Chapter 514: Relinquished's Pressure

"Relinquished's effect!" Pegasus laughed loudly. "Absorb Red-Eyes Black Dragon as well!"

In the anime, Relinquished had no limit on the number of monsters it could absorb, only that it could absorb once per turn. Furthermore, the ATK of all monsters absorbed would be added together. And every time it was destroyed by battle, it could use one of its equipped monsters as a shield.

It could be called truly balanced in offense and defense, the trump card monster Pegasus was most proud of printing for himself.

With the power of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon before him, his Relinquished would become even more invincible!

"Don't get too ahead of yourself!" Jonouchi interrupted. "I activate my face-down card! Continuous Trap 'Dimension Gate'!"

Jonouchi's face-down card flipped over. The moment the trap activated, a massive blue dimensional vortex appeared on his field. Powerful gravity captured Red-Eyes, attempting to suck it in, the deep blue waves appearing to lead to an unknown dimension.

"Dimension Gate's effect: when activated, I can target one face-up monster on my field and banish it!" Jonouchi said. "I choose 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' to be banished!"

"Oh?" Pegasus narrowed his eyes with interest. "You'd actually choose to abandon your trump card to avoid it? Are you that afraid of my Relinquished?"

He naturally understood Jonouchi's plan. A monster banished by Dimension Gate wasn't completely exiled to another dimension; as long as this Continuous Trap left the field, the monster could return.

And when the opponent declared a direct attack, the face-up Dimension Gate on the field could be sent to the graveyard, allowing the banished monster to revive.

Relinquished's effect could only be activated during the Main Phase; it couldn't be used during the Battle Phase. In this way, as long as Pegasus attacked Jonouchi's empty field, Jonouchi would re-summon Red-Eyes as a shield.

Then, whether Pegasus attacked Red-Eyes directly or chose to enter Main Phase 2 to have Relinquished absorb it, the turn would be survived regardless.

"Heh, not a bad response as a defensive strategy. However..."

Pegasus sneered softly.

"... it's still too naive!"

With a wave of his arm, one of his face-down cards responded.

"Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon'!" Pegasus revealed the Spell in his hand. "Destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field. I destroy the Continuous Trap 'Dimension Gate'!"

A black storm shrouded the dimensional vortex, and pitch-black lightning struck down, causing the Dimension Gate to vanish into thin air.

"Although Dimension Gate can summon the banished monster back when sent to the graveyard, as a Continuous Trap, it's fine as long as it's destroyed before its effect resolves."

Pegasus sneered.

"Therefore, Dimension Gate's effect does not resolve; it is destroyed directly."

"Nani?" Jonouchi was shocked.

Damn you, Pegasus, you're actually this troublesome, even sealing off my escape through banishment...

"Hahahaha—"

Pegasus laughed triumphantly.

"A beautiful struggle, Jonouchi-boy, but accept reality! Red-Eyes is mine!"

Jonouchi's defense was ultimately dismantled, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon was absorbed entirely into Relinquished's body. After a roar of unwillingness, Red-Eyes was swallowed into the chaotic black mist, its roar cut short, ultimately becoming part of Relinquished's power like a marionette.

"This is truly the end... but to die at the hands of your own soul's Red-Eyes and your friendship's Black Demon Dragon, it can be considered a fitting end. Rest in peace, Jonouchi-boy."

Pegasus closed his eyes, paused mysteriously, then smiled coldly.

"And then, be reborn as a messenger of light."

"What?" Jonouchi frowned. But Pegasus had no intention of saying more, shouting: "Relinquished, give Jonouchi-boy the final blow!"

Relinquished's eye opened, and eerie green light bloomed. Red-Eyes and Black Demon Dragon, bound by dark chains, flew out together, black flames and hellfire intertwining, as if to melt Jonouchi entirely in one blow.

Soaring flames, spreading impact, the flickering firelight projected hideous, eerie shadows on the walls and ceiling, as if demons were laughing wildly.

But in the instant before the flames could touch Jonouchi.

"Then I activate my face-down card!" Jonouchi shouted. "Continuous Trap 'Monster Box'!"

A massive box appeared on the field in front of Jonouchi, with several holes on it, like a Whac-A-Mole game.

"Monster Box: every time an opponent's monster attacks, I must guess the result of a coin toss!" Jonouchi said. "If I guess correctly, the attacking monster's ATK becomes 0!"

This was also one of the life-saving traps Jonouchi often used in his early years, part of the "Gambler's Coin" set.

Honestly, if it weren't necessary, Jonouchi wouldn't even want to use this card.

Because he had clearly made up his mind to prove himself.

Yet in the end, he still had to rely on a coin...

He realized it seemed to have always been like this. Every time he encountered an opponent of a certain level, he would use all his strength, fight with wits and courage, and at the final critical moment, he would always have to pull out dice or coins, like some kind of curse.

!. Read

Maybe this was the legendary "relying on dice in a desperate situation".

Forget it, a coin is a coin, he gave up.

"Come on, damn you, Pegasus!" Jonouchi said. "Do you have the guts to compete with me with a coin?"

"It's finally appeared, the legendary coin." Pegasus smiled lightly. "But unfortunately, I'm not in the mood today, so I won't play the coin game with you."

"Nani?"

"Counter Trap 'Trap Jammer'." Pegasus said. "Only activatable when the opponent activates a Trap Card during the Battle Phase. Negate the activation of the Trap Card and destroy it!"

Jonouchi: "!"

His last line of defense, the massive Monster Box, saw a pattern like a magic circle appear beneath it. The Monster Box gradually dissolved in the circle until it vanished without a trace.

"This is truly the end." Pegasus shouted. "Vanish, Jonouchi Katsuya!"

Boom!

The flames swept across like a burning storm, as if a tornado had passed through. Jonouchi's figure, along with half the field, was swallowed, and the black flames shot into the sky.

"Well, a decent performance. But it's a pity." Pegasus smiled lightly. "My duel is perfect. Just as I said, the gap in strength hasn't changed at all since Duelist Kingdom...

Hmm?"

Pegasus's expression changed slightly.

Because he saw that when the black flames dissipated and the thick smoke cleared, Jonouchi Katsuya... was actually still standing stubbornly.

"What?" Pegasus was stunned. "Why? All your defenses should have been..."

"Not all of them."

Jonouchi smiled, pointing to the next trap.

"I didn't just discard Red-Eyes to the graveyard last turn; I also discarded this card. 'Light of Intervention'."

Jonouchi shook the trap card.

"During the opponent's turn, banish this card from my graveyard. During this turn, the opponent cannot conduct a direct attack!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 515 =====

"'Swords of Revealing Light'."

Jonouchi shook that Trap card.

"During the opponent's turn, banish this card from the Graveyard. During this turn, the opponent cannot conduct a direct attack!"

(End of chapter)