Clearly no longer the Old Dominator Pope himself, that voice of terror as if from the abyss echoed across the skies of the town, like eldritch whispers at one's ear, striking a critical blow to sanity.
On top of that was the Wicked God – The Wicked Avatar, blazing in the form of pitch-black flames in the sky. The light of hope that had been struck out when Ra – Immortal Phoenix collided now seemed once again swallowed by the abyss.
Miles frowned. "You… are—"
"I am… God!"
Calling itself a god, the being now within the body whose soul of the Old Dominator Pope had been burned away was indeed no longer him.
"This duel is the final ritual of the abyss's descent. No one is allowed to stop it. Even the Sun God must step aside!"
Syncing with the Duelist's rage, the black Immortal Phoenix in the sky spread its wings and roared, superimposing the appearances of the two strongest gods, making the Wicked Avatar utterly invincible.
"What is… this power?"
Clutching her head, Ren felt as though it might split open even from afar when she heard that wicked roar from above.
As though the deepest fear within humanity—the terror of an absolutely undefeatable existence—had been awakened entirely.
"Even with Miles summoning the Winged Dragon of Ra, the duel can't be ended? How can such a thing even happen…"
This truly was the first time for Miles… a duel where even summoning Ra failed to bring victory.
All the difficulties, all the impasses, all the unbreakable reasons, were concentrated on that one card.
A single card, Wicked God of maximum strength.
Feeling the erupting wicked godly power in the sky, Aisha's short crimson hair, in her godlike state, was blown wildly by that overwhelming aura.
"So even by burning out the cultists' souls, we still have to surpass the strongest Wicked God to win? A hell-difficulty opening that lasted right to the very end!"
"Don't get conceited, human!"
Possessed by the Wicked God, the Old Dominator Pope continued to declare battle.
"Weak gods are controlled by humans, but mighty gods stand above humanity! Be destroyed within your own flames!—Abyssal Flame Cannon!"
The [The Wicked Avatar], in the form of a pitch-black phoenix, condensed an explosive abyssal flame in the sky and blasted it toward the burning Immortal Phoenix.
The Immortal Phoenix that lit up the heavens had its fiery body dispersed by an identical attack of the Wicked Avatar.
Even the Sun God was defeated. The Wicked God, having burst into its ultimate invincible form, brought darkness and the abyss upon the world once more.
No matter how strong a monster, the end was still defeat. No matter who it was, they had all been tormented to exhaustion in both body and mind by this endless abyss.
"A duel… even the Sun God lost."
"A duel the Sun itself lost."
"Can humans really win?"
Losing her soul's connection with [The Winged Dragon of Ra], Aisha Carlos's body regressed from her godlike crimson-haired state to her usual white hair, her golden pupils returning to green.
"Heh-heh-heh, hahahahaha, just as I thought!"
Controlled by the Wicked God, the Old Dominator Pope burst into mad laughter.
"Without the Sun God, you're nothing but a frail human. Mortal, if I want to crush you, it couldn't be easier!"
"You're only half right," Miles said. "I am indeed an ordinary human."
"Oh?"
"But! In a Duel, even an ordinary human can surpass the mightiest god!"
"You claim you'll surpass the strongest god? With you, a mere… human? Then struggle again and show me! End of turn!"
Having spent his cards, with his monsters burned away by the Phoenix, the Old Dominator Pope's field was now back to only a single black orb, [The Wicked Avatar], floating.
In his backrow, there was the Equip Spell [Junk Barrage], capable of dealing damage, and the Continuous Trap [Spirit Barrier], preventing damage.
It was still a field inscribed with invincibility.
"Hahahaha, a mere human, wanting to surpass the strongest god? As turns pass, abyss, continue devouring this city!"
The abyssal darkness that had transformed into a swamp had already consumed two-thirds of Fusion Town's ground, soon to engulf Fusion Academy itself.
To escape the abyss, most of the townsfolk had gathered at Fusion Academy's gates, looking up at the skies above the Duel Academy, watching the last duel that would decide fate.
Miles said, "Keep laughing, God of the Abyss. Looks like you haven't noticed your situation yet."
"Human, what insane words are you spouting?"
"Why is it that when Ra – Immortal Phoenix, in Attack Position, suffered the Wicked God's attack, my Life Points weren't reduced? Didn't that strike you as strange?"
"What!" The Wicked God furrowed the Pope's brows.
Indeed, even though [The Wicked Avatar]'s Attack was only 1 point higher than [The Winged Dragon of Ra], if the battle resolved, it should have inflicted 1 point of battle damage.
Despite that, during that fight just now, Miles's Life Points hadn't budged.
