After the joy of reunion faded, the group didn't linger long.
Gaia led Hikaru and the rescued weaker spirits to a small village.
Calling it a village was generous, it was really just a few tents, a couple of huts, and a handful of spirits struggling to survive.
This was Gaia's camp, a refuge for spirits he had saved from the hands of the Light Monarch.
Gaia introduced Hikaru to the spirits here, explaining that Hikaru was "the Duelist who pursues the ultimate fusion." Once the spirits realized that this was their lord's idol, they quickly dropped their wariness toward humans. Some returned to their work, while others curiously gathered around to watch the group chat.
After some brief catching up, Hikaru asked about the situation in this world.
The Critical Nexus Dimension was a chaotic, opportunity-filled place.
Naturally, it was crawling with all kinds of messy factions.
This region, specifically, was ruled by the Light Monarch as the "Land of Glorious Knights."
"Yeah, well... nothing glorious about it. Haven't seen any knights besides you," Dark Flare Knight scoffed.
"It's called the Land of Glorious Knights, but in truth, it's more like a place where the strong prey on the weak..." Gaia said as he sketched a crude map on the ground with a stick. "The spirits living here are mostly Warrior-type. Higher-ranked warriors hunt the lower-ranked ones. The dead become 'nourishment.' Those who survive are turned into slaves or squires for the so-called knights. Then the cycle repeats."
"What the hell kind of 'glory' is that?" Flame Swordsman twitched his eyebrow.
"Tch. Makes sense why you're here." Dark Flare Knight nodded.
As fellow spirits from the Warriors' Realm, followers of the original Chaos Warrior, the most honorable and exalted warrior, they completely understood Gaia's rage.
This wasn't just disgraceful. It was an insult to knighthood itself.
"But... didn't you already pass Chaos Warrior's trial? You became a Chaos Warrior yourself!" Flame Swordsman asked, still confused.
Chaos Warrior was the pinnacle of all Warrior spirits. Any Warrior-type spirit dreamed of becoming the strongest, and Chaos Warrior was that ultimate goal.
If Gaia had become a Chaos Warrior, then no other Warrior should be able to defeat him. That was simply impossible.
"Idiot. Did you forget? Gaia gave his Chaos Warrior card to our master," Dark Flare Knight sighed.
"Ah…" Flame Swordsman smacked his forehead.
Right, he'd forgotten. Just like how Hikaru had acquired Curse of Dragon, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl from others... Chaos Warrior came from Dark Magician Girl.
Without his "core card," Gaia could only fight in other forms. Losing wasn't surprising.
"No. Even if I had it, I wouldn't fight like that," Gaia shook his head firmly. "Crushing someone with overwhelming power... that's exactly the same as what those tyrants do.
Besides, since I've chosen to follow my master, I should pursue a more... fused form."
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"In the end... I'm still just a high-level monster."
Hikaru could tell.
Gaia's current form resembled a hybrid of Gaia the Fierce Knight and Chaos Warrior. It looked like his strongest form before fully becoming a Chaos Warrior.
"You're probably missing a mount... like, I don't know, a dragon?" Dark Flare Knight raised a finger.
Hikaru happened to have a Dragon Master Knight he recently "acquired" from the Magical Scientist, so it made sense. Gaia's failure to evolve into a true fusion form might simply be due to a lack of a partner.
"Yeah, yeah, that's what I was thinking too!" Flame Swordsman pretended he totally thought of that himself.
"Such nonsense," Tierra sighed, watching the knights chatter. "Ritual Monster, high-level Monster... what's the difference? Just because it isn't purple doesn't mean it's not a fusion. Maybe the real reason you two haven't changed in ages... is because you figured that out, didn't you? You realized you don't need to evolve."
"Uhh... well, Lady Winda..." Dark Flare Knight rubbed his head, awkward, she hit the nail on the head.
"I...uh... yeah! You've got a point, Lady Winda!" Flame Swordsman nervously agreed, not entirely sure why, but nodding anyway.
"Who the hell are you?" Gaia grumbled, realizing Tierra wasn't an old friend. "This is me catching up with Flame and Dark Flare, what's it got to do with you?"
Winda narrowed her eyes. Gaia's pressure surged. Even as someone who had once become a Chaos Warrior, he felt suffocated.
Still, Winda wasn't the type to bow to intimidation. She stood up, ready to argue, but Flame and Dark Flare hurriedly held her back, defusing the tension.
Gaia calmed, sighed, and sat back down.
"...She's not wrong," he grumbled. "Seems I'm still not disciplined enough. Chaos Warrior warned me so many times not to let my temper cause rifts between comrades... otherwise, it isn't fusion at all."
"No kidding..." Hikaru nodded. "Gaia, like I told you before, whether it's Ritual or Fusion, the summoning method doesn't matter. I won't judge how others fight. I only walk the path of Fusion myself.
And now, you can walk it with me."
He stood, extending a hand.
"Not as a defeated warrior... but as my friend. As my partner. As one of u, a member of Fusion."
Gaia couldn't help but grin.
For the past year, he'd quietly worried....worried that the duelist who had once defeated him might abandon Fusion. After all, humans were fickle.
But no.
After all this time, Hikaru's passion for Fusion had only grown purer. Stronger. More radiant.
Gaia knelt again.
"Let's go," Hikaru said. "Show me that enemy who defeated you. Show me what it means to embody Fusion, to live by your ideals of warrior's honor."
"Yes, my lord!"
Gaia stood tall, then raised his fist high, calling to the surrounding warriors:
"My comrades! My warriors! Your lord and his master will challenge the tyrant once more today!
For true glory! For the true spirit of knighthood."
He clenched his fist tighter.
"Cheer for us!"
...
Bonus @400
Stones PLzzz