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# Chapter 786: Power, More Power
Dark Yugi woke up not long after Hayato left. After he woke up, Yugi and Joey Wheeler, who were waiting by his side, also told him about Hayato's speculation regarding Aknadin before he left.
Out of trust in everyone, especially Aibo, Dark Yugi naturally harbored suspicion towards Aknadin. However, after waking up, before he could put this suspicion into action, a message arrived.
Priest Aknadin, along with a large number of the Garrison within the Royal City, were missing. The two Millennium Items, the Millennium Rod and the Millennium Key, were also nowhere to be found. Furthermore, a large amount of bloodstain and an extremely hidden message were discovered at Priest Aknadin's Residence.
The message conveyed that Aknadin had discovered Bakura sneaking into the Royal Palace again and witnessed him stealing the Millennium Items. As a witness, he was also attacked by Bakura and taken away along with a large number of soldiers from the Royal City. Their destination was Bakura's lair, Kul Elna, the Thief Village.
The Court Magician used the power of magic to attempt to recreate the scene at Priest Aknadin's Residence. They found that besides Priest Aknadin, there was indeed another person with a very strong dark aura who had appeared. The blood on the ground was also confirmed to be Priest Aknadin's.
Logically, the more information there is, the easier it should be to deduce and analyze the truth. However, Dark Yugi was somewhat confused by the situation.
Hayato said that Aknadin wasn't a good person and was plotting something, but in the blink of an eye, Aknadin was directly "sacrificed." Even if Dark Yugi wanted to suspect Aknadin, there was nothing he could do. Aknadin, who claimed to have been abducted by Bakura, had no trace of suspicion on him.
However, hearing that Malik and the others saw the two missing Millennium Items and also saw Priest Aknadin's Millennium Eye, but didn't see Aknadin himself, Dark Yugi's inner thoughts once again grew suspicious, although there was a possibility that Aknadin had already been killed.
He had a premonition that when he found the "Great Dark Priest", he might know the truth and the answer to everything.
Hearing Dark Yugi's words, Mana also nodded obediently and waved the wand in her hand, saying, "Mm, Priest Isis and the others came from that direction just now, right? I felt a very strong dark aura there. I'll go support first, Pharaoh."
Halfway through her sentence, Mana also corrected her title for Dark Yugi in time. The title "Prince" was her exclusive privilege. Although Dark Yugi himself had permitted it, there were so many people here, so it was better to go with the flow and call him "Pharaoh."
As she spoke, Mana rode her horse at the front. As a member of the Court Magicians, Mana's magic skill level was only below the deceased Mahad. She had sufficient strength to ensure her own safety, especially since Mahad's death had spurred her to work hard and train diligently recently, making great progress.
After Hayato, Seto, and Shada had previously figured out a method to awaken the spirit within one's inner thoughts using the Millennium Items, although the spread of spirits was temporarily stopped due to the disappearance of the Millennium Eye and Millennium Key, Mana, who had heard of this method, had made an attempt herself.
Even without the Alchemy Crystal Duel Arena and without the recognition of the Millennium Items, Mana, relying on her attainment in magic, was actually only one step away from awakening her own spirit.
Mana went ahead first. Dark Yugi, who was accompanying her, naturally wouldn't let her go too deep alone and followed after her. Priest Seto also accompanied them to protect the Pharaoh. Seeing this, although he had just finished a long run and didn't have enough strength, Kaiba still stood up, wanting to follow the others back to the Thief Village.
Even though he understood that he had no power, being unable to do anything and doing nothing were two different things. There was a fire bottled up in Kaiba's heart that he couldn't vent.
But just as Kaiba wanted to follow Seto and Dark Yugi, Seto, who was one step behind Dark Yugi, slowed down, glanced at Kaiba, and stopped him. "Enough. What's the use of you following? Without any power, you can't protect anything even if you follow. You'd just be a burden to us."
"Stay here, the guy named Kaiba, if you have even a little self-awareness."
