Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Seeing the changes in Fanny Valentine after obtaining the Millennium Key, Hayato couldn't help but say something, his tone full of surprise. However, his expression was quite uncooperative, a calm demeanor that made his words seem extremely affected.

Anyone who has had enough contact with Hayato and understands his personality can see that he's clearly being sarcastic and sarcastic towards Fanny Valentine, and that the theft of the Millennium Key was entirely part of his plan. However, there is one person who actually took Hayato's words seriously.

"Eh!? Is something terrible about to happen!?" Bakura looked anxious. "Hayato-kun, use your invincible brain to think of a solution!"

"It's too late, Bakura. Why don't you stay and die to buy us some time? It's better for one of us to die than for us all to be wiped out."

"No, no! How can you expect me to die right from the start, Hayato-kun?"

Listening to Hayato and Bakura's conversation, Malik pouted helplessly: "Brother-in-law, even I can't stand it anymore. Why are you teasing an idiot? He's already an idiot, and you're still teasing him."

Seeing that Malik, like Hayato, wasn't worried at all about what Fanny Valentine, whose appearance had drastically changed after obtaining the Millennium Key—almost like a different person from a parallel world—would do to the group, Honda felt relieved, but still scratched his head with some confusion:

"Even I, who don't possess any supernatural powers, can tell that this guy named Valentine has obtained immense power from the Millennium Key. Is it really a good idea to just leave him like this?"

Hearing Honda's words, Malik smiled and said nonchalantly, "Hmph, you've come to the right person, Honda. No one knows more about the Millennium Items than me. Although their abilities differ and there is only slight overlap in some areas, there is one common characteristic among the Millennium Items."

"The Millennium Artifact selects qualified users. Those who lack talent will not receive a response from the Millennium Artifact, and those with limited talent will find it difficult to reach the lower limit of the Millennium Artifact even if they exhaust their lives."

Malik's reminder brought back memories of the setting they had heard in the world of Memory of the King: "Anyone who is not qualified will suffer the backlash of the power of the Millennium Item and be destroyed if they even touch it!"

"But that Fanny Valentine doesn't look like he's about to be annihilated at all, does he? He's more like he's just overexcited." Kyoko said, looking at Fanny Valentine, who was intoxicated by the power of the [Millennium Key] and whose golden "Eye of Ugato" on his forehead was becoming brighter and brighter.

"Speaking of which, I seem to have lost control like this before. Once was when Mr. Shadi forcibly bestowed the 'Millennium Eye' upon me in Egypt, and another time was when I absorbed too much dark power in the Duel Kingdom, causing the 'Millennium Eye' to go berserk and go out of control. Moreover, this is the first time I've heard of such a setting. Did Mr. Shadi actually want me to die back then?"

Looking at Fanny Valentine, Pegasus couldn't help but recall unpleasant memories. He also found it difficult to remain calm when he first learned that "those who are not qualified to touch the Millennium Item will die." He couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that he hadn't died on the spot.

However, although Pegasus is usually unreliable and like a mischievous child, he is still an adult and he is quite quick to accept reality. Looking at Fanny Valentine, he said to Kyoko, "But don't pay attention to those external illusions, Miss Kyoko. The more inflated the power seems, the more it means that the bubble is about to burst."

Listening to the group's unreserved conversation, Fanny Valentine didn't care what they were saying at all. He clenched his fist, feeling the powerful force within.

“Unparalleled exhilaration, I’m almost ready to burst into song.” As he spoke, Fanny Valentine stared straight at Hayato and said, “You just said I was next? Taking your Millennium Key is what you call a ‘move’ in the game, and also the defeat of the one who is ‘one move behind’ in the game.”

"Hayato Kobayashi, this passage describes you, not me! Looks like you've made a mistake! You're the next one to suffer, because you actually dared to kick God!"

"God? You've lost your mind, blinded by power, arrogantly calling yourself 'God'?" Hayato looked at Fanny Valentine and said contemptuously, "And instead of trying to use the power you've gained to escape with the fallen Exor O'Brien, you're coming towards me?"

“That lowly pauper? Why would I take that good-for-nothing with me? There’s no need!” Fanny Valentine said smugly, feeling confident of victory. “Do you think that as the employer, I could have stayed out of it and waited for him to bring me what he needed, instead of coming here and risking my life?”

