Golden feathers are shot out.
As dozens of feathers swirl around, I knock them all away with my spear.
Kikigigik…!
The feathers bounce back with a somewhat dangerous sound.
They are haphazardly embedded in the wall, ceiling, and floor that haven’t been destroyed yet.
Sharper than I thought.
[?]
[Monthly Report?]
[????]
[What the heck is this sudden Monthly Report]
[Gain? I guess]
[Forgotten Emperor?]
[What the hell is going on]
[Doesn’t that Guy Uncle say he’s an emperor?]
[If he’s mid-tier, that’s quite strong though]
I reposition my spear.
Holy Power is being sucked into one place, and the Boss, noticing the anomaly, flies high, but it’s too late.
‘Eye of the spear.’
The storm of the sky angel, Rusalha, erupts from the spear tip, devouring everything.
Everything existing in the ruins is drawn together into a point, and the power that makes up the Forgotten Emperor also twists like it’s about to crack.
‘As expected, it’s mixed.’
The power of the Pharaoh and something with wings.
The two powers are mixing, maintaining the state of the author.
Unstable, but that very instability creates a stronger power.
The mask completely shatters.
The Boss, the Forgotten Emperor, now resembles the Pharaoh in his living days.
Short golden hair and shining eyes of the same color. Even his tanned skin.
The Pharaoh preferred short clothing over the emperor’s typical flashy robes, which made the sun tattoo engraved on his shoulders stand out.
The tattoo that changes every time the Pharaoh exerts power.
“…Great one.”
The tattoo emits a golden light.
“You have returned!”
“?!”
The power of the Pharaoh pours into me.
As I lift the spear and instantly transform it into a hammer, I kneel on one knee to block the attack.
Kugugugung…!
The ruins shake violently as if welcoming their master, yet the impact of the storm from the Eye of the Spear doesn’t lessen.
“I will no longer accept defeat! Now, tell me! Who is the true emperor?!”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
I channel power into the hammer.
I swing it high, exerting pressure that could shake the entire ruins, and through that gap, the real emperor reveals himself.
“You don’t seem like one, after all.”
The Forgotten Emperor’s left shoulder shines with intense light and droops.
As if a giant sandbag has been placed on it, his arm trembles.
In the midst of this sudden change, his right shoulder slumps next.
That tattoo belongs to the Pharaoh.
If he had obtained the complete body and power of the Pharaoh, that might be different, but in such an incomplete state, he can’t escape the interference of the Pharaoh’s power.
In an instant, the Forgotten Emperor, with both arms sealed, glares at the Pharaoh.
“Who are you?”
“Where did you get that body?”
“This body? It is mine. It is the birthright of the great emperor’s legacy.”
“…Looks like you can’t understand what I’m saying.”
Swish! As the Pharaoh lightly gestured, both arms swung back dramatically.
The Pharaoh kicked the Forgotten Emperor, who was left completely defenseless.
The Forgotten Emperor flew away and crashed into the wall.
[Oh wow]
[That Guy Uncle is really strong?]
[What’s going on here?]
[So the Emperor is That Guy Uncle?]
[?]
[Lily’s summon is the Emperor?]
[It looks like the original Emperor is That Guy Uncle, but seems he got robbed?]
[The Emperor is Lily?]
[Lily is the World Boss?]
[LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[But isn’t that that thing?]
[I don’t even know what it is, but World Boss is a huge gain.]
The Pharaoh swallowed his breath as he retrieved the statue’s foot.
It’s not that the attack didn’t land.
Rather, it struck much harder than what he currently possessed.
“…How strange.”
“Ugh…”
“It can’t be just this much.”
The one who snagged the Great Emperor’s body.
Merely obtaining that body should allow overwhelming power, and someone like the current Pharaoh should be able to crush it with just a finger.
Yet, the Forgotten Emperor is getting beaten up while his arms remain sealed by the Pharaoh.
“Even a mere creature resisted your control. Why are you unable to resist?”
“……”
“If you won’t answer.”
Power emanates from the fingertips of the Pharaoh.
The body of the Forgotten Emperor is being drawn out alongside it.
A body that had once been lost to the Demon Race in the past.
Just regaining that would bring immense change to the Pharaoh.
Of course, it may not seem perfect, but as time passes and I grow stronger, the Pharaoh’s influence on Deoen will increase.
With that increased influence, he could swiftly return to his original state.
He’s getting closer.
Just as the Pharaoh’s hand was about to fully touch his head.
[Great One. Stop.]
The claw that burst through the ground severed the statue’s arm.
The golden claw, having cut off that incredibly tough arm, emanates a chilling aura.
As the Pharaoh’s power momentarily cuts off, the Forgotten Emperor glares with wide eyes and instantly wraps his entire body with wings.
His body is disappearing.
“Ugh! Where do you think you’re going?!”
The Pharaoh urgently unleashed his power, but the golden claw aimed for him once more.
Scorpio is the boss of this dungeon.
If anything, he’s at least as strong as the Forgotten Emperor, if not stronger.
If control doesn’t work, the Pharaoh, with power akin to Leo’s, is in danger.
