Chapter 237
Watching Amano Rei go still in the passenger seat for the second time, Karl felt none of the panic he had experienced the first time around. He simply pressed the accelerator a little harder. He needed to follow the Riding Duel from outside the barriers. Even if he could not get inside the track, he intended to watch how this ended.
Inside the duel, Amano's soul passed through the characteristic pure-white mental corridor that marked Rin Seiya's inner world.
This time, he did not rush to complete the swap. Seizing control of someone else's body while a Riding Duel was in progress carried real risk. For now, Amano let his soul settle quietly inside her mind room and wait.
Out on the track, Rin Seiya felt a sudden disorientation pass through her, followed immediately by the distinct sensation of something being forced into a space that already felt full.
"Senpai Rin. I am here to back you up."
"Junior?" A pause. "Am I imagining things, or..."
It did not take long for Rin Seiya to understand why his voice was appearing inside her head. Her expression shifted, color rising slightly in her cheeks.
It had been close to a month. The impression that kind of sensation left was apparently not one that faded easily. Nanki'in Sakuya had described it accurately the first time around: the feeling of a soul passing in and out was genuinely addictive. Over the past month, Rin Seiya had thought about it more than once.
Specifically at night. As a secret she would never share with a single living person.
"Heheh. Hehehehe."
"Why did you suddenly start laughing like that?"
"Ahem. Sorry. Could not hold it in."
That had been close. Nearly exposed herself.
But in the brief moment after Amano arrived, the cold sweat that had been forming at her temple simply vanished. Nothing about the duel had changed. The army of mechanical undead still stretched out endlessly behind her. And yet, the moment she knew she was not facing it alone, an embarrassingly genuine wave of relief washed over her that she could not argue away.
"So when are you taking over, junior? I have beaten a lot of these things and I am getting tired."
Amano had possessed Rin Seiya once before, but that situation had been entirely different: a direct soul-link into her inner space, an unexpected plunge into the deepest layers of the Eva network, and a Dark Game against Shiyue Yi's Wicked God. He had not actually used her body to duel until after everything was resolved, when Finesse had knocked on the door to wrap things up.
In other words, he had never truly dueled using Rin Seiya's body.
"About time," Amano said.
Since it was not his own body, his soul could not remain in the mind room indefinitely. And sitting in the mind room without doing anything defeated the entire purpose of being here.
"Which means!" Rin Seiya's voice carried a note of excitement she could barely conceal. "Switch!"
Once she had stabilized her D-Wheel, Rin Seiya felt the long-absent sensation of her consciousness being drawn out of her body.
When Amano opened his eyes, he was in the middle of a high-speed urban circuit. And right there, pulling alongside him in the lane, was the left half of his own face looking back at him.
"What the..." The words came out before he could stop them. "This is like seeing a ghost."
From a distance the resemblance had been unsettling enough. Up close, staring at something wearing his own features, the uncanny valley effect hit with full force. And there was not just one of them. There was an entire convoy behind him.
"Looking at my own face this many times is genuinely frightening."
"Junior! I will not allow you to say that about your face!"
You are defending someone else's honor there, Senpai.
Prayano Type 5 raised a hand. "I activate Meklord Emperor Skiel Infinity's effect! Once per turn, I equip one of your Synchro Monsters to this card and absorb it!"
"Shooting Star Dragon's effect activates!" Amano called back immediately. "Once per turn during the opponent's turn, I can banish this card until the End Phase and negate one of the opponent's attacks!"
[Shooting Star Dragon]
[Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 3300 / DEF: 2500]
[Tuner + "Stardust Dragon"]
[1: Once per turn, you can reveal the top 5 cards of your Deck and return them. This turn, this card can attack a number of times equal to the number of Tuner monsters among those revealed cards. 2: Once per turn, when a card or effect on the field would be destroyed, you can negate that destruction. 3: Once per turn during the opponent's turn, you can banish this card from the field. This turn, negate 1 of your opponent's attacks. 4: During the End Phase of the turn this card was banished by its third effect, Special Summon it.]
The anime version of Shooting Star Dragon's quick-effect banish during the opponent's turn worked identically to Scar-Red Nova Dragon's self-banish: a perfect counter to the Meklord Emperor's Synchro Monster absorption effect. And since Meklord Emperor Skiel Infinity prevented all other monsters from attacking while it was on the field, a single negated attack was enough to shut down battle damage entirely.
The Meklord Emperors alone could not break through Shooting Star Dragon. But the mechanical undead were not operating like a thinking opponent. The repetitive pattern was deliberate. Their real goal was to stall: accumulate Speed Counters, then use Speed World 2 to burn through Rin Seiya's Life Points with forced effect damage.
