"Come on, eat it, Prince! It's really tasty! This is Mana's heartfelt gift~"

Mana clung stubbornly to Yugi, determined to force-feed him her homemade dish no matter what. Yugi, however, shook his head furiously in resistance.

The scene was uncannily similar to one of those dramas where a wicked wife tries to poison her husband to inherit his fortune.

To make matters worse, the palace guards—though clearly aware that Yugi was in a life-threatening crisis—didn't dare to intervene and stop Mana.

"Ufufufu, youth really is wonderful. Here, Master—say ahh~"

"Ahh—mm! Delicious!"

While enjoying the doting "wifey fox feeding play" from Tamamo, Hoshino's situation was a complete contrast to Yugi's current peril. Honestly, Hoshino felt like she was slowly being pampered into uselessness. Maybe Da Vinci had summoned Tamamo-no-Mae specifically to cook and care for her. With this level of spoiling, she was definitely sinking deeper into indulgence.

Though, honestly, the egg dish Mana made… looked like it could double as a weapon.

However, the standoff between Mana and Yugi didn't last long. Without warning, both suddenly froze, their expressions turning grave, as if they had sensed something terrible.

"Mahad?"

"Master?"

Without any prior discussion, they called out the same name in unison.

"Prince, did you feel that too?" Mana's voice trembled noticeably.

"Yeah… I felt it. Mahad… he's used the forbidden tablet…"

Yugi recalled how he had tasked Mahad with taking Seto's place to investigate the remains of Bakura. If his instincts were correct, Mahad must have encountered something life-threatening.

"Alert all priests in the palace—leave the city immediately and find Mahad. Now!"

(***)

After activating the Forbidden Tablet Eternal Soul, Mahad fused his soul with the Magician of Dark Illusion, becoming the Pharaoh's ultimate trump card—Dark Magician.

Just as he had promised, even after 3,000 years, Mahad still protected the Pharaoh in his own way.

[Dark Magician ATK 2500]

"To think you'd fuse with a Spirit Monster… That's impressive, Mahad. But even the power of the Dark Magician isn't enough to defeat Diabound. Keep possessing, Diabound!"

"I won't let you do as you please any longer, Thief King Bakura! The effect of the Forbidden Tablet—Eternal Soul—activates!"

Dark Magician Mahad released a terrifying surge of dark energy, blasting away the Diabound that tried to possess him.[Effect: Every "Dark Magician" in your Monster Zone is unaffected by your opponent's card effects.]

"Thanks to Eternal Soul, your Diabound's possession ability won't affect my attack power!"

Bakura sneered coldly.

"Don't forget—even if it can't lower your ATK, Diabound will still absorb your power and evolve into a new form! You don't stand a chance, Mahad!"

Diabound began to transform, activating its infinite evolution as it greedily absorbed the Dark Magic energy filling the air. But in the next moment, it was surrounded by countless floating daggers.

"I said I wouldn't let you do as you please again! I'll use all the power of the Dark Magician and Eternal Soul to defeat you here!"

[Effect: Add 1 "Dark Magic Attack" or "Thousand Knives" from your Deck to your hand.]

"This is the ultimate spell capable of piercing any Spirit Monster—Thousand Knives!"

[Effect: If you control "Dark Magician": Target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy that target.]

The shining blades of magical daggers shot forward, piercing into Diabound's massive, half-evolved body. It howled in pain, and even Bakura winced from the soul-shattering shockwave.

"Damn it! How can a dead man still muster such power?!"

Mahad's desperate counterattack had caught Bakura completely off guard. He had underestimated him, and after expending much of his energy on Soul Charge to revive Diabound, the pressure was beginning to mount.

"Thief King Bakura—this is what it means to burn one's soul! My final dark magic—I'll send you straight to the deepest pit of hell!"

Gathering all his magical energy, Dark Magician Mahad locked onto the last remaining Diabound on Bakura's field.

"—Dark Magic Attack!!"

The explosion resembled a pitch-black nuclear detonation—an overwhelming blast of magic formed from Mahad's lifetime of power, surging forward to swallow the entire ruins and leave Bakura no chance to escape.

"Hmph, you miscalculated after all, Mahad! Did you think Diabound could only absorb monsters' power?"

With a swift leap, Bakura dashed forward as the ruins began to collapse, snatching up the Millennium Ring that had fallen when Mahad's body shattered.

"Spirit Beast Diabound, absorb the power of the Millennium Ring and evolve into a new form—get me out of here!"

Having absorbed the power of a Millennium Item, Diabound's body swelled several times in size—nearly comparable to Obelisk the Tormentor.

"Rest in peace here alone, Mahad!"

The power of the Millennium Ring twisted the surrounding space, cloaking Diabound's body and concealing Bakura from sight. In this invisible state, they fled the ruins undetected.

At the moment the ruins collapsed, Yugi—who had ridden over on horseback after hearing the situation from Mahad's soldiers—could only watch helplessly as the rubble buried his loyal priest.

