"We actually separated?" Miles and Aisha looked at each other.
A development that carried both surprise and delight.
Despite the exact reason being unclear, the ultimate goal had indeed been achieved.
Even so, with the fusion suddenly undone in the middle of a duel without any warning, what was supposed to happen to the duel?
The Utopia Deck, whose power had been amplified through ZEXAL fusion… when Miles raised his Spirit Eyes again, the light enveloping the Deck had vanished.
Just like the moment earlier, when the fully armed Leo Utopia Ray was swallowed whole by [Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju], and all that light disappeared entirely.
Come to think of it, those enormous Kaiju that had made the field look like a monster movie just now had also vanished without a trace.
"Wait… that guy is gone too!"
Well, it wasn't just the light and the Kaiju that disappeared.
When Miles and the two Aishas separated from their fused state, the mysterious black-robed Duelist on the other side also vanished.
The duel had been interrupted…
Under normal circumstances, once a duel begins, it cannot be forcibly terminated before a winner is decided.
Of course, that didn't include special cases… like when Miles and Aisha's fusion was undone, and the power of the Utopia Deck disappeared.
That was probably why the Spirit Eyes judged that the Duelist had effectively disappeared and could no longer continue, forcibly shutting down and ending the duel.
Looking around, even across the empty grassland, there wasn't a single trace left of the mysterious Duelist.
Just like the magic that concealed their true identity during the duel, they must have covered themselves in that same concealment and slipped away.
"There was also a Duelist who used Kaiju back in the fog-covered Royal Capital… who exactly could it be?"
Aisha: "No matter what, that person helped us defuse, right?"
After separating, the Millennium Puzzle still hung on Aisha's chest like a signature feature of her design.
Dark Aisha: "Then she must be a very kind and enthusiastic person."
On Dark Aisha's chest, the golden King's Key—shaped like a key—still swayed.
After seeing the Millennium Items on both of their chests, Miles suddenly looked at his own finger and realized something.
The Emperor's Ring, which sealed Quaedes's power, was still in his possession.
According to Alester, this was an extremely precious national-level Magic Tool; an important ring passed down through generations of emperors.
"Maybe I should find a chance to return the ring to Quaedes…"
After interrupting the duel and hiding her presence, Alice swiftly made her way back into the Imperial Capital.
She slipped into a deserted alley corner. Leaning against the wall, the girl crouched down, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she breathed heavily; unlike how relaxed she had appeared during the duel.
Elra: "That was a dangerous move, Alice. If you weren't careful, you could've exposed your identity before the plan was ready."
"Still, in the end, I won the gamble."
Alice opened her palm and glanced at the Spirit Eyes that had already crumbled into powder in her hand.
"I just didn't expect the actual cost to be even greater than I imagined."
The shattered Spirit Eyes wasn't just the one Alice used during the duel.
The three Spirit Eyes hanging at her waist as backup energy reserves had also turned into ash during the duel.
Such an enormous cost, and all Alice had done was a single thing… using a Kaiju to devour the fully armed [Ultimate Leo Utopia Ray].
Elra: "After all, this opponent wasn't ordinary. And to come up with a high-risk plan like using a Kaiju to devour that light… as expected, when it involves your little sister, Alice, you lose your usual composure."
"Anyways, this also proves, in a way, that now still isn't the time to retrieve the Millennium Puzzle."
As the foremost of the seven Millennium Items, the Millennium Puzzle worn by the Pharaoh undoubtedly contained the greatest power.
If she wanted to retrieve it, given that Alice had originally not even been a Duelist, the energy consumption of the Spirit Eyes alone would already be unbearable.
It was a non-renewable resource to begin with… using up three in a single summon was an enormous extravagance for Alice.
"There isn't much time left, Alice."
"No problem. As for the Millennium Necklace of the Varian Empire, I can retrieve it tonight."
...
At the same time, inside Fusion Academy, it was currently the once-a-week practical test class for second-year students.
