The call of the Red Dragon was getting closer, but before that, Tenjo Hikari had a few things to do.
First and foremost was to check his deck.
After all, having dueled with Kaibaman, there might be some new changes in his deck.
No matter if it was the Kaiba from ten years ago or now, as one of the true Duelist pinnacle figures in the Yu-Gi-Oh World, even defeating Kaiba Seto from ten years ago was an impressive achievement—
Sure enough, just as Tenjo Hikari thought, the completion of "The Claw of Hermos" had suddenly leaped forward, surpassing the completion of defeating both Insector Haga and Dinosaur Lyuzaki combined. On closer inspection, the card had already basically materialized, just missing the final bit of completion.
And besides that...
"Huh?" Tenjo Hikari raised an eyebrow at a monster that suddenly appeared in his deck.
Was it The White Stone of Ancients?
Tenjo Hikari touched his chin, a bit surprised.
According to his original plan, he would later try to study the Azure-Eyes Dragon to refine other Blue-Eyes-related cards, but suddenly having a White Stone of Ancients in hand felt like opening up new possibilities.
Just as a growing bulb evolves step by step, if this White Stone evolved into a White Dragon, it wouldn't matter if Kaiba Seto himself, or even that stone tablet, came; no one could disparage Tenjo Hikari.
After returning to the Academy, the first thing he did was return to the Great Cosmic Workshop, then head straight to the Magic Academy to return the books he borrowed, and then he made his way to the Witchcrafter Bystreet, only to find that their leader wasn't home and was asked to come again next time.
Tenjo Hikari didn't dwell on it and turned to Endymion, the Magical Citadel. Surprisingly, he thought he would have to duel someone here to gain recognition, but after some investigation, they opened the doors wide, allowing him to meet the Magic King directly.
Afterward, Tenjo Hikari learned from them that once, Endymion had a runaway who left their dimension and entered the human world.
Although Tenjo Hikari wasn't the one who caught that Spirit, it had indeed been Duel Academy then – during the Seven-Star Incident, Manjome was attacked by an Endymion Spirit while catching the Dark Scorpion Burglars, lost his key, and later it was Judai who retrieved it.
At that time, the Spirit was a runaway from Endymion.
Honestly, Tenjo Hikari was quite surprised.
He thought that Endymion's Spirit back then was deliberately brought by Teacher Daitokuji, given that later on, Daitokuji and Ah Lai seemed to have a good relationship, borrowing someone from Endymion seemed normal.
He never expected it to be a runaway.
Overall, because of this situation, Endymion thought well of the "Seven-Star Duelist". Tenjo Hikari had come to their city, and they already knew he intended to find Ah Lai and the "Era-Defining Alchemist", so they didn't stop him much, even entrusting Tenjo Hikari to take some gifts to Manjome and Yuki Judai.
Of course, Tenjo Hikari also received some.
Jewelry, ornaments, magical materials, all sorts of things, very comprehensive.
Maybe they could be considered specialties of the Spirit World, and Manjome would probably love them.
After this, Tenjo Hikari made a trip to the DT Dimension.
Originally he wanted to go to the Secret Village of the Spellcasters to ask the Magical Scientist if any new discoveries had been made, but after thinking, he realized it had only been a little over a month since he last asked, so it was unlikely there'd be any new discoveries, so he went with Tierra to the DT Dimension.
Like last time, upon arriving at the DT Dimension, the two picked a direction to move forward with an attitude of meeting whatever they might find.
But unlike the last time, this time after arriving at the DT Dimension, Tierra was initially very enthusiastic, but later her brows furrowed, seemingly encountering some great problem.
Tenjo Hikari asked her, but unexpectedly, she rarely withheld from telling Tenjo Hikari what was going on, instead knitting her brow in concern.
This time, luck seemed to be on their side as Tierra encountered some Genex androids on patrol and quickly obtained information about their camp through a duel.
They say practice makes perfect; Tierra, having dealt with El Shaddoll and Worm Spirits, basically understood these spirits from the DT World and how to address them.
Moreover, in her mind, the Genex machines weren't beings that needed to be erased but rather her own beloved environmental modification instruments; her attitude differed from when she faced the El Shaddoll.
She entered their camp, using her knowledge of machinery and Genex, helping them with basic modifications, successfully evolving a spirit into a Synchro Monster, delighting the Genex Spirits.
No one could deny, in this aspect, she was indeed the most professional — the prototypes of these Genex Spirits were handcrafted by her.
"Hmm hmm hmm, how about that, isn't this faster than gaining approval one by one?" Tierra said, holding a heap of parts and cards, satisfied as she left.
Ha—
Even bypassing protocol held some sense?
Whether it was good luck or the Red Dragon working behind the scenes, in short, these two-dimensional travels were exceptionally smooth.
Of course, these matters weren't of utmost importance to Tenjo Hikari at the moment.
For him, currently, there was only one thing of greatest significance.
"Ding, ding—"
"Tactical Core, Captain, secure the stabilizer!" The Elemental Alchemist shouted to the two Spirits, who responded by gripping the ropes tightly and pulling in different directions.
At the core of the Workshop, within a giant furnace lit by the Philosopher's Stone, emitted a terrifying malevolent light.
Red, yellow, and blue beams of light penetrated the cosmos of the Great Cosmic Workshop, with ropes binding the cards, forcefully pulling the beams.
Tierra flew in the air, spreading her arms, purple flames swept the skies, scorching the Workshop surroundings into discoloration.
Tenjo Hikari cautiously inserted a card into the furnace.
Around the furnace several cards floated.
Earth Attribute, Invoked Magellanica; Water Attribute, Invoked Cocytus; Fire Attribute, El Shaddoll Grysta; Wind Attribute, El Shaddoll Wendi; Light Attribute, El Shaddoll Construct; and Dark Attribute, El Shaddoll Winda!
Six cards emitted light of different hues, signifying the "completion" of Tenjo Hikari's alchemic energy, eventually converging on the furnace, radiating multicolored brilliance.
In the skies, the blue beam also gradually emitted black gas, vibrations inside the Great Cosmic Workshop intensified, Tierra frowned, and in the next moment, several gray-white Mechanical Demons appeared beside her, burning with blue Void Fire, scorching the beam with more force.
Boom!
A violent explosion resounded, blowing away all Spirits but Tierra by the terrifying wind triggered by the explosion.
Blue flames engulfed the entire furnace, leaping high into the air as if intending to burn the cosmos itself.
Tenjo Hikari stood there, blue flames wildly reflected in his eyes, and soon, the flames slowly condensed, gradually converging into a single point, and finally, under the blue blaze, reverted to a card.
Armityle the Chaos Phantasm - Phantom of Fury.
Purification, Ascension...
He caught the card, then looked to the other side.
His fist clenched in excitement—
He was back!
Finally, finally back!
The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion!
Tenjo Hikari looked at his hands, trembling with exhilaration.