Mana nearly burst into tears as she pleaded with Yugi.

"Master… Master is still in there! Please save him, Prince!"

"Out of the way, Yugi, Mana!" Sitting behind Seto on horseback, Hoshino raised her Duel Disk and infused it with soul energy, sending it directly into Tamamo-no-Mae, who had flown ahead.

"I'm counting on you, Tamamo! Pull Mahad out of those ruins!"

"Honestly, Master, assigning me such a troublesome job on a whim~" Tamamo replied playfully.

Floating above the ruins, Tamamo-no-Mae danced gracefully, summoning aquamarine magic into the mirror she carried.

"But… every now and then, I should show you all my divine side! Divine Residence of Izumo—!"

Tamamo held in her hands the divine treasure known as the Tamamo Mirror, one of the sacred relics used to create a barrier that rejects the natural laws of the mortal world through curses.

"O gods of Izumo! Let this be the proof of your purity, as this mirror becomes your sacred treasure... Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu!!"

The divine power pouring from the mirror enveloped the collapsed ruins. Inside the barrier—where the laws of the mortal world were suspended—even the falling debris began to float. Normally, this treasure of the underworld could even bring the dead back to life, but Tamamo did not yet have the power to achieve that.

"Mahad!!"

Yugi's voice grew hoarse as he desperately called out to Mahad within the barrier.

But what emerged before everyone was not Mahad himself—but the forbidden stone tablet, engraved with his soul's mark—the image of the Dark Magician, sealed within Eternal Soul.

"Dark Magician… Mahad?! Could it be…" Yugi froze in disbelief, his voice trembling.

"Prince, is that Master? Did he seal his soul into the tablet?" Mana, now openly crying, already knew the answer—she was a magician too, and she could feel it.

"Prince, please summon Master using your Duel Disk! I want to see him again!"

At that moment, Isis—bearing the same face as Ishizu and serving as priestess of the Millennium Necklace—rushed in to stop them.

"You mustn't, Pharaoh, Mana! Mahad has only just engraved his soul onto the tablet. His state is unstable—you can't forcefully summon him!"

"But… but…" Mana sniffled in hesitation. Mahad had been by her side since childhood. Though called her teacher, he was more like an older brother.

"Mana." Isis knelt down, gently stroking her head as she spoke softly.

"Even if Mahad were summoned now, with your current magical power, you wouldn't even be able to see such a high-level Spirit Monster. You'll need to train much, much more, Mana~"

Mana wiped her snot onto Hoshino's clothes and nodded vigorously.

"I promise—I'll practice magic every day from now on! I'll definitely see Master again!"

"Ugh, gross…" Hoshino muttered.

Yugi turned to Isis.

"Isis… Did you already foresee this? Through the Millennium Necklace?"

"The future is hazy, my king. But yes—I saw Mahad's resolve and will through the Millennium Necklace. This was a choice he could not avoid."

Gazing at the all-too-familiar figure engraved on the stone tablet, Yugi finally understood.

"I've never been a king alone… All these years, you were always at my side, weren't you… Mahad."

"No good, Master. I've done all I can~"

Tamamo-no-Mae, now covered in dirt, crawled out of the rubble and wiped the mud from her face—onto Hoshino's sleeve.

"Ugh, gross… and I think you wiped it right over the snot Mana left earlier."

"Rice barrel! I'm shocked!" Flustered by her failed attempt to look cool, Tamamo quickly tried wiping her face again with her tail.

"But seriously—no matter how wide I searched with my magic, I couldn't find the Millennium Ring anywhere."

"As expected." Hoshino and Yugi exchanged glances. Their suspicion was correct—there was only one person who could have taken the Millennium Ring.

"Bakura… He survived even that? That's just ridiculous." Hoshino muttered, frowning.

"But even if he did survive, he should at least have been badly injured. To defeat Mahad while wounded and escape right under our noses… what is he, using cheats or something?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Tamamo murmured, glancing up toward the golden pyramid in the sky.

"From the looks of it now… he might not be the only one with cheats~"

.

..

...

The search for Thief King Bakura's whereabouts continued under royal orders, while Yugi personally oversaw the transport of the Eternal Soul tablet back to the palace.

Upon returning, Mana—for once—didn't insist on playing around. Instead, she quietly went off to practice her magic. It was clear that what had happened with Mahad had deeply affected her.

Without Mana's usual chatter, both Yugi and Hoshino found the sudden silence almost unsettling—it felt as though something important was missing.

"Migu! Master, even if you're bored, you can't just pull the fur from Tamamo's tail for fun!"

"Sorry, sorry—it was just a reflex. Besides, you've got so much fur, one strand won't make a difference~"

So this was royal life… surprisingly peaceful. Unfortunately, that peace came with no phones, computers, or video games. The quiet quickly turned into one thing: boredom.

"Still, a bit of boredom once in a while isn't so bad~"

Resting on Tamamo's fluffy tail, Hoshino realized it had been a long time since she'd truly had a moment of rest like this.

