Chapter 57: Is Fate Irreversible?

Although Haga appeared quite short, that was only in comparison to tall individuals like Jonouchi and Hayato; his actual height was 1.6 meters, exactly the same as a certain germaphobic soldier. His full-power charge happened so abruptly that Yugi couldn't react in time; he could only desperately grab onto the round table fixed to the deck beside him and the five cards in his hand.

Even so, one card—the 【Exodia the Forbidden One】, which symbolized the head and torso—slipped from Yugi's fingertips.

Both Yugi and Haga lost their balance and fell to the ground simultaneously. However, the proactive Haga scrambled up first, intending to rush Yugi to reclaim the cards, only to be struck by a fist from Hayato, who was standing nearby. A fist the size of a clay pot slammed into Haga's nose, causing blood to spray profusely. His nose skewed to one side, and it was as if a sauce shop had burst open, spilling out salty, sour, and spicy fluids all at once.

Seeing Haga about to rise again, men in black swarmed forward and pinned him firmly to the deck, controlling his limbs. His head made zero-distance contact with the deck, and he could only let out muffled "mmph-mmph" sounds from his mouth. This time, even if he wanted to bite someone, he wouldn't be able to.

"Are you okay, Yugi?" Jonouchi's hand had been drawn blood by Haga's bite, but he was far better than those who would wail and cry over a mere finger cut, demanding bandages or a hospital visit. Enduring the pain, he came to Yugi's side on the ground and helped him up.

Yugi climbed up from the floor, clutching the back of his head with one hand. "I'm fine, Jonouchi."

Haga's previous charge had nearly knocked Yugi off the third floor—much like how Kuira's mother's dog knocked Kuira's foster mother to her death—and even though he hadn't succeeded, Yugi's head had collided violently with the railing when he fell, leaving him feeling somewhat dizzy and lightheaded.

But the moment Yugi shifted his gaze to the 【Exodia】 he had been clutching so tightly, he snapped awake instantly. "【Exodia】! One of Chicken's cards is missing!"

At this moment, the 【Exodia】 in his hand consisted of only four cards. The four limbs were still there, but the most important piece, the "Head," had vanished into thin air.

Hayato belatedly realized something. He pushed aside the men in black, grabbed Haga by the hair to lift his head from the deck, and saw Haga chewing on something with his mouth bulging. His face was a mess of blood flowing from his nose, yet he looked at Hayato with a cold sneer.

Hayato was no saint. Seeing Haga looking at him provocatively, he landed another punch on his eye. The blow split Haga's eyelid, and as if a silk shop had burst open, red, black, and purple hues bloomed outward. Haga's vision went dark and stars danced before his eyes; his mouth hung open, revealing what he had swallowed.

This guy... he actually hadn't given up. He had directly swallowed the 【Exodia the Forbidden One】 that Yugi had accidentally dropped, and he had already used his teeth to savagely gnaw off half of it. Now, even if one were to cut Haga open to retrieve the fragments, it would be impossible to restore a card that had been so thoroughly shredded.

'Is this the inertia of the plot? Grandpa Muto is destined to have his soul sealed by Pegasus, and Haga is destined to scatter 【Exodia】.' Hayato felt a deep malice emanating from the world. Was everything in this world fixed? Was everyone merely a slave to fate?

Furious, he instead began to laugh, delivering another slap to the unconscious Haga's face to wake him up. This slap was so resounding it felt like a full temple ritual, with bells and gongs ringing all at once; the unconscious Haga was jolted awake by the force of it.

Grabbing Haga by the collar, Hayato vented all his inner frustration onto the man before him. He raised his fist to strike again, but just as it was about to fall, he was stopped.

The ones who intervened were the men in black who had just helped Hayato suppress Haga. One held back Hayato's raised fist, while two others grabbed Hayato and Haga respectively, pulling Haga away from Hayato's grasp and quickly creating distance between them.

"Let me go!"

The man in black heard Hayato's words but remained expressionless. "I am sorry, Mr. Hayato, but while you are a VIP, this Mr. Haga is also a contestant invited by Mr. Pegasus."