The endless stream of machines was just fuel for that clock.
"My turn! Draw!"
As the turns rotated, Amano steadily adjusted to moving in Rin Seiya's body at full riding speed. Once he had the D-Wheel fully under control, he began working through the problem.
"I activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect first! I reveal the top five cards of my Deck!"
[Speed Warrior]
[Speed Spell - Draw 2]
[Scrap Scarecrow]
[Stardust Road]
[Level Eater]
Shooting Star Dragon's flip effect granted attack attempts equal to the number of Tuners revealed. Zero Tuners meant zero attacks. Shooting Star Dragon could not attack this turn.
"Incredible, junior!" Rin Seiya's voice was cheerful from the mind room. "In all the times I have used Shooting Star Dragon's effect, I have never once flipped zero Tuners. No bond at all!"
No bond with someone else's Synchro Monster was hardly surprising. This was not his deck.
This was exactly the scenario Amano had worried about: taking control of a top-tier duelist's deck without knowing the card distribution could produce results worse than leaving her in command. If the swap had happened before the duel started, he might have used a skill to load the Main Deck with a wild-card draw. As things stood mid-duel, the only advantage he could bring was the extra Dragon-type options sitting in his Extra Deck.
Rin Seiya had 1800 Life Points remaining. The opponent was sitting on 3 Speed Counters. Next turn, Type 5 would hit 4 Counters and trigger Speed World 2's forced damage effect again. If they could produce three Speed Spells from hand, the duel was over, and Synchro Academy's Gold Stage fell to this kind of method.
That was not happening.
"I activate the face-down Trap Card, Synchro Soul!"
[Synchro Soul]
[Trap Card]
[Target 1 Synchro Monster in your GY and banish it. Special Summon the Synchro Materials that were used to Synchro Summon that monster from your GY.]
"I banish Stardust Dragon from my GY and Special Summon the two monsters used to Synchro Summon it: Satellite Synchron and Junk Giant!"
[Satellite Synchron] [Level 2] [DEF: 100]
[Junk Giant] [Level 6] [ATK: 2000]
Next, Amano activated the Speed Spell already in hand.
"Speed Spell - Rising 1-2-3, activate!"
[Speed Spell - Rising 1-2-3]
[Speed Spell]
[Activate while you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 monster on the field and roll a die once. Apply the following effect based on the result.
Result 1-2: That monster's Level increases by 1.
Result 3-4: That monster's Level increases by 2.
Result 5-6: That monster's Level increases by 3.]
A six-sided die materialized from the Speed Spell card and spun across the riding circuit at high speed.
The result: 3.
"Perfect."
The earlier flip had dealt Amano's luck a setback with zero Tuners. But Amano had been the neighborhood card game champion for a reason. Threes and fours were the ideal result.
Every monster on the field gained 2 Levels.
"I tune the Level-boosted Satellite Synchron and Junk Giant!"
After the boost, Satellite Synchron stood at Level 4 and Junk Giant at Level 8.
The four-ring Synchro halo detonated outward, passing through Junk Giant's steel frame at full speed on the urban circuit and drawing a dragon's roar that cut through the sky from end to end.
Level 4 plus Level 8 equals Level 12.
"Summoning a Level 12 directly!" Rin Seiya's voice sharpened with recognition. "Junior, is this the one from the Chronicles?"
The light blazing across the circuit was unmistakably red. The deep crimson glow that marked the Red Dragon lineage.
"Does this mean I could become a Signer too?"
Whether or not Senpai could become a Signer was an open question. But right now the Red Dragon line was responding to the call.
"Let the gathered prayers become the Dragon Mark's light that has pierced the earth for a thousand years!"
"Ancient creator, let the stars of the cosmos awaken!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 12! Red Dragon!!"
[Red Dragon]
[Level 12 LIGHT]
[Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 0 / DEF: 0]
[Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters]
[Each effect of this card's name can only be used once per turn. 1: When this card is Special Summoned, add 1 Spell or Trap that mentions "Red Blossom" to your hand from your Deck. 2: During your turn or your opponent's turn, target 1 Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster on the field other than "Red Dragon." Return this card to the Extra Deck and Special Summon 1 Dragon-type Synchro Monster with the same Level as a Synchro Summon from your Extra Deck.]
The Red Dragon's massive crimson body cast its ultimate Synchro light across the Speed World circuit below.
Rin Seiya sounded genuinely surprised. "This Red Dragon is a completely different card from the one you used in the Chronicle!"
