Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 095 The Terror of the Dungeon

I guess Yami and Jonouchi didn't manage to power through the worst of what the labyrinth has to offer yet. That's alright, I kind of expected this duel to be a bit on the longer side, considering there's four of them instead of just two. Doubled-up means double the trouble, am I right? It looks like we're going to be underground for a while, so let me just grab my snacks and everything.

I DO feel like I'm forgetting something, though...

Whatever, this is where we left off! Along with Kyu growling at the most recent loss of his life points and BOTH brothers warning their opposition not to make the mistake of thinking it'll be that easy and they'll escape. They resume the duel while Honda pumps his fist in the air in the background, shouting that Yami and Jonouchi are tag-team champions and encouraging them to show off their stuff.

No, not like that, get your minds out of the gutter.

Jonouchi definitely plans to take Honda's advice with a grin, but he's not the only one who will be smirking. Mei draws a card and smiles evilly, because he's just drawn Sanga of the Thunder. This is apparently the demon god of thunder, and one of the three guardians of the elements, the other two being of wind and water (Kazejin and Suijin are the other two guardians). It used to be that Exodia was the only monster in the game that was summoned using multiple cards at once, but Pegasus made a new one just for the use of the Meikyu brothers.

Mei eventually stops gloating and plays Sanga already. He chuckles as Yami curiously leans in and the holographic smoke starts to swim. It forms a tied up box floating on the table, a mystery that Yami wonders about. Chuckling, Mei is convinced that while Yami and Jonouchi might get through the labyrinth, they'll have to face the gate guardian once they get to the doors themselves. He ends his turn.

Yami notes the symbol on the box is "Rai" for "Thunder" and something is sealed inside. Duh, Yami. It's a box. He has a baaaaaad feeling about it.

Jonouchi announces it's his turn and draws a card, chuckling about how there isn't a bad guy in sight thanks to Yami. So, he moves his Flame Swordsman forward through the labyrinth. Once the swordsman has accomplished this, he ends his turn. Kyu thinks about the three monsters slowly moving closer to the doors, but he's sure they won't make it before the final two guardian cards are drawn and played.

He draws a card and grows an identical grin to his brother's. Yami glares.

It's another tied-up box that joins the other in front of the brothers, Kyu saying that there's only one card left until they can bring forth their guardian. Yami continues to be mystified, noting the appearance of this other box. He thinks that the heavier air around him isn't just the oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon, but also whatever hides in those boxes.

Kyu plans to chip away at his opponents until he can draw the third card he needs and plays one more card - the Dungeon Worm. A rumbling emits from the table which Yami notes with an anxious expression. This is an entirely justified expression.

OH SHIT! OH SHIT! It's Tremors all over again!!

Yami's points go down to 1200 as, shocked, he watches the worm dive back into the floor of the labyrinth. One of the brothers explains that it spends its time between meals hiding underground. Kyu says that the boys can't avoid the worm no matter where in the labyrinth they are, and as if that's not bad enough, its points go up by 10% after it devours a monster. Yami compares the worm to Ryouta Kajiki's ocean strategy too, while Jonouchi looks petrified in the background.

He asks Yami what they should do, and Yami just announces that it's his turn, deciding on a card to use. It's Magical Hats again, four hats spreading out over his and Jonouchi's remaining monsters, much to the bewildered shock of the Meikyu Brothers. Jonouchi is excited that now the worm won't know where to attack while Yami explains that the magician and swordsman are hidden somewhere under the hats. He smugly says that if the worm chooses the hat with the Dark Magician inside, its power up still won't be enough to beat it and the worm will die.

Looks like the brothers got a nice dose of their own medicine, but Mei doesn't appear to be choking on it. It's going down with a smirk, like Mary Poppins just swooped in with a fucking spoonful of sugar. Yami is wary of that look, which is followed by Mei playing his Monster Tamer of Hell card. He tells the boys that this will allow him to take over the Dungeon Worm and increase its attack by 600 points.

Dammit Mary!!

Yami worries about how the worm is actually stronger than his magician with its new power up and if the magician is found, it's dead.

Hoooo, that's a relief. Mei doesn't see an enemy monster in the worm's teeth, so it's obvious that he's missed and his opponents cheer his terrible choice in hats. Still, Mei grins, because the worm will just go back underground to a place attacks can't reach. It slinks back down its hole.

Yami knows that they survived this turn, but can't help but fret that the worm will attack again, and it's only a matter of time until the Meikyu brothers pick a hat that has a target underneath. Jonouchi draws a card for his turn and smirks, though, so it's looking like he's got something nice in his hand now. He drawls that he just HATES cramped dark places, so he's going to do something about it.

What the BALLS, Jonouchi?? Everyone else in this comic appears to be asking the same question, shocked by Jonouchi's seemingly rash decision. However, Jonouchi pulls a card from his hand, telling everyone to take a gander at the power it contains. It's Salamandra, The Fire Snake, which goes inside the Flame Swordsman's sword to increase its power.

At Jonouchi's command, the Salamandra does its job, and then slithers down the top of the already eliminated hat. Mei is floored, because Salamandra went all the way down into his worm's hole.

Jonouchi is fucking KILLING it! Literally.

But leave it to the Meikyu Brothers to shit all over the celebration. Kyu draws a card and plays it with a nasty grin. Kazejin is now on the table too, and the other boxes pop open along with it to form the demon god guardian the brothers have been yammering about this whole time; attack points sitting pretty at 2400. Yami and Jonouchi stare, not knowing what it is, but their startled faces showing that they know full well it can't be good.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? As cool as it was to see Jonouchi making that awesome move with the augment card he played on the Flame Swordsman, he and Yami's cards are being picked off one by one anyway. They started out in the labyrinth with four monsters, which have now been reduced to two. Granted, those two monsters are pretty powerful, but their newest threat, the Guardian of the Elements, is looking awfully beefy itself.

Which is great, because I'm definitely wondering how they're going to pull defeating it off. The tension in this match has been pretty high since the beginning, because the Meikyu Brothers have really managed to match all of Yami and Jonouchi's adaptations one for one. They're whittling down the protagonists' forces methodically, and despite the small victories the kids have had, it's still looking grim for them overall. It's keeping me invested because the Meikyu Brothers are the first opponents we've seen who are using the exact same adaptation strategy that Yami and Jonouchi have been using to win all of their duels thus far, so we KNOW it's not only viable but powerful as well.

I can't wait to see how they face the guardian in the coming chapters.