"Nothing. I couldn't find it anywhere. The D-Wheel's gone, and so is the Millennium Scale..."
With Miles accompanying her, Krista finally reached the site of the original Leyline Tower.
But all that awaited her was barren emptiness.
Krista sank weakly to the ground.
"'It's mine, and I can always get it back!'"
That year, Krista was seventeen. She lost her precious D-Wheel, her treasured Millennium Scale… and, in a sense, herself.
On the way back, she lay limp on Stardust Spark Dragon's back, as if her soul had been drained from her body.
Even so, she didn't dare stray far from Miles—keeping parallel to him as they flew—terrified that she might exceed the twenty-meter range, vanish again, and crash face-first into the ground.
"Is this really okay, Mr. Miles?" Aisha asked worriedly. "You can't seriously have Krista following you—and me—forever, can you?"
Twenty meters wasn't much. In the Carlos family mansion, the distance from Aisha's bedroom to the bathroom was already farther than that.
Just imagining that, if she spent more than two minutes in the bathroom, Krista would automatically teleport right beside her…
The image alone made Aisha shiver.
"o(?Д?)っ Mr. Miles, we need to figure something out!"
"I'm working on it."
Krista had her own life and circle, after all. Keeping her bound to him and Aisha would inevitably cause all kinds of chaos.
Worse, the constant teleportation might expose her true identity as [Shooting Quasar Dragon] to her classmates at Synchron Academy.
After all, Krista Shia was one of the academy's top third-year Duelists and in just a few months, she was scheduled to represent her school in the Spirit Sanctuary's final ranking tournament.
Bound to Miles and Aisha like this, she wouldn't even make it past Fusion Academy's front gate, let alone compete.
"Who can we even talk to about this?"
"Talk to me!"
A sudden interruption—Viel's smug, loli-like voice came from the D-Wheel's onboard speaker.
"Miss Viel, are you eavesdropping again?"
"Eavesdropping? Hardly. I'm just providing attentive after-sales service once I understand my clients' troubles."
"That's exactly eavesdropping."
For the sake of their future privacy, Miles knew he'd have to make this little brat dismantle her listening device eventually.
Still... he had to admit, her 'customer support' was remarkably thorough.
The external Crystal Wing system being part of the D-Wheel made sense as aftercare. Despite that, helping fix a soul-binding issue? That was above and beyond.
"Viel, who are you really?"
"Just a magitech artisan who does this for fun," Viel replied casually. "Anyway, it's almost closing time. No more customers today. Come find me tomorrow~"
"Tomorrow? Wait—"
Bzzt!
A crisp electric buzz signaled the line being cut.
Truly a model of professionalism; when she said her shift was over, it was over. Even as her own boss, she flatly refused to work overtime.
Still, if they had to wait until tomorrow to solve this...
Miles glanced at Krista, still slumped over Stardust Spark's back.
Then what were they supposed to do tonight?
Twenty meters—barely the distance between two dorm rooms.
"Ah, whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we sink to it. Aisha can figure it out."
Miles could sympathize with Viel's desire to clock out—after the day they'd had, he was dead tired himself.
Around the city of Synchron Academy, the corrupted magic stones had been completely purified by [Shooting Quasar Dragon]. Even the buildings destroyed by the explosion were partially restored by Quasar's temporal power.
Even so, no one could erase the scars left in Axet's heart by such catastrophe.
The wrecked magitek vehicles, the disabled factories, the scorched streets… all were burned into the memories of those who survived.
Miles could only hope that, after this tragedy, the Axet Republic would truly seek a balance between progress and preservation to avoid repeating destruction again.
"They're back! Both of them!"
"The heroes who saved us have returned!"
Though the destruction had cast a heavy shadow, at the gates of Synchron Academy, the crowds waiting to welcome their heroes were smiling—bright, genuine smiles of those who had survived.
The pure joy of we're alive.
