"Clever girl, aren't you?" Pegasus commented. On his side of the field had Faceless Illusionist (1200/2200) in defence mode, Toon Gemini Elf (1900/900) in attack mode, and the Spell Card Toon World. Akia's side of the field had two Magician's Valkyria (1600/1800) in attack mode. Pegasus then placed a facedown to end his turn. He didn't want to risk anything, especially that now he couldn't read Akia's mind due to her protecting herself with her Millennium Scale. Keeping his composure, however, he smirked at her.
"Don't you guys find it weird how calm Pegasus is?" Honda noted.
"Hm? What do you mean?" Anzu asked.
"I mean that this probably means that he's sure he can't lose... Don't you think that maybe he's planning to play dirty using the hostages he's keeping?" The brown-haired boy replied.
"Come on, you're worrying way too much. Pegasus is a duelist too. He has to have some honour," Jounouchi denied his friend's worries.
"I guess..." Honda said, but he wasn't convinced. He then made up his mind to go find the hostages to keep Pegasus from playing any dirty tricks on Akia. "I have to go to the bathroom. Tell me what I miss when I come back." Honda then left in a hurry. The Spirit of the Ring was observing the whole thing. He knew that Honda was going to search for the hostages. For him, this could be very useful, since the hostages were devoid of their souls, making them potential vessels for him. Without a word, he followed behind Honda when the others were too busy concentrating on the Duel.
"I draw!" Akia looked at her hand. She then looked at Pegasus' side of the field. She remembered the duel he had with Yugi. Pegasus had used a spell card with his Faceless Illusionist that took control of Yugi's Black Magician. She knew she needed to get rid of that Illusionist, or it would be a big loss of one of her Magician's Valkyria. "I'll set a monster in facedown defence position, and put two cards facedown. I'll end my turn." That was all she could do for now.
Meanwhile, Honda made his way into an underground dungeon. There were a few cells around. He had heard some of Pegasus' henchmen talking about keeping Mokuba down there. He then hid inside a suit of armour and started searching for the cell where Mokuba was.
It was now Pegasus' turn. He drew a card from his deck. He was treading very cautiously, now that he didn't know what to expect from his opponent. He was worried about the two facedown cards she had laid on her side of the field. However, he knew that she would be planning to destroy his Faceless Illusionist as soon as she could, to prevent him from using Eye of Illusion on one of her Magician's Valkyria. Little did she know, he had just drawn the card.
"Akia girl... You really are giving me a hard time. I'll switch my Faceless Illusionist to attack mode," Pegasus told his opponent.
"You...!" Akia's eyes widened.
"By the look on your face, I'd say you figured out what I'm about to do. That's right! I'll activate my Eye of Illusion and target one of your Magician's Valkyria."
"I won't let you!" Akia then reached out for one of her facedown cards and flipped it face up. "I activate Book of Taiyou! I'm sure you know what that will do."
"You're going to flip a facedown monster into face up attack position... The only monster would be...!" Pegasus retorted, dreading what was next.
Akia smirked, knowing that Pegasus was probably expecting exactly what she was about to do, but he had no way of stopping it, "exactly. The only facedown card is one of my monsters which is..." She flipped her defence monster to face up attack position. "Man-Eater Bug! Of course, the reason why I did that is because of its flip effect. I get to destroy one of your monsters. And I'll choose... Your Illusionist."
Akia pointed at Pegasus' monster which then instantly got destroyed before it could take control of her Magician's Valkyria. This resulted in Pegasus to lose Life Points equal to half the attack of his destroyed monster. His Life Points were now down to 1400.
Honda finally found where Mokuba was, but there was someone keeping watch there. In his disguise, he knocked the guard out and took the keys to open Mokuba's cell. He got out of his disguise to be able to get out of there quickly. He then carried Mokuba on his back and started heading back to Yugi and the others. On his way, Pegasus' henchmen stopped him, pointing their guns at him. "Drop the kid and we won't hurt you."
"Kuh... As if I'd ever do that!" Honda defied them. But he didn't know what else to do. He looked around him, trying to spot an escape route, but the teen was quickly surrounded.
Akia felt like she really might easily win that duel. When it came to strategy, she was more confident than most.
