Chapter 317: Revealing Recent Developments

The situation was more or less what Tenjo Hikari had expected.

Sanzawa Daichi was soon dragged off by the Empress to the training ground for special conditioning.

According to the Empress, since Sanzawa Daichi was Tenjo Hikari's companion and possessed a powerful spirit called Mathematician, he shouldn't be weak—but if he truly wanted to be with Tania, he couldn't remain so "feeble."

Even though Sanzawa Daichi was already well-rounded for his age and had developed decent muscle, it still wasn't enough.

His courage and wisdom were still insufficient!

So they would train Sanzawa Daichi to become stronger—otherwise, how could he serve as a "diplomat" across multiple dimensions?

What if he got casually killed when local evil forces rebelled?

Tenjo Hikari and Serena couldn't possibly wait here indefinitely for Sanzawa Daichi. Leaving aside Tenjo Hikari, Serena, though a first-year, was eager to participate in the Grand Finals and wouldn't settle for just two duels against the Twelve-Star Duelists.

So Sanzawa Daichi told Tenjo Hikari and the others to go ahead.

He'd likely train here for several months.

Then he'd quickly gather the remaining three or four seals and enter the finals.

By then, everyone from Tenjo Hikari's group could meet at the finals, so they shouldn't worry about him.

Worry?

Worry about what—

Tenjo Hikari saw that Sanzawa Daichi had absolutely no intention of leaving.

This Amazon camp had the Empress, a mature woman; the Archer, a pure-type girl; the Warrior Chief, a towering female; and even an underage princess—and more importantly, all of them were muscular—

Sanzawa's daily training was truly painful yet endlessly joyful; Tenjo Hikari could tell he was having so much fun he'd forgotten home.

As he left, he shook his head.

At this rate, when Sanzawa Daichi finally tried to leave, the Empress would definitely beat him senseless—maybe even force him into a wheel battle before letting him go.

Tenjo Hikari and Serena stayed at the camp for two days; as they prepared to depart, the Taylor sisters blocked their path again.

The two sisters had also chosen to stay, but unlike Sanzawa Daichi, they intended to take the Empress with them.

Now that they knew this camp housed the spirit of the "Amazon Empress," they certainly wouldn't leave so easily.

As users of the Amazon deck, seeing a top-tier Amazon monster naturally stirred their desire.

But—

Unlike challenges or trials, "kidnapping the leader of an entire faction" was an entirely different matter.

Until now, Tenjo Hikari had encountered many such spirits.

The original Chaos Warrior, later the Vampire Noblewoman, the Magician Scientist—all were leaders of specific factions.

The original Chaos Warrior, of course, was a divine entity ruling over the Warriors' domain; the Vampire Noblewoman, even in defeat, merely handed over her cards and the Banshee's cards to Tenjo Hikari before falling into slumber and returning to the Vampire Empire.

As for the Magician Scientist, though curious about Tenjo Hikari's fusion, its laboratory couldn't be left unattended.

Responsibility and combat—these were things spirits never easily abandoned.

The Taylor sisters' attempt to steal the Empress was nearly impossible.

Just obtaining the Empress's card would be enough.

The two sisters, accompanied by remnants of the Fusion Unit, blocked Tenjo Hikari's path; Serena thought they were here to provoke a fight and eagerly picked up her Duel Disk—but was disappointed once again.

The Taylor sisters weren't here to trouble Tenjo Hikari.

As twin sisters specializing in Tag Duels, they had different personalities but shared similar inner natures.

That was their love of battle.

Everything else was learned later in life.

As Tag Duelists, they understood perfectly why spirits favored the "Tag Duel" format.

The reason was simple: Tag Duels revealed whether two duelists were willing and skilled at "cooperating"—a convenient way for spirits who valued dueling to select partners.

After all, even in single duels with shared goals, personality and lifestyle mismatches could still arise.

After two duels with Tenjo Hikari—one as opponents, one as teammates—the sisters had confirmed one thing.

That Tenjo Hikari's duels were pure, simple, and solely for fusion.

They didn't understand it, but they accepted it—because they cared only for the joy of battle.

The rest was simple.

