"My turn. I activate the Spell, Pot of Greed."
X drew two cards.
'Hmm. Morphing Jar?'
Not the best pull, but it would do.
"Set one monster."
Then, grinning at his remaining hand;
"Set three back row. Turn end."
"Again with the set-and-pass."
"Ugh, that guy really just wants to destroy Hikaru's entire deck, doesn't he?!"
"Hikaru okay? I saw a ton of Fusion cards hit his Graveyard..."
The murmurs grew louder.
But Hikaru?
He smiled.
"My turn. Draw!"
Hikaru snapped his hand upward, wind trailing the card like a blade.
Didn't matter what it was.
"I activate Thunder Dragon Fusion's effect from the Graveyard! By banishing it, since it wasn't sent there this turn, I add one Thunder monster from Deck to hand!"
"I add Gem-Knight Citrine to my hand."
"Then activate Gem-Knight Fusion in my Graveyard! By banishing a 'Gem-Knight' monster from the Graveyard, I return this card to hand!"
"I banish Gem-Knight Lapis and recover Gem-Knight Fusion."
X stiffened. "All... from the Graveyard?!"
"As expected of Hikaru. Even with his cards milled, he still Fusions effortlessly."
"Yeah, now he can use Gem-Knight Fusion and Citrine to summon Prismaura!"
"Right! And then recover Gem-Knight Fusion again, then use Prismaura's effect to destroy Monster Register!"
Everyone followed Hikaru's lines perfectly, after all, they knew his deck inside out.
Using Thunder Dragon Titan on the field plus Citrine from hand, he could Fusion at the cost of 7 more cards from the Deck but destroy Monster Register.
Without that, X's field would collapse.
"Hehehe... trying to Fusion, are you? Naive. Naive! Did you think I wouldn't prepare for that?!"
"Reveal two face-downs, Success Probability 0%!"
'...'
Hikaru's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh no!" Bastion jumped to his feet.
"What's wrong, Bastion?" Jaden asked.
"It's bad! That card destroys cards from the Extra Deck!" Chazz's face twisted. "Hikaru's goal is Fusion. Losing the Extra Deck isn't just bad, it's ten, a hundred times worse than losing the main deck!"
'Extra Deck destruction?'
Aster glanced at his own.
Only five or six cards total. If they were destroyed... well, he could still win with Main Deck monsters.
But for Hikaru? A trap like Gravity Bind or Monster Register was nothing. But destroy his Extra Deck?
What would Hikaru do now?
"Oh? Showing real emotion now?" X sneered. "Delicious. Absolutely delicious! Watching you believers of bonds crumble is the best
Success Probability 0%: randomly send two Fusion Monsters from your opponent's Extra Deck to the Graveyard. Twice. Four cards."
Hikaru arched a brow.
"Unlike the Main Deck's 40 to 60 card limit, the Extra Deck maxes out at 15." A student explained for others.
Normally, no one counted Extra Deck cards in casual duels.
But this duel? Oh, everyone was counting.
"You already used one Fusion Monster. Now drop four more. Your Fusion deck only has ten left."
"Come on, Hikaru, drop your cards." X gestured like a cashier, palm open, waiting.
"Hah. Fine." Hikaru sighed. "No response. Do as you will."
Raising his left hand, Hikaru let X's grinning cash register monster yank four cards from his Extra Deck.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha! Delicious!"
"Damn it! That guy... how dare he destroy Hikaru's Fusions!!" Jaden clenched his fists.
To him, breaking bonds was the worst crime. His friends and his deck were treasures hard-earned, any threat to them was unforgivable.
"Ughhh..." Chazz groaned. "Can Hikaru really take this...?"
"Hikaru!!"
"So scummy! You call yourself a Pro Duelist?!"
"I... I can't even watch..."
But while tension spiked, Hikaru waved calmly. "Everyone... no need for that."
Huh?
X blinked. Something was... off.
Hikaru wasn't scared.
Not despair. Not panic. It wasn't anything like what every other duelist showed.
How... how could this be?
"Everyone," Hikaru coughed, adjusting his voice as four purple Extra Deck cards dropped to the Graveyard. "This is actually... the perfect opportunity."
"Eh?"
"What... what do you mean, Hikaru?" someone asked.
"You... your Fusion monsters."
"No problem!" Hikaru grinned.
That grin alone stunned X. He'd come here to witness despair... but instead, Hikaru stood proud, fearless.
X staggered back.
He was a duelist chosen by Sartorius. A duelist bearing the Tarot fate of Death. Any opponent he faced... their passion for dueling was usually reaped like a scythe.
But Hikaru;
Not even slightly fazed.
"I thought there was no way to beat you this turn... but it turns out, I was wrong." Hikaru's eyes gleamed. "Even I didn't expect things to turn out this way."
'Wh... What?'
'Beat me... now?'
"Fusion Club members, witness this! Witness my Duel. Witness my Fusion!
"Hand? Deck? Graveyard? Extra Deck? Banished? It doesn't matter!
"No matter where my cards are, I only pursue one thing. FUSION!"
Hikaru's gaze sharpened, voice rising with excitement. "I activate the effects of Fusion Monsters that were sent to the Graveyard!"
When else would he get this chance!?
"W-What!?"
"I activate... El Shaddoll Wendigo's effect! Activate Elder Entity N'tss's effect!"