"Heh, stop struggling. Beg for mercy. Let your fear spill out, then drown in this boundless sea of suffering. That is your only salvation!"
Beneath a dense cascade of white light, the towering figure spread its arms and laughed with savage glee.
"Upon this earth... the Pharaoh is all-powerful! All things and all phenomena rest in my... hands! You expect me to kneel before you? Absurd..."
Ramesses II's teeth ground together. Amid the pained groans of bones pushed past their limit, he roared and forced himself upright.
"Too loud!"
But the Pharaoh was slammed down by an invisible force. Blood mist burst from his body, and his voice was crushed back into his chest and abdomen. Beneath the white light, the figure curled a finger forward and pressed down coldly, as though crushing an insect.
Boom!
At the last possible moment, a silver fist swept out like a blade cleaving through waves, forcibly splitting the hundred-mile cascade of blazing white light and striking the towering luminous silhouette, sending the surrounding space into violent tremors.
At the same time, a crisp tapping sound rang out. The silver-haired youth, leaning on a staff with a square box on his back, staggered up the steps to the high platform. He helped the exhausted Ramesses II to his feet, standing with him against the figure of light in the distance.
"I'm sorry. I've been searching for a way to make up for my mistakes. I thought this time..."
Moses glanced at Ramesses II. His lips moved for a moment before he pressed them together and murmured.
Back then, in order to lead the Jews out of Egypt, he had failed his foster mother, turned against his own brother, and even allowed the god before him to bring down the Ten Plagues and torment the Egyptians.
That had led to the death of Ramesses II's eldest son, and to the sorrowful end of Queen Nefertari, who had grown up alongside them.
For all these years, Moses had never set foot on Egyptian soil again because guilt had kept him from facing it.
The Pharaoh was silent for a moment before replying calmly, "At least Nefertari survived. She managed to board that ship. If anything, I should thank you..."
The resurrection of his eldest son had already become a fleeting dream, and Egypt itself had been reduced to nothing because of it. Even so, the queen that man had first used to shake his resolve had truly been granted a body and freed from her soul's bondage.
But perhaps that also proved that the Exodus of the Jews had been a trap from the very beginning.
No wonder that, even after becoming a god, he had never been able to find the souls of his wife and eldest son in the Underworld.
Their souls had likely been intercepted in secret long ago by this Jewish god.
Moses and Ramesses II alike had simply fallen onto the board and become pieces in the game.
Then Ramesses II withdrew his hand and turned his back on the man who had once been his brother, his dearest friend, and his enemy. His voice was cold.
"The Solar Boat has already escaped. This is Egyptian soil. You have no right to stand here. Leave. Go as far away as you can!"
The silver-haired youth casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and turned to Ramesses II, his gaze clear.
"As a prophet of Israel, I truly have no right. But what if I am my mother's adopted son?"
A thousand years ago, the prophet of Israel had already led his people back to the Promised Land and founded their nation.
The one who had returned this time was only the adopted son of that Egyptian princess, a man who should have been born and raised here.
"I'm home. I'm not leaving..."
Moses smiled and extended his hand toward the proud Pharaoh. That weathered murmur seemed to answer Ramesses II, yet also seemed to answer himself.
"..."
Ramesses II fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and clasped the hand he had been parted from for a thousand years. He turned toward the shadow within the blazing white pillar of light, and the corners of his lips lifted into a smile of relief and fierce satisfaction.
"Then let's charge one more time. Don't fall behind, Moses!"
"As you command, my King!"
Moses, the Egyptian prince, bowed in salute. Then the two figures rushed toward the blazing white band of light crashing down from the sky, beginning their final charge.
…
In Tanbei Canyon, Martha was busy treating the wounded when a powerful sense of dread suddenly seized her heart. By instinct, she reached into her clothes and pulled out the humming Star of David from inside her garment.
It was a metal object, not the wooden gift from that foreign king, but an accessory given to her before she became a Holy Maiden by the one who had blessed her, led her out of the countryside, and guided her to follow the Divine Oracle.
Crack!
With the sharp sound reaching her ears, the violet-haired Holy Maiden froze. The "Star of David" in her hand had split apart.
Lord Prophet!
Martha's pupils contracted sharply. Following that faint, unseen connection, she looked up in horror at the blazing white band of light piercing through the chaos.
At the same time, Nitocris, who was flying across the Sea of Chaos, looked down at the Eye of Horus pendant on her chest, now split with several cracks. Her face went blank. Beside her, the Egyptian Queen, having reached the same answer, showed grief in her eyes.
