Arrietty returned along with Imhotep; the Little Sprite came bouncing in, and Nagini picked her up from the floor and handed her to Mori Tsukisa.
After the little creature climbed onto the top of her Queen's head, she reported in a low voice.
"The yellow sands fill the sky. Based on the visibility, Mortals shouldn't be able to see. It killed those Americans. Eek... don't ask, the scene was disgusting."
"Right, it also took those jars and bottles."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Mage." Imhotep pressed his hand over his heart, his other palm supporting a golden sacred urn: "This contains the remains of my lover."
"It doesn't matter; anyway, this is your home. You can handle uninvited guests however you like." Mori Tsukisa waved her hand dismissively and asked curiously, "I've wanted to ask since just now, do you know about us?"
"Indeed. Three thousand years ago, I had the honor of receiving your kin with courtesy." Imhotep bowed his head very humbly: "It is astonishing, Your Excellency the Mage, you and your kin are all matchlessly powerful."
Powerful?
"Flatterer," Bastet stroked her whiskers, looking at Imhotep solemnly: "High Priest, you no longer respect the gods, do you?"
As a deity of Ancient Egypt, Bastet held an eminent status in Egypt. Aside from the Sun God who symbolized the pinnacle and Anubis, Guardian of the Duat who governed the gates of the underworld, her fame was the most prominent.
After all—cats were first discovered by the Ancient Egyptians' 'discerning eyes for cuteness'.
Imhotep remained silent.
"Killing the Pharaoh, you committed a great taboo. Every Pharaoh is the spokesperson of Ra, the eyes of the gods upon the earth. How could you do such a thing with that foul, unfaithful woman!"
Those present finally understood the reason for Bastet's loathing of Imhotep.
"He used family to coerce my Ann, used his daughter to take away her glory; he was malicious, abusing her without cause..."
"Yours?" Bastet sneered: "She was supposed to be the Pharaoh's lover, his concubine. He had the right to dispose of his 'possessions', do you understand? High Priest."
Possessions... Imhotep fell silent once again.
The black cat paced upon the sarcophagus; beneath her elegant posture, her footsteps were noiseless.
In the tomb, there was only the heavy breathing of the High Priest and the faint shouts and roars from the ground outside the tomb, so quiet they were barely audible.
"You committed a grave crime and were sentenced; you should have no complaints."
"Wait a second... let me think..." Mori Tsukisa suddenly felt a bit puzzled: "I say, is there something wrong with the logic of you Ancient Egyptians?"
"Look..." The girl counted on her fingers: "The Hom-Dai, the most cruel punishment; yet the punished person has the possibility of being resurrected, and after resurrection, they become a malevolent entity filled with hatred..."
Clapping her hands with a'smack', the girl's face was full of an 'idiot' expression: "Are you fools? Wouldn't it be enough to just kill them directly? To give a person of such heinous crimes a resurrection gift pack. Why leave such a huge bug for future generations?"
Nagini noticed that Bastet was getting angry again—while that High Priest was suppressing a laugh so hard his head was almost buried in the sarcophagus... Sigh, Master... The little snake tugged at her Master's sleeve, signaling her not to meddle in the affairs of another pantheon... and not to roast them anymore... Meanwhile, Arrietty sat firmly on her head with her arms crossed, watching the show; she knew she couldn't stop it at all, and in fact... it was quite fun.
"I'm just curious." Mori Tsukisa rolled up her sleeves and asked the half-kneeling Imhotep before her: "Don't you think the rules you guys made are very strange?"
"Yes."
Bastet gave a sharp 'meow', jumped off the sarcophagus, and like a flash of lightning, swiped a claw at the High Priest!
Bright red blood immediately overflowed from his chest. Brilliant golden energy attached itself to it, constantly burning Imhotep—they could even hear the sound of skin being torn and corroded.
The man still kept his head down and remained silent.
"I thought that after three thousand years, you would have understood." The black cat glared huffily at the man, a thin vertical pupil in her green eyes staring at him: "As it turns out, you are still stubborn and evil. You will not get, and will never get, the forgiveness of Ra and me!"
Mori Tsukisa let out an extremely ill-timed yawn.
"A—"
"Aba."
"I didn't yawn, I didn't!" The girl covered her mouth, trying to maintain a serious atmosphere: "I... ahem. Bastet, what were you going to ask?"
Nagini leaned in and whispered: "Dragon."
"Right! Dragon! Where's my dragon?"
"So..." A look of realization appeared in Imhotep's eyes as he looked up and pointed toward the sky: "If you need a dragon, I know where it is."
"bari bari! Let's go, handsome bald guy!"
The girl suddenly jumped off the sarcophagus, grabbed Nagini and Imhotep with one hand each, and was about to run out, only for Bastet to bite the girl's pant leg with her small teeth, being dragged for over ten meters before stopping... "Me! My deal! Mori Tsukisa!" Biting the pant leg, Bastet mumbled fiercely. "Who are you making a deal with?"
"Oh, right..."
The girl turned around and let go of the tall Imhotep, taking two steps back (so she wouldn't have to look up).
"This... your former deity wants to ask you a question." Mori Tsukisa looked at the black cat, but the other party angrily turned her head away and wouldn't look at them, staring only at the empty wall.
"The god box." Mori Tsukisa simply asked for her: "She lost her god box. She's a god, so calling the police is useless. See if you can get her another one?"
These words were as perfunctory as someone asking you, 'Does my outfit look good?'
And you praising it as 'good' while your eyes are closed in a nap... "What do you mean 'get another one'?" The black cat turned her head: "If he had that kind of ability, he would have brought that sludge-like woman back long ago."
Imhotep's lips pressed into a line.
"I want my god box, High Priest. In the era you lived, you should have had dealings with those people, right? Tell me where their final capital is and how to get there."
"And I shall pardon your crime of being insolent to me."
Mori Tsukisa felt that this self-talking black cat was the one who was really sick, wondering if she had gone stupid from sleeping for thousands of years.
—Although he tried his best to avoid communicating with Bastet, this High Priest still respected this deity very much. Even if he had committed a grave crime, even if his former god had roared 'you will never get my forgiveness' to his face, he still respected her.
It was just that some things... "Lord Bastet, my former Master."
Imhotep's features distorted for a moment, as if a long internal struggle was manifesting at this moment. He gritted his teeth, looked up, and spoke word by word.
"I... want my Ann."
Bastet rolled her green eyes, looking even more disdainful.
"On what grounds? Sinner."
"I implore you..."
"It's meaningless. You have already slain the spokesperson of a god; it is like throwing filth upon Ra and me. We cannot forgive you—" Bastet narrowed her eyes: "Or are you trying to use the secret of the god box to threaten me?"
"Threaten a god?"
A vast, positive pressure rolled toward Imhotep!
A natural suppression of divinity.
Thud.
The High Priest knelt on both knees, his two fists tightly clenched and pressed against his knees, his head bowed.
A stream of fresh blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, blowing away the thick dust on the stone slab.
"...I would not dare. Lord Bastet."
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