Seeing Shining Hero absorbed by Thousand-Eyes Cult, the Golden Captain didn't look surprised—in fact, it seemed like this kind of thing happened to him so often, it barely raised an eyebrow.
"Well then, I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"During the End Phase," the Golden Captain added coolly, "Thousand-Eyes Cult is destroyed by the effect of Instant Fusion. Shatter now, false dark god."
Boom—
Thousand-Eyes Cult shattered on cue. Hikaru Amagi wasn't particularly bothered—he'd only drawn that as a makeshift board clear, and having fewer monsters on his side wasn't a disadvantage. Quite the opposite.
"And at this moment, Shining Hero's effect activates." The Golden Captain raised one finger as a huge sphere of radiant light began forming in the air. "When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add up to two of my banished monsters with 'Elemental HERO' in their names back to my hand.
I'll return Sky Hero... and myself."
"Awesome! That means he can Fusion Summon again next turn!" Jaden Yuki leaned forward, eyes lit up as he read the duel disk's display. Since Shining Hero had been absorbed earlier, he could view its full effect—one look told him this Fusion Monster was absolutely worth adding to his deck. "And Sky Hero's gonna come back next turn too! That means even more HERO searches!"
"Jaden," Bastion Misawa said, tone thoughtful, "we'll need to figure out how to get rid of that Field Spell."
"Yeah!"
Hikaru knew Shining Hero well enough. But it was obvious the Golden Captain was putting on a little show for Jaden—showing off intentionally—and there was no reason to interrupt that kind of bond-building mid-duel.
"Heh... finally, my turn." Golden-Eyes Idol wiped sweat off his brow and drew a card, chuckling to himself. "Draw."
In tag duels, the fourth player often felt like they were stuck in the waiting room. Either the duel ended before their turn came up, or they were forced to sit there while the other three stole the spotlight.
It hadn't even started yet, but Golden-Eyes Idol was already feeling that vibe, hence the nervous chuckle—to take the edge off.
Then—
"Alright, I summon myself. Golden-Eyes Idol!"
"Ooohhh!" Across the field, the figure bristling with alchemical apparatuses, who somehow still looked like a magician, the Universal Alchemist shouted in excitement.
Golden-Eyes Idol, Level 1, DARK Attribute, Spellcaster-Type, ATK 0.
Seeing that excitement made Golden-Eyes Idol rub his arms awkwardly. "Activating my effect!"
"Once per turn, during either player's turn—I can activate this. I reveal all cards in the opponent's hand!"
"Whaaat?! That's dirty!" Jaden gasped.
But Hikaru already had his remaining two cards flipped up, showing them openly without hesitation. "Since this is a tag duel, and Jaden is my backup duelist for now, you can only see my hand."
"Pfft, fine by me. I'll be able to peek at his later anyway~ hehehe." Golden-Eyes Idol grinned like a goblin in a vault.
"Let's see... huh? Miracle Fusion and Polymerization?" Golden-Eyes Idol's face twisted in surprise. "All Fusion cards?"
Other than Ancient Gear Knight, every card was Fusion-related.
So that's what His Majesty meant by a 'fusion-obsessed' alchemist...
Golden-Eyes Idol rubbed his round golden dome.
Back before they stepped through that terrifying alchemical portal, Golden Lord had briefed them:
First—Don't casually mess with that alchemist. He's terrifying. The apex, the ultimate alchemist. Even Golden Lord admitted he couldn't match him. So don't provoke him needlessly.
Second—Their mission was to challenge two of the alchemist's students. Talented, favored young duelists. Regardless of outcome, they weren't to harm them. So duel boldly, without holding back. If the humans lost, so be it.
Third—If, during the duel, they felt a resonance, a shared mindset—it was okay to follow those humans.
Because the two of them had been chosen personally by Golden Lord. They were spirits in sync with their partner's dueling soul.
No wonder His Majesty told him to observe this 'Hikaru' closely. Renaming cards, layering Fusion strategies... yeah, he's a damn fine alchemist.
But where he could go from here—
"My effect continues. Until the end of this turn, my card name is treated as Thousand-Eyes Cult." Golden-Eyes Idol pointed to the illusion shimmering behind him, then flipped over his face-down card. "Next, I activate my Set Spell—Dark Fusion!"
"This is a Fusion Spell just for Fiends. I fuse Summoned Skull in my hand with Scapegoat Sheep—Fusion Summon! Manifestation of the Demon!"
A horned demon raised its hand, surging with black lightning as it emerged from the shadows.
Manifestation of the Demon, Level 6, DARK Attribute, Fiend-Type, ATK 2500 → 3000.
"While Manifestation of the Demon is on the field, its name is treated as Summoned Skull, and all 'Summoned Skull' monsters on the field gain 500 ATK. Now—battle! Attack with the Manifestation of the Demon—!"
"Wait! At this moment!" Hikaru slashed a hand through the air, startling Golden-Eyes Idol so hard he almost curled into a ball.
"Universal Alchemist's effect activates!"
"Once per opponent's turn—target one Effect Monster your opponent controls. Equip it to this card as an Equip Spell!"
"WHAT?!?!" Every single one of Golden-Eyes Idol's dozens of eyeballs went wide.
He's doing it again!
He's doing my thing again!!
"Universal—dissolve him."
"Ah, as much as I'd love to melt gold, I can't just go wild in the middle of a duel—" With a lazy flick of his staff, Manifestation of the Demon turned liquid, like ink spilled on the cosmos, and flowed straight into his armor.
"Due to Universal's effect, its DEF increases by the equipped monster's ATK."
Universal Alchemist DEF: 0 → 2500
"He can eat monsters on your turn too...?" Even the Golden Captain couldn't resist commenting. "He's a little stronger than you."
"Shut up!" Cult barked, clearly agitated.
Hikaru let out a soft chuckle.
This was the difference between the Dark Fusion of the original world and the one from this realm. Here, the Fusion Monster wasn't destroyed that turn. In the original timeline, it couldn't be targeted—but if he were back in his own world, this move wouldn't have worked.
"Where's your Thousand-Eyes Cult ?" the Golden Captain asked, eyebrow raised.
"Hold on!" Golden-Eyes Idol shot back, annoyed. "Field Spell—Gate of Fusion! I use it to fuse myself on the field with Cult Demon of Offerings in my hand!"
"Fusion Summon—Thousand-Eyes Cult !"
Originally, he wanted to destroy Universal with Manifestation, keep himself alive, and peek at Jaden's hand next turn. But now? His plan had been completely hijacked.
Thousand-Eyes Cult, Level 1, DARK Attribute, Spellcaster-Type, ATK 0.
"No, I won't activate my own effect—I activate Thousand-Eyes Cult's effect! Absorb Universal Alchemist!"
You eat me, I eat you. That's dueling.
Golden-Eyes Idol wiped sweat from his brow. At least, in the end, he'd finally wrestled back his moment.
But when he realized Universal Alchemist also had 0 ATK and DEF, and eating him wouldn't increase his own stats, the triumph drained from his face.
Welp.
Guess that didn't help.
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For this week I will do more release depending on the power stones !
100 Power Stones = 1 chapter (in addition to the daily update)
So give stones if you want mooooar !