Mana was a Court Magician and could use magic battle. Although the Pharaoh's Millennium Rod was stolen, he could still summon the stone tablet monsters that were transferred from Mahad's Stone Tablet Temple before. And Seto had rich experience in controlling stone tablet monsters in battle.
Clearly, he had just escaped from the pursuit of those monsters, yet now he was acting strong and wanted to go back there. Seto looked at Kaiba, feeling annoyed. However, he also forgot that he himself often acted strong in the eyes of others.
He didn't know if it was an illusion caused by seeing the same face, but when Seto looked at Kaiba, who looked the same as him, he inexplicably saw an extremely familiar pursuit of power in his gaze. Before, when Bakura attacked the Royal Palace and when Mahad was sacrificed, he seemed to have had a similar gaze.
Perhaps when everything ends, Kaiba, with such a gaze, might be able to awaken a decent spirit using the power of the Millennium Key. But Seto had no time to spend on Kaiba, who had no power. After he finished speaking, he chased after Dark Yugi without looking back, no longer caring about Kaiba.
Although Dark Yugi, Seto, and Mana left, they weren't the only three who came to the Thief Village this time. Nearly a hundred people from the Army also accompanied them, advancing in the direction the three had left. However, they also left behind a logistics unit to take care of Malik, Isis, and Kaiba.
Isis received heal and care from the Physician. The Millennium Necklace she was wearing was taken off temporarily and handed over to Isis's younger brother, Malik, to avoid its mystical power interfering with the magic used during medical treatment.
Looking at the Millennium Necklace in Malik's hand, and with Seto's scornful words before leaving echoing in his heart, an idea emerged in Kaiba's inner thoughts.
He patted Malik's shoulder and indicated for Malik to walk aside with him. After confirming no one was around, Kaiba told Malik his idea.
"Awakening a spirit using a Millennium Item? Do you really believe the things Hayato Kobayashi said?" Malik raised an eyebrow. "But the question is, this isn't the Millennium Eye or the Millennium Key, and I haven't received the acknowledgement of the Millennium Necklace either."
The Millennium Items seemingly were just golden artifacts, but the mystical power contained within them was fundamentally not like inert metal such as gold; it was extremely active. Compared to the Millennium Items Kaiba knew from three thousand years later, the Millennium Items in this Memory World seemed to have more apparent mystical power.
Perhaps three thousand years of time had caused wear and tear on the power of these Millennium Items, or perhaps they were sealed, causing their mystical power to become dormant?
In short, in this era, the concept was that people who couldn't pass the trial of the Millennium Items didn't even have the qualification to touch them. Just touching them would be extremely painful and cause them to suffer torment. In more serious situations, it could even directly kill the person who touched them.
At that time, Aknadin had once warned Bakura about this, but he didn't expect that Bakura, because of his origin with the birth of the Millennium Items, would directly tear up this concept and ignore it. Of course, considering Bakura as someone who had already passed the trial of the Millennium Items also makes sense.
This was also why the physicians didn't place the Millennium Necklace alone but handed it over to Malik for temporary keeping. As the Gravekeeper's Family Leader who was once almost chosen as a Priest for a Millennium Item but regrettably not chosen, Malik, compared to ordinary people, although still unable to obtain the recognition of the Millennium Items and use their power, could barely manage to touch them without getting injured.
But now, Kaiba told Malik to use the power of the Millennium Necklace to awaken a spirit, and he wanted to help?
Don't let it happen that the power of spirits doesn't awaken, and this guy Kaiba gets directly killed by the mystical power of the Millennium Necklace. Even the relatively milder "good" Millennium Items didn't mean they had no danger. If it was more serious, maybe Malik himself wouldn't have a good outcome because of this.
"Stop joking! Do you know what the consequences will be if someone not qualified attempts to use a Millennium Item?" Looking at Kaiba, Malik extended a finger and poked his chest. "Soul scattered, won't die a good death! Don't think that just because you escaped with me just now means you have any special relationship with me. If you die, I won't feel heartache, and it's even less likely that I will accompany you to gamble with your life."
