Chapter 130: The Labyrinth Brothers
Chapter 130: The Labyrinth Brothers
The day of the tag-duo duel had arrived.
Although it was a punishment duel, many students at the academy were intrigued when word spread. Numerous curious students gathered to spectate, along with teachers and other faculty members.
Yusei Fudo and Yuki Judai were already somewhat famous among their peers, especially among those they had personally dueled up to this point. Whether it was to learn from observing or simply to enjoy the show, most students had no reason to miss today's duel.
The only person with a sour expression was Professor Crowler, who had initially proposed this dueling activity as a means of getting rid of both Judai and Sho Marufuji.
Crowler's displeasure was evident as he watched Judai and Fudo take the stage together, a plan far from his original intentions.
Given this unexpected turn of events, it seemed unlikely that they could expel these underperforming students even if they lost.
What, then, was the point of going to all the trouble of organizing this duel and inviting a big shot like Mr. Ono?
Mai Zaichi, watching from the stands, unconsciously clenched his fists and glared at the two below.
Damn it! These were the number one and number two opponents he had to defeat, and now they were both on the stage together.
"Damn that Crowler!" Mai grit his teeth. "One way or another, they're both opponents I should defeat."
Beside him, his lackey Otto looked confused. "Huh? But if Big Brother Mai can't beat either of them alone, doesn't that mean they'll get crushed together? Ugh..."
As soon as these words left his mouth, Lackey A quickly covered Lackey B's mouth, but it was too late. Mai glared at them angrily, his eyes sharp.
"Hmph!"
With a cold expression, he continued, "Just you wait. One day, I, Mai Zaichi, will pin them all down together."
At that moment, he would become the new king of the academy!
". . ."
"Well, it looks like our students are ready," Principal Ryu Shark said eagerly, rubbing his hands together. "Professor Crowler, please call the duelists you invited."
"Ahem, of course," Crowler said as he took the microphone. "For this special occasion, I've invited duelists who are experts in tag-duo duels. Behold!"
As he finished speaking, two bald men appeared from the crowd! They leaped onto the stage with acrobatic flips, landing back-to-back in the center.
The words "Maze" and "Palace" were written on their foreheads, one on each brother.
"We are the roaming guardians, the Labyrinth Brothers!" they announced, crossing their arms and exuding confidence. "We bear no ill will towards you; we simply seek a full-force battle. If you defeat us, the path forward will open!"
The entire audience fell into an uproar.
"Are those... legendary duelists!?" A student exclaimed, standing up in surprise.
"Indeed," introduced Crowler, "the Labyrinth Brothers are legendary duelists who have dueled with the King of Games, Yugi Muto. They are experts in tag-duo duels!"
The students in the auditorium were astounded.
Although it was supposed to be a punishment duel, the opponents turned out to be legendary duelists! This was beyond ridiculous!
"I've heard of them," Asuka commented. "They're said to be opponents who even put the King of Games through a tough battle."
"Indeed, to arrange such opponents..."
Mizawa furrowed his brows, glancing at Judai and Fudo on the stage.
However, he knew from his intelligence gathering that Judai had a history of defeating legendary duelists even before enrolling in the academy.
"If they can surpass legends, then let's see what they've got," Mizawa muttered to himself.
". . ."
Fudo, on the other hand, was excited, his eyes sparkling. "It's really them! The real deal! We get to duel legends—how amazing is that?"
"Heh, it's not bad," Judai said with a smile.
The value of the Labyrinth Brothers' claim to have "dueled the King of Games" was debatable, and their encounter with Yugi had been during the Duelist Kingdom, where dueling involved navigating a maze and differed significantly from the current rules. Their experience might not hold much reference value.
"Don't get too excited," Judai reminded Fudo. "Remember our tactics."
Fudo nodded eagerly, "Got it, got it!"
With all four duelists in position, Crowler took the microphone and stepped into the center of the dueling field.
"Each team will share 8000 LP, and the field and graveyard zones will be shared as well. Neither team can attack during the first turn. Now, if you're both ready..."
Crowler's arm chopped down.
"Tag-duo duel, begin!"
He quickly jumped off the stage to avoid any potential backlash.
"Duel!" x4
[Judai x Fudo, LP 8000]
[Labyrinth Brothers, LP 8000]
"I'll take the first turn," said the older Labyrinth Brother, drawing a card.
"I summon 'Landmine Spider,' and that's the end of my turn."
[Landmine Spider, ATK 2200]
It was the exact same opening move that the Labyrinth Brothers had used in the anime.
Fudo: "Oh, a monster with 2200 ATK right off the bat!"
Mizawa, in the stands, raised an eyebrow.
"Landmine Spider—while it boasts high attack power for a four-star monster, it requires a coin toss to determine success when attacking. If you guess incorrectly, you must halve your LP before continuing the attack, which carries a significant risk.
It's a suitable first turn play, but..."
Asuka: "But what?"
Mizawa: "Well, next turn belongs to Judai. They could've made a simple move like this on their first turn, but now they might not have such an easy time going forward."
Asuka nodded in understanding. "True. Only those who've dueled Judai know how luxurious it is to have the first turn against him and be able to operate without resistance."
These legendary duelists had wasted such an opportunity by simply summoning a monster. Perhaps they would soon realize the extent of their mistake.
Judai: "My turn, draw! I activate the magic card 'Greed Jar' and draw two cards from my deck."
He then revealed a monster card.
The Labyrinth Brothers frowned at the strange creature.
