Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

But just now, when Hayato said to the soldiers, "Could you also do me a favor, girl who came with me?" the soldiers' response was—

"You mentioned the girl who came with you, but we haven't seen anyone else besides you?"

Chapter 748 You think you can just drop something from the sky and smash it on me?

Hayato finally connected the dots after hearing the soldier's words.

This morning, when we were walking through the market, although Nefertari and I were both making a fuss about avoiding each other, the women in the market only looked at me and didn't pay any attention to Nefertari at all.

The soldiers were the same; they could see Hayato's presence, but they couldn't see Nefertari right next to him, as if she were a ghost that only Hayato could see.

No, it's not just Hayato who can see her; Bakura, or rather, Bakura, who also comes from the modern era, can see Nefertari and has even taken her hostage.

Taking all the factors into account, Hayato discovered that Nefertari's situation was almost identical to that of Yugi and the others, who were also supposed to arrive in the memory world. Because she was not from this era, she did not exist in the memories of this era and therefore could not be seen by the people of this era. Only those who possessed memories related to her could see Nefertari.

The guy who called himself "Pharaoh" before also proved in every way that he was not from this era. More importantly, he knew Nefertari, which made Hayato a little suspicious. Could they be Bakura's helpers in the modern world?

Watching Nefertari's retreating figure, Hayato inexplicably dismissed his suspicions about her. She couldn't possibly be Bakura's subordinate; otherwise, there would have been no reason for her to guide him to the palace on his very first day in this world.

Hayato convinced himself of this, filled with an unconscious trust in Nefertari and unwilling to doubt her.

But that guy who calls himself "Pharaoh" is definitely not a good person. Even if he's not from Bakura, he's certainly not a good guy. Yeah, that's it. In contrast, Hayato's suspicion of "Pharaoh" is deeply rooted, but whether it's partly due to Hayato's own dislike and aversion to him is something only Hayato himself knows.

But Nefertari, who exactly are you...?

Hayato didn't get distracted for too long. After he and Nefertari left the royal city and passed through a residential area outside the city, a vast desert stretched out before them. Because there were no landmarks, Nefertari, who was leading the way, had to slow down considerably and had to stop frequently to adjust their direction.

Even so, because the distance marked on that dubious treasure map was very short, Nefertari soon said to Hayato with an excited look on her face, "We seem to be almost there! The route drawn on the treasure map is almost over up ahead, Meliamon."

As she spoke, Nefertari pointed to a small hill in the distance, "Once we cross that dune, it seems we'll reach the valley depicted on the treasure map."

Hayato glanced at the treasure map and realized it was true; judging from their surroundings, they were indeed close to the final destination marked on the map. However, Hayato also became somewhat curious.

"Speaking of which, Nefertari, where did you get this treasure map?" The treasure location is so close to the starting point, it's so close that anyone who isn't disabled could easily reach the destination. Yet, this treasure map ended up in Nefertari's hands. It's suspicious beyond belief.

Nefertari tilted her head and thought, "A very handsome person at the market gave it to me. He was very good-looking, and his hair was a rare green. Although he looked like a girl, Nefertari could tell at first glance that he was a man!"

Hayato frowned upon hearing Nefertari's words. Could the fact that she could see Nefertari mean she also possessed memories of her? Seriously, another person I need to be wary of has appeared.

These thoughts continued until Hayato followed Nefertari up the sand dune, where he could see a valley crevice not far away, and a traveler dressed as he stood at the edge of the valley.

"Oh, we're finally almost there!" Nefertari exclaimed joyfully, but then she noticed a figure in the distance with its back to them and a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Strange, is this some kind of popular spot? Why are there other people besides us?"

"Huh? Could they be the ones trying to steal our treasure?!"

Seemingly convinced that her sudden thought might be true, Nefertari tugged at Hayato's hand: "We need to hurry, Meliamon! We can't let someone else get the treasure first! I've already decided to use the treasure to buy those things!"

"But you're not even sure if the treasure is money or not," Hayato complained, but he didn't slow down at all. He ran after the anxious Nefertari, rushing down the sand dune and landing on the rocks, getting close to the traveler from behind.

