"Burn—Black Rose Gale!"
Petals and flames danced together as Black Rose Dragon sacrificed itself in one final strike, leaving the whale and the spider—two colossal Earthbound Immortals—trapped within the fiery tornado.
At the end of the crimson Turbo Duel track lay the path to destruction.
Yet within that same destructive power, Black Rose Dragon chose to protect it all.
[Black Rose Dragon] destroyed
[Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua] destroyed
[Earthbound Immortal Uru] destroyed
[Number C39: Utopia Ray] destroyed
Utopia Ray: "Protect everything? What about me?"
The blooming of the fiery black rose was even more stirring than the blade that once cleaved the sky through an Xyz Summon.
Because this was the sky of Axet—this was the bloom of a Synchro Summon!
"The Earthbound Immortals... all destroyed by a Synchro Monster!"
"Oooohhh! As expected—Synchro Summons truly are the power of hope!"
"Synchro Summoning can create miracles!"
At this point, no one cared which academy the Synchro Summon originated from.
As long as they could win this final Turbo Duel... then Fusion Academy would become the academy that united all summoning methods.
Demolish: "A Synchro that destroys all."
Miles: "No—a Synchro that creates hope!"
As Black Rose Dragon's flames dispersed, the Turbo Duel field returned to nothing. Both sides were left without a single card.
Even Demolish—who called himself a god and carried the combined will of all Earthbound Immortals—could not shake Miles's final single Life Point when there was not a single card on his field.
"I Set one card and end my turn."
With the Earthbound Immortals gone, that one face-down card marked the end of the turn—and the best chance Miles had ever had to counterattack.
With one Life Point left, he declared his counterattack against an opponent still at 8000.
"My turn—draw!"
Racing through the Speed World, Miles drew his card as the winds of speed brushed against his fingertips.
He was waiting for that moment—the speed that would transcend all limits.
[Miles, SPC: 4 → 5]
[Demolish, SPC: 4 → 5]
"It's here!" Miles pulled out the Speed Spell Card he'd been preparing in his D-Wheel slot.
"With 5 Speed Counters—Speed Spell - [Synchro Revival], activate!"
By banishing monsters in the Graveyard as Synchro Materials, he performed a graveyard Synchro unique to Turbo Duels.
As the Speed Spell activated, two cards shot out from Miles's Graveyard as Synchro Materials—their combined levels guiding a brighter Synchro light.
"I banish the Level 1 Tuner [Effect Veiler] and the Level 7 [Black Rose Dragon] from my Graveyard as Synchro Materials—total Level 8!"
"An eight-star Synchro Summon!" Krista's eyes gleamed.
She knew it well—at this stardust-lit moment, every shimmering particle was the embodiment of Miles's will to fight back, blazing atop the rose's flame.
"Go, Miles!"
1★ + 7★ = 8★!
Stardust: "I'm coming too!"
"Gathering prayers shall become a shining star of new life, forming a radiant path! Synchro Summon! Fly, Stardust Dragon!"
[Stardust Dragon] Level 8│WIND│Dragon│2500 ATK / 2000 DEF
Soaring along the crimson track, Stardust Dragon spread its brilliant wings, becoming the starlit beacon that illuminated the darkened sky.
"So this is the monster upon which you've pinned your final hopes—the one you claim can purify the ruined earth?" Demolish scoffed. "It's far from enough! A mere Stardust Dragon's power can't possibly save you. Just like in this duel, Stardust Dragon will never bring you victory!"
Even though Demolish's field was empty, open for a direct attack, Stardust Dragon's 2500 Attack Points weren't nearly enough to dent that despairing 8000.
Worse yet, since [Speed Spell - Synchro Revival] Special Summoned Stardust Dragon, it would be banished at the End Phase.
"Then I'll just have to break past the limits of speed itself."
Feeling the sharp wind slice past him, Miles drew another card from his D-Wheel slot.
"Krista—lend me your strength once more! Speed Spell - [Tuner Morph], activate!"
