Chapter 516: Just One Card Short

Tenjo Hikari sped down the roadway with Serena on board; whenever Fusion Army police spotted him, they quickly turned away to attend to other matters, pretending not to see him—and sometimes, Tenjo Hikari even rescued people being targeted by the Fusion Army, urging them to flee immediately.

Although the "Initiator" Shinkai had "died," the Resistance wasn't limited to just Shinkai as an Initiator; besides Shinkai and Kuro, there were two other Initiators, so even if Shinkai was gone, the Resistance's unrest would not cease.

Tenjo Hikari drove along the roadway, heading toward Yusei's direction.

In the distance, a colossal giant was swinging his massive hand, but in the next instant, a green gale swept through, and a dragon with a mechanical texture slashed across the sky; Tenjo Hikari glanced upward slightly and saw a highly abstract dragon.

"Activated when the opponent's monster declares an attack. That attack is invalid!" A passionate voice seemed to echo through the wind.

At that moment, Tenjo Hikari finally saw the full form of that strange dragon.

The dragon's overall shape resembled Stardust Dragon, but was bulkier; besides that, its body was almost entirely composed of metal, making it resemble a machine more than a dragon.

I'm super—

Yin Liuxing Dragon – Tech Expansion?

Oh…

That makes sense.

Tenjo Hikari finally began to reflect.

He had been thinking slightly off-track before.

Indeed, Yusei had been modified by a future person and became an artificial god, but that didn't mean he would abandon his own "soul," Stardust Dragon; moreover, the future's assistance to him likely wouldn't be limited to just Timegazer.

Without the Red Dragon's aid, he instead relied on himself and scientific evolution to develop Yin Liuxing Dragon – Tech Expansion… it's reasonable.

Tenjo Hikari remembered that in the original story, Yusei defeated Gui Liu using the Synchro monster "Savior Dragon" powered by the Red Dragon, but in this world, Yusei had voluntarily abandoned the power of the Dragon Seal, so he probably couldn't use Savior Dragon anymore.

But clearly, no matter how his power or deities changed, Yusei would always remain the same Yusei who sought to connect everything, save the world, and forge the future.

He thought for a moment, chose not to watch the duel, and turned the vehicle in another direction.

First, get Serena settled.

"Huh, Master, aren't we going to watch that duel?" Serena asked curiously.

"As a companion, you must trust your companion. Though our paths differ, duelists are precisely this kind of person—Yusei believes I can awaken Kuro, so I shouldn't keep worrying about Yusei—so tell me, you unlucky thing, why did you go to the Fusion Army? Give me every detail!"

You can't create Dimension Gates—how did you even come to this dimension? Did someone come to kidnap you?"

The only dimension-travel technology Serena and Ruri could possibly master was the bracelets held by these "loose-pomelo, literary-pomelo" individuals—special items capable of transporting people across dimensions—but to activate them, at least two "four-fruit" individuals, like Yu Wu and Yu Dou, who looked identical, had to be nearby.

Yu Wu was clearly impossible in this world—so did Yu Li attempt to kidnap Serena and accidentally run into Yu Dou or Yu Shi?

It felt too coincidental to be likely.

"Uh… I used the school's…" Serena said shyly.

Tenjo Hikari sucked in a sharp breath, nearly losing grip of the handlebars: "You… you… do you know why Red Academy replaced its Dimension Gate last time? You're literally wasting school property!"

"Hahaha. Tenjo Hikari, at least this proves Serena has decent initiative." Ye La sat atop Divine Yingyi Dragon, flying alongside while laughing, "Last time Red Academy replaced its equipment, it was because of Professor Dadesi, right? You're quite consistent—how will you face that human, Cronos, when you return?"

Tenjo Hikari felt his fists hardening.

"Ah, this…" Serena felt awkward.

If it were short-term, fine—she'd go and return quickly, clean the Dimension Gate, no problem—but if she stayed away too long, the gate would definitely be inspected, and Cronos, the acting principal, would have another headache.