"What is this insignificant monster?"
Even those in the stands who recognized You Xuan were perplexed.
The Disturbance series was well-known, but they were generally considered battle scraps. However, based on experience, no one dared to underestimate them since they were in You Xuan's hands.
What bizarre strategy would he employ this time?
You Xuan drew three more cards.
"I'll end my turn by setting three cards face-down in the back row."
His friendly opening move of setting three cards elicited knowing looks from Asuka and Mizawa, while the students from the Yellow Dormitory anticipated the upcoming spectacle.
However, the Labyrinth Brothers, as outsiders, had yet to grasp the severity of the situation.
Labyrinth Brother (Younger): "Then it's my turn. Draw!
The first card I'll use is this one."
He revealed a hand card, and a projection of a magic card appeared on the field with a golden flash.
"Magic Card - Sacrificial Puppet!
Sacrifice a monster on your field as a tribute. Special Summon from your hand a seven-star monster that can be normally summoned, but that monster cannot attack this turn."
The younger Labyrinth Brother paused and smiled at his older brother. "Big bro, I'll need to borrow your monster for this."
Labyrinth Brother (Older): "There's no need for formalities between brothers. Go ahead and use it."
"Okay, then I'll sacrifice your 'Landmine Spider' as a tribute! From my hand, I special summon one of our brothers' aces!
The guardian who controls the wind, appear now—
—Wind Majin, Shuga!!!"
A green whirlwind rose into the sky, and a green majin with the character for "wind" clearly written on its chest and powerful arms appeared on the field.
[Wind Majin-Shuga, ATK 2400]
Labyrinth Brother (Younger): "Wind Majin-Shuga! This is one of our brothers' three ace majins, with unparalleled..."
You Xuan: "I activate my face-down Trap Card, 'Bottomless Trap Hole.' When your opponent summons a monster with 1500 or more ATK, destroy it and remove it from play."
The trap opened up, and one of the three great majins, the Wind Majin, was sucked into the giant pit and disappeared without a trace, amidst a green storm.
Labyrinth Brother (Older), who had been striking a pose and was about to deliver his line, was left awkwardly frozen on the field.
"... "
"Hehe, not bad."
After a few seconds, he casually coughed and tried to maintain the image of a legendary duelist.
"Then I activate the Magic Card 'Darkness Nominator'! Declare the name of a monster card. If your opponent has the declared card in their deck, that card is added to their hand!"
Judai was surprised. "Huh? Declare the name of their card?"
You Xuan: "No. In a Tag-Team Duel, your teammate can also be considered your opponent."
"Is that so?"
Labyrinth Brother (Younger): "Indeed! So, the name of the monster I want to declare is..."
He pointed at his older brother.
"... 'Water Majin-Ska'!"
The older brother, who had been standing with his arms crossed, chuckled and said, "Ohho, interesting. I just so happen to have 'Water Majin-Ska' in my deck. Thanks, little bro.
So, according to the effect of 'Darkness Nominator,' I add 'Water Majin-Ska' to my hand."
He drew the searched card from his deck, briefly showed it, and added it to his hand.
Off to the side, the gold medal commentator, Mizawa, frowned. "They cleverly utilized the rule in Tag-Team Duels that 'teammates can also be considered opponents.'"
Asuka: "By using their teammate's card to precisely search their deck, their deck is truly built for Tag-Team Duels. These two are quite formidable. I wonder if Judai and You Xuan can handle them..."
The Labyrinth Brothers, having completed their search, simultaneously raised their arms triumphantly.
Labyrinth Brother (Older): "Let us..."
Labyrinth Brother (Younger): "... teach you..."
Both: "... the true essence of Tag-Team Duels!"
You Xuan praised them, "Impressive! To be able to utilize the opponent rule in Tag-Team Duels so skillfully for searching, you're too strong. Then I activate my Trap Card, 'Mind Crush'! Declare a card name, and if your opponent has the declared card in their hand, they must discard it.
If they do not have it, I must discard a random card from my hand."
The Labyrinth Brothers' faces changed simultaneously. "What!?!"
Mind Crush, a super-versatile card that once wreaked havoc in the physical card environment. Although this card was not favored by early-era duelists, as the game accelerated and card search effects became more common, the potential of this ancient trap began to be discovered by duelists.
In You Xuan's memory of dueling, this card was treated like "Greydle Dragon" during its peak, a must-have search and countermeasure artifact in the competitive environment.
Especially in the early days, storytelling decks often lacked the resilience of modern game mainstream decks, which could take multiple hits from resistance cards and still bounce back. In the past, even many mainstream critical searches would sometimes directly end the game after taking a hit from Mind Crush, leaving duelists to ruefully hand over the power of the game to their opponents.
Hence, the name of this card was quite fitting—'Mind Crush.' If you got hit by it back then, your mindset really would be crushed.
You Xuan: "What should I declare? Well, it has to be this.
I declare 'Water Majin-Ska.'"
The Labyrinth Brothers glanced at each other and gritted their teeth.
"Tch."
The younger brother coldly revealed the freshly searched "Water Majin-Ska," which he had yet to warm up to, and sent it to the Graveyard.
"Ohho, what a coincidence that I just so happen to have 'Water Majin-Ska' in my hand."
You Xuan grinned, sounding like he was mocking the older brother's tone from earlier.
"What great luck."
The word "well" appeared on the bald heads of the Labyrinth Brothers.
Their anger meter was filling up...
(End of Chapter)
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