Having finished his final exchange with Zone, Hikaru's consciousness returned to the human world.
Looking at the devastated Fusion Division, Hikaru didn't dwell on it.
Current destruction was for building a better future. After defeating Darkness, the academy could be renovated.
Back at the school building, nothing terrible had happened, which relaxed everyone. Hikaru could use this opportunity to properly study the Darkness data.
Honestly, this was incredibly useful.
Although he had successfully killed one Mr. T and even obtained its residual cards, the Darkness power and data Hikaru extracted from them couldn't help him find a method to "cure" his classmates' mental states.
Only by truly encountering Darkness would he have a chance to find a cure.
Earlier, his duel with the Supreme King had attracted many entities. At the time, neither Hikaru nor Tierra had the energy to observe them. Fortunately, Zone's self-control was unmatched throughout history. Even with the most powerful cards appearing before him, he would complete his own objectives first.
Hikaru took the Darkness data and studied it with Tierra, analyzing considerable information.
Disease, war, famine. These disasters composed Darkness's "skeleton." "Death" was its flesh and soul.
These were expected, things Hikaru had already considered.
But beyond that lay a critical point Hikaru had never discovered or even encountered.
Individuality.
As Hikaru reviewed Zone's materials, he gradually recognized another "weakness" of Darkness.
Individuality?!
Of all things, individuality?
Originally, Hikaru had theorized that Darkness sought to destroy humanity because, although it was humanity's "ending," it wasn't the only ending. So it had to act decisively to annihilate humanity and achieve its purpose.
In the original story, because Jaden's body housed two "souls" and Jesse could withstand Darkness's mental attacks through spirit power, Darkness had targeted them last.
In this world, because humans discovered dimensional travel and academies worldwide began teaching students "spirit power" to cooperate with spirits for higher dueling, this severely undermined Darkness's range. Its premature strike was entirely logical.
But now, it wasn't just that.
For Darkness, there was another intolerable "human vice": individuality.
If all humans were like "Mr. T," Darkness could abandon its plan to destroy them.
But precisely because humans possessed various personalities, Darkness couldn't tolerate them.
"Oh, that's quite interesting." Tierra offered her opinion.
Though she was a god devoted to "machinery," Tierra didn't actually reject "individuality." Even her mechanical creations each had unique traits. She never scrimped on craftsmanship. Nearly every life she created possessed the dual beauty of machine and life.
Unfortunately, neither Hikaru nor Tierra knew how to exploit or counter this.
After all...
What individuality meant to Darkness, Hikaru had no idea.
But one thing Tierra was very clear on.
Why Darkness targeted Hikaru so specifically.
Because Hikaru was too "individual."
When someone pursued Fusion to the point of doubting even memories and the world itself, their individuality had surpassed what ordinary humans could comprehend. So extreme that others would question whether they were even the same species.
Such outrageous "individuality" was quite possibly a one-of-a-kind occurrence in all human history. Darkness feeling disgust and hostility was entirely natural.
While studying this data, Hikaru also periodically checked on Atticus.
Apparently, Atticus was recovering remarkably fast. He might wake up as early as tomorrow.
This was critically important for Hikaru.
He spent the night experimenting, attempting to use his knowledge and Zone's materials for alchemy, crafting devices to block Darkness's mental interference. But details were still missing.
Perhaps once Atticus fully awakened and told him why Darkness had hunted him and isolated him from everyone's sight, Hikaru could achieve this.
In spare moments, Hikaru also reviewed the Fusion Monsters the Light of Destruction had given him. Beyond several powerful ones, he even found a few cards he had no memory of.
At first, he excitedly thought the Light of Destruction had found something incredible, like Dusk Crow. But upon closer inspection, his excitement faded.
It wasn't that he didn't recognize them. They were just too obscure. The Light of Destruction had sent him two "Dual Avatar" cards.
Well, at least his Fusion card library's "Dual Avatar Invitation" was now usable.
That card was actually quite intimidating as a standalone.
Jaden had gone to bed early. He was clearly saving his energy, planning to keep his appointment with Professor Viper tomorrow and settle things, then find Yubel.
Hikaru believed the current Jaden no longer needed his help, so he didn't plan to accompany him tomorrow.
After studying for a while, he drifted into drowsy sleep.
Prolonged fatigue, external pressure, the passive defensive stance with no way to take the initiative, plus the inexplicable half-hour of pain from the Red Light. Hikaru desperately needed rest.
But as he fell into dreams, his breathing grew increasingly rapid.
Tierra suddenly appeared beside him. Seeing cold sweat on Hikaru's forehead, her expression grew serious. She materialized a handkerchief and gently wiped his sweat, then casually summoned two mechanical demons to watch over him while she floated to the window, gazing at the sky above.
With her discernment, she could tell Hikaru wasn't truly injured. Rather, the painful experience was replaying in his subconscious during his dreams.
Pain so severe that even Hikaru found it unbearable...
More than the black walls surrounding them, what Tierra was most curious about now was what the Red Light actually was.
After some time, the sun slowly rose. Hikaru opened his eyes, rubbed his aching head, and slowly sat up.
Then he saw two demons right beside him, staring at him intently.
Grey-white compound mechanical eyes, densely packed, locked firmly onto Hikaru. Unsettling.
Satan and Beelzebub?
Hikaru wasn't startled. He rose slowly and looked toward Tierra at the window.
"What happened last night?"
Tierra casually told him.
"I see..." Hikaru nodded.
No wonder spirits exposed to the light went mad.
He rubbed the back of his head.
