Fusion is the noblest form of summoning!.

Chapter 664 Shadow Spirit Robe (7K views, please vote!)

Inside the research room, Akama Reiji looked at the people in the dueling arena, gently pushed up his glasses, and recalled and pondered.

The "pseudo-god machine" in the laboratory was not actually manufactured recently.

As a filial son who had been prepared since childhood to fight his own father at any time, Akaba Reiji naturally wouldn't do anything unprepared. Long ago, he started working with Sakaki Yuya's father, Sakaki Yukatsu, to research and create a machine for simulation and testing.

The machine's hypothetical enemy is none other than "Red Horse Zero King".

According to Yusho Sakaki, he was actually more worried about something else, namely the existence "behind" Zero Akaba.

Back then, Zero Akaba betrayed their research team, attempting to monopolize "GOD" and causing Zack and his daughter Zero Akaba to disappear. If it were simply Zero Akaba's ambition, it wouldn't be so bad, but Yusho Sakaki was more worried that "GOD" might have been involved in what happened.

To this end, he devised the "Pseudo-God Machine" project, which is also one of the very few applications of "spirit power" in their dimension.

However, after Sophia appeared in their dimension, Akaba Reiji stopped using the "simulation machine". On the one hand, he realized the machine's flaws, and on the other hand, with Sophia's presence, he could improve his dimensional power faster and more effectively.

Of course, there was something even more significant that changed Akaba Reiji's mind.

That is, by studying the "reflection" of Sophia left in their world, he can create a better machine, and this kind of mortal machine that consumes a lot of power, has poor effects, will naturally have no reason to exist.

Until today.

With the new technology provided by the Synchro Dimension and the "D-Wheel Perpetual Motion Machine" sent to his laboratory to provide energy, the pseudo-god machine suddenly became usable—even quite excellent!

Without the energy consumption crisis, the high potential of the pseudo-god machine can be fully utilized, even to help Sophia in a simulated duel with "Tiera".

He looked at the simulated divine machine, his brows furrowed.

The worry in his heart did not dissipate; on the contrary, it became more and more obvious.

Strange, why is that...?
While he was pondering, the pseudo-divine machine had already finished its turn in the dueling arena.

On the left, I set up the Ugly at Pendulum Scale 9, then searched for the hidden Shell Killer Materialism outside of Ugly, then set three cards face down to end the turn.

A fairly standard round.

Then, it was Sofia's turn.

In the reflection of the glass, Sofia gently raised her right hand, and then a card flew from outside the reflection into the glass.

"Overlay card, activate." The red light on the simulated god machine flashed for a moment, then lit up with a signal.

The casing is frozen.

Reiji Akama remained silent, watching as Zhang Ka transformed into a monster and appeared before the machine.

One of the key functions of the simulated god machine, and also the best technology of their pendulum dimension, is "physical imaging technology," which is a technology very suitable for simulated warfare.

In this world, most cards have their "owners". Ordinary people can usually only build a deck of normal monsters. Unique cards like "Machine Shell" are things that other people can't even see.

However, with physical influence technology, it's possible to create virtual cards through data analysis and then engage in duels.

This is also part of their more famous "entertainment duel" in Pendulum Dimension.

The most popular activity in their world is dueling with random card decks and random physical images in a special dueling arena, which is also the "entertainment duel" advocated by Yuya Sakaki's father, Yukatsu Sakaki.

Nothing is more interesting than the unknown possibilities.

Of course, for Reiji Akaba, directly simulating the "Tiera" card through physical image technology and turning it into an image duel is obviously more useful.

Yes--

He can even imitate materialism!

"Continuous Trap Card, activate."

"The Emperor of Combos".

The pseudo-god machine raises its left claw, commanding the cards: "This card can activate its effect once per turn during your opponent's Main Phase or Battle Phase. Tribute Summon 1 monster."

Release the frozen shell, Superior Summon, Level 10, Hidden Shell Killer Materialism!

A gigantic, illusory machine slowly emerged, and a rainbow-colored light gradually adorned the research room. Under the light, a huge, multi-legged machine slowly appeared, centered on the rainbow tube.

Hidden Shell Killer Materialism, Level 10, Earth Attribute, Mechanical Race, Attack Power 3000.
It worked!
Seeing this, Akama Reiji's eyes widened and he clenched his fist in excitement.

