After the duel ended, Marufuji Ryo was panting heavily, slumped on the ground.
It was only at this moment that he realized that he was completely out of strength.
He coughed violently for a while, spitting out a few mouthfuls of fresh blood, feeling piercing pain in his chest, and every bone in his body felt numb, as if they had been pounded by a giant hammer. It was even more painful than the most intense Darkness Duel he had ever experienced.
He looked up and saw that the robber on the opposite side had inexplicably fallen to the ground unconscious, with a strange symbol on his forehead flickering on and off.
As he was wondering, a card from the robber's deck suddenly floated up in the air, slowly drifting towards him.
He widened his eyes, watching this supernatural occurrence—
At that moment!
A white beam crossed in front of him, transforming into a hand of light, which seized that card, snatching it away to Kaito's side. Kaito glanced at it and casually put it down.
Marufuji Ryo took a deep breath and with difficulty, supported himself against the cabinet to slowly stand up.
"You got yourself an extra life, Otherworldly Person!" the robot rolled up to Marufuji Ryo, saying, "If you hadn't encountered Lord Kaito, you'd be dead for sure!"
Lord Kaito? Dead for sure?
What does it mean, he wondered and looked at the robber again, only to find, to his shock, that the robber's face was rapidly aging, his hair turning white, and finally turning completely to decay, lifeless!
"What is this?"
He clutched his chest, feeling that piercing pain surge again.
Strange—
It wasn't like the Darkness Duel with the Seven Stars, yet why was the physical damage so apparent?
Even... more painful than dueling against Spirits or the Seven Stars!?
"No. cards reside in human souls," Kaito took a few steps forward, his face cold, speaking to Marufuji Ryo.
Though he didn't explain much, it was enough for Marufuji Ryo to get the gist of it.
However, the robot soon provided Marufuji Ryo with a clearer explanation.
Firstly, the so-called No. Cards are special cards from their X Dimension, which awaken desires in humans and may even grant them some supernatural power, then seize control of the user. And the person before Marufuji Ryo was a "Numbered Hunter," hunters tasked to hunt down No. Cards specifically from the X Dimension: Tenjo Kaito, the representative of Galaxy-Eyes from Heartland.
This time it was also the leader of Heartland that told him an individual using Number Monsters had accidentally crossed into the Other dimension, prompting him to chase after immediately.
"Tenjo?" Marufuji Ryo wasn't particularly interested in the other things.
He just needed to confirm that Number Monsters were a dangerous type of card similar to Phantasms from the Other Dimension.
Moreover, it seemed that dueling with Number Monsters was automatically a Darkness Duel. No wonder it was so painful earlier.
But what he was most concerned about was the name "Tenjo."
Initially, he felt nothing when hearing it; he didn't connect Tenjo Kaito before him to Tenjo Hikari. And they looked nothing alike, but after hearing Kaito state his name, he felt a vague resemblance.
Previously, in the S Dimension, they also encountered someone who looked identical to Serena, so this person could be Hikari's counterpart, perhaps?
Thinking of Tenjo Hikari, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Hikari had been telling him to figure out what he truly wanted, but he had chosen not to contemplate deeply until the threat of death and seeing Cyber Dragon nearly taken away several times and attack him did he fully realize what he wants:
Victory!
The ultimate goal for a Duelist is always victory!
Some people simply do not deserve respect!
As a senior, as a predecessor, he realized this too late.
He held his forehead,
"You look like you're in pain," Kaito glanced at him, then looked at the robot beside him, "Orbital 7."
"Yes, Lord Kaito!" Orbital 7 hastily rolled up to Marufuji Ryo, his body opening automatically, delivering a strange pill to Marufuji Ryo with a mechanical arm.
Marufuji Ryo didn't hesitate, taking the pill, swallowing it directly without water.
"Consider this your reward for helping me hunt a No.," Kaito casually said.
After taking the pill, Marufuji Ryo finally felt a lot more comfortable, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Kaito fell into silence, pondering further.
