A bolt of sapphire-gold light pierced the dark vortex swirling above the temple, tearing a rift in the gloom that had engulfed Memphis. The wand in Ian's hand blazed with an unparalleled brilliance.
The light was intense.
This surge of energy stemmed from Ian's breakthrough into the temple. Sensing his return, the Evil God Embryo commanded its Mummy Priests to use Flesh Magic to halt his progress.
Thump... thump... thump...
This was no human heartbeat.
It was the awakening of an artificially created Evil God Embryo. Implanted here, it fed on living creatures and devoured the flesh of its worshippers; its true purpose was to manifest in this world.
Sensing the Evil God's command, the Mummy Priests sprang into action. Suddenly, rubble from the temple ruins levitated and formed an impenetrable barrier in the air. These weren't ordinary stones, each fragment pulsed with eerie golden veins that resembled the circulatory system of a living organism.
Even more terrifyingly, the ground began to writhe as dozens of Mummy Priests clawed their way out of the earth. The golden pustules on their foreheads erupted into grotesque tendrils in an instant.
The Mummy Priests had emerged. Once revered clerics of an ancient era, their flesh had long since decayed, leaving only withered bones draped in tattered black shrouds. Eerie green soulfire burned in their empty eye sockets. They wielded bone staves and carried stone tablets etched with curses on their backs; their every step left a trail of black blood seeping from the ground.
The air reeked of rot and sulfur.
They were neither living beings nor the undead. They were vessels for Flesh magic; evil gods used them as living magic arrays, manipulating the boundaries between life and death.
"Blood as thread, flesh as net, and souls as bait, bind the feet of the gods!"
The Mummy Archbishop stood at the forefront, its decaying robes billowing despite the lack of wind. It raised its skeletal arm and chanted a Forbidden Incantation. The sound was like the simultaneous wails of countless souls, each syllable tearing at the fabric of reality. Countless mummies, once ordinary mortals, exploded in unison, their blood and flesh intertwining to form a gigantic net in the air.
Each 'net line' was composed of flowing organs and flesh. Suddenly, the ground split open, and countless blood-red tendrils, like venomous snakes, lunged at Ian. These tendrils were formed purely from flesh and were covered in suckers and razor-sharp teeth. Once they had ensnared a target, they could instantly drain its life force and convert it into sustenance for the priest.
"Such a low-calibre skill? You dare try to show off before me, Ian the Archmage?" Ian sneered.
Instead of retreating, he stepped forward.
"Is that all you've got?"
He raised his wand and traced an arc through the air. The elder wood wand, now glowing with an unprecedented brilliance, did not merely emit ordinary magical sparks from its tip. Instead, it spewed forth materialized ancient runes, each one burning with a cyan-white flame in mid-air.
In that instant, every fleshy entity within a fifty-meter radius centered on him, whether the desiccated remains of the Mummy Priest or the blood threads beneath the ground, completely disintegrated.
Reduced to ashes.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Ian's voice echoed through the ruins. The dozen or so Mummy Priests at the front froze instantly, their writhing golden flesh buds locked in final, twisted postures. But this was only the beginning. With a flick of his wrist, the young wizard's wand traced a perfect Z-shape.
"Reducto!"
The petrified mummy priests shattered like glass sculptures, their bones and rotting flesh forming an off-white mist in the air. Ian didn't pause. He leapt off a collapsed stone pillar, his black robes billowing behind him like a raven's wings.
"Confringo!"
A blinding white light erupted from the tip of his wand, striking the center of the second wave of Mummy Priests. The explosive shockwave sent their twisted bodies soaring into the air, their severed limbs raining down like macabre hailstones. Yet more Mummy Priests continued to crawl from the fissures in the earth, their decaying vocal cords vibrating with a bone-chilling chant.
Ian landed steadily on a slanting stone slab, his grey-green eyes quickly scanning the battlefield. Even the Standard Book of Hogwarts Spells proved remarkably effective in the hands of a legendary wizard.
However, its destructive range was limited. He needed a more efficient method of clearing the area that didn't involve his own Flesh Magic. After all, the temple was located in the heart of the city, surrounded by civilians. Using too much power risked harming the innocent, while using too little would not be enough to turn the tide of battle.
The golden fleshy buds on the mummies' foreheads were especially troublesome, as they seemed to be the true control cores and proved nearly indestructible.
"I've got it!"
Ian suddenly recalled an obscure spell that Professor Flitwick had taught them in their third year.
His wand spun three times in his palm and suddenly erupted with silver-blue threads, a modified version of the 'Avis' spell! But this time, instead of ordinary birds, it summoned a swarm of miniature fire phoenixes!
"Flame Feathers!"
Hundreds of fiery birds surged towards the mummified priests, each one precisely pecking at the writhing golden pustules. The struck mummies instantly burst into flames from within, giving off a sickening, crackling sound like burning grease. The air was filled with a nauseating stench of charred flesh. The sheer devastation was awe-inspiring.
Yet the evil god Embryo remained unmoved.
