"The full set…"
Hikaru murmured, a strange look on his face as he counted through all the cards he'd gathered.
These cards, used as keys, seals, and connection nodes throughout the laboratory, were slotted into nearly every section of the machinery.
Once Hikaru had finished collecting them all, he began checking every device in the room himself.
Even though Tierra had already scanned most of the systems during the duel, Hikaru insisted on verifying everything again. When innocent lives were involved, he never trusted anyone's word but his own.
Once the last of the surviving children were freed, he turned his attention to the cards he'd recovered.
It was nearly a complete set of Mutant Chimera variants.
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
Every one of the cards from the "Chimera-Variant" series was here, except for the ultimate fusion, Myutant Ultimus.
Not just the low-level monsters, three Level 8 non-Psychic variants, two Fusion Monsters, and even their Spell and Trap Cards, the entire series had been stored here in one place.
Although there was only one copy of each, Hikaru already carried a backup Fusion card in his reserve deck, so the limited numbers didn't bother him.
What mattered more was the quantity, the sheer fact that he'd stumbled upon the entire lineup at once.
Tierra glanced over the cards, then suddenly spoke as understanding dawned on her face.
"A double safeguard," she said.
"That Psychic End Punisher of theirs may have qualified for godhood, but putting a god in human hands is always a risk. So Darkness created a fallback plan."
Hikaru looked at her sharply. "Fallback?"
"These cards," Tierra continued, "served as control nodes to link and amplify the Psychic End Punisher… but in truth, the End Punisher itself was their disguise."
Hikaru looked down again. Each of the cards shimmered faintly, thin wisps of dark smoke curling across the surface, visible only if you stared long enough.
They were Darkness cards too.
Darkness, the power once wielded by Nightshroud, had the ability to overwrite existing Duel Monsters cards directly, even altering entire decks.
It was the same phenomenon that had once affected Atticus Rhodes.
The world considered Red-Eyes Black Dragon a near-mythically rare card, yet under Darkness's influence, Atticus's deck could produce three copies at will.
Whether he wanted to or not, until he fully mastered that darkness, he was bound to it.
That was the tyranny of the Darkness force.
Sayer's cards had been forged under the same principle.
He'd been given a full set, not for dueling glory, but to make his experiments succeed.
Tierra folded her arms, her voice low and thoughtful.
"Good thing it was you who found them, Hikaru. These cards depict the moment the test subjects broke containment and destroyed the lab, the birth of an evolved form.
If an uninformed duelist had defeated Sayer and the Psychic End Punisher like you did, even destroying the demon wouldn't have truly stopped the plan."
"Because the End Punisher was only a goalpost.
If the artificial 'Spirit World' experiment failed, Darkness would have used the demon's corpse as a trigger, letting these experimental entities awaken and transform into god-like living beings."
Hikaru studied the single pitch-black card in his hand.
On its face, nothing but darkness.
But when he tilted it toward the light, faint, writhing tendrils could be seen shifting within.
It wasn't complete yet, but its nature was clear.
Mutant Ultimus.
That card was powerful, one of Hikaru's personal favorites. Even its basic effect rivaled Invoked Mechaba in strength.
But its fusion requirements were much harsher: three Level 8 or higher Chimera-Variant monsters.
Should it ever take the field, it could banish cards from the Graveyard to negate effects of the same type, stronger even than Mechaba, which required discarding from the hand.
Darkness's essence still smoldered faintly across its surface.
As Tierra had explained, this "backup plan" was unfinished.
If more time had passed, or if the Psychic End Punisher hadn't been removed, the card might have fully manifested, transforming into a true monster.
A living disaster.
Unfortunately for Darkness, Hikaru was already well-versed in its tricks.
He tore the entire laboratory apart from top to bottom, checking every conduit, panel, and console himself.
When it came to schemes, hypnosis, and double-layered traps, Darkness was a master.
But this time, Hikaru's thoroughness paid off, he uncovered several hidden systems that, if left untouched, could've triggered a catastrophe in New Domino City's upper districts.
Now, before any of those traps could even activate, they were already gone.
Even better, Hikaru realized he could finish charging the incomplete Ultimus using Duel Energy alone.
It would take time, but the process was stable, safe, and completely under his control.
This was the first time he'd ever obtained a full Fusion archetype so quickly, efficiently, and completely.
Nearby, Carly had finished taking photographs and was already thinking about how to write the article.
Jack had checked on the children and, seeing they were safe, finally looked at Hikaru with a softer expression.
Even if Hikaru bore the mark of a Dark Signer, it was clear he wasn't one of the bad ones.
"Jack! I've contacted the hospital and Security!" Carly shouted from across the hall, waving.
Jack nodded, then turned back toward Hikaru, more precisely, toward the Fusion cards in his hands.
"Fusion monsters, huh…? So that's what brought you here, to collect the ones your world doesn't have.
And because you were strong enough to draw attention, you got targeted by an Earthbound Immortal. Tough luck, huh?"
Hikaru laughed lightly.
"What I'm after is the act of fusion itself, the process of combining what shouldn't coexist.
Coming to your world gave me the chance to see that firsthand. Of course I wasn't going to pass it up."
He slipped the cards neatly into his deck box, still smiling.
"As for the cost… that's not something I worry about."
Jack started to respond, but then noticed one of the children beginning to wake.
He decided to let it go, tossing a small card case toward Hikaru instead.
Hikaru caught it with one hand and flipped it open.
"That's an Upper-City access pass," Jack said.
"I don't know how you got past Sector Security the first time, but even you can't move through the inner zones unnoticed.That pass'll get you into the city proper, works for one person only."
"Oh? Much appreciated!" Hikaru grinned, tucking the pass away."The police and medics should be on their way, right? Since Security's already after me, I'd better make myself scarce before they show up."
He already knew what he had to do next.
He'd found traces of Nightshroud's power here, and that meant his goal was clear: eliminate every remnant of Darkness left in this world and weaken it before it reached his own dimension.
And beyond that, there were two other matters he couldn't ignore: Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon, and Mudragon of the Swamp.
Those three objectives now defined his path.
Hikaru raised a hand in casual farewell and turned to leave.
Jack stood in silence for a moment, then called out,
"You have any other leads?"
Carly froze, blinking. As Jack turned to check the children again, she suddenly gasped.
"Wait, that reminds me! Back when I was covering that story at the criminal detention center, I saw people there with the same kind of black mark that guy had on his hand!"
Jack nodded slowly.
"The prison, huh…"
Not far away, Hikaru also nodded to himself, having overheard.
Looks like that's the next stop.