"Elemental HERO Burstinatrix" and "Elemental HERO Bubbleman"—Fusion! I'm counting on you, "Elemental HERO Steam Healer!"
The Elemental HERO with life recovery abilities—Ren's emergency Fusion Summon to heal those injured by the overload explosion of the magic stones.
"Next—Mask Change! Absolute Zero!"
With the freezing power that approached absolute zero, the collapsing building's surface was instantly sealed in ice, buying precious seconds for rescue and evacuation.
The people of the Axet Republic, who had long basked in the convenience of magitek and magic stones, had never truly felt—until now—that a Duelist, with but a flick of the wrist, could command the very systems that sustained their continent.
"This is my way of fighting!"
Though her Deck lacked cards capable of grand purification or gods that could suppress leyline explosions, while everyone else was fighting, she absolutely refused to stand idle.
It was the resolve of the Hero Girl—because more than anyone, she believed that Miles would be the one to save it all.
So until the day Miles completed the purification of all the magic stones—in this disaster, even if she could save just one more life with her own hands—it would still be a battle worth fighting.
"Ren, I'll help you too!"
A clear, bright voice came alongside an arrow of sacred light.
"Purify Transformation Summon—Exosister Asophiel!"
The girl holding a bow of exorcism loosed an arrow that tore through the burning ground, colliding mana against flames.
"Korys?"
"To save more people… let's fight together, Ren."
By Ren's side, Korys's eyes were shining with blissful devotion.
"As fellow Duelists who wield cards of justice, this is our destined bond, you and I, Ren!"
Already knowing how to handle this overzealous comrade, Ren said coldly, "I don't care about any 'bond' between us. And now's not the time for this."
Even though the towns near Synchron Academy had their damage minimized by the coordinated rescue efforts of many Duelists—the towns beyond that must have also been caught in the magic stone rampage.
"No time to linger. We're heading for the next city—ugh…!"
Just as she drew the card for Flashman to move out at high speed, Ren suddenly felt a sharp, inexplicable pain in her head.
It was as if her very soul had been struck—a deep, resonant blow warning her of imminent danger.
"Ren, are you okay?" Korys hurriedly moved closer.
"This feeling…"
Distant yet familiar… even after all these years, the tremor engraved into her DNA was unforgettable.
There was no mistake.
The Shadow Duelist who once battled Edigo, who attacked Aisha and herself… it was 100% her!
A Shadow Duelist who wielded the Earthbound Immortal—appearing again amid this chaos in Axet was only to be expected.
"Where? Where? Where!"
Ren's eyes swept rapidly across the dense, panicked crowd—she had to find that woman.
Once, she would have been paralyzed by that deep-seated fear engraved in her soul—never daring to act so decisively.
But now, things were different.
From those dearest to her, Ren had gained the courage to face the shadow that once haunted her.
If that person appeared before her again… then it was destiny, and she would end it with her own hands.
"Ren, who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for… there!"
Her gaze shifted past Korys—and there, deeper in the crowd, she spotted a woman in a black cloak.
While everyone else was frantically fleeing, that black-cloaked figure staggered against the flow—unnervingly out of place.
"Stop right there!"
Ren called out in warning, yet the woman didn't react, only continued her unsteady walk.
"Is that the one, Ren?"
Following Ren's gaze, Korys too noticed the strikingly conspicuous black figure moving upstream through the sea of people.
"Yeah—let's catch her first. Letting someone like that stay in the crowd is like walking around with a live bomb ready to go off!"
If this cloaked woman was indeed the same Shadow Duelist from Ren's childhood, the one who controlled an Earthbound Immortal… Then letting her perform a summon in the middle of a crowd would cause devastation far worse than the ongoing magic stone explosions.
"Wait for me, Ren!"
Ren's decisiveness left even Korys struggling to keep up.
Barely managing to grasp Ren's slender wrist, Korys followed as they pushed through the counterflowing crowd together.
"Ren, how do you even know that person's dangerous? Sure, her outfit's weird, but—"
"Because she and I share a cursed connection." Ren's voice was firm. "And today—that connection ends."
"Ends… that cursed connection…"
Trailing behind her, Korys had a lump in her throat, unsure what to say.
Moving against the flow of people was painfully slow; the woman ahead was weak, her pace unsteady, so they weren't losing ground.
And with that conspicuous black robe under daylight, there was little chance of losing sight of her.
So Ren didn't rush; her thoughts were simple.
With so many people around, engaging in a Shadow Duel here was too dangerous.
However, since the woman was moving against the crowd, eventually they'd break away from the throng—then she could duel her without endangering others.
Ahead, Ren's red ponytail bobbed through the crowd, and Korys Diane—sensing the imminent danger—felt the Millennium Necklace at her pale neck glow faintly gold.
The divine relic that could reveal visions of the future—the Millennium Necklace—in that instant, showed Korys a vision.
The near future—of the Hero Girl, Ren Austin.
"Don't go, Ren!"
The vision was so vivid that Korys's pupils shrank in terror. She instinctively pulled hard on Ren's wrist.
"Why?" Ren turned, confused—and saw Korys on the verge of tears.
"If you go… you might die."
From that glimpse into the future, Korys had seen it: in the coming Shadow Duel, Ren, engulfed in the Phoenix's flames of destruction… her Life Points dropping to zero.
"I saw it, Ren! In the future… you'll lose the Shadow Duel and really die!"
