The phantom of a mighty black dragon seemed to rise from the card not yet summoned, faintly manifesting behind Kevin.
Around the Duel field, the audience all shared the same thought—this Duel's outcome was now inevitable.
If the legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon was successfully summoned by Kevin Seth, then no matter how hard Aisha Carlos struggled, it would all be meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.
"What must come always comes... No, perhaps I should say, it's finally here. I've waited so long for you."
But unlike the crowd, Miles—still inside the Duel field—had a completely different take on Kevin drawing the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
As far as Miles knew, despite the simplified timings and the more realistic combat style of this world's Dueling rules, it still retained the basic Tribute Summon mechanic.
Tribute Summon: Monsters above Level 4 must have other Monsters on the field sacrificed to be summoned.
Level 5–6 Monsters require one Tribute.
Level 7 and above require two.
And on Kevin Seth's field, because Lizard Soldier had been destroyed by Destruction Punch last turn, only Dunames Dark Witch remained.
Since a normal summon—including Tribute Summons—can only be performed once per turn, and he lacked sufficient Tributes, Kevin still couldn't summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon this turn.
Kevin, of course, was fully aware of this.
However, of the two cards he drew using the A-rank Spell [Pot of Greed], one was Red-Eyes, and the other was a Spell that could drive Aisha to the brink.
Kevin casually tossed out the other card.
"—Spell Card activate: Stop Defense!"
"This card allows me to select 1 Defense Position monster on your field; change it to Attack Position!"
"Stop hiding and face me, you trash!"
With Kevin's furious shout, Miles's face-down Defense Position monster was forcibly flipped into Attack Position.
It turned out to be a strange, angel-like monster.
[Hourglass of Life] Level 2│LIGHT│Fairy│700 ATK
A bizarre angel with a sandglass-shaped body and wings.
"Just as I thought, a weakling. Now you're out of options, Aisha Yuna Carlos!"
Using Stop Defense, Kevin avoided a repeat of the previous turn's embarrassment. With the fog of war cleared, he proceeded to summon.
"I summon in Attack Position—Dragon Statue!"
[Dragon Statue] Level 3│EARTH│Warrior│1100 ATK
A warrior statue infused with the soul and shape of a dragon materialized. While not as powerful as Dunames Dark Witch, it far outclassed Aisha's weak monsters.
"This is the end. What a shame, Aisha—you weren't even worthy of facing Red-Eyes Black Dragon."
Leading both monsters into battle, Kevin had more than enough combined Attack to wipe out both Aisha and her monsters.
"Carve the path to victory, Dunames Dark Witch—Radiant Holy Slash!"
Still boosted by her Equip Spell, Dunames Dark Witch slashed out a brilliant arc of energy. After cleaving through Aisha's monster, the residual force sent her slim frame flying backward.
To be precise—it sent Miles, who was inhabiting Aisha's body, flying.
The sacred light ripped through [Hourglass of Life], shattering its glass frame in a burst of chronal fluid.
[Aisha, LP: 2000 → 500]
Though two of her monsters had been destroyed before, they were in Defense Position and caused no damage.
But now, with the effect of Stop Defense, the monster was in Attack Position and thus inflicted the difference in ATK as battle damage.
That single slash from Dunames Dark Witch dealt a brutal 1500 points of damage.
"Oww, ow ow!"
Rubbing his tailbone after smacking the ground, this was Miles's first time feeling the actual physical impact of a Duel's damage.
No wonder people screamed so tragically in Duel anime.
Granted, Aisha's body was probably just too light and easily blown away.
Aisha shouted, "Don't touch me like that, Mr. Miles!"
"Hmph. Talk too much, and I'll actually touch."
While groping and getting back up, Miles had barely stood when Kevin launched his follow-up attack.
"Dragon Statue, direct attack—Shattering Blade!"
A direct attack from a monster with 1100 ATK. If Miles took that full damage, it would be game over.
"Activate set card!"
In that instant of crisis, Miles flipped the Trap Card he had set the previous turn.
"—Trap Card: Nitwit Outwit!"
This was a promising D-rank Trap Card Miles had discovered.
Though most D-rank cards seemed underwhelming to him, this one lived up to its name by offering a sneaky reversal.
"I discard Fire Reaper from my hand, and with Nitwit Outwit's effect, reduce Dragon Statue's ATK equal to the discarded Monster's ATK—700!"
Crimson flames erupted from the discarded card, engulfing the statue and suppressing its deadly strike.
[Dragon Statue, ATK: 1100 → 400]
Even so, a sword still sliced across Aisha's unprotected chest, making Miles wince.
[Aisha, LP: 500 → 100]
The LP count plummeted, stopping just shy of defeat at a razor-thin 100.
"Whew! That was close. Thank goodness I had the edge. Almost got OTK'd."
He let out a breath. Brushing so close to defeat had even Miles sweating—Let alone the spectators.
"I thought my heart stopped for a second," Irene muttered.
"For real, I really thought it was over," Miss Erin said, lighting another cigarette under the invisible pressure.
However, no matter how close it came, the truth remained:
Aisha had survived.
"Still not giving up?" Kevin said sternly. "Accepting defeat gracefully is a form of dignity, too. Aisha Carlos, your life is a flickering candle in the wind. The outcome is obvious."
"Oh? A flickering candle in the wind?
"You ever heard of 'Last Flame Kill'?"