REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!
Chapter 116: The Girl Embracing the Millennium Key
Even the Eva system's victory announcement judged him as part of the Nanki'in family.
After all, with the atmosphere reaching this point... at this stage, saying "I was just humoring the old man" had become completely impossible to speak aloud.
As the Dark Game ended, the barrier walls isolating reality also vanished.
Amano Rei suddenly felt his body growing blurry.
A strong déjà vu of a finale ending where his soul burns out and he dies.
Eve: "Don't worry! It's because the Millennium Key's influence disappeared, so your soul is returning where it belongs. You won't have your soul scatter~"
I see.
During the duel, he hadn't really felt it, but now Amano Rei truly realized he'd actually been dueling in pure soul form just now.
Time to go back. Tonight had been incredibly exhausting—he really wanted to rest.
In the final second before vanishing, Amano Rei smiled toward Finesse holding his body in her arms.
When Amano Rei's consciousness recovered and his eyes reopened, what he saw was Nanki'in Muramasa's face—pretty scary up close.
Amano Rei habitually raised his hand. The weak power sensation transmitted from the girl's slender limbs flooded his mind. Entering his vision were five white jade-like delicate fingers.
Sakuya: "Why did I suddenly lose control of my body again?"
Amano Rei: "..."
This is where I'm supposed to return?!
Didn't I look toward my own body before leaving?
My soul—are you directionally challenged?!
[Hacker Invasion] [Duration Remaining: 1 hour 43 minutes]
Even after being separated once, he still had to follow the skill's duration.
This system was way too rigid.
And it kept bugging out constantly.
Sigh, what a cheap system.
Nanki'in Muramasa probably saw through the truth via Master Vail's custom mechanical prosthetic eye and quietly inquired.
"Young friend Amano, what does this mean? The Dark Game has already ended, hasn't it?"
"Great Elder, it's not that I want to do this. But this ability—once used, I must stay for the full two hours. Still have an hour and a half remaining."
Amano Rei's explanation wasn't just for Muramasa—it was also for Sakuya inside the body.
"I see." Muramasa nodded in understanding. "As expected, powerful abilities often come with a price, just like that Card of Demise Onikiri used earlier."
Speaking of Onikiri and Card of Demise, Amano Rei suddenly felt an impulse.
Could he actually loot the deck this time?
That was Card of Demise! And there was Skill Drain too—if he could get both, even his vanilla deck's power level would leap an entire tier.
Kaiba Chiaki wanted to see how much stronger he'd become after a month, right?
Just one night was enough to give her a surprise.
He just didn't know whether this Onikiri was currently alive or dead.
At this moment, with the Dark Game barrier dispersed, the Nanki'in family members who could finally rush in all crowded forward worriedly.
Charging at the very front was naturally the Nanki'in family's number one loyal hound, Ryuuma.
"Young Madam! Young Madam, are you alright?!"
Rushing to the end, Ryuuma practically rolled and crawled, throwing himself before Amano Rei and Sakuya.
Sakuya: "Ryuuma..."
Amano Rei had witnessed Ryuuma's heart-wrenching, desperate crying outside the barrier earlier. From this perspective, he genuinely cared about his Young Madam.
To avoid worrying the Nanki'in family's true loyal retainer, Amano Rei could only try his best to imitate Nanki'in Sakuya's usual emotionally flat, cool-cute tone.
"Don't worry, I'm fine, Ryuuma. You can get up now."
"Young Madam! Thank goodness, truly thank goodness!"
Finally relaxing, the tightly wound nerves loosening caused Ryuuma's legs to go weak. He struggled hard just to climb up from the ground.
"By the way, I saw Amano-nii in the duel earlier too, but he suddenly disappeared... Could it be I was too worried and had hallucinations?"
Ryuuma shook his head.
Tonight's events were far too fantastical for ordinary people.
Dark Games, Millennium Items, background spirits, plus soul-body separation displays.
For ordinary people, these were indeed somewhat too difficult to accept.
Being bombarded by such massive information overload, Ryuuma temporarily being unable to sort things out was normal.
At this time, many Nanki'in family bodyguards had also gathered around old master Muramasa, even professional medical personnel beginning to check the old master's physical condition.
After comforting Ryuuma, Amano Rei immediately ran toward Finesse.
Currently, Finesse was kneeling on the ground, holding his unconscious body in her arms. Apparently when other Nanki'in family members tried to help earlier, the young miss had refused them all, forcibly preventing anyone from touching him.
