Chapter 204
63. The Magical Beasts and the Ancient Gravekeepers #3
—
In the desert city of Cairo, where golden hues and the scent of spices filled the air, it was always bustling, no matter when you dropped by.
But this particular evening was electrified with an intensity like never before, as the eyes of both townsfolk and beasts sparkled with excitement.
“Did you hear? An envoy has come from the Kingdom of Humans! This hasn’t happened in decades!”
“Look at that fancy jewel-studded carriage! Must be someone of high status, huh? Probably a noble.”
“There are Gold Grade hunters here too. And knights! Are they here for a war?”
Beasts and stone dwarves flocked their gaze toward a carriage surrounded by a plethora of guards. The carriage, adorned with white sandalwood giving off a creamy glow and gemstones, was being pulled by two black horses of noble lineage.
“Arrived at last.”
A man, resembling a butler or attendant, dismounted from the driver’s seat and opened the carriage door. From within, a woman wearing a grand, flowing dress stepped out slowly toward Cairo.
“She’s cute! Look at that little crown on her head! Is she a princess?”
“Princess? In a kingdom ruled only by an old king? She must be the new concubine of the ancient King Solomon.”
“But she looks too young to be a concubine… Anyway, she’s definitely someone of high standing among humans.”
Stone dwarves and beasts murmured among themselves. Knights spread a red carpet on the ground.
“Make way! Presenting the one and only lawful heir of the Millennium Kingdom of Jerusalem, of the noble blue bloodline, conqueror of countless beasts and the magical realm, Lord Solomon’s very own kin, the esteemed Leaf…”
Thud!
The long-winded knight’s introduction was abruptly cut short as the princess delicately raised her gloved hand.
“Enough with the lengthy explanation. We’re in Cairo, right? What a fun place! Right here—”
Leaf wiggled her fingers curiously at the towering buildings. Her dress rustled and her necklace, like a charm, tinkled with excitement.
At that moment, a gigantic shadow loomed over her head.
Roar!
The earth-shattering roar made hunters and knights recoil in surprise.
“Th-That’s a Gryphon!”
“Draw your weapons!”
Clang! Clang!
The attitude of the stone dwarves and surrounding beasts grew ominous as the knights and hunters readied their weapons.
“What the heck!? Shouting swords as soon as they arrive after years?”
“See, this is why long-legged folks shouldn’t come around! Are they challenging us right now!?”
It was an explosive moment, teetering on the brink of a war between races and nations. The one to defuse the tension was the dignified Sir Shuleiman, dressed in black.
“Knights and hunters, stand down! We aren’t here to fight. If the Gryphons intended to attack us, they would have by now in the desert of patience.”
“But sir…”
“We cannot allow any skirmish to harm the princess, even by chance, can we?”
“Um…”
Thinking of the princess’s safety, the knights and hunters reluctantly put their weapons away. Then, a Gryphon perched on top of a turret swooped down towards the carriage.
Whoosh!
It had been a hundred and three years since humanoids, not merchants, had invaded this land. What business could they possibly have to travel this far? And before that, did a human who could speak the language of beasts even exist?
The atmosphere grew tense around the humans as the noble Gryphon cried out. It was the princess, the Chilli Raccoon named Leaf, who was first to speak.
“I’ll say this only once, so listen up, common folk… I mean, residents of the western magical realm! I have come to meet your king, Jupiter!”
—
Suddenly, my body shook violently.
“What is this chill down my spine… Did I exhaust too much energy?”
“Ugh, I feel like my transformation is about to wear off. I tried not to deplete magical energy…”
Descending from the ultra-heated, solidified statue was Azidahaka. She wiped the sweat off her neck with her robe’s sleeve, revealing red scales emerging around her throat and mouth.
“Looks like my transformation is indeed wearing off.”
“I really need to conserve my energy from now on…”
“Good job, take it easy.”
I swung my tail with all my might, smashing it into the crocodile statue.
Crash!
Splash!
From its chest, a heart wrapped in bandages tumbled out and crumbled like sand.
In the small chamber where we battled the gravekeepers, only the lingering warmth and ashes remained.
“I think I just witnessed something insane… Breathing out that much fire! Definitely not your average fire lizard…”
“I almost mistook you for a Fire Dragon.”
The Sand and the blacksmith Totuga nodded in admiration towards Azidahaka’s handiwork. It was Jack, the speedster, who had likely introduced Azidahaka to them as a red-scaled lizard, or Salamander.
“If we hadn’t met those guys, we would’ve all been dead here. Guess the gravekeeper level isn’t nothing to sneeze at, especially in the Ancient King’s pyramid…”
Jack poked the solidified crocodile statue with his foot. Next to him, the blacksmith Totuga pulled something resembling a magnifying glass from his backpack, keenly examining the remnants of the crocodile statue.
“This stone might be valuable for crafting some jewelry. I’ll just chip a little off.”
He said this and then took out nails and a hammer, carving the stone before neatly packing it into his leather backpack.
“A canine head and a crocodile head… I’m thinking they could be the Beheader Brothers from the sand dunes.”
Jack shrugged at Sand’s comment.
“Beheader Brothers? Those are mythological beings! The kind of stories you’d hear beside a child’s bed!”
“You know the tales say if you misbehave, the Beheader Brothers will take your head! Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”
“Well, those guys have a third brother who’s a bird. This lot only has two.”
“Whatever, who knows? Maybe that third, youngest brother, the bird-head, is still out there in another room as a gravekeeper?”
“Hmm, that’s a valid point.”
Jack and Sand continued their banter about ancient legends and myths, while I turned my focus back toward the door that the gravekeepers had blocked.