Because Hayato and Nefertari made no attempt to conceal their approach, the traveler with his back to them easily noticed their approach. Without the traveler turning around, Hayato heard him say, "You should have grown up under the skies of Egypt, right? It's strange, why do I sense the aura of a soul from Atlantis emanating from you?"

Atlantis?

Nefertari was bewildered by what the other person said, but Hayato's expression changed drastically when he heard the word "Atlantis": "You bastard, you wouldn't happen to be—?!"

"Do you recognize me, young man? Then my guess was right. You must be a soul that doesn't belong to this era, but comes from a more distant future. Because I sense an aura in you that is very similar to mine, or even that originates from me."

As he spoke, the traveler turned around, lifted his hood, and revealed a rare head of green hair. "As for my name, although I think you might already know it, I'll introduce myself again anyway."

"My name is Darz, a traveler who is currently on a round-the-world trip with the aim of observing human beings."

"Darze!" Hayato immediately shielded Nefertari behind him, watching her warily.

Although he remembered that Dartz had mentioned to him in Doma that he had also visited ancient Egypt three thousand years ago and witnessed the performance of the nameless pharaoh, Hayato never expected that Dartz would actually appear in this world of memories.

Although Hayato remembers that Dartz at this time was also recovering from the Elf War ten thousand years earlier, and was traveling around the world to various ancient countries in order to decide what attitude to take towards humans in the future, although he still had a certain amount of power, it can be said that he was at his weakest state because "Orichalcos" had not yet awakened.

However, Hayato wasn't much better off. Although he awakened his Apophysis with the help of the Millennium Key, and also reawakened the Pokémon of Disruption, Armed Dragon, and VWXYZ, and had Dragonite and Ragnaros at his disposal, even with this lineup, Hayato still wasn't very confident in defeating Dartz again.

The reason is simple: he lacked the Arena Disk, which allowed him to unleash the full power of the spirits in this era. While he could use the spirits' power with cards, it was far less effective than using the stone tablets. This was the rule of this era, or rather, the rule of the "King's Memory": the stone tablets were a more powerful medium for wielding spirit power than the cards, and the Arena Disk was an even more potent tool that amplified that power.

It was for this reason that Hayato used the [Spiritual Exosome] simply as a convenient tool for swatting mosquitoes and opening doors to get things. It wasn't that he didn't want to use it for good, but the [Spiritual Exosome] residing in the card rather than the stone slab could only exert that level of power.

However, if he could return to reality and break free from the rules of the "King's Memory," these rules would no longer be able to restrict Hayato's abilities. But now, even in the world of the "King's Memory," Hayato is still bound by these rules. Without storing his Pokémon in the Slate or having a Battle Disk, he is no match for Dartz, even in his weakest state.

Looking at Dartz's face, Nefertari, who was being protected behind Hayato, was also somewhat surprised: "Huh? Aren't you the one who gave me the treasure map this morning? Why are you here too?"

"Could it be that you memorized the treasure map before giving it to me? Wow, how cunning!"

After a pause, Nefertari thought of a new possibility, "Could this be a trap? Are you lying in wait here for me to bring Melianmon here? You run, Melianmon, I'll hold him off!"

Nefertari struck a fighting pose, rolling up her sleeves in a completely unladylike manner, but Hayato easily broke through her defenses with a single chop to the neck.

Hayato lightly tapped Nefertari on the head and said sarcastically, "Judging from your stance, are you using the legendary 'Rogue Excitement Fist'? Come on, if anyone should be protecting someone, it should be me protecting you as you escape."

As he spoke, he took out several cards from the system's inventory and held them in his hand. Although he couldn't go all out, Hayato wasn't one to give up easily. Even if he knew he was no match, he still had to let his opponent know he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

However, although Hayato looked at her warily, Dartz smiled and said kindly, "No, I'm not setting a trap for you. I told you, little girl, that this is just a map to get to the designated location."

"However, it seems you've completely forgotten that, little girl."

Upon hearing Dartz's words, Hayato turned to look at Nefertari, his eyes seeming to ask her, "Didn't you say this was a treasure map?" Nefertari simply stuck out her tongue playfully, getting away with it with her cuteness.

