The heat from Tenjo Hikari's body was terrifying, and the body of Midrash she was using was almost instantly scalded. A large amount of heat emanated from her body, and the mechanical tissues instantly turned to molten copper.
What is happening!
Not knowing what to do, she summoned several Gray-White Demons, collectively burning out the Void Fire, calling forth floods and huge waves, desperately trying to cool down Tenjo Hikari.
On the other side, The Supreme King could no longer endure it. He fell to the ground, clutching his head, the terrifying pain making him even consider killing his current self to stop the torment.
Fortunately—
At this critical moment, he remembered his identity, remembered his [existence].
In the next moment, the shattered armor completely dissipated, the black aura slowly turning into a thin mist, and then "he" shakily stood up again.
"What... what happened." Judai clutched his throat, feeling his body go limp, barely managing to stand up.
But it seemed that the pain only remained within the consciousness of "The Supreme King" and didn't affect his body, so the pain he felt was more of the self-inflicted consequence of using pain to drive out pain.
Judai looked towards Tenjo Hikari, his face full of worry.
That Hikari—
Tenjo Hikari's eyes started to turn red.
To be precise.
In Tenjo Hikari's original eyes, the red in the reflection of her pupils occupied his entire world.
The boundless red began to slowly contract, slowly receding, and then turned into a gigantic drawing board, on which a tail slowly spread out.
Tenjo Hikari's breathing became more rapid.
Enlarge—
Tenjo Hikari saw the stars.
Enlarge—
Tenjo Hikari saw the galaxies.
Enlarge—
Tenjo Hikari saw countless galaxies merging into one, the cosmos operating beside that tail.
Enlarge—
Countless universes stacked together, forming a scarlet-red cosmic cluster, each universe seemingly with its own ecology and various intelligent life forms.
Enlarge—
Within the body lies a cosmic fish, an existence capable of sublimating the universe, these beings like insects passing by that vast figure, unaware of its presence by their side.
Enlarge!!
Upon the scarlet-red base, Tenjo Hikari finally saw [it?]'s tail and [it?]'s scales—
Enlarge!
Enlarge!
As Tenjo Hikari's vision and as all things began to enlarge, Tenjo Hikari's mind grew more and more unstable, unable to accept such vast information, losing his ability to react.
Until—
Finally.
He finally saw it, an unimaginably colossal, unfathomably majestic silver-white dragon—
And at that moment.
A scarlet eye [stared] at him, then casually glanced elsewhere, and that place was enveloped in scarlet!
...
Tenjo Hikari shivered.
Where am I?
He snapped back to reality.
Tierra and Judai were looking at him with concern, Tierra holding him, trying various ways to heal him, while Judai frowned, trying to call back Tenjo Hikari's consciousness.
Tenjo Hikari waved his hand, indicating he was fine, then looked to the side, at the clock.
Almost half an hour?
Did I lose consciousness for half an hour?
What just happened to me?
He tried hard to recall, but he couldn't remember what he had [seen] before, and just a little thought made his head feel like it was going to explode.
"Don't think about it!" Tierra immediately spoke up.
Tenjo Hikari took a deep breath and nodded.
He rubbed his forehead, and with Tierra's support, found a chair to sit on, then drank water and took painkillers, striving to regain calm.
After roughly another hundred and ten minutes, Judai also sighed in relief on the other side.
It seemed that the "The Supreme King" in his spiritual world also calmed down.
Tenjo Hikari looked serious.
Time... could it be linked to "injury"?
Tenjo Hikari clutched his chest.
The rapid healing and intense mental focus during the duel certainly weren't free, having to "pay it back" after the duel ended?
Tierra instructed Satan to rub Tenjo Hikari's head, and after a while, Tenjo Hikari felt almost recovered.
That [Red Light] is indeed no benevolent existence, truly the mastermind behind destroying the "Spirit World"…
Indeed, what Teacher Daitokuji and those spirits said, all make sense.
Even Judai and I suffered such pain just dueling under that light, what enormous pain must the affected dimension and spirits endure?
But…
As Tenjo Hikari began to ponder the pain, and consider the mastermind's possibilities, he instinctively dismissed all his previous guesses.
Indeed, I still need to strive to improve my mental resistance, otherwise, I have no way to seek out [Red Light]'s location…
As he thought about these issues, he picked up his deck, and at the moment he picked it up, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.
The sensation from the cards… more distinct?
He seemed to be able to directly sense the card on top of the deck?
Silently, he drew out the card, glanced at it, and indeed, it was Instant Fusion.
His Spirit Power had increased!?
Why—
He was a bit surprised.
Despite not having trained his Spirit Power during this period, he was preparing for darkness.
Moreover, his Spirit Power was already quite high; the higher the level, the harder it is to improve, yet now he seemed… to have reached LV 9 Spirit Adaptability?
If adding Tierra's assistance, he might even reach LV 10!
Why is it like this?
He was somewhat puzzled.
Could it be that "light"?
No…
Under the illumination of the light, he didn't feel his power growing, otherwise, wouldn't he have drawn Super Polymerization at once?
Then…
Did it grow only after everything ended?
Could it be—
Tenjo Hikari recalled his recent "pain".
He widened his eyes and quickly flipped through his deck, checking the cards inside.
There—
Still there!
Spenta, the Magistus Sealer, Crowley, the Gifted Magistus.
Not only were they there, but there were even more!
Aiwass, the Magistus Spell Spirit!
During the previous duel, this card shouldn't have been there!
Tenjo Hikari examined the card, then also pulled out Contrast Hero Chaos.
He recognized the Aiwass card, but Spenta was truly unfamiliar to him. Judging by the image, perhaps it's a character from the "Great Sage" series of comics, but he wasn't really sure.
On the other side, Chaos is a card he fused using Super Polymerization, possibly stable due to the power provided by Judai and The Supreme King, unlike last time when Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer shattered, the card's completion was very high, with only minor flaws, perhaps requiring a slight boost in Duel Energy.
But what about those other cards!
The Great Sage cards—
They completely existed in Tenjo Hikari's deck now, with Aiwass suddenly appearing!
Even if he absorbed part of The Supreme King's Fusion Power with Super Polymerization, it's impossible to create a Fusion Monster instantly!
He didn't even provide any [materials].
No.
Or say, the "materials" Tenjo Hikari used were not what he thought they were…
Tenjo Hikari looked at his hand, a boundless eye seemingly in his mind.
Could it be…
That red light.
Didn't add cards to their decks.
Instead, with its power, using a method that Tenjo Hikari, the audience present, and Super Polymerization couldn't observe, forcibly "grew" both duelists!
Precisely because it was a forced increase in power, after the duel, when the light left, when the mental and physical restorative forces left, they suffered such pain!
Because they were forcibly "elevated".
But as long as they endure it, this "gift" is indeed genuine…
Tenjo Hikari understood to some extent.
No wonder…
Why [Red Light] is so dangerous to the Spirit World, and Teacher Daitokuji said many spirits were willing to turn to that "Red Light"…
Mental anguish? Conscious confusion? Physical pain? Death?
In comparison, what is more exciting than growing stronger without effort?
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