Bastion and Celina had no hope of earning Rex Raptor's approval anytime soon. After spending some time in the area, once Hikaru had gathered enough information, they planned to head back to the Forest Zone together, then move on to the Rainforest Zone.
After all, with six months to find answers, there was no need to stubbornly stay in one place.
Though just as they were preparing to leave, they realized they couldn't.
Not because KaibaCorp's equipment was down again, but because something was causing a commotion at the station gates.
"Direct attack by White Night Queen!"
"Gwaaaah"
A student went flying and crashed onto the ground.
'What is going on?'
Hikaru instinctively moved toward the fallen student to help, abruptly, before he could, a group of people in white uniforms walked over.
"Society of Light," Bastion said, frowning.
"As agreed, we're taking your badge!"
"Wait, no!" The fallen student came to his senses and tried to resist, but how could one person stand against three or four of their peers? They easily snatched the GX badge from his chest.
Hikaru and the others watched but said nothing.
Because this was part of the tournament process and rules. They had no grounds to interfere.
That was how the GX Tournament worked.
"Damn it... Damn it!" The student pounded the ground with his right hand, sobbing in frustration.
Hikaru noticed that the student's badge had two stamps, meaning he was actually quite capable.
Actually, any student who had made it to the Volcano Zone by now was likely a confident Duelist. Even if they hadn't earned Rex Raptor's approval, they would at least have one stamp. These weren't like the guys clinging around Marjoram back in the Forest Zone, these were Duelists actively challenging strong opponents.
Hikaru glanced around. Many students wore expressions of anger, which piqued his curiosity.
He'd spent the past few days holed up in the lab or watching duels at Rex Raptor's exhibition area with Bastion, so he wasn't fully aware of the situation here.
"What's going on, Shikawa?" Hikaru called out to a somewhat familiar classmate.
The student frowned at first when he saw Hikaru, but the reaction quickly faded.
Most students who knew Hikaru personally understood what kind of person he was and had witnessed his duels against the Polymerization Club firsthand. They wouldn't believe the gossip.
After a moment of hesitation, the student explained the situation to Hikaru.
The Society of Light Duelists had surrounded the area, blocking the station gate, preventing anyone from leaving. Anyone who wanted to leave had to duel them. If you lost, you handed over your badge. If you won, you got their badge and could leave.
In the past two days, they'd collected seven or eight badges this way. But what infuriated everyone was that, because stamps from the same star level only counted once, even with seven or eight badges, the stamps were mostly duplicates. Yet they still refused to leave, clearly just trying to fail as many students as possible.
Because of that, some students who couldn't stand their actions had challenged them. Not just students from the main Academy, but plenty from the branch campuses too. The result: more and more losses, and now friends of those students were coming over seeking "revenge."
As for the Society of Light Duelists, they welcomed all comers.
"Damn it, who is this guy? Never even heard of him, why is he so strong?"
"Never heard of him? Some transfer student?"
"No, he's from our Academy."
'Wait, what?'
Hikaru was surprised.
A powerhouse from the main Academy that he didn't know?
'Silver Meteor? Princess Rose?'
Hikaru shot a look toward the gate.
Nope, this Duelist was a complete stranger.
Wearing a spotless Obelisk Blue uniform, looking lifeless, with dark circles under both eyes, and strange black tattoos running down his right arm.
'Who is this then…'
"Same year as us," Bastion suddenly spoke up. "I remember him. Obelisk Blue. Not in our class, though, so I don't know him well."
A Duelist of this caliber, same year?
"Ah, it's Amagi Hikaru," one of the Society of Light Duelists noticed him. "Just as Master Sartorius foretold, I've been waiting for you here, Amaki Hikaru."
"As destiny revealed... I waited here, and you appeared." The Duelist struggled to stand, with help from several others.
'So, Sartorius' orders?'
Well, that made sense.
"Who? Amaki Hikaru? He's here too?"
"Whoa, look at that badge, he's already got a Volcano Zone stamp!"
"As expected of Hikaru!" Students around them noticed him, too.
Some students from the branch campuses weren't that familiar with Hikaru, but upon seeing him, they realized something exciting was about to happen.
The student with the pile of badges held them up: "If you win, I'll return everyone's badges."
"Also, you're missing three-star and four-star stamps, right? I have those." He picked up his badge. "If you beat me, you can instantly get five stamps. Then you can spend the rest of the semester doing whatever you want in this dimension."
Though it didn't directly concern him, Bastion couldn't help commenting: "Hikaru, sounds like a good deal."
From Bastion's perspective, Hikaru's reputation had taken a hit because of the Fusion Army incident. Getting an invite to a duel like this was definitely worth considering.
Plus, grabbing a three-star and four-star badge outright was a huge benefit for someone like Hikaru, who was bound for the finals.
"Hikaru! Please, I beg you, help me get my badge back!" A classmate from Ra Yellow grabbed Hikaru's hand.
Hikaru glanced at him.
"Relax. Even for my own sake, I have to beat this guy." Hikaru wasn't about to walk back to the Forest Zone on foot.
"Also, since I'm dueling someone as famous as you, just offering these terms isn't enough," the Duelist added. "If you lose, you join the Society of Light."
"You're adding extra conditions now?"
"In return, if I lose, I have a card prepared by Master Sartorius himself." He held up a card, not showing it, but said, "It's a Fusion Monster you don't have."
"Looks like Sartorius really thinks highly of you, Hikaru," Bastion quipped.
"Hahaha, what's wrong, Bastion? Jealous? Don't envy me too much! Hahaha." Hikaru wasn't too concerned.
After all, he'd already been challenged by Pro Duelist X before. A duel with the Society of Light didn't faze him at all.
Last time, Sartorius had even provided that crucial intel on "Raviel."
He was curious what Sartorius had prepared this time.
"Alright then, let's duel!" The two of them stood at opposite ends of the station gate, set their Duel Disks, and shouted in unison:
"DUEL!" x2
[Koharu Haruki, LP: 4000]
[Amagi Hikaru, LP: 4000]