Rainbow Dragon!
The "sacred dragon" hidden within an ancient ruin, possessing ATK rivaling a God!
"4000 ATK!"
"It surpasses Master Diamond Dispersion and even matches Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"Wow, it feels like sacred light is descending from the sky!"
"And it doesn't need Tributes. You just need seven different Crystal Beasts on the field and in the Graveyard, and you can Special Summon it directly! How convenient."
It sounded convenient at first.
In reality it was still quite involved, and it wasn't that overpowering either.
"Rainbow Dragon has the effect of sending all face-up Crystal Beasts on my field to the Graveyard, then gaining ATK equal to the number sent times 1000." Hikaru gazed at the enormous dragon and recited one of its effects.
"Huh?"
"That powerful?"
"Artorigus has five Crystal Beasts on the field!"
"Doesn't that mean 9000 ATK?!"
Nine thousand ATK!
Under normal circumstances, defeating it through battle was practically unrealistic.
"Not only that," Jesse continued with a smile, "Rainbow Dragon can also banish all Crystal Beast monsters from my Graveyard to return all cards on the field to their owners' Decks."
If that effect activated, its field-clearing power would be formidable.
"But," Jesse shook his head regretfully, "Rainbow Dragon can't activate its effects on the turn it's Special Summoned."
"Huh?"
"What... that's such a shame."
Some sighed.
If that effect could be activated right now, Hikaru would lose the duel outright!
"But my ATK is still higher! Rainbow Dragon, attack Master Diamond Dispersion! Go, Rainbow Dragon! Prove whose gems shine brighter!"
"Meet it head-on, Captain!"
Crystal nodded. Facing the towering dragon, it leapt upward, swinging its great sword, and the two clashed fiercely.
Sparks flew as they fought at close range. The dragon breathed, its roar thundering. Countless strange gems shimmered with color throughout the battle. Finally, Rainbow Dragon seized an opening and unleashed a burst of rainbow light, striking the knight squarely in the chest.
BOOM!
Hikaru, LP: 4000 → 3300.
"Then, Pegasus attacks Nephilim."
Pegasus leapt up, rushed to Nephilim's side, and beat its wings, blowing the small figure down.
With that, only Gem-Knight Prismaura remained on Hikaru's field.
"Watch out, Holy Knight!! Next turn, if Lancelot recovers Gem-Knight Fusion, Prismaura can activate its effect and destroy your Rainbow Dragon!"
"Ah, he should have attacked Prismaura instead!"
"Don't be silly. There's no way he could attack Prismaura. Master Diamond Dispersion can copy Prismaura's effect, so it could still destroy Rainbow Dragon!"
Oh right.
High ATK was simply high!
It was precisely because Rainbow Dragon had higher ATK that it could defeat the Gem-Knight King with its "endless abilities," even without activating any effects. But by the same token, because Prismaura's ATK was higher than the Crystal Beasts', even with Master Diamond Dispersion destroyed, Prismaura could activate its effect next turn and avenge its superior form.
"Don't be so sure!"
Jesse laughed. "I Set one card. Turn end."
"That card gave you confidence? If I'm not mistaken, the card you Set last turn was discarded and replaced with something else, right?"
Hikaru asked.
"Naturally. This is the card exchanged through a knight's valor."
Jesse clenched his fist. "I believe in my guards, my family. They are the finest gems, and they will never lose to your Gem-Knights!"
"Is that so..."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Then, my turn! Draw! Holy Knight, let us settle this on this very turn!"
"At this moment!" Jesse flipped his set card. "Trap Card: Crystal Raigeki!"
"I send one card with 'Crystal Beast' in its name from my Spell and Trap Zone to the Graveyard to activate it. Destroy one card on the opponent's field!" He picked up a tortoise card. "Thanks for your hard work, Emerald."
"No problem! I've been wanting to prove who truly represents gems!" Tortoise called back to Jesse.
"Ha! Lancelot, the card I'm destroying is your Continuous Spell: Scatter Fusion!"
A green emerald appeared on Hikaru's field and slammed into the gleaming diamond on his side.
Crack... crack.
BOOM!
With the diamond's disappearance, Prismaura's form also began to slowly fade.
"Nice!" Below, Jaden shouted his approval.
Chazz nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Rather than destroying Prismaura, Scatter Fusion is far more important!"
He continued. "For Hik... for that Lancelot guy, monsters are actually secondary. As long as Fusion exists, nothing is certain.
