Although the plan had deviated a bit, Miles's tactic of having Irena take the second day to snatch points happened to clash directly with XYZ Academy's own strategy.
Fortunately, the lousy witch came through this time. Her long-hidden Xyz form of Dark Magician Girl sent Leon's Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo off the field after two turns of resistance, taking its last decisive Xyz Material to declare a special victory.
The faces of everyone from XYZ Academy were beyond ugly now.
For an academy centered on Xyz Summoning, their leader being humiliated on the spot by Irena from Fusion Academy—using an Xyz monster, no less—to score a victory with a special win effect, was simply unbearable.
"That woman's too despicable!" Lloyd gritted his teeth in fury.
"All's fair in war. Leon definitely underestimated her this time," Oga analyzed calmly. "Fusion Academy's win has a lot to do with the boldness the Gray Witch showed in that final turn."
The dramatic ending made most people overlook Irena's desperate, all-or-nothing courage—staking every resource she had on her Left Arm Offering to search for one of the most ordinary cards of all: [Monster Reborn].
Fusion Academy, once expected to rank last among the continent's three schools, was far from as weak as people used to think.
"Even if it's underhanded, that was awesome, senpai!"
Back among the Fusion camp, Irena was, of course, surrounded by adoring kouhai.
Irena smiled, narrowing her eyes. "Underhanded is unnecessary. You can compliment me on my other qualities~"
Aisha: "That was downright sinister, senpai!"
Ren: "What a shameless tactic, senpai!"
Ecclesia: "Absolutely vile beyond redemption, Irena-senpai!"
Miles: "Are you three sure that counts as a compliment?"
If you don't want to praise her, just keep your mouths shut. Why do you have to speak on XYZ Academy's behalf?
Still, seeing Irena perform so well put Miles at ease. Even though her tactics clashed with XYZ Academy's plan, Irena's victory over Leon meant Fusion Academy had won their share.
The next day's schedule had one more duel for Fusion Academy—again with Irena in back-to-back matches, this time against Synchron Academy.
On Synchron's side, Krista had already used both of her appearances on the first day as their ace.
So for Synchron Academy, rather than wasting power on the less crucial second day, it made sense to reserve their true fighting strength for the final and most important day.
Thus, the second Turbo Duel match: Fusion Academy versus Synchron Academy.
...
"O sovereign of the northern skies, ruler of omniscience and omnipotence! Show the gods of the Astral Realm your majesty! Synchro Summon! The Supreme God who commands heaven and earth—[Odin, Father of the Aesir]!"
[Odin, Father of the Aesir] Level 10│LIGHT│Fairy│4000 ATK / 3500 DEF
Watching Odin descend, splitting the heavens in two with its vast, divine presence, Miles couldn't hold it in anymore.
Miles: "Damn it, you've gotta be kidding me!"
How twisted and cutthroat did the inter-academy politics have to be for all three schools to stack their strongest fighters onto the least important second day of the tournament?
Were all their tacticians heartless or what?
On his D-Wheel, Nid Hogg rode alongside Odin, the supreme god of Norse myth, exuding an aura like the commander of a thousand astral deities.
"When [Odin, Father of the Aesir] is on the field, my Aesir monsters are unaffected by your Spells and Traps!"
Since Odin itself was also an Aesir monster, all Three Polar Gods under its command gained spell and trap resistance.
"And this strike ends it! Noble Phantasm, True Name Release!—Trap Card [Nordic Relic Megingjord] activate!"
[Target 1 face-up monster you control with 'Aesir' or 'Nordic' in its name; until the End Phase, that monster's ATK and DEF are doubled. It cannot attack directly this turn.]
"Odin's Attack becomes double its original value—8000! Receive the judgment of the gods!—Heavenly Verdict!"
The blow that heralded the twilight of the gods exploded across the racetrack. Representing Synchron Academy, the Norse god of Synchro made its debut, demonstrating divine power unlike that of the Orichalcos deity.
"Ugh, why is it always us who have to face the God Cards?!" Irena groaned helplessly.
Fusion Academy seemed cursed—though the duel order was supposed to be random, every God Card user somehow always ended up on their opposing side.
A perfect 100% attraction rate for God users.
Even Miles could sense that the gods of the other two academies were ganging up on them.
Could it be because he himself had too many God Cards?
No, no, that must be a pure coincidence.
Admitting it would mean he'd have to take the blame, turning the Fusion Academy exchange tournament into literal hell mode.
[Irena, LP: 4000 → 0]
Caught off guard by Odin's 8000 Attack and Spell/Trap immunity, the lousy witch fell just as Miles had predicted.
