"Gate Guardian! Attack Dark Brightman! Deity Shockwave!"
At the boss's command, the lower body of the Gate Guardian—the Water Deity—spewed out a surging stream of water from its mouth, while the upper body—the Thunder Deity—unleashed golden lightning from the "雷" (Thunder) symbol carved into its body.
The two forces surged forth, and as the Wind Deity connected the two bodies and formed the abdomen after fusion, it stirred up a gentle breeze that twisted the two energies into one. The result was a torrent of water infused with golden lightning—an impact cannon that, propelled by a howling storm, shot straight toward the defense-positioned Dark Brightman on Judai's field!
With only 1000 DEF, it stood no chance against the Gate Guardian, whose strength rivaled that of the "Earthbound Immortals." The fused HERO was blown away in a single strike!
However, this triggered Dark Brightman's effect—
"At this moment, I activate Dark Brightman's effect! When this card is destroyed, I can choose one monster on the opponent's field to go down with it!"
Currently, there was only one monster on the Maze Brothers' field: the Gate Guardian. So the one to be dragged into the grave alongside Dark Brightman would naturally be the very culprit that destroyed him!
Following the activation of Dark Brightman's effect, Judai immediately swept his hand to activate one of his set cards:
"Chained activation—Trap Card: Hero's Counterattack! When a 'Elemental HERO' monster I control is destroyed in battle, my opponent must choose one card from my hand. If it's an 'Elemental HERO' monster, I can destroy one monster they control and Special Summon that HERO monster!"
"And right now, I only have one card in my hand—and it is an Elemental HERO! So I get to Special Summon it right away! Saa, it's showtime! Elemental HERO Bladedge (H-Man)!!"
Both Dark Brightman and Hero's Counterattack involve destroying an opponent's monster, which would usually be a waste due to overlapping effects. But in this case, Judai had no choice—they both had to target the same monster: Gate Guardian.
Seeing the residual energy from Dark Brightman and the destructive force from Hero's Counterattack threatening to take down the powerful monster the brothers had worked so hard to summon, the elder brother quickly inserted his only card into the banishment slot (the zone opposite the Main Deck zone and below the Extra Deck slot) and halved their shared Life Points.
"Gate Guardian's effect! By banishing one card from the hand and paying half our Life Points, Gate Guardian becomes immune to destruction by card effects until the end of the turn!"
(Maze Brothers: 6000 LP → 3000 LP)
Having paid the cost, the Water Deity that formed Gate Guardian's lower half spewed a massive stream of water, creating a protective curtain that enveloped the entire body. This successfully blocked both the dark golden lightning from Dark Brightman and the energy from Hero's Counterattack.
"As expected, it's really strong!"
Halving their Life Points and banishing a card just to prevent a single turn's worth of effect destruction—that's already an impressive ability! Not to mention Gate Guardian's massive 3750 ATK. Very few monsters could beat it head-on.
Combined, it was enough to make one want to cry.
"Heh heh heh!"
While the four duelists on stage were going back and forth, Professor Chronos, the judge of this Tag Duel against the Punishment Duo, peeked over the edge of the platform, chuckling and muttering gleefully to himself:
"Yes, this is perfect! As expected of the brothers who once gave even the King of Games a hard time! With this, that arrogant flunky Judai will finally be expelled from the academy! Ahahahaha…!"
Lost in his delight, he didn't notice when Principal Samejima appeared behind him, smiling as he said:
"The duel's not over yet, Professor Chronos. No one can say for certain how it'll end!"
"U-uh…"
"And look over there."
Also appearing beside him unnoticed, Yuya gently placed a hand on Chronos's shoulder and pointed toward the dueling platform.
"Look at Judai's eyes. There's not even a hint of giving up in them—they're blazing with fighting spirit!"
Following Yuya's finger, Chronos saw exactly that. Just as he said, Judai showed no sign of surrender. His face was lit up with excitement, and his eyes burned with determination!
"Mamma Mia! I don't understand! I don't understand!!"
This scene was so intense that even Professor Chronos let out a mechanical voice like an AI assistant.
On the stage, looking at the two who were nearly driven into a corner, the boss began to persuade them:
"Kid, it's impossible for you to defeat the Guardian of the Gate! I suggest you just give up now. That way, at least you won't have to suffer as much."
"As long as there are still cards in my deck..."
"Hmm?"
That line... sounded familiar.
"A Duelist never gives up!"
Now I remember who said that.
"The hope of victory lies in the next draw! That's what the King of Games, Yugi Mutou, once said."
As a loyal fan of the King of Games, Judai remembered the classic quotes officially released for him, and this was one of his most iconic lines.
"Hmph! Stubborn fool!"
Even if he disliked what the King of Games said, the boss couldn't badmouth him in public, so in the end, he just scoffed and said no more.
However, his close brother turned his attention to Judai's teammate—Sho.
"Kid, we can see your determination loud and clear. But what about your partner? He looks like he's about to give up."
Hearing that, Judai turned to his right and saw Sho hanging his head low, looking completely dejected.
"Shou! You're still hanging in there, right?"
"Big bro..."
Judai turned his gaze back to the Labyrinth Brothers' most powerful monster, the Guardian of the Gate, and said to Sho with full trust in his voice:
"The Guardian of the Gate is strong, yes. But don't forget—you've got cards in your deck that can defeat it!"
"Think back to all the tutoring Yuuya gave you lately, and all the times we've been by your side! I believe you'll draw that card!"
That unwavering trust coming from his big brother instantly revitalized Sho's spirit.
'Big bro is right. There are still cards in my deck that can take down that monster! Now's the time to apply everything I've learned!'
"My turn—Draw!"
Under the watchful gaze of Judai, Yuuya, and the others, accompanied by a faint golden glow, the card that would decide the outcome of the duel was drawn from Sho's deck.
"Spell Card—Pot of Greed! It lets me draw two cards from my deck… Next, Graceful Charity! I draw three cards, then discard two cards from my hand."
Just like his big bro Judai, he used Pot of Greed to draw two cards, then followed up with Graceful Charity for three more, while also setting up his Graveyard.
"Spell Card—Power Bond! I'll fuse Big Bro's Elemental HERO Bladedge with the UFOroid in my hand!"
In this novel, the "Guardian of the Gate" has the same card stats and summoning conditions as in the official OCG. The only difference is that it possesses powerful "counter effects," which have been adapted from the author's previous work. As such, this is a unique card specific to this story.