After the duel ended, Ed showed an unusually gentle smile, rather than frustration or pain.
However, this smile only flashed by briefly.
"As expected of Minister Tenjo, the new Flame Swordsman born from fire and fusion shines like the sun."
After the duel, Ed and Tenjo Hikari shook hands.
There was no real conflict between them, and prior to this, they had barely any interaction. But whether it was their first meeting, or later when Tenjo Hikari dueled with members of the Other Dimension and the Fusion Army, Ed, as a member of the Fusion Department, quietly watched from the sidelines. He always admired Tenjo Hikari's belief in pursuing fusion.
Though he had long wanted to duel with Tenjo Hikari to improve his own skills, he didn't actually wish to duel under such circumstances. He hoped to duel with Tenjo Hikari in a more formal and suitable setting, like a professional arena.
Indeed, he personally considered duelists like Tenjo Hikari most suited for the professional arena.
However, despite the unexpected circumstances, he ended up dueling with Tenjo Hikari in this fortuitous twist of "destiny."
Perhaps, this was the best time after all.
After the duel, Ed did not linger at the scene.
On one hand, he wanted to see what cards his father had left him before departing. On the other hand, he was contemplating the matters concerning Saiou.
Once he calmed down, the Wave of Light could no longer influence his thoughts, allowing him to realize the previous anomalies immediately.
Back when dueling D.D, that voice of Saiou.
And the later voice of Saiou he heard…
Though both were helpful in outcome, reflection now made him realize the two voices were different.
One was gentle, one was violent; one was persuading, one was enticing.
Could it be.
He recalled his previous state.
Though not completely controlled by the Light of Destruction, he did feel a self-destructive urge. Then, Saiou, who had been more deeply and heavily eroded by the Light, an influence since childhood?
It was likely that Saiou had completely split into "two thoughts"!
He never realized this before!
He needed to prepare for what was to come…
"Ed."
Just as he was silently leaving, weighed down with thoughts, Tenjo Hikari called out to him. He stopped and turned back to look at Tenjo Hikari.
"If there are any challenges, there's no need to handle them alone," Tenjo Hikari said.
He was quite worried Ed might challenge Saiou unexpectedly without informing him, potentially getting into trouble without him knowing.
After his initial surprise, Ed gradually calmed down, nodded gently, and replied to Tenjo Hikari.
"...Thank you for your concern, Minister."
Then, smiling, he turned and continued to walk away.
He was not alone.
Saiou, his father, were always by his side. His lack of friends was simply because he chose not to accept more people.
Now, however, the clock of his life started ticking, the hands began turning forward. The clock might return to the same position, but he had indeed moved a cycle forward.
Watching Ed choose to leave, Tenjo Hikari decided not to say more.
After all, Ed Phoenix was a person with his own strong ideas, his own thoughts and decisions.
After sending Ed off, Tenjo Hikari then turned to look at the members of the Light Society.
Several members stood expressionless, clearly brainwashed to an extreme.
Gin Ryuusei and Rose Princess came before Tenjo Hikari, with Gin Ryuusei first congratulating Tenjo Hikari on his victory and praising his dueling skills.
Despite being brainwashed as well, his dueling skills remained. After witnessing the duel between Tenjo Hikari and Ed, he realized he couldn't measure up to either and admired them greatly.
But—his life had already been given to Lord Saiou and destiny, so his admiration was all he could offer.
"Well then, as promised, Tenjo Hikari, this card is our gift to you this time."
As Gin Ryuusei spoke, a few members of the White Society dressed in white uniforms respectfully handed a small box to Tenjo Hikari.
"In this box, are the cards and addresses we, the Light Society, obtained from the Fusion Army. I believe Minister Tenjo will certainly appreciate these items."
Tenjo Hikari raised his eyebrows and accepted the box, opening it for a look.
The box, large enough to hold two rows of mooncakes, was filled with white ornaments, inside which were two cards. One card depicted scattered stars, clearly coordinates of another dimension, with "Frightfur Sanctuary" written below.
Wow.
It's the dimension of the Frightfur.
Tenjo Hikari's eyes lit up.
Indeed, he had searched through various bases of the Fusion Army but hadn't found any hint of the Frightfur, for even within the Fusion Army, Frightfur was a highly classified secret location.
In this regard, it was indeed easier for members of the Light Society, with their "guidance," to locate such places.
As for the other card.
Tenjo Hikari raised an eyebrow.
D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc.
DDD??
Where did this come from?
Tenjo Hikari was astonished.
"This card was obtained by Lord Saiou from Akaba Leo."
"What?" Tenjo Hikari abruptly raised his head, asking Gin Ryuusei with suspicion.
"Huh?"
"Is that Akaba Leo's card?"
"Uh…"
Many of the onlooking students showed obvious discomfort.
Over time, they had fully recognized Tenjo Hikari's purity and extremity, thus they no longer suspected him of being with the Fusion Army.
But seeing someone take a card from Akaba Leo himself and give it to others was indeed unsettling.
What exactly was going on with this Light Society?
Meanwhile, Serena kept tapping her foot, gazing upwards curiously.
Father's card—
What kind of deck does he actually use?
Tenjo Hikari frowned as he looked at the Jeanne in his hand, which was the D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc.
How on earth was this obtained?
This particular card really shouldn't have appeared, right?
"A year ago, in another dimension, Lord Saiou met Akaba Leo. At that time, Akaba Leo, offering cards as compensation, invited the Light Society to collaborate with their Fusion Army." With hands behind his back, Gin Ryuusei openly shared, causing many to show hostility toward the Light Society. Even those students saved by them began to worry, "However—"
Soon, Gin Ryuusei's words took a turn: "Lord Saiou immediately saw through Akaba Leo's duplicity, realizing he was not an honest and kind teacher. Although he recommended Mr. Ed to the Fusion Army, under the guidance of [Destiny], he introduced him to Minister Tenjo's Fusion Department."
Tenjo Hikari had to bite his lip to suppress a laugh.
What nonsense is this?
Tenjo Hikari recalled that, on that day, Ed ended up dueling Marufuji Shou, the representative of the "opponent side", because of the "Fusion Department," and by a twist of fate joined them.
Although Tenjo Hikari hadn't realized it at the time, after some conversations and extra words exchanged later, he had long known about it.
Though Gin Ryuusei was spewing nonsense, it might just be because Saiou instructed him to do so.
In truth, he might not know anything about it.
Moreover, among his words, there was actually some usable information.
This suggests that initially, Ed was indeed recommended by Saiou to become the commander of the Fusion Army!
Having Ed as a commander of the Fusion Army was a significant difference from not having him.
After all, Ed is truly a hero favored by destiny.
If Ed were present, the blitz towards Heartland wouldn't have gone this way or happened this soon.
As compensation, Akaba Leo probably gave Saiou quite a few things?
The cards were probably just a small part, considering that Akaba Leo was more adept at technology!