"I heard before that among the Priests under the Pharaoh, Priest Aknadin had a hobby of collecting stone tablet monsters, and that Seto is the same, he also likes collecting stone tablet monsters. But the difference is that he only pursues those stone tablet monsters with great power."
"You look exactly the same as Priest Seto, and even your idea is the same. For power, is it necessary to gamble with your life?"
Malik's words were merciless, but more than that was helplessness. He could also see that kind of desire for power in Kaiba's gaze, but seeing it didn't mean understanding it. Was power that important, to the point where it was worth Kaiba gambling with his life?
Hearing Malik's words, Kaiba firmly nodded. "Mm, that's right. For power, this is just a necessary sacrifice."
Seeing Malik's expression of disdain after hearing his answer, Kaiba took a deep breath and said, "That kind of situation just now, I don't want to experience it again. That situation once was already enough for me."
What Kaiba was referring to was naturally not the fact that he, the dignified KaibaCorp President, Kaiba Seto, a legendary duelist whose strength ranked among the top three in the whole world, was repeatedly disliked three times as a "burden" in just one day, almost within a few hours—although that matter indeed made Kaiba very angry.
What Kaiba had had enough of was the fact that he had no power to change anything, no power to make resistance, and no power to protect others or extend a helping hand.
His self-esteem was extremely strong, but the actions of Hayato and Karim, who sacrificed themselves to cover the rear, repeatedly frustrated his self-esteem.
The source of everything, in the end, was that he had no power.
If he could summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon, even if he died together with Hayato covering the rear, Kaiba wouldn't feel as uncomfortable as he did now. But he couldn't get a response from Blue-Eyes, it was almost like Blue-Eyes hadn't yet formed a sufficient bond with him in this era.
So he thought of a method—Hayato had told him that before, with the help of the power of the Millennium Key, he had awakened the card spirit of Psychic Ectoplasm. Although it wasn't a monster but a spell card that awakened a spirit, which was really a bit too bizarre, this matter gave Kaiba enough inspiration.
"I need power, more power. And since the Millennium Items can unearth the spirit within the human heart, then I will absolutely not let go of this power."
"For power, just take my life! Just give me more power!"
Listening to Kaiba's words, Malik looked at him deeply. Although he was a bit selfish, he wasn't ungrateful. Although he saw the image of Karim summoning Thunder Dragon Colossus when they left before, so much time had passed and Karim hadn't chased out. This made Malik's heart vaguely have an ominous premonition.
Sighing, Malik covered his forehead. "Damn it, I must have been overly frightened today and lost my head, to actually do such a thing."
"Alright, I must admit, I'm actually also a little worried about Priest Karim's situation. So, for the time being, I'll gamble with you, this madman full of power, alright?" Malik said, holding Isis's Millennium Necklace in both hands, and looked at Kaiba seriously. "Let's agree beforehand, if you die, I'm not responsible."
"But if I die, I absolutely won't let you go even when I reach the Underworld!"
Kaiba's corner of the mouth slightly turned up. "Hmph, whatever you want. But I won't go to any Underworld. In my future, there has only ever been the path of radiance."
Closing his eyes, Malik calmed down and began to communicate with the Millennium Necklace he was holding in his hand. The power contained within it was slightly triggered and drawn out under Malik's guide. Mystical power, filled with an aura of danger like a bomb ready to explode at any moment, poured out from the Millennium Necklace and rushed into Kaiba's body, who was close at hand.
Before Malik could slightly enjoy for a moment that he had unexpectedly successfully used the power of the Millennium Necklace, the mystical power, which was still relatively well-behaved the previous second, suddenly became violent. It fiercely burst open. A part of it flowed back into the Millennium Necklace, while the rest of the mystical power exploded and burst on the spot, rushing into the bodies of both Malik and Kaiba.
In an instant, the two were blown away by the sudden explosion and fell onto the Sandy Ground. Excruciating pain entered Malik's mind. Mystical power vaguely formed the Mark of the Eye of Wjat/Udjat on his forehead. And before he lost consciousness, he last saw that a ray of white light seemed to have lit up on Kaiba's side, who was also blown away.
