With the destruction of Fallen Paradise, the rotting apples on the ground slowly vanished, and the entire world began to transform from its previous desolation into a prosperous glow.
However, behind this prosperous glow, there was still chaos and disorder.
In the previous turn, Hikaru already had the Dream Mirror card in his hand, but his opening had no way to send cards to the Graveyard, so there was no need to activate it then.
Originally, the combination of Myutant M-05 and the Trap Card Myutant Cry could negate a Spell Card once and then destroy a card on the field, already quite solid protection in this world.
But what Hikaru didn't expect was that Leo Akaba opened with Dark Hole and Opening of the Spirit Gates.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly.
With his own eyes, he could see that Leo Akaba was entangled with an unknown number of strange powers, his entire body wildly emitting black smoke.
Truly outrageous.
How much has he endured?
Why is Leo Akaba, an ordinary man, still alive after absorbing so much dark power?
It should be understood that neither the Sacred Beasts nor the Number monsters give their power for free, the Sacred Beasts in particular drain the life of those who wield them.
From Hikaru's previous encounters with the Sacred Beasts, it was clear that they held no goodwill toward Leo Akaba. Even under the suppression of his technology, they would still siphon life from him.
And that wasn't all. Leo Akaba had also taken a direct hit from a Number monster at some point, and seemed to have been possessed by some entity from the Xyz world. The flames flickering across his body told Hikaru there was even the power of Crimson Nova mixed in there somewhere.
With so many conflicting and corrupted powers swirling together inside him, Leo Akaba was still this lively?
Hikaru glanced at the card he had just drawn.
"Discard Thunder Dragon from my hand, and add two more Thunder Dragons from my Deck to my hand."
Hikaru held up the card, showed it, then placed it in the Graveyard. "Then, Spell Card, Shaddoll Fusion. I Fusion Summon using Shaddoll Hedgehog from my hand and Thunder Dragon from my hand."
"The Fusion Condition is a Shaddoll monster and a LIGHT attribute monster."
"Fusion Summon - Level 8, El Shaddoll Construct!"
Purple puppet strings converged from all directions, and a towering figure piercing the heavens slowly rose behind Hikaru, silently watching everything.
El Shaddoll Construct - Level 8 / LIGHT / Fairy-Type / ATK 2800.
"Dream Mirror's effect, I draw one card. Shaddoll Hedgehog's effect, I add Shaddoll Beast from my Deck to my hand. El Shaddoll Construct's effect, if this card is Fusion Summoned: I can send 1 Shaddoll card from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send Shaddoll Dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard."
Hikaru snapped his left hand forward, purple lightning flashed, and the Duel Disk began automatically reading data.
A dragon shadow dissolved into streams of data beside Hikaru, flowing into the Graveyard.
The Deck shuffled itself, and two cards automatically ejected, flying into Hikaru's hand.
"Shaddoll Dragon's effect, if this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: I can target 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field and destroy it."
Hikaru pointed at Leo Akaba's Set Card.
"Then, I activate my Set Card, Trap Card, No Entry!!"
Leo Akaba did not hesitate, instantly activating his Set Card in response. "All Attack Position monsters on the field are changed to Defense Position!"
El Shaddoll Construct, ATK → DEF: 2500.
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, ATK → DEF: 4000.
Leo Akaba's expression was stone-cold. He spoke without pause: "El Shaddoll Construct can destroy Special Summoned monsters through battle, but the premise of that ability is that it must first attack. As long as it doesn't battle, you cannot break through this way."
And furthermore, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder had a staggering 4000 DEF. That was not something any monster could simply run over.
"Hmph." Hikaru took in the situation and wasn't particularly surprised.
In some ways, this scene was close to what he had anticipated.
"Then, I Normal Summon Keeper of Dragon Magic!"
Zzz
A flash of purple light.
The assembled nobles let out murmurs of surprise and confusion.
Because this monster bore a striking resemblance to Hikaru himself.
The Fusion Army soldiers who had seen this card before, some who had even dreamed of obtaining it, ground their teeth at the sight of this alternate art card that Pegasus had crafted in Hikaru's image.
Keeper of Dragon Magic - Level 4 / DARK / Dragon-Type / ATK 1800.
"Keeper of Dragon Magic's effect, when this card is Normal or Special Summoned: I can discard 1 card to add 1 Normal Spell Card that includes 'Fusion' in its text from my Deck to my hand. I discard Myutant ST-46. I add Fusion Substitute from my Deck to my hand."
"Fusion Substitute?" A few Fusion Army soldiers exchanged puzzled glances. "Why not Instant Fusion?"
