Hikaru looked up at the sky.
At some unknown point, it had become faintly tinged with red.
But it was clearly noon, how could there be a hue like sunset in the middle of the day?
He lowered his gaze toward the Fusion Army soldiers. A few of them, thinking he had caused it, immediately huddled together in fear.
Even Yugo, who had just let out a sigh of relief, grew tense again.
Hikaru frowned deeply.
Could it be that Leo Akaba never considered whether his subordinates would succeed at all?
Had he made some kind of contract with a strange Earthbound Immortal, one where regardless of victory or defeat, the Duelist's soul would be taken?
If that were truly the case…
Hikaru looked back at the sky.
The shifting colors had clearly already devoured an unknown number of people.
And as that red spread, the "sky" of the entire world seemed to slowly reveal something else, not clouds, not light, but patterns.
Geoglyphs.
The Geoglyph of an Earthbound Immortal.
But unlike ordinary ground paintings that only covered a single region.
This one seemed to envelop the entire world.
Hikaru walked toward what remained of Lilos.
More precisely, toward Lilos's Duel Disk.
He picked it up, removed the Deck, and quickly flipped through it.
Normally, Hikaru wouldn't do something like this to a defeated opponent.
But the Fusion Army was different, he'd never denied having a double standard for them.
That said, he had no intention of using the Transcendosaurus series. Keeping them was enough.
The good news was that the Deck contained Petiteranodon and Babycerasaurus, cards Hikaru would not hesitate to take.
While he was doing this, the remaining Fusion Army soldiers took the chance to flee at full speed.
Hikaru didn't chase them. He feared it might be a diversion, losing sight of Rin and Yugo would be far worse. After putting the cards away, he glanced at his left hand.
His Dark Sign wasn't glowing.
That made sense.
This opponent had truly intended to settle things with him through Fusion.
Even though a Synchro Monster like Brachiosaurus was involved, it was fundamentally different from those who had tried to defeat him using pure Number-based power.
From a Duelist's perspective, Lilos wasn't at fault.
Even his attempt to use local power to interfere with the Duel was merely a tactic.
What was truly abnormal was that, after losing, Lilos had turned into a soul and merged into the sky without a word.
After all, their Duel wasn't bound by any agreement where the loser would die.And yet Lilos had been swallowed up the moment he lost.
That left only one possibility:
No matter who he Dueled, as long as he lost, his soul would be taken.
And if that was true for a Fusion Army general…
What about the soldiers?
Probably the same.
No, perhaps it was even worse.
Maybe even ordinary civilians were being absorbed.
No wonder Crow had mentioned seeing so many Security Police on the way.
Hikaru shook his head, stowed his Duel Disk, and mounted his D-Wheel.
Then he contacted his communicator.
"Yusei. How are things on your end?"
At Yusei's residence, phone in hand, he watched as the people lying on the ground slowly dissolved into light and shadow. He glanced at the girl who had just woken up, clearly confused and unaware of what had happened, and replied:
"Everything's fine here.
But this girl doesn't seem to be the Serena you mentioned."
"I see," Hikaru said quietly.
Then Serena must be with Crow.
Hikaru couldn't help but sigh.
That unlucky girl…
Earlier, when he'd received news from Trudge, Hikaru had immediately dropped everything, mounted his D-Wheel, and began searching for her, while also reaching out to a few acquaintances in this Dimension.
Crow and Yusei.
Luckily, both of them had just encountered a "Rin."
Yusei had reacted quickly, informing Hikaru that he had an experiment scheduled that night, and that there was a parade in the Lower District today.
Because of that, Crow was unlikely to be there.
Which was why Yusei had urged Hikaru to go check on Rin first.
Therefore, Hikaru immediately changed his search route. Instead of heading toward the upper levels, he turned toward the orphanage, and coincidentally witnessed Yugo arguing with the Security Police.
Hikaru pinched the bridge of his nose.
He told Yusei about the strange change in the sky. Yusei's expression instantly grew serious. After acknowledging it, he ended the call in haste.
Leaving his laboratory, Yusei looked up at the faint red glow spreading across the sky, and memories from the future surged back into his mind.
One of the greatest adversaries to ever contend with the Crimson Dragon for the position of the sole god.
The strongest Earthbound Immortal: Earthbound Immortal Crimson Nova.
He instinctively touched his right cheek. A sharp pain stabbed through him, causing him to frown.
Hmm.
Although his face now appeared no different from that of an ordinary person, a lingering discomfort remained.
Still, it was well within the range he could endure.
Yusei turned to look at Ruri.
Those unidentified men had burst into his laboratory earlier, attempting to forcibly take her away. After he knocked them down one by one with his fists, they tried to defeat him in a Duel, only to refuse their loss and transform into red souls.
At the time, Yusei hadn't had the chance to investigate further. Instead, he had spoken with the girl who had just awakened, gradually learning what had happened.
The good news was that Ruri was well-educated, calm, and sharp-minded. Her analysis of the situation was remarkably accurate. Despite it being their first meeting, she had willingly shared everything she knew, allowing Yusei to quickly grasp the broader picture.
She was from another Dimension.
More importantly, she was the companion rescued by Serena, the "junior" Hikaru was so concerned about.
That alone eased Yusei considerably. He'd been worried she might be as impulsive as Yugo, so being able to communicate calmly was the best possible outcome.
"I'll take you to my backup base first," Yusei said.
"After that, I'll go find Hikaru. You two can stay together there."
If Ruri hadn't literally fallen from the sky and landed inside his laboratory, no one would have found this place under normal circumstances.
It wasn't arrogance in his base design, it was simply that, according to future records, these locations were areas almost no one ever passed through.
Yusei mounted his D-Wheel and sped off, circling the Lower District countless times. He shook off pursuers and opportunistic looters taking advantage of the chaos, then finally brought Ruri to a vast underground laboratory.
As he turned on the lights, rows of display screens illuminated the room. One by one, they activated, revealing live views of different levels, districts, and roadways throughout the city.
From this place, nearly the entire city could be monitored.
In fact, this was precisely why Yusei could respond so quickly to emergencies, whether it was Hikaru's sudden appearance in this Dimension, or Kiryū's frenzied sacrifices of prisoners.
Ruri stared at the screens in amazement, briefly wondering whether the man who had saved her was actually some kind of secret supervillain.
Yusei gestured toward the keyboard and mouse beside the console.
"The controls are simple. I've already synced them with my D-Wheel," he explained.
"If you see anything that needs immediate attention, tell me.
More importantly," he added seriously, "keep an eye on these areas. If anyone starts moving toward this location, notify me immediately, I'll come back as fast as I can."
A two-pronged safeguard.
Just in case.
Yusei believed this was the safest option.