Having seen that future, she had to change it. She couldn't just stand by and watch the person she loved walk to her death.
"Don't go, Ren… it's not too late to stop!"
"Korys, you want me to give up… because of a fleeting vision of the future?"
After years apart… the attacker who once assaulted her and her childhood friend Aisha, the one who caused her brother Edigo to lose his Spirit Eyes while protecting her…
That incident was also what awakened her Elemental HERO Deck.
And now, just before this fated reckoning, was she supposed to turn and run… just because of one warning from Korys?
"I can't do that."
There was a chance she might lose the Duel.
Even so, wasn't that obvious?
Anyone can lose a Duel. No one can guarantee they'll win an unknown battle one hundred percent of the time.
To abandon everything, to flee, just because the future showed a possible defeat—Not just Ren, but any proud Duelist would never choose that.
"Korys, if running away would change the future, then isn't there another way to change it?"
"Another way to change the future?"
Ren drew her Deck from the case strapped to her thigh, the sight of which brought color to Korys's cheeks.
After fully spreading out her Deck, Ren swapped a few cards between her Main Deck and Side Deck.
Those Side Deck cards were ones that Miles had chosen for Ren—or perhaps for himself—during the week of special training before the Academy Festival Duel.
The Side Deck, prepared for flexible adjustments in different situations, could increase the Deck's adaptability to various Duels.
"If I change my Deck's construction because of your warning, Korys, wouldn't that change the future too?"
"That's…" Korys had never considered such a path.
There were far too many factors that could determine whether the future glimpsed by the Millennium Necklace would come to pass.
Though the probability was low—even a single card change could, however slightly, lead to a different outcome.
"Maybe it could… but…"
The odds were tiny. A few card swaps were barely enough to matter.
"It's enough, Korys!"
Ren stopped her before she could continue.
If the future might change, then she would make it change; Better than turning tail and running—there was nothing to hesitate about.
A Hero doesn't flee before battle.
After pushing upstream for some distance, Ren and Korys finally broke free from the crowd.
The woman in the black cloak, staggering forward, seemed to be heading toward the main magic stone leyline tower.
Although at that pace—on foot—she'd never reach it before everything was already decided.
Yet she didn't seem to care, simply walking on, aimless, as if without purpose.
"I… came back?"
From beneath the shadow of her hood came a hoarse female voice, muttering brokenly to herself.
"Nothing can be changed… it's already too late…"
"You—stop right there!"
Now clear of the crowd, Ren's shout finally stopped the cloaked Shadow Duelist.
The woman slowly turned, her gaze beneath the hood lifeless and weary, dark marks beneath her eyes—yet a flicker of surprise flashed when she saw Ren.
"You're… from that time… Why are you here?"
"Oh, so you do remember me!"
Hearing that unmistakable rasp in her voice, Ren was now certain—this was the one she'd been hunting.
The enemy who made her brother, Edigo, lose his Spirit Eyes.
"No… you shouldn't be here. Ren Austin… you should be a second-year at Fusion Academy right now."
"What's it to you what year I'm in? The fact that I'm here means it's fate—fate that I'll beat you to avenge my brother Edigo!"
The Spirit Eyes on Ren's arm lit up at once. Facing this Shadow Duelist who once even preyed on children—an unrepentant villain—there was no need for words.
"Ren, should I help?"
"No, Korys. This is my fight!"
Rejecting Korys's offer of aid, Ren was determined to cut off this chain of hatred with her own hands. If she needed someone else's help, she could never accept it.
"Duel—!"
The clash of Spirit Eyes marked the Duel's beginning. There was no refusing—only surrendering outright could end it.
"Fate, you say? But you see, Ren… this is only a pitiful fate. No matter what effort you make, the tiny destiny of a single human can never alter the grand current of the world's fate."
"Spare me the lecture! I don't want to hear a single word from you!"
Her opponent's Spirit Eyes lit up first—Ren would have to move second.
"You'll understand soon enough. My turn—draw!"
Drawing the first card of the Duel, the woman Shadow Duelist flung a Spell to the ground.
"—Spell Card, 'Graceful Charity' activated! I draw three cards, then discard two! Finally, I set two cards and end my turn."
A classic opening—filtering her hand with Graceful Charity, then ending with two set cards and no monsters summoned.
"Bricked, huh? Or is being unable to summon also your 'fate'? My turn—draw!"
Ren began her turn going second—abruptly, then, at the start of her Draw Phase, the cards sleeping in her opponent's Graveyard began to glow.
"This is fate," the hoarse voice declared. "From my Graveyard—'Destiny HERO - Drawhand' activates!"
[During the next Standby Phase after this card was sent to the GY: You can Special Summon this card from your GY, but banish it when it leaves the field.]
As the HERO revived, bullets marked with the D insignia of the Destiny HERO struck both players' Decks.
[When this card is Special Summoned by a HERO monster's effect: Each player draws one card.]
Because of Drawhand's bullet effect, both players drew one additional card.
"Destiny HERO? A HERO!?"
Ren had thought her opponent fought only with Earthbound Immortals—never expecting her to pull out a HERO first.
"Destiny HERO…"
The déjà vu was enough to make the Millennium Necklace at Korys's throat glow again.
And the vision it showed… the same as before: Ren, engulfed in the Phoenix's flames of destruction, her Life Points dropping to zero.
The future shackled by 'Destiny' had not changed at all.
...
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