Chapter 162: The Atmosphere Suddenly Got Entertaining
[Pegasus: 8000 → 7500 LP]
"So, it's my turn again, draw." Pegasus drew a card, a theatrical expression of surprise on his face. "Whoa, my luck is really good today, Yugi-boy."
"I've drawn a rather nice card." As he spoke, Pegasus flipped over the card he had just drawn, revealing a monster Yugi remembered all too well—*Blue-Eyes White Dragon*!
"Is that... the legendary Duel Monster, *Blue-Eyes White Dragon*?!"
"Aren't they supposed to be in the hands of KaibaCorp? How did one end up with Pegasus?"
"Could that be the fourth one? To actually use his authority as the creator to give himself a backdoor advantage... Pegasus is really going too far."
Gasps of surprise came from the Audience Seating. After all, thanks to KaibaCorp's tireless promotion to enter the Duel Monsters field, anyone interested in the game knew that "Seto Kaiba possesses three *Blue-Eyes White Dragon* cards." As for Pegasus holding a "fourth Blue-Eyes," most just felt a sense of annoyance.
But everyone, from Joey and the others in the Audience Seating to Chumley and Yugi, knew the truth—the fourth "Blue-Eyes" had actually been in the possession of Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Muto, and it had been torn to pieces by Kaiba's own hands.
In that case, the origin of the *Blue-Eyes White Dragon* in Pegasus's hand was self-evident. However, what surprised Pegasus slightly was that while both Yugi's and Chumley's faces showed irrepressible "indignation" and "displeasure," he couldn't read any "astonishment" from them.
Although his attempt at Mind Reading on Chumley had ended in failure, Pegasus found his answer from Yugi.
'I see. So you searched Kaiba-boy the moment you rescued him, but couldn't find his Deck? Chumley-boy, you really are...' Even Pegasus almost lost his composure, his lip twitching. 'No wonder Chumley-boy was so eager to take Kaiba-boy away from me.'
Incidentally, Pegasus also learned of the cards Yugi had Set from his mind.
'A *Man-Eater Bug* that destroys a monster when flipped, a *Disruption Field* to negate one Spell Card activation, and a *Dark Renewal*? He has a *Dark Magician* in his hand, hmm? Heh heh, I see.' A confident smile appeared on his face involuntarily. Pegasus calmly activated a card from his hand. "First, I discard one card from my hand to activate the Spell Card *Cost Down*—"
"Then I'll chain to your Spell Card and activate my Set Card! *Disruption Field*!" Seeing Pegasus activate *Cost Down*, which had the effect of reducing a monster's level, Yugi quickly flipped his Set Card. "Trying to lower a monster's Level to Summon a Blue-Eyes? It's not that simple!"
"By discarding one card from my hand, I negate one Spell Card!"
Watching Yugi send his own *Dark Magician* to the Graveyard, Pegasus couldn't help but smile. "So impatient, Yugi-boy. You don't want to see Kaiba-boy's Blue-Eyes appear on my field and turn into a cute Toon monster, do you? To avoid facing a Blue-Eyes, you even sent your own *Dark Magician* to the Graveyard~"
Yugi glared at Pegasus. "Hmph, Pegasus, isn't sealing Kaiba's soul enough for you? Now you want to desecrate his cards too? I will stop you, even if I have to wager my own soul!"
*No, Yugi, you just wagered your* Dark Magician*, didn't you? Who do you think you are, Sento?* Chumley quipped in his mind.
But as Yugi stared in confusion, Pegasus suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Yugi-boy, I understand. Your heart is filled with rage right now, so much so that you've lost the reason you usually have in a Duel."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is—" Pegasus said with a smile, playing a Spell Card from his hand, "You could have waited just a moment longer."
"The Spell Card, *Monster Reborn*! It can revive any monster from either Graveyard to my side of the field." Pegasus grinned smugly, pointing a finger at Yugi. "And the one I'm reviving is the *Dark Magician* you just sent to the Graveyard, Yugi-boy!"
"What!" Yugi wore an expression of complete surprise as he watched his *Dark Magician* get revived by Pegasus's *Monster Reborn* and appear on his field. Just as he was about to make a move, *Dark Magician* was sucked into the *Toon World* card in Pegasus's Backrow.
The book snapped shut, and the figure of *Dark Magician* vanished within it. But Yugi knew that his *Dark Magician* had likely been transformed into a Toon Monster by Pegasus.
"Oh dear, oh dear, how terrible. You wanted to stop your friend's ace monster from being used by me, but in a moment of carelessness, your own monster fell into my hands." Pegasus chuckled softly and set another card on the field. "However, since it can't battle just yet, *Dark Magician* will temporarily return to the Backrow to prepare for his magnificent magic show."
"I set one card, Turn end."
[Pegasus: 7500 LP, Hand: 0]
[Face-down Defense Position Monster]
[Set Card] [*Toon World* (*Dark Magician*)] [Set Card]
Seeing Pegasus set his last card from his hand, Yugi understood Pegasus's plan from the previous turn. The activation of *Cost Down* was nothing but bait. Besides the *Blue-Eyes White Dragon* Pegasus had just drawn, his other cards in hand were *Cost Down*, *Monster Reborn*, and that unknown Set Card—he had no other monsters at all.
*Blue-Eyes White Dragon* itself was not the target for *Cost Down*'s effect, because it had already been sent to the Graveyard as the Cost. In other words, Pegasus had seen through the Set Card in his Backrow—the *Disruption Field*—and used *Cost Down* as bait to lure out his card.
And to think he had deliberately sent *Dark Magician* to the Graveyard, planning to use *Dark Renewal* to revive it when Pegasus summoned a monster, only to walk right into a trap. Amid his frustration, Yugi also felt a sliver of relief—if he had sent any card other than *Dark Magician* to the Graveyard, they would now be facing a *Blue-Eyes White Dragon* revived by *Monster Reborn*.
"Finally, it's my turn. I draw." When it was Chumley's turn, he drew a card from his Deck.
Glancing at the card in his hand, Chumley looked at Pegasus and asked with a smile, "I hear *Dark Magician* is going to put on a magic show for Yugi? I think these kinds of performances are always better with a bigger crowd."
"So, would you mind if I made this Duel a little more fun, Mister Pegasus?"
"Since I control no monsters and my opponent does, I'll use the effect of *Performapal Show Dancer* in my hand to Special Summon it!"
Author's Note: The answer to the foreshadowing is the Performapals, which I mentioned when I first started this novel. I wonder if anyone still remembers.
Although due to the limitations of the era, there's no Xyz, no Synchro, and not even the core Pendulum mechanic, Performapals are still pretty strong, and they can also combo with my favorite Odd-Eyes (which also only has its basic forms, not the boss monsters).
(end of chapter)