"As a god of equal highest standing, do you really think you defeated Ra? How naïve—you forgot Ra's effect when Special Summoned from the Graveyard as Immortal Phoenix!"
[This turn, this card cannot be destroyed by battle, is unaffected by other card effects, and all damage to its controller becomes 0.]
It cannot be destroyed by battle, unaffected by other card effects, and even its controller takes 0 damage.
Ra, in the form of Immortal Phoeni,x had resistance equal to that of the Wicked Avatar, practically invincible.
"It wasn't you who defeated the Immortal Phoenix. Rather, when the turn in which it was revived from the Graveyard ended, it simply returned to the Graveyard!"
"You mean the Sun God went back of its own accord? Even so, what's the difference? On your field, the god left—it's fact!"
"You're right, the god who finished its task left. That's because next, it's time for 'humans' to fight. I never planned on defeating you with Ra!"
These were Miles's own words:
"The meaning of the Sun is to bring light to this world! To open the path to victory—that is Ra's meaning!"
"The meaning of the gods is only to open the way to victory. However, the ones who reach the end of that path of victory are us humans, who've fought without yielding!"
"Humans'… indomitable will?"
"The pieces of victory I laid out were already planted in the last turn!"
At Miles's feet were the four set cards he had left from the previous turn.
In his hand was the Spell he had added last turn, thanks to Kuribandit's effect.
"The cause that decides victory has already been sown. Now is the time to reap! The final human battle—take this, Wicked God! My turn—draw!"
With a brilliant draw motion in the sky duel arena announcing the counterattack, Miles first threw out the possibility Kuribandit had dug up last turn.
"—Spell Card [Card of Demise] activate! Until I have five cards in hand, I draw from my Deck, and after five turns, I discard my entire hand!"
A card passed down by the Millennium Ring, each time pushing Miles forward at the brink of despair.
Now with one card in hand, Card of Demise let him draw four more. Its drawback meant nothing—victory or defeat all lay in this turn.
"For the last time, I'll squeeze every possibility from my Deck and cards. I'm betting everything I've been through up to now on these four draws!"
"Draw!"
Spell Card [Polymerization]
"Draw!"
Spell Card [Tri-Wight]
"Draw!"
[Dystopia the Despondent]
"Draw—!"
On the last of the four draws, a dragon soul's roar erupted at his fingertips.
The card that bore the will of the Seth siblings, like destined fate, had come to Miles's hand at the decisive final moment.
The Wicked God-possessed Pope roared, "No matter how many cards you draw, the invincible might of the strongest god is unshakable! A field that cannot be broken will never be broken, human!"
"Then I'll show you—the way ordinary humans fight!—Spell Card [Tri-Wight] activate!"
[Choose three Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters in your Graveyard; Special Summon them.]
Three beams of resurrected white light shone beneath the abyss-darkened night sky.
"The monsters I revive from the Graveyard are three Mokey Mokeys!"
[Mokey Mokey, ATK: 300] ×3
The three tofu-block creatures with question marks over their heads descended onto Miles's field at this final battle.
Yet this time, the black orb suspended in the sky did not change into Mokey Mokeys' forms.
Of course, it was only the appearance that didn't change. Their Attack had still increased to 301.
"After Ra, there are no more monsters worthy to make the strongest god change shape. What you face now is its ultimate form!"
Facing them as an eternal black sphere, the descending abyssal mire of a black sun—indeed its most oppressive form.
"Miles, summoning Mokey Mokeys even now…" Ren said nervously.
"Three weaklings. Truly fitting for a small, fragile human's way of fighting," the Wicked God Pope sneered.
"Then don't regret what you said next. Behold—the Mokey Mokeys' strongest form!—Spell Card [Polymerization] activate!"
The three Mokey Mokeys, fluttering tiny angel wings, and the [Polymerization] Spell Miles cast fused together into the swirling effect in the heavens.
"The evolved strongest Mokey Mokey! The king's rally descends here! Witness this power that makes heaven and earth roar!—Fusion Summon! Our Spirit—Mokey Mokey King!"
[Mokey Mokey King] Level 6│LIGHT│Fairy│300 ATK / 100 DEF
["Mokey Mokey" + "Mokey Mokey" + "Mokey Mokey"]
Before the stunned eyes of the entire town, the monster that descended into the final battlefield was—an enormous block of tofu.
Even calling it enormous was insufficient. A mass so vast it blotted out the heavens, transcending the limits of human comprehension—Mokey Mokey King!
It could be said without modesty, this was the weakest Fusion Monster.
Before the strongest Wicked God, the one representing mortal will in battle was the weakest Fusion Monster.
