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Chapter 512: In the World of Duelists, Everything is Decided by Duels
Hearing Pegasus's words, Kaiba's already cold expression turned unfriendly. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Pegasus, who was nonchalantly eating cherries.
"What do you mean you can't give me that card?"
"You said that card was already completed, didn't you, Pegasus?"
Stared down directly by Kaiba's gaze, others might not be able to bear such an aggressive stare, but Pegasus was no ordinary person. He was already as thick-skinned as a castle wall.
Spitting out the cherry pit, Pegasus turned his head to look outside the restaurant. Through the window, Pegasus could overlook the beautiful and harmonious natural scenery on the Island from the Castle.
"The meaning of life shouldn't just be about pursuing power, Kaiba boy." Pegasus said this out of the blue, standing up with a light chuckle. "Stop for a moment and look behind you."
As he spoke, Pegasus also rose from his seat and paced aimlessly around the restaurant.
Behind Pegasus, Kaiba, who hadn't given up easily, followed him and said firmly, "Hmph, my eyes have always only looked to the future; there's no room for the past. Furthermore, what's wrong with pursuing greater power? Are others allowed to become stronger, but I'm not?"
Kaiba's words, however, drew a light chuckle from Pegasus. "Become stronger? Kaiba boy, your goal is to surpass Hayato boy and Yugi-boy, isn't it? As someone whose goal is to become the Duel King, do you perhaps sense that the gap between you and them is growing wider due to the difference in your records?"
"Naturally. After all, since the end of the Duelist Kingdom until now, Kaiba boy, you haven't become stronger in the slightest."
Saying this, Pegasus shook his head with his back to Kaiba and started walking towards the tightly shut gate of the restaurant, seemingly intending to end their conversation there.
However, Kaiba reached out and placed a hand on Pegasus's shoulder, as if to forcibly keep him there.
"You say I haven't become stronger in the slightest?" Kaiba's voice was not calm; it was clear he was suppressing his anger. "What qualification do you, who haven't progressed, have to evaluate me? My Blue-Eyes has already evolved to a completely new level. Do you want to taste my anger?"
Pegasus turned around, looked at Kaiba glaring at him, and sighed helplessly. As he spoke, he reached up and brushed aside the silver hair covering the left side of his face.
"Kaiba boy, you completely don't understand my meaning. Wielding a card's great power requires a matching level of Heart. Your Blue-Eyes has indeed become much stronger, but Kaiba boy, I haven't seen any progress in your Heart."
"If you continue like this, the tragedy your Heart will see is..." Pegasus, revealing where his left eye should be, lowered his hand, and his silver hair once again obscured Kaiba's vision. "This is the dead end that those seduced by power will walk down."
"Tsk..."
Hearing Pegasus say that, Kaiba's intensity weakened slightly. After all, the main reason he was angry was that he thought Pegasus was denying all the growth his Blue-Eyes had achieved so far, which was why he was so vexed.
Now that Pegasus admitted that Blue-Eyes had grown a lot, his anger subsided somewhat. Coupled with Pegasus talking about "Heart" and such, it inevitably made Kaiba waver a little.
But only for a moment, Kaiba still made up his mind. "Even if you say that, I still need that card's power."
"Kaiba boy, the power of the card you need is very dangerous. You are not mature enough yet. At the very least, you need to wait until your Heart has grown to a certain point before I can confirm you have the qualification to be that card's user."
Pegasus was somewhat fed up with Kaiba's stubbornness and shook his head helplessly. He usually wore a prosthetic eye over his left eye, after all, his hair could easily be blown by the wind, and if he scared children at an event, Pegasus would feel bad.
Because he had some guesses about the reason behind Kaiba's overly simple agreement to the deal, Pegasus deliberately didn't wear his prosthetic eye, just to show Kaiba his own ending. Unfortunately, Kaiba was as stubborn as a rock and couldn't be convinced by words at all.
