Chapter 119: The Duelist With Reason Remaining

"My turn!"

Mori Shima looked at Tenjo Hikari, suppressing his inner fear.

Although Ma Ling Wang had put a bounty on Tenjo Hikari, ordering anyone who encountered him in the alternate dimension to capture him outright, he had never personally witnessed Tenjo Hikari's duel; he only knew of Tenjo Hikari's existence and had a general understanding of his deck.

A pure fusion deck centered on 【Fusion】.

But now that he faced Tenjo Hikari directly and saw the strange purple puppet threads on his body, he had to admit: this man had real grounds for his arrogance in challenging the Fusion Army.

Yet, as a graduate of the Blue Academy of the Duel Academy and as a "senior," he was far from easy to defeat.

He had once been a contender for the title of "Top Student"!

"Draw!"

He sharply drew a card, glanced at its image, and laughed heartily.

"I activate the Continuous Magic Card, Magic Absorption!"

He slapped a card onto his field.

"A Continuous Magic Card?" At that moment, the threads surrounding Tenjo Hikari began to surge, occasionally rising in waves before converging into a massive magic staff, while Tierra also appeared beside Tenjo Hikari. "Looks just like last time."

Tenjo Hikari nodded.

"As long as this card remains on the field, every time either you or I activate a Magic Card, I recover 500 Life Points."

He continued revealing cards: "Next, I activate the Continuous Magic Card, Demon's Declaration!"

Boom— a massive black stone slab rose beside him, shaking loose chunks of ceiling debris.

"Huh, what kind of card is that?" Tierra felt a surge of delight upon seeing it. "I've never seen this card in any student's hand at your school."

Tenjo Hikari also nodded. "It's a gambling-type card... maybe Tai Shan has it?"

Tai Shan was a student who once competed with Judai in card draws, but Tenjo Hikari had never dueled him in this world, so he didn't know for sure.

Mori Shima smirked. "According to Magic Absorption's effect, I gain 500 LP."

Mori Shima LP: 4000 → 4500.

"Then, I activate the effect of Demon's Declaration: pay 500 Life Points to declare a card name."

"Flip the top card of your deck. If it matches the declared name, add it to your hand. If not, send it to the graveyard."

Mori Shima LP: 4500 → 4000.

"Isn't this just pure guessing?" Tierra was surprised. "What's the point? Why not use Pot of Greed?"

"Hmph, ignorant Duel Spirit, don't waste your breath!"

Tierra clenched his fists involuntarily.

You really are asking for death.

If this weren't a duel, she might have already turned this man into wetware.

Mori Shima placed his hand atop his deck, closed his eyes, and golden electrical sparks gradually rose from his body. Then he snapped his eyes open: "I see it—the next card in my deck is Frontline Base!"

He flipped the top card of his deck and displayed it for all to see—just as he predicted, his first card was indeed Frontline Base!

"How is that possible!" Tierra exclaimed. "Did he use divination magic?"

"No..." Tenjo Hikari frowned. "It seems this 'Top Student' title isn't just talk."

The Duel Academy teaches students how to "draw cards." There are specialized courses on how to draw the exact card you need during a duel.

Though it sounds utterly unscientific, in a world where cards respond to the user's will, this is no joke.

That Mori Shima can achieve this level proves he's no mere braggart—he might truly be among the top three students of his year!

That means he's not on the same level as those "foot soldiers"!

High Spirit Adaptability, powerful drawing ability, and the card to summon Lei Huang Hamon—his confidence isn't baseless.

"I activate my second Demon's Declaration!"

"And—I declare, Y-Dragon Head!"

He sharply drew a card and displayed it.

With a sharp crackling sound and clear electrical sizzles, the card flipped over, revealing its text—but the image on the card showed Y-Dragon Head not as a normal dragon head, but as a sparking, writhing, struggling machine!

"Not done yet—I activate the Continuous Magic Card, Frontline Base! Recover 500 Life Points! Then, Normal Summon, X-Leader Cannon!"

Mori Shima LP: 4000 → 4500.

"Next, using Frontline Base's effect—once per turn, I can Special Summon one Alliance Monster from my hand! I Special Summon Alliance Monster, Y-Dragon Head!"

Two sparking robots now stood on his field—both Leader Cannon and Dragon Head looked utterly drained.

Tierra shook her head in displeasure.

She had been thrilled to arrive in a Machine Spirit dimension, and when she realized Tenjo Hikari's plan, she was even happier—she could strike first and seize the Three Phantom Monsters' cards.

But what happened?

These humans were arrogant and foolish—they used Phantom power to control Alliance machines and forced them to serve and be studied.

She glanced around the facility and spotted several disassembled Spirits, then turned her gaze to Alliance Doctor and the device beside him.

Oh? That mortal has been unconsciously protecting that device?

She quietly observed twice but didn't act yet.

"When X and Y are both on the field, I can summon this card from my Fusion Deck! This is the unique Fusion of Alliance Machines—witness it well, Tenjo Hikari!"

"Fusion together X-Leader Cannon and Y-Dragon Head!"

The two monsters began to disassemble, their parts connecting and recombining—Leader Cannon's lower body fused with Dragon Head's back, forming a brand-new monster.

XY-Draco Cannon, Level 6, Light Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 2200.

"Place one card face-down. End my turn!"

"Excellent!" The Doctor cried out excitedly.

Though he was an outsider who didn't understand duels well, he'd watched many duels between Spirits and Duelists. Mori Shima's opening had increased his LP, Special Summoned a 2200 ATK monster, and set a card—plus four Continuous Magic Cards on the field! Clearly, this was a solid start!

"But why not just Special Summon Lei Huang directly?" he still didn't understand.

He'd seen before—Lei Huang Hamon could effortlessly isolate Spirit power outside the lab and end duels almost instantly. Even he, who knew nothing about duels, could tell that card was a winning card!

But Mori Shima gave no explanation—he merely smirked and stared at Tenjo Hikari, as if preparing and guarding.

"Hmm... this opening does look impressive," Tierra nodded after watching. "Now this is what a graduate looks like."

Having watched so many duels, tried a few herself, and studied dueling seriously, she understood his strategy: "He's keeping those Continuous Magic Cards to recover more LP, refill his hand next turn, then summon the Phantom Monsters?"

"He still has reason—he hasn't been fully corrupted or controlled by Phantom power."

Tenjo Hikari nodded.

"If so..."

Tenjo Hikari drew a card, a faint purple glow flickering in his eyes: "Hmm... heh. I Normal Summon, Elemental Hero Prism Man!!"

Tried out the new Master Duel tournament—Dimensional Duel (no Xyz, only Link)—used the Shadow Summon deck and ran into a Centurion player who didn't know Xiao Mi, endlessly chaining monster summons. Got a good laugh.

Even old decks have their spring.

Bonus update today, bonus update today.

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(End of Chapter)