Chapter 463: The Fate of Confrontation

"Hmph... Draw."

The strange Sea Monster man drew his card quickly; in the Lingtang, countless lights suddenly ignited, and within the glow, Tiancheng Guang felt as if countless blue eyes were observing him.

The Sea Monster man glanced at his hand cards.

"You dare come here with such bold words, and still speak with such arrogance? Let me see if you truly possess such strength." The Sea Monster man picked up two cards and revealed them directly: "Normal Magic Card—Harmonious Treasure Draw, activate!"

A tuner?

Tiancheng Guang's brow instantly tightened.

"This card allows you to discard one Dragon-type tuner with 1000 or less ATK from your hand, then draw two cards from your deck." The Sea Monster man pinched the cards between his thumb and forefinger, showing them to Tiancheng Guang—left was Harmonious Treasure Draw, right was Legendary Bai Shi.

He placed both cards into the graveyard, then smirked as he drew two cards.

"The monster effect of Legendary Bai Shi: when this card is sent to the graveyard, add one 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】 from your deck to your hand."

"Come on, Blue-Eyes."

He didn't even check his deck—he drew directly—and the card he pulled was, indeed, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Tiancheng Guang clicked his tongue slightly; beside him, Tierra couldn't help but exclaim: "This strange... creature? How did it pull that off?"

Even Tiancheng Guang couldn't do this.

"Normal Summon—Justice Companion Sea Monster."

He summoned himself.

A monster nearly identical to him appeared—except he wore a necklace with a card, while the monster did not.

Justice Companion Sea Monster, Level 3, Light Attribute, Warrior Type, ATK 200.

"Then—activate its effect: tribute this monster to Special Summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from your hand!"

The Sea Monster man picked up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and showed it to Tiancheng Guang:

"Look—this is the true light you wish to touch but can never reach!"

"Come! Descend, my servant!"

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"ROOOOAR!!!"

A dragon's roar echoed; a white line traced a shape in the air, then countless lights converged, coalescing into a solid, real entity.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Level 8, Light Attribute, Dragon Type, ATK 3000!

The most standard stats, the most powerful Normal Monster—Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

"Then, set one card, end my turn."

"Huh? That's it already?" Tierra beside him was surprised.

A Normal Monster plus one set card—this scene felt utterly ordinary. Not even Marufuji Ryo or Wan Wan Zhangmu would be impressed; even some other quarterfinalists could easily match or surpass it.

"What's wrong? Aren't you starting your turn?" The Sea Monster man wore a confident smile, seemingly ignoring Tierra's remark. "Or did seeing the Blue-Eyes fill you with fear?"

"Fear... no—excitement!" Tiancheng Guang heard the words, took a deep breath, then smiled as well. "The thrill of finally dueling the legendary White Dragon!"

"Hmph... interesting."

Tiancheng Guang narrowed his eyes, studying his hand.

Though he'd duled many Original World characters before, GX's crew had all grown up together—they were classmates, and the challenge felt distant.

But this opponent was different.

Though likely not Seto Kaiba himself, this tone, expression, movement, and cards were unmistakably "Kaiba."

The only difference might be what "version" of Kaiba he was.

Whether AI, spirit, or past Kaiba—all were possible.

But none of that mattered.

"My turn, draw!" Tiancheng Guang looked at the card he drew.

Dreamland?

Perfect—

A great opening!

"Activate Field Magic Card—Dreamland!"

Inside the Guangzhilingtang, everything turned dreamlike, as if a filter had been layered over reality—when you looked at the desk lamp, it seemed to sprout tentacles; when you rubbed your eyes and looked again, it appeared unchanged.

"Then... ha! I Normal Summon Dragon Magician Guardian."

A monster resembling Tiancheng Guang appeared on the field.

"Oh?" The Sea Monster man showed a slightly different reaction upon seeing this monster.

Dragon Magician Guardian, Level 4, Dark Attribute, Dragon Type, DEF 1300.

"Dragon Magician Guardian's monster effect: when summoned or Special Summoned successfully, discard one card from your hand to add one Normal Magic Card with 【Fusion】 in its name from your deck to your hand."

"I discard Elemental Hero Prism Xia, then add Fusion Soldier to my hand."

"Fusion... interesting. It seems you're not just bluffing." Though only one card had been played, just from its effect description, the Sea Monster man could tell Tiancheng Guang truly understood 【Fusion】.

"Activate Magic Card—Fusion Soldier." Tiancheng Guang didn't respond to the Sea Monster man's comment; he activated the spell: "Show one Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, then Special Summon that Fusion Monster using the Fusion Materials listed in its card text from your hand or deck."

"I show the Fusion Monster—Supreme Magician Warrior—Chaos Master."

"What?" The Sea Monster man's smile froze.

"Chaos Master's Fusion Materials are 【Dark Magician】 and 【Chaos】 Ritual Monster. I Special Summon from my deck—come, Dark Magician!"

A red magician spun through the air, emerging from the deck, then landed gracefully.

Dark Magician, Level 7, Dark Attribute, Spellcaster Type, ATK 2500.

"Red Dark Magician... interesting. So you're a Dimensional Duelist who possesses the Dark Magician?" The Sea Monster man quickly regained his composure, arms crossed. "Fascinating—but to think having the Dark Magician alone lets you challenge me? You're terribly mistaken."

Hearing this, Tiancheng Guang weighed the possibilities.

Either "past Kaiba" or "AI Kaiba"—likely not a spirit.

"Then... I activate this card—Eye of Timaeus!"

The Sea Monster man pinched his chin, eyes narrowing.

"This card's name is treated as 【Legendary Dragon Timaeus】. Only one card with this name can be activated per turn."