It shuddered beneath the earth once more, and, this time, the number of priests doubled.
Twenty bodies, thirty bodies, fifty bodies... then hundreds, then thousands. They poured out from every corner of the temple: some crawled along the walls; some dangled from stone pillars; and some burrowed up from the sandy floor.
"Impedimenta!"
Taking advantage of the chaos, Ian conjured magical barriers to divide the mummies into smaller groups. His combat style bore the distinct hallmarks of Hogwarts, eschewing the elaborate, ritualistic gestures of Egyptian wizards for a streamlined sequence of efficient spells, each one flowing seamlessly into the next.
"Engorgio!"
The growth charm, which is usually used to enlarge objects, was instead applied to the ground. Stone slabs bulged upwards abruptly, sending a dozen mummies hurtling into the air.
"Levicorpus!"
The inverted suspension charm destabilized them as they plummeted, throwing them off balance.
"Sectumsempra!"
Invisible blades precisely sliced through the airborne targets. Finally...
'Aguamenti!' was followed by 'Frozen Feet!'
A torrent of water erupted and instantly froze into colossal blocks of ice, sealing the shattered remains of the mummies within. The entire sequence flowed naturally and effortlessly, like a brutal ballet.
For Ian, the battle remained utterly effortless.
The Mummy Archbishop had regrouped. Hovering at the highest point of the ruins, it had countless golden tendrils extending from beneath its decaying robes. Each tendril was connected to a strengthened Mummy Priest. These newly summoned creatures gleamed with a metallic sheen and were clearly imbued with protective magic.
"Mere parlor tricks," The Archbishop's voice boomed with sacrilegious harmony, "before the true god."
"Shut up already!" Ian interrupted impatiently. "Expelliarmus!"
A crimson beam shot towards the archbishop, only to be deflected by a sudden golden barrier just before impact. Ian raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected the Disarming Charm to work on such a being, even if it was blocked.
"Very well... how about this?"
He suddenly pointed his wand vertically towards the sky, and the tip began to glow crimson instead of blue. This was a composite spell that he had created in his fifth year but had never used in combat before.
"Fiendfyre Rain!"
The sky darkened abruptly. Not from storm clouds, but from countless flaming meteorites materializing out of thin air and streaking downwards with long, fiery trails. Each 'meteorite' was actually a condensed Fiendfyre curse, which would not simply explode upon impact but ignite into sustained magical flames.
For the first time, chaos erupted among the Mummy Priests. Their metallic bodies twisted and transformed within the Fiendfyre, emitting high-pitched shrieks as golden tendrils emerged. The Archbishop retracted its tentacles to protect itself, roaring in fury as its voice shattered the remaining stained-glass windows.
Seizing the opportunity, Ian cast the Bubble-Head and Super-Sensory Charms on himself before diving straight into the sea of flames! The Fiendfyre had no effect on him; instead, it provided perfect cover. Amidst the thick smoke and blinding flames, his wand moved with lethal precision, like a swordsman's blade.
"Stupefy!" A Mummy Priest whose body had been completely reconstituted disintegrated.
"Diffindo!" Three monsters standing back-to-back were simultaneously cut in half.
"Avada Kedavra (Killing Curse)!"
The moment this final spell left his lips, Ian froze in surprise. The green light struck the Archbishop's chest and staggered him a few steps; apparently, the Unforgivable Curse had limited effect on such an entity.
"Ha!" The Archbishop cried, spreading his arms triumphantly. "A Killing Curse? Is that all you've got?"
Ian smirked slyly. "Who told you that was an attack? He snapped his fingers. 'Prior Incantato'!"
A green light suddenly erupted from the Archbishop's body, but it wasn't the familiar Killing Curse. Instead, it transformed into countless fine threads that ensnared all the golden tentacles. It turned out that the Avada Kedavra (Killing Curse) had merely been used as a marker spell. The true killing blow was...
"Oppugno!"
The green-marked tentacles suddenly convulsed violently, and every mummy connected to them exploded. The chain reaction blazed towards the archbishop's main body like a string of firecrackers, finally erupting in a horrific hole in its chest.
"This is impossible," The Archbishop muttered, staring down at his mangled body. "Mere mortal magic..."
"Mortals are the creators of miracles. You've already lost your chance." Ian approached slowly, his wand steadily pointed at the archbishop's forehead. "Now, tell me where the Embryo is."
"Do you think you've won? No, we just needed to buy time. When the True God descends, we will be reborn, and you, along with all creation, will join us."
The Archbishop suddenly began to cackle maniacally.
More mummies continued to emerge in succession.
Having ceased their chanting, they initiated a direct flesh-fusion, with dozens of Mummy Priests colliding and their bones reforming and flesh regenerating in an instant to create a towering Colossus of flesh, ten metres tall. The colossus had no face; its entire body was composed of constantly writhing muscles and pulsing veins. It wielded a massive scythe, crafted from interlocking ribs.
With each step, the earth crumbled beneath its weight and a nauseating stench filled the air.
