< 82. The Pharaoh of Mahras >
*
-Whack!!
“Ahhh!!”
Sadia screamed as she watched the axe falling towards her. It was a deceptive trap, aimed at her unstable posture right after she avoided the trap beneath her feet. She stared at the approaching death—
-Clang!
A greatsword with a dark blade sliced through the air. The aged axe couldn’t withstand the strength of the greatsword and shattered into pieces. In the blink of an eye, Fernandez destroyed the axe and caught Sadia, who was falling, with one arm.
“Ah!”
“If you fall that way, there’s another trap.”
Fernandez helped Sadia up, balancing her, and then swiftly sheathed his greatsword behind his back. He clicked his tongue briefly.
Was this the third time? From his perspective, she had been acting like a novice since at least twenty minutes ago.
“First time here?”
“…Yeah. This is my first time from here.”
“From here?”
“From earlier.”
The third seal of the Conclave. To open the gates of the Necropolis, a total of five seals had to be broken, and this black pyramid was the third of them. The fifth seal had already been broken, and the Conclave Papfet that had been sleeping inside was dealt with by the Dane Kingdom.
Now, four seals remained, excluding this one, meaning three more seals were left. Once all the Conclave were dealt with, Mumto’s already weakened power would diminish further, making it finally possible to confront him.
It was a timely mission, perfectly aligned with the plans of the Iron Side faction. Their stated goal was the destruction of the Necropolis and securing the resources within.
-What’s their real goal?
‘Well, whatever their goal is, they probably don’t really need me. They specifically requested me. Can’t predict this.’
The problem was this. Simply securing resources? There were too many risks to think that way. Launching a large-scale operation in the middle of a tense, prolonged war between the Empire and Kirzat just to secure resources? It didn’t make sense.
Fernandez was advancing while simultaneously gauging the flow of magic, the locations of traps, and the internal structure of the pyramid.
“Trap!”
“I know.”
-Crash!
He swung his gauntleted fist, destroying a spring-loaded spear trap, and answered briefly. By triangulating through the flow of magic, he estimated they would soon reach the center of the pyramid.
“Why are you destroying every trap as we go? Isn’t it a huge waste of time?”
“There’s a group coming behind us.”
Neither of them was likely to be hurt by these crude traps, but it was best to minimize risks. Fernandez thought as he destroyed a poison-spraying mechanism.
-Crack!
The trap placements were paranoid. If you avoided this one, you’d hit that one, and if you survived there, you’d fall into something else. If this wasn’t a seal but an altar, why would they want to kill visitors so badly?
‘Anyway, I’ll find out when I get there.’
There was too little information to grasp the full situation right now. Fernandez chuckled as he destroyed a blade trap. Whatever the answer was, the one at the end of this was his.
*
The center of the black pyramid ended in a stone chamber where giant skeletal statues stood in a circular formation. Unlike the numerous other chambers filled with burial urns and sarcophagi covered in cobwebs, this place had only one bronze coffin.
Fernandez sharply surveyed the surroundings. He felt no physical, spiritual, or magical traps. Did this mean there was no point in resisting anymore?
The high ceiling of the hall was filled with bronze mirrors that chaotically reflected moonlight from somewhere, creating intricate patterns in the air. Below, statues modeled after the skeletons of giants gazed down at the bronze coffin in the center of the hall.
“Angelo, do you recognize those statues?”
“…Huh?”
“Good heavens… Those aren’t just skeletal statues. They weren’t made to create an intimidating atmosphere.”
Sadia pointed with trembling eyes at the giant skeleton in front of her.
“Look at that skeleton. The golden Heka and bronze Nekhakha. That symbolizes the Sun God. It represents Shield from that era. The crocodile scales and Nemes behind it, that’s Apophis, the end. That’s the ibis, the god of wisdom, and that’s the god of the earth.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“This is the Temple of the Gods of the Ancient Ashit Empire… A highly, highly insulting Temple of the Gods. A temple made by painting death over the forms of the gods they once served.”
Beside Fernandez, Sadia, with a terrified expression, carefully traced the hieroglyphs carved on the stone pillars.
“O seeker, rejoice in reverence. As the sun and moon rise and wane, as flowers bloom and wither, as leaves sprout and fall.”
Was this a riddle unique to the Ashit Empire? Fernandez looked at the next line of text.
-All life inevitably moves towards death. O seeker, rejoice.
As he read, the hieroglyphs glowed with a dark green light, flickering. Embedded with magic stones…
Engraved writings. The flow of magical power was gradually, gradually thickening.
Sadia was tracing the pillars, deciphering the hieroglyphs. Her posture was bending lower and lower.
‘Why were they engraved so low?’
In an ordinary temple or ruins, such declarations or incantations would always be engraved at a convenient height for reading. Or perhaps high up, large enough to be looked up at. But the hieroglyphs in this stone chamber were almost flush with the floor, carved deeply below.
