"The final turn?" Even Thunderstrike Dragon, the towering divine beast serving as referee, couldn't help but rumble in surprise.
It was an obvious observation—yet still shocking.
"The final turn? You've got only one card in hand. Your Fusion monsters were used up rescuing your partner. Even the monsters in your Graveyard that could serve as Fusion materials were recycled by your teammate," Mizuchi, the Nine-Serpent Peacock, said incredulously.
"Not only that—your ace, Gem-Knight Prism Aura, ended up in Tenjoin Fubuki's Extra Deck. What can you possibly do now?" Centenarian Dragon added.
"You can't even draw a card!"
Surrounded by doubt and disadvantage, Hikaru Amagi remained unshaken.
"Does it matter?"
"How does it not?!" Mizuchi's feathers stood on end in disbelief. "If you could end this duel now, you could've done it last turn! Whatever Fusion spell you have, there's no way it can turn this around!"
Even the younger spirit creatures circled him, murmuring agreement.
"You're too naive!"
"Fusion has no limits!"
"If senpai entrusted me with this moment—then I will win!"
Hikaru raised his voice. "As long as it's Fusion, no board state is unwinnable!"
A chorus of confused spirit murmurs followed.
That… had nothing to do with Fusion anymore, did it?
At that moment, Tierra noticed a familiar golden orb darting around sneakily.
With a snap of her fingers, the massive demon Hikaru was riding shifted slightly, tilting his body just enough for that orb to crash into him—Thunderspark, the curious, electrified spirit.
"Little Source?!"
Some of the elder spirits gasped in recognition. The once-hyper, ever-curious spark of potential had now hurtled into Hikaru, choosing its path.
Thunderstrike Dragon slowly bowed its head.
A Fusionist who pursued perfection…
Could he be the one we've waited for?
"I activate my Set card!" Hikaru's voice sparked like lightning. "Normal Spell—Pot of Greed!"
"Pot of Greed?!"
"No way—that's…!"
"He didn't use it on his own turn? He left it for his partner!?"
Yes.
Fubuki's set card had been Pot of Greed—the infamous, unrestricted draw card.
No one saw it coming—not even Hikaru himself.
But now it had happened!
This was Hikaru's first time playing it in this world. A banned card in his original timeline, now made viable through the arcane system of Super Fusion. It was electrifying.
"Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!"
He snapped the cards from his deck—and froze when he saw what he drew.
There, glowing with latent electricity—Thunderseed Dragon – Raidragon.
…It chose me?
He glanced at Tierra, who only tilted her head innocently.
Yeah, he understood.
It had decided to see the world beyond this mountain—by his side.
"Then here we go—I activate the effect of Thunder Dragon Fusion in the Graveyard!"
"By banishing this card, I can add 1 Thunder monster from my deck to my hand!"
"I add Thunderseed Dragon – Raidragon!"
He revealed the card to everyone.
"Now, I Normal Summon—Thunderseed Dragon – Raidragon!"
A small golden lightning orb shimmered onto the field. The surrounding spirits gasped.
"Little Source?!"
"You ran off to him?!"
The elder spirits looked worried—until Thunderstrike Dragon's voice echoed like thunder across the clouds:
"No need for concern. It has made its choice."
"Next, I activate Raidragon's hand effect: by discarding it, I can add up to two Thunderseed Dragon – Raidragon from my deck to my hand!"
"I add two more copies!"
"And now, the Spell Card—Polymerization!"
"The most basic Fusion spell!"
"You're going to summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, aren't you?" Centenarian Dragon muttered, flapping his wings. "Even so, it won't be enough to finish us."
After all, Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon only had 2800 ATK. Their Dark Simorgh had 2700. And they still had 2000 LP.
But Hikaru paid their words no mind.
"I fuse two Thunderseed Dragon – Raidragon in my hand!"
"Fusion Materials: two Thunderseed Dragons!"
"Fusion Summon!"
"Level 7—Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"
The vintage, two-headed lightning beast burst forth, lightning arcing wildly from its mouths.
Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon – Level 7 / LIGHT / Thunder / ATK 2800
"So what? It still can't win!" Mizuchi scoffed.
"You should've held onto Raidragon! It powers up other Thunder monsters from the hand!"
"That's right," Centenarian Dragon said with a resigned breath.
"No—"
Hikaru didn't activate Fusion Recycling Plant. Instead, he pointed to the field and declared:
"It's time."
"Time to witness… a new stage of Fusion evolution!"
"?"
"What's he talking about? That's not even Fusion anymore!"
"And how could Raidragon and Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon fuse?"
Before they could finish questioning—
BOOM
Raidragon's golden lightning body began to pulse. Inside the orb, the snake-like silhouette twisted and grew. The sphere cracked open—then burst.
The small golden dragon emerged… and began to grow—its body darkened, wings unfurled.
Electricity crackled violently as the newly transformed dragon roared skyward.
"What—what is that?!"
"Ra-Raidragon evolved!?"
"If a Thunder monster's effect is activated in hand during your turn, and you tribute another on-field Thunder monster that is not a Fusion, you can Special Summon this card from your Extra Deck…"
"Bear witness—this is the next stage of Fusion!"
"Descend upon the world!"
"Super Thunder Dragon – Raidragon!!"
A high-pitched roar echoed from the small but fierce dragon.
Despite being a Fusion monster with a menacing design, its cry still retained its youthful cuteness.
Super Thunder Dragon – Raidragon – Level 8 / DARK / Thunder / ATK 2600
"Little Source… evolved…" Centenarian Dragon was speechless.
"A completely new Thunder Dragon!?" Mizuchi looked ready to dislocate her beak in shock.
Was this… a new Fusion born from the bond of Tag Duelists?
"Battle!"
"Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon attacks Dark Simorgh!"
Guardians of the Mountain LP: 2000 → 1900
"And now—Super Thunder Dragon, direct attack!"
The tiny black dragon zipped forward, lightning sparking from its jaws. It let out a spirited cry as it zapped the two elder spirits.
Though it didn't hurt, the two Guardians exaggerated their defeat with a dramatic "Waaahhh!" and toppled backward in unison.
Guardians of the Mountain LP: 1900 → 0
"Victory goes to the human Duelists!"
Thunderstrike Dragon raised his head high and released a bolt of lightning into the sky, transmitting the news across all of Mountainscape.
Thunder lit up the sky like fireworks, drawing patterns across the heavens—celebrating this incredible victory.
A brilliant duel indeed.