"My turn!"
Morishima ripped a card from his deck, veins bulging across his forehead with rage.
"I activate the effect of Dark Designator!
I pay 500 Life Points and declare — A-Assault Core!"
Morishima — LP: 2800 → 2300.
He roared the name aloud, flipping the top card of his deck, golden sparks crackling violently across his body.
"Ugh..."
Pain throbbed through him — sharp, electric.
He glanced over his hand, his field.
El Shaddoll Winda still hovered across from him — sealing all Special Summons to once per turn.
His mind raced.
Using Frontline Base's effect to summon another Union monster would lock his board — he wouldn't be able to fuse afterward.
And combining A with W right now was impossible.
But...
He looked down at the card trembling in his hand.
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!
If he summoned Hamon...
He might end this duel right now.
Hamon: 4000 Attack Points.
It could burn 1000 Life Points from the opponent every time it destroyed a monster.
If he pulled this off —
1800 from direct attacks + 1000 effect damage + 1900 from Assault Core — he could clinch the win!
But Winda's lockdown still lurked.
If Hikaru's set card could protect him...
He'd have to prepare for next turn.
Morishima gritted his teeth, staring at the top of his deck.
His vision blurred — static buzzing in the corners of his sight.
He hated using Hamon.
It wasn't a natural card — Professor Akaba had artificially created it through brutal fusion experiments.
Every time Morishima summoned it, his body broke down more — his flesh cracked, his nerves screamed.
But now...
There was no other choice!
Deep breath.
Focus.
"Activate another Dark Designator!
I pay 500 Life Points!"
Morishima — LP: 2300 → 1800.
He closed his eyes, pressed his hand against his deck.
"I see it —
the next card: W-Wing Catapult!"
He flipped the top card — exactly what he declared.
Perfect.
His heart clenched tight in satisfaction.
He had insurance now. Even if Hamon failed, he could maintain momentum!
Morishima clenched his fists.
It was time.
"You should feel honored, Hikaru Amagi!
Forcing me to call upon this power!
I send two Dark Designators and one Spell Absorption from my field to the Graveyard!"
"Come forth!"
"From the Three Sacred Beasts — the Thunder King!"
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!!
His roar shook the walls.
A violent hurricane exploded through the laboratory.
Hikaru could feel it —
an entity, dragged from another dimension, slamming into this world.
Frozen shards rained down.
The air plummeted to freezing temperatures.
And then — through a howling screech — the monster revealed itself.
KZZZAAAHH!!
Glittering gold, forged of bone and rage, colossal wings crackling, shattering the ice beneath them —
Hamon devoured the life force of nearby spirit machines, gulping their energy into its skeletal body.
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, Level 10, LIGHT, Thunder-Type, ATK 4000.
"Ugh..."
Electric arcs slithered into Morishima's body — tearing deeper into his broken flesh.
Yet he stood, wobbling, grinning.
"Beautiful!"
Tiara cheered, floating next to Hikaru.
"Now it's time — time to crush it!"
Hikaru nodded calmly.
This was the confrontation he had wanted.
Their journey here wasn't random — Hikaru had calculated everything.
Destroying the Fusion Branch wasn't enough.
Professor Akaba's influence was vast — with hundreds of graduates and secret labs still active.
Simply defending Duel Academy was too passive.
If he truly wanted to destroy Professor Akaba's empire —
he had to strike at the heart.
And that meant hunting down every dimensional branch he could find.
Chazz Princeton had brought him the perfect opportunity.
A direct strike — into enemy strongholds, where Akaba's soldiers operated unchecked.
This was just the beginning.
This — was war.
Seeing Hamon appear wasn't a problem.
Hikaru needed it.
He needed a moment where the real Sacred Beast's spirit briefly connected with this world — even just for an instant.
"I'll crush it," Hikaru whispered.
"You think you can beat this?!"
Morishima screamed, frothing with anger.
"Don't be arrogant!
The Sacred Beasts are beings that transcend spirits!"
"I'll show you their power!"
Tiara growled lowly, her mechanical body trembling.
"Let me out!" she hissed. "Let me kill him right now!"
Hikaru gave a strained smile.
The duel continued.
"I Normal Summon — V-Tiger Jet!"
A battered, half-ruined mechanical tiger limped onto Morishima's field, one wing shredded beyond recognition.
V-Tiger Jet, Level 4, LIGHT, Machine-Type, ATK 1600.
"Battle!
Hamon, attack Winda!"
"Thunder Oblivion!"
Morishima's eyes gleamed with savage joy.
