Kuriboh!!!
The fluffy little creature cried "Kuri Kuri" twice as it popped out, its body quickly expanding, forming a seemingly indestructible wall in front of the three of them.
The seven-colored beam of the Rainbow Dragon poured unreservedly onto the enlarged Kuriboh, with energy raging like a storm, fiercely spreading out towards the space of Malefics, but it was completely unable to shake Kuriboh, as if the torrent were crashing against a dam.
"Discard 'Kuriboh' from the hand," Youyu said, "Battle damage is reduced to 0."
Paradox gritted his teeth. "Blocked again, huh..."
Youyu smiled, "After all, I am the Duel King of this era; I'm not that easy to take down, you know."
"As expected of Mr. Youyu," Yusei chimed in timely.
"Humph, then I set a card and end my turn," Paradox snorted.
"At the end phase of the turn, the effect of Stardust Dragon in the graveyard is activated," Youyu said. "The Stardust Dragon, which was offered as a tribute by its effect, will return to the field at the end phase."
Actually, the Stardust Dragon was revived from Paradox's graveyard using "Monster Reborn," so theoretically, in this duel, the Stardust Dragon should be Paradox's.
According to Youyu's familiar card rules, Stardust Dragon should be reborn on the opponent's field here.
However, in the movie version, after Dark Yugi snatched Stardust Dragon with a Magic Card, Stardust Dragon used its own effect to release itself, and still returned to the field of the three protagonists with seafood heads at the end of the turn.
Although Youyu wasn't creative enough to do so, he could still imitate the King and draw parallels.
Perhaps here, it can be explained as "the bond between Stardust Dragon and its master," in short, the silver dragon returned to the field in front of Youyu accompanied by a flash of starlight, lifting its head and roaring angrily at Paradox.
[Stardust Dragon, ATK 2500]
[Malefic Truth Dragon, ATK 4400 → ATK 6000]
Even though the three dueling kings with the name "Yuu" are left with only 300 LP, even needing just one more trigger of Malefic Truth Dragon's effect would be enough to wipe them out, Paradox only felt more and more uneasy as the duel progressed.
It felt as if victory was slowly slipping away from him.
He thought of his determination when he came, of the despair in the era he came from, and of the expectations of his companions left in the future era, and couldn't help but clench his fists angrily.
"Do you duel kings really have to fight to the death?" he coldly said, "You are simply the most obvious representatives of foolish humanity from the past! Presumptuous, thinking what you see is correct, unaware that it is your actions that are leading humanity to the abyss of extinction!"
"What on earth are you talking about?" Yusei frowned, "What exactly happened in the future you're talking about?"
"We've come this far, it doesn't matter if I tell you."
It seemed also to catch a breath amidst this high-intensity battle, Paradox put down his Duel Disc and spoke lightly.
"If we are to trace the earliest point of the disaster, it would be the revival of this foolish thing called 'Duel Monsters' in modern times.
But the real outbreak of the disaster, Yusei, it was because of your father... because Dr. Fudo developed an eternal machine called 'Moment,' which led to the birth of these foolish things called 'Synchro Monsters,' directly causing humanity's extinction."
"What!?" Yusei swept his arm in shock, "Impossible! Moment is the hope of guiding humanity's progress, and Synchro Monsters are the proof of it..."
"In legends, Atlantis, which reached its peak of civilization 10,000 years ago, also thought that a divine artifact called 'Orichalcos' was the hope of guiding humanity's progress," Paradox sneered, "But what happened to Atlantis after that?"
Yusei bit his lip, "That's different."
"There's no difference. In fact, you have no right to say that, Fudo Yusei, for I am the one from that future," Paradox said coldly, "In the end, it all comes down to desires of the human heart.
You should know, Fudo Yusei. Moment isn't just an eternal machine, it also receives feedback from human hearts as it operates.
The desire of future humans grew increasingly, with the dark side of human hearts spiraling out of control, ultimately leading to the global loss of control of eternal machines, ending human history."
He paused and gave a bitter smile.
"... Just like the destruction of Atlantis 10,000 years ago."
"So you're going to alter history to make that future disappear?" Judai asked.
"That's right."
"But if you do so, your timeline will collapse as well," Yusei said, "All traces of your and your companions' existence in this world will be directly erased. Is that really okay?"
"No problem," Paradox answered without a hint of hesitation, "Allowing humanity's future to continue is the mission we, the last humans in history, must fulfill.
As long as we can prevent the catastrophic future, even if the price is our disappearance, it will be worth it."
Even though they were on opposing sides, Paradox's determination moved the Duel Kings a bit.