Chapter 592: Reflection (4k)

"Spell Card, Substitution Fusion! I fuse the two monsters on the field. Return once more, Chimerafflesia the Predaplant!"

Tenjou Hikari's classic large flower crown finally descended into this forest in truth.

Tenjou Hikari pointed at the Blue Gem on the opponent's field: "I activate the effect of Predaplant Chimerafflesia. I choose one monster on the opponent's field with a lower Level than it. Banish that card."

The massive plant coiled its roots and stems, shrouding the head of the Gem-Knight. It lifted the monster up, sent it outside the dueling arena, and it slowly dissolved into specks of light.

"Battle Phase! Chimerafflesia attacks the opponent—"

"Wait—" Kagurazaka raised his hand at this moment and shook it gently. "Before that, I activate my face-down card."

"Continuous Trap Card, Toll."

The trap slowly flipped open, emitting a faint purple light as it stood on Kagurazaka's field.

"As long as this card remains on the field, neither player can declare an attack unless they send one card to the Graveyard."

Tenjou Hikari frowned.

He looked at his hand.

Excluding the Fluffal Chain he had searched for, Tenjou Hikari had three other cards in his hand.

The effect of the Chain had already been activated; if he sent it to the Graveyard now, his sustainability for the next turn would be compromised.

And as for the other three cards...

"Then I won't attack. I set one card and end my turn."

"Giving up on dealing damage to choose a more cautious approach?" Wan Wan Wan Zhangmu watched the scene, his expression slightly serious.

This was the first time he had seen Tenjou Hikari's rhythm controlled by an opponent's tactics and cards during a duel.

"Is that all there is to a so-called ultimate Fusion duelist?" Yubel mocked with disinterest, then drew a card from the deck.

She lowered her head to glance at it, then played it: "Spell Card, Akashic Records. Draw two cards from the deck. If the drawn cards are cards that have been used in the duel so far, those cards are banished directly."

Tenjou Hikari raised an eyebrow.

This card... it didn't seem to be Kagurazaka's card anymore.

Yubel drew two cards from the deck with a ghostly air, displayed them—they were unused cards—and placed them into her hand.

"One must pay a price to attack, but if one uses this card, one can skip the battle and proceed to 【Battle】 directly... Hehehe, Equip Spell Card, Future Fusion!"

Tenjou Hikari's pupils constricted slightly.

It was here—Kagurazaka's Future Fusion!

Countless clocks appeared in the sky. Their hands rotated in the air, and their colors gradually turned black and dim.

These darkened clocks were like mirrors; one could catch glimpses of strange scenery by glancing at them.

In the dark mirrors, one could see Kagurazaka's figure. He seemed to be in a "Duel Academy" as well, living a quite happy life.

"Do you see? In that world over there, he is living very happily. In that world, he has no pain, no need to suffer torture, no need to endure the cold glares of others; he can enjoy everything."

"Is he dreaming?" Wan Wan Wan Zhangmu realized the possibility immediately.

"It seems he has fallen into a beautiful dream and cannot wake up," Tenjou Hikari thought as well.

"If only I could become stronger, if only I had made that choice back then, if only I had worked harder—but there are not so many 'ifs' in the world. Some people work hard their whole lives and still cannot catch up to the flash of a genius's brilliance," Yubel said using Kagurazaka's voice. "Kagurazaka, this human has always admired you, because you once let him experience 【Fusion】 in a duel, and you also defeated the 【Sacred Beasts】 in front of him, making him feel excited."

"Sacred Beasts!?" Judai heard a detail. "Hikari, you have faced the Sacred Beasts alone!?"

Tenjou Hikari nodded, not denying it.

"But it is precisely because of your selfishness and your arrogance that this person has embarked on a path of no return."

"You preach about your Fusion and your duels, calling upon friends, yet you show no concern for those ordinary classmates—the darkness hidden within your heart is concealed too well."

"Ha?" Wan Wan Wan Zhangmu found it amusing. "Hahaha, what an unprovoked speculation. Tenjou, this spirit has gone mad."

"Mad? It is you who haven't realized it," Yubel said calmly. "That day, the otherworld god hovering over this Duel Island—you all must have seen it, isn't it Tenjou Hikari's spirit card?"

"He had the ability to protect all the students, but he kept letting the spirits run wild and took no action, just waiting on the spot!"

"Isn't today's scene the result of his inaction?"

She raised a finger while speaking. As she spoke, Kagurazaka's voice echoed as well, and the dark clocks around them began to echo Kagurazaka's own inner voice: "You possess the talent for alchemy; you can modify glasses to see the true form of spirits. You possess extraordinary dueling ability; you can take the initiative like Judai to attack the spirits' lairs. You possess the prestige to unite your classmates, yet every day you just calmly wait for the school's arrangements."

"Possessing the ability but not using it—how can you call yourself 【Fusion】?"