"From the very beginning, I had no intention of engaging in equal negotiations or 'dealing' with that lowly pauper. Instead, I was planning to take advantage of the situation here and kill him!"

As he spoke, Fanny Valentine pulled a handgun from his clothes. As an American, it was perfectly reasonable for him to carry a gun at all times.

Fanny Valentine's gaze was fixed intently on Hayato, his eyes burning with desire: "I can sense that it's not just the Millennium Key, but also that starfish-headed brat Yugi Muto, who possesses other sources of immense power—the so-called Millennium Items, the same type as the Millennium Key, right?"

"I will take those things away and make them mine, so that eternal happiness will surround me and I will reject all misfortune!"

Without thinking, Fanny Valentine raised his hand to point at Hayato, but as soon as he raised his hand, he saw a change starting from his palm on the arm that held the Millennium Key.

Previously, the fat arm had been transformed into a more muscular and powerful body due to the power of the [Millennium Key], which altered the mind. However, at this moment, the arm, which was well-proportioned and not overly muscular, was visibly twisting in a strange spiral shape, and the skin in the twisted area was aging rapidly!

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. But as the spiral twisted and turned, Fanny Valentine could feel that the area it passed through was beneath the aging surface, bones, blood vessels, nerves, blood, cells, and so on. Everything in his body seemed to be spinning, and under the twisting, his body began to disintegrate!

"W-What's going on?! Why is my body starting to spin?!"

Seeing Fanny Valentine screaming in panic, Hayato calmly said, "Don't you remember what I just said? Or are you so stupid that you wouldn't realize it unless I pointed it out directly? I did say that the Millennium Key has the ability to manipulate people's minds like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle."

"The physical body changes with the mind's perception. Your body has become thinner under the power of the [Millennium Key], and naturally, the same principle can be used to make your body collapse."

Fanny Valentine glared at Hayato with a ferocious expression: "You bastard, was it you who tampered with the Millennium Key? How could you so easily commit such a despicable act? Was my attempt to steal the Millennium Key part of your plan?!"

"I won't let you get away with this, Hayato Kobayashi!" As his body began to rotate, Fanny Valentine's majority of his body aged and disintegrated, falling to the ground and merging downwards. He roared at Hayato with resentment, "I will absolutely not let you get away with this, Honoré—"

Before he could even finish his final curse, Fanny Valentine vanished from the world for trying to seize the power of the Millennium Key. The Millennium Key, which had just killed him, fell to the ground with a "clink" sound, now that it was no longer held.

Hayato didn't care how dangerous the Millennium Key was, which could easily kill and take lives. He bent down and picked it up from the ground, checking if it had been bumped, chipped, or deformed.

"Although this is the result, I originally only wanted to punish this guy by making him perform like a circus clown for a whole day." Putting away the Millennium Key, Hayato said helplessly, "Blame your own name, which makes me subconsciously think of an ending that matches that name, and also your greedy heart that can't see your own abilities."

Although Hayato said this, Malik behind him didn't quite believe Hayato's words and said with a grin, "Although you say that, brother-in-law, I don't believe you didn't notice his movements. In fact, you could have directly used the power of the Millennium Key, but you insisted on reaching out to let the Millennium Key get close."

“From the very beginning, you were clearly prepared for the traps that would be triggered when he stole the Millennium Key.”

"That's impossible. I, Hayato Kobayashi, have always been upright and honest, and I would never do anything so underhanded as to scheme against others." Even after Malik said that, Hayato still maintained a calm expression. "I really didn't react to his actions."

"Really? When I used the Millennium Scepter to control that mercenary's movements, he was so fast. Your statement is really hard to believe, brother-in-law."

While watching Fanny Valentine be wiped from the world, his last traces erased, and Yugi, who had already returned to his body when Hayato's duel ended, inevitably evoked some feelings, but not too many.

It wasn't that he was cold-blooded. As Hayato said, it was Fanny Valentine who attacked them first and embarked on a path to death. If he hadn't been greedy and tried to steal the Millennium Key, he wouldn't have died. If anyone is to blame, it's really just his greed.

Furthermore, Fanny Valentine's performance was simply unacceptable in the game's eyes. First, he refused the duel and let Exor O'Brien duel in his place. After Exor displayed an impressive and captivating will to the duelist, he relentlessly mocked Exor, who had lost the duel. Finally, after obtaining the Millennium Key, he became completely arrogant and self-important, almost saying something like, "Hayato Kobayashi, I have become a god."

