Chapter 267: Second Release

"Draw a card."

"Whoa! There it is! Tenjo Hikari!" Ye La, seeing the card Tenjo Hikari drew, finally relaxed, "Good, good, good—crush that Phantom Demon into pieces!"

Tenjo Hikari looked at the card he had drawn.

Then he turned to his opponent.

"At our Duel Academy's main campus, there are only two professors."

?

"Why bring this up suddenly?" Jichuan Boge rubbed the back of his neck.

"Professor Ma Chima Chima Lingwang, and the current acting principal, Professor Professor Luonuosi, right?" Jichuan Boge recalled briefly, "Hmm, that Professor Luonuosi seems to be nobility too, but it doesn't matter—once Professor Ma's grand plan succeeds, I'll be nobility too."

"Is that all you care about?"

Tenjo Hikari shook his head: "Listen—the Phantom Demon King Rabiel has an effect that consumes monsters on the field to boost its attack power, right?"

"!!"

Jichuan Boge startled violently and asked, "How do you know that!?"

"How do I know? How could I not know? I'm a student of the main campus of the Duel Academy."

"Besides, what I pursue is ultimate fusion, so I study everything in meticulous detail—you should know that already, right?"

Hmmm—

Jichuan Boge frowned.

But it didn't matter.

After all, Tenjo Hikari's current hand didn't support him in resolving this himself—

"I spent some time in Professor Ma's activity club too—the atmosphere was terrible, constant bullying. Professor Ma Chima Chima Lingwang's student education was utterly abysmal—he never cared about students' mental states, only his own affairs."

"But Professor Professor Luonuosi is different—he knows the exact situation of every student in the academy, even Masuda Hayato, who's been sleeping in the Red Academy for years, is well-known to Professor Professor Luonuosi."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying—I'm going to use the card Professor Professor Luonuosi gave me, to show you what a true 【Teacher】 really is!"

"I discard the 【Fusion】 in my hand, and activate the spell card—Ancient Machine Chaos Fusion!"

What card is that!?

Jichuan Boge turned pale.

An unfamiliar card!

"This is the card Professor Professor Luonuosi gave me—the unique card granted to him by the Ancient Machine clan!" Tenjo Hikari looked at the professor's card, his mood finally lifting slightly.

"Ancient Machine Chaos Fusion can be activated by discarding one 【Fusion】 from your hand and revealing an additional Ancient Machine Fusion Monster!"

"I discard the Fusion in my hand, then reveal the Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant from my extra deck!"

"Then, according to its effect, I banish all Fusion Monsters from my graveyard!"

Tenjo Hikari opened his graveyard: "Wan Rong Alchemist, Superfusion Beast, Netherworld Dragon Long Wang! Banish all three!"

Three different monsters appeared floating on Tenjo Hikari's field, their phantom forms staring at the opponent.

"What is this...?" Jichuan Boge suddenly grew tense—the three monsters staring at him sent a chilling sensation prickling down his spine.

"After banishing Fusion Monsters, I can ignore summoning conditions and special summon the Fusion Materials determined by that Fusion Monster from my deck, extra deck, or graveyard!"

"First—Ancient Machine Giant!"

Wan Rong Alchemist raised his staff; the staff emitted light, its form gradually dissolving, replaced by a massive mechanical giant appearing beneath its radiant glow.

Ancient Machine Giant, Level 8, Earth Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 3000.

"Second—Ancient Machine Demon God!"

Netherworld Dragon roared; the gates of the Netherworld opened wide, and a mechanical demon god slowly descended from the underworld.

Ancient Machine Demon God, Level 8, Earth Attribute, ATK 1000.

"Third—Ancient Machine Great Dragon!"

Ding ding dang dang—the surface and structure of the Fusion Beast began peeling away, revealing a massive, ancient, gear-filled mechanical dragon taking its place! This card was one of the Ancient Machine monster cards Professor Professor Luonuosi had previously added for him.

Ancient Machine Great Dragon, Level 8, Earth Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 3000.

"This—You've special summoned three Ancient Machine monsters at once!?" Jichuan Boge swallowed hard.