"His Majesty... has fallen..."
"Laaa..."
Just as Samael's mind trembled violently, a familiar, soaring holy hymn rang out from within the enormous triangular prism of blazing white light that had pierced the world's wall. Heaven and earth resonated with it.
In an instant, the endlessly boiling crimson-black Ether tides surged and raged across the Sea of Chaos. Ten-thousand-foot waves roared outward in every direction, sweeping in with overwhelming force.
The Ancient Serpent gazed at Egypt, now dyed completely in light, and stood upright in the air. The Ether tides seemed to strike an invisible barrier and split apart, flowing past him on both sides.
"Horus of the Horizon, you are the ruler of the heavens, you are the shield of life. Let your protection descend here! Wall of the Sky!"
"Daughter of the Sun, Eye of Ra, she is Egypt's setting sun, manifesting the Serpent of the End. My guardian Wadjet, ending the dawn, bind the cradle that encircles life!"
Seeing that all-annihilating tide still sweeping mightily toward both sides, Pharaoh Nitocris and Cleopatra gritted their teeth. They flew forward into the air and rapidly chanted divine words, activating the divine power within their bodies.
However, the eagle phantom flying above Nitocris's head and the golden cobra coiled before Cleopatra were both dim and lifeless. The moment they touched the formed chaos storm, they shattered to pieces, turning into specks of light that scattered with the wind.
As if struck by lightning, the two coughed up thin streams of blood from the corners of their mouths and crashed pale-faced onto the deck of the Dark Night Solar Boat.
Was this truly as far as they could go?
The two female pharaohs struggled to rise and resist the Ether storm, but the Egyptian Magecraft that had once answered them so easily no longer responded at all. Even the divine grace they forced out of themselves had weakened to the barest trace. Their faces turned ashen, and they closed their eyes in despair.
But in the next instant, the surging Ether tide melted away like snow beneath the blazing sun.
Samael glanced back at the two female pharaohs behind him, who looked as though they had narrowly survived a calamity. The last trace of hope in his heart sank to the bottom.
The manifestation of Apophis, the world-destroying Nether Serpent and enemy of Ra, had already been enough to prove that something terrible had happened in Egypt. Still, the Ancient Serpent had not been able to suppress a lingering doubt.
But now, it seemed the Nine Pillars of Egypt had truly fallen.
As far as he knew, the nine great pillar gods of Egypt were, in order:
Ra, the Sun God and supreme god of Egyptian mythology;
Shu, the God of Wind, son of Ra, who had Geb and Nut with Tefnut;
Tefnut, the Goddess of Rain, daughter of Ra and wife of Shu;
Geb, the God of Earth, who had Osiris, Seth, Isis, and Nephthys with Nut;
Nut, the Goddess of the Sky and wife of Geb;
Osiris, King of the Underworld and also the God of Agriculture;
Isis, protector of the dead, Goddess of Fertility, Goddess of Magic, and wife of Osiris;
Seth, God of Drought, God of Storms, and God of Battle;
Nephthys, protector of the dead and wife of Seth.
They were the Thaumaturgical Foundation of Egyptian Magecraft. If they disappeared, the divine words and spells of Egyptian spellcasters would inevitably suffer a severe impact, perhaps even fail outright.
And it was not only the Ennead.
The divine power inherited by Nitocris was the power of Horus, the Sky God, son of Osiris, God of the Underworld, and Isis, Goddess of Magic. Cleopatra's patron deity was Wadjet, the Golden Serpent Goddess and daughter of Ra. They were descendants and affiliates of the Ennead.
Now, even the divine will projected onto them had nearly vanished. At this point, the Egyptian gods had most likely been completely wiped out.
It made no sense. How was this possible?
Samael looked at the two weakened female pharaohs, finding it almost impossible to believe.
Apophis could not have done this. Cyrus could not have done this. Even if Marduk had descended, he could not have destroyed the entire Egyptian pantheon in one fell stroke.
Hum!
Just as the Ancient Serpent was struggling to understand it, a terrifying pulse came from the comet suspended in the sky. Wherever it passed, space shattered, and all things with form were reduced to nothing.
As the Crossed Star Eyes opened and closed, he looked out and saw that Egypt had already become a sea of nothingness.
Samael's pupils contracted sharply, and his expression changed.
This was not the Star Vessel of Velber. It was Velber's core consciousness! Only that could annihilate all the Egyptian gods in such a short time!
The Harvest Star had fully descended!