"Master!" Performapal Sky Pupil recognized the ring; it was one of the four rings used by his teacher—Performapal Sky Magician.
Visible waves of magical energy coiled around the ring, even causing the air within it to twist. The BB pellet flying toward Performapal Sky Pupil collided with the "air" in the center of the ring and was somehow blocked.
Seeing this, Performapal Sky Pupil understood that his Master was providing support. With a grateful glance back at Performapal Sky Magician, Performapal Sky Pupil suddenly raised the two rings in his hands and threw them toward the nearby Toon Barrel Dragon.
In mid-air, a similar phenomenon occurred within the two rings Performapal Sky Pupil had thrown. The air twisted, eventually turning into two pitch-black voids. Before Pegasus's astonished eyes, a green BB pellet shot out from each of the two rings. "That's—!"
"Toon Barrel Dragon's attack!?"
"The effect of Performapal Sky Pupil allows it to gather the power of its comrades and attack together if I control another Performapal monster." As Chumley spoke, the two BB pellets pierced through Toon Barrel Dragon. "It destroys the opponent's monster directly, before damage calculation."
"I'm returning your attack!"
"Boom!"
The bullet holes on the body of Toon Barrel Dragon from the BB pellets began to crack and spread across its entire form. With a sky-high explosion, Toon Barrel Dragon was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
"Next, Performapal Sky Magician attacks Maiden of the Aqua!"
After the disciple's "attack counterattack show," it was the Master's turn to perform. The ring that had blocked Toon Barrel Dragon's attack for Performapal Sky Pupil flew back into Performapal Sky Magician's hand. The four rings then left his grasp, floating together behind him as the space within them began to ripple.
From within the distorted space, four mysterious dragon heads slowly emerged—a pitch-black Demonic Dragon of DARK, an Evil Dragon that seemed to be the personification of destruction, a sky-blue Noble Dragon, and a red Dragon with odd-colored eyes.
Chumley's eyes widened in astonishment, not quite understanding why the figures of these four dragons would appear within Performapal Sky Magician's four rings. Yet, when he blinked, the four dragon heads inside the rings had vanished, as if what he had just seen was merely an illusion.
Four Magic Cannons shot from Performapal Sky Magician's rings, flying toward Maiden of the Aqua on Pegasus's Field. Chumley glanced at Yugi beside him and Pegasus on the other side of the Field, only to find their expressions unchanged, as if they hadn't noticed the strange phenomenon surrounding Performapal Sky Magician at all.
"Chumley-boy, I won't let you destroy me monster just like that!" Seeing the energy blasts coming, Pegasus activated his Set Card in his Back Row. "I activate the Trap Card, Absorption Shield! This negates your Performapal Sky Magician's attack, and I regain me Life Points equal to its attack points!"
A transparent barrier intercepted the attack in front of Maiden of the Aqua, protecting the trembling mermaid. Performapal Sky Magician's energy cannons blasted against the barrier but failed to create even the slightest ripple. Instead, they were converted into life energy, which flowed into Pegasus.
[Pegasus: 6600 → 9400 LP]
"Hmph, you fool. You just said you were going to negate my monster's attack, didn't you?" Pegasus's activation of his Set Card forced Chumley to temporarily suppress his inner doubts and activate a card from his Hand. "I activate the Spell Card, Double Up Chance! When a monster's attack is negated, it can make a second attack, and its ATK is doubled!"
Double Up Chance was the card Chumley had used to defeat Sheppard. Thanks to the Card of Sanctity Pegasus had activated earlier, Chumley had added it to his Hand and was now successfully activating it. "Performapal Sky Magician's ATK is 2800. Doubled, that's 5600!"
"Reap what you sow, Pegasus! Give back all those Life Points you just recovered! Performapal Sky Magician, sky-high Double Attack!"
Magic Cannons fired from Performapal Sky Magician's rings for a second time, and these blasts were far thicker than the previous four. This time, Pegasus had no Set Cards to protect his Maiden of the Aqua. The monster was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, and the aftershock of the attack caused Pegasus to stagger.
[Pegasus: 9400 → 5200 LP]
Having lost a massive 4200 Life Points in one shot, Pegasus's face contorted in agony as KaibaCorp's Solid Vision system faithfully simulated an attack of that intensity. His once-neat silver hair was now disheveled, completely devoid of the composure he had at the beginning of the Duel.
And on Chumley's Field, there were still monsters that hadn't attacked.
"A righteous sneak attack!" Under the cover of Performapal Sky Magician's light cannons, Performapal Helper Princess ran up to Pegasus, shouldering her palm-sized magic wand. With no monsters on Pegasus's Field to act as a shield, she could now make a Direct Attack.
"Go, Performapal Helper Princess, use Fire Magic on Pegasus!" Though it was called Fire Magic, after Performapal Helper Princess summoned a blazing fireball, she simply imbued the tip of her staff with it. Clenching her fist, she landed a knock-off "Flame Fist" right on Pegasus's face.
"Gah!"
[Pegasus: 5200 → 4000 LP]
With an all-out assault from all his monsters, Chumley reduced Pegasus's Life Points to 4000, matching his own, and wiped his Field clean. "I Set two cards and end my turn."
[Chumley: 4000 LP, Hand: 1]
[Performapal Sky Pupil][ATK 800]
[Performapal Sky Magician][ATK 2800]
[Performapal Helper Princess][ATK 1200]
[Set Card][Set Card][Magician's Right Hand]
"Huuu..." Pegasus recovered from the aching pain the impact had left on his body, letting out a long sigh as he forced himself to calm down. "I truly underestimated you, Chumley-boy, Yugi-boy. To think I would get angry over a mere provocation... Me is still not mature enough."
"Against you, fellow holders of the Millennium Items, it seems me played a little too rough." Pegasus's tone grew increasingly cold. Whether it was an illusion or not, Yugi and Chumley noticed that Pegasus's messy, shoulder-length silver hair had begun to float, as if an updraft were rising from beneath his feet.
The golden Millennium Eye flashed with light. In that instant, both Chumley and Yugi felt as if something had locked its sights on them.
(end of chapter)