Chapter 666: Creator God
Although his System occasionally liked to spout nonsense in unimportant places, like slandering Hayato as an Underworld Duelist more than once, so far, it hadn't made a mistake.
Although Hayato didn't know what Dartz's final Set Card was, since the System said he had already defeated Dartz and even started the Settlement for the reward, Dartz was probably defeated.
After all, on the surface, Hayato's final blow seemed like a conventional Tribute Monster dealing Effect Damage for a Finishing Blow, but in reality, he had truly dedicated all his mental power. Not only did the Millennium Ring on his chest become dim after leaving the Orichalcos God's Body, but even Gaia returned to its card and fell into slumber.
Although Hayato was eager to claim the Quest's reward, there was something more important before him right now: he had to find a way to keep himself from falling from a great height into the Sea Surface and dying.
He wasn't a character in a video game who could survive any fall as long as there was a puddle or a haystack below. Hayato estimated the distance between himself and the Sea Surface. If he continued in freefall like this, turning into a puddle of mud would be a relatively good result.
However, luckily, although Hayato felt like he had dueled Dartz inside the Orichalcos God's Body for quite some time, that World seemed like a Mental World. In the Outside World, only less than a second had actually passed.
Actually, on the Atlantis City suspended in the air, Joey Wheeler, Kaiba, and Yugi hadn't even had time to worry about Hayato. They had just seen Hayato and The Winged Dragon of Ra, under the cover of the other Three Egyptian Gods, collide with the Orichalcos God, which had suddenly lit up with Neon lights and stopped moving. The next moment, they saw Hayato and the Orichalcos God falling separately, and Dartz had already disappeared.
Seeing The Winged Dragon of Ra immediately approach the falling Hayato and catch him, Kaiba secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which was almost placed on his Duel Disk, was withdrawn. He looked towards the direction of the Orichalcos God on the other side with vigilance: "What's going on? Where did Dartz go!?"
"I cannot tell, he was just there a second ago," Joey Wheeler's action was faster. He had even released his Red-Eyes Black Dragon to soar in mid-air. "More importantly, what about Hayato? Is he alright?"
"Have a little more confidence in Hayato, Joey Wheeler. Looking at The Winged Dragon of Ra, Hayato should be fine," Yugi reassured Joey Wheeler.
As duelists, having vision comparable to archers in red coats was only natural. The three clearly saw Hayato being caught by The Winged Dragon of Ra in the distance. After standing firm, Hayato even waved towards them, seemingly indicating that he was alright and nothing was wrong.
Seeing Joey Wheeler wave back from afar, Hayato knew they were relieved. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief and lay down on top of The Winged Dragon of Ra's head. Although defeating Dartz didn't mean everything was resolved, at least the biggest trouble had disappeared. Hayato could rest for a moment, catch his breath, and relax his tense nerves.
"Ying ying ying~"
A sound of malicious cuteness came from The Winged Dragon of Ra's card, which had returned to his hand. Hayato felt somewhat helpless about this: "Why didn't I use you in the duel? Stop acting spoiled, there was no way around it. If I had taken your card into that giant mud eel's body, who would have helped me open the Passage? So you were very important."
"Alright, alright, next time I'll prepare a magnificent Stage most suitable for your appearance."
While comforting The Winged Dragon of Ra, who showed no trace of the arrogance and dignity of a God Card in front of him, Hayato reached out to press the button on the System screen that appeared before him, to claim the reward from the completed System Settlement.
But just then, a huge roar echoed.
"Roar!!!"
The Orichalcos God, which should have fallen back into the deep sea after losing Dartz's control, somehow let out a roar after impacting the Sea Surface and flew back into the air!
The Orichalcos God's mood was quite bad right now. Although it was essentially a screening program for Surface civilization, this didn't prevent it from being so angry that it wanted to destroy everything it saw.
To think that as the aggregate of the Planet's Darkness, it was clearly positioned as the final Boss. Logically, it should have been full of presence. With absolute power, it even had the qualification to casually bestow power upon humans, deceiving them by saying, "Humans are truly interesting, so I won't destroy them."
Actually, ten thousand years ago, it truly did just that, lending its power to Dartz to wield. As a result, Dartz himself concluded that this World must be destroyed. However, in the very end, that attempt at World destruction was stopped by the Legendary Dragon from the Spirit World, and it itself was beaten into a state where it had to fall into slumber.
However, the opponent didn't fare well either. The Orichalcos God's struggle before being defeated also severely injured the opponent, forcing the opponent to also fall into slumber even after splitting itself.
It had planned to sleep for ten thousand years and fight again after waking up, but the Orichalcos God didn't expect that Dartz, that person with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would have so many crooked ideas and even targeted the Dark Power it possessed. He tampered with its body while it was in slumber. If someone hadn't cut off his connection to it, it might have ended up being just a background character from beginning to end.
However, there is no 'if'. Now it has successfully woken up. Although it lost some power because of this, it doesn't matter. Even after enduring ten thousand years of wear and tear, I, the Orichalcos God, am still invincible in this World!
Dartz is probably dead somewhere. So, you are next, humans!
Unlike Dartz's extravagance and wasted use of power, the Orichalcos God, after regaining control of its body, immediately chose to shrink its body. Although it was under control before, this doesn't mean the Orichalcos God didn't know what happened outside before. Mere Three Egyptian Gods, as long as that name isn't revealed, there is nothing to fear anymore.
Thinking this, the Orichalcos God coiled its still massive body around the Floating City - Atlantis, looking down at the three figures struggling to maintain their balance on the ruined street due to the Ground's tremors.
Before destroying the World, I'll use these three ants as an appetizer.
Opening its hideous giant mouth, the Orichalcos God thought in its heart and was about to take action.
But, somehow, it discovered something strange.
It clearly only wanted to shrink its body to its current length and end there, but why could it still feel its body shrinking little by little!?
From its skull alone being the same size as the Floating City - Atlantis at first, to its winding body being able to wrap around the entire Castle, this change was still within the Orichalcos God's own control. But why was its body continuing to shrink afterwards, even gradually reaching a point where its entire body could only cling to the Castle!
A human-like expression of shock and fear appeared on the monstrous, non-human face of the giant beast. It frantically surveyed its body with its gradually stiffening and powerless skull, only to find that on its surface, it was emitting various colors of radiance, like a Christmas tree wrapped in light bulbs!
Those were Hayato's Infernoids!
With the interruption of the connection between Dartz and the Orichalcos God, although the latter regained consciousness and was no longer under suppression, it also meant that the Infernoids were no longer restrained by Dartz. Like vines parasitizing a giant tree and unilaterally absorbing its nourishment, the Infernoid Monsters, led by Infernoid Decatron, were plundering the Dark Power that the Orichalcos God had accumulated for ten thousand years!
Although such a crude and simple forcible plundering would inevitably waste most of the energy, Hayato didn't feel any regret for it. After all, this power was obtained for free.
The Orichalcos God angrily tried to struggle, wanting to remove the parasites on its body, but could only watch helplessly as its Dark Power was absorbed and its torso became increasingly withered, while the lights on the Infernoid Monsters became brighter as they absorbed more Dark Power.