Ever since Battle City, it felt like she'd been swept up in an unstoppable tide of fate—trouble always seemed to find her.

"If peaceful days like this could last forever, that'd be nice too~"

BOOM—!!

A violent explosion shattered the stillness. Reality hit Hoshino like a flaming slap to the face.

Yugi quickly turned to the palace guards. "What happened?"

"Reporting to the Pharaoh! The palace was suddenly attacked by an unidentified spirit monster! The creature only becomes visible at the moment it attacks—we can't pinpoint its location!"

Hoshino jolted upright from Tamamo's tail.

"An invisible spirit monster… could it be…?"

Back when the ruins collapsed, Bakura had somehow escaped right under everyone's noses. If he possessed invisibility, that would explain everything.

Frowning slightly, Hoshino muttered,

"This Bakura… he's got to be the most stubborn boss I've ever faced. Just got beaten down, and now he's back again. Does he have some kind of hidden ace?"

Against an enemy like that, extreme caution was a must.

Above the palace—

Riding atop the now-invisible Diabound, Bakura looked down at the royal palace.

"This invisibility from the Millennium Ring is really convenient—makes getting close to my target a breeze~"

But Bakura hadn't come to recklessly start another fight with Hoshino. He was here to carry out phase two of his plan.

"Yo, old man, long time no see~"

With a "polite" smile, Bakura addressed a familiar face.

"Thief King Bakura?!"

Aknadin, bearer of the Millennium Eye, stared in shock as Bakura approached unseen. Instinctively, he activated the Duel Disk on his arm.

"No need to be so defensive, old man. I'm only here to make a deal."

"A deal? With a thief like you?"

Given Bakura's reputation, Aknadin stayed on guard. He knew that if it came to a fight, he stood no chance.

"I know all your secrets, old man. Like how you led the troops to massacre the village of Kul Elna, melting every villager into gold through dark alchemy—to forge the Millennium Items."

"You… how could a mere thief know about that?!"

"Because I'm the sole survivor of Kul Elna! I saw everything you did with my own eyes!"

The dark alchemy in question had been drawn from an ancient Millennium grimoire—its power so immense that a foreign army had once invaded Egypt to seize it.

Legend said that whoever deciphered the grimoire could command gods and demons, wielding a force no army could defeat. If it ever fell into enemy hands, the consequences would be catastrophic.

After all these years, however, Aknadin no longer felt guilt for what he had done.

"It was a necessary sacrifice! If Kul Elna hadn't been destroyed, this country would have fallen. So even if you're the last survivor, don't expect me to feel remorse."

"Heh, I'm not here to settle old scores, old man. When I said I knew all your secrets, I also meant this—how you abandoned your wife and child to make the Millennium Items… only to later discover that your abandoned son, Seto, became a high priest through his own merit!"

"!!??"

Aknadin's eyes widened. The fact that Seto was his son was a secret only he knew—yet Bakura spoke as though reading his soul.

"You must feel proud to have such an accomplished son. And yet… a part of you must be frustrated. Deep down, you believe the one truly worthy of becoming Pharaoh… is your son, Seto!"

Aknadin, brother to Pharaoh Aknamkanon, bore royal blood. That meant Seto also had a rightful claim to the throne—if only he had not been abandoned.

"Let's work together. This deal…"

Bakura's voice slithered like a devil's whisper, digging into the darkest corners of Aknadin's heart—rekindling the shadow he had embraced when forging the Millennium Items.

"I'll fight the Pharaoh. You sabotage the stone tablets of the three Egyptian Gods hidden deep inside the palace. Once I kill the Pharaoh, you can put Seto on the throne. A perfect win-win, don't you think?"

"You're serious?"

Swayed entirely by Bakura's words, Aknadin no longer hid the malice in his eyes.

"Of course! I love making deals with smart people like you. Pleasure doing business, hahahaha!"

Bakura's plan unfolded flawlessly. Riding Diabound—now empowered by the Millennium Ring—he boldly entered the palace's main hall, not even bothering with invisibility.

"Bakura!!"

The Pharaoh's shout rang out, filled with fury.

Bakura, now Mahad's sworn enemy, strode in without fear. His presence alone ignited Yugi's rage.

"Pharaoh, let's settle this once and for all. Summon your precious Egyptian Gods!"

If Aknadin destroyed the god tablets, Hoshino would be unable to fuse Obelisk with Nero. Bakura's goal now was to bait Yugi into summoning the gods, then strike in the instant the tablets were destroyed—delivering a lethal blow.

"—Scatter and perish before the Higanbana Sesshouseki!!"

But just as Bakura moved to seize that opening, the one who caught him off guard wasn't the Pharaoh at all—it was Hoshino. Hidden and waiting, she launched a devastating preemptive strike using Tamamo's power.

"Playing dirty? You've got a long way to go, Bakura!"

(*****)

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