And he'd surely worry about her too.

The good news was, since she used Red Academy's Dimension Gate, only one person could use it per month.

"I'll explain all this to the professor when I get back," Tenjo Hikari said through gritted teeth. "None of this matters much—tell me why you foolishly went alone to rescue someone!"

"I thought it was my own business… I didn't want to trouble my seniors…"

"When I face trouble, I consult Professor Cronos—why don't you ever think to consult Judai or Zhang Mu?" Tenjo Hikari couldn't help saying. "As a duelist, you don't need to be overly rational, but at least be wise. Serena, even at the bare minimum, why didn't you call Judai?"

You wouldn't have ended up in this danger—I might even have praised you—

But now? Ha! Summarize the entire event, from the moment you 【saw】 Ruri until now, every single detail, and write it up as an analysis report!"

Written punishment.

Serena's face instantly paled.

Even if beaten, her physical condition wouldn't trouble her much—after all, her master wouldn't kill her, and conventional methods couldn't kill her anyway.

But written punishment—especially an event analysis—was truly her nightmare.

She'd rather face a duel, face Ye La!

"Ah, mi… Miss Ye La," Serena, with unprecedented effort, turned her dim little brain toward Ye La, changing the subject. "So your true form is that huge being? Totally awesome!"

"Hehehe, impressive, right? Cool, right? Divine, right? But even then, it's still only a semi-finished state." Ye La's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing Serena's words and happily shifted topics.

Appearing personally in such a massive duel, though not ending the match, she had laid the foundation for victory—and clashed directly with the god who had previously stopped her from saving someone, leaving her in excellent spirits.

Especially since her silhouette had surely been imprinted in countless hearts across this dimension—it made her even happier.

Though mere happiness wouldn't change anything, she was so bored daily that a slight mood adjustment was welcome.

"So it's not even complete?" Serena couldn't help exclaiming, then asked curiously, "Then why do you always use this form?"

Ye La laughed: "To me, appearance is the least important thing—if you want to see something else, I can transform into any form anytime."

As she spoke, she snapped her fingers—her puppet body suddenly twisted into a flesh-and-blood form resembling a grown Midrash, alive and real.

Before Serena could react, Ye La snapped again; in a blink, the Ye La before her had transformed into Serena herself.

She couldn't help gaping.

Then, Ye La shifted into various female monster forms—Serena recognized Moonlight, and the Black Magic Girl she knew.

Finally, Ye La reverted to Midrash.

"But I still prefer this model. After all, I personally modified and selected it—everything is perfect." She spun gently, glancing at Tenjo Hikari. "Besides, appearance holds no meaning to me—essence is what matters."

Tenjo Hikari nodded.

For duelists who pursue card strength, card illustrations are always the last consideration.

Moreover, having lived alongside Ye La, their relationship evolved from rigid to relaxed to current cooperation—not because of her "skin suit."

Hss—

Tenjo Hikari shed all pursuers and finally stopped in the lower district.

He exhaled, waiting for Yusei's return, and pulled out his deck to examine it—then noticed several extra cards.

"Oh, those are the cards the local god carried you and that human to the runway and slipped into your deck," Ye La noticed the three cards and said.

"Earthbound Restriction – Earthbound Sprite," "Earthbound Restriction – Earthbound Female Sprite," and finally, the Synchro Monster "Earthbound Restriction – Earthbound Griffin," resembling the previous Earthbound Squid belonging to Chaku Chalya, now belonging to Viracocha Raska.

In other words—

Tenjo Hikari did a quick calculation.

He was just one card short—"Earthbound Restriction – Earthbound Winged Hound"—from completing the entire "Earthbound Restriction" series!?

This might be the first deck he could fully assemble.

Chapter Two, Chapter Two, please vote for monthly tickets!

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(End of Chapter)