"That's great! Hoshino won after all!" Anzu, watching Martha's final flurry of punches, clapped enthusiastically.
"She completely defeated the American champion. Keith didn't have a chance from start to finish," Jonouchi marveled. "Even with Keith's successful gambles, Hoshino's momentum never wavered, and she just grew stronger."
"Hoshino has really become strong," Yugi reflected calmly, speaking to his friends. "At first, when she faced Yuta, she seemed like a beginner duelist. But she's grown incredibly fast, overcoming challenges and always striving for victory. Now, even the American champion couldn't stand against her."
"Yugi, stop, you're making me cry," Anzu said, wiping away tears. Her mind replayed memories of Hoshino's duels, her unwavering courage even against the ultimate Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. As a fellow girl, Anzu understood the immense courage required to achieve this.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Jonouchi, confused, couldn't help but comment as Yugi and Anzu got lost in their memories. "We haven't won the final victory yet. She just gathered 10 star chips. Why didn't you guys get this emotional when I did?"
"Where did Keith go?" Hoshino's sudden shout brought everyone's attention back. Yugi and Anzu snapped out of their reminiscing.
Keith, who had fallen off the duel platform, was nowhere to be seen when Hoshino went to collect her star chips.
"Wait, where did Keith's henchmen go?" Jonouchi looked around, sensing something was wrong.
"What is that sound?" A loud noise of rocks scraping the ground echoed from the cave entrance. Alarmed, Hoshino called out, "Everyone, forget Keith for now. Let's check the exit!"
Spurred by the loud scraping sound filling the cave, everyone ran faster. However, when they reached the entrance, they found it completely blocked by a massive rock.
Outside the cave:
"Hahaha, this is what happens when you mess with me," Keith said, arms crossed, watching his henchmen push the boulder to block the entrance. "Now they'll never get out of that cave."
"That damn brat, it's just a duel, and she had to lecture me so much," Keith spat on the ground in frustration and turned away.
Turning around, Keith was immediately confronted by a row of burly men in black suits. "You must be Keith Howard?"
---
"Mm, what a very interesting duel," Pegasus remarked, swirling a familiar wine glass and staring at a screen.
"Mr. Pegasus, I've arranged what you requested," the old butler reported seriously.
Pegasus nodded slightly, acknowledging the report but kept his eyes fixed on the screen. "So, what interesting developments will happen next? It's been a long time since I've felt this excited."
---
"Damn it, it won't budge!" Yugi, Jonouchi, and Honda strained with all their strength, trying to move the rock blocking the exit, but it wouldn't budge.
"This rock is completely wedged in," Yugi said, shaking his head and looking at the tight fit at the base.
"Keith, you bastard!," Jonouchi cursed, stomping the ground in frustration. "Not only did he refuse to leave his star chips, but he also blocked our exit."
Meanwhile, Bakura, standing behind them and holding the Millennium Ring, seemed deep in thought.
"Everyone, if we want to get to Pegasus' castle, we should go this way," Bakura suddenly said and started running deeper into the cave before anyone could react.
What they thought was a small cave turned out to be an intricate maze with numerous paths. Confused, the group had no choice but to follow Bakura.
"We won't get lost, right, Bakura?" Hoshino asked, increasingly anxious about the complex paths.
Bakura remained silent, focused only on moving forward.
"It's okay, Hoshino," Yugi reassured her gently. "The Millennium Ring seems to have the ability to locate Millennium Items. It's likely guiding us to Pegasus' castle where the Millennium Eye is."
"The Millennium Ring? That's amazing," Hoshino nodded, trusting Yugi's explanation and continued following Bakura.
"I see light ahead!" Jonouchi shouted excitedly, thinking they had found another exit.
"But what's that sound?" Hoshino wondered, hearing Chinese-style drums and gongs.
When they reached the light at the end of the cave, they found a strange room instead of an exit. In the center was a duel platform twice the usual size. On the back wall were doors labeled "Maze" and "Palace," and...
"Ha!"
"Hiya!"
Two bald men suddenly jumped out from the doors, performing a martial arts routine in mid-air before striking a pose as they landed gracefully.
Hoshino and her friends were stunned, unable to speak, as they stared at the two bald men.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" The bald man on the right broke the silence, "Are you scared of our fearsome martial arts?"
On closer inspection, though they looked identical, the bald men had tattoos on their smooth heads: one said "Para" and the other "Dox."
"Who are you?" Jonouchi, ever the simpleton, was the first to ask.
"Don't ask them that, Jonouchi!" Hoshino silently berated herself. "They're obviously waiting for us to ask. Ignoring them and moving on would have been the smart choice."
"Hahahaha!" The two stopped posing and laughed heartily, as if they had been waiting for this question.
"Good question!" The serious-looking "Para" exchanged a glance with "Dox."
The two, perfectly synchronized, finally had a chance to perform their practiced introduction.
