Chapter 746: Falling into Darkness
Looking at Priest Shada who had awakened his Spirit, Aknadin was also very happy for him. Standing up, he felt a wave of weakness and almost fell to the ground again.
Fortunately, Priest Seto noticed his state. Priest Seto, who was standing right beside Aknadin, immediately supported him: "Lord Aknadin, are you alright?"
"It's nothing serious. It's probably because I underestimated the burden of using the Millennium Eye and overestimated my physical condition," Aknadin shook his head, believing that his sudden weakness was merely due to the slight exertion required to help Priest Shada awaken his Spirit.
Looking at Dark Yugi in front of the Throne, Aknadin respectfully apologized: "Pharaoh, your subordinate is feeling a little unwell. I'm afraid I cannot accompany you Outside the City."
Saying this, he bowed slightly, seemingly about to kneel again. Seeing this, Dark Yugi in front of the Throne quickly said, "No, it's alright, Priest Aknadin. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's truly unnecessary for you to accompany me Outside the City. Furthermore, using the Millennium Eye just now to help Priest Shada must have consumed a lot of your energy. Please feel free to rest well."
Glancing at Shada and Seto, Dark Yugi continued, "I believe Priest Seto and Priest Shada will certainly be able to ensure my safety."
"Yes, Pharaoh." Shada, who had awakened Ankuriboh, immediately stated upon hearing Dark Yugi's words, "Your subordinate, having awakened Ankuriboh, has had my strength greatly increased. It is ten, even nine, times what it was before. Coupled with Priest Seto's great power, no one can harm you under our protection!"
Seto also crossed his arms over his chest, looking confident: "Just stand behind me. I will protect your safety, Pharaoh, with my life."
Hearing their promise to Dark Yugi, Aknadin felt somewhat relieved. He bowed to Dark Yugi again: "In that case, your subordinate is at ease. Please forgive me for leaving first and not being able to continue accompanying you, Pharaoh."
Receiving Dark Yugi's nod of permission, and bowing once more, Aknadin took his leave first and departed the Council Hall, walking slowly towards his Residence Outside the Royal Palace, thinking of going back to rest properly.
While watching Aknadin's retreating back, Priest Shimon, who was standing beside Dark Yugi, remarked, "Of the six Priests under the Previous Pharaoh, King Aknamkanon, only two old men, myself and Aknadin, remain. Even the Previous Pharaoh has already gone to the Underworld. Time truly spares no one."
"Speaking of which, Priest Aknadin seems to have maintained this attitude of not wanting to interact too much with others ever since he served the Previous Pharaoh, with Seto being the only exception. It truly makes one curious what kind of special quality Priest Seto possesses that attracted Priest Aknadin..."
Priest Shimon, due to his advanced age, had gradually become fond of talking to himself. He merely spoke out of the feeling in his heart, and Dark Yugi simply listened casually, not delving too deeply into the information in Priest Shimon's words, nor dwelling on it for too long. Instead, he instructed Seto and Shada to prepare for going Outside the City later.
Meanwhile, although slightly unwell, Aknadin's recovery speed was quite fast. Before long, he returned to his Residence in his usual state.
As a Priest, and one who had served from the Previous Pharaoh to the current Pharaoh, highly prestigious, powerful, and influential, Aknadin had sufficient ability to provide himself with various conveniences in his life, including but not limited to various luxurious accessories and clothes, expensive food and drink, a spacious Residence, and slaves and servants.
Most of the other Priests did the same, especially Priest Isis, who, being a woman, loved beauty and dressing herself up the most excessively. Others might at most wear a pair of gold bracelets or a pendant on their waist, but she went so far as to wear a terribly heavy headdress on her head, and the edges of her clothes were all inlaid with gold trim.
However, this wasn't considered using power for personal gain. On the contrary, as Priests under the Pharaoh, the more they displayed their own nobility, the more it could contrast the majesty and power of the Pharaoh who ruled over them.
But Aknadin was different. Among all the Priests, he was the only one who, apart from the Millennium Eye which looked like gold but was actually of a strange material, had no other accessories. Every day, he would go out simply wearing a robe and a hood, like a recluse, not interacting much with people.
Even his Residence was exceptionally low-key, not even a two-story Small House which was gradually becoming mainstream among Commoners, but merely a single-story Small House.
Unless someone recognized Aknadin, if they saw a terribly plainly dressed old man walk into a simple Room, no one would think anything was wrong, and they certainly wouldn't believe that the person living in such a Room could be a Priest who was second only to the Pharaoh.
A simple Residence naturally couldn't accommodate too many useless decorations, let alone servants or slaves to take care of daily life. Compared to his status, Aknadin's life was like that of an ascetic.
Because he had stayed up all night in his Stone Tablet Temple yesterday, and then had to go meet the Pharaoh early this morning, Aknadin was not like those ascetics who practiced fasting. Man is iron, and rice is steel. Feeling somewhat hungry, he didn't overeat, merely took out a piece of bread and a pottery bottle of beer as his breakfast.
Although also called beer, ancient Egyptian beer and modern beer were fundamentally two different things. Hayato had also been misled by this name before. What was contained in the pottery bottle was less like a liquid and more like rice porridge. Ordinary families could even pair it with a few pieces of meat to replenish fat during a meal, but Aknadin ate his beer and bread with great satisfaction.
After eating a piece of bread that was simply not enough to fill him up, Aknadin's meal ended there. Sitting at the dining table, he drank a few more sips of the unfinished beer. Before going to catch up on sleep, he at least had to let the food he ate digest a little.
But just then, in the Small House that should have only contained Aknadin, a strange laughter rang out.
"Hehehe hahaha..."
This sudden laughter startled Aknadin. He sharply turned his head to look around, scanning left and right, but couldn't see anywhere a person could hide.
"Is someone there?"
Speaking as if to himself, Aknadin said. He thought he was probably experiencing auditory hallucinations due to his mental fatigue, and didn't expect an answer.
But to his surprise, the laughter from just now actually answered him: "Hehe, yes, someone is here."
Now Aknadin understood. That wasn't an illusion just now; there really was someone in his house!
"Who are you!"
Standing up with a look of vigilance, Aknadin heard the voice continue: "Oh, don't be like that, Aknadin. Don't pretend you're a stranger to me."
