Chapter 126: Hayato's Temporary Cameo as Theseus
"Aaaahhh!!! It's a dead person!!!"
Blocking `(Ojama Red)` from getting closer with one hand, Hayato glanced at the skeleton it had just pointed to. "There's nothing strange about it. Although Maximillion Pegasus's Industrial Illusions is a relatively new company, this castle of his was passed down from his ancestors."
"In that kind of environment back then, a private island was no different from one's own personal kingdom. It's not that surprising that Pegasus's family would lock people they disliked in the dungeon to torture them..."
"Big Bro, you're being way too calm!" `(Ojama Red)` exclaimed, grabbing Hayato's finger. "That's a dead person, a dead person! Aren't you even the slightest bit scared or panicked?"
Hayato stopped 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..."
As he spoke, he reached down and picked up the skeleton's arm, casually weighing it in his hand. The light, airy texture immediately told him it was made of foam. Applying a little pressure with his fingers, Hayato left a five-fingered indent on the skeletal arm.
"Same old twisted sense of humor. So that underground labyrinth Yugi and the others went through really was Maximillion Pegasus's handiwork." Hayato recalled what Yugi and his friends had experienced in the original timeline. "Since the labyrinth is here, can I assume the Labyrinth Brothers are here too?"
"Iyah!"
"Hah!"
Suddenly, two strange cries came from behind Hayato. Two black shadows shot out from behind him, flew over his head, kicked off the ceiling to change direction, and landed in front of him. Even though 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 dashing kung fu pose and declaring in unison: "School of Labyrinth!"
"School of the Undefeated of the East, I await your instruction!" Hayato retorted instinctively, but he quickly came to his senses. "Don't tell me you two are the Labyrinth Brothers? Weren't you already defeated by Yugi and Joey?"
Sun Number One, the older brother 'Para', struck a 'White Crane Spreads its Wings' pose. "Ho ho, did you hear about their experience from your companions? That's right, we were once defeated by Joey Wheeler and Yugi."
The younger brother, 'Dox', coordinated with his brother's move with a 'Black Tiger Snatches the Heart' pose. "However, the magnanimous and benevolent Maximillion Pegasus has given us a second chance to atone for our failure. We, the Labyrinth Brothers, who have failed once before..."
"Are revived!"
Watching the Labyrinth Brothers, who seemed to suffer from a 'die if you don't move while talking' condition, Hayato tilted his head. "Let me guess, your next line is..."
"Hayato, you shall not pass unless you Duel us!"
"Hayato, you shall not pass unless you Duel us—Nani!"
Seeing the two bald men looking exasperated, Hayato shrugged. "As expected of the world of card game players, huh? Everyone has a dueling brain. Two kung fu masters could have easily subdued a normal high school student like me, but they just have to Duel."
"Not that I'll refuse, though."
The ceiling overhead rumbled, and a straight, regular crack appeared. From the opened mechanism, a Duel Arena slowly descended from above. On Hayato's side, the Duel Arena was no different from a standard one, but the Labyrinth Brothers' side had two platforms.
"Hah-hooh!"
With a magnificent backflip, the Labyrinth Brothers leaped onto the Duel Arena before it had fully descended. They placed their Decks, activating the arena, and the panel displaying Life Points lit up with the number '4000'.
Although Hayato's physical fitness was quite good for a high school student, expecting him to backflip onto the stage like the Labyrinth Brothers was asking too much. The Duel Arena slowly landed, crushing the 'skeleton' arm he had previously tossed back onto the ground.
"Ah, it got crushed."
Ignoring the surprise of `(Ojama Blue)` behind him, Hayato stepped onto his side of the Duel Arena. As he placed his Deck, the number displayed on his Life Points panel was 8000.
The older brother, 'Para', began to speak: "The Duel will proceed in the order of 'Para' → 'Hayato' → 'Dox' → 'Hayato' → 'Para'. Each player can draw one card during their turn, and all three parties are considered to be in a free-for-all with no allies. Also, both sides cannot enter the Battle Phase until the fourth turn."
"However, I can share a Graveyard with my brother, and we can both use the monsters on our Field, but our Fields are otherwise separate," the younger brother, 'Dox', added.
"And no matter if my or my brother's Life Points hit zero, it won't affect the other's Duel. In other words, you have to defeat both of us."
After the Labyrinth Brothers finished explaining the rules, without waiting for Hayato's agreement, they immediately drew five cards from their respective Decks and only then asked, "Any problem with that, Hayato?"
"You've already started, so what's the difference if you ask or not?" Hayato retorted, drawing his own cards. "But, when you think about it, I'm the one getting the advantage here, so how could I have any objections?"
"Then..."
"Duel!" x3
[Hayato: 8000 LP, Hand: 5]
[Para: 4000 LP, Hand: 5]
[Dox: 4000 LP, Hand: 5]
"I'll take the First Turn." Since Para and Dox had gotten on the Duel Arena before Hayato and already drawn their five cards, they easily seized the right to go first. The older brother, 'Para', kicked off the Duel. "My Turn, Draw!"
"Ho ho, I drew a pretty good monster," Para said, glancing at Dox.
The tacit understanding between the brothers allowed Dox to instantly know what card Para had drawn. "You're going to summon that monster on the very first turn? That's great, brother!"
"Then, I'll start by activating the Spell Card, `(Cost Down)`! I discard one card from my hand to activate it, reducing the Level of all monsters in my hand by two."
"Next, I activate the Field Spell Card, `(A Legendary Ocean)`! The Levels of all WATER Attribute monsters in both players' Hands and on the Field are reduced by one." Having used half the cards in his hand, Para revealed a triumphant expression. "With this, the stage for its summoning is set."
"I Normal Summon 'Suijin' from my hand!"
In the virtual projection of undersea ruins, a massive sphere of water materialized out of thin air. It burst violently, and from within emerged a ferocious-looking monster that resembled a robot, with the character for 'Water' printed on its forehead.
[Suijin] [Level 7/WATER]
[Aqua-Type/Effect]
[ATK 2500/DEF 2400 -> ATK 2700/DEF 2600]
"Even though it's a Level 7 monster, I've reduced its Level by a total of 3, so it can be Normal Summoned without any Tributes." Having summoned his ace monster, Para looked quite smug. "My turn ends."
[Para: 4000 LP, Hand: 2]
[Suijin] [ATK 2600]
Field: [`(A Legendary Ocean)`]
(end of chapter)