"I know it! The way to separate you two!"
"Really? What is it?!"
When Viel suddenly came up with a solution as if electricity had run through her brain, the person who reacted with the greatest excitement wasn't Miles or the two Aishas, but Alice, who had finally come out of her petrified state.
Viel tapped her big head with a finger. "Right now, it's only my theoretical guess. Watching that duel just now gave me the idea that it might work.
"Magic girl, you also held that duel to test this theory, right?"
"Uh? Ah? Oh?"
Covered in soot with her hair still puffed up, Irena's eyes darted around awkwardly.
"L-Let's just say that's the case."
In truth, this trashy witch hadn't thought that far ahead at all.
She had simply wanted to use the fused Miles and Aisha to satisfy her desires.
The fact that Viel managed to deduce a way to separate the fusion from that duel was purely luck; a lucky accident.
"So what exactly is the method to separate?" Miles asked.
"It's very simple to carry out."
Viel stroked her chin and smiled proudly.
"Before, we ignored another important possibility. Since winning the duel doesn't separate the fusion, we just have to try the exact opposite method."
"The exact opposite method?"
"Defeat! If you lose, the fusion should come undone. That kind of plot trope exists too."
"That actually makes a lot of sense!"
Even Miles had to agree with Viel's reversed way of thinking.
Having watched plenty of superhero and mecha anime, Miles had subconsciously assumed that defeating the enemy would cause the strongest fusion to end.
But if he thought about it carefully, there were just as many scenes where the fusion was forcibly undone after being defeated.
And if the condition was simply losing a duel, that was incredibly easy; almost zero cost and absolutely worth trying.
They only had to deliberately throw the duel.
"Let's duel again, Irena!"
"A-Again?"
The fighting spirit of the guardian of the XP system had been shattered by Utopia the Lightning in just one duel. Irena, whose hair was still frizzy from the electric shock, had lost her will to fight.
"I don't want to duel anymore."
"Come on, be nice. We'll let you win this time, okay?" Miles coaxed her like a child. "Didn't you want to win the duel and go on a date? This is a great chance~"
"Who are you trying to fool?! Didn't you just say losing the duel would undo the fusion? Then how could there be a date afterward?"
Only now did Irena finally realize that trying to win a date by dueling the fused Miles and Aisha was an impossible proposition.
If she lost, there would be no date. If she won, the fusion would be undone.
No matter which outcome occurred, Irena's desires couldn't be satisfied.
"Please, Irena!" Alice grabbed Irena's hands and pleaded sincerely. "Just think of it as your big sister's lifelong wish! Win this duel."
"Ah, uh… Alice…"
Irena simply couldn't refuse gentle girls like Alice.
And recently, since she had been staying at the Carlos household, she had already received far too much care from Alice.
In the end, Irena gave in.
"Fine, fine! I'll duel one more time!"
The duel began again, with Irena once more facing the fused form of Miles and Aisha.
However, this time, Miles' side needed to find a way to lose the duel.
Which immediately raised another question.
Who would throw the match?
Miles, whose motto was to give every duel his all, definitely didn't want to participate in a duel that was meant to be lost.
As for Dark Aisha, they had already seen what happened earlier. She claimed she would hold back, but fought harder than anyone else, lacking some common sense in that regard.
That left only one candidate.
"This duel is yours, Aisha!"
"(°ー°〃) Huh? I'm the one who has to take the beating?"
"You said you couldn't bring yourself to hurt the senpai you respect, Irena. So just lose on purpose. It's a happy ending for everyone~"
"(ー▵ー) Fine. I'll do it."
Given Irena's strength, Aisha didn't actually need to stand still and get beaten to deliberately lose the duel.
If she just made a few careless mistakes, she might lose naturally.
Losing the duel that way would look more convincing, and the chance of the fusion breaking apart, like a defeat CG playing afterward, would probably be even higher.
Miles: "Good luck, Aisha. It all depends on you!"
Dark Aisha: "But don't try too hard either~"
"Duel!"
...
This time, Irena directly abandoned her sneaky trap strategy and returned to the aggressive Dark Magician combo she was best at, resulting in a fairly even back-and-forth with Aisha.
It had to be said that although the Gray Witch Irena had been drifting toward a comedic role lately, her actual dueling ability was still very much solid.
[Irena, LP: 3400]
[Aisha, LP: 300]
"Phew. See? I'm pretty strong too, right?"
After fighting the fused Utopia deck twice in a row, the exhausted Irena let out a long breath.
Anyhow, the scales of victory had tilted toward Irena.
Just in terms of Life Points, Irena already held a huge advantage. Moreover, her field had formed the attack lock effect of two [Magician Valkyria].
[While this card is in the Monster Zone, your opponent cannot select other Spellcaster monsters as attack targets.]
Possessing a Spellcaster-type taunt effect and looking very similar to a grown-up Dark Magician Girl, [Magician Valkyria] created a paradox when two were on the field at the same time: an attack declaration contradiction that prevented the opponent from attacking at all from a rules standpoint.
