Due to Chimerafflesia's effect, over twenty cards popped out of Hikaru's Deck automatically, each one a Spell Card with "Fusion" in its name.
Hikaru took the cards, selected one, and the rest were shuffled back automatically.
"I add the Field Spell, Fusion Recycling Plant, to my hand."
"No... no way."
"Doesn't that mean... he can just grab whatever he wants from his Deck?"
Most people there knew what kind of Deck Hikaru ran.
A full Fusion Deck!
Even his Traps were mostly Fusion-related!
So when facing Hikaru, you didn't have to worry about him interrupting your Summons with Trap Cards.
The only thing you had to worry about... was whether you could execute your own Duel properly.
In truth, many of the people here weren't just hostile to Hikaru because of the Fusion Army.
It was because Hikaru's status was just too "high."
Fusion Club Head. Academy Top Duelist. Professor Crowler's personal apprentice. A Duelist who had battled legendary opponents. The Absolute Fusionist, famous across three Dimensions...
Hikaru had countless titles. While some meant nothing to ordinary people, to students, each one was envy-inducing.
Before, they had lived in completely different worlds from Hikaru.
But after the Fusion Army attacked the X-Dimension, Fusion had been restricted to some extent. Even if not outright banned, Hikaru, the poster boy for Fusion, should be affected too, right?
They wanted to see it. They wanted to see that rising star fall, abandon Fusion, become just another mediocre Duelist like them. That would soothe their jealous hearts.
But what stood before them now... was someone even more pure in his Fusion path, someone who now had a monster that searched every Fusion card!
Monster Cards were a Duelist's symbol.
This meant their voices and criticism meant absolutely nothing to Hikaru…
Hikaru didn't even bother to explain or argue with them.
There was no greater insult than that.
Even worse…
Some people noticed Celina, how excited she looked.
Her radiant expression showed pure joy and energy.
She clearly had plenty of fight left to cause them more trouble, and she definitely wasn't afraid of getting her hands dirty anymore.
"I activate the Field Spell, Fusion Recycling Plant!"
"Fusion will never end, it will keep regenerating."
A massive Fusion factory enveloped the garden. The once bright garden became part of the giant plant, unable to function any longer.
"Though both Duelists have Field Zones, only one Field Spell can exist at a time. The previous one gets destroyed and sent to the Graveyard," Bastion nodded. "That Field wasn't super strong, but recovering Life Points every turn was a pain."
Marjoram glanced around at her beloved forest turning into a Fusion factory, but didn't panic. Instead, she added: "Aroma Garden's effect lingers even after leaving the field, so my Attack won't drop."
"I discard one card from my hand to activate Fusion Recycling Plant's effect, adding one 'Fusion' from my Deck to my hand."
Hikaru sent a Spell Card to the Graveyard and added a Fusion Spell to his hand.
"Next, I discard Thunder Dragon from my hand to add two more Thunder Dragons from my Deck to my hand."
Hikaru continued smoothly.
"Then, I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization."
"I fuse the two Thunder Dragons in my hand!"
Boom!
A crack of thunder roared from the sky.
"Fusion Summon, Thunder Dragon Colossus!"
[Thunder Dragon Colossus] Level 8│DARK│Thunder│2600 ATK
"Now, I activate two Trap Cards, Dried Winds and Gift of the Mystical Elf!"
"Gift of the Mystical Elf restores 300 Life Points for each monster I control. With two on the field, I recover 600 Life Points."
[Aromage Marjoram, LP: 4300 → 4900]
"Then both Dried Winds and my effect activate."
"While Dried Winds is on the field, whenever I gain Life Points, I can destroy one of your monsters. And for me, I can destroy any card."
"Thunder Dragon Colossus can banish a Thunder monster from my Graveyard to prevent its own destruction."
A withering storm swept the field. Thunder Dragon Colossus roared skyward, and a green dragon shadow burst forth, blocking the strike.
"Then I'll destroy your set card instead."
Curious what Hikaru had facedown all this time, she finally saw it.
"It was Fusion Substitute."
Hikaru calmly sent it to the Graveyard.
