"Choice?" Leo Akaba was startled at first by Hikaru's words, then looked up at the sky - and saw the monsters were impossibly, slowly beginning to merge. At this he completely lost his composure, shouting in fury again and again, "Impossible, how can this be?!"
How was this possible? Hikaru absolutely did not have the power of Pendulum. Even he himself had to rely on his daughter's power to control Pendulum monsters. How could Hikaru, a person who had never touched Pendulum at all, possess that power?
Unless -
A possibility came to him.
At Yugo's base, Serena heard Hikaru's words. Though her mind was not the sharpest, even she knew what to do in a moment like this. In almost a single second she sorted out her priorities: one was a father who never saw her as a daughter and treated her only as a tool; the other was a Master who had taught her hand in hand, treated her like a little sister, and resolved every worry on her behalf -
Did she even need to choose?
So without a moment's hesitation, she closed her eyes and cheered for Hikaru.
Seeing Serena cheer and pray for Hikaru, Lulu likewise didn't hesitate, she threw her support behind him without delay. And for Yugo and Rin, who had both been saved by Hikaru before, there was even less reason to pause!
Hikaru, faintly, he heard the sound of a pendulum swinging.
Compared to the data Leo Akaba had obtained through trickery, lies, and kidnapping, their support for Hikaru came straight from the heart. And beyond that, all Leo Akaba possessed was the Pendulum power drawn from Lulu and Serena's physical and soul data. But Hikaru, on top of that, had also received the support of Rin and Yugo.
Because Hikaru had taught her. Because Hikaru's student had saved her. Because Hikaru had stood in front of them and shielded them from the police...
"Hahaha, how interesting," Yuri couldn't help but grin, swept up in the moment. "Then I'll cheer for you too!"
Click. Click.
Hikaru heard that sound!
Hikaru clenched his fist. A blue flame rose in his right eye, that was Tierra's power. His own power of Fusion remained steady as always..
"Great wings that seek Fusion! Now, devour all, and swing the pendulum to my side! Fusion Summon! Level 7, Pendulum Fusion, Starved Venemy Dragon"
"You bastard!!!!!!!!" Leo Akaba let out a heart-rending roar, for the first time, completely losing his composure.
This monster materialized behind Hikaru. Though it still retained much of the Fusion Dragon's appearance, the purple wings of light on its back had been replaced by the gleaming metal of a pendulum.
A card that had previously only shown its upper half suddenly revealed its lower half, appearing abruptly in Hikaru's hand, having Fused itself into existence out of thin air!
Starved Venemy Dragon. Level 7. DARK. Dragon-Type. ATK 2500.
Hikaru let out a quiet cheer.
He could feel the power of the Pendulum now.
Hikaru blinked.
Which meant that in the future, he would have the chance to try D/D/D, try Metalfoes, try Predaplant, to try all manner of Pendulum Fusions.
Wow.
Leo Akaba, stone-faced, placed Pendulum Ruler into the Extra Deck.
When a Pendulum Monster would be sent to the Graveyard, it is not sent to the Graveyard, it goes directly face-up into the Extra Deck.
But a Level 12 monster, he didn't have the Pendulum Scales to Pendulum Summon it back.
Hikaru paid no mind whatsoever to Leo Akaba's ranting. He used Dreamland's effect to draw one more card from his Deck, then said without the slightest courtesy:
"Become the master of Adam and Eve, and rule over all dimensions? Leo Akaba, if that is what your Fusion is, then I will prove it in practice, prove it through this duel.
My Fusion is more Fusion than your Fusion!"
"Moreover..." Hikaru flexed his hand in place, clenching it into a fist, opening it, repeating the motion several times,"your Fusion is not pure either. It is full of your personal desires.
If the ultimate end of the world is for all things to fuse into one and become a singularity, then the other pole of Fusion should be to mercilessly fuse all things together, it must never be about becoming a new ruler!"
Leo Akaba's true intentions had been laid bare, but at this point all he could think of was eliminating Hikaru, this person who dared to compete with him for the "direction of the swing." Even having his thoughts exposed, he would not break.
"Hmph... So no matter what you do, no matter what you use, I will sweep it all away and take it all from you!
For the sake of true Fusion!"
Hikaru pointed at the Earthbound Immortal: "Starved Venemy Dragon's effect! Once per turn, target 1 monster on my opponent's field. Until the end of the turn, this card gains that monster's card name and effects.
After that, the targeted monster's effects are negated, its ATK and DEF decrease by 500, and I inflict 500 damage to my opponent!"
"It copies the ability directly!?"
A crowd of Fusion Army soldiers shrieked.
This went even further than the Fusion Dragon!
"Oh? A permanent negate?" Yuri looked at this brand-new dragon bearing his own power, and couldn't help but break into a pure, genuine smile. "It goes even further than my Fusion Dragon."
His Fusion Dragon was far stronger than Hikaru's Fusion Dragon, but even his Fusion Dragon did not permanently negate the opponent's effects.
Leo Akaba LP: 4000 → 3500.
"Earthbound Immortal."
"That's right, including the power of your Earthbound Immortal!" Hikaru's eyes widened. "Break free of your chains, Earthbound Immortal!"
The chains binding the spider began to crumble. The enormous spider Earthbound Immortal flickered into existence behind Hikaru in an instant, then slowly faded away.
Hikaru looked down at the effect Starved Venemy Dragon had currently copied.
[There can only be 1 Earthbound Immortal monster face-up on the field at a time.]
It seemed the Earthbound Immortal under Red Nova Dragon's control had its effect weakened to the OCG wording. He had been considering using Uru's effect to directly steal Uru itself, he hadn't expected it to resolve itself this way.
"There can only be 1 Earthbound Immortal face-up on the field at a time. If two are Special Summoned simultaneously and share the same controller, that controller decides which one to keep; if they belong to different controllers, the turn player chooses.
During my turn, the Earthbound Immortal on your field will be automatically destroyed."
"Can that actually happen!?" Leo Akaba stared at the card in shock.
"That can actually happen!?" Even the flaming phantom that was Red Nova Dragon gaped in disbelief. "When I absorbed their power, I never imagined something like this could occur!"
Was there really such a subtle difference in the card's wording?
A normal Earthbound Immortal reads: "While this card is face-up on the field, monsters with 'Earthbound Immortal' in their name cannot be Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned." But the Earthbound Immortals under Its control read: "There can only be 1 Earthbound Immortal monster on the field", and while it seemed like only a minor difference, no one could have imagined it would produce this result!
"Battle Phase, direct attack on the Duelist!"
"Don't even think it!" Leo Akaba snarled through gritted teeth. "Activate Continuous Trap, Red Screen!"
Huh?
Hikaru watched as countless flames rose from every direction. The flames first encircled the field, then in the next instant transformed into countless transparent barriers, shrouding Leo Akaba on all sides.
Then a deep crimson sphere enveloped Leo Akaba's body, blocking all attacks.
"As long as this card exists in the Spell/Trap Zone, the opponent's monsters cannot declare an attack."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow slightly, casually Set his next card face-down, and ended his turn.
...
Stones Plzz