He had seen Hikaru's decklist before.
Pure Fusion — almost no combat traps.
If Winda fell, if Hamon's burn effect triggered —
with the damage stacking up, this duel would be over immediately.
"Yes!"
The Allied Doctor punched the air, trembling with excitement.
Victory — within reach!
"Hmph. Foolish."
Tiara snorted.
"Show him, Hikaru."
Hikaru simply smiled.
He flipped his set card.
"Quick-Play Spell — Light and Darkness Unity!"
"What!?"
Morishima flinched.
Hamon — mid-attack — stumbled, snarling in confusion.
"Light and Darkness Unity!" Hikaru declared.
"Once per turn, tribute 1 LIGHT or DARK monster you control —
Special Summon 1 LIGHT or DARK monster from your hand or Extra Deck with the same Level and a different Attribute!"
"Impossible!"
"You can't Fusion Summon again!" Morishima shouted.
"This isn't Fusion!" Hikaru corrected.
"This is evolution!"
"I tribute El Shaddoll Winda!
From my Extra Deck — I Special Summon King of the Magic Musicians!"
Light exploded outward.
From the brilliance stepped a wild, shirtless man with spiky hair, strumming an electric guitar, laughing thunderously.
King of the Magic Musicians, Level 5, LIGHT, Spellcaster-Type, DEF 1500.
A bizarre, forgotten Fusion monster — one Hikaru had retrieved from the Village of Spellcasters.
Winda's graveyard effect also triggered.
"I retrieve Shaddoll Fusion from my Graveyard."
"Tch...
Playing dirty," Morishima spat.
"And since my field changed," Hikaru continued smoothly,
"we rewind the battle phase.
Morishima, you can choose to resume battle or end it."
"You don't have to tell me the rules!"
Morishima snapped.
"BATTLE CONTINUES!
Hamon — crush that musician!"
"Thunder Oblivion!"
Lightning ripped downward — slamming into the laughing guitarist — obliterating him instantly.
"And now," Morishima bellowed,
"when Hamon destroys a monster by battle — its effect activates!"
"Inflict 1000 damage!"
"Judgment of the Damned!!"
Icy shards rained down, spearing into Hikaru's body.
But thanks to Tiara shielding him, it hurt without causing bleeding or serious injury.
Hikaru — LP: 4000 → 3000.
"And V-Tiger Jet — direct attack!"
The broken tiger hurled itself at Hikaru, ramming into his defenses.
Hikaru — LP: 3000 → 1400.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Morishima cackled.
"Your Life Points are like a candle flickering in a hurricane!"
"Without Winda — without defenses —
one more attack from Hamon and you're finished!"
"Just try and squirm now, Hikaru Amagi!"
Tiara clenched her fists.
"He's wrong," she muttered.
"If you attack his V-Tiger Jet next turn, Hikaru — you could still win."
"Ha! That's impossible!"
The Allied Doctor guffawed.
"With Hamon on the field, opponents can't attack anything else except Hamon!"
"...That's true?"
Tiara blinked.
Sounds suspiciously like a Yubel gimmick... I'll remember that next time...
Hikaru just stared coldly at Hamon.
It wasn't unexpected.
This Hamon was a nearly perfect recreation — a polished product, not an unstable prototype.
A real threat.
Morishima narrowed his eyes, noticing Hikaru's gaze.
"Tch.
Just in case..."
He activated Frontline Base's effect.
"I Special Summon W-Wing Catapult from my hand!"
A damaged, sputtering blue machine clattered onto the field.
"And I equip W-Wing Catapult to V-Tiger Jet!
It gains 400 ATK and battle destruction protection!"
V-Tiger Jet — ATK 1600 → 2000.
"End turn!"
Morishima barked, smirking wide.
Everything was locked down.
Victory was inevitable.
"Struggle all you want, Hikaru Amagi!"
"HAHAHAHA!!"
Hikaru raised an eyebrow, arms folded.
"Sharp instincts."
"Precise plays."
"High Spirit Compatibility."
"Not blinded by the Sacred Beast's power."
Hikaru analyzed silently.
"As a duelist —
you're genuinely strong."
Morishima sneered.
"Thinking about begging for mercy?
It's too late."
"No," Hikaru said softly.
"Because of your strength...
you're even more unforgivable."
"You — you committed these atrocities — with full understanding."
Morishima glanced around at the broken, tortured machine spirits.
He just laughed.
Didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Hikaru's expression turned glacial.
The violet flames around him thickened, blazing higher.
"There's no point talking to monsters like you."
"I'll crush you — here and now!"