"Who goes there!"
Kagurazaka's shout was exceptionally loud, and the masked person opposite immediately turned to look. Then, Tenjo Hikari also saw Kagurazaka, and his expression changed as he lowered his voice to ask, "What's going on, Tierra, why didn't you warn me."
"Well, that wasn't part of our agreement, was it?" Tierra shrugged.
Besides, in Tierra's eyes, that was just an ordinary human, unrelated to the duel. Serving as a spectator to hype up the atmosphere didn't seem like a big deal.
However, upon seeing Kagurazaka, the masked person's eyes lit up, and the crimson flames around him surged, rushing towards Kagurazaka as if intending to obliterate him.
Before long, Kagurazaka was directly ensnared by a long fiery serpent.
"Stop, Tenjo Hikari!" the masked person shouted, "If you want to save this guy's life, stop right now! Do you want to use Thousand-Eyes Restrict to block Lord of Searing Flames' attack? Don't even think about it, quickly..."
"Enough!"
Before Tenjo Hikari could respond, a strong purple light suddenly flashed from Tierra beside him. In the next moment, both the masked person and Kagurazaka could clearly see Tierra's temporary, petite, and adorable figure.
With a cold face, she raised her right hand high, and the next moment, a beautifully ornate magic staff materialized in her hand. Then, numerous purple puppet strings emerged from the sky, entwining the flames and Kagurazaka.
Bam—
Before the masked person could react, Tierra forcibly pulled Kagurazaka over, throwing him beside Tenjo Hikari.
Kagurazaka was still a bit bewildered, not even knowing what had happened, only feeling lucky to have survived.
Tierra, with a cold face and fierce gaze, glared at the other side.
If the duel were over, she would want nothing more than to eliminate the opponent now.
Since awakening, Tierra had also come to understand the rules of this new era's ritual; underhanded tricks, in Tierra's opinion, were something only those despicable and cunning people would employ. Given the chance, she would probably force someone to duel her through threats if necessary.
Indeed, she was a crafty and treacherous God.
But this doesn't mean she would resort to such tactics during a ritual! Furthermore, although it was Tenjo Hikari participating in the duel, in reality, Tierra had been directing the whole time, making her a participant in the duel too—to dare to pull tricks before her, was asking for death!
"Tenjo Hikari, finish this guy off quickly!" she said, brimming with anger.
Do you have any idea how devastating it is for a frail and delicate God to be treated like this the first time dueling with humans!? Besides, she had consistently put on a divine front before Tenjo Hikari, only to be caught off guard in this situation, almost having a mortal companion taken hostage—wasn't this utterly disgraceful in front of Tenjo Hikari!?
Tenjo Hikari nodded, with a stern face, he asked the other side, "Then I will Special Summon, Thousand-Eyes Restrict, in Defense Position. How about it, any other actions?"
The masked person continued breathing deeply.
His body, already weakened due to the Phantasm's flames, now felt strangled by Tierra's power, making him feel like his neck could snap at any moment, an anxiety-inducing sensation of imminent death.
Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect states that as long as this card is face-up on the field, other monsters besides this card cannot attack, nor can they change their battle positions.
In other words, he could not attack.
Even with 6000 ATK, unable to attack is simply unable to attack.
"Hmph, whatever, then I'll end my turn."
He believed he could still manage a fight.
Though Thousand-Eyes Restrict can absorb the power of Phantasms, when it absorbs monsters with "?" ATK, no matter how much ATK that monster originally had, it is considered 0.
"My turn, draw!"
"Activate Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect, absorb the Phantasm!"
Enveloped in flames, the massively colossal dragon was bathed in the Evil God's light, feeling a sense of relief instead of the expected agony, letting out an undescribable draconic cry as it merged into the body of the Restrict.
Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK: 0
"Hmph, in the next turn, as long as I destroy Thousand-Eyes Restrict, I can abandon a card to revive Lord of Searing Flames again." He still had faith in the power of the Phantasms.
"Indeed, up until now, I couldn't directly breach the Phantasms with monsters, but it doesn't matter, I just need Ultimate Giant to attack directly," Tenjo Hikari pointed at the masked man.
"Hmph, Thousand-Eyes Restrict isn't Fusion Material for any monsters, Flame Swordsrealm had also been destroyed, what means do you have to send it to the Graveyard?"