Just like her promise—truly protecting him like a child, Mama Finesse.
Seeing the Dark Game end but him still not waking, Finesse's face clearly showed several shades more worry.
"Finesse, um..." Amano Rei approached using Sakuya's body.
"Amano? You're Amano, right?!" Finesse asked urgently.
"Yes."
"Thank goodness. I saw you suddenly disappear in the Dark Game earlier—I thought some accident happened."
Similarly relieved and exhaling, Finesse hugged the 'Amano Rei' in her arms even tighter.
"Finesse, you don't need to keep holding my body. Just find some open ground and set it down."
Amano Rei tried approaching to help take over, but Finesse slapped his hand away with one palm.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo! Don't touch—I won't let you use Nanki'in Sakuya's body to grope around! Hah!"
Finesse actually started hissing at him, looking like a protective little cat guarding food. Forget other Nanki'in family members—even Amano himself wasn't allowed to touch his own body.
Sakuya: "Does Finesse also know about your ability, Amano?"
Amano: "Yeah, she's one of the few who knows."
Sakuya: "You've used it on her before?"
This dummy class president—how did her intelligence suddenly go online at this moment?
This question made Amano Rei rather difficult to answer.
Amano: "At the time, the situation was dangerous, extremely urgent, life-or-death, unavoidable circumstances..."
Sakuya: "You don't need to explain so much, Amano. I said I'll always support you, no matter what you do."
This support—did it also include him being other women's background spirit?
Never expected cool-cute attribute Nanki'in Sakuya—though harder than others to raise affection with, once truly raised, the feedback effect was outstanding.
No wonder emotionally stable partners are more popular.
Suddenly, commotion arose among the Nanki'in crowd. Everyone's expressions grew especially serious and grave, adopting a crisis-mode state. Duelists all placed hands on their card boxes like preparing to draw guns.
"Great Elder, please step back—leave this to us!"
At this moment, all the Nanki'in family bodyguard lackeys' gazes fixed on Onikiri's position.
Never expected that after being violently killed for 15,000 LP in the Dark Game and suffering such severe trauma, Onikiri would awaken so quickly.
Except when the black-clad girl covered her head and reopened her eyes to observe her surroundings, the clear confusion flowing from her eyes was completely different from Onikiri's obsession and ruthlessness.
Though the same body, just from emotional demeanor alone one could judge—this was a completely different person.
"Where... where am I?"
"Great Elder, it's too dangerous."
"It's fine." Ignoring others' attempts to dissuade him, Nanki'in Muramasa walked before the black-clad girl.
After all, Muramasa possessed mechanical prosthetic eyes capable of seeing through certain mysteries. He'd already determined the girl before him wasn't Onikiri.
Nanki'in Onikiri, who pursued eternal life, had most likely completely vanished.
"Wh-who are you?" the girl asked tremblingly.
The sudden appearance of an excessively burly old man naturally startled the black-clad girl. Her still-unsteady body tilted backward, barely supporting herself with both hands.
"Tell me, what do you still remember?" Muramasa asked instead.
"I still remember..." The black-clad girl covered her head again. "I am—I am Nanki'in Yukki. Everything else, I can't remember."
"Only your name? Nanki'in Yukki, Yukki—sounds like a name Onikiri would choose."
"Great Elder, could it be?" Amano Rei also brought Nanki'in Sakuya's body over to the side.
"Should be the girl before Onikiri's possession. As for memories, probably due to the Millennium Key's erosion of the soul combined with long-term possession, they're completely lost."
Looking at this girl roughly the same age as Sakuya, plus Onikiri saying this was the third generation, Nanki'in Muramasa deduced the truth.
"Don't be afraid, Yukki. I'm your great-uncle."
"Great-uncle?"
Whether Nanki'in Yukki was descended from Munechihi or from Onikiri, Muramasa could indeed count as her great-uncle either way.
"First take her to the Nanki'in family hospital for examination. Young friend Amano, you come too. After all, you experienced the Dark Game—I'm also worried whether Sakuya's body suffered any damage."
As expected of a prominent family within the Tower—they even had an entire building exclusively belonging to the Nanki'in family hospital in the mid-level district.
Inside, medical resources were the most excellent, medical equipment the most advanced.
Anyway, during the skill duration when Amano Rei couldn't return to his own body, he simply cooperated with Nanki'in Muramasa's request and did a full body examination for Sakuya.