Standing on the dedicated Duel Arena, the red-haired girl let out a long sigh as she looked up.
"It's already been a week since I last saw Miles and Ai-san.
"I'm so lonely. I wonder when the two of them will come back."
Because her clumsy excuse for leave had been exposed, the hero girl Ren, who stayed behind at the academy alone, couldn't muster any enthusiasm even during a duel.
"What kind of attitude is that, Ren?! Are you saying I'm not worthy of you going all out in a duel?"
Another reason she couldn't get motivated was her opponent for this week's practical duel test: top-tier fodder, Mizuki.
"Why is it you again?"
"You'd better be careful. Last week, I even pushed that Aisha Carlos into a tough battle!"
No one knew where this man got his confidence from.
"Didn't you get instantly defeated by Ai-san last week?"
In the first turn, he had summoned three vanilla Fusion Monsters, only to be instantly defeated by Aisha's furious Mokey Mokey King strategy.
Still, facing Aisha one week and Ren the next as opponents... Mizuki, who was actually a fairly capable second-year student, was this bad luck or incredible luck?
"Don't worry. I won't be as gentle as Ai-san!"
Facing Mizuki's field Spell Card [Fusion Gate] and his vanilla Fusion strategy, Ren could conveniently make use of that Gate as well.
"I fuse [Elemental HERO Wildheart] and [Elemental HERO Blade Edge] using [Fusion Gate]! Come forth—[Elemental HERO Wildedge]!!"
[Elemental HERO Wildedge] Level 8│EARTH│Warrior│2600 ATK
[This card can attack all monsters your opponent controls once each.]
Wildedge, born from the fusion of two classic Elemental HERO monsters, could attack all monsters on the opponent's field in one go.
However, although Mizuki's field was mostly filled with vanilla Fusion Monsters, Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon's 2800 Attack still exceeded Wildedge's 2600.
"But my real ace is this card!"
Her heterochromatic eyes shone, and the power of destiny gathered on the card at Ren's fingertips.
"—I activate the Spell Card [Fusion Destiny]!"
[Send Fusion Materials listed on a "Destiny HERO" Fusion Monster from your hand or Deck to the Graveyard, then Fusion Summon that monster from your Extra Deck. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect are destroyed during the End Phase of the next turn. After this card resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters except DARK "HERO" monsters for the rest of this turn.]
The infamous Deck Fusion, which allowed Fusion Summoning directly using materials from the Deck.
And unlike the Equip-Spell of [Future Fusion], the monster summoned by [Fusion Destiny] could attack on the same turn.
"I use [Destiny HERO - Plasma] and [Destiny HERO - Dynatag] as materials! Cross the boundary of destructive fate. An immortal hero reborn from beyond! Fusion Destiny—[Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]!"
[Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer] Level 8│DARK│Warrior│2500 ATK
[1 Level 6 or higher "HERO" monster + 1 "Destiny HERO" monster]
The flames of destiny blazed fiercely, sweeping across the field in the form of an undying phoenix.
"This is the effect of [Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]! Phoenix Enforcer Flame!"
[All monsters your opponent controls lose 200 ATK for each "HERO" card in your Graveyard.]
The two Fusion Materials sent to the Graveyard for Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer reduced all monsters on Mizuki's field by 400 Attack.
That crucial 400-point reduction allowed [Elemental HERO Wildedge], which could attack all monsters, to surpass Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon.
"Now there's nothing in the way!" Ren waved her hand and entered the Battle Phase.
"Infinite Blade Slash! Attack all monsters on your field! And then a direct attack—Phoenix Flame Strike to finish it!"
The combined assault of Elemental HERO blades and Destiny HERO flames, an even more straightforward and brutal one-turn kill than Aisha's last week, descended upon Mizuki.
[Mizuki, LP: 4000 → 0]
"Aaaaahhh! I refuse to accept this!!"
The undefeated legend of Fusion Academy finally fell within the flames of the phoenix.
