"Zero Attack and Defense Points? That really matches its Level, huh." Tristan asked Sheppard, who was beside him, in a confused tone. "I'm not an expert on Duel Monsters, but I know a little something thanks to Yugi and the others."
"Is a Monster like that really stronger than that Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"
Joey shook his head. "No, Tristan, that Monster is definitely not simple. Look at its Attack Points—they're zero!"
"Hayato told me that even a Monster with infinite Attack Points isn't as troublesome; the trickiest Monsters in Duel Monsters are the ones with 0 Attack, and Monsters with both 0 Attack and 0 Defense are even more difficult to deal with."
"Big Bro, look, that Relinquished is so lame! Its Attack and Defense are both zero." Ojama Yellow, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere on the Field, suddenly got cocky seeing that Relinquished, Pegasus's ace, had worse stats than itself. "Even I could handle a Monster like that."
"Activate! Relinquished's Special Effect!" Veins bulged on Pegasus's face, and a dark glint flashed in his Millennium Eye. "Once per turn, it can absorb one Monster into its body and gain all of that Monster's power!"
"Performapal Sky Magician! As Hayato-boy's strongest Ace Monster, you will become the fodder for my most powerful Monster—Relinquished!"
The fleshy lump on Pegasus's Field began to transform. Two fleshy wings, resembling both bare bone and the fascia on a cut of meat, opened up, revealing the grotesque body of Relinquished within the growth—a conical torso, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom like a spinning top; a long, serpentine neck topped with a single-eyed head; sharp claws that glinted coldly on its five fingers; and a constantly squirming cavity in its abdomen that looked like the mouthparts of some marine creature.
Although spending every day with the (Ojama) monsters had given him some immunity to ugly and disgusting-looking monsters, it didn't mean Hayato could suppress the revulsion he felt in his heart toward Relinquished.
"Initiate, devour, and turn all creation into your sustenance, Relinquished! Dark Hole!"
At Pegasus's command, the massive mouth in its abdomen suddenly expanded to the size of a person, and its eye emitted a purple light, locking onto Performapal Sky Magician. A deep purple, evil magical energy spread outward. Despite Performapal Sky Apprentice and Performapal Helper Princess rushing to its aid, they couldn't stop Performapal Sky Magician from being swallowed and absorbed by the black hole in Relinquished's abdomen.
[Relinquished 0/0 → 2800/2000]
"After absorbing Performapal Sky Magician, Relinquished will gain all of his power—not just his Attack and Defense Points, but even his Effect!"
"Bonds? Friendship? Trust? How utterly ridiculous!" A ferocious expression appeared on Pegasus's face as he raised his hand and pointed at Yugi. "Suffer defeat at the hands of Your Friend's Ace Monster, Yugi-boy!"
"Relinquished! Direct Attack Yugi! Illusion Sky Magician!"
From the "wings" on Relinquished's back, the silhouette of the just-absorbed Performapal Sky Magician emerged. Its eyes were lifeless, and its magical energy had been completely drained, leaving it in a wretched state. Following Pegasus's command, Performapal Sky Magician, under the control of Relinquished, raised the hand holding its ring and mercilessly launched an attack at Yugi's empty Field!
"He's using Hayato's Monster to attack Yugi?!" Téa stood up from her seat in worry. Although the people in the row behind her complained in dissatisfaction about their view being blocked, she couldn't care less. "Yugi, hang in there!"
"If I let this attack go through, Yugi's Life Points will hit zero, and I can't allow that!" Hayato glanced at Yugi, who nodded, signaling for Hayato to proceed. Hayato then played the last Card in his Hand. "When an opponent's Monster declares an attack, I activate the Effect of Rainbow Kuriboh from my Hand!"
"Come forth, my invincible Kuriboh!"
Riding on a brilliant rainbow, Rainbow Kuriboh bravely intercepted Performapal Sky Magician's attack. The seemingly fragile wall of rainbow perfectly blocked the attack and transformed into a multicolored ribbon of light, wrapping around Relinquished and preventing it from attacking for the moment.
