earthbound Immortal were gathered in a corner.
Then, a certain big shot with 100,000 Attack suddenly joined the group chat.
Taking a deep drag from the cigarette in his hand, Odin of the Polar Gods asked in confusion, "Bro, weren't you insanely strong? How did you end up down here too?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you… I got beaten by a block of tofu!"
"We believe you!"
The strongest Earthbound Immortal who got beaten by 300 Attack, the Three Polar Gods who got triple-killed by tofu, and the strongest Wicked God who got gang-beaten by twenty blocks of tofu; all spoke in unison.
"So how did you die?"
"I got smashed by a tofu with 200,000 Attack."
"Bro, you're the real beast. Sit up here with us~"
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