Fusion to the Very End!

"I set one card and end my turn." Hikaru glanced at his hand and set a card before looking at his opponent.

"Hmph." Max inhaled deeply.

He hadn't expected that someone using only Fusion like Hikaru could stand toe-to-toe with him even under the effect of Non-Fusion Area.

But that didn't mean he was afraid.

After all, even without the Non-Fusion Area, he was still a solid Duelist.

"My turn. Draw."

He glanced at his hand and laughed. "Alright, Amaki Hikaru, let's see what other tricks you've got."

"I activate the Spell Card, "A" Cell Recombination Device." He sneered.

"Looks like your Special Summoned Fusion Monster, and the trouble you went through to avoid those counters, were all for nothing," he declared. "This targets one face-up monster on the field. I send one Alien monster from my Deck to the Graveyard, then place A-Counters equal to that monster's Level on the target."

"I send Alien Mother to the Graveyard, she's Level 6!"

"That means your Crimson Sunbird gets 6 A-Counters!"

Black alien cells surged from the ground, swarming Crimson Sunbird while it tried to escape, yet couldn't avoid the encroaching corruption.

"Six counters. What does that actually do?" Bastion stared at the Fusion Monster, now covered in strange biomatter.

"I don't know, but seeing how confident that pro looks, there must be a hidden effect."

"Heh, let me show you!" Max raised his hand. "First, Continuous Spell Code A Ancient Ruins' effect: I remove 2 A-Counters from Crimson Sunbird to Special Summon Alien Mother from the Graveyard!"

"Ah! You can even Special Summon high-Level monsters like that?!" Jaden exclaimed.

A strange, otherworldly shriek filled the air as with maniacal laughter, a feminine alien lifeform appeared on Max's field.

[Alien Mother] Level 6│DARK│Reptile│2300 ATK

"Same Attack as Crimson Sunbird!"

"I'm not done yet! I remove two more A-Counters from Crimson Sunbird to Special Summon Alien Overlord from my hand!"

Following the four-armed Alien Mother came a six-armed alien behemoth clad in armor that crashed onto the field from space.

[Alien Overlord] Level 6│DARK│Reptile│2200 ATK

"This card can be Special Summoned by removing two A-Counters from the field!"

"He Special Summoned two high-Level monsters in one turn?!"

"That pro Duelist wasn't bluffing," Chazz muttered in surprise.

"Still, their ATK is the same as Crimson Sunbird's." Bastion hesitated. "Hikaru should be able to survive this turn."

"Foolish!" Max raised his head and laughed. "Alien Overlord's effect activates! Once per turn, it places one A-Counter on all face-up monsters my opponent controls!"

Crimson Sunbird, nearly freed from its infestation, was suddenly overwhelmed again as more alien cells burst onto its body.

"Now it's over! As long as Alien Overlord is on the field, when a monster with A-Counters battles an Alien monster, its ATK and DEF drop by 300 per counter!"

"What?!"

"So the counters are not only used for summoning, they also weaken monsters?!"

"If this attack goes through, Hikaru loses!"

"Ohohooo."

The Tyler Sisters looked toward Hikaru with intrigue.

Was this the end?

If this was all he had, he couldn't be their match.

"Battle! Alien Mother, Attack."

"Wait."

Max froze mid-command, nearly falling forward.

"I activate my set card: Quick-Play Spell, Gladiator Beast United."

"!!" Max was stunned. "That's the Gladiator Beast Fusion Spell!"

"But Non-Fusion Area is still on the field!" he shouted, pointing to his Continuous Trap.

"Yeah, he's right," Jaden murmured. "You can't Fusion Summon with that in play."

"Even as a contact method, Gladiator Beast United shouldn't work, right?"

"Uhh." Bastion didn't have an answer and looked toward Hikaru.

He knew Hikaru would explain.

"Heh." Hikaru chuckled. "You guys have it wrong. While it is a Fusion Spell, and the monster enters properly from the Extra Deck, things like Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, VW-to-VWXYZ, and Gladiator Beasts aren't considered Fusion Summons."

"Huh?"

"Using monsters on the field as materials and Special Summoning a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck this way is called Fusion, or 'combination' in a broader sense, still, it's not 'Fusion Summon'. The monsters are treated as materials, but not for a Fusion Summon."

"Wait, what?"

It sounded like a tongue-twister. Syrus got dizzy. Only Bastion understood immediately, while even Chazz had to mouth it over again.

"Interesting." Aster Phoenix murmured. "So it's a matter of rule interpretation?"

"Exactly. These special Fusion Monsters follow unique summoning conditions. Gladiator Beast United's effect: during either player's Battle Phase, return Fusion Materials listed for a "Gladiator Beast" Fusion Monster from your hand, field, or Graveyard to the Deck, then Special Summon that monster, ignoring summoning conditions!"

"I return Gladiator Beast Darius and Bestiari from my hand to the Deck!

Come forth—

Pride of the Gladiators!

Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!"

[Gladiator Beast Gyzarus] Level 6│DARK│Winged Beast│2400 ATK

"You should know what it does, Fusion Army guy."

"Ugh... damn..." Max cursed.

"When Gyzarus is Special Summoned, target up to two cards on the field and destroy them."

"Nice! If he destroys both monsters, he wins right now!" Aster whispered.

"I destroy Alien Overlord and Non-Fusion Area!"

Gyzarus flapped its wings, unleashing a shockwave that blew away the Trap Card and the six-armed alien.

"What?!" Everyone gasped.

He could've destroyed both monsters and attacked directly to win!

Suddenly, they paused and understood.

"Interesting." Even Max laughed. "So that's all you wanted, even in the end?"

"Then show me your Fusion."

He slammed his Duel Disk. "Turn end!"

"If you don't win this turn, I'll use Code A Ancient Ruins next turn to revive Alien Overlord with the two remaining counters. You won't stand a chance."

"No such outcome." Hikaru drew his card and smiled. "Here it comes. Continuous Spell: Scatter Fusion!

This can only be activated while my opponent controls monsters: I send Fusion Materials from my Deck to the Graveyard and perform a Fusion Summon of a non-Rock Gem-Knight Fusion Monster."

"Whoa! He actually drew it!"

"He Fusion Summoned! Amazing!"

The Tyler Sisters forgot their sides, thrilled to see Fusion in action.

"Even now, Hikaru still sticks to Fusion!" Jaden cheered.

"Even while limited, even sealed, even with a chance to win another way, he stays true to his path! That's our Hikaru." Chazz nodded in admiration.

Aster calmly shut his phone.

'Sartorius, looks like I didn't misread things. Destiny brought me here.'

'Fascinating.'

"This is it. I send Gem-Knight Crystal and Gem-Knight Tourmaline to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon—

Gem-Knight Prismaura!"

[Gem-Knight Prismaura] Level 7│EARTH│Thunder│2450 ATK

"Battle, Fusion Monsters!"

The bird shrieked, lightning boomed, and under a storm of fire and thunder, Max's Life Points hit 0.