"Trap Card—[Mirror Gate]!"
The Elemental HERO-exclusive Trap that reverses control burst forth, spreading across the battlefield's sky. The crystalline wall of the Mirror Gate enveloped the Serpent God's body, connecting heaven and earth in a dazzling reflection.
"Infinite Attack with no protection? Don't think you can finish me off that easily!"
While it had effects like locking the controller's LP at 0 and sending ten cards from the Deck when it attacked, [Divine Serpent Geh] itself was a pure blank slate—entirely lacking any form of protection.
An infinite-Attack blank monster—Ren could think of countless ways to deal with such a creature.
And this Trap Card, [Mirror Gate], was capable of turning the entire duel around in one move.
Ren raised her hand toward the shattering mirror above and declared, "When this Trap Card is activated, the attacking [Divine Serpent Geh] and my [Elemental HERO The Shining] switch control and proceed to damage calculation!"
Your venomous fangs will be mine to wield.
By reversing control through the Mirror Gate, Ren's monster would become the one with infinite Attack. During damage calculation, it would be Oga Slint himself who took the infinite damage.
"You talked so big before the summon, Oga Slint. But this giant snake doesn't seem capable of granting you victory after all."
"Ren-chan, you're so cool!"
At the crucial moment, Ren pinpointed the weakness of infinite Attack's lack of protection and countered with a single Trap. Her composure throughout the duel, facing one illegal monster after another, was a far cry from the panic she'd shown before [Super Polymerization].
"How naive," Leon said, folding his arms. "Now, students of Fusion Academy, you'll see why the Serpent God in Oga's hands is no longer dangerous."
"Hm?" Irena tilted her head, puzzled.
"In his first year, Oga Slint was cursed by the [Seal of Orichalcos], forcibly granted the power of the Serpent God. Back then, he was as much a calamity as any natural disaster. The entire XYZ Academy struggled to deal with it."
"His first year?"
Now, Oga Slint was already a third-year student at XYZ Academy. The incident two years ago, what they called a calamity-level Duelist, had since become the Academy's representative.
That alone proved that even the Academy itself had come to recognize him.
"Oga overcame the Serpent God's power through his own will. Though the curse dragged him into darkness, his heart as a Duelist never yielded. In the end, he fully mastered even the Serpent itself."
It was this unyielding Duelist's pride, one that even the darkness of Orichalcos couldn't corrupt, that earned Oga Slint a personal acquittal from XYZ Academy when most of the Slint family faced war crime trials.
"And now, you'll see the proof that Oga conquered even the Serpent's might. Don't underestimate the concept of infinity itself!"
Shrouded once more in the Serpent's darkness, Oga Slint tightened his grip on a single card in his hand—the card that could absorb the Serpent's terrifying infinite power and turn it into his own strength.
"Infinity itself is the very proof of invincibility! Ren Austin, I chain to your Trap Card and activate a Quick-Play Spell from my hand!"
Chain resolution—Quick-Play Spell takes priority.
Before [Divine Serpent Geh] and [Elemental HERO The Shining] could switch control for damage calculation, Oga's Quick-Play Spell activated first.
The malignant aura that had erupted like a tidal wave now surged inward, absorbed entirely into Oga's own body.
"Quick-Play Spell—[Mystik Wok], activate!"
[Tribute 1 monster you control, then choose either its Attack or Defense. Gain Life Points equal to that value.]
"I use [Mystik Wok]'s effect to Tribute my [Divine Serpent Geh] with infinite Attack! Let its infinite darkness transform into the indomitable will that fortifies me!"
The immense body of the Serpent God vanished, along with the ominous black miasma that filled the sky.
Oga Slint's chosen path of battle—absorbing the infinite Attack power of [Divine Serpent Geh] to create a truly unbreakable state.
[Oga, LP: 1950 → ∞]
"Infinite Life Points!" the crowd gasped in shock.
No one could have expected it—the black-haired boy who had summoned the most malevolent of gods, the one branded with the name of a sinner, would choose to end the battle by absorbing all darkness, all evil, into himself.
At that moment, Oga Slint radiated with life energy flowing from his Spirit Eyes, green light swirling around him—like a god incarnate.
However, it was a divinity totally different from the state Aisha had displayed when summoning The Winged Dragon of Ra.
Leon spoke proudly. "Oga Slint conquered even the ultimate darkness and chose to bear all sin alone. It's precisely because of that resolve that he can achieve this invincible state of battle."
