Around the crater carved out by Mokey Mokey's explosive strike, every monster on the field had been wiped away. The Three Aesir—and even Miles's own Level 10 Majestic Star Dragon—had vanished from the sky.
"Finally… the Three Aesir are gone!"
Ren, who had been suffocating under the overwhelming pressure of the Aesir, finally breathed deeply.
"Now it's counterattack time, Miles!"
After steadying her breath, she swung both fists in encouragement.
With the Aesir bounced back to the Extra Deck, and Nid Hogg with no set cards left, there had never been a better chance for a full-force assault to reverse the situation.
"Hit him hard, Miles!" Kevin joined in.
"..."
Miles only looked at the three remaining cards in his D-Wheel's slots.
The perfect chance to attack… meant nothing if he couldn't attack.
Right now, the only monster in his hand with any combat capability was… another copy of [Mokey Mokey].
And because he had already used his Normal Summon this turn, not even a 300-ATK tofu smack was possible.
"I Set two cards—turn end."
Leaving only Mokey Mokey in hand, Miles Set every other card.
Though unable to attack, he had perfectly achieved his actual goal this turn.
During the End Phase, the Three Aesir did not revive—because they were returned to the Extra Deck.
Miles's plan had always been to survive the Aesir's assault, not to force a win before Gjallarhorn's effect triggered.
After all, the damage from Gjallarhorn becomes zero if Nid controls no monsters.
And at this moment, Nid was no better off.
He had spent enormous resources last turn, summoning two Aesir at once. Now he had only one card left in hand.
He had expected to crush Miles with overwhelming force—or at least maintain advantage through the Aesir's endless revival.
However, now, Nid looked at an empty field.
Where did his three gods go? They were just here a moment ago! How did a piece of tofu scam them all?
Riders switched—Nid Hogg's turn.
Just one turn remained before Gjallarhorn would trigger, heralding Ragnarök.
If Nid simply ended this turn, the horn would sound.
Albeit there was a problem.
Nid currently controlled zero Attack Points—because he controlled zero monsters.
"Truly incredible. To oppose the Aesir with a low-level monster like that… Aisha Carlos, you're the most unconventional duelist I've ever met."
This was genuine praise from Nid Hogg.
Even when the honor of their academies hung in the balance, a good opponent naturally commanded respect.
"But that doesn't mean I'll lose! On the contrary—I'll make Ragnarök descend as planned and end this Duel. Victory will belong to Synchron!"
Even though the Aesir had been returned to the Deck, the Runes in Nid's eyes did not dim—if anything, his battle fervor burned hotter.
"This is the battle I've been waiting for! Aisha Carlos, you're the one I've been waiting for!"
Aisha: "(」＞＜)」There he goes again! Why does it hurt more when Mr. Miles flirts with men?!"
Because your mindset is the problem.
Nid placed his fingers on the top of his Deck, guided by Rune Eyes toward the inevitable Ragnarök.
"Before the horn sounds—I'll open the astral gate once more. My turn, draw!"
[Nid, SPC: 6→7]
[Miles, SPC: 6→7]
The moment Nid drew, angelic wings of Speed Magic flashed across the back of the card.
"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton! I draw 2 cards, then discard 1!"
With two consecutive accelerations, his Speed Counters had reached 7—high enough to enable almost every Speed Spell.
Including the one with the highest requirement in his entire Deck.
"With this card, I'll pry open the sealed astral gate once again—Speed Spell – Synchro Panic!"
"Synchro Panic?" Miles's brows tightened instantly.
This was a legendary Speed Spell once used by Yusei Fudo himself—a card capable of reversing an entire Duel.
Its requirement: exactly 7 Speed Counters.
[If you have 7 or more Speed Counters, Special Summon as many Synchro Monsters as possible with the same name as Synchro Monsters that were Synchro Summoned this Duel. Treat these summons as Synchro Summons. These monsters have their effects negated and their ATK becomes 0.]
Synchro Panic could summon a huge wave of Synchro Monsters—but only monsters with names that had previously appeared via Synchro Summon.
Of course, "same name" also included the ones returned to the Extra Deck.
Rune Eyes blazing, Nid roared:
"With Synchro Panic—I'll Synchro Summon all Three Aesir from my Extra Deck in one go! Open—raging astral gates!!"
In that instant, even the sky seemed to ignite.
The gigantic forms of the Three Aesir descended from the storming heavens.
Three tears ripped the sky apart into four pieces, threatening to collapse at any moment.
"The Aesir we worked so hard to remove… revived again?!" Ren clutched her chest. "And on the turn Gjallarhorn is about to activate…"
"No… something's off," Kevin whispered.
Irena nodded. "Yes. Synchro Panic summons monsters with their effects negated… and their Attack becomes 0."
Attack becoming 0—this was the key.
Gjallarhorn, when activated, banishes all monsters Nid controls and inflicts damage equal to their combined Attack.
That said, if the Aesir's ATK was 0… then the damage would also be 0.
Ragnarök would fizzle altogether—just like in 5D's.
"No. That won't happen." Miles's eyes hardened.
Nid was qualified to carry Synchron Academy's final honor—he would never do something so foolish.
That last card in his hand… would change everything.
"Watch closely, Aisha Carlos! THIS is the true way the Aesir fight!"
As Miles expected, Nid drew the final card from his Duel Disk.
Riding one-handed, he raised the card to the sky.
The last trump card—radiating an ultra-dense gravitational force.
"—Spell Card: Dark Hole!"
[Dark Hole Spell Effect: Destroy all monsters on the field.]