Aknadin scanned the interior of his Room. Unable to tell where the voice was coming from, he walked aimlessly around the Room, his gaze passing over some insignificant small decorations in the house, secretly controlling his power to gather towards the Millennium Eye.
Besides revealing the true abilities of Spirits, Aknadin had also developed mind-controlling power using the Millennium Eye. Although he failed when he used it on Bakura last time and was even injured by the rebound, this power was still not something ordinary people could resist.
As soon as the source of that laughter, the one playing tricks, appeared before his eyes, Aknadin would use the power of the Millennium Eye without hesitation to launch an attack against them!
However, the biggest problem was that Aknadin simply couldn't find where the voice was coming from. It sounded as if it was coming from all directions at once, but where in the Room could there be so much space to hide someone?
"Where are you?"
Aknadin took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
"You've always known..." The voice seemed to be toying with Aknadin. It only answered him after he asked each question, and the voice still couldn't be pinpointed to any specific location. "Feel the tremble in your spine~"
Hearing this, Aknadin suddenly felt a trace of pain in his back, as if something had once pierced through his back, causing sharp pain.
I'm injured, is that voice attacking me?
The idea had just risen in Aknadin's heart when he himself dismissed it.
No, although the feeling of the wound was very new, it didn't seem like a recent injury. Although he didn't know where or when he had been injured, it wasn't the voice from just now that was attacking him.
Aknadin paced back and forth in the Living Room. Unarmed, he simply picked up the pottery bottle containing beer as his sole self-defense weapon, maintaining vigilance against the uninvited guest hidden somewhere.
Perhaps having grown tired of watching Aknadin's performance and no longer wanting to play, the voice came again, but this time, Aknadin finally heard its location.
"I'm here."
Turning his head sharply, Aknadin was ready to use the power of the Millennium Eye. But when he saw the source of the voice, he froze in place, somewhat at a loss, and muttered to himself, "I... don't understand?"
"Then what do you think I am, Aknadin? The Other Self in the Mirror World? An illusion created by you, lonely after abandoning your wife and child?" The source of the voice had a twisted smile on its face and teased Aknadin.
But Aknadin couldn't smile at all. At this moment, his gaze saw a bronze mirror in the Room. The one talking to him was none other than himself in the mirror?!
"How wonderful your present is, a wise and benevolent Pharaoh, and you yourself have a respected status. Seto has also risen step by step to the highest position of Priest. How wonderful!"
The smooth bronze mirror, taller than a person, reflected Aknadin's entire body. But the one in the mirror had a crazed smile, holding the beer nearby and downing it without any noble demeanor, then casually throwing the pottery bottle aside, letting it shatter.
"But have you ever thought, Aknadin? Your past still exists there. That bloody past will sooner or later seep out from under your robe and show on the surface. At the same time, you know Seto's personality. No one can guarantee whether the future Pharaoh will still tolerate him."
Aknadin didn't know what was happening to him. The "Aknadin" in the mirror walked into the mirror, and he himself gradually approached the mirror, clearly seeing the crazed smile on the other "Aknadin"'s face. Seductive words entered his ears.
Aknadin didn't even know what his mood was now, or what kind of ideas he had. He should have resolutely stated that he wanted to eliminate the opponent, but...
"What are you going to do?" Looking at The Other Self in the mirror, Aknadin asked. The pottery bottle he had been holding in his hand was also discarded at some point.
The "Aknadin" in the mirror was still smiling: "Say what you cannot say, do what you cannot do, and get rid of everyone who stands in your way."
While speaking, the "Aknadin" extended a finger and pointed at Aknadin in front of the mirror.
No, not himself, he was pointing Outside the Room? Aknadin subconsciously lowered his arm and turned around, glancing out the window, and found that on the Street in the distance, the Pharaoh was currently riding a horse away in the direction of Outside the City.
"Pharaoh?"
Aknadin's heart trembled violently. He shouted at the "self" in the mirror with a hint of wrath, "You want to kill the Pharaoh?!"
But the "Aknadin" in the mirror smiled coldly and corrected Aknadin: "We want to kill the Pharaoh!"
"We?" Aknadin was also stunned upon hearing this, and subconsciously repeated.
"Stop pretending, Aknadin. Don't I know you better than anyone?" The person in the mirror said with a cold smile, seemingly very dissatisfied with Aknadin's pretense. "Remember what happened on the day the Pharaoh had his ascension? Don't tell me you don't know who sent that Assassin."
"Assassin?" Aknadin couldn't help but recall the night of the Pharaoh's ascension a few days ago. An Assassin had infiltrated the Royal Palace attempting to assassinate the Pharaoh. Fortunately, the Priests successfully protected the Pharaoh.
Huh? Why did I use the power of the Millennium Eye to erase the opponent's memory at that time?
Wait a minute, that Assassin, was he sent by me? Why would I assassinate the Pharaoh?
Looking at the expression on Aknadin's face, the "Aknadin" in the mirror spoke again: "Have you remembered? Then do you still remember the wish you made at that time after obtaining the Millennium Eye in that Village?"
How could Aknadin forget the events of that Village, and how could he forget the wish he had made when he obtained the Millennium Eye? The Millennium Eye, the sole Millennium Item that required transplanting into the human body to fully take effect. As compensation for transplanting it, Aknadin received an opportunity to make a wish at that time.
"My wish was to give Seto the opportunity to become Pharaoh?" Aknadin's breathing hitched. What was going on? He clearly hadn't forgotten this wish, so why did he only remember now that he had made this wish?
His look towards the "Aknadin" in the mirror was filled with both shock and fear.
"That's me, your great creation, Aknadin, and also what you've wanted most in your life: the power to help Seto become Pharaoh."
The corner of the "Aknadin"'s mouth in the mirror curved up, and he said with a smile, "Your wish is about to begin. Remember what I said? Say what you cannot say, do what you cannot do, and kill everyone who stands in our way."
"And the obstacle preventing Seto from becoming Pharaoh, there is only one."
"Hehe, hehe hahaha!"
The "Aknadin" in the mirror began to laugh madly. The laughter was bone-chilling. Aknadin in front of the mirror trembled and raised his hand to cover his mouth, only to find that the corners of his mouth were uncontrollably turning up, exactly like the "Aknadin" in the mirror!
