Yumi stood with his arms crossed, quietly watching the large semi-transparent screen suspended in front of him.
On it, Firefly tore through the sky with reckless efficiency. Her mechanical fist punched straight through one H.A.M.P. unit's torso before she twisted midair and drove her elbow into another's head, sending the entire upper section spinning away like scrap.
Flames rolled off her armor in lazy waves, growing thicker the more enemies she destroyed. The heat didn't look wild or unstable, if anything, it felt controlled, like the suit was calmly recalculating how much power it was allowed to use.
Energy blasts flew toward her from multiple directions.
She didn't dodge so much as ignore them.
Firefly slipped between the attacks, smashed one robot into the ground, then redirected herself toward another without slowing down. Her fist clenched, and with a single backhand swing, she split an H.A.M.P. unit cleanly in half at the waist.
Right beside her, ZEUS was doing things in a completely different way.
Its massive metal hands reached out, grabbed two H.A.M.P. units, and slammed them together like mismatched building blocks. The impact crushed both instantly. Another robot tried firing point-blank at ZEUS's chest, only for the blast to scatter uselessly across its armor.
ZEUS clapped its hands together once.
Several nearby robots ceased to exist.
The two of them moved through the enemy formation like they were cleaning up clutter rather than fighting an organized invasion force. The remaining H.A.M.P. units quickly shifted formation, then turned and began retreating.
Unfortunately for them, neither girl felt like letting that slide.
After all, Spectra was the reason this world had been reduced to two remaining human females. That alone was reason enough to not let anything escape.
Firefly surged forward again, flames flaring brighter as she smashed through another cluster of machines. Meanwhile, electricity gathered along ZEUS's massive wings, glowing brighter and brighter as Roze brought its hands together.
A dense ball of purple electrical energy formed between them.
Without hesitation, Roze launched it.
The beam tore through the sky, carving a straight line through clouds, splitting a mountain in the distance, and vaporizing everything unlucky enough to be in its path. A massive section of the retreating H.A.M.P. units vanished instantly.
Roze leaned back slightly in her cockpit, satisfied. "…Nice."
A screen suddenly popped up beside her.
"Roze, what the heck was that!?" Raye's voice rang out. "Are you trying to take me out too!?"
"Oh, relax," Roze replied flatly. "You won't die."
She knew it was true. As long as their Master was alive, death was more of an inconvenience than anything else. Even if Roze pulled out a gun, shouted "Persona," and shot herself in the head now, she'd just respawn next to Yumi.
That didn't make it pleasant.
"…Still," Raye grumbled, "who wants to be vaporized?"
Another screen appeared beside them.
"Why are you two just standing around?" Yumi's voice cut in. "They're running away."
The image showed Yumi standing next to… another Yumi. This one wore black-and-white clothing with Sky Striker design elements, acting more like a caller than anything.
Both Firefly and ZEUS snapped their mechanical heads toward the fleeing H.A.M.P. units.
Firefly crouched slightly as flames burst from her engines, then shot forward like a missile.
Back inside Karma's base, the five robots watched the feed in complete silence.
"…Just who are you?" Akash finally muttered.
They already understood that the Raye and Roze fighting outside were from another dimension, older and far more experienced than their own. That part made sense.
Yumi didn't.
According to every system scan, he was human. No cybernetics. No enhancements. Yet his Raye and Roze appeared beside him at will, and he held the key over Firefly and ZEUS, machines capable of wiping out entire armies.
And just now, another version of him had casually appeared, carrying the power of Sky Striker, and could be directly linked with the Sky Striker system at will.
Even the screen the two Yumis were using to call Raye and Roze came from him, Sky Striker - Yumi.
"Just a passing-through Duelist," Yumi said lightly, glancing back at Akash. "Remember that."
Sky Striker - Yumi faded away like static.
Not long after, Yumi's Raye and Roze returned to the base. The local Raye was already pushing the local Roze around in her wheelchair, both of them immediately cornering their older counterparts.
"How does that armor work?"
"Can you fly faster than that?"
"Do you have more weapons?"
"I wanna ride that armor!"
"Can I ride that mecha?"
Seeing their chance, the older two didn't hold back.
They showed off different gear, alternate loadouts, and accessories that the two girls and Sages had never even seen. Some equipment designs left the robots quietly updating their databases in the background.
They also answered some questions about their world, about Yumi, and about what their gear was truly capable of.
Eventually, Yumi clapped his hands once. "I think that's enough. Let's head back."
