"Faced with this pressure, she managed to let it all go instantly just because of that kid's words? That girl..."
Para, the younger of the Paradox Brothers dressed in dark green, narrowed his eyes as he watched the interaction between Jiang He and Alexis Rhodes.
When it came to bonds, however, they would never lose to some wretched brat!
"Truly sorry, Big Brother. I had to use your monster as a tribute just now," Para said, his voice suddenly thick with a strange, competitive fire.
"Think nothing of it," Dox, the older brother in dull yellow, replied with an effortless, synchronized nod. "If it is for you, any sacrifice is worthwhile."
A series of black lines practically manifested on Jiang He's forehead as he watched them. For a moment, he didn't even know where to start roasting them.
No, seriously... what exactly is there for you two to get fired up about regarding that...?!
Alexis was similarly speechless, her expression darkening. If anything, the sight only made her desire to crush them even stronger!
"However, I cannot rest easy without offering some form of repayment," Para continued, finally getting down to business. He took another card from his remaining three and placed it onto the Duel Disk.
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card, Dark Designator!"
"The effect of this card is simple: I designate one monster. If that monster exists in my opponent's deck, they must add it to their hand."
Para smirked, pointing a finger at his older brother. "The monster I designate is Sanga of the Thunder!"
The target of Dark Designator was, quite obviously, his own brother.
"Heh heh heh... Thank you! Of course, Sanga of the Thunder resides within my deck!" Dox chuckled, pulling the card from his deck and showing it to Jiang He and Alexis before adding it to his hand.
As he slotted his deck back into the Duel Disk, the machine automatically performed a shuffle.
"With that, I end my turn!" Para announced, looking toward his opponents. "You may be leading in Life Points, but the momentum of the field is ours. Let this duel teach you the true essence of a Tag Duel!"
"Who has the momentum remains to be seen! My turn, draw!" Alexis countered with high spirits, snapping a card from her deck.
She caught Jiang He giving her a reassuring nod, telling her to attack without worry. Alexis smiled and slammed her newly drawn card onto the tray.
"I summon Cyber Tutu in Attack Position!"
"Hah!"
With a flash of light, a playful young girl in a red and white outfit with short, pinkish hair leaped onto the field. She landed gracefully beside the tall, elegant figure of the black-haired skater, Cyber Blader.
[Cyber Tutu]
[Level 3]
[Attribute: Earth]
[ATK: 1000 / DEF: 800]
"Your teamwork allowed you to use a monster with a negative effect on your brother's side as a tribute to summon a powerful monster like Kazejin in a single turn," Alexis analyzed, pointing toward Dox. "But because of that, the older brother's side of the field is completely empty. You're wide open!"
"Cyber Tutu, direct attack!"
"Hyah!!" The pink-haired girl gave a cheeky shout and leaped into the air, spinning rapidly before delivering a flying kick toward Dox.
"They've seized that tiny opening!" The expressions of both Paradox Brothers turned solemn.
"Ugh!" Dox let out a muffled groan of pain as the kick landed.
The brothers' shared Life Points beeped as they dropped from 5600 to 4600.
"Tch. As I thought, I couldn't bait out Kazejin's special effect," Jiang He clicked his tongue in disappointment.
On the surface, the brothers had left a glaring hole in Dox's defense. However, Jiang He knew that the Kazejin on Para's field had a special effect that could reduce an opponent's damage to zero once per turn.
This meant that out of Alexis's two monsters, only one attack would actually get through. If they had activated Kazejin's effect to block Cyber Tutu, then the far more devastating attack from Cyber Blader would have been guaranteed to hit.
Unfortunately, the Paradox Brothers were legendary tag-duelists for a reason. They weren't fools; they weren't about to waste that effect on the significantly weaker Cyber Tutu.
"Cyber Blader's special effect!" Alexis shouted, having already anticipated this. "When the opponent controls exactly two monsters, Cyber Blader's attack power is doubled!"
As she spoke, the ATK of the red-clad skater surged, the counter on the Duel Disk climbing rapidly to 4200!
"Cyber Blader, attack again! Direct strike!"
the black-haired woman gave a sharp cry, spinning her body until she became a jagged, steel-blue tornado, aiming straight for Dox.
"4200 attack power! If this lands, the Paradox Brothers will only have 600 Life Points left!" Syrus Truesdale cheered excitedly from the sidelines.
"No, Kazejin's special effect allows it to reduce damage from an attacking monster to zero once per turn. Which means..." Jaden Yuki muttered, his eyes fixed on the field.
"Which means this attack is going nowhere! Heh heh... Kazejin, Hurricane Wall!" Para commanded with a sweep of his arm.
"Fwoosh!!"
The orb-like, green toad Guardian let out a massive blast of white wind, creating a barrier of air in front of Dox. The gale caught Cyber Blader's tornado, slowing her momentum until she was blown back to her side of the field harmlessly.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).