The violent power pulled nearly everything in the dimension toward the darkness. Only certain facilities that Amaki Hikaru deliberately chose to preserve remained unaffected by this gravitational force.
This fractured dimension seemed more like an "important facility storage site" than a realm of Spirits. There were hardly any Duel Spirits here, only artificial constructs. Once drawn into the storm, these constructs turned into pure energy and began to merge with one another.
Moments later—
Tierra watched as Hikaru re-packed his cards.
She neither said nor exclaimed anything. From the very first time she saw it, she had recognized the terror of this card.
After all, this was the card he had used when "negotiating" with her.
But now, things were different. Watching other lifeforms dissolve into pure energy thanks to this card didn't spark any feelings of relief in her. All she felt was a quiet sense of pride at her good eye for choosing a God's Chosen.
As the two gazed skyward, cards began falling from above like raindrops.
Hikaru reached out to catch them as they descended. Meanwhile, several cards depicting human figures also shot past him. Sensing danger, Hikaru became alert, and the cards responded by plunging into the ground at even greater speed.
Tierra caught one in her hand.
"Wow~"
The card she caught was Infernoid Lucifuge. On the other side, Hikaru glanced at the card that had landed in his own hand.
Shaddoll Dragon.
Tierra snapped her fingers. A purple grid spread out below the sky, intercepting the falling cards. Soon, Hikaru had collected them all.
Among them, some were "human" cards, though they were few. It seemed most humans had already been reduced to Fusion Materials.
The others were various cards.
Besides the two Fusion Monsters they had just seen, there were low-level monsters from Gem-Knight, Ancient Gear, Zombie, Spellcaster, Dragon, and Warrior archetypes. Beyond that, two Fusion Monsters stood out.
"Oh, isn't this the card that guy Yugi showed you before?" Tierra pointed at one Fusion Monster in Hikaru's hand.
Masked HERO Blast.
It felt like everything was being distributed at random.
Hikaru nodded. Yugi Muto had indeed shown them his Masked HERO cards back in the S-Dimension.
At least now, Hikaru finally had access to a handy Fusion Monster like this.
As for the other card—
"Whoa—" Hikaru gasped at the card in his hand.
Predaplant Chimerafflesia!
It required a Predaplant and a DARK monster as Fusion Materials and had 2500 Attack. Its effects allowed it to banish an opponent's monster with a lower Level than itself, reduce an opponent's Attack by 1000 during battle, and increase its own Attack by 1000. Additionally, if this card was sent to the Graveyard, during the next Standby Phase, Hikaru could add a "Fusion" or "Polymerization" Spell Card from his Deck to his hand!
Simple Fusion conditions, removal power, Attack boosting, a Graveyard effect, and the ability to search for "Polymerization" Spells—
Perfectly compatible with Hikaru's entire deck!
It could even search Super Polymerization!
The only drawback was needing to wait until the next Standby Phase.
Even Tierra, despite not having played many Duels herself, couldn't help but cheer upon seeing this card.
Because in this world, this card was seriously useful!
Hikaru's Fusion lineup was now fully charged!
After inspecting the new cards, Hikaru immediately slotted the two new Fusions into his Deck and casually began checking both his Main Deck and Side Deck.
In the Side Deck, Starving Venom's Completion Rate jumped significantly. Even The Claw of Hermos, whose progress had been stalled for a long time, gained another 10%. Beyond that, various cards either currently manifesting or soon to be born also saw their Completion Rates rise.
But the most important thing was—
Hikaru noticed the card for Dark Flare Knight emitting a faint golden glow.
He held the card, staring at it in surprise.
"Heh, that guy… looks like it's just a matter of days now," Tierra commented while pointing. "No matter how reluctant he is to evolve, he'll have to soon. Don't drag it out. It's not like Hikaru only owns one Dark Flare Knight."
Dark Flare Knight coughed twice, trying to hide its embarrassment.
She addressed the card directly.
Meanwhile, Flame Swordsman—
Hikaru looked at it.
Why is Flame Swordsman still showing no signs?
"Uh... My Lord, I do feel like I'm getting stronger... But... it still doesn't seem enough?" Flame Swordsman pouted.
It couldn't figure out what was wrong either.
Even Tierra was at a loss.
Hikaru thought for a moment and proposed several theories: perhaps Extreme Flame required more Duel Energy, or maybe Flame Swordsman wasn't just evolving but also "splitting" to produce a new, lower-level version.
However, none of that really mattered.
As one of the earliest Spirits to adventure alongside Hikaru, Flame Swordsman was a friend. Hikaru could wait.
After putting away all the cards, Hikaru walked a few steps and picked up a Duel Disk from the rubble.
By now, all the other cards inside the Duel Disk had disappeared. Only one cracked, glowing card remained.
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.
Though just a Replica Card, this copy had been crafted to near perfection, almost capable of fully containing Raviel's original power. However, after Borg's defeat, Raviel should have consumed Borg's life energy to sustain the card's existence. But due to Super Polymerization interrupting that process, most of the dimension's energy had instead been absorbed into Super Polymerization. With nothing left to devour—
The card stalled, then finally shattered itself.
That said, it didn't matter.
What mattered was—having this card was enough.
Hikaru had always wanted this card.
Honestly, even though he already possessed Armityle the Chaos Phantom, he still badly needed Raviel.
Because his next phase of "Alchemy" training required this card's assistance.
Back then, Professor Banner had also set out on his ultimate alchemy path after discovering the Sacred Beast cards. Now that Hikaru had this card, he too could start replicating the techniques Banner had left behind in the Emerald Book.
For now, Hikaru casually opened a door nearby. The chaotic interior bore silent witness to some poor souls who had gotten caught in the aftermath of Borg's defeat and the Super Polymerization rampage. Hikaru didn't bother with them.
No matter how nice a guy he was, there were limits to what he could tolerate.
He checked the time, then approached the control room.
Something was playing on the screen.
Judging by the timestamp, it was a live feed.
Leo Akaba sat in a large chair, wearing his signature purple military uniform, expressionless as he watched his subordinates swear allegiance. Next to him stood a child also dressed in a purple military outfit, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Yuya Sakaki but with a look of excitement on his face as he stared down at the troops below.
'Yuri!'
Hikaru ran a hand through his hair.
One of the "Four Vegetables" from the original Arc-V, a protagonist counterpart, and the Fusion protagonist.
As expected, Leo Akaba had kept him close.
Hikaru let out a sigh.
Leo Akaba really was the worst teacher.
In the original story, Yuri had been trained to the point of insanity, terrifying even Leo himself and prompting him to lament that he'd raised a monster. Yet—why did you teach him like that in the first place!?
Meanwhile, a commander-like figure on screen was barking orders at the troops. Finally, Leo Akaba gave a light wave and said one word:
"Attack."
Hikaru's heart skipped a beat.
Was this a live stream of the Blitz on Shinson!?
...
Bonus Chapter @400
Read 30 Chapters ahead @patreon.com/Keepsmiling818