Chapter 170: Illusion?
"Master!" Performapal Sky Apprentice recognized this Ring; it was one of the four Rings used by his Teacher, Performapal Sky Magician.
Visible Magic Power Fluctuation was entwined around the Ring, even causing the Airflow within it to become distorted. The BB Pellet aimed directly at Performapal Sky Apprentice attacked, colliding with the "Airflow" in the center of the Ring, and was surprisingly blocked.
Seeing this Situation, Performapal Sky Apprentice understood that his Master was providing Support for him. Turning back, he looked at Performapal Sky Magician with gratitude. Performapal Sky Apprentice then suddenly raised the two Rings in his Hand and threw them towards the nearby Toon Barrel Dragon.
In mid-air, a similar Situation occurred within the two Rings thrown by Performapal Sky Apprentice. The Airflow became distorted, finally turning into two pitch-black voids. Under Pegasus's surprised Expression, a green BB Pellet emerged from each of the two Rings: "That is!"
"Toon Barrel Dragon's Attack!?"
"Performapal Sky Apprentice's Effect is, if there are other Performapal on my Field besides him, he can gather the Power of Companions to Attack together." Along with Hayato's words, the two BB Pellets pierced through Toon Barrel Dragon. "Before Damage Calculation, directly Destroy the opponent's Monster."
"Your Attack, I'll give it back to you!"
"Boom!"
The bullet holes on Toon Barrel Dragon, pierced by the BB Pellets, continuously cracked and spread throughout its entire Body. The Flames of the Explosion soared into the sky, and Toon Barrel Dragon was thus Destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
"Then it's Performapal Sky Magician's turn to Attack Bow-Shooting Mermaid!"
After the Apprentice's "Attack Counter Show" ended, it was the Master's performance stage. The Ring that had previously blocked Toon Barrel Dragon's Attack for Performapal Sky Apprentice flew back into Performapal Sky Magician's Hand. Four Rings detached from his Hand and floated together behind Performapal Sky Magician, and the space within the Rings rippled.
From the distorted space, four dragon heads of unknown identity slowly extended—a pitch-black Dark Magic Dragon, an Evil Dragon that seemed like the embodiment of destruction, a sky-blue Noble Dragon, and an Odd-Eyes Red Dragon.
Hayato widened his eyes in surprise, somewhat not understanding why the figures of these four dragons would appear within Performapal Sky Magician's four Rings. However, he blinked, only to find that the four dragon heads within the Rings had disappeared again, as if what had just appeared in his eyes was merely an Illusion.
Four Mystical Power cannons shot out from Performapal Sky Magician's Rings, flying towards Bow-Shooting Mermaid on Pegasus's Field. Hayato looked at Yugi beside him and Pegasus opposite him, but found that their Expressions were as usual, as if they hadn't noticed the Anomaly that had just appeared on Performapal Sky Magician at all.
"Hayato boy, I won't let you Destroy my Monster like that!" Seeing the light cannons incoming, Pegasus opened his Set Card in the Spell/Trap Zone. "Trap Card Absorption Shield, Negate your Performapal Sky Magician's Attack, and Recover my Life Points equal to his ATK Value!"
A transparent Domain intercepted in front of Bow-Shooting Mermaid, protecting the trembling Mermaid. Performapal Sky Magician's Energy Cannon bombarded the Domain, but couldn't even cause a ripple. Instead, it transformed into Life Points and was added to Pegasus's Body.
[Pegasus: 6600→9400LP]
"Hmph, Idiot, you just said you would Negate my Monster's Attack, right?" Pegasus Activated his Set Card, forcing Hayato to temporarily suppress the doubt in his Inner Thoughts. He Activated a Card from his Hand. "Spell Card Double or Nothing!, when a Monster's Attack is Negated, it can Attack again only once, and its ATK is Doubled!"
Double or Nothing! is the Card Hayato used to defeat Samejima Iemitsu. Thanks to the Graceful Charity that Pegasus Activated earlier, Hayato added it to his Hand and successfully Activated it. "Performapal Sky Magician's ATK is 2800 Points, after Doubling it's 5600 Points!"
"Reap what you sow, Pegasus! Spit out all the Life Points you just Recovered! Performapal Sky Magician, Soaring Double Attack!"
From Performapal Sky Magician's Rings, a Mystical Power cannon was fired a second time, and it was much thicker than the four previously fired. This time, Pegasus no longer had a Set Card to protect his Bow-Shooting Mermaid. The Monster was directly Destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, and the Aftermath of the Attack even caused Pegasus to stumble.
[Pegasus: 9400→5200LP]
Losing a full 4200 Life Points in one go, KaibaCorp's Virtual Projection System faithfully simulated an Attack of corresponding intensity. Pegasus's Expression was twisted in pain, and his originally neat silver hair became messy because of it. There was none of the Composure he had at the start of the Duel.
And on Hayato's Field, there were still Monsters that hadn't Attacked yet.
"Righteous Sneak Attack!" Using the cover of Performapal Sky Magician's light cannon, Performapal Helper Princess ran close to Pegasus, carrying her palm-sized Wand. Now, there were no Monsters left on Pegasus's Field to provide cover, so she could perform a Direct Attack.
"Go, Performapal Helper Princess, use Flame Magic on Pegasus!" Although it was called Flame Magic, after Summoning a fiercely burning fireball, Performapal Helper Princess directly enchanted the fireball onto the tip of her Wand. After gripping it like a fist, a makeshift "Flame Fist" struck Pegasus's face.
"Ugh!"
[Pegasus: 5200→4000LP]
All the Monsters performed a Total Attack. Hayato reduced Pegasus's Life Points down to 4000 Points, equal to his own, and also cleared Pegasus's Field completely. "Set two Cards. My Turn Ends."
[Hayato: 4000LP, Hand 1]
Performapal Sky Apprentice [ATK800]
Performapal Sky Magician [ATK2800]
Performapal Helper Princess [ATK1200]
[Set Card] [Set Card] Magician's Right Hand
"Hmph~" Pegasus Recovered from the soreness the Impact brought to his Body. He let out a heavy Breath, barely managing to calm his Heart. "I truly underestimated you, Hayato boy, Yugi-boy. To think I'd get angry over mere Provocation, I'm still not mature enough."
"Perhaps I played a little too rough with you, fellow [Millennium Items] holders." Pegasus's Tone grew colder and colder. Whether it was an Illusion or not, Yugi and Hayato noticed Pegasus's messy shoulder-length silver hair seemed to float in mid-air, as if there was an upward Airflow beneath his feet.
The golden [Millennium Eye] flashed with a gleam of Light. In an instant, Hayato and Yugi felt as if they had been Targeted by something.
(End of this chapter)