After the victory light that the Utopic Future and the stars had jointly constructed faded, the pavement of the slum's street was left, astonishingly, with a crack that stretched from one end of the alley to the other purely from the aftershock.
It was proof of how tremendous that single strike had been, and how strong Aisha's resolve was.
…When women fight, it really is terrifying.
Entirely beyond Miles's expectations.
Originally, Miles had only intended, by this means, to nudge Aisha—who had spent the entire holiday lying in bed and showing off about her holiday snacks—into getting up.
He wanted her to recognize, once more, the importance of dueling and the awareness that comes with being the wielder of a Divine Relic.
Miles murmured inwardly, "Did I go a little too far..."
Regardless, once the wager between Krista Shia and Aisha was set, events seemed to head in a strange direction that Miles could no longer control.
Krista, whose Life Points had fallen to zero, now sat slumped on the ground, teeth clenched hard against her lip.
According to their pre-duel agreement, from now on, she could only obediently remain in the Deck as Shooting Quasar Dragon, bound to Miles and Aisha's sides.
The complex, inexpressible feelings—despite being a Quasar—Krista's state of mind was still that of an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl.
Seventeen years of life experience was not enough for her to calmly accept such an outcome.
Of course, the defeated Krista could find no other answer.
At times like this, what was needed was a truly worldly senior to guide the soul that had fallen into complete confusion.
"Ahem, ahem~"
Viel affected a few pretentious dry coughs; though her body looked like a little loli, she wore a maturity that indeed did not match that body as she slowly approached Krista.
"This duel was completed at 120%," Viel said. "To actually fight this hard over the Millennium Puzzle… your obsessions are stronger than I imagined."
Viel, the one who initially stirred up this women's quarrel, the little-trash-loli Viel.
Though she said she only wanted to watch the two of them fight… a line so obnoxiously smug.
That said, as the Crystalline Archsage, she was actually the earliest to see through Krista's true nature.
The fundamental reason a Quasar Krista could not leave Miles was that, in the final battle, Miles had comprehended Overlimit Accel Synchro and successfully summoned Shooting Quasar Dragon.
As a result, Krista inevitably became a card-spirit summoned by Miles, cruelly bound by the rules governing Duel Cards on the Spirit Continent.
And one more important point: at present, the only person who, having grasped Overlimit Accel Synchro, can summon the 12-Star Shooting Quasar Dragon card is Miles.
Viel looked at Krista sternly. "Trinity Accel Synchro. It falls a little short compared to Overlimit Accel, but it's enough."
Although Overlimit Accel performed through a greater number of Synchro monsters can grant Shooting Quasar Dragon more attack opportunities, the basic Synchro summoning condition for Shooting Quasar Dragon remains "1 Tuner Synchro Monster + 2 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters."
That is the same as the Trinity Accel Synchro for Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon Zero.
In essence, Trinity Accel Synchro is the lower bound, while Overlimit Accel Synchro is the upper bound.
Even if there's a gap between the two, both indicate the summoner has reached the highest echelon of Synchro mastery.
"Don't rely on others. The only one who can save you is yourself, Krista. Congratulations on seizing your last chance."
Viel's fingertip lightly touched Krista's cheek and wiped away a tear at the corner of the girl's eye, then took out a Crystalline White Card she had long prepared.
What happened next was something Viel was very familiar with—just like when she printed cards for Alester and herself before.
With Viel's skill, any human with mana could be turned into a card, so for Krista, who was a Quasar spirit to begin with, it was even simpler.
Mana flowed through Viel's fingertips and into the transparent, delicate crystal card. The face of the card gradually appeared, transforming into a white Synchro card.
Miles said in surprise, "This is... Shooting Quasar Dragon?"
Krista was equally astonished: "This is... me?"
On the card's face, the second Shooting Quasar Dragon card finally emerged.
That little-trash-loli Viel could actually print a card out of thin air. Though she was merely converting Krista's Quasar power into a card, such a miracle was enough to amaze a normal person.