His remaining right eye glanced behind Kaiba, looking at the Card Spirit behind Kaiba, which seemed both awakened and not yet awakened, and at Kaiba, who was completely unaware of the Card Spirit's existence. Pegasus felt some regret.
He actually highly acknowledged Kaiba's Dueling prowess; at least currently, he ranked in the top five in the World. But those stronger than Kaiba, whether it was Hayato, the two Yugis, or the Guardian from America, they were all beings protected by Card Spirits.
If a Duel Monster as powerful as Blue-Eyes successfully achieved an awakening of its Card Spirit, then Kaiba's strength would definitely advance by leaps and bounds. Surpassing that Guardian would be inevitable, and he might even have a chance to surpass Mutou Yuugi.
Unfortunately, it couldn't be changed.
"Qualification? I'll use a Duel to provide the proof!" Kaiba declared loudly.
Seeing that Kaiba's mind was set, Pegasus was also helpless. After all, he had actively asked Kaiba for the data of 【青眼究极龙】 Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon back then. Now that the other party was coming to claim the stakes, Pegasus couldn't stop Kaiba. The only thing he could do was resist a little with a Duel to show his determination.
Kaiba was led by a waiter Pegasus had called in to the Duel Arena he had used during the Duelist Kingdom. Pegasus, meanwhile, returned to his Room alone. Walking up to the wall directly opposite his bed, Pegasus reached out and twisted the tail of the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon on the wall. The wall slid open to the side, revealing a very hidden safety deposit box.
From the safety deposit box, Pegasus took out a briefcase. After confirming that there were no signs of it being opened, he didn't bother to look at the cards inside and simply carried it out of the Room. After all, in his opinion, the location of this briefcase was only known to him, so nothing would happen.
Before long, Pegasus, carrying the briefcase, arrived at the Duel Arena. Kaiba had already been waiting there for a long time.
"Still using that ancient Duel Platform, huh." Kaiba placed his briefcase on the table, looking at Pegasus walking towards him. "Truly a Duel System from a distant era. Whatever, it'll be over quickly anyway."
Pegasus walked up to the table and stopped, placing the briefcase on it. "Kaiba boy, the card you need, the one that surpasses the power of a deity, is in this box. If you want to take it, defeat me."
"Hmph, the Ante Rule, is it? Then my bet is the document in this box transferring 10% of KaibaCorp's stock. My name is already signed; it will take effect as soon as you sign yours." Kaiba said with a cold laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. "However, I doubt you'll need it."
After Kaiba and Pegasus confirmed the bet for the Duel, they each took their positions on either side of the Duel Platform and placed their Decks down. Kaiba suddenly seemed to remember something and turned his head to look at the wall behind him, seemingly searching for something. Finding nothing, he turned back to Pegasus. "You haven't used any underhanded methods like before, have you?"
"Hmm?" Pegasus didn't quite understand what Kaiba meant, but Kaiba interpreted it as him playing dumb.
"Hmph, suit yourself. It doesn't matter even if I see through you like before; you won't be able to stop my advance, Pegasus."
As he spoke, Kaiba drew five cards into his Hand. Pegasus also gave a cold smile. "Even if you say that, I still have to try."
"Duel!" x2
[Kaiba: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
[Pegasus: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
"First, it's my turn, draw!" Pegasus, speaking in broken English mixed with Japanese, took the first turn and drew a card. "Let me remind you of your past crushing defeat, Kaiba boy. I Activate the Normal Spell Card, Toon Bookmark! From my Deck, I add to Hand one Toon World or a card with Toon World in its card name, other than Toon Bookmark!"
"My choice is this, Toon World! Then, I Pay 1000 Life Points to Activate it!"
[Pegasus: 4000 → 3000 LP]
As Pegasus paid the Life Points, a fairy tale book with a cover printed with cute pink small animals, clearly a book for tough guys, flew out from the card he placed in the Spell/Trap Zone. It was the undisputed core card of the Toon series, Toon World.
Even Kaiba, who had always been prejudiced against Pegasus, had to slightly acknowledge Pegasus's "fairness" regarding Duel Monsters cards.