They would duel Tenjo Hikari again—not for the Fusion Army, but purely for the sake of fighting.

Of course, they also accepted the stakes.

They'd noticed Tenjo Hikari strongly disliked those who defiled fusion—like the Fusion Unit and the Fusion Army—and though they were students, they were high-ranking members of the Fusion Army.

Even though the Fusion Army had now fractured, it still possessed secret units, remnants, and other factions.

As long as Tenjo Hikari kept defeating them, they'd gladly help him dismantle those units or advance his vision of "fusion."

"Accepted." Tenjo Hikari listened to all of it, nodded lightly, and extended his hand to grip Gloria's; they clasped tightly, then Gloria snorted and let go.

Always comparing yourself to others, no matter where you are.

Tenjo Hikari noticed Gloria's expression and sighed faintly.

Then the sisters turned to Serena.

"Serena, little sister~" Grace waved gently, smiling warmly at Serena.

Serena nodded expressionlessly.

"Hehe~" Grace chuckled softly, "Hmm… you and we aren't on the same side—after all, you're the Professor's daughter, so I'll tell you this extra bit."

"Grace?" Gloria frowned slightly.

"What's the big deal, sister," Grace lightly covered her mouth and said, "Serena's little sister is the Professor's daughter, after all."

"What do you mean?" Tenjo Hikari, hearing their conversation, suddenly tensed, fixing his gaze on Grace, "Do you have news about Ma Professor Chi Ma Chima Chima Lingwang?"

"Hah! Excellent gaze, Tenjo Hikari!" Gloria, seeing the hostility in Tenjo Hikari's eyes, smiled, no longer caring that her sister had revealed information, "That's right, Tenjo Hikari—

Since you want to know, I'll tell you."

"The Professor has already informed us," Grace continued.

"He's regrouped his forces at the second base," Gloria nodded lightly.

"And he even found his other daughter—and gained a brand-new ally—" Grace raised her right index finger, shaking it gently, "How's that, Serena? Aren't you thrilled? Turns out you have a sister."

"I—I have a sister?!" Serena's mind went blank from the shock.

Serena's sister?

Tenjo Hikari frowned.

So even though the Blitz Heart Garden failed, the other objective—【kidnapping Liu Li】—succeeded?

"Since you've reestablished contact, you must know what I've done, right?" Tenjo Hikari was surprised; if they knew this, they must know he destroyed Fusion Army facilities.

"Hah, who cares," Gloria laughed heartily.

"Exactly~" Grace smiled elegantly, "We don't care about that."

"How about it, Tenjo Hikari? Next time we duel, we'll tell you more secrets—even classified ones!"

In truth, there weren't many secrets left; Ma Professor Chi Ma Chima Chima Lingwang needed to conserve strength and rebuild his forces—he wouldn't be able to launch any external operations for years, and could only hunker down.

But precisely in such times, intelligence becomes even more vital!

Because one misstep could mean total ruin.

"... Hmph. Next time, Serena will handle it herself," Tenjo Hikari said, glancing back at Serena, who still looked dazed.

"Oh?" The sisters turned to Serena.

Their gazes, like wild beasts in the jungle, emitted faint crimson glows; Serena, having just recovered from the revelation about her sister, met their eyes, lifted her chin, unafraid, and glared back—her own "ferocity" told the Taylor sisters—

You have claws? Mine are just as sharp!

"Hah, interesting!"

"Then we'll look forward to it~"

The two women didn't linger with Tenjo Hikari and Serena; they waved and walked back into the Amazon camp, seemingly planning to observe the training.

Meanwhile, Tenjo Hikari pondered Ma Professor Chi Ma Chima Chima Lingwang.

Death—Ma Professor Chi Ma Chima Chima Lingwang was certainly hard to kill.

After all, his attack was interdimensional, not direct; combined with the protection of the Three Phantom Demons, he was unlikely to be harmed.

But—

A new "ally"?

After the Blitz Heart Garden incident?

Where in the x-Dimensional human world could someone possibly ally with him now?

Tenjo Hikari's expression turned strange.

Could he have been possessed by some bizarre x-Dimensional entity?

(End of Chapter)