Even after the individual Infernoids were "full" and had reached the limit of the power they could absorb, tiny lights drifted towards Hayato's hand, gathering on a card.
"Don't think you have a reason to throw a tantrum just because you woke up from a nap, you bastard. Do you think other people don't get tired from dueling?" Standing on top of The Winged Dragon of Ra's head, Hayato looked down contemptuously at the Orichalcos God, which he didn't even consider a threat. "To go all out, I barely managed to defeat Dartz using a Pure Dragonmaid Deck, and you come out causing trouble again without even giving me time to rest."
"I was originally planning to deal with you slowly, but since you're like this, don't blame me!"
Saying this, Hayato flipped the Infernoid Tierra card in his hand and pointed it towards the Orichalcos God: "Although it's not comparable to the power of the Genesis System God Star Tree, I didn't intend to manifest the perfected form from the start. For now, using the Dark Power accumulated on this Planet over ten thousand years as nourishment, reveal your true nature from this shell!"
In Hayato's other hand, he pulled out the Philosopher's Stone - Hrel card. Both cards were raised above his head simultaneously.
"The creation power of the duality, reappearing with the numerous souls gathered under the Sun's Wings, the ultimate authority that returns everything to the origin now descends!"
Following Hayato's call, the Infernoid Monsters detached themselves from the Orichalcos God one after another, carrying the absorbed Power and converging into the card in Hayato's hand. Space warped as the giant monster's figure gradually appeared. The Orichalcos God widened its eyes, looking at the existence descending before it.
With ten dual-colored wings and scarlet bull horns, Infernoid Tierra was called out by Hayato. The Orichalcos God's Power was completely absorbed into its body, and then in the next moment, countless cracks appeared on its surface.
This appearance seemed like the power exceeded its bearing limit, but on the contrary, this indicated that Infernoid Tierra had met the condition for evolution!
Briefly losing the Infernoids' suppression, the Orichalcos God felt a threat of death. It moved its body, which had just recovered its freedom, wanting to let go of Atlantis City and escape, but in an instant, a sharp "lance" pierced a section of its torso, nailing it firmly to the rock wall!
The shell on Infernoid Tierra's surface peeled off, and four huge silver-white machine legs extended from within. One of them was piercing the Orichalcos God. Dust peeled off from the five pairs of black and white wings on its back, revealing ten transparent golden light wings. Scarlet bull horns burned with scorching flames.
The Creator God named Tierra, catalyzed by the almighty Wishing Machine, the Sage's Stone, and using the Orichalcos God as nourishment, was born from the Infernoids!
The Orichalcos God, filled with unwillingness, looked at the colossal giant object before it, feeling only "fear". It gave up thinking in the flames, watching helplessly as its remaining Dark Power was extracted again, becoming nourishment for Creator God - Tierra.
And Hayato, seeing the Orichalcos God stop struggling, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He put away the Super Polymerization card in his hand without using it.
In the original timeline, Yugi and the others, who had experienced many sacrifices along the way, successfully defeated Dartz in the end and saved many people. However, facing Dartz, who had combined with the Orichalcos God, even using the Three Egyptian Gods was insufficient.
This wasn't just because the Three Egyptian Gods' Power had been absorbed by the Orichalcos God. The key point was that the Orichalcos God itself was an aggregate of the Planet's Darkness. As long as humans couldn't cut off the inner darkness in their hearts, the Orichalcos God and Dartz couldn't be eliminated.
In the very end, Dark Yugi chose to use his own Soul as a vessel to carry that Darkness. As the Nameless Pharaoh, Dark Yugi sealed this Darkness and resentment within his own Soul, barely managing to temporarily eliminate the Orichalcos God.
However, it was ultimately just treating the symptom, not the cause.
How to eliminate future trouble completely? From the moment he decided to Join Doma, Hayato had been plotting this. Using the Infernoids as a framework to contain this Dark Power to the maximum extent, then combine it with the Power of the Red Orichalcos, which originates from the same source as the Green Orichalcos—in other words, the Sage's Stone—to construct the existence of Creator God - Tierra.
Since Darkness cannot be extinguished, why not simply bring it under human control? Looking at the Creator God - Tierra card in his hand, Hayato showed a tired smile.
Creator God - Tierra will continuously absorb this Darkness as a vessel, suppressing the Power of the Orichalcos to prevent it from descending into the Human World again. This Power will also serve as the source of power to maintain its existence in this World, preventing it from disappearing immediately.
In other words, the Power of the Orichalcos has been completely eradicated from the World by Hayato and will no longer have the opportunity to descend!
[System Prompt: You have obtained the Shaddoll Preconstructed Deck.]
Chapter 667: Because the previous chapter didn't have a number, it's added here
The Orichalcos God, this giant mud eel, suffered a setback at the hand of the Legendary Dragon ten thousand years ago. Ten thousand years later, it was backstabbed by Dartz before it even fully awakened. Just as it finally regained consciousness, it was mercilessly crushed and absorbed by Tierra, the Genesis Creator before it even had a chance to show off once. It died without any presence, not even causing as much trouble as Dartz did.
Even Kaiba, standing on Atlantis, looked at the Orichalcos God pinned down not far away and let out his customary cold snort, beginning to taunt it contemptuously.
"Hmph, what a pathetic death, like a stray dog. But that's only natural. It's just a card constructed by the Virtual Projection System. Without its controller, Dartz, it could never be Hayato's opponent."
With his arms crossed over his chest, Kaiba's demeanor was aloof, looking as if everything was self-evident.
In this guy's eyes, no matter how fantastical and supernatural the events happening before him were, they could all be explained by science. Even if it happened to himself, he could force an explanation by saying, "Oh, it was just a dream."
"Stop clinging to your science, Kaiba!" Beside Kaiba, Joey Wheeler was clinging tightly to a building that looked like a utility pole. "This place is about to collapse!"
One must know that the three of them were currently still on the Floating City, Atlantis. And this castle was not a durable structure. After all, it had already collapsed and sunk into the seawater ten thousand years ago during the war between the Orichalcos under Dartz and the Spirit Human Alliance Army. It had been soaked in the deep sea for another ten thousand years.
After being retrieved from the sea by Dartz, it was then entwined by the Orichalcos God and attacked by Tierra, the Genesis Creator. It was already riddled with holes. Countless gaps had cracked open on the ancient streets, as if it could collapse in an instant at any moment.
Even Yugi had to hold onto the Dark Magician, who appeared beside him, just to barely stand. Although Dark Magician Girl looked at her Teacher with a pout, Yugi, who had his back to her, clearly didn't notice this. "We have to leave this place quickly!"
Looking at it this way, Kaiba, who had no support and could maintain balance on the trembling Atlantis just by standing on his feet, was truly strong.
"Hmph, it's only natural for this place to collapse. Although I haven't researched the anti-gravity device the Atlantean Civilization used to make this castle fly, the ancient people didn't perform any enhancement on the material of these rocks. The higher it rises, the more these rocks have to bear..."
"Who understands what you're talking about!" Joey Wheeler immediately interrupted Kaiba, saying without fear, facing Kaiba's unfriendly gaze, "You can save all that nonsensical 'science' for later, but right now, just get the plane up here to rescue us!"
