"It's my turn, draw a card!" After drawing a card, One of the labyrinth brother summoned a monster on the table and then activated a magic card. "Summon the monster card [Cannon Bird], then activate the magic card [Sacrificial Puppet]."
[Sacrificial Puppet Magic Card Effect: Sacrifice one monster on your field to activate. Special summon a level 7 monster from your hand that can be normally summoned. The special summoned monster cannot attack this turn.]
"After sacrificing [Cannon Bird], special summon [Water God - Skega] from my hand!" A level 7 monster was summoned directly to the maze exit by Brother Gong.
[Water God - Skega ★★★★★★★ (7 stars) Water][Aqua/Effect][ATK:2500 DEF:2400]
"There really is a final boss, huh?" Looking at the roaring Water God at the maze exit, Hoshino said with a twitch at the corner of her mouth, "This flag got picked up way too quickly."
"Turn end." Satisfied with the Water God Skega, the labyrinth brother nodded and ended his turn.
"It's my turn now!" Looking at the intricate maze in front of her, Hoshino frowned and thought for a while. Since the star level represents the number of steps a monster can move, summoning higher star monsters is most advantageous for conquering the maze.
"My turn, draw a card! Summon [Heroic Spirit - Cú Chulainn] in attack mode!" She slapped the 4-star monster card on the table. Without using a tribute to summon higher level monsters, a normally summonable 4-star monster is the best choice for the maze. Hoshino had great confidence in Cú Chulainn's survivability, making him a reliable vanguard.
[Heroic Spirit - Cú Chulainn ★★★★ (4 stars) Light][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1600 DEF:1600]
"Yo! Such an unfamiliar environment, Master~" The spear-wielding Cú Chulainn appeared on the field, "Is this the underground maze of the third singularity, Okeanos?"
"It shouldn't be that complicated." Hoshino laughed and replied, suddenly realizing that since she had already conquered the Okeanos maze (albeit on her phone), this small maze shouldn't be a problem for her.
"Hoshino, your monsters can actually talk?" To her surprise, Yugi(Yami) suddenly joined the conversation and could hear Cú Chulainn's voice.
"Oh, hey! This starfish-haired guy can hear me too?" Seeing a third party besides Hoshino talking to him, Cú Chulainn got excited. "I am Ireland Child of Light, remember that well."
"Ireland Child of Light, huh? Never heard of it, but I'll remember." Yugi, initially surprised by Cú Chulainn's greeting, smiled, "This is interesting, Hoshino. Being able to chat with your monsters during a duel feels really reassuring."
"Hehe, aren't we fighting side by side now, Yugi~" With so many reliable companions, Hoshino felt that she could conquer anything, even a mountain of swords and a sea of flames. "Advance, Cú Chulainn!"
Since both Cú Chulainn and the Celtic Guardian are 4-star monsters, they can move forward 4 spaces.
However, after advancing 1 space, the first fork in the maze appeared.
"Master, which way should we go?" Looking at the left and right forks, Cú Chulainn scratched his head helplessly, "Don't make me choose, My luck is E-rank."
Hoshino nodded, realizing the problem. The maze ahead was long, and choosing a path at a fork was down to luck.
"Let's go left!" Overthinking would just waste time, so Hoshino made a decisive choice based on intuition.
"Got it, left it is!" Following Hoshino's order, Cú Chulainn charged into the left path without hesitation.
[Maze Progress: 10%]
"Ah, wrong choice." Seeing the progress indicator, Hoshino slapped her forehead in frustration. 10% progress meant only the first step was correct, and the forked path was wrong. Returning to the fork would waste 3 movement points.
"It's all your fault for having E rank luck!" Hoshino glared at Cú Chulainn with resentment after venting her frustration.
"Hey, that's not fair, Master. You chose the path yourself." The innocent Cú Chulainn felt a chill down his spine under Hoshino's accusing gaze.
"Don't argue, Hoshino, Cú Chulainn." Yugi comforted Hoshino, "At least you helped the Celtic Guardian find the right path. Don't forget, we're fighting together."
