Jack and Carly watched the duel unfolding below.
To them, both duelists were complete strangers.
But Jack knew one extra detail.
The Dark Sign.
He could see the glowing mark on Hikaru Amagi's left hand.
And yet, in Jack's heart, it was Sayer, the man standing opposite Hikaru, who truly deserved to be crushed.
"Draw."
Sayer drew a card from his Deck, the massive, spectral demon looming behind him breathing heavily.
Though it was just a psychic construct, surrounded by the maze of pipes and the echoing cries of pain, the demon looked disturbingly real.
"Master Sayer, you can do it!"
"Show us your power!"
A few of the psychics cheered loudly for him.
Sayer smiled serenely, replying in his usual calm tone, "Don't worry, everyone. This is for humanity's future."
Hikaru's voice cut through coldly.
"Slaughtering children, the real future, and you still dare to talk about saving humanity?"
"It's only a necessary sacrifice."
Sayer spread his arms like a false messiah, smiling as he continued.
"You of all people should understand, Dark Signer. Every few millennia, gods wage war. Their chosen champions destroy the world again and again until the cycle resets."
He raised both hands toward the ceiling.
"No matter who wins, those who survive in the end are always different. If one of those victors happens to be insane, this world could fall into eternal damnation!"
"But now, now we humans have a new possibility! A future that belongs to us, not to gods!"
His voice grew louder, more fanatical.
"The spiritual world! If we create our own god, a god born of humanity, then no matter who wins this divine war, we will live forever in that world of spirit! In that world, there will be no poverty, no hunger, limitless resources for everyone! Isn't that true salvation?"
Thunderous applause filled the hall. The Arcadia members clapped, cheered, and shouted Sayer's name. Even Carly almost joined in by reflex before Jack grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to her senses.
For a moment, she thought, 'If it really worked… maybe that wouldn't be so bad.'
In that world, maybe the gap between the Tops and the Satellite would finally disappear.
Hikaru slowly raised his hand in front of him.
"Sounds nice. But when that time comes, the difference between people won't be wealth, it'll be psychic power. Ordinary people will become the lowest caste, and the psychics will be your new 'nobles.'"
Carly's eyes widened.
He was right. She had almost been fooled.
The Arcadia members began shouting insults.
"You fool!"
"You don't understand greatness!"
"How dare you slander Lord Sayer!"
Sayer waved his hand calmly, silencing them.
"It's fine. He's an outsider, a Dark Signer from another world. It's only natural he can't comprehend our noble ideals."
He smiled, lifted a card from his hand, and declared,
"My turn. I Normal Summon Psychic Beast!"
He placed the card on his Duel Disk, and with a cry, a green-haired creature with a serpent's tail materialized, letting out a fierce roar.
Psychic Beast – Level 2, EARTH Attribute, Beast-Type, ATK 700.
"When Psi-Beast is Normal Summoned, I can banish one Psychic-Type monster from my Deck. Then, this card's Level becomes the same as that monster's."
Sayer lifted his left hand, and cards from his Deck floated into the air under a wave of psychic energy.
"I banish the Level 3 monster Mind Protector from my Deck, and make Psi-Beast's Level become 3!"
A green-haired psychic wearing dark glasses shimmered and vanished from within Sayer's aura. At the same moment, the air filled with the sound of tortured screaming.
Psi-Beast – Level 2 → Level 3.
"Next, when I control a Level 3 monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"Come forth, Tuner Monster- Psychic Wheelder!"
A robot with glowing lenses and a spinning wheel-shaped body rolled onto the field, circling Sayer like a guard dog.
Psychic Wheelder – Level 3, EARTH, Psychic-Type, ATK 600.
"I tune Level 3 Psychic Wheelder with Level 3 Psi-Beast!"
"The flames of hatred burning within my heart, turn into a dark torrent that surges through this world!"
"SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
"Appear! Hyper Psychic Riser!"
The giant wheel controlled by Psychic Wheelder expanded, and another dark wheel materialized beside it. The two wheels spun in unison, fusing together in a burst of psychic light. From above descended a muscular, cybernetic humanoid surrounded by rings of balanced energy.
Hyper Psychic Riser – Level 6, EARTH, Psychic-Type, ATK 2000.
"Two thousand attack points?" Jack frowned.
"With only 2000, that doesn't sound very impressive."
"Wow, 2000 attack points? That's so strong…" Carly murmured under her breath.
Jack side-eyed her. He had seen her Deck before, filled with zero-attack normal monsters and gimmicky cards, so for her, 2000 probably did sound huge.
But for Sayer to go through all that just to Synchro Summon one monster… there had to be a catch.
Or maybe that man was confident enough that 2000 attack points was more than enough.
"I set three cards face down and end my turn."
Sayer placed three cards neatly on his field, then extended a hand, motioning to Hikaru.
"Your move."
"Draw." Hikaru calmly started his turn.
"Only 2000 attack points… seems easy enough to deal with, right, Hikaru?" Tierra mused beside him. "Though, he did set three cards. Probably traps or defensive setups. If they're just support or bluff cards, you might be able to win this in one turn."
"Not that simple." Hikaru studied the field. "While Hyper Psychic Riser is on the field, monsters with lower ATK can't declare attacks, and monsters with higher ATK can't activate their effects."
Sayer's face remained calm and smiling, completely unbothered that his monster's effect had been seen through.
"That actually sounds pretty strong, doesn't it?" Carly said in surprise.
A monster with 2000 attack points that could lock down both attacks and effects, plus three face-downs, seemed practically unbeatable.
"With that many defenses, it looks like he's untouchable."
Jack scoffed.
"Not taking risks is just the mindset of the weak. If you're going to duel, then you fight for victory, nothing else."
Hikaru's expression stayed cool.
"It looks powerful at first glance, but that ability is spread too thin. It only restricts the field, and its effect stops higher-ATK monsters only. I Normal Summon Predaplant Chlamydosundew !"
He raised his hand, and the card flew onto the Duel Disk, projecting a hologram of a writhing green plant with snapping tendrils.
Predaplant Chlamydosundew – Level 2, DARK, Plant-Type, ATK 600.
"During my Main Phase, I can activate its effect. For a Fusion Monster that lists a DARK monster as material, I can send the Fusion Materials from my hand, field, and even my opponent's monsters that have Predaplant Counters to the Graveyard, and Fusion Summon one Fusion Monster!"
"Oh? So you can perform Fusion Summons without Polymerization? That's quite an efficient fusion method," Sayer commented, his tone still elegant and calm. "You can even use cards from your hand. No wonder you dared to challenge a Synchro user."
He slowly lifted both hands, shaking his head as if pitying Hikaru.
"But Synchro Summoning… is the power of the future. Stronger than Fusion ever was. Allow me to show you why our world abandoned your outdated method."
Suddenly his eyes widened, his calm face twisting into a predatory grin as he slammed a card down.
"I activate a monster effect from my hand!"
"What? From his hand? But it's Hikaru's turn!" Tierra exclaimed.
Hikaru's brow furrowed.
That reaction, he knew it.
"When a monster effect is activated on the field, or the effect of a face-up Spell or Trap is activated, I can discard this card from my hand to the Graveyard to negate and destroy that card!
Appear- Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit!"
A pale-haired girl in a tattered kimono descended from the psychic ether, her red eyes glowing faintly. She flung a paper charm at the Predaplant, and the creature burst into blue flames before it could complete its Fusion.
Because its material was destroyed, the effect failed entirely.
"Ghost Ogre, huh…" Hikaru muttered with a strange expression, somewhere between exasperation and nostalgia.