"If this attack lands, that duelist's LP will drop to just 700!"
"As expected of our company's symbol—the legendary duelist! Even if he took some damage in the first turn, it's no big deal!"
"Mr. Dino is incredible!"
The clueless spectators began cheering enthusiastically for Rex Raptor.
"Hey, hang in there too!" Some people, unfamiliar with Hikaru Amagi, called out encouragement anyway.
"Ultimate Tyranno—attack Ancient Gear Golem!"
The silver-blue dinosaur stomped forward, clamping its jaws around the mechanical titan and crushing it in a single, vicious bite.
"Next, I'll go straight for—"
"Wait!" Hikaru raised his voice. "Ancient Gear Golem's effect activates when it's destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard! I can Special Summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster from my deck, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
"I Special Summon—Ancient Gear Colossus in Defense Position!"
Ancient Gear Colossus – Level 8, EARTH, Machine-Type, DEF 3000.
"Oh?" Rex paused briefly, then chuckled.
"Three thousand defense points?! Even Blue-Eyes White Dragon can't get through that! And he summoned it just like that?"
"Still, even with 3000 DEF, it's no match for Super Conductor Tyranno!"
"That's right! That's our pride—Mr. Dino!"
With a grin, Rex roared, "Battle! Super Conductor Tyranno—smash that scrap heap!"
The enormous cybernetic dinosaur lunged forward and pulverized the mechanical giant.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn!"
He placed his card without hesitation and ended his turn swiftly.
"Not bad," Tierra murmured with a hint of surprise. "I thought all those so-called 'legendary duelists' and pros were just overrated nobodies."
As Hikaru drew, plotting his next move, Tierra tilted her head again. "Now that I look at him closely... Hikaru, this human duelist in front of you... something's seriously wrong."
"Wrong?" Hikaru muttered, still glancing over his hand. "What do you mean? He seems like a normal guy to me."
"Far from normal. More like… broken," Tierra said cautiously. "Hikaru, this guy's spirit compatibility… might actually be in the negatives."
…What?
"What does that even mean?" Hikaru frowned.
"Spirit compatibility," Tierra explained, "is how your body resists dying when your LP hits zero in a duel against a spirit of equivalent power. You're ranked at level 5, so even if you lose all your LP in a duel against a 5-star spirit, you'll survive—as long as it's not a Shadow Game."
"But this guy? His compatibility's negative. Like… his soul's been hollowed out or extracted."
Hikaru stiffened slightly. "Got it… sounds like this world has gone through the Doma incident."
It made sense. If Dark Magician Girl had given him Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, then this world had clearly experienced that arc.
In the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Dartz and the Orichalcos messed with a lot of duelists. Rex Raptor had joined them at some point after being manipulated by his good buddy Weevil, only to get sealed by the Orichalcos and used as fuel for their twisted god.
So… this was that world, huh?
Maybe Seto Kaiba wasn't the movie version after all…
Hikaru scanned his hand again.
His opponent's field… was stacked.
Two monsters—one with 2700 ATK, the other with 3300. No built-in protection, but still tough to clear.
Priority one: get rid of Super Ancient Dino Beast. If it stays, he'd just keep reviving more monsters and conserving cards.
"Discarding Thunder Dragon to add another Thunder Dragon from my deck to my hand. Then doing it again."
"Huh? What kind of play is that?"
"Isn't Thunder Dragon supposed to grab two copies in one go?"
"He's losing it from the pressure!"
Rex narrowed his eyes, recognizing the setup.
"Next, I activate Thunder Dragon Fusion! By returning Fusion Materials from my field, graveyard, or banished zone to my deck, I Fusion Summon a Thunder monster!"
"I return the two Thunder Dragons in my grave to summon—Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"
Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon – Level 7, LIGHT, Thunder-Type, ATK 2800.
"Whoa! So that's what he was building up to!"
"This play looks familiar…"
"Wait a sec—wasn't that the kid from the livestream?! The one who dueled against an X-Dimension duelist?!"
"That's Hikaru Amagi! The 'Fusion Sage'!"
…Fusion Sage?
Tierra burst out laughing. "Pfft—Fusion Sage Hikaru Amagi! That's gold!"
"Nice combo," Rex admitted. "Clean resource management into a solid Fusion. But—if you think just putting up a big body will save you, you're dead wrong."
"Dead wrong?" Tierra peeked at Hikaru's hand. "Oho… Hikaru, next turn—use this. Hit him hard."
"Might not be enough," Hikaru muttered. "Still…"
"Battle! Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, attack Super Ancient Dino Beast!"
The mutated twin-headed dragon rushed forward. The dinosaur tried to blast it with a beam of energy—but it didn't count on the second head. One bite later, the beast shattered into data.
Rex LP: 2400 → 2300.
"Next, I discard Thunder Dragon to retrieve the two I shuffled back. Then I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Insane! These monsters are just popping up with over 2500 ATK like nothing!"
"This is even more exciting than what we see on TV!"
"Seeing it up close is amazing!"
"Why is this Hikaru guy even here…?"
Some employees started murmuring and considering breaking up the crowd. But Rex, hearing the chatter, just laughed and bellowed:
"Isn't it obvious?! We're witnessing the rise of a new duelist—one who believes in the purity of Fusion Summoning!"
"Kid! Don't think this is over—this duel's just getting started!"
"My turn—draw! I activate the Spell Card Ultimate Evolution Pill! By banishing one Dinosaur-Type monster and one non-Dinosaur from my hand or grave, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or higher Dinosaur from my hand or deck—ignoring summoning conditions!"
"W-What!?" Tierra gasped.
"WHOA!!" The crowd went wild.
Even Hikaru paused.
Rex Raptor… really is this strong?!
"I banish Jurrac Dino from my hand and Armored Lizard from my grave!"
"Bear witness to the overwhelming force of the dinosaurs—the new pride of my deck, my ultimate rare!"
"Hahahaha!!"
"I Special Summon—Jurrac Tyrant!"
BOOM!
A shockwave of heat burst through the room as a monstrous dinosaur emerged—jagged spikes, molten rock-like skin, and claws dripping with searing flames.
Jurrac Tyrant – Level 9, FIRE, Dinosaur-Type, ATK 3000.