Mami cried out louder than usual.
I put my feet on the road and apply the brakes.
You can’t stop suddenly.
「Stop, stop, stop–!」
「Wait, don’t panic, we’ll stop now, what’s wrong?」
「Something is coming…」
Before Mami had finished speaking, I could see something coming to me.
Somehow, a large group of people came from the direction of eleven o’clock.
「What is that?」
「Master, that’s dangerous! Scary things are coming.」
「Should I run away…?」
「No, it’s too late!」
Before I could finish speaking, Mami jumped off my back and came out in front of me.
「Mami?」
「Master back down, Mami will protect you」
「Eh…….」
Even though Mami looked weak until just now?
With a physique that’s less than two-thirds of mine, he stands bravely in front of me.
Pen pen pen pen pen!
A group of penguins arrived.
They spread all over the street and marched in an orderly formation.
There are five horizontal rows, and although the verticals are not visible, …… there must be at least twenty rows.
「Duel――!」
「eh?」
Mami suddenly entered the duel regime.
We were amazed at their bravery.
Five Ultraman Duel Cards flew out in front of Mami.
「Mulligan—!」
Mami replaced a card with a high cost.
what? “Will the duel rules still apply at times like this?
Wait, are you going to duel with those penguins?
Zubo, Zubo, Zubo,――!
「Eh, what?」
The approaching penguins in the first row shot smoke from their feet like rockets and floated up several meters.
「Master, get down!」
「Eh, ha, yes—!」
My voice turned inside out unintentionally, but I followed Mami and fell down on the road.
「Come on!」
Mami laid out three cards in front of her like a shield.
Hyun hyun hyun――!
The penguins jumped up and turned 90 degrees towards us.
With its beak like an arrow, it flew like a missile.
It hits cards one after another.
Two cards were reduced to zero hit points and shattered.
The attacks of the penguins in the first row stopped.
Only one card remains in front, but it has less than half its hit points.
「draw–!」
When Mami called, one card came out to Mami.
Mami added more cards and lined up four on the front.
「Skill Activation, Attack Boost!」
Mami puts her hand over the card whose attack power has been doubled.
「attack!」
The card Mami instructed flies to the second row of penguins.
The four penguins are crushed, but Mami’s card is also crushed.
「Skill activation, hit point boost!」
One of the new cards has doubled hit points.
「Turn end!」
For a while, Mami and the penguins continued to grind against each other.
However, the maximum number of cards in a duel deck is forty.
Mami seems to be able to fight only according to the rules of duels.
The opposing penguins seem to attack row by row and end the turn. ……
Whether this is due to the rules of the duel is unclear.
Also, other than that, they do not appear to be bound by dueling rules.
Also, other than that, they do not appear to be bound by dueling rules.
The number of cards in the deck is finally about 5 cards left.
No, there are still five rows of penguins left.
Victory or defeat is a matter of time.
But it came sooner than expected.
All the cards on the battlefield were destroyed before the deck ran out.
Before the end of the turn on the penguin side, the last one ran into Mami herself.
「Mami—!」
「Kyaa!」
A penguin hit Mami’s right leg like a rocket.
Mami’s right leg below the knee was shattered.
Mami loses her balance and falls down.
There is no grotesque expression in the XANA Metaverse world.
It just shatters like glasswork and disappears into the air.
Even so, it hurts my heart that someone like my child is hurt.
I rushed over to Mami and picked her up.
「draw!」
Still frowning, I pulled a card in my arm.
Mami must also have some degree of pain as an emotion.
Master, I’ll give you 30 seconds to get out of here.
「What are you talking about, you can’t run away without Mami!」
「No! If Master disappears here, he won’t be able to return to his original world――」
「Eh, why, you understand that, …… Mami, you ……」
Could it be that third-generation AI recognizes the difference between humans and AI?
「Mami won’t disappear even if she loses, so run away…」
Certainly, in a duel, even if you lose the battle, your hit points will be zero.
AI itself will not be destroyed…
「No, wait, your bodies have never been damaged like this… This is not just a duel! There is a possibility that it will disappear!」
「It’s okay, Mami’s body is digital… so it can be regenerated. But if the master can’t go back… his body…」
After all, Mami seems to understand humans.
Certainly, Mami is nothing more than a digital, NFT…
「No, wait, NFTs are unique and have value, right? Even if you can make something similar, there should only be one digital individual of it… In other words, if it disappears, it will never be the same Mami again.」
「……」
I understood because Mami didn’t respond.
Mami herself knew it and said it.
「Skill activation! Sleep! Everyone’s going to sleep!」
Your turn has a time limit of 30 seconds, and automatically becomes your opponent’s turn.
At the very end of her turn, Mami activates a skill that puts the next row of penguins to sleep.
「Okay, Master, please run away…」
It’s ridiculous to risk your own life to protect Mami when you’re just a digital AI opponent.
Yes, I know that, but I can’t stop it.
It’s enough, it’s desperate–.
「It’s as fast as a rocket, and even a skateboard can’t escape. It’s impossible for a person to die in an NFTDUEL game.」
「No, Master–this isn’t a game…they’re bug hunters…they see Master as a bug and come to erase it…that’s why…」
What do you know, this child…
Are you aware of this situation?
Boo-.
The penguins’ turn is over, and it’s Mami’s turn.
「Draw! Why don’t you understand!」
Mami used two cards as a shield.
「Skill activation! Hit point boost!」
Doubled the hit points of one card.
But it doesn’t look like it will hold up next turn.
Penguins also seem to have higher offensive power as they move to the back row.
Even a level 7 card would be destroyed if it received two attacks.
「Master Silly!” I don’t know–turn end!」
「I’m sure we’ll figure it out.」
I, who have always had a poor sense of reality, was in a state of mind where I wanted to protect Mami, or even if I couldn’t protect her, I couldn’t leave her behind, so I had no choice.
When the penguin corps’ fierce attack began, and the fourth penguin flew in, all of our duel cards were destroyed.
A fifth penguin rushes in.
Kneeling down, holding Mami in his left arm, half-body, he tried to fend off the flying penguin with his right hand.
I don’t even think I can do that, but the damage of one right arm won’t kill me – I’m sure.
「Whew!」
When I turned away and brushed it off with my right hand, it happened.
Looking timidly, the flying penguin was destroyed and reduced to dust.
–eh? “What happened to that strange voice…
「Isn’t it painful, what’s going on!」
(Written by Jiraiya / Edited by Achille)