Two [Magician Valkyria], one [Dark Magician Girl], and one face-up Continuous Trap [Magicians' Defense] in the backrow—that was Irena's current field.
[While you control a Spellcaster monster, all damage you take becomes half.]
In contrast, Aisha had no monsters on her field at all. She was hanging by a thread, infinitely close to defeat.
"I end this turn. It's your move."
"This is the rhythm we need, Aisha. We're almost there (almost losing)."
With her hand empty and only this turn's single draw remaining, even Miles couldn't imagine what Irena could possibly lose to.
"My turn, draw!"
"Hm, Aisha?"
Miles suddenly sensed something was wrong.
Aisha's draw on this final turn carried a quite different aura from the earlier turns of the duel.
It felt as if this single draw could bring about an impossible miracle.
"No way," even Miles couldn't believe it.
"I Normal Summon in Attack Position!"
Throwing the final drawn card onto the field, Aisha seemed not to have heard Miles at all. She instantly entered a state of total focus.
"Come out! [Gagaga Sister]!"
[Gagaga Sister] Level 2│DARK│Spellcaster│200 ATK
A tiny, extremely cute little-sister-type monster flipped through the air before materializing and floating in front of Aisha.
Unlike Miles or Dark Aisha's fighting styles, even while using the fused Utopia deck enhanced by ZEXAL, most of the monsters Aisha drew were low-level monsters.
"I activate the effect of [Gagaga Sister]!"
[When this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Gagaga" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand.]
"I add the Equip Spell [Gagagarevenge] to my hand, then activate it immediately!"
[Target 1 "Gagaga" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that monster and equip this card to it.]
"I Special Summon the Level 2 [Gagaga Clerk] from my Graveyard!"
[Gagaga Clerk] Level 2│EARTH│Warrior│400 ATK
A beautiful secretary monster with white stockings materialized from the Graveyard and stood beside [Gagaga Sister].
"Then I activate [Gagaga Sister]'s effect again!"
[Target 1 "Gagaga" monster you control, except this card; until the End Phase, that monster and this card both become the combined Levels of the two monsters.]
"I target my Level 2 [Gagaga Clerk]! Sister and Clerk both become the sum of their Levels!"
Level 2 Sister plus Level 2 Clerk equaled Level 4. After merging their Levels, Aisha immediately had two Level 4 monsters on the field.
Miles said in surprise, "One-card Xyz, huh? Not bad."
With only a single draw left, Aisha had still managed to assemble two Level 4 monsters.
If not for the double [Magician Valkyria] on Irena's field sealing attacks, Aisha could have Xyz Summoned Utopia Double and struck for ten thousand damage… she might actually have turned the duel around.
"Xyz Summon—[Number 39: Utopia]!"
Overlaying the two Level 4 monsters into No.39, the completely focused Aisha held pure light Utopia in her hand.
Another evolved form of Utopia from the ZEXAL deck; neither Utopia the Lightning nor Utopic ZEXAL.
"When the world's order is thrown into chaos, a glimmer of hope will descend to illuminate it! Utopia Xyz Change! Behold! [Number S39: Utopia Prime]!"
[Number S39: Utopia Prime] Rank 4│LIGHT│Warrior│2510 ATK
[3 Level 4 LIGHT monsters]
[This card can also be Xyz Summoned by using "Number 39: Utopia" you control as material.]
Golden light of orderly hope illuminated the field. Another brand-new form of Utopia had appeared; counting this one, it was already the third "Utopia" Number monster.
This further confirmed Miles' earlier guess.
Even in their fused state, the Utopia Number monsters that each of the three could summon from the deck were different.
"Wait, wait! Now isn't the time to admire this!"
Weren't they supposed to lose this duel? Did any of them even know how to spell the word "lose"?
"Calm down, Aisha!"
"I… I can't calm down at all, Mr. Miles!"
As if beyond her own control, the cornered Aisha launched a counterattack almost purely by instinct.
"I activate the effect of [Number S39: Utopia Prime]!"
[If your Life Points are at least 3000 lower than your opponent's: Detach 3 materials from this card and pay Life Points until you have 10 LP; destroy and banish all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls, then inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each monster banished by this effect.]
Unlike other forms of Utopia that cleared the field through battle, this [Number S39: Utopia Prime] was the perfect counter to Irena's double [Magician Valkyria] attack lock.
Despite its activation condition being extremely harsh, it required having 3000 fewer Life Points than the opponent and paying almost all your own Life Points.
But once the effect activated, it could devastate the opponent's field without even entering battle.
"Ooooooh!"
[Aisha, LP: 300 → 10]
Paying her Life Points down to only 10, Aisha's soul poured into the golden radiance of the star-like wings behind Utopia Prime.
"This is… Pandora Force!!"
The dazzling brilliance that pried the scales of victory apart engulfed all the Magician Girls on Irena's field.
