"Advance, Castle Gate Dragon!" Yugi commanded, moving Castle Gate Dragon forward two spaces to the second fork in the maze.
"Go left!" Yugi said confidently, using Castle Gate Dragon to scout the path. The correctness of this choice wouldn't impact their progress much.
[Maze Progress: 32%]
"We made the right choice," Yugi noted, seeing the updated progress. He then ordered, "Dark Magician, move forward seven spaces!"
With the path clear, Dark Magician moved from its original position to a spot three spaces ahead of Castle Gate Dragon. As long as Dark Magician stayed in play, other monsters would converge on its location.
[Maze Progress: 38%]
"We're making great progress!" Hoshino cheered, pleased with their advancement. "Teaming up with the legendary duelist feels amazing!"
"I set one more card face down and end my turn," Yugi said, drawing and setting a card, satisfied with their turn.
"My turn, draw!" Labyrinth Brother 'Para' drew his card, annoyed by the loss of Wall Shadow. "Don't get too confident; there's a long way to go!"
"I summon [Maze Assassin] in attack mode!" 'Para' played a card, summoning a ninja-like monster.
[Maze Assassin ★★★★ Dark][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1400 DEF:1000]
"That weak monster can't even beat Castle Gate Dragon," Hoshino laughed at its stats.
"Go, Maze Assassin," 'Para' whispered, as the assassin vanished.
"Another disappearing act? Can't they have straightforward monsters?" Jounouchi said, frustrated.
"Calm down, Jounouchi," Bakura advised. "A monster called 'Maze Assassin' was never going to be straightforward."
"Activate Maze Assassin's special effect!" Para announced. "It targets and destroys the monster at the back of the maze during the damage calculation phase!"
"The monster at the back? That's my Okita Souji!" Okita gripped her sword, nervous.
"Okita, behind you!" There was no shadow or footsteps, just a surge of killing intent. The assassin's dagger struck Okita, aiming for a one-hit kill.
"Okita Souji, destroyed!" Para grinned at Hoshino.
"Oh? Who gave you the confidence to say that?" Hoshino retorted.
Para was shocked to see only a light-blue haori where Okita had stood.
"What's going on?" Para was puzzled, as even the haori vanished.
"The haori of the 'Shinsengumi,' known for their loyalty and strength."
"Activate the trap card [Haori of Vows]!" Hoshino declared. "It's time for a counterattack, Okita!"
[Haori of Vows Trap Card Effect: ①: Activate when a WIND [Heroic Spirit] monster on your field is attacked. Destroy the attacking monster. ②: Then, equip this card to the monster, increasing its ATK and DEF by 300. Once per turn, the equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle.]
"Prepare yourself!" Okita appeared behind Maze Assassin, her haori on. "A true backstab should be a one-hit kill!"
She drew her sword and struck Maze Assassin, destroying it.
[Okita Souji ATK 2400 → 2700]
"This haori is nice," Okita said, feeling rejuvenated. "I'm in perfect condition!"
Para, furious, ended his turn.
"My turn, draw!" Hoshino, excited for her turn, drew a card. Okita Souji automatically moved to the front of the maze, where Dark Magician was.
"Hmm?" Hoshino studied her new card closely. "Can this be used for...?"
Yugi watched Hoshino, curious about her reaction.
"This maze won't stop me anymore!" Hoshino declared, setting a monster face-down and commanding Okita to move forward.
"Okita is moving out!" Okita said, saluting and running ahead.
"Master, there's another fork, with three paths..."
"Take the middle path!" Hoshino ordered without hesitation.
"You're confident, Master. I hope it's right," Okita remarked, rushing into the middle path.
[Maze Progress: 52%]
"Nice job, Hoshino!" Jounouchi cheered as they advanced.
"Hoshino, you..." Yugi felt as if Hoshino knew the correct path rather than just guessing.
"Hmph!" Hoshino said smugly. "Labyrinth Brothers, this maze is mine!"
"Hoshino... could it be that you?" Yugi wondered aloud, as if realizing something.
"Shh!" Hoshino placed her finger to her lips, signaling Yugi with her eyes.
"Ah, just lucky to pick the right path on the first try," Hoshino said with a faux lament, clearly acting for the Labyrinth Brothers' sake. "Turn end."
"Tch, just luck," Dox grumbled, irritated that so much of the maze had been cleared. "My turn, draw!"
After checking his field and hand, a smile appeared on Dox's face. "I summon [Maze Lightning Summoner] in attack mode!"