Even "god-level" power can now be simulated using the "God Simulator"!

Sophia looked at Materialism and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Of course, she had her eyes closed the whole time, so it wouldn't be accurate to describe it as "seeing." But precisely because she wasn't "seeing" with her eyes, she could better understand that the materialism summoned by this pseudo-god machine, although not as large as the one summoned by Tiera, had the same "internal structure" as the materialism she had summoned back then.

In principle, as her "chosen one" and "competitor," Akama Reiji's side should naturally have as many and stronger items as possible, but Sophia couldn't help but frown.

That doesn't seem quite right.

She observed for a while, then looked at her own cards.

It's better to complete the test duel first.

After several days of grueling, grueling "test-taking drills," Sofia certainly no longer underestimated the "duel" as she had before.

In DT Elf Dimension, she conducted in-depth, 24-hour continuous testing. The test involved using the same deck as her opponent, mimicking their tactics, and engaging in duels. However, her win rate was ultimately less than 20%.
Of course, if she were to use her "power" to stabilize her hand or her opponent's cards, she would definitely have the upper hand, but she didn't do that.

It's a very simple reason: her next opponent is her "sister" who has fought alongside her for countless years, a sister who is almost a one-to-one "replica" of her, except for differences in preferences and inclinations.

At most, she is more aggressive, while Tiera is more capable of countering.

If you can't even maintain a stable win rate under the same circumstances, it's absolutely impossible for you to have met Tiera earlier than her.

Of course.

Although Tiera had been involved in duels longer than her, it was only a year or two. For humans, a year or two is enough to change many things, but for gods, a year or two is far too short.

No matter how much is changed, the instincts and habits of a god will not be affected much in a profound way.

Unless it's an influencer who is even more extreme and exaggerated than she is.

Hikaru Amagi is indeed very extreme, but without Tiera's initiative to learn and spend a long time with her, it's impossible for anything to change.

She knows Tierra too well.

Rigid, stubborn, gloomy, but more importantly—never give up.

Never giving up is a virtue or a characteristic for most people, but for a stubborn person, never giving up might mean not giving up until they hit a brick wall.

She finished studying her cards and remained silent for a long time.

Over the course of more than half a year, she sent the DT Elf Dimension cards to other dimensions through various means. Although the main target of her dissemination was still the Pendulum Dimension, it was still considered to have achieved initial success, greatly increasing her power and giving her the confidence to catch up and challenge Tiera.

Although she and Tiera are both "creators" of the DT world, she is relatively more orthodox, and the creations she creates are more approachable than those created by Tiera.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Tiera's true creations, the Hellfire Machine and its shell, are simply things that have vanished from the human world and do not exist.

Many of the creatures she created have spread to numerous worlds, which is why she recovers her power much faster than Tiera.

Naturally, she can also acquire power more quickly and create cards suitable for her use.

Yes--

This time, she decided not to copy her opponent's deck, but to duel using her own "cards".

To be honest, after about a week of hellish, endless practice problems, she gradually discovered that whether human or elf, they would only perform better when using cards that "belonged to themselves." Even in a duel, when Sophia secretly suppressed both sides' "power" to the point of non-existence, this concept still existed.

This is no longer a matter of luck or personal ability, but rather a peculiar existing rule of this world.

Duelists can perform better by using cards that align with their beliefs and habits.

After examining the cards in her hand, she hesitated for a moment before activating one.

"Quick-Play Spell Card, Shadowfiend's Mirror of Deity".

"You can activate this during either player's Main Phase. If your total Levels exceed the Level of a Ritual Summoned monster, you can Tribute monsters from your hand or field, or instead send a Shadow Cloak monster from your Extra Deck to the Graveyard, and Ritual Summon 1 Shadow Cloak monster from your hand or banished."

"Hmm... Shadow Cloak Sorcerer Schlitt can be used as the level release required for Shadow Cloak monster ritual summoning."

"Ritual summoning of the Trident Dragon Shadow Spirit Robe from the hand card."

A wisp of ice crystal slowly appeared in the desolate laboratory. Then, the ice combined to form a set of dragon armor, which was then placed on the warrior's body.

