### Chapter 200: Magical Beasts and the Pyramid 199 – Magical Beasts and the Pyramid #2
After a lengthy silence, Azidahaka finally decided to speak up.
“What a surprise. Why did you go out of your way for that wolf? I thought you were only cold to losers.”
We were on our way to the pyramid located in the Valley of the Royal Family, behind Cairo.
I recalled the fight from a few hours ago and the face of that wolf beastman.
— That guy had a familiar scent.
That guy was a giant one-eyed wolf with black fur. Even on the verge of d*ath, he hadn’t shown a hint of weakness, making me feel a sense of defeat against Kublai, the ruler of the Eastern Forest, and Garm, the shovel-wielding sidekick. Their scents were oddly similar.
Could they be related, perhaps?
‘Who would have thought I’d end up thinking about him all the way to the edge of the western lands?’
That crazy night with Kublai, the fox, and the hunters was like a trauma that left my pride wounded.
Despite having taken down Kublai—who was a fine male, a father, and a leader—I couldn’t rejoice in my victory.
I lost the chance for a straightforward, man-to-man showdown with him. I might as well admit I was defeated by him forever.
Thus, I wanted to at least get a little revenge on Garm, the wolf who smelled similar to Kublai… but explaining that was too complicated, so I decided to just brush over it.
— A capable subordinate would be nice, right?
“Is this all about that cat woman, then?”
— What? Why are we back to that?
“Your voice sounds so flustered, and your heart is racing. It must be true, right? You wanted to protect that innocent cat girl, didn’t you?”
— No…
Although I wouldn’t say there wasn’t some truth to that. Even if we had a one-night fling, she was a woman I had taken purity from; abandoning her just felt wrong. She seemed mild and sweet like a housecat, not a strong woman.
If she was naïve, she would probably get scammed somewhere, even with money.
Azidahaka, with a cool demeanor but a hint of sarcasm, added to the mix.
“Male creatures are so smitten by delicate women. Don’t they realize it’s all just a act? And now you’re making me a condition?”
— No… I don’t think I would lose, and even if I did, you wouldn’t just comply. It’s all about trust, after all.
“Hmmm…”
— Hey, hey, let’s skip the fighting. Do you see that over there? That’s the Second Pyramid.
Jack, the swift-talking one, jumped in at that moment, pointing out towards the towering giant pyramids.
— That central one is the Second Pyramid, right there.
— Wow, it’s really tall. How high is it?
As I exaggeratedly feigned interest, I heard Azidahaka click his tongue beside me. — Grryiing, Yingyi, nestled in Azidahaka’s arms, looked like it wanted to escape.
“According to King Ojimann’s measurements, it’s about 440 meters tall, with a base length of around 660 meters. It truly exemplifies the architectural prowess of the Ancient Stone Dwarfs.”
Totuga, the blacksmith, seemed overly excited, puffing up as if he had built the pyramid himself.
— I’ve never seen it this close! It’s massive! How did they cut and stack those stones…
Each square rock that formed the pyramid was as big as a house. Sand, the sand cat, also seemed equally amazed, contemplating how they managed to stack them so high.
I nodded exaggeratedly at the Second Pyramid.
— But there are a lot of people. Is this a tourist spot?
Even as the sun began to set, groups of beasts and people were gathered around the pyramid, laughing and feasting on food and drink.
Jack, the camel, blinked his long eyelashes as he watched the passing pedestrians.
— It is a famous tourist attraction. Ever since the doors of the Second Pyramid opened, it’s been completely chaos with tomb raiders, adventurers, and hunters flooding in.
From Jack’s perspective, it seemed he wasn’t happy that others were reaping the rewards of his efforts.
— Just you wait. I’ll definitely get my hands on that sacred artifact and make my name known to the ends of the earth!
Jack clenched his fist, filled with determination.
I shifted my gaze from him to the pyramid and the people climbing it. They looked like ants clustered around a triangular ice cream cone, causing me to scowl.
— So, where’s that entrance you opened? Over there?
In the middle of the pyramid, there was a crowded area where people and beasts alike were forming a line. Peering carefully, I noticed a tiny hole where people were disappearing one by one.
Jack clicked his tongue as he glanced at the crowd.
— Yes, that’s the entrance that opened on the day the two moons crossed.
— So we have to stand in that long line, huh?
At Sand’s question, Jack shook his head and spoke in a low voice.
— No, we’re not going there. We’re going to open a new entrance.
Totuga, the Stone Dwarf, smirked at Jack’s bold proclamation.
“Really? A new entrance? Is there another one?”
— Of course! I’m Jack from the swift castle. I never leak important information. I keep it for critical situations, just like this map.
Jack took out an old, ragged piece of parchment that looked like it was about to fall apart.
The squiggly lines drawn on it looked more like a mess of worms than letters.
‘That’s… the map? Even Azidahaka couldn’t read it?’
In the underground world filled with betrayal, Jack seemed to have stashed away a joker card for when the greedy treasure hunters came after riches and secrets.
After inspecting the ancient map filled with gobbledygook symbols, Jack cleared his throat and pointed toward the distant horizon.
— We’re going to pass the Second Pyramid and head to that land over there.
— Aren’t we going to the pyramid?
“I thought we were heading to the pyramid too.”
Sand and Totuga expressed their confusion, and Azidahaka tilted its head in disbelief.
“Going to attack the Second Pyramid but passing it? That sounds strange.”
— Yingyi!
Jack casually clicked his tongue, lounging back as if in control.
— Everyone only sees the towering rock formation and doesn’t realize the massive stones beneath it. That towering thing is just the capstone—a crown on a building.
“That giant pyramid is just the capstone?”
Totuga appeared the most thrilled by Jack’s words.
“That’s impossible. That giant structure can’t just be a capstone!”
— What do you mean by capstone anyway?
Sand fiddled with her ears, curious as Totuga’s youthful face darkened for a moment, like a shadow passed over him.
“A capstone usually refers to the final stone placed on top of buildings, the crowning glory of construction.”
— Exactly, just like Totuga said! The capstone is the stone on top. And that pyramid is nothing but a capstone.
Jack stomped his hoof on the desert sand as if to punctuate his point.
— The real treasure is buried beneath this sand. It’s an underground tomb so immense that no one can even imagine it.
‘Underground….’
I looked at the pyramid towering above the sand. If that giant pile of rocks was merely the capstone, what could the actual ruins below be like?
Imagining the vast, overwhelming size sent shivers down my spine.
“Bwahahaha!”
Suddenly, Totuga burst into maniacal laughter.
“Exactly! That explains it! No matter how I thought about it, the meaning of that gigantic structure never added up. It was just a capstone! Our free stone mason society, the Freemasons, was right about everything! Who else but the most brilliant Stone Dwarfs could build a structure lower than the fairies’ tower? While the fairies built upwards, we dug downwards!”
Grinning at the fantastic achievements of our ancestors, I shifted my gaze back to Jack holding the map.
— So, where’s the entrance to this underground tomb?
— We’re almost there. That rock over there. If we break it with enough strength, the entrance should appear. It’s a rock that’s tough to break without significant power, so we’ll need your help.
— You want me to break the rock? And that rock you’re talking about is where?
— It’s right over there…
Jack shifted his eyes from the map to the ground, looking distressed.
— Uh-oh…? Just yesterday, there was a rock right here…
He sounded disheartened, as if something was off. Approaching the spot where Jack insisted a rock had been, we discovered shattered stone fragments in the dry ground and a sealed entrance below.
Jack clicked his tongue and rummaged through the rubble as if he couldn’t believe it.
— Someone got here before us. This can’t be happening. I learned about this entrance only after the Second Pyramid was opened and found this other map inside! Nobody else should know about this location besides me…
Denying reality, Jack, without hesitation, started digging through the collapsed rocks as I grumbled.
— Whoever they are, they at least have the strength to smash this giant rock.
“Uh, White One, there’s something here…”
Azidahaka, who had been clearing away stones, called me over urgently. I turned my gaze to see a thin dark hair stuck to Azidahaka’s slender finger.
— A black, twisted hair?
“Indeed. This might be…”
Azidahaka refrained from giving a name, implying it belonged to someone specific.
“It seems this place was indeed the right one.”
— Yeah, we might be a bit late, though.
Once the last of the rubble was cleared away, stairs leading downwards appeared.
“Wow, that’s a very obvious entrance!”
— This place won’t stay hidden for long.
Totuga and Sand commented, and Jack nodded in agreement.
— So whatever’s inside it, we need to get our hands on it before someone else does. I don’t know how the one who broke this rock found the hidden door, but they probably don’t know about the traps and shortcuts inside. They can’t know.
Muttering to himself like he was casting a spell, Jack started descending the stairs without hesitation.
— What should we do?
“Seems there’s no choice. We should follow them. At this point, Satan himself can’t be too far ahead. Just like the camel said, he might be struggling in there, not knowing the traps or shortcuts.”
— Grryiing.
Yingyi, nestled in Azidahaka’s arms, wriggled around, looking eager like a hungry person starved for bread.
— Ying.
Eventually, Yingyi leaped out of Azidahaka’s arms and dashed into the underground stairs.
If he, who generally had no interest in such ruins and sometimes would run away in fear, was eager enough to go in first, it probably meant there was something incredibly valuable down there.
— Right, no time to hesitate.
Azidahaka and I both followed the group that had entered, pushing ourselves into the underground stairway. Just as Azidahaka’s long tail disappeared into the ground, there was a sudden rumbling sound.
Rumble!
Did something get triggered? Did we press something?
“I didn’t do anything! What’s happening?”
Azidahaka looked panicked.
Crash!
The entrance we had just come through was now sealed off by a massive stone slab, completely blocking our exit.
‘Wait, now our way out is blocked?!’
Author’s Note: And just like that, we’ve reached Chapter 200! Thank you to everyone who has been with White One this far. I hope to continue evolving as a writer alongside White One! 😭
