Finding traces of the Fusion Army within the Frightfur Sanctuary was something Hikaru couldn't say he had fully anticipated, but it wasn't far from what he'd suspected.
Back during this semester, when he'd dueled Mizuo Fukasui, the new head of the Polymerization Club, Hikaru had already seen "Frightfur". Since then, however, he had never again seen the Fusion Army use Frightfur, only learning from Mizuo that even within the Fusion Army, Frightfur was something only the very top "elites" knew about.
Still, no matter how secretive, Mizuo had warned him. Moreover, these interdimensional coordinates had been given to him by Sartorius, who said they were obtained from the Fusion Army,making it all the more obvious.
This meant the Frightfur Sanctuary had definitely been occupied by the Fusion Army.
Yet now, it looked utterly deserted.
Walking through the Sanctuary, Hikaru didn't bother to conceal himself,he had no reason to avoid the Fusion Army's eyes anymore. Even if they knew he was here and had the chance to ambush him, it was no longer a problem.
What did surprise him, however, was that as he roamed the area, there were hardly any traces of humans.
Not even…
Spirits.
Frowning, Hikaru was still mulling over this when Tierra suddenly raised her voice. "What is going on…"
It was rare for Tierra to sound this flustered. No… more than that, it was rare for her to react so strongly to something she didn't care about.
Following her voice, Hikaru saw Tierra rummaging through boxes, tossing the Sanctuary's contents all over the place.
She fished something unknown out of one of the boxes, then glared at the sky, fuming.
"Those bastards, those bastards…"
Muttering curses, she uncharacteristically displayed her anger, clutching something strange in her hand.
From its appearance, it looked like a bear paw,fur-covered, stuffed with cotton.
The paw of a plush bear.
Hikaru's brow twitched.
Looking at the paw, Tierra's anger only grew. She quickly began searching the nearby area.
Without a word, Hikaru joined her, and before long, they found a large pile of materials scattered across the floors and equipment.
Hikaru carefully picked up a bear's head and placed it on a production line. Inside the head, a pair of weak red eyes gazed at him and Tierra.
Tierra lifted her hand, and countless puppet strings flew from every direction. Waving them in the air, her magic staff transformed into a giant needle and thread. She threaded the puppet strings through, slowly stitching the scattered parts together.
After a while, under Tierra's sewing, the pieces gradually became a pink toy bear as tall as a person. However, its white angel wings became metallic skeletal wings under Tierra's personal touch.
Once she finished, Tierra snapped her fingers. Blue flames ignited on the toy bear's body, and soon it began to move, slowly flexing its limbs and wings.
Seeing this, Tierra waved her hand to disperse the flames.
The "toy bear" was now fully alive.
"You can already revive a half-dead Spirit?" Hikaru asked in surprise.
From his understanding and past experiences, this Spirit would normally have to be sent to the Grand Universe Workshop to be slowly revived with the Philosopher's Stone.
"Heh, Hikaru Amaki, you may know a lot about Spirits and dueling, but you know nothing about machines. It may be a Spirit, but it's also a toy. A toy demon I repaired myself doesn't take that much effort." Tierra placed her hands on her hips with satisfaction.
In this, she certainly had authority.
Still, Hikaru knew that this plush bear should be an Angel.
"Thank you." The plush bear struggled to speak, grateful despite not knowing where these two had come from.
If Tierra hadn't repaired it, it would have completely faded in a matter of days.
It bowed deeply in thanks.
"It's fine. Now, tell us how you ended up like this." Tierra waved dismissively, uninterested in the gratitude and getting straight to the point.
"Uh… it was the humans…"
The plush bear lowered its head and began to explain.
The Frightfur Sanctuary was where Frightfur monsters lived and rested. Normally, only higher-ranking Frightfur Spirits lived here.
Lower-ranking Spirits like itself usually lived in the "Frightfur Factory," working hard to learn and train alongside Edge Imp partners, aiming to fuse into a Frightfur and advance to the Sanctuary.
To them, the Sanctuary was like the heaven awaiting ascension.
One day, some humans discovered the Frightfur Spirits. After negotiations, the Frightfur eventually accepted them, making plush animals and Frightfur dolls for children, while providing the humans with the power they sought.
Of course, a necessary trial was always part of the deal.
Though a new Spirit faction with little renown in the Spirit World, their card strength was impressive. Recorded humans who had earned their approval included someone around Hikaru's age and a young child.
Though scary in appearance, they were still toys and preferred children.
In short, this was how they had always interacted with that faction of humans.
Until one day, those humans mobilized completely. As partners, the Frightfur Spirits unwittingly joined in,only to realize mid-battle that these humans were invading other humans.
Before they could react, the enemy humans struck back instantly, defeating them with a bang.
While the higher-ranking Frightfur Spirits were still confused, their "allies" used some strange power to control them, forcing them to act as the rearguard.
"The last of my brothers all died. They all died…" The plush bear wiped its tears with its paw. "There was no resisting that control. Every higher-ranking Spirit who followed became cannon fodder, dying without even setting up a proper Duel Ceremony."
Tierra and Hikaru exchanged a look.
She extended her hand, a strange black color swirling over it.
"Was it like this?"
"Yes! Exactly like that!"
It was the power of the Shaddoll.
Hikaru nodded silently.
So that was it,Shaddoll power, beyond infecting ordinary Spirits or being used for experiments, was perfect for controlling toys and puppet-type Spirits.
The Fusion Army had used the Frightfur as shields during their retreat.
'Tch…'
"…Relax. From now on, worship me, and I will protect you." Tierra spread her arms wide, her face unusually solemn, divine light faintly radiating from her like a descended goddess.
She had told Hikaru before,
She liked Frightfur's design.
An angelic exterior hiding deadly weapons, merging into a demon tearing off the angel's facade.
It suited her tastes perfectly.
For such beings, if they truly believed in her, she didn't mind making them her first ordinary followers before her resurrection.
"You… you are…" Even without her true form revealed, the plush bear could feel her divine grace and became excited.
"God… Goddess, please, save our other brothers…"
Tierra's light shone brighter, and she almost couldn't resist breaking into laughter.
It was the first time she had truly felt the cry of a believer.
"They… they should still be holding on, resisting."
"What is it? Are X-Dimension humans fighting you?" Hikaru asked.
"No, it's that guy… that human. He wears a blue uniform. He's… no, he's their soldier!
"That guy wanted us to work with them again, saying something about regaining their honor. But this time we knew what they were doing and refused, so he attacked us!"
"I was torn apart instantly and sent to the Sanctuary by the others to escape, but I don't know what's happening there now!"
"Good,Hikaru Amaki, go kill that damned Fusion Army soldier."
Her tone was blunt, without a shred of pity,so unlike the godly pose she had just struck.
Still, given that she was uncharacteristically eager to do something good, he didn't spoil her mood, instead asking, "Where are they?"
"At the factory,"
"How do we get there? Take us now!"
"Alright, alright!" The bear scrambled to its feet and led the two toward the other side of the Sanctuary.
There, a dimensional passage connected to the Frightfur Factory awaited.
...
Bonus @400 PS
Read chapters ahead @patreon.com/Keepsmiling818