"To challenge the mightiest god with such a monster… are you sane?" The Wicked God Pope's tone was dripping with scorn.
It had 300 Attack before the Fusion, and after a three-body Fusion, it still only had 300 Attack. Before and after, The Wicked Avatar's Attack hadn't changed in the slightest.
What everyone in the town below saw now was an invincible black orb suspended in the sky, facing off against a massive, square block of tofu.
The next instant, however, a roaring dragon's soul flared at Miles's fingertips.
The final piece of the victory puzzle was the card Kaima had entrusted to Miles.
"I'm going in, Kaima, Kevin! Put all your desire for victory in me!—Spell Card [Dragon's Mirror] activate!"
[Banish Fusion Material Monsters listed on a Dragon Fusion Monster Card from your field or Graveyard, then Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.]
This Spell, capable of banishing monsters from the Graveyard as Dragon Fusion materials, was Kaima's entrusted card of conviction.
Having personally experienced the invincible might of [The Wicked Avatar], defeated in a Shadow Duel, just before his soul was taken, Kaima Seth had seen it—within that blazing black sun, the one and only weakness.
And that weakness was one only Miles could grasp.
"'Miles… if it's you, you can win…'"
"I banish [Stardust Dragon] and [Number 39: Utopia] from my Graveyard to fuse for a Dragon Fusion Monster!"
Using a Synchro Monster and an Xyz Monster as materials, the Fusion Summon completed, bursting through the mirrored surface, reflecting twin beams of light.
"The ultimate Fusion that gathers three summoning methods! Resonate, where dragon and warrior souls intertwine!—Fusion Summon! Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste!"
[Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste] Level 10│WIND│Dragon│3200 ATK / 2000 DEF
[1 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster + 1 Warrior-Type Monster]
With dragon wings spread and clad in azure armor, Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste thrust its lance through the mirror, soaring forth as the embodiment of every summoning possibility.
Using the card Kaima entrusted him, Miles Fusion Summoned Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste, born once more from his duel with Kevin.
Just as Draco-Equiste embodied the convergence of Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion—
This final Dragon's Mirror Fusion embodied the unyielding wills of Kevin, Kaima, and Miles—never giving up, fighting the Abyssal God until the very end.
In the Wicked God's eyes, an illusion seemed to arise. It saw that standing across from it was not just Miles.
At Miles's sides, Kaima and Kevin, their Duelist souls shining with Spirit Eyes, appeared as if truly present.
"Impossible! I should have already defeated those two! How can this be!?"
"This is the bond that connects Duelists! To defeat the mightiest Abyssal God, the Seths' conviction has gathered here again! Today, you must fall, Wicked God! Battle—!"
Having completed the final Fusion of Draco-Equiste, Miles raised his arm high and roared his declaration, plunging into the Battle Phase.
"Battle? You speak of battle! Against the invincible Wicked God, why do you have the courage to fight!?"
Though its appearance had not changed, remaining a black sphere, [The Wicked Avatar]'s Attack had already risen to the field's highest—3201.
"Because I am but a mere human. And striking down a Wicked God with a mortal's body—that is humanity's hymn of courage!"
Gales surged atop the clock tower. The first to launch its attack from Miles's field was none other than the ludicrously massive Mokey Mokey King.
"Go, Mokey Mokey King!—Mokey Impact!!"
"To challenge a 3201 Attack god with a 300 Attack monster? Foolish human! Such trash will be obliterated in an instant!"
"Then how about with this card added in!" As his monster attacked, Miles swept open one of the four set cards in his backrow. "Your turn, old friend!—Trap Card [Nitwit Outwit] activate!"
[Discard 1 Monster from your hand; target 1 face-up monster on the field; that monster loses ATK equal to the discarded monster's ATK.]
Only a D-rank rarity Trap, this was the card Miles had used in his very first duel after crossing over.
Yet it was precisely this card that, in a duel against the strongest Wicked God, now displayed an effect more crucial than any rare card.
"I'll never forget our first duel, Kevin!"
"'No matter how strong we become, the marks of the battles we once fought together will become the strength we carry into the future!'"
It was because of that fateful duel that Miles could now step forward in this battle against the Abyss.
The Wicked God Pope asserted: "Trap Cards cannot affect the Wicked God's Attack!"
"That Attack isn't yours alone! The monster I'm lowering with [Nitwit Outwit] is my own [Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste]!"
The Wicked Avatar's 3201 Attack came entirely from Draco-Equiste's high Attack. By weakening Draco-Equiste, the Wicked God's Attack would naturally weaken as well.
And how much would it weaken?