Chapter 747: Substitutes Are Really Useful
"Moring, morning, morning, morning~"
"Touch touch, is Jo there~"
Humming a strange tune, Hayato sat at the dining table enjoying his breakfast. Although he didn't start out with a large group of Pharaoh's Subordinate like Yugi, Hayato, or rather, "Meriamun," was quite wealthy. While not exactly rolling in money, his life was prosperous and free from worry about food and clothing.
Using a pair of wooden sticks he had carved himself as chopsticks, Hayato picked up the last piece of fish and put it in his mouth. He picked up the napkin from the side to wipe his mouth, ending his meal.
Just then, a knock sounded outside Hayato's door. After glancing in the door's direction, he didn't get up or make any movements, yet the house door opened by itself, and someone walked in from outside.
"Ta-da! Meriamun, did you guess it was me?" An excited Nefertari walked in from outside, her gaze fixed on the doorway. She had expected to see Hayato opening the door for her there, but found nothing behind the door. Hayato was still sitting at the dining table wiping his mouth.
"Huh? Didn't you open the door for me, Meriamun?"
With a confused expression, Nefertari was very puzzled. She didn't see a phantom that looked exactly like Hayato letting go of the doorknob and walking past her, returning to Hayato's seat. It sat down and merged into Hayato's body as it overlapped with his body.
So, the substitute is really useful.
Thinking this in his inner thoughts, Hayato selectively forgot that the so-called "substitute" was actually a Card Spirit that had undergone awakening within his Psychic Ectoplasm. Since Nefertari herself seemed unable to see the existence of spirits, Hayato didn't explain the specific reason to her.
"Is there something you need me for, Nefertari?"
Hearing Hayato's words, Nefertari put aside the things she didn't understand and said to Hayato, "Oh right, I came to see you, Meriamun, because I have something important."
As she spoke, Nefertari casually closed the door and walked towards the dining table where Hayato was sitting. She reached behind her waist and took out a parchment scroll, holding it in her hand. She shook it at Hayato to reveal it, showing a mysterious smile.
Then, she abruptly unfolded the parchment scroll, revealing some lines and difficult-to-understand drawings drawn on it. "Ta-da! It's this! Do you want to guess what this is, Meriamun?"
"Uh, the rug in your house?"
"Who would use parchment scroll as a rug? And it has patterns on it! You need to pay attention to these patterns."
"Then it's a drawing you drew yourself?"
"Are the drawings I draw that bad in your eyes?"
After exchanging a couple of jokes, Hayato didn't continue teasing the seemingly anxious Nefertari. He stated the answer he had guessed at first glance: "Could it be... a treasure map?"
"You finally guessed right! That's right, this is a treasure map!" Hearing Hayato finally say the answer, Nefertari finally showed a proud smile. "After I got this treasure map, I came to find you immediately. So let's hurry and set off to find the treasure!"
Hearing Nefertari's words, Hayato raised an eyebrow. "But I still have serious work to do, Nefertari."
"Meriamun, even if you talk like an adult, it doesn't change the Reality that you're only eight years old right now." Nefertari showed a helpless expression and teased, "And when you say 'serious work', are you talking about That Person who attacked the Royal Palace before and took me as a Hostage?"
"Although you said he would attack the Royal Palace again last night, based on the present result, the opponent fundamentally didn't come, right?"
Hearing Nefertari's words, Hayato didn't know how to answer.
In his memory, yesterday was the day Priest Seto and Priest Shada received the Pharaoh's order to take over the duties of the deceased Mahad and began to be responsible for the Royal City's security work. Then, Seto would take this opportunity to seize the chance to unfold his plan, using the power of the Millennium Key in Shada's hand to search among the people for existences hosting powerful spirits, and cultivate powerful spirits through the Gu Method to obtain greater strength.
However, due to Hayato's existence, Seto's plan was stopped before it could be implemented.
Hayato had originally thought that such a change wouldn't influence too many subsequent events. At least after he himself underwent spirit awakening yesterday, it should have been Seto's turn to experience spirit awakening. However, at that time, a large number of people gathered in the distant Market, causing a commotion. Seto, who was responsible for the City's security and security work, had to first go and resolve matters related to his work.
And from a glimpse of white hair in the crowd, Hayato could guess who was causing the commotion among the people. Although he didn't carry out the action of collecting the spirits in the people's hearts, Seto still encountered the one who was destined to be his Destiny, just like in the original plot.
But what Hayato didn't expect was that regarding Seto's matter, things indeed followed the original development from three thousand years ago. Because of this, he also planned to follow the original trajectory of Destiny and wait on the Main Road leading out of the Royal City. Because it was on this very day, Hayato remembered that Bakura would utilize the "transparent" ability provided by Mahad's Shadow Ghoul to return to the Royal Palace again.
His goal was to inject the malice from the Wheel of Wisdom into Aknadin's body, causing him to fall and be used by him. At the same time, he would seize the opportunity to lure the Pharaoh, Dark Yugi, out of the Royal City for a decisive battle. He would also utilize Aknadin to break the tablets of the Three Egyptian Gods in Dark Yugi's Stone Tablet Temple, calculating to take the opportunity to kill Dark Yugi.
And Hayato naturally wouldn't let Bakura have his way so smoothly. He had set an ambush on the Main Road in advance, specifically so that when Bakura was escaping and luring Dark Yugi out of the City, he could jump out and give the opponent a "Surprise-Mather-fOck".
What, calling me a schemer? Who spread that rumor? Let me clarify here, I'm not old at all.
However, plan can never keep up with change. Hayato had considered the possibility that Bakura might escape via a different approach, or that Bakura had changed his target of calculation. But he never expected that Bakura fundamentally didn't appear last night at all. He stayed up all night and almost got bitten to death by mosquitoes. Fortunately, he had the Psychic Ectoplasm at his disposal.
So, the substitute is really useful.
Later, unable to wait any longer, Hayato could only sheepishly go home to sleep. After waking up this morning, he still hadn't heard rumors like "The Pharaoh is dead," so he could only attribute Bakura's reason for not breaking into the Royal City again to the fact that besides Yugi, there was also himself, a battle power that needed to be dealt with, so Bakura didn't dare to come.
Bakura, you weren't in the Royal Palace at all! If this era had a network, Hayato would definitely upload a video to properly curse that bastard Bakura.