"Monsters summoned this way have their effects negated—then they are sent to the graveyard to perform Ancient Machine Fusion Summon!"

Ancient Machine Fusion Summon?

Wait—

Could it be—!

He glanced at the dark summoning deity lounging beside him, eating grapes.

"Damn it!"

"It seems you've figured it out—"

Tenjo Hikari took a deep breath, then raised both hands and clapped them firmly before his eyes.

"God of Destruction! Iron Dragon! Now, become flesh, merge with the ancient giant, and transform into the Ultimate Machine!"

"Fusion Summon—Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant!"

The three massive mechanical monsters began to disassemble; countless parts reassembled, gradually forming a mechanical giant taller and more powerful than the Phantom Demon King, standing on Tenjo Hikari's field!

Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant, Level 10, Earth Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 4400.

"Damn... damn it..." Jichuan Boge stumbled backward in panic, then immediately turned to the soldiers beside him; they understood and quickly fled the clearing.

"The Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant also has piercing effect—surely you know that well!"

"Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant, attack the Dark Summoning Deity!"

The Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant slowly raised its right hand; thick steam erupted from its mechanical apparatus, it drew its fist back, aiming precisely at the Dark Summoning Deity, its red targeting lens slowly focusing—

"Wait, Tenjo Hikari, if you've got guts, fight my Phantom Demon head-on!"

"What are you joking about? Isn't bullying the weak your favorite pastime?" Tenjo Hikari said casually, "Why not accept it now?"

"You!"

"Besides, I've never had a taste for misdirected strikes!"

"Attack!"

"Ancient Machine—Ultimate Strike!"

The towering Ultimate Giant aimed at the puny demon below and punched downward with blinding speed—no pain, no delay—in an instant, the Dark Summoning Deity turned to dust, and simultaneously, Jichuan Boge screamed in agony.

"Aaaaaaah—"

The punch struck him too, causing his Life Points to plummet violently; steam rose from his body, and he lost consciousness within moments.

He collapsed to his knees, thudding onto the ground; the Phantom Demon's figure faded, and he slowly regained awareness: "Heh... I lost. But Tenjo Hikari, don't think just because I lost, you've..."

"You secretly moved the machine away, didn't you?"

"!!?"

"Foolish, ignorant, self-important," Tenjo Hikari said coldly. "Do you think I'm opposing you just to play the hero?"

"Precisely because I understand you... that's why I'm your enemy."

As he spoke, Ye La lightly snapped his fingers. In Jichuan Boge's widened eyes, he saw Ye La's puppet threads slowly dragging something from the void—gradually pulling out a machine, accompanied by several Fusion Army soldiers who had earlier followed his cues to move the device.

"Tenjo Hikari!!!" Jichuan Boge gritted his teeth, stood up, pulled out a button, tore open his shirt, revealing a bomb inside, "You must die here!!!"

This bomb was powerful enough to destroy the entire Shattered Dimension—he intended to detonate it here.

But—

"I already told you—I understand you!"

At some point, Tenjo Hikari had pinched a card between his index and middle fingers, holding it before him.

Before the duel, he had already anticipated this exact scenario!

Jichuan Boge's eyes widened.

"Witness the ultimate power of fusion!"

"Don't blink—this is a spectacle you'll see only once in your lifetime!"

As Tenjo Hikari whispered, black clouds far denser than those summoned during the Phantom Demon King's appearance spread across the entire dimension's sky.

Tenjo Hikari stood still, his pupils radiating astonishing purple light; everything in the dimension seemed to lose all support and began flying upward in reverse.

All things began merging, all things sinking into the dark clouds.

Jichuan Boge froze.

Because...

This was a spectacle beyond his imagination, beyond his comprehension, beyond belief.

As if the entire world had become a single card's 【Material】.

Even the Phantom Demon couldn't achieve this—even the Phantom Demon bowed in submission!

He realized...

There was no way—no possible way—to stop Tenjo Hikari.

That voice—that card—

Tenjo Hikari raised the card and spoke loudly.

"Release the Ultimate Power!"

Chapter Three, Chapter Three—some duel details in the last chapter were incorrect; revised.

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(End of this chapter)