Miles's answer—completely!
"I discard [Dystopia the Despondent] with 5000 Attack from my hand, lowering [Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste]'s Attack by 5000!"
The despairing god's power surged, shrouding Draco-Equiste's lance in black energy.
[Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste, ATK: 3200 → 0]
[The Wicked Avatar, ATK: 3201 → 301]
With Draco-Equiste's Attack drained entirely, Mokey Mokey King became the highest-Attack monster on the field.
The next sight left everyone utterly stunned: the colossal Mokey Mokey King, with its pure form, crashed into the strongest black sun hanging in the night sky.
[Miles, LP: 1748 → 1747]
After dealing 1 point of battle damage, since the Wicked God destroyed a monster in battle, the effect of the Equip Spell [Junk Barrage] activated.
The Wicked God-possessed Pope declared, "Even with only 300 Attack, its effect damage inflicts half that monster's original Attack—150 damage to you!"
"That's exactly what I've been waiting for!"
Miles's green eyes flashed once more with golden light.
"What I've been waiting for is [Junk Barrage]'s effect damage! While [Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste] is on my field, all effect damage is reflected!"
[As long as this card remains face-up in Attack Position on the field, any effect damage to you from your opponent's card effects is taken by your opponent instead.]
"This 150 damage—you take it yourself!"
[Wicked God, LP: 3000 → 2850]
The meteor lance's light streaked across, striking the Old Dominator Pope's mask, knocking another fragment free from the already broken mask.
A breakthrough!
For the first time in this duel, Miles had inflicted damage on his opponent.
With the Continuous Trap [Spirit Barrier] present, the Pope could not take battle damage.
But damage caused by his own Equip Spell [Junk Barrage] was instead reflected back at him.
That Miles had actually dealt him damage in the final declared turn was something even the Wicked God, Lord of the Abyss, stared at in shock.
Suddenly, then, swiftly, the Wicked God-possessed Pope regained composure.
"Do not bluff. At best, it's only 150 damage!"
Miles's lips curled into a mysterious smile. "And what if that 'mere 150 damage'… wasn't only once?"
"Not only once? Baka na!"
The next instant, the strongest Wicked God beheld a sight that made it doubt the reality of this world.
The sky was filled with countless Mokey Mokeys.
After Mokey Mokey King was destroyed by the Wicked God's black orb, its colossal fused body shattered apart, scattering into a swarm of Mokey Mokeys, nearly cramming the entire battlefield sky.
"What… what is this!?"
"Mokey Mokey King's effect! When this card is destroyed, I Special Summon as many [Mokey Mokeys] from my Graveyard as possible!"
Miles's Graveyard held three Mokey Mokeys, plus one [Mokey Mokey Adrift], treated as Mokey Mokey by name.
A total of four Mokey Mokeys Special Summoned, filling the four Monster Zones alongside Draco-Equiste.
"So many trash monsters!?"
At last, the Wicked God understood what Miles meant about not only one instance of 150 damage.
"Continue the attack!" Miles thrust his hand forward with full force, guiding the charge of the four Mokey Mokeys, all crashing into the invincible black orb.
"—'Mokey Impact!' Five-hit combo!!"
Including the initial strike from Mokey Mokey King, the total five Mokey Impacts fell like meteors across the night sky.
[Miles, LP: 1747 → 1743]
And with each Mokey Mokey destroyed by [Junk Barrage], 150 damage was dealt, all reflected back by Draco-Equiste.
[Wicked God, LP: 2850 → 2700 → 2550 → 2400 → 2250]
The Wicked God Pope's face twisted in pain."Don't mock me! I am the strongest god of the Abyss! To think such trash monsters could shave off so much of my Life Points… how arrogant you are, human!"
"You think this is the end? Strongest god—this is only the beginning!"
After the fivefold meteor barrage of Mokey Mokey, Miles slowly flipped one of his remaining three set cards. It was [Call of the Haunted], obtained during a Shadow Game against Hros.
[Target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it in Attack Position. When this card leaves the field, destroy that monster. When that monster is destroyed, destroy this card.]
"The monster I revive is—[Mokey Mokey King] from my Graveyard!"
Mokey Mokey King returned, Special Summoned in all its massive tofu-block glory, surrounded by a host of Mokey Mokeys.
"Keep attacking, Mokey Mokey King!"
For a second time, Mokey Mokey King struck the [The Wicked Avatar]. Upon its destruction, it split again into countless Mokey Mokeys, while the four Mokey Mokeys in Miles's Graveyard were Special Summoned.
"—'Mokey Impact!' Ten-hit combo!!"