Even the relatively mild-mannered Yugi looked down on Fanny Valentine, let alone Atem from Millennium Puzzle. Although he had regained his lost name and all his memories, his personality wouldn't drastically change, but his way of thinking was still somewhat influenced by the memories of those ten years or so three thousand years ago. As for someone like Fanny Valentine, he didn't think Hayato's handling of him was wrong at all.

There was one thing that Atem and the game were somewhat concerned about—

Lifting the Millennium Puzzle from his chest, the golden inverted pyramid and the silver chain swayed before Yugi's eyes. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Is Fanny Valentine simply too greedy, or is the power of the Millennium Item too easily arousing desire?"

Even Atum from Millennium Puzzle couldn't give the game a suitable answer to this question.

Power itself is neither good nor bad; only the perspective of the person wielding it determines where it can be used. This is the case with the power of the Millennium Items. Three thousand years ago, the Millennium Items helped Atem's nation pacify its surroundings and bring peace. However, it was also the Millennium Items that caused the Dark High Priest, Akhenate, to launch a devastating rebellion.

In the modern era, the power of the Millennium Items helped Yugi achieve his wish—to gain friends and assist them in overcoming numerous challenges, including defeating Dartz, who intended to destroy all of humanity and create a new world, thus saving the world. However, at the same time, as Isis had prophesied, the three "dark" Millennium Items—the Millennium Eye, the Millennium Scepter, and the Millennium Wheel of Wisdom—also stood in opposition to them, posing a significant threat.

Oh, the Millennium Wisdom Wheel doesn't count, and Hayato's trip to Dorma doesn't count either. How can you say he betrayed the Duel King? The fact that he joined Dorma has already been dismissed by the Proclaimer of Light.

The game didn't expect any responses from others; it was truly just him talking to himself. But then, a male voice suddenly answered his question:

"Both are true. Humans are not perfect and have excessively strong desires. At the same time, it is an undeniable fact that the Millennium Items have an irresistible allure for humans. The vessel of the Pharaoh."

Looking towards the sound, a man dressed in an Egyptian-style white robe and with white and blue hairpins wrapped around his head slowly walked out from around the corner not far away, as if he had been waiting for a long time. In his hands, he held a golden scale to his chest.

Shadi stared blankly at the game and said calmly, "So, I'm here to help you seal the Millennium Artifact forever, as long as the Pharaoh returns to the Underworld."

Chapter 838 Avoid the Sharp Edge and Temporarily Yield

"Shada?" Hayato looked at Shadi, who had suddenly appeared there. He mistook Shadi for the priest Shada from three thousand years ago because of the identical face, but when he noticed the unfocused eyes, he recognized the other person's identity. "No, it's Shadi."

Why are you here?

"Hello, Hayato Kobayashi." Nodding to Hayato, Shadi said in a serious tone, "Like the Ishdar clan, I, Shadi Shin, as a descendant of another tomb-guarding clan, have always stood on the side of the Pharaoh. My presence here is naturally to help the Pharaoh's soul, which is still residing in the Millennium Puzzle."

"The mission of the Ishdar clan is to await the Pharaoh's soul to return to the mortal realm three thousand years later, and to help him regain his lost memories and name; conversely, the mission of my clan is the opposite: to help the Pharaoh seal the [Millennium Artifact] and send his soul to the underworld—"

"Since you suddenly appeared just now, what kind of nonsense have you been spouting, you bald man!"

Shadi was interrupted halfway through his sentence by Jonouchi, who glared at him with obvious displeasure. "What you're saying is 'returning to the underworld.' To put it bluntly, isn't it just about making Atum, who finally managed to find his name again, die?"

"Don't think that just because you helped us before, we won't do anything to you, Shadi."

Honda stood next to Jonouchi, cracking the knuckles of his other clenched fist. The two, who considered themselves invincible "Domino City Fighting Kings," had suffered defeats in fights more than once, but when it came to a real fight, they were fearless.