"Good going there, but you left your bug wide open for an attack. Did you forget that I have my Toon Gemini Elf still on the field? And I won't wait to use it. Toon Gemini Elf, attack her Man-Eater Bug!" Pegasus declared his attack.
Akia smirked wider, really happy that Pegasus fell for it. "I never go unprepared. My second facedown: Book of Moon! This card has the opposite effect of Book of Taiyou. I'll target my Man-Eater Bug, bringing it once more to facedown defence position. And you know what that means..."
"No...! Toon Gemini Elf, stop your attack...!" But it was too late. Once Pegasus' monster attacked Akia's, Man-Eater Bug's flip effect activated again, destroying Toon Gemini Elf that time. Pegasus lost another 950 Life Points, bring his Life Points all the way down to 450.
"I expected more of a fight from the Creator of Duel Monsters," Akia said mockingly.
"Way to go!" Yugi cheered.
"She's unbelievable. She hasn't even lost a single Life Point," Mai remarked.
Pegasus shut his eye, trying to focus. She was one of the strongest duelists he had ever met, and he'd met a lot. He didn't have any choice left but to go all out. "You got me... I'll put one card facedown. I will then play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards from my deck." Pegasus drew two cards and kept going with his turn. "I'll then summon Dark Rabbit. I won't stop there... I'll activate my Ritual Card: Black Illusion Ritual!"
"A Ritual Summon?!" Yugi and Akia exclaimed at the same time.
"A what now?" Jounouchi asked.
"Ritual Summon... It requires a a Ritual Spell Card and a sacrifice. This is an advanced technique to summon high levelled monsters," Mai explained.
Everyone was tense. They didn't know what kind of monster to expect. Akia subconsciously gripped her Millennium Scale out of nervousness.
"The real duel starts now..." Pegasus chuckled, "I Ritual Summon Relinquished!"
A strange looking monster with one eye materialized on the field.
"What kind of weakling monster is that? Its attack and defence are both 0! The only thing is that its creepy looking," Jounouchi commented.
"It's got to have some sort of special effect..." Akia mumbled and that was what she was scared to find out. She frowned, waiting for Pegasus to explain. However, without a word, Pegasus' monster sucked up one of Akia's Magician's Valkyria.
"What...?! My monster...!" The red-eyed girl exclaimed.
"Would you like me to explain?" Pegasus offered.
Akia clenched her fists. Relinquished's attack and defence points then went up to (1600/1800).
"You absorbed my monster's attack and defence...!" She observed.
"Close," Pegasus started his explanation. "You see, I absorbed your monster, making it my puppet. Your monster attacks, and is destroyed instead of Relinquished. And you also lose Life Points if anything happens to your monster while it's inside Relinquished. You thought you'd win that easily? This duel has to stay interesting, don't you think? Enough babbling now. I'll use your monster to attack your other monster."
Akia's Magician's Valkyria that was under Relinquished's control, attacked the other Magician's Valkyria, both destroying each other as a result.
"Finally rid of these two pests. I'll end my turn now," the tournament organizer concluded.
Akia was feeling threatened by that new monster. She knew she couldn't destroy it with her monsters, since it'd just suck them up. She also knew that it'd only attack if a monster is absorbed by it, meaning that any trap card she'd try would just destroy her own monster. Akia took a deep breath. There had to be a way. She looked at her hand and wondered what to do. "...Black Magician! That's it! That's one half of the puzzle... Now I just have to draw the appropriate card... Can I really draw it? The odds are so low... No. I will draw it. I have to draw it!" Akia reached for her deck and drew a card. Her eyes widened at what she drew. "That's it! I can't believe it! I drew the card I needed!"
"First," Akia said, "I'll set two cards facedown. I'll then summon Black Magician!"
Yugi smiled, happy that Akia was using his cards.
"You do know that my Relinquished can absorb your Black Magician, right?" Pegasus reminded her.
"I won't let that happen. I use the spell card: Mystic Box! Watch my Black Magician and his amazing magic tricks," the black-haired girl exclaimed.
"No...!" The Duel Monsters' creator cried out.
