The Legend Reappears

"W-we won!?"

"He lost." While the staff and project heads were initially just worried about the duel, by the end, their minds were completely blown.

But the audience didn't care about any of that.

With Rex Raptor leading the applause, the crowd erupted. Soon, the entire arena was filled with thunderous clapping and cheers for both duelists.

"So cool! Fusion!!"

"He actually pulled it off!"

"Mr. Rex, we'll always support you!!"

Rex, hands in pockets, smiled as the duel ended. He walked over to Hikaru, extended his hand. Hikaru took it, and they gripped firmly. Then Rex turned, raising Hikaru's hand high.

"Everyone, give it up for our new ally!"

"The Duelist of—Absolute Fusion! Pure Fusion! Supreme Fusion—Amagi Hikaru!"

He had always been the kind of man who could accept defeat. Sure, when the duel started, he hadn't planned on losing. Regardless, Hikaru's performance had delighted him.

With someone like this joining the company, Rex couldn't be happier.

After the duel, Hikaru felt something strange.

Not the warm feeling he'd experienced in other duels, but a cold, eerie energy seeped into his body.

"What was that?" Tierra had been clapping excitedly until she noticed. She glanced sharply at Rex—then it clicked.

Alchemy. Crush, recycle, reforge.

Rex Raptor's soul was in terrible shape. He was being reclaimed.

Later.

Hikaru, Rex, and several others gathered in a conference room since the company had prepared a test batch of "Easy Fusion" cup noodles.

They added hot water and waited.

Rex laid his head on the table, staring at the packaging. "Kid, you really like Fusion, huh?"

"Hahaha—" Hikaru chuckled without explaining.

Once ready, everyone started eating.

Rex's eyes lit up. "Tastes great!"

"Yeah, totally!"

"Really delicious!"

Tierra nodded repeatedly. This was personally approved by her—of course, it wouldn't be ordinary.

"What do you think, Hikaru?"

"It's about 90% close to what Professor Magitech gave me," Hikaru said.

Those boxes Magitech had given him probably included ingredients exclusive to the Spirit World; therefore, naturally, replicating it perfectly for humans was difficult.

Still, 90% was good enough.

"Pfft, so it's not perfect then?" Tierra huffed.

From there, everything moved quickly.

Originally, the company just planned to let one in-house duelist test Hikaru. However, now that he had defeated their mascot, Rex Raptor, they had no reason to refuse the deal.

If anything, Rex's loss might mean Hikaru would cost more to sign.

That said, Hikaru was still just a student—and he beat a legendary duelist—His potential was limitless!

Honestly, even if he'd lost, it wouldn't have mattered since they weren't a mega-corporation. As long as Hikaru stayed true to Fusion, branding him as the "Absolute Fusionist" would sell the noodles.

A whole new market.

During the meeting, Rex chimed in now and then that he was satisfied with Hikaru's personality and conduct. Even before the duel, Hikaru had defended him.

And during the duel, Rex could feel Hikaru's conviction.

To someone like Rex—a true classical duelist—technique, skill, and talent weren't what mattered. Conviction was.

Without firm belief, you'd fall like he once had—succumbing to dark powers.

In the end, the partnership concluded happily.

Hikaru would become a spokesperson for Funglow's cup noodles, participate in various duelist endorsement events, and occasionally take part in commercial shoots.

Given that Hikaru was still a student and often traveled to other dimensions, the company allowed flexibility.

If possible, capturing footage of dimensional travel was even better.

Funglow hadn't even gotten a foothold in dimensional markets. They didn't have a single Dimensional Gate. Missing out on that gold rush left them anxious.

Hikaru understood the roles and duties just fine. But when it came to finances, he started getting overwhelmed.

First salary. Then shares. Then, Easy Fusion royalties. Then, a bunch of other stuff that keeping count of was beyond him.

Also, a separate agreement to provide Fusion Club with regular cup noodle shipments.

Thankfully, Hikaru was just visiting today and hadn't signed anything yet.

He was still a student—He'd need a guardian's approval to sign. Plus, he had no clue how to read a contract.

He contacted Professor Crowler. Crowler patted his chest and promised: he had experience—and if not, he had friends who did.

Crowler was always diligent. But this? This was big. A freshman already securing a sponsorship? The school would be thrilled. Even if Crowler disliked him, the principal would order him to help. Even so, Crowler already liked Hikaru, so no problem there.

"Guess I have no excuse not to send Crowler some support cards for Ancient Gears next time," Hikaru muttered to himself as he boarded the ferry.

"That really weird-looking human? Hmm, he may look strange, nonetheless, he's decent. Also, he uses Machine cards. That makes him solid."

"Oh, right—I remember that guy likes fame more than money, yeah?"

"Ah—makes sense," Hikaru nodded fast.

He nearly forgot: publicly, he was known as Crowler's student.

"Still, forget all that mundane stuff—my advice? Check your Spell Cards. Right now."

'Spell Cards?'

Hikaru pulled out his deck and flipped through the cards rapidly.

There weren't any non-Fusion-related Spells in the deck. How could anything be off?

He double-checked.

'One too many?'

He looked again from the top. Midway through, he froze.

A Spell Card, which had no name, no artwork, no effect, no type. Nothing.

He picked it up.

It was ephemeral. It felt like air. One moment there, the next—gone. No wonder he hadn't noticed it.

As he stared, a crimson dragon silhouette flashed across the card.

"What the—?!"

Hikaru took a deep breath.

'A Legendary Dragon!'