A few days later.
"Amaki-san, please wait."
Just as Hikaru and Celina arrived at the Forest Station, preparing to redirect themselves toward the center of the Critical Nexus, a KaibaCorp staff member called out to Hikaru.
"You have a letter."
"A letter?"
Hikaru was a little puzzled.
A letter, in this day and age?
"It's from Acting Principal Crowler," the staff member added.
"Ah, that makes sense." Hikaru nodded.
That meant it must be a physical letter.
He and Celina followed the staffer to the KaibaCorp courier hub. The place was buzzing with activity.
Inside the station, parcels were piled like mountains, and the workers were furiously cataloging and sweating as they sorted.
Hikaru asked and learned that none of these were Academy materials, they were care packages sent by families from around the world to their kids at the Academy's various branches. With students deployed across the globe and into parallel worlds, their families couldn't help but worry. Treating it like a trip abroad, they sent items to show their love.
Since these packages could come from any time zone around the world, KaibaCorp's logistics team had to work 24/7 to manage it all.
"Yikes... thank you for all your hard work," Hikaru said sincerely.
Crowler's letter was sealed with KaibaCorp's special KC mark, a sign of the highest security level. Regular KaibaCorp staff weren't even authorized to open it for inspection.
Seeing that, Hikaru realized something important must be inside. Crowler wouldn't have used such a secure method otherwise.
"Hmm... there's a strange power coming from it, Hikaru," Tierra whispered once they reached the station's lounge. "I sensed something similar before... from that human named Atticus."
Atticus?
DarkNess?
Hikaru frowned and opened the envelope. He carefully set aside the card inside and started reading the letter. Celina leaned over to read as well.
After a few minutes, they both finished reading. Their reactions differed.
Celina felt... oddly disappointed.
According to Crowler's letter, the good news was her father was alive and well, so well, in fact, that he still had the energy to stir up chaos. So she hadn't become an orphan again.
The bad news? Her father was alive and well... and still stirring up chaos. Maybe being an orphan again would've been easier…
"Sigh..." The little girl was filled with complex emotions.
Through Crowler's letter, Hikaru learned the current state of the human world, and confirmed the professor was safe. That was a relief.
As for Crowler's request to keep an eye on the GX Tournament...
Hikaru nodded.
Even if Crowler hadn't asked, he would've done it.
Ever since the new semester began, Hikaru had been investigating the Light of Destruction and dismantling Fusion Army bases across dimensions. He was already doing what he could, and what he wanted to do.
Besides, this tournament was Principal Sheppard's final project before stepping down. That alone made it significant. Out of both emotion and duty, Hikaru would give it his all.
He wouldn't put down this 'responsibility' now. Not when the Fusion Army was involved. In truth, Crowler didn't even need to ask.
Teachers have their duties, and as the Academy's current "ace," Hikaru had his, too.
After understanding the situation, Hikaru turned to the two cards wrapped in multiple protective layers. One card, even sealed in solid black casing, still emitted a faint black mist. It was clearly the Darklord card Crowler had mentioned.
He opened the casing, carefully peeled away the sleeves, and looked at the card.
Darklord Zerato, huh?
It had many incarnations: Synchro, Ritual, Angel, Fiend, Zombie, an interesting card lore-wise in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.
Black mist visibly flowed from the card. Hikaru could feel it, when he picked it up, a force stirred in his right hand. The card's energy was clearly trying to seep into him.
So this was the "blessing" Crowler had mentioned?
Apparently, at least for this card, Hikaru met all its 'qualification standards.'
He shook his hand.
A faint sting.
The Darklord archetype did include Fusion. Its "big boss," Darklord Morningstar Lucifer, was a Level 12 Fusion Monster with powerful and versatile effects, great for offense and sustain.
Though only one Fusion didn't quite make a "Fusion Deck," the release of Dogmatika-branded Darklord hybrids had made them very strong.
Hikaru's own spare card pool included the Fusion card "The First Darklord," though he hadn't used it before. Maybe he would soon.
After all, where there's one, there's two.
If other "blessed" Duelists existed, it was only a matter of time before he ran into more.
The other card, though...
Hikaru was confused.
It was a mysterious card, even he didn't recognize it.
According to Crowler's letter, it was a card that would make Hikaru cheer with joy the moment he saw it.
Crowler, having been interrogated for over a month by KaibaCorp and hailed afterward as a hero, knew he didn't deserve the praise. So when offered compensation, he didn't ask for stronger Ancient Gear cards.
Instead, he asked KaibaCorp to search for a card, one of great meaning to his students, to himself, and especially to Hikaru's Deck. A card that perfectly fits Hikaru's style. One he saw as the most important for Hikaru's path as a Fusion Duelist.
Crowler didn't expect KaibaCorp to actually find it, but to his surprise, they scoured their global branches and friendly dimensions and located the precious card.
"What kind of card would Professor treasure so much?" Celina asked, eyes wide.
As a Duelist, she was still miffed that her father had moved on to another 'daughter,' but her curiosity was stronger. What kind of card would the legendary Professor Crowler deem worthy of giving to his student?
"A God Card? A legendary card?" Celina speculated aloud.
If it was something like that, maybe she'd get to use it, too!
Hikaru, equally curious, opened the black card case, peeling back the sleeves layer by layer. As the card's color began to show, he felt a sudden rush of emotion.
"Wait… no way…" Even Tierra, usually detached, gasped.
"Huh? A low-level monster?" Celina tilted her head in confusion.
Hikaru just shouted: "Ah!?"
Celina looked between her mentor and the spirit companion, Hikaru, usually calm and reserved, had actually yelled? Tierra, who cared about almost nothing, was equally shocked?
Hikaru's hands trembled as he held the card, barely able to keep it from slipping.
'Professor…'
'KaibaCorp really managed to find this card as compensation?'
'If you'd asked for rare Ancient Gears instead, you could've had anything you wanted.'
'You gave up too much… for me. I can't even hide what I'm feeling.'
That's right.
It was just a simple "low-level monster."
However, this card… was anything but ordinary.
Because…
It was, Aleister the Invoker!