"Yugi~" This feeling was so much more reliable than Jonouchi. "I'll set two cards and end my turn."
"Heh heh, it's my turn again." The Labyrinth Brothers, laughing coldly, drew a card. "Did you think we'd just wait for you to conquer the maze? Too naive!"
"Summon the monster card [Maze Worm]!" Brother Maze placed a monster card on the table, but no monster materialized.
"Huh? What's going on?" Hoshino, unable to see the opponent's monster, felt something was amiss.
"Be careful!" Yugi, noticing a subtle change in the environment, shouted a warning, "It's attacking from underground!"
"But I'm targeting the Celtic Guardian!" As the Labyrinth Brothers laughed maniacally, a giant, disgusting worm emerged from the maze floor, "This maze is our hunting ground!"
[Maze Worm ★★★★ (4 stars) Earth][Insect][ATK:1800 DEF:1500]
"What is that? It's so gross!!" Despite not fearing ghosts, Hoshino instinctively recoiled at the sight of the wriggling insect.
Worse yet, the Celtic Guardian was swallowed whole before it could react.
Yugi & Hoshino LP 4000 → 3600
"Hehe, Celtic Guardian, destroyed." The Labyrinth Brothers calmly laughed as they watched Yugi's life points decrease. "Set one card, turn end."
"It's okay, Yugi. Although the Celtic Guardian was destroyed, Cú Chulainn is still on the field. We can summon a monster at Cú Chulainn's position without starting over." Suppressing her revulsion toward the worm, Hoshino knew now was not the time to be distracted.
"Heh heh, are you sure it'll be okay?" The Labyrinth Brothers pointed to the field, grinning.
"Ah, I see!" Yugi, whose turn had started, realized the problem.
After defeating the Celtic Guardian, the Maze Worm stopped moving, but it stopped at the space in front of the Swordsman— a crossroads of two paths.
"The way back is blocked by the Maze Worm…" Looking at the disgusting body of the worm filling the fork in the road, Hoshino couldn't help but shiver. With the worm's 1800 attack points, which are quite high for a 4-star monster, breaking through to open the path forward wouldn't be easy.
However, seeing the confident expression on Yugi's face, Hoshino knew that a mere worm wouldn't be an obstacle.
"Summon the monster card [Mammoth Graveyard] in attack mode!" Yugi slammed a monster card onto the table.
[Mammoth Graveyard ★★★ (3 stars) Earth][Dinosaur][ATK:1200 DEF:800]
A giant skeletal mammoth appeared next to Cú Chulainn, sharing the same space.
"What a big guy this is." Facing the skeletal mammoth that appeared beside him, Cú Chulainn curiously reached out to touch it, "If you had more flesh, I'd want to hunt you."
"Roar~" The mammoth roared, seemingly understanding Cú Chulainn's words.
"This thing can't defeat my [Maze Worm]." The Maze Brothers laughed as the large mammoth appeared in the narrow maze path, "Even though it's just bones, my worm isn't picky about its food."
"I'm not feeding it to the worm." Yugi chuckled and then played a magic card from his hand, "Activate the equip spell card [Horn of the Unicorn]!"
[Horn of the Unicorn Equip Spell Effect: ①: The equipped monster gains 700 ATK/DEF. ②: If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, it returns to the top of the deck.]
[Mammoth Graveyard ATK:1200→1900]
As the equip spell activated, a large horn appeared on the mammoth's head. The mammoth shook its newly adorned head, looking quite satisfied.
"It looks like a rhinoceros." Hoshino couldn't help but comment as she watched the mammoth shake its head.
"Go, Mammoth Graveyard, clear the path for us!" Yugi pointed forward into the maze, giving the attack command.
The mammoth roared, raising its horn and charging at the worm blocking the path. The massive creature moved like a heavy tank through the maze.
"Since Mammoth Graveyard has higher attack power, Maze Worm, destroyed!" Yugi announced the battle result with a wave of his hand.
