Lost.
Trying to maintain the dignified posture of a Demon Nobility, and instruct juniors with the stance of a winner, ended up losing to Tenjo Hikari, making The Duke of Demise a bit embarrassed.
Yet upon reconsideration, as a Spirit, losing is losing, no matter the situation, and especially when actively targeting him, losing requires admittance all the more.
Therefore, The Duke of Demise almost without hesitation gave his physical card to Tenjo Hikari.
This made Tenjo Hikari quite pleased.
After all, the Fusion Conditions for The Duke of Demise are quite lenient, requiring only two Zombie-Type or Fiend-Type Monsters for Polymerization.
Moreover, its effect is excellent.
Not to mention that it can increase Normal Summon once while on the field, its battle destruction resistance is even more suitable for starting an attack than Netherworld Dragon. With its presence, Tenjo Hikari could reconsider carrying the Vampire Fraulein components.
After all, aside from anything else, Fraulein as Tenjo Hikari's longtime defense method, although the applicable scope isn't as broad as "Temperance," it can reserve an additional Fusion Material. Thus, it's worth reconsidering for deployment.
Of course.
The Duke of Demise has another crucial effect.
That is, The Duke of Demise can banish itself from the Graveyard, targeting a Fiend-Type·Zombie-Type Monster of level four or higher in his Graveyard to activate. That card then joins the hand.
This effect further broadens coverage.
On one hand, after being dealt with by the opponent, it can be used to recover Fraulein or other Monsters used as materials, further providing defense or fusion.
On the other hand…
At specific moments, this card can be used to recover "Tierra, Source of Destruction."
Tenjo Hikari once tried a similar deck; before coming to this world, he considered using Fiendsmith to stack Tierra and then The Duke of Demise to recover Tierra's performance stage.
Regardless of its power, it certainly looks cool.
Overall, The Duke of Demise, whether in the "present" or "future," significantly contributes to Tenjo Hikari's deck construction, showing much promise.
On another note, Necroquip Princess seems a bit unfortunate; though also a Spirit, Necroquip Princess hasn't yet used Spirit Power to construct her card.
This piques Tierra's curiosity.
In fact, it's Tenjo Hikari's first time encountering a situation of "having an existence but not yet a birthed card."
In the Critical Point area, there are many peculiar Spirit villages, and not all Spirits are "eligible" to partake in Duel Ceremony. Some only watch as spectators before living their days.
Nevertheless, given the presence of "Necroquip Princess," Tenjo Hikari understands in the Spirit World that card emergence won't take long; thus, it's not overly concerning.
As the duel concluded, aided by Tenjo Hikari and the Vampire Kingdom, a temporary Dimension Tunnel was constructed, allowing The Duke and his sheltering Spirits to begin moving towards the Great Cosmic Workshop Dimension.
Looking at the brand-new world, where they can freely choose "planets," these Spirits appeared rather excited, discussing enthusiastically. During this transfer, Vampire Fraulein began to observe the Great Cosmic Workshop's situation as well.
Soon, she confirmed that the space in the Great Cosmic Workshop is vast, and it connects to more than one Dimension.
There's an allied robot army within some Dimension, and one filled with archfiends, where Camilla's former "supervisor," the Three Phantasm, also resides.
This shocked Vampire Fraulein quite a bit, but beyond the shock, she made her judgment.
She discussed with Tenjo Hikari about thoroughly connecting the Vampire Kingdom Dimension to Tenjo Hikari's "Great Cosmic Workshop" Dimension. This way, they can, like the allied Gear Dock and Frightfur Sanctuary, communicate through portable Dimensional channels.
There are several benefits to this: Firstly, Tenjo Hikari won't need to spend extra effort afterward, as Vampire Spirits would communicate just like the Gear Dock Spirits, saving him time.
Secondly, given this connection between the Vampire Kingdom and Grand Cosmic Dimension, Vampire Fraulein can assist Tenjo Hikari during duels with Spirit help.
Previously, cards of Vampire Fraulein would often appear in crises during Tenjo Hikari's duels, driven by his dispatching and dueling strength. Still, through this method, Fraulein can appear whenever Tenjo Hikari needs her.
Though Fraulein herself isn't an exceptionally advanced Spirit, she is now the "leader" of the entire Vampire Kingdom with special power support, ensuring her emergence when Tenjo Hikari truly needs it.
It's quite delightful, indeed, as Tenjo Hikari would surely prefer his duels to be a bit safer.
The final third point.
The last reason given by Fraulein.
As a temporary leader of the Vampire Kingdom, she must admit that the Vampire Kingdom Dimension is gradually slipping into collapse. Although the collapse isn't conspicuous, it will eventually suffer, hence most Vampire Spirits dwell within the kingdom, forcibly maintaining its existence through various means.
But connecting to the Great Cosmic Workshop has briefly stabilized the Vampire Kingdom, implying that some power in the Cosmos is maintaining the existence of "Dimension."
This matter is extremely significant to the Vampires, being Fraulein's most desired collaboration goal.
In return, upon successful cooperation, Vampire Spirits will have "freed" themselves.
Keep in mind that although blood demons aren't exceptionally advanced Spirits, they've lived for countless years, boasting extensive networks. They previously prioritized maintaining their Dimension existence, unwilling to lower their noble facade to seek help from other Dimension Spirits.
Collaboration enables them to liberate themselves and seek support from past acquaintances for Tenjo Hikari's manipulation…
Securing backing.
Besides anything else, including The Duke of Demise, these Spirits have some prestige within the Zombie World, and with their backing, even if no extraordinary Spirits are recruited, Tenjo Hikari will certainly garner a batch of Spirit cards to expand his system's scope.
Supremely advantageous for all.
However, it's only a temporary fix.
After hearing them, Tenjo Hikari realized the "Philosopher's Stone" might be at work.
But, this solution only addresses symptoms.
On the flip side, Tenjo Hikari discerned a matter.
The Spirit Dimension is continuously collapsing, evident clearly in cases like the Vampire Kingdom's, despite subtlety in most others.
No matter the existence behind the scenes, it caused the Spirit Dimension's fragmentation, an undeniable reality. Before investigating the mastermind, Tenjo Hikari must consider a method…
A means to "heal the Dimension."
If a solution can be found, it's guaranteed that many Spirits will approach Tenjo Hikari seeking collaboration, much like the Vampires.
Yet…
He's utterly clueless, right?
Tenjo Hikari can't even identify the problem's location.
It's simply beyond his professional grasp.
"Heh heh heh… Tenjo Hikari, looks like you need the help of[God]."
Standing within the workshop, having helped The Duke and them settle, Tenjo Hikari stood silently, pondering over the connections while stroking his chin.
Tierra seemed to notice Tenjo Hikari's puzzlement, softly laughing and declaring, extending her arms.
Oh?
Oh!
Truly—