"Boss Viel, so you're not just a troublemaker who fans the flames?"
"What troublemaking? Helping customers with after-sales issues—I'm always an efficiency-first kind of person."
The key to resolving this wasn't merely that Viel transferred Krista's Quasar power onto a blank crystal card.
The key question was whether Krista herself could master the power to summon Shooting Quasar Dragon.
If Krista could not perform the Quasar summon herself, even if Viel helped print the card, it would only be a card Krista couldn't use—utterly meaningless.
So after much thought, Viel needed to create an opportunity; one that would let Krista bet everything on a fight and break through.
With her seasoned ability to pierce hearts, Viel ultimately focused on the importance of the Millennium Puzzle and Miles's existence.
Of course, Viel could have chosen not to stir anything up. She could have waited until Krista gradually grew and learned Trinity Accel Synchro, then printed the card for her.
However, if Viel waited for Krista to grow, Krista's daily life would likely already have been devastated by then.
Solving the problem required sufficient efficiency. Contending for the Millennium Puzzle was, within a short time, the best fight to squeeze out both their potentials.
Yes, a fight that would force both to tap into their potential.
Viel admittedly had a little selfishness in this matter.
She wanted to see what potential Aisha Yuna Carlos, whom Alester was so interested in, truly possessed.
Viel's evaluation of the duel: 120% completion. The extra 20% came from Aisha's final-turn explosion when she connected to the power of the future.
That power could only be wielded by someone who would truly bring a huge change to the world's future.
And Aisha indeed was such a person.
Krista took the card transformed from the Quasar power within her body with trembling hands. The setback from hell to heaven was so dramatic that Krista remained in a daze.
"Boss Viel, do you mean I won't have to go to prison anymore?"
"Technically, that's how it is. That said, there's one thing I need to remind you—no, I should remind you all..."
Viel's gaze shifted to Miles, who had temporarily swapped bodies with Ren.
"If Miles uses Quasar power again, Krista will still be summoned to him. This kind of summon can traverse infinite space, so keep that in mind."
Viel's meaning by a summon that can traverse infinite space was simple.
Even if Miles and Aisha returned to Livorden, the moment Shooting Quasar Dragon was summoned in a duel by Miles, Krista would be transferred from Axet to appear there.
Viel summarized, "Don't use Quasar power unless absolutely necessary. After all, well, travel expenses are pretty pricey~"
"Ah, um..."
Miles and Krista exchanged a glance.
…If Viel was right, then every time Miles summoned Shooting Quasar Dragon while at Fusion Academy, Krista would be ultra-long-range teleported from Synchron Academy to his side.
After the duel, she'd have to buy a ticket and travel back to Axet. It would indeed be a considerable expense.
"If you summon casually, I'll give you a proper beating, Miles!"
Krista's threat carried deliberately put-on anger.
Even though Krista herself knew that, by reason and sentiment, Miles should stand with his original host.
Still, Miles awakening Aisha during the duel left a kind of indescribable discomfort in Krista's heart.
"I really will hit you, you know..."
If only she could really be angry.
But Krista couldn't.
If she truly could get angry over this, her heart wouldn't ache so much.
Nevertheless, she simply couldn't.
"I see. So this was the plan you and Boss Viel had prepared in advance, Mr. Miles?"
On the other side, after learning that Krista could finally free her own soul, Aisha didn't care at all about the so-called wager's outcome, nor did she try to forcibly keep Krista by her side.
Aisha's swaying body managed a smile of relief.
"Thank goodness… it's all been resolved peacefully. Now everyone can… return to how life was before…"
Her vision went dark. Aisha, totally spent, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Aisha!"
Only thanks to Ren's body's quick reflexes was Miles able to catch the girl's light body before she hit the ground.
"Ah, this one looks in worse shape." Viel frowned. "Let's get her inside to rest first. Using that kind of power, mental exhaustion is inevitable."
In truth, after taking that blow from [Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon Zero] head-on, Aisha's spiritual energy had already been at its limit.