Dark Yugi woke up not long after Hayato left. After he woke up, Yugi and Joey Wheeler, who were waiting by his side, also told him about Hayato's speculation regarding Aknadin before he left.
Out of trust in everyone, especially Aibo, Dark Yugi naturally harbored suspicion towards Aknadin. However, after waking up, before he could put this suspicion into action, a message arrived.
Priest Aknadin, along with a large number of the Garrison within the Royal City, were missing. The two Millennium Items, the Millennium Rod and the Millennium Key, were also nowhere to be found. Furthermore, a large amount of bloodstain and an extremely hidden message were discovered at Priest Aknadin's Residence.
The message conveyed that Aknadin had discovered Bakura sneaking into the Royal Palace again and witnessed him stealing the Millennium Items. As a witness, he was also attacked by Bakura and taken away along with a large number of soldiers from the Royal City. Their destination was Bakura's lair, Kul Elna, the Thief Village.
The Court Magician used the power of magic to attempt to recreate the scene at Priest Aknadin's Residence. They found that besides Priest Aknadin, there was indeed another person with a very strong dark aura who had appeared. The blood on the ground was also confirmed to be Priest Aknadin's.
Logically, the more information there is, the easier it should be to deduce and analyze the truth. However, Dark Yugi was somewhat confused by the situation.
Hayato said that Aknadin wasn't a good person and was plotting something, but in the blink of an eye, Aknadin was directly "sacrificed." Even if Dark Yugi wanted to suspect Aknadin, there was nothing he could do. Aknadin, who claimed to have been abducted by Bakura, had no trace of suspicion on him.
However, hearing that Malik and the others saw the two missing Millennium Items and also saw Priest Aknadin's Millennium Eye, but didn't see Aknadin himself, Dark Yugi's inner thoughts once again grew suspicious, although there was a possibility that Aknadin had already been killed.
He had a premonition that when he found the "Great Dark Priest", he might know the truth and the answer to everything.
Hearing Dark Yugi's words, Mana also nodded obediently and waved the wand in her hand, saying, "Mm, Priest Isis and the others came from that direction just now, right? I felt a very strong dark aura there. I'll go support first, Pharaoh."
Halfway through her sentence, Mana also corrected her title for Dark Yugi in time. The title "Prince" was her exclusive privilege. Although Dark Yugi himself had permitted it, there were so many people here, so it was better to go with the flow and call him "Pharaoh."
As she spoke, Mana rode her horse at the front. As a member of the Court Magicians, Mana's magic skill level was only below the deceased Mahad. She had sufficient strength to ensure her own safety, especially since Mahad's death had spurred her to work hard and train diligently recently, making great progress.
After Hayato, Seto, and Shada had previously figured out a method to awaken the spirit within one's inner thoughts using the Millennium Items, although the spread of spirits was temporarily stopped due to the disappearance of the Millennium Eye and Millennium Key, Mana, who had heard of this method, had made an attempt herself.
Even without the Alchemy Crystal Duel Arena and without the recognition of the Millennium Items, Mana, relying on her attainment in magic, was actually only one step away from awakening her own spirit.
Mana went ahead first. Dark Yugi, who was accompanying her, naturally wouldn't let her go too deep alone and followed after her. Priest Seto also accompanied them to protect the Pharaoh. Seeing this, although he had just finished a long run and didn't have enough strength, Kaiba still stood up, wanting to follow the others back to the Thief Village.
Even though he understood that he had no power, being unable to do anything and doing nothing were two different things. There was a fire bottled up in Kaiba's heart that he couldn't vent.
But just as Kaiba wanted to follow Seto and Dark Yugi, Seto, who was one step behind Dark Yugi, slowed down, glanced at Kaiba, and stopped him. "Enough. What's the use of you following? Without any power, you can't protect anything even if you follow. You'd just be a burden to us."
"Stay here, the guy named Kaiba, if you have even a little self-awareness."