As the Orichalcos God was continuously absorbed by Tierra, the Genesis Creator, the giant waves that Dartz had been controlling and sending out towards various parts of the world began to gradually calm down. The place where this power that interferes with the world finally remained was the Floating City, Atlantis, under their feet. However, even this Floating City was about to crash.
Just as Hayato had thought before, although water could act as a buffer, when the falling height reached a certain extent, falling into the sea was no different from falling onto the ground. Yugi and the others had to find a way to quickly leave this Floating City that was gradually collapsing and disintegrating.
Joey Wheeler thought about having the helicopter that Kaiba had parked on Doma Island below come up and rescue them, but before Kaiba could say anything to taunt Joey Wheeler, Yugi answered Joey Wheeler, "We can't, Joey Wheeler. Although a helicopter can fly very high, at our current altitude, a helicopter wouldn't be fast enough."
"However, we aren't without other ways to leave here."
As Yugi spoke, he extended his finger and pointed not far down the street. Although the street had been destroyed beyond recognition due to the trembling, completely different from when they arrived, only the spinning void floating in mid-air remained unchanged.
That was the Space Tunnel Dartz had opened when he escaped from Doma Temple before. Yugi and the others had also relied on that Passage to reach Atlantis City. This Passage had been maintained until now and still existed, it hadn't disappeared.
Although they didn't know if that Passage was one-way or two-way, it's better to try than just talk about it. After exchanging a glance, Yugi and the other two rushed towards the twisted Space Tunnel.
Approaching the Space Tunnel, although Kaiba wanted to do a few more experiments on this unknown thing, the situation was urgent. He held a Goddess of Rebirth card in his hand and reached it into the Space Tunnel. When he pulled his hand back and saw the card was unharmed, Kaiba tentatively confirmed the safety of the Passage.
"It's good that it's not one-way. In that case, we have a way to leave here," Joey Wheeler said with a grin. At this moment, the ground trembled violently again, causing him to involuntarily cast his gaze towards the huge Tierra, the Genesis Creator, and Hayato, who was standing on The Winged Dragon of Ra and commanding the former.
Yugi also followed Joey Wheeler's gaze and looked at Hayato, saying, "Hayato's battle with the Orichalcos God is drawing to a close."
"Hmph, there's absolutely no need to worry about that guy Hayato Kobayashi. That guy has many ways to protect himself. You should worry more about yourself, Commoner. Don't get your head smashed by a falling stone from somewhere."
The only person who would say something like that was Kaiba. However, although the words he spoke seemed heartless, after interacting with Kaiba for so long, both Joey Wheeler and Yugi had come to understand somewhat that this guy was a complete tsundere who would never say anything nice.
Just like now, he was clearly worried about Hayato's situation in his heart, but he chose to express his confidence in Hayato by mocking Joey Wheeler.
This led to Joey Wheeler getting angry despite knowing Kaiba's true intention. After all, this guy Kaiba had cursed him to be hit on the head by a falling stone, and he didn't even know how to do a Spinning Attack.
"Huh?! Kaiba, are you intentionally picking a fight?!" Joey Wheeler glared at Kaiba. "Are you going in or not?!"
Saying this, he pointed with his hand towards the nearby Space Tunnel.
Kaiba didn't say things like "If this tunnel is real, I'll definitely go in" to make him break character. He just glanced at Joey Wheeler, gave a contemptuous cold snort, and stepped towards the Space Tunnel.
"Kaiba, what does that look mean!" Seeing Kaiba walk into the Space Tunnel first, Joey Wheeler immediately followed suit and entered the spinning vortex. Only Yugi remained on the dilapidated streets of Atlantis.
Before leaving, Yugi turned his head back one last time and looked behind him.
As the main body constituting the Orichalcos God—the dark power—was completely absorbed by Tierra, the Genesis Creator, the countless souls it had swallowed over the past ten thousand years were also released. The Orichalcos God, whose body was now only a dozen meters long, turned into a "snake"-bodied fountain. Starlight-like souls were spat out from its mouth and scattered towards the sky.
Among the countless souls, Hayato, standing on top of The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Yugi, who had turned around, saw many familiar figures.
The souls of the "Labyrinth" Brothers gathered together, embracing and weeping;
Keith the Bandit looked at Hayato, who was controlling the Divine-Beast and Monster, his eyes filled with fighting spirit;
Rafael's family members who died many years ago gathered around him, turning into orbs of light and merging into his soul. In the years to come, Rafael would be together with his family forever;
Alister's deceased Younger Brother also appeared beside Alister. Knowing that his Brother's last battle was fought as an Ally of Justice to protect the world, the young boy's soul smiled with relief and entered into the sleeping Alister's body;
Hayato also released Valon's soul, which was inside his card. After all, everything had ended, and Valon's body was properly preserved. As long as his soul returned, he could immediately revive.
But Valon, who came out of the card, was not in a hurry to go back and revive. Because among the souls filling the sky, he also found the Nun who died in the great fire that year. At this moment, Valon seemed to turn back into the child he was back then. He came beside the Nun's soul and communicated with her, whom he was reunited with after a long separation, about his experience over these years.
However, not all souls who regained their freedom could revive. For some of the souls, the time they were swallowed by the Orichalcos God had truly passed too long, and their bodies had long since disappeared. But even if there was no opportunity to revive, just being liberated from the endless darkness and regaining freedom was enough to make these souls who had passed away many years ago feel immense joy.
Some of the souls rose into the air and disperse, some of the souls scattered to various parts of the world and returned to their bodies, and some of the souls landed on this Floating City of Atlantis that was about to collapse.
As countless souls landed on the streets of Atlantis, before Yugi's eyes, it was as if time was flowing backward. The streets were no longer ruin but became spotless. Lamps lit up on both sides of the street, and the people who once lived in this lost human prehistoric civilization also appeared on the streets.
"What is this?"
The one answering Yugi's confused look was Dark Yugi from the Millennium Puzzle. He also saw the view before his eyes. "The souls of the Atlantean people have regained their freedom. This is the joint memory within their souls, the view from back then, before they were polluted by the power of the Orichalcos, when humans and spirits coexisted in peace."
However, what was before his eyes was just a memory. Yugi watched as two children ran and played on the streets, passing through his body.
"Come chase me~ Haha!" "Wait for me, Ivoray!"
The green-haired boy chased after another young girl and went far away. Yugi also withdrew his line of sight, turned and walked into the Space Tunnel.
And after Yugi left, the ground finally completely collapsed. Atlantis City completely disintegrated and fell into the sea once again.
Thanks to "Jie Qing" for the 500 points tip, thank you very much.
Thanks to "Gui Zhao Lin Feng" for the 10000 points tip, thank you very much.
Strictly speaking, this chapter is indeed Chapter 133, because there is no 124 (lol).
Today I'll update 3k, and then another 3k tonight.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 668: Epilogue
The existence of Organization Doma seemed indestructible, but in reality, it could be broken with a single poke. Without anyone noticing, Organization Doma extended its influence to all parts of the world, secretly weaving a net that enveloped the entire world.
