"Hmph… such defiant spirit." Darkness sneered as he heard Hikaru Amagi's words, pulling out a blank card from his cloak. "But before we begin this duel, let's make one thing clear—this is a Shadow Game."
"A Shadow Game?!" Alexis gasped. "Am I dreaming?"
"The soul of the loser… will be sealed inside this card."
"I see."
Hikaru wasn't surprised. In fact, he was almost relieved.Finally—it was here.
A card that traps people inside it!
With the terms agreed, the duel began.
First turn: Darkness.Though he wore a mask, Hikaru could already guess his identity—it had to be Fubuki Tenjoin, Alexis Rhodes' missing brother, Atticus.
In the original story, Atticus was guided by a certain fragment to challenge Jaden. But Hikaru had noticed right away—this version wasn't carrying that item.So he just picked someone "pretty strong" to fight instead?
This world still had many details that didn't quite match Hikaru's memory.
"Duel!" ×2Darkness LP: 4000.Hikaru Amagi LP: 4000.
"My turn. Draw. I Normal Summon Red-Eyes B. Chick!"
"Red-Eyes?" Alexis' eyes widened. "It can't be—"
"Oh, but it is. I activate the effect of Red-Eyes B. Chick: I send it face-up from the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon—Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand!"
FWOOM!!Flames erupted beneath Hikaru and Darkness, engulfing the sky.A blazing dragon burst from the magma below, soaring upward, before landing with a crash on the suspended battlefield—molten rock dripping from its wings as its full form emerged.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon – Level 7, DARK, Dragon-Type, ATK 2400.
"That's… the legendary dragon…" Alexis looked worried."Hikaru's ace is Flame Swordsman, right? This is…"
Red-Eyes and Flame Swordsman—both cards once wielded by the legendary duelist Joey Wheeler.But Red-Eyes had always been the true ace.
This duel… wasn't going to be in Hikaru's favor!
"I Set 1 card and end my turn."
A simple combo—two cards for 2400 ATK.In this world, that was still powerful.After all, Jaden needed to hard draw Polymerization, Clayman, and Sparkman just to make a 2400 ATK Thunder Giant.
"My turn. Draw."
Without hesitation, Hikaru played his first card."I activate the Normal Spell—Fusion Deployment!This card can only be activated once per turn, and for the rest of the turn, I can only Special Summon Fusion Monsters from the Extra Deck.
I reveal Labyrinth Tank from my Extra Deck, then Special Summon one of its listed materials from my Deck—Cannon Soldier!"
"Next, I activate Cannon Soldier's effect! I Tribute one monster to inflict 500 damage to you!"
Cannon Soldier powered up, loading itself into its own cannon and firing a blast straight into Darkness' chest.
"Grrgh—!"
Darkness LP: 4000 → 3500.The blast sent him stumbling back, his cloak ripped at the edges.
"But now your field is empty."
"I activate the Continuous Spell—Future Fusion+!" Hikaru revealed the card with a flick."I reveal Labyrinth Tank and send Cyber-Tech Alligator from my Deck to the Graveyard. Then, I immediately activate Future Fusion+'s second effect—"
"I banish Cannon Soldier and Cyber-Tech Alligator from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon—Labyrinth Tank!"
K-CHAK!That classic toy-like machine revved onto the field!
Labyrinth Tank – Level 7, DARK, Machine-Type, DEF 2400.
"Amazing!" Alexis exclaimed. "He not only dealt damage, but also summoned a wall with 2400 Defense!"
"I Set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Hmph. 2400 DEF?" Darkness chuckled. "You think that's enough to stand up to Red-Eyes?"
"My turn. Draw. Just in time— I activate the Normal Spell—Inferno Fire Blast!"
"This card prevents Red-Eyes from attacking this turn, but instead, it inflicts damage to my opponent equal to Red-Eyes' ATK!"
"Oh no—Hikaru, watch out!" Alexis shouted.Just 500 damage had already torn Darkness' cloak.2400 points… was unthinkable!
"I activate my face-down! Counter Trap—Fusion Shield!"
"A Counter Trap?"
"There's a Fusion-themed Counter Trap?!"
Both Darkness and Alexis reacted—he in surprise that his tactic was interrupted again, she in awe at the sheer fusion synergy.
"When your opponent activates an effect that would inflict damage: negate that activation and effect, then send 1 random Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck to the Graveyard."
A massive purple fusion emblem shimmered in front of Hikaru.Red-Eyes' inferno hit it like a punch to a pillow, completely absorbed.
"Tch." Darkness clicked his tongue.
Hikaru glanced at his Graveyard."The Fusion I sent was… Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem."
"Oh no!" Alexis panicked. "That was his strongest monster!"
It's fine…
He couldn't summon it anyway.
Hikaru didn't mind.In fact, now that he was getting along with Professor Crowler, maybe he could just tell him his card had evolved and ask for another copy of Ultimate Golem?
"Ha ha ha! Powerful cards always come with risks. Looks like you've lost your trump card." Darkness clenched his fists."I end my turn."
Hikaru let out a breath of relief.
He didn't have Jaden's anime-tier durability—dodging a blast like that was absolutely worth it.
"My turn. Draw."
Oh!He'd drawn a powerful card—
Scattered Fusion!
"Nice draw. I activate the Continuous Spell—Scattered Fusion!"
Scattered Fusion?Another new fusion spell?
Alexis watched in stunned silence.She'd only seen Hikaru duel once—during the representative selection match against Jaden.She had been surprised then… but now she understood.
Hikaru's obsession with Fusion went far beyond what she'd imagined.
So far in this duel, every single card he'd played was tied to Fusion.
She couldn't help but sigh softly.
What about her?
Did she have that kind of purity as a duelist?
…No.
She probably just wanted to find her brother.
She looked across the field.If her brother were still here… he'd probably be about that tall.
The masked man noticed her gaze—and smiled eerily.
Hikaru's Fusion skills were indeed impressive.But he, Darkness, still had an unbeatable trump card up his sleeve.