Previously, Atem and Hayato were taken into the world of the King's Memory by Dark Bakura and dragged into the Dark Game. The four people who remained outside, Yugi, Jonouchi, Kyoko, and Honda, were brought into the world of the King's Memory because the Millennium Items suddenly shone and resonated together. The Millennium Key, which shone first, was given to Hayato by Shadi beforehand.

So it's not wrong to say that Shadi did help the group before, but that alone is not enough for Jonouchi and the others to forgive Shadi for saying that Atum should "die." Even Kyoko looked at Shadi with a hostile expression.

“Although I haven’t been to the Underworld, that kind of place can’t be any better. Even if you include the time three thousand years ago, the other me was only twenty years old.” Game took a deep breath and looked at Shadi. “Moreover, during that time, he didn’t even have enough time to live for himself. He finally regained his name, he shouldn’t have to leave again so soon!”

“But this is the Pharaoh’s fate, the vessel for the Pharaoh’s soul—Yugi Muto.” Shadi stared at Yugi with unfocused eyes. “He is not a soul belonging to this era. The era he belonged to, and all the people he knew, have vanished into time. This era has no vessel to hold his soul, not even you.”

But facing Shadi's gaze, Yugi said without backing down, "My name is Yugi Muto! And my other self already has a name, Atum!"

Pegasus didn't interrupt, but instead glanced at Malik, who was also standing aside watching the show and hadn't gotten involved, and asked, "The world where the Tomb Keepers have existed must have been over three thousand years ago, right, Malik boy? Even ancient Egypt has disappeared. What makes the Tomb Keepers so dedicated to their mission?"

“I don’t know, I’ve never thought about that.” Malik said nonchalantly, as he had always been indifferent to such matters. “Although I do come from the Tomb Keeper clan, and my father, Gab Ishdar, was the former patriarch of the Ishdar clan, don’t forget that I left the Ishdar clan long ago. I am Malik, simply Malik.”

"The matter of the Tomb Keepers has nothing to do with me. Even before I left the Ishdar clan, I was always a maverick who didn't want to be bound by a mere clan. I'm not like my sister, and even Rishid is more like a member of the Tomb Keepers than I am."

Looking casually at the group confronting Shadi, Malik said, "But if I had to say, it would probably be what is called 'fate.' Most people only have the ability to follow the guidance of fate and drift along with the tide. No matter how much their abilities increase, they can only create bigger waves in the tide of fate, but they still cannot escape it. Even my sister Isis is the same in this regard."

"Isn't it ridiculous? Despite possessing the Millennium Jewelry, which can reveal the future and almost transcend fate, Isis, who has the strongest talent in history, can only see a fixed future from the Millennium Jewelry. She is still a slave to fate, only able to follow the fate of her clan and unable to control her own direction."

“Fate… I tried to find a way to change it, but I met Mr. Shadi in Egypt many years ago and got lost in the tide of fate.” Pegasus smiled when he heard Malik’s words and looked at Hayato and Yugi. “However, just when my fate was about to end, I was pulled out of the whirlpool.”

"Kohayashi Hayato is the man who can become my brother-in-law. Unlike most people, he is the sun on the sea of ​​destiny. Even the waves that carry countless people forward cannot force him to change his trajectory. In fact, my sister, Lishid, and I were all freed from our own fates because of his sun-like gravitational pull."

Malik sighed, then put on a spectator's expression, "If my brother-in-law weren't here, Shadi might have succeeded in getting the Pharaoh's soul back to the underworld, but now he has no chance of persuading the Pharaoh's soul at all."

"Shall I send my soul back to the underworld?" Because Shadi's purpose involved him, Atum also switched bodies with Yugi and came to the outside world, looking at Shadi before him. Looking at the other's face, Atum, like Hayato, felt that the other person was remarkably similar to Shadi.

However, it was only that appearance. Shadi always gave Atum the feeling that he was a kind of "controller" who stood outside of this world, looking down on it from a high place, and that he was always trying to arrange things, which made Atum very uncomfortable. This was completely different from the Shada he knew.

“Indeed, my Pharaoh.” Shadi also noticed the change in the game and knew that Atum had appeared. He said respectfully, “First of all, as a descendant of the tomb-guarding clan who is loyal to you, Pharaoh, I, Shadi Shin, congratulate you on finally regaining your lost and important name.”

"Furthermore, I must inform you that as long as the [Millennium Artifact] continues to exist in the world, it will inevitably exert a deadly temptation on humanity due to its powerful dark energy. This greed will only cause humanity to gradually deviate from the path of progress and stray onto the wrong path."

