"Light and Darkness Dragon, direct attack!"
"Gah!"
The arena quaked under the dragon's roar.
Three days later marked the start of the second round.
Although Gloria had fought with everything she had, luck was fickle. Defeated, she cast a quick glance at the audience, then at Hikaru, who was watching from the preparation hall. Her cheeks burned red as she quietly slipped away toward the revival bracket.
She still had one chance left. Even if only a single spot remained, she couldn't afford to give up. But remembering how confidently she had declared she would win, only to be proven wrong, made her face sting with embarrassment.
Hikaru rubbed his temple. Maybe his warning really had been a curse.
The second-round Duels that followed were fiercer than ever. Audiences began tuning in at this fixed time every day, unwilling to miss a single match.
Those who returned through the revival round played decently, but aside from a few unlucky cases, the gap between them and the seeded Duelists was obvious. Gloria, unfortunately, had drawn the short straw.
After watching Chazz's Duel, Hikaru was convinced that Chazz's current strength might not fall short of Jaden or Aster. His power carried a weight that was hard to describe, raw, unshakable, and overwhelming. Facing him in the very first round had been nothing short of bad luck for Gloria.
Worse still, Gloria had only focused on herself. She had ignored her opponent, and that arrogance made her loss inevitable.
As the last Duelist scheduled to fight in the round, Hikaru had time to study the others.
He began by looking at the Rhodes siblings' Decks.
Alexis continued with her Cyber Angels. Though her strategy hadn't changed, the consistency of Cyber Angel Idaten and Machine Angel Ritual let her recycle resources with ease, overwhelming her opponent.
Atticus, however, surprised Hikaru.
His Deck was no longer purely "Red-Eyes." To be precise, it wasn't entirely Red-Eyes anymore. Instead, it had become a unique hybrid of Red-Eyes monsters and Winged Beasts, reinforced by a mix of eccentric Spells and Traps.
On the surface it was just a Deck change, but for Atticus, it was monumental.
Once cursed by Darkness, his Deck had always been forcibly twisted into a Red-Eyes theme, no matter what he built. Now, the fact that he could freely integrate other archetypes meant he had learned to adapt.
It sounded exaggerated, but it was real. In the original story, Atticus eventually reached this same point.
But how had he increased his spiritual resilience so much in so little time? Was he actually wearing the Darkness mask every single day to train?
That seemed far too reckless, even for him.
By the time that thought crossed Hikaru's mind, he had to admit it was probably true.
When it came to Zane, nothing Atticus did would surprise him.
As for the others, Bastion had blended Amazoness support into his strategy. Axel Brodie still ran Pyro monsters, but his lineup had diversified. Jim "Crocodile" Cook, true to the anime, used his Fossil Fusion deck, though this time, the Fossil cards clearly weren't the same as the ones from the original story. It looked like he had built a custom set of Fossil Fusions himself, and their power was no joke.
And Zane needed no introduction. His arsenal included Cyber End Dragon, Chimeratech Overdragon, even Cyber Dragon Nova. He wielded every variant with precision and calm, no longer the frenzied, self-destructive Duelist he had once been.
One detail stood out to Hikaru as he studied the field: Jim's backrow. His Spell and Trap lineup was surprisingly complete, even boasting Lost World – Bridge of Salvation. The Fossil monsters themselves weren't overwhelming, but their dedicated support cards gave his plays remarkable resilience.
Life wasn't easy for Duelists who lacked reliable monsters. If family couldn't help, then only Spell and Trap support could.
Of course, while Hikaru was studying his peers, they were studying him as well. Among all the competitors, his reputation ranked just below Zane's. By now, nearly everyone knew what kind of deck Hikaru played.
A small core of Fusion Materials. A large library of Fusion Spells.
Portable Fusion options. A sprinkling of disruption.
And above all, a powerful Extra Deck of Fusions he could flexibly adapt to any Duel.
His opponent for this round, Ansiel, reviewed his own strategy. Alongside his signature card Skill Drain, he had slipped in a few more counters that he thought would be especially useful.
Soon, it was time.
Hikaru walked calmly into the arena, and a wave of cheers rose to meet him. He raised a hand in greeting, scanning the Duel Field as he went.
Something had changed. KaibaCorp technicians moved briskly around the edges, exchanging notes, making adjustments. From the look of it, once this round concluded, the entire stage was slated for a large-scale overhaul.
"The final Duel of the second round, begin!"
Thunderous applause erupted as the match was announced. With a sudden boom, columns of flame erupted around the arena.
One of the Duel Spirits nearby yelped in alarm and leapt up, trying instinctively to smother the blaze. But before anyone could react, the fire fractured, broke apart, and scattered into glowing sparks. The sparks drifted upward, weaving across the ceiling like stardust, and slowly condensed into two enormous holographic cards that floated above the field.
One was the infamous Continuous Trap Card, Skill Drain.The other, Polymerization.
"Whoa!" Hikaru looked up, wide-eyed. "Why did it activate on its own?"
"Wasn't this effect scheduled for the next round?" A KaibaCorp staffer's voice cracked as the technicians scrambled, confused. "Lights, what's going on!?"
Turning, Hikaru's gaze landed on the massive chandelier overhead. It spun once in place, like a head giving a deliberate nod.
An illusion?
Hikaru understood.
The spirits wanted to see him Duel again.
"Amagi Hikaru," said Tierra, leaning in with a low voice, "your opponent will definitely load up on Trap Cards against you."
Hikaru smiled faintly. "It's fine. I've tuned my deck for this."
As the last sparks faded, both Duelists raised their Duel Disks. The arena lights converged on them, and in unison, they declared.
"Duel!"
Duel Academy East European Branch, Equality for All — Ansiel | LP: 4000
Duel Academy, Main School, Absolute Fusionist — Amagi Hikaru | LP: 4000
A final flash lit the stadium, and the Duel began in earnest.