[You can only activate this card when you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon 1 non-Tuner monster with Level 2 or lower from your Graveyard, treating it as a Tuner. Monsters used for a Synchro Summon this turn are banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard.]
"I choose the Level 1 monster [Mokey Mokey] in my Graveyard and Special Summon it as a Tuner!"
[Mokey Mokey, Level 1 Tuner]
The tiny tofu block revived once again, and Demolish's brow twitched, recalling the scene where the same creature had slain a god moments before.
"You...!"
"I'm not done yet—Normal Summon [Mokey Mokey Adrift] in Attack Position!"
[Mokey Mokey Adrift, Level 1, ATK: 300]
Before Demolish could even speak, a second tofu block appeared on the field—doubling his humiliation.
With a mind calm and clear as still water, Miles, now at maximum acceleration, thrust his hand forward. "I'll Synchro Summon using Mokey Mokey and Mokey Mokey!"
Two tofu blocks—stacked together.
Not Xyz Summoning with two Mokey Mokeys, not Fusing them—this time, the Mokey Mokeys would Synchro Summon!
He had now achieved all three academy summoning methods.
-_-? + -д-? = 2★!
Two stars, guided by the light of hope, converged at the speed horizon of the Turbo Duel.
"Our final acceleration will break through to a new horizon of speed—let it become the starlit path of Stardust! Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner—Formula Synchron!"
[Formula Synchron] Level 2│LIGHT│Machine│Synchro/Tuner│200 ATK / 1500 DEF
Racing forth from the Synchro light, the Formula Synchron—a high-speed Synchro monster shaped like a Formula racing car—emerged. As a white Synchro card, it also bore the Tuner attribute.
"When [Formula Synchron] is Synchro Summoned, I draw 1 card!"
The Synchro Tuner Monster—key to unlocking the Ultimate Synchro Summon of Turbo Duels—was the same card Krista had entrusted to Miles at the start of the duel through their shared Stardust will.
Now, the strength of two people carrying Stardust's destiny had become one.
"Let's show him our Accel Synchro, Krista!"
"Go beyond light itself, Miles!"
"Clear Mind!"
A tranquil, mirror-like surface of water reflected all things.
Clear Mind—!
"Unleash your full potential once more, Stardust Dragon! Level 2 Synchro Tuner Monster [Formula Synchron] and Level 8 Synchro [Stardust Dragon]—a Synchro between Synchros! Accel Synchro!"
The two Synchro Monsters evolved toward an even higher speed.
The Accel Synchro, surpassing even the speed of light, burst forth like a shooting star across the sky of ruin.
At the same time, Miles, having entered the state of Clear Mind and surpassed light-speed riding, began to blur from sight.
"He vanished?" Demolish exclaimed.
Just a moment ago, Miles had been right behind him on his D-Wheel—the next, he had disappeared into light itself.
At light speed, he circled the entire track, and in this duel, the whole sky of Axet served as the Turbo Duel circuit.
Becoming one with light, Miles circled the entire Axet Republic in mere seconds.
Within this world of speed, Miles felt it vividly… the fear of destruction shared by all, and the will to survive that everyone had placed upon him.
"The crystallized dreams gathered together shall open the door to new evolution—forming a path of radiant light! Accel Synchro! Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!"
[Shooting Star Dragon] Level 10│WIND│Dragon│Synchro│Effect│3300 ATK / 2500 DEF
[Tuner Synchro Monster + 'Stardust Dragon']
Even within the stillness of Clear Mind, Miles had achieved the Accel Synchro Summon of Shooting Star Dragon.
"Roooaaaar!"
With a roar, Shooting Star Dragon tore through the space of the Speed World. Man and dragon together burst back onto the Turbo Duel track.
Before vanishing, Miles had always been trailing in speed.
Albeit after surpassing light through the Accel Synchro, upon returning to the sky track, he had already overtaken Demolish.
