Black Luster Soldier as Fusion Material?

"I'll go first. My turn, draw!"

Bastion quickly drew a card, glanced at it, and smiled.

"Hikaru, I should thank you."

"Thank me?" Hikaru blinked. He hadn't given Bastion anything unusual; in fact, he often purposely got his name wrong. "Interesting. What do you mean, Rex?"

"I used to rotate decks all the time, building different ones to counter different people. But watching you Duel made me realize what I lacked.

That is: conviction."

Hikaru's eyes narrowed.

"Until now, I never held firm to one belief. But now, Hikaru, I want you to witness my new Deck!"

"Wow, Bastion's really fired up today," Jaden leaned in, intrigued.

"Hey, don't block everyone else!" Chazz shouted, then added, "Bastion was basically a bystander during the Seven Stars Incident. He must be unhappy with that."

"Why are all the boys suddenly so fired up?" Alexis sighed.

"I summon in Attack Position, Mathematician!"

A white-bearded man with sunglasses and a staff materialized.

[Mathematician] Level 3 | EARTH | Spellcaster | 1500 ATK

Hikaru arched a brow.

It was a Spirit card.

"When this card is Summoned, I can send 1 Level 4 or lower monster from my Deck to the Graveyard." He flipped open his Deck, and it auto-ejected a card by instinct. "I send Carboneddon to the Grave."

"Under pressure over the years, carbon becomes something else. I banish Carboneddon to activate its effect.

Special Summon 1 Level 7 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck!"

"I Special Summon Hyozanryu!"

From black coal to gleaming crystal, the black-scaled dragon transformed into a dazzling diamond beast.

[Hyozanryu] Level 7 | LIGHT | Dragon | 2800 DEF

Hikaru glanced at Carboneddon.

'So it was that version of Carboneddon.'

They'd never dueled before, so he never knew what Bastion's deck looked like.

"I set one card. Turn end!"

"Hmm. A 1500 ATK and 2800 DEF monster off one card? Pretty strong," a student muttered.

"That's insanely strong!"

"But after watching Hikaru's Duels, this kind of field seems normal now?"

Still, it was impressive.

To Hikaru, the real strength was the low hand cost, meaning hidden potential.

4300 combined stats also guaranteed that even if LP were lost, it wouldn't hurt much.

Nonetheless, Hikaru glanced at his hand and smirked.

"My turn. Draw!" He drew and peeked at it, then said to him. "Bastion, if that's all, I don't see much conviction.

So your set card, that must be your true resolve, huh?"

Bastion only smiled.

"Then I won't hold back.

Field Spell, Fusion Recycling Plant!"

Ting ting tang, clinks and clangs.

The duel platform transformed as machinery and equipment materialized everywhere. Robots flew through the arena, scanning for data.

"I discard Metalfoes Fusion from my hand to activate Recycling Plant's effect. I add Polymerization from my Deck or GY to my hand!"

Bastion frowned slightly.

"Polymerization?"

"He didn't choose De-Fusion or Fusion Substitute to recover combos, he added straight Polymerization?"

"Which means..."

Friends exchanged shocked glances.

Hikaru was seriously fusing today!

"I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization!"

Today, Hikaru's version was an alternate art Polymerization.

"Fusion Materials: Dark Magician and a 'Chaos' Ritual Monster!"

He revealed his hand. "I use The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion to replace Dark Magician, then fuse it with Black Luster Soldier from my hand!"

"Black Luster Soldier!!!"

"No way!!"

"Isn't that the strongest warrior ever?!"

The crowd jumped from their seats. Even Professor Sartyr leaned in to glimpse the legendary card.

Black Luster Soldier!

"One power leads to light, one to darkness!" Hikaru drew a deep breath and slammed his hands together. "When light and dark intertwine, CHAOS descends!

Appear now!

Level 8, Master of Chaos!"

A spellcaster clad in jet-black armor slowly descended from the void.

[Master of Chaos] Level 8 | DARK | Spellcaster | 3000 ATK

"C-Chaos, what?!"

Though it wasn't the first time they'd seen the Master of Chaos, the last time Hikaru used Metamorphosis to summon it. This time was real Fusion.

And one of the materials was Black Luster Soldier!

"He actually owns Black Luster Soldier?!" Students buzzed in shock, while Ritual Duelist Alexis was already dizzy.

That was one of the rarest cards ever!

Meanwhile, yesterday Hikaru said his luck sucked!

That card's collector value alone was beyond a student's budget!

The crowd exploded with chatter. Even anti-Fusion Club students from the Polymerization Club craned their necks to see.

But now, it had become something else.

"Master of Chaos's effect! If Fusion Summoned: Target 1 LIGHT or DARK monster in your GY and Special Summon it!"

"Return to me, The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion!"

Various materials converged, reforming into a strange, orb-bodied creature.

[The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion] Level 3 | DARK | Rock | 1000 ATK

"Master of Chaos, attack Hyozanryu!"

He raised his sword, swung lightly, and Hyozanryu shattered before it could react.

"Ugh!" Bastion winced at the pressure.

Black Luster Soldier, the mythical warrior card! Even a 2800 DEF wall was nothing!

Hikaru glanced at his hand.

"I activate Metalfoes Fusion in the GY: return it to the Deck, then draw 1 card."

He drew. "I set 1 card. Turn end."

"End Phase, I activate Fusion Recycling Plant! Target 1 Fusion Material used this turn in your GY and add it to my hand!"

Hikaru raised his Duel Disk arm.

Ding ding!

A small drone buzzed over with a tray, gently returning a card to his hand.

"Wow, that's the Black Luster Soldier!"

"So shiny! So cool!"

The audience forgot it was a test. Even Duelists, farther, at other tables stopped mid-duel.

That's how powerful the legend of BLS was.

"Black Luster Soldier is that popular?" Jaden scratched his head.

"Why aren't you shocked?" Chazz scowled. "Ah, right. You're a HERO-idiot. You probably don't get what BLS means to other Warrior Duelists."

'Yeah.'

Jaden leaned back, arms folded.

He had been excited the first time he saw BLS. But after witnessing the original BLS, Hikaru's copy didn't hit the same.

Still, he wasn't the type to brag, so he just watched curiously.

"My turn." Bastion smiled as he drew. "As expected, Hikaru. That's just like you.

Even with a legendary card like BLS, you still use it as Fusion material. You never abandon your core belief. And that's something I never used to do.

But now;

That's all in the past!"

He widened his eyes and pressed a button.

"Because now, I'm aiming for a new realm!"

"Draw, I activate the Continuous Trap: Ultimate Offering!"

"As long as this is face-up, I can pay 500 LP to perform an additional Normal Summon!"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

'Wow, a banned card.'

Without hesitation, Bastion revealed his card.

"I Normal Summon: Chemicritter Carbo Crab!"