First Strike

"Boom—Thud!"

Hikaru shielded his eyes from the light.

He and Chazz had been directly teleported, so the instant they landed, the surroundings felt dazzling.

As Hikaru recovered, he realized they were inside a massive "warehouse."

Though calling it a warehouse felt inferior—it was far beyond any average structure. You couldn't even see the edges. Only when looking upward could you barely spot a wall glowing green.

"Whirr, whirr—"

Red lights flickered across the hangar, echoing with mechanical sounds.

Chazz's older brother rubbed his head, groaning as he crawled out of his stasis pod. The dimensional transfer had left him queasy and close to vomiting.

From Duel Academy's end, Slade's team emerged slowly from their pod. Lights and cameras were set up, and the streaming began.

"It started!"

"Good luck, Chazz!"

"Should we really cheer? Isn't he the third son of the Princeton Group? He just needs to duel casually and he'll become one of our board members—"

"Don't say nonsense! That's THE Chazz!" Jaden snapped back.

"Besides, 'entertainment duelist' isn't even a real thing," Bastion folded his arms. "No way he'd accept that."

The students exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

After all, at their age, who really just did whatever their siblings said? Especially when it involved Dueling.

As chatter filled the air, Zane's expression suddenly changed. "Something's wrong!"

Lights flickered ominously, while in the hangar, massive crates began descending vertically like elevators. Some marked with "X," others with "A" or "Z," all color-coded and unclear in meaning.

Before anyone could make sense of it, the crates hit the ground with a thunderous crash and opened, revealing their contents.

Blue twin-cannon mechs: X-Head Cannon.

Red electric dragons: Y-Dragon Head.

Single-eyed treads speeding across the floor: Z-Metal Tank.

And many, many more robots appeared from the containers. Several X-Head Cannons locked their gazes on the intruders.

"It's the XYZ archetype," Chazz smiled. "Perfect. The cards Master once gave me. Hey, good to see you all—"

Seeing the familiar machines, Chazz relaxed slightly, stepping forward to greet them. But one of the X-Head Cannons suddenly lit up with red eyes, its cannons swiveling toward him and charging.

"INTRUDER DETECTED!"

"INTRUDER DETECTED!"

"INITIATING COMMUNICATION—COMMUNICATION FAILED!"

"ELIMINATE THE INTRUDER!"

"Watch out!" Hikaru shouted. "Captain!"

"Leave it to me!" Captain Crystal burst into action. The glittering diamond-clad knight appeared and raised a massive white crystal shield just in time to block the blast.

"Wha—?"

"This is dangerous!"

"It's a dimension hostile to outsiders!"

Everyone back at the Academy watching the stream turned pale.

"Light and Darkness Dragon!" Chazz called out.

In response, a mighty dragon burst forth from the shadows and radiance, soaring high and illuminating the surroundings with blazing white light.

The moment it appeared, the robots locked onto it, cannons aimed, ready to face off.

"Wait, X-Head Cannon! We mean no harm! We're dimensional travelers!" Chazz shouted.

He poured all his sincerity into his voice. Responding to his will, the Light and Darkness Dragon softened its glow.

The warm light bathed the robots, and after a moment, they began flashing various signals. Then came mechanical voices:

"COMMUNICATION."

"RE-EVALUATING."

"HUMAN IDENTITIES CONFIRMED: NOT PREVIOUS INTRUDERS."

With that, their hostility abated somewhat, though caution remained.

One robot rolled forward, scanned Hikaru and the others with blinking eyes, and spoke:

"INTRUDERS. STATE YOUR PURPOSE."

Chazz let out a breath.

Being targeted by so many cannons had been terrifying.

Slade, on the other hand, was shaken.

As a regular human, he'd never set foot in another dimension. He hadn't had much "awe" for them either—after all, his younger brother had traveled with them often. If Chazz could do it, why couldn't he?

But the moment they arrived, this dimension's residents gave him a proper welcome.

So this was a dimensional exploration?

Chazz does this regularly?

Chazz took a deep breath and had the Light and Darkness Dragon retreat. He stepped forward to X-Head Cannon.

"I am a duelist from another dimension, seeking the spirits' recognition."

"Beep? Beep?"

"Dimensional warrior?"

X-Head Cannon seemed surprised. After a moment of calculation and internal messaging, it nodded slightly. "ACCEPTED. HUMAN WARRIOR."

Chazz clenched his fist and cheered.

This was X-Head Cannon! A spirit tied to the card his Master had given him. Earning their acknowledgment would surely make his mentor proud!

"Chazz, don't forget! You're not allowed to use monsters with more than 500 ATK! That dragon is off-limits!" Slade shouted.

He didn't fully understand dueling, but even he could tell that the dragon had immense power and had scared the robots off.

It wouldn't be fair to bring it in.

Chazz shouted back. "Of course I know!"

"ONLY USE MONSTERS UNDER 500 ATK?" X-Head Cannon sounded displeased. "INSULT. TRIAL BECOMES COMBAT—"

"No, X-Head Cannon!" Chazz hurriedly explained. "I follow my brother's restrictions because I respect the duel!

True duelists press forward no matter the odds!

I will defeat you using only monsters under 500 ATK! Then you'll recognize me, won't you?!"

X-Head Cannon blinked twice.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the robots silently retracted their weapons and backed away, leaving X-Head Cannon alone.

"Quick, lights! Cameras! Get everything!" Slade barked orders.

Chazz sighed and glanced at Hikaru.

Message received.

Before this was streamed to the world, Hikaru had to go.

Hikaru nodded and turned to leave, heading off to explore.

"Wasn't he your helper?"

"Yeah, Lightning asked me to collect other cards for him," Hikaru casually made up an excuse.

"Chazz, don't get too greedy! You were allowed one assistant!"

"Hmph, big bro, a duelist should always be fearless!"

"Then come! Duel—"

"Hikaru, don't worry about me! I won't lose!" Chazz shouted with determined eyes.

Hikaru walked farther away, no longer listening to Slade.

This was the moment for faith.

His heart beat faster.

Until now, he had only reacted. This was his first time taking the initiative, actively seeking out whatever secrets Leo Akaba had left behind.

The robots' wariness, their hostility toward outsiders—those weren't natural. They'd clearly been attacked before. Their analysis even mentioned that Hikaru's group was "different."

That made things simpler.

He whispered twice.

"Hmph, calling my name now, are you? Very well. I still haven't forgiven that fool for comparing me to the Sacred Beasts—time to unleash divine punishment."

Tierra appeared beside Hikaru, eyes closed, staff raised. Puppet strings danced violently, forming a long thread in front of him.

"I can feel the aura of the Sacred Beasts. Hehe~" Tierra laughed softly.

"They have been here!"

'Perfect.'

Those goons had bullied others and harassed him for too long—Now it was his turn to show them what Fusion really meant!