"Leaving behind genetic material… that's something that can be done, isn't it?"
A sealed room. A conspicuous grand bed. Intimate decorations. And most importantly… one man and one woman.
It could be done. Totally doable.
No wonder Emperor Quaedes had not abducted Aisha, despite her also being a user of a God Card.
Because Aisha lacked the most crucial component.
Before Miles had fully regained his composure, the Emperor Quaedes in the dim room had already pressed her cool, fresh body against him.
So direct?
How exactly did this Emperor manage to wear such a frost-cold, beautiful face while acting so unabashedly?
"Wait a moment!" Miles grabbed Quaedes by the wrist.
At last, the Emperor's expression shifted, though only barely.
Her ice-blue pupils contracted faintly—perhaps surprised that the young boy before her possessed such immense strength in such a small frame. With only a grip on her wrist, her entire arm was immobilized.
"Are you resisting me, Miles? I said that the condition for not harming you is that you obediently listen."
"That's something I can't agree to." Miles refused righteously. "Leaving behind my genetic material? At the very least, you should tell me why you need it."
Her narrowed ice-blue eyes trembled slightly, Quaedes looking incredulous.
"You don't even know? Genetic material is required, of course, to conceive a child."
"No, no, I do understand that much."
Though Miles had never personally experienced it, he possessed at least some theoretical biological knowledge.
Quaedes had clearly misunderstood what he meant.
"I'm asking… why does it have to be me?"
"Because you are someone capable of wielding the power of a god."
No longer trying to press him forcefully, Quaedes withdrew her captured wrist and gently rubbed it with her other hand.
"In this world, only a very small number of people possess the qualification to use God Cards. It is an extremely rare talent. And this talent accompanies a person from birth. It is a mark engraved within one's genes."
"Quaedes, could it be that you…" Miles ventured.
"I do not possess such talent. No matter how strong I become, what does not exist will never come into existence."
It had nothing to do with the strength of the Duelist. Just as wielding the Three Egyptian Gods required a destiny connected to the Millennium Items, otherwise one would suffer the backlash of divine wrath.
Even though Quaedes Soroya had become the strongest Emperor of the Varian Empire, she still could not use a God Card.
She could not even use the Wicked God replica cards that the cultists had once been able to wield.
It was as if fate were mocking her; the ruler who was more obsessed with God Cards than anyone else, yet the one never granted divine favor.
"But if the two of us successfully unite, then the gene capable of wielding divine power will merge into my body. In that way, I too will obtain the power to control a god."
Genetic fusion was not achieved simply by spending a night together.
Even with his middle-school-level biology knowledge, Miles knew that for chromosomes and DNA to combine, the woman would have to become pregnant. This was standard textbook material.
Of course, Quaedes understood what that implied. But such a minor obstacle would not deter her.
"The 'Phantom Gods' are the highest order of deities. Come. Entrust this power to control the Phantom Gods to me, Miles."
On the path to gaining the qualification to wield divine power, she had long sworn to use any means necessary.
"Not only I, but our child would also possess the qualification to use a god. Inheriting my strongest genes, combined with your genes capable of wielding divine power, that child would truly stand at the very summit of the Spirit Continent."
"I'm sorry. This time, I must formally refuse."
Emperor Quaedes did not possess the qualification to use God Cards. Having obtained such crucial information, this trip had not been in vain.
If she could not use a God Card, then even if Numerounius were summoned, she would not be able to control it.
Surely the Emperor was not foolish enough to summon a god she could not control—one that had once destroyed the world.
Conversely, if Miles agreed here and allowed Quaedes to truly obtain the qualification to wield divine power, she would undoubtedly choose to summon the 'God of Destruction'.
After all this, whether the world-destroying god would truly be summoned ultimately depended on him.
No… more precisely, it depended on his genes.
Miles suddenly felt a sense of relief. Things were not as complicated as he had previously imagined.
No matter how beautiful or captivating Quaedes might be.
He would never, to satisfy personal desire, place the entire Spirit Continent in danger and become an accomplice to tyranny.
"I refus—"
Before Miles could finish speaking, a spear of water condensed in the dim room slicing across his cheek, leaving behind a shocking streak of blood.
Correspondingly, the Spirit Eyes on Quaedes' wrist shone with a blue light.
The Emperor's already frost-cold face seemed even colder at that moment, and simply meeting her gaze sent a chill down Miles' spine.
"Do not misunderstand, Miles. You have never had the right to choose. The final outcome is only that you submit to me. The only difference lies in the process… whether or not you will be injured."
This was the first time Miles had felt such overwhelming pressure from a woman… no, from a Duelist.
With just a single unidentified water spear launched at light speed through Spirit Eyes, Miles distinctly understood that the woman standing before him was stronger than any opponent he had ever faced.
Quaedes Soroya, the strongest among the Empire's successive Emperors. It would not be an exaggeration to say she was currently the strongest individual on the Spirit Continent.
Across the entire continent, only Emperor Quaedes was qualified to speak of "inheriting her strongest genes."
"Miles, I will give you five final seconds. Do you intend to resist me?"
"Since you say the final result will be the same either way, then of course I'll… fight to the very end!"
Even against the Empire's strongest Emperor, whether subdued by force or otherwise, as a Duelist, Miles would never allow himself to surrender before a battle even began.
However, since his opponent was the Empire's strongest Emperor, this duel would not permit even the slightest carelessness.
He would have to bring out the full strength of every Deck currently available to him. Even if it meant death, he would fight her to mutual destruction.
Miles activated the Spirit Eyes on his arm. "Aisha! Deck switch!"
...
There was no response.
Only then did Miles remember that although he habitually called for Aisha, Dark Aisha was no longer in the Soul Room. Naturally, she could not help him switch Decks through Spirit Eyes.
"Stardust!" With no other choice, Miles called out to Stardust-chan, who also resided within the Soul Room.
"It can't be done, Miles," Stardust-chan's aggrieved voice echoed back. "Ever since Aisha left the Soul Room, the doors representing the different Decks disappeared along with her."
"The Deck doors disappeared too? That's such important information… why are you only telling me now!"
"You were busy trying to mate. You didn't ask me."
Mate your head! What kind of way is that for a dragon to speak?
Miles had just steeled himself to go all out against the Empire's strongest Emperor, prepared for a desperate struggle, only to be told he had no Deck to use.
Well, it wasn't entirely true that he had no Deck.
At present, Miles still had the mixed-engine Deck combining the Star War series Drytron and Ursarctic, as well as the unfinished D/D/D Deck.
If he combined those three Decks, perhaps he could barely muster the capital to fight Emperor Quaedes.
Using incomplete Decks to challenge the Empire's strongest Emperor, Quaedes Soroya?
Miles felt like he was about to become the first person in history to seek death so enthusiastically.
Regardless, the Emperor did not care what Deck Miles would use.
Confidence as cold as ice shone in her blue eyes. From the very beginning, Quaedes had never considered the possibility of losing.
"Since you have chosen the path of defying me, then after this duel ends, I will no longer spare even a shred of your dignity, Miles."
If he lost this duel, Miles had a strong premonition that he would be utterly crushed by the icy Emperor.
Meanwhile, Karina Diane, still standing in the royal hall, looked toward the corridor where Quaedes had departed and covered her mouth with her rose folding fan, letting out a soft, amused laugh.
"Oh ho ho, Your Majesty should be thoroughly enjoying herself by now."
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