However, the only one fixing this net at the other end was Dartz alone. Once Dartz died, Organization Doma would be disintegrated in an instant, but Dartz, who was connected to the Orichalcos God, happened to be an ageless and immortal existence.
If there were no accidents, Dartz would not die, so an accident happened.
As countless souls absorbed by the Orichalcos God returned to their rightful positions, people whose souls had been sealed and fallen into slumber due to Doma's actions exposed the matter without hesitation after waking up. Naturally, at first, it was merely regarded as the nonsensical ramblings of victims suffering from mental instability after the incident.
However, as evidence increased, the tide turned again. Waves of "denouncing Doma" appeared simultaneously across the world with remarkable coordination, determined to expose the people of Organization Doma. Naturally, there were also those who took advantage of the chaos to attack their opponents.
Of course, the matter caused a huge stir, but the final result was a lot of noise but little action. After a few insignificant minor characters were pushed out to take the blame and attract the attention of the people, the internet naturally lost its memory.
However, those in high positions weren't fools either. Having long known the truth of the hidden world, such as Card Spirits, they learned that powerful figures like Rafael and Valon, the Doma Three Swordsmen, were actually defeated head-on, and even the ageless and immortal, invincible Lord Dartz was eliminated along with them, his ashes scattered to who knows where.
Those people naturally severed ties with their former identity as Doma members and didn't dare to contact other companions whose identities had been somewhat exposed in this incident, fearing that the person who eliminated Dartz would use their connection to track them down and eliminate them as well.
Of course, these subsequent events didn't have much connection to Hayato, Yugi, and the others. After all, rather than uphold justice, they preferred to sit together dueling.
Oh, it wasn't completely without influence.
"Hayato, you wouldn't want others to know that you were once a Doma member, right?" Sitting across from Hayato, Joey Wheeler wore a grin, displaying a ridiculous expression.
"This Japanese Duelist, show-show-way." Hayato, however, was completely composed. He reached out and pointed to a card on his side of the table. "Instead of making such an ineffective threat against me, why don't you first think about how to deal with this Monster on my Field, Joey Wheeler?"
"Who told you that Monster was too unfair!"
Hearing Hayato's words, Joey Wheeler couldn't help but complain with a slumped face: "Not being destroyed by Effect is one thing, but as long as it's on the Field, both players can only Special Summon a Monster once per Turn. That Effect is way too unfair."
"Dealing with Mi is an important part of the Duelist's gaming experience, something you must try." Hayato picked up the El Shaddoll Midrash card from the table and said with a smile.
Its Effect seems simple, but when the player going first brings out El Shaddoll Midrash, nicknamed "Mi", it means that the player going second, unless they deal with Mi before their field setup, is limited to Special Summoning one Monster. And on top of that, Mi can ignore cards like Raigeki.
As for how frustrating the dueling experience is, Joey Wheeler has certainly experienced it deeply.
Stretching, Hayato let Joey Wheeler rack his brain trying to figure out how to deal with Mi with the three remaining cards in his Hand. Hayato stood up and looked towards the distant sky.
What nice weather. I should get some french fries later.
Just as Hayato was thinking this, the door of the Kame Game Store was pushed open. The bell hanging on the doorframe made a crisp "ding-dong" sound. Hayato turned his head and saw Tristan walking in, carrying a bag of milk tea.
"Hayato, I brought you milk tea." Tristan took out a cup of milk tea from the bag and handed it to Hayato. He then went behind the troubled Joey Wheeler and put his arm around his neck. "Yo, isn't this Lord Joey Wheeler, the top 4 player of Battle City and a super duelist? Got trapped by Hayato's card again?"
"You're so annoying, Tristan." Although he couldn't deal with Hayato's Mi, Joey Wheeler could get rid of the troublesome Tristan. To retaliate against this guy, Joey Wheeler took a cup of cold milk tea and pressed the cup against the back of Tristan's neck.
This duel to pass time naturally ended with Joey Wheeler activating his "Quick Victory" effect. Téa, who walked in behind Tristan, saw the two of them messing around in the store without considering the situation, affecting other customers, and stopped them. However, Grandpa Solomon, sitting behind the counter, chuckled and said it was fine.
As the game of Duel Monsters became increasingly popular worldwide, more and more card shops appeared in various cities. And Domino City, as the former host of the Battle City tournament, the residence of the current Duel King, and the location of KaibaCorp's headquarters, the top company in the Duel Monsters industry, naturally had even more card shops.
However, since everyone was going to buy cards anyway, most people chose the Kame Game Store. The main reason was that many duelists who were already considered "legendary" often frequented the place.
Mutou Yuugi, Katsuya Jounouchi, and Hayato could all be considered regulars. There was Rebecca, the former All-American Professional Duelist Champion who came to Japan with her Grandpa Solomon Muto to visit Yugi, and Kujaku Mai, the current All-American Champion who traveled the world but occasionally found excuses to visit Japan and have Joey Wheeler be her tour guide, and so on. Although Hayato and the others were very familiar with them, in the eyes of ordinary people, they were all incredible celebrities.
It's like a popular internet-famous store. People go to check in at internet-famous stores. Other places might have photos or signatures of celebrities at most, but at this one, the celebrities are sitting right at the table next to you, so business is naturally good.
However, although the card shop's business was genuinely booming, customers gradually became much more rational. When they met Hayato and the others, they would at most ask for a signature and wouldn't foolishly initiate a challenge.
Although the current Duel King, Hayato Kobayashi, was happy to duel with these "duel enthusiasts"—I mean, leeks who could provide DP Points—they fundamentally had no hope of victory, even if their opponent wouldn't be too serious. The period after Duelist Kingdom ended, when duelists frantically challenged Yugi and Hayato, did not reappear.
Of course, nothing is absolute. Among so many people in the world, there wasn't even a single fool who couldn't see themselves clearly. So, what was the need for Dartz to destroy the world?
Hayato held the cup of milk tea, said goodbye to Yugi and the others, and walked out of the Kame Game Store's gate. In the Open Space next to the card shop, used as a parking lot, a motorcycle was parked. It was borrowed from Marik. He was planning to go to KaibaCorp.
Glancing at the System Panel which displayed "Defeat 'Legendary Dragon' User 2/3", Hayato couldn't help but show a mischievous smile. He had previously defeated Yugi and Joey Wheeler, and he had also defeated Alister, Valon, and Rafael once during the Doma arc. Dartz was also personally eliminated by him.
To complete this quest, Kaiba would just have to suffer a beating. But anyway, that guy who gets the urge to duel anytime, anywhere, never resists. It was also perfect timing; he hadn't fully finished debugging the Shaddoll Deck he got after the previous quest settlement. He might as well use Kaiba as an opponent to try out this "Pure" Shaddoll Deck.
Thinking this, Hayato got on the motorcycle and rode away.
----Blessings to this world once again saved by dueling----
Prosperous San Francisco, even at night, the city remained bright and beautiful. The eternal lights illuminated, dispelling the darkness, like a city that never sleeps.
However, there are always places where light cannot reach, such as deserted alleys, or dark and empty sewers.
"Drip-drop----"
Water droplets dripping from the pipes splashed onto scales. A pitch-black long snake slowly crawled out of the water. After spitting out an undigestible foreign object from its stomach, it seemed to have used up all its full power, slumping motionlessly and sliding into the water, dispersing into a dark aura diluted by sewage.
