Hikaru checked his deck, and Serena, who knew her master had a habit of inspecting his deck after every duel, didn't disturb him, instead curiously peeking at Hikaru's cards.
Serena was probably the person, besides Hikaru himself, who knew the most about the composition of his deck. While others were unaware that Super Polymerization even existed, Serena had seen Hikaru use it twice.
Hikaru went through his deck. Besides the cards gifted by the Earthbound Immortal, he also noticed a few unfinished cards, likely constructed with the Duel Energy obtained from his duel with Crow.
Of course, more significant than those was the power absorbed by Tierra.
Although not a native god of this world, as a Dark Signer, Hikaru's duel, like Crow's defeat of Shinji before, would theoretically enhance the power of his "patron god." However, Hikaru hadn't even awakened or found Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca yet, so all that power had been fully absorbed by Tierra.
Of course, considering the disparity between the two, even if he did find it, this power would still belong to Tierra.
The day before yesterday, upon learning that Leo Akaba had actually come to this world, Hikaru immediately dropped his previously casual attitude and stayed up all night modifying the Emerald Tablet. Then, in the early morning, he successfully returned to the Great Universe Workshop and rushed to prepare everything he could.
Originally, he had been considering researching Psychic End Punisher for a while longer to look for traces of Darkness in this world, but as soon as he thought of Leo Akaba being here, he felt he couldn't waste such a rare opportunity. So he directly used all available materials and metal to create brand-new body components for Tierra.
Infernoid Devyaty was urgently refined under these circumstances.
And indeed, it really pays to be prepared in advance at critical moments.
Otherwise, he would have truly had to use Super Polymerization against Crow today.
Most of the Spell and Trap Cards in his deck couldn't immediately resolve the situation. Even cards like Flame Swordsdance and Salamandra with Chain would need to be drawn first and then wait another turn before they could be used.
So taking the time to create Devyaty and Attondel was indeed worthwhile.
Thanks to the esteemed Leo Akaba, who always guides him toward a better path.
Hikaru grumbled internally, then glanced at Serena. She looked puzzled, meeting his gaze with confusion.
Hikaru sighed helplessly.
As it happened, as soon as he finished tinkering all night and returned, the first thing he received was a message secretly sent by Trudge.
Even now, Hikaru hadn't slept, and his nerves felt somewhat frayed.
However, going without sleep for a day or two wasn't a big deal for him. After all, when his psychic sensitivity was at five or six stars, Hikaru's physical fitness already supported him staying up for extended periods and conducting alchemy experiments through the night.
What truly made Hikaru feel exhausted was Serena doing something like this without consulting anyone. That really gave him a headache.
Just thinking that he only had one student and was already feeling this drained, he couldn't help but sigh.
Hikaru pinched the bridge of his nose.
Although he could confidently say he was one of Crowler's most worry-free students, he'd actually caused Crowler quite a bit of trouble.
The previous attack on Duel Academy Island by the Fallen Angel's apostles happened because they had overestimated Hikaru and Crowler, which was why they used the power of darkness and the Fallen Angel to duel Crowler in order to unseal the Sacred Beasts.
Although from the results, Crowler, as the acting principal, couldn't have let such fallen teachers go unpunished anyway, thinking about it now, he really had caused his teacher quite a headache. Hikaru sighed again at the thought.
After this is over, I should cooperate with the Vice-Chancellor on some academy promotions.
Finally, as Hikaru flipped through his cards, he discovered a brand-new card.
Garura, Wings of Resonant Life!
Wow.
Hikaru looked at the card, unable to suppress a soft exclamation.
Finally, the super-versatile Fusion Monster was here.
Hikaru examined the card, its image and text flashing through his mind in an instant.
The completion rate looked very low.
Hikaru didn't mind.
During the duel with Crow, Hikaru had wondered whether he'd obtain a Winged Beast-type Fusion Monster. Based on his expectations, it was more likely to unlock a DARK Attribute Winged Beast Fusion Monster like Gladiator Beast Nerokius.
But he hadn't expected to skip Nerokius entirely and unlock this card instead.
As a Fusion Monster, this creature was a two-headed Winged Beast sharing a single body, and its Fusion condition was refreshingly simple: "Two monsters with the same Type and Attribute but different names."
Although its stats were very low, as a Fusion Monster, such a simple condition made it perfectly suited for Super Polymerization.
Moreover, like Elder Entity N'tss before it, this was a card that could draw one card simply by being sent to the Graveyard, meaning it could also serve as "ammunition" for Tierra, sent from the Extra Deck to the Graveyard.
