[TL/N: Read my new work - Detective Conan: I'm a Succubus?!]
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As Mai unleashed her overwhelming strength, one devastating attack after another, the duel—once filled with peril—finally reached its conclusion.
Dark Marik, the so-called final boss of this tournament, had been utterly erased from existence with nothing more than a single glance from Nami.
Break Time.
Even after returning to their rooms, an overwhelming sense of unreality still lingered in everyone's hearts.
Of all the duelists, the one most affected was Jonouchi.
He had always considered himself a formidable duelist—not because of his skill, but because of the sheer luck that had carried him through every battle.
Yet today, he had witnessed something beyond comprehension.
Mai, a duelist with a skill level comparable to his own, had completely annihilated Marik, a man wielding a God Card.
It wasn't even a close match—it was a massacre.
Even now, as he recalled the monstrous figures of Shukaku and The Winged Dragon of Ra, his heart raced.
A shiver crawled up his spine.
"So... it's because of that woman?"
His mind flashed back to the final moments of the duel—
The way Mai had bowed before Nami, an expression of absolute reverence on her face.
It was obvious.
Anyone with a shred of intelligence could piece together the truth.
A strange emotion stirred within him.
Without realizing it, Jonouchi turned toward the window.
Outside, beneath the dark sky, the city glowed with neon brilliance.
The towering skyscrapers—structures that once filled him with awe—now seemed no different from tiny ants beneath his feet.
Sometimes… once you witness true greatness, it becomes impossible to accept your own insignificance.
And when the opportunity to climb higher presents itself—
Wouldn't it be foolish to turn it down?
Jonouchi clenched his fist.
"A card hunter..."
His mind wrestled with indecision.
Meanwhile—
Inside Nami's room.
There were still ten minutes before the next duel.
Enough time.
Enough time to take stock of tonight's bountiful harvest.
With a flick of her wrist, she drew Marik's deck from the duel disk.
Since both Marik and Mai had engaged in one of the strongest Shadow Games in existence, the world itself had acknowledged the winner's right to take everything from the loser.
Of course, Mai's body was already intertwined with Nami's destiny, allowing her to bypass the rules.
Thus, the true spoils of this battle naturally belonged to Nami herself.
Her eyes gleamed with greed.
"Let's see what treasures you've left me, Marik."
A golden light flickered in her gaze—
And in an instant—
The deck in her hands shrank.
Out of an entire deck, only one-third of the cards remained.
The rest?
Discarded.
Only cards infused with spirit energy had survived.
The worthless ones—spell cards, trap cards, and weak mortal monsters—had simply vanished.
Nami scoffed.
"Tch… Typical."
Still, she had to admit—
Marik truly was the product of a twisted soul molded by a Millennium Item.
The duel spirits that acknowledged him were, without exception, the ones that thrived in darkness.
And the darker they were—
The more powerful they became.
This single deck alone had contributed more than 50,000 points to Nami's collection!
But what truly excited her—
Was this,
The God Card!
[The Winged Dragon of Ra]
Compared to Kaiba's Obelisk the Tormentor, the pure power sealed within Ra was on another level entirely.
Just this one card alone—
Had given Nami a staggering 180,000 points!
A slow, satisfied smirk spread across her lips.
"What a haul."
But—
This wasn't even the highlight of the night.
Placing Marik's deck aside, Nami reached for the Millennium Rod lying idly on the table.
Her fingers traced over its surface.
A crude-looking relic made entirely of gold—
And yet, her instincts screamed that this thing was far more valuable than it appeared.
"This should be interesting."
However—
Before she could fully explore its secrets—
There was something else she needed to take care of first.
SNAP.
A crisp snap of her fingers echoed through the room.
Suddenly—
From the depths of the Millennium Rod, an ethereal figure emerged.
A soul.
A transparent, ghostly form that bore an uncanny resemblance to the Dark Marik she had just obliterated.
The only real difference?
His hair—
It lacked the sharp, aggressive spikes that made him look like someone born to play cards.
This…
This was the real Marik.
The original soul—imprisoned for years by his darker half.
His translucent form flickered as he took in his surroundings, eyes filled with confusion.
"I… Where am I…?"
He turned to Nami, his expression uncertain.
However—
Before he could utter another word—
Nami raised her hand.
Her fingers moved like a blade, aimed directly at his temple.
With a simple motion—
She pulled.
