SWNOVELXO Chapter 48: DSMW [48]
"So the final duel of tonight... is against the Pharaoh."
Miles's emotions were a tangled mess.
With the current junk-tier deck—Aisha's deck—even defeating a Dark Duelist was a miracle. Facing the Pharaoh... there was almost no visible path to victory.
A duel where you know you'll lose... most people would refuse.
But not Miles.
"I accept this duel!"
This was the universally acknowledged strongest Duelist—the Pharaoh, Atem.
The chance to duel someone of this caliber... did winning even matter?
A true Duelist's soul was stirred. For Miles, the result was irrelevant—the fight itself was everything.
"As expected of you, Miles. Your pride as a Duelist... matches exactly what I imagined."
The Pharaoh smiled, his Duel Disk snapping open. His eyes shimmered with focused battle spirit.
Aisha said, "W-Wait... why are we dueling?! Wasn't the Pharaoh the nice person who just helped us?!"
Miles responded, "Being a good person... and being a Duelist... aren't mutually exclusive."
Aisha, not yet having the true Duelist mindset, couldn't understand why 'meeting means dueling' was perfectly logical.
"Since the Pharaoh says we speak through dueling... the answer must lie within the cards. Anyway, time to go 120% all in!"
"120%?!"
Hearing Miles say that... Aisha tensed.
"Miles... is the opponent... really that strong?"
"'Strong' doesn't even begin to cover it. Use the word 'strongest.'"
"S-Strongest?!"
Even in soul form, Aisha audibly gasped.
"The opponent... is the strongest... the Pharaoh. Miles... can you win?"
"Winning or losing... until the duel starts, no one knows. Going in scared is a Duelist's greatest sin!"
Lose the duel if you must—but never lose in spirit. Even facing the Pharaoh, Miles wouldn't falter.
"But... fair warning. The odds of winning are... extremely low. Optimistically? 10%."
"Optimistically 10%?!"
"Yep. And 'optimistic' assumes he bricks, I topdeck... and everything goes my way."
"Even if he bricks... and we topdeck... It's only a 10% chance?!"
Aisha felt her worldview collapse. She knew Miles never joked about dueling.
Just how strong is this opponent...
"Elves' Eyes. Deck load."
From the holster strapped to her thigh, Miles—controlling Aisha's body—slotted the deck into the Duel Disk.
Across from him, the Pharaoh raised his Duel Disk.
"Let's begin... Heirs of the Millennium Puzzle!"
"Duel!!"
[Pharaoh, LP: 4000]
[Miles & Aisha, LP: 4000]
No glow from the Elves' Eyes—Pharaoh was going first.
"My turn. Draw!"
His cloak billowed dramatically as he drew.
"I summon—[Queen's Knight] in Defense Position."
[Queen's Knight] Level 4│LIGHT│Warrior│1600 DEF
A female knight clad in red armor, wielding a clover-shaped shield, appeared on the Pharaoh's field—representing the Queen in a deck of cards.
Not face-down Defense, but face-up Defense Position.
In TCG rules, this wasn't legal. But in both the anime... and on the Elves' Continent, face-up Defense was completely valid.
"I set one card. Turn end."
A clean setup—1 Monster, 1 Set card. Simple... but threatening.
Miles exhaled slightly.
If he'd opened with a 5-minute combo, I might've just scooped right now...
"Don't worry, Miles." The Pharaoh smiled kindly. "This time... I'll duel using power scaled to this world's rules. All you need to do... is give it your all."
Anyone else saying that would've sounded condescending.
But from the Pharaoh... Miles had no complaints.
Still... "this world's rules" had an unknown power ceiling.
Though maybe... just maybe... this was a chance. If the Pharaoh wasn't going full power, maybe... just maybe, Miles could win.
"My turn. Draw."
Scanning his hand, Miles's mind spun at full throttle.
'What's the best way... to fight the Pharaoh…'
"I summon—[Mokey Mokey] in Defense Position!"
[Mokey Mokey] DEF: 100
Like the Pharaoh, Miles opted for a face-up Defense Position.
A literal tofu block of a monster floated into the field.
Aisha said, "Ugh... This is so embarrassing... If it were set face-down, at least people wouldn't know how weak my monster is... Why not just hide it, Miles?!"
"Tactical choice," Miles replied.
If nothing else, the sheer mental damage of having to look at Mokey Mokey's derpy face might disrupt the opponent.
"Set one card. Turn end."
Both sides—1 monster, 1 backrow. But the power difference between [Queen's Knight] and [Mokey Mokey] was... painful.
"My turn. Draw."
With a dramatic flick, the Pharaoh slammed a monster card onto his Duel Disk.
"I summon—[King's Knight] in Attack Position!"
[King's Knight] Level 4│LIGHT│Warrior│1600 ATK
A golden-armored knight wielding a square-tipped sword—representing the King—strode onto the field.
"When [King's Knight] is Normal Summoned while [Queen's Knight] is on the field—its effect activates!"
"When King and Queen stand together... they summon Jack! Special Summon—Jack's Knight!"
[Jack's Knight] Level 5│LIGHT│Warrior│1900 ATK
Clad in silver blue armor adorned with a spade motif, [Jack's Knight] descended, sword at the ready.
Aisha said, "Second turn... and he's already summoned two Level 4 monsters plus a Level 5?! That's... amazing!"
She had no clue.
This? This wasn't even close to the Pharaoh's full power.
Not even 1/10th of it.
...
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