Imhotep, who had no small flag to hold, thought Mori Tsukisa would give up on the idea... but she didn't.
The girl found a branch with particularly flashy leaves, broke it off, handed it to Imhotep—and then stared at him with watery eyes.
"Shake it a few times, Imhotep." Mori Tsukisa gestured with her right hand: "Hold it a bit higher. Sigh, don't be silent, say something."
Being tortured by his "Lady Witch," the once-taciturn High Priest could only stiffly put on a stern face. Amidst the snickering of Anck-Su-Namun and Nagini, he stiffly raised the branch in his hand—
That oval green leaf swayed back and forth over the man's shiny bald head. He walked forward expressionlessly holding the branch, reciting the words Mori Tsukisa had just taught him without emotion:
"What we are currently passing is the tomb of the Children of the Wind Clan, please look in the direction my finger is pointing—"
"Ahead is the main castle, which is also the core inner circle. We are about to arrive at our destination."
"Please hold on to your mobile phones... What is a mobile phone?"
Mori Tsukisa was very happy this time.
"I guess he's suffering more than he did in the River Styx." Bastet wagged its tail while being held in Nagini's arms. "Your Master really knows how to torment people. I'm starting to admire you and that sprite."
Crossing the long, narrow suspension bridge, the further inward they went, the more buildings there were. These fortresses built of mottled stone didn't seem to be for living, or at least most of them weren't. The pointed cones were wrapped in countless vines, and the doors below were also extremely compact and narrow.
"This is the warehouse area." Imhotep put down the branch and stared seriously at the largest pointed building not far away: "My Lord, we might... have arrived."
They had reached their destination.
The massive building in front of them was also covered in greenery. Even the tall Imhotep looked extremely small standing before it. Patterns were carved on the high, earthy-yellow walls: this time, everyone could understand them.
They were dragons of various shapes and forms.
Some were double-headed and breathing fire; some were spreading their wings and raising their heads, manipulating lightning; and some had half their bodies disappearing into the jungle... Dragons.
"So beautiful! They're much cuter than the dragons Dumbledore talked about!" Mori Tsukisa grinned and ran excitedly to the base of the giant fortress, facing that iron-gray door that was two or three people high.
"We only have 'guest' permissions and cannot open this door." Imhotep placed his palm against the door, lost in thought. Light paths flowed along the door seams, and the entire iron wall began to light up, the patterns becoming brilliant: "We can wait for the royal descendant to come—"
Mori Tsukisa also reached out and pressed her hand against the stone door. A warm current came from her palm, and paths of light swam past, feeling ticklish.
In an instant, the girl pressed against the iron wall and gave it a gentle... push.
Creak...
Following a twisted and ear-piercing sound of bending metal came a noisy, crumbling roar.
Rumble... Bang.
Yellow dust billowed toward them.
After the dust settled slightly, everyone could see clearly that a gap wide enough for a single person had been forced open in the heavy iron door. The metal shafts connecting both sides of the iron wall were visibly bent outward and cracked, and a black, shiny metal shaft as thick as a wrist had been twisted in half.
Bastet:... "I can't wait!" The young girl slipped inside sideways, her voice echoing as it drifted back: "Wow!"
"There are lights inside!"
Imhotep looked helplessly at Anck-Su-Namun, took his lover's hand, and followed her in.
"Monstrously strong girls are truly terrifying." Bastet hopped down while holding Nagini's hand... This was a relatively simple area.
Starting from the entrance, rows of clear, diamond-shaped, gem-like lights illuminated the girl's vision. Overhead, an infinitely magnified triangular golden gem burned eternally, seemingly emitting a lazy mist of light since long ago. The light poured down from the center of the gem, landing on a white stone slab in the very center.
Only that stone slab was a different color from the others.
The smooth, dustless white stone slab reflected light in all directions. Sextants and globes everywhere were inlaid with black gems, and thick pillars supported the empty hall.
Following the path of light on the stone slab beneath their feet, beneath that golden gem, three simple lines of patterns were carved onto a black stele.
Just like the ones in front of the tomb earlier.
Imhotep pulled Anck-Su-Namun to the stone slab and translated for Mori Tsukisa as he read: "It says some warnings on here."
"Most of them are admonitions to those who enter, telling them not to be greedy and not to show the dragons to anyone outside the clan..."
"My Lord... we need—"
"My Lord??"
Mori Tsukisa moved as she listened. Under Bastet's helpless gaze, the girl predictably and restlessly stepped on it—the white stone slab suddenly sank!
Click.
After a crisp unlocking sound, hexagonal black stone walls rose rapidly from the ground all around Mori Tsukisa, trapping the girl inside.
"Hey?"
"Can you hear me?"
"Master!" Nagini pounded on the wall from the outside, the vibrations carrying through. This circle of walls wasn't soundproof; or rather, the people who originally built this place hadn't considered more than one clansman entering at a time.
"I'm fine... inside here..."
"Ah..."
"I see dragons!!"
Unlike the smooth walls on the outside, on the inner side of the hexagonal circle, the walls were made into small compartments—behind each transparent pane, an oval dragon egg with different colors and patterns was placed.
Some were already empty.
Hmm... can dragon eggs be stored in compartments like chicken eggs?
"I see dragons! Dragons! dragon eggs!"
"I know, I know!" Bastet scratched at the wall irritably, finding she couldn't leave a single mark: "Why do you always do things like this, Mori Tsukisa?"
"I knew you were going to step on it!"
"Because I'm very smart."
"Because you have ADHD." The black cat squatted outside the hexagonal wall and, feeling weary, began to speak of what he had once promised: "Listen up, Planeswalker. I am now prepared to fulfill the terms of our deal."
Nagini, who was quietly conversing with Imhotep, immediately fell silent. Only Bastet's serious voice echoed in the empty hall.
"The dragons of the Children of the Wind Clan do not belong to them. Or rather, they are not the Masters of these dragons; to gain a dragon's favor is their good fortune." The black deity spoke of unknown secrets, his emerald-green eyes gazing at the golden gem overhead.
"This dragon race might not seem powerful to a creature like you—perhaps they couldn't even defeat Imhotep. But they possess extraordinary adaptability and growth potential. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
A'squeak' came from inside the black enclosure.
Bastet:... "The more powerful the companion they follow, and the more battles they experience, the more terrifying they become. I can think of nothing more suited to them than a creature like a Planeswalker who travels and tours everywhere."
From inside the enclosure: Squeak squeak.
Bastet: "Are you listening or not!"
A quiet voice from inside the enclosure: "Listening."
"Then listen carefully. I will tell you the differences between the seven great dragon species..."
From inside the enclosure: Squeak squeak squeak.
"Mori Tsukisa!"
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