“Don’t know how many floors we need to descend, but with these guardians scattered everywhere, it’s gonna be a tough outing.”
It’s not like I can spew fire indefinitely. Unless we find a spot to refill our water quickly, I have my doubts.
Just as I was lost in contemplation, Jack patted my shoulder.
“That’s why we’re here! We’ll find a way that avoids exhausting combat whenever possible.”
“Now that’s reassuring! Then we take a step back!”
After the battle with the gravekeepers, Azidahaka was sniffling like a sick chicken. I gently handed the cool Yingyi into her embrace, and only then did some color return to her cheeks.
“Feeling better. My magical energy seems to be stabilizing too.”
The scales that had marked her neck began to calm, like the surface of a pond settling down.
“For now, don’t exhaust yourself unnecessarily. I can handle the basics alone.”
I turned my gaze away from Azidahaka towards the others.
“This way seems risky. I smell iron and oil up ahead.”
“This place’s stone walls are damp with some kind of slime. If you step on a pressure plate, a trap triggers, and sticky goo would pour out. Sniff, I think there’s poison too.”
“Alright, then let’s take the side passage; it should be safer.”
Jack, Sand, and Totuga each assumed their roles as they preemptively avoided danger, ultimately discovering a safe and quick route. As a result, we had enough time and leisure to catch our breath and manage after the rough fight with the gravekeepers.
Boom! Crash!
Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion or perhaps the sound of a collapsing building.
“W-What’s happening?”
“Sounded like walls breaking from afar.”
“Was that coming from above us? Is the ceiling about to collapse?”
Jack squinted at the ceilings. I casually remarked, not taking it too seriously,
“Guess someone else is having their own little brawl somewhere.”
I looked up too. I had no clairvoyance abilities, but it felt like I could see some dark aura swirling beyond the darkness overhead, reminiscent of that of the black goat Satan.
‘Looks like we’re about to finally meet. I’m curious what he looks like.’
According to Nebah, Satan appeared like a young boy?
A well-dressed little gentleman with black curls, sporting horns like a ram on his forehead, and only the sharp fangs setting him apart from an elegant noble.
‘With no knowledge of his powers, we should avoid rushing into a fight upon meeting. Gathering more intel is essential.’
The deer-like mythical creature Ilgast had advised me repeatedly to learn the art of fear. According to him, slaying large beasts and powerful entities is borne from arrogance.
Knowing Satan was close by, an adversary without a doubt, made my initial excitement cool into a cold calm.
“Perhaps it’s best to inform them of the truth?”
I looked worriedly at Jack, Sand, and Totuga.
“Whoever is struggling up there, we should reach the shrine first! We have the secret map!”
“Let’s push forward!”
“I agree!”
They seemed to think of us as mere cunning grave robbers who’d stumbled into this pyramid.
While for Azidahaka, keeping the existence of Satan under wraps to avoid unnecessary confusion and chaos seemed prudent. But for me, it felt better to prepare by letting them know beforehand.
‘It’s clear talking about it now would be more beneficial.’
Later, if we meet suddenly, we won’t have time or room for explanations.
If they get ensnared in this chaos and perish as mere expendables, the two of us, Azidahaka and I, won’t survive this peculiar underground ruin either.
‘Let’s just warn them that whoever is following us poses a significant threat.’
Just as I was about to speak up…
“Over there…”
Grrruuuk! Crash!
In that moment, the seemingly shaking and collapsing ceiling literally came crashing down.
“May the sands of the desert… be eternal…”
A bird creature stood revealed among the fallen bricks, its golden beak sparkling. As it half-flew, it creaked before dissolving into sand, similar to the gravekeepers we had seen earlier.
“What’s going on!? Is everyone okay?!”
“The ceiling has collapsed!”
“What the…!? What’s happening? These underground ruins should’ve been built tough enough to withstand anything…”
Jack, Sand, and Totuga gazed wide-eyed toward the crumbling ceiling.
“This… energy is…”
Azidahaka held the Yingyi tightly, muttering in a fluster.
Swish!
Azidahaka, removing her tiara from her eyes, glanced up at the ceiling. Soon her face was painted with horror.
“Sa… Satan! So it is you…”
At the familiar name, I too looked up. Multiple holes in the ceiling revealed a pair of yellow eyes shining down upon us from several stories above.
Those horizontal slit pupils reminded me of a ram, a stark contrast to the grandeur of the mighty Baal I encountered earlier.
“Azidahaka, I’ve sensed your presence here. And I’ve known you were in pursuit. Two parallel paths, unexpectedly, have now crossed.”
His thin voice transmitted both femininity and the innocence of a boy’s voice.
Though polite and kind, it felt as precarious as someone hiding a kn*fe behind their back.
‘That’s Satan…!’
Though obscured in darkness, the foul aura surrounding him felt downright grotesque.
If Nyali’s purple-tinged black aura felt like a tongue licking my nape, his energy dripped like the dampness of the underground, leaving a clammy sensation.
Smirk!
Piercing through the darkness and dust, white teeth replicated the crescent moon.
“Just as the rumors say, the fur is oddly white and soft… Pleasure to meet you, Alpha. I would love to see you up close, but the accursed bonds of the gods won’t allow it.”
Boom!
The ruined ceiling echoed harshly. The shattered openings and debris began to repair and fill back as if nothing had happened.
“We’ll meet again soon. For what you desire lies within my grasp.”
The opening shrank as Satan’s fingers sparkled above. Azidahaka’s eyes widened in shock.
“T-That’s… The, the precious gem… my gem…!”
—
If you enjoyed reading, please give a thumbs up at the top of the mobile screen! A two-second ‘like’ will gift a happy day to the writer! Thank you to everyone who left comments and coupons!