What the strange snake spat out was a perfect sphere. It looked like a glass bead, and its copper-green color gives a sense of deja vu like a beer bottle.
A ray of light projected from within the sphere, shining onto the wall beside the Sewer, gradually forming a translucent figure. It was none other than Dartz, who should have died in the duel against Hayato?
"Cough, cough!" Where was the composed stance Dartz had as the leader of Doma at that time? Relying on the last bit of Dark Power he carved out before the connection with the Orichalcos God was severed, he luckily activated a contingency plan he had casually left behind hundreds or thousands of years ago.
However, the Dartz at this moment couldn't be considered "revived", because this was fundamentally just an independent consciousness he had separated at some unknown time. Although it inherited all the memory of the self that was killed by Hayato, and the idea was the same, Dartz himself had indeed died.
It was also because he inherited the memory of Dartz whose idea had changed in the last moment that the Dartz at this moment, although still alive, no longer had the idea of destroying the world in his heart.
Because, Hayato had taken the decision-making power over Human Destiny from Dartz's hand with that duel. A future of ruin might be waiting at the end of Human Destiny, but Human Destiny would be changed by humans themselves.
"Although I don't know what I should use my 'revived' life for," Dartz muttered to himself, leaning against the wall and barely getting up. "Let me, a soul who has experienced doomsday, become an observer of Human Civilization once again. I truly look forward to seeing what kind of future you will lead humanity's future towards, Hayato, my 'hero'..."
Looking at the Orichalcos Stone on the ground that carried his soul after being revived, which was slowly rolling away due to its appearance and the terrain, Dartz was about to go and pick it up.
But just then, a sound of footsteps echoed in the Sewer, which should have been empty, approaching Dartz's direction from the darkness.
A slender, fair hand picked up the Orichalcos Stone from the ground and held it. A White-Haired Youth with East Asian features appeared before Dartz, his expression one of intoxication. He took a deep breath towards the Orichalcos Stone in his hand: "Mmm~~ What incredibly sweet air. Is this the Human Darkness from that 'Orichalcos God'? It smells a bit too good, doesn't it?"
"It makes me a little jealous of Hayato. To think he could absorb so much Dark Power all by himself." The tips of his messy hair curled up in a rabbit-ear-like appearance. The youth's handsome face looked at the wary Dartz, revealing a ferocious smile. "However, how lucky I am to have caught a fish that slipped through the net. It wasn't in vain that I hid and kept watching the drama from beginning to end."
"Although I didn't wait for the right time to enter the field, with your power as a replenishment, perhaps it's enough for me to start an interesting game."
Dartz's line of sight didn't stay on the youth who had suddenly appeared before him, but looked towards the Darkness behind the youth. In the Darkness, which churned like boiling water, Dartz sensed an extremely familiar aura and couldn't help but widen his eyes: "You are! From three thousand years ago----"
"Shh~, I still want to keep a little mystery until the last, even if there isn't much left." The youth continued to smile. Besides the Orichalcos Stone he had just picked up, he now held a Millennium Eye in his hand. "Let me introduce myself. My name is currently Bakura Ryo."
"Furthermore, unlike you who only observed Hayato's uniqueness when you reached Pegasus's Castle, I've had my eye on Hayato from the very beginning. In other words, I was here first."
(Author's Note: Another little trick to avoid racking my brain for a title)
(Author's Note: Especially for epilogues, sometimes coming up with a title can take me nearly ten minutes.)
(Author's Note: Next, we'll be entering the Egypt Arc. It's expected that subscriptions will decrease due to the sharp drop in dueling screen time, but here's a preview: the plot will be heavily modified.)
(Author's Note: Also, I finally finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3 today. Rex really kept his word!)
(Author's Note: For those who played Xenoblade Chronicles 3, spoilers below;)
(Author's Note: Spoiler Alert;)
(Author's Note: minor spoilers;)
(Author's Note: Don't read further;)
(Author's Note: If you still read, then spoilers ahead;)
(Author's Note: (Unrelated tangent: Rex, the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, is one of the protagonists of the popular meme "I love Nia and everyone". At one point, people thought Nia was a 'defeated dog' who couldn't reach him. Then in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Nia also appears. She has a photo of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 protagonist group after Rex became an adult. In it, Nia and the other two female protagonists, Pyra and Mythra, are all holding a child. A true life winner. Saying he loved everyone meant he married everyone together.))
(End of Chapter)
# Chapter 669: Journey to Egypt
"Duel Monsters is everything in my life."
"Duel Monsters is the value of my existence."
"Therefore, I show the greatest respect to my Duel Monsters opponents. When I lose a Duel Monsters game, I will wear denim overalls and wait to grow old as a bargaining chip for punishment."
"Well, that was certainly how I thought when I was young."
Holding a photo album in his hand, Solomon Muto, sitting behind the counter, said with a slight hint of embarrassment, pulling at the denim overalls he was wearing. "Well, you've already seen the result."
"Even if you say that, Master Solomon," Joey Wheeler said, holding a photo in his hand with an expression of disbelief. "How could we possibly believe that the uncle in this photo, with such a tough-guy aura, is actually you, Master Solomon!"
In the photo in Joey Wheeler's hand, a handsome uncle wearing a black suit and a gentleman's hat, looking as if he were going to propose, stood beside a camel. Facing the camera, he made a cool handgun gesture, as if saying something heartwarming like "Hit your Heart."
And that uncle's iconic starfish hairstyle, along with the photography time printed in the corner of the photo, which was 1960, confirmed that the handsome uncle in the photo was none other than Solomon Muto himself, standing before Joey Wheeler at that moment!
"It's not just that, what's with that height?"
Honda also leaned in beside Joey Wheeler, looking down at the handsome uncle's height in the photo, which allowed him to easily flip onto a camel, then looking up at Solomon Muto, who was only visible from the chest up even while standing behind the counter. "Although it's true that people get shorter when they get old due to muscle atrophy and bone aging, Grandpa Solomon, the extent to which you've gotten shorter is like you've become a completely different person!"
"Huh~ It's not that bad, is it?" Solomon Muto scratched his head. Seeing that both Joey Wheeler and Tristan had an attitude of not believing the photo was real, he spread his hands helplessly. "But back in that era, there was fundamentally no fake technology like Photoshop! This photo is indeed real, and the person in it is indeed me."
Since Grandpa Solomon said so, even though it was hard to believe that "Grandpa Solomon Muto, who looks like a completely worn-out old man, was actually a super charismatic, long-legged handsome guy when he was young," everyone could only accept this undeniable fact.
"I was even thinking if Yugi's current height had reached its limit, since Grandpa Solomon, being so old, is only this tall. Turns out Grandpa Solomon was actually so much taller when he was young!" Téa said, glancing at Yugi, who was smiling shyly beside her. "Congratulations, Yugi, you still have the potential to keep growing taller in the future."
"Actually, I don't think I'm that short right now. And besides, I've clearly grown a full centimeter since Duelist Kingdom!" Although Yugi was a bit happy knowing he still had a lot of potential to grow taller in the future after seeing his grandpa's photo from when he was young, he sincerely felt that he wasn't short at all right now, he argued.