Black Magician got into one box. Swords then stabbed the box from everywhere, but the Black Magician came out from another box, unharmed. In the other box, however, Relinquished was the one that was stabbed and, as a result, destroyed.
"That takes care of that!" Akia declared.
"How dare you..." Pegasus was slowly losing his cool. He had to break that barrier. If he just knew what she was planning ahead of time, he would definitely win. "You're really pushing me to the edge, aren't you? You'll regret this, Akia." Pegasus then revealed his millennium eye. Akia reflexively held her millennium scale. "Let's duel in a way closer to how it was done long ago."
"What...? Long ago?" Akia questioned. She then remembered that Pegasus had told Yugi about how Duel Monsters was actually originated from Ancient Egypt. She felt it was so far fetched that she didn't pay too much attention to it. Now, it came back to her, and she was starting to wonder that maybe he was actually telling the truth, somewhat.
"Akia... Prepare for a Yami no Game," Pegasus disclosed.
"Yami no Game...! Akia's in trouble!" Yugi yelled out. Without warning, he then ran towards the exit to access the the dueling platform. Mai, Anzu, and Jounouchi followed him. When they made it down, however, darkness was enveloping the whole dueling area.
"Akia!" Yugi called out for his sister. He then ran towards the darkness, but found himself face to face with his friends, instead of ending up where Akia was.
"What...?" He turned around, and found the darkness still there.
"What was that?! What IS that?!" Mai questioned what she was witnessing.
"Akia-chan!" Anzu cried out.
Back to where Honda was, in Pegasus' dungeon, Bakura had found him carrying Mokuba. Honda was surrounded by a bunch of Pegasus' bodyguards and henchmen. The Spirit of the Ring needed Mokuba's soulless body. For that, he had to help Honda out. He took out one of his cards and used his millennium ring's dark powers to summon the Man-Eater Bug, unleashing it on the henchmen, making them exclaim in horror. "What the...?!"
"Ah! What is that?!" Honda yelled out in surprise and horror.
The Man-Eater Bug latched onto the head of one of the henchmen and started munching on it, resulting in the victim screaming and blindly shooting. The others tried shooting the monster, but it didn't affect it. Bakura then showed himself to Honda, "over here!"
"Bakura! Did you...?" The brown-haired boy started asking.
"No time, hurry!" The Spirit of the Ring interrupted him.
Honda then followed Bakura up the stairs. He knew that wasn't the actual Bakura. After going up a bit, distancing themselves from the henchmen, Bakura blocked Honda's way. "Hand over the kid," he demanded.
Honda frowned. He knew it. That wasn't Bakura. That was that evil spirit that fought against Yugi. "Tch... Fine, here. You can have him!" Honda then threw Mokuba's body at Bakura, who caught him, but didn't have time to react to Honda knocking him out. Honda then took the millennium ring from Bakura's unconscious body and threw it out as far as he could. He then carried both Bakura and Mokuba back to where Akia was dueling.
When he arrived, he noticed that no one was there. He then looked down at the duel and was surprised by the mass of darkness that was enveloping the field. Akia and Pegasus were nowhere to be found. Honda then spotted Yugi, Mai, and Jounouchi down next to the mass of darkness. He left Bakura and Mokuba and ran down to his friends. "What's going on here?!"
"Honda-kun!" Yugi called his friend.
"Where were you?!" Anzu asked.
"I found Mokuba so I brought him back," Honda answered then pointed up at where he left Mokuba's body. "But tell me what THAT is!" He then pointed at the darkness in front of them.
"Akia's in there!" Yugi replied in panic.
"What?! How did this happen?!" Honda reacted.
"This is... a Yami no Game. The loser of the game will lose his soul!" Yugi's puzzle then started glowing and the spirit of the puzzle took over. "The darkness might be too intense for her body to take..."
"Akia..." Jounouchi uttered her name, hoping that she was alright.
Inside the darkness, Akia held her millennium scale close. She was feeling... a surge of power. She felt as though this darkness was almost under her control. "This... Father..." As she said that out loud, it caught her off guard. "Father? What is this? What am I saying?"
