"Then I'll go first~"
With graceful poise, Pegasus drew six cards from his Deck.
"I set a monster in Defense Position, then place two cards face-down."
Pegasus gestured politely at Kaiba.
"My turn is over~"
Ignoring Pegasus, Kaiba silently drew a card.
In his hand was… a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?
The Millennium Eye clearly caught Kaiba's inner thought.
"I will…"
Kaiba raised the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, intending to summon it to the field, but—
"STOP! Kaiba-boy, don't move, don't move at all~"
Pegasus suddenly spoke, halting Kaiba's motion.
"That card in your hand, don't let me see it~ Against that card, I activate my Trap Card, Prediction!"
Pegasus flipped open the face-down card on his left.
"When this card is activated, I will predict the card in your hand—does its Attack exceed 2000, or is it less…"
"If my prediction is correct, that card becomes mine!"
"What?!"
A card like this actually exists?!
Yugi gripped the railing tightly as he watched the duel below.
"My prediction is… that card's Attack far exceeds 2000. More precisely, it has 3000 Attack! Isn't that right?"
"Ah!"
Kaiba froze, clutching his Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Well then, Kaiba-boy, hand over that Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"Urgh…"
Reluctantly, Kaiba placed the Blue-Eyes White Dragon onto the Duel Table, and the card was transmitted into Pegasus's hand.
'How did he know?!'
Kaiba gritted his teeth, setting a Hitotsu-Me Giant face-down in Defense Position.
"My turn ends!"
"Mmm~ now it's my turn."
Leisurely, Pegasus drew a card, then—
"I summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field!"
With a deafening roar, the white dragon so familiar to Kaiba tore through the air, coiling majestically on Pegasus's field.
It was still regal, still powerful; regardless, now its cold dragon eyes gazed upon its former master without a shred of emotion.
The massive wings spread wide, casting a shadow that covered half of Kaiba's field.
"Damn it…"
Watching his beloved Blue-Eyes White Dragon now stand on the enemy's side left Kaiba hollow inside.
"Next, I flip my face-down monster in Defense Position~"
The card flipped over, revealing a bizarre humanoid.
Its body was wrapped with black script-like markings like chains, exuding a silent yet overwhelming power of law.
"Kotodama…"
What is that?
Kaiba wasn't familiar with its effect; regardless, that oppressive sense of restriction immediately felt ominous.
Kaiba didn't know; however, Yugi, watching, knew all too well.
This card's effect: as long as it remains on the field, no duplicate cards can exist; if a duplicate appears, the later one is destroyed.
'I've been set up…'
Kaiba glared at Pegasus's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, seething.
"Next, I set another card. Then, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Hitotsu-Me Giant!"
'What's going on… He even knows this? Is he cheating through the Duel Table… No, that's not it.'
On the wall, a message read: Welcome to Tongrenxsw.com to read this novel!
Hitotsu-Me Giant had been set face-down, yet Pegasus called its name with precision.
This made Kaiba suspect Pegasus of cheating.
Boom—!
The destructive white light reduced Hitotsu-Me Giant to ashes.
Anyhow, Pegasus didn't end his turn. Instead, he asked a question.
"Say, Kaiba-boy, do you like manga?"
Kaiba didn't want to respond. This had nothing to do with the duel.
"So you're not interested~ But me, I simply love manga!"
"So what!"
Kaiba's impatience was showing.
"Heh heh heh… Cartoon characters will never betray, and they will never die!"
Pegasus placed a card on the field.
"I activate the Spell Card, Toon World!"
A gigantic comic book unfolded on the field, and Pegasus's Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Kotodama were sucked inside.
"Hey! Where did you take my Blue-Eyes White Dragon?!"
His precious dragon had vanished!
Kaiba had hoped to retrieve it with Enemy Controller or Brain Control.
"Heh heh~ Now, my monsters all become Toon monsters. Naturally, they are now residents of this book!"
Pegasus raised his hand.
"Appear now, my adorable Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!"
At his command, a cartoonish Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew out from the book, rolling its eyes at Kaiba.
"Alright, back you go."
At Pegasus's words, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon slipped back inside the book.
"Oh, right!"
Pegasus lifted his right hand, raising a finger.
"I forgot to mention—so long as Toon World remains closed, the monsters within cannot be attacked at all…"
"What the hell?! Doesn't that mean there's no chance to fight back?!"
Joey shouted in shock, even more rattled than Kaiba.
Kaiba, too, racked his brain for a countermeasure, but…
Without being able to directly attack, was there really a way?
"My turn ends."
Kaiba looked at his hand and made a decision.
"Pegasus, you seem to have the ability to read minds. In that case… I won't use the cards in my hand anymore!"
Kaiba directly drew the top card of his Deck.
"I'll use the very top card of my Deck to duel you! As for what it will be, even I don't know."
He set the card face-down onto the field.
"I'll play this card in Attack Position!"
Kaiba flipped the card—it was none other than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"As expected of my most trusted card! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack!"
"How could such a man exist… to draw Blue-Eyes White Dragon in such a situation!"
Mai Valentine exclaimed. Was this pure luck, or…
Yuto wondered whether Kaiba truly hadn't known, or only pretended not to know, that the card was Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Wait, no! You can't, you mustn't, Kaiba-kun!"
Yugi cried out, desperate to stop Kaiba. But once an attack had been declared, there was no stopping it.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon had barely begun to appear when it was shattered.
"Why?!"
"Careless, Kaiba-boy~"
At Pegasus's words, the cartoon version of Kotodama flew out of Toon World.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]