The examination results—aside from usual lack of exercise, nothing unhealthy.
Amano Rei: "Class President, you can't skip morning runs anymore from now on."
Sakuya: "I refuse."
You just said you'd support me no matter what I do, didn't you?
How are you already going back on your word?
In the adjacent room, Nanki'in Muramasa also completed his full body examination. The results shocked the doctors.
"Great Elder, your condition... has actually improved?"
Though not visible externally, Nanki'in Muramasa's personal doctors all knew that previously, their Great Elder had already been in a state approaching the end of life.
Yet after experiencing tonight's Dark Game, his physical condition actually improved instead. Even the stubborn ailments plaguing the old man for many years had vanished.
"Perhaps this is the change brought by mental state." Nanki'in Muramasa laughed heartily.
Previously, Muramasa's heart had always been troubled by the Dark Game from fifty years ago. Regret and remorse occupied most of his life's emotions.
As if from the moment he fled the Dark Game, his life's anchor point had been fixed at that place.
Tonight's Dark Game made Muramasa feel like he'd lived an entire life over again.
Truly a long fifty years—so long that Nanki'in Muramasa emerging from darkness felt like his life was just beginning.
"Looks like this old man can live a few more years to see more of the future's scenery."
"We must quickly tell the Young Master and Young Madam this good news."
"No rush, no rush." Nanki'in Muramasa raised his hand to stop them. "Keep it secret for a while."
Leaving the exclusive medical room, Muramasa walked toward the adjacent room with Sakuya and Amano Rei.
"Great Elder, what were the results?" Amano inquired.
"Not good." Muramasa sighed heavily. "This old man's time is probably running short."
Sakuya: "Grandfather..."
"By the way, in your current state, Sakuya can hear me speak, right?"
"Should be able to."
"Sigh, my only wish now as an old man is to hold a great-grandchild before I die. Wonder if anyone can fulfill this dying old man's simple wish."
Is this wish really simple?
Amano Rei only felt it was harder than winning the Dark Game.
Though right now Nanki'in Sakuya had 85 affection points.
According to the system's affection level divisions, 80+ points already reached lover level. And with Sakuya's 85 points, she probably wouldn't refuse whatever he did.
Should he go for it for the 500 million... Of course, most importantly, to fulfill the old master's final wish.
"Great Elder, Young Madam!" At this time, Ryuuma also pushed the door in. "The examination results came out over there. Need to take a look?"
"Mm, Sakuya and I will go together."
Nanki'in Yukki's examination results.
Just as she said, aside from her own name, she remembered nothing else.
This could be verified through the brain examination's precision instruments.
However, the examination item Nanki'in Muramasa specifically requested—the Frozen Body Syndrome examination—the result was: no such disease present.
Could the inheritance of this disease be not the Nanki'in family's genes, but Nanki'in Onikiri's soul?
This supernatural phenomenon beyond science's scope was currently difficult to determine accurately.
"Yukki, from now on come live with the Nanki'in family. Your great-uncle will take care of you."
"Mm..." The girl nodded silently, but her eyes still overflowed with confusion and fear.
After all, having lost her memories then suddenly being thrown into a completely unfamiliar environment—nobody could accept such circumstances immediately.
Of course, Muramasa being so unconcerned about hidden dangers and adopting Nanki'in Yukki, aside from considering blood kinship, had an even more important reason.
The Millennium Key data remained in this girl's Eva Terminal.
Onikiri had specifically set a password to protect the "Millennium Key" data in the terminal.
Because it involved Eva Terminals, mainframe Eva's authority was the highest existence within Eden Tower. Forcibly cracking the password from outside was truly impossible.
To obtain the Millennium Key in Nanki'in Yukki's terminal—either wait for her to recover her memories and remember clues about the password.
Or wait for the Eva Terminal holder's death.
Muramasa naturally couldn't do something like killing his own great-niece to obtain the Millennium Key. Doing so would make him as vile as Onikiri.
Currently, they could only wait and see.
At this time, Amano Rei curiously picked up the deck Onikiri had used, which should now belong to Nanki'in Yukki.
Sakuya: "Amano, this deck is actually..."
Amano Rei: "Really strange, yeah."
This deck didn't have a single soul-bound card—anyone could pick it up and use it.
Nanki'in Yukki, like Sakuya, hadn't done duel gene identification.
This entire Malefic deck, just like the Nanki'in family's inherited Shiranui, was inherited from somewhere.
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