Having completely absorbed the Serpent's power, Oga now possessed infinite Life Points. Aside from cards with special victory conditions, like Destiny Leo¹, there was no other way to defeat him.
And since [Mirror Gate] had lost its target due to the chain with [Mystik Wok], Ren's Trap Card shattered and vanished.
"You've got to be kidding… turning infinite Attack into infinite Life Points?!"
Even the fully evolved Ren, with her dual-soul fusion, trembled uncontrollably at the sight before her.
She couldn't even imagine a way to win.
If, in the last duel, Korys had at least clung to an invisible hope of a comeback against Shooting Quasar Dragon, then before infinite Life Points, Ren no longer knew what victory could even mean.
Would it just come down to a Deck-out? Who would run out of cards first?
Oga Slint had already milled ten cards earlier when declaring an attack with the Serpent God. Maybe he'd deck out first…
"It won't take that long, Ren Austin."
Piercing straight through Ren's thoughts, Oga, now with infinite Life Points, threw down another card.
He had only two cards left in his hand.
These two were the true trump cards he had been saving all along.
The phantom dragons, the True Kings, even the True King of All Calamities—they had merely been his methods to suppress the opponent, to stall until he could draw the Serpent.
Half of Oga Slint's Deck was actually built around this infinite Life Point strategy.
"Spell Card—[Monster Reborn], activate!"
A holy light of resurrection shone down upon the track, reviving a monster never before seen in this duel.
"I revive [Catapult Turtle] from my Graveyard!"
At the start of the duel, [Catapult Turtle] had been destroyed by the effect of the Water True King. Now, with infinite Life Points, Oga brought it back.
[Catapult Turtle] Level 5│WATER│Aqua│1000 ATK
[Tribute 1 monster you control; inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of the Tributed monster's Attack.]
It could launch its own ally as ammunition to deal direct damage equal to half of that monster's Attack.
And the monster Oga intended to use with [Catapult Turtle] was the last card remaining in his hand.
"I haven't Normal Summoned this turn yet. I Normal Summon—[Handigallop]!"
[Handigallop] Level 1│EARTH│Beast│0 ATK
At first glance, it looked like a powerless creature with 0 Attack and 0 Defense. Despite that, its effect now was enough to overturn all understanding.
[This card's Attack increases by the difference in both players' Life Points.]
"[Handigallop]'s Attack rises by the difference in our Life Points! And Ren Austin—the gap between your Life Points and mine is infinite!"
[Handigallop, ATK: 0 → ∞]
Its Attack skyrocketed from zero to infinity. The donkey leapt into the cannon barrel of [Catapult Turtle].
"So that's his plan?!"
Miles' earlier premonition had come true completely.
This was far more terrifying than the Empire's Xyz Cannon that dealt 2000 damage per shot.
One blast… of infinite damage.
Surrounded by divine radiance, Oga declared his final move. "I activate [Catapult Turtle]'s effect! I Tribute [Handigallop] to inflict damage equal to half its Attack to you! And half of infinity… is still infinity!"
The blast overloaded [Catapult Turtle]'s barrel, unleashing an attack powerful enough to annihilate a planet—a stellar annihilation cannon.
"It's over—final shot! Infinite Barrage!"
The explosion resembled a nuclear detonation, its direct-damage blast sending a mushroom cloud soaring into the sky above the Turbo Duel field.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
[Ren, LP: 4000 → 0]
Caught in the explosion head-on, Ren's Life Points were downright wiped out by the infinite blast.
"Ren!"
Even though it wasn't a Shadow Game, the damage of that magnitude was still terrifying.
Realizing the danger instantly, Miles called to Krista's spirit.
"Work with me, Krista."
"Got it, Miles!"
Summoning through the power of the heavens, Miles took command of the materialized Shooting Quasar Dragon, swooping in to pull Ren from the blast.
Even from one strike, the girl was covered in wounds; her torn clothes left her looking worse off than Krista after tanking a thousand cuts from Hope's blade.
"Ugh… sorry, Miles. I lost."
"It's alright, Ren. Maybe… we underestimated this duel."
All Miles had thought about was helping Fusion Academy climb out of last place… but this duel made him realize something crucial.
All three academies fought with absolute conviction, willing to stake everything on their duels.
The kind of overwhelming power that transcended reason wasn't something exclusive to Fusion Academy.
And now, Miles had to face a new question… when he next faced Oga Slint, with his infinite Life Point strategy, how could he ever hope to win?
…
¹ Refers to "Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo", since part of the original card's name literally translates to Leo Destiny.
...
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