Chapter 177: Duelist Kingdom, Finished
The blue and purple beams of the Magic Cannon twisted around each other as they advanced, piercing through the body of Thousand-Eyes Restrict and completely wiping out Pegasus's remaining Life Points.
[Pegasus: 1000 → 0]
Without needing a referee's call, the outcome of the Duel was already clear—the final victors were Yugi and Hayato.
"Alright~ We finally won." Seeing his and Yugi's portraits light up on the scoreboard, Hayato, who had been forcing himself to stay focused, let out a sigh of relief. He unceremoniously plopped down on the ground, watching as the Solid Vision images on the field gradually faded.
The combination of The Dark Magicians disbanded the moment victory was declared. Performapal Sky Magician shamelessly accepted all the applause from the surrounding audience, while Dark Magician respectfully bowed to Yugi before voluntarily dissipating.
The corpse of Thousand-Eyes Restrict, its abdominal maw pierced, was ravaged by Blue-Eyes White Dragon like a punching bag. After incinerating it to ash with a blast of White Breath, the White Dragon gave a nod toward Hayato and vanished as well.
"I declare the winners of this Duel to be Yugi and Hayato!" Although Croquet was shocked by Pegasus's defeat, his professionalism compelled him to step forward and announce the match's result. "These two duelists have defeated Mr. Pegasus! Congratulations to them both for becoming the undisputed Kings of Duelists!"
"Let us fire a salute for the birth of our kings!"
"We won." Yami Yugi returned to the Millennium Puzzle, and Yugi Muto took control of his body again. "That was... really tough."
Amidst the applause of the audience and the excited cheers of Joey, Tristan, and the others, the nearly exhausted Hayato and Yugi supported each other as they walked around to the other side of the Duel Stage.
While Yugi went to wake the unconscious Pegasus and have him release the souls he had sealed away, Hayato picked up the cards scattered in front of Pegasus's Duel Stage. A quick search revealed the few copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon that Pegasus had put into his Deck, but Hayato wasn't particularly interested in Blue-Eyes.
Without more support cards, Blue-Eyes was, in the end, just a Normal Monster with 3000 Attack. Besides, although Hayato enjoyed taking other people's monsters, he was actually part of the "Pure Love" Faction. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, he felt, should really be used by Seto Kaiba.
However, not wanting Blue-Eyes didn't mean Hayato wasn't interested in the other cards in Pegasus's Deck.
Meanwhile, Yugi had successfully woken Pegasus.
"I... what is... that's right, I lost the Duel." Opening his right eye, Pegasus saw Yugi's face and recalled what had happened.
Yugi held no fondness for Pegasus. "Pegasus, since we've won the Duel, you need to release Grandpa's soul and the souls of the Kaiba brothers right now!" This was the primary reason Yugi had come to Duelist Kingdom in the first place. Becoming the King of Duelists was not his goal.
"Ahem, rest assured, Yugi-boy. Me is a man who keeps his promises." Coughing twice, a weakened Pegasus sat up from the ground and pulled three cards from his jacket.
When he first took them out, Yugi could still see the figures of Solomon Muto, Seto Kaiba, and Mokuba on the cards. But as seconds ticked by, illusory flames ignited on the Card Art, and the figures within rapidly faded and disappeared.
"A Shadow Game is a Game where lives are at stake. As the loser, me should have died at that very moment." Pegasus raised a hand to lift the long hair covering the left side of his face. Only then did Yugi notice that the Millennium Eye embedded in Pegasus's left socket was now dim and lifeless, with a single bloody tear tracing a path down his cheek.
"However, it seems that because the main consciousness controlling me at the time was the Millennium Eye, me was spared."
Pegasus's tone was filled with emotion. "The power of the Millennium Eye was mostly dispelled the instant me was defeated, and the 'Prison of Souls' cards that held the souls became ineffective at that same moment. Yugi-boy's grandfather, along with Kaiba-boy and Mokuba-boy, their souls have already returned to where they belong."
"Grandpa..." Hearing Pegasus's words, Yugi finally felt at ease. It was only after defeating Pegasus and ending the Duel that he belatedly remembered Pegasus still held the souls of several others. It would have been a disaster if he had defeated Pegasus but failed to free the souls.
"Pegasus."
Hayato's voice cut in. Pegasus turned to see Hayato walking toward him, holding a Deck of cards.
"Hayato-boy."
"The story of you and your love is quite moving, but that doesn't give you the right to harm others because of it." Hayato casually tossed Pegasus's Toon Deck back into his hands, having already pocketed a few useful cards for himself. "The Duel is over, but that doesn't mean your sins have been wiped clean."
"Use the rest of this borrowed life of yours to properly repay your debts."
"Such harsh words, Hayato-boy." Pegasus stood up with a wry smile, gently putting away his beloved Toon Deck before looking Hayato straight in the eye. "However, even if you hadn't said that, I would have done so."
"Speaking of which, after losing the Duel, although my head and body are aching all over and it's not comfortable at all, me feels as if my mind is much more relaxed."
Hayato knew why Pegasus felt this way, but he didn't say it out loud.
Among the seven Millennium Items, three leaned toward the "dark" side—the Millennium Rod, the Millennium Ring, and the Millennium Eye. Compared to the others, the dark aura on these three was far more intense, making it easier to lead their wielders to corruption.
Pegasus had once been an ordinary man from a "normal family" with dreams of becoming a painter, possessing no remarkable traits. After the death of his childhood sweetheart and beloved Cecilia, he was overcome with grief and began searching for a way to revive the dead, a search that led him all the way to Egypt.
There, Pegasus met Shadi, known as the "Millennium Director." After learning of the existence of the Millennium Items, he was forced to undergo the trial of the Millennium Eye, which resulted in one of his eyeballs being popped out. After enduring the agony, Pegasus successfully passed the test and obtained the power of the Millennium Eye, even managing to once again glimpse the soul of his long-dead lover.
But powerful cards come with risks, and great power comes at a Cost. As he repeatedly used the power of the Millennium Eye, Pegasus's will was gradually twisted toward Darkness. In order to obtain KaibaCorp's Solid Vision, Pegasus went so far as to seal away others' souls. It wasn't until now, when the Cost of the Shadow Game dispelled the Millennium Eye's Magical Energy, that Pegasus's mind could finally regain its clarity after so many years.
However...
Hayato glanced at the card spirits behind him, which had suddenly awakened after absorbing the dissipated Dark Power, and felt a headache coming on. Seriously, I'm just a duelist. How come other people's Spirit Companions can do Proxy Dueling, Fusion, and even Overlay, while all I get is a bunch of animals for a "Zoo" Deck?
(end of chapter)