Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, having shattered Pluto, returned to the field.
"This feels like our first time fighting together, my cute little master."
With a faint blush, she turned back on her dragon mount, smiling radiantly at Miles.
Like the Dragonmaids, she was a Duel Monster that spoke. Compared to Aisha's Kuribohs and Mokey Mokeys, a talkative card like this was far more charming.
Aisha's eyes snapped open at a realization, "Ugh… huh? Why do even monsters give me a weird sense of crisis?!"
"Keep the pressure on, Dark Magician Girl."
"Roger, my cute master!"
"I set 1 card and end my turn."
Even with the Millennium Eye seeing through everything since the start, the Nameless Dragon had tipped the scales toward Miles. Fusion Summoned through the Legendary Dragon, Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight could use her destruction effect once per turn—even during the opponent's turn.
Miles still had one card left in hand—Clear Kuriboh. He had kept it as the "bullet" to fuel Dragon Knight's effect when Locke took his turn. And once it hit the Graveyard, Clear Kuriboh could serve as a backup defense.
"Heh. A well-laid plan—your 'bullet' to stop me."
"So you saw through that, too."
Even strategies he devised at the End Phase were laid bare to the Millennium Eye, making Miles frown.
Thoughts couldn't be hidden. Even if he tried to blank his mind, his duelist's instinct would still subconsciously plan the next move. To stop thinking entirely would be suicide.
"If it worked, Dark Magician Girl's effect would indeed be troublesome. Unfortunately, young one, you're one step short. I wager your hand is empty."
"What?"
At Miles's End Phase, one of Locke's set cards flipped.
A sudden flash of light shot from behind Aisha, grazing her cheek and nailing Miles's last card to the palace floor.
"Trap Card—Lightforce Sword. Your hand is banished face-down for 4 turns! Your Dragon Knight won't have the cost to activate her effect next turn."
"You said you bet my hand was empty? More like you ripped my bullet away!"
Lightforce Sword's 4-turn banish meant Clear Kuriboh was gone for good.
"Next—I activate Quick-Play Spell, Fires of Doomsday!"
[Special Summon 2 Doomsday Tokens (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position. They cannot be Tributed for a Tribute Summon, except for a DARK monster.]
"At your End Phase, I Special Summon 2 Doomsday Tokens!"
[Token DEF: 0] ×2
Two one-eyed demons born of black fire flickered on Locke's field, as if preparing a summoning ritual.
"My turn, draw."
His gnarled fingers brushed his Spirit Eyes, drawing forth a card. A heavy, nameless darkness radiated from it.
He had two cards in hand. Yet the weight of them surpassed anything else that had appeared in the Duel.
"First, I Normal Summon Ritual Raven!"
[Ritual Raven DEF: 300]
A filler Fiend used for Ritual levels. Though with one card left in hand, a Ritual seemed impossible.
Unless…
With 3 Fiends on the field, Locke's last card pulsed ominously.
"At last, I Tribute my 3 Fiends! Behold the descent of the Sacred Beast!"
"What?!" Miles and Luca exclaimed together—for entirely different reasons.
"Crush all life, grant me eternal vitality! Descend—Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"
The mist over the capital split open, and through the rift, a colossal azure demon descended into the palace.
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms] Level 10│DARK│Fiend│4000 ATK / 4000 DEF
[Cannot be Normal Summoned. Must be Special Summoned by Tributing 3 Fiend monsters.]
[Unaffected by Trap effects. Unaffected by Spell effects not activated this turn.]
A pseudo-god with near-divine resistances. Only lacking the God Cards' immunity to monsters below Level 10.
However, its raw 4000 ATK was already lethal at this stage.
"It really is Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"
This card had once been Luca's ace. Locke had secretly replaced it, leaving her to chase a phantom during her Duel.
"You scammed your own granddaughter, old man!"
On the floor, Luca squirmed angrily.
"The Sacred Beasts are too important. Only they can grant me eternal life. Surely you understand, Luca."
They were the key to Locke's lifelong quest to transcend humanity.
"Fine! As long as you win, I'll forgive you."
The appearance of Raviel tipped the scales entirely in Locke's favor.
"Damn!" Deion's body tensed at the aura of dread.
Nova, too, paled. "With that much Attack, Aisha and the Dragon Knight can't fight it…"
[Aisha Carlos, LP: 800]
Even a single attack would wipe her out.
"You sly old fox!"
Miles cursed. If he had held Clear Kuriboh, Dragon Knight could've destroyed Raviel at its summon. Regardless, the bullet had been ripped away.
"Show your might, Sacred Beast!"
Locke's aged voice merged with Raviel's roar as he entered the Battle Phase.
"Crush the Nameless Dragon! Raviel—Celestial Ravage Fist!!"
Its fist exploded with godlike force.
"Trap Card activate!"
Miles flipped his lone set card.
"Useless! Trap Cards don't affect Raviel!" Luca shouted instinctively.
"You idiot—this isn't Mirror Force!"
It was Waboku-like simplicity—
[Damage Diet: This turn, damage you take is halved.]
A cheap Spell, but perfect. Because it didn't affect Raviel, it was valid.
1400 battle damage halved—700.
[Aisha Carlos, LP: 800 → 100]
"AAAAHHH!!"
Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight cried out as she vanished. Aisha's body, too, was blown back by the impact, left clinging to her last 100 Life Points.
Locke wasn't surprised. The Eye had already told him about the Damage Diet set. He hadn't expected to win this turn.
Methodical and steady, his style ground opponents down until the power gap became overwhelming. With 5100 LP and Raviel on the field, Locke looked untouchable.
By contrast, Miles was at 100 LP with no hand or field. Desperation itself.
"You're finished, girl. With only one card, you can't overturn this."
So spoke the Marshal, his voice weighted with the confidence of a century undefeated.
"I end my turn."
"Haaah—!"
Battered, Miles forced himself to his knees. "Locke Slint… you are unlike anyone I've ever faced. I admit, alone, I can't win."
His final draw could not hope to overcome both Raviel and the Eye's foresight.
Yes—the Eye was the real problem. Every strategy would be read, every move exposed.
Just like Lightforce Sword had plucked away his bullet, any counter Miles thought of would be laid bare.
"Admitting defeat already?"
"No, old man. You've misunderstood me."
"Oh?"
"I said—I can't win alone. But I'm not alone."
Miles closed his eyes, his hand on the Deck.
—Soul Exchange.
Before drawing, he swapped. He gave control to Aisha.
"Draw it, Aisha. Don't look—just draw!"
"O-okay… My turn, draw—!"
By drawing blind, even Aisha herself didn't know what card it would be. Hidden in darkness—even the Millennium Eye couldn't see.
"Excited, old man? For the first time in a century, you face a Duel where you can't read your opponent. This… this is a real Duel!"
...
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