The Duel had a victor, Chazz Princeton.
Even so, the cheers for Bastion weren't far behind the applause for Chazz. This match had shown everyone that the youngest son of the Princeton Group was never hype without substance; his pride and arrogance came with real skill. But just as real were Bastion's ambition and his razor-sharp mind.
Seto Kaiba watched Chazz and Bastion clasp hands, trade a quick hug and a shoulder pat, murmuring "sorry" and "good luck", without a flicker of expression.
He didn't dislike his pupils having something as trivial as friendship.
"A diplomat, is it? Interesting."
He picked up a file at hand, Bastion's old application to visit the Xyz Dimension. The raid by Academia's Fusion forces had killed the plan at the time, but the paperwork lingered at Duel Academy. Recently, Acting Chancellor Crowler had dug it out between crises and forwarded it to KaibaCorp.
Before the quarterfinals began, once Bastion made the Top 8, KaibaCorp's staff put the file on Kaiba's desk.
Kaiba didn't waste words. He set the application back on the table, pulled out his phone, and made a call.
Clearly, Bastion would be hearing from KaibaCorp soon, and the approval would be quick.
In truth, Kaiba was already weighing Bastion for the imminent re-engagement with the Xyz Dimension. Bastion wasn't his favorite student, but he was the right tool for this job. Amagi Hikaru, by contrast, absolutely could not go, not for several months, maybe not for a year. At most, a cameo at the next exchange meet.
Of course, Kaiba wouldn't handle those logistics himself. His younger brother would. Kaiba's part was simply to look forward to more excellent Duelists.
"Amazing, 'math god.' I thought after all that closed-door training you'd be living in a two-card love story," Hikaru called as the two returned to the lounge, hand up in greeting, teasing Bastion.
"Heh. I was saving it for you. Didn't expect to run into Chazz halfway and lose," Bastion said, cheerful as ever.
"Scary stuff, though, hahaha."
Hikaru could admit it: if you saw that combo cold, with zero prep, breaking it on the fly was hard.
But if you knew it was coming, there were angles.
First, like Chazz had shown, you could jam the loop mid-resolution with the right Trap, stuff that locks the monster zones, or answer the key piece on their turn. If Superalloy Beast Raptinus is the engine keeping Geminis "on," remove it and the gears stop. Hikaru could even aim to stick El Shaddoll Winda; with Winda's "only 1 Special Summon per turn" ceiling, the Blazewing Butterfly ⇄ Gigaplant recursion can't climb.
Second, there was the hard counter line: put a card on the field that inverts effect damage. With something like Prime Material Dragon, or even a timed Rainbow Life, "inflict 500 damage" becomes "recover 500 LP." Bastion's "infinite damage" turns into "infinite healing."
So yes, Hikaru had multiple prep routes into that puzzle box.
Only catch: the first time you meet it in the wild, you might have to pray to the topdeck gods.
Now that he knew the line was possible, it wasn't so scary with the right tech in hand.
That's Dueling. Having information and flying blind are two different games. Otherwise, no one would praise Sky Striker for how well it leverages scouting and resource mapping, and people wouldn't keep pitching their hand traps at the wrong time into unfamiliar decks and losing for it.
Even Amagi Hikaru had once been run over by Reptilianne so badly he couldn't see straight.
"Who's next?" Bastion asked, easygoing as ever.
The next pairing...
Hikaru glanced at Kaiser, Zane felt the look and smiled at the corner of his mouth. "Heh… Hikaru, wait for me. I'll win here, and then I'll take an even better win off you."
He'd reconciled his two sides, but Zane never pretended he respected every opponent. What he respected was the Duel.
"Tch. Arrogant." The Duelist piloting Venom snorted.
"Kid, don't think mastering Xyz Summoning makes you a king. I had the world's top points before you even stepped into the pro circuit."
He swept a look across the eight remaining Duelists, confidence radiating. "I'm the one who wins."
He shrugged his jacket off and strode for the stage without looking back.
Hikaru and the others traded looks. Chazz rubbed the back of his head. "Huh… why does that sound familiar…?"
He'd said versions of that line himself, and he'd heard it from others lately, so he was a little sensitive. But he had to admit it:
Which of the Top 8 wasn't one-in-a-million?
Genius X was a tournament to crown the most gifted prodigy in the world. Only one would take the title, but losing didn't mean you were weak.
Even the Duelists who bowed out in round one had fought through the Nexus Dimension and earned the recognition of at least eight powerful Duelists and Duel Spirits. "Weak" didn't make the cut.
And the eight who'd reached this point? "Geniuses among geniuses."
Even with Zane, the students watching couldn't guarantee he'd steamroll. He'd nearly dropped a set the last time he faced Atticus Rhodes.
Maybe this one…
Some minutes later, the worry evaporated.
"What...how?! I destroyed Cyber Dragon Nova!"
"Hahaha, naïve! When Cyber Dragon Nova is sent to the GY by an opponent's card effect, I can Special Summon 1 Machine Fusion straight from my Extra Deck!"
The wreckage of Nova's frame sheared apart, a silvery-white core flaring to life beneath.
"Special Summon, Cyber End Dragon!"
A roar split the arena.
Zane Truesdale won.
At the rail, Hikaru clicked his tongue. Not surprised, exactly, but it was satisfying to watch.
But at the same time, a surge of excitement rose within him.
So his next opponent really was Zane.
...
Bonus @200 PS
Read chapters ahead @Keepsmiling- P@eon