Chapter 48: Scared the Hell Out of Me
To the ancient Egyptians, water was an absolutely vital element. In their minds, the world in its beginning was an endless ocean, from which patches of land gradually emerged. It was on one of these mounds that the creator god formed the world and the gods.
The annual flooding of the Nile and the cyclical withering and blooming of plants were linked by the Egyptians to the laws of life and death in nature. This connection led to their unique concept of the afterlife and the myth of Osiris's death and resurrection.
Of course, from the perspective of the magical world, the timeline of how these elements became interrelated might be the reverse.
But one thing is beyond question: the flood only brings life to Egypt after it recedes, not while it's raging.
So, facing the colossal flood bearing down like a mountain, Hikigaya was under immense pressure.
He finally figured it out—Osiris was a goddamn mage!
He had a pretty good idea now how the marquis managed to kill this guy back then.
Mages, right? We all know how that goes, but...
Where Hikigaya stood was already completely dark. In just a few breaths' time, the towering flood crest had come right up to him. With a deafening roar, the moisture-laden air whipped across the land like a hurricane, battering every inch.
The once relatively smooth water wall had already begun to slant, bending from the top.
There was no way to outrun it.
Osiris had turned this place into his divine kingdom. Everything here could be seen as an extension of himself. As long as Hikigaya remained within this space, he had nowhere to hide.
He had no doubt about the destructive power of Osiris's flood. In ancient times, when the Nile reached peak flooding, the force of the water surging from the delta into the Mediterranean could push the seawater back. The Nile Delta was created from the river's annual floods. That speaks volumes about the flood's power.
The only thing Hikigaya could do was brace himself to protect his body.
Then, the massive flood crest rolled over the land.
Having never been hit by a car before, Hikigaya had no idea if that would be a good analogy for this force.
In an instant, he lost his balance—or more accurately, the ground beneath him no longer existed.
The flood carried immense force. As it swept over the land, it tore up soil and plants, churning them to bits.
Chunks of dirt, rock, and other debris were carried in the current, slamming into him.
Hikigaya closed his eyes, curled up his body, wrapped himself in a shield of magical energy, and endured wave after wave of impact.
Only a godslayer could survive a place like this. Even the most elite sorcerers or martial artists wouldn't last more than a few breaths. Everything here was constructed from Osiris's divine power. A mortal body couldn't possibly withstand it. All logical analysis or worldly wisdom was meaningless here.
Finally, Hikigaya found an opening and broke through the surface of the water.
He shot high into the air.
All he saw was an endless sea—nothing else in sight.
"So naive, god-slayer. You have nowhere to run," Osiris's booming divine voice echoed from the flood.
"All of humanity praises me. I stand at the crest of the flooding waters, guarding food, seated on the shoulders of the Sun Lord, before the green marshes!"
With these sacred words, his figure appeared.
A sun rose from the flood, and Osiris sat atop it, looking down at Hikigaya with a smile. But that smile made Hikigaya want to stuff a dirty sock in his face—if he could, he'd do it in a heartbeat.
"My arms encircle Geb. Eat my grain, and become me in the heavens."
The flood surged backward.
If one didn't witness it personally, it would be impossible to imagine such a grand spectacle.
It was as if the world itself had been twisted—the flood began flowing skyward, whether it was the part that had rushed toward Hikigaya or the part beneath his feet.
It really did look like a giant's arms.
Osiris's figure vanished again. The sun grew hotter and larger, rising high, becoming the center of a powerful gravitational pull. Hikigaya lost all sense of gravity and floated into the air.
Then, under the blazing light of the sun, plants burst forth from the flood.
They were all grains, but now they had grown to an enormous size and were surging toward Hikigaya.
He was going to die!
No one told him that directly, but as soon as he saw the massive grains, he instinctively knew—if they tangled around him, he'd die for sure.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his Authority. Magical power radiated outward, and the knowledge in his mind transformed into divine-slaying force.
The approaching grains were annihilated one by one—but it was useless. More kept bursting from the flood, and the flood itself was twisting more violently. Hikigaya's space was rapidly shrinking.
At the same time, as the grains were destroyed, dust began to appear around Hikigaya, clinging to him. After a moment of carelessness, he was horrified to discover his clothes had turned into black soil!
Fortunately, his Authority activated in time, blasting away the black soil before it could spread to his body.
Clearly, this level of power was nowhere near enough. This was a completely different kind of enemy from Set—not the kind you could face head-on, trading blows.
Against Osiris's divine kingdom, there were only two options: destroy it, or become part of it—part of Osiris himself. That fate was worse than death.
He even suspected that perhaps the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, after death, really did become "Akh" spirits and entered the mythological domain of Osiris, becoming part of the god. Given that gods actually existed, that idea didn't seem so crazy.
But—he wasn't without hope. Because he had inherited Set's power!
In myth, Set had defeated Osiris. In reality, the desert and the force of drought had at one point overwhelmed the Nile, causing it to dry up. That was one of the origins of the myth of Osiris being torn apart.
So in a world where gods truly exist, Set's power should at least be able to counter Osiris's abundance and fertility.
Although Hikigaya hadn't gained Set's ability to dry and wither all things, it was still Set's power!
He gathered every last bit of his magical energy, squeezing out even the tiniest droplet, leaving nothing behind—for one decisive strike!
If it failed, he'd die for sure.
Hikigaya felt his body groaning under the strain, but his magical power was surging like never before!
It kept compressing, circulating, until even he couldn't stop it.
Then he felt it—his Authority was changing.
Or rather, it was becoming clearer. If before it had been a blurry, unopened painting, now it was gradually being unfurled, and then...
He "saw" a dog's head.
And nearly choked on his breath...
What the hell!? Where'd this dog head come from!? So ugly—it scared the hell out of him!
But... it looked oddly familiar...
Wait a sec—wasn't that the Set Beast?!