"It is simply 【Absolute Non-Retention Fusion】, 【Complete Annexation Fusion】, 【Ultimate Selfish Fusion】!"

As she spoke, she looked toward Judai's side: "Possessing the ability but calmly waiting for the situation to gradually become serious, leading to today's scene—doesn't this mean you have responsibility as well?"

"Isn't this body calling for me because of your inaction, wanting me to save him?"

Judai would not doubt Tenjou Hikari.

Wan Wan Wan Zhangmu also trusted Tenjou Hikari absolutely.

But they could not refute Yubel at this moment.

Tenjou Hikari couldn't help but sigh lightly and let out a "Heh."

"Fine. Since you want to debate so much, I will accompany you to the end today." Tenjou Hikari's eyes flickered with purple light. "A duel is originally a collision of spirits. Since you are so willing, I will use a duel to wake up the Kagurazaka you have locked away."

Yubel had too much crooked logic. Although Tenjou Hikari had no interest in discussing these issues during a duel, if she kept talking and he remained unresponsive, the duel would indeed be difficult to proceed.

Seeing Tenjou Hikari "take the bait," Yubel sneered.

She wasn't afraid of being refuted by Tenjou Hikari; she was afraid that Tenjou Hikari would truly remain unresponsive and ignore everything except the duel itself.

Now that Tenjou Hikari wanted to debate this issue with her, she naturally had an opportunity.

"Tierra?" Tenjou Hikari whispered softly to Tierra.

Blue flames burst out beside Tenjou Hikari, and a green mechanical puppet slowly appeared in the flames.

"What is it? Do you need me to help you argue with this dragon demon?" Tierra was slightly surprised and unexpected. "I am not good at arguing; I never got any results arguing with Sophia."

It was certainly impossible to count on her to win against Yubel in a verbal battle.

"It doesn't matter. You just need to be here."

"Heh, summoning an otherworld god to bolster your own momentum?"

"Ha... I just want you to experience the feeling."

?

Yubel was suddenly a bit dazed.

Then—

Tenjou Hikari's expression changed suddenly, his aura surged, and purple air waves expanded outward with him as the center.

Although it wasn't his true form, this sudden outburst still gave Yubel a fright.

Such a strong spirit!! What is the background of this human!?

"I have felt your aura in the Fusion Sect—I have always entrusted my friends to guard the Fusion Sect, hoping they could protect it so my members would not be harmed by the outside world. Therefore, I conclude that you must have entered the Fusion Sect once and then left!"

Yubel's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, those Earthbound Immortals were in the same camp as this guy.

"Just as you said, I possess quite excellent partners. I have the help of gods from the S-Dimension, and I have many spirits supporting me. If I were to speak alone, I could even help the academy survive for several days—"

"But what does this have to do with 【Humanity】!"

Wan Wan Wan Zhangmu and Judai looked at each other, suddenly recovering as if in a trance.

If they were to face the "end-of-humanity extinction outcome," then the most important thing was humanity itself!

If one only relied on others and didn't work hard oneself, wouldn't the extinction of humanity be reasonable?

Tenjou Hikari continued: "If everything were done by me or by Judai and the others, then why would the students go to school or be duelists? What necessity would there be to face the dangers threatening humanity?"

"If I did everything alone—the students' affairs, the teachers' affairs—then would they still be my friends?"

"Are they 【Puppets】 or 【Partners】?"

Tenjou Hikari then reached out and pointed at Yubel, the purple gale whistling and blowing away the broken branches and leaves: "If a person monopolizes work, career, studies, family, friendship, love—everything—is that protection, love, or just venting their own desire for control!?"

"Ridiculous!"

Afterward, he looked at Tierra and nodded.

After the duel with Professor Seraf, he had completely understood how to get along with Tierra: "Mutual respect is the foundation. If you don't even respect the other party, how can you claim to support them?"

"Giggle..." Yubel's right hand trembled, her teeth chattering, not knowing if it was anger or annoyance.

Not far away, Judai's heroes heard Tenjou Hikari's words and almost huddled together, cheering excitedly for Tenjou Hikari.

It had to be Tenjou Hikari!

If you dared to provoke him, he would never be polite to you!

The Fusion Army was gone this year, and they thought Tenjou Hikari's temper had softened. It turned out there were just no opponents worth arguing with—this skill was still there!

"Unity, mutual assistance, mutual progress—that is what is called... Fusion. I advise you to save your breath on trying to distort my understanding of Fusion. You will never be able to do it in your life," Tenjou Hikari said decisively at the end.

"As for Kagurazaka... I am very sorry that he did not overcome the difficulty at the critical moment. But it's okay now. Because I am here," Tenjou Hikari looked at Kagurazaka, and through Kagurazaka's eyes, he seemed to see through Yubel's soul and through the dream. "So I will guide and wake him up."

The third eye on Yubel's head began to flash wildly, observing Tenjou Hikari's heart.

