Hikaru went first and drew a card from his Deck.
He glanced down at the cards in his hand, and his mind began working automatically.
Although Hikaru had always presented himself as the type who shouted "Fusion! Fusion! Fusion!" as if it were the only thing in his head, anyone who had spent any real time around him, whether acquaintances, friends, or mentors, understood the truth. Hikaru pursued Fusion because he genuinely loved it. But Hikaru himself was an exceptionally rational and calculating person.
This was hardly unusual.
Before coming to this world, every time Hikaru had played cards against someone, every single card played could have had countless follow-ups lurking behind it. The amount of thinking involved was substantial, and proper preparation was essential.
He looked up at the Eye. Within the phantom of Pegasus, the golden eyeball embedded in its left socket was constantly radiating light, as if peering into Hikaru's thoughts.
Hikaru didn't know how deep that mind reading could go. But since Pegasus had said that even Hikaru's alchemy couldn't block it, he would simply assume the opponent could see every card in his hand.
In modern OCG play, by the second turn both players generally had a clear picture of each other's hand cards and set cards. But that didn't make the game the same as playing with all cards face-up.
The reason was simple: the classic "Magical Meltdown, Ash or no Ash" dilemma.
Activating Magical Meltdown let you search for Aleister the Invoker, while Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring could negate any effect that added cards from the Deck to the hand, sent them to the Graveyard, or Special Summoned from the Deck.
The classic question surrounding Magical Meltdown, Aleister, and Ash Blossom was whether to throw Ash or not.
If the opponent activated Magical Meltdown and you discarded Ash Blossom, they wouldn't search Aleister. If the rest of their hand couldn't do anything, that one card had stopped them cold, and you could move straight to your own turn.
But if the opponent activated Magical Meltdown just to bait Ash, and already held an Aleister in hand, they would just Normal Summon it and start their plays. In that case, Ash Blossom became a wasted card.
Following the same logic: if you held your Ash Blossom and the opponent searched Aleister, then Normal Summoned it and tried to add Invocation from the Deck to their hand, that became the critical moment. You had to throw Ash there.
But what if they didn't have Invocation in hand? That was manageable. However, if their opening hand had Invocation but not Aleister, and you could have stopped them by Ashing Magical Meltdown in the first place, then Ash became a hand trap that was simply ignored, even wasting a card in your hand for nothing. And if you looked back in hindsight and realized that Ashing Magical Meltdown would have won the game, you'd be left with nothing but regret.
Modern Yu-Gi-Oh hand trap interactions were exactly this kind of mind game. What Hikaru excelled at most was leveraging asymmetric information between cards to win those mental battles.
Unless the gap in card quality was overwhelming, like a known Tearlaments deck going up against a blind Sky Striker, "information" was always paramount.
But now?
The opponent could see every card in his hand, while he knew nothing about what the opponent held. That put Hikaru in an extremely uncomfortable position.
More importantly, even if Hikaru closed his eyes and let Tierra take over, he could hardly stop thinking. Hearing Tierra select cards and make plays, his mind would immediately start making associations and judgments based on his own understanding.
"It looks like even Hikaru is struggling. He still hasn't played a single card." Para observed from behind the glass, arms crossed, brow furrowed.
"It is mind reading, after all. This is Hikaru's first time facing something like that. Of course it's giving him trouble." Chumley looked on with worry.
"President, just let me go instead. If nothing else, at least let me scout things out for Hikaru first." Franz volunteered again.
Pegasus shook his head gently and motioned for everyone to watch.
Hikaru scanned the cards in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then decided to just play and see what happened.
"I activate the Continuous Spell: Brilliant Fusion!"
On Hikaru's field, a pure white translucent gemstone slowly appeared, its gentle glow illuminating the room.
"As this card's activation effect, I use monsters from my Deck as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon one Gem-Knight Fusion Monster with its ATK and DEF reduced to 0. If this card leaves the field, that monster is destroyed."
Hikaru fanned open his Deck, quickly selected two cards, and sent them to the Graveyard. "The materials I choose are Gem-Knight Lapis and A-Assault Core!"
"The Fusion conditions are a Gem-Knight monster and a LIGHT monster!"
Diamond light burst into color. From above, a green stone descended from the sky. Then an emerald-green glow began to shimmer, and a Gem-Knight with a graceful figure touched down from above.
"Fusion Summon!"
"Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli!"
Lapis Lazuli flicked her cape and made an elegant entrance on Hikaru's field. She was about to say something, but Hikaru had already slapped down his next card, as if in a tremendous hurry.
Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli, Level 5, EARTH, Rock, ATK 0.
"Spell Card: Frightfur Patchwork."
"With this card's effect, I add one Fusion card and one Edge Imp monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Fusion Substitute and Edge Imp Chain to my hand."
Rapid summoning followed by rapid searching.
