"Miss Fiona! Miss Fiona!"
"Get lost!"
"Just a small token of appreciation—please, do accept it~"
In Raiden's hand, a bag jingled with the sound of gold coins.
"Tch. This is the last time, you old fart."
The first two duels of the Fusion Academy Festival's Class Year Team Duel Challenge had both ended in draws—an unprecedented outcome.
Each battle had been a white-hot clash, leaving the audience thrilled and chanting for more.
Who still cared about the wrecked Duel Platform—or the Vice Principal Raiden, who had to cough up funding twice from the academy treasury?
Of course, not everyone was satisfied.
In the VIP seats, where one's seat alone marked their prestige, Reigun Seth's expression was more sour than anyone's.
"Kevin, you worthless son. You dared disobey my command!"
It wasn't the result that bothered Reigun, who bore the title of the Nation's Lion and was a strong Duelist in his own right.
What enraged him was Kevin's deliberate defiance—refusing to play System Down and instead shuffling all three copies back into his Deck with Reload.
Aside from that single move, Kevin's duel with Deion had been flawless.
And that was exactly why Reigun knew—this was a deliberate rebellion against him and the Seth family.
"You really think you've got guts, huh. We'll settle this later, Kevin."
Ending in a draw with the royal Kaima didn't quite prove the Seth family's superiority—but considering Kevin was a first-year and Deion a second-year, the result was still acceptable.
Now, Reigun's last hope for the tournament was clear:
Kaima Seth would crush Aisha Carlos in their duel, wiping away the family's previous humiliation.
Compared to Kevin, Reigun had always placed more faith in Kaima.
After all, Kaima was the "perfect heir" foretold by prophecy.
Before Kaima's birth, Reigun had received a divine oracle from a Saint:
"This child shall one day change the nation—and the entire Spirit Continent. He shall lead the Seth family to its greatest heights in a century."
"He."
So even when Kaima was born a girl, Reigun's obsession with the prophecy never wavered.
"That was amazing, Kevin!"
Back in the prep area, Ren, unaware of the weight Kevin had carried, only saw how cool the usually comic-relief tag-along had become.
"Now it all comes down to you, Aisha Carlos. Two draws so far—only you can bring us victory."
Kevin was more worried about Aisha's upcoming match than any punishment he'd face from his father.
Even if he'd declared he'd entrusted her with their will and victory, Kaima Seth—as the eldest son and face of the Seth family—was no easy opponent.
He wasn't someone you could beat on passion alone.
During the first term midterm challenge, Kevin had faced Kaima and been utterly OTK'd.
"Be careful, Aisha."
"I will, Kevin."
If anything, Aisha and Miles knew Kaima's strength even better.
They'd witnessed Kaima vs. Luca firsthand—how she opened with a Fusion summon of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and followed up with De-Fusion like it was nothing.
Unless her cards were glued together, it could only mean her bond with Blue-Eyes was terrifyingly real.
After the second duel ended, Grand Magus Fiona restored the demolished Duel Platform—again.
Since it was the final match, Vice Principal Raiden just let it go. Smash it to pieces if they must.
Besides, given that Aisha Yuna Carlos used low-Level monsters, Raiden figured the platform would hold—so long as "that" card didn't show up.
"Representing Second Year—eldest child of the Seth ducal family, tamer of the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and strongest Duelist of her year—Kaima Seth!"
On the newly restored Duel Arena, Miss Erin remained the dedicated MC.
Honestly, Kaima needed no introduction. As the perfect heir of the Seth family and someone with a certain... "special" status, every noble present already knew her.
Her stellar performance over two years at Fusion Academy only solidified that fame.
"And her opponent, representing First Year—the most inspiring story in Fusion Academy! Once at the very bottom of the rankings, now risen to the top! A Duelist who can create miracles even with the weakest monsters—Aisha Yuna Carlos!"
Miss Erin's bias was hard to miss.
Unlike the widely known Kaima, most nobles barely knew Aisha. Some might've heard that she once avoided expulsion by beating Kevin Seth.
However, thanks to the Seth family's influence, the story had spread as if Aisha simply got lucky.
Yet now, that same nameless Duelist was facing off against the Seth family's firstborn in the final match of the year-end challenge.
Anyone with eyes could see this was Reigun Seth's revenge plot—to erase the shame of the Seth family's prior loss.
In other words, that white-haired, innocent-faced little girl was just a sacrificial lamb.
Could Aisha Carlos defeat the Seth family twice? Defeat its perfect heir? No one here dared to even imagine it.
Except those who had pierced through the fog of power and truly understood Aisha's Duels.
Those who had seen the truth.
They knew: Aisha Carlos could do the impossible.
...
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