Trident Dragon Shadow Robe, Level 9, Water Attribute, Warrior Race, Attack Power 2700.
"You can activate this effect when you Ritual Summon Trident Dragon's Shadow Spirit Robe. Banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand, and 1 card each from the field and graveyard, for a total of 3 cards."

"Schlitt's effect can only be activated if this card is Tributed. Add 1 Warrior-Type Shadow Cloak Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand."

Sofia looked towards the opposing team's field.

Actually, she had tested her deck a little before the duel.

Then she discovered the flaws of the Trident Shadow Spirit Robe card.

Although at first glance it seems like a powerful card that can banish 3 cards directly, its effect itself has a problem.

You need "three cards" to activate the effect of Trident Dragon Shadow Robe if your opponent has no cards on their field or in their graveyard!

All I can say is that Sofia was very fortunate to have met Tiera early and even been enlightened by her. Otherwise, if she had actually used this deck of her own to compete with Tiera, she wouldn't even know how she died.

"Cover card, activate."

The virtual god silently opened the overlay card.

"Perpetual Trap Card, Skill Draw, Activate."

Simulated divine machine, LP: 3200→2200.
Skill extraction.

Sofia frowned slightly.

While this card is on the field, the effects of face-up monsters on the field are negated.

However, since Materialism is unaffected by Spell/Trap Cards, this card is actually a one-sided Trap Card against Sophia.

For a long time, Sofia felt that these "mutually damaging" cards were useless until Tiera enlightened her and she started to actually duel, at which point she gradually came to understand.

A duel is something that uses so-called "flaws" to make a normal competition different.

Just like now, the effects of her Trident Dragon Shadow Robe were instantly nullified, and not only that, but her attack power was also reduced by 500 due to the effect of Materialism.
Trident Dragon Shadow Spirit Robe, ATK: 2700→2200.
2200, that's nowhere near enough for materialism to fight.

However, the good news is that she can also use Schritt's effect to add Warrior-type Shadow Cloak Ritual Monsters from her deck to her hand.

She opened her deck and checked it briefly.

Warrior race, warrior race...

Not many.

She looked at the Ritual Monsters in her deck and frowned slightly.

If possible, she wants to search for "Phantom Dancer: Decisive Weapon". That card can increase the ATK of a Phantom Dancer on the field by 1000 by sacrificing itself.

However, the race of the Shadow Robe of the Decisive Weapon is Dragon, so there is no way to search for it.

Seeing that Sophia was deep in thought and hadn't made any moves for a long time, Akama Reiji gently pushed up his glasses, knocked on the window, and reminded her: "Light Gun Dragon Shadow Spirit Robe".

Light Gun Dragon...

Oh--

She saw that Light Lance Dragon's Shadow Cloak could sacrifice itself and add any 1 Shadow Cloak monster other than Light Lance Dragon from the deck to the hand.

In other words, by simply going through one process, Schlitt can retrieve all the Shadow Cloak monsters?

She didn't quite understand.

If that's the case, wouldn't it be better if Schlitt could just search for all the Shadow Cloaks from the very beginning?

She shook her head, added the card to her hand, then activated the effect of Light Lance Dragon, sacrificing herself to add Shadow Cloak of Final Weapon from her deck to her hand, and then discarded it again.

"During your or your opponent's turn, discard this card from your hand. Target 1 Shadow Cloak monster you control; that monster gains 1000 ATK and DEF until the end of this turn."
Increases the attack power of the Trident Dragon Shadow Robe by 1000 points.

Trident Dragon Shadow Spirit Robe, ATK: 2200→3200.
"Fight! Attack materialism with the Trident Dragon Shadow Spirit Robe—"

Swish!
The warrior of the Trident Dragon swung his spear, hurling it at Materialism, causing the Phenomenal Machine's health to plummet instantly.

wrong--

Seeing this, Akama Reiji couldn't help but push up his glasses again.

The shot was wrong.

Sophia had shown him her deck before and asked him to help analyze it. Out of basic courtesy in cooperation, since she had already shown him her deck, he naturally wouldn't hold back any information. Therefore, he gave Sophia a lot of suggestions.

Because he had seen the "Shadow Robe" deck, he knew very well that Sofia's current duel was wrong.

Because—she could actually win right now.