“Bow down. To the great king of Mahras, the lover of the dead, the son between the hawk of the sky and the wind of the earth. The one who holds the venom of a hundred scorpions, the proxy of hell, the ruler of the scales, the commander of five thousand legions…”
Sadia traced the end of the sentence as she read. She was now crouching almost as if kneeling in worship.
‘…The altar…!’
-Too shallow!
Fernandez quickly jumped out and grabbed Sadia’s shoulder, pulling her back. At that moment, she touched the last sentence.
“The Pharaoh of the City of the Black Sun, the father of the Third Dynasty, the great Altarak… Ah!”
-Click.
A small, very small bronze needle cleverly hidden within the last hieroglyph pricked Sadia’s index finger.
A drop of blood fell to the floor. And then—
-Squeak.
-Creak.
-Grind.
The massive bronze mirrors hanging from the ceiling began to turn, one by one, towards the ground. The moonlight filling the hall was gradually cut off, and darkness descended.
-Crack…
The colossal statues surrounding the center of the hall all shifted their positions. A thick layer of white dust began to settle in the stone chamber. As the statues moved grotesquely, dust poured from their joints.
“What… what is this…?”
“It’s not a seal, but an altar. Step back.”
Fernandez drew his greatsword with one hand, slowly activating the function of the Bronze Throne. The magical power writhed, adding light to the Bronze Throne. Three times? If used sparingly, it could be activated up to four times.
-Rumble.
The vibration shook the stone chamber, and soon light seeped from below. A dark green magical power was oozing from beneath the floor they stood on. A whirlwind swept through. The magical power was swirling around the stone chamber.
“Th-that… over there…”
“Calm down. The Conclave is reviving.”
As the light seeped from the floor, the bronze coffin began to rise into the air. The coffin, carved in the shape of a Pharaoh lying with crossed arms, stopped in mid-air.
-Creak.
The lid of the coffin slowly opened. Inside lay an ancient, ornate shroud-wrapped skeleton. The skeleton was buried among all kinds of funerary objects. Sadia’s eyes widened, and she began to tremble.
‘The presence of the dead.’
A chilling aura was emanating from the coffin. A sticky, clinging aura of death filled the hall. Sadia’s legs gave way, and she collapsed. She sat down, clutching her trembling hands.
-Thud.
“…!!”
“Breathe. Calm down. Fear is an illusion.”
The stigma embedded in Fernandez’s back flashed madly. Sensing the evil presence, it resisted. It burned as if scorched. The saint’s spiritual energy, flowing through his veins, pulsed with his heartbeat, radiating vitality throughout his body.
-Flicker.
A faint light shone behind his head. A halo. Sadia stared blankly at the sight. At that moment, Fernandez’s body seemed larger than ever. Fernandez pressed his thumb against Sadia’s forehead and whispered.
“Be bold. The Lord has overcome the world. Do you have a god you believe in, Sadia?”
“…Ha. Inquisition Officer… If I get out of here alive, I’ll convert.”
-He’s quite the saint.
‘Except for always doing good deeds for others.’
Fernandez shrugged and looked at the skeleton slowly rising from the stone coffin. It was a rather sacred sight. The magical power rising from below enveloped the skeleton’s body, burning.
The funerary objects of the skeleton drew strange patterns in the air. Between them, the skeleton sat in a meditative posture, one hand pointing to the ground, the other to the sky.
-Rumble!!!
The dark green magical power reflected off the mirrors on the ceiling, shooting straight up beyond the ceiling. Like a signal fire. Like a waterfall surging towards the sky!
A blue flame appeared in the skeleton’s eyes.
[Supplicant, what is your name?]
*
“Captain!! Captain! The signal fire has risen! The signal fire is rising from the City of Mosat! Magical power equivalent to that of 30 years ago has been detected!”
“Our saint has succeeded! He really did it alone!”
At Brandon’s urgent shout, Angela jumped up from her seat, grabbed the railing, and looked down. Below, on the ground, dozens of mages were repairing the magical formation, controlling the magical power, and finishing their preparations.
A city-level E-type destruction magic. A masterpiece created by the scholars of Philainnail, who had spent over ten sleepless nights perfecting it—a work of art solely for flame and explosion!
-Clap!
As Angela clapped on the railing, the mages all turned to look at her. Angela felt a strange thrill from their gaze.
With this move, she could turn the tide of the war and lead the Empire to victory. Even those damn old farts would be sure who to nominate for the next chief position.
Angela laughed fiercely.
“Gentlemen!”
Her finger pointed towards the night sky. Far away, towards a small, thin green flame clearly visible even in the darkness.
The rear of the battlefield, a small to medium-sized commercial city that no one cared about. A civilian area that, if destroyed, would only cause diplomatic and ethical issues.
Thus, towards that fragile city where no one had deployed the Great Magic Force. Towards that city where the high priest of the Necropolis had just awakened from a long slumber!
“Set it on fire!!”
*
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