She was right. The Crimson Dragon Quetzacoatl from the WRGP Chronicle was a Level 12 DARK Attribute Synchro. This Red Dragon was Level 12 LIGHT Attribute. Essentially the same silhouette, unmistakably belonging to the Red Dragon family tree, but a separate card.
Rin Seiya was not the only one who caught the distinction. Kikawayu and Nanki'in Sakuya, both of whom had been present for the Chronicle, recognized the card as well. Nanki'in Sakuya's gaze shifted to something she was only beginning to piece together. She turned toward Finesse.
"Red Dragon. Could it be that Amano is going to..."
Finesse looked away immediately and began a very deliberate, innocent whistle.
"Red Dragon's effect activates!"
Amano raised Rin Seiya's arm toward the Red Dragon blazing above.
[During your turn or your opponent's turn, target 1 Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster on the field other than "Red Dragon." Return this card to the Extra Deck and Special Summon 1 Dragon-type Synchro Monster with the same Level as a Synchro Summon from your Extra Deck.]
"I target Shooting Star Dragon with Red Dragon's effect! Red Dragon returns to the Extra Deck, and I Special Summon a Dragon-type Synchro Monster of the same Level!"
Rin Seiya caught it first. "The same Level as Shooting Star Dragon... Shooting Star Dragon's Level is 10. No. Wait."
Because Speed Spell - Rising 1-2-3 had already resolved, Shooting Star Dragon's Level had risen with everything else on the field. From Level 10, the boost had pushed it to Level 12.
"I Special Summon the Level 12 Dragon-type Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck!"
In that moment, the Red Dragon's crimson light scattered into countless star-trails across the circuit, and Yusei No. 2 accelerated to a completely new threshold.
Beyond Accel Synchro. Faster than light.
Even from inside the mind room, Rin Seiya felt the threshold pass through her in a single instant of shared awareness. "This state... could this be Bruno? Is this Antinomy from the anime?"
The summoning method was unusual, but this was undeniably a Synchro beyond Accel Synchro. The Delta Accel Synchro.
With it, the Phantom Ace that did not exist in history was called into being.
"Let the gathered stardust tear through the veil of spacetime and become the trajectory that surpasses the speed of light!"
"Shatter the boundary between dimensions! Delta Accel Synchro! Descend! Level 12!"
"Cosmic Blazar Dragon!!"
[Cosmic Blazar Dragon]
[Level 12 WIND]
[Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 4000 / DEF: 4000]
[Tuner Synchro Monster + 2 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters]
[This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Synchro Summon. 1: Once per turn, you can banish this card from the field until the End Phase, then choose one of the following effects. This activation is a Quick Effect and can be used during either player's turn.
- When your opponent activates a Spell, Trap, or monster effect: Negate that activation and destroy that card.
- When your opponent declares a Summon, Flip Summon, or Special Summon: Negate it, then destroy those monsters.
- When your opponent declares an attack: Negate that attack, then end the Battle Phase.]
Like a vessel re-entering from deep space, the Delta Accel Synchro returned to the circuit with Cosmic Blazar Dragon soaring alongside Amano and Rin Seiya's D-Wheel.
"Cosmic Blazar Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Skiel Infinity!"
The dragon's wings beat once and the cosmos poured out behind them, starlight condensing into a concentrated torrent of energy that slammed into the Meklord Emperor's massive steel body and reduced the Synchro Killer to wreckage.
"Starfall Creation Strike - Cosmic Blast!!"
[Meklord Emperor Skiel Infinity: destroyed]
Prayano Type 5 LP: 1500 to 0.
The fifth mechanical unit crashed and the next one rolled in without a gap, inheriting the Consecutive Battle seamlessly. Under the rules, Amano and Rin Seiya's turn was forcibly cut short.
Prayano Type 6 entered the duel. The Speed Counter total climbed to 4.
Prayano immediately showed three Speed Spells from a six-card opening hand.
"I remove 4 Speed Counters and activate Speed World 2's effect! For each Speed Spell I reveal from my hand, you take 800 points of damage! Three Speed Spells means 2400 damage!"
Two thousand four hundred. With Rin Seiya at 1800 Life Points, that was a finishing blow.
"Not happening." Amano reached for the Cosmic Blazar Dragon card on the D-Wheel.
In the 5D's anime, Speed World 2 as a field Spell was immune to leaving the field and could not be replaced. But its activated effects could be stopped by Stardust Dragon's negation. That logic extended cleanly: effects that negated activations could stop Speed World 2's damage trigger.