The worm's huge body blocking the fork was pierced by the mammoth's horn, splattering green blood everywhere.
"Ugh! Even if it's just a hologram, did it have to be so realistic?" Hoshino gagged at the sight of the green liquid, "Does Kaiba have some weird hobby, making bugs so realistic?"
[Maze Progress: 10%]
Because Mammoth Graveyard was only 3 stars, it could only move forward 3 spaces, barely reaching the start of the fork, so the progress didn't increase.
"I'll set two cards and end my turn." Yugi, having destroyed the worm, looked at Hoshino confidently, "The path is clear, it's up to you now."
"Hey, starfish-headed guy, you did pretty well." Cú Chulainn whistled, teasingly resting his spear on his shoulder.
"Hey, if I stay silent, would you forget I exist?" One of the labyrinth brother, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke as his turn began, "Do you think beating a single Maze Worm is impressive? The real horror of the Labyrinth is just beginning!"
"My turn, draw! Summon the monster card [Shadow Ghoul] in attack mode, and activate the spell card Polymerization from my hand, fusing [Shadow Ghoul] with [Labyrinth Wall]!" The Shadow Ghoul on the field extended its claws to the maze walls, merging with them.
"Fusion?!" Jounouchi exclaimed, knowing well the power of this card.
[Wall Shadow ★★★★★★★ (7 stars)][ATK:2000 DEF:3000]
Silence fell as the Shadow Ghoul merged with the walls, making no sound.
"It's attacking, Master, be careful!" Cú Chulainn, with his beast-like instincts, sensed something wrong and loudly warned Hoshino. The Wall Shadow lived up to its name, silently sliding through the maze walls and quickly reaching the fork.
"The target is Mammoth Graveyard!" Yugi frowned as he saw the twisted ghoul shadow emerging from the wall, aiming for the mammoth.
"I won't let you!" At the critical moment, Hoshino played a card from her hand. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared behind Mammoth Graveyard, "Activate the effect of [Heroic Spirit – Saint George] from my hand!"
[Heroic Spirit – Saint George ★★★ Earth][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1000 DEF:1600]
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can special summon this card from your hand and increase its DEF by 500!" As Hoshino declared, the sword of Saint George shone with a brilliant light.
[Heroic Spirit – Saint George DEF1600→2100]
"While Saint George is on the field, you can only choose him as the attack target!"
"Evil beings, retreat before the holy sword! This is the rule of the world!" Holding the shining holy sword, Saint George's light forced the attacking ghoul back.
Labyrinth Brothers LP 3900 → 3800
"You're really reliable, Hoshino." Yugi breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to Hoshino.
"This is the first time I haven't been destroyed immediately after appearing, Master." Saint George looked at his still intact body in disbelief and smiled wryly at Hoshino, recalling his past experiences.
"Haha, that's true…" Hoshino laughed awkwardly, not knowing how to face him, having used him as a sacrifice so many times before.
"My attack isn't over yet, don't get too comfortable!" Labyrinth Brother shouted, interrupting their conversation.
"The attack isn't over?!" Hoshino looked at Brother Gong's field in disbelief, suddenly realizing there was still an unmoved [Water God – Skega], "Isn't that thing a gatekeeper? Can something that big enter the maze?"
"Look under your feet!" Labyrinth Brother's arrogantly pointed at Saint George standing at the fork, "Do you think the Maze Worm dug a tunnel from the exit for no reason?"
"That sound, could it be?" Yugi, closing his eyes to listen, heard a faint sound of running water from below, "Water God's attack is coming through the hole!"
Even though they realized it, there was no way to avoid it. A huge water jet shot up, hitting Saint George directly from the hole. He couldn't resist the powerful water pressure and was sent flying.
In mid-air, his solid armor was easily torn apart by the torrent. Saint George silently watched his body gradually disappear and sighed heavily.
"Just surviving one round is so hard, what a terrifying game…"