"Hello! You're finally here!"
Hikaru Amagi heard a girl's voice calling out. He looked around, then turned toward Jaden.
"Where is she?"
"Right in front of you?"
"...Guess you still can't see me, huh~" the girl's voice giggled again. "But soon, I bet!"
So that's how it was.
Hikaru nodded. He could faintly sense something in front of him, a vague presence, but without solid holographic projection, he still couldn't see the Spirit.
"First of all, sorry, sorry~!" the voice was cheerful but apologetic, like a blonde magical girl bowing with her hands pressed together. "You guys probably know why I'm here, right?"
Hikaru glanced at Jaden. Jaden just shrugged, clearly confused.
"Aww, you dummy—Black Luster Soldier! I'm talking about Black Luster Soldier!"
"Ah! You were sent by him!" Jaden's eyes lit up. "Ohh!! Wait—does that mean we get to go back again!?"
"Nope~ Black Luster Soldier just asked me to deliver something for him!"
Dark Magician Girl, unable to hold back from the two's blank stares, twirled her staff and drew a glowing bridge of light in the air. A single card floated down and landed in front of Hikaru.
"Ha! Isn't that the guy?!"
"Hahaha, that rascal! I thought he forgot!"
Hikaru heard the voices of Flame Swordsman and Black Flame Dragon, piquing his curiosity. He reached out, took the card, and—
...What the—!?
Black Luster Soldier!?
Not a fusion, not a retrain, not some shiny gimmick—just four words:
Black Luster Soldier
Level 8 / EARTH / Warrior / Ritual Monster
"Wait, what?" Hikaru blinked in shock as he stared at the card.
"It's Gaia, my lord! GAIA!" Flame Swordsman cheered.
"Gaia? Oh—!" Jaden snapped his fingers in realization.
"You mean that Dark Knight Gaia who dueled us alongside Avian back then!?" Hikaru's eyes widened. "He really... evolved into Black Luster Soldier?"
"Bingo!" Dark Magician Girl chirped. "After you defeated him, he worked hard to change—made amends for his past, and eventually completed the Chaos Ritual with the help of a Light-attributed Spirit!"
"But..." She twirled her staff and nudged her hat. "He said he's still not done challenging himself. He wants to finish his journey first. When he's ready, he'll come find you, apologize in person... and follow you."
Hikaru nodded softly.
No Ritual Spell. No real way to play it. But Gaia's sentiment had reached him loud and clear.
"And now, onto something else!" Dark Magician Girl hovered in midair, producing two more cards. "These are the dimensional coordinates for your next journeys. One for each of you."
She handed one to Hikaru, one to Jaden.
"From Black Luster Soldier, with love~"
She pointed to Jaden first. "This one leads to a dimension ruled by a Fire Hero!"
"AHA! That's Burstinatrix!" Avian popped up, wings fluttering. "Jaden, let's—"
"Shut it and go squat somewhere!" Captain Gold booted him offscreen.
"Ahaha..." Jaden scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "Well, thanks anyway!"
He hadn't expected Black Luster Soldier to be looking out for his friends. That quiet, serious warrior... really had a warm heart.
"As for you," Dark Magician Girl turned to Hikaru, then sheepishly tapped her head with her staff, "Um... sorry again. I was supposed to deliver this earlier, but then I saw the festival and couldn't help joining in... I kinda forgot..."
She passed another card to Hikaru.
"This one's the coordinates to Magician's Village. Think of it as compensation! But please don't tell Black Luster Soldier I forgot, okay!? You won't, right!? Right?? If you don't answer I'll just take that as a yes~"
"Also, also!" she perked up again, spinning a card between her fingers, "A reward for our duel, right? I know the rules! I've got you covered!"
With a flourish, she signed the card.
"Tadaaa! Super-duper-ultra-strong card—Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight! This is a one-of-a-kind! Only I have it! It's yours now, so don't lose it, okay?"
"Whoa, what is that!?" Jaden's eyes sparkled at the fusion monster.
On the card, Dark Magician Girl was clad in silver armor, brandishing a sword and shield. Beneath her—an unfamiliar dragon, coiled with power.
Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight—a form summonable only by Fusion or the Eye of Timaeus!
In this era, that was an exceptionally strong Fusion monster.
Unfortunately, Hikaru still couldn't manifest the "Legendary Dragons" through Super Polymerization. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps his Spirit energy was still too weak.
Even summoning a Xiaomi had been difficult.
Still, the strength of this card was undeniable. Receiving it was an unexpected windfall. Hikaru was more than satisfied.
Once she'd passed along her messages and rewards, Dark Magician Girl gave a cheery wave and prepared to leave.
She couldn't remain in the human world too long—if Seto Kaiba tracked her down, she'd get an earful from her master. Better to vanish while the coast was clear. She cast her magic circle and zipped away into the void.
"Pity..." Jaden sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Guess this vacation, we won't be exploring another dimension together."
He had his own mission—to find his friends. That meant he couldn't accompany Hikaru to Magician's Village.
"That's how it is," Hikaru smiled. "We only have so much time and energy."
Meanwhile—
"Serena was found by Crowler? And taken to the girls' dormitory?"
Reiji Akaba had just returned from another dimension. Hearing the report, he didn't even flinch.
"Heh..."
Crowler, you really think catching my "daughter" would hold me back?
You have no idea what I'm really after.
At that moment, he felt he'd completely outmaneuvered Crowler—on an intellectual level.
Where Serena was didn't matter. What mattered was that she was alive, within reach, and still observable.
Crowler thought he'd found some great secret. That he could use Serena to intimidate or pressure Reiji.
Foolish.
Reiji didn't care about such things.
What did concern him, however, was the fact that Serena had called Hikaru Amagi her teacher. That alone damaged the Fusion Army's credibility.
But perhaps... that, too, could be spun to his advantage.
"I can use this to distract Crowler," he muttered. "Keep him tangled up, while I move forward."
And then—something else caught his attention.
"This 'Syrius Truesdale'... is he Zane's younger brother?"
"Yes, sir!" the Red Dorm rep nodded quickly. "He joined our Fusion Army not long ago—around the time Hikaru seized the 'Fusion' name for his club."
"He performed admirably today!" some of the Fusion Army students added, especially those assigned to 'protect' Serena. "He convinced that female duelist to participate, rallied the crowd to pressure Hikaru, and even shouted lines like 'You can't look at a girl's hand—that's private!' It was a brilliant tactic!"
"Unfortunately... our coordination failed. We weren't able to trip Hikaru up. We await punishment!"
"Fascinating..." said Kamishiro, eyes narrowed. "Zane Truesdale's brother, joining us now? Surely that's suspicious."
In truth, Syrius had only joined to challenge himself—to break out of the shadow of his brother and escape the madness of his surroundings. Hikaru had assured him that, should anything happen, he'd be there to pull him out. And anyway... it was just a club. He didn't even have to show up every day.
"A spy who outperforms your loyalists?" Reiji shook his head.
"Heh heh heh... I understand now. No wonder I hadn't heard his name before. Most likely, he's lived in his brother's shadow all this time—resentful, yearning for recognition."
A new plan began to take shape.
With Hikaru dealing a crushing blow to the Fusion Army, this might be the perfect moment to create a new idol for them to rally behind.
Syrius Truesdale—ambitious, competent, and Zane's younger brother.
Who better to draw attention?
Once word spread that Kaiser's little brother had joined the Fusion Army... the recruits would come flooding in.
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