Swoosh...
The wind swept through the wasteland.
Hikaru, Gaia, Flame Swordsman, and Dark Flare Knight marched toward a massive circular colosseum. Behind them trailed a crowd of spirits, some fearful, others fanatically curious.
At the gate, two warrior guards spotted Gaia and leveled their swords at him.
A commanding voice echoed from inside the arena. "Let them in."
The guards immediately lowered their weapons, stood at attention, and saluted the sky. "Yes, Your Majesty, Light Monarch!"
Then, sneering, they stepped aside, eyeing Hikaru's group like they were walking corpses.
Inside the arena, mounted warriors were racing wildly. When Gaia stepped in, the riders gradually slowed, turning their gazes toward him, each wearing the same scornful grin.
The spirits following behind shrank back in terror.
"I thought you'd run away with your tail between your legs," said the same commanding voice.
Hikaru followed the sound to the top of the arena, where a massive warrior clad in gleaming gold armor reclined, chin resting on one hand, legs crossed, gazing down with amusement.
Huge.
Easily five or six meters tall!
"Kuraz... I won't flee until I've defeated you!" Gaia raised his spear, pointing it at the giant.
"Hmph... A human warrior? So you brought backup. Or is this the so-called 'Duelist who seeks the ultimate fusion'?"
"Exactly! This is my lord, an interdimensional warrior who will end your tyrannical rule!"
"Yet..." Kuraz's gaze shifted to the spirits behind Gaia. "It looks like only a few weaklings followed you. Where are the rest? Abandoned you, didn't they?"
"Hah. Whether they follow or not doesn't matter," Gaia retorted. "My mission is to free them, to show them the true glory of knighthood. If they'd rather find a peaceful place or even flee to other lands, that's perfectly fine!"
He truly didn't mind.
"Insolent fool. The Light Monarch already spared you once. How dare you defy him again!?" one of the knights beside Kuraz roared.
"Arrogant wretch. Light Monarch, allow me to..."
Kuraz waved him off and rose slowly. Under the knights' gaze, his body shrank down to human size.
And where his throne had stood, now there pulsed an ominous, black-tinged veil of light.
Light of Destruction.
So even here... It's everywhere, huh?
Compared to the original GX world, it was far stronger now.
"You won't escape this time, Gaia." Kuraz flicked his cloak.
"Escape? I've never run from you!" Gaia shot back. His body turned into blue light and merged into Hikaru's Deck. "This time... it ends!"
"Duel!"
[Light Monarch, LP: 4000]
[Amaki Hikaru, LP: 4000]
"My turn! Draw!" Kuraz declared.
Locking eyes with Hikaru, he asked, "Gaia says you're a Duelist who pursues ultimate fusion?"
"That's right," Hikaru answered confidently.
"Hmph. Completely different from me," Kuraz sneered. Raising his glowing Duel Disk, he declared, "My Deck doesn't need an Extra Deck. Forty cards are enough. Anything beyond that is unnecessary!"
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"For real, Hikaru? Is that kind of Deck even fun?" Tierra muttered with genuine curiosity.
Hikaru nodded.
Yeah. Monarch Decks really are like that.
"Monsters that require cooperation to exist are nothing but illusions, fragile and meaningless!" Kuraz pointed straight at Hikaru. "My Deck is built from knights who have climbed mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. You and your fragile fusions are no match for it!"
Hikaru's eyebrow twitched.
"I Normal Summon Eidos the Underworld Squire!"
A swirl of black mist appeared, and from it emerged a dark-armored knight, cloaked in swirling shadows.
[Eidos the Underworld Squire] Level 2│DARK│Spellcaster│800 ATK
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I gain an additional Tribute Summon this turn!"
"It's coming, my lord," Gaia's voice echoed in Hikaru's ear.
The Monarch assault!
"I tribute Eidos to Tribute Summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!"
BOOM!
Eidos dissolved into darkness, and the shadows ignited like hydrogen fuel, exploding into crimson flames. From the blaze strode a monarch clad in blazing red armor, his body wreathed in fire.
[Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch] Level 6│FIRE│Pyro│2400 ATK
"When this card is Tribute Summoned: randomly discard one card from my opponent's hand. If it's a monster, inflict damage equal to its Level x100!"
Seeing the card, Gaia couldn't help but remember... painful memories.
Last time, Kuraz burned away his Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, losing both his hand and 700 Life Points.
But this time was different.
Gaia chuckled.
Suddenly, one of Hikaru's cards ignited, turned into spectral flames, and was sent to the Graveyard.
Hikaru checked.
'Whew…'
Turns out it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Thestalos's effect only discards, the card was still in the Graveyard.
"Tch. A Spell Card? Lucky brat," Kuraz scoffed, seeing the discarded card's green border.
"Lucky?" Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "No. Not luck, because no matter which card you discarded, the result would be the same."
'!?' Kuraz blinked.
"Because right now, every single card in my hand is a Spell Card."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"No way!?"
The spirits on Hikaru's side shouted in disbelief.
On Kuraz's side, his knights and squires were equally baffled.
"Bro... did this guy just tell his opponent he bricked?"
"But he looks... super confident about it?"
"Wait..." Kuraz narrowed his eyes, recalling his previous duel with Gaia. "Could it be... like that guy said... You really are a Duelist who pursues ultimate fusion, so your Deck's crammed full of Fusion cards?!"
"You'll see soon enough," Hikaru smirked.
"Hah... arrogant, ignorant human." Kuraz glanced at his hand and sneered.
As long as he had this card, no matter how strong Hikaru's Fusion Monsters were, they'd be useless!
"I set one card. Turn end!"