"Ahhhh!!! It's a Dead person!!!"
One hand blocked Ojama Red from getting close. Hayato glanced at the Skeleton he had just pointed at. "There's nothing strange about it. Although Pegasus's Industrial Illusions is a relatively young company, his Castle was passed down from his ancestors."
"In the past, a Private Island was no different from a Kingdom of one's own. It's not surprising that Pegasus's family would lock up and torture people they didn't like in the Dungeon..."
"Aniki, you're too calm!" Ojama Red grabbed Hayato's Finger. "That's a Dead person, a Dead person! Don't you have even a tiny bit of fear or panic?"
Hayato stopped walking and turned his head to look at the Skeleton. "If it were a real Dead person, I'd definitely be scared. But the problem is, this thing is fake..."
Saying this, he reached out and picked up the Skeleton Arm from the ground, weighing it casually in his Hand. Its light texture immediately told him it was Foam. With a slight squeeze of his Finger, Hayato's five Finger marks were left on the Skeleton Arm.
"As Dark humor as ever. So the Underground Labyrinth that Yugi and the others went to was indeed Pegasus's handiwork." Hayato recalled Yugi and the others' experiences in the original Timeline. "Since the Dungeon is already here, can I guess that the Paradox Brothers are here too?"
"Eek!"
"Hah!"
Two strange cries suddenly came from behind Hayato. Two dark figures attacked from behind him, soaring over his head. After kicking off the ceiling to change direction, they landed in front of Hayato. Although they were underground, Hayato felt as if two suns had appeared before his eyes.
Sun Number One and Sun Number Two stood side-by-side, striking a stylish Kung Fu pose. They said in unison, "Style, Labyrinth!"
"Style, Invincible East, please enlighten me!" Subconsciously, Hayato blurted out a response, but he quickly reacted. "You two aren't the Paradox Brothers, are you? Weren't you already defeated by Yugi and Joey Wheeler?"
Sun Number One, the older brother Mei, struck a White Crane Spreads Wings pose. "Hoho, you learned about their experiences from your companions? That's right, we were once defeated by Katsuya Jounouchi and Mutou Yuugi."
The younger brother Kyuu complemented his brother's movements with a Black Tiger Steals Heart pose. "However, the generous and benevolent Master Pegasus gave us a second chance to redeem ourselves. Having failed once, we, the Paradox Brothers,"
"Revive!"
Looking at the Paradox Brothers, who suffered from "will die if they don't move while talking," Hayato tilted his head. "Let me guess, your next sentence is..."
"Hayato Kobayashi, you won't pass here unless you Duel us!"
"Hayato Kobayashi, you won't pass here unless you... Nani!"
Seeing the two bald heads opposite him looking helpless, Hayato shrugged. "Should I say it's worthy of a Duelist's world? Everyone's Dueling Obsessed. Two Kung Fu Masters could easily control an Ordinary High School Student like me, yet they insist on Dueling."
"However, I won't refuse."
The ceiling above rumbled, splitting open with a regular straight crack. From the opened Mechanism, a Duel Platform slowly descended from above. The side where Hayato stood was the same as a standard Duel Platform, but the side where the Paradox Brothers stood had two platforms.
"Hah!"
With a beautiful somersault, the two Paradox Brothers jumped onto the Duel Platform before it had fully descended. They placed their Decks, and the Duel Platform was activated, displaying the Life Points panel which lit up with the value "4000".
Although Hayato's physical fitness was quite good for a high school student, it was too difficult for him to somersault onto the platform like the Paradox Brothers. The Duel Platform slowly landed, crushing the "Skeleton" arm he had thrown back to its original spot earlier.
"Ah, it got crushed."
Ignoring Ojama Blue's surprise behind him, Hayato stepped onto the Duel Platform on his side. As he placed his Deck, the number displayed on his Life Points panel was 8000 Points.
The older brother Mei spoke, "The Duel will proceed in the order of Mei → Hayato Kobayashi → Kyuu → Hayato Kobayashi → Mei. You can Draw a Card once per your Turn. The three parties are considered a free-for-all with no allies. Also, until the fourth Turn, neither side can enter the Battle Phase."
"However, I can share the Graveyard with my brother, and the Monsters on the Field can also be shared with each other. The Fields are independent of each other," the younger brother Kyuu added.
"And whether my Life Points or my brother's Life Points reach zero, it will not affect the other's Duel. In other words, you have to defeat both of us."
After the Paradox Brothers finished explaining the Rules, they didn't wait for Hayato's agreement and immediately Drew five Cards from their respective Decks before asking, "Any problems, Hayato Kobayashi?"
"You've already started, so does asking make a difference?" Hayato Ranted, also Drawing his Cards. "However, I actually gained something, so how could I have any objections?"
"Then..."
"Duel!" X3
[Hayato: 8000 LP, Hand 5]
[Mei: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
[Kyuu: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
"I'll take the First Turn." Mei and Kyuu had already boarded the Duel Platform before Hayato and finished Drawing their five Hands early, easily snatching the First Turn Right. The older brother Mei kicked off this Duel. "My Turn, Draw a Card."
"Hoho, I Drew a good Monster," Mei said, glancing at Kyuu.
The tacit understanding between the Brothers made Kyuu instantly understand the Card Mei had Drawn. "Are you going to Summon that Monster on the first Turn? That's great, Brother."
"First, I Activate the Magic Card, Cost Down. By Discarding one Card from my Hand, I can Activate this Card. It decreases the Level of all Monsters in my Hand by two Stars."
"Then I Activate the Field Spell Card, Legendary City of Atlantis. The Level of all WATER Attribute Monsters in both players' Hands and on the Field decreases by one Star." After consuming half of his Hand Resources, Mei showed a smug Expression. "With this, the Stage for the Descent is set."
"Normal Summon Suijin from my Hand!"
In the Underwater Ruins simulated by the Virtual Projection, a giant Water Sphere was created out of nothing and burst open violently. From within, a ferocious-looking Monster appeared, resembling a Robot, with the character "Water" (Water) imprinted on its forehead.
[Suijin] [Level 7 / WATER]
[Aqua Type / Effect]
[2500/2400 → 2700/2600]
"Although it's a Level 7 Monster, I decreased its Level by 3 Stars, so it can be Normal Summoned without any Tributes," Mei said, quite pleased after Summoning his ace Monster. "My Turn ends."
[Mei: 4000 LP, Hand 2]
[Suijin] [ATK 2600]
Field: [Legendary City of Atlantis]
Note: The hero Theseus relied on a Ball of Yarn to leave marks on the places he had passed, thus passing through the constantly changing "Minotaur's Labyrinth." After defeating the Minotaurus, he also conveniently took the princess, making him arguably the earliest Pure Love War God.
(End of this chapter)