Chapter 30: With the Strongest Form

"Cover two cards, end your turn!"

Tenjo Hikari looked at his hand and calculated in his mind.

Discarding his hand shifted his original strategy—the biggest factor being he couldn't eliminate Bai Jing this turn.

But this wasn't necessarily bad. Compared to his previous hand, his current one was more stable, and he'd drawn an extra card.

When it was Bai Jing's turn, he roared and performed a normal summon of a monster.

A crimson gem shattered, revealing a crimson knight wreathed in black mist.

Gem Knight Huang Bi, Level 4, Earth Attribute, Thunder Tribe, ATK 1600.

Bai Jing pointed at the opposite side, and his monster leapt forward, charging at the Flame Swordsman.

"I activate my face-down card: Chain-Linked Flying Dragon Flame!" Tenjo Hikari didn't hesitate, flipping the card open. "This card can be equipped to a Fire-attribute monster, increasing its ATK by 700 points!"

Flame Swordsman: 1800 → 2500.

Though he could still cover another monster, a direct battle win was preferable.

"Aaaah!!" The Flame Swordsman's greatsword transformed into a chain, which he swung, hurling the charging Bai Jing away amid agonized screams.

Gem Knight Bai Jing, LP: 4000 → 3950.

Bai Jing was struck squarely by the flames, shook his head, and the black mist on his body thinned slightly—but it didn't hinder his movement. He turned around and activated a face-down card.

Trap Card: Waste Stone Fusion!

It was the very card Tenjo Hikari had previously "fused," so he wasn't surprised.

This trap allows you to banish "Gem Knight" monsters from your graveyard to perform a fusion summon.

He banished Bai Jing and another monster discarded in the first turn's hand destruction to fuse.

Two gems converged on Bai Jing's field, colliding and shattering repeatedly—until, amid the fragments, a dull-hued knight emerged.

A knight clad in a cloak, wearing massive gauntlets on both hands, terrifyingly imposing!

Gem Knight · Simulated Diamond, Level 8, Earth Attribute, Rock Tribe, ATK 2900!

Fusion materials: "Gem Knight" and "Rock Tribe" monster!

Far surpassing the current Flame Swordsman.

"We're done—this can't be stopped—"

"Don't let your knowledge limit your thinking! I activate the trap card: Flame Sword Dance!"

Tenjo Hikari couldn't help clicking his tongue as he activated this card.

Honestly, this was the best "fusion" card in his deck—combining defense, summoning, and endurance—but since he first used it before Liu, everyone had been wary of it. The last time he used it, he'd only triggered its graveyard effect.

"When a monster is special summoned, you can activate this card. Special summon one Flame Swordsman or a fusion monster with that name, Level 7 or lower, from the Extra Deck. Then, you can change one face-up monster on the field to face-down defense position!"

"Black Flame—"

"Yes!" The Black Flame Knight charged forward. As he appeared, black flames surged and instantly engulfed the massive knight.

Two warriors stood side by side, resembling door gods guarding the field, leaving Tenjo Hikari completely unharmed.

"…Cool…" The Alchemist finally sighed. "Now, when the turn ends, that powerful monster should be destroyed by its own fusion trap. Powerful cards always carry risk—this is a guaranteed win."

"Heh… heh…"

!?

The Alchemist jumped, his skin prickling with goosebumps. He stared at the black-misted knight—unbelievably, the monster was smiling!

No—how could this insane creature still possess consciousness enough to laugh?!

The Battle Phase ended. Bai Jing slowly drew a card from his hand… Fusion!

The most basic Fusion!

Normally, a monster summoned via Waste Stone Fusion would be destroyed during the End Phase—but even without consciousness, driven purely by instinct, Bai Jing remained a formidable warrior!

He sent the face-down Simulated Diamond and the Flame Knight on the field to the graveyard. A knight resembling him, seven-tenths alike, wrapped in purple lightning, wielding a spear and shield, descended slowly beneath thunder.

Gem Knight · Light Prism, Level 7, Earth Attribute, Thunder Tribe, ATK 2450.

Bai Jing's other form!

