Chapter 113: The End of Eternal Life
"Truly incredible, Sakuya—no, young friend Amano!"
Watching the four Malefic Dragons collapse in the sky above, Nanki'in Muramasa couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Although borrowing his granddaughter's body, Muramasa knew his granddaughter couldn't possibly know Malefic World's weakness in advance, nor could she execute such plays.
Using the Shiranui deck for the very first time, yet completely mastering Shiranui's battle style.
This kind of talent—in Nanki'in Muramasa's memory, only that genius girl the family had once taken such pride in could accomplish this. Nanki'in Onikiri.
But that genius girl the family had once been so proud of, in order to escape death, in pursuit of a twisted eternal life, abandoned the Nanki'in loyalty and honor, abandoned the Shiranui deck's inheritance, and abandoned her identity as a human being.
Malefic World—this deck, even though Nanki'in Muramasa had lived this long, he'd never heard of it existing anywhere in Eden.
It was as if, to interpret Nanki'in Onikiri's entire life, this deck had been dredged up from the deepest depths of the dark abyss filled with human sin and evil.
"Since the effect resolved, let's press the advantage!"
Amano Rei raised the girl's arm, igniting the Synchro flames in Sakuya's Graveyard.
"Demon Blade - Shiranui that returned to the Graveyard last turn, and Mezuki in the Graveyard—Undead Synchro!"
Level 2 + Level 4 = Level 6!
Nanki'in Sakuya's Extra Deck no longer had a second copy of the Level 6 Synchro Blade God - Shiranui, but it did contain another Level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster.
Demon Blade - Shiranui's Graveyard Synchro didn't even need to meet the monster Synchro requirements—it only needed the levels to match.
"Guided by the undead lord, summon down the demon's thunder! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Archfiend Zombie-Skull!"
[Archfiend Zombie-Skull] [Level 6★ DARK]
[Zombie/Synchro/Effect]
[ATK: 2500] [DEF: 1200]
This Undead Synchro possessed the same ATK, DEF, and level as the legendary tribute monster Summoned Skull, even its demonic appearance was extremely similar.
After Skill Drain left the field, monster effects could finally activate normally.
[As long as this card remains in a Monster Zone, Zombie-Type monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects.]
Sakuya: "We've actually pushed into lethal range!"
Facing four Malefic Dragons plus an effect-negating field, all Sakuya could think about was how to survive.
But she never imagined that with the same body, the same deck, Amano Rei's piloting would achieve a miracle reversal—destroying all four dragons with a single strike, then flipping the game.
Maybe for future academy exams, she should just hand her body over to Amano and let him take the tests for her. Would even save swapping answer sheets!
Nanki'in Onikiri LP: 4200
With Onikiri's field completely empty, even with the 2v1 duel's 8000 LP, she could no longer withstand direct attacks from two Synchro Monsters.
"Shiranui Spectralsword, Archfiend Zombie-Skull—direct attack!"
The crossfire of flames and thunder bombarded through the darkness, blasting toward Onikiri's black-clad girl body.
"To be pushed this far by Shiranui—mere Shiranui, mere descendants of the Nanki'in!"
This was what she had once resolutely abandoned. If she lost to these things she'd thrown away, then what had she pursued through all these years of eternal life?
"Cover card activate—Wave-Motion Barrier - Ripple Force!!"
[Wave-Motion Barrier - Ripple Force]
[Trap Card: Can be activated when an opponent's monster declares a direct attack. All Attack Position monsters on your opponent's field return to their owner's Deck.]
Rippling barriers manifested before Onikiri, isolating the thunderous direct attack outside.
Amano Rei sighed regretfully: "So it's Wave-Motion Barrier!"
If Onikiri's Set card had been the classic Mirror Force, this Dark Game could already be declared victorious.
Because an effect that destroys all monsters would be blocked by Archfiend Zombie-Skull's resistance.
But Wave-Motion Barrier didn't destroy monsters—it returned monsters to the Deck. Even "cannot be destroyed by effects" resistance couldn't prevent being bounced back to the Deck.
"However, this flaming strike won't be blocked!"
The azure water waves only isolated the thunder attack.
Yet the demon blade burning with undying flames cut straight through the water flow itself.
The girl gripped her sword with both hands, broke through the wave barrier, and thrust the blade tip directly at Onikiri's chest.
"Don't forget—this turn's Shiranui Spectralsword was granted immunity from all card effects. Even Wave-Motion Barrier can't block it!"
The 2400 ATK direct attack, its effect already boosted, still reached its destination.
Nanki'in Onikiri LP: 4200 → 1800
"Agh!"
The Dark Game's real physical feedback made the flame-burning demon blade truly pierce Onikiri's chest.
The scorching energy waves seemed to resonate strangely with the faintly visible Millennium Key data at Onikiri's chest.
This turn, Malefic World collapsed, the four Malefic Dragons fell, and though the heavens and earth remained shrouded in night and the Dark Game, this strike carved light and truth hidden within the darkness.
Golden light devouring the entire field surged from cracks in the Millennium Key, gradually blurring everyone's vision, presenting memory images from before a certain body was possessed.
