The Frightfur Leo looked at Hikaru.
At this moment, they realized the importance of this man.
Just like before, in his Duel against the Fusion Army, this human had nearly always been on top, even using Fusion to defeat what it had believed to be the "invincible" Number 24.
As a warrior, he was indeed outstanding.
More than that, he could even accomplish the feat of fusing Synchro Monsters with Fusion Monsters.
'No, no…'
It calmed itself, thinking carefully, and suddenly felt a sense of dread.
All this time, it had only feared that unknown godlike being. The Frightfur tribe had suffered so many wounds recently that its mind had been filled solely with how to survive in this environment, never noticing the other details.
Thinking further,the way this human named Hikaru Amaki fought in Duels,was frightening in its own right!
After all, in those battles, even that god trusted this human deeply!
This human was no ordinary person!
It greeted Hikaru respectfully, even secretly exposing the paw pads of its hand, wanting to lift him up so he could speak to all the spirits.
However, Hikaru did not oblige. Instead, he walked straight up to the Frightfur spirits, first surveying them briefly.
Then he spoke softly: "My name is Hikaru Amaki. I am Hikaru of humanity, Hikaru of Fusion, a Duelist devoted to pursuing the ultimate in Fusion."
"My belief is singular: Fusion is the noblest form of Summoning."
The little spirits exchanged nervous glances; some, suffering from PTSD, even hid behind the older ones.
The Frightfur Leo hastily withdrew its paw and hesitantly asked, "Lord Hikaru… are you with the Fusion Army as well?"
"No. I am myself," Hikaru said calmly.
"Do you have anything you wish to ask?" He stood there before them all.
After Tiera's questioning earlier and his own observations, Hikaru had fully confirmed the truth of the Frightfurs.
First of all, Frightfurs were not an ancient spirit tribe. On the contrary, they were very young,no more than a few decades old. Their origin lay in the frightening toys of the world, a "new bloodline" among spirits.
This matched Hikaru's own observations.
He was certain: aside from Fluffals and Edge Imps, the Frightfur Fusion Monsters consisted only of wolves, tigers, bears, and lions. Even if one counted a sheep that had perished before it could reappear, there were still only a handful.
Forget about ultimate-class Fusions like Frightfur Mary or Frightfur Kraken,even "Frightfur Chimera," a card Sora particularly loved in the Arc-V, did not exist.
Yes.
Among all Frightfurs, the highest-ranked was this very "Frightfur Leo",and by its own admission, it had only reached this form after evolving in a Duel against a Duelist from the X Dimension.
That was how basic the Frightfurs really were.
And yet, for Hikaru, that made them all the more suitable.
He had come to this dimension specifically to gather the Frightfurs.
And he knew perfectly well that, in one way or another, the Frightfurs and the Fusion Army had a connection.
That said, now, the Frightfurs were only just starting out. Though their understanding of Fusion was somewhat distorted, it seemed more a result of long-term collaboration with the Fusion Army, which had led to a skewed comprehension.
This could still be corrected in time.
After a long silence with no questions, one trembling Fluffal toy timidly raised its hand. Its companion, alarmed, tried to hold it back, but the hand was already raised.
"Alright, go ahead."
"Um, human… since you used Synchro Summoning, why?"
'Such a sharp question, right away!?'
The Frightfur Leo grew nervous.
Hikaru chuckled and said, "Synchro? Xyz? Those things don't really matter. You're… a rabbit, right? Think of it like Burns's Duel earlier. He used two Level 6 Fusion Monsters to overlay and summon a Rank 6 monster, and then continued the fight.
In essence, there was nothing wrong with that."
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
None of them expected Hikaru to say that.
"In truth, the issue wasn't that he performed an Xyz Summon, nor that he relied on an Xyz Monster as his ace. It was that his words and actions didn't match."
"To me, whether it's a Synchro or an Xyz doesn't matter. As long as it can be fused,as long as it advances my Fusion, as long as it calls forth a Fusion Monster,then whatever steps it takes along the way are acceptable."
The young spirits looked at one another, shocked, yet none could refute him.
"Oh, of course, this only applies to the Duel itself. If it's just about becoming stronger by attacking others, that is absolutely unacceptable."
"But if we don't play tricks, how can we evolve!?" This time it was an axe spirit, glowing with two blood-red eyes, that questioned Hikaru in confusion.
"Doing evil? That doesn't matter. Do you know? In the world of 'Justice,' a world devoted to justice, there is a group of Lightsworn warriors who have fought other tribes for countless years,and among them are even demons.
So don't worry about your race. Fusion does not require committing evil. As long as you can understand Fusion, then you can surely evolve."
On this matter, Hikaru spoke from rich experience.
First year, he undermined the Fusion Army from within. Second year, he established the Coalition to oppose them. And in his third year, he began guiding new students and deepening the understanding of Fusion within the Fusion Department.
With practice comes ease. Faced with these younger, simpler-minded spirits, he explained while pulling out the Emerald Book.
Though it had been awkward before, Hikaru had long since accepted it.
He brought out a player, showing the young spirits a few classic Duels,edited highlights produced by KaibaCorp and circulated within the Fusion Department.
Among them were classics like "Clash! The Legendary Duelist! Hikaru Amaki VS Rex Raptor" and his match against Weevil Underwood.
There was also footage of his fight against the professional Duelist "X," likewise edited by KaibaCorp.
"Whoa..."
"Eh!!"
Even the Frightfur Leo sat down in the middle, watching Hikaru's Duel against Weevil. Seeing Hikaru even win against something like a "fixed Deck",an extreme outside interference,it couldn't help but cheer.
Meanwhile, as the videos played, Tiera was controlling the bodies of the dead.
Whether spirit or human, she forcibly commanded them, using her authority to drive the dimension's workings.
Soon, the corpses dissolved into foam, merging with the world. She closed her eyes, sensed for a while, then told Hikaru:
"This dimension will give birth to seven to ten new spirits."
Hikaru raised a brow.
So, she had straightforwardly reincarnated the humans as spirits?
No, more accurately, she had accelerated the workings of this dimension, speeding the cycle of souls.
"The reborn spirits are brand new souls, brand new lives," Tiera said. "They are purer, unlike those half-brainwashed by the Fusion Army, and will understand you more quickly."
She had, in fact, given Hikaru a gift.
A spirit tribe with Fusion as its main strategy.
As this dimension revived, its outdated, mistaken beliefs would be corrected. Then, all its spirits would be drawn to Hikaru,without him needing to go through the trials of other dimensions, collecting them card by card by card.
Hikaru nodded to her.
So in that case, he should lend even more help in rebuilding the Frightfur tribe.
Just then, among the spirits watching the video, a sudden violet light flared. The group quickly cleared a space, eyes turning to the glowing sheep.
"My goodness!" The Frightfur Leo clutched its head, pulling out its own stuffing.
"Waaah," The other spirits simply cheered.
A sheep, together with a small chain-shaped Imp, began evolving, slowly transforming into a sheep wrapped in sharp steel chains!
It had evolved…
Looking closer, this spirit had already been on the verge of evolution, but this time it showed all Frightfurs one truth!
They didn't need to follow the Fusion Army scientists' methods!
They had a more reasonable, correct path of evolution!
"It's real… it's all real!"
The lion, wolf, and tiger spirits exchanged glances, reading each other's shock. Then, they held greater respect for Tiera and greater awareness that Hikaru Amaki was no ordinary being!
What they had always believed in,was wrong!
Fusion was never so limited!
...
Bonus Chapters @200 PS
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