Normally, after hunting a Number Card, he would immediately choose to leave, then hurry home to see his beloved brother, Haruto.
But today was different.
The robber and this Duelist, Marufuji Ryo, revealed a terrifying truth to him!
The former suggested that Number Cards might appear in other dimensions.
The latter suggested that Otherworldly people might also connect to the multidimensional network and perform an Xyz Summon under the influence of Number Monsters!
Combining the two, isn't the answer evident?
Number Cards could appear in other dimensions too!
Even without dueling, even without getting hurt, Kaito felt a slight headache.
Because this implies that his Number hunting task might extend to multiple dimensions, or even infinite worlds!
He gently pinched the bridge of his nose.
Then, he glanced at Marufuji Ryo, who was checking his deck while breathing heavily.
After thinking for a while, he spoke again, initiating a topic, saying that Number Cards might appear in other dimensions, and let robot Orbital 7 elaborate, catching Marufuji Ryo's attention, momentarily making him feel pressured again right after relaxing.
"It seems we need to talk in detail about this matter," Marufuji Ryo said seriously to Tenjo Kaito, getting a bit more spirited.
It seems it can only be this way.
Tenjo Kaito nodded.
His work shouldn't be exposed; the Number series is their world's affair. Moreover, his father, Dr. Faker, and Mr. Heartland, claimed that only by hunting Number Cards could his brother's illness be cured, so he certainly couldn't allow these cards to remain in other dimensions.
If that's the case——
Finding an "Assistant" in other dimensions becomes very important.
Through the duel, Tenjo Kaito could see that Marufuji Ryo was not a lunatic; quite the contrary, he was a very competent Duelist, even more pure than he began.
As the strongest Duelist in their world, he was confident he made no mistake in this judgment.
And perhaps because of the name "Tenjo," or sensing the Duelist's spirit in him, or due to both having a younger brother, anyhow, Marufuji and Kaito communicated wonderfully, even bringing up a junior named "Tenjo Hikari."
"A Fusion Duelist who only uses Polymerization? Haha, Lord Kaito is proficient in all summoning methods!"
"Be quiet, Orbital 7."
"Uh, yes!"
Tenjo Hikari?
He had an impression.
He should also be a student who dueled against their dimension last year?
Being so pure was indeed commendable as a Duelist... After all, although he was the strongest, he relinquished his dueling and trust in Monsters just for his brother's sake, merely motivated purely by dueling.
Finally, Kaito instructed Orbital 7 to give Marufuji Ryo some Xyz general support cards and left a dimensional communication device, ensuring Marufuji Ryo could contact him whenever needed, and after sending Marufuji Ryo to the hospital in Domino City, he left the dimension.
Marufuji Ryo lay on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, pulling out his brand-new deck, then couldn't help but show an exaggerated smile.
Thank you, Hikari, for reminding me repeatedly.
My dueling was indeed not pure enough before.
Come to think of it... Hmm, doesn't Cyber Dragon have a "Cyber Dark Style" too?
He pondered various things. Not only himself, but also the Number Monsters, the Cyber Dark Style, the academy and other dimension matters, and matters of Professional Duelists, contemplating what gift to prepare for the next time he meets Tenjo Hikari, thinking... thinking... until exhaustion and stinging gradually led him to sleep.
And, in another dimension many away, in the world of Skyscrapers, Serena had also concluded her duel.
She gleefully hugged a Spirit, nuzzling against it with her head repeatedly.
It was a panda, full name Jabbing Panda, honestly not very related to her deck, but being the highest-level Beast Warrior-Type Spirit found in the Skyscrapers, it was quite good.
At least this way, Tenjo Hikari felt that even if Serena were ambushed in the future, she'd at least have a Spirit to aide, not ending up mind-controlled like in the original work.
But——
Even so, there's still some worry.
After all, Yubel is planning to attack soon.
Add to this Serena being watched by EGGhead, always at risk of being captured by the Fusion Army and brainwashed, this alone definitely isn't enough.
Later on, I should set up a Dimension Gate usable within the Fusion Department and find more Spirits to help Serena.