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Anson stared at the purple spectral giant, processing what his eyes refused to believe. After a long moment, he chuckled softly—the sound of someone who'd just understood the punchline to a cosmic joke.
"Of course it's you, Russell."
In the VIP section, silence gave way to explosive debate.
Yves cut through the noise, tone unreadable. "No wonder you had such confidence, Director Blake. This changes everything."
Blake's smile turned bitter. He couldn't exactly admit he'd had no idea about this particular trump card. His confidence had been purely faith—the boy was his disciple, therefore he would win. Simple logic.
Frank sighed deeply. "Holden never stood a chance."
It was true. Russell had revealed card after card since that battle, each more devastating than the last. Holden had merely scratched the surface of an iceberg that went down for miles.
Alaric stroked his beard thoughtfully. "[Fa Tian Xiang Di]? The heavenly manifestation technique?"
He quickly dismissed it. That technique enlarged the user's body, while Susanoo created an external avatar.
"But why only half a giant?" he muttered.
Yves chuckled, having heard the question. "Because it's incomplete. This card has evolution potential. Imagine the complete form."
At Northgate's bench, hearts had nearly stopped when Anson revealed his Field Card construction. They hadn't imagined such a thing was possible—disposable cards combining into something greater.
But they had Russell.
On the battlefield, tension crystallized into violence.
Artoria's Silver Arm blazed with golden light, holy sword rematerialized. Neliel and Unohana flanked the Final Annihilation Weapon, creating a triangle of death.
Sasuke, no longer able to pretend he was ranged support, leaped forward. Susanoo's spectral blade swept out, sword-wind howling toward the robot.
A light-blue barrier deflected the attack casually. The scattered force carved trenches in the ground.
The audience sat speechless, witnessing mythology made real.
"What kind of monsters are these?" someone finally whispered.
Both of them. This transcended normal silver-rank combat—this was preview of higher realms.
Sasuke pressed the attack. Susanoo's blade crashed down, met by that damnable barrier. The impact sent dust billowing, creating cover for Artoria's team to flank.
The robot's eyes flashed scarlet.
"Deploying combat cluster: [Wolfpack]."
Silver cubes detached from the main body, transforming into mechanical wolves upon landing. They lunged at the three warriors, forcing them to deal with the swarm first.
Sasuke unleashed everything. Black flames of Amaterasu painted the battlefield. White lasers washed over Susanoo harmlessly—the ultimate eye technique combined perfect offense with absolute defense.
Turtle shells on both sides, Russell thought with annoyance.
But this Susanoo was incomplete—not the perfected Eternal Mangekyō form, lacking Indra's Arrow. Despite the purple giant's relentless assault, the barrier held.
Stalemate.
"This can't continue," Anson whispered, face corpse-pale. He was burning through his mental reserves, forcibly maintaining the robot's existence. Even with the Field Card sharing the burden, multiple disposables were crushing him.
The arena floor had been replowed into unrecognizable terrain. Artoria's team finally finished the Wolfpack, turning their attention to the main threat.
One strike to break the barrier, Artoria calculated. Simultaneous attack.
She met Unohana and Neliel's eyes. Understanding passed wordlessly.
Susanoo raised its blade for another strike—then suddenly withdrew. The three women attacked the same point: golden torrent, spiritual lance, and roaring sword-wind converging.
Crack... crack... CRACK...
The sound of reality giving up.
Anson's face went from pale to transparent. This was it.
BOOM!
The barrier shattered into prismatic rain. Smoke billowed, then cleared instantly—Sasuke's doing.
The moment defenses fell, Susanoo closed distance. A shrieking whistle announced the end. Sasuke's face twisted into a savage grin as the purple blade tore through chest armor. The robot's scarlet eyes dimmed.
Russell exhaled. "Finally."
No comeback possible now. Not with the robot crippled.
"If not for me, maybe you could've won," he said to Anson.
But Anson showed no frustration—only relief.