The effect text was simple and brutal, wiping out every monster on the field in one shot as the terrifying cosmic shockwave of Dark Hole swept across everything.
Of course, Miles had no monsters on his field this turn, and on Nid Hogg's field, only the Three Polar Gods remained.
So Nid Hogg's intention was already obvious.
"Using Dark Hole's effect, I destroy all Three Polar Gods on my field!"
Before Dark Hole, neither humans nor gods survive.
The three massive Polar Gods were swallowed into the raging gravity well and were instantly pulverized.
"This really is the kind of tactic only the Three Polar Gods could pull off."
The activation of this Dark Hole was something Miles had expected—and yet not expected.
The debuff from Synchro Panic that negates summoned monsters had already been reset the moment the cards were sent to the Graveyard.
And the universal effect of the Astral Three Polar Gods is that when they're destroyed, they can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard during the same turn with no conditions.
"Destroying your own Polar Gods, only to revive them with their own effect—now that's bold. As expected of the man known as the Black Dragon who ushers in Ragnarok!"
"Lastly, Speed World – Novel's effect turns all remaining Speed into cards. I remove seven Speed Counters and draw one card from my Deck!"
[Nid Hogg, SPC: 7 → 0]
The Speed requirement for Synchro Panic, the card that needed the highest number of Speed Counters, had already been met, so Nid Hogg no longer needed to preserve any SPC.
"This card!" A glint of gold flashed across the Rune Eyes.
After this final speed-to-card conversion, Nid didn't Summon it, didn't activate it, and didn't Set it. Instead, he chose to keep it in his hand.
"Aisha Carlos, I told you… I will make Ragnarok descend this turn, and then end this Duel!"
Under the blaring horn, Nid Hogg raised his hand in final declaration.
"I end my turn!"
With the sounding of the horn, all the preparations erupted in a chain reaction during this End Phase—the moment symbolizing the descent of Ragnarok.
"First, the revival effects of the Three Polar Gods in the Graveyard!"
[If this face-up card on the field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon it from the Graveyard during the End Phase.]
"Return to life, gods of the Astral Realm! I Special Summon Thor, Lord of the Aesir; Loki, Lord of the Aesir; and Odin, Father of the Aesir!"
[Thor, Lord of the Aesir ATK: 3500]
[Loki, Lord of the Aesir ATK: 3300]
[Odin, Father of the Aesir ATK: 4000]
The three Polar Gods of the Astral Realm returned from the Graveyard at full strength, descending once more under the call of Gjallarhorn, for a total Attack of 10,800!
But before anything else, each Polar God's revival brought its own additional effect.
"When Thor, Lord of the Aesir is revived, it deals 800 damage to the opponent!"
[Aisha, LP: 3500 → 2700]
"When Loki, Lord of the Aesir is revived, I can return a Trap Card from my Graveyard to my hand—I choose Divine Evolution! And when Odin is revived, I can draw one more card from my Deck!"
After the revived Polar Gods displayed their respective powers, the final blast of the horn resounded through the sky.
"It's over! During the End Phase of my third turn after activation, I activate the Continuous Trap, Gjallarhorn!"
[Gjallarhorn (Continuous Trap) effect: During the End Phase of your third turn after this card's activation, banish this card and all monsters you control, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the combined Attack of those monsters.]
As the sorrowful end-of-days horn echoed, the towering forms of the Three Polar Gods began to slowly fade away.
"Ragnarok's finale—10800 damage! Endure this final blow and perish, Aisha Carlos!"
"So Ragnarok descends after all."
Facing a strike powerful enough to erase the world in myth, Miles instead accelerated forward, shifting into full offensive.
"But I've always believed in you, Nid Hogg."
"Nani?"
"I believed that no matter what, you would make Ragnarok descend this turn. Betting on yourself, and on your opponent—that's the confidence of a true powerhouse!"
The "powerhouse" Miles spoke of referred, of course, to Nid Hogg.
If Nid Hogg weren't strong enough, Miles' final tactic would have never worked.
"It's about time I revealed my trump card!"
Charging head-on toward the annihilating force of Ragnarok, Miles flipped over his face-down card.
"After Xyz and Synchro, my finisher is naturally Fusion Summoning! — I activate the Trap Card Necro Fusion!"
[Necro Fusion (Trap) effect: Banish face-down the Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion Monster from your Graveyard, then Fusion Summon that monster from your Extra Deck. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot attack this turn.]
"Oh! It finally appears!"
When the card was revealed, the most excited person wasn't even either duelist—but Vice Principal Raiden, watching the broadcast.
"I've waited so long, Aisha! Before the world-ending Ragnarok, show us the potential of Fusion!"
Necro Fusion: A card that allows Fusion Summons using materials from the Graveyard.
And to survive the incoming 10,000+ point effect damage of Ragnarok, Miles chose these Fusion Materials:
"I fuse Stardust Dragon and Number 39: Utopia from my Graveyard! Headmaster, this is the final Fusion I promised you!"
It was both Miles' first and last Fusion of the entire Starlight Expedition—the Fusion Summon Vice Principal Raiden had asked for before the campaign began, using Synchro and Xyz monsters as materials.
A fulfilled promise, blossoming at the most spectacular moment of the final battle.
Takehiko: "To think… he actually Fusion Summoned using a Synchro Monster and an Xyz Monster together!"
"All things return to Fusion! Let the ultimate Fusion that unites three Summoning methods be born! Within the surging waves, let dragon and warrior! Two souls intertwined resonate as one! Fusion Summon, Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste!"
...
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