"It seems like even Hikaru gets nervous in a situation like this." Para also noticed Hikaru's hurried movements.
But he was in no position to look down on Hikaru. Earlier, just having the door opened had made him break into a cold sweat.
A single glance from that Eye had left him feeling ice running through his veins. The pressure Hikaru was bearing in there was magnitudes greater. A bit of nervousness was perfectly normal.
After adding Edge Imp Chain to his hand, Hikaru didn't rush into a Fusion. He looked at his hand, pulled one card forward, and placed it on the field.
"Normal Summon: Laundry Dragonmaid!"
"Waga!"
A small, humanoid blue dragon spread her arms wide, let out a cry, and appeared on Hikaru's field.
Laundry Dragonmaid, Level 2, WATER, Dragon, ATK 500.
"Oh? A cute little dragon." Pegasus chuckled when he saw the small dragon. "That type of card seems like something Yugi-boy brought from another dimension. I didn't expect Amagi-boy to have one."
Hikaru took a deep breath, looked at the little blue dragon on his field, and let the corner of his mouth lift.
"Knowing someone's mind is certainly the kind of match that makes you break into a cold sweat. But Fusion isn't that simple.
Your eye has been watching me, peering into my strategy this entire time.
But what if even I don't know what I'm about to do?
I activate Laundry Dragonmaid's effect! When this card is Summoned or Special Summoned: send the top three cards of my Deck to the Graveyard!"
The little blue dragon pulled out a washboard, flashed an innocent smile, and cheerfully began spinning through Hikaru's Deck.
"Oh!" The Paradox Brothers exclaimed simultaneously. "So that's his strategy!"
"How interesting." Pegasus couldn't help but give a light round of applause as he watched Hikaru's play. "Amagi-boy's Deck contains monsters like the Shaddoll series that can activate their effects when sent to the Graveyard.
And even if the Eye can see through his hand and his strategy, it cannot see through Amagi-boy's luck."
Exactly. If all his tactics had been read, then he would fight with the unknown!
With his current Spirit Adaptability and his synergy with Fusion, anything was possible.
Just as he was thinking this, the little blue dragon had already tossed the cards. Three cards flew into the air, enlarging into giant cards for all to see.
The moment the cards were revealed, the smile on Hikaru's face froze.
"Well, that's entertaining." Anselm managed, barely keeping his composure.
"What happened?" Tierra couldn't help asking when she saw the three cards displayed in the sky.
Hikaru took a deep breath.
Future Fusion, Fusion Birth, and Shaddoll Beast.
On one hand, it had sent Shaddoll Beast to the Graveyard, which wasn't useless.
But on the other hand, it had dumped Future Fusion and Fusion Birth, Hikaru's two greatest "possibilities," straight into the Graveyard!
The combination of these three cards left even Tierra baffled.
That shouldn't be possible.
How could Hikaru's mills turn out like this?!
She couldn't make sense of it.
Hikaru shook his head.
It seemed he'd underestimated "Little Blue."
Or perhaps there was another possibility: the higher his Spirit Adaptability grew, the more a card like Laundry Dragonmaid, one prone to "messing things up," would mess things up.
Hikaru couldn't dwell on it. He opened his mouth and said: "No matter. I activate the effect of Shaddoll Beast, which was sent to the Graveyard. Draw one card!"
"Next, Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect. While this card is on the field, in addition to my Normal Summon, I can Normal Summon one monster an additional time. Normal Summon: Edge Imp Chain!"
"Spell Card: Fusion Substitute!"
"The Fusion conditions are three monsters on the field and in my hand with different names."
"Three lances that judge the world, become the frozen inferno and seal everything in ice!"
"Fusion Summon!"
"Level 9: the dragon that shatters heaven and earth, Trishula, the Dragon of Icy Imprisonment!"
Frost fell from the sky.
Inside the massive laboratory, a layer of ice and snow gradually blanketed the entire field. Countless shards of ice materialized from thin air, and the temperature began dropping wildly.
Behind Hikaru, an enormous ice sculpture emerged. Several crimson eyes suddenly flared to life, and then...
Crack.
"ROAR!" "GRAGH!" "HAAA!"
Three dragon heads unleashed their pure essence, their destruction, their annihilation, and appeared between heaven and earth!
Trishula, the Dragon of Icy Imprisonment, Level 9, WATER, Dragon, ATK 2700.
The great dragon roared, radiating excitement.
Where's the opponent?!
Where's the enemy, where are they?!
"This one seems like it's been locked away for a long time." Tierra remarked from beside Hikaru. "Looks like it just needs a little fresh air and it'll cooperate."
Well, that was convenient.
Hikaru nodded. "Edge Imp Chain's effect. When this card is sent from the hand or field to the Graveyard, I add one Frightfur card from my Deck to my hand. I add Frightfur Patchwork to my hand."
A card automatically dissolved into a streak of light and flew into Hikaru's hand.