"Damn you! You've interfered with me again, Hayato!" As the dark magic of the Millennium Eye continued to spread and emanate, Pegasus's mental state seemed to be subtly affected. The shared symbol of the Millennium Items, the Eye of Udjat, began to faintly appear on his forehead. "My Turn ends!"
[Pegasus: 4000 LP, Hand: 0]
[Relinquished (Performapal Sky Magician, Rainbow Kuriboh) ATK 2800]
"B-Big Bro, something's not right with that guy!" Ojama Yellow finally realized, belatedly, just how terrifying Relinquished was. Its legs trembled as it couldn't help but say, "Big Bro, why don't we just surrender? We can't beat that guy."
"Yeah, Big Bro, if we surrender, we only lose half," said the other four (Ojama) monsters, popping out from behind Ojama Yellow. It wasn't even their battle, yet they were so eager to surrender. As expected of the Ojama Family, famous for being useless, cowardly, and self-preserving—truly unreliable.
"Nonsense! Cut the crap! Where did you hear that surrendering means you only lose half?" Hayato waved his hand to shoo away the meddlesome (Ojama) monsters and focused on the Duel. However, the sight of Pegasus across from him, whose mental state was gradually descending into madness, was putting immense pressure on him.
Of course, perhaps the jarring contrast of Pegasus, who usually peppered his speech with English words, suddenly starting to speak so formally also contributed to it.
'Is it because he's at a disadvantage in the Duel, has Summoned Relinquished, and is repeatedly pushing the power of the Millennium Eye, and all these factors have accelerated the Eye's corruption? No, rather than saying 'Pegasus is being corrupted by the Millennium Eye,' it might be more accurate to say 'the Millennium Eye is controlling Pegasus'.'
Looking at Pegasus, who now resembled the puppets he once controlled, with the Eye of Udjat already appearing on his forehead, Hayato sighed, and his gaze became firm again. 'I don't care if you're Pegasus, Millennium Pegasus, or Ultimate Pegasus. You dare to steal my Monster? I'll Obliterate you within three Turns, and I'll scatter your Deck to the winds!'
"My Turn, I Draw!" It was Yugi's Turn again. He drew a Card and added it to his Hand.
Looking at the Card he just drew, an idea formed in Yugi's mind, and he immediately put it into action. "I Summon Mystical Elf in Face-up Defense Position! Then I Activate the Spell Card, Trap Booster! By discarding one Card from my Hand, I can Activate one Trap Card directly from my Hand!"
"I discard Archfiend Gilfer from my Hand to activate the Trap Card, Reverse Reuse! I Special Summon Man-Eater Bug from my Graveyard to your Field!"
The Flip Monster Man-Eater Bug, which Hayato had given to Yugi, was sent to Pegasus's Field. However, since it was summoned in Face-up Defense Position, it likely wouldn't get a chance to activate its Effect. Besides, Yugi didn't activate this Trap Card out of kindness.
"Because a Monster was Special Summoned to your Field, the conditions for this Card on my Field have finally been met!" Yugi said with a smile, flipping over the Card he had Set long ago. "Dark Renewal! By tributing the Special Summoned Man-Eater Bug on your Field and Mystical Elf on my Field, absorb the Dark Energy and Revive from the Graveyard, inhabiting the body of a spellcaster!"
"My most loyal servant, the Dark Magician!"
After many twists and turns, Yugi's Ace Monster—Dark Magician—was finally summoned to the Field. In his second appearance, he was no longer the blackened and corrupted Toon Monster controlled by Pegasus, but a powerful magician who commanded magic.
This time, he was here to settle the score with Pegasus for being controlled before.
[Dark Magician ATK 2500]
The Duel is coming to an end. As per tradition, here's a (useless) preview:
"The gathered Bonds will create a new shining path."
"Can you even count them at this point?"
"Dueling is something that brings smiles to people."
"Jackpot!"
The above will not appear in the following text.
(end of chapter)