Tierra was no benevolent goddess. The sight of another human about to be robbed of their soul by a Spirit wouldn't stir her into a rescue mission; that simply wasn't something she did for fun.
The only reason she intercepted the Death Card was singular: she realized this Death Card could serve perfectly as "raw material" for one of her own "components," to craft a body part for herself.
Opportunities like this didn't come often.
Replica cards of the Sacred Beasts held decent power but carried too much of the Sacred Beasts' residual imprint.
The Shaddoll series, though also her own creation, were more like constructs, with limited relevance, while this Death Card, conceptually close to her "Authority," and originating not from some anomalous Spirit but from a simple Normal Monster card, was ideal base material.
That's right.
As the Source of Destruction Goddess, Tierra's domain was none other than the cycle of life and death itself.
"Creating life" was merely an external manifestation of that Authority.
In short, this card would make an excellent body component.
And she had no need to consult the Death Spirit for permission. After all, it was a Spirit that genuinely devoured its user's soul, Hikaru wouldn't stop her.
The only remaining problem?
Convincing Hikaru to help her craft the next body component.
"Patrulea, huh..."
The fourth Infernoid, embodying the singularity of "Unease" and "Mercy."
Not quite at the fifth yet, so the danger level wasn't extreme.
"So, how are you planning to do it?" Hikaru asked after a brief pause, not rejecting her outright.
Tierra chuckled softly.
Oh, she had a method.
Thanks to Harmadik, she'd already gathered considerable data about the Volcano Zone. If she could gain a bit more power, she'd be able to reverse-engineer the connection and directly summon the Spirit from the card into the Spirit World.
Just like how Winda once forcibly located and contacted her creator, a genuine "Construct" Spirit.
It was something only she could do, and only here in this volcanic region.
And only with the Light Force present did this chance exist.
Hikaru listened as Tierra laid out her plan in detail, mulling it over.
He could probably push through the headache and use the card anyway, after all, it was just a headache, not fatal.
Nonetheless, Hikaru decided this was worth a try.
Because he'd always wanted to locate the coordinates of the DT Spirit World. If this worked, he might be able to confirm the existence of the DT Spirit World by this method.
That would make collecting cards for his Decks much easier.
By all accounts, this was worth doing. Hikaru quickly agreed, gathered materials, and after two experimental runs with pre-prepared lab equipment, began full production.
As they say: third time's the charm. The third time building an "Infernoid" exceeded Hikaru's expectations. Maybe, without realizing, his compatibility with the Infernoid archetype had increased significantly, because crafting Patrulea went incredibly smoothly.
Once done, Tierra excitedly rubbed herself against the demon with a dragon-head right arm. Though still "just a small part" of her body, with this many necessary cards, she'd reached a full "one-third" completion. No wonder she was thrilled.
At this rate, she might not need centuries, maybe just a decade or so to revive fully.
After that, Hikaru temporarily left the station, went to a secluded spot in the Volcano Zone, placed the Construct's card carefully, and let Tierra take control.
Tierra closed her eyes and summoned Harmadik. Blue flames ignited within the cave, burning against a screen of black smoke.
As the screen was about to burn away, Hikaru heard a series of "crack, crack" noises.
Then, a burst of sacred music rang out.
The Construct's form manifested again in this world. Unlike the towering, sky-piercing Construct summoned by the Society of Light, this Spirit appeared quite "small," only about five or six people tall.
"Haha, how's that, Amaki Hikaru? Smooth as silk, right?" Tierra laughed.
She was a goddess!
Her plans couldn't possibly fail!
Hikaru nodded, signaling Fullmetal Alkahest to record the data.
"Why have I been summoned here…" the Construct Spirit asked.
Unlike Winda from Hikaru's first encounter, this one spoke much more fluently. But even so, its voice remained cold and mechanical.
"Haha, this guy needs your help, so hurry up and go on a journey with him." Tierra pointed at Hikaru.
The Construct's eyes opened, sweeping Hikaru with yellow light. After finishing its scan, it responded mechanically: "Target: Human. Amaki Hikaru. Demonstrated extraordinary performance. Recognized by multiple Spirits."
Where it got that intel, Hikaru had no idea.
"Following such a human warrior is not unacceptable." It slowly raised its hand, letting purple puppet strings dance around. "However."
'However?'
Both Hikaru and Tierra tilted their heads.
The Construct slowly turned its head toward Tierra, opened its mouth, and said, "For the evil Spirit who stole our leader's body, we shall forever hold enmity, persist in revenge, and never relent."
Hikaru side-eyed Tierra.
After Winda arrived in the human world, Tierra, seeing Hikaru as her chance at revival, immediately stole Winda's body and came to this world.
She'd later returned Winda's Spirit to their world but hadn't cared since.
Though obviously, for the Shaddoll Duel Monster Spirits, this wasn't something easily forgiven.
"Traitors! Rebellion!" Tierra, furious, kicked the air harder than when Leo Akaba had compared her to the Sacred Beasts. She threw a tantrum, flailing her legs mid-air.
She usually never resorted to such physical outbursts, even when angry.
"Protecting the leader's dignity is the warrior's duty!" the Construct recited mechanically.
Tierra couldn't take it anymore. She clenched her fist, thrust her hand forward, and instantly seized full control over all those puppet strings on the Construct's body, binding it into a cocoon-like bundle. Muttering discontentedly under her breath, "Just a temporary construct I made, and it still dares talk back."
In terms of power, even without elemental advantage, Tierra overwhelmed the Construct utterly. Yet, despite that, the Construct refused to concede.
"Tierra, it's a Spirit. It's not the Construct from your memories," Hikaru said.
Tierra's movements froze.
Her expression grew distant.
Yes.
The reason she'd attempted all this, to summon the Construct Spirit, was just to catch a glimpse of past scenery again.
Yet, ultimately, it wasn't the same existence.
Just like Captain Crystal wasn't Captain Crystal, but only Captain Crystal's Spirit.
With that realization, she sighed and loosened her grip, throwing a glance at Hikaru, her mouth twisting into a pout.
"Hey, Construct."
The Construct's body slowly reassembled, then stared directly at Tierra.
It unquestionably understood it couldn't defeat Tierra physically.
"In that case, let's settle this with the rules of the Spirits, shall we?" Tierra casually grabbed Hikaru's unused Duel Disk.
The Construct paused briefly, then opened its mouth again, "To avenge the leader." As it spoke, the puppet strings around its body flew out, forming a purple Duel Disk, and a Deck appeared on it.
"You want a Duel?" Hikaru grinned.
"What? Can't I?!" Tierra barked back, raising her right hand. A ball of blue flame rose from her palm, transforming into a Deck, which she shoved into Hikaru's Duel Disk.
Then, mimicking Hikaru's usual shout, she declared: "Duel!"
[El Shaddoll Construct, LP: 4000]
[Tierra, LP: 4000]