Tenjo Hikari looked up at the sky. At some point, the blue sky seemed to have a faint red hue.
But it was clearly midday, so how could there be a red reminiscent of a sunset?
Could it be...
Tenjo Hikari glanced at the Fusion Army soldiers, a few of whom assumed he was responsible, and were instantly terrified, shrinking back together. Even Yugo, who initially felt relieved, appeared nervous.
Tenjo Hikari furrowed his brow.
No way, that bastard Akaba Leo, did he truly not consider if his subordinates could pull this off? Could it be that he's made a pact with some bizarre Earthbound God... ensuring that victory or defeat results in one side's soul being taken?
If that's truly the case...
Tenjo Hikari looked at the sky, which was changing colors, undoubtedly having already consumed countless people.
Simultaneously, the red sky, the "sky" of the entire world, seemed to be slowly revealing different textures or perhaps... patterns.
Earthbound Geoglyph!
However, unlike the ordinary Earthbound Geoglyphs that cover a specific area.
This seemed to be a geoglyph covering the entire world!
Tenjo Hikari approached Lilos's "remains"—more precisely, Lilos's Duel Disk. He picked up Lilos's Duel Disk, took out the deck inside, and glanced at it briefly.
Tenjo Hikari wouldn't usually do this to his enemies, but the Fusion Army was different. Tenjo Hikari always had a double standard when it came to the Fusion Army.
Although he said this, Tenjo Hikari probably wouldn't use the Dragon surpassing series, keeping it simple is enough.
The good news is his deck includes Babycerasaurus and Petiteranodon, so Tenjo Hikari wouldn't hold back.
The Fusion Army soldiers noticed that Tenjo Hikari didn't immediately focus his gaze on them, frantically fleeing, and Tenjo Hikari didn't pursue them, fearing it would divert attention and he might lose Rin and Yugo. After storing away the cards, he glanced at his left hand.
His Dark Sign wasn't glowing.
Of course.
The other party had truly decided to resolve things using "Polymerization" to divide victory and defeat with him, even using the frozen Bracchio-raidus Synchro Monster, but it's different from those who merely wanted to defeat him with Number Monsters.
From a Duelist's point of view, the other party didn't have any issues.
Although he attempted to waged battle using the local's strength to harm Tenjo Hikari in the duel, but merely borrowed it—on the contrary, after his defeat, he bizarrely transformed into a soul, merging into the sky, which was truly inexplicable.
After all, the duel between Tenjo Hikari and him wasn't a life-or-death pact, yet Lilos was devoured without uttering a single word after losing.
There's only one possibility, which is that no matter whom he duels, as long as he loses, he inevitably transforms into a soul, subsequently being devoured.
Furthermore, since the general of the Fusion Army ended up like this, what about the soldiers?
Presumably, they're the same, right?
Perhaps even ordinary people might be absorbed?
No wonder Crow mentioned seeing numerous machine police on the roads.
He shook his head, hurriedly packed away his Duel Disk, and mounted the D-wheel.
Then he asked aloud, "Yusei, how's it going on your side?"
In Yusei's residence, while on the phone, he watched the surrounding people collapse to the ground, gradually transforming into light shadows. He glanced at the girl who had just awakened, seemingly oblivious to the events, and replied, "Everything's fine here.
However, this girl doesn't seem to be the Serena you mentioned."
"…Is that so?" Tenjo Hikari understood.
Then Serena must be over at Crow's side.
Tenjo Hikari couldn't help but sigh.
This ill-fated girl—
Previously, when Tenjo Hikari received information from Ushio, he promptly halted his activities and immediately rode off to search, incidentally seeking assistance from a couple of City acquaintances.
Namely, Crow and Yusei.
Fortunately, the two happened to encounter a "Rin." Yusei reacted quickly, immediately informing Tenjo Hikari, as he planned to conduct experiments that night, with a parade scheduled in Lower City today. Thus, Crow was likely not in the Lower City, hoping for Tenjo Hikari to check on Rin.
Therefore, Tenjo Hikari promptly changed his exploration route, shifting from heading to the upper layer to the orphanage, coincidentally witnessing Yugo's confrontation with the security police.
Tenjo Hikari pinched his forehead.
He explained the sky situation to Yusei. With a serious expression, Yusei acknowledged it, then urgently hung up.
Yusei departed his lab, staring at the slightly red sky, instantly recalling the information he saw about the future.
One of The One Red Dragon's greatest adversaries, the strongest Earthbound God, Earthbound Immortal Red Nova!
He touched his right cheek, an intense pain causing him to wince.
Hmm...
Despite his appearance now resembling a normal person, there's still some mild discomfort.
However, this level is right at the edge of what he can endure.
He looked at Ruri.
Those inexplicable folks barged into his lab, attempting to forcefully seize this girl from him through violence. After he knocked them down one by one, they tried to defeat him in a duel, but after losing, they refused to admit defeat, ultimately all transforming into red souls.
At that time, he didn't have a chance to step outside, instead conversing with the awakened girl, thus gaining a general understanding of the situation.
The good news was this girl named Ruri turned out to be knowledgeable and quick-witted, adeptly analyzing the current situation, and despite meeting just once, she disclosed much inside information to him. He learned that she was indeed from another dimension.
Additionally, she was the companion Serena was worried about, saved by Tenjo Hikari.
This put Yusei's mind at ease, as he feared the girl would be impulsive like Yugo, so engaging in calm conversation was a relief.
"Let me take you to my backup base first. Later, I'll find Tenjo, then you guys can stay at that base together,"
Yusei said.
If it hadn't been for Ruri's unexpected fall from the sky, landing directly in his lab, normally, no one could locate his hiding spot.
Not that his confidence in his base's construction was astronomical, but given the future outlook, these locations were generally areas people wouldn't traverse.
He drove around, circling the entire Lower City countless times, shaking off pursuing people and opportunists looking to rob amid chaos, finally bringing Ruri to an underground gigantic laboratory.
He turned the lights on, and Ruri saw numerous screens arrayed throughout the room. As electricity flowed, the screens gradually lit up, displaying each level and area of City, all roadways. From this location, one practically had a view of any place within the entire city.
Presently, Yusei relied on these elements to respond instantly to emergencies in another dimension, such as Tenjo Hikari's appearance or Kiryu's mad prisoner sacrifices.
Ruri gazed in shock at the screens, beginning to suspect her savior might be an evil antagonist of this dimension.
Yusei pointed to the keyboard and mouse nearby, explaining to her, "Operation is simple. I've connected it to my D-wheel. Should you need to urgently notify me of discoveries, feel free to let me know—Of course, the most important task is watching over these locations. If anyone approaches your position from those areas, alert me, I'll come immediately."
A twofold approach.
Just in case, Yusei figured it was safer this way.