"You brat! That infinite defense is indeed a bit unexpected! However…"
The rescue of Rescue Roid from the Graveyard, the Special Summon of Ambulance Roid after retrieval, plus Decoy Roid drawing all attacks—it is an infinite eternal defense combo!
As long as the opponent's attacking monster doesn't have piercing damage, or effects that ignore damage, destroy or banish upon battle calculation, or remove Decoy Roid from the field by other card effects, then Sho's looped combo is the ultimate impenetrable wall!
"Just having defense isn't enough—you also need overwhelming offensive power to secure victory!"
As he said this, the younger brother turned to look at his older brother. After receiving a nod of approval, his gaze shifted back to Judai and Sho, his lips curling into a sly grin:
"Now, let me show you what true power to win a duel looks like!"
"Sanga of the Thunder, Suijin the Water Demon, Kazejin the Wind Demon! At this moment, all three elemental gods have gathered on the field!"
With a synchronized shout from the two brothers, the three demons transformed into pillars of yellow, blue, and green light that shot toward the sky, only stopping near the ceiling of the dueling arena.
'These brothers are not simple! Summoning high-level monsters of Level 11 causes such a realistic sensation—like an earthquake!'
As their opponents, Judai and Sho felt the full weight of the pressure that came with the arrival of the Maze Brothers' ultimate monster. Even though it was all a holographic projection, the sensation pressing down on their bodies felt incredibly real!
"Thunder! Water! Wind! Now combine your powers and let out the roar of your descent!"
A colossal figure, about one and a half stories tall, emerged—an ultimate fusion demon god that embodied the powers of "light," "water," and "wind."
"Here it comes! Our strongest monster—the fused ultimate demon god: Gate Guardian!"
Sanga of the Thunder formed the upper body, Suijin became the lower half, and the frog-like Kazejin acted as the connector for the two. The fused abdomen and waistline made the name "Fused Ultimate Demon God" more than fitting.
(Gate Guardian, Level 11, ATK: 3750, DEF: 3400)
'Gate Guardian… Ever since Duel Monsters began, there's never been another Level 11 monster besides this one!'
Thinking back to all the Duel Monsters cards he'd seen, Gate Guardian remained the only Level 11 monster to exist at that time!
No one knows what the future holds, but for now, it truly holds a unique place in the game.
'A one-of-a-kind Level 11 monster… I'm curious about its power!'
He couldn't remember everything clearly, but what he did recall was that Uncle Yugi once told him that when he faced the Maze Brothers' ultimate monster, Gate Guardian, both he and Uncle Jonouchi had a hard time pulling off a win.
"Now then! Our strongest monster has taken the field—it's your turn to figure out how to deal with it, little ones!"
The younger brother said proudly, with not even a sliver of doubt that their strongest monster would be defeated. Instead, all he had was a bit of sympathy and pity for the two students before him.
Gate Guardian—even in professional tournaments, it's recognized as a top-tier "super monster!" So far, it has had far more victories than losses—and those few defeats were only due to being heavily countered, or because the opponent's monsters were even more terrifying.
"The only Level 11 monster, huh… Omoshiroi! Sounds like a real challenge!"
Judai wasn't afraid—in fact, he was excited! To battle against the only Level 11 monster in all of Duel Monsters was an honor—and defeating it was a challenge they had to face head-on.
"My turn—draw!"
With a swift motion, Judai drew his card. After just a glance, he immediately activated it:
"Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'—this lets me draw two cards from my deck… Next is the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'—I draw three cards from my deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
With a single chain of effects, Judai drew five cards in total. His hand was now at three cards, and his Graveyard held seven.
"Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I fuse the new hero in my hand, Elemental HERO Necroshade, with Elemental HERO Sparkman on the field!"
Necroshade—a HERO monster owned by Judai—was making his debut appearance.
As the blood-red, skeletal-armored Necroshade and Sparkman, the "big brother" of the Fantastic Four-style HEROes, were pulled into the vortex of fusion, a brand-new HERO was quietly being born.
"Fusion Summon—Elemental HERO Darkbright!"
With Sparkman as the base, his original blue body was now accented with Necroshade's black and red tones. Muscles bulged from his frame, giving him a perfectly sculpted physique.
The solar panel-like wings from Sparkman had transformed into golden, layered armor wings with downward-pointing tips.
(Elemental HERO Darkbright, Level 6, ATK: 2000, DEF: 1000)
One more detail: Darkbright's face wasn't perfectly symmetrical—his left eye had a scar. You'd miss it if you didn't look closely.
"Spell Card Fifth Hope! I can activate this when there are five or more 'Elemental HERO' monsters in my Graveyard. I choose five of them, return them to my deck, shuffle, and then draw two cards."
As he finished speaking, five humanoid silhouettes shimmered into view around Judai—they were the "Elemental HERO" monsters sent to the Graveyard earlier:
Clayman, used in the fusion of Thunder Giant; Necroshade, used for fusing Darkbright; Sparkman, used for both; and the workhorse couple Avian and Burstinatrix, discarded earlier by Graceful Charity.
Drawing two cards for the third time this turn, Judai glanced at them briefly, then looked at the newly summoned fusion HERO "Darkbright" in Defense Position on his field. After considering his options, he set one of the cards in his back row and ended his turn without entering the Battle Phase.
"My turn, draw!"
"Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'—draw two cards from the deck."
It seemed Judai's play had triggered a trend of greed—now the older of the Labyrinth Brothers also played Pot of Greed.
"Targeting Decoy Roid, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Offerings to the Doomed! I destroy Decoy Roid, but as a cost, I skip my next Draw Phase."
A simple and brutal effect destruction—but it was enough to instantly shatter Sho's eternal defense combo! As previously mentioned, this combo only worked against battle; any removal effect would bring it to an end.
With Decoy Roid gone, the Labyrinth Brothers could now freely choose their attack targets. And right now, the most valuable target was the newly summoned fusion HERO—Darkbright!
"Gate Guardian! Attack Darkbright! Demonic Shockwave!"