"Then I set one card. Turn end."
"I see." Pegasus watched Hikaru's plays and understood. "Beyond using 'unknown possibilities' to duel, Hikaru has also prepared himself for the opponent to see through everything he does.
If you're going to read my thoughts, then I'll just be completely open about it. Let the opponent know exactly what's in my hand.
After all, no matter what, the one thing Amagi-boy will always do is one and the same:
Fusion."
That was exactly right!
Everyone nodded.
Frightfur Patchwork's effect searched for an Edge Imp monster and a Fusion Spell Card. Hikaru wasn't the least bit worried about whether the opponent knew he was going to Fuse. Instead, he was making the opponent figure out how to respond.
All Hikaru had to do was perform different Fusions based on whatever board state appeared next turn!
Throw the problem back at the opponent and let them figure out how to handle it!
And besides, 2700 ATK wasn't something easily overcome!
"My turn. Draw." What surprised everyone was that the Eye actually had a voice!
The Millennium Eye glanced at its hand, smiled, and pulled out a card. "Pay 1000 Life Points. Activate the Normal Spell: Instant Fusion."
Instant Fusion?!
Hikaru's expression changed.
"You're kidding." The onlookers were equally stunned.
Meet all changes with constancy?
Then just outright lock everything down.
"Fusion Summon. Level 1: Thousand-Eyes Restrict."
A golden eye materialized in the air. Then it began to multiply. Countless eyes became limbs, flesh and blood, and finally, a monster that Hikaru was thoroughly familiar with, one he used regularly, appeared on the opponent's field.
Millennium Eye, LP: 4000 → 3000.
Thousand-Eyes Restrict, Level 1, DARK, Spellcaster, ATK 0.
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict?!" Anselm gasped.
A devastatingly powerful Fusion Monster that could deal with nearly any opposing monster in an instant!
"No, no, no. You should say 'of course' it's Thousand-Eyes Restrict." Franz shook his head. "Since it's mimicking Mr. Pegasus, using that card is only natural!"
Exactly.
Hikaru was only surprised because it had been a long time since he'd seen this monster appear on the opposing field.
He had expected the opponent to open with Toons to test the waters.
He hadn't expected Thousand-Eyes Restrict right off the bat.
"I activate Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect. Once per turn, I target one monster on my opponent's field. That monster is equipped to this card as an Equip Card." The Millennium Eye pointed at Trishula.
Trishula roared in defiance, refusing to back down, opening its jaws to blast freezing ice and go three hundred rounds with Restrict.
Hikaru sighed. "I flip my set card. Quick-Play Spell: De-Fusion!"
"De-Fusion?"
"Can't be helped. Even with higher ATK, if it gets absorbed, all that attack power just becomes a gift for the enemy."
Trishula roared three times, then vanished from the field.
"I return Trishula to the Extra Deck. Then I Special Summon all of Trishula's Fusion Materials from the Graveyard."
Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli, Edge Imp Chain, and Laundry Dragonmaid all reappeared on Hikaru's field.
Lapis Lazuli, DEF: 1400. Chain, DEF: 1800. Little Blue, DEF: 1600.
"And now, I activate Laundry Dragonmaid's effect again!" Hikaru picked up the top three cards of his Deck, glanced down at them, and said, "I send Fusion Deployment, Shaddoll Fusion, and Metalfoes Fusion to the Graveyard."
This time, Hikaru felt pretty good about it.
Metalfoes Fusion could be recycled. Fusion Deployment probably wouldn't see use anyway. And Shaddoll Fusion had a chance of being recovered from the Graveyard.
At least it hadn't been a disaster.
"Heh heh heh." Suddenly, the Millennium Eye laughed.
"Every thought in your head has already been read."
?!
"Human. You're so fixated on getting around my ability, so worried about your thoughts being exposed, that you won't use De-Fusion to shuffle my Restrict back into the Deck. You were always going to let that ridiculous little monster use its effect."
"Don't you dare laugh at Little Blue. She's a monster with a future!"
"Heh. Is that so? Then allow me to show you the 'future' on my side."
?!
"Spell Card: Polymerization!"
"Polymerization?!"
"What!"
"It's actually Polymerization?!"
The entire group of onlookers cried out in unison, turning to Pegasus. Even Pegasus couldn't help but open his mouth wide at the sight.
"The Fusion conditions are Relinquished and one Effect Monster."
"I fuse the Relinquished in my hand with Thousand-Eyes Restrict on my field!"
Snap.
Whoosh.
The phantom of Golden-Eyes Idol flew to Hikaru's side, staring at the scene in shock.
What? What?!
Thousand-Eyes Restrict's body began to glow. A layer of gold started to encase it. The power of ancient Egypt grew stronger and stronger.
"Fusion Summon!"
"Level 1: Millennium-Eyes Restrict!"
...
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