Chapter 310
As the Duel ended, before Isono, the referee, could even announce the winner or loser, the Punishment of the Dark Game arrived as expected. If only justice could be as timely.
A sound like shattering glass suddenly rang out. Marik, who had just been in pain, violently pulled the [Millennium Rod] that was plunged into his chest. Although the wound on his chest was bleeding profusely, he didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he raised the [Millennium Rod] above his head: "You are not the only one with two souls, Nameless Pharaoh!"
"You probably don't know, Pharaoh? There are two souls named 'Marik'!"
"As the price for me losing the Duel, I'll let my Normal Marik take my place and be swallowed by the darkness. Consider it payment for using my body for so long! Thank you so much, my other cowardly self!"
The "Eye of Wekjat" at the tip of the [Millennium Rod] in Marik's hand lit up. In the light, Yugi discovered that there was another Marik within it? Marik, by using the failure of this Duel, had actually voluntarily stripped Normal Marik from his body, intending to completely seize control of the body!
Normally, the Dark Game, which is said to uphold fairness and justice but is actually rigid, cannot achieve "using someone else as a substitute."
In a Dark Game, the basis for the rules' designation is not the physical appearance of the body, but the "True Name" of the soul. Just like Normal Yugi and Pharaoh, although they use the same body, they are essentially two different people in terms of soul. If Pharaoh lost in a Dark Game, he couldn't use Normal Yugi as a scapegoat.
Of course, Dark Game Cards with special rules, like [Orichalcos] and [Gate of the Phantom], are not within the scope of conventional thinking. The former can use any soul as a scapegoat and can even be revoked, while the latter can even forcibly bind and drag others in for a "Defense Summon."
However, Marik was a genuine exception. Yugi and Pharaoh are different souls manifested as dual personalities, but both Dark Marik and the Normal Marik he stripped from his body are "Marik" himself.
Even strict laws can occasionally have loopholes found. The rules of the Dark Game only recognized "Marik." It wouldn't care whether the one swallowed by darkness was Dark Marik, who made the contract, or Normal Marik, who was completely unaware of the current situation.
With his mouth stretched all the way to his ears, Marik's ghastly expression made his entire face look visually stretched due to the excessive force. His muscles were tense, and veins bulged on his face. He truly lived up to his title as the first King of Facial Expressions.
"Ugh, ahhhhh!" Completely unaware of the current situation, with his memory still stuck before the Duel City Top 8 was decided, Normal Marik groaned in suppressed pain. His entire soul body was wrapped in darkness, as if being flushed down a toilet, sucked into infinite darkness.
"Hah, that feels so good, this feeling of having the body completely under my control." Watching the black hole that appeared in mid-air mercilessly swallow the soul of Normal Marik, temporarily residing at the tip of the [Millennium Rod], Dark Marik laughed loudly, even spreading his arms.
Whether it was the expression on his face or his cheerful actions at the moment, Marik acted as if he had just won the Duel. He looked towards Yugi with a sinister grin: "Thank you so much, Nameless Pharaoh. Indeed, without complete freedom, there is no freedom at all. Now that I have no burdens, I am completely free!"
Saying that, the expression on his face turned somewhat gloomy: "This time, I'll temporarily give [Slifer the Sky Dragon] to you, but I'll take it back soon!"
Although extremely resistant internally, the card betting rule held by Kaiba was also written into the contents of this Dark Game. Marik had to throw the [Slifer the Sky Dragon] card, which was on the field and not returned to his Deck, towards Yugi, who caught it.
Leaving behind a harsh remark, Marik left the Sky Duel Arena without looking back. He didn't linger outside the airship either, heading straight into the airship cabin.
"That guy, he sure ran off fast." Hayato watched Marik's figure disappear, and snorted coldly. Turning his head, he noticed Ishizu's absentmindedness.
"Marik, he..." Although neither Normal Marik nor Dark Marik were good people and had done many unforgivable things, he was still her younger brother after all. Witnessing Normal Marik being tricked and abandoned by his other personality and falling into darkness, Ishizu's mood was quite depressed.
Hayato saw the reason for Ishizu's low mood but didn't comfort her. Instead, he showed a smile: "Don't be so sad yet, Ishizu. Haven't you noticed something since just now?"
"Hmm?"
Ishizu turned her head to look at Hayato with some confusion.
Hayato raised his hand and pointed to his chest. It was only when Hayato pointed it out that Ishizu realized that the [Millennium Ring] that usually hung on Hayato's chest was gone?!
Just then, amidst Isono's judgment announcement, Yugi also returned to the audience seats. As he walked towards Hayato, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the [Millennium Ring] that had disappeared from Hayato.
"[Millennium Ring]?"