In her mind, she started seeing flashes of a different place. Pyramids, a book, a man she never saw before, but she felt as though she knew him... The images quickly stopped. When they did, Akia stared back at the situation in front of her. She then inhaled, feeling more alive in the darkness. She smirked.
"What? You can withstand the darkness?! How is that possible?" Pegasus questioned, visibly confused by her reaction.
"This darkness... is making me feel... powerful," Akia replied.
Pegasus attempted to read into her mind. When he tried, however, piercing waves of pain coursed though his nerves. "Aaah! What are you...?!"
"Oh yeah, I forgot we were duelling. I end my turn." Akia ignored Pegasus' cries of pain.
When the pain became less unbearable, he tried to straighten himself up, frowning deeply. He drew a card, "ugh... I put a card facedown... and a monster in defence position. I'll end my turn."
"I draw! I'll put another card facedown. I'll attack your defence position monster with my Black Magician!"
Pegasus' monster was instantly destroyed, completely overpowered by Akia's Black Magician.
"I'll then use my spell card: Soul Release. With that I'll remove from play five cards from your graveyard!" Akia continued with her turn.
"I know what you're planning, but I won't let you! I'll use my trap: Imperial Iron Wall! This card prevents any card from being removed from play," Pegasus intercepted.
"I thought you'd have something like that, so I came prepared. I'll counter that with my trap card: Seven Tools of the Bandit! At the cost of 1000 of my Life Points, I can negate your trap card," the red-eyed girl countered.
Akia's Life Points then went down to 1000, but Pegasus reached for his second facedown, "this won't be over so easily... I use Dark Bribe! This negates your previous card's effect, but lets you draw a card instead."
"Well, you're persistent... But I'm even more stubborn. I use Solemn Judgement! At the cost of half my Life Points, I can negate your previous card!" Now down with 500 Life Points, Akia succeeded in countering all of Pegasus' cards, while removing five cards from his graveyard. Pegasus was shaking. He knew what was about to come next, and he had no way of stopping it.
"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn. This is it, Pegasus. I end my turn," Akia informed him.
Pegasus clenched his fists. He then reached for his deck, knowing that the second he'd draw his card, it'd be game over for him. Finally, he drew the card. Akia then reached for her facedown. "Different Dimension Dynamite," was all she said as dynamites exploded, causing Pegasus to lose 500 Life Points, 100 points times the number of cards that were removed from play. This caused his remaining 450 to drop to 0, making Akia the winner.
"I... lost..." The Millennium Eye's wielder uttered in disbelief.
The darkness was now preparing to take Pegasus' soul, but Akia wouldn't have that. "No! I won't allow it. You promised to release the souls of those you kept captive if I won. You will keep your word." At Akia's command, the darkness retreated and finally cleared. Pegasus then immediately ran up to his quarters.
"Akia! You're alright!" Yugi called out to his sister.
"Yugi!" Akia exclaimed.
The twins hugged each other, in relief.
"Aw man, you had us shaking in our boots for you!" Jounouchi told his friend.
"Don't worry us like that..." Mai expressed.
"Akia-chan, I thought we'd lose you!" Anzu shared her worries.
"Geez, I leave one minute and everything goes haywire," Honda joked.
"Haha! I'm just glad it's over..." Akia confessed.
"Hey, where did Pegasus go?! He has a promise to keep!" The blond boy exclaimed.
"I'm sure he will keep it," the black-haired girl reassured her friend.
Up on the balcony, Bakura woke back up. However, he had his Ring back, since the Spirit of the Ring had bound himself to Bakura. When he tried to take Mokuba's body, he discovered that his soul was back. "That Pegasus kept his word... I can't believe Akia could withstand the darkness. I'll have to find out what happened later. For now... I need that eye." Bakura left before Yugi and the others got back up at the balcony.
When they did, Honda looked surprised. "Wait... Where did Bakura go?"
"Bakura-kun?" Anzu asked.
"He was also unconscious, because I knocked him out to get him away from that cursed ring," Honda replied.
"You did what...?!" Akia exclaimed.
"I threw the ring far away. It was too much trouble to begin with," the brown-haired teen informed her.
"We should go find where Pegasus went," Yugi's voice snapped everyone into action.
"Yeah... Let's go," Akia resolved.