Like a film reel unraveling, fragments of Marik's memories burst forth from his mind—
Flashing before Nami's eyes.
A technique born from the Memory-Memory Fruit.
After the complete destruction of Big Mom and Kaido's pirate crews, many powerful Devil Fruits had resurfaced in the world.
But the power of Devil Fruits?
They were no longer something people sought.
Nowadays, the moment someone obtained a Devil Fruit, they would immediately rush to the nearest exchange center—
Trading it in for points to purchase abilities or Pokémon that better suited them.
Devil Fruits?
Ha!
Not even a dog would eat that trash.
Unlike the poor, penniless Crocodile—
Nami had aligned herself with the Revolutionary Army.
She wasn't exactly wealthy, but her obsession with money had allowed her to save up enough points to buy a few select abilities before coming to this world.
And now—
By wielding the power of the Memory-Memory Fruit, she could read, extract, and return a person's memories at will.
Within moments, she had scanned through Marik's entire life.
With a knowing nod, she shoved the memories back into his mind.
Her lips curled.
"So they are the tomb keepers who protect history for the Pharaoh…"
"I never expected this world to have such an interesting setting."
With Marik's soul now in her grasp, Nami instantly learned his identity—along with a trove of other knowledge.
But… none of it really mattered to her.
Before Marik could even process what was happening, Nami waved her hand.
The Millennium Rod in his possession flickered into shadow and vanished into thin air.
+500,000 points!
"A Millennium Item is worth half a million points?!"
Nami's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Thanks to Marik's memories, she knew…
There were seven more Millennium Items in this world!
Six artifacts, each imbued with mysterious powers, and the Millennium Stone that housed them all.
"Hmm…"
A knowing smile spread across Nami's face as she mused, her expression almost benevolent.
"What a pity..."
"With the Millennium Rod erased from existence, and only one God Card remaining..."
"The prophecy passed down by the tomb keepers for generations—the one about gathering the seven artifacts and three God Cards to summon the nameless Pharaoh—has become nothing more than a fantasy. A future that will never be realized."
Her smile twisted into something far more devious.
"In that case… I might as well make good use of the remaining artifacts and cash them in for points!"
"Eight artifacts and three God Cards… That's 4.5 million points in total!"
As she did the math, Nami could almost see herself swimming in a sea of points. The sheer number left her momentarily dazed.
She recalled how, just days ago, she had complained about how difficult it was to earn points in this world.
Now?
Nami wanted nothing more than to turn to the heavens and say:
"I'm sorry! I spoke too soon! Please accept my most sincere gratitude!"
"Listen to me—thank you~!"
...Well, if only she could actually sing about it.
Unfortunately, there was no time for theatrics.
Because at that moment, Marik stirred, finally snapping out of the daze caused by reliving his memories.
"Strange… Why am I out?"
Still in his spirit form, Marik looked around in confusion before his gaze landed on Nami.
Nami, however, simply smiled and got straight to the point.
"Marik Ishtar, heir of the Tomb Keeper Clan. Controlled by the dark persona of a Millennium Item for six years..."
"I imagine that must have been quite unpleasant, no?"
Marik didn't react to her words. He remained calm as he studied her and asked flatly:
"Who… are you?"
Nami, however, responded with nothing but a cryptic smile.
"You don't need to know that right now."
"What you do need to know is that without a physical vessel, your soul will soon disappear completely."
"And along with it—the secrets passed down through generations by your people… and your long-overdue apology to your sister and family."
She leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a near-whisper.
"But standing before you now is an opportunity. A chance to make amends for your past mistakes."
"As long as you make a deal with me, you'll have the power to set things right… with your own hands."
"So… what do you say?"
Marik flinched, his expression betraying a flicker of hesitation.
But in the end, he frowned and asked,
"What kind of… deal?"
Nami's smile widened into something more devilish.
"It's simple."
"As long as you obey me… and become my tool…"
"I will grant you another chance at life."
"And…"
Her eyes gleamed as an overwhelming force suddenly crashed down upon the room.
"Absolute power."
BOOM!
A suffocating pressure filled the space, making Marik's very soul tremble.
The sheer magnitude of this force alone proved that Nami's words were not empty promises.
Nami chuckled.
Who said the world of Duel Monsters wasn't built for making deals?
Because right now…
She had just closed one.
Ten minutes later.