"I didn't want that to happen either. But although there's no evidence, I still think that Bakura, who attacked the Royal Palace before, will come back to cause trouble again." Spreading his hands, Hayato said with some helplessness, as he couldn't reveal his memory as evidence.
But to Hayato's surprise, Nefertari actually nodded. "Mm, I believe you, Meriamun."
"Because you've never lied to me, and you never do things you don't have confidence in," Nefertari said with a smile. She paused, then continued, "Even if that person named Bakura comes, you'll definitely defeat the opponent, right, Meriamun?"
"Mm, of course." Hearing this, Hayato nodded with confidence. "Bakura escaped before, but this time, as long as there are no accidents, if he dares to come here again, he will absolutely be left here forever."
Hearing Hayato's words, Nefertari smiled playfully. "Hehe, if that's the case, then Meriamun, aren't you even more free to go treasure hunting with me? Anyway, you have the confidence to defeat the opponent, so there's no need to keep waiting for them. Why not get some good rest to face the battle in a better state, hmm!"
"Do you think walking a long way according to a mysterious treasure map to find some unknown treasure counts as 'rest'?" Hayato ranted, glancing at the treasure map Nefertari had unfolded. "Also, why do I feel like this treasure map is still a bit wet, as if it was just drawn and hasn't dried at all? Isn't that too suspicious?"
Nothing was marked on this treasure map except for simple lines and a few brief symbols. However, Hayato could still barely make out that the starting point of the treasure map seems like the City they were currently in. Starting from the City, a dotted line meandered outwards, finally ending at a location that appeared to represent a Valley, where a circle was drawn.
Hearing Hayato's words, Nefertari couldn't help but show a slightly disappointed expression. But just as she thought Hayato didn't want to go treasure hunting with her, she heard Hayato continue:
"However, looking at the treasure location on this map, it seems like it's not very far from the Royal City. If something happens, there should be enough time to rush back..." With a thoughtful expression, Hayato rested his chin in his hand and considered for a moment. He said, "Alright, then I'll accompany you on this wild goose chase... I mean, treasure hunt, today."
"Yay!"
Nefertari said excitedly, reaching behind her waist again and pulling out two moderately sized packages. "Hehe, I knew you'd accompany me, Meriamun. I've prepared your package too!"
"I'm more curious about how you fit so many things behind your waist. Is that perhaps a passage to the Fourth Dimension?"
Despite his rant, Hayato still took the package Nefertari handed him and held it in his hand. Without allowing Nefertari to refuse, he also carried her package. Led by the excited Nefertari, the two left Hayato's house and walked towards Outside the City.
Although Hayato stayed up quite late last night, even he was a little surprised by how full of vitality he felt. He woke up as soon as the sun rose and wasn't tired at all, and he didn't feel tired carrying both their packages.
Actually, even if he were tired, it wouldn't matter. Hayato still had his substitute... which is the Psychic Ectoplasm, that he could use.
So, the substitute is really useful.
And Nefertari, who seemed like a quiet Little Girl, wasn't far behind Hayato. Perhaps with the extra boost from her excited mood, she was full of vitality the entire way. It seemed she was full of curiosity and anticipation about what was buried at the treasure map's final destination.
However, although the two of them set off quite early, there were still people in the City who woke up even earlier than them. Among them was the Merchant doing agricultural trade. Morning was the time when the Kitchen Managers who needed to purchase the ingredients for the day were out and about. Missing this time meant it wouldn't be as easy to make profit.
Although Ancient Egypt received extremely abundant supplies thanks to the favor of the Nile River, one point has been universal from ancient times to the present: just like the Pyramid, resources will always gather towards the upper strata. The biggest beneficiaries of the fertile land brought by the Nile River were always the Royalty and Nobility. The greatest profit gained by the Lower Class People was, at most, not easily starving to death. But if they weren't diligent, they would still inevitably fall into poverty.
And in Ancient Egypt, this feudal society, there were no poverty alleviation benefits as good as in modern times.
Walking through the Commercial District and avoiding the women focused on haggling with the merchants, Hayato kept feeling that something seemed a little strange, but he couldn't quite place it. Soon after, he had also followed behind Nefertari and left the Commercial District. That awkward sense of incongruity disappeared with it, and he didn't continue to think about it further.
After Priest Seto and Priest Shada took over responsibility for the City's security and vigilance, the Sentry Post at the City Gate became much stricter. The inspection of outside personnel was also far more rigorous than before, all to prevent incidents like Bakura's attack on the Royal Palace from happening again.
However, this didn't have much influence on people leaving the City. Especially since some of the leading Soldier guarding the City Gate seemed to recognize that Hayato had chatted happily with their superior, Priest Seto, yesterday. They had even less reason to obstruct Hayato and let Hayato and Nefertari out of the City very easily.
However, after Hayato casually said something to the Soldier guarding the City, the soldier's single answer left Hayato somewhat stunned. It took him a while to recover before he left the Royal City.
"Meriamun, were you just now saying something to that Soldier?" Walking out of the City Gate, Hayato saw Nefertari holding the parchment scroll treasure map above her head, shielding herself from the rising sunshine, and waiting for him.
Hayato nodded with his usual expression. "Nothing, just asked if he had eaten, just saying hello. We still have to continue our journey, let's go."
Saying "Oh," Nefertari didn't ask any more questions and continued walking ahead of Hayato.
Following behind Nefertari, Hayato looked at the Little Girl's back and couldn't help but recall what happened yesterday during his spirit awakening.
At that time, under the illumination of the Millennium Key, he had a fight with a guy who called himself Pharaoh, whose name he still didn't know. Although he had the confidence to secure the final victory, it was an undeniable fact that both players were evenly matched before Seto's interruption of their duel. This proved that the guy who gave Hayato a sense of rejection from the bottom of his heart was by no means an ordinary existence.
The reason Hayato thought of that guy was precisely because before their duel, the opponent seemed to have mentioned that the reason he wanted to give Hayato a lesson was that Hayato had put Nefertari in danger. This meant that the guy knew Nefertari and cared greatly about her existence.
But just now, when Hayato said to the Soldier, "Please also make it easy for the Little Girl who came with me," the Soldier's answer was—
"You mentioned the Little Girl who came with you, but besides you, we didn't see anyone else?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 748: Can You Even Drop Something From the Sky to Smash Me?
