Chapter 15: Hesitation leads to defeat, decisiveness leads to giving it away for free

"Able to see through the truth of a part of my ability, Yugi boy, you have passed the test, and now I should get serious!"

Having said that, Pegasus drew a card under Yugi's tense gaze, and immediately wore a look of surprise: "Oh~ unbelievable! Yugi boy, I've drawn an extraordinary card~"

Revealed before Yugi's eyes was [Illusionist Faceless Mage]. Neither its 1200 ATK nor its 2200 DEF could resist Yugi's [Dark Magician]. Yet, having finished showing it, Pegasus directly summoned it to the field.

"[Illusionist Faceless Mage] is summoned to my field, and then added with the Magic card [Mesmeric Control] in my hand." Playing a card from his hand, Pegasus pointed a finger at the silent [Dark Magician]. "Now, I am going to use it to launch an attack on the [Dark Magician] on your field, Yugi boy."

Yugi looked at the strange monster that had appeared on Pegasus's field; its hollow face was enough to send a chill down one's spine: "A rare card I've never seen before, but if it's a Spellcaster type, [Dark Magician] will not lose to any monster!"

The dark magic energy surging within the emerald wand collided with the eye-shaped attack released by [Illusionist Faceless Mage]. To Yugi's surprise, however, neither monster was destroyed, and neither Pegasus's nor his own Life Points fluctuated at all.

"What is going on? If the ATK is the same, shouldn't both monsters be destroyed simultaneously?" Yugi was quite puzzled by such a scene.

"My, my, what a blunder, I almost forgot that Yugi's time is running out." Pegasus's feigned voice drew Yugi's attention away from the field and toward the countdown timer in the upper right corner of the videotape. There were less than five precious minutes remaining until the end time. According to the rules agreed upon at the very beginning, whoever had higher Life Points when the time ran out would be the winner.

[Yugi: 1500 LP]
[Pegasus: 1200 LP]

If Yugi were willing to swallow his pride and deliberately stall for time, Pegasus would automatically suffer defeat the moment the timer hit zero, and the victor would be Yugi. But needless to say, Yugi was not the kind of person who could accept that sort of victory.

"Only a coward stops moving forward; I will keep fighting! Summon [Elf Swordsman] and attack [Illusionist Faceless Mage]!" Playing a card, the corners of Yugi's mouth curved upward as if he could already foresee the future of [Illusionist Faceless Mage] being shattered. "Though I don't know what exactly happened just now, undoubtedly, the ATK of [Illusionist Faceless Mage] remains 1200, and it will be defeated by [Elf Swordsman] and its 1400 ATK."

"Whoa, you took the bait, Yugi boy~" Pegasus's face still wore that irritating smile.

Just as [Elf Swordsman] was summoned to the field and before it even had a chance to attack, a powerful surge of dark magic suddenly erupted from its side, shattering it to pieces while Yugi's Life Points plummeted by a full 1100 points in one go.

"1100 points of damage! Why, why is [Dark Magician]...?" With an incredulous expression, Yugi stared at the [Dark Magician] that had launched the attack on [Elf Swordsman].

Pegasus spread his hands in explanation, "The effect of [Mesmeric Control] is not merely to boost ATK; your [Dark Magician] has already been charmed by [Illusionist Faceless Mage] and has become my puppet~ Yugi boy~"

[Yugi: 1500 LP → 400 LP]

"Yahoo, with this, by the end of my turn, time should be just about up, right?" Drawing a card without making any further moves, Pegasus glanced at the countdown timer, which had only ten seconds left, and ended his turn. "Just as I said before, a pointless obsession will only lead you to a failing end, Yugi boy~"

The Life Points gap between the two sides was reversed once again, shifting from Yugi's previous advantage to Pegasus holding the higher Life Points, with a mere 10 seconds remaining on the clock. Once those ten seconds elapsed, Pegasus would naturally secure victory in the duel.

However, Yugi refuted this with a stubborn gaze: "No, the duel is not over yet, Pegasus! My final monster is this one, [Summoned Skull]!"

The skeletal demon that had once defeated Hayato's [Gaia The Fierce Knight] manifested once more. The moment its arms emerged from the card art, it impatiently began gathering lightning in its palms, charging forward to attack [Illusionist Faceless Mage].

Yet, no matter how desperately it hurried, the moment right before the lightning attack could touch [Illusionist Faceless Mage], the videotape's countdown officially hit zero, bringing this game to a close with Pegasus's victory.

"My, my, how close, just a fraction of a second more and Yugi boy, you would have turned the tables on me~" Pegasus's projection did not vanish with the end of the videotape; instead, within the television screen, he gestured a "tiny" distance with his fingers toward Yugi. "I have a hunch that in the 'Duelist Kingdom' tournament, me will definitely cross paths with you once again."

Feeling thoroughly displeased after losing the match, Yugi retorted ungraciously, "What if I say no?"

"No, no, no, Yugi boy, you will definitely participate." Saying this, Pegasus lifted his left side-swept hair once more, revealing the golden prosthetic eye that Yugi had noticed earlier. "This eye is called the [Millennium Eye]. Just like the [Millennium Puzzle] upon your chest, it is a super~ rare Millennium Item, you see."

"Millennium Item?" For some reason, upon hearing that term from Pegasus's lips, the Dark Yugi felt a sudden surge in his heart, as if the phrase held a profound connection to his very being.

"The dark power of the Millennium Eye can see through the human heart, which is why me said earlier that you, Yugi boy, had only seen through the truth of a part of my ability." A formidable energy emanated from the hollow Millennium Eye, as though attempting to suck everything in the vicinity into that void. "Let us meet again in Duelist Kingdom, Yugi boy~"

"If you still wish to reclaim the precious treasure you hold dear—"

"Clang—!!!"

Pegasus's figure was completely swallowed by the golden radiance emitted by the Millennium Eye. The beam even pierced through the television screen, flying right out into the living room, heading straight past Yugi—whose vision was blinded by the glare—toward the direction where Jonouchi and the others had just departed.

At that very moment, Hayato, who had been leaning back against the sofa, suddenly raised his right hand. A translucent spear flew forth from his palm, crashing directly into that stream of golden light: "Don't even think you can get your way, Pegasus!"

"GAIA—!!!"

The reason Hayato had brought Grandpa Sugoroku and the others as far away from the living room as possible, and then had the spirits support his return to the living room, was entirely for the sake of launching this single spear at this exact moment. Infused into this spear was the collective power of all five card spirits he carried—[Rainbow Kuriboh], the [Ojama] brothers, and [Gaia The Fierce Knight]—all to prevent Pegasus from seizing another person's soul.

In Hayato's calculations, although the dark power of the Millennium Items was formidable, Pegasus was not physically present; he had to maintain a Shadow Game, peer into hearts, and only then extract a soul. With his power thus divided across multiple tasks, perhaps he, Hayato, could put up some resistance. Moreover, the fact that he had previously succeeded in regaining mobility within the Shadow Game with the assistance of several spirits proved that he did possess at least a sliver of capability to fight back.

However, Hayato had underestimated Pegasus's determination to "invite" Yugi, and underestimated the dark power he had expended on "stealing the soul."

Under his astonished gaze, the condensed might of the five card spirits—the phantom of the knight's lance held by [Gaia The Fierce Knight]—collided with the light unleashed by the [Millennium Eye], only to shatter abruptly after a stalemate lasting less than a second. A powerful impact resonated straight through his mind; before he even had time to cry out in pain, he lost consciousness and blacked out.