No flaws—absolutely no flaws!

He said these words from the heart; he truly thought this way!

Damn it!!

This guy is genuinely insisting on the path of "Fusion"!

A madman!?

The path of "classmates" was completely blocked!

She had previously thought that she had used the most perfect method to make Kagurazaka summon her voluntarily. This way, it was neither active solicitation of a student's corruption nor forcing a student to be possessed. Based on the information she had gathered about Tenjou Hikari, he would be moved in such a situation.

She didn't expect that Tenjou Hikari had been prepared for the students to court death from the beginning.

Then she would try other things!

She didn't believe that Tenjou Hikari could be perfect and have no mental flaws!

If she had previously sought a duel with Tenjou Hikari simply to possess him and then torture Judai, she had now completely changed that idea.

Tenjou Hikari's dueling philosophy was completely different from her philosophy of showing love through torture and pain. She must teach Tenjou Hikari a lesson and defeat him completely, both mentally and physically!

If the classmate path didn't work, she would take another!

Light of Destruction, spirits, dreams, memories, Fusion, Darkness...

No matter what, she must win!

"Hmph... since you protected Kagurazaka during the 【Sacred Beasts】 duel, then I will use the power of the Sacred Beasts to duel you now."

Sacred Beasts!?

Tenjou Hikari was slightly puzzled.

Although in the original work, Yubel used Marcel to break the seal of the Sacred Beasts and used the Sacred Beast cards, in this world, ever since Tenjou Hikari defeated Chima Lingwang, the "Sacred Beasts" had been transferred to his replica cards, and the school's Seven Stars Gate had been heavily sealed by the school and Tenjou Hikari. It was impossible to get Sacred Beast cards from there!

Not to mention, she had just found her first control target.

"The Fusion condition is three Level 10 monsters."

She opened the deck: "From the deck, I send the Level 10 Absolute Obedience Fiend, the Level 10 King of the Heavenly Prison, and the Level 10 Exodia the Forbidden One to the Graveyard!"

"The ultimate machine constructed by the power of the Sacred Beasts, appear before me and submit to me!"

"Fusion Summon! Level 10, Sacred Beast Emperor Tri-Electronic Man!"

Three huge purple spheres floated in the air, and then, the three huge purple spheres seemed to collide, erupting with terrifying radiance like a black sun.

A moment later, a huge monster, completely different from the three Sacred Beasts but clearly possessing the power of the Sacred Beasts to absorb the life of spirits, appeared on Kagurazaka's field.

Sacred Beast Emperor Tri-Electronic Man, Level 10, Dark Attribute, Fiend-Type, ATK 4000.

"Sacred Beast Emperor?" Judai had never heard of such a card.

"ATK 4000... but monsters Fusion Summoned by Future Fusion cannot attack during the turn they are Special Summoned... And although 4000 ATK might be high, Tenjou's Chimerafflesia is enough to rival Master's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

Setting aside whether it could attack, 4000 ATK could not defeat Chimerafflesia.

Chimerafflesia's combat ability was comprehensive!

"When Tri-Electronic Man is Special Summoned, or when it is on the field and a card other than this card is Special Summoned to my field from my Graveyard, I can target one face-up monster on the opponent's field. Inflict damage to the opponent equal to half the value of that monster!"

"Eh!?"

Bypassing the flaw of not being able to attack and dealing damage directly?

"Heart-Wrenching Torture!"

Tri-Electronic Man jumped high, grabbed the vines on the ground, and purple lightning surged wildly along the vines, zapping Tenjou Hikari.

"Ugh————"

Tenjou Hikari felt a piercing pain, and numbness swept through his body, but the next moment, blue flames burned on his body, bearing the pain for him.

Tenjou Hikari LP: 4000 → 2750.

"Thank you."

"Ha. A small matter."

Without extra actions or words, the tacit understanding between Tenjou Hikari and Tierra was already overflowing.

Seeing this scene, Yubel's anger became even more intense.

She raised her right hand, her face cold: "Since that is the case, let me show you the mirror reflected by the darkness and pain in this human's heart, under the power of destruction and extinction."

"Activate Trap Card, Virtual World!"

After this card was activated, the countless mirror shards left by Future Fusion arranged themselves around, displayed like a collection.

Tenjou Hikari frowned.

Virtual World... it could add a Field Spell to the hand or place it directly on the field.

Could it be Nightmare Throne?

"From the deck, I activate the Field Spell Card, Dream Mirror of Holy Light!"

Tenjou Hikari was slightly stunned.

Why was it Dream Mirror?

Immediately, he thought of the card he obtained from the duel with Kagurazaka...

Back then, he obtained "Prisma" from his duel with Kagurazaka.

His expression gradually turned gloomy.

Yubel was using the power of the Light of Destruction and Darkness to extract Kagurazaka's potential to create cards!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 593 =====