It seemed that during those "thirty minutes" of lost consciousness, he had endured pain beyond what he could handle. But that pain wasn't "lost." It had been hidden by his subconscious, preventing him from recalling it.
Probably similar to "selective amnesia" in medical terms? No wonder trying to remember gave him headaches.
The good news was that he could now possibly challenge places ordinary people and spirits couldn't easily go.
Like the "dangerous" locations marked in the Emerald Tablet, or even...
The Selfless Art School.
Hikaru still hadn't forgotten that place. He was too curious.
That "extremely dangerous" point at the "Red Light's epicenter."
With his current mental resilience, could he withstand it?
Hard to say, but worth attempting! Though he couldn't be reckless about it yet.
With that thought, he left his room. The hallway was still bustling with students. When they saw Hikaru, it was like seeing a pillar of strength. Their spirits instantly lifted, some even managing smiles.
Hikaru greeted them, smiling back.
Despite being in a terrible situation, just seeing Hikaru's smile seemed to ease their burdens.
After waking up, Jaden checked on Professor Strongman, Syrus, and Hassleberry. Seeing they still showed no signs of waking, he sighed, then said goodbye to Hikaru, saying he was going to find Professor Viper.
"Good luck, Jaden! Don't let the past hold you back!"
Hikaru watched Jaden prepare to leave campus and took a deep breath.
"Don't worry, Hikaru. I'll bring back powerful reinforcements and put an end to this chaos!" Jaden said confidently.
Although he hadn't fully merged with the Supreme King yet, last night Jaden had secretly practiced a little "special technique": Supreme King Possession!
Whenever he wanted, he could now forcibly summon the Supreme King, calling him into his body for a mini "two-on-one."
Hearing this, Hikaru was somewhat speechless.
Great. He hadn't mastered anything else but managed to steal this trick first?
Still, in the original's later arcs, Jaden could indeed do something like this.
He just didn't know whether the Supreme King, who wanted nothing to do with the present world or its affairs, was cursing this new version of himself.
Hikaru was certain that if someone pounded on his door while he was listening to music and sleeping, he'd be annoyed too.
Given the Supreme King's temper, hundreds of times more volatile than his own, it was impressive he could restrain himself from punching Jaden's head.
He watched Jaden leave Duel Academy and took a deep breath.
There were other things to do next.
First, check on Atticus's condition.
According to the doctors, he should be waking up around now.
Hikaru hurried to the infirmary. As his hand reached the door handle, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Something was wrong.
He sensed something bad happening.
Pushing the door open, he was startled to find the room held far more than one person.
In fact, there were even two Mr. T's inside!
A person wearing a mask and a pitch-black coat heard the door open and turned around.
"Oh my... you're here, Hikaru. Too bad you made it in time."
"Chazz! Adrian?!" Hikaru rushed inside, standing before them, eyes locked on the figure.
"How unfortunate." The black-clad man spoke. "If there had been only one person, this would have been finished already. Didn't expect an extra."
He glanced at Adrian. "This doesn't match the original plan."
In his conception, this person should have already become an enemy of Duel Academy's students. He hadn't expected him to be here.
At this moment, both Adrian's and Chazz's faces were drenched in cold sweat. Their spirits were completely exhausted, collapsed on the ground. But both stood firm before Atticus's bed, refusing to yield an inch.
"Sorry, Hikaru. I tried to send word, but those things blocked me." Chazz's face was drawn with fatigue, sweat streaming, eyes on the Mr. T's.
"Be careful, Hikaru! Don't look at that guy's eyes!" Adrian warned before anything else.
Unfortunately...
His warning came a bit late!
Hikaru had locked eyes with the black-clad man the moment he rushed in. Because of that, the man had been maintaining eye contact. Before Adrian's warning, the man's eyes had already begun glowing faintly blue.
Hikaru frowned, feeling a slight sting in his brain.
But...
It was only a sting.
"Hm?" The black-clad man froze.
The Mr. T's were equally shocked. "What happened?"
"Why isn't it working?"
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"Seeing is believing." The black-clad man looked at Hikaru. Two soft laughs came from behind his mask. "I didn't expect you could withstand even my memory and mental manipulation. Is your mental resistance really that much higher than ordinary humans and spirits?"
Hearing this, Hikaru understood immediately.
So this was the highest level of mental manipulation, the kind that could affect even spirits?
Too bad.
This guy was out of luck.
Last night, Hikaru had endured inhuman torment he couldn't even recall now. Compared to that, this level was nothing.
"What a shame. I wanted to resolve everything peacefully." The black-clad man spoke calmly. "This is precisely why human individuality is so repulsive. Why can some people fall asleep so easily, while others can resist even my memory modification?
Forget about dueling. Wouldn't life be more peaceful?"
Hikaru looked at the cards scattered across the floor and formed a theory.
So he had forcibly made Adrian and Chazz forget how to duel, then resorted to physical violence?
No wonder they had been dealt with so easily.
Tch.
Despicable.
The black-clad man flicked his left hand. A Duel Disk materialized. Simultaneously, Hikaru activated his own.
"Ugh..." At that moment, just as the doctors had predicted, Atticus slowly began to wake.
Chazz immediately struggled to his feet and went to check on Atticus. Confirming he was genuinely coming to, wild joy finally crossed his face.
At last!
After so many classmates and teachers had fallen unconscious, someone was finally waking up!
He couldn't help but tear up.
As though "hope" had appeared before him.
"Time to wrap this up." The black-clad man glanced at Atticus, spoke briefly, then turned back to Hikaru.
Hikaru snorted coldly. "Duel."
Hikaru, LP: 4000.
Black-Masked Man, LP: 4000.