This was the reason for the Delta Accel Synchro.
"Cosmic Blazar Dragon's effect activates!"
[Once per turn, you can banish this card from the field until the End Phase, then choose one of the following effects.
- When your opponent activates a Spell, Trap, or monster effect: Negate that activation and destroy that card.]
The banishment cost was what made Cosmic Blazar Dragon's speed truly uncatchable. The moment of void that followed was absolute.
"I banish Cosmic Blazar Dragon until the End Phase. I negate Speed World 2's effect activation!"
Speed World 2 itself was not destroyed. A Field Spell leaving the field was not something this effect could accomplish. But the activation was still negated cleanly.
Cosmic Blazar Dragon vanished into the void of deep space, pulling the gears of Speed World to a dead stop for an instant.
[Speed World 2: activation negated]
Four Speed Counters spent. Three Speed Spells in hand with nowhere to go.
Rin Seiya's voice came through with undisguised relief. "We survived! That was extremely close!"
Without the last-minute switch that brought Cosmic Blazar Dragon into play, even if Rin Seiya had defeated Type 5, she would have lost to Type 6 at this exact moment.
With Speed Counters at zero and no way to make use of the Speed Spells, Prayano fell back on conventional plays.
"I Normal Summon Meklord Soldier Factory - Accessory and activate its effect! I destroy itself to Special Summon two Meklord Soldier monsters from my Deck!"
"Denied." Amano declared the second dragon's effect. "Shooting Star Dragon's effect activates! When a card effect that would destroy a card on the field is activated, I negate that activation and destroy the source!"
The stardust field expanded outward from Shooting Star Dragon, inheriting the destruction-stopping legacy of its parent card, and surrounded Meklord Soldier Factory before the effect could resolve.
[Meklord Soldier Factory - Accessory: negated and destroyed]
The destroy-to-summon effect never triggered. Prayano's field was completely bare.
"I set one card and end my turn."
"At the End Phase, Cosmic Blazar Dragon returns to my field!"
[Cosmic Blazar Dragon] [ATK: 4000]
"My turn! Draw! Shooting Star Dragon's effect activates!"
As if to show that the earlier zero-Tuner flip had been an anomaly, Amano's second run through the top five proved considerably more cooperative.
[Steam Synchron]
[Junk Changer]
[Stardust Baby Dragon]
[Speed Spell - Silver Force]
[Convergence Dragon]
"Three attacks this time."
Three Tuner monsters. An excellent Shooting Star Dragon result. Five consecutive Tuners was the legendary ceiling that even the real Yusei Fudo could not reliably reach, but three was a thoroughly solid showing.
"I set one card, then Shooting Star Dragon attacks!"
Three distinct phantom images split from Shooting Star Dragon as it charged toward Prayano's empty field.
Prayano flipped the set card. "Trap Card activate! Synchro Dismissal! I target one of your face-up Synchro Monsters, banish it, and you draw one card!"
"I banish Cosmic Blazar Dragon until the End Phase." Amano's counter came without hesitation. "Cosmic Blazar Dragon's effect negates your Spell and Trap card activations!"
With Cosmic Blazar Dragon's triple-negate coverage active, Shooting Star Dragon's three-hit sequence ran its course without interference.
"Stardust Phantom!!"
Prayano LP: 4000 to 700 to 0. Overkill: 2600.
The sixth mechanical unit let out a wail and slammed into the steel barrier at the side of the track, erupting in a shower of wreckage.
Amano had not yet found a way to deal with the unlimited supply of undead machines. But as long as the field kept building up resources, summoning additional Cosmic Blazar Dragons to cover consecutive duels would eventually reach a point where the incoming waves could not move at all.
Though the body he was currently operating belonged to Rin Seiya, he could not help noticing that the corners of her mouth kept pulling upward with a smile she was fighting to suppress.
"So much money, junior! Another 2600 overkill!"
Whatever happened to the Synchro Academy Gold Stage, Rin Seiya was stacking up consecutive-duel overkill rewards at a remarkable pace.
"If they will not stop coming, then keep sending more! I am paying off Yusei No. 2's loan in one go!"
"I should mention upfront, Senpai, I can only do this for two hours."
And honestly, sustaining two hours of high-speed riding at this intensity was its own question. He was not sure Rin Seiya's body was built for that kind of extended strain.
"That is fine," Rin Seiya said brightly from the mind room. "The cards left in my Deck probably cannot last two hours anyway."
Somehow the honor of defending Synchro Academy's Gold Stage had been thoroughly eclipsed by one white-haired senpai's enthusiasm for debt repayment.