While Jōnouchi and Mai's duel was getting underway, Kaiba had already left the group and headed straight for Pegasus's castle.
As he walked, his mind kept replaying the phone call he'd received the night before.
"Good evening, Kaiba-boy~!"
"Pegasus? Why are you calling me?!"
"Now, now—don't get so excited," Pegasus drawled. "Because what I'm about to say will make you even more excited."
The moment Pegasus said that, Kaiba felt a chill of dread crawl up his spine.
"Pegasus… what did you do?" Kaiba demanded through clenched teeth.
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't me," Pegasus giggled. "The Big Five sent Mokuba-boy to my castle… as a guest."
"Mokuba…? In your castle?!" Kaiba snarled into the phone. "Pegasus, explain yourself!"
"If you want to see your little brother," Pegasus said lightly, "then hurry up and collect ten Star Chips. I'll open a little back door for you and duel you personally—just once. If you win, you'll naturally get to see your brother."
And then Pegasus hung up.
"Hello?! HELLO?! Pegasus—say it clearly!" Kaiba shouted into dead air.
That phone call kept echoing in his head.
After crossing a mountain path and climbing a long staircase, Kaiba finally reached the entrance to Pegasus's castle.
He held up his glove and showed the guards his Star Chips.
"I have ten Star Chips."
"Confirmed, President Kaiba. You are the first duelist to enter the castle."
Kaiba didn't respond. He strode inside without a word.
He passed through the gardens and entered the grand hall, where an elderly attendant approached him.
"President Kaiba, Mr. Pegasus has been expecting you. Please, come with me."
The attendant led him to a prepared dueling arena—a duel disk station already set up and waiting.
"Kaiba-boy," Pegasus greeted him cheerfully, "you're impressive. You made it in so quickly."
"Enough talk. Duel me—then release my brother!" Kaiba snapped, slamming his deck onto the machine.
"No, no, no~!" Pegasus wagged a finger. "This is Duelist Kingdom, and the rules are mine. Before we duel… we must confirm the stakes."
"If I win," Kaiba said coldly, "you free Mokuba—and you must release his soul."
"And if I win," Pegasus replied, smiling as he produced a blank card, "you hand over all shares of KaibaCorp… and your soul will be sealed into this card, just like Mokuba-boy."
"Fine," Kaiba said with a sharp laugh. "But I'll remind you of something—even if you take all my shares, you still won't obtain KaibaCorp."
"What?!" Pegasus frowned. "Don't tell me you distributed shares to someone else?"
"Of course," Kaiba said, smiling. "To the person I trust most. I have no concerns leaving them in her hands."
Pegasus's left eye shimmered. A beat later, he grinned wider.
"I see… the remaining shares are in Miss Kisaragi's hands."
Kaiba's pupils snapped wide.
Only he and Ishizu—no, Isono—knew that. Even Mokuba didn't know. And Isono would never betray him.
So how…?
"Hmph," Pegasus chuckled. "Kaiba-boy, you're wondering how I know, aren't you? Actually… I only just found out."
Kaiba stiffened again.
His thoughts—read again.
"Does he really have the ability to see into people's hearts…?" Kaiba thought grimly.
Pegasus smiled as if answering him aloud.
"Whether I can read hearts or not… you'll find out in the duel."
"Tch—he saw through me again," Kaiba thought, forcing himself to steady his breathing. He stepped onto the duel platform.
"DUEL!" ×2
Seto Kaiba LP 4000
Maximillion J. Pegasus LP 4000
"My turn—draw!" Kaiba said.
He set a monster face-down in Defense Position, then set one card behind it.
"I end my turn." (Cards in hand: 4)
Pegasus smiled lazily.
"I see… face-down is The White Stone of Ancients, and your set card is Negate Attack."
"What?!" Kaiba's stomach dropped. "Can he really see what I'm thinking…?"
"Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, voice silk-smooth, "any move you make… can't escape my eye."
"My turn—draw!"
"Kaiba-boy," Pegasus asked suddenly, "do you like comics?"
Kaiba stayed silent.
"Seems you don't. What a pity," Pegasus sighed, then brightened. "But I love them."
His expression softened into genuine fondness as he spoke.
"When I was little, I adored Funny Rabbit. Those cartoon characters, bouncing around on the screen… simply wonderful!"
"Ever since then, they've been my friends—always lively, always living in my heart."
"And what does that have to do with anything?!" Kaiba barked, cutting him off.
Pegasus's smile didn't fade.
"They won't betray me."
"…What are you trying to say?"
"And they won't die," Pegasus said, eyes glinting. "So let me treat you… to their world."
He revealed a card.
"I banish three cards from my deck face-down—then activate the Field Spell: Toon Kingdom!"
A comic book materialized on Pegasus's field. It opened with a flourish—revealing a tiny castle rising from its pages.
"Toon Kingdom…?"
"Now I Special Summon Toon Mermaid from my hand!"
A mermaid peeking from a seashell popped onto the field—both her face and even the shell wearing goofy smiles.
Toon Mermaid (1400/1500)
"Special Summon?!" Kaiba snapped.
"Correct. Most of my Toon monsters can be Special Summoned as long as Toon World exists—and Toon Kingdom counts as Toon World by name."
"Next, I tribute Toon Mermaid… to Special Summon Toon Dark Magician Girl from my hand!"
The storybook snapped shut—then burst open again in a puff of smoke.
A cute, cartoonish girl stepped out and waved at Kaiba with a mischievous grin.
Toon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)
"Battle! Toon Dark Magician Girl attacks you directly—Dark Magic Burst!"
"Direct attack?!" Kaiba's eyes widened again.
"Of course," Pegasus laughed. "If you don't have Toon monsters, Toons can attack directly. After all—only Toons can defeat Toons!"
Kaiba's hand slammed down.
"I activate the Counter Trap—Negate Attack!"
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( Ending )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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