[Maze Lightning Summoner ★★★★ (4 stars) Light][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK:0 DEF:1000]
"Hahaha, activate Maze Lightning Summoner's effect! Its attack power increases by the combined attack of all Light monsters on the field. With my Thunder God's 2600 attack, Lightning Summoner gains 2600 attack points!" He laughed wildly. "Though it's not written on the card, Lightning Summoner can move any number of spaces within the maze, harnessing lightning!"
[Maze Lightning Summoner ATK: 0 → 2600]
"Now he's just making things up! Does he think he's the Flash?" Hoshino remarked, twitching.
"Go, Maze Lightning Summoner, attack Dark Magician!" The Lightning Summoner, charged with lightning, sped into the maze. Its 2600 attack power was enough to outmatch Dark Magician's 2500 attack.
However, the Lightning Summoner never reached its target.
"What's happening?!" The Labyrinth Brothers and everyone else were confused as the Lightning Summoner aimlessly ran around the maze.
"Did it get lost?" Jounouchi laughed, holding his stomach at the sight. "What a dumb monster, hahaha!"
"Big brother, don't you think something's wrong?" the other Labyrinth Brother asked, wide-eyed. "Is our maze this complicated?"
"What... what is this maze?!" The Labyrinth Brothers realized the maze was now far more complex, with walls densely packed, resembling a QR code.
"Give it up, Labyrinth Brothers," Hoshino, no longer hiding the truth, smiled triumphantly. "Even if the Lightning Summoner runs itself to death, it won't get through this maze."
Desperately, the Labyrinth Brothers denied the situation. "Impossible! This maze is our hunting ground!"
"This is no longer your hunting ground!" Hoshino declared, "This is my maze now!"
"Chaos Labyrinth- Labyrinth Eternally Unchanging!"
"When did you replace our maze?" The Maze Brother couldn't believe it. "Was it that monster...?" He glanced at Hoshino's face-down monster, suspecting it was responsible for the maze change.
"Hoshino, I don't know how you did it, but that was brilliant!" Yugi praised, seeing that the Lightning Summoner's entrapment also protected the Dark Magician.
"My turn, draw!" Yugi commanded his Dark Magician to advance. "Hoshino, you know the layout of this maze?"
"Perfectly," Hoshino replied confidently.
"Then let's advance to victory, Dark Magician!"
"Three-way fork ahead, Hoshino!"
"Right."
"Five-way fork!"
"Second from the right!"
"Seven-way fork!"
"Straight in the middle!"
[Maze Progress: 66%]
Their smooth Q&A allowed Dark Magician to navigate the maze effortlessly.
"Impressive, Hoshino," Yugi smiled. Though aware Hoshino had secrets, she was a reliable ally. "Turn end."
"It's because of that monster, right? It replaced our maze!" Para, furious, quickly drew a card. "For this, you'll pay!"
"I activate the spell card Fusion from my hand!"
"Another Fusion!" Hoshino was shocked, as this was the Labyrinth Brothers' second Fusion.
"Using [Cannon Soldier] from my hand and [Maze Lightning Summoner] on the field, I fusion summon!" The lost Lightning Summoner was drawn into the fusion.
"Special summon the fusion monster [Labyrinth Lightning Chariot]!"
[Labyrinth Lightning Chariot ★★★★★★★ (7 stars) Light][Machine/Fusion][ATK:2400 DEF:2400]
The chariot, with lightning flickering around it and three enormous drills, roared onto the field.
"Not done yet! I activate the spell card [Fusion Recovery]!" The Labyrinth Brother set another card on the table.
[Fusion Recovery Spell Card Effect: Target 1 Fusion and 1 Fusion Material Monster in your Graveyard; add them to your hand.]
"Retrieve [Maze Lightning Summoner] and [Polymerization] from the graveyard." The Labyrinth Brother, retrieving his cards, summoned [Maze Lightning Summoner] again.
"With two Light monsters on the field, Lightning Summoner's attack power surges!" The newly summoned Lightning Summoner absorbed the attack power of Thunder God and Lightning Chariot, boosting its strength.
[Maze Lightning Summoner ATK + 2600 = 5000]
"5000 attack power!" Jounouchi exclaimed. "But even with that, it can't break through Hoshino's maze!"
"Hmph, the maze walls are useless against the chariot's drills!" The Labyrinth Brother commanded the Lightning Chariot to attack the face-down monster. "Go, Lightning Chariot, crush that monster!"
The chariot's engines roared as it drilled through the maze walls, heading towards Hoshino's monster.
Unfazed, Hoshino calmly flipped her face-down card.
"Let them see, Asterios! This is a labyrinth even the Demon King can't escape!"