If Spectre's Mirror of Deception is in your Graveyard, you can banish it and any Spectre monsters during the Main Phase to activate this effect. Add 1 Spectre Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.

Excluding Schritt, and then searching for the Resurrection Jutsu of the Shadow Cloak, as long as the monster's level is sufficient, you can Ritual Summon the Ritual Monster from the Graveyard, which is to say, Ritual Summon the Final Weapon Shadow Cloak.

While the effect of the Shadow Cloth of Decisive Weapons is useless against Materialism, you can use this method to directly gather monsters with 3200 and 3300 attack power. As long as the battle destroys Materialism, and then the Shadow Cloth of Decisive Weapons attacks directly, you can win.

but.

Sofia had clearly forgotten about the cards in the graveyard.

This gives the other side an opportunity—

Just as he expected, after Sophia finished her turn, it was the turn of the Divine Machine, and it wouldn't hold back.

First, I paid another 800 life points to retrieve another Pendulum component, Unstable, from the Shell deck, and then Pendulum summoned Shell Access Cruelty.

Attack power 2800——

Anyone who's 100 points higher than 2700 is a boss!

However, upon seeing the monster, Sophia couldn't help but frown again, seemingly lost in thought.

When it was Sophia's turn, she seemed to finally remember the monster in the graveyard, belatedly searched for ritual magic, and then ritually summoned the final weapon, but—just as Akaba Reiji had thought before.

Because the best chance to deliver the final blow was missed, the Shell deck was able to assemble a Pendulum Monster, allowing Cruel to Special Summon from the Extra Deck every turn. Even though the Final Weapon had higher attack power, it couldn't stop it, and Cruel could only watch as the Shell Special Summoned Pendulum Monsters from the Extra Deck every turn.

Reiji Akama instinctively pushed up his glasses.

She was a genuine, visibly novice duelist. Although he hadn't seen what the god named Tiera actually looked like, since she was able to defeat several opponents in a world-class duel like WRGP, she was definitely no longer a "rookie."

If she wanted to duel with someone like Tiera, the Sofia in her reflection was probably far inferior.

But at the same time, he also had some doubts.

If nothing unexpected happens, Tiera should be a god similar to Sophia.

She is the kind of "transcendent god" who can restart dimensions at any time and has no interest in humans or mortal things. After all, Sofia has mentioned many times that Tiera is almost equivalent to her.

However, under these circumstances, Tierra's duel, if not particularly "artistic," would be at least the worst possible outcome.

It's worth noting that although Sofia had asked him many questions about dueling during this time, he would often start by researching the questions himself or forget about them altogether, without taking them to heart.

He didn't care, of course, since he himself still doubted Sophia's existence.

Tiera awoke not much earlier than Sofia, as Sofia herself had stated.

So, what kind of person could have inspired Tiera to learn to this extent?

Could it be that Hikaru Amagi is not only a master of dueling, but also an exceptional teacher?
While he was lost in thought, the situation on the field finally changed. Fortunately, Sofia finally drew the key card – Great Storm.

Thus, without the pendulum's flexibility, the pseudo-divine machine gradually weakened and was completely defeated.

"call--"

Sofia was quite happy.

Although I was a little tired, I won.

Of course, she knew very well that the machine in front of her was just an emulator and could not compare to Tiera herself, but being able to defeat the "shell" deck had given her a little confidence back.

Duels aren't actually that difficult—

It wasn't until she saw everything in the laboratory begin to "reverse" that Akama Reiji rewound the turn of the pseudo-divine machine to the second turn, pointed quietly to Sophia's graveyard, and mentioned the names of a few cards, which made Sophia suddenly realize what was going on.

So you were able to win the second round?

This is really...

Her thinking is too limited; she only thinks about punching someone and blowing them up, without considering the connection between the cards. This is a huge flaw.

However, after learning this, she didn't care anymore.

If it's so easy, then there's nothing wrong with my cards.

It's not unusual for the controller to have problems.

She is a god who is very good at accepting reality. The moment she awoke, she found that the DT dimension was in chaos and nature was in ruins. She then decided to restart the planet. However, at that time, the efforts of the life in that world and the life in the universe earned her approval, which made her choose to give up and not completely choose to restart the planet.

She preferred to believe in the "individual thoughts" of living beings rather than the "mechanical thinking of a group" than in Tierra.