"A Normal Spell!?" Marjoram froze, then laughed. "Setting a Normal Spell to apply pressure, and you probably let me destroy it on purpose, didn't you?
"Even if I lose this Duel, I'll acknowledge you, human warrior. Your Duel is truly refreshing."
"Lose? My Fusion isn't done yet."
"First, I pay half my Life Points to activate the Spell Card, Extra-Foolish Burial. I send one monster from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard."
[Hikaru, LP: 1300 → 650]
"I send Elder Entity N'tss to the Graveyard and activate its effect to destroy your Dried Winds."
Dried Winds shattered.
"Next, Fusion Substitute's effect in the Graveyard. I banish it to shuffle one Fusion Monster from my Graveyard back to the Extra Deck and draw one card."
Hikaru returned Chimerafflesia to the Extra Deck and drew.
"But even if you recover Chimerafflesia, what's the point?" Marjoram looked confused. "You must be short on Fusion or Fusion Materials, right?"
"No... Not at all!"
Hikaru smiled broadly. "Miss Marjoram, your continuous healing and destructive interference are indeed powerful, but I understand you even better than you understand yourself!"
'???'
"I activate the effect of Aroma Blend in my Graveyard!"
"W-What Blend!?" Marjoram gasped.
A card rose from Hikaru's Graveyard, depicting none other than Marjoram herself!
"What!?"
"Huh???"
Many spectators who had managed to stay rational until now completely lost it. What was the main reason they stuck around here?
Aromage Marjoram!
And now?
Marjoram's image appeared on one of Hikaru's cards!
And since it was Hikaru's card...
"I... I can Fusion too?" Marjoram mumbled.
"Wait, we could Fusion?" Rosemary asked blankly.
"Miss Marjoram... part of Fusion too? No way... How could this happen?"
"Doesn't this mean... all those things we've been saying... we've been insulting her too?"
"Aroma Blend's effect: By banishing it from the Graveyard, I can banish monsters from my hand and field as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon one Plant Fusion Monster. If my LP is higher, I could even use monsters from my Graveyard, but right now my LP is lower."
Hikaru revealed his hand: "I banish Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio and Dark Magician from my hand to Fusion Summon."
"Predaplant Chimerafflesia!"
The once-sleeping Chimerafflesia rose again, cheerfully swaying its vines.
"Hmph," Marjoram frowned. "With me on the field, while my LP is higher, you can't target my Plant monsters with effects. Your Chimerafflesia can't banish me."
"Then let's battle!"
"Chimerafflesia, attack!"
Chimerafflesia's effect triggered immediately:
[Chimerafflesia, ATK: 2500 → 3500]
[Aromaseraphy Sweet Marjoram, ATK: 2700 → 1700]
Its vines struck Marjoram, knocking her out of the battlefield center. She gently fluttered her wings, landing in the Duelist area.
[Aromage Marjoram, LP: 4900 → 3100]
"No matter, Thunder Dragon Colossus only has 2600 Attack ,I still have 500 Life Points."
"Next turn, I only need a small LP gain to tip the balance again," Marjoram said confidently. "Even though you've shown me new possibilities, human warrior... it seems..."
Before she could finish, Hikaru calmly raised and flipped his final card.
[Thunder Dragonmatrix]
During either player's turn, by discarding this card, he could target a Thunder monster on his field and increase its Attack by 500.
Exactly 3100!
Endless Fusion cycles. Absolute trust in Fusion. Completely unaffected by outside opinions. Full-field Fusion searching. Perfect damage calculation. And even revealing to her... a Fusion possibility within herself she hadn't known about.
"Such perfect fragrance!" She couldn't help applauding Hikaru.
How could such a warrior ever be "evil"?
Seems she really lacked resolve. She should have driven this crowd off long ago!
"I discard Thunder Dragonmatrix, increase Thunder Dragon Colossus by 500 Attack, and launch a direct attack."
[Thunder Dragon Colossus, ATK: 2600 → 3100]
The sleek and powerful Thunder Dragon surged forward, spewing lightning at Marjoram, leaving her slightly paralyzed.
[Aromage Marjoram, LP: 3100 → 0]