At that time, during the Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus's activation of Toon World didn't require any stakes to pay; it only needed 500 LP to pay each turn to maintain. What was excessive was that if Toon World was destroyed, it would even return the paid Life Points.
Because of this Effect, Pegasus was even complained at by Téa and others who were watching at the time, saying the Effect was too cheating.
However, later, Pegasus actually proactively made an adjustment to his card effect, changing Toon World's effect of paying LP each turn to paying 1000 LP upon activation, and also canceling the effect that recovered Life Points after it was destroyed.
"Then, I Set three cards, and I Summon one monster in face-down Defense Position on the Field. Turn End~"
[Pegasus: 3000 LP, Hand 1]
[Set Monster]
[Toon World] [Set Card] x3
Pegasus's Dueling style truly made Kaiba recall the time of the Duelist Kingdom. His style was indeed extremely simple; there was no field setup other than searching for Toon World from the Deck.
Even if you randomly picked a player who qualified for the main tournament during the KC Cup, their field setup would be much more elaborate than Pegasus's.
However, Kaiba also knew that sometimes a simple layout could be more troublesome than a flashy field setup. If his opponent was Pegasus, even he needed to raise his vigilance a little.
"My Turn, Draw a card." Drawing a card, Kaiba checked his Hand and drew one card to Summon to the Field. "I Normal Summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands! When Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands is successfully Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, I add to my Hand one Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell Card from my Deck."
"Then, I Activate Chaos Form, which I added to my Hand! From my Hand, I Tribute Blue-Eyes White Dragon as a Ritual Tribute for my Ritual Summon, to fulfill the total Level of 8!"
Using Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands to add Chaos Form to his Hand, Kaiba revealed a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his Hand and sent it to the Graveyard.
"Pegasus, let me show you the power of the one you called 'without any growth'! Bow down before this new form of Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba Summoned the blue-bordered Ritual Monster to the Field. "Embrace the dark power and reach a new Chaos realm! Evolve into a form from another dimension, Blue-Eyes!"
"Ritual Summon! Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon!!"
Kaiba watched Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon appear, then glanced at Pegasus, noticing that he still had no idea of activating the Set Card in his Spell/Trap Zone.
'Does he not have a Set Card that can be used in response to an Effect Activation or Special Summon?'
'Or is he still holding back?'
Kaiba couldn't be sure what the Set Card behind Pegasus was, but it didn't matter now, because Pegasus would reveal it himself next.
"Since you won't Activate your Set Card, then you can keep it until you're defeated." Kaiba pointed towards the monster in face-down position on Pegasus's field. "Enter Battle Phase! Then I will use Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon to attack that monster in face-down position on your field!"
"Then, when Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, which was Ritual Summoned using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as Tribute, makes an Attack Declaration, I Activate her Effect!"
"Change the Battle Position of all monsters on my opponent's field! Also, any monster whose Battle Position is changed by this Effect has its ATK and DEF become 0!"
The blue Chaos Dragon spread its light wings behind it. The crystals covering Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's entire body lit up one by one. The power of light and dark harmonized perfectly within her, spreading throughout the entire Field via her light wings.
However, while the unstable Chaos environment was like water to a fish for Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, this power was a deadly poison for other monsters. The Set Card on Pegasus's field was also flipped due to Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's power, revealing its true form.
The monster Pegasus Set was the Toon Version of Goblin Attack Force, a Level 4 monster with 2300 ATK but only 0 DEF. Although its DEF was 0, because it was a Toon Monster with destruction resistance that was typically cheating-like and couldn't be destroyed, Pegasus placed it in Defense Position.
But now, Toon Goblin Attack Force was forcibly changed to Attack Position by Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's Effect, and its relatively excellent 2300 ATK was also reduced to 0!
If he took this attack from Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, Pegasus would receive a full 3000 points of Battle Damage, completely clearing the 3000 Life Points he had remaining after paying 1000 points to Activate Toon World!
Therefore, Pegasus also finally flipped over a card in his Spell/Trap Zone. "I Activate..."
