Each strike of the Limit Overdrive Quasar's barrage reawakened the land of Axet, rewriting the destined destruction through the power of the ultimate starlight that transcended causality itself.
Aisha gasped in delight. "Mr. Miles! The previous devastation… it's completely gone! How amazing!"
Watching the ravaged land of Axet recover and bloom anew, calling this sight a miracle would hardly be an exaggeration.
It was a miracle born from humanity's will to survive.
"Then there's only one last ruin left," Miles said solemnly, looking forward. "The so-called god of destruction—Demolish. It's your turn."
Riding his D-Wheel with the dark vulture's wings spread wide, Demolish had taken the full brunt of [Shooting Quasar Dragon]'s five-hit barrage. His body was covered in wounds, and the sigils representing the Earthbound Immortals' collective will had mostly collapsed.
The remaining half of those markings leaked destructive energy, wildly out of place amidst the reborn earth.
"Humanity cannot, and will never, reverse the destined future of destruction! It is an unchangeable fact!"
"That's not a fact at all!"
Krista's voice rang out suddenly, as if from within the radiant light of Quasar.
"Nothing is ever predetermined! The future is the future precisely because it's uncertain… because it can be changed by our will!"
"Eh? That voice…" Aisha blinked in shock. "Krista!? Don't tell me... she became [Shooting Quasar Dragon]!?"
Miles corrected her. "Not became. She always was."
Now, Miles fully understood what Yusei had meant that day in the Stardust Realm.
What did it truly mean to entrust his daughter to him?
Looking at the card of [Shooting Quasar Dragon], Miles laughed softly. "Yeah, you really did leave her to me."
"Changing the future? All you did was purify the remnants of destruction within the magic stones… it changes nothing. One day, greater ruin will come, so long as humans keep relying on powers not their own!"
"That's not for you to worry about," Miles shot back. "If humanity is foolish enough to repeat the same end one, two, three times—then so be it, let it perish. But not today!"
Miles slowly raised his hand toward the sky.
"This path, carved by the hope gathered here, is the way forward. You, Demolish, who lost this final Turbo Duel, have no right to stand in its way!"
He already understood what Demolish was planning.
Most of the Earthbound Immortals' wills had been shattered by Quasar, but the destructive power still leaking from Demolish's body remained formidable.
After all, he was a god of destruction—one who could seal the leylines with a wave of his hand or form a Turbo Duel circuit spanning the skies of Axet.
A being with such divine power was no ordinary Duelist, even among those who possessed the Spirit Eyes.
Even in defeat, an enraged Demolish could cause catastrophic consequences by crashing his remaining Earthbound Immortal energy into the land.
However, Miles wasn't about to give him that chance.
"Whether I have the right or not—it's not for you to decide! You think a mere human can stop a god!?"
"I don't need to stop you," Miles said with a cunning grin. "Let a god punish another god! Let's see how it feels to defy the outcome of a Duel. Demolish, you'll die an even worse death!"
Miles pointed to the sky—to the black sun that had reappeared in its original form after the duel's end.
He had set this contingency long before the duel began by including [The Wicked Avatar] in his Deck.
In a Contract Duel where both souls were wagered, the victor may continue to wield the Wicked God's power… but the loser must pay the price, offering their soul as sacrifice.
"Time to hit the road, Demolish!"
Following the direction of Miles's finger, the black sun hanging in the sky slowly descended toward Demolish, who was releasing his destructive energy.
How many Earthbound Immortals do you think it takes to satisfy the strongest Wicked God?
"You're already dead!"
"Nani!?"
Demolish's eyes shot open as he realized the destructive energy he had been releasing was being absorbed—drawn into the black sphere closing in on him.
By the time he understood the gravity of his situation, it was too late. The immense gravitational pull of the black sun had already ensnared him.
"Impossible! I am the embodiment of the Earthbound Gods—the will of the earth itself! I am A GOOOODDDDD!!"
First came close contact, then zero distance, then negative distance.
The god of destruction, Demolish, howled in fury and agony before being completely swallowed by the black sphere—becoming the final sacrifice to the Wicked God.
"I WON'T ACCEPT THIIIIIIS—!!"
But really, what ending could be more fitting for a god of destruction than destruction itself?
As Miles watched the abyssal god consume its kin, he noticed something emerging from within the massive black sun: cards, six in total.
Monkey, Lizard, Spider, Giant, Whale, and finally, the ultimate Vulture—each representing an [Earthbound Immortal].
Along with the [Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu] he had obtained earlier in the Shadow Duel, the remaining six had now joined him as the spoils of this final Turbo Duel.
"Six cards in one drop? Damn, that's a divine payout!"
Such a haul was unprecedented for him in sheer card count alone.
'Thanks, Demolish… can't say it wasn't satisfying.'
The only thing that gave Miles pause was how many questionable, definitely-not-holy God Cards he'd accumulated.
Counting the Three Sacred Beasts, the Three Wicked Gods, and now seven Earthbound Immortals… he possessed fourteen dark-side deities in total.
If the [Millennium Scale] were to measure him now, the pointer would probably snap trying to tilt left.
"Well... Earthbound Immortals are just manifestations of the earth's resentment anyway, not true gods of the earth."
Tucking the cards away, Miles consoled himself with that reasoning.
Yet as he did, the obelisk key once given by Ecclesia to Aisha—kept close in her uniform pocket—began to emit a fuzzy light again.
Just as it had once reacted to the power of the Three Wicked Gods.
"Catch me, Miles!"
With the duel's end and Demolish's annihilation, a familiar voice cried out from the fading Quasar starlight—Krista's urgent shout as she plummeted from above.
"This woman's gone insane again!"
...
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