It was only Miles's call that let Aisha break past that limit.
Of course, repeatedly breaking one's limits in a short time and even tapping into the power of the future came at a price.
Since Viel's own room was a complete mess, the unconscious Aisha was laid down temporarily on Luka's clean, tidy bed.
"Didn't expect this kid to fight so desperately for you." After touching Aisha's cold forehead, Viel glanced at Miles and sighed, shaking her head. "What a heavy sin, what a heavy sin indeed."
"Boss Viel, is Carlos going to be all right?" Krista asked, nearly drowning in guilt.
"With me here, she'll be fine. As for how long she'll sleep, I can't say. Using the power of the future… she might just sleep until the future itself~"
Viel's half-joking tone carried a trace of real assessment.
In the worst case, Aisha Carlos might actually sleep until the very point in time when her future self's power was used.
"It won't be long." Looking at Aisha's sleeping face, at the slight twitch of her eyelashes, Miles suddenly realized… it had been almost a year since he'd really seen her asleep.
After all, in the Soul Room, the Dark Aisha almost never slept.
Miles took the Millennium Puzzle from Ren's neck and gently placed it upon Aisha's chest.
He'd seen this kind of soul-deep unconsciousness before—back then, with Irena.
"There's no excuse. I bear responsibility for this too."
Though his intentions were good, hoping Aisha would stop slacking off, stop relying only on him, and face battles head-on… Miles now recalled what Dark Aisha had once warned him about: 'forcing growth.'
This must have been what she meant.
"I'll go apologize to Aisha myself… and wake her up. Ren, I'm giving your body back."
"Go, Miles."
Soul exchange—Miles returned to Aisha's body.
As expected, what appeared before him were two doors to the Soul Room.
Just like when Irena had fallen unconscious, when the host's soul couldn't control the body, Miles could use the Puzzle to enter the host's Soul Room.
—Aisha's Soul Room.
Miles opened the door and stepped inside, and what greeted his eyes was… an overwhelming pile of Mokey Mokey… plushies?
This was actually the first time Miles had truly entered Aisha's Soul Room.
"She likes Mokey Mokey this much? I never noticed before."
Unlike Princess Nova's unhidden adoration for cute monsters.
Even though Aisha summoned Mokey Mokey occasionally, she never showed any special fondness for it… Yet here her Soul Room was packed with Mokey Mokey dolls.
Surrounded by the Mokey Mokey plushies, lying on a bed identical to the one in the Carlos mansion, Aisha was sleeping soundly, face full of bliss.
Yes, Miles knew that bed far too well—it was the very one she'd practically fused with all holiday long.
He sat down at her bedside and gently pinched Aisha's soft, springy cheek.
"Time to wake up, Aisha."
When Miles pinched her, the blissful expression on her sleeping face furrowed slightly.
"Five more minutes…"
Miles patiently waited five minutes, but the result was—
"Still sleeping… five more minutes."
Too real. She'd probably keep adding "five more minutes" endlessly until it became hours.
"Wake up, Aisha. Ren says she's going to take the Millennium Puzzle and run away with it."
"Wh-what!?"
Startled upright like a dying patient revived, Aisha shot up from the bed.
Then she saw Miles sitting at her bedside, blinking her emerald eyes in disbelief.
Seeing her dazed, cute look, Miles realized that this might actually be the first time Aisha had really seen him… she probably didn't even recognize him right away.
"Aisha, I'm—"
"Mr. Miles!"
She recognized him. Before Miles could even finish, Aisha called his name.
"I'm dreaming, right? I can see the real Mr. Miles! If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up!"
Without a second thought, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly—no, locked him in place would be more accurate.
After all, though their souls had spent so long together, this was their first true meeting face-to-face.
"It's not a dream, Aisha. I'm really—hm?"
Miles's words were once again cut off.
This time, his mouth was blocked by something soft, along with a faint fragrance that tickled his nose.
He hadn't expected it… Aisha, who always looked so adorably innocent, turned out to be predatory when it really mattered?
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]