"Accel Synchro? You powered up your Stardust Dragon this way?" Demolish said grimly. " Even so, at 3300 Attack Points, the outcome won't change!"
For one who didn't know Shooting Star Dragon's effect, it would indeed seem like nothing more than an 800-point power-up.
Despite that, to those who knew, this was Miles's all-or-nothing gamble.
"[Shooting Star Dragon]'s effect activates!"
[Once per turn: Excavate the top 5 cards of your Deck, then return them in any order. This card can attack up to the number of Tuner monsters excavated by this effect this turn.]
He flipped the top five cards of his Deck—the number of Tuner Monsters among them would determine how many times Shooting Star Dragon could attack this turn.
Five attacks—or… skipping its entire Battle Phase.
Aisha gasped. "You really activated the effect, Mr. Miles!"
Others might not have understood, but Aisha knew the makeup of her own Deck.
To win this duel through Shooting Star Dragon's Stardust Mirage combo, they'd need to reveal at least three Tuners from those five cards.
And three Tuners were the absolute limit of her entire Deck.
It was nearly impossible… far more likely to reveal none at all and skip the Battle Phase entirely.
Miles: "Aisha, you saw it too, didn't you!"
Aisha: "Saw what…"
During his light-speed acceleration, when he circled the entire Axet Republic, Aisha too had sensed it… the countless wills of those who wished to survive, gathering as one upon the dying earth.
"We fight bearing the prayers of everyone—we must show them true hope! That's why I have to activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect!"
Without activating it, he'd only manage a single, meaningless direct attack against Demolish's 8000 Life Points.
By activating it, even if there was a 99% chance of failure, that 1% of success represented the combined prayers of all—the miracle of starlight piercing through despair.
"First card!"
Miles flipped over the top card of his Deck through Shooting Star Dragon's effect.
Trap Card [Urgent Tuning].
"Second card!"
[Speed Spell - Illusion Wind].
Two consecutive flips—and not a single Tuner among them.
Demolish burst into wild laughter atop his D-Wheel. "Human will is such a laughable struggle! It seems even [Shooting Star Dragon] cannot bear your final hope!"
"You're laughing too soon!"
Miles pressed his starlight-wrapped fingers once more upon the glowing Deck, empowered by the Spirit Eye.
"A true Duelist's bond with his Deck will answer every expectation! And carve forth the road where shooting stars tear across the heavens!"
In that instant, his Deck shone—wrapped in light born of humanity's collective will—and Miles's D-Wheel accelerated even further.
"Third card!"
Tuner Monster [Converging Wills Dragon]!
"No way… that's the card of salvation!"
The Tuner led by [Converging Wills Dragon] responded to Miles's resolve, rising from the Deck one after another.
"That's the first strike of Shooting Star Dragon—but it's not over yet!"
Miles continued flipping cards.
"Fourth card!"
Tuner Monster [Flamvell Guard]!
Two Tuners—Shooting Star Dragon's second strike.
"And now… the fifth and final card!"
Tuner Monster [Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit]!
The bond between Duelist and Deck had answered him—all three Tuners in Aisha's Deck revealed within Shooting Star Dragon's five cards.
"To wager everything on a 1% chance to create hope—and to succeed—that's what humanity calls a miracle!"
The three miracle Tuners gathered in Miles's hand, transforming into meteoric energy that surged into the wings of the dragon soaring above.
"Shooting Star Dragon! — Stardust Mirage!!"
The brilliant dragon split into three shining bodies, each representing a strike born of the miraculous triple Synchro alignment.
"First strike—Meteor Impact!"
The first Shooting Star avatar slammed into the D-Wheel of the self-proclaimed god.
"Aaaaahhh!"
[Demolish, LP: 7701 → 4401]
"Second strike—Meteor Impact!"
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!"
[Demolish, LP: 4401 → 1101]
Shooting Star Dragon's storm-like rhythm of counterattack erased despair itself—life points falling in a few heartbeats, and victory no longer out of reach.
...
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