Chapter 178: More Exciting Than Victory is the Looting Phase
The next morning, Chumley stretched comfortably and woke up in his large bed.
He habitually reached out to prod Kaiba's body, which should have been sitting at the round table, but seeing the empty seat, Chumley remembered that Kaiba had already woken up.
After Pegasus released the souls, Yugi and the others couldn't know Grandpa Muto's condition as he was across the ocean, but Mokuba and Kaiba had both successfully awakened.
Upon learning about the many things that had happened after he was sealed away, Mokuba was quite grateful to Chumley and Yugi for saving him. Kaiba, however, was a stubborn tsundere, only telling Yugi, "You didn't betray my trust."
Resignedly getting out of bed, Chumley pulled open the curtains, feeling that today's sunlight was exceptionally bright—
"BOOM!"
A clap of thunder didn't startle Chumley, but it did scare (Ojama Yellow), who was standing on the round table. It had just been lecturing Chumley's newly awakened card spirits. (Gaia), (Armed Dragon), and (Rainbow Kuriboh) had no interest in managing the newly awakened (Performapal) animals, allowing (Ojama Yellow) to put on the airs of a senior in Chumley's name.
(Rain Goat), (Sword Fish), (Spiked Eagle)... Thanks to the Magical Energy that emanated from his (Millennium Eye) when Pegasus lost the Duel, the number of Chumley's card spirits had skyrocketed from single digits to over a dozen.
The one who absorbed the lion's share of this Magical Energy was (Sky Magician), which had fused with (Dark Magician) to deliver the final blow to (Thousand-Eyes Restrict). It had even awakened to its second stage, just like (Gaia) and (Rainbow Kuriboh), gaining a certain degree of Materialization ability.
However, despite being very powerful, whether out of a wicked sense of humor or something else, (Sky Magician) was currently playing the role of a "junior," cooperating with the posturing (Ojama Yellow) to help him establish authority over the (Performapal) animals.
Unable to properly enjoy the sunshine, Chumley quickly washed up and left his room to find Yugi and the others. In yesterday's high-stakes game, although Yugi and Chumley's primary goal was the other people's souls Pegasus held, in reality, their Prize Cards were not limited to just those.
(Glory of the King's Right Hand) symbolized great wealth, with Prize Money totaling around five million dollars. That was more than enough to pay for the medical treatment of Joey's sister, Serenity Wheeler, and could even cover a certain someone's five-million fine.
Correspondingly, (Glory of the King's Left Hand) symbolized status, proof that the King of Duelists could challenge Pegasus. But the Card's purpose didn't end there—now that Chumley and Yugi had joined forces to defeat Pegasus, (Glory of the King's Left Hand) had transformed into proof of a prize.
As long as someone held both Chumley's and Yugi's (Glory of the King's Left Hand) cards, they could claim 60% of Pegasus's shares in Industrial Illusions.
Relying on the power of the (Millennium Eye), Pegasus had started Industrial Illusions from scratch with only thirty thousand dollars to his name. And up until he lost the Duel against Chumley and Yugi, he had actually maintained 100% ownership of Industrial Illusions.
Of course, 30% of his shares were about to be taken by Chumley, and another 30% by Yugi.
Fantasizing about whether he should print some exclusive cards for himself like Pegasus after getting the shares, Chumley arrived at the banquet hall and immediately spotted Yugi and the others gathered around a few tables, passing the time.
"Alright! Time Wizard's coin toss was heads! That means all the Monsters on your Field are wiped out, Yugi!" Joey's luck seemed to be good. He had a (Red-Eyes Black Dragon) on the Field equipped with (Metalmorph) and had just successfully activated the effect of his Time Wizard.
But Yugi, sitting across from him, wasn't flustered at all. He revealed his Set Card in the Backrow: "You're celebrating too soon, Joey. I Activate my Trap Card, (Solemn Judgment), to Negate the Effect of your Time Wizard and Destroy it."
"Then, I use (The Dark Magicians) to make a Direct Attack against you."
Under Yugi's gentle smile and the unsurprised expressions of Tristan and Téa, Joey's challenge against Yugi ended in failure once again.
"Yo, you guys are having fun." Holding a sandwich for breakfast, Chumley walked over to the group and greeted them. "Dueling so early in the morning?"
"Chumley, you're awake," Yugi said with a smile. He was holding the (The Dark Magicians) card. Even though it was a card that had materialized out of thin air during yesterday's Duel, Yugi had easily accepted the miraculous Setting that "cards can be printed out of nothing." After the Duel ended, the card hadn't disappeared.
Chumley had no need for this card since its Fusion Materials were (Dark Magician) or (Dark Magician Girl), so he entrusted it to Yugi. Yugi, on the other hand, treasured the card greatly, seeing it as proof of the Bonds between him and Chumley.
It was worth mentioning that when the card was first printed, the Card Art depicted (Dark Magician) and (Sky Magician) standing side-by-side. However, after Yugi accepted it, the art changed, and (Sky Magician)'s spot was taken by Yugi's (Dark Magician Girl).
"There's one thing I'm curious about. Why is my (Sky Magician) in the 'disciple' position after the Fusion?" Chumley complained. "Look, whether it's looks or effect, my (Sky Magician) clearly has stronger Magical Energy, right? I think (Sky Magician) should be (Dark Magician)'s master."
"In that case, wouldn't (Sky Pupil) be on the same level as (Dark Magician)?" Joey successfully retorted. "But it's no use getting upset. It's written clearly on (Dark Magician)'s card that he is 'the ultimate wizard in terms of attack and defense.'"
"Then wouldn't (Leo Wizard the Dark Fiend) be an invincible God?" Chumley said, fiddling with the cards in his hand as he glanced up at the clock. It was already nine in the morning.
Not long after the Duel ended yesterday, Chumley had returned to his room to rest early. Pegasus had a relatively deep control over the (Millennium Eye), and Yugi had shared the damage with Yami Yugi's soul. Only Chumley, despite having some protection from the (Millennium Ring), had taken the full brunt of the Shadow Game's real Damage, which was why he had slept in this late.
But that guy Pegasus... most of the Damage should have been absorbed by the (Millennium Eye) that initiated the Shadow Game. How could he sleep so late and still not have come over to hand over the shares?
Just as Chumley swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and was about to take Yugi's place for a fun game with Joey, he saw Croquet enter through the main door with an anxious expression. "This is terrible, Mr. Chumley, Mr. Yugi!"
"Maximillion Pegasus has been attacked!"
Pegasus is one unlucky bastard.
Decided to get married, his childhood sweetheart wife died.
Looking for a way to resurrect his wife, he was targeted by Shadi, and had his eyeball forcibly gouged out.
Sealed away Mokuba and Kaiba, wanted to take the (Millennium Puzzle) directly, but couldn't guess that the two brothers would use a photo as a key.
After dueling Yugi, while weakened, he was ambushed by Bakura. In the manga, he died on the spot.
And because he was "dead" in the manga, he had no role for a long time in the anime's plot until the anime-original Doma Arc gave him a chance to return. In the end, he died again, and it was the kind where he got thrashed by Mai Valentine.
(end of chapter)