Miles and Aisha had once again become heroes of salvation.
After the battle against the Wicked Gods in the capital and Fusion Academy, this time—with Krista Shia—they had saved the entire Axet Republic.
Vice Principal Orcus led the faculty and students of Synchron Academy in honoring these heroes from the Kingdom of Livorden, Duelists from other academies who had risked their lives for Axet.
And not just the academy, the Axet National Assembly itself contacted Orcus directly, urgently requesting that the two savior Duelists attend a ceremony before the nation to receive official recognition.
Miles declined.
He had always despised political theater. And those same politicians, the ones who'd concealed the dangers of the magic stones, were the very cause of the destruction. He wanted nothing to do with them.
Through Vice Principal Orcus, he sent them a single message:
There won't be a second time.
No negotiation, no compromise. If, after purification, Axet once again ignored history's warning—pursuing progress without restraint—then Miles would simply stand atop Fusion Academy's clock tower, watching from afar as the sky filled with the most brilliant, most hideous fireworks of annihilation.
Back among familiar faces, both Krista and Miles were before knowing surrounded by friends, showered in praise.
"Hey, remember that flag we set before the duel?" Irena said eagerly. "It's time to pick a good day to go back home!"
"Senpai, this purification was partly thanks to me too!" Ecclesia, her forehead still marked with her Saint's cross-shaped stigma, chimed in proudly.
Seeing that mark again after so long, Miles recalled their last encounter—after her duel with [The Wicked Eraser], Ecclesia had vanished, drained of her energy.
Because of her long absence, Aisha had never found the right moment to return the Obelisk Key she'd been entrusted to keep sealed.
What was supposed to be a few days had stretched into nearly a month.
Albeit with so many people around, now wasn't the time to hand it back.
A few more days wouldn't hurt.
Meanwhile, Ren seemed lost in thought amid the victory celebrations.
She should have been the happiest to see Miles again.
Yet, her mind kept echoing with the words her future self had once spoken—Aisha Carlos destroyed the future with her own hands.
"There's no way little Ai could ever be like that! That's impossible!" Ren shook her head hard, trying to drive away the thought.
After all, how could one person alone destroy the future? If her future self hadn't explained, then it must've been some kind of misunderstanding.
Instead of worrying about something that hadn't happened yet, she decided to focus on what mattered—like showing Miles her brand-new HERO Deck. With his duelist instincts, he wouldn't be able to resist!
And who could ever turn down a chance to fuse [Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer], the most beautiful form of reborn destruction?
"Krista, you did amazing! Absolutely amazing!"
At Synchron Academy, Lost—unable to contain his excitement—ruffled Krista's hair repeatedly, towering over her as she laughed.
"We always believed you could do it," Aoyao added, gently tugging on Krista's sleeve.
"You're the hero of Synchron now," said Nidhogg, the usually silent one, offering rare praise.
"To celebrate our hero properly, I'm treating everyone today! We're going for the best ramen in town!" Lost patted her pocket, flush with SP Points earned from her duel with Miles.
After the magic stone disaster, only the century-old ramen shops still cooking with firewood remained open.
However, even if they weren't, no owner would refuse when told the meal was for the heroes who saved Axet.
"Perfect timing, I'm starving," said Aoyao.
"Wait… you mean, right now? We're eating now?"
It was dinner hour, and everyone was exhausted. It made perfect sense.
Except for Krista… who physically couldn't.
If she strayed too far from Miles and Aisha, she'd vanish from sight in two minutes flat.
"Um, I'm... not that hungry."
Growl!
Her stomach betrayed her. Bathed in sunset glow, Krista's blushing face was redder than the sky.
"Okay, I am hungry. But—"
Breaking free from her friends, she ran over and, to everyone's shock, looped her arm around Miles's.
"We already promised. We're going out to celebrate, just the two of us~"
Miles said in a low voice, "When did we promise that?"
Krista whispered, "Right now! Now!"
...
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