However, Hayato, sitting beside him, was dueling with a customer across the counter. While doing so, he casually delivered a fatal blow to Yugi: "But Yugi, isn't your current height the same as Rebecca, who's six years younger than you? Attack points 16000 [Cyber End Dragon] with a Piercing Damage Effect. Yosh, I won."
"Ah, he's crying."
The overconfident elementary school student duelist, having been crushed by Hayato in one turn, ran out of Kame Game Shop crying, holding his deck. Hayato, however, felt no guilt whatsoever about bullying an elementary school student. Instead, he happily collected the 500 DP from the system settlement and conveniently sent the [Morinphen] card dropped by defeating the elementary school student to the shop for decomposition.
Glancing at Yugi, who had fallen into a slump and was muttering to himself things like "Rebecca just developed too early" because of his casual remark, Hayato turned to Grandpa Solomon and said, "Grandpa Solomon, did you specifically take out photos from over forty years ago just to tell us you were very handsome back then too?"
"No, I wasn't trying to show off how handsome, charismatic, and super popular I was when I was young. Hmm, maybe just that little bit." Solomon Muto said, extending two fingers to make a gesture that would make him lose his Korean customers.
Immediately after, Solomon Muto coughed and cleared his throat, putting on a serious expression and saying earnestly, "Yugi, aren't you guys about to set off on a trip?"
Seeing that Grandpa Solomon had brought up serious matters, Yugi also recovered from his dejection and nodded seriously. "Because of the global ocean current fluctuation caused by Dartz earlier, the Industrial Illusions team accidentally salvaged a shipwreck from a thousand years ago. After research by the archaeological team, they discovered it was a ship from an ancient kingdom that seemed to believe in the power of gemstones."
"That kingdom seemed to believe that unlike other minerals, naturally formed gemstones harbored great power, so they regarded seven gemstones as national treasures, and those gemstones happened to be on that ship." Yugi paused, then showed a subtle smile. "However, from the fact that the shipwreck sank to the seabed, we can infer that the final fate of that kingdom after losing the seven gemstones was extinction."
"But that's not important. After Pegasus learned the story of this kingdom, he said he had a lot of creative inspiration and wanted to design a completely new Duel Monsters series based on the seven gemstones he obtained. However, although he had initial inspiration, he didn't have the ability to realize it, so he was thinking of going to Egypt to see if he could find the inspiration to complete it."
As he spoke, Yugi also took out several sheets of paper from a backpack placed beside him. They depicted various kinds of monsters: some were warriors with gemstones embedded in their armor, others were Four Sacred Beasts like Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise with crystal structures on their bodies. However, without exception, all of these were unapproved drafts, sent by Pegasus to Yugi and Hayato.
Designing Duel Monsters cards isn't something that can be completed simply by finishing the image design; the cards must also resonate and receive the spirit's recognition to be completed. Although Pegasus's design drafts had a high degree of completion, the lack of spirit resonance indicated that Pegasus's design wasn't the design that best fit those gemstones.
This wasn't the first time Pegasus had encountered something like this. In the past years, he often encountered this kind of situation where he had the inspiration to design cards but lacked the means to complete them.
Unfortunately, inspiration isn't something you can force. Pegasus racked his brain for a long time but still couldn't come up with a solution, so in the end, he could only helplessly choose to give up. He decided to set off on a trip to relax his mood, hoping that perhaps during the process of traveling, he could find the inspiration to complete the design of this card series.
However, there was another aspect to Pegasus's decision to set off on a trip. Ever since experiencing his soul being sealed and cast into the endless darkness within the Orichalcos God during the Doma Incident, and then being revived, Pegasus discovered that the lingering power of the Millennium Eye that resided within him had disappeared.
Normally, Pegasus might have understood that the lingering power in his left eye had been consumed after such a long time. But the problem was, before that power completely disappeared, Pegasus saw a phantom vision using the sight of his left eye that he didn't possess. In front of the tablet, he saw figures that seemed to be Yugi, Kaiba, and Hayato.
The reason he wasn't certain was that Pegasus could only vaguely see that the three people's faces were indeed almost identical to the appearance of the three people in his memory, but their height, skin color, and even clothing and style were all different.
Pegasus didn't know whether he should believe that "phantom vision," but he at least knew one thing: he had seen the tablet from that "phantom vision" before. It was the very tablet he had accidentally found in Egypt years ago while traveling the world to find a way to revive his lover. It was also at that time that Pegasus obtained the Millennium Eye.
Anyway, it didn't matter where he went first on his world trip. Pegasus decided to go to Egypt first. Perhaps revisiting the place would allow him to gain inspiration by feeling the changes the years had brought to the scenery. He could also take the opportunity to try and find that tablet again and see what his vision was all about.
At the same time, Pegasus also extended an invitation to the three people who appeared in his vision, inviting them to go to Egypt with him to help figure out what was really going on. Then, naturally, Pegasus's invitation to Kaiba was ruthlessly rejected.
"If you dare to waste my precious time again with talk of 'vision,' 'prevision,' and other superstitious nonsense, just wait for my Blue-Eyes to bring down judgment upon you!"
Anyway, that was roughly the meaning. Kaiba seemed to have threatened Pegasus like that at the time. When talking to Hayato, Pegasus's tone was quite helpless, as if he couldn't understand how Kaiba maintained his "superstition" towards science after experiencing so many things.
As for Hayato and Yugi, they accepted Pegasus's invitation and decided to travel abroad to Egypt.
It must be said, the time Pegasus chose was perfectly appropriate, because coincidentally, Domino High School was currently on holiday. Yes, you heard right, although they are Legendary Duelists who can save the world by dueling, Hayato and the others still remembered they were students. How touching.
Alright, to be honest, there's actually nothing to be surprised about. Actually, the time points when major events happened before were basically all during holidays. It just so happened that Yugi and the others didn't have to go to school, so it seemed like they didn't even need to attend school once they started dueling.
Actually, just yesterday, Joey Wheeler was still at school. Because he talked in his sleep during class and shouted, "How can I lose with Red-Eyes Black Dragon riding my face?", he was called up by the teacher and made to stand as punishment for one class period.
In short, unlike a certain Dragon-Obsessed President who dropped out of junior high and went home to inherit the family business, Hayato and the others, being good students, also decided to set off for Egypt during winter break to accompany Pegasus on his trip. And it wasn't just Hayato and Yugi; Joey Wheeler, Tristan, and Téa would also accompany them.
On one aspect, they happened to have enough time for fun during the holiday, and this time Pegasus took the position of Big Spender, covering all expenses for everyone. After all, for Pegasus, money was truly just a mere number now. His biggest pursuit in his life from now on was simply to make Duel Monsters develop better and better, and to be able to design more interesting cards.
And on the other aspect, perhaps because he had witnessed the souls of the Atlanteans from ten thousand years ago return to their homeland, and the ten thousand year old scenery reappear within the ruin of Atlantis City, Dark Yugi made up his mind to set off to search for his lost memory.