"We are the guardians of the underground maze!"
"The Labyrinth Brothers!"
"The Labyrinth Brothers … I see." Hoshino elbowed Jonouchi and rubbed her forehead, looking at the two self-absorbed brothers.
Yugi, however, noticed something more significant. "Star chips representing duelists? Are you duelists' eliminator?"
"Exactly!" one brother said, performing a high kick. "We harvest the lost sheep who wander into the labyrinth."
"If you want to know the right way out, you must defeat us in a two-on-two duel." The other brother did a backflip.
"Otherwise, you'll never leave the underground maze!" they said in unison.
"A two-on-two duel?" Despite the brothers' flashy introduction, Yugi quickly grasped the main point. "You mean two of us will team up against both of you in a four-player duel?"
Seeing Yugi catch on so quickly, the brothers laughed and jumped onto the large duel platform. "Correct, and it will be on this special duel platform!"
"Come on, decide who's going to duel. Victory will lead you out of the maze!"
"What should we do, Yugi?" Hoshino looked at Yugi with hopeful eyes. If she had to choose a partner for a tag duel, Yugi was far more reliable than Jonouchi. Besides, Hoshino and Yugi were the only ones who hadn't collected all their star chips yet.
With a flash of the Millennium Puzzle's light, the Pharaoh took over Yugi's body. "Hoshino, it looks like we have no choice but to accept the challenge!"
The Pharaoh's confident appearance reassured Hoshino. She nodded firmly and walked with him towards the special duel platform.
"Let's decide on the star chips to bet," the Maze Brothers said, crossing their arms.
"Aren't duelists' eliminator supposed to make us bet all our star chips?" Hoshino, having fought against dark duelists before, knew some of their rules.
"Heh heh heh," one brother laughed coldly. "Don't lump us in with other duelists' eliminator. Since you won't leave the maze if you lose, it doesn't matter how many you bet."
"Really?" Hoshino hesitated but then placed three star chips on the table.
"I'll bet four star chips!" The Pharaoh confidently placed four star chips on the table.
"Let the duel begin!"
"I'll go first and explain the rules of the special maze duel," one brother said, drawing a card and placing a monster card in the Field Spell Zone. "I activate [Labyrinth Wall]!"
[Labyrinth Wall Monster Card Effect: This card cannot be destroyed.][Rock][ATK:0 DEF:3000]
Hoshino held back her urge to shout, "Did you even shuffle your deck?" Instead, she focused on the situation. "Putting a monster card in the Field Spell Zone is against the rules!"
"Just watch," the brothers said, ignoring Hoshino's comment.
The special duel platform was enormous, making it look empty even with four duelists and up to ten monsters. But when [Labyrinth Wall] was placed, a massive labyrinth rose from the ground, separating Yugi & Hoshino's area from the Maze Brothers'.
"This is…?" The complex labyrinth divided the field.
"Welcome to the special maze duel platform!" the brothers announced, explaining the maze duel rules. "This card creates a special labyrinth area on the field."
"1: You can't attack our monsters or us unless you navigate the maze."
"2: To navigate the maze, you must summon monsters in Attack Position. Each turn, monsters in Attack Position can move a number of spaces equal to their level."
"3: At the start of your turn, all your monsters will be transported to the furthest point you've reached in the maze. Newly summoned monsters will start from the same point."
"4: If all your advancing monsters are destroyed, you start over from the beginning."
"5: If you run out of cards or your Life Points hit zero, you lose the duel."
"Now, try to navigate our ultimate labyrinth!" The brothers spread their arms, proudly displaying their stage.
"Damn, what kind of duel is this? All the rules are against Hoshino and Yugi," Jonouchi fumed.
"Complaining won't help now," the Pharaoh said, signaling with an OK gesture to Jonouchi before drawing a card. "Talk is cheap. Let's start navigating!"
"I summon [Celtic Guardian] in Attack Position!" He slapped the card on the table, and the Celtic Guardian appeared at the maze entrance.
[Celtic Guardian★★★★ (4 stars) Earth][Warrior][ATK:1400 DEF:1200]
"Since [Celtic Guardian] is Level 4, it can move forward four spaces," the Pharaoh commanded. "Go, Celtic Guardian, lead the way through the maze!"
The Celtic Guardian, following the Pharaoh's command, walked four spaces into the maze.
[Labyrinth Progress: 8%]
"What's this progress indicator?" Hoshino asked, puzzled by the sudden prompt on the screen.
"When a monster navigates the maze correctly, the progress indicator increases," one brother explained with a smirk. "If you take a wrong turn, it won't increase. Remember to turn back. Isn't it a thoughtful design?"
"Moving four spaces increased the progress to 8%," the Pharaoh told Hoshino. "So, advancing 50 steps along the correct path will clear the maze."
"That's not too hard," Hoshino said, feeling more confident. "It's like playing an RPG. There won't be a boss fight at the end, will there?"