Da-da-da-da—
Blue fire erupted.
A rotating Gatling barrel spewed torrents of azure flame. Nearby, a strangely shaped assault rifle rattled…
The jungle was shredded.
Trees were torn apart. Leaves ignited midair and fell as ash.
The attackers watched in disbelief as the bullets and flames tore through the charging 'little monkeys.'
They fell.
Then~slowly… they moved again.
With broken arms dragging behind them and half-destroyed torsos scraping through the mud, the cursed creatures struggled upright.
Those too damaged to stand simply crawled forward, burning with fanatic devotion.
Their leader wrenched free from the pile of bodies, hefted a primitive weapon in his remaining hand, and let out a rasping scream.
They charged again.
"No—"
"Impossible!"
"This… this is newbie-level firepower!"
Jonathan finally caught up to Wang and O'Connor.
The three men and one orange cat continued forward beneath the sweeping arcs of Wang's long blade, which carved a clean path through the jungle.
Garfield's ears twitched. He heard angry unwilling roars echoing from behind.
With a flick of his paw, he released a detection spell. A golden magic circle unfolded in midair, projecting a real-time image of the battlefield behind them.
Gunfire. Undead soldiers refusing to stay dead.
Garfield frowned.
"Old Wang." He asked, tail swaying, "are these yours?"
Wang glanced back at the hovering image without slowing his stride. He shook his head. "No. Don't recognize them."
"Probably one of those legendary mixed-origin groups wandering infinity."
Garfield scratched his head. "The universe's boss really doesn't bother managing this garbage."
Wang snorted. "Or maybe it's precisely because of them that you and I can walk through this place safely."
"Otherwise, being lone warriors here would be far more annoying."
Garfield considered this. It made a disturbing amount of sense.
Like his tenant, the one who never paid rent and tried to bite him every day.
If the so-called cosmic boss actually enforced rules, that idiot would've been tossed into the sun and reduced to ash within two days.
"Brother Wang is right," Garfield muttered. "A tall tree catches the wind first. That's the basic rule."
"No wonder no one bothers."
Wang spun his long blade once.
"I didn't plan on intervening." He said casually. "But I thought, might as well build some goodwill."
He glanced back at O'Connor and Jonathan.
Both men were staring at him like drowning sailors clinging to driftwood.
Clearly, they had already classified Wang as their savior and ultimate backer.
Garfield's lip curled. You two useless pig-foot extras. Even I feel embarrassed for you.
"I'll watch these two." Garfield said aloud. "You go."
"Thanka."
Wang vanished without hesitation, leaving only a ripple of pressure behind.
Garfield pointed a paw at O'Connor. "Straight ahead. I'll protect you."
"…"
O'Connor stared at the empty space where Wang had stood, then down at the orange cat perched calmly on his shoulder.
Between trusting a chain-smoking monk who vanished like lightning and trusting an ill-tempered fat orange cat…
He had no choice.
O'Connor silently swore, I will survive and i will go home. No cats allowed.
Under Garfield's effortless protection, he and Jonathan followed the faint trail Imhotep had left behind.
They stumbled through thorns, mud, and collapsed jungle paths, chased countless times by relentless little monkeys.
Yet not once did they suffer a serious injury.
At last, the pyramid rose before them.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Imhotep stood at the entrance, gripping Alex tightly. Evelyn was held protectively by Anck-su-namun at his side.
They hesitated.
The entire structure was carved with symbols of Anubis, the god of death. Every line, every relief reflected a concentrated authority over mortality itself.
Imhotep felt… fear.
Anck-su-namun, who had endured thousands of years of punishment in the realm of death, felt it even more keenly.
"Imhotep." She whispered.
"Anck-su-namun…"
They exchanged a look. Neither moved.
Evelyn scoffed.
"So you're scared." She said sharply. "Then why come all this way?''
"You could've run off somewhere quiet and lived with your woman in secret."
Thud.
Anck-su-namun punched her. Evelyn staggered back, then immediately retaliated.
She was no weak scholar.
The two women collided, grappling and striking, their struggle echoing beneath the death god's monument as ancient hatred and survival instincts ignited once more.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream