A Twist Toward Destruction

"A splendid Duel."

After his Life Points hit zero, Max dodged the illusionary impact and let out a sigh.

"No way. That Amagi Hikaru actually defeated a pro Duelist?!" One Fusion Army student covered their mouth in disbelief.

"What's so strange about that?" Gloria's eyes gleamed with a predatory interest as she locked her gaze on Hikaru.

Her silver-haired sister, Grace, smiled elegantly. "Pros are still Duelists. And as Duelists, of course, they can lose."

"Besides, Max was only here to escort us on our tour." Gloria retracted her gaze and chuckled lightly.

Meanwhile, Max had already walked up to Hikaru. Jaden and the others were still cheering for Hikaru's win when Max reached out his hand.

Hikaru understood and shook it politely.

"Fusion till the end, huh. I used to believe in that, too." A hint of nostalgia crossed Max's face. "But in the pro scene, you're constantly countered. In the end, for the sake of the company, I had to give up Fusion and constantly change tactics."

"That's understandable. I get it." Hikaru didn't blame him. Everyone had their own paths—As long as you weren't a fraud, Hikaru didn't mind if someone couldn't stick with Fusion.

Even if Max was a pro Duelist from the Fusion Army, he had obviously never been fully committed to Fusion from the start, and Hikaru didn't see anything wrong with that.

"Actually, recently I've been considering trying Xyz Summoning. Many Alien monsters use quick Special Summons and can easily bring out same-Level monsters." Max glanced toward the Fusion Army. "That said, in our world, Xyz Summoning seems impossible, so I gave up on that too."

'He considered learning Xyz?!'

That surprised Hikaru.

Max took a deep breath.

Hikaru's unwavering pursuit of Fusion reminded him of his own student days. Back then, he simply loved Fusion, while the Fusion Club at the time wasn't anything like the current Polymerization Club.

At the very start, it was just a small hobby club.

Until one day, Professor Leo Akaba suddenly changed direction and requested a Dimensional Gate from KaibaCorp.

That was the beginning of the transformation into the current Polymerization Club.

He didn't know if Professor Akaba had planned it all from the beginning, or if something happened to spark that shift.

Even so, ever since then, Akaba's ambition had only grown—A single academy's Fusion Army wasn't enough for him—he began spreading into branch campuses, and there were even whispers he was expanding operations into alternate dimensions.

Anyhow, that was no longer Max's concern.

The pro scene wasn't as glamorous as it seemed—Just protecting yourself from a losing streak was already exhausting. Plus, he didn't have the energy to study new systems.

Besides, he hadn't seen Leo Akaba in ages. As a pro Duelist backed by the Fusion Army, Max had reaped their resources and had no right to challenge the current state.

He came today just to help escort the Tyler Sisters and maybe find Aster Phoenix.

His original mission from Professor Akaba was to bring Aster Phoenix directly to the Fusion Army. Yet, things clearly didn't go as planned.

It was odd. The professor had said he only needed to escort him away, so why had it turned into this mess?

Max tried to speak with Aster again, but the latter coughed twice and said he came to visit after hearing there was a strong Fusion club. Then, when he saw that Max didn't use any Fusion monsters, he was clearly at a loss.

'What a shame.' Max knew then and there that his mission had failed.

He had no right to force Aster, since in the pro world, Aster was someone Max had to look up to. And just from looking at him, Max could tell—this wasn't hesitation, Aster had already made up his mind.

'Sigh... Should've brought a Fusion deck.'

"Oh, right. Here, take this."

"Non-Fusion Area? Senpai, I'm not going to use this card." Hikaru frowned as he saw the card.

"Take it as a token of respect from a senior. Who knows, maybe you'll need it someday." Max shoved the card into Hikaru's hand.

"Uhh..." Hikaru looked at it, unsure when he'd ever use it, but since it had the word "Fusion" on it, he figured it couldn't hurt to hold on to it.

"Amagi Hikaru, you're quite interesting." Gloria walked over with the rest of the Fusion Army, fixing her gaze on him.

"After watching your Duel, both my sister and I are quite excited."

Seeing the steel-hearted sisters approach, without arrogance or dismissal, Hikaru couldn't read their intentions. He probed cautiously, "And you are?"

"Gloria Tyler."

"Grace Tyler."

"The strongest Fusion Duelist tag team."

"No one can stand before us."

They said in unison confidently—No, with arrogance.

"What? A Tag Duel team? Count me in!" Jaden shouted as soon as he heard the words—There was no way he'd let Hikaru face a tag match alone!

"Uh, I..." Bastion opened his mouth.

"Hahaha! No way we're letting you take this one, Jaden! Let me handle it!" Chazz pulled out his Deck. "I just upgraded mine—been looking for a worthy test!"

"So, um—" Bastion tried to interject again, but the Tyler Sisters were already shaking their heads.

"We're just here to say hello today."

Gloria pointed behind her with her thumb. "We're students from Duel Academy's American branch—the Fusion Army. This was just a tour. Next term, we'll be transferring here."

"And then, there'll be plenty of chances," Grace added with a serene smile. "When the time comes, we look forward to seeing how well you live up to the title of Fusion Duelists."

With one sister laughing heartily and the other softly, they turned and left. Max followed, less like a leader and more like their escort.

"Shino, next time something like this happens, my advice is to jump in early to claim a spot," Hikaru said to Bastion. "Just like I did back when we fought the vampires."

A vein popped on Bastion's forehead as he clenched a fist.

"Haha, yeah, Rex, your presence really is forgettable," Chazz teased casually.

"Transfer students from the branch campus!" Jaden's mind was already running. "This next term's gonna be awesome!"

So—in the end...

Hikaru looked at Aster.

"So, Aster?"

"Yes." Aster picked up his bag decisively. "That was an eye-opening Duel. I think I will revisit the Fusion Club during the new term, senpai."

"Well then, I'll take my leave."

He smiled politely.

"Yes! We've got a new freshman joining our club!" Jaden cheered. "And it's another HERO user! Awesome! We'll get to have tons of the same-type Duels now!"

'Another HERO user?'

Hikaru watched Aster's departing figure.

The first arc of the canon Yu-Gi-Oh! GX was just a warm-up.

So, with Aster's arrival.

The real game begins—A world-ending scenario is about to unfold!

'Light Destruction.'

Hikaru silently mouthed the words, mind heavy with foreboding.