The loudspeakers crackled to life, calling all remaining duelists to gather in the lottery room.
As the doors opened one by one, the competitors quickly assembled.
But…
The moment they saw the figure standing behind Nami, every single person froze in shock.
"W-Wait… what the hell!?"
"You… who the hell are you?!"
Jonouchi staggered backward, pointing a trembling finger at the figure as if he had just seen a ghost. His face was drained of color.
The others weren't any better.
After all, just minutes ago, they had watched this man vanish into the abyss, consumed by darkness.
Yet now—
Here he was. Standing right in front of them.
How was this possible?!
Among them, only Mai frowned, tilting her chin slightly.
Thanks to her sharp intuition, she immediately sensed that something was off about the man behind Nami.
Meanwhile, Nami blinked innocently at their reactions, tilting her head in mock confusion.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Why does everyone look so startled?"
"This is Marik. You all just saw him duel against Mai, didn't you?"
"..."
Of course we know that's Marik!!!
That's why we're freaking out!!!
Even Yugi and Kaiba—who were usually composed—found themselves at a loss for words, their expressions stiff as their mouths twitched slightly.
At that moment, Marik—now clad in a Shinigami outfit, a katana hanging from his waist—took a step to the side. His expression was warm, a stark contrast to the ruthless demeanor of his past self, as he greeted everyone with a gentle smile.
"Hello, everyone. I am Marik, the original personality who was once imprisoned by… well, Dark Marik."
He chuckled lightly before continuing, "Because my thoughts had become too extreme and filled with darkness, the Millennium Rod manifested a second personality—my dark half."
"But that no longer matters. Miss Nami has already shattered the soul of my dark personality into pieces..."
"And I—I've been reborn. Not only that, but I've also gained tremendous power."
He smiled confidently and declared, "From now on, I have officially joined Miss Nami's Hunting Card Team as one of her subordinates."
Then, turning his gaze to Mai, he added, "I look forward to working with you, Miss Mai."
The way Marik spoke, exuding warmth and sincerity, made it almost impossible to believe that this was the same dark Marik from before.
The stark contrast between his past and present persona made it easy for everyone to accept his words without question.
Mai, caught off guard by his direct greeting, instinctively responded, "Ah… um, I look forward to working with you as well."
Still, a thought crossed her mind—If he, too, received a gift from Miss Nami, then his strength must have become something entirely different.
"I wonder… what kind of power has he gained?"
Just as this thought lingered in her mind, the lottery machine suddenly sprang to life, shaking and whirring as it began its selection process.
With only four small balls remaining, everyone's attention shifted away from the resurrected Marik and toward the match selection.
The duelists who had yet to compete in the second round were…
Nami, Yugi, Kaiba, and Bakura.
For Nami, as long as she didn't get paired against Kaiba, she didn't particularly mind her opponent. Whether it was Yugi or Bakura, she could accept either matchup.
However, the one she most wanted to duel among the remaining contestants was none other than Bakura.
While Yugi possessed both a Millennium Item and a God Card, Marik's memories had given her insight into his character.
Yugi Muto… is surprisingly kind.
Convincing him to initiate a Shadow Game would likely prove difficult.
Thus, the best choice for her was Bakura—who was already brimming with dark energy.
And Kaiba?
To Nami, he was nothing more than a discarded toy, tossed aside after she had her fun.
Had it not been for the sheer satisfaction of breaking him, she wouldn't have spared him a second glance.
In the grand scheme of things, a free Kaiba was nice, but compared to a Millennium Item? That was mere pocket change.
Inside the massive glass chamber, the four lottery balls spun rapidly.
Though Nami had already decided on her preferred opponent, she chose not to interfere with the draw, opting to abide by the rules of the game.
However…
While she may have wanted to play fair, someone else had different plans.
The moment Bakura laid eyes on the resurrected Marik, his interest piqued.
The Millennium Eye embedded in his chest pulsed slightly, and the conical ornaments on the Wheel of Wisdom began to levitate, releasing an invisible wave of energy.
"Hmm?"
Nami, waiting patiently for the results, suddenly noticed the subtle shift.
She pursed her lips slightly but chose to remain silent, allowing Bakura to manipulate the outcome as he pleased.
Moments later, two small balls rolled out of the machine.
The referee, a man dressed in black, stepped forward, carefully examining them before giving a nod of confirmation.
"The next match will be…"
"Nami VS Bakura!"