"This—this is!" Nanki'in Muramasa's burly frame trembled, his expression showing unprecedented shock—even greater shock than when he'd seen Onikiri again after fifty years.
This scene—Muramasa was all too familiar with it.
He would never forget it even in dreams—this darkness that, though he'd escaped from it, still imprisoned him forever.
Fifty years ago. The Dark Game between Nanki'in Onikiri and Nanki'in Munechihi.
Because Muramasa had fled from battle, he hadn't seen this duel's final conclusion.
Muramasa had always assumed Onikiri won that Dark Game and took away the Millennium Key, disappearing without a trace afterward.
But when Muramasa saw the pre-possession memory image—the moment Onikiri's Life Points hit zero—fifty years of fixed understanding shattered completely.
That Dark Game—eldest brother Nanki'in Munechihi had won.
Onikiri: "Impossible! I actually lost? No, no, you just got lucky once! Shiranui Fusion—this heretical battle method, I absolutely refuse to acknowledge!"
It was indeed luck. Munechihi knew that if Onikiri hadn't been fighting while dragging a dying body, he never could have won.
This duel's defeat, compared to that earlier narrow graduation duel victory, dealt even more massive damage to the genius girl's dignity.
What shattered wasn't just the genius girl's dignity—it was her ambition to continue living, to live forever.
Onikiri, kneeling on the ground in tears, had nothing left but hysterical unwilling roars.
"Why—why must you all obstruct me! I just wanted to live! I was clearly the most excellent one, I could have led the Nanki'in to even greater heights! Why must I die first! No matter what, I want to live!"
"I'll let you live." Munechihi, having claimed victory, showed no joy, no mockery—he simply spoke slowly. "In exchange, let's make a wager, Onikiri."
"Let me live?"
The three Nanki'in siblings, raised as heirs in competition, had always existed in rivalry from outsiders' perspectives. They seemed to share little sibling affection.
But actually, Munechihi had always maintained his awareness as the eldest brother.
He still remembered his sister's joy following behind him. He still remembered his brother's admiring gaze and the pride it gave him.
As eldest brother, caught between his excellent sister on one side and his closest brother on the other.
Munechihi couldn't watch the two kill each other, nor could he stand to watch his sister pass away filled with such massive unwillingness and resentment.
Call him a bleeding heart or a pushover—from the very beginning, Munechihi decided to sacrifice himself so his younger siblings could live.
"Onikiri, you're excellent. But there's a limit to where one person can reach. I'll give you my body, let you use the Millennium Key's power to live on. But you can never return to the Nanki'in family."
"Give me your body? Then what are you wagering?"
"I'm wagering on inheritance. Wagering that someday, Muramasa's descendants, the Nanki'in family's descendants, will surpass your eternal life! At that moment, you'll discover the eternal life you craved actually held no meaning. That moment will be the end of your eternal life."
"Fine. I accept this wager!"
After that Dark Game ended, both Onikiri and Munechihi disappeared.
Only the Shiranui deck remained at the scene as inheritance.
After that, another fifty years passed.
When the Shiranui deck Onikiri left behind that day transformed into a blade of circling time, piercing her chest at this moment—
The memories nearly erased by the Millennium Key's eternal life side effects recalled that promise.
"What inheritance! What end! Muramasa, you were always the most useless one—how could I possibly lose to your worthless descendant!"
The flame blade shattered at Onikiri's chest where the Millennium Key hung. Golden light surging from the Millennium Key shone toward Nanki'in Sakuya's body.
The Millennium Key's other function—shining into human inner worlds, forcibly opening the doors to the room of the soul.
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Shadi used exactly this ability to witness the Pharaoh's spirit hidden within the Millennium Puzzle.
At this moment, the golden light surging from the Millennium Key illuminated both Nanki'in Sakuya and Amano Rei within her body. Their resonating souls—though the Hacker Invasion skill hadn't reached its two-hour duration limit—were forcibly split in two.
Yet strangely, although Amano Rei's soul was forcibly separated from Sakuya's body, it didn't return to his own body outside the Dark Game.
The forcibly separated Amano Rei stood with his Duel Disk deployed, positioned between Nanki'in Sakuya and Nanki'in Muramasa.
"A-Amano?"
"Young friend Amano!"
Watched by two Nanki'in members with concern, Amano Rei—who couldn't grasp the situation—suddenly heard his Eva Terminal notification sound.
[Duel Rules: Intrusion Duel]
[Special Rules: 1 vs 3]
The 1v2 duel had suddenly become a 1v3 Intrusion Duel. Amano Rei, having just finished piloting Sakuya's turn, was forced to join the Nanki'in destiny battle in his own body.
Wait, does this mean fighting Malefic decks 3v1 is also an inescapable destiny?
Onikiri glared and demanded: "You're the one who hijacked my body? Are you also from the Nanki'in family?"
"Of course!" Muramasa answered with complete seriousness. "This is naturally someone from our Nanki'in family!"
"Me?" Amano Rei pointed at himself in confusion. What's my status here?
Muramasa grinned proudly: "This is our Nanki'in family's son-in-law!!"
That counts too?
Your Nanki'in family has pretty loose standards for judging descendants.