This is not fusion

Dimitri.

Originally a student from Ra Yellow in the source material, he once lost to Syrus from Slifer Red. Unable to bear the "humiliation," he stole Yugi Muto's deck from an exhibition and challenged Jaden Yuki for a rematch, only to lose again.

After his defeat, he began mimicking Jaden and started using a HERO deck himself. He was quite the eccentric student.

His greatest strength wasn't his deck, but rather his extraordinary memory and analytical skills, which allowed him to perfectly wield any deck he got his hands on from the moment he received it.

Even more impressively, although he wasn't the top student of Ra Yellow, he could still pilot a deck like Yugi Muto's with absolute precision, never bricking!

When using Yugi's deck, he could nearly replicate Yugi's moves perfectly, a truly gifted duelist.

He wasn't the type with sky-high potential, but he had an incredibly high floor.

As a fellow student from Ra Yellow, Hikaru naturally wasn't meeting Dimitri for the first time. Truth be told, they were already quite familiar with each other.

He still sported that bizarre look: a scarf, hair done up just like the King of Games, and a yellow-and-white uniform that looked rather sharp.

While many students joined the Polymerization Club for its powerful cards, clearly, he did not need to.

After all, in the original, Dimitri already had the "Ancient Gear Golem," and there was no way he'd need to mooch off a deck that didn't even include it.

So the opponent was Dimitri? Thinking about it, it made sense.

Dimitri could bring out the full potential of any card. If he got his hands on the "King of Games' cards," it was only natural that the deck would become even stronger.

Moreover—

Hikaru recalled something.

In this world, there had never been an exhibition of the "King of Games' deck." It had instead been replaced by various events related to another dimension.

So he really didn't get the chance to steal any deck… which meant he probably hadn't copied Jaden and picked up HERO cards either, right?

Then what kind of deck would he use?

"Duelists, ready!" The instructor raised his hand.

"Duel!" (x2)

"Hahaha, Hikaru!" Dimitri burst into laughter, "I've been wanting to face you for a long time now!"

'Seriously?'

'Then why didn't you just say so before?'

Facing strong duelists provided Super Polymerization with better-quality energy to forge superior cards.

After six months of dueling, Hikaru had also realized that dueling against different types of duelists resulted in different card acquisitions. Barring cards like Winda, which were difficult to craft, most could be figured out in just three or four days.

Dimitri was also an exceptional student. If invited to duel, he certainly wouldn't refuse.

"My turn, draw!" Dimitri swiftly drew a card and proudly showed it to Hikaru. "Equip Spell, Future Fusion!"

'??' Hikaru blinked.

Professor Crowler had managed to obtain Time Fusion and Scrap Fusion for him, but this world's version of Future Fusion was still in transit. So seeing this card now was quite the surprise.

"Surprised, Hikaru?" Dimitri laughed triumphantly. "This is the ultimate power of Fusion that righteousness seeks! My Future Fusion is above yours!"

"You little punk—" Hikaru was taken aback. "Don't tell me you really—"

"I activate Future Fusion's effect. Select 1 Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck and send the designated Fusion Materials from my Deck to the Graveyard."

"I choose Labyrinth Tank from my Extra Deck, and send Giga-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier to the Graveyard for the Fusion Summon. This card is now equipped!"

"Fusion Summon, Labyrinth Tank!"

Bzzt bzzt bzzt—

A crimson version of the classic tank burst from the ground, emerging right before Hikaru.

He couldn't help but slap himself in the face.

[Labyrinth Tank] Level 7│DARK│Machine│2400 ATK

"See that, Hikaru? Your Future Fusion still needs to wait two turns for the future, but mine fuses in the present! That is the 'future'!" Dimitri boasted with pride.

From the audience stands, Chazz strolled up casually to his friends and greeted Jaden and the others.

"That guy Dimitri, he's using Amagi's deck today?" he asked offhandedly, like it was nothing new.

"Yep." Bastion shook his head onstage. "He's so talented, and yet... By the way, isn't Hikaru's deck filled with Fusion Spells unique to him? How would Dimitri even build that deck?"

"He probably combined cards from the Polymerization Club classmates," Alexis had a sharper eye. "Even though Hikaru pursues Fusion, he treats everyone else with respect. Ritual and Xyz users aren't looked down on. According to Zane, he gets along well with duelists from other dimensions too.

Even among Fusion-focused decks, it's only the older upperclassmen in the Polymerization Club and a few irrational students that he really dislikes."

"Sharp observation, Alexis."

Though they were curious about the 'monsters that stand before gods', they all had their own decks and playstyles, so they didn't enter the tournament. Instead, they just came to cheer for Hikaru as his support team.

Ever since that time, they were all locked in by Professor Banner, their bond had only deepened.

"If it's a duel between two Hikaru, that might actually be fun," Jaden said while leaning on the railing, cheering him on. "Hey Hikaru! You got this!"

"Ah, I got this!" Dimitri turned and shouted back at him directly.

"Uh—" Jaden slowly pulled his hand back, a bit confused.

"I set two cards face-down. Your move, Hikaru!" Dimitri ended his turn with a shout.

Hikaru rubbed his temples.

This was the first time he felt something during a duel that wasn't "passion," "rage," "joy," "pain," or "helplessness"...

But something utterly indescribable, strangely abstract, and wordlessly dumbfounding.

"Whatever—My turn, draw." Hikaru glanced at his hand. "Quick-Play Spell, Scrap Fusion. I banish your Fusion Materials from the Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon!"

"I Fusion Summon, Labyrinth Tank!"

A blue tank slowly rolled out from Hikaru's field, only to pause and emit a confused "beep beep beep" upon seeing its opponent.

'What the hell, boss? What are we even playing today?'

"Too naive, Hikaru!" Dimitri flipped his Set card. "Trap Card, Bottomless Trap Hole! When my opponent successfully Summons, Special Summons, or Flip Summons a monster with 1500 or more ATK, I can destroy and banish it!"

BOOM!

The freshly summoned tank didn't even get to crash into its target before the ground crumbled beneath it. It shattered into pieces and vanished from the field.

"That's not like a card Hikaru would use," Bastion wiped sweat from his forehead. "Really not very Fusion-themed..."

"How about it, Hikaru? Got anything else up your sleeve?!"

Hikaru lightly raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever—then, Continuous Spell, Brilliant Fusion."