Chapter 275: Don

"My turn..."

Marufuji Ryo crawled his body, drew a card from his deck, then slowly, with great effort, rose to his feet and took one step at a time toward the dueling field, facing Caesar directly.

"Hmph..." Caesar's already exaggerated, eerie smile grew even more brilliant.

"Ryo!!" Judai shouted.

"I have always deeply admired and respected all my opponents' older brothers," Ryo struggled, standing on the dueling field. "But recently, my brother changed completely—not only did he alter his dueling style, but for victory, he even abandoned our world's summoning method and began using Xyz Summoning..."

"Respect?" Caesar replied. "That was the foolish thought of my former self. Now, I respect nothing—no, if I must say it, I respect only victory!"

"Victory is everything!"

As he spoke, it seemed black storms erupted from his body.

"Ugh..."

"Uhh..."

A group of onlookers instinctively frowned.

In truth, "respecting opponents" and "respecting duels" were the universal consensus among all duelists in this world.

This was not something accumulated over one or two years—it was a long-standing belief.

After all, they truly knew this world contained Duel Spirits and had personally experienced countless supernatural events, including things like "Orichalcos," so they had grown accustomed to respecting, and most genuinely took dueling seriously.

Because Duel Power and Bonds were real—if you formed a connection with a card, you truly might draw the key card you needed during a duel.

Under these circumstances, Ryo Fujiki's sudden shift in style, especially his adoption of summoning methods from other dimensions, delivered a massive shock to others.

Not to mention phrases like "Disappear, loser"—even prisoners in jail would stare in stunned silence upon hearing them.

Yet after uttering those words, it was Tenjo Hikari who shifted from initial concern to deep contemplation.

As Caesar's true, trusted friend, he had faintly sensed Caesar's inner thoughts, as if he truly understood something.

"Is that really right?" Ryo still wrestled with doubt.

"Hah—foolish," Caesar held the card in one hand, pinching it between his ring and pinky fingers while pointing his index and middle fingers at his opponent. "You're wearing this outfit—you must have been interrogated, right? Then logically, Tenjo Hikari must have been interrogated too."

"So what?"

"Has he abandoned Fusion?"

"Because of some petty dimensional invasion?"

Ryo suddenly froze.

He had seen Tenjo Hikari in the "interrogation room," and he had watched Tenjo Hikari's duels.

No change.

Not a single bit of change.

Tenjo Hikari remained the same Tenjo Hikari.

At any time.

In any place.

No matter what happened, the one thing he would always do—was Fusion!

War might make people resist Fusion.

But it would never stop that man's steps!

"So that's it... my brother is still my brother," Ryo suddenly realized something, regaining a sliver of spirit.

"Hmph..."

"Then, my turn!"

"That kid's regained his spirit again?"

"But what good does it do? The Five God Dragons can't be destroyed by any monster that isn't Light Light Shuxing."

"Destroy them? The Five God Dragons have a full 5000 ATK!"

"Aren't all the Machine-type Fusion Monsters in the Machine Deck Earth Light Shuxing?"

"I heard some are Fire Light Shuxing too..."

In other words—it's impossible—

"No! It's possible!" Ryo interrupted their murmurs. "My deck can do it!"

Ryo unhesitatingly placed the card he just drew onto his dueling field: "Activate the Spell Card, Power Combine!"

Power Combine!

"A Fusion Spell Card that doubles the ATK of Machine-type Fusion Monsters by combining them."

"Tch, so he's one of the Fusion Army's guys."

"Stop talking!" Judai stepped forward. "Ryo just joined the Fusion Department—he's only playing around with his friends there! He has nothing to do with the Fusion Army!"

"Thank you, big brother..." Ryo, hearing Judai's words, was moved to tears, then wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and raised his voice: "That's right—I am a member of the Fusion Department!"

"I am—"

"The representative of the Duel Academy's own Fusion Department, Marufuji Ryo!"

Representative!?

No wonder he's dressed so lavishly!

Many were even more astonished upon hearing Ryo's words.

"But what's wrong with joining a club just for interest?" Ryo pulled two cards from his hand.

The Fusion Army's attacks on the X Dimension had a massive impact.

Because of this, many Fusion Department students, influenced by their families, quit the club at lightning speed. The only ones left were him—the "spy"—and those true "Fusion Army" reserve soldiers.

"The Machine Deck does have Fusion Monsters—those are the ones I fused with my big brother: the Flying Saucer Warrior!"

