A Simple Test

"Spell Card—Instant Fusion. I pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon a non-Effect Fusion Monster of Level 6 or lower from my Extra Deck."

Hikaru Amagi slid open his Extra Deck and pulled out a card, showing it to his opponent.

"I Special Summon Carboneddon!"

A frost-covered dinosaur roared as it leapt from the Extra Deck, trailing a gust of icy wind.

"Instant Fusion, huh?" Kokugawa blinked, tension loosening from his shoulders. For a moment, he had panicked when Hikaru shouted that iconic phrase—Fusion is the noblest form of summoning—fearing he might pull out some absurd card that didn't even exist in their dimension. Something like that Kaiba Seto guy from a video he'd watched—cards that looked like they broke the laws of physics, drawing five cards for free and laughing all the way to victory.

Compared to that, Instant Fusion was downright wholesome. Duelists in their world used it too, often as a quick way to line up high-Level monsters for XYZ plays.

"But a monster summoned with Instant Fusion can't attack and is destroyed at the end of the turn! What's the point?" he shouted toward Hikaru.

"That's not always true." Hikaru calmly revealed the second card in his hand.

"Spell Card—Metamorphosis."

"...What the hell?"

Kokugawa stared, dumbfounded.

"I tribute Carboneddon to Special Summon a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck of the same Level. I summon—Golden Homunculus!"

Golden Homunculus – Level 6 / DARK / Zombie / ATK: 2200.

"That monster can attack now... but its ATK is still lower than mine."

"Equip Spell—Necro Replica."

Watching from Duel Academy, the students burst into laughter. Those who had seen this combo before, like Jaden Yuki, were especially amused.

"Haha! Isn't that the same combo Hikaru used during his Fusion Department trial? Instant Fusion + Metamorphosis + Necro Replica! Classic Hikaru stuff!"

"Necro Replica's effect activates!" Hikaru announced. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Doppler Token whose Type, Attribute, and ATK are the same as the equipped monster."

Doppler Token – Level 5 / DARK / Zombie / ATK: 2200.

"Battle! Golden Homunculus attacks Evilswarm Bahamut!"

"My monster still has higher ATK!"

"Necro Replica's second effect! When the equipped monster declares an attack, the opponent's monster loses ATK equal to the equipped monster's ATK!"

Bahamut ATK: 2350 → 150

CRASH—

The golden beast's twin tusks shattered the demonic dragon's armor.

Haruto Kokugawa LP: 4000 → 2050

"Doppler Token attacks—"

"Trap Card, XYZ Rebirth! I target an XYZ monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it! Then this card becomes an Overlay Unit for it!"

Evilswarm Bahamut returned to the field, swirling with black mist and a fresh Overlay Unit.

"Attack canceled. I end my Battle Phase."

"Ah—such a shame!" Jaden pouted from the lounge.

"It's expected," Bastion nodded. "We don't know much about Kokugawa's actual skill level, but as the first-year representative of a dueling academy, he won't go down that easily."

"If that were Yuugo from back then, the duel would be over already," Syrus added wistfully.

...Only to shiver as though someone—or something—was glaring daggers at him.

Hikaru glanced at his hand and set two cards.

"I end my turn. You're up."

"Phew, scared me for a second there." Haruto wiped the sweat from his brow, then turned to the cameras on his side of the arena. He struck a few dramatic poses, waving both hands toward his home crowd.

"Don't worry, everyone! That was just me warming up. Now it gets serious!"

"My turn! Draw!" He turned back to the duel, wiping his forehead again.

"Man, I really thought you were about to OTK me just now."

"To be honest, we have Fusion Summoning in our world too. But you're the first one I've seen shouting that 'Fusion is noble' nonsense... So let me show you—Fusion is outdated!

XYZ Summoning is far stronger than you can imagine!"

"I activate Bahamut's effect! I detach one Overlay Unit to target your Golden Homunculus and discard Evilswarm Ketos from my hand to take control of it!"

ZRRRRRRRMMM—

The homunculus roared in resistance but was quickly engulfed in dark energy, subdued, and claimed by Haruto's side of the field.

"Next, I Normal Summon a second Rescue Rabbit!"

"A second one?" Hikaru raised a brow. "Don't tell me... your deck runs a lot of Normal Monsters?"

"Of course!" Haruto grinned. "I banish Rescue Rabbit to Special Summon two Level 4 Normal Monsters from my Deck—Luminous Abyss!"

"So that's your angle..." Hikaru muttered.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I just realized something." Hikaru glanced at his opponent, the weight in his heart lightening. The vague sense of danger he'd felt since the duel began... was fading.

His opponent wasn't using XYZ mechanics—he was leaning on them. Just relying on their raw power.

Which, to be fair, was pretty common. In the Fusion Department, plenty of students were there simply because they thought Fusion was strong.

Clearly, Haruto, born and raised in the Xyz Dimension, had easier access to XYZ Monsters and had grown to look down on other summoning styles.

"Let me show you something," Hikaru said, flipping his Set card.

"Trap Card—Flame Swords Dance."

"I use this card often. It allows me to Special Summon a Flame Swordsman Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck whenever my opponent Special Summons. It also disrupts the field, so I run three copies."

"...Why are you explaining your strategy mid-duel?" Haruto asked, bewildered.

"The reason's simple. I respect Fusion. I revere it. I consider it the noblest form of summoning in existence. But..."

Hikaru looked him dead in the eye.

"I also fear XYZ. The ability to Summon without a Fusion Spell—it's powerful, no doubt.

But between Fusion and XYZ, there is a chasm that cannot be crossed."

"I Special Summon Flame Swordsman!" Hikaru declared.

"Then, Flame Swords Dance activates again—I flip one of your Luminous Abyss monsters face-down!"

"Ah—!" Haruto's eyes widened.

Face-down monsters couldn't be used as XYZ materials!