For this, Dark Yugi specifically borrowed the Three Egyptian Gods cards from Hayato's hand, and went to the Egyptian Artifact Traveling Exhibition Hall to find the tablet that recorded himself from three thousand years ago and the person who looked similar to Kaiba. He used the power of the Three Egyptian Gods.
Before this, Joey Wheeler and the others thought that once Dark Yugi showed the cards, he might have to separate from everyone. Because of this, they said their solemn goodbyes for a long time. Even the two strong boys, Tristan and Joey Wheeler, had teary eyes, not to mention how sad the emotional Téa was at that time.
However, after raising the Three Egyptian Gods cards towards the tablet, what appeared before Dark Yugi's eyes was not his own memory. Instead, it was a phantom of a tablet. That tablet seemed like it was placed within a palace somewhere, and a human figure was drawn on it, but there were many blanks all over its body.
What Dark Yugi particularly cared about was that the blanks on that tablet, their shapes seemed to coincide coincidentally with several Millennium Items he knew of.
For example, the ring-shaped blank on the human figure's head could fit the Millennium Necklace, the blank on the forehead could fit the Millennium Eye, the blank on the right hand was the appearance of the Millennium Scepter/Staff, the abdomen was the shape of the Millennium Wheel of Wisdom, and there was a triangular blank at the heart's position, which seemed like it was prepared for the Millennium Puzzle.
Aside from the Millennium Items corresponding to the two other "scale"-like blanks and one "Ankh" symbol-like blank, which Dark Yugi had no impression of, most of the blanks on the tablet Dark Yugi could find the corresponding Millennium Items from his memory and fill them in.
Although he didn't know what would happen if he filled in that tablet, since the tablet that recorded the Memory World had given him this guidance, Dark Yugi felt that perhaps he needed to find that tablet and fill in the seven Millennium Items to retrieve his memory.
And coincidentally, Pegasus said he had seen that tablet before and was also going to Egypt to look for it. Although he hadn't gathered all the Millennium Items yet, Yugi felt that he could go find that tablet first to complete one goal.
"It's precisely because you guys are about to set off for Egypt that I wanted to tell you about this matter." Solomon Muto took a deep breath, looked at everyone, and said seriously, "In Egypt, there's one thing you absolutely must pay attention to."
"Whatever you do, don't just find a tour guide randomly on the roadside! You'll get ripped off terribly!"
"So after all that, that's all you wanted to say?!"
Memory World Arc, now proudly serialized!
PS: Revisiting the anime, I realized how incredibly handsome Ji-chan was when he was young. When he first appeared, I almost didn't recognize him.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 670: Grey Tower
"Don't underestimate the experience this old man has accumulated over a lifetime!" Hearing Joey's grumbling, Grandpa Muto immediately retorted and began recounting his experiences from decades ago.
For Joey and the others, who were hearing the story for the first time, the tale of young Grandpa Muto venturing through the tomb's layers of mechanisms with two Grave Robbers was certainly interesting. However, Yugi had heard his Grandpa tell this story countless times since childhood.
Whether it was "using a cigarette butt to test the traps ahead," "ancient Egyptian text that only Grandpa Muto could read appearing in the burning flames," or "stepping forward with his left foot to avoid the attacking stone statues," these details sounded truly outrageous.
Especially the final part of the story: the Grave Robber, thinking there were no more traps, shot Grandpa Muto to steal the treasure after a series of challenges, but instead activated the final trap. A monster sealed in a tablet less than a meter from the treasure swallowed the entire person. The art style instantly shifted from *Indiana Jones* to *The Mummy*.
Even more outrageous was that young Grandpa Muto, who was shot by the Grave Robber at the time, only avoided falling into the cliff by desperately holding onto the edge. However, because he was injured, he was completely unable to climb up and was even continuously losing strength due to blood loss.
But just as Grandpa Muto was about to let go, he was pulled up from the edge of the cliff by a person wearing gold and silver, whose face he couldn't see, in the tomb which should have been empty. The person was also saying something like, "I've been waiting for you, Simon."
However, when Muto lost consciousness and woke up again, he found himself lying safely on the ground alone. The Grave Robber who had died tragically was gone without a trace, and he had arrived alone before the final treasure, bringing that treasure back to Japan, which later became the Millennium Puzzle completed by his Grandson, Yugi.
However, because he didn't complete the challenge by himself in the end, Solomon Muto stopped wearing suits after that and instead put on the denim overalls he had decided on. He buried this obsession with the game in his memories, only naming his Grandson "Yugi" as a commemoration.
"The earlier parts can be explained by saying Duel Monsters already existed in Ancient Egypt, but that last part is just a ghost story Master Muto made up with artistic embellishment to scare us," Joey said assertively, crossing his arms over his chest.
Honda and Téa also nodded beside him.
"I wouldn't make up stories in a place like this, these are all true!" Hearing that Joey and the others didn't believe anything he said, Solomon Muto got a bit sulky like a child and said excitedly, turning to Hayato, "Hey, Hayato, you believe what I said, right?"
Hayato knew that what Grandpa Muto said was indeed true, whether it was the method of breaking through the mechanisms or the miraculous rescue at the end. However, he deliberately said, "Even I, who am simply me, don't believe everything, Grandpa Muto."
"How could you..." Too lazy to even rant about how Hayato was "simply me," Solomon Muto was a bit dejected, sighed, and said helplessly, "In short, over the years, as Duel Monsters has become more and more popular, Egypt, being the origin of Pegasus's inspiration, has seen more and more people trying to get rich through Tomb Robbing. When you go to Egypt, don't just find any Tour Guide like I did."
Hearing this, Tristan gave Solomon Muto a mysterious smile: "Hehe, you don't have to worry about that, Grandpa Muto. We have a Tour Guide who is super familiar with Egypt, and absolutely trustworthy."
Half an hour later, Domino City Airport.
"Lord Marik, please be careful on your journey." With a solemn expression, Rishid handed a large backpack to Marik, carefully instructing, "Besides changes of clothes, I've also prepared a sandproof tent and sunscreen. Also, I put the hemostatic bandage and anti-inflammatory medicine in..."
"There's too much unnecessary stuff, Rishid, and stop nagging like an old mother." Taking the package Rishid handed over with one hand, Marik was almost bent over by the unexpectedly exaggerated weight. He quickly handed the package to the Staff on the Airport ground crew to put the luggage in the Aircraft Cabin, while his other hand remained covering his ears.
"Rishid carefully prepared your luggage for this trip for a long time, Marik. You should at least listen to him," Ishizu stood beside Rishid and naturally noticed that Marik had been covering his ears the whole time, clearly not listening to Rishid.
Hearing Ishizu say that about him, Marik couldn't help but glance at Ishizu: "Before you talk about me, please put your own hand down, Older Sister."
"..." Using silence as an answer, Ishizu pretended not to hear Marik and instructed him, "I've already notified the Tomb Keepers. Although you've been disowned, with the reason of traveling with the Nameless Pharaoh, the Clan won't make things too difficult for you. It's been so many years, it's rare to return to Egypt, go visit the Clan."
"That place, why would I need to go back..." Hearing Ishizu mention this, Marik looked unwilling, "Besides, if we need a guide, aren't Rishid or you, Older Sister, more suitable than me?"