"The Flying Saucer Warrior requires Warrior-type monsters. Your deck should be Machine-type..."

"I have them!" Ryo not only flipped over the Warrior-type monster in his hand, but also reached behind his back, pulled out the hidden reserve card box concealed under his cloak, and emptied all its cards, shuffling them to display them fully.

"That's—" Chui Xue felt genuine surprise for the first time from Ryo.

"So many!?" Judai cried out.

Purple monsters!

A vast number of purple monsters!

All of them Fusion Monsters!

"These are the Fusion Monsters my teammates, terrified by the Fusion Army incident, were forced to abandon in the interrogation room—beloved cards they couldn't bear to part with!"

"Respecting duels? Whatever!"

"But no one likes having to throw away their beloved cards—"

"So I'll use them on their behalf! I'll safeguard them until the day the Fusion Department is rebuilt—by me!"

Though originally, he had become friends with them through his brother's fame and his cherished little notebook.

But seeing them abandon their beloved monsters, his heart felt pierced as if by a blade.

What fault did they have!?

They knew nothing!

So—

Before it all ends—he would be the "Gravekeeper."

He would protect these cards!

"Fusion!"

"Use the Fusion materials: Warrior Dai·Gerafa and the Flying Saucer Warrior from my hand!"

"Fusion Summon!"

"Flying Saucer Warrior!"

On a small circular flying saucer, Warrior Dai·Gerafa stood atop it, gripping the saucer, staring straight ahead.

Flying Saucer Warrior, Level 10, Light Light Shuxing, Machine-type, ATK:?

"The Flying Saucer Warrior's ATK equals the combined ATK of its Fusion materials..." Judai naturally knew this monster's effect, watching it. "Well done, Ryo!"

Flying Saucer Warrior, ATK: 2900

"Due to Power Combine's effect, its ATK doubles!"

Flying Saucer Warrior, ATK: 2900 → 5800.

"Five thousand eight!?"

"Is this real? He just surpassed the Five God Dragons so easily?"

"And it's truly Light Light Shuxing..."

Ryo looked at Judai and nodded, silently thanking him.

Thank you, big brother—

"Not over yet!"

"Activate the effect of the Stirring Machine in my graveyard!"

"By banishing Machine-type monsters from my graveyard including this card, I can Special Summon one 【Machine】 Fusion Monster of the same Level as the banished monsters, ignoring summoning conditions. This Special Summoned monster is destroyed at the End Phase."

"I banish six Machine-type monsters from my graveyard!"

"Come forth!"

"Steam Rotor Machine!"

A steam locomotive, its body embedded with rotors, appeared on his field.

Steam Rotor Machine, Level 6, Earth Light Shuxing, Machine-type, ATK: 2200.

Just 100 points higher than Cyber Dragon.

"Battle! Use the Flying Saucer Warrior to attack Five God Dragons!"

Grayfa gripped his longsword and piloted the flying saucer straight to the front of the Five God Dragons.

This unlucky monster didn't know if it had some debuff, but no matter when it appeared, it always got crushed by the Light-attribute big brother.

"Flip the face-down card: Wall of Power! For each card sent from your deck to the graveyard, you can substitute 100 points of damage you would take!"

Boom—

The Five God Dragons were split in half by Grayfa's full force, then exploded, while Kaiser suffered no damage whatsoever.

Hell Kaiser drew eight cards from his deck and tossed them out, forming a wall that blocked the damage.

One Life Force, one Wall of Power.

Aside from everything else, the brothers' defensive strategies were surprisingly similar.

"Steam Rotor Warrior, attack Cyber Dragon!" Marufuji Xiang no longer cared what kind of card this was—Yama Zero's appearance had struck him like a thunderclap, and he had no intention of respecting the duel or his opponent.

"Activate another trap card! Catastrophe of the Evil God! When your opponent's monster declares an attack: destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field!"

Boom—

Hell Kaiser, LP: 3200 → 3100.

Simultaneously, the Continuous Trap Card Life Force was scattered by a sudden gale.

"End Phase: Steam Rotor Warrior is destroyed—"

The Steam Little Train burst apart with a bang, turning into shards.

"Additionally, I must suffer the effect of Fusion Combine: lose damage equal to the original ATK of the Fusion Monster—2900 points…"

He gritted his teeth and endured the damage.

Marufuji Xiang, LP: 3600 → 700.