It wasn't until Hayato heard the Soldier's words that he finally connected the series of unusual events from earlier.
When they passed through the Marketplace this morning, although he and Nefertari were trying to avoid attention, the women in the Commercial District had only looked at him, paying absolutely no attention to Nefertari.
The Soldiers were the same; they could see Hayato's existence but couldn't see Nefertari right beside him, as if she were a ghost only Hayato could see.
No, it wasn't just Hayato who could see her. Bakura, or rather Bakura who was also from the modern era, could also see Nefertari and had even taken her as a Hostage.
Putting these conditions together, Hayato realized Nefertari's situation was exactly the same as Yugi and the others, who should also be arriving in the Memory World around this time. Because they weren't people of this Era, they didn't exist in the memories of this Era, and thus couldn't be seen by the people of this Era. Only those who held memories related to Nefertari could see her.
The guy who called himself "Pharaoh" earlier was also like that. Everything about him proved that he was definitely not a person of this Era. More importantly, he knew Nefertari, which made Hayato somewhat suspicious. Could they all be helpers Bakura Ryo found in the modern era?
Looking at Nefertari's back, Hayato inexplicably dismissed his suspicion of her. She shouldn't be Bakura's Subordinate. Otherwise, on his first day in this World, there would have been no need for her to lead him to the Royal Palace.
Hayato, filled with subconscious trust in Nefertari and unwilling to suspect her, thus convinced himself.
But that guy who called himself "Pharaoh" was definitely not a good person. Even if he wasn't Bakura's man, he wasn't anything good either. Yes, that's right. In contrast, Hayato's suspicion of the "Pharaoh" was deeply rooted, but whether it was mixed with Hayato's subjective factors of being annoyed and repulsed by him was something only Hayato himself knew.
However, Nefertari, who exactly are you...?
Hayato didn't get lost in thought for too long. As he and Nefertari left the Royal City and passed through a section of the Residential Area Outside the City, vast stretches of Desert lay before them. Without any reference points, Nefertari, who was leading the way, slowed down considerably, having to stop and go, constantly adjusting their direction.
But even so, because the distance marked on that suspicious Treasure Map was inherently very short, in just a moment, Nefertari said to Hayato with an excited expression, "It seems we're almost there! The route drawn on the Treasure Map pretty much ends up ahead, Meriamun."
As she spoke, Nefertari pointed a finger towards a small Hillside in the distance. "If we cross that Sand Dune, it looks like we'll reach the Valley drawn on the Treasure Map."
Hayato looked at the Treasure Map, and indeed, comparing it to their surroundings, they were indeed close to the final destination of the route drawn on the Treasure Map. However, along the way, Hayato also became a little curious.
"Speaking of which, Nefertari, where did you get this Treasure Map?" The treasure location was so close to their starting point, so close that anyone without mobility issues could easily arrive at the destination. Yet, this Treasure Map somehow ended up in Nefertari's hand, which was overly strange.
Nefertari tilted her head and thought, "A very beautiful person in the Marketplace gave it to me! He was very handsome, and his hair was a rare green. Although he looked like a girl, Nefertari knew he was a man at first glance~"
Hearing Nefertari's words, Hayato frowned. If he could see Nefertari, did that mean he was also someone who had memories related to Nefertari? Seriously, the number of people he needed to be on guard against had increased.
These thoughts continued until Hayato followed behind Nefertari and climbed the Sand Dune, allowing him to see a valley fissure not far away, and a person dressed as a traveler standing by the edge of the Valley.
"Oh, oh, oh, we're finally almost there!" Nefertari said happily, but upon noticing the dark figure in the distance with their back turned, she became a little confused. "Strange, could this be a popular spot? Why are there other people besides us?"
"Huh? Could it be someone trying to steal our treasure!?"
Seemingly thinking that the conjecture that suddenly popped into her head might be true, Nefertari grabbed Hayato's hand. "We need to hurry, Meriamun! We can't let someone else get the treasure first. I've already thought about what I want to buy with the treasure!"
"But you don't even know if the treasure is money," Hayato ranted, but his movements weren't slow at all. Following the anxious Nefertari, he jogged down the Sand Dune, moving from the Sandy Ground onto the rock, and approached the traveler from behind.
Because Hayato and Nefertari didn't really hide the commotion of their approach, the traveler with his back turned easily sensed their arrival. Without even turning around, Hayato heard him speak with his back still facing them: "You should have grown up under the sky of Egypt since you were a child, yet it's strange. Why do I feel the aura of a soul originating from Atlantis within you?"
"Atlantis?"
Nefertari heard what the other person said and felt unaccountably confused because she couldn't understand it. But when Hayato heard the other person say the word "Atlantis," his expression changed drastically. "You, could it be—?!"
"Do you know me, young man? Then my conjecture was indeed correct. You must be a soul that doesn't belong to this Era, but rather comes from a more distant Future. Because within you, I feel an aura that is extremely similar to mine, one that could even be said to originate from me."
As he spoke, the traveler turned around and lifted his hood, revealing a head of rare green hair. "As for my name, although I think you might know it, I'll introduce myself again anyway."
"My name is Dartz, a traveler, on a global journey with the goal of observing humans."
"Dartz!" Immediately, Hayato shielded Nefertari behind him, watching the other person with vigilance.
Although he remembered Dartz mentioning to him in Doma that he had gone to Ancient Egypt three thousand years ago to observe the Nameless Pharaoh's actions at that time, Hayato never expected Dartz to actually appear in this Memory World.
Hayato remembered that Dartz at this time was also just recovering from the Spirit War ten thousand years prior. To decide what attitude to adopt towards humans afterward, he was traveling around the major ancient countries. Although he still possessed a certain amount of power, because the Orichalcos God had not yet awakened, it could be said to be his weakest state.
However, Hayato wasn't doing much better. Although he had awakened Psychic Ectoplasm with the help of the Millennium Key, and along with it, had reawakened the spirits of Ojama, Armed Dragon, and the VWXYZ Series, and had Drytron and The Winged Dragon of Ra at his disposal, even with this lineup, Hayato still didn't have much confidence in defeating Dartz again.