That guy believes in Fusion more than in gems. So even if Prismaura were destroyed, he could just use Scatter Fusion to Fuse another monster, and then Artorigus would be the one in danger."
Scatter Fusion could activate its effect once per turn, after all!
Hikaru glanced at the card he had drawn.
Then he looked at the projection screen beside him, and smiled. "Impressive, Holy Knight."
The growth suddenly stalled.
"At this moment!" Jesse flipped his set card. "Trap Card: Crystal Raigeki!"
"I send one card with 'Crystal Beast' in its name from my Spell and Trap Zone to the Graveyard to activate it. Destroy one card on the opponent's field!" He picked up a tortoise card. "Thanks for your hard work, Emerald."
"No problem! I've been wanting to prove who truly represents gems!" Tortoise called back to Jesse.
"Ha! Lancelot, what I'm destroying is your Continuous Spell: Scatter Fusion!"
A green emerald appeared on Hikaru's field and slammed into the gleaming diamond.
Crack... crack.
BOOM!
With the diamond's disappearance, Prismaura's form also began to slowly fade.
"Nice!" Below, Jaden shouted his approval.
Chazz nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Rather than destroying Prismaura, Scatter Fusion is far more important!"
He continued. "For Hik... for that Lancelot guy, monsters are actually secondary. As long as Fusion exists, nothing is certain.
That guy believes in Fusion more than in gems. So even if Prismaura were destroyed, he could just use Scatter Fusion to Fuse another monster, and then Artorigus would be the one in danger."
Scatter Fusion could activate its effect once per turn, after all!
Hikaru glanced at the card he had drawn.
Then he looked at the projection screen beside him, and smiled. "Impressive, Holy Knight."
The growth suddenly stalled.
"When it comes to gems alone, it seems you've mastered them better than I have."
On the screen, supporters of the fallen knight began decreasing.
This was natural. Saying something like that sounded like conceding.
"Ha ha, exactly!" Amethyst Cat appeared beside Jesse, head held high. "Our Jesse is the best gem duelist!"
"Amethyst..." Jesse was slightly embarrassed, but receiving that kind of praise from Hikaru genuinely pleased him.
Yet amid his joy, a question arose.
Why would Hikaru say something like that in this format of dueling?
Wasn't he voluntarily cutting his own support?
"However!"
The decline halted!
"I am the strongest knight! Gems are merely one facet of me! Now witness my truth, my power, my... Fusion!
Holy Knight!"
What?!
The Crystal Beast spirits gathered around Jesse all recoiled in unison. Even Rainbow Dragon couldn't help lowering its head to study Hikaru.
And with that single word, "Fusion," everyone finally realized, everyone finally remembered:
The crucial moment had arrived!
"Normal Summon: Ancient Gear Commander!"
"Huh?" Jesse gasped quietly.
"What?"
"That monster..."
A gallant ancient robot pointing forward slowly rose from a mechanical factory.
Before it, a blade-like baton that looked remarkably like something everyone recognized.
A Duel Disk!
The kind only professors carried... a Duel Disk!
Professor Crowler's special Duel Disk!
"That monster looks just like Professor Crowler!"
"R-Really! Don't tell me Mr. Pegasus not only designed cards modeled after Hikaru, but even designed one for the Professor?"
"Wow! Is the Professor really that prestigious?"
Several visiting professors were equally stunned by this monster. After all, nobody was blind. They could all see what Ancient Gear Commander looked like.
"It just happens to resemble me. Commander was quite surprised too." Professor Crowler savored the curiosity radiating from the professors beside him, straightening his back proudly.
After all, this was spirit recognition earned entirely through his own merit. He could accept it with a clear conscience.
Several professors exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
Even having overestimated Crowler, they never imagined he could influence the spirit world enough to have it create a card in his image!
"When the opponent controls more monsters than I do, this card can be Special Summoned." Hikaru slapped a monster onto his field.
"Ancient Gear Statue!"
A small mechanical giant stood silently on Hikaru's field.
Jesse felt a flicker of unease. He spoke up. "Rainbow Dragon can activate its effect during the opponent's turn to increase its ATK!"
"It can increase during the opponent's turn?"
"Eight thousand ATK is nearly impossible to surpass!"
Hikaru chuckled. He swung his left arm, the armor on his body clattering, the heavy plates clinking sharply. He didn't care in the slightest.
"Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter!"
