### Chapter 491 – Room 207, The Gate Room – First Trial – ‘Eternal Life and Resurrection’ (9)
—
– Cha Jinchul
My body is heavy.
My limbs won’t move as I want them to.
Ah, if someone could hear my true feelings, they’d think I’m genuinely in trouble!
It’s just that I’ve lost my blessing, nothing more…
But for some reason, I felt oddly weighed down.
*
“To the palace! If Menes runs away, things will get complicated!”
The honorifics that usually tacked onto my brother Sanghyun’s words disappeared just like that.
I suppose that means he’s feeling a bit rushed.
And rightly so.
If that lizard Pharaoh decides to leg it into the desert, do we even have a way to pursue him?
It’s been said that long ago, this area near Egypt was more like a jungle or savannah than a desert; whether that’s to our advantage or not, I have no clue!
When we finally arrived at the palace in Memphis where Menes resides, shouts erupted from all around.
“For the Pharaoh!”
“May great Menes have glory!”
Armored and armed with spears, Menes’ royal guard stood ready.
Despite their intimidating presence, they are still just humans.
Thus, they are not worth fighting here and now.
“Maze! Please summon Kain for a moment!”
My brother suggested that I quickly be sent back and have Kain summoned.
Considering Kain’s remaining time was only about three minutes, it was a tight squeeze. However, these mere human soldiers would likely be knocked over by the divine sun in just five seconds!
Not a bad situation at all, right?
“Alright—Aaaah!”
“Yikes, these crazy bastards!”
The Maze was horrified, and my brother let out a string of curses.
Suddenly, the royal guards who seemed ready to attack us began committing mass suicide!
“Glory to the great Menes!”
“Eternal Menes…”
“I devote all that I am to you.”
It was so unexpected that we couldn’t intervene; I was left bewildered as over 300 guards turned into corpses, blood flowing like a river into the palace—
Into the palace?
“What the heck! Those lizard bastards! Let’s charge!”
Frantically, I yelled, “Brother, what’s happening?”
“The Reptilian princess has the power to see destinies by sacrificing human lives! It means Menes must have received such powers!”
I understood immediately.
If the Reptilian princess could discern destinies through human vitality, surely Menes possesses a similar, even stronger power!
Right now, Menes is using the lives of his guards to do “something”.
“Ugh… So he thought a human guard wouldn’t matter to us.”
“He must have realized that we can manipulate the crowd with Horus’ power!”
“Horus? What’s that?”
“… Let’s go in!”
The more I thought about it, the more my teeth clenched.
A king’s royal guards ought to be fiercely loyal.
But to have them off themselves just because the Pharaoh said so?
How brainwashed have these scaly bastards made them?
Moreover, if they could do something like this, why not have them off themselves before we arrived instead of in front of us?
The insidious nature of the lizard king echoes in my mind.
Did you see with your pitiful eyes?
This is your primitive, hairless mammal fate.
You are my livestock, merely a magical battery.
— Boom!
“Come out! Menes, you bastard, or should I say, lizard bastard!”
And that’s when I heard the Pharaoh’s voice for the first time.
“I am always right here.”
*
Inside the dark and murky palace of the Pharaoh.
“Did you think I’d run away in fear? That thought never crossed my mind.”
“I am the master of the Nile, the creator of the greatest civilization. Who would run from his own land?”
For a brief moment, I admired how smoothly his words flowed, but then brother Sanghyun spoke in a rather angry tone.
“Menes, I had no idea you possessed such a brutal talent!”
“… Brutal?”
“Did you hide this power when fighting Malkab? Were you afraid we’d get mad or something?”
“Horus’ priest, I can sense anger in your voice. What has made you so furious?”
What the hell is this lizard trying to mess with me?
“You’re really pushing it, aren’t you—”
“Hmm, big guy. You are new here, correct? Does the snowflake-like lady behind you possess the power to summon angels?”
The power to summon angels?
From an outsider’s perspective, it could seem that way.
“I was thinking about why things turned out like this. I thought I had no need to fight you guys.”
No need to fight, apparently.
That’s what Menes presumed.
“Is it because we are not human? If that truly matters, then why do you serve Horus? He’s no more human than the rest of us.”
Menes’ sharp observation about how if being a Reptilian isn’t human, neither is Horus!
So, who the heck is this Horus that everyone is making such a fuss about?