After a pause, Shadi stepped aside slightly and pointed to the spot where Fanny Valentine had disappeared. "Such an end is not the first time in the three thousand years since the Millennium Artifacts have existed. And as long as the Millennium Artifacts do not disappear, the same fate will be repeated countless times."

Hayato crossed his arms and looked at Shadi, saying, "The Millennium Artifacts are difficult to destroy because they are products of dark alchemy. So, do you mean that if Atum doesn't seal them away, all the bloodshed and hatred they bring will be blamed on him?"

"I had absolutely no such intention."

Xia Di quickly denied it, saying that his purpose was to guide the Pharaoh's soul back to the underworld, not to put a big fuss on it. He didn't think that moral blackmail would work on a soul from three thousand years ago, and besides, he disdained to use it.

“Pharaoh, you must have experienced enough in your years in the modern world. The best example is the Atlantean emperor, Dartz, whom you defeated not long ago with the help of Hayato Kobayashi, Seto Kaiba, and others.”

Ignoring the angry shouts from Jonouchi behind him, who was being held back by Honda, "Who are you calling 'waiting for someone,' you bald guy?" Shadi spoke earnestly to Atum, "The Atlanteans have lost their way and strayed from their path due to the allure of the power of Orichalcos. The Millennium Items are now serving the purpose of Orichalcos. Pursuing its power will only lead humanity down the path to destruction."

"The darkness of humanity continues to expand to this day and must be contained before it reaches the brink of explosion. This is for the sake of salvation, my Pharaoh."

As he spoke, Shadi pointed at Pegasus, gesturing for Atum to look in his direction.

Upon hearing Shadi's words, Pegasus instinctively raised his hand, his fingers threading through the silver hair that hung down and covered half of his face, and touched his left eye. That was the prosthetic eye he had created to fill the void in his left eye, matching the design of the "Millennium Eye." Because of the inherent properties of metal, and because Pegasus was not short of money, he chose gold to make it.

The person Shadi was referring to as "pursuing power" was none other than him. Back then, because of the death of his lover Cynthia, Pegasus embarked on a journey around the world, his goal being to find places with legends of mysterious powers, from the Nazca Plain in South America to temples in the Himalayas, searching for a way to resurrect his lover.

Having glimpsed Shadi in Egypt, who caused crowds to unconsciously retreat, Pegasus followed him to a temple where Shadi was guarding, where stone slabs were placed. As a result, Shadi forcibly granted Pegasus the "Millennium Eye".

He once thought that losing his left eye and the impact of the dark power of the "Millennium Eye" might be the greatest test he had ever endured. But now it seems that he was just incredibly lucky not to have died like Fanny Valentine.

Seeing that Shadi was still trying to persuade Atum, Hayato interrupted him, saying, "That's enough, Shadi Shin. Although you say you won't use moral blackmail, aren't you still trying to sway Atum?"

"Just because the desire for power is harmful, you want to erase the existence of power? If the seahorse heard you say that here, it would laugh its head off. If you said that in a gym, it would get you pinned down on dumbbells and beaten."

Hayato walked slowly toward Shadi, saying as he went, "I'm not going to waste my breath on you. The fate of humanity isn't something you can change just because you want to. You arrogantly think you can control the future? Do you think you're some kind of god?"

"What's wrong with yearning for power? Those who have gone astray are merely isolated cases of insufficient self-awareness. If you don't believe this and generalize from a single instance, then come and try to defeat me, who has also been 'lost' by power!"

Suddenly, a spirit emerged from the Gaia card that Hayato had thrown out earlier and hadn't yet retrieved. Gaia, wielding a lance, attacked Shadi, startling him so much that he quickly took two steps back to dodge. The lance pierced the wall, narrowly missing Shadi's head.

"Hayato Kobayashi, what are you doing!" Shady asked Hayato nervously.

I am standing on the side of righteousness, for the fate of the world, for the salvation of all mankind. Even if it is Kobayashi Hayato, you can't stop me!

Shadi had intended to say that, but facing the menacing Hayato, he couldn't help but recall the time when he tried to probe Hayato's heart with the Millennium Key during the Duel City. Even today, recalling that time still filled Shadi with fear.