Their decks' matchup was hopelessly bad… that was why Miles never planned to have Irena participate in the final God battle.
Besides, fighting solo, she didn't even have a single Dragon card in her deck, nor could she fuse to summon the Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon.
Even with Dark Magician, the lack of a Dragon-type monster meant she couldn't summon dragon-based fusions through Spirit Eyes—a rule limitation under the Spirit Continent's dueling system.
On the second day, without any coordination between the three academies, all of them had nonetheless sent out their strongest fighters in uncanny unison. Fusion Academy's record stood at one win and one loss—acceptable within Miles's expectations.
Which left the pressure squarely on XYZ Academy.
After Leon Gate's defeat, XYZ Academy sat at one loss and zero wins.
The third Turbo Duel match would pit Synchron Academy's Lost against XYZ Academy's Lloyd.
Both were straightforward types—no flashy gimmicks or overcomplicated tactics, just head-on combat.
"Effect of [Heroic Champion - Excalibur] activate! By detaching 2 Xyz Materials, its Attack doubles until the end of your opponent's turn!"
[Heroic Champion - Excalibur, ATK: 2000 → 4000]
Lloyd's Rank 4 Xyz Monster, through a simple yet brutal effect, doubled its power and overtook Lost's 3000-Attack [Red Dragon Archfiend].
"Battle! [Heroic Champion - Excalibur], use 'Heroic Sword of Victory'!"
The silver blade slashed through the dragon's crimson flames, cleaving toward the Red Dragon Archfiend soaring above.
At the same time, Lloyd chained another Trap Card.
"—Trap Card [Ghosts From the Past] activate!"
[Banish 2 monsters from your Graveyard, then target 1 face-up Attack Position monster on the field; its Attack becomes 0 until the end of this turn.]
"I banish the 2 Xyz Materials I just detached to reduce [Red Dragon Archfiend]'s Attack to 0 until the end of the turn!"
[Red Dragon Archfiend, ATK: 0]
On Lloyd's side stood [Heroic Champion - Excalibur], its Attack power surging to 4000. Across the field, [Red Dragon Archfiend] had been reduced to 0 Attack.
"Trying to OTK me in one blow, huh? That's pretty brutal—BUT!"
Riding through flames, Lost's coat flapped as he flipped up a face-down Trap Card, summoning down a meteor of fire.
"—Trap Card [Red Reign] activate!"
[Can be activated if you control a Level 8 or higher Synchro Monster. Banish all monsters on the field except the one with the highest Level. The remaining face-up monster is unaffected by other card effects until the end of this turn.]
"The highest-Level monster on the field right now is my Level 8 [Red Dragon Archfiend]! I banish every monster except Red Dragon Archfiend and grant it full card immunity—its Attack restores to 3000!"
The Trap Card [Red Reign] was extremely effective against Xyz Monsters, as it only spared the monster with the highest Level—and Xyz Monsters have Ranks, not Levels.
"Blaze forth, Red Reign!"
The roaring dragon unleashed a torrent of scorching flames, engulfing the battlefield in an instant. Lloyd's Rank 4 [Heroic Champion - Excalibur] and his two Level 4 monsters, [Heroic Challenger - Morning Star] and [Heroic Challenger - Thousand Blades], were all banished.
Takehiko Izumi: "OHHH! Lost unleashes a sky-shattering Crimson Meteor! Could Synchron Academy be about to claim their second consecutive victory?!"
Burned by the flames of the Crimson Meteor, Lloyd now faced an empty field—yet, his eyes only grew sharper.
"Not bad, Lost Vela."
"Heh, surrender now, and I might let you lose half your pride."
"No need. You'll regret banishing my monsters."
After the Battle Phase ended, Lloyd entered Main Phase 2 and slammed down a new card.
"Special Summon—[Heroic Challenger - Assault Halberd]!"
[Heroic Challenger - Assault Halberd] Level 4│EARTH│Warrior│1800 ATK / 200 DEF
[If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).]
Another Level 4 Heroic warrior brandished his halberd as he charged onto the field.
"Hey now, a monster with 1800 Attack won't beat my Red Dragon Archfiend," Lost said confidently. "Next turn, you'll witness my strongest evolution—the Double Synchro Summon of my dragon!"
"You won't be summoning anything next turn, Lost Vela! I told you—you'll regret banishing my monsters!"
He flung out a Spell Card, and the space above his D-Wheel began to distort and shimmer.
"—Spell Card [Dimension Fusion] activate! I pay 2000 Life Points to Special Summon as many monsters as possible from both players' Banished Zones!"
[Lloyd, LP: 4000 → 2000]
For the record, despite its name, this card has nothing to do with Fusion Summoning.