Hearing Pegasus's words, Kaiba's already cold expression turned unfriendly. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Pegasus, who was nonchalantly eating cherries.
"What do you mean you can't give me that card?"
"You said that card was already completed, didn't you, Pegasus?"
Stared down directly by Kaiba's gaze, others might not be able to bear such an aggressive stare, but Pegasus was no ordinary person. He was already as thick-skinned as a castle wall.
Spitting out the cherry pit, Pegasus turned his head to look outside the restaurant. Through the window, Pegasus could overlook the beautiful and harmonious natural scenery on the Island from the Castle.
"The meaning of life shouldn't just be about pursuing power, Kaiba boy." Pegasus said this out of the blue, standing up with a light chuckle. "Stop for a moment and look behind you."
As he spoke, Pegasus also rose from his seat and paced aimlessly around the restaurant.
Behind Pegasus, Kaiba, who hadn't given up easily, followed him and said firmly, "Hmph, my eyes have always only looked to the future; there's no room for the past. Furthermore, what's wrong with pursuing greater power? Are others allowed to become stronger, but I'm not?"
Kaiba's words, however, drew a light chuckle from Pegasus. "Become stronger? Kaiba boy, your goal is to surpass Hayato boy and Yugi-boy, isn't it? As someone whose goal is to become the Duel King, do you perhaps sense that the gap between you and them is growing wider due to the difference in your records?"
"Naturally. After all, since the end of the Duelist Kingdom until now, Kaiba boy, you haven't become stronger in the slightest."
Saying this, Pegasus shook his head with his back to Kaiba and started walking towards the tightly shut gate of the restaurant, seemingly intending to end their conversation there.
However, Kaiba reached out and placed a hand on Pegasus's shoulder, as if to forcibly keep him there.
"You say I haven't become stronger in the slightest?" Kaiba's voice was not calm; it was clear he was suppressing his anger. "What qualification do you, who haven't progressed, have to evaluate me? My Blue-Eyes has already evolved to a completely new level. Do you want to taste my anger?"
Pegasus turned around, looked at Kaiba glaring at him, and sighed helplessly. As he spoke, he reached up and brushed aside the silver hair covering the left side of his face.
"Kaiba boy, you completely don't understand my meaning. Wielding a card's great power requires a matching level of Heart. Your Blue-Eyes has indeed become much stronger, but Kaiba boy, I haven't seen any progress in your Heart."
"If you continue like this, the tragedy your Heart will see is..." Pegasus, revealing where his left eye should be, lowered his hand, and his silver hair once again obscured Kaiba's vision. "This is the dead end that those seduced by power will walk down."
"Tsk..."
Hearing Pegasus say that, Kaiba's intensity weakened slightly. After all, the main reason he was angry was that he thought Pegasus was denying all the growth his Blue-Eyes had achieved so far, which was why he was so vexed.
Now that Pegasus admitted that Blue-Eyes had grown a lot, his anger subsided somewhat. Coupled with Pegasus talking about "Heart" and such, it inevitably made Kaiba waver a little.
But only for a moment, Kaiba still made up his mind. "Even if you say that, I still need that card's power."
"Kaiba boy, the power of the card you need is very dangerous. You are not mature enough yet. At the very least, you need to wait until your Heart has grown to a certain point before I can confirm you have the qualification to be that card's user."
Pegasus was somewhat fed up with Kaiba's stubbornness and shook his head helplessly. He usually wore a prosthetic eye over his left eye, after all, his hair could easily be blown by the wind, and if he scared children at an event, Pegasus would feel bad.
Because he had some guesses about the reason behind Kaiba's overly simple agreement to the deal, Pegasus deliberately didn't wear his prosthetic eye, just to show Kaiba his own ending. Unfortunately, Kaiba was as stubborn as a rock and couldn't be convinced by words at all.
His remaining right eye glanced behind Kaiba, looking at the Card Spirit behind Kaiba, which seemed both awakened and not yet awakened, and at Kaiba, who was completely unaware of the Card Spirit's existence. Pegasus felt some regret.