Under Ishizu's gaze, Hayato took the [Millennium Ring] from Yugi's hand. Yugi said: "Marik's choice was completely predicted by you, Hayato. Both playing the life-threatening Dark Game and using his other self as a scapegoat after losing the Duel."
"There's an idiom called 'substituting a plum tree for a peach tree'. Dark Marik has already done something like 'a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest'. It's not impossible for him to do something like sending his other personality to die." Hayato didn't mention that in the original timeline, Marik even directly dragged out the souls of Normal Yugi and Normal Marik and put them on display for a Dark Game. "That Six-Year-Old's thoughts are just too easy to guess."
"For freedom, he didn't even hesitate to try every means to put Rishid to death through others. What's getting rid of Normal Marik's personality, who might take back control of the body just like he seized control, compared to that?"
While speaking, Hayato put the [Millennium Ring] back on his chest. His finger gently tapped the "Eye of Wekjat" in the center, and a faint golden light flowed on it.
Yugi looked at the [Millennium Ring] with a complicated expression. Ishizu had already explained the Three Millennium Items of Good and the Three Millennium Items of Evil to him. But now it seemed that although Ishizu said the [Millennium Ring] was the darkest [Millennium Item], even more evil than the [Millennium Eye] and [Millennium Rod], ultimately, an item still depends on who the user is.
As for Ishizu's prophecy that "the users of the Three Millennium Items of Evil will successively oppose the soul of the Nameless Pharaoh wandering the world," he didn't take it to heart.
"Marik trying to defeat Yugi with a Dark Game, he's on the first floor. Yugi counter-defeating Marik, Yugi is on the second floor. Marik using the Dark Game to strip away another personality, he's on the third floor. But unfortunately, I'm in the atmosphere."
To a certain extent, the holder of a [Millennium Item] has some priority in the rules of a Dark Game, after all, the "Dark Game" used to this day is something from the Egyptians. In the Dark Game just now, the [Millennium Puzzle] and [Millennium Rod] had a confrontation, giving Yugi and Marik fair duel conditions, while the [Millennium Ring] that Hayato handed to Yugi when he went up to the Duel Field quietly made a small, insignificant tweak in the Dark Game.
If it were to exempt someone from punishment or influence the fairness of the Duel, even if Hayato piled up all seven [Millennium Item]s, it would be difficult to achieve much. However, making a small modification to the final punishment was very easy. The soul of Normal Marik, which should have been banished to infinite deep darkness, was currently stored inside the [Millennium Ring] on Hayato's chest.
Ishizu cast a concerned look at the [Millennium Ring] on Hayato's chest. Just as she was about to say something more, a cold voice forcefully cut into their conversation: "Let's stop this boring and utterly childish metaphysical talk."
The speaker was Kaiba, who had walked up to Yugi and Hayato with a calm expression. Beside him were Isono, who had come down from the judge's stand, and Mokuba, who had put away his laptop.
"First, congratulations, Yugi, on successfully acquiring a God Card." Kaiba, relying on his exaggerated height that didn't look like a high school student's, looked down at Yugi, whose height was still regrettable even in his Pharaoh state. "But saying congratulations is simply stating the obvious. If you stopped at the hands of a lackey like that, you wouldn't have the qualification to be recognized by me, Yugi."
"You, Kaiba, are as annoying as ever." Joey also walked over after Kaiba. After first snapping at Kaiba, with whom he was at odds, he showed Yugi a bright smile: "That was amazing, Yugi. That combo was really amazing."
"Hmph, as expected of an amateur. Do you feel quite relaxed just because you made it to the Top 4?"
Kaiba saw Joey's relaxed state and sneered back coldly. Only then did he say what he wanted to say: "Since the Top 4 have been decided, without further ado, let's decide the order of the next Duels. You're not tired from that Duel just now, are you, Yugi?"
"But President, according to the original schedule, the Duels to decide the Top 4 order should be four hours from now. The event has just started warming up—" Isono was about to remind Kaiba when Mokuba quickly kicked him in the shin, making him wince and promptly shut his mouth.
Looking at Kaiba, who had a calm, even somewhat cold expression, but whose mouth was unconsciously curving up, the precocious Mokuba rubbed his forehead helplessly and muttered to himself: "It's pretty obvious, isn't it? After watching Yugi's Duel just now, older brother's dueling addiction has flared up again."
"Wait 4 hours? Be careful, older brother might fire you for wasting oxygen by breathing, Isono."
Transition Chapter
Ishizu's Prophecy:
Next: Just as the Duels of the Top 4 begin, the airship goes out of control. Who is behind this?
What happened to Isono? Bakura and Marik disappeared from the surveillance camera?
What's going on with that island?
"Is this the Game Domain?! That's a Duel Field!"
*Preview content will not appear in the main text.*
(End of Chapter)