"My turn!"
Commander Morishima glared at Hikaru Amagi, forcing down the chill creeping up his spine.
He knew Professor Leo Akaba had issued an internal bounty on Hikaru — ordering that anyone encountering him in the alternate dimensions should capture him immediately — but he'd never seen Hikaru duel before. Only heard rumors, heard of that name, and the broad description: a pure Fusion-based deck user.
But now, seeing it firsthand — the sinister purple marionette threads coiling around Hikaru — Morishima understood.
This wasn't just arrogance.
Hikaru had the weight to back it up.
Still... Morishima was no weakling either.
He had been a serious contender for valedictorian back at Duel Academy's Obelisk Blue.
"Draw!"
He whipped a card from his deck, glanced at it — and smirked.
"I activate the Continuous Spell — Spell Absorption!"
A magic circle flared on the field, shimmering green.
"A Continuous Spell?"
The marionette strings around Hikaru stirred restlessly. They writhed and twisted upward, gathering into a gigantic ethereal staff. Tiara — his duel spirit companion — materialized beside him, her voice light with interest.
"Looks like the same trick from before," she murmured.
Hikaru just nodded calmly.
"As long as this card is on the field, every time either player activates a Spell Card, I gain 500 Life Points," Morishima declared.
"And next... I activate another Continuous Spell — Dark Designator!"
A massive black stone slab rose behind Morishima, shaking the ceiling and raining dust down from the rafters.
"Whoa, what is that card?"
Tiara blinked, intrigued.
"I've never seen a student carry something like that."
"It's a gambling card," Hikaru said.
"Maybe someone like Damon would use it?"
He recalled a Duelist obsessed with drawing cards against Jaden — though in this world, Hikaru had never personally faced him.
Morishima sneered.
"Thanks to Spell Absorption, I recover another 500 Life Points!"
Morishima — LP: 4000 → 4500.
"And now, I activate Dark Designator's effect:
I pay 500 Life Points, declare a card name, then reveal the top card of my deck.
If it matches, I add it to my hand — if not, it's sent to the Graveyard."
Morishima — LP: 4500 → 4000.
"Isn't that just pure luck?"
Tiara frowned.
"Why not just use Pot of Greed?"
"Hmph.
Ignorant duel spirit. Stay silent!" Morishima snapped.
Tiara clenched her tiny fists.
Oh, you're begging to be ripped apart.
If this weren't an official duel, she might have turned him into a soggy puppet already.
Morishima placed his hand atop his deck, closed his eyes, and golden sparks began to dance around him.
Then, with a sharp exhale, he snapped his eyes open.
"I can see it! My top card — Frontline Base!"
He flipped the top card of his deck — and sure enough, there it was.
"Frontline Base."
"No way!"
Tiara gasped.
"Did he just... predict the future?"
"No..." Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
"Looks like he really was top of his class."
Duel Academy taught its students the art of "drawing" — a spiritual connection between a duelist's heart and their deck. In this world where cards responded to a user's will, that wasn't fantasy — it was skill.
And for Morishima to pull it off so cleanly meant he hadn't been boasting — he was truly one of the elite.
This wasn't some grunt.
This was a genuine monster.
High Spirit Affinity.
Sharp card-sensing intuition.
And the control of Hammon, Lord of Striking Thunder.
No wonder he was confident.
"I activate a second Dark Designator!"
He slapped another stone tablet onto the field.
"I declare — Y-Dragon Head!"
He reached for his deck again, shouting.
The top card flipped, revealing a battered, sparking Y-Dragon Head — visibly damaged, struggling against invisible restraints.
"And I'm not done!
I activate the Continuous Spell Frontline Base — gaining 500 Life Points!"
Morishima — LP: 4000 → 4500.
"And using Frontline Base's effect, I Normal Summon X-Head Cannon!
Then Special Summon Y-Dragon Head from my hand!"
Two limp, sparking machines — battered shadows of their original selves — materialized on Morishima's side of the field.
Tiara's happy mood soured.
She had been thrilled to arrive in a Machine Dimension, thrilled to help Hikaru hunt down the Sacred Beasts.
But this?
Seeing these mechanical spirits — battered, enslaved, twisted for human greed — it disgusted her.
She swept her gaze around, noting the scattered remains of dismantled spirits, and the Allied Doctor furtively guarding a strange device near the wall.
So that's what he's trying to protect...
She made a note, but stayed silent for now.
"With X and Y on the field," Morishima crowed,
"I can now Fusion Summon directly from my Extra Deck!"
"Combine X-Head Cannon and Y-Dragon Head!"
The two warped machines disassembled, their parts interlocking and twisting into a new form.
XY-Dragon Cannon,
Level 6, LIGHT Machine-Type, ATK 2200.
"I Set one card facedown and end my turn!"
"Nice!"
The Allied Doctor clapped excitedly.
Even as a non-Duelist, he could recognize it: Morishima had boosted his Life Points, summoned a 2200 Attack monster, and stacked the field with four Continuous Spells.
A stable opening, no question.
"But why not just summon Hammon straight away?"
The Doctor frowned.
He knew Hammon could crush anything instantly — even spirit assaults couldn't break through it.
Wasn't that the easier way to win?
Morishima offered no explanation.
He simply stared coldly at Hikaru, plotting.
"Mmm, this opening isn't bad," Tiara admitted reluctantly.
"This guy's a real graduate."
She had been studying dueling closely. Seeing this setup, she understood the logic:
"He's stockpiling Life Points now.
Next turn, he'll refill his hand — and summon Hammon with overwhelming force."
"He's cautious," Hikaru agreed.
"Still rational.
Not completely corrupted by the Sacred Beasts' power."
Which meant...
It was time to destroy him before he fell any further.
Hikaru calmly drew a card — a flicker of violet gleaming in his eyes.
"Hmph... I summon Elemental HERO Prisma!"