"Target one 【Dark Magician】 monster on your field. Use only that one monster as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon one Fusion Monster whose card text lists that monster's name as a material."

"I use the Dark Magician as Fusion Material for a single-card Fusion!"

The Dark Magician's attire began to change—Chaos Warrior's shoulder guards, armor, shield, and long blade converged from all directions and fused onto him.

"Fusion Summon!"

"Level 8, Supreme Magician Warrior—Chaos Master!"

"... Interesting." The Sea Monster man's interest was fully piqued. "I thought you were just a clown blustering, but you're clearly no fourth-rate duelist wasting time."

Supreme Magician Warrior—Chaos Master, Level 8, Dark Attribute, Spellcaster Type, ATK 3000.

"Dreamland's effect: when a Fusion Monster is on the field, once per turn, if a monster from your hand or field is sent to the graveyard by an effect, draw one card. Chaos Master's effect: when this card is Fusion Summoned successfully, target one Light or Dark monster in your graveyard and Special Summon it."

"Revive Prism Xia, then draw—"

Tiancheng Guang glanced at the card he drew, then at the warrior reflecting light on the field.

Elemental Hero Prism Xia, Level 4, Light Attribute, Warrior Type, ATK 1700.

"Activate Prism Xia 's effect: once per turn, show one monster from your Extra Deck, then send one card from your deck with the same name as that Fusion Monster to the graveyard. This card becomes treated as that card's name until the end of this turn."

"I show Magical Toy—Chain Sheep, and send Sharp Dagger—Chain from my deck to the graveyard."

Elemental Hero Prism Xia → Sharp Dagger—Chain.

"Finally, Dragon Magician Guardian's effect: show one Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, then Special Summon one Fusion Material monster from your graveyard in face-down defense position."

"Face-down Special Summon—Sharp Dagger—Chain!"

The Chain Demon opened its red eyes, looming menacingly on the field.

"Amazing, Tiancheng Guang," Tierra beside him murmured in surprise. "You've Special Summoned so many monsters at once?"

Having watched so many duels, she'd gained some understanding: Tiancheng Guang had used just one Dragon Magician and one Eye of Timaeus to create this field—his return vastly outweighed his cost, and he'd instantly met the activation condition for Chaos Master's effect.

Activate Chaos Master's monster effect: Tribute one Light and one Dark monster on your field to send them to the graveyard, and banish all monsters on your opponent's field!

"Release Prism Xia and the face-down Sharp Dagger—Chain, banish your Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Chaos Master raised both hands; Prism Xia and Sharp Dagger—Chain transformed into two differently colored lines, surging into its blade and shield.

"Interesting..." The Sea Monster man spoke suddenly. "No wonder you dared challenge me—you do have some strength. But you're naive!"

"Trap Card!"

"Tough! Invincible! Supreme!"

Tierra thought the Sea Monster man was just shouting slogans like in the S Dimension—but then realized the trap card he flipped was actually named that!

Tiancheng Guang's pupils shrank sharply.

"Target one 【Blue-Eyes】 monster on your field. That face-up monster is unaffected by any card effects except its own, cannot be destroyed by battle, and any monster that battles it is destroyed at the end of the Damage Step!"

"Witness true power! Supreme power! Crush the Dark Magician's strength, Blue-Eyes!"

As he spoke, Chaos Master slashed—space tore, pulling at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attempting to devour it. But the Blue-Eyes White Dragon blazed with terrifying white light, then inhaled sharply and exhaled a blast of white energy. The white light collided with the black void—and vanished into nothing.

Tiancheng Guang frowned tightly.

"Incredible... one monster and one set card can completely negate every possibility?!" Tierra blinked, awed beside Tiancheng Guang.

Honestly, Marufuji Ryo's and Wan Wan Zhangmu's duels had seemed incredibly powerful to her—but this strange "creature" had stood immovable, effortlessly neutralizing even Tiancheng Guang's attempt to remove this 3000 ATK Normal Monster.

Tiancheng Guang rubbed his chin, thinking aloud: "Sharp Dagger—Chain's effect activates when it's sent from hand or field to the graveyard: add one 【Magical Toy】 card from your deck to your hand."

"I add Magical Toy—Mend to my hand."

If the effect succeeded, Tierra thought Tiancheng Guang might even win with this card—but clearly, he didn't expect an instant kill.

"I activate the Magic Toy Repair I just drew, adding one Sharp Imp and one 【Fusion】 from my deck to my hand."

【108】 "So this is a proper fusion, is it?" Kaiba Ren watched Tenjo Kou's move with keen interest.

【109】 Up to this point in the duel, although Tenjo Kou had played many cards, each one served the purpose of fusion—genuinely sparking a flicker of interest in him.

【110】 It wasn't merely for raw power, nor a haphazardly assembled fifth-rate deck; it was a deck aligned with his own thoughts and philosophy.

【111】 Tenjo Kou examined his hand and the field, considering the effect of "Resilient! Invincible! Supreme!"—and found it slightly troublesome.

【112】 "Place one card face-down, end your turn."

【113】 (End of Chapter)

"So this is a proper fusion, is it?" Kaiba watched Tenjo Hikari's moves with keen interest.

So far in this duel, although Tenjo Hikari has used many cards, each one has served the purpose of fusion, genuinely piquing his interest.

It's not merely about raw power or haphazardly stacking cards into a mediocre deck, but a deck aligned with his own thoughts and philosophy.

Tenjo Hikari examined his hand and field, pondering the effect of "Resilience! Invincibility! Supreme!" and found it troublesome.

"Place one card face-down, end my turn."

(End of Chapter)