Transforming the spear back into a hammer, he swung it down at the claw.
As the claw was dented, Scorpio, sensing danger, quickly withdrew his claw downwards.
The penetrating and cutting power pierced through the layer that had been so solid.
Ssss…!
The flooring sealing the spaces between layers is closing.
“Closing in.”
“…Damn it! I missed him!”
“I’m going ahead. Follow me.”
I hurriedly threw myself through the gap.
Ding!
[You have entered the underground 10th floor.]
[You did not enter through the normal route. The difficulty of the interference dungeon has increased.]
[Title, Illegal Intruder, has been acquired.]
[Tip: In the past, there was a great emperor. When faced with danger, he split his power and body into two to prepare for the future. But as time passed, the emperor did not appear, and his power became a heritage. Beware! Those who possess a heritage target each other, but it’s not guaranteed they are enemies.]
Thud.
A massive cavern welcomes me.
The relics here are on a completely different scale than the 1st to 9th floors.
Right in front of me, there’s a gigantic statue that looks to be over 20m tall, sternly gazing down at me.
‘Pharaoh.’
In the past, this was a shrine venerating the great pharaoh.
Now, everything has vanished.
[What’s this?]
[Dungeon?]
[For real, a legit dungeon.]
[Oh, the tip window, nice to see you.]
[Interference dungeon?]
[Lily, what’s going on?]
[Heritage?]
[Was the boss different from the emperor?]
[For real, it was the emperor.]
[Did Lily summon him knowing?]
[Was he really an NPC? LOL?]
[So it wasn’t that guy uncle then.]
[Didn’t Lily say she made it? But why is it a dungeon?]
“…Um. It’s a bit complicated to explain.”
I scan the area.
At first glance, it seems like the statues are watching me, but they’re just looking downward.
They don’t seem to perceive me or show any distinct movements.
The same goes for the other statues.
After touching the statue’s hand directly, I immediately stepped out into the dark shrine’s exterior.
Even at the 10th underground floor, sunlight pours in straight.
“This guy uncle wasn’t just made. If we’re being technical, it’s more like something that was summoned.”
[?]
[Lily said she made it.]
[? HAHAHAHA]
[Ah, LOL, she said she made it.]
[But why is there light?]
[Aren’t we at the 10th underground floor?]
[Where is this?]
Countless buildings stretch out before me, and a golden aura emanates from afar.
Above all, a towering statue of the emperor, standing with a huge sword embedded in the shrine, catches my eye.
“It seems like we’ve come to the past.”
More specifically, somewhere in the backdrop of the past.
The Empire of the Sun, Deserthum, of the Pharaoh.
■
The Empire of Deserthum was a nation that consumed half of the four continents of the world, ruling over the entire desert.
Despite many strong ones, monsters, and even low-level thousand demon races roaming around, the pharaoh’s empire thrived for over three thousand years.
Despite the presence of ten thousand demons, the Pharaoh’s empire remained strong for over three thousand years.
The Pharaoh, who had claimed the desert that split the continent, further expanded his power through intermediary trade, and before that fateful day arrived, his status was truly remarkable.
“Yeah, before that day arrived.”
A day more hellish than hell itself for the Pharaoh.
The day when the upper demons crushed the empire in under five minutes.
“…It looks fine now, but.”
Who would have predicted that this peaceful empire would crumble to dust?
[Desertum soon faced a great disaster and fell. The master of Desertum was defeated, and their heritage passed into the hands of someone far in the future.]
[You can ‘interfere’ with specific beings across three different time periods.]
[The beings in those time periods are unaffected by you unless you consume ‘interference power.’]
[Actions affecting many will consume more interference power.]
[You can interfere with anyone, but only those who inherit the ‘heritage’ will be affected by that interference in the future.]
[Current Interference Power – 100%]
I read the information on the newly emerging dungeon.
The content itself was not that difficult.
It felt similar to the scenario dungeon I had experienced during the World Tree event.
“I think I’ve come to the background of the past, and I can use this interference power to interfere with people.”
[Crazy]
[??????]
[Lily time traveling?]
[Sounds fun, haha]
[Isn’t this a type of dungeon we’ve never seen before?]
[It’s similar to the scenario.]
[Aren’t we going to hit a time paradox?]
[So the bosses probably know Lily and That Guy Uncle?]
[Time travel is dizzying.]
[If it only includes the heritage successors, causing a ruckus in front of the emperor won’t change anything.]
[It’s exciting from the start!]
[So does that mean Lily has returned to the past?]
“It’s not returning.”
Going back to the past is impossible.
To turn back the countless energies, souls, and causal relationships ahead would require god-like power, and even the creator of Deoen couldn’t pull that off.
There’s only one way, and that’s to overlay it.
It’s clearly stated that only the Legacy Successors will be affected, and as long as the souls remain unharmed, affecting just them should be possible.
Thinking of the past suddenly brought something to mind.
If this is the area from long ago…
‘I might be here.’
At the time when Desertum was thriving.
‘Lily Elbrite’ also visited this place.
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