The duel was over.
Hikaru Amagi put away his cards and surveyed the area.
Most of the spirits had begun to recover. These ones had only recently been brought here to undergo puppetization, so the process hadn't fully taken hold—they'd be able to heal with time. The humans, though... Ruru's overwhelming resentment had twisted them too far. Their recovery seemed almost hopeless. Hikaru could attempt to "shatter" and "reforge" them back into their original states, but just like before—he wasn't that kind.
With hatred this deep, Hikaru doubted they were innocent to begin with.
From above, White Crystal slowly descended. Its body wobbled midair, nearly collapsing—
A hand caught it.
It turned to see the grinning face of Blazing Swordsman, and beside him, arms folded and ever-composed, stood Black Flame Swordsman.
They'd always been at Hikaru's side, ever vigilant. When White Crystal had thrown itself into the maelstrom of pain and resentment, those two had taken over his protection without hesitation.
Now that the duel was done, they immediately flew to him.
"Haha! Kid, you nailed it!" Blazing Swordsman clapped White Crystal's armor, laughing heartily.
Black Flame gave a rare smile as well.
These two were Hikaru's earliest Duel Spirits. Not long after, White Crystal and Alchemic Magician had joined the crew. Since they'd all entered the team around the same time, they got along well—and the trio of warrior-types were particularly close on the battlefield.
Seeing White Crystal fight so valiantly today, they couldn't help but cheer him on.
It made White Crystal a bit bashful.
He glanced back at the now-diminishing form of puppetized Ruru, breathed a sigh of relief, then—supported by Blazing Swordsman—walked up to Hikaru.
And dropped to one knee.
"Sir Amagi…"
"C-Captain? What are you doing?"
White Crystal coughed twice—still not fully recovered. He steadied his breath, clearly steeling himself for something. The two swordsmen, however, seemed to immediately understand.
"Please allow me to continue serving by your side."
Hikaru blinked.
White Crystal had his reasons.
As a knight, he had always followed his own code of chivalry. Until today, his goal had been to return to his original world—to protect his own kind.
In truth, he'd always been thinking about his business.
But today changed everything.
He finally realized his "accident" wasn't a mere fluke. The pain and destruction that followed—so many spirits and people suffered because of him. Even if it "wasn't his fault," even if it was unintended—seeing Ruru's tormented form made it impossible to turn away.
Just as Lady Winda had said—he shouldn't remain lost. What he needed was to relieve suffering, punish evil—just like Hikaru Amagi always did.
"Please, let me follow you. Let me be your squire. Let me learn from you, and deliver justice with you—"
"Uhh…" Hikaru scratched his head, trying to take White Crystal's hand from afar. "Captain, you really don't have to…"
"You've always been one of us…"
Compared to White Crystal, Hikaru was far too modern for this whole knightly ritual thing.
The swordsmen, of course, had predicted all this. One guided Hikaru through it. The other handed him a ceremonial sword and whispered what to say—
White Crystal bowed solemnly, pledged eternal loyalty, and swore to follow Hikaru until death.
Then—he swayed—
WHUMP.
He collapsed on the spot.
"Captain?!"
"White Crystal—!" The two swordsmen jumped in panic.
Tierra casually flicked a hand. A few puppet strings snaked through the air, wrapped around White Crystal's body, and—snap—converted him into a Duel Monster card.
"See, Hikaru? I told you, you should've made him FIRE Attribute already," she teased in his ear. "Look at him—absorbed too much power, too much grief, and now he's knocked out cold."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
He carefully took the card, looked down at it. The two swordsmen leaned over as well.
"Oho! Is the Captain gonna be a Fusion Monster now?"
"Mm-hmm, that's more like it. A knight who serves his master should be a Fusion Monster."
Even stoic Black Flame couldn't resist chiming in.
Hikaru rolled his eyes.
What a joke.
A Fusion Monster's fine and all, but how the hell am I supposed to summon it without proper materials? You think I'm gonna open with Instant Fusion every time?
Still—
He looked again at the card. Purple-framed. Covered in puppet strings. Unlike those terrifying images on ancient Meklord Emperors or Armityle the Chaos Phantom, this card didn't spark urgency.
And the reason was simple.
Gem-Knight Fusion monsters didn't require White Crystal specifically—just any Gem-Knight as Fusion Material. Hikaru still had several lower-level ones. He could live without White Crystal for now.
Even if White Crystal evolved into something like El Shaddoll Grysta, it'd still be fine. Shaddoll Fusions only needed a Shaddoll monster and the proper Attribute. No issues with Fusion Material there.
On the contrary—
Hikaru pocketed the card.
If White Crystal did become Grysta, that'd be some serious firepower.
"Captain, get some rest. Once we're back, I'll have Alchemic Magician run some diagnostics—refine you a bit."
"Much… appreciated…"
White Crystal replied faintly.
With that resolved, Hikaru turned to check on the condition of the spirits in this dimension—when Tierra suddenly broke in, snapping at the two sword-wielding Duel Spirits:
"Hey, you two. I heard from Hikaru—you guys were the first Duel Spirits to ever bond with him, right?"
She extended a hand. A thread of violet data unraveled from her fingertip and coalesced into a holographic chart.
"So why the hell haven't you evolved yet?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
Even her could be confused sometimes.
"Last time I scanned you, you were showing evolution trends. But months later? Aside from bigger swords and thicker armor, there's been no breakthrough."
She drew a flat growth curve, ending in a plateau.
"White Crystal's evolving today, and you two are still stuck like this? What gives?"
Sure, White Crystal had absorbed a ton of resentment and energy—but Tierra still found the swordsmen's sluggish progress baffling.
"Well uh… Lady, I got no idea!" Blazing Swordsman scratched his head, utterly lost.
Black Flame simply shook his head.
He'd thought about it too.
"It's fine. Steady growth is still growth," Hikaru reassured them. "Let Flameblade take it easy for once. They've been busting their asses non-stop. Besides, it's not like they haven't gotten stronger."
But—
He had been thinking about it.
The duo were evolving, yes—but not like other spirits who gained sudden, flashy breakthroughs. Their growth was subtle. Gradual.
At first glance, they might seem less impressive—but now, Hikaru understood something deeper.
Simple reason: these two had been with him since the beginning. From day one, they completely embraced his Fusion-driven path. There was no need for them to undergo radical transformation. They already matched Hikaru's spirit—flawlessly.
No complaints. No hesitation.
Whether it was heavy lifting, cool entrances, or fighting parasitic abominations, they did it all without question.
And more importantly—
They were already Fusion Monsters.
To this day, Hikaru had never once used Super Polymerization to fuse other Fusion Monsters. But perhaps—
Becoming a Fusion Monster meant they were already acknowledged by Super Poly.
No need to fear losing themselves.
On the flip side—
Maybe the key to unlocking even greater alchemy...
Maybe the key to truly mastering Super Polymerization...
Was right here all along.