Its effect simply Special Summons every monster in the Banished Zone—straightforward and overwhelming.
While Lost's Banished Zone was empty, Lloyd's contained the two Level 4 monsters banished by [Ghosts From the Past] and two more removed by [Red Reign].
"I Special Summon [Heroic Challenger - Morning Star], [Heroic Challenger - Thousand Blades], [Heroic Challenger - Double Lance], and [Heroic Challenger - Swordshield]!"
Including the previously summoned [Assault Halberd], Lloyd now had five Level 4 Heroic monsters on the field.
"I should thank you, Lost. Without your [Red Reign], I couldn't have gathered this perfect Heroic assembly!"
"Perfect Heroic assembly?" Lost still hadn't realized the danger. "No matter how many monsters you summon, they'll all be blasted away next turn by my Red Dragon Archfiend!"
"You won't get the chance!"
Lloyd swept his arm forward, and all five Heroic monsters transformed into light, spiraling into an Xyz network.
"I overlay all five Heroic monsters to Xyz Summon the mightiest Heroic Champion!"
"All five?!" The spectators gasped—it was the largest-scale Xyz they'd ever seen.
With five Level 4 monsters overlaid, a brilliant lattice of light enveloped the sky.
"From the light that bridges the earth and sky, let the storm's anchor become a sacred lance! Xyz Summon—[Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad]!"
[Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad] Rank 4│DARK│Warrior│1500 ATK / 1500 DEF
[2 or more Level 4 Warrior monsters (max. 5)]
Wielding the holy spear Rhongomyniad from Arthurian legend, clad in shining white Heroic armor, the Champion of Extinction descended to the field.
Lost frowned. "You used five monsters for that Xyz Summon, and its Attack is only 1500? You've got to be kidding me."
"Hmph. [Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad] gains effects depending on how many Xyz Materials it has!"
[● 1+: Cannot be destroyed by battle.
● 2+: Gains 1500 ATK/DEF.
● 3+: Unaffected by other card effects.
● 4+: Your opponent cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters.
● 5+: Once per turn, you can destroy all cards your opponent controls.]
[Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad, ATK: 1500 → 3000]
Its Attack now matched Red Dragon Archfiend's 3000, along with battle immunity and total effect resistance.
And that wasn't all—beyond the first three boosts, its 4- and 5-material effects were downright absurd.
"When [Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad] has 5 Xyz Materials, once per turn, it can destroy all cards your opponent controls!—Heroic Spear of Annihilation!"
The sacred spear erupted in a blinding blast. Though Red Dragon Archfiend survived thanks to [Red Reign]'s protection, Lost's Set cards were fully wiped out.
"My turn ends. Now it's yours, Lost Vela!"
Miles couldn't believe it… he was actually witnessing the legendary five-material Rhongomyniad.
'So this is the five-material Spear King… and now it's your move, huh? What kind of game am I even playing anymore?'
As the turn switched, Lost discovered he couldn't even summon a monster, thanks to Rhongomyniad's 4-material effect.
"What the… absolutely immobilized?! What kind of monster is this?!"
Even if he rammed his 3000-Attack Red Dragon Archfiend into it, Rhongomyniad couldn't be destroyed by battle—meaning he'd only destroy himself.
"No way… there's no such thing as a monster without weakness."
Regardless, unable to act, Lost could only end his turn.
"At the end of your turn, [Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad] detaches one Xyz Material," Lloyd declared.
That was its only weakness—if you could somehow stall, you might outlast its effects.
However, against an opponent who couldn't summon, Lloyd held all the initiative.
"And now to ensure my champion's supremacy—I draw! Spell Card [Overlay Regeneration] activate! I attach this card to [Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad] as an Xyz Material!"
Lost, frozen in place, had finally watched one turn pass—only to see Lloyd replenish the fifth Material he'd just lost.
"—Second volley! Heroic Spear of Annihilation!"
The sacred spear exploded again. This time, stripped of its [Red Reign] protection, Red Dragon Archfiend was obliterated by the divine blast.
"And finally, I Normal Summon [Heroic Challenger - Spartan]!"
[Heroic Challenger - Spartan] ATK: 1600
"Rhongomyniad and Spartan—direct attack! This is my Heroic path to victory!"
Twin lances of light descended in a storm, engulfing Lost Vela on his D-Wheel.
[Lost, LP: 4000 → 2400 → 0]
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Overwhelmed by the Rhongomyniad's holy barrage, Lost lost balance—his D-Wheel flipped, crashing hard onto the track.
And thus, after a fierce battle, the three academies still stood tied, none pulling ahead by even a single point.
...
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