"Let go of Rin, you bastards!"
In a small Lower City house, Yugo rammed into a Security officer, hoping Rin could break free.
Just moments earlier, a whole group of strange-acting Security officers barged into Crow's orphanage while Crow wasn't around.
As the self-proclaimed "reliable big brother" of the orphanage, Yugo of course stepped forward to protect the kids so they wouldn't get scared.
He and Rin had grown up together as orphans, trained together under Yusei, aiming to become duelists worthy of rising to Upper City like Jack.
They never caused trouble, never committed crimes, never tried sneaking into Upper City.
Even the most unreasonable Security wouldn't target people like them.
But unexpectedly, the moment these officers saw Rin, they didn't explain anything.
They just declared she was a wanted criminal and tried to take her away.
How could he allow that?
Yugo slammed into one of the officers hard enough for Rin, whose hands were tied behind her, to break free.
She didn't even understand what was happening. She lashed out with a sharp knee strike and knocked another officer away, shouting "Yugo!" as she ran toward him.
The small children hiding inside the house covered their mouths, trembling and crying silently in fear.
"Resisting arrest? Then grab that guy too!"
Without hesitation, several officers pulled out electric batons and struck Yugo.
"Gaaah!!"
Yugo screamed from the shock, but seeing Rin escape unharmed made it easier to endure.
But then…
The next moment terrified him.
The officers didn't care about Rin at all, they actually intended to use the same brutal force on her.
"Rin!"
Yugo roared. His eyes suddenly blazed scarlet, and a red aura surged from him, blasting the officers away.
"What is this?!"
"He's like Representative Yuri..."
The officers whispered in fear.
They had already been uneasy around Yugo.
Now that he showed strength no normal human should have, their fear only grew.
But Yugo wasn't the man they thought he was. So they continued to rush him anyway.
Just then;
A sharp ripping sound filled the room.
Countless purple puppet-strings shot out, forming a solid wall between the officers and Yugo and Rin.
Rin hurried to Yugo's side and bumped him with her arm. Her bracelet glowed, and Yugo finally calmed down.
The officers stared at the purple wall of strings.
Several screamed.
Others staggered backward in pure instinctive fear.
"Tch… so he really came here, huh?"
Even though he wasn't visible yet, the officers instantly understood who those strings belonged to.
"He... he's here… Hikaru!!"
The next second, a D-Wheel drifted into the alley, stopping with a sharp brake.
The rider removed his helmet.
Hikaru stared at the officers coldly.
"Heh… I've never heard of the 'Fusion Army,' a group devoted to destruction and invasion, suddenly rebranding themselves as guardians of order."
"Hikaru-nii!"
Yugo shouted with relief.
Hikaru nodded once at him.
Then his gaze returned to the officers.
They wore Security uniforms, but Hikaru could tell immediately, these weren't real Security officers.
They were Fusion Army soldiers.
Real Security officers, even when arresting someone, start with a Duel, Riding Duel, group Duel, whatever.
Even suspects are given the right to fight back through dueling.
Only the Fusion Army attacks people directly.
"Hikaru-nii! These guys are trying to arrest Rin without any explanation."
"I can see that," Hikaru said with a small nod, looking at the Fusion Army troops.
"So, do you have anything you want to say?"
"Don't get cocky, Hikaru. At the end of the day you are just a duelist. These two are wanted by this city's authorities. Are you really going to stand up for them?"
"Hah. That is hilarious. I am a wanted man too."
…
The air grew heavy.
Yugo almost laughed out loud, but Rin bumped him with her shoulder and he hurriedly held it in.
The Fusion Army disguised as Security went speechless on the spot.
"All right, you lot, stand down."
Just as they were racking their brains for a comeback, a voice cut across the alley.
Hikaru looked up at the rooftop.
A man in a true Fusion Army uniform, different from the fake Security gear below, stood there with his arms folded, looking down at them.
"Lilos, huh…"
This guy always had to stand somewhere high whenever he appeared.
Hikaru quietly filed that personality quirk away.
It was the same Fusion Army general who had appeared two days ago alongside the Synchro nobles: Lilos.
Lilos jumped down from the roof and landed in front of Hikaru. The Fusion Army officers immediately relaxed and moved to stand at his side, as if they had finally found their backbone.
"Hikaru. After that day, I reexamined myself. So I decided I would defeat you with my own power, once and for all.
Only then will our Fusion Army's great cause stop being thwarted."
"So your idea of 'settling things' is to come to an orphanage in the Lower City and grab a kid?"
"Hmph. Do not think I do not know you.
Whenever it comes to the Fusion Army, you try to interfere.Whatever we try to do, you try to ruin it.
We received orders to arrest these criminals for the sake of this dimension.
Of course you would show up to get in the way.
Heh. All I did was sit here and wait for the rabbit to jump into the snare."
He was about to keep posturing, but suddenly froze for a moment.
"No… Hmph. That is wrong. If I am going to duel you, I cannot afford to hide behind tricks."
It was as if something had finally clicked in his mind. His tone turned firm.
"That previous man's duel with you already proved it to me. If I do not even have the courage to put everything on the line, I will be defeated by you without question.
I will use the Fusion that our Fusion Army is so proud of, and defeat you completely.
I will tell you the truth, Hikaru.
Lady Serena fell into this dimension by accident.
If that worries you and you cannot stay focused, then all I can say is how unfortunate and disappointing you are.
That is the limit of your ability.
Right now, duel me. I will prove the power of our Fusion Army's fusion.
If you defeat me, you can protect this girl and then go search for Lady Serena."
As he spoke, he tapped his Duel Disk.
A band of purple energy shot out in the form of a chain and wrapped around Hikaru's arm, binding him so he could not leave until the duel was over.
Hikaru raised an eyebrow and glanced at his D-Wheel. Several lines of related intel had already scrolled across the display many times.
He had not come here on some sudden impulse.
"So there is someone this hot-blooded in the Fusion Army too.Fine by me."
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
Lilos LP: 4000
Hikaru LP: 4000