"The wild dog couldn't beat the genius after all." He met Russell's eyes. "You win. I lose."
Then his aura exploded.
Breakthrough.
Russell stared in disbelief. NOW!? You breakthrough NOW!? Did you steal the protagonist script!?
At least Russell wouldn't be the only Gold-rank in a Silver tournament. But without Gold-level cards, Anson's breakthrough only meant more mental energy. If this had happened with the barrier intact, Russell might have worried. Now? The robot was scrap metal. An Emerald-rank couldn't salvage this.
Anson stared at his palm in confusion. "Why now?"
He looked at the struggling robot. "Is it you? I understand. Do it, partner."
Russell's eye twitched. Robot sentience? Machine spirits? What anime is this?
"Fine. I'll be the villain who crushes your dreams!"
Wind lifted Russell's hair, revealing an expression of forced stoicism. Only the twitching at his eye corners betrayed his internal screaming.
The robot stopped resisting, accepting its fate.
"Damage critical. Combat capability lost."
"Activating Final Protocol."
"Final Protocol activation complete."
"Goodnight... Commander."
The red lights extinguished.
Russell's pupils contracted. Oh shit—
ANNIHILATION.
Black and white energy erupted silently, devouring everything. Matter became void. Even dust particles ceased existing. Russell went sheet-white as Fubuki desperately drained his mental reserves, maintaining barriers against conceptual destruction.
Arrogance's tentacles caught Russell as he swayed.
"Like hell I'm losing to 'power of friendship,'" Russell snarled through gritted teeth.
In terms of effort? I meditate daily. I see 3 AM every single day. And bonds? Who has deeper bonds than someone who... spars... with his cards constantly?
BREAK.
His spirit shattered its limits.
Russell ascended to Gold-rank.
Anson's surprise melted into acceptance. "You really are something else, Russell."
When the annihilation energy faded, only a bottomless crater remained. And floating above it: Fubuki holding Sasuke aloft with telekinesis, both having survived the impossible.
Fubuki had made split-second calculations—protect everyone and Russell dies from mental drain, or sacrifice some to save the anchor. She'd protected Artoria's group initially, but the explosion's power forced terrible math. She kept only Sasuke, banking on Susanoo lasting if her barriers failed.
Russell's breakthrough had saved them all, flooding her with fresh energy.
"Finally," Russell breathed, staring at the empty sky. "Almost got murdered by friendship. But I was stronger."
The audience slowly processed what they'd witnessed.
"Is... is it over?"
"Did Russell win?"
"How did ANYTHING survive that!?"
"The purple giant's defense is insane! Combined with telekinesis, nothing Silver-rank could break through!"
"Russell, pride of New Metro!"
"He's from Northgate."
"..."
Elsewhere:
Nancy shook her father frantically. "Dad! Russell won! RUSSELL WON!"
Jonathan smiled patiently. "I saw." He'd watched this young man grow from Black Iron nobody to champion. "You really did it, Russell."
Holden sat alone, pigtail draped over his shoulder.
"Russell... I'll catch up."
The gap was clear now. If Russell had used Susanoo in their fight, would he have lasted even seconds?
He shouldered his pack and turned off the TV.
"I'll find my own answers. Our rematch won't be far off."
Frank's words echoed in his mind.
At Northgate's bench, Lucian felt dreamlike. His impossible wish—restoring Northgate's glory—had come true.
President Ding beamed so bright he risked facial damage. Recruiting Russell was his life's greatest decision.
Grant and the others trembled with excitement. Even Jean's perpetual non-expression cracked, revealing actual emotion.
Winning without doing anything... incredible!
Only Hazel remained unmoved. Her junior winning was simply natural order asserting itself.
The VIP section, however, faced a different concern.
Two Gold-ranks had emerged from a Silver tournament.
What exactly were they supposed to do about that?
(End of Chapter)
300 , 500 , 1000 Each milestone will have 1 Bonus chapter.