The reason was simple: he didn't have a Duel Arena in this Era that could maximize the power of spirits. Although he could still use the power of spirits by holding the cards, it was definitely not as effective as using the tablets to exert full power. The rules of this Era, or rather the rules of the Memory World, were like this: tablets were a better medium than cards for unleashing spirit power, and Duel Arenas were powerful items that further boosted that power.
It was also for this reason that Hayato had only used Psychic Ectoplasm purely as a convenient tool for swatting mosquitoes, opening doors, and getting things. It wasn't that he didn't want to use it for its intended purpose; it was just that Psychic Ectoplasm, being housed in cards rather than tablets, could only exert that level of power.
However, if he could return to Reality, freed from the rules of the Memory World, this rule would no longer be able to restrict Hayato's performance. But now, Hayato, being in the Memory World, was still limited by this rule. Without spirits stored in tablets and without a Duel Arena, he was fundamentally no match for even Dartz in his weakest state.
Looking at Dartz's face, Nefertari, who was shielded behind Hayato, was also a little surprised. "Huh? Aren't you the person who gave me the Treasure Map this morning? Why are you here too?"
"C-Could it be that you memorized the Treasure Map yourself before giving it to me? Wah, how cunning!"
Pausing, Nefertari thought of another possibility. "C-Could this be a trap? Are you lying in wait here for me to bring Meriamun over? Run quickly, Meriamun, I'll hold him off!"
Striking a fighting stance and unladylike rolling up her sleeves, Nefertari was easily broken through by a single chop from Hayato's hand.
Gently tapping Nefertari's head, Hayato ranted, "With that stance of yours, you're probably using the legendary Hooligan Excitement Fist? Give up already, it should be me protecting you while you escape."
Saying this, he took out a few cards from the System Warehouse and held them in his hand. Although he couldn't exert full power, Hayato wasn't someone who would easily surrender or give up. Even if he knew he was no match, what of it? At the very least, he had to let the opponent know he wasn't someone to be trifled with.
However, although Hayato was watching him with vigilance, Dartz smiled when looking at Hayato and said in a friendly manner, "No, I'm not setting a trap for you. I clearly told the Little Girl, didn't I? This is just a map that can reach a specified destination."
"However, it seems the Little Girl has completely forgotten this point."
Hearing Dartz's words, Hayato looked back at Nefertari, his gaze seeming to ask her, "Didn't you say this was a Treasure Map?" Nefertari just stuck out her tongue playfully, getting away with it by being "cute".
Looking Hayato up and down, Dartz nodded almost imperceptibly, looking quite satisfied. "So, can you tell me if my conjecture is correct? You are indeed a person from the Future, aren't you?"
Looking at Dartz, Hayato didn't directly answer him. After a brief thought, he took out a card from the Warehouse and casually tossed it to the other person. "For this question, just look at this yourself."
The card Hayato tossed to Dartz was the Seal of Orichalcos, the one that had lost its value after he left Doma. Nothing could better illustrate the origin between Hayato and Dartz in the Future than this card.
Dartz raised his hand to catch the flying card, looked at it, and showed an interested expression. "This is, Orichalcos? Did I actually make such a decision after completing my observation of humans? That's quite an accident. I was still able to accept the development of humans up until now."
"However, the Future this thing belongs to seems even more distant than I expected." Pinching the card, which was made by Industrial Illusions using black technology and was excessively strong when necessary despite being paper, Dartz frowned. "While the body gives me the feeling of being from the Future at most a little over ten years from now, the material of this card... humans would need at least three thousand years of development to achieve this."
Hayato couldn't quite understand Dartz's words. "Ten years, three thousand years? Are you getting old and seeing things, Dartz?"
"I still have a long time to live, you should know this better than anyone else, shouldn't you, 'Hayato'?" Dartz spread his hands somewhat innocently. "I can see very clearly. Your body, like the Little Girl next to you, is clearly from the Future about a little over ten years from now. But I absolutely cannot be mistaken about your unique, shining soul."
"Such a pure and flawless soul, I will absolutely never forget it. It must be from three thousand years later."
Although Dartz's words gave Hayato a "gaygay" feeling as usual, he was so certain that Hayato couldn't help but believe him a little, lowering his head to look at his hands.
Was his body in this Memory World, like his soul, not an existence of this Era but from a little over ten years later?
Hayato had been feeling a bit strange for a while. Unlike Dark Yugi being the Nameless Pharaoh, or Bakura being able to possess Thief Bakura, he shouldn't have had any identity to adopt three thousand years ago. Logically, he should have appeared in his original appearance, just like the others who joined later.
However, he had appeared inside the body of an eight-year-old child, and according to Dartz, this eight-year-old child and Nefertari, who had been by his side, were actually "people from the Future" from a little over ten years after the current Era?
What kind of situation was this?
Wait, could it be—
Hayato suddenly remembered that the guy who called himself Pharaoh had a face identical to his own. Was there a possibility that the other person was actually the original owner of this eight-year-old child named Meriamun? And then in the Future, that person was born and actually became a Pharaoh?
But in Hayato's limited historical knowledge, he didn't remember which dynasty or year had which Pharaoh, or which Pharaoh was named Meriamun. However, he vaguely recalled that when he visited the Museum with Ishizu before, she seemed to have casually mentioned while passing by an exhibited mummy that "Meriamun" was another appellation for that Pharaoh.
Hayato couldn't help but feel annoyed that at the time he was only focused on why Ishizu's Duel Disk was so white and why the monsters in her Deck had such high ATK, completely forgetting which jerk that arrogant Pharaoh was.
"Forget it, there's no need to figure this out." Hayato didn't dwell on this matter much. Even if he knew that the owner of this body was likely that arrogant "Pharaoh," so what? He used it, and that was that. Was he supposed to apologize to the other person?
If you've got the guts, drop a brick from the sky and smash me to death.
Just as Hayato was thinking this, he heard screaming suddenly ring out from above his head: "Get out of the way below! You're going to get hit!"
He abruptly raised his head and saw several dark figures falling from the sky. Only one thought had time to flash through his mind:
Holy crap, is something really going to fall and smash me to death?!
The ones falling from the sky, of course, were Yugi and his group. At this point, all the participants of the Memory World had finally made their appearance, which also meant that the Nameless Pharaoh was probably about to be forced offline for a while.
