Takehiko declared: "For our final Turbo Duel of the day—representing Fusion Academy, Ren Austin! And her opponent from XYZ Academy… Oga Slint!"
The final, yet-unseen duelist from XYZ Academy.
Oga Slint—a boy carrying the infamous name of the Slint family.
Even the usually composed Takehiko wavered during the introduction. The name was so shocking that he double-checked his notes several times to make sure there wasn't a printing error.
The arena erupted.
"No way… the Slint family?!" Aisha and Ren exchanged looks of disbelief.
The Slint family—headed by the Imperial Marshal Locke Slint—had been found guilty of invading the Livorden royal capital, threatening to end a century of peace across the Spirit Continent. Declared war criminals by the International Tribunal, they were branded as one of the most notorious families in the last hundred years.
And now, a black-haired boy bearing that name sat silently astride his D-Wheel, waiting at the track for the duel to begin.
"Hey, isn't that a criminal?!"
As expected, once Takehiko said Oga's name aloud, the crowd exploded with shock and outrage.
"War criminal family! Should've stayed locked up!"
"They're seriously letting someone like that compete?!"
"He's got the blood of that devilish marshal!"
Accusations, insults, and fury flooded the arena—directed solely at the dark-haired boy who bore the cursed name of Slint.
In the previous match, the light of hope spread by Miles and Krista had drawn the people of Axet together, lifting them from despair.
Now, that same crowd—rekindled by Quasar's light—had turned into a weapon of condemnation against Oga Slint.
At Synchron Academy's section, Lost slammed her hands on the railing. "How could you let a Slint join the tournament?! XYZ, at least explain yourselves!"
"There's nothing to explain," Leon replied calmly. "By ruling of the Varian Empire, Oga Slint was not involved in the invasion. He's innocent. That's all there is to it."
Leon had grown used to this scene.
Even within the Varian Empire, Oga bore the stigma of the Slint name, enduring constant suspicion and hatred.
Despite that, Leon had fought for his right to participate in the exchange program—because as team captain, he knew that strength in dueling spoke louder than bloodline.
And Oga Slint was, without question, XYZ Academy's strongest duelist.
"Or is that all the tolerance Synchron Academy can muster?"
Unlike the composed Leon, Lloyd stepped forward, furious, defending his friend.
"Are you really going to deny someone's dignity as a duelist just because of his family name, even when he himself committed no crime?"
"Ugh!" Lost was struck speechless, realizing she didn't exactly have a strong argument.
"Sit down, Lost," Nid Hogg muttered dryly.
His tone implied she'd embarrassed herself enough already.
Since the courts had already declared Oga uninvolved, blaming him purely for his family's sins was truly unreasonable.
Even Aisha and Ren, who had fought in the war for the capital, could understand that much.
Of course, understanding didn't mean letting their guard down.
"Be careful, Ren," Miles warned gravely. "Oga Slint… I'm not sure if it's him that's dangerous, or his cards… but something about him is."
Having faced three generations of the Slint family already, Miles's wariness of them was practically in his DNA.
They were never easy opponents. Especially not with their Imperial Heavy Artillery Deck—a single blast dealt 2000 direct damage. In a 4000-LP duel format, that was devastating.
However, this time, Miles's duelist intuition sensed something even darker. Even the Millennium Puzzle reacted to Oga's presence.
Miles suspected Oga's deck held something far more terrifying than the Imperial Cannons.
Of all times… this was when he couldn't step in and duel himself. His hands itched just thinking about it.
"Don't worry, Miles!"
Ren's stance atop the D-Board was confident, her graceful posture rivaling even Korys's. Her long red hair fluttered like fire.
"If there's nothing you can do, then watch closely! I'll show you how strong I've become!"
She raced up to the starting line, her D-Board pulling up alongside Oga's D-Wheel.
"I'm sorry," Oga said in a low voice.
"Huh? What for?"
