151. Peachful’s New Member, Uncle Paradox: I Want One Who Can Take on Five!

“Masked Man… no! PARADOX! Release Stardust Dragon and all the others at once!”

A voice brimming with fury suddenly rang out, drawing the attention of the four people present in the plaza.

“That’s right, you bastard! You stole Jaden’s and Ryo’s monsters, and now you’re even refusing to release Manjoume’s monsters?!”

Following the voice, they saw a red motorcycle parked beside the flower bed at the edge of the plaza. Two young men, both apparently under twenty, were seated on it.

One wore a red, trench-coat-style school uniform with a touch of white around the collar, along with a jellyfish-like hairstyle whose upper and lower layers were strikingly different in color. The other’s hairstyle was even more outrageous than that of the man sitting behind him—a mass of black-and-yellow hair resembling a crab.

Good grief. Just… good grief.

“Ho~ I didn’t expect you two to catch up so quickly.”

Paradox was not the slightest bit surprised by Jaden and Yusei’s arrival in this era. He knew all too well what kind of power the two possessed.

Jaden Yuki was no ordinary human being. His true identity was akin to reincarnation from a fantasy: the source of his soul originated from the prince of the kingdom in the world of Duel Spirits. In his previous life, the prince’s soul had concealed the only power capable of countering the light of destruction—the supreme force known as the Darkness of the Universe. That was why Jaden could hear the voices of spirits and communicate directly with Duel Monsters. Furthermore, a Duel Spirit named Yubel now resided within him.

Yusei Fudo was one of the Signers serving beneath the Crimson Dragon, an existence that stood alongside the Three Egyptian Gods—and he was their leader. In Year 49 of the Duel Monster era, he became the “hero” who foiled the Dark Signers’ scheme and saved New Domino City. The late Doctor Fudo had discovered the existence of Yusei Fudo particles and developed Momentum, a perpetual-motion engine powered by them as an infinite energy source. As the doctor’s son, Yusei went on to delve deeper into Synchro Summoning, a revolutionary technique created by the vanished president of Industrial Illusions, Yugi Sakaki, and subsequently pioneered Accel Synchro and even Delta Accel Synchro.

It came as no surprise to Paradox that such beings could cross time and arrive in this era. Yet after seeing the two men who had followed him here, his thoughts began to race.

He had a bold idea.

“You two arrived at just the right time.”

Paradox leaped from the edge of the rooftop. As he fell through midair, his special D-Wheel, Truth, the machine that had carried him through time, transformed from a motorcycle into a flying craft and shot into existence with a whoosh, catching him in his descent.

“Enough talk. Let’s duel!”

Paradox hovered in the sky, his Duel Disk already deployed on his right arm as he struck a dueling stance. Below him, the five people slowly produced identical question marks.

Were all villainous bosses these days so refreshingly direct? No beating around the bush, no pointless speeches—just an immediate duel?

“I am a man from the future, from a world of ruin, and I have come to change history! You, meanwhile, are people of the present, determined to protect this world, your families, and your friends!”

“Either I win and rewrite history, changing my ruined future—or you win and protect this world!”

“There will be no compromise!”

“So let us duel! Three of the strongest duelists from three different eras! I, PARADOX, will defeat every last one of you!”

Impressive! Absolutely ruthless! In the anime, it was usually three heroes against one Lu Bu—no, wait! It was more like one hero against three Lu Bus. But here, in reality, this man dared to take on five opponents alone!

As a fellow traveler through time, I salute your courage!

“Five against one would be a waste of time. I’ll be your opponent.”

Seeing the arms bearing Duel Disks tremble slightly among the other four, Yugi quickly spoke up and claimed the position for himself.

“As the current president of Industrial Illusions, the world’s largest card-printing company; the final winner of Battle City, which concluded one month ago; and the reigning two-time Duel King of the modern era—if you defeat me, you may rewrite history as you please. The five of us will not interfere again. How does that sound?”

“What?!”

Paradox, Yugi, and Kaiba were all stunned into speechlessness by Yugi’s declaration.

Paradox: I’m the villainous boss trying to change history! Wouldn’t it be much better to gang up on me than fight me one-on-one?

Yugi: Yugi! How could you make such a reckless decision? This duel concerns the safety of the entire world!

Kaiba: YU↗GI↓! Why should a duelist from the future be allowed to face you alone? Didn’t you hear him? I’m one of the strongest duelists in the world too!

As for Jaden and Yusei, after their initial surprise, they quickly returned to normal. Their faces were filled with smiles of absolute confidence.

Sakaki Yuyi had never lost to anyone besides the combination of Yugi Muto and the Nameless Pharaoh—not in this era, and not in the future. It did not matter whether his opponent was human.

“Go for it, Master! I believe in you!”

His future master was about to duel Paradox, a man from the future, one-on-one. The thought of witnessing such a cross-generational duel was thrilling beyond words!

As for the fact that he would not get to fight Paradox himself, Jaden did not care in the slightest. Other than this time-traveling villain, wasn’t there another one right here?

Why, he was standing beside him now.

“Hmph! Since you’re determined to throw your life away, President, I’ll be happy to oblige!”

Having plundered the strongest monsters from three different eras and used the power of the Malefic World to transform them into Malefic Cards one by one, Paradox’s deck was invincible. Even against Yuyi, the strongest duelist in history, a man who had never suffered a defeat in an official duel, Paradox dared call himself unbeatable.

“Excellent!”

When Paradox agreed, the corners of Yuyi’s mouth curved upward.

You should thank me, Paradox. You still have a sliver of hope against me alone. But if you had to face all five of us…

Heh. That was the only answer he had for him.

“Very well, then—”

“Duel!”

Paradox: 4000 LP
Sakaki Yuyi: 4000 LP

“I’ll go first! Draw!”

After glancing at his opening hand, Paradox could not help laughing.

As expected of me! I drew one of the key cards of the Malefic deck right from the start!

“I activate the Field Spell from my hand—Malefic World!”

Paradox opened the left side of his Duel Disk, revealing the zone for Field Spell Cards, and slapped the card into place. Through the D-Wheel beneath his feet, which had transformed into a flying craft, the entire area instantly became a purple realm filled with countless points of light, beautiful as the starry expanse of the universe.

“Malefic World is a Field Spell Card that evolved from the remnants of the world I come from—a hopeless, lifeless world—through the lingering power of its rules! Now, I’ll show you the deck that contains the power of the World’s Sin!”