Dartz looked Hayato up and down, then nodded almost imperceptibly, looking quite satisfied: "So, can you tell me if my guess was correct? You really are from the future, aren't you?"

Hayato glanced at Dartz, but didn't answer directly. After a moment's thought, he took out a card from the storage room and casually tossed it to Dartz: "For this kind of question, you can just look at this yourself."

The card Hayato threw to Dartz was the "Orichalcos Barrier," a card that had been useless since Hayato left Doma. Nothing could better illustrate the connection between Hayato and Dartz in the future.

Dartz caught the flying card, glanced at it, and showed an interested expression: "This is, [Orichalcos]? I actually made such a decision after completing my study of humanity. It's quite unexpected, considering that I've been able to accept human development so far."

“However, the future this thing belongs to seems to be even more distant than I expected.” Holding the card made by the International Illusion Society using black technology—it’s made of paper but has an excessively high strength when necessary—Dartz frowned. “My body feels like it’s from at most a dozen years into the future, but the material of this card would require at least three thousand years of development for humanity to achieve.”

Dartz's words left Hayato somewhat confused: "Ten years, three thousand years? Are you perhaps too old and your eyes are failing you, Dartz?"

“I have a long life ahead of me, you should know that better than anyone else, right? Your name is ‘Hayato’, right?” Dartz spread his hands innocently. “I can see very clearly that your body, like the little girl next to you, is clearly from the future, about a dozen years from now. But I’m absolutely certain that I can’t be wrong about your unique, shining soul.”

"Such a pure and flawless soul, I will never forget it once I see it. It must come from three thousand years in the future."

Although Dartz's words still gave Hayato a gay feeling as always, he was so certain that Hayato couldn't help but believe him a little and looked down at his hands.

Is my physical body in the world of "King's Memory" not from this era, but from more than ten years in the future, just like my soul?

Hayato had been wondering for a while. Unlike Yami Yugi, who was an unnamed pharaoh, and Bakura, who could possess the thief Bakura, Hayato himself should have had no identity to claim three thousand years ago. He should have descended in his original form, just like the others who joined later.

However, she found herself inside the body of an eight-year-old child, and according to Dartz, this eight-year-old child and Nefertari, who had always been by her side, were actually "future people" from more than ten years in the future.

What's going on here?

Wait, could it be that—

Hayato suddenly remembered that the guy who called himself Pharaoh had a face exactly like his own. Was it possible that the guy was actually this eight-year-old boy named Meliamon? And that he was born in the future and truly became Pharaoh?

However, Hayato's limited historical knowledge meant he couldn't recall which dynasty, which year, or which pharaoh was named Meliamon. But he vaguely remembered that when he was visiting a museum with Isis, she seemed to have casually mentioned that "Meliamon" was another name for that pharaoh when they passed by an exhibited mummy.

Hayato couldn't help but feel annoyed that he had been so focused on Isis's Duel Disk being so white and the monsters in her deck having such high attack power that he hadn't remembered who that arrogant Pharaoh was.

"Forget it, there's no need to figure this out." Hayato didn't care much about it. Even if he knew that the owner of this body was likely that arrogant "Pharaoh," so what? He used it, so what? Did he have to apologize to the other party?

If you're so capable, why don't you drop a brick from the sky and kill me?

Just as Hayato was thinking this, he heard a scream suddenly rang out from above: "People down below, get out of the way! You're going to get hit!"

Hayato jerked his head up and saw several dark figures descending from the sky. Only one thought flashed through his mind:

Holy crap, it's really going to fall down and kill me!?

Chapter 749 Da·Interstellar Han Zong·Zi

Fortunately, Hayato reacted quickly. Although he hadn't seen clearly what was falling rapidly from the sky, he grabbed Nefertari beside him and ran away as soon as he noticed it to avoid being hit.

As for Dartz, he probably won't be hurt even if he gets hit, right?

However, Darz was quite lucky. The dark shadow that fell from the sky did not hit the spot where it was, but landed a little short of it, splashing up a lot of sand and dirt.