“Or is it because you just sacrificed your guards? If that’s the case, did you think there wouldn’t be any sacrifices? Over 2,000 of your mobs are blazing the capital to ash. You don’t honestly think there’d be no casualties in that, do you?”
Menes pointed out that they commit acts of slaughter for their purposes, too.
Oh—!
Hiding out in this dark palace crafting justifications, huh?
Sounds quite believable.
“What nonsense—”
“If you think that’s nonsense, go ahead and refute it.”
While my brother was flustered, Menes shouted coldly.
…
In that moment, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
That brother of mine seems to be quite meticulous, yet he oddly shows weakness in peculiar places.
This isn’t a battle of words; why argue!
Without hesitation, I hurled one of the spears from my waist toward where the voice was coming from.
— Whooosh! Clang!
In an instant, when the spear zipped through and scraped Menes’ armor, I distinctly heard an enraged voice.
“Such a thing! This is how a wise angel of Horus acts?”
— Bang!
“Hey! I don’t even know who the heck Horus is!”
Suddenly, light poured in, dispelling the darkness.
Finally, Menes stood from his throne.
*
— Bazzazz!
In no time, the atmosphere heated up, and I felt a whip whizzing toward me at an invisible speed!
As the fight began, I realized something.
That lizard bastard, I had heard he was just an elderly weakling in physical abilities, right?
But it seems that the Menes who has absorbed the life force of his guards returned as the demigod who once unified the Nile!
Superhuman strength and hyper-acceleration.
Reflexes and dynamic vision enhanced.
Plus some telekinesis and ignition powers.
These powers alone were already overwhelming, and I had no doubt that wasn’t all he had.
— Bang!
“Ugh…! You, priest, can certainly fight well?”
My brother, who had been rolling around through the ancient era in Room 203, does have some impressive spear skills, being able to block Menes’ whip strikes that were flying at supersonic speed!
“That’s merely because you’re still human. Wouldn’t it be wise to call upon your deity now?”
“Ugh!”
Yet, as Menes’ whip coiled around my brother’s spear, greedily tearing flesh, Sanghyun couldn’t help but scream.
One, two, three.
Another series of exchanges, and the same result unfolded.
Menes stood unwavering, while our blood drenched the palace floor.
“Your spirit may be strong, but ultimately, you are but humans.”
Hearing Menes’ mocking of human limitations, I scanned the battlefield.
Blood had drained from our faces, and a former doctor of the special forces had her left foot twisted backward.
One high school girl lay close to passing out, with her arm halfway torn off from taking one hit by Menes.
And I had a fist-sized hole in my back!
We’re all nearing our limits.
The only reason I’ve managed to hold up until now was because, unbelievably, Menes was conserving his strength.
“Wouldn’t it be wise to call upon Horus now?”
Now I understood.
The “Horus” that bastard has been referring to is Kain!
That guy hasn’t summoned yet since he nearly exhausted all of his remaining time, and Menes doesn’t know about it.
“Or can’t you call upon him anymore? Hah! If that’s true, then this is too easy, isn’t it?”
Why is this fight proving so difficult?
We didn’t storm the palace thoughtlessly.
We had decimated the robots with the last flash, and with Yumi’s magic and Songyi’s bracelet in hand, I thought we could handle this!
— Swoosh! Boom!
“Ugh!”
Once more, after another skirmish, we were worse off.
What was hindering us was ‘speed.’
Menes barely appeared in view.
Thus, hitting him with Songyi’s bracelet and Yumi’s magic was extraordinarily tough.
Even if we grazed him, Menes was brushing it off like it was nothing.
…
Glancing back, I saw two clueless kids and the witch hustling to protect them.
The girl, trembling, clutched her watch—Maze.
Is she planning to burn through the little time left we have for Kain or Ahri?
Yumi calmly held Maze’s hand, almost as if to say, “This isn’t your battlefield. Don’t step in.”
Even if we called the two, what would change?
Can they even land an attack on Menes with how fast he is?
Neither the vacant Kain nor the divine sun would do any good.
We need to match Menes’ speed if we’re to win.
Then Yumi’s gaze shifted toward me.
In that instant, we realized we were both recalling the same “power.”
“Yumi!”
Honestly, I’m quite similar to Maze.
The battlefield the hotel prepared for me wasn’t here but in the second trial!
Now, I just don’t know anymore.
“Ugh!”
