Chapter 712
A special labyrinth that inherited the soul of Egypt.
And if there was an ability perfectly suited for a place like this, he just so happened to have the right one.
Fzzzt… Crackle-crackle!
Intense blue sparks burst out.
[Four abilities are being fused!]
[Due to an imperfect combination formula, the fusion success rate has decreased.]
As expected, without copying more abilities from the Egyptian Divinities and Residents, it was impossible to obtain the desired ability in its complete form.
But…
‘Then I’ll just tweak the source a little.’
He already possessed the power to correct errors to a certain extent.
[Unique Ability ‘System Manipulation’ activates!]
The sparks flared up even more violently.
And at that very moment.
[Fusion successful!]
[Unique Holy Spear – ‘Avatar of Anubis’]
Acquisition Difficulty: Immeasurable
Description: Can be activated unconditionally against those who challenge Egypt’s authority. The wielder is chosen as the being Anubis cherished most in all of history and may use a variety of Egyptian blessings and abilities.
In addition, two of the opponent’s abilities are randomly sealed. (Duration: 15 minutes)
[The fused ability has been stored in the ‘Memory of the World’.]
The moment the book opened, the newly acquired ability activated immediately.
Whoooosh!
A golden world unfolded before the Setan Mummy.
White sand and palm trees stretched out on both sides. Golden waves poured out from the Sphinx and pyramid standing at the center.
And.
At the very heart of it stood a being wearing a helmet identical to Anubis’s.
“…Wh… what is this?”
As if entranced, the Setan Mummy slowly stepped forward.
The pure power of the sun, both familiar and reverent, stimulated its instincts.
The Players fighting all across the field also noticed the newly appeared being.
“Who… is that?”
“What kind of ability is that?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it before…”
“That’s not a Player. It’s a Resident.”
“An Apostle! There’s an Apostle of the Egyptian faction among us!”
For some reason, the Egyptian Divinities were extremely reluctant to appoint their own Apostles. According to some Residents with connections, they would only say that a designated zeroth-priority candidate already existed.
That was why it was no exaggeration to say that those blessed by Egypt were nearly nonexistent.
Which was why conquering this labyrinth had seemed even more hopeless. Who would have imagined that a rarity like this was among them?
[The Avatar of Anubis gazes upon its enemy.]
Ruuuumble!
A desert sandstorm shook the entire labyrinth.
At the same time, the Avatar of Anubis moved.
Baaang!
Its body kicked off the sand and crossed the distance to the Setan Mummy in an instant.
Though its frame was only 180 centimeters tall, its explosive acceleration and destructive power far surpassed that of any large monster.
Riiip!
A mid-sized crocodile was torn apart by the pressure of the wind alone.
The pair of crescent blades in its hands radiated murderous intent.
“I shall eliminate the enemy of the royal house.”
Those brief words merely announced the duty it would carry out.
“…A fake… obeying… a mere human…!”
The Setan Mummy swung its golden spear.
Kaaang!
Metal clashed against metal at a single point.
Dozens of exchanges took place in a single instant.
Thud! Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
The Setan Mummy unleashed relentless thrusts with its spear, which was over five meters long. The Avatar of Anubis deflected those pinpoint strikes with its short crescent blades and forced its way inward.
[The Setan Mummy activates the skill ‘High Priest’s Secret Art’ – ‘Desert Sandstorm’!]
Whoooosh!
A sandstorm dozens of meters high rose into the air.
[The Avatar of Anubis activates ‘Emerald Beetle’s Virulent Poison’!]
In response, ring-shaped blades formed from purple energy spun violently.
Their high-level close-quarters battle escalated into a magical clash.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kwaaang!
Multicolored flames swallowed up the field of vision.
Tap.
The Avatar of Anubis leaped out from the heart of the storm.
[The skill ‘High Priest’s Secret Art’ has been sealed.]
In an instant, the sandstorm protecting the Setan Mummy vanished.
Its body was completely exposed.
“Grr… Graaah!”
The Setan Mummy instinctively summoned sand soldiers and sent them charging forward. Dozens of spear tips pierced straight through the Avatar of Anubis.
No, it only looked that way.
Swooosh…
“…A mirage.”
The power to freely manipulate mirages at point-blank range was why the Avatar of Anubis boasted an undefeated record in close combat.
Ssschk!
A crescent blade carved a clean arc through the air.
Blood burst out like a fountain.
The Setan Mummy staggered violently, its neck half-severed.
To anyone watching, it was a fatal wound.
But.
The Setan Mummy’s severe injuries began healing at a terrifying speed. It was hard to believe, considering it had been struck by crescent blades imbued with a curse of death.
That should have been impossible unless it was an Archangel-level being specialized in divinity and regeneration.
‘There’s something else.’
Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
No matter how newly acquired the ability was, the power held by the Avatar of Anubis was absolute. It was true that the Setan Mummy was powerful too, but there was no way it should have been able to fight it evenly in a one-on-one battle.
From the start, the Setan Mummy could only display its true strength when it was together with its army, including the ten curses.
And yet the reason the fight was evenly matched was because a new power had intervened.
Whoooosh!
To Jinhyuk’s eyes, now capable of reading the Lost Language, faintly engraved letters spread throughout the battlefield came into view.
[The stigmata of the great faction ‘Elder Gods’ are scattered across the field.]
Only a fragment of the information had been caught by the [Eye of Gluttony].
Everything else had been restricted, so even this much was barely visible.
‘They’ve really shoved their noses into this one.’
As long as the stigmata remained, no matter how hard they fought, they would never be able to defeat the Setan Mummy. The longer the battle dragged on, the more Mana and stamina they alone would lose.
“Alice.”
“Yes.”
“From here on, move around and find our people. Tell them to go to the places marked on this map.”
“What’s there?”
“You won’t see anything just by looking.”
There were seven locations in total where stigmata had been engraved.
The scales varied, some large and some small, but every single one had to be destroyed.
Jinhyuk took out six pieces of ice.
Inside each one was a crystal engraved with a different language.
“Use these and the stigmata will become visible. Just destroy them.”
“To think you would use me, a queen, as some lowly errand girl. My mood is far from pleasant.”
“Is that so? Then I suppose I have no choice. Ms. Teresa!”
“W-who said I wouldn’t do it! Why are you calling for that foolish Saintess who’s too busy fighting to know up from down? She looks completely out of her mind right now!”
“Thanks. You’re the only one I can trust and rely on for this.”
Jinhyuk patted Alice on the head.
The arrogant queen who had been throwing a fit just moments ago suddenly calmed down as if nothing had happened. It was like watching a fierce cat purr.
“Alright! Just leave it to me!”
Alice flapped her small wings and quickly got in touch with their allies scattered across the battlefield.
Elder Yoo Cheonyeong, Lee Tae-min, and Yoo Yeonhwa had to be somewhere here too, which meant they could expect substantial support.
And since the Shuja Guild had formed a temporary alliance with Takeshi and the Samurai Guild, they would gladly take part in the operation as well.
“Frey.”
“Yes.”
“The Avatar of Anubis alone will have a hard time handling that boss. Take T-Bone and Wolyoung and support it so it can focus entirely on the one-on-one fight.”
“Given the enemy’s regenerative power, the probability of success is approximately 1.253%, yes.”
“I know. Just buy us time.”
Jinhyuk patted Frey on the shoulder, as if entrusting everything to her.
“…”
Frey froze for a moment, as if she had malfunctioned.
But only for a very brief moment.
After a few seconds of silence, she gave a slight nod, as expressionless as ever, like a doll.
Once everyone left to carry out their own roles, Jinhyuk, now alone, clenched the last remaining shard of ice.
The location marked with the largest stigma lay farthest from the center of the battlefield.
===
About ten minutes must have passed.
After moving at full speed, Jinhyuk finally arrived at the place where the stigma had been engraved.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than another part of the desert where a few dunes had gathered.
