Beyond Expectations!

"Hmph…" Max glanced at the cards in his hand, raising an eyebrow.

"I admit, bypassing 'Fusion Prohibition Zone' and Special Summoning a Fusion Monster directly is quite impressive. But how many times can you pull off something like that? Besides... do you really think you could beat me even without that card blocking your plays?"

"Also, I'll leave this on the field—Continuous Spell Card, Ancient Ruins: Code A." He inserted the card into his Duel Disk. A giant metallic gate materialized behind him, glowing with indecipherable alien symbols. It resembled a pathway into the unknown.

"Heh, turn end."

A glance from Aster Phoenix.

Max, huh?

The name sounded intimidating, but Aster had never seen this guy in the professional circuit.

Or rather, the guy probably didn't have much of a win streak.

But that was normal. The pro scene was cutthroat. If you weren't constantly evolving or getting results, you'd get targeted—relentlessly.

Aster himself kept swapping decks regularly to stay off the radar, which contributed to his undefeated streak and reputation. But he understood the brutality of the pro circuit better than most.

There, no one played for "passion" or "justice." You dueled for sponsors. For money. The priority was not always to win—it was to make others lose, especially if they represented a rival corporation.

Given what Reiji Akaba had told him—about Hikaru Amagi being a pure-blooded Fusion Duelist striving for perfection—it made sense for someone like Max to be using anti-Fusion tech.

Yet even under those restrictions, Hikaru had still managed to summon a Fusion Monster.

Impressive.

Aster had to admit it, even if it was just in his heart.

No, wait—he caught himself.

Why was he spending so much time thinking about this?

He shook his head.

Damn it, Reiji. Why couldn't you have used your divination powers to warn me about this encounter instead of just predicting Duel outcomes!?

"What's with that ruins card, though?" Chazz Princeton frowned, turning to Bastion Misawa.

"Eh… even I'm not sure." Bastion looked a bit embarrassed. "From what I've heard, pro duelists sometimes use obscure or low-profile archetypes to avoid counters."

That made sense. After all, very few people ever built Reptile decks, especially Alien archetypes. Even Bastion hadn't studied them deeply—his time was limited, and they were rarely discussed in class.

Even for Hikaru, back in his world, remembering Alien support cards was a stretch. Remembering "A-Counters" at all was impressive.

That was the power of rogue decks: information advantage.

Hikaru shrugged and drew his card. "That's a support Spell for the Alien archetype."

"Wait, Alien is an archetype?" said Syrus Truesdale, blinking.

"I thought that thing was just a standalone Reptile card…"

Hikaru knew they'd say that. Sliding his card into the Duel Disk, he spoke calmly: "Ancient Ruins: Code A gains an A-Counter whenever a face-up 'Alien' monster is destroyed. Once per turn, you can remove two A-Counters from anywhere on the field to Special Summon an 'Alien' monster from the GY."

"Wow… Hikaru-kun even knows this stuff?" Syrus gasped.

The Taylor Sisters exchanged looks. One of the Fusion Army soldiers clenched his fist, reluctantly muttering, "As much as I hate to admit it, that's always been his style. Hikaru Amagi's obsessed with mastering Fusion, so he learns everything there is to know about every card—so he can truly reach the pinnacle of Fusion."

"So interesting, sister," said Grace Taylor.

"Hah, we won't be bored at the main academy after all," replied Gloria with a grin.

"I activate Spell Card, Fusion Deployment." Hikaru nonchalantly placed a card on his Disk. "Reveal 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck. Then, add 1 of its listed materials from my Deck or GY to my hand. But for the rest of this turn, I can't Summon or activate effects of that monster or any monsters with the same name."

He revealed Gladiator Beast Gyzarus.

"Adding Gladiator Beast Bestiari to hand."

"Gladiator Beasts?" Max scoffed. "Those were discovered by our Fusion Army. And what good is Bestiari if you can't even Summon it this turn? Not to mention—my Fusion Prohibition Zone is still in play!"

Hikaru arched an eyebrow.

This guy really doesn't understand Fusion…

"Battle Phase. Black Flame Swordsman attacks Alien Warrior!"

The flaming knight's sword cleaved through the grotesque reptilian alien.

Max LP: 4000 → 3600

"When Alien Warrior is destroyed by battle, it places 2 A-Counters on the monster that destroyed it. And 1 counter goes on Ancient Ruins: Code A!"

Beep—

A faint glyph pulsed to life on the ruins card, while two swirling black orbs latched onto Hikaru's Swordsman.

"Ugh, Master—this thing is creepy," the knight muttered, trying to shake the gunk off.

"Two A-Counters…" Bastion's eyes narrowed. "Now I get it. With that setup, Max can revive Alien monsters every turn—and keep stacking more counters."

"Exactly! This is the power of Alien invaders! Undying warriors from another world!" Max laughed.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

"I activate Unexpected Mutation." He didn't waste breath on explanations.

"I tribute 1 monster on my field to Special Summon a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck with the same Level."

"Black Flame, take five."

"Sorry, Master." The knight dropped his flaming blade and dissolved into shadow. In his place, a blazing crimson bird spiraled onto the field with a screech.

"Special Summon—Inferno Fire Blast Phoenix!"

Inferno Fire Blast Phoenix – Level 6, FIRE, Winged Beast, ATK 2300

"Whoa!" "Nice move!"

"Not only did he remove the A-Counters, but he summoned another Fusion Monster without fusing!?" The Taylor Sisters glanced at each other in awe.

"Tch…" Max clicked his tongue.

"Again with these non-Fusion Fusion Monsters…"

He was starting to sweat.

This wasn't at all going how he'd imagined.