End of Chapter
I am sorry, but I need to have both the original Chinese Raw Text and the English Translation Text to proceed. The current English Translation Text is non-relevant to the Chinese Raw Text.
Chapter 750: The Invincible Minotaur Falls
Riding on his war horse, Dark Yugi was caught off guard by the large quantity of monsters that suddenly appeared.
However, thanks to the Soldiers guarding him who stalled for a little time, disregarding their own safety, using their bodies as a barrier to protect Dark Yugi, he was able to react and promptly summon.
"These monsters, where did they appear from!"
While muttering to himself, Dark Yugi raised the Golden Duel Plate he had been wearing on his left wrist as a precaution since leaving the City. Amidst the radiance, he guided the power from the Stone Tablet Temple, which wasn't too far away, releasing the power of the Stone Tablet Monsters and summoning them before him.
Because the tablets from Priest Mahad's Stone Tablet Temple had been moved to his own Temple, Dark Yugi was able to use the tablets that had belonged to Priest Mahad to summon Stone Tablet Monsters. And very coincidentally, after successively summoning three Stone Tablet Monsters, Dark Yugi recognized all of them: they were Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1, Kuriboh, and Spirit Swordsman.
In modern times, these three monsters existed in the Deck that Dark Yugi, or rather Yugi, collected in his early days, and had accompanied Yugi through many battles. Even if they didn't possess the same strength as Dark Magician, they still had excellent, trustworthy combat power.
Under Dark Yugi's command, the three Stone Tablet Monsters charged towards the monsters that had invaded the Army Formation.
After witnessing the awakening of the spirits in the Royal Palace, except for Priest Aknadin, who seemed to have consumed too much energy and had to return for rest and recuperation, and Priest Shimon, who was too old for horse riding — it definitely wasn't because his legs were too short — he brought Priest Seto and Priest Shada outside the City to see what exactly had fallen from the sky earlier.
Also accompanying them were Troops of nearly a hundred people drawn from the City, ensuring enough were left to maintain order within the City. Although it was questionable whether they could serve the purpose of protecting Dark Yugi and the two Priests, considering the considerable area of the Desert outside the City, he felt that bringing more Soldiers would always be useful.
And the facts were indeed so. Fortunately, thanks to the existence of the Soldiers, Dark Yugi and the two Priests were protected from being successfully sneak attacked by the monsters, preventing damage to the high-level combat power.
And after Dark Yugi summoned the Stone Tablet Monsters, Seto and Shada also reacted, calling forth their respective Stone Tablet Monsters to join the battle.
"Minotaur!" "Axe Raider!" "King of Yamimakai!"
"Cyclops!" "Baphomet!" "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts!"
On the Duel Arenas worn by the two Priests, the deployed wing-shaped components manifested the corresponding emblem patterns of the Stone Tablet Monsters they had summoned. A total of six Stone Tablet Monsters followed the three monsters previously summoned by Dark Yugi, aiding the Soldiers in battle.
Considering that they weren't the only ones around, but there was a large quantity of Soldiers present, when summoning Stone Tablet Monsters, none of them chose large Stone Tablet Monsters with area attack capability. Instead, they tried their best to select types with sufficient combat power and decent movement speed.
However, the reason why only these monsters were summoned in the end wasn't because the filtering was too strict and only these monsters met the conditions. The main reason was actually that a Duel Arena can only summon a maximum of three monsters; this is an inherent flaw in the hardware limitations.
However, although Priest Shada didn't react at first, after summoning three monsters, he suddenly remembered that he was no longer the same as before.
Although a Duel Arena indeed has a limit of three monsters, the spirit he called forth, which had only awakened this morning, was not subject to the Duel Arena's hardware limitations.
"Come forth, my Tamashii!"
With a loud call, only to see Ankh Kuriboh manifest from Shada's body, and as soon as it appeared, it scattered a wave of radiance from its own body, which fell upon several Soldiers near Dark Yugi, who had been injured earlier while actively resisting the suddenly appearing monsters to protect the Pharaoh.
The several Soldiers had originally thought that their injuries were so severe they would likely not be healed and would sooner or later have their souls return to the Underworld, but they didn't expect that after Ankh Kuriboh's light fell, the injuries on their bodies suddenly healed rapidly as if time had flowed backward, even the blood that had spurted from their wounds, splashed onto the Ground, and seeped into the Earth flowed back.
In the blink of an eye, they were already fully revived?!
Although they couldn't see the Stone Tablet Monsters and spirits summoned by Dark Yugi, Shada, and Seto, and weren't quite sure what exactly happened for them to suddenly recover, but fundamentally, it must have been the Pharaoh and the Priests who took action!
That's amazing! The power of the Pharaoh and the Priests is too invincible, it's simply a divine miracle!
A classic line from a certain Shanghai idol popped up in their inner thoughts; the Soldiers healed by Ankh Kuriboh's power immediately returned to the front line and began battling the monsters attacking the Pharaoh.
And Seto couldn't help but glance at the small spherical monster floating beside Shada: "A healing ability powerful enough to allow those near death to return to the battlefield? You really awakened quite a gentle ability, Shada. And, it's not subject to the Duel Arena's restriction?"
"If I had been able to detect this power of the Millennium Key earlier, perhaps with the blessing of an additional spirit, Priest Mahad's destiny could have also been changed." Hearing Seto's words, Shada couldn't help but say with some emotion, but he quickly calmed his mood again. "But now is not the time to talk about that."
Driving their vehicles to Dark Yugi's side, the two quickly asked Dark Yugi: "Please forgive your subordinates for inadequate protection. You are not injured, are you, Pharaoh?"
Dark Yugi shook his head, indicating that he was not injured. "I'm fine, but do you know where these monsters appeared from, Seto, Shada?"
"This is the main road into the City. Yesterday, when your subordinates brought the transferred Troops into the City, we didn't find anything unusual, and because there's constant traffic, there shouldn't be an ambush here," Priest Seto said, frowning.
"Without the Millennium Necklace, which can warn of crisis, and the Millennium Ring, which can detect dark power, here, we fundamentally don't know where these unaccountably spirits appeared from."
And Shada also looked at the spirits battling their Stone Tablet Monsters not far away and said, "Furthermore, those spirits are very unusual. Logically, people without a certain level of training shouldn't be able to see spirits; even Mana the Magician, Priest Mahad's disciple, is still a bit short of the realm where one can see spirits."
