Miss Hebe is Breaking Out of the Lostbelt!

In that eerie darkness, only two blazing points of fire danced.

"Then prove it to me—"

King of Rams's long, sharp claws tightened, slowly pointing toward Hebe's head.

Those sharp claws glimmered with smoldering fire. As King of Rams's hand drew closer and closer, the air grew viscous, the earth seemed to soften, and the surrounding light became almost tangible.

This was because he wielded the wisdom of forging and transformation, manifested as the power to alter the very nature of things.

Yet his only response was an inconspicuous staff.

That staff, which had returned with Hebe from Thebes, had already turned dull and gray.

Yet King of Rams's fingers could not advance another inch!

Hebe raised her weary eyes. "Is this enough?"

"You..."

The shadows boiled as if in fury, yet those burning pupils grew brighter still, like... sparks struck from flint in the boundless night.

King of Rams naturally recognized the staff's true nature. It contained the secret teachings of the four great schools—the Phoenix, Jackal, Lion, and Serpent—and had been forged by a master of the Ram School as a weapon of war.

This weapon did not truly exist. It was an illusion, drawn from memory through sorcery.

It had returned from Thebes, which should have become a realm of death, bearing the scars of defying the royal authority of Ozymandias, the Red King.

Traces of every school could be found upon it.

If there had not been a traitor within the schools, then the girl before him was an innate genius in every discipline!

"Hermanubis's requirement is to master at least the secret teachings of the first sequence," Hebe said softly. "I believe that in Memphis now, no one is more qualified than I to inherit this position—the Aspect of All Forms. But if you feel that 'Hermanubis' is not enough to make you take me seriously..."

She released her grip. The staff shattered inch by inch, forcing King of Rams's palm back.

The next instant, Hebe drew another new staff from thin air at her side.

Thud.

The staff fell heavily to the ground.

"—Then what about the 'King of Scarlet Ibis'?"

After a long silence, King of Rams indifferently brushed the ash from his palm, about to answer the madwoman before him.

However, a response came before his own.

The stone tablet rose from King of Rams's arms and grew scorching hot.

It shook the air and let out a bold, booming laugh.

Hehehehe, hahahaha!

You defiant wretch, you are quite amusing indeed. But no matter—I permit it!

Why Do You Not Bow Before Me?

That laughter fell straight down from the sky, like drumsticks pounding upon all things in the world, making even the dust on the ground tremble and leap.

From the moment he heard that voice, King of Rams prostrated himself in the direction of the pyramids, his movements even more devout than those of the most pious priest.

Only after the deafening laughter faded did King of Rams rise from the ground.

This was an oracle that only Hebe herself could hear.

Even King of Rams could hear only the Red King's laughter. As for the many nobles and priests kneeling on the ground, they sensed nothing at all.

It was as though their time had been taken away when the Red King descended.

King of Rams had already calmed down. He glanced at Hebe and said dully, "Follow me."

He turned and passed through the crowd, who seemed utterly unaware of what had happened. Rather than entering Memphis, he headed toward the majestic cluster of three great pyramids in the distance.

Hebe quietly followed him.

A full fifteen minutes passed after the two left before the first person reacted.

The Imperial Road leading to the pyramid complex was empty, with only solemn stone statues standing on either side.

These magnificent structures lay beyond the city's protective barrier. By all rights, they should long since have been worn into sand by the scorching winds. Yet as Hebe walked along the Imperial Road, she felt the searing wind part around the statues on both sides.

King of Rams walked silently ahead, still cradling the stone tablet marked with scorch scars in his arms. Even with a ram's head, the solemnity on his face was unmistakable.

Hebe openly appraised this "Aspect of All Forms."

King of Rams—Khnum. His build was unlike that of ordinary people, standing as tall as three or five men. Before he unleashed his great power, he merely looked like a giant with a ram's head.

In past simulations, this King of Rams had not possessed a particularly good reputation.

"Abuse of power," "arbitrary executions," "unrestrained brutality," "bewitching the God-King"... nearly every ugly accusation could be pinned upon King of Rams.

Such dark rumors circulated throughout the various schools and within the temples alike.

In theory, King of Rams was fully capable of putting an end to such talk, but he seemed not to care—so long as no one spouted such nonsense in front of him, he acted as if he had never heard it.

The scorching heat baked the air, causing mirage-like illusions to appear along both sides of the Imperial Road before the pyramids.

With a casual sweep of his sleeve, the King of Rams dispelled those twisted illusions.

"The King of Scarlet Ibis's seat differs somewhat from the other four."

The King of Rams's deep, muffled voice came from ahead.

"Though I know not why His Majesty has favored thee, since thou didst not turn to ash amid thunder and fire, it proves that His Majesty has already bestowed an oracle upon thee... Therefore, I am obliged to offer thee a brief explanation."

"The King of Scarlet Ibis, Thoth, shone far more brilliantly than I during the Old Days. Yet the Beast God's ordained fate fell, declined, and the New Gods known as the 'rulers' arrived."

"They were powerful. They were learned. They laid out a new blueprint for the world. The Beast Gods' power was seized, overshadowed, and brought under control. Their fates swayed according to the whims of those rulers."

"Sekhmet was defeated by Scarