"Heh, not bad spirit." Darkness sneered upon hearing Hikaru's words, then took out a blank card from his cloak. "However, before we begin this duel, we need to make it clear, this is a Shadow Game."
"A Shadow Game?" Alexis Rhodes said, shocked. "Am I dreaming?"
"The soul of the loser will be sealed in this card."
"I see."
Hikaru was not surprised by it, 'It's finally here.'
A card that turns people into cards!
After agreeing to the duel, both sides began.
Darkness took the first turn.
Though he wore a mask, Hikaru knew he must be the long-lost brother Alexis had been searching for, Atticus Rhodes.
In the original, he was guided by a certain fragment and chose Jaden as his opponent. But soon after seeing him, Hikaru noticed he wasn't carrying that artifact.
'So he just picked a pretty strong opponent to duel?'
This world was still had many differences from what he remembered.
"Duel!" (×2)
[Darkness, LP: 4000]
[Hikaru, LP: 4000]
"My turn, draw! I Normal Summon 'Black Dragon's Chick.'"
"Black Dragon?" Alexis's eyes widened, recalling something. "Could it be..."
"Yes, it's exactly that 'could it be.' I activate Black Dragon's Chick's effect, sending it from the field to the Graveyard. From my hand, I Special Summon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
BOOOM!
Blazing flames surged beneath the duelists' feet, spreading across the sky. A scorching dragon of fire emerged from the magma, then landed on a floating platform, scattering molten lava to reveal its true form.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon] Level 7│DARK│Dragon│2400 ATK
"That legendary dragon..." Alexis looked concerned. "Amagi's ace is Flame Swordsman, right? This is really..."
Both Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Flame Swordsman were cards of the legendary duelist Joey Wheeler. However, compared to Flame Swordsman, Red-Eyes Black Dragon was undoubtedly the true ace.
This duel was clearly unfavorable for Hikaru!
"I set one card and end my turn."
Simply summoning a 2400 ATK monster with just two cards was actually quite strong in this world.
After all, Jaden had to topdeck Polymerization, Clayman, and Sparkman just to fuse Thunder Giant, which also had 2400 ATK.
"My turn, draw." Without hesitation, Hikaru activated a Spell Card. "I activate the Normal Spell 'Fusion Deployment!' This card can only be activated once per turn. The turn this card is activated, I cannot Special Summon non-Fusion Monsters from the Extra Deck.
I reveal a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck and Special Summon one of its listed Fusion Materials from my hand or Deck. I reveal 'Labyrinth Tank' and Special Summon 'Cannon Soldier' from my Deck!"
"Next, I activate Cannon Soldier's effect! I Tribute one monster to inflict 500 damage to you!"
Cannon Soldier transformed its own energy into an explosive shot, launching a cannonball straight at Darkness.
"Ugh...!"
[Darkness, LP: 4000 → 3500]
Upon taking damage, Darkness staggered backward, his clothes slightly torn.
"But now, you have no monsters on your field."
Hikaru revealed his Spell Card.
"I activate the Continuous Spell 'Over Future Fusion'!"
"I reveal 'Labyrinth Tank' from my Extra Deck and send 'Giga-Tech Wolf' from my Deck to the Graveyard. Then, I immediately activate the second effect of 'Over Future Fusion.'"
"By banishing 'Giga-Tech Wolf' and 'Cannon Soldier' from my Graveyard, I Fusion Summon, Labyrinth Tank!"
Clang! Clink!
The classic battle tank rolled onto the field once again!
[Labyrinth Tank] Level 7│DARK│Machine│2400 DEF
"Amazing!" Alexis, observing closely, exclaimed. "Not only did he deal damage, but he also Special Summoned a defender with 2400 DEF!"
"I set two cards and end my turn!"
"Hmph, 2400 DEF?" Darkness smirked at the field. "Naïve. Don't think that just because your defense matches Red-Eyes, you can stop me.
My turn, draw! Hah, perfect! I activate the Normal Spell, Inferno Fire Blast!"
"The turn this card is activated, Red-Eyes Black Dragon cannot attack, and it inflicts damage equal to Red-Eyes Black Dragon's ATK!"
"Oh no! Watch out!" Alexis warned urgently.
Just 500 damage had already left Darkness visibly injured; 2400 damage was unimaginable!
"I activate my set card, Counter Trap, 'Fusion Guard!'"
"A Counter Trap?"
"A Fusion Counter Trap?"
Both duelists reacted in surprise, Darkness at his strategy being thwarted again, and Alexis marveling at how even his Counter Traps incorporated Fusion.
"When a damage-inflicting effect is activated, this card negates that activation and effect. Then, I send one random Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard."
A massive purple Fusion symbol appeared before Hikaru absorbed Red-Eyes' inferno like a fist striking cotton.
"Tch." Darkness clicked his tongue.
Hikaru glanced at his Graveyard.
"The monster I sent is 'Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem.'"
"Not good!" Alexis tensed up. "That was the worst possible choice!"
'Well…'
It didn't really matter. Hikaru didn't mind at all.
That said, considering his current relationship with Professor Crowler, he could probably tell him his card had evolved and request another Ancient Gear Golem without issue.
"Hahaha, great power always comes with risks. Looks like you've lost a strong ally!" Darkness laughed, clenching his fists. "I end my turn."
Hikaru exhaled in relief.
Unlike the original Jaden, he didn't have superhuman endurance better to take fewer hits if possible.
"My turn, draw!"
'Oh!'
He drew a powerful card.
'Scatter Fusion!'
"Phew… lucky draw. I activate the Continuous Spell, Scatter Fusion!"
'Scatter Fusion? Another brand-new Fusion card?'
Alexis watched as Hikaru played yet another Fusion-related card, her amazement growing.
She had only seen Hikaru duel Jaden during the Representative Selection Tournament. At the time, she was impressed but couldn't fully grasp it.
Now, she realized his pursuit of Fusion was truly extreme, and so far in this duel, every single card he played was Fusion-related.
She sighed deeply.
And how about herself? Did she have that pure Duelist's heart?
No…perhaps what she truly wanted was to find her brother.
She looked across the field. If her brother were still here, he'd be just as tall as that man.
Noticing Alexis looking at him, the masked duelist grinned eerily. Hikaru's duel was indeed more formidable than he expected, albeit that may be true, he had a surefire way to win!