"Isn't this simple?" Tenjo Hikari slowly revealed a card in his hand, "Quick-Play Spell Card, De-Fusion."
"!!"
"This card can be activated by targeting 1 Fusion Monster on the field. Return that Fusion Monster to the owner's Extra Deck." Tenjo Hikari looked at his opponent disdainfully, "You recognize this, don't you?"
"This, no way, damn..."
"Return Thousand-Eyes Restrict to the Deck! The equipped Phantasm is sent to your Graveyard, and then—take this punch!"
"Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, direct attack, Ultimate Heavy Strike!!"
Accompanied by Tenjo Hikari's shout, Tierra extended her hand, and numerous purple puppet strings entwined the Ultimate Giant. Enhanced by this tremendous power, the Ultimate Giant delivered a punch at the Masked Man with a speed that left people in awe.
When the dust settled, the Masked Man in the field could no longer stand and lay flat on the ground.
After a while, surprisingly, the Masked Man stood up like a puppet, emitting a series of cracking sounds from his body.
"So, this is how you duel? Designing traps step by step, then luring your opponent into them. It's full of Cronos's style."
"Who are you?" Tenjo Hikari immediately reacted, realizing the opposite wasn't the same Masked Man as before.
"Who I am doesn't matter."
It doesn't matter?
Tenjo Hikari pursed his lips.
That tone, that attitude, that scene—it's still the Fusion Army.
Who else could it be?
Akaba Leo!
The Masked Man looked at Tierra: "Evil and chilling power, I see. It seems, Tenjo Hikari, you're not as righteous as you appear."
One's own nature naturally biases them to see others in the same light. Upon seeing 'Midrash,' he immediately assumed Tenjo Hikari was similar to himself.
"The reason you dare to keep opposing us Fusion Army with Cronos is because you rely on that Spirit, right?
Hmph, though powerful and evil, it greatly pales in comparison to the true Three Phantasms!"
He was very confident.
Although he hadn't acquired the Three Phantasms' cards, through experiments and research on Duel Spirits, he had already mastered the technology to steal powers and create duplicated cards. The Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds were mass-produced through this technology, and during the holidays, he had successfully duplicated a Uria.
Even though there was only one, and it seemed to require a sacrifice, rendering it broken after use, it didn't matter.
This power already delighted him!
It was a greater acquisition than all previous explorations of the Other Dimension!
"What audacity——" Tierra almost exploded with rage.
Phantasm?
Do they deserve to be compared to me!?
This body gave you such an illusion?
"This time, it's merely a shallow experiment. Next time, if you still don't know when to stop," the Masked Man's body gradually slumped as he uttered his parting words, "it won't just be a pawn."
These were purely harsh words. Despite having only duplicated a single Uria, today was about finding a suitable person for experimentation. Yet, having lost, he naturally had to speak harshly.
With that said, the body completely collapsed, losing consciousness, and the person passed out completely.
He had no intention of retrieving the duplicated Phantasm card. After all, it was a disposable and shattered piece of junk. Since the live experiment was near death, there was no need to retrieve it.
Tenjo Hikari rushed over, checked for breathing, and felt a very faint breath. Upon taking a look at his Deck, the entire Deck had been reduced to ashes by the flames, and he could even still see the burning Phantasm flames, clearly illustrating Uria's, the Lord of Searing Flames', fury.
In the end, there was still a cracked card left behind.
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames.
Different from the starless, nameless Uria of this world, it had a lot of filled-in content, but even so, it was already severely broken.
He hurriedly picked it up quickly.
"Tenjo Hikari, keep the card well," Tierra said with an icy cold face, "Such arrogance and ignorance of a mortal."
"Does he think that Phantasms can be casually copied, easily manipulated, or casually discarded? Too foolish."
"I certainly know that on this card, the consciousness of a Phantasm once lingered, and that is so precious!"
Tenjo Hikari nodded, carefully storing Uria, Lord of Searing Flames away.
Although it seemed close to breaking, after some time, it would be hard to say which side was truly broken and which side was "real."
He never expected it.
He never expected to gain a Three Phantasm for nothing!
What was initially a serious matter turned into something that made him want to laugh a little.