[Miles, LP: 1743 → 1738]
This time, Miles lost only 5 Life Points.
But the Wicked God was forced to endure five 150-damage reflections through the Junk Barrage and Draco-Equiste.
[Wicked God, LP: 2250 → 2100 → 1950 → 1800 → 1650 → 1500]
Half its remaining Life Points were slashed away. Beneath half a shattered mask, the Pope's expression grew ever more twisted as he looked upon the rain of Mokey Mokey meteors.
"Half… my Life Points. Trash and humans together shaking my great form—this…"
"This isn't finished yet!" Miles cut in, flipping one more of his remaining set cards.
"This is the mortal way of battling the strongest god!—Trap Card activate, [Miracle's Wake]!"
[Target 1 monster in your Graveyard destroyed by battle this turn; Special Summon that target.]
"The monster I Special Summon is, of course, Mokey Mokey King!"
For the third time, under a miracle's radiance piercing the dark night, the giant tofu block descended.
"Attack again, Mokey Mokey King!—'Mokey Impact!' Fifteen-hit combo!!"
[Miles, LP: 1738 → 1733]
More Mokey Mokeys split, more meteors streaked. Humanity's courage and will shone brilliantly, adorning the night sky.
[Wicked God, LP: 1500 → 1350 → 1200 → 1050 → 900 → 750]
Scene after scene left the entire town utterly stupefied.
Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon had fallen, Stardust Dragon and Utopia too, even the Winged Dragon of Ra could not prevail—yet now the strongest Wicked God was being pummeled… by Mokey Mokeys.
"What… what kind of battle is this!?"
Ren could barely close her gaping mouth, her worldview of Dueling itself trembling at the sight.
"So many Mokey Mokeys! Such big Mokeys Mokeys! Amazing Mokey Mokeys!"
The young princess jumped with delight, her face glowing with joy and excitement beneath the radiant meteor shower.
Tonight should have been a starless, pitch-dark night.
Yet now, with tofu meteors streaking ceaselessly, the heavens shone more brilliantly than any starlit sky.
They were meteors of mortal will. Stars in the sky—all Mokey Mokeys!
"—Trap Card [Trap of Darkness] activate!"
At the climax of the battle, Miles finally revealed his last face-down card.
[If your Life Points are 3000 or less, pay 1000 Life Points, then target 1 Normal Trap Card in your Graveyard other than "Trap of Darkness"; this card's effect becomes that target's effect when activated. Then banish that target.]
"I pay 1000 Life Points to copy one last Trap in my Graveyard!"
[Miles, LP: 1733 → 733]
"Miracle's Wake, once more! The final Special Summon of human will—it's Mokey Mokey King again!"
Miles roared with all his pent-up fury, venting all the humiliation endured against the strongest Wicked God.
The Old Dominator Pope screamed hysterically: "Impossible! How can this be! I am the Lord of the Abyss, the strongest Wicked God—I should be invincible!"
"Bones, trash, mere humans—we're the ones defeating you, strongest Wicked God!"
Pointing to the tottering black sun in the sky, Miles directed the final meteor barrage of Mokey Mokeys.
"Mokey Impact—sixteen-hit combo!"
[Wicked God, LP: 750 → 600]
"Mokey Impact—seventeen-hit combo!"
[Wicked God, LP: 600 → 450]
As the Mokey meteors of victory rained down, the townsfolk could no longer contain themselves. Their hearts ablaze, they shouted alongside Miles.
"Mokey Impact—eighteen-hit combo!"
[Wicked God, LP: 450 → 300]
Their gathered prayers pushed back the Abyss's darkness. Under hope's expanding light, it could no longer corrode this land.
All together: "Mokey Impact—nineteen-hit combo!"
[Wicked God, LP: 300 → 150]
Even against the mightiest Abyssal God, proud Duelists fought on with courage.
And at the end of that courage lay their victory.
"This is the final strike! Only because of you all can I grasp this impossible win!"
In the glow of courage, Miles, Kevin, and Kaima's Duelist souls manifested, their arms raised, Spirit Eyes blazing, roaring as one to seize victory.
Miles & Kevin & Kaima's voices sounded, shouting in unison:
"—Mokey Impact—twenty-hit combo!"
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!"
[Wicked God, LP: 150 → 0]
The twentyfold Mokey Mokeys Barrage, with twentyfold reflections from Draco-Equiste, brought down the self-styled invincible Wicked God, defeated by his own Equip Spell.
Even so, was that all?
No. The true defeat came from the Duelists' united conviction.
"The reason you lost is simple—you underestimated humanity!"
EXPLOSION FINISH!
The strongest Wicked God—has fallen!
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]