Hikaru collected all the cards.
Although Mr. T had used many cards during the duel, after his "death," the vast majority had become ordinary black cards.
Still, some genuine "cards" remained.
For instance, the Continuous Spell version of Future Fusion. Hikaru found this useful. Even with the Equip version, this card had its merits. An extra copy was never a loss, and trading it could certainly fetch a rare card.
Beyond that, there were three copies of Five-Headed Dragon...
Hikaru had no idea why this Mr. T had so many. Did he really like Five-Headed Dragon that much?
Baffling.
Hikaru packed up the cards and headed deeper into the volcano.
As he advanced, the air grew hotter and his expression grew more serious.
Because ahead, at the crater's edge, an intense red glow radiated.
From the school building, Hikaru couldn't see any light here at all.
Clearly, this area had been specifically tended to by the Mr. T's.
Without hesitation, he summoned his Underworld Dragon and rode it toward the crater.
With no Mr. T blocking his path, Hikaru quickly reached the volcano's summit and saw a harrowing scene within.
Inside the crater, a battered avian beast was straining with everything it had to hold two people, keeping them from falling.
At the crater's rim, a group of black-suited men watched the bird with cold sneers.
Several fired black energy beams at the beast. It barely held on, nearly collapsing, but through sheer willpower managed to stay airborne.
When their final attack failed, the black-suited men glanced up at Hikaru. Then, wearing eerie smiles, they all dissolved into black cards, rustling softly before vanishing from this world.
Meanwhile, Hikaru dove toward the crater.
The searing heat from the flames hit him head-on. The Winged Beast spirit, perhaps from protecting the Rhodes siblings too long without rest, was dazed and couldn't even recognize Hikaru. It snapped its beak at the Underworld Dragon.
Fortunately, before it could strike, countless purple puppet strings flew from Hikaru's side, binding the spirit and the two unconscious humans it clutched protectively in its talons.
Atticus Rhodes and Alexis Rhodes!
The puppet strings wrapped around both, secured the spirit, and quickly pulled them from the crater, flying toward Duel Academy.
Atticus seemed to retain a sliver of consciousness. In his final moment, he saw Hikaru. After days of holding on, he finally let go, showed a relieved smile, and fell completely unconscious.
Time rewound to the day the academy island was sealed.
Atticus and Alexis Rhodes had returned to the academy, preparing to check in with the professors.
The two of them, or rather, Atticus dragging Alexis along, had gone to study under an "entertainment duelist." This duelist's skills were exceptional. He was proficient in magic tricks and acrobatics, able to perform all manner of outrageous feats while dueling. A truly outstanding, even ridiculous "entertainment duelist."
But that wasn't the important part.
What mattered was that Atticus noticed his sister, who had been uncertain about her future, always wore genuine smiles while studying and dueling there.
Although she still didn't know what she wanted to do, at least she could smile. That alone made Atticus, as her older brother, very happy.
It was summer break anyway. No need to overthink things.
So throughout the entire break, aside from when Chazz called him to participate in Chazz family duels, he and his sister studied under the entertainment duelist named "Yusho Sakaki."
Of course, he occasionally continued his photography hobby, producing stunning shots of his sister and duels. His skills were excellent, and even Yusho praised him repeatedly.
In short, the Rhodes siblings had a wonderful, relaxing vacation.
Perhaps.
Precisely because he had been focused on relaxing and keeping his sister stress-free, he hadn't been vigilant enough.
When they arrived on the island, they immediately ran into Jaden. With his usual "that's my little bro" attitude, Atticus threw his arm around Jaden, and was instantly ambushed by a spirit.
Despite his own spirit's rescue, he was injured.
After quickly defeating the spirit, Atticus felt his body heating up with obvious fever symptoms. He grabbed his sister and ran toward the academy. But no matter how far he ran, he couldn't reach the main building.
As though he himself "didn't want" to go there.
By the time he snapped out of it and realized what was happening, he was already beside the familiar volcano.
At first, having brought bread, they could manage. But after the food ran out, both siblings were in terrible shape. Then black-suited men appeared, intermittently attacking them, preventing them from stopping or thinking of solutions.
He understood.
If Duel Academy was sealed, then they had been locked inside an even smaller "box" within the academy. A seal specifically targeting them!
For them, the area around this volcano had become a "labyrinth." They couldn't leave, and nobody outside could get in.
Even so, he still hadn't fallen.
Because he gradually discovered that those black-suited men could not harm him.
So all along, they could only attack indirectly, targeting Alexis to wear down Atticus's spirit and stamina.
Although he didn't understand at first, relying on his wits and his sense of those men's power, it only took him a few days to find the key.
Darkness!
Darkness's power could restrain those black-suited men. After forcing himself to don Darkness's mask, they could no longer approach him.
Although he still couldn't find the way out of the volcano "labyrinth," drawing on years of experience courting danger in various places, Atticus could still provide his beloved sister with fruit and grilled fish.
If he just had a little more time...
If he had a little more time to research other possibilities of Darkness's power, he was certain he could crack the labyrinth.
No.
Given enough time, with his formidable constitution that could withstand the Darkness mask's mental erosion, he was confident he could break the entire academy island's seal.
However...
That person appeared.
A man wearing black clothes similar to Atticus's "transformed" state, with a bizarre metal half-mask covering his mouth. He had a face that was both familiar and foreign to Atticus.