"For making you duel someone like me… a person carrying a criminal's name. You must hate it."
He spoke with weary eyes, long used to the world's scorn.
"I don't care," Ren said, shaking her head. "Evil is evil, justice is justice. No one should be forced to carry guilt that isn't theirs."
"That's good… but there's one more thing I should apologize for…"
He suddenly smiled, eyes glinting with confidence. "—because you're going to lose to me."
The meek humility vanished, replaced by absolute certainty in victory.
"You…! I've never met anyone so cocky in my life!"
Takehiko raised his mic high. "Then—our final Turbo Duel of the day!"
"Riding Duel! Acceleration—!"
The Field Spell [Speed World – Novel] activated, covering the track as both duelists sped off.
But since this was Ren's first time on a D-Board, even with her reflexes, matching a D-Wheel's speed was impossible.
She chose instead to focus on balance, yielding the first-turn advantage.
"My turn—draw!"
Taking the lead, Oga Slint drew his opening card.
The boy carrying both the name of a sinner and the title of XYZ Academy's strongest duelist.
"I activate the effect of [True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer] in my hand!"
[During your Main Phase: You can destroy 2 monsters in your hand and/or face-up on your field, including a WATER monster, and if you do, Special Summon this card from your hand.]
Before the dragon itself appeared, its roar echoed across the arena. With a crashing wave, Oga destroyed two monsters from his hand.
A bold 3-for-1 Special Summon right off the bat.
"I destroy another [True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer] and the WATER monster [Shellfish Turtle] in my hand to Special Summon! Arise—the raging tide of the Phantom Dragon of Water!"
[True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer] Level 9│WATER│Wyrm│1800 ATK│3000 DEF
The sea trembled as the phantom dragon emerged, roaring within a towering surge of water—a Level 9 monster on the very first turn of the Turbo Duel.
"Wyrm monsters?" Miles's eyes narrowed.
Could that strange aura the Millennium Puzzle sensed in Oga's deck have been the Wyrms?
In legends, the elusive Wyrms were rarer than almost any other creature—so rare that the total number of Wyrm cards printed was fewer than those of most archetypes.
Their mystery made them the monsters closest to gods themselves.
"I activate the effect of the destroyed [True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer] in my Graveyard!"
[If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can Special Summon 1 non-WATER Wyrm monster from your Deck in Defense Position.]
Oga raised his arm, the glow of Spirit Eyes flashing. "From my Deck, I Special Summon a non-WATER Wyrm in Defense Position!"
The ground quaked—the track itself shuddering as another Wyrm descended.
"Two Wyrms in one turn?" Ren steadied herself on her board, riding through the tremors.
"Descend, Wyrm of the Earth—Special Summon! [True King Lithosagym, the Disaster]!"
[True King Lithosagym, the Disaster] Level 9│EARTH│Wyrm│2500 ATK│2300 DEF
The earth split open as the Wyrm of calamity rose, its immense form like a mountain alive. Oga had always felt a strange kinship with this dragon bearing the name of disaster.
"Now, with two Level 9 True Kings on my field—let's go!"
His D-Wheel engine roared. A high-rank overlay aura surged across the track.
"I overlay my two Level 9 True Kings! Xyz Summon—the ultimate Wyrm of chaos and dominion!"
"You're overlaying two Level 9 monsters straight away?!"
Ren had seen countless Rank 4 and Rank 1 Xyz Summons—but never anything of this scale.
From earth to sky, the twin dragons intertwined, forming a network of dark and light energy that seemed to twist space itself.
"Bearer of chaotic truth, who bends the world's law and order—Xyz Summon! Rank 9 [True King of All Calamities]!"
[True King of All Calamities] Rank 9│DARK│Wyrm│3000 ATK│3000 DEF
[2 or more Level 9 monsters]
Its body was pitch black—two opposing Wyrms fused into one, wings of light and darkness spreading as it descended, a being of supreme power capable of rewriting the very fabric of existence.
...
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