"Yeah, even though the Special Summoned Thousand-Eyes Restrict can't attack, it could still deal with Hamon and that 4000 DEF."
"Hikaru must have made a mistake, it must be because he's rattled by the Professor!"
The last speaker was clearly fooling himself.
Everyone gathered here was truly at the core of the Fusion Army. They all understood perfectly well that Hikaru chose Fusion Substitute because he judged it more fitting for this situation, not out of fear, but out of calculation.
"During the turn I activated Keeper of Dragon Magic's effect, I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck except Fusion Monsters, but that doesn't matter.
Keeper of Dragon Magic's second effect, reveal 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck. Target 1 Fusion Material Monster listed on that card from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in face-down Defense Position."
"I reveal Thunder Dragon Colossus from my Extra Deck, then Special Summon Thunder Dragon from my Graveyard in face-down Defense Position!"
A green serpentine dragon wreathed in lightning coiled silently behind Hikaru, then crouched low into the shadows.
"Set.." Leo Akaba frowned slightly.
"The Special Summon condition for Thunder Dragon Colossus, during the turn a Thunder monster's effect was activated in the hand, you can Tribute 1 non-Fusion Thunder Effect Monster you control to Special Summon it from the Extra Deck! And that's right, even a face-down monster can be used as Tribute material!"
"Hmph." Leo Akaba already knew this ruling.
"Come forth, Level 8, Thunder Dragon Colossus!" Thunder roared across the field, and a black, winged serpentine dragon descended amid golden lightning.
Thunder Dragon Colossus - Level 8 / DARK / Thunder-Type / DEF 2400.
"It's not over yet, Spell Card, Fusion Substitute! I Fusion Summon using El Shaddoll Construct on the field and Keeper of Dragon Magic on the field. Come forth, Tierra's Herald!"
"Sacred Declaration!"
El Shaddoll Winda!"
A green puppet descended along the fading puppet strings, passing over the slowly dissipating Construct, and landing on the field.
El Shaddoll Winda - Level 5 / DARK / Spellcaster-Type / ATK 2200.
"El Shaddoll Construct's effect, when this card is sent to the GY, I add Shaddoll Fusion from my Graveyard to my hand."
"I activate Fusion Substitute's effect from my Graveyard, banishing it, I target El Shaddoll Construct in my Graveyard and return it to the Extra Deck, then draw one card. Draw! Ha, perfect, Spell Card, Frightfur Patchwork. I add one Fusion Spell and one Edge Imp from my Deck to my hand. I add Edge Imp Chain and Polymerization!"
"Finally, Spell Card, Polymerization!"
Round and round again!
"I Fusion Summon using Thunder Dragon from my hand and Shaddoll Beast from my hand!"
Hikaru took a deep breath.
"After going through the Fusion process once, appear again!"
"El Shaddoll Construct!"
Leo Akaba clenched his fist, and despite everything, couldn't help but feel a quiet admiration. Hikaru's Dueling was truly pleasing to the eye.
This sequence of plays was precisely what Hikaru did best, crushing, rebuilding, refining, and elevating.
Hikaru drew another card from his Deck via Shaddoll Beast's effect.
In this way, Hikaru's field had become the most powerful lock possible in the current meta: Thunder Dragon Colossus, El Shaddoll Winda, and El Shaddoll Construct.
A pity there was only one Normal Summon, otherwise Hikaru would have wanted to bring out another Myutant M-05 to layer in monster effect negation as well.
"Tsk"
"Oh"
The Fusion Army soldiers let out whispered groans of mingled embarrassment and admiration, while the nobles of the Senate felt their eyes go wide at the sight.
They naturally understood that Synchro Monsters could be chained together in sequence to ultimately produce stronger Synchro Monsters.
But what they hadn't anticipated was that Hikaru could actually cycle through Fusion Spell Cards like this, using a handful of monsters to generate card advantage, and then arrive at this endgame board.
"El Shaddoll Construct's effect, I send Shaddoll Schism from my Deck to the Graveyard."
"Then, Battle! I attack Hamon with El Shaddoll Construct!"
Hikaru clenched his fist and drove it toward Hamon. "At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles a Special Summoned monster, destroy that monster!"
The great Thunder demon roared with thunder, struggling to resist the Fairy.
But from somewhere, a web of purple puppet strings flashed into view, binding Hamon's colossal body, and in an instant, it exploded.
"During the turn a Defense Position Hamon is destroyed, I take no damage."
As expected. It had that effect.
Hikaru quietly noted it.
When Hikaru had seen Leo Akaba activate the card that forced all monsters to Defense Position, he had already planned for this moment, which was precisely why he had Special Summoned Thunder Dragon Colossus in Defense Position rather than Attack.
