Chapter 70: A Three-for-One Vanilla Trade, Why Are You So Happy About It?

"My turn ends."

Alexis couldn't quite keep the edge of frustration out of her voice.

"Pretty capable, I'll give you that," Para said, settling his hand over his Duel Disk.

"You almost pushed us into real trouble. Almost."

"My turn. Draw!"

He drew, looked at the card, and immediately set it on his Duel Disk with the energy of someone who had been waiting for exactly this moment.

"Spell Card: Monster Reborn!"

"Target one monster in either player's graveyard and Special Summon it to my field."

"And naturally, I'm bringing back my own monster."

"Jirai Gumo!"

A beam of light shot down into Para's graveyard.

A thread of pale energy coiled out of it and reshaped itself on the field into the familiar bristling mass of the brown spider, which let out one indignant screech before Para was already reaching into his hand again.

"And immediately following that, Spell Card: Tribute Doll!"

"There it is," Rowan said to himself.

He'd seen it the moment Jirai Gumo came back. Revive the spider, use Tribute Doll to sacrifice it, summon another Level 7 guardian.

The same play Dox had run last turn, now mirrored on Para's side.

And he was right.

"Using the revived Jirai Gumo as tribute, I Special Summon a Level 7 monster from my hand."

Para grinned.

"Suijin!"

The spider dissolved in a coil of dark light. In its place, something rose from the field: a massive blue shape, rounded and wide-mouthed, with two heavy legs and no arms to speak of, its silhouette vaguely resembling a pair of shorts that had decided to become a monster.

The ringed kanji for "water" sat prominently on its brow.

It let out a deep, resonant bellow as it took form.

Suijin Level 7 / WATER ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2400

"Mamma mia, Kazejin, Suijin, and now all they need is Sanga of the Thunder, which is already in his hand from last turn!"

Crowler had gone pale on the sideline, his voice dropping to a frantic hiss. And with good reason.

Para had only used Spell Cards this turn. He hadn't Normal Summoned yet.

Which meant...

"We're not done."

Para looked over at his brother with the same crooked grin. "Going to need your help this time."

"Of course, Big Brother." Dox returned the exact same expression, perfectly mirrored.

"I'll use Kaiser Sea Horse as the tribute to Summon Sanga of the Thunder!"

Para pulled one of his remaining four cards and placed it down.

"Wait," Syrus said from the stands, blinking.

"Don't Level 7 and 8 monsters need two tributes for a Normal Summon?"

"Not with Kaiser Sea Horse," Zane said.

Syrus turned. His brother had moved from his seat in the spectator area at some point and was now standing nearby, eyes still fixed on the field.

"Kaiser Sea Horse's special ability: when used as a tribute for a LIGHT attribute monster, it counts as two tributes."

Bastion had followed as well, quietly taking a position beside them.

"Zane..." Syrus murmured, surprised.

On the field, the seahorse-armored figure blazed with the deep violet light of a tribute sacrifice.

An arc of electricity cracked through the air.

From the flash, a new shape emerged: reddish-brown and broad, armored across its upper body, with two powerful arms raised and the ringed kanji for "thunder" stamped into its brow.

It roared with a heavy, rolling sound as it replaced Kaiser Sea Horse on the field.

Sanga of the Thunder Level 7 / LIGHT ATK: 2600 / DEF: 2200

"Heheh." Para's grin stretched wide.

"Now the set is complete."

"Behold the ultimate monster," Dox chimed in, every bit as smug.

"With Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin all on the field, we tribute all three to Special Summon..."

"Gate Guardian!"

All three guardians blazed simultaneously, their light merging into one column.

When it faded, a towering monstrosity loomed in its place: thunder on top, wind in the middle, water at the base, three separate bodies stacked into one enormous lurching form.

Gate Guardian Level 11 / DARK ATK: 3750 / DEF: 3400

"You traded three monsters for one vanilla with no effect," Rowan observed, looking at the whole thing with the mild expression of someone watching a magic trick they already knew the secret to.

"And you seemed pretty proud of yourselves doing it."

The lopsided grins died on both brothers' faces simultaneously.

Alexis pressed her lips together, looking very deliberately away from Rowan.

Across the field, the Paradox Brothers' expressions had gone rigid.

"You little..." Para's voice had lost its theatrical warmth entirely.

"Mocking the ultimate fusion of the three guardians? Fine. We'll show you exactly what it can do."

He yanked one of his remaining two cards and set it on his Duel Disk.

"Equip Spell: Fairy Meteor Crush!"

A streak of rose-pink crystalline light shot from the activated card and embedded itself in Gate Guardian's brow like a falling star.

"While equipped with this card, when the equipped monster attacks a defense position monster, if its ATK exceeds that monster's DEF, the difference is dealt as piercing damage directly to the opponent."