Yu-Gi-Oh: Fusion Is the Noblest Summoning Method!

Hikaru and his companions left the cavern. The spirits of the Muddy lineage were reluctant to part with Muddy Mudragon. At first, Muddy cheerfully waved goodbye, but in the end, unable to bear the children's sorrowful farewells, it transformed into a card and flew into Hikaru's Deck,only then escaping their pursuit.

Still, Hikaru could tell it was a little sad.

After all, it had been their leader for so long. Parting from the children would naturally be hard.

Hikaru instructed the others to board the vehicle and called out to Tierra. As she casually summoned a Pirmais and was about to climb aboard, Hikaru suddenly froze at the doorway.

"What is it, Hikaru? Did you forget something?"

Hikaru looked entranced. He retracted his leg from the step and suddenly dashed back into the cave. The students looked at each other, hurriedly disembarked, and chased after him.

The cavern was just as before. The spirits, still saddened by Muddy's departure, were startled when Hikaru suddenly reappeared. Then, excitedly, they began welcoming him back.

The newly appointed leader, Baby Muddragon, flew up to him and asked, puzzled, "What is it, Fusion warrior? Did you leave something behind?"

The students soon caught up, panting, hands on knees or braced against walls. "Minister, is something wrong?"

Hikaru didn't speak. He glanced around, brow tightly furrowed.

"Master, is there something abnormal?" Celina asked. Though small in stature, she was physically resilient and not short of breath.

Hikaru still said nothing, only examining the surroundings even more closely.

Even Tierra looked confused.

She snapped her fingers. Several pale gray demons emerged, circling the entire cave. The Muddragons gasped in shock.

Each of those demons radiated a threat level not below that of the Earthbound Prisoners. Was this Fusion human always accompanied by such powerful spirits?

"There's no anomaly. Hikaru, what are you seeing?" Tierra asked again after the demons returned from their sweep.

Hikaru stroked his chin. "If you say there's nothing, then I guess there's no problem."

"But..." He frowned again, confused. "Something just feels off."

"Feels off?" Tierra looked around, curious.

"It must be that!" Dimitri clapped. "I remember once handling Yugi's Deck. So I know,that must be it! Great Duelists can sense things that don't exist. Purely by instinct and intuition, they can accomplish feats no other lifeform can.

The Minister's instincts must be warning him!"

Instinct?

Tierra furrowed her brow.

She might not know much about Dueling; regardless, she knew the supernatural. She'd long been aware that powerful Duelists often had the favor of great forces.

Just like Aster Phoenix and Sartorius,their Destiny Draws always delivered Spell Cards, their coin flips always aligned with their will. Special Duelists always had special powers.

And she knew Hikaru had the blessing of Alchemy. He could grasp ordinary Alchemy at a glance.

So she was more than willing to trust him on this.

After all, this "Duelist's Instinct" seemed to be a universal trait among strong Duelists.

Hikaru investigated for a while longer. After confirming nothing was wrong, he apologized to the spirits and finally left the cavern.

Once he had gone, a plume of black mist slowly drifted from the cave entrance.

"That was close, way too close," said a voice that was neither male nor female, somewhere between a spirit and a dark god.

"As expected of Jaden's friend. He really does have power beyond the mortal realm."

It was Yubel's lingering spirit, musing aloud.

Floating upward, it turned into a shadow and fled the forest, soaring into the sky.

It was still just a remnant soul, not yet fully revived. However, that had its benefits,so long as it stayed hidden, not even demons of equal rank could detect it.

However, likewise, it meant that in this state, if it truly encountered that interdimensional god, it could be instantly obliterated without a chance to resist.

It had hidden well,yet, it wasn't about to gamble.

That human named Hikaru Amaki had terrifying Duelist intuition. Even without ever revealing itself, his instincts had nearly uncovered its presence. If it hadn't slipped away right after the Duel ended, the interdimensional god would've noticed.

That would've been the end.

It could tell that entity was also in a half-dead state. If it caught wind of Yubel, it would certainly act.

Now that it had found Jaden again, it couldn't afford to be discovered.

What followed, then, was regret.

It had hoped to possess the body of Jaden's so-called best friend, Hikaru. Despite that, reality had made it clear:

Try it, and die.

So, it would have to settle for second best.

It couldn't find a vessel here. If Hikaru came back, there'd be nowhere to run.

So...

It lingered in the air for a while. Then, several demons flew past.

"Hurry, follow me! Lord Reign is about to duel Lord Grapha!"

"Coming, coming!"

"Where's the Warlord?"

"Still recovering from his injuries!"

Sillva?

Yubel sneered in the dark.

Loyal knight of Jaden, was he? Then lend me your body.

Let me revive mine first,then we move to the next step.

It turned into a black whirlwind, sweeping up the demons. Amidst their screams, it flew off in their direction. One demon struggled in the wind, screaming:

"What is it?" called its companion.

"N-Nothing... I'm just worried about the Warlord. Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, he's..."

Even demons, as Duel Monster Spirits, were "pure" at heart. They might scheme and deceive, but never doubted allies of their own faction.

Elsewhere, Hikaru sat in the vehicle. He glanced back at the cavern entrance but said nothing.

He thumbed through his Deck and pulled out Dragonecro.

It glowed faintly. Closing his eyes, Hikaru focused Duel Energy into Super Polymerization. In an instant, a card began to form above Dragonecro.

Earthbound Prisoner Ground Keeper.

Not the simulated version Muddy had created,the real one!

Dragonecro could actually absorb the Earthbound Gods' power?

He slipped the card away, leaned back in his seat, and frowned.

Both Dragonecro and Muddy Mudragon were trying to tell him something… Once this tournament ended, the S-Dimension was a place he had to go.