After that, Amon again used Exodia's ritual, gathering the pieces in the Graveyard through battle, then taking the Duel victory.
And in such a sudden situation, Ed again precisely used a Trap that could skip the Battle Phase.
From this you can see that, in the original story, when these top-tier Duelists Duel, it really isn't pure "Dueling", but a clash of power; otherwise there's no way Ed would just happen to draw a whole pile of counter Cards.
Naturally—precisely because of this, it also laid the groundwork for Ed's defeat.
Aiko and Amon are the real deal, true love, so at the end of the Duel, Aiko voluntarily offered herself as Exodia's Sacrifice, throwing "power" out of balance and completely causing Ed's defeat.
But it has to be said, Ed is a genuine Hero of Destiny; even knowing he was doomed to lose, even as he saw his Duel Disk start dropping Life Points and knew he was about to be defeated, he had neither regret nor resentment.
If a Hero's Destiny is predetermined to be sacrificing himself to protect others, then he will gladly go to his death—
After Exodia was unsealed, he stood in front of Judai and the others, spread both arms, and used his own body as a shield, letting his friends and teachers escape with their lives.
He never expected that Destiny would let the two of them meet again in this Dimension.
Tenjo Hikari pondered.
Although he hadn't seen the sealed Dark Great Mage in the Duel with the Lion Witch just now, Grandpa Sugoroku definitely wouldn't lie to him, so this world absolutely does have that "sealed" Mage.
However, his Trial was already over, and he wouldn't stop the two sides from meeting.
Although earlier he saw Ed once again develop feelings for Aiko, that actually wasn't something that needed to be considered, because Ed is a genuine straight-laced gentleman, and once he's sure the other side is a loving couple, he would absolutely never play the Battle Ox.
After Tenjo Hikari's Duel, logically, either Ed or Amon should have been the one to undergo the Trial, but since the two arrived basically at the same time, they should first decide a winner between them.
But Ed wasn't interested in that sort of thing; besides, after watching Tenjo Hikari's Duel with the Lion Witch, he felt this world probably didn't need him, and he'd already seen enough interesting things, so he didn't need the Trial and wouldn't take away the Spirits nurtured here.
Amon, on the other hand, after Ed withdrew, chose to face the Lion Witch directly.
"Human, after watching Hikari's Duel, you still want to undergo the Trial with me?" The Lion Witch didn't mind.
Now it was much stronger than it used to be—though before, relying on its own power, it used the forgotten Spirits of this Dimension as effortlessly as using itself, that was still essentially forcing itself to use the Cards here.
But now, it seemed to have gained this world's recognition, and in a Duel it would only be stronger than when it Dueling Tenjo Hikari!
However—a Trial doesn't necessarily need a clear winner; even if Tenjo Hikari had lost, judging from Tenjo Hikari's performance and spirit in the Duel, it wouldn't really curse Tenjo Hikari.
"Then, tell me what you're thinking."
Amon nodded slightly.
He spoke of what he had seen earlier at Critical Point, and also mentioned some tragedies in the Human World.
The purpose of his coming to this Dimension was to change the current state of this Dimension and save some forgotten Cards.
However—
Since Tenjo Hikari had already accomplished these things, he could only voice his admiration and then ask if there was anything he could help with.
After all, since he was already here.
If his Duel Energy could add a brick or a tile to this Dimension, he wouldn't mind going all out and Dueling the Lion Witch here.
Hearing his dream, and feeling that he didn't seem like any sort of villain, the Lion Witch nodded slightly.
Perhaps because Tenjo Hikari's performance had been too outstanding, it was no longer as harsh toward humans who intruded here as it had been before, so instead of calling him delusional, it told Amon that if he could stay here with the Spirits of this place and together care for those Spirits who had fallen into slumber and were buried among the white bones, then it could observe his resolve.
Different people deserve different treatment; Tenjo Hikari's ideals can be discerned just by watching his Duel.
But with this kind of ideal, if it didn't personally witness his actions, there was no way it would just go straight into a Duel.
"To create a peaceful and equal world?" Standing beside Tenjo Hikari, listening to Amon's words, Ed felt somewhat approving.
If someone really has that kind of breadth of mind, then he truly is worthy of respect.
He had already compared Amon's Duel level and Duel Energy quite a bit in his heart, and hadn't expected him to also have this sort of ambition.
"He should be the representative of Eastern Academy's branch." Tenjo Hikari added in his spare moment at the side. "In about two weeks, when school starts, representatives from Duel Academy branches all over the world will come to Duel Academy Main School. Ed, you should have plenty of chances to spar with him then."
Ed nodded, then shook his head: "But, sorry, I still have many world tour matches, as well as other things to do, so I'm afraid I won't be able to attend classes normally."
Tenjo Hikari didn't mind.
Ed himself is very busy; that's completely normal.
Just then—
Just when everyone was very satisfied, Aiko suddenly cut in.
"Lord Lion Witch! I did some investigating beforehand. In this Dimension, there exists an [Exodia], right?!"
At these words, everyone present looked at her in shock—