From the day Tierra mocked her, she knew she was no match for him in a duel; this was just another example of what could happen.

However, she still loathed this terrible world, and if she could, she would gladly accept this dimension.

She then gently shook her head.

The rest is up to repeated training in the DT dimensional world.

You need to at least understand the effects and abilities of each card. You can't just stand there like you did against the Pseudo-God Machine—the Pseudo-God Machine has Reiji Akaba's ability to manipulate time, so she can think for an infinite amount of time. You can't just stand there and daydream during a duel.

This is not the time for her to think about how to sculpt plants.

In her reflection in the glass, she touched her chin with one hand, her eyes closed in deep thought. Observing the movement of her eyelids, it was clear that she was indeed thinking about something.

"The god-like opportunity is ready for you to use anytime."

[A pseudo-divine machine? No, Akama Reiji, you'd better stop researching pseudo-divine machines.]

Akama Reiji's pupils contracted slightly, and she asked almost imperceptibly, "Why?"

This machine is extremely dangerous; it can completely simulate the feeling of materialism… This is dangerous, Reiji Akaba. It means this machine can genuinely simulate the existence of God.

Akama Reiji's heart pounded wildly.

A true god of simulation!

He suddenly understood what his feelings of worry and excitement were—

Once they have the technology of their own dimension and a perpetual motion machine, they actually have the opportunity to directly create artificial gods!

After all, infinite energy combined with materialized images equals infinite matter!

And the infinite matter and infinite energy constitute the true "realm of the gods"!
It possesses such terrifying power...

They are in the pendulum dimension, so they don't need to worry about invasions from other dimensions at all!

Do not attempt to enter this realm—perhaps it would be a good thing for humanity, but… humanity may not need so-called gods.

This statement surprised Akama Reiji somewhat.

Sophia is clearly a god, yet she said such a thing?
But in reality, Sofia herself sees things very clearly.

Despite her claim of wanting to restart this synchronized dimension, she is actually much more approachable than Tiera. Aside from the "Path of Creation," which is incompatible with Tiera, she is surprisingly tolerant of ordinary life.

This is similar to how, after the DT Dimensional Elf defeated her, she would generously bestow power upon the elves, allowing them to grow stronger.

For her, this wasn't a bad thing; what was really bad were those who couldn't accept reality.

Her statement that "we don't necessarily need God" stems from the same idea as her willingness to give the world to ordinary lives.

Although she was unhappy about restarting the world, she genuinely handed it over to all living beings, allowing them to develop freely.

Only when she feels that "these damned creatures are beyond saving" will she restart the planet in a fit of rage, returning everything to its original state, recreating the perfect ecological structure, and giving the planet a beautiful, rich, and vibrant environment.

As for things like race, they are meaningless to someone like her.

Even the Tiera, though not purely mechanical, still possesses many structures characteristic of natural life.

The pendulum dimension itself has no god, yet it has been able to develop to this state normally, which is thousands or tens of thousands of times better than the synchro dimension. This means that the pendulum dimension itself has its merits. To learn from the synchro dimension for no reason is to invite trouble upon oneself.

“I understand.” Akama Reiji gently pushed up his glasses.

Sofia didn't offer any further explanation, but rather issued an order, instructing Akama Reiji not to cross the line, as always. In her view, this was the normal, proper way to interact and communicate with mortals.

Excessive contact and personal emotions can alter the course of events, which is detrimental to the world.

As usual, Akaba Reiji verbally agreed but did not spread the DT Dimension ritual-related cards in his own dimension. He simply responded with a sound, then pushed up his glasses and said nothing more.

He didn't trust Sophia. Moreover, during the competition, Sophia had clearly told him that she wanted to obtain the status of "Synchronous One God," restart the Synchronous Dimension, and recreate the universe—in Akaba Reiji's eyes, Sophia was already more dangerous than his father.

After all, what she was going to do was to directly destroy all life in a universe!
She didn't hesitate at all—

This is a god whose danger level is no less than that of the so-called "Tiera who will destroy the world upon awakening"!
He doesn't trust anyone except Yusuke Sakaki!
　7K7K, this duel simplifies the details regarding the casing, mainly because the casing hasn't really changed much, so there's no need to write it out every time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)