Mana was a Court Magician and could use magic battle. Although the Pharaoh's Millennium Rod was stolen, he could still summon the stone tablet monsters that were transferred from Mahad's Stone Tablet Temple before. And Seto had rich experience in controlling stone tablet monsters in battle.
Clearly, he had just escaped from the pursuit of those monsters, yet now he was acting strong and wanted to go back there. Seto looked at Kaiba, feeling annoyed. However, he also forgot that he himself often acted strong in the eyes of others.
He didn't know if it was an illusion caused by seeing the same face, but when Seto looked at Kaiba, who looked the same as him, he inexplicably saw an extremely familiar pursuit of power in his gaze. Before, when Bakura attacked the Royal Palace and when Mahad was sacrificed, he seemed to have had a similar gaze.
Perhaps when everything ends, Kaiba, with such a gaze, might be able to awaken a decent spirit using the power of the Millennium Key. But Seto had no time to spend on Kaiba, who had no power. After he finished speaking, he chased after Dark Yugi without looking back, no longer caring about Kaiba.
Although Dark Yugi, Seto, and Mana left, they weren't the only three who came to the Thief Village this time. Nearly a hundred people from the Army also accompanied them, advancing in the direction the three had left. However, they also left behind a logistics unit to take care of Malik, Isis, and Kaiba.
Isis received heal and care from the Physician. The Millennium Necklace she was wearing was taken off temporarily and handed over to Isis's younger brother, Malik, to avoid its mystical power interfering with the magic used during medical treatment.
Looking at the Millennium Necklace in Malik's hand, and with Seto's scornful words before leaving echoing in his heart, an idea emerged in Kaiba's inner thoughts.
He patted Malik's shoulder and indicated for Malik to walk aside with him. After confirming no one was around, Kaiba told Malik his idea.
"Awakening a spirit using a Millennium Item? Do you really believe the things Hayato Kobayashi said?" Malik raised an eyebrow. "But the question is, this isn't the Millennium Eye or the Millennium Key, and I haven't received the acknowledgement of the Millennium Necklace either."
The Millennium Items seemingly were just golden artifacts, but the mystical power contained within them was fundamentally not like inert metal such as gold; it was extremely active. Compared to the Millennium Items Kaiba knew from three thousand years later, the Millennium Items in this Memory World seemed to have more apparent mystical power.
Perhaps three thousand years of time had caused wear and tear on the power of these Millennium Items, or perhaps they were sealed, causing their mystical power to become dormant?
In short, in this era, the concept was that people who couldn't pass the trial of the Millennium Items didn't even have the qualification to touch them. Just touching them would be extremely painful and cause them to suffer torment. In more serious situations, it could even directly kill the person who touched them.
At that time, Aknadin had once warned Bakura about this, but he didn't expect that Bakura, because of his origin with the birth of the Millennium Items, would directly tear up this concept and ignore it. Of course, considering Bakura as someone who had already passed the trial of the Millennium Items also makes sense.
This was also why the physicians didn't place the Millennium Necklace alone but handed it over to Malik for temporary keeping. As the Gravekeeper's Family Leader who was once almost chosen as a Priest for a Millennium Item but regrettably not chosen, Malik, compared to ordinary people, although still unable to obtain the recognition of the Millennium Items and use their power, could barely manage to touch them without getting injured.
But now, Kaiba told Malik to use the power of the Millennium Necklace to awaken a spirit, and he wanted to help?
Don't let it happen that the power of spirits doesn't awaken, and this guy Kaiba gets directly killed by the mystical power of the Millennium Necklace. Even the relatively milder "good" Millennium Items didn't mean they had no danger. If it was more serious, maybe Malik himself wouldn't have a good outcome because of this.
"Stop joking! Do you know what the consequences will be if someone not qualified attempts to use a Millennium Item?" Looking at Kaiba, Malik extended a finger and poked his chest. "Soul scattered, won't die a good death! Don't think that just because you escaped with me just now means you have any special relationship with me. If you die, I won't feel heartache, and it's even less likely that I will accompany you to gamble with your life."