Then, several familiar voices of Hayato came from within.

"Huh? It doesn't hurt at all? Are we already dead?"

"That's because you were sitting on my back, you idiot Jonouchi!"

"Xingzi, how are you?"

"It's okay, Honda and Jonouchi are underneath me."

"If you know, then get out of here right now!" "Yeah, it's so heavy!"

"Huh? Are you two saying I'm heavy?!"

After the dust settled in the wind, Hayato saw Kyoko, who was grabbing Jonouchi and Honda by the collar and throwing a tantrum, and Yugi and the other two trying to mediate.

Although it appears to be an argument, the lack of seriousness on the part of those trying to mediate suggests that it's more of a playful squabble than a real fight. As everyone knows, Superman's nickname is "Little Jonouchi," and Ultraman's is "Little Honda." In a real fight, Kyoko would be no match for Jonouchi and Honda.

After the dust settled and the surrounding environment was revealed, Jonouchi noticed Hayato standing nearby and quickly turned his attention to greet him, saying, "Hey, Hayato? Great, we've finally found you!"

As they were talking, Jonouchi seemingly slipped away from Kyoko's grasp unintentionally, and Honda followed suit, escaping as well. Kyoko pursed her lips, said nothing, and greeted Hayato as well.

"Jonnouchi, Honda, Kyoko, Yugi, have you all come to this world too?"

Hearing Hayato's words, Honda couldn't help but complain, "After that stone slab was activated in another game, Hayato and Bakura suddenly collapsed together, which startled us. Next time something like this happens, at least tell us beforehand."

"It happened so suddenly, it happened so suddenly," Hayato said with a forced laugh, but he was just saying that. Bakura's schemes against Yami Yugi were carried out in secret, like this time, with his intentions hidden and his attacks unprepared. Hayato was able to barely outmaneuver Bakura, but if he told others, it would introduce new complications.

However, he was also somewhat curious. Although in the original timeline, the game characters would also enter the world of the King's Memory like this, he remembered that it was only done with the help of "Millennium Director" Shady and by using the power of the [Millennium Key].

But before that, Shadi inexplicably approached him and handed over the [Millennium Key]. And while his real body was unconscious, how did the game and the others enter the world of the King's Memory?

Before Hayato could ask, Jonouchi spoke up, "After you fell, Hayato, for some reason, the Millennium Key you were carrying started to glow. Then the Millennium Scepter, the Millennium Jewelry, and the Millennium Wisdom Wheel all seemed to resonate as if they were activated. Malik said that it seemed that the Millennium Artifacts had connected with each other and opened a passage that could lead into that stone slab."

“Because we felt that we couldn’t let Hayato fight his other game alone, we all decided to come in and help you.” Kyoko paused, then continued, “However, just in case we were attacked, Malik stayed outside to take care of us.”

"Yeah, that's about it. It took us a long time to find the exit in the maze inside the Millennium Puzzle, and then we found ourselves in this world. The game says this is probably ancient Egypt from three thousand years ago, in another game?"

“Although it’s three thousand years ago, I can give you a little advice as someone who’s been there. We can still see quite a few familiar faces here. For example, there’s one right behind you. Don’t be too surprised when you turn around.” Hayato nodded in agreement after hearing Jonouchi’s words, but then reminded the others.

Jonouchi raised an eyebrow and casually waved his hand: "Your joke is too fake, Hayato. How could we possibly run into someone we know here, and so coincidentally right next to us—Darts!"

Turning around, Jonouchi saw a sour face. Dartz looked at the four of them with disgust and a look of disdain, as if he had just stepped in dog poop. To be precise, his gaze was mainly fixed on Yugi and Jonouchi.

"You lot have a stench that I absolutely loathe. Are you chosen by the 'Legendary Dragon'?" Dartz asked with a sullen face. "How persistent are those guys that they were resurrected in the distant future?"

"Dartz!"

Upon spotting Dartz, Yugi and Jonouchi immediately stepped in front of Honda and Kyoko, their faces showing alarm. They reached for their card drawers at their waists and simultaneously raised their left arms to activate their Duel Disks.