The duel ended, and the giant geoglyph in the sky gradually lost its color.
The corridor of flames surrounding the middle of the city began to slowly recede.
Crow's body wobbled.
Although Tenjo Hikari did not use any special powerful monsters to attack in the end, during the duel using the Earthbound Geoglyph, his life points were reduced to 1, and he directly lost the match. As a duelist, it was only natural that his life force and stamina were drained.
The massive corridor of flames dissipated, and his body once again dropped vertically like a bird with a broken wing.
Just when everyone thought tragedy would replay, the huge vulture flapped its wings.
The Ultimate Earthbound Immortal did not successfully complete the geoglyph and failed to resurrect, but its body wouldn't vanish so quickly in a short time. Thus, under the support of the Bird God, Crow and Tenjo Hikari returned to the racetrack.
"Phew—" The concerned spectators all breathed a sigh of relief.
After Tenjo Hikari landed on the road, he stopped his vehicle and ran to Crow's side. By that time, Crow had already stopped moving.
He was still in his Dark Signer uniform; the good news was, he seemed to still be breathing, but Tenjo Hikari couldn't figure out how severely he was injured.
"Not dead," said Tierra next to him. "Or rather, maybe reborn? This human is nevertheless a living being now."
Only then did Tenjo Hikari feel relieved.
Then, he couldn't help but start to feel emotional.
No wonder it's the Earthbound Immortal.
In the original story, the "Earthbound Immortals" could be said to be the most generous and "friendly" group towards their subordinates among many antagonist bosses.
Except for the anomaly of Red Nova, all Earthbound Immortals have a principle: they "pay wages" before hiring.
As long as it's related to the Signers, has a grudge with the Signers, and can help them defeat the Red Dragon, they directly resurrect that person, as long as no backstabbing during the duel occurs, they absolutely do not care what the Dark Signers want to do.
Moreover, even if the Dark Signer loses, no matter how they lose, this resurrection won't be revoked, meaning, for the Dark Signers, even the worst-case scenario is a free resurrection.
Of course, different Earthbound Immortals display different levels of generosity.
For example, in the original story, when Carly Nagisa became a Dark Signer and lost to Jack, her Earthbound Immortal even thoughtfully erased her memories of being a Dark Signer. In contrast, Kiryu, after losing in the Dark Signer battle, didn't receive such treatment and has been reflecting on his actions during his time as a Dark Signer.
Admittedly, the first situation might actually be a form of suffering for Carly Nagisa and others.
In summary, it seems that Crow not only resurrected this time, but he might have also gained some special powers—after all, Wiraqocha Rasca didn't let Crow fend for himself but instead actively brought them onto the racetrack.
This at least indicates that, from his perspective, the duel was satisfactory.
Considering the Earthbound Immortals' "generosity" and habits, perhaps even Shinji, who was swallowed by the duel, resurrected somewhere in a corner of the Lower Area.
While pondering this, Tenjo Hikari noticed Ushio driving a two-seater police car, bringing a small team of security police racing towards them, with Serena waving from the car.
He heard Crow seemed to be waking up faintly.
Truly worthy of the man who, in the original story, could withstand the Earthbound Immortal's attacks with a mortal's body, he's already beginning to awaken so soon.
In this world, with the Earthbound Immortal's protection, it seems he did not suffer much pain.
On the other side, Ushio arrived in front of Tenjo Hikari and immediately told Tenjo Hikari to leave quickly. Tenjo Hikari didn't ask why, nodded, let Serena sit in the back seat, and then said, "As for Crow, I'll leave it to you. He might need some time to fully wake up."
"Don't worry," Ushio promised.
The security police subordinates behind him didn't even question Ushio's actions, having witnessed the previous duel up close as fellow duelists. In their hearts, they only felt admiration and respect for Tenjo Hikari and Crow, especially since Crow had died in front of them to save a child. Even if they were from the Lower City, they wouldn't be so hostile, and Tenjo Hikari, facing what seemed "invincible" in their eyes and still winning, was even more extraordinary.
Furthermore, their captain said so; why arrest anyone?
Anyway, they couldn't possibly win, so why bother wasting their efforts? How much do they earn a month, after all, is it worth risking their lives?
Tenjo Hikari truly didn't need to ask Ushio for a reason, though he didn't know why during his duel with Crow, the Fusion Army soldiers didn't seize the opportunity to snatch Serena. But at least this way, Ushio seemed to not need to make a final decision between duty and "justice."
Previously, Tenjo Hikari, concerned about diverting damage harming Serena, asked Ushio to watch over her for a bit longer. At that time, Tenjo Hikari saw in Ushio the passion that he thought had died before. He guessed that if a colleague tried to take Serena, Ushio would certainly not allow it, and he would definitely prevent it.
As things now stand, it's good for everyone present.
"The video of Crow previously saving someone was recorded by our police car, and the parents of the two children are anxiously waiting for them to return. By that time, Crow might be hailed as a [Hero] by some people in the Upper City..." Ushio mused.
So, it seems—
Tenjo Hikari nodded along.
That could be a very good thing. At the very least, Crow's effort will not be wasted in vain.
He didn't chat much longer with Ushio since time was very tight, and he continued to drive off in another direction.
Unknowingly, the sky once again filled with dark clouds. Unlike the giant Bird God earlier, a terrifying giant appeared at one end of the city, clearly indicating that Kiryu and Yusei's duel was also reaching its final stage.
On the other side, Akaba Leo was filled with annoyance in his heart, but he showed no hint of it on his face.
Initially, according to his prediction, Tenjo Hikari was bound to lose to Crow. Normally, Tenjo Hikari had no way to bypass the combination of Wiraqocha Rasca and Black-Winged Assault Dragon. So, at that time, he intended for the soldiers of the Fusion Army to see how Tenjo Hikari would lose to duelists from other dimensions, to see how Tenjo Hikari, the "traitor of the Fusion Army," would die.
But he could never have anticipated that Tenjo Hikari would pull out a "D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc," and even more annoying, that card was definitely one he manufactured with his own technology!
His own card became a weapon for his nemesis student, overcoming difficulty, which made him extremely furious.
What made him even more angry was that because he had the soldiers watch the duel, they missed a perfect opportunity to take Serena away.
But, no matter how angry or dissatisfied he was, he absolutely couldn't show it now; he couldn't let the soldiers realize his mistake.
Damn it—
He stood with his hands behind his back, expressionlessly gazing at the Elder Council below, as if everything was under control, appearing profound and unfathomable, making the nobles whisper and marvel.
Only he knew how enraged he was in his heart, and how intense his killing intent towards Tenjo Hikari was!
He could not tolerate it any longer!
He squinted, his face icy like a wax statue, as if about to swallow someone whole.
Now, he completely knew all the bottom cards of Tenjo Hikari!
The time had come!
He could no longer let Tenjo Hikari obstruct his plans!
He made up his mind, he decided to take action personally!
He wanted to personally eliminate Tenjo Hikari!