Chapter 80: Is this all you have?
"I set one card, turn end!"
After physically breaking through the labyrinth with Arcana Knight Joker's staggering 3800 attack power, You Ling, with the Dueling Arena now just a pile of rubble, set 1 hand card and ended his turn.
Nia exclaimed excitedly: "Not only did they recover Life Points, but they also fused Arcana Knight Joker to destroy the labyrinth, the coordination between these two is quite good."
Rovik adjusted his glasses and calmly evaluated, "Clearly first-years, yet they possess dueling strength completely on par with, no, perhaps even surpassing, upperclassmen students. Aisha Carlos and Kevin Set, the two are indeed worthy of being the top two Duelists of the first year."
Turn exchanged; control in the Tag Duel returned to the bald man with the 「Gong」 (Maze) character on his head.
However, the labyrinth ruins left before him no longer allowed him to use his proficient labyrinth rule-bending to fight.
The Paradox Brothers, having lost the labyrinth, were just ordinary brothers.
"Don't think that our brothers' strength is only this much. We, who once pushed the Duel King to his limits, relied on more than just the labyrinth! My turn, draw!"
After drawing the starting card of his turn, the two Paradox Brothers exchanged a glance, then simultaneously focused their gazes on the Graveyard area of the Dueling Arena where cards were stored.
"The preparations are almost complete, brother!"
"It's time to let the two brats feel the terror of the Elemental Demon Gods"
"——Activate Equip Magic Card [Premature Burial] !"
[Premature Burial Equip Magic Card Effect: Pay 800 LP; target 1 monster in your Graveyard. Special Summon that target in face-up Attack Position and equip it with this card. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster.]
Paradox Brothers LP: 4000→3200
An equip version equivalent to [Monster Reborn]; after the number representing their Life Points jumped, the Paradox Brothers drew a monster card from their Graveyard.
"Trying to revive the destroyed [Labyrinth Wall]?" You Ling threatened: "Don't waste your effort, no matter how many times you revive Labyrinth Wall, I'll destroy it with Arcana Knight Joker!"
"No no no, the monster I want to revive is not Labyrinth Wall, nor Wall Shadow , but the Elemental Demon God monster sleeping in the Graveyard!"
Aisha said strangely: "Elemental Demon God? Where did other monsters come from in the opponent's Graveyard? Paradox Brothers, didn't they only summon two monsters from beginning to end?"
You Ling reacted and explained: "I see, so it was the hand cards discarded as a condition when activating card effects."
Whether it was the first activated Magic Card [Cost Down] , or the subsequently activated Magic Card [Tribute to The Doomed] (對死者招手 - Duì Sǐzhě Zhāoshǒu - Beckoning to the Dead), both required discarding 1 hand card as a prerequisite.
Which meant that in the Paradox Brothers' current Graveyard, there were two cards of unknown identity. Presumably, the Elemental Demon God mentioned just now was among them.
And in a Tag Duel, Graveyards are shared. Even if reviving a monster card from a teammate's Graveyard, such an operation is allowed.
"Hmph hmph hmph, open your eyes wide and look carefully, the monster I'm reviving is one that pushed the Duel King to his limits back then!——Special Summon [Kazejin] (Wind Demon God - Hyuga)!"
[Kazejin ★★★★★★★ (7-Star) WIND][Spellcaster-Type/Effect ATK: 2400 DEF: 2200]
The Wind Demon God, descending amidst a storm, possessed a Level of 7, and its attack power was comparable to Red-Eyes Black Dragon .
Just that its appearance was like a green sphere with two arms, very abstract.
Aisha: "Such a peculiar little thing is the monster that pushed the Duel King to his limits?"
"It's not over yet, I'll activate the Trap Card my brother set last turn!"
The Trap Card set by the 「Mi」 (lost) character bald man last turn was now flipped open by the 「Gong」 (maze) character bald man this turn.
"——Continuous Trap [Call of the Haunted] ( Living Dead's Call)!"
[Call of the Haunted Continuous Trap Card Effect: Target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in Attack Position.]
Following the equip card version of Monster Reborn, the Paradox Brothers activated the Trap Card version of Monster Reborn, continuing to revive monsters from the Graveyard.
Looking at it this way, the two hand cards discarded by the Paradox Brothers via Magic Cards were both high-level monsters prepared to be revived and summoned from the Graveyard.
Using Graveyard revival to avoid the tributes required for high-level monsters.
Employing such a tactic, it's not hard to see that the Paradox Brothers were not Duelists who only relied on the labyrinth for rule-bending.
"Revive, second Elemental Demon God!——[Suijin] (Water Demon God - Sanga)!"
[Suijin ★★★★★★★ (7-Star) WATER][Aqua-Type/Effect ATK: 2500 DEF: 2400]
The Water Elemental Demon God with two legs; its attack power was even 100 points higher than Kazejin's.
But a monster summon of just this level couldn't contend with Arcana Knight Joker's 3800 attack power.
"Finally, I Normal Summon [Labyrinth Tank] ( Labyrinth's Worm), then activate Magic Card [Monster Gate] ( Sacrifice Doll)!"
[Monster Gate Magic Card Effect: Tribute 1 monster you control to activate. Special Summon 1 Level 7 monster that can be Normal Summoned from your hand. The Special Summoned monster cannot attack this turn.]
The worm, staying on the field for only a second before being tributed, guided the lightning from the Paradox Brothers' last hand card.
"Third Demon God——[Sanga of the Thunder] Thunder Demon God - Sanga) descend!"
[Sanga of the Thunder ★★★★★★★ (7-Star) LIGHT][Thunder-Type/Effect ATK: 2600 DEF: 2200] (Note: Attribute is LIGHT (often used for LIGHT/Thunder in this context), not Thunder-Type per se, but effect monsters often have matching types)
The three Demon Gods gathered; each Demon God looked bizarre individually, the ultimate reason being...
"Now, the three invincible Demon Gods are all present on the field. Combine, let the three Elemental Demon Gods!"
The ultimate reason, the three bizarre Demon Gods, were meant to combine.
With Thunder as the head, Wind as the body, and Water as the feet, arranged in order, the three originally independent cards became a single, complete monster.
Mm, that's right, it was that super high-star card You Ling saw in the High Elf Research Society , the one he called 'not even dogs would use'.
"Three-in-one Demon God, Special Summon!——[Gate Guardian] !"
[Gate Guardian ★★★★★★★★★★★ (11-Star) DARK]
[Warrior-Type/Special Summon/Effect ATK: 3750 DEF: 3400]
A staggering Level 11, the combined form of the three Demon Gods sat enthroned upon the labyrinth ruins.
You Ling stammered in surprise: "Th-th-th... just this?"
After all that effort, the Paradox Brothers only managed to combine into such a monster.
A monster combined from three Level 7 Demon Gods, its final attack power wasn't even as high as Arcana Knight Joker fused from the three Poker Knights.
Then you might as well not have combined them.