"According to the effect of the Pseudo-Scripture, send your Gem-Knight to the graveyard."
Masumi Kotsu noticed countless puppet strings flying, forcibly dragging the brilliant diamond into the graveyard. This left only [Gem-Knight] on her field.
"That monster's body... could it be... materialism??"
"Oh my gosh, Tenjo Hikari wasn't lying to us! Even a materialistic monster like this is still part of his fusion."
"A monster that's obviously unaffected by Spell·Traps, yet it can turn into a Fusion Monster this way..."
Many spectators who hadn't seen Tenjo Hikari a few times couldn't help but whisper, while those familiar with him, like Yuki Judai and Manjome, discussed the six attributes of "El Shaddoll" and how they related to the stages of Tenjo Hikari's alchemy, and why there was suddenly an Earth Attribute.
As the opponent, Masumi Kotsu couldn't help but gape.
Because she gradually realized something intricately terrifying.
If—
When she Fusion Summoned the [Gem-Knight Alexandrite], Tenjo Hikari had immediately activated the Pseudo-Scripture, wouldn't she be unable to summon the brilliant diamond at all?
Soon, she understood.
That person, that man called Tenjo Hikari, really wanted to see where her fusion limit lay!
She took a deep breath.
"Wrong."
"What?"
In the team voice chat, Masumi Kotsu's voice suddenly rang out.
"We were wrong... that guy wasn't looking to cause trouble for Sakaki Yuya, he was just curious whether we Special Summoning duelists could recognize our own determination."
Although they mastered Special Summoning techniques, these techniques were all handed down from the Other Dimension to their world. Did they really understand the essence of these techniques?
The answer is...
Unknown.
At least, until today, she had only regarded fusion as a convenient technique, never thinking about what she truly cherished about obtaining the Gem-Knights.
And today, Tenjo Hikari just happened to encounter her, happened to have the chance to duel, so he was just curious to ask.
For this, he even gave up disguising his identity, just to aid a fellow Fusion Duelist!
This is inclusion and assistance!
Absolute Fusion Master, huh......
She shook her head: "Gem-Knight Alexandrite attacks brilliant diamond!"
No matter how the road ahead unfolds, at least she now understood the path.
As a knight, one must act like a knight!
As a knight, you cannot fear failure. Moreover, her ATK is higher!
The Gem-Knight Alexandrite raised her rapier, saluted the brilliant diamond from afar, and Captain Crystal was somewhat surprised, then also placed a fist over his heart, saluting back—
Then, the female knight swung her rapier and dueled with the radiant light's greatsword knight. Shortly after, Captain Crystal was the first to be destroyed.
Tenjo Hikari, LP: 1750→1450.
Shortly after, the female knight began to crumble due to her own instability, ultimately vanishing.
"End... turn."
Tenjo Hikari smiled, drew a card from his deck, and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll use this too... Normal Summon, Gem-Knight Alexandrite, activate its effect, release itself, and Special Summon Gem-Knight Crystal from the deck."
The two 2450s, combined for a total of 4900, left Masumi Kotsu with no chance on an empty field...
"Battle. Crystals, direct attack."
"Aah—" The two Crystals attacked in succession in front of Masumi Kotsu's lane, startling her, but since it was merely an illusionary attack that didn't actually hit her, she didn't crash.
"Masumi!" Sakaki Yuya stood up, "Shijima, let me handle this, that gentleman wants to duel me anyway—"
"Sorry, Sakaki Yuya." Shijima Hokuto mounted the D-wheel.
By now, he naturally realized Tenjo Hikari bore no malice, but since he was engaged, there was no reason to retreat.
"Besides, I don't want others to think that the students of LDS would shrink back in the face of challenges!"
Sakaki Yuya felt a tinge of helplessness—
He really wanted to say that you're the weakest of the trio, how could you duel Tenjo Hikari.
This isn't a novel or animation, there's no "the stronger ones appear later"! You also can't say, "Haha, it's just dealing with the weakest two, and there are many like them"!
Everyone knows the most formidable among you three is surely Masumi... but he swallowed the words before voicing them.
Indeed!
Though initially, it was him Tenjo Hikari sought to duel, ultimately, it was Shijima and the others who stepped onto the stage and participated in the duel!
He had no reason, nor justification, to prevent others from dueling!
This was the basic principle Mr. Yugi shared with him long ago.
A duelist should respect the duel!
Yet, during this duel, he remembered something.
Fusion-centric duelists, could this Tenjo Hikari senpai be the one Mr. Yugi referred to as a duelist whose understanding of polymerization far exceeds the ordinary?
He suddenly grew expectant.
Actually, it wasn't just the desire to duel with him, but also an ongoing curiosity about who the duelist with extraordinary fusion understanding Mr. Yugi often mentioned was, and what kind of duels they had.
Today, observing his actions and demeanor firsthand...
One must admit, even at the peak of his desire to become an Entertainment Duelist, he never seemed like Tenjo Hikari.
There's a sense of inexplicable madness, yet he appeared rational and calm; it's hard to know how this style developed.
A few minutes later, Shijima Hokuto performed a Constellar Pleiades overlay with two monsters, intending to use its effect to return Tenjo Hikari's Fusion Monster to the hand card. Tenjo Hikari sighed helplessly and activated Shekhinaga's effect, nullifying and destroying Pleiades' effect.
Just as expected.
Shijima Hokuto was indeed the fastest to lose.
Although he reduced a lot of Tenjo Hikari's life points, the remaining monsters were still too many for Tenjo Hikari, and he couldn't handle them all.
Sakaki Yuya felt regretful.
But then, he realized—
When the competitors return, won't he have the opportunity to meet Tenjo Hikari again?