Ren turned and walked away from the flame-covered Duel Arena, displaying the cool demeanor of a true hero: never looking back at the explosions.
After an easy victory in the duel, once she returned to the student seating area, a sudden sharp pain struck her crimson heterochromatic eyes.
She instinctively covered her eyes, but it did nothing to stop the flood of thoughts and memories pouring into her mind.
Thoughts and memories from Ren of the future.
This was likely the first time such a reaction had occurred since Ren underwent Super Polymerization.
Originally, Ren had thought that the future version of herself, sleeping within her body, had only left behind the power of Destiny HERO and Super Polymerization.
But now it seemed that the earlier silence, as if it had disappeared, was simply the future Ren waiting.
"Aisha Carlos personally destroyed the future."
This was the shocking information that Ren from ten years in the future had brought back through time travel, using the wish of an Earthbound Immortal.
Even though Ren didn't understand why Aisha would do such a thing, based on the future world… Axet had already been destroyed in the catastrophe caused by the runaway magic stones. Meanwhile, in the present, Axet had avoided destruction thanks to Miles' battle.
"The future should have changed..."
Even if the resistance of insignificant humans could not alter the inevitable tide of history,
The survival or destruction of an entire nation, such a massive variable, should have been enough to change something.
Yet from the thoughts of her future self sleeping within her, Ren saw a scene belonging to that hellish future.
Until now, the Ren from ten years later had never told her present self the exact reason why Aisha Carlos destroyed the world.
From the memories flooding into her mind, the scene Ren saw was of someone she was all too familiar with.
There was no smile on Aisha's face, nor was there sorrow.
On Aisha's chest still hung a Millennium Item radiating a dazzling light.
However, that item was no longer the Millennium Puzzle that housed Miles' soul.
Just as Ren from ten years later had said, in that hell-like future, there had never been a person called "Miles."
So the item hanging on Aisha's chest was not the Millennium Puzzle, but the Millennium Ring.
The Millennium Ring that guided the arrival of ultimate despair, along with the other six Millennium Items surrounding Aisha Carlos.
That, of course, also included the Millennium Puzzle, which existed but was not worn by Aisha.
What happens when all the Millennium Items are gathered?
This line flowed into Ren's mind, coming from the thoughts of her future self.
Aisha Carlos gathered all the Millennium Items and liberated this world.
"Liberated?"
This liberation did not refer to Tributing monsters in a duel.
It was liberation in the literal sense: releasing the power that should have originally existed within the Spirit Continent.
"What does liberation even mean? Just explaining it like that… I can't understand at all!"
Ren continued to question her future self.
As she pressed further, the memories flowing into her mind began to change.
A burning sky and scorched earth, countless out-of-control Duel Monsters tearing into each other in violent combat.
"This many Duel Monsters are being summoned? That's impossible!"
The number of Duel Monsters Ren saw in those memories was far from small.
Covering the sky and flooding the land… such an overwhelming quantity could easily be described as a beast tide.
With monsters filling the heavens and earth, combined with individual combat power far beyond that of humans, once they rampaged unchecked across the entire Spirit Continent, it would only lead to physical annihilation.
With such an enormous number of monsters, given how rare Duelists were on the Spirit Continent, even if every Duelist from all three major nations were summoned simultaneously, it would still be impossible to create such a horrifying, hell-like scene.
Just then did Ren finally understand what "liberation" meant.
The power of the entire Spirit Continent had been released. The spreading Spirit Eyes were like destructive starlight scattered into every corner.
Every person in the future had obtained the power of the Spirit Eyes, becoming Duelists capable of summoning monsters.
And that hellish scene also proved just how despairing it would become once such overwhelming power lost all restraint.
It was equivalent to placing a nuclear weapon into the hands of every single person in the world.
At that point, the arrival of destruction probably wouldn't even take a single day.
---
If you want to support, please consider Patreon and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]