He actually highly acknowledged Kaiba's Dueling prowess; at least currently, he ranked in the top five in the World. But those stronger than Kaiba, whether it was Hayato, the two Yugis, or the Guardian from America, they were all beings protected by Card Spirits.
If a Duel Monster as powerful as Blue-Eyes successfully achieved an awakening of its Card Spirit, then Kaiba's strength would definitely advance by leaps and bounds. Surpassing that Guardian would be inevitable, and he might even have a chance to surpass Mutou Yuugi.
Unfortunately, it couldn't be changed.
"Qualification? I'll use a Duel to provide the proof!" Kaiba declared loudly.
Seeing that Kaiba's mind was set, Pegasus was also helpless. After all, he had actively asked Kaiba for the data of 【青眼究极龙】 Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon back then. Now that the other party was coming to claim the stakes, Pegasus couldn't stop Kaiba. The only thing he could do was resist a little with a Duel to show his determination.
Kaiba was led by a waiter Pegasus had called in to the Duel Arena he had used during the Duelist Kingdom. Pegasus, meanwhile, returned to his Room alone. Walking up to the wall directly opposite his bed, Pegasus reached out and twisted the tail of the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon on the wall. The wall slid open to the side, revealing a very hidden safety deposit box.
From the safety deposit box, Pegasus took out a briefcase. After confirming that there were no signs of it being opened, he didn't bother to look at the cards inside and simply carried it out of the Room. After all, in his opinion, the location of this briefcase was only known to him, so nothing would happen.
Before long, Pegasus, carrying the briefcase, arrived at the Duel Arena. Kaiba had already been waiting there for a long time.
"Still using that ancient Duel Platform, huh." Kaiba placed his briefcase on the table, looking at Pegasus walking towards him. "Truly a Duel System from a distant era. Whatever, it'll be over quickly anyway."
Pegasus walked up to the table and stopped, placing the briefcase on it. "Kaiba boy, the card you need, the one that surpasses the power of a deity, is in this box. If you want to take it, defeat me."
"Hmph, the Ante Rule, is it? Then my bet is the document in this box transferring 10% of KaibaCorp's stock. My name is already signed; it will take effect as soon as you sign yours." Kaiba said with a cold laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. "However, I doubt you'll need it."
After Kaiba and Pegasus confirmed the bet for the Duel, they each took their positions on either side of the Duel Platform and placed their Decks down. Kaiba suddenly seemed to remember something and turned his head to look at the wall behind him, seemingly searching for something. Finding nothing, he turned back to Pegasus. "You haven't used any underhanded methods like before, have you?"
"Hmm?" Pegasus didn't quite understand what Kaiba meant, but Kaiba interpreted it as him playing dumb.
"Hmph, suit yourself. It doesn't matter even if I see through you like before; you won't be able to stop my advance, Pegasus."
As he spoke, Kaiba drew five cards into his Hand. Pegasus also gave a cold smile. "Even if you say that, I still have to try."
"Duel!" x2
[Kaiba: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
[Pegasus: 4000 LP, Hand 5]
"First, it's my turn, draw!" Pegasus, speaking in broken English mixed with Japanese, took the first turn and drew a card. "Let me remind you of your past crushing defeat, Kaiba boy. I Activate the Normal Spell Card, Toon Bookmark! From my Deck, I add to Hand one Toon World or a card with Toon World in its card name, other than Toon Bookmark!"
"My choice is this, Toon World! Then, I Pay 1000 Life Points to Activate it!"
[Pegasus: 4000 → 3000 LP]
As Pegasus paid the Life Points, a fairy tale book with a cover printed with cute pink small animals, clearly a book for tough guys, flew out from the card he placed in the Spell/Trap Zone. It was the undisputed core card of the Toon series, Toon World.
Even Kaiba, who had always been prejudiced against Pegasus, had to slightly acknowledge Pegasus's "fairness" regarding Duel Monsters cards.
