Chapter 40: All Are Fusion

"Hmph, decent determination." Darkness sneered upon hearing Tiancheng's words, then pulled a blank card from his pocket. "But before this duel, we must agree: this is a Dark Duel."

"Dark Duel?" Asuka gasped. "Am I dreaming?"

"The soul of the loser will be sealed into this card."

"I see."

Tiancheng Hikari was not surprised at all—rather, he thought, "At last."

A card that turns people into cards!

After finalizing the duel terms, both sides began their duel.

Darkness went first.

Though masked, Tiancheng Hikari knew he was the missing brother—Tenshōin Kaze—who Asuka had been searching for all along.

In the original story, he was guided by a fragment and chose Judai as his opponent, but the moment Tiancheng Hikari saw him, he noticed he carried no such item.

So you just picked a "pretty strong" one to fight, huh?

This world still had many details different from Tiancheng Hikari's memory.

"Duel!" ×2

Dark Kaze LP: 4000.

Tiancheng Hikari LP: 4000.

"My turn, draw. Normal Summon: Black Dragon's Egg."

"Black Dragon?" Asuka's eyes widened as if she remembered something. "Could it be—"

"Exactly that 'could it be.' Activate Black Dragon's Egg's effect: send this face-up card on the field to the graveyard. Special Summon from hand—Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Boom!

Flames roared beneath Tiancheng's feet, spreading into the sky. A scorching fire dragon burst from molten lava, striking the floating platform and scattering molten rock, revealing its true form.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Level 7, Dark Attribute, Dragon Type, ATK 2400.

"That's the legendary dragon..." Asuka's expression darkened with worry. "Tiancheng's ace is the Flame Swordsman, right? This is really..."

Both Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Flame Swordsman were cards belonging to the legendary duelist Cheng Zhi Nei, but compared to Flame Swordsman, Red-Eyes Black Dragon was the ultimate ace.

This duel was clearly unfavorable for Tiancheng Hikari!

"Set one card, end turn."

Two simple cards totaling 2400 ATK? In this world, that's genuinely powerful—Judai needed to draw Fusion, Clay Man, and Electric Light to fuse a Thunder Giant with 2400 ATK.

"My turn, draw." Tiancheng Hikari activated without hesitation. "Activate Normal Magic: Fusion Deployment! This card can only be activated once per turn. During the turn this card is activated, only Fusion Monsters may be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck."

"According to its effect, show one Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck to your opponent. Then, Special Summon one monster listed as a Fusion Material from your hand or deck. I show Maze of the Magic Car, and Special Summon Cannon Soldier from my deck!"

"Next, activate Cannon Soldier's effect: tribute one monster on the field to inflict 500 damage to your opponent!"

Cannon Soldier channeled its own energy into a cannonball, striking Dark Kaze.

"Ugh—"

Dark Kaze LP: 4000 → 3500.

Hit by the damage, Dark Kaze staggered backward, his clothing torn slightly.

"But now you have no monsters on the field."

"I activate Continuous Magic: Future Fusion." Tiancheng revealed the Continuous Magic card. "Show Maze of the Magic Car from the Extra Deck, send High-Tech Wolf from my deck to the graveyard, then immediately activate Future Fusion's second effect."

"Exclude High-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier from the graveyard, Fusion Summon!"

"Maze of the Magic Car!"

Clang! The classic stylish toy car reappeared!

Maze of the Magic Car, Level 7, Dark Attribute, Machine Type, DEF 2400.

"Impressive!" Asuka watched closely and couldn't help exclaiming. "You not only dealt damage, but also Special Summoned a guardian with 2400 DEF!"

"Set two cards, end turn!"

"Hmph, DEF 2400?" Dark Kaze chuckled. "How naive. Don't think DEF alone can stand against Red-Eyes."

"My turn, draw. Hah, perfect—activate Normal Magic: Black Flame Bullet!"

"During the turn this card is activated, Red-Eyes Black Dragon cannot attack. Activate this card to inflict damage equal to Red-Eyes Black Dragon's ATK directly to your opponent!"

"Danger! Watch out—Tiancheng!" Asuka cried out.

Just 500 damage had already left that black-clad man wounded—2400 damage? Unthinkable!

"Open my face-down: Counter Trap, Fusion Defense!"

"Counter Trap?"

"Can Counter Traps have Fusion?"

Both stared at the revealed card, reacting differently: Dark Kaze was stunned his strategy had been interrupted again; Asuka marveled—Tiancheng Hikari, as Fusion Department's representative, even had a Fusion Counter Trap.

"Can only be activated when damage is inflicted. Negate that activation and effect, then randomly send one Fusion Monster from your Fusion Deck to the graveyard."

Before Tiancheng Hikari, a massive purple Fusion pattern appeared. The Black Dragon's fury struck like a punch into cotton—absorbed effortlessly.

"Tch." Dark Kaze grunted.

Tiancheng Hikari glanced at the graveyard.

"The one I sent to the graveyard was Ancient Mechanical Ultimate Giant."

"No!" Asuka gasped again. "That's the worst possible choice!"

Well, it's not that bad...

After all, I can't use it anyway.

Tiancheng Hikari didn't mind.

Then again, given my current relationship with Professor, if I told him my cards evolved and asked for another Ancient Mechanical Ultimate Giant, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Hahahaha! Great power always comes with risk. Looks like you've lost your strong support!" Dark Kaze grinned, clenching his fist. "My turn ends."

Tiancheng Hikari exhaled in relief.

He didn't have Judai's superhuman stamina—he'd rather avoid damage whenever possible.

"My turn, draw."

Oh!

Drew a powerful card!

Split Fusion!

"Phew, lucky. I activate Continuous Magic: Split Fusion!"

Split Fusion?

Another brand-new Fusion?

Asuka watched Tiancheng Hikari reveal yet another Fusion card, genuinely awed.

She'd only seen him duel Judai during the Representative Selection Match—back then, she was amazed but couldn't understand.

Now she saw: his pursuit of Fusion was truly extreme.

So far in this duel, every card used was somehow tied to Fusion.

She couldn't help sighing again.

What about her?

Did she possess that pure duelist's heart?

No—

Perhaps she just wanted to find her brother.

She looked across the field—if her brother were still alive, he'd be about this tall.

Noticing Asuka's gaze, the black-clad man gave a strange smile.

Tiancheng Hikari's duel was stronger than he imagined—but he had a "sure-win" trick.

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(End of Chapter)