A face he should have remembered vividly, yet had inexplicably forgotten.
It was...
Yusuke Fujiwara!
His good friend, his close friend! A friend he shared with Zane!
The instant he saw Yusuke Fujiwara, everything came flooding back.
He remembered they had been important friends, studying and sparring together at Duel Academy. He remembered that Yusuke, who had more "spirit" talent than either him or Zane, had inexplicably vanished. He remembered that even the fact of his disappearance had been erased from his memory.
He remembered...
The other dimension where he himself had once gone missing? He had gone there with Yusuke Fujiwara!
He struggled to question Yusuke, but Yusuke simply smiled and told him there was no need to resist anymore.
Although he desperately wanted to duel his old friend, Atticus's physical condition was so poor that walking was already an achievement. Dueling was pure fantasy.
At that moment, Alexis stepped forward. She stood before Yusuke Fujiwara and spoke words that made Atticus feel both proud and pained...
"My brother has protected me long enough. Now, let me protect him."
However...
Something happened that he couldn't comprehend.
Yes, he had absolutely no idea what happened.
By the time he came to, Alexis had already lost to Yusuke Fujiwara. And in that impact, the Darkness power protecting him was instantly stripped away...
What followed were the final days of fleeing, being cornered at the volcano with nowhere left to run.
He thought he was destined to die. He couldn't even protect his sister. He would vanish from the world carrying his final regrets and secrets.
But then...
A skeletal dragon, a lifeless behemoth, dispersed the darkness's assault. In the howling wind, it pulled him from the crater.
In that instant, he felt unprecedented relief!
Hikaru, it's you again...
BANG BANG BANG.
A chorus of crashes erupted outside the special care room. Hikaru's friends and Fusion Division members all piled in, squeezing through the doorway and shouting, "You found Atticus and Alexis?!"
"Thank goodness! I was so worried about them!"
"Are they okay? They've been out of contact for so long!"
Some ordinary Fusion Division members, upon seeing the siblings, instantly remembered them and naturally assumed they hadn't forgotten about the two, but rather that the siblings had simply been out of contact.
"Whew..." Chazz sighed with relief seeing them safe. "Thank goodness we found them."
He had nearly exhausted himself searching for information on them. Seeing them safely back at the academy was an enormous weight off his shoulders.
"Hikaru, those two..." Jaden asked.
"The doctor said they weren't knocked unconscious by that strange mental attack. It's from prolonged fatigue and injury. With proper care, they should wake up in time."
"Great!" Jaden replied excitedly.
Setting everything else aside, having a trustworthy upperclassman at a time like this would put all the second-years at ease.
And although Jaden didn't fully understand, Hikaru and Chazz's earlier discussion had clearly mentioned that Atticus likely held crucial secrets related to the mastermind. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been specifically targeted.
"Still, we should take precautions." Hikaru stood at the doorway, watching Atticus's breathing gradually stabilize.
"Understood. I'll stand guard here." Chazz got it immediately.
Although left unsaid, Jaden's matter couldn't be delayed either.
Hikaru still needed to help Jaden with something.
And beyond that, since Atticus had been specifically targeted by Darkness, even after being rescued, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't cause trouble.
If nothing else, what if some teacher cracked under pressure and became convinced his girlfriend had been stolen by Atticus? They'd need to protect him.
Although Chazz figured the same trick wouldn't fool students and teachers again, since it had happened once, precautions were necessary.
"Then let me help too." A calm voice suddenly cut in.
Adrian had appeared behind them at some point. He smiled and nodded at the group. They exchanged glances. Chazz was slightly guarded; Hikaru directly expressed thanks.
"If you're willing to help, Adrian, that would be wonderful. Thank you."
Setting aside everything else, Adrian's mental resistance was likely the highest here after Jaden and Atticus.
Adrian seemed to have just finished working, or perhaps had finally set down the burden in his heart, because he appeared noticeably more at ease.
Having overheard that Atticus might be connected to the mastermind, possibly even carrying its secrets, this man who yearned to find a solution immediately stepped forward to help.
Seeing Hikaru had no objections, Chazz gave Adrian a nod and extended his hand. They shook, and just like that, they were acquainted.
Compared to their first meeting in the original story, where Chazz had been bristling with hostility, this was far better.
Honestly, even with all this, Hikaru still felt a bit uneasy. But Aster had already gone off alone searching for leads, so he couldn't call on him.
Fortunately, the "dolls" Hikaru had placed in the Fusion Division had been moved to the school building. Combined with Jesse, Jim, and Axel Brodie, who might mobilize given the situation, it should be the most reassuring lineup possible.
Then Hikaru and Jaden left the school building together and headed to the Fusion Division.
Although the Fusion Division was currently empty, the power was still on.
Jaden wanted to call forth the "Supreme King" within him. He believed he needed to truly become "one" with the Supreme King.
But this was nothing like staring into a mirror.
Summoning the "darkness" within Jaden wasn't something that could be done casually.
Therefore, Hikaru needed considerable preparation.
The most important thing was...
Hikaru drew out the card hanging on his person.
Super Polymerization.
Hikaru gazed at his unique Super Polymerization.
Now, this card seemed to faintly shimmer with some strange power, as if stirring restlessly.
Its time to take the stage had come.
He had a vague, inexplicable premonition.
Perhaps the opportunity to deepen his mastery of Super Polymerization was right now.