Just as the Landmine Spider was about to shoot out its web, a golden, gleaming coin suddenly dropped from the sky. The moment it hit the ground, it started spinning rapidly like a high-speed top.
"Landmine Spider may be a Level 4 monster, but it has very high attack power and no summoning restrictions. So every time it declares an attack, I have to toss a coin and guess heads or tails,
the elder of the Labyrinth Brothers explained as he turned his gaze to the now-slowing golden coin. After a moment's thought, he gave his answer:
"If I guess correctly, the attack continues without any consequence. But if I guess wrong, my Life Points are halved, and then the attack continues."
"My answer is: heads."
Only a few seconds after he made his call, with a soft ding, the golden coin stopped spinning and came to a rest on the ground—
showing the face with the Millennium Eye symbol: heads! (The tail side had no design.)
"Excellent! I continue the attack without any cost!"
Several strands of white webbing shot out from Landmine Spider-like steel needles, effortlessly piercing through the thick body of Clayman, which was formed from the element of earth.
By the time the spider retracted its webs, Clayman's body had become riddled with holes. With a loud boom, it was destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard.
(Jaden & Sho: 8000 LP → 6600 LP)
"At the end of the Battle Phase, I activate the Spell Card 'Tribute Doll' from my hand!"
As a lifeless, iron-armored puppet appeared behind Landmine Spider, both Jaden and Sho frowned.
They weren't unfamiliar with "Tribute Doll." It's a card that lets the player Tribute one monster on their field to Special Summon a Level 7 monster from their hand that would normally require a Tribute to Normal Summon.
It seemed powerful, but it had a drawback: the monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot attack until the end of the turn.
However, since the elder of the Labyrinth Brothers had already moved into Main Phase 2, this downside was practically meaningless now. That meant the real question was—what kind of Level 7 monster was he about to Special Summon?
Wait a second! Level 7 monsters… Labyrinth Brothers… could it be that card!?
Suddenly, Jaden and Sho remembered the research they had done the night before. They had looked up some publicly available data on the Labyrinth Brothers' deck, and among it were three Level 7 monsters that could be Tribute Summoned under normal conditions.
"I tribute Landmine Spider and Special Summon a Level 7 monster from my hand—Water Demonic God – Sanga!"
A massive monster, deep blue and shaped like a pair of human legs, appeared on the elder's field. At its top was engraved a light blue character: "Water" (水).
(Water Demonic God – Sanga, Level 7, ATK: 2500, DEF: 2400)
'Just as I thought! Those three Level 7 Tribute monsters each represent one of the elemental forces—Water, Wind, and Thunder (or Light). They're the Three Great Demonic Gods!'
Seeing the Water Demonic God appear, Jaden finally recalled the details from their research. And if he remembered correctly, once all three of these Demonic Gods were on the field, they could be fused—or rather, combined—into a powerful new monster!
So under no circumstances could they let the brothers get all three Demonic Gods on the field!
Receiving a signal from Jaden's eyes, Sho gave a firm nod and took over the turn from the elder brother of the Labyrinth Brothers, beginning his draw phase.
"My turn! First, I activate the effect of 'Rescueroid'! Once per Main Phase, I can look at one of my opponent's set cards in the back row!"
As he spoke, Sho pointed at the elder, whose entire hand had already been set face-down. In the previous turn, the two face-down cards they had were destroyed by the elder's "Heavy Storm," so the only remaining set of cards on the field belonged to the elder.
As Sho confirmed his move, the set card at the elder brother's left foot automatically flipped face-up, fully revealing its contents to Jaden's team.
Trap Card: "Blast with Chain"!
Like "Mirror Force," it's a type of battle trap that activates when an attack is declared and targets attacking monsters. The key difference is that Mirror Force is non-targeting and destroys all attack position monsters on the opponent's field, while Blast with Chain only targets the declaring attacker and is a single-target effect.
That's why in modern duels, duelists who want to use battle traps typically go for Mirror Force—it's a field-clearing powerhouse. In comparison, Blast with Chain is far less effective.
"Then I'll target that set card and activate my Spell Card—Galaxy Cyclone!"
A whirlwind from the galaxy swept through and, without any cost, destroyed "Blast with Chain," a trap that could only be activated when an attack was declared.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I fuse 'Rescueroid' and 'Ambulanceroid' from my hand!"
"Fusion Summon—Ambulance Rescueroid!"
The humanoid rescue robot shaped like an ambulance fused with the humanoid robot shaped like a rescue vehicle, creating a large, red, humanoid robot that resembled a firetruck.
(Ambulance Rescueroid – Level 6, ATK: 2300, DEF: 1800)
Though its strength couldn't match the Water Demonic God, this was a tag duel—so their target options weren't limited to just the elder brother.
"Ambulance Rescueroid, attack the younger Labyrinth Brother's monster—Kaiser Sea Horse!"
Kaiser Sea Horse's only effect is that when used as a Tribute for the Tribute Summon of a LIGHT monster, it counts as two Tributes instead of one.
Considering what they now remembered about the Labyrinth Brothers' deck and their strategy, taking out Kaiser Sea Horse was the top priority! Otherwise, on the next turn, the younger brother could use Sea Horse's effect to Tribute Summon the Demonic God of thunder and lightning!
"Trying to destroy my brother's monster so he can't Tribute Summon? Dream on!"
As the elder brother, the moment he saw his sibling in danger, he immediately raised his hand and activated another set card:
"Counter Trap—Negate Attack! It negates the attack of Ambulance Rescueroid and forcibly ends the Battle Phase!"
With a Speed-3 counter, all of Ambulance Rescueroid's power was drained, forcing it to abandon its assault.
"Sorry, big bro! I couldn't destroy Kaiser Sea Horse!"
As Ambulance Rescueroid returned to its original position, Sho apologized to Jaden with a guilty expression. The fact that Sea Horse had been saved by Negate Attack all but confirmed that the opposing team already had the Thunder Demonic God card in hand.
"It's fine, Sho! If we can't stop them from summoning, then we'll just prepare to take down those monsters after they hit the field!"
Jaden replied without the slightest worry. If they couldn't stop it, then the only option was to plan for how to deal with the consequences.
"Right. Before I end my turn, I'll switch Patrolroid to Defense Position, and I'll also summon Decoyroid in Defense Position."
A small red toy-like car appeared on Sho's field. Unlike the other humanoid 'roid' monsters, this one had no anthropomorphic features at all—it looked just like a child-sized toy car.
(Decoyroid – Level 2, ATK: 300, DEF: 500)
"My turn—draw!"
After glancing at his drawn card, the younger Labyrinth Brother looked toward his elder brother. The elder responded with a knowing look that said, "You know what to do." Without any hesitation, the younger brother played the card he had been ready to use.
"Kaiser Sea Horse's effect! When used as a Tribute for the Tribute Summon of a LIGHT monster, it counts as two Tributes instead of one."
"Therefore, I now use Kaiser Sea Horse to Tribute Summon from my hand—Thunder Demonic