"I Set one card. End turn."
Hikaru showed no regret and concluded his turn without hesitation.
"What a shame, that Sacred Beast actually has an effect like that." Yugo couldn't help but feel frustrated on Hikaru's behalf.
"Ah, so that's why Brother Hikaru didn't put everything in Attack Position." Rin nodded repeatedly, piecing it together.
Serena, however, was long accustomed to this.
She simply folded her arms and said, "Of course. Master is the finest Fusionist there is."
"As expected of you, Hikaru." Leo Akaba looked at the dissipating Hamon and gave a genuine, quiet sigh.
If it hadn't been for Crowler, perhaps Hikaru, who joined the Fusion Department from the very beginning, would by now have been their commander, blazing the path forward for him.
Unfortunately, Hikaru had been Crowler's student from the start. That kind of future was never meant to be.
"As a Duelist, you are undeniably excellent. To construct a board like this by cycling a handful of cards mid-Duel is remarkable.
But that praise is limited to you as a Duelist."
Hikaru looked at Leo Akaba in confusion.
"I am the finest scientist in the world," he said plainly.
In a world where Kaiba was not regarded as a scientist and ZONE had not yet been born, Leo Akaba was indeed fitting to claim that title.
"The reason you have always questioned me, questioned our Fusion Army, is simple. It is a matter of vision. Of perspective."
Hikaru stared at Leo Akaba wordlessly.
Leo Akaba showed no embarrassment and continued: "In your eyes, what we do is invasion, destruction. But viewed on a grander scale, these are nothing more than trivial details."
Leo Akaba drew a card from his Deck and held it up for Hikaru to see, it was Pot of Greed.
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"Let me ask you something, Hikaru. What do you believe the universe ultimately is?"
"The universe."
"To see a mountain as a mountain," Leo Akaba said. "But in my view, it is not so simple.
This universe, this world, is merely one among many."
His expression finally shifted, revealing an indescribable madness and excitement beneath the surface.
"I am the finest scientist in the world!
Many years ago, supported by the efforts of many people, I completed a cross-era experiment, Solid Vision Technology!
Using Duels, using the energy of Duels, using the spirits of Duelists, images can be transformed into matter, light and shadow can become substance!"
Hikaru did know that Leo Akaba had genuinely participated in the creation of that invention.
Leo Akaba extended his hand, holding it flat, and said: "Think about it, Hikaru. Think about it with your Fusion mind.
If matter can be created through Duels and Solid Vision Technology, then for humanity, is there still any pressure to survive?
No. There isn't. Because humans can generate an unlimited supply of everything through Solid Vision Technology."
Hikaru frowned, listening carefully.
"If that is the case, then why should war exist in the world? Why should there be conflict? Humans need not labor, they need only enjoy Dueling, and through Dueling, create everything they need.
With that idea, I and my companions devoted ourselves to storing the concept of Infinity into a single card."
Hikaru felt a sudden jolt.
This was different from the development he knew.
Was the original series really like this?
"Then, think even further. If matter can be stored infinitely into a card, and time stretches infinitely, and across infinite time, endless matter accumulates within a card, then, when the end of time is reached, what happens?" The excitement faded from his face, and he became once again the cold scientist.
"Everything in the world... Fused together?"
In the Fusion Army base, Yuri, watching the Duel, felt his eyes suddenly light up.
This was exactly what he had been thinking!
Everything the Professor had taught him was real!
"That's right. At the end of time, at the very end, all things will return to one. That is the existence I witnessed that day...
The Dragon of Creation and Destruction.
G.O.D. - Genesis Omega Dragon."
Genesis Omega Dragon!?
Hikaru was stunned.
That's from the manga version of ARC-V.
He hadn't reacted at first, and for a simple reason: watching the anime version of ARC-V to completion had already been its own ordeal. Asking him to read the manga on top of that was genuinely a tall order, but he did have some rough knowledge of the manga's final antagonist.
So that was what this was about.
He processed it quickly and accepted it.
No wonder this world's Leo Akaba was even more unhinged than his anime counterpart, because the two versions had been merged together.
"For humans, for spirits, for all life, and even for inanimate matter, becoming part of G.O.D. is a destined future. However, this future is not fixed.
Amidst the swaying of these souls, God too will sway in response to the souls of all things.
Where it ultimately leads depends on the true Decider!"
Leo Akaba looked at his hand, and the corners of his mouth curled into a sinister smile. "My daughter, she has the qualifications to become the Eve of the new era. And if I obtain Eve and Adam, I will be the arbiter who rules over all Dimensions, all life!"