[Magician Valkyria] ×2 Destroyed and Banished
[Dark Magician Girl] Destroyed and Banished
When the light faded, there were no monsters left on Irena's field.
And for every monster banished by [Number S39: Utopia Prime], the opponent received 300 damage. Three monsters meant a total of 900 damage.
[Irena, LP: 3400 → 2500]
Irena's cheek twitched. "H-Hey… this remaining Life Points situation is crazy, isn't it?"
The Continuous Trap [Magicians' Defense] only halves damage while there is a Spellcaster monster on the field.
But now, Irena didn't have a single Spellcaster left on the field.
And just like that, after the precise damage reduction, Irena's remaining 2500 Life Points had entered the lethal range of Utopia Prime's 2510 Attack.
"Stop, Aisha! This doesn't look like someone trying to lose on purpose at all!"
"I can't stop anymore, Mr. Miles!"
Just like the name of Utopia Prime's finishing technique, 'Pandora Force', the pull of reversing victory was like Pandora's box; once opened, impossible to resist for Aisha.
"Direct attack, Utopia Prime! Hope Sword: Shining Slash!!"
"Y-You've got to be kidding me…"
Unable to keep it together anymore, Irena could only watch helplessly as the shining sword of hope slashed toward her.
"Waaaahhhhh!"
[Irena, LP: 2500 → 0]
It was simply tragic.
They had promised to lose on purpose, yet just when victory was within reach, Irena was brutally defeated again.
"You bunch of liars!!"
After being blasted across the restaurant floor and rolling several times, her clothes in tatters, Irena shouted out her frustration.
"You said you'd let me win! I think you never wanted to separate at all.
"If you don't want to separate, then go on a date with me! Consider it compensation for my wounded heart!"
"N-No, that's not it, Senpai Irena."
Only after the duel ended did Aisha regain her composure, and now she was overwhelmed with guilt.
At the beginning, Aisha had been the one most unwilling to duel Irena with their fused power.
Yet in the end, she was also the one who defeated Irena the most brutally.
Shouting "I'm holding back" while tearing the opponent apart piece by piece… Aisha, you'd be perfect piloting the Freedom Gundam.
"During the duel, it felt like my body stopped listening to me. No matter what, I just wanted to win the duel. I don't understand it myself."
Dark Aisha: "Maybe the other me is just too clumsy?"
Miles: "You're the last person qualified to say that after obliterating the opponent with Utopia the Lightning!"
Well, they failed to lose again.
What had seemed like a simple method for separating the fusion turned out to be extremely difficult to pull off.
Squinting her eyes into a thin line, Viel entered a rare mode of serious contemplation.
She was thinking about Aisha's state in the final turn when she suddenly lost control of herself and had to win the duel.
"This isn't good." Just like when Aisha previously unleashed the power of the future, Viel seemed to see something ominous within the girl.
"What are you talking about, Viel?" Miles asked.
"Hmm. Miles, let me tell you something. If you want to separate the fusion by losing a duel, then don't let Aisha duel anymore."
"Not let Aisha duel? Why?"
"I still need to investigate the exact reason when I go back.
"But if you don't want to create unnecessary trouble, don't let Aisha duel using the fused body again. That's my warning!"
Seeing the normally sly merchant loli so serious for the first time, Miles knew he couldn't treat it as a joke.
"If Aisha can't duel, then that means I'll have to do it? Find a way to lose the duel myself."
For Miles, losing while still refusing to hold back, even in a fused state, was incredibly difficult.
Viel said, "It's difficult, but not impossible.
"If you try enough times, eventually you'll brick so badly you can't even play a card. Then you'll naturally lose, and the fusion will separate."
"Try many times, huh…" Miles glanced at Irena.
Irena immediately recoiled in terror, shaking her head frantically.
"No! Don't use me as a punching bag again. I don't want to get brutally beaten anymore. Please spare me."
The trauma this time might have been even worse than when Irena was defeated by Alester back in the first year.
"It's true we shouldn't keep targeting the same person. That would be too cruel," Viel reminded them. "You can just find more people. After all, in this imperial capital, Duelists are the one thing you'll never run out of."
That made sense. Compared to Irena, whose deck had already been figured out, the imperial capital was full of Duelists; surely some of them had unique tricks.
If quality didn't work, they could rely on quantity.
They could keep searching for opponents in the imperial capital, gambling on themselves bricking or the opponent drawing godlike hands.
They could even gather multiple opponents and fight unfair duels like three-on-one or four-on-one.
In short, they would do whatever made losing easier.
To avoid being brutally beaten again, Irena thawed the frozen restaurant door handle with fire magic (something her reckless earlier self had caused) and voluntarily let Miles leave.
"Then that's the only way. We'll place our hopes on the countless Duelists of the imperial capital!"
At this moment, the Duelists of the imperial capital still had no idea what kind of terrifying calamity they were about to face.
---
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