"Heh heh heh heh..."
"Welcome, lost little lambs—"
The two suddenly flung their arms wide, shouting in perfect unison!
"To our carefully prepared—'Labyrinth Field'!!"
Yuto looked over the battlefield. Unlike a normal Duel arena, this Tag Duel field was made up of countless small squares.
"All right, how many Star Chips will you wager?"
"How many?"
Yugi frowned slightly and instinctively shook his head.
He wasn't afraid, but with the Star Chips they needed already collected, there was no reason to bet more.
Regardless, Yuto clearly thought otherwise.
"Ten."
Yuto's voice was firm, cutting through the silence. Promptly, he raised his hand and swiftly removed every Star Chip from his Duel Glove!
The chips glittered in his palm before he slapped them onto the Duel table with a sharp smack!
"I wager ten Star Chips!"
"Good!"
"Then we'll wager ten as well!"
The Paradox Brothers each produced five Star Chips and set them on the table.
"Yuto... why?"
Yugi looked at his partner on the platform, confusion and a trace of worry in his eyes. To stake everything at once was a huge risk!
"If we can't even overcome this 'Labyrinth' before us... how can we hope to challenge Pegasus, the one Kaiba spoke of as godlike?!"
"This Duel—I will not lose!"
Para smirked playfully as he pressed the button to start the Duel!
"Now then!"
"Duel—Start!!"
With a cold system chime, the first-turn indicator lit up on Dox's Duel Disk!
"My turn! Draw!"
Dox drew a card with force and slapped it onto his Disk.
"Show yourself! The cornerstone of the labyrinth—[Labyrinth Wall]!!"
Rumble—Rumble—RUMBLE!!!
As the card hit the field, the entire maze-like arena seemed to come alive!
The squares, once only faintly glowing, burst into blinding light!
Then, amid teeth-grating sounds of grinding stone, massive walls rose from the gaps between the tiles!
They crisscrossed, joined, and stretched until, before their stunned eyes, a labyrinth was formed in moments!
"Heh heh heh..."
Para let out a proud chuckle.
"See? The power of this card transforms the arena into our domain—an inescapable Labyrinth!"
The brothers spread their arms, welcoming their prey into the trap, voices echoing through the stone walls.
"Welcome to—our domain! Lost little lambs! Ha ha ha!"
Then the yellow-clad Para seemed to remember something, theatrically slapping his shiny head.
"Oh my? Almost forgot to explain the rules! How terribly rude~"
He drew out his words.
"Listen carefully! Tag Duel rules: each Duelist has an individual 2000 Life Points! However—"
He paused dramatically.
"If either member of a team hits zero Life Points..."
"Then—the entire team loses!"
Dox finished coldly, like a funeral bell.
Para nodded in satisfaction and continued.
"As for turn order... simple. The two teams alternate turns."
"Now!"
Dox stepped forward, pointing toward the vast shadowy maze.
"Let me explain how the 'Labyrinth Field' works! Monsters on the field are like pieces on a giant board!"
"When summoned in Attack Position..."
Para picked up smoothly.
"Each turn, that monster can move through the maze a number of squares equal to its Level! Explore the paths, search for the exit! Ha ha ha!"
"And at the maze's end..."
Dox's voice turned eerie and cold as he gestured to the two massive stone doors glowing faintly at the deepest point of the labyrinth.
"Lies your goal! One door leads to life, to the light you seek!"
"The other..."
Para's grin twisted cruelly.
"Hides an eternal prison of darkness! Step through it and wander forever in despair, lost until nothing remains but bones!"
"And the key to choosing the correct door..."
Dox's eyes swept over the solemn Yuto and Yugi, thick with malice.
"Rests with us brothers! Among us—"
"One always tells the truth!"
"One always lies!"
"Choose your questions carefully! Use your wisdom—or your folly—to select the door that decides your fate! Ha ha ha ha!"
Their shrill laughter pierced the air.
Yugi tried to read any crack in their malicious smiles. He stepped forward, voice calm but sharp enough to cut.
"Everything you've just said—including the 'one truth, one lie' claim and how the labyrinth functions—can you guarantee none of it is false or misleading?!"
The brothers' smiles stiffened for a moment.
Para quickly adopted an unsettlingly "sincere" expression, patting his chest.
"Of course! Absolutely true!"
Dox immediately echoed him.
"Rules are rules! We Paradox Brothers keep our word!"
However, the glint of cunning in their eyes made that "assurance" anything except comforting.
"Heh heh, look at you, so confused—how pitiful~"
Dox proudly tilted his gleaming head, raising his voice with mock compassion.
"Very well! Out of sheer generosity, we'll give you one more 'hint'! Listen—closely—now—!"
Before he could finish, Para leapt in as if on cue, eagerly pointing to his own massive door marked with the character "迷," shouting with absolute conviction:
"The true door is mine—the 'Maze Door'! Absolutely certain!"
"Wrong!" Dox stabbed a finger at his equally massive "Dox" door, voice jumping an octave.
"Don't believe his lies! The real door is clearly mine—the 'Palace Door'! No doubt about it!"
This... this wasn't a hint at all!
From the sidelines, Joey stared, veins throbbing on his forehead.
They were just toying with them!
Not a shred of useful information—only more confusion!
Yuto frowned, eyes darting between the bickering brothers and the doors behind them.
One tells the truth, one lies... but which is which? Their constant contradiction felt like deliberate misdirection...
He rubbed his temples by reflex. This kind of intricate logic puzzle and verbal trap wasn't his forte.
He preferred to win with strength and strategy in the card game itself.
Anyhow, Yugi, hearing their so-called "hint," let his eyes gleam faintly.
He wasn't caught on the surface contradictions. Instead, he sank into deeper thought.
Perhaps... he had an idea?
Yuto noticed Yugi's focused expression, and his own irritation faded.
Why overthink?
Just duel and break their defenses!
Leave the riddle of the labyrinth and the true door to the one best suited for it—Yugi.
That was trust and teamwork!
"Focus on the Duel first, Yugi!"
Yuto's steady voice pulled Yugi back to the battle.
"With our monsters, we'll carve a path through this maze!"
...
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