Chapter 166: Mind Reading Has Failed?
[Yugi: 4000 → 2600 LP]
(Toon Mermaid)'s arrow hit Yugi square on the forehead. The rubber suction cup on the arrowhead looked harmless, but Yugi's Life Points were still solidly reduced by a full 1400.
But what was even more terrifying was—
"Yugi-boy's Life Points are down to just 2600? Oh, what a coincidence. (Toon Barrel Dragon)'s ATK is exactly 2600." Pegasus's face lit up with a look of pleasant surprise, but he then spread his hands helplessly. "Unfortunately, (Toon Barrel Dragon) cannot attack the turn it is Special Summoned. You're so lucky, Yugi-boy~"
On Pegasus's Field, (Toon Barrel Dragon) played along, showing a dejected expression.
"However, Yugi-boy, an old friend is quite looking forward to attacking you~" Looking at the cold and expressionless (Toon Dark Magician), Pegasus smiled and mercilessly gave the order, "(Toon Dark Magician), Direct Attack Yugi-boy! Dark Magic!"
Pegasus had gone too far. Not only did he steal Yugi's beloved Soul monster, (Dark Magician), and twist it into a Toon monster, but now he was using it to attack Yugi, even using Yugi's own attack name.
How could a partner of justice possibly stand by and watch?
Just as an Energy Orb formed at the tip of (Toon Dark Magician)'s chibi staff, about to fly towards Yugi, Chumley revealed the card he had set last turn: "I Activate the Trap Card, (Power Wall)!"
"I can only activate this card when an opponent's monster is about to inflict damage! I discard cards from the top of my Deck and send them to the Graveyard. For each card, the damage is reduced by 500 points until it becomes zero!" Chumley grabbed a handful of cards from the top of his Deck—five in total. "Yugi, catch!"
After sending all five cards to the Graveyard, a phantom Energy Shield materialized in front of Yugi. Inlaid around the shield were the five cards Chumley had just sent to the Graveyard. When (Toon Dark Magician)'s attack arrived, the Energy Shield met it head-on. After a brief stalemate, the two forces perfectly canceled each other out.
Seeing that his Life Points hadn't been deducted, Yugi breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Chumley and gave him a thumbs-up. "Thanks, Chumley."
If that attack had gone through, Yugi's meager 2600 Life Points would have plummeted to just 100. With so few Life Points, it would be difficult to even continue the battle against Pegasus, let alone defeat him.
"You're welcome, Yugi." Chumley returned the thumbs-up. "It's your turn next. Go for it, for the both of us."
"How touching. Friends supporting each other as they fight together. Me is about to cry. However, me also has a reason me cannot lose." Pegasus pretended to wipe away non-existent tears with a handkerchief. "My Turn End."
As Pegasus finished speaking, the three Toon monsters on his Monster Zone jumped back into the open (Toon World). The book closed, and Pegasus's Field became remarkably quiet.
But both Chumley and Yugi knew well that Pegasus's Field was like the surface of a lake—calm on the outside, but with a turbulent undercurrent raging below.
[Pegasus: 6500 LP, Hand 0]
(Toon World) (with Toon Mermaid, Toon Dark Magician, Toon Barrel Dragon)
"My Turn, Draw! I activate the effect of the (Pot of Greed) I just drew, allowing me to draw two more cards."
"Then, I Set two cards!" Yugi seemed almost impatient, setting the cards in his Back Row the moment he drew them. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Pegasus felt that for a split second as Yugi drew his card, his form seemed to change ever so slightly.
But when he looked at Yugi again, he saw that he was exactly the same as before, with no changes.
'Was it just my imagination? Setting cards so quickly... is he trying to prevent me from reading his thoughts?'
'Hmph, what a shame. The power of the (Millennium Eye) is absolute. Let's see what kind of cards you've set, Yugi-boy~'
Pegasus gently lifted the silver hair covering the left side of his face, revealing the (Millennium Eye) fitted in his left eye socket. An imperceptible golden light flashed as Pegasus activated the (Millennium Eye)'s Mind Reading ability, invading Yugi's Mind without any resistance.
'His Hand hasn't changed. It's still that (Dark Magician Girl) and (Magic Hat). Oh, is he planning to Tribute (Man-Eater Bug) to destroy (Toon Barrel Dragon), then Summon (Dark Magician Girl) to attack (Toon Mermaid)? A good choice.'
As if flipping through the pages of a book, Pegasus freely perused Yugi's inner thoughts without him noticing. Soon, Pegasus found the information about the Set Cards.
'The two Set Cards he just put down are... The two Set Cards are...' As he read on, a look of shock appeared on Pegasus's face, and he subconsciously blurted out, "Impossible! Me can't see your Set Cards?!"
"Oh? What's wrong, Pegasus? Can't find the memories of my two Set Cards? Having trouble?" Yugi flashed a confident smile.
Chumley chimed in playfully from the side, "Ah, it happens when you get to middle age. It's unavoidable. Pegasus, why don't you try again?"
"No... how is this possible? Why can't me see?" Pegasus was in disbelief and tried again. He could see Yugi's current Hand, his future moves, and even Yugi's fond memory of the Broad Bean Croquette he had for breakfast. But no matter how hard he tried, to the point where sweat beaded on his forehead, Pegasus could not find any information in Yugi's Mind about the Set Cards on his Field.
"Yugi, just who are you—" For the first time, Pegasus lost his composure. He didn't use his usual seemingly friendly but actually condescending pet name for Yugi; instead, he called him by his proper name.
"Still can't see them? If you don't want to keep trying, then I'll be starting my turn, okay?" With a taunting smile, Yugi flipped over the monster that was in Face-down Defense Position on his Monster Zone. "I Flip Summon my (Man-Eater Bug) and activate its effect. When flipped, it can destroy one monster on the Field!"
"I target (Toon Dark Magician)!" Yugi's expression turned solemn. "(Dark Magician), I will now free you from this pathetic fate of being controlled! Go, (Man-Eater Bug), entrusted with my Bonds with Chumley!"
(Toon World) provided the Toon monsters with powerful destruction resistance, but that resistance only applied to being destroyed by battle. Under the effect of (Man-Eater Bug), (Toon Dark Magician) was easily dragged out of (Toon World) and calmly faced its fate of destruction.
In the instant before it returned to Yugi's Graveyard, (Toon Dark Magician) reverted to (Dark Magician), and for the first time, a serene smile appeared on its usually stern face.
Author's Notes:
I never promised from the start that the protagonist would use Dragonmaids later on. Now that I've written about Performapals, why are so many people dissatisfied?
The promise I made was that, in this book's setting, among the decks the protagonist will obtain after Warrior-Synchro, Ojama-Armed-XYZ, and Performapal, Dragonmaids are not included. However, Dragonmaid cards will indeed appear in this book.
(end of chapter)