Many years ago, because Marik violated the Tomb Keepers' rule of living in seclusion and ran off to the prosperous city without permission to see the motorcycles he was very interested in, the then Gravekeeper's Family Leader, who was the father of Marik and Ishizu, subjected Marik and Rishid, who was responsible for watching Marik, to extremely severe punishment.
Marik was originally a person with a dark personality. At that time, he had already split into the dark personality "Dark Marik" due to the influence of the Millennium Rod's dark power, only suppressed by Rishid's influence in the past. Upon seeing Rishid wailing in pain and the hideous marks burned onto his skin by hot metal, Marik's dark personality erupted. Using the small knife hidden within the Millennium Rod, he killed his father.
Since then, Marik fled from the Tomb Keepers with Rishid and never returned to Egypt. Within the Tomb Keepers, Marik's identity was abolished due to his crime of patricide. Along with that, Marik also lost the qualification to inherit the Clan Head position, which had to be inherited by the deceased Clan Head's eldest daughter, Ishizu.
At that time, Marik was only eleven years old, and most of his childhood was spent being forced to live within the Tomb Keepers' Tribal Land. He had hardly ever been to the Outside World. Although he knew the interior of the Tomb Keepers' Tribal Land like the back of his hand, knowing where to play hide-and-seek and where to hide things, once he left the Tomb Keepers' Tribal Land, he didn't know the way at all.
Why would he, a traitor of the Tomb Keepers, become the Tour Guide?
In contrast, Ishizu and Rishid were different. Rishid was not originally a member of the Tomb Keepers clan but an orphan abandoned by his parents. He was picked up by Marik's father and brought into the clan, and his status was not that of a formal clan member, merely a servant serving the Tomb Keepers' Clan Head and future Clan Head.
Although the Tomb Keepers have always remained isolated from the World for the sake of the duty and mission they bear, they are still people, not deities. They ultimately have material needs. The exchange of supplies with the Outside World has never been interrupted for a thousand years. The important part of being "isolated from the World" is merely not exposing the specific location of their existence, and servants like Rishid were responsible for bringing supplies from the Outside World.
And Ishizu, ever since Marik and Rishid rebelled against the Tomb Keepers and were disowned, and her father died by her younger brother's knife, Ishizu had to bear the mission of the Tomb Keepers' Clan Head. She lived in Egypt for twenty years until Battle City, when she brought the Obelisk the Tormentor card to Domino City in the Far East.
You should know that Ishizu is different from Marik, who is a wanted criminal, and Rishid, who is an undocumented person without even identity proof. She is a legitimate Egyptian government official, the Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority, and naturally knows how to get to some special places in Egypt.
"You know this, don't you? This time you're going to Egypt through the proper channels, so Rishid can't go back either," Ishizu sighed and said helplessly, "Because of the Egyptian Antiquities Traveling Exhibition, I have to stay in Domino City with those important tablets and mummies. Also, a batch of tablets will be sent back to the country in a couple of days, and then another batch will be sent over. I must stay here."
Although as an official, Ishizu could often use the power of the Egyptian Government for convenience, she was also subject to certain restrictions. After all, even middle school students learn in textbooks that rights and obligations are linked together.
Since Ishizu had said all this, Marik could only nod helplessly and say, "Alright, alright, I'll be the Tour Guide then. But I'll say this first, if it's on the way, I'll go back to the Tribal Land, but if it's not, I won't go back."
As he spoke, Marik smiled somewhat wickedly at Ishizu, "After all, I still have to keep an eye on my Brother-in-law for you—ow!"
Covering his head where Ishizu had lightly tapped him, Marik laughed and ran off, walking up the Boarding Stairs, not forgetting to turn back and say one more thing: "See you in a month, Rishid, and Older Sister!"
"This Kid," watching Marik's figure walk into the Aircraft Cabin and disappear from sight, Ishizu smiled helplessly.
Inside the Aircraft Cabin, Hayato, who had already boarded, sat by a table. He glanced at Marik, who had rushed onto the airplane, but didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he reached out and swiped the tabletop.
Only to see that on the ordinary glass material tabletop, a world map suddenly appeared. And as if it was displaying global information in real-time, countless light points flickered on the unfolded flat map of the Earth. The most conspicuous among them was a red spot located in a remote corner of Asia, representing the location of Domino City. That represented the current location of this airplane.
Hayato's action attracted Tristan's attention. He shifted his gaze from a television broadcasting news inside the Aircraft Cabin and looked towards Hayato, asking, "Although you said Pegasus has arranged everything, I suddenly remembered, didn't the news say the Pacific Ocean is almost completely controlled? Is it okay for our airplane to just fly over?"
The commotion caused by Dartz not long ago was too great, causing government departments in almost every country around the globe to more or less learn how powerful the spirit power, which should have been hidden, was. This resulted in a considerably vast sea area extending outwards from the location of the Doma Headquarters Island—the location where Atlantis sank ten thousand years ago—being controlled by the governments of various countries.
Because that section of the sea area was High Seas, strictly speaking, no country had ownership over it, which led to extremely fierce overt and covert struggles, with everyone wanting to excavate some usable prehistoric heritage from there. For safety reasons, airplanes and cruise ships from countries around the globe had stopped crossing the Pacific Ocean route during this period.
Industrial Illusions' merchant ship was also extremely lucky to accidentally salvage the shipwreck carrying gemstones in an unblocked sea area, allowing Pegasus to pick up a bargain. If it had been slightly further in, it would have been a Blocked Zone, and if it had been slightly further out, it would have left the High Seas again, giving the shipwreck a country of ownership.
"The Pacific Ocean? We're not going through the Pacific Ocean." Hayato smiled and pointed at the map, "Although flying from Domino City to the American system does require crossing the Pacific Ocean, Pegasus doesn't plan to wait in the American system to meet us. He plans to meet up after arriving in Egypt, so this time we're not flying from east to west, but from west to east."
Following the direction of Hayato's finger sliding, a dashed line representing the airplane's route appeared on the electronic map. That line didn't cross the ocean but pointed towards the land. According to the trajectory shown by the dashed line, this airplane was going to fly across almost the entire Asian Continent, finally arriving directly at the Capital City of Cairo, Egypt.
Pegasus, on the other hand, would depart from the American system, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and arrive at the African Continent. By acting separately from both ends and meeting in Cairo, it would be much more efficient than going to the American system first and then to Egypt.
Although Pegasus was traveling to find inspiration, it didn't mean his itinerary was leisurely. By choosing the most efficient method possible for meaningless travel, he could have more ample time to spend during the process of the trip.
Under the gaze of Grandpa Muto, Ishizu and Rishid, Joey's Sister Shizuka, and others at the Airport, the airplane accelerated down the Runway and took off into the air. Inside the Aircraft Cabin, Joey was forcefully squeezing Tristan's shoulder, interrogating him about why he kept waving goodbye to Shizuka when they left.
And looking down at the "Hindenburg" displayed on the electronic map, Hayato couldn't help but rant, "First the S.S. Anne, then the Hindenburg. Do rich people have something wrong with their brains when naming airplanes and airships?"
Oh, it was Pegasus who named it. Then never mind.