"But these spirits that suddenly attacked you, Pharaoh, can even be seen by ordinary people in the Army, and even the attacks of ordinary people with no special qualities can hit their bodies. This doesn't seem like the characteristic that spirits born from people's hearts should have at all; instead, they are like ordinary creatures."
Although Shada said so, everyone knew that these spirits heading straight for Dark Yugi were indeed existences similar to Stone Tablet Monsters. Putting aside the strange dark aura wrapped around them, at the very least, you would absolutely not find a giant elephant in nature that has no flesh on its entire body and only a skeleton.
And just at this time, because of its largest size and being the most noticeable, the giant elephant's skeleton — which is the spirit named Mammoth Graveyard — was fiercely struck and killed with an axe by the Minotaur summoned by Seto, as if dealing with a pure love warrior; its skeleton scattered across the Ground.
Seto and Shada were Priests after all, the Stone Tablet Monsters they used were naturally not bad. Although they weren't invincible existences that could crush the entire Field on their own, crushing these Small Fry spirits with an equivalent ATK of less than 1500 points on the front line Battlefield was still easy.
However, Shada and Seto hadn't even had time to feel some relief. The two who were about to shift their attention from the fallen Mammoth Graveyard heard Dark Yugi speak from beside them: "This is bad, those monsters are not ordinary monsters, but monsters harboring dark power!"
Hearing this, Seto's heart tightened subconsciously. Mammoth Graveyard's attribute should clearly be EARTH attribute if anything, how could it be dark power? And why, upon hearing the Pharaoh say this, did I suddenly feel annoyed?
Not knowing that three thousand years later, Seto, whose Pharaoh beside him would use the monster Mammoth Graveyard to perform incredibly absurd rule bending, only thought that the feeling in his heart was merely an illusion.
After defeating Mammoth Graveyard, Minotaur, holding an axe, turned around to NTR the next... *cough*... perform a finishing blow on the next target. But just as he turned around, a bone spike suddenly protruded from his chest; it was none other than Mammoth Graveyard's tusk!
Mammoth Graveyard, which should have already been defeated, unexpectedly revived at this moment under the effect of the dark aura wrapped around its skeleton, and backstabbed Minotaur while it wasn't paying attention. The sharp tusk pierced through Minotaur's chest from behind, and the dark aura also wrapped around it at the same time!
Minotaur lost?!
"Impossible! It actually revived?! Ugh—!" Seto widened his eyes, watching in disbelief as Mammoth Graveyard's scattered skeleton automatically reassembled and stood upright on the Earth once more.
Before he could say more than a couple of words, the instant the dark aura wrapped around Minotaur, the erosion of that dark power was also transmitted to Seto, causing him to let out a muffled groan, and the "Soul" on his Duel Arena also began to decrease.
Fortunately, Shada's support was timely. He immediately had Ankh Kuriboh beside him fly out to heal Minotaur, who was impaled on the tusk. The latter desperately pulled himself off the tusk, and after finally managing to escape, he recovered his state with Ankh Kuriboh's support.
However, what made Dark Yugi and the others' expressions look grim was that not just Mammoth Graveyard, although some of the other spirits that attacked them had been taken down by the countering Stone Tablet Monsters before, with the help of that dark aura, they unexpectedly revived once again.
With this back and forth, the Stone Tablet Monsters summoned by Dark Yugi and the others were fundamentally no match for the spirits that could continuously revive. If it weren't for Shada's Ankh Kuriboh providing healing, they would have been defeated long ago!
Even the Soldiers whose morale had greatly increased due to the miracle Shada achieved with Ankh Kuriboh's power couldn't help but shrink back a little, not daring to move forward anymore.
More importantly, Ankh Kuriboh is after all not some bug existence that can make people revive infinitely. His power also has a certain limit. As time passes, his speed in healing the Stone Tablet Monsters was also gradually getting slower and slower.
The situation is very unfavorable!
Looking back at the City Wall they had left not long ago, Dark Yugi knew that if he were to issue the order to retreat now, the Stone Tablet Monsters, even if they couldn't defeat the spirits, could still stall for time, providing enough time for him to take the Soldiers back to the City for defense.
But would he just let these undying spirits roam outside the City then? Impossible. He had to know that there were also his subjects in the Residential Area outside the City. He had to stay here and take down all these spirits!
"Everyone retreat, I'm going to summon a God!" Immediately, Dark Yugi shouted to the Soldiers in front, recalling the three Stone Tablet Monsters he had summoned before, to make space for the God's descent.
And hearing the Pharaoh's words, the Soldiers felt as if they had received a great pardon and immediately ran towards Dark Yugi and the others, getting as far away as possible from the undying spirits in front as they could, while Seto and Shada also immediately focused completely on controlling their Stone Tablet Monsters to resist the attacks of the numerous spirits.
Although there were three fewer Stone Tablet Monsters for defense due to Dark Yugi, but because the defense perimeter shrank, Seto and Shada also successfully blocked the spirits' attacks, but it wouldn't last for too long.
And Yugi, looking at the large quantity of spirits, couldn't help but start thinking.
Any one of the Three Egyptian Gods possesses power that can be used against groups. Among them, Obelisk the Tormentor possesses the pure power to destroy everything, and The Winged Dragon of Ra also has a similar immortal phoenix fire.
Although Dark Yugi believed that both of them could annihilate all these spirits in front with one attack, the spirits possess immortality and would revive again, while the God's area attack has a huge consumption.
Then, there is only one answer!
"Chant for Slifer!"
His palm opened and stretched towards the sky, the symbol of the Eye of Udjat appeared on Dark Yugi's forehead. At the same time, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the originally clear sky, thunder and lightning!
Accompanied by the Millennium Rod on Dark Yugi's chest emitting brilliant gold light, floating up and swaying for no reason, a huge long shadow moved between the dark clouds, a section of a red body occasionally emerged from the dark clouds.
A red dragon head with two layers and two mouths emerged from between the low-hanging dark clouds, responding to the Pharaoh's summon on the Ground!
"Descend, Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Dark Yugi pointed at the many spirits in front of him and commanded, "Superconductive Wave-Thunder Force!"
end of chapter
is thee anyone reading up here