"Activate Ancient Gear Commander's effect! Once per turn, I can send one Ancient Gear Golem from my hand, field, or Deck to the Graveyard to activate this.
Perform one Normal Summon of an Ancient Gear monster!"
What?
A cost that sends to the Graveyard?!
This was an effect that could activate even if negated!
Hikaru revealed a card from his hand. "Normal Summon: Ancient Gear Wyvern."
A small green mechanical dragon appeared on Hikaru's field, circling around him once.
"Ancient Gear Wyvern's effect: when this card is Normal or Special Summoned, add one Ancient Gear card other than Wyvern from my Deck to my hand. After this effect activates, I cannot Set cards for the rest of this turn."
"He can't Set cards." Chazz folded his arms, staring at the field. "That means it's do or die right now!"
The logic was simple. This was a death charge!
Hikaru opened his Deck, searched through it, and pulled out Ancient Gear Hunting Hound.
That was all he had left.
He had already removed Knight, Beast, Gadjiltron Chimera, and Reactor Dragon. The Deck now only contained Golem and a handful of other Ancient Gear cards.
Beyond that, the Deck also held Aleister and several other EARTH-Attribute Fusion cards, making it a hybrid EARTH Fusion build.
Regardless, including Aleister was never a mistake.
"Next, witness the brand-new method my mentor taught me!"
Hikaru pointed at Ancient Gear Statue on his field. "Ancient Gear Statue's effect! Tribute itself to Special Summon one Ancient Gear Golem or one monster that mentions it, other than Ancient Gear Statue, from my hand or Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
!!
Ignoring Summoning conditions!
Many who were familiar with Hikaru and Ancient Gear cards shot to their feet.
This card could directly Special Summon Golem?
That was even more convenient than Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
Dust billowed.
The mechanical giant slowly took the statue's place, appearing on Hikaru's field.
"I'm not done! Ancient Gear Commander's effect!"
Hikaru clenched his fist, his presence overwhelming, as if countless mechanical forges were working frantically behind him to manufacture new equipment. "When I Normal or Special Summon an Ancient Gear Golem: I can Special Summon one Ancient Gear Golem from my hand or Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"
Again!!
"Be reborn! My knight, my giant, my need, my power!"
Many may have forgotten.
When Hikaru first joined Leo Akaba's Fusion Division, it was for this Ancient Gear Deck.
Back then, Hikaru didn't even have a spirit partner. And the very "beginning" of everything, earning Crystal's recognition and setting foot on the path of Gem-Knights...
It was all thanks to Ancient Gear Golem!
Ancient Gear Golem. Level 8, EARTH Attribute, Machine-Type. ATK 3000.
"Two Ancient Gear Golems..."
"Unbelievable. Even the Professor hasn't Special Summoned two Golems before, has he?"
"No, no, the Professor has actually done that before... but it's been a long time since we've seen him duel personally."
Students stared at Hikaru in amazement.
Or rather, they stared at the Ancient Gear cards in amazement.
In their memory, forget the Professor, even Hikaru hadn't used Ancient Gear cards in ages.
But now...
"I have never betrayed, never forgotten, nor have I betrayed or forgotten! What I am loyal to is the Fusion I believe in, the Fusion I stand by!
Therefore!
Jesse, you may be the strongest gem wielder, but...
I am a Fusion duelist!!"
Hikaru raised the last card in his left hand. "Spell Card: Power Bond!"
Power Bond. A Fusion Spell exclusive to Machine-Type monsters.
"Using that card means taking damage equal to the Fusion Monster's ATK during the End Phase!"
"He's going all out!"
"Power Bond?" Syrus craned his neck, watching the scene.
He naturally wasn't surprised that Hikaru possessed this Truesdale family secret technique. After all, there were plenty of cards in the world, and he had seen Hikaru use it before. What he hadn't expected was Hikaru being this reckless, playing it outright.
"I am the fallen dark knight! Using this kind of forbidden power is nothing special!" Hikaru grinned. "If anything, using this power for the sake of dueling, for the sake of Fusion, is the right thing to do!"
"The Fusion conditions are: four Ancient Gear monsters!"
Huh?
"Four?"
"Isn't it Ancient Gear Golem plus two other Ancient Gear monsters?"
"W-Wait, don't tell me!"
A brand-new Ancient Gear Fusion Monster!
"I fuse Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Wyvern, Ancient Gear Commander on my field, with Ancient Gear Hunting Hound from my hand!"