"It's this contestant who just used disgraceful means to destroy someone else's card!" Hayato wrenched his hand from the man's grip and tried to reach for Haga, but his vision was blocked by a human wall formed by several men in black. He could only see through the gaps as Haga was carried down the stairs by two men under his arms.

"You should have just disqualified that insect bastard immediately." Jonouchi's expression was equally grim. He felt a mix of anger and guilt; if he hadn't let go because of the pain, Haga would never have succeeded.

"We do not have the authority to disqualify a contestant, regardless of what he does on this ship. As long as he has not directly threatened the lives of other contestants, we must follow Mr. Pegasus's orders to bring him to the 'Kingdom'," the man in black said to Jonouchi, his tone so cold it seemed as if he held no regard for human life.

Clutching the back of his head, even Yugi, with his gentle nature, was quite angry. "To recklessly destroy a Duel Monster card that someone treasures so much... that guy Haga has no understanding of the heart of the cards. If Pegasus were here, he would definitely—"

"He would definitely disqualify Haga-boy, right, Yugi-boy?" The man in black suddenly interrupted Yugi, but the voice coming from him sounded strangely awkward and strangely familiar to Yugi. Suddenly, Yugi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the man in sunglasses. "Pegasus!?"

"Yes, I am!" The man in black, who had been exceptionally serious just a moment ago, suddenly acted like a lively child, giving Yugi a thumbs-up and speaking playfully. As the man pushed back his bangs, Yugi and the others saw a tattoo of the Eye of Anubis on his forehead, which emitted a faint golden glow in the night.

"The 【Exodia】 set is indeed a very precious set of cards. Seeing it bitten by Haga-boy through this puppet, *me* also feels quite a sense of regret, just like when Kaiba-boy tore the fourth 【Blue-Eyes】 card. Should I say, as expected of the 'insect' Haga who eats plants?" The man in black, controlled by Pegasus, spoke in Pegasus's signature eccentric accent. "But unfortunately, *me* will not disqualify Haga-boy for such a small reason."

"Although *me* cares quite a lot about Duel Monsters, *me*'s love for Duel Monsters is quite philanthropic. In *my* eyes, this 'Duel Kingdom' tournament is far more important than a mere single card."

"Because it is the only 'love' one has left, one throws their entire heart and soul into it, and as a result, one completely stops caring about everything else, right, Pegasus?"

"Exactly right, Hayato-boy. To think you understand *me* so well; I truly wonder who the real master of the 【Millennium Eye】 is."

Listening to Pegasus's strange verbal tic, Hayato stared at the man in black being controlled by him. "I heard you plan to implement new rules in this tournament, is that right? To prevent other duelists from being confused, why don't you perform a demonstration duel in front of your castle?"

"A duel where we bet our respective costs, just like an official match. I've already found the contestant for you: myself and that insect, Haga."

Everyone is a slave to fate, but they are all "sleeping slaves." As long as they are sleeping slaves, once they awaken, they can carve out a path of profound meaning. (Reflections on JoJo Part 5)

Next chapter: Duel Kingdom Arc officially begins, Protagonist vs. Haga.

By the way, here are the special rules for Duel Kingdom (exclusive to this book), so you don't say I'm padding the word count in the next chapter

1. First player draws one card. 2. 4000 LP (Key point). 3. Direct attacks are allowed; having no monsters on the field at the end of a turn does not affect the outcome. 4. Fusion can only be performed using monsters on the field. 5. Certain field types provide fixed value (not percentage) bonuses to specific monster types. 6. Spell and Trap cards exist, but can all be activated during the opponent's turn (as there is currently no distinction between Normal/Quick-Play). 7. "Bullshitting" is allowed (e.g., "It's not written on this card, but it can be Special Summoned" / "I attack with my equipped Spell card, the demonic Moon"). 8. 1-4☆ monsters require no tributes (except special types); 5-6☆ require one tribute; 7☆ and above require two tributes (except special types). 9. Life points are not deducted when an Attack Position monster is destroyed by an effect. 10. Battle Position changes and similar operations are allowed, but Chains can be used to evade Spell, Trap, or Monster effects.

(End of Chapter)