Upon hearing this, Serena collapsed back weakly.
The other two girls weren't much better, but they hadn't grown up under Leo Akaba, so they recovered more quickly and moved to support Serena.
Serena was utterly crushed.
She had always longed for her father's approval. Even as the Fusion Army launched its invasions, some small part of her had held out hope that there might be even the tiniest hidden reason behind it all. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
In her father's heart, there was only his own ambition.
They were merely tools for him to ascend to godhood.
"You're not human at all," Hikaru said, narrowing his eyes.
Hikaru's words, however, sounded like praise to Leo Akaba's ears. He swept his cloak aside and said, "Heh. That's right. I will become the ruler of all things."
As he spoke, the Machine behind him began swaying even more violently.
"Hikaru, you made a mistake. You thought that by protecting my daughters from harm, you could stop me, but in doing so, they gave me exactly the opportunity I needed!
As it turns out, my daughters are still on my side.
Witness the swaying of the soul!"
He raised both hands, clasped them together, and behind him the endless rainbow light finally took the shape of a Pendulum, beginning to spin wildly.
Zzzzzzzzzzz. The Machine malfunctioned and roared, and the power of dark spirits flooded into him.
"Spell Card, Dis-Swing Fusion!"
"I Fuse the Pendulum Monster, Spirit Gem - Silpheed Core, from my hand with the Pendulum Monster, Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Governor, from my hand!"
"Pendulum Monsters?" A Fusion Army soldier beside him went slack-jawed.
"Pendulum Monsters, what are those!?" The nobles rose to their feet, watching with eyes wide open.
Leo Akaba clasped his hands together and chanted aloud:
"Oh, mechanized army of the spirits!
Receive new power, and with my hands, cleansed of sin and defilement, become the foundation for the world's rebirth!
Return!
Gather!
Fusion Summon!
Level 12! Pendulum Fusion Monster!
Master Spirit Tech Force, Pendulum Ruler!"
Boom!
The Machine behind him erupted with a thunderous roar.
A colossal spirit warship, commanding countless mechanical angels like a spirit aircraft carrier, slowly descended from the sky, blazing with brilliant light, as though a holy god were descending to bestow its grace.
Master Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Ruler / Level 12 / LIGHT / Machine-Type / ATK 3500.
In that instant, Hikaru seemed to see giant wings unfurling behind Leo Akaba, and a white halo shining above his head.
This man actually brought out Pendulums?
Hikaru's brow furrowed tightly.
Leo Akaba gracefully folded his hands behind his back and looked down at Hikaru with cold arrogance.
"This.."
"Professor, the Professor created a brand new monster?"
"Did you see that, Hikaru! The Professor's Fusion is more Fusion than your Fusion! He created a Fusion out of a brand new, never-before-seen monster!"
The Fusion Army erupted with excitement.
With the arrival of Leo Akaba's monster, the cards on Hikaru's field gradually lost their color, drooping dejectedly.
"While Master Spirit Tech Force, Pendulum Ruler exists in the Monster Zone: all opponent's monsters with a Level lower than or equal to this card's, and all opponent's monsters other than Pendulum Monsters, cannot attack, and their effects are negated."
"Ah." One noble was so startled he fell off his chair.
Yuri, watching the broadcast from the base, felt a surge of excitement. This card was powerful even in a deck full of proxy cards like his.
"Good lord, isn't that just invincible?" A Fusion Army soldier cried out.
In a world where most people had never even heard of Pendulum Monsters, where would Hikaru get one? And even if he had one, any monster below Level 12 would have its effects negated!
Leo Akaba felt a limitless surge of energy pouring into his body. With the manifestation of this monster, the physical deterioration he had suffered from merging with so many dimensional entities and evil gods instantly reversed itself, restoring him to his original condition...
Back to the moment he first received the G.O.D. quality enhancement.
At every level, he was no longer human, not materially, not in any meaningful sense.
"Ah, right, we've been fighting for a while now, Hikaru, and you must be feeling the strain, so then, I activate Spell Card, Card of Demise!"
Hikaru's eyebrow twitched sharply.
It couldn't be the anime version of...
"Both players draw until they have 5 cards in their hand!"
Leo Akaba drew directly up to five cards, while Hikaru, glancing at his Set Card, hesitated for a moment before drawing as well.
Leo Akaba looked over what he had drawn, gazed at that overwhelming monster, and gave a small nod.
With the completion of the Pendulum, his hidden power had finally fully awakened. In this Duel, he felt almost as though he could make his every wish come true.
"I activate the effect of Earthbound Immortal Red Nova from my hand! By banishing this card from my hand, I send Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu from my hand to the Graveyard, and activate its effect, Special Summoning Earthbound Immortal Uru from my Deck!"