He laughed freely, pointing at the Flame Swordsman. The Flame Swordsman instinctively pointed at himself, confused—before Bai Jing discarded a card from his hand. Instantly, massive electricity crashed down, blasting the Flame Swordsman off the field.

"Once per turn, Light Prism can discard one 'Gem Knight' card to the graveyard to target one face-up card on the field and destroy it." Tenjo Hikari stroked his chin. "He has no reason, yet he bypasses the card's side effect and still destroys the field… impressive."

He felt stronger than San Ze, but only a duel with Judai could determine who was stronger.

"Flame Swordsman, are you alright?"

"I am unharmed, Master…" The Flame Swordsman's form flickered, becoming translucent—he clearly suffered from the black-mist damage.

Fortunately, Tenjo Hikari hadn't lost any LP, so he was fine.

Tenjo Hikari drew a card from his hand, looked at it, and smiled—

It looked dangerous, but he hadn't lost a single LP.

Right now, he was in his strongest form—Giant Tenjo Hikari!

Stronger than when he dueled Judai!

"I activate the field spell: Gear Street!" Tenjo Hikari opened his Extra Zone and placed the card inside. Instantly, the sound of whirring gears surged rapidly, a musical rhythm of turning cogs, delightfully crisp.

"While this card is on the field, when either player summons an Ancient Machine monster, they need one fewer tribute. I release the Black Flame Knight for an upper-level summon—Ancient Machine Giant!"

A mechanical gear giant stepped forward from Gear Street.

"Whoa, here it comes!" The Flame Swordsman, who had just been clutching his shoulder in pain, cheered wildly, slinging an arm around the Black Flame Knight.

The Black Flame Knight nodded proudly.

His Master had summoned the Ancient Machine Giant by releasing him—watching it again, it was still incredibly cool.

"Next, I activate the spell card—Ancient Machine Fusion!"

"Oh!!" The two warriors fist-pumped in celebration, leaving the Alchemist utterly baffled. Seeing his confusion, the two warriors immediately felt the urge to boast and began explaining the effect.

When fusing using the Ancient Machine Giant on the field, you can use monsters from your deck as fusion materials!

"So strong!" The Alchemist gasped upon understanding.

The core of alchemy is materials—but in this sealed space, even his materials came from humans. So even if he didn't understand dueling, he knew: if he could freely use alchemical materials from the Alchemy Corps base in this dimension, he could conduct experiments without restraint!

Amid the exclamations, Tenjo Hikari clapped his hands together and performed fusion!

"Fusion Summon: Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant!"

The colossal mechanical giant reappeared on the world—this confined, narrow alternate dimension seemed unable to contain its massive form!

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

Tenjo Hikari shouted with a grin: "Ultimate Giant, attack!"

"Ultimate Strike!"

"At this moment, I activate the quick-play spell: Duel Fusion!"

"When you declare an attack with a fusion monster on your field against an opponent's monster, you can activate this card. That monster's ATK increases by the amount of the opponent monster's ATK until the end of damage calculation!"

Ancient Machine Ultimate Giant, ATK: 4400 → 6850!

"6850!!?" The Alchemist's mouth hung open, stunned into blankness.

As the attack struck, beneath thick clouds of dust, Tenjo Hikari pulled out Super Fusion and raised the card.

The Ultimate Giant raised its fist, eyes glowing red. The massive fist pierced the air, growing larger and larger. The sparking Light Prism tried to block it—but in an instant, it was crushed to dust. The next instant, black light erupted from Bai Jing's body as he faced the giant's assault head-on.

Then he was instantly slammed into the ground like a nail, eyes suddenly clear.

As for the black mist entwining Bai Jing, it seemed ready to dissipate and flee—but was violently sucked toward Tenjo Hikari, who seized it in his hand.

The card wasn't fully solidified yet; only black dotted lines appeared on its surface. He'd likely need to defeat several more "Black Mist-Enshrouded" spirits to obtain her—but even the few visible words on it thrilled Tenjo Hikari.

Shadowy Divine · Midrash!

Of course—no one else could possibly be her!

What a bountiful day!

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(End of Chapter)