# Chapter 175: A Stronger Opponent Appears After Defeating the Strongest Boss, Like a New Character in a Card Game
After the brilliant white light faded, Hayato forced his eyes open, looking toward the opposing Duel Arena.
Relinquished had indeed been destroyed by the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack and sent to the Graveyard, and Pegasus's Set Card did not activate. It was clear the attack had gone through successfully.
"Roar~" The Blue-Eyes on Hayato's Field had thoroughly vented its inner rage by successfully depleting a large amount of Pegasus's Life Points. Now, the white dragon turned its head, looking with concern at the heavily breathing Hayato.
"No, I'm fine. It's just... a mere 100 points of damage, nothing at all," Hayato said, putting on a brave face. But deep down, he knew that the danger of a Shadow Game was never just about losing Life Points.
In a Shadow Game, the minds of the monsters and the duelist are linked more closely than ever before. When a monster is destroyed, even if it doesn't inflict any damage to one's Life Points, it still deals a severe blow to the spirit.
The Earth Spirit God was already the monster that placed the heaviest burden on Hayato. Compounding this, it was destroyed along with his own Performapal Sky Magician in a mutual destruction, meaning Hayato essentially suffered two impacts at once.
Although he could still hold on and not collapse, Hayato's current condition was far from good.
"My Turn, End."
After saying this, Hayato's hand gripped the railing of the Duel Arena tightly, his gaze becoming distant.
'Relinquished has been defeated. I've given it my all. The rest is up to you, Yugi...'
[Hayato: 3700 LP, Hand: 0]
[Performapal Helper Princess][ATK 3700 → 1200]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon][ATK 3000]
It was Pegasus's turn again. But as he looked at Pegasus slumped over the Duel Arena, Yami Yugi, who had taken over for Yugi Muto to let him rest, began to doubt if Pegasus even had the strength to continue.
Although Yugi Muto was the one who had taken the reflected attack from Relinquished, the two Yugis' minds were connected. Yami Yugi, who was back inside the Millennium Puzzle at the time, had felt the same intense pain. And that was from a mere 600 points of damage.
Pegasus had taken the full damage from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Frankly, Yami Yugi thought it was incredible that Pegasus was still breathing normally. In a Shadow Game, even a single point of damage was agonizingly painful, with each point feeling as though flesh was being carved from one's very soul.
However, it seemed Yami Yugi had underestimated Pegasus. After Hayato ended his turn, Pegasus slowly propped himself up straight against the Duel Arena. The only difference was that the "Eye of Udjat" on his forehead was now glowing even more brightly.
"The moment your turn ends, I activate my Set Card on the Field." Pegasus's voice was weak and listless. It seemed the damage from Blue-Eyes's furious strike had indeed been immense. He was probably only able to continue moving because he had completely surrendered his body to the Millennium Eye, hadn't he?
"My Set Card is Necro Fusion." The Dark Power emanating from Pegasus's Millennium Eye grew even thicker than before. Yugi felt as if he were suffocating; even the simple act of breathing became heavy and difficult.
In Pegasus's Graveyard, Thousand-Eyes Idol, which had been tributed to Summon Relinquished, and the very Relinquished that Hayato had struggled so hard to destroy reappeared on the Field as phantoms. Their souls shattered and fused together, appearing on Pegasus's Field in a form even more terrifying than Relinquished.
"Relinquished and Thousand-Eyes Idol in my Graveyard will be banished from the game in Face-down Position, and the deepest darkness of Duel Monsters will awaken before you!" Pegasus declared viciously. "Be swallowed by the endless Darkness, Yugi, Hayato!"
"Descend, Evil God! Thousand-Eyes Restrict!"
Using Relinquished's form as a base, the revived monster's originally light-blue body turned a ghastly yellow like the soil of the underworld after absorbing Thousand-Eyes Idol. All over its body, except for the parts covered in a white membrane, its muscles began to swell and throb, as if small spheres were squirming within.
No, it wasn't an illusion! Goosebumps erupted on Yugi's skin. All over Relinquished's body, its flesh suddenly split open, revealing countless eyeballs. Anyone with trypophobia would have likely fainted on the spot!
Completely ignoring the commotion in the Audience Seating as someone fainted, Pegasus smiled confidently. "Yugi, Hayato, this is my strongest and final Ace Monster, Thousand-Eyes Restrict!"
"Your lives will come to an end right here!"
"My Turn, Draw!"
After drawing a card, Pegasus immediately played it. "I activate the Equip Spell Card, Staff of Dark Illusions!"
A staff radiating a sinister aura appeared in the hand of Thousand-Eyes Restrict. All the eyes covering its body snapped open, emitting an eerie purple light that sent waves of discomfort through everyone.
"The effect of Thousand-Eyes Restrict is an absolute battle lock! As long as it remains on the Field, none of your monsters can attack. Furthermore, due to the effect of Staff of Dark Illusions, all of your monsters lose ATK equal to half of its ATK."
Pegasus extended a hand toward the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on Hayato's Field. "You can't escape my grasp, Blue-Eyes! Be Devoured once more!"
Just like its original form, Relinquished, Thousand-Eyes Restrict opened the maw on its abdomen and swallowed the wailing, struggling white dragon. Fed by the power of the strongest dragon, the ATK of Thousand-Eyes Restrict skyrocketed, and it had surplus energy to channel into the Staff of Dark Illusions.
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict][Level 1/DARK]
[Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect]
[ATK 0/DEF 0 → ATK 3000/DEF 2500]
[Performapal Helper Princess][ATK 1200 → 0]
"I seem to recall that troublesome Rainbow Kuriboh has a pesky effect, reviving itself from the Graveyard during a Direct Attack, does it not?" Pegasus glanced at Yugi, who had only a single Set Card on his Field, before turning his gaze to Hayato, whose only monster was the 0-ATK Performapal Helper Princess.
"You've hindered me time and again, saving Yugi's life repeatedly. Hayato, you are such a good friend," Pegasus sneered. "But now, your own crisis is here. Will your dear friend—Yugi—save you? He won't! He can't even save himself!"
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict, attack Performapal Helper Princess! Illusion Blast!"
"Fall into the Darkness, Hayato!"
Controlled once more, the Blue-Eyes reluctantly opened its mouth. A black Burst Stream of Destruction slammed into the Performapal Helper Princess on Hayato's Field, whose ATK had been reduced to 0. The vengeful Pegasus was returning the pain he had suffered last turn—a direct hit from the 3000 ATK Blue-Eyes White Dragon—right back to Hayato.
"Arghhhh!!!"
[Hayato: 3700 → 700 LP]
"Hayato!" Yugi cried out worriedly, staring at Hayato's Field, now shrouded in black smoke. But for a long time, there was no response from within the smoke. In a Shadow Game, the pain from 3000 points of damage was more than enough to destroy a person's will.
[Author's Note: For the last update yesterday, I asked for recommendations, and then the recommendations poured in, pushing me from 2400+ to 1600+]
(end of chapter)