"Lose so much LP all at once?"

"But if I destroy the Five God Dragons, isn't all of this acceptable?"

"Yes. An ATK of 5900 isn't easy to defeat."

"My turn, draw." Hell Kaiser didn't care about the sounds around him at all.

He looked at the card he drew, a smile curling at his lips.

He looked at his opponent.

Xiang.

It seems you've truly grown.

But it's not enough.

Far from enough—

He glanced at Judai and the slightly dazed Chui Xue.

He'd naturally heard of the Fusion Army, but he didn't care about such things.

He only wanted victory—just victory.

Just like Tenjo Hikari only needed fusion.

He realized this point too late, and everyone else had their own confusion too.

Right now, Xiang could at best be called "barely on the right path," but ultimately, it was others' regrets pushing him forward.

Not enough—not nearly enough!

"Hahahahaha—Don't blink, Xiang. This will be the last monster you ever see!"

"Activate Spell Card."

"Cyber Dark Impact!!"

Here it comes!

Marufuji Xiang went on guard.

"This card can return Cyber Dark Horn, Cyber Dark Wing, and Cyber Dark Bone from your hand, field, or graveyard to the deck, to Fusion Summon one Armored Black Dragon—Cyber Dark Dragon!"

Wait, where are those cards?

"I return Cyber Dark Wing from my hand, and Cyber Dark Bone and Cyber Dark Horn from the graveyard to the deck!"

It's Wall of Power—

"Fusion Summon! Armored Black Dragon—Cyber Dark Dragon!"

A bizarrely shaped black Cyber Dragon, its wings like blades, roared upward onto the field.

Armored Black Dragon—Cyber Dark Dragon, Level 8, Dark Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 1000.

At the same time, Marufuji Ryo felt an electric shock—he quickly adapted to it and continued: "Cyber Dark Dragon can equip one Dragon-type monster from the graveyard, increasing that monster's ATK!"

In the graveyard, the Five God Dragons were dragged up by Cyber Dark Dragon; countless wires wrapped around its body, causing it to cry out in pain.

Armored Black Dragon—Cyber Dark Dragon, ATK: 1000 → 6000.

"Not done yet! For each card in the graveyard, Cyber Dark Dragon's ATK increases by 100 points!"

Armored Black Dragon—Cyber Dark Dragon, ATK: 6000 → 7200.

"ATK, 7200!?"

"Th-this… this is insane!"

"Is this Hell Kaiser?"

Duelists who had previously planned to challenge Hell Kaiser now quickly slipped behind the crowd.

"Attack, Xiang!"

Xiang clenched his fists and faced his brother head-on.

He wanted to duel his brother precisely because he carried doubt and hesitation in his heart.

Now, he had solidified his own duel—he would not fear.

"Armored Black Dragon—Cyber Dark Dragon, attack the Flying Saucer Warrior!"

"Complete Darkness Explosion!"

Cyber Dark Dragon's mouth unleashed waves of sound; endless darkness engulfed the warrior on the flying saucer. The warrior looked left and right, trying to brace himself—but before he could even finish preparing, he screamed and exploded in a spray of debris!

"Aaaaaaah!!"

Meanwhile.

Black electricity surged over Marufuji Xiang's body; he screamed, cried out in pain, feeling his life draining away.

Marufuji Xiang, LP: 700 → 0.

The terrifying current nearly knocked him down—he was about to collapse when someone appeared beside him, supporting him so he wouldn't fall. He turned his head—it was Denis from the Fusion Department.

"Don't give in, Representative!" Denis grinned.

"Ha…" Marufuji Xiang couldn't help but laugh.

With Denis's help, Xiang struggled to his feet. He opened his mouth to speak to his brother—but Hell Kaiser didn't even glance at him. He turned and walked toward the station, muttering: "Disappear, loser."

"Xiang!"

Judai and Dilaran Sword Mountain rushed over, asking after his condition.

"Have I improved, brother?"

"Incredible, Xiang. I think… even Hikari would praise you." Judai gave a thumbs-up.

On the other side, Chui Xue—who had originally planned to go with his sister to the Ritual Zone—ran straight behind Kaiser, leaped over, and threw an arm around his shoulder: "Hah! Ryo! Your recent pro performance was awesome!"

Just like rubbing salt in the wound.

"Wait, brother! Ryo's struggling—" Asuka sighed and followed after them.

Thus, the team was decided.

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(End of Chapter)