Boom, boom, boom. In the sky above, the enormous crimson spider Geoglyph began to take shape. A scarlet flame imp suddenly burst out from beside it, cackling gleefully: "Good, good, well done, Leo Akaba. At this rate, I should be able to revive even faster!"
Earthbound Immortal Red Nova.
Hikaru felt the pressure acutely.
"This lunatic has quite a few tricks up his sleeve." Tierra, who had been quietly absorbing some of the dark power's erosion on Hikaru's behalf, murmured to him.
As the saying goes, one can lose the battle but not the spirit. Although the opponent had many strange evil gods and demons, Tierra would not back down!
The giant red spider Earthbound Immortal slowly appeared in the sky.
Earthbound Immortal Uru - Level 10 / DARK / Insect-Type / ATK 3000.
It was worth noting that on this Earthbound Immortal, the very chains and shackles of the Earthbound Prisoner that Hikaru had personally unsealed were still visible!
"This Earthbound Immortal seems to be bound by a stronger Earthbound Immortal, desperate to break free but unable to," Tierra said, staring at the small scarlet imp.
"Hey, otherworldly deity, kill her, devour her! I will revive for certain, and grow even stronger than the Crimson Dragon!" Earthbound Immortal Red Nova's familiar cackled with glee.
"In that case, Hikaru, it seems our fate is sealed," Leo Akaba said, gradually composing himself, the earlier madness fading from his face. "Once you join the Fusion Army, I'll let you deal with Crowler personally. You should be thanking me."
"Ridiculous. The Duel has only just begun."
"Hmph, stubborn to the end. I'll attack directly with Uru." Leo Akaba sneered.
Hikaru's LP was only 3000. If Uru attacked directly, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Open Set Card!" Hikaru flipped his Set Card face-up. "You want to become a god? You want to become the ruler of all things? You say Serena and the others are Eve?
Stop talking nonsense!
They are themselves, and they have nothing to do with you!
They are independent individuals, and not your daughters at all!
Serena is my student, so if you want to become a God, then I will show you what a god truly is!
Trap Card, Darklord Uprising!"
"Crowler!!!" Leo Akaba couldn't suppress a furious roar at the sight of that card.
"That's right, the card Crowler taught me! The effect of Darklord Uprising: Send 1 Darklord monster from my hand to the GY, then Fusion Summon 1 DARK Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material, and then gain LP equal to the original ATK of the monster sent to the GY!
I send Darklord Zerato from my hand to the GY!
Fusing Attack Position El Shaddoll Winda and Attack Position El Shaddoll Construct on the field!
Fusion Summon, listen well, because this is what a true god wants to say!"
"Hikaru is my chosen Champion; he cannot lose to something like you, neither human nor spirit!"
Leo Akaba startled at the voice, a majestic, ethereal voice coming from somewhere unseen!
"Defense Position Fusion Summon - El Shaddoll Winda!"
"And then, recover my Life Points!"
Hikaru's LP: 3000 → 5800.
In this way, Leo Akaba had no path to victory through direct attacks or monster battles. On top of that, Hikaru drew an additional card through Dream Mirror's effect.
"Heh, clinging to life, even if you survive this turn, you can't accomplish anything. Still, since you've thinned your monsters, I might as well oblige. I'll attack your remaining two monsters with Uru and Master Spirit Tech Force, Pendulum Ruler."
Uru's chains lashed out and bound Thunder Dragon Colossus by the jaw, crushing down on it, while on the other side, countless mechanical spirits surged forward, engulfing El Shaddoll Winda and tearing it apart.
"I Set one card, and end my turn." He placed it and chuckled twice, then said, "Hikaru, you might be thinking that Master Spirit Tech Force is a Machine monster, so you just need to Special Summon Cyber Dragon and Fusion Summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon to deal with it.
But let me tell you how naive that thinking is."
Leo Akaba seemed to be addressing the anxious Fusion Army spectators as much as Hikaru, steadying their morale: "Pendulum Monsters are not sent to the Graveyard when they leave the field, they return to the Extra Deck. Therefore, your Cyber Dragon cannot use Master Spirit Tech Force as Fusion Material for Chimeratech Fortress Dragon."
"The effects of all monsters in your hand, on your field, in your Graveyard, and even in your Deck are negated. Tell me, how could you possibly defeat me now?"
"How could I? Why would you even ask that?" Hikaru looked as though he had just heard something absurd. A quiet laugh first, then a slow shake of the head, and finally his expression turned cold as iron. "Just keep Fusing. As long as I keep Fusing, I can do it!"
...
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