"Oh? An experimental subject that interests you? That is intriguing."
Alester and Viel were long-time friends. For something to fascinate her this much was rare… and even he grew curious.
Viel said, "Why not come inside? It's far too cold to greet an old friend through iron bars."
Her small loli fingers gathered icy mana and shattered the lock in a blink.
"You're free to come and go, then?" Alester deadpanned.
"Breaking out by brute force has no elegance. It must be done peacefully, unseen—that's why I needed you."
"What's the difference? Either way, you vanish from prison… the guards will know you escaped."
Viel only giggled. "That's where my experiment comes in. Thanks to a girl I studied for half a year, the completion is nearly perfect."
When Alester stepped inside, Viel mischievously led him to her bed.
"Viel, you know I don't see you that way. Especially in that loli body—I'm no scumbag."
"I know. You're loyal to the one you like. But that's not it… speaking of which, how's that little first-year girl you admired?"
Alester shrugged. "You know I only watched her for three months before being sent off to Spirit Sanctuary for senior duels. Don't change the subject—what do you want to show me?"
"Don't blink! Heya—!"
With a tug, Viel yanked off the bedsheet.
"This—?!" Alester's eyes widened.
"I thought your letter was a bluff. But you actually did it. The Church wasn't wrong to jail you… playing with the ultimate taboo of human transmutation."
Beneath the sheet lay… another Viel. Identical in every detail. Smirking wickedly.
One of the greatest taboos: creating a clone of oneself.
"Half a year isn't enough for this. Did you make a fake doll just to fool me?" Alester's suspicion sharpened.
"I knew you'd doubt me. That's why I planned this!"
The Viel before him sprang upright. "Actually, I'm the real Viel Sandrion. The one talking to you before was the copy."
She had even let the clone interact first, knowing his suspicious nature. If Alester himself couldn't tell, the clone was perfect.
To prove it, the true Viel pressed mana into her palm against the copy's forehead. With a flicker of light, the clone reverted into a Monster Card, dropping into her hand.
"Flawless, isn't it? The clone stays here as my substitute, while you smuggle me out. A perfect jailbreak plan!"
"Perfect!" Alester blurted, impressed.
The hardest part wasn't the clone—but converting a living clone into a Duel Monster Spirit card. That step alone crossed into godhood.
Compared to Fusion Academy's magic club, still struggling to create Spell Cards, Viel had crafted Monster Cards from life itself.
"What kind of subject let you progress this far in just half a year?"
Viel smirked, ticking off her loli fingers. "Daughter of nobility. Former Millennium Item wielder. Obsession with revenge is beyond normal. Blonde beauty. Stack those buffs together—how could she not work?"
Alester frowned. "That tells me nothing…"
Indeed, only he didn't recognize the description.
"Shame she got bailed out recently," Viel sighed.
"Bailed out? Surviving your experiments at all is a miracle."
"Well, not entirely intact," Viel scratched her cheek sheepishly. "I may have broken her a little. But I paid her back. Gave her a reward she found… very satisfying."
"What reward?"
"That's…"
Meanwhile, the fires of war within the capital had faded thanks to Kaima and Aisha's surprise victory. Yet retreating duelists—or those moving to aid Cameron—discovered another truth.
Without monsters on par with Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, they couldn't break through the mist barrier at all.
The fog only grew thicker, trapping even Varian Empire soldiers within.
Slowly, with heavy steps, Marquis Locke Slint emerged from the main hall, golden cane tapping as he reached the center.
Three Millennium Items formed a triangular ritual field. At its center, Locke stood.
There, the barrier's full power could be harnessed. Pain, death, despair—all negative energies from the fog-fueled war fed into awakening the Sacred Beasts.
"At last! I will break free from mortal life and death, and step into divinity!"
Even his ancient, cracked voice could not hide the hunger overflowing his aged body. He had paid so much. Eternal life stood before him, and he would have it—no matter the cost.
Not even hesitating to sacrifice his Empire's own duelists.
"Supreme Chaos Gods, I offer every broken soul in this capital—alive or dead! Answer me, awaken, grant me eternal life!!"
In his hand: the three Sacred Beast cards. Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. And Uria, Lord of Searing Flames.
The fog surged. Countless Duel Spirits and even Duelists themselves poured into the cards.
"Yesss—I feel it!!" Locke's voice rose, his frailty melting away.
His bent, cane-dependent body swelled with power. Muscles ballooned, his uniform shredded. No longer an old man—but a titan.
The Millennium Eye gleamed in his socket, darker and deeper than ever.
The power of the Sacred Beasts spread outward, blackening the mist. No longer just spiritual corruption—it now devoured life itself.
"Kaima, look below!"
"What?!"
From their captured warship, Miles and Kaima stared down. The fog was now pitch-black, rolling with thunder like a storm cloud swallowing the capital.
"The capital… swallowed by darkness!" Kaima gasped.
Their strike, meant to end the war and bring light, had instead plunged the city into deeper night.
Miles demanded, "What have you done to this country? Using such vile darkness… You, Varian Empire, have no honor!"
Cameron only laughed. "It is all for my father's eternal life! Too late now—Livorden's Duelists are already consumed!"
Aisha cried out, "Miles, it's the Sacred Beasts!"
Miles said, "Only they could cause this level of darkness."
If fully awakened, the Sacred Beasts rivaled even the Egyptian Gods.
"This is bad, Kaima," Miles muttered. Even from above, the black storm radiated malice.
Kaima clenched her fists. "Duelists still remain—us! So long as we stand, Livorden hasn't lost yet!"
"You think so too, Kaima!"
In sync, their resolve blazed.
"If we could fight our way to victory once—we'll fight back again for the capital's survival!"
Aisha warned, "But the thunder outside the mist… even Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon might be destroyed!"
"One dragon isn't needed," Miles grinned, stamping the steel beneath them. "We have a better ride."
Kaima's lips curled. "We'll ram this warship straight into the black storm. Let Locke Slint taste the Empire's own firepower!"
...
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