"I heard before that among the Priests under the Pharaoh, Priest Aknadin had a hobby of collecting stone tablet monsters, and that Seto is the same, he also likes collecting stone tablet monsters. But the difference is that he only pursues those stone tablet monsters with great power."
"You look exactly the same as Priest Seto, and even your idea is the same. For power, is it necessary to gamble with your life?"
Malik's words were merciless, but more than that was helplessness. He could also see that kind of desire for power in Kaiba's gaze, but seeing it didn't mean understanding it. Was power that important, to the point where it was worth Kaiba gambling with his life?
Hearing Malik's words, Kaiba firmly nodded. "Mm, that's right. For power, this is just a necessary sacrifice."
Seeing Malik's expression of disdain after hearing his answer, Kaiba took a deep breath and said, "That kind of situation just now, I don't want to experience it again. That situation once was already enough for me."
What Kaiba was referring to was naturally not the fact that he, the dignified KaibaCorp President, Kaiba Seto, a legendary duelist whose strength ranked among the top three in the whole world, was repeatedly disliked three times as a "burden" in just one day, almost within a few hours—although that matter indeed made Kaiba very angry.
What Kaiba had had enough of was the fact that he had no power to change anything, no power to make resistance, and no power to protect others or extend a helping hand.
His self-esteem was extremely strong, but the actions of Hayato and Karim, who sacrificed themselves to cover the rear, repeatedly frustrated his self-esteem.
The source of everything, in the end, was that he had no power.
If he could summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon, even if he died together with Hayato covering the rear, Kaiba wouldn't feel as uncomfortable as he did now. But he couldn't get a response from Blue-Eyes, it was almost like Blue-Eyes hadn't yet formed a sufficient bond with him in this era.
So he thought of a method—Hayato had told him that before, with the help of the power of the Millennium Key, he had awakened the card spirit of Psychic Ectoplasm. Although it wasn't a monster but a spell card that awakened a spirit, which was really a bit too bizarre, this matter gave Kaiba enough inspiration.
"I need power, more power. And since the Millennium Items can unearth the spirit within the human heart, then I will absolutely not let go of this power."
"For power, just take my life! Just give me more power!"
Listening to Kaiba's words, Malik looked at him deeply. Although he was a bit selfish, he wasn't ungrateful. Although he saw the image of Karim summoning Thunder Dragon Colossus when they left before, so much time had passed and Karim hadn't chased out. This made Malik's heart vaguely have an ominous premonition.
Sighing, Malik covered his forehead. "Damn it, I must have been overly frightened today and lost my head, to actually do such a thing."
"Alright, I must admit, I'm actually also a little worried about Priest Karim's situation. So, for the time being, I'll gamble with you, this madman full of power, alright?" Malik said, holding Isis's Millennium Necklace in both hands, and looked at Kaiba seriously. "Let's agree beforehand, if you die, I'm not responsible."
"But if I die, I absolutely won't let you go even when I reach the Underworld!"
Kaiba's corner of the mouth slightly turned up. "Hmph, whatever you want. But I won't go to any Underworld. In my future, there has only ever been the path of radiance."
Closing his eyes, Malik calmed down and began to communicate with the Millennium Necklace he was holding in his hand. The power contained within it was slightly triggered and drawn out under Malik's guide. Mystical power, filled with an aura of danger like a bomb ready to explode at any moment, poured out from the Millennium Necklace and rushed into Kaiba's body, who was close at hand.
Before Malik could slightly enjoy for a moment that he had unexpectedly successfully used the power of the Millennium Necklace, the mystical power, which was still relatively well-behaved the previous second, suddenly became violent. It fiercely burst open. A part of it flowed back into the Millennium Necklace, while the rest of the mystical power exploded and burst on the spot, rushing into the bodies of both Malik and Kaiba.
In an instant, the two were blown away by the sudden explosion and fell onto the Sandy Ground. Excruciating pain entered Malik's mind. Mystical power vaguely formed the Mark of the Eye of Wjat/Udjat on his forehead. And before he lost consciousness, he last saw that a ray of white light seemed to have lit up on Kaiba's side, who was also blown away.