Crack!
The ice shard in his hand shattered.
[The ‘Unpolished Ice Fragment’ detects the Elder Gods’ stigma!]
Whoooosh!
A purple wavelength revealed the stigma engraved into the rock.
Now all that remained was to destroy it.
But just then.
“I knew you’d come if I waited here.”
A young woman’s voice echoed from beside one of the sand dunes.
Shff… Rustle-rustle…
As the sand collapsed, a girl’s figure emerged.
It was Jang Bo-kyung, the high-ranker who had come here at Seo Jeonghee’s request.
Beside her stood the three other high-rankers who had accepted the same request, along with numerous Inquisitors dispatched from the Vatican.
“…You people are really something. I understand being loyal to your mission, but can you postpone it for a bit? I’m in the middle of something important.”
Jinhyuk waved a hand dismissively.
Then suddenly, he stopped.
“You knew I’d come here…?”
To this place, so far away from the main battlefield?
The smile disappeared from Jinhyuk’s face.
“I thought the top candidates were those red-cross fanatics or Adel. So it was you. An Apostle of the Elder Gods?”
Pfft.
Instead of answering, Jang Bo-kyung laughed.
That was as good as a yes.
“Human greed driving people to stupidity is a constant throughout history, but you’d still rank in the top five. Did you really sink low enough to listen to those sinister bastards?”
No matter how much better they were than the Outer Gods, the Elder Gods were still not a race anyone should trust lightly.
There was only a chance if you prepared perfect negotiation terms and safety measures, then approached them carefully.
But for some rookie newbie to accept their proposal so easily…
It felt like a sweet potato from three years ago was crawling back up his throat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just here to get rid of you.”
Jang Bo-kyung shrugged.
Apparently, the others still could not even imagine Jang Bo-kyung’s true identity, much less the existence of the Elder Gods.
“As promised, I have prepared the Sacred Relic. Now it is your turn to keep your promise.”
The lead Inquisitor handed something over to Jang Bo-kyung.
“Of course. I remember.”
Then Jang Bo-kyung snapped her fingers.
Snap!
[An unknown gate opens!]
A crack tore open through the air.
As though a cluster of bubbles had burst open, a blonde girl tumbled out.
Thump!
“Huh?”
It was Teresa.
The Saintess, who had been holding the front line against enemies swarming in from all directions, still had no idea what was happening.
“Jinhyuk-ssi?”
After landing on the sand with a thud, Teresa looked around and spotted Jinhyuk.
There could only be one reason they had gone through all this trouble to bring Teresa here.
To avoid the eyes of others.
And to kill Teresa.
As expected, the Inquisitors began approaching Teresa with the eyes of predators staring at prey.
Tsk.
Jinhyuk drew his two daggers.
“Oh? Are you planning to protect that witch? No matter how much the scripture forbids tormenting the weak, if you intend to side with a Corrupted Saintess, then we have no choice.”
“If you don’t want to get smacked as many times as there are letters in the Lord’s Prayer, stay right there. I’ve hit people with a spoon before, but never with a cross. You might be the first.”
“You insolent…!”
The handsome man’s face, which had kept up an air of perfect courtesy until now, twisted viciously at Jinhyuk’s taunt.
“Sir Dominic. Please leave the disposal of that individual to this Silvio.”
A giant knight named Silvio drew his sword.
“Permission granted.”
“Thank you.”
Silvio strode toward Jinhyuk.
[Silvio manifests the ‘Sword of Divinity’!]
Ruuuumble!
A heavy divinity spread out, changing the very air around them.
“You’re so terrified you can’t even think of running, I see.”
Jinhyuk stood there without moving, as if frozen stiff.
Well, the Inquisitors were infamous hunting dogs that even Rankers avoided fighting if possible. Naturally, a small fry like him could never stand against a holy knight fighting at full power.
The others also watched with sinister smiles, anticipating the moment Jinhyuk would be split clean in half.
“Blasphemous brat.”
The golden greatsword rose high into the sky.