At that time, during the Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus's activation of Toon World didn't require any stakes to pay; it only needed 500 LP to pay each turn to maintain. What was excessive was that if Toon World was destroyed, it would even return the paid Life Points.
Because of this Effect, Pegasus was even complained at by Téa and others who were watching at the time, saying the Effect was too cheating.
However, later, Pegasus actually proactively made an adjustment to his card effect, changing Toon World's effect of paying LP each turn to paying 1000 LP upon activation, and also canceling the effect that recovered Life Points after it was destroyed.
"Then, I Set three cards, and I Summon one monster in face-down Defense Position on the Field. Turn End~"
[Pegasus: 3000 LP, Hand 1]
[Set Monster]
[Toon World] [Set Card] x3
Pegasus's Dueling style truly made Kaiba recall the time of the Duelist Kingdom. His style was indeed extremely simple; there was no field setup other than searching for Toon World from the Deck.
Even if you randomly picked a player who qualified for the main tournament during the KC Cup, their field setup would be much more elaborate than Pegasus's.
However, Kaiba also knew that sometimes a simple layout could be more troublesome than a flashy field setup. If his opponent was Pegasus, even he needed to raise his vigilance a little.
"My Turn, Draw a card." Drawing a card, Kaiba checked his Hand and drew one card to Summon to the Field. "I Normal Summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands! When Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands is successfully Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, I add to my Hand one Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell Card from my Deck."
"Then, I Activate Chaos Form, which I added to my Hand! From my Hand, I Tribute Blue-Eyes White Dragon as a Ritual Tribute for my Ritual Summon, to fulfill the total Level of 8!"
Using Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands to add Chaos Form to his Hand, Kaiba revealed a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his Hand and sent it to the Graveyard.
"Pegasus, let me show you the power of the one you called 'without any growth'! Bow down before this new form of Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba Summoned the blue-bordered Ritual Monster to the Field. "Embrace the dark power and reach a new Chaos realm! Evolve into a form from another dimension, Blue-Eyes!"
"Ritual Summon! Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon!!"
Kaiba watched Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon appear, then glanced at Pegasus, noticing that he still had no idea of activating the Set Card in his Spell/Trap Zone.
'Does he not have a Set Card that can be used in response to an Effect Activation or Special Summon?'
'Or is he still holding back?'
Kaiba couldn't be sure what the Set Card behind Pegasus was, but it didn't matter now, because Pegasus would reveal it himself next.
"Since you won't Activate your Set Card, then you can keep it until you're defeated." Kaiba pointed towards the monster in face-down position on Pegasus's field. "Enter Battle Phase! Then I will use Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon to attack that monster in face-down position on your field!"
"Then, when Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, which was Ritual Summoned using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as Tribute, makes an Attack Declaration, I Activate her Effect!"
"Change the Battle Position of all monsters on my opponent's field! Also, any monster whose Battle Position is changed by this Effect has its ATK and DEF become 0!"
The blue Chaos Dragon spread its light wings behind it. The crystals covering Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's entire body lit up one by one. The power of light and dark harmonized perfectly within her, spreading throughout the entire Field via her light wings.
However, while the unstable Chaos environment was like water to a fish for Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, this power was a deadly poison for other monsters. The Set Card on Pegasus's field was also flipped due to Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's power, revealing its true form.
The monster Pegasus Set was the Toon Version of Goblin Attack Force, a Level 4 monster with 2300 ATK but only 0 DEF. Although its DEF was 0, because it was a Toon Monster with destruction resistance that was typically cheating-like and couldn't be destroyed, Pegasus placed it in Defense Position.
But now, Toon Goblin Attack Force was forcibly changed to Attack Position by Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's Effect, and its relatively excellent 2300 ATK was also reduced to 0!
If he took this attack from Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, Pegasus would receive a full 3000 points of Battle Damage, completely clearing the 3000 Life Points he had remaining after paying 1000 points to Activate Toon World!
Therefore, Pegasus also finally flipped over a card in his Spell/Trap Zone. "I Activate..."