Even before the razor-sharp edge of the Colossus's scythe had struck, the wind pressure alone carved away the sandy terrain.
Ian looked up, his gaze remaining calm.
"Size doesn't equate to strength," He murmured. "You've forgotten, I am a writer whose pen is Paradox. As part of the will of the evil gods, you know what I am capable of."
He closed his eyes and began to write.
Not with a pen, but with his consciousness.
Short story: The Colossus's Collapse
The Colossus swung its scythe with overwhelming force. Yet at its core lay the skull of a mummy priest. That skull had once belonged to the most loyal servant of the evil god. The priest dreamed of sitting upon the divine throne and looking down upon all creation.
However, when it awoke, it realised that it was merely part of the Colossus.
It seethed with resentment.
It struggled.
Its consciousness began to corrupt the Colossus's structure from within. Muscles tore, veins ruptured and bones shattered.
The Colossus disintegrated from the inside out. The five-hundred-word essay was completed in an instant.
Reality was anchored.
The Colossus of Flesh and Blood froze mid-motion.
A sudden fissure split open in its chest. The eyes of the core head snapped open, burning with resentment and defiance. It began to writhe violently in an attempt to break free from the Colossus's restraints. This movement rippled through the entire body, causing the Colossus's flesh to turn against itself. Muscle tore at muscle and blood vessels strangled each other until...
BOOM!!!
The Colossus exploded into a crimson rain, its putrid blood cascading down and staining the desert sand dark red.
Ian stood unscathed in the midst of it.
He looked up, his gaze piercing the depths of the temple ruins. Suddenly, the entire ruined structure shuddered violently! Countless fissures fractured the ground and golden liquid, resembling blood, gushed from the cracks and coalesced into a massive sphere in the air. Vein-like patterns pulsed across the sphere's surface and, within its depths, a vaguely humanoid silhouette could be seen: the evil god's embryo was undergoing its final metamorphosis!
"So, you managed to seize your chance after all," Ian murmured. "But even if you hatch now, what then?"
His wand sensed the surge of power and automatically shifted into defensive mode. Yet he didn't retreat. Instead, a triumphant grin spread across his face as if he had finally found the challenge he had been waiting for.
"Victory will always be on my side."
The wizard's invincible spirit surged within Ian's heart.
The faint glow on the horizon suddenly vanished.
Ian looked up and saw that the eastern sky, where the sun should have risen, was now dominated by a writhing, golden, fleshy orb. Its surface was coated in metallic slime and countless vein-like patterns pulsed across it. Each contraction sent tremors through the entire city of Memphis.
Even more terrifying was the light it emitted, which was indistinguishable from sunlight: warm, bright, and brimming with life force. Yet it instantly withered every plant it touched and caused animals to collapse in convulsions.
Ian's wand automatically erected three layers of protective shields in front of him. He tentatively cast a Diffindo spell, but the moment it struck the golden orb, it was absorbed without leaving a trace.
Fiendfyre fared no better.
The blue flames spiralled skyward like a tornado and struck the Evil God Embryo directly.
The flames split into countless strands in mid-air, each carrying the definition of 'existence is void,' enough to incinerate concepts themselves. But the moment the fire touched the Embryo, it was absorbed.
There was no explosion or resistance; it was absorbed as parched earth swallows rain. The Embryo's surface fluctuated slightly as if it were feeding. Then, a laugh echoed from within.
Deep, distorted, and layered with countless voices, it sounded like a million souls whispering in unison:
"Hahahaha!" A hollow laugh emanated from within the Embryo, like the harmonious chorus of ten thousand voices. "Poor young wizard. Still playing with toy magic."
Ian ignored the mockery. Seizing this brief respite, he quickly scanned his surroundings and began etching a magical formation into the ground. The sparks erupting from the tip of his wand were no ordinary flames but liquid ancient runes. Each symbol burned spontaneously upon contact with the earth, leaving trails of blue fire.
Within a minute, the entire temple was covered in intricate rune arrays that were interconnected to form a massive three-dimensional magic array. Spreading like a neural network across a kilometer radius, each stroke was precise to within a nanometer, creating a vast magic array capable of warping causality.
"Come," Ian whispered. "Let me see what you truly are... anything."
Just then...
The Evil Sun Embryo suddenly contracted.
Immediately afterwards, a cry that seemed to tear the heavens and earth resounded.
The Embryo cracked open, not with an explosion, but as if an eggshell were slowly peeling away. The flesh and blood receded like a tide, revealing the figure within: a perfect humanoid form suspended in mid-air.
It had an Apollo-like countenance, a body sculpted with golden ratios and skin that radiated divine luminescence.
Seven golden nimbuses revolved behind his head, while his pure white robes billowed despite the absence of wind. The complete Eye of Ra was embedded in his chest, emitting a warm, sun-like radiance.
At first glance, anyone would mistake him for the very incarnation of the Sun God Ra.
But Ian knew this was all just a facade.
(End of This Chapter)
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