"Yumi, dear," Ciela said immediately, stepping forward. "Why don't you stay the night? We have plenty of rooms."
As Raye's surrogate mother, it's natural for her to want to know more about the man her daughter brought back home.
Although they now know he is a powerful existence called Duelist. And their power directly comes from him.
Yumi opened his mouth to refuse, he still had things to deal with back home, but didn't get the chance.
"We would love to," his Raye said instantly, covering his mouth.
"Yes," Roze added with a nod. "You should rest. Being tense all the time isn't healthy."
"Exactly," Raye said seriously. "We'll help you relax."
The younger Raye and Roze stared at their older selves with admiration. The robots exchanged warm looks, quietly pleased to see how much the two girls had matured.
Yumi, on the other hand, felt like these two might jump him, but he couldn't prove it.
The robots of Karma welcomed Yumi warmly.
If anyone didn't know better, they might think he had just been officially approved as the household's future son-in-law. The atmosphere was oddly domestic, with polite greetings, attentive service, and more than a few lingering looks from the Sages.
If they ever found out what kind of person Yumi actually was, Ciela and Akash would probably try to beat him for being "unfaithful" in their eyes. Himmel would sigh, rub his temples, and accept it with the tired resignation of someone who had seen far worse.
Dinner passed peacefully enough.
Ciela cooked with a bright smile, occasionally fussing over Rayes and Rozes like a concerned mother. The four girls chatted happily, comparing equipment, teasing each other, and occasionally glancing in Yumi's direction for no obvious reason.
Yumi ate quietly, pretending not to notice.
After everything settled down, he was shown to his room. It was clean, modern, and far nicer than he expected from a post-apocalyptic robot base. Spotting the shower, Yumi decided to wash up before doing anything else.
He removed his Slifer Red jacket and clothes before stepping into the shower, letting the cold spray rinse the dust and sweat away.
Then the water temperature changed.
Cold turned warm. Then from warm to hot.
Before he could question it, a slender arm slipped around his neck from behind. Something soft pressed against his back.
"Now is not th-"
His words stalled.
Steam filled the room, fogging the glass and vision. Through it, he caught a glimpse of the silver-haired Roze, already kneeling before him.
Yumi exhaled slowly, feeling the sensation running through his body from their double attacks.
A familiar voice leaned close to his ear.
"Don't be like that, Master," Raye whispered lightly. "We said we'd help you relax."
Her fingers traced lightly over his chest, moving down slowly and feeling his body as the two of them jump him.
...
Back in his dimension, the clone Yumi suddenly sneezed.
"Prabowo!"
He sniffed, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. "I feel like someone is going to jump me."
The feeling lingered for a second, uncomfortable but vague. After a moment, though, the worry faded as quickly as it had appeared. He leaned back against the railing, shoulders relaxing.
After all, he was just a spirit clone. If any of his Duel Monster Spirits decided to jump him for whatever reason, he could simply disappear. Plus, this wasn't the time for that.
"So the one being jumped is the real me," he murmured, oddly reassured by the thought.
His gaze drifted across the campus out of habit, and then stopped.
Someone with white hair and a long red scarf was sprinting straight toward the Slifer Red dorm.
"…What the?" Yumi muttered.
He pushed himself up from the second-floor balcony and hopped down without much effort. The person wasn't wearing any kind of school uniform, which already made this suspicious. Worse, they were moving with purpose, not hesitation.
As the figure got closer, Yumi frowned. That face, he looked exactly like Declan Akaba in Arc-V.
"Who are you?" Yumi called out, stepping forward to block the path.
Celina was still recovering inside. He wasn't about to let some random intruder stroll in, especially not after she had nearly been killed.
The white-haired man didn't even slow down.
"None of your business," Declan said coldly. "Now get out of my way."
"Not a chance," Yumi replied, planting his feet. "The Slifer Red is under my protection."
"Tch." Declan clicked his tongue and reached out. "I said move."
He tried to shove Yumi aside. The moment his hand made contact, Yumi overlapped his body with K9-ØØ Lupis.
The shift was instant.
Using the beast policeman's strength and practiced control, Yumi redirected the force, twisted Declan's arm, and threw him cleanly away.
The white-haired man was lifted off the ground and sent flying, crashing several meters back. He rolled once, twice, before skidding to a halt.
Declan Hiiragi had trained in multiple martial arts. Aside from that one girl who had completely crushed him in all martial arts, he is confident in his ability to handle himself in close combat with other people.
Yet the pink-haired boy in front of him.
The movement was efficient. The form was clean. The strength wasn't overwhelming, but it was precise.
"Who are you?" Declan asked, pushing himself up, his expression sharp but clearly unsettled.
"Just a passing-through Duelist," Yumi said lightly. "Remember that."
"Tch. Fine," Declan replied, irritation flashing across his face. "Then let's settle this like true Duelists."
He raised his arm, activating his Duel Disk.
"You should've said that from the beginning," Yumi answered, lifting his own Duel Disk in response.
"DUEL!"
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Declan, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!" Declan said, pulling the top card from his deck without hesitation.
He glanced at his hand for only a moment before picking out two cards. "First, by discarding one card, I get to Special Summon, Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal!"
One card slid into his Graveyard. The other was slapped onto the Duel Disk.
Flames burst up from the field, swirling together before taking shape. A figure clad in pale red armor emerged from the fire, a blue cloak hanging loosely from its shoulders and hips as embers drifted around it.
[Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal, 800 ATK]
"Interesting," Yumi murmured.
Recalling how Declan, in the original Arc-V storyline, uses the D/D/D archetype, which stands for Different Dimension Daemon.
An archetype infamous for how flexible it was, which consisted of the many summoning engines, such as Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, and Link Summon.
But since this current world is still in the Fusion era, and internal dimension travel hasn't become accessible to anyone who can pick up a Duel Disk. Like in some series where the protagonist could directly reprint the cards in his hand during a duel, and no one even complains about it.
Honestly, even the First King of Games couldn't pull off a cheat like that.
He prints cards on top of his deck, making it seem like he is drawing them, while in reality, he just prints out whatever cards can help him turn the tide and win the duel. The only time he seemed to use the ability to directly print a card in his hand was the time he used Legend of Heart, which was originally just a blank card.
So seeing Declan here, using a Vassal instead of a D/D/D monster. Yumi could already somewhat guess Declan's main archetype.
"Now," Declan continued, "I Tribute Berlineth to Summon, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!"
The flames around Berlineth surged, swallowing the smaller figure whole. A heavier presence descended as a second form appeared, clad in deep crimson armor, larger and more imposing, heat radiating from its body.
[Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, 2400 ATK]
"Since Thestalos was Tribute Summoned," Declan said, raising his arm, "its effect activates! I discard one random card from your hand. And if it's a monster, you take 100 damage for each of its levels."
Fire gathered in Thestalos's palm, pulsing steadily.
"And I chain it with Berlineth's effect," Declan added, not missing a beat. "Since it was used for a Tribute Summon, I get to look at your hand and banish one card until the End Phase."
Flames flared around Yumi's side of the field, briefly boxing him in. His cards were illuminated, clearly visible for Declan to see.
Declan: "...?"
Winged Kuriboh LV 4, Take Over 5, Clear Kuriboh, KuriDJ, Sky Striker Kuriboh.
Why are there so many Kuribohs?
For a brief moment, Declan actually paused. Then his expression hardened again as he dismissed the confusion. He directly categorized Yumi as one of those weak Duelist that can be easily beaten with a couple of moves.
After all, the Kuribohs aren't that strong offensively.
"I banish Take Over 5," Declan said, pointing at the lone Spell Card.
The card shattered into golden fragments and vanished.
"Now, Thestalos's effect resolves. I discard the card on the far left in your hand."
Yumi glanced down, then calmly sent Winged Kuriboh LV 4 to the Graveyard.
Thestalos reacted immediately. Flames condensed into a compact sphere before being hurled straight at Yumi.
"I activate Clear Kuriboh's effect," Yumi said evenly. "By discarding it, any effect damage I take becomes zero."
A small purple Kuriboh leapt out in front of him, absorbing the fireball head-on before popping out of existence.
Declan watched, unimpressed but attentive.
"I activate the Spell, Tenacity of the Monarchs."
A dark aura spread around him, heavy and deliberate. Phantom hands emerged from the shadows, presenting a card as if it had been waiting there all along.
"I reveal Raiza the Storm Monarch in my hand. This lets me add one Monarch Spell or Trap from my deck."
He pulls his deck out and raises his chosen card.
"I'll add The Monarchs Stormforth."
He returned his deck to its place, movements efficient and controlled.
"I set one card," Declan said, placing a card face-down behind Thestalos. "Turn end."
"During the End Phase, your banished card is returned to your hand." He said as Yumi added back his Take Over 5.