Since there was still plenty of time, and they could experience sights in the Spirit World they would never encounter in daily life, Amaki Hikaru and the others didn't even need to think about it.
Whether it was the Volcano or the Rainforest, they were going to visit both!
The only question was whether to hit the Volcano first or the Rainforest first.
Bastion and Celina had no objections, so Hikaru decided to go to the Volcano Zone first.
After all, in the Rainforest, there was always the chance they'd run into something like Amazoness cards, and if that happened, Bastion might never leave. Better to prepare properly and tackle the Volcano first.
Leaving the Forest Zone behind, the world outside changed in an instant, like switching stages in a fighting game. The lush greens were gone, and when looking out from the train, the land outside was dyed a deep red.
Some Spirits wreathed in flames paused, watching the train go by, curiously eyeing the humans. A few even jumped or spun in place, visibly excited by the appearance of humans.
Hikaru tugged at his collar a little.
He wasn't really sensitive to heat.
As someone who had once been dragged into a volcano by DarkNess for a Duel, Hikaru had genuinely experienced volcanic temperatures. This heat wasn't enough to make him uncomfortable, but the sudden temperature shift did make anyone irritable. Even Hikaru wasn't immune to that.
"Oh, so it's this volcano," Tierra sat sideways on the train's table, crossing her legs lightly, resting her elbow on her knee, and her right hand against her head as she gazed outside.
"You know this place, Winda?" Celina asked curiously.
As Hikaru's student, she certainly knew that Winda held an "extraordinary" position in Hikaru's life. In normal Duels, Winda had the rare privilege among Spirits to influence Hikaru's tactics and decision-making, and sometimes, she even took over and Dueled herself.
For any other Duelist, that would be nearly impossible.
No matter how close a Duelist and their Spirit were, the Duel was still the Duelist's responsibility.
But with Hikaru, Winda held that kind of "status."
Bastion, on the other hand, stayed silent.
In fact, it was exactly Hikaru and Winda's relationship that made him frequently think of the Spirit who had once tried to steal the Sacred Beasts during the Shadow Rider crisis.
"Of course I know it~" Winda said easily when she heard Celina ask.
She clicked her tongue in wonder, sounding a little nostalgic. "This is the Jurrac Volcano. But by the time I was revived, this volcano had already gone dormant. The dinosaurs had long since died out, so they never saw me."
She lifted her cheek-resting hand and gestured outward. "When Hikaru Dueled that dinosaur-human last time, I thought that monster looked familiar. Later, I remembered why."
Though they were "insignificant carbon-based lifeforms," she did remember them as fellow members of the DT Planet back then. As a god, after all, she hadn't forgotten.
But the key point was the terrain.
Compared to the dinosaurs, the terrain was far clearer in her memory.
"I see. So this is a fragment of the Jurassic part of the Spirit World... hmm..." Hikaru lightly nodded at Winda's words. He remembered the Field Spell "Jurrac Volcano," but there was no way he could know what the actual volcano looked like. Hearing her say this, he finally understood.
If that was the case;
Then, the plan to search for DT Spirit World remnants could resume.
After all, this place was part of the "DT Spirit World" that had been lost.
Almost as soon as Hikaru had that thought, Tierra straightened slightly, stretched her left hand toward the train window, passed it through the glass, and touched the air outside.
With her motion, blue flames rose from her palm. Then, from within the flames, three pitch-black test tubes slowly emerged.
As the three tubes ignited, a silver-white mechanical demon formed in the outside world and was loaded with the three canisters.
Vmmm
The lifeless demon's eyes glowed crimson, and it moved its limbs, breaking free from the blue fire and flying from Tierra's palm.
Next came expansion, and more expansion!
A demon that had been palm-sized just moments ago grew into a four- to five-meter-tall terrifying behemoth!
Just the light flap of its wings carried an almost suffocating "heat."
Hikaru watched without stopping her.
"What monster is that?" Bastion asked curiously.
"Harmadik," Hikaru answered casually.
"The style's totally the same as that small demon she summoned before." Celina still remembered the Pirmais Tierra had summoned. Though both monsters had similar appearances, the difference in aura was obvious. "Weird... Master's never used this one before..."
"I'm not worthy yet," Hikaru lied. "She wouldn't give me all her power so easily."
"She even has hidden powers..." Bastion eyed Tierra. "She can already lock down Special Summons, and now she has hidden power too?"
Though not boasting high Attack Points, Winda had left a deep mark in Bastion's mind.
As long as she was on the field, both players were limited to one Special Summon each. At first glance, that didn't seem too bad in this world, but with just a bit of support, say, something like Book of Moon, it essentially became a full Special Summon lockdown.
More importantly, even if Winda was destroyed, she could recycle Shaddoll Spell Cards to continue Fusion Summoning.
Perfectly suited to Hikaru's Fusion-based strategy.
But, to think that Spirit still had unused, hidden powers?
Bastion couldn't help but overthink it.
Meanwhile, Hikaru knew exactly what Tierra was doing.
After collecting "Pirmais," "Antra," and now "Harmadik," Tierra had regained considerable power.
Though for her, it was still "a drop in the bucket," she could now do things no ordinary Spirit could imagine.
Previously, the Infernoid demons Tierra summoned could only operate near her. Now, she could deploy low-tier soldiers to scout freely.
And now that this area was confirmed to be connected to "DT," Tierra figured, since Hikaru was going to investigate anyway, she might as well send her soldiers to gather data first.
After some time on the train, they arrived in the evening. Hikaru's group rested overnight at KaibaCorp's station stop, and the next day, as scheduled, they reached the Twelve-Star Duelist section of the "Volcano Zone."
Unlike the Forest Zone, the Twelve-Star Duelists here weren't Spirits but KaibaCorp-employed "certified examiners."
Around the arena, there were many human-run shops and GG boards. Most of the GG boards weren't even switched on, their displays left blank.
The Duelist Hall resembled a giant museum-style Duel Field.
As soon as the three entered, they heard a half-hearted shout: "Jurrac Tyrannus, direct attack."
"Waaah"
Then, they watched a blue-uniformed student go flying and crash to the ground.
"Kid, no matter how often you show up, your lousy Dueling won't pass. Try again next time."
A slouching young man, hands in pockets, looking sickly and tired, emerged from inside, just in time to spot Hikaru's group.
"Ah... It's you guys."
It was Rex Raptor!
...
Bonus @400