As the young girl’s sharp hand pierced through my skin and gripped my spine, I felt an excruciating pain like my whole body was igniting.
One second felt like a month; ten seconds felt like a year.
In that brief moment, my body transformed into something entirely different.
The power I once wielded when Yumi had been hiding in my mind—the strength to summon a wolf that brings thunder!
In a good light, it draws out every potential of a human body to the fullest.
In a bad light…
“Ha! Those foul monsters called us monsters, huh?”
Menes’ astonishment at the absurdity was quite funny.
Moreover, just as the transformation completed, a tiny voice tickled my ears.
“Finish it quickly.”
Beast transformation.
Yumi could only use it on someone whose body data she understood deeply, and it came with a huge backlash, so I couldn’t hold it too long.
With great risks come great rewards; that’s the hotel’s principle.
Once again, the power of the warrior fills me.
In this moment, it feels like the blessing of courage has returned!
“Raaaah!”
As my spear, extended like a storm, collided with Menes’ whip, I hurled the entangled spear toward him.
I could see Menes’ expression of astonishment.
The Pharaoh, caught off balance as he dodged the spear, staggered.
And I could see the lizard king staring at me in a panic!
At last, I caught up to his speed.
No sooner had the gap started to close than I could see Menes throwing his whip and raising his bare fist!
In that moment, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You lizard, this is really in my favor, isn’t it?”
Does this idiot even understand?
I was once a top-tier MMA fighter!
Even if I died from the market gunshot in Busan, I tossed that place around like a ragdoll.
As Menes’ punch came flying toward my head, I merely flicked my wrist to divert it and landed a solid hit to his abdomen.
Immediately, the Pharaoh bent back like a bow.
Next came my left hook, and this time, his ridiculous mask shattered, knocking out a few of his teeth.
“Ugh!”
What? A knee strike now?
There’s no way he’d have any power like that in such a broken stance—
— thud!
“Damn it!”
It’s happening!
With super acceleration and brute strength, even in a messed-up posture, that kick of his could smash concrete; I should’ve remembered that!
As I quickly regained my footing, a little space was bought when Menes shouted.
“You’re just a dirty, ignorant monkey!”
“Hey! I graduated from a four-year university!”
“What are you babbling about, you pig in mud?”
“Come on, at least talk with some dignity befitting a Pharaoh!”
“Can Horus’ priest live however he likes, huh?”
“What do you mean, living however I like? I’ve been living pretty damn hard!”
Right then, Menes covered his eyes with both hands and flailed!
“Ahhh!”
Diverse perspectives!
As Songyi, who had been struggling to target Menes all this time, punched him hard, he finally lost the focus which allowed her to land an accurate shot!
“You cowardly bastard—”
“Raaaaah!”
Cowardly? What a joke!
As the wolf-like fist soared forward, it pierced straight into Pharaoh’s chest.
“…”
In those final moments, Menes wore an expression of utter dismay.
“Huh… The logic of the world is indeed unfathomable.”
“Don’t act all cool now!”
“No one shall live…”
?
An intense instinct honed from the hotel flooded my mind.
This atmosphere reeked of a final move—the potential for mutual destruction!
— Boom!
Just as I waited, violent tremors, deafening noise, and blinding light began surging in.
“…”
I realized, watching my panicked allies, that I had entered this room for this very moment.
Looks like this is where my journey ends.
*
– Aidia
I saw the light.
I saw fierce light that could eradicate Memphis in an instant.
In the past, I would have had no idea what was happening.
…
Oddly enough, I think I understand.
Just moments ago, the semi-destroyed golden legion of Menes near the palace—no, the ‘M-1842 Autonomous Pioneer Unit No. 13’—was going to self-destruct and wipe out most of Memphis.
And a bizarre force that bent reality obstructed that self-destruction.
“…”
What is this knowledge I possess?
Could I truly be a monster from beyond the night sky?
“…”
The control over the pioneer units lies with Menes.
Self-destructing such invaluable pioneer units that cannot be created again signifies Menes’ defeat.
“…”
I desperately wanted to let everything go.
Just like that, I wanted to entrust my fate to the raging crowd.
I didn’t wish to live anymore.
As I was about to drop everything, suddenly—she, resembling snowflakes, appeared with ‘him’.
“Reptilian princess, what are your thoughts at this moment?”
That day, I realized for the first time.
The best cure for depression is indeed the vengeance of revenge!
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