Hikaru took a deep breath, then spread his arms wide. "Ancient mechanical giant who has embraced chaos! Cross over disaster and enmity, and under the guise of a villain, clear your name!
Fusion Summon!"
Hikaru clapped his hands together.
Countless students felt a jolt run through them.
Only when Fusion Summoning Ancient Gear monsters did Hikaru perform every motion this meticulously, never cutting a single corner.
"Level 10!"
"Chaos Ancient Gear Giant!"
Hum... hummm... hummmm...
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
An enormous hovering mechanical giant hung suspended in the sky. Even though it had shrunk to fit within the classroom, just like Rainbow Dragon, its form remained massive, blanketing the entire ceiling.
"Ah!" Lulu covered her mouth with both hands in fright, her face pale.
This monster...
This monster!
That day. The day she was attacked. The sky above Heartland had been filled with these monsters...
Beside her, Serena noticed and instinctively whispered, "Don't worry. Master is absolutely fine!
Master is the true Ancient Gear. The true Fusion."
The true Ancient Gear, and the true Fusion.
Lulu was momentarily lost in thought. And at that moment, Hikaru's support rate had already begun skyrocketing!
Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. Level 10, DARK Attribute, Machine-Type. ATK 4500 → 9000.
"Chaos Giant?"
"Beyond Ultimate Golem, there's an even higher Giant?"
"4500 ATK, the same as the legendary Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"It's so huge!!!"
Hikaru shook out his slightly numb hand.
Beside him, Tierra couldn't help laughing. "Serves you right, you idiot. Clapping your hands while wearing that heavy costume and those thick iron gauntlets."
Having watched the entire duel without saying a word because she had zero interest in "acting," Tierra had stayed silent throughout. But seeing Hikaru make his own hands go numb from clapping finally broke her composure.
Hikaru coughed twice.
"Entering the Battle Phase."
Hikaru spoke.
At this point, anyone familiar with the Ancient Gear Deck would realize something critical: oh no, my opponent is running Ancient Gears. Better be careful and watch out for them sneaking into the Battle Phase.
Letting Ancient Gear monsters enter the Battle Phase was an extremely dangerous thing!
Especially with Chaos Giant!
"Chaos Ancient Gear Giant attacks Rainbow Dragon!"
9000 ATK!
Even if Rainbow Dragon gave everything it had, it couldn't win.
After all, Jesse only had four Crystal Beasts on his field.
Right now, perhaps he had only reached the level of "four."
But regardless, he couldn't lose in spirit!
"You're amazing, Hikaru!" At this point, neither of them cared about staying in character anymore. "Fusion, huh? Maybe I really should try learning it. But no matter what, Hikaru, I won't back down here!
Activate Rainbow Dragon's effect! Send all other Crystal Beasts on my field to the Graveyard, and for each one, increase its ATK by 1000!"
Hearing this, Hikaru couldn't help letting out a soft laugh, then said, "Jesse, I'd love nothing more than to clash head-on with Rainbow Dragon, but... it's not possible!"
?!
"As long as Chaos Ancient Gear Giant is in a Monster Zone, it's unaffected by Spell and Trap Card effects. Furthermore, the opponent cannot activate monster effects during the Battle Phase!"
It was...
Monster effect lockdown?!
Jesse's eyes went wide.
The spectating crowd was confused at first, but after thinking it through, it clicked.
Wait. When Ancient Gear monsters attack, the opponent can't use Spell or Trap Cards!
Combined with this, that meant no cards could be activated at all!
"That's how it is, Jesse." Hikaru grinned. "Normally, in a regular duel, I'd tell you the effect before attacking. We're friends, after all. But sorry, this time I'm the villain!"
"Ha ha ha, you got me! This is great! It's fine, Rainbow Dragon! Let's go!"
Rainbow-colored gems across Rainbow Dragon's body began blazing with light, unleashing its divine power.
Hikaru commanded Chaos Giant and shouted, "Chaos Giant, let's go too!"
In the beginning, it was Ancient Gear that had defeated the Gem-Knights, leading Hikaru down the path of collecting Gem-Knight cards.
And now, after all the trials the Gem-Knights had endured, Ancient Gear had finally completed its own closing chapter!
"Ancient Gear Chaos Impact!"
The giant raised its right hand, aimed at the dragon, and slammed down with a thunderous crash.
Jesse, LP: 2500 → 0.