However...
Looking at this completion rate, Hikaru estimated it probably couldn't be finished in this dimension.
After all, there was still a whole queue of cards lined up ahead.
The simplest and most direct card Hikaru wanted to create was the final component of Tierra's "Fusion Form", Infernoid Onuncu.
As a Fusion Monster, Tierra didn't possess the powerful, invincible abilities of her complete form, but she still had extremely terrifying effects. The moment she appeared, if there were ten Fusion Materials, she could make both players' entire hands vanish in an instant.
If the main focus was hand destruction, a ten-material Tierra on the first turn was obviously devastating.
Especially in this world, because there existed an Equip Spell version of Future Fusion, or even a Continuous Spell version, either of which could Fusion Summon Infernoid Tierra in the shortest possible time, instantly shredding both players' hands.
This level of power was completely different from Tierra in the environment before Hikaru's isekai transfer, even in his original world, unless you were running a Graveyard-filling deck like Tearlaments, eating Tierra's hand destruction on the first turn basically meant waiting to lose.
Despite possessing such terrifying power, during his earlier duel, Hikaru could only use Future Fusion to summon Winda, he couldn't summon Tierra directly.
Not because Hikaru wanted to go easy on Crow, but because he simply couldn't do it.
He didn't have Infernoid Onuncu.
Because monsters like the Hex-Sealed Fusion in his deck couldn't serve as "substitute materials", in the Deck, they defaulted to being treated as cards with no effects, only a card name.
Only monsters in the hand, on the field, or in the Graveyard could be treated as substitute materials. Therefore, Hikaru currently had no way to use Future Fusion to directly summon a ten-material Tierra.
That was precisely why he needed to use Future Fusion on the first turn to send the Hex-Sealed Fusion monster to the Graveyard.
If he could create Onuncu, that trouble would be completely eliminated; he could use Future Fusion on the very first turn to execute Hikaru's strongest "hand destruction tactic."
Going first with six cards in hand, leaving the opponent with zero, who could possibly beat that!
Unfortunately...
Monsters on the level of Onuncu and Devyaty required at least a demon of equivalent caliber as the base material. And even as a base, it needed to be at minimum a creature infused with the lingering power of a "Darkness"-level entity like Psychic End Punisher; ordinary monsters simply couldn't serve as materials for this final component.
That kind of fortune didn't come easily.
He could alternatively convert the Earthbound Immortal directly into Onuncu, but that would actually mean losing spirit energy in the exchange. Besides, Chacu Challhua hadn't done anything wrong, suddenly erasing someone's vessel like that was something Hikaru couldn't bring himself to do.
Before long, Yusei arrived at the meeting point with a somber expression. Hikaru noticed his demeanor and asked what happened, and Yusei responded with a sigh.
Kalin had lost, that much was obvious, since Yusei had driven back alive.
But more importantly, after losing the duel, Kalin hadn't resented Yusei the way he had before. Instead, he said he'd always forgotten, forgotten his original purpose, forgotten that after conquering the Commons, he was supposed to settle things with his friends fair and square.
He had forgotten his original conviction. He had attacked Security purely for the thrill of more exhilarating, more satisfying duels. But by then, he could never truly be satisfied again, because his heart had become completely hollow.
"He disappeared in the end..." Yusei said sorrowfully, quietly reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card to show Hikaru.
Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu.
After the duel ended, Kalin had told Yusei from within his emptiness that during their previous duel, when he saw Yusei modify his own body to "save humanity," he had felt an overwhelming void. Even though the duel hadn't ended, he knew in that moment that he'd lost.
Because his heart, his ideals, could no longer keep up with the Yusei of today.
So during this time, he had been communicating with his Earthbound Immortal, trying to persuade it to support Yusei, meaning this second duel wasn't a contest of strength, but a demonstration, a "performance" to convince Ccapac Apu to support Yusei.
And that, ironically, was actually one of the original, foundational purposes of dueling as a "ritual."
"Kalin..." Yusei stared at the card in his hand, unable to calm down for the longest time. Even though the duel was over, even though he'd been riding through the wind for a while, he still couldn't settle his emotions.
"Try to look on the bright side," Hikaru said. He knew the Earthbound Immortals wouldn't simply discard their servants after using them, in the original story, Kalin had been genuinely revived at full strength. "Since you've reached a mutual understanding, someday you'll meet again.
At the very least, you've completed the first step, truly making an enemy, an Earthbound Immortal, believe in and support your ideals."
Hikaru rolled his neck, then held up two fingers. "Including Chacu Challhua, Yusei, you've already earned the approval of at least two Earthbound Immortals."
"Chacu Challhua? That sea god? It was that easy to convince...?" Yusei was somewhat surprised.
What he'd asked Hikaru to find was Wiraqocha Rasca. Though it still hadn't been located, Hikaru had mentioned before that he had a lead, he hadn't expected Hikaru to produce an entirely different Earthbound Immortal.
Hikaru spread his hands. "This particular Earthbound Immortal is very easygoing."
Easygoing was an understatement, it was basically in a state of "do whatever you want, it's all fine."
As for the previously appeared Wiraqocha Rasca, that colossal vulture-like Sun and Moon God, although there had been no direct communication, based on what Hikaru had gained and sensed after his duel, that bird god at least bore no ill will toward humanity.
And for Yusei, that was an enormous gain.
Reconnecting the "hearts" of all people and all gods, achieving "harmony" with them, that was undoubtedly a world-class feat and challenge. But conversely, having already gradually earned the approval of two ancient gods, the future was becoming ever clearer, ever more "possible," while the future of destruction was gradually drifting away from this world.
As they talked, the two began driving away. Yusei led the way for Hikaru, arriving at the safe house he'd previously found for Lulu and the others.
There, Rin and Yugo cheered as they welcomed Yusei. The two of them had grown up learning alongside Yusei, regarding him as family and an older brother. Recently, Yusei had been avoiding them to hide the fact that he'd undergone body modification, and also to avoid frightening the kids. Now that they could finally see Yusei again, they were naturally ecstatic.
Serena spotted Lulu again and waved cheerfully. But upon seeing Rin, she clearly fell into the existential crisis of "Who am I? Where am I? Who is she?" once more, freezing in place.
Fortunately, Lulu had already anticipated this possibility and quickly explained the situation. And so, standing before everyone were three girls who, aside from their clothing, looked completely identical.
That said, telling them apart wasn't actually difficult. Though the three shared the same face and height, their builds were different. Lulu was noticeably more delicate than the other two. Rin was slightly sturdier than Lulu, but not by much. Serena was in a league of her own, having undergone continuous "Duel Soldier" training, her physical capabilities had been developed to the highest degree. Add to that the fact that she was the only one who had received "psychic sensitivity education," and the difference in strength was stark.
On the flip side, Serena was also the one most likely to act without thinking. Rin would think things through too, but years of being around Yugo had left her instinctively inclined to use her fists... As for Lulu, she was the type who also thought about getting physical, inheriting their shared tendency, but because her thinking was more structured and her logical ability superior, she understood clearly that she wasn't physically strong. So her first instinct was usually to settle things with a duel.
"So you were knocked unconscious by someone using raw power just as you were about to duel?" Yusei frowned. "And they were specifically targeting girls who look like Rin?"
Lulu nodded.
Yugo shouted and fussed with worry over Rin, who elbowed him with her usual exasperation. "Idiot, we have Yusei, so what's there to worry about?"
"Oh right."
Yusei was just that reliable. The moment Rin mentioned him, Yugo calmed down instantly.
Yusei shook his head with a helpless smile.
Even Yusei couldn't protect Rin every single moment, and besides, the dangers around him were only going to intensify.
"It's fine!" Serena flexed her right arm confidently, fist clenched. "When it comes down to it, the reason you got caught off guard was because you don't have spirit power. As long as you learn the techniques from our dimension, things like that can be avoided!"
She was brimming with confidence.
The other two girls exchanged a glance. They weren't quite as confident, but the prospect of seeing the legendary "Duel Spirits" did pique their interest.
And then...
Just as the three girls, identical enough to pass as triplets, close as sisters, and in truth actually sisters, were chattering excitedly among themselves, Hikaru suddenly turned his attention to the surveillance feed.
On the monitors, every display screen and billboard across countless buildings in the city had suddenly changed, showing the upper body of a single figure.
His expression was stern, his head bald, with mechanical implants and a prosthetic eye fitted to the left side of his face. He gazed forward with cold composure.
Leo Akaba!
It seemed he had hijacked every screen across the entire city.
Hikaru looked toward Yusei and spoke. "Yusei."
Yusei nodded.
His laboratory ran on future technology, so everything operated independently from the network, any attempt to tamper with it simply wouldn't match.
But conversely, if he wanted to tune in and receive the broadcast, that was simple enough.
"I am Leo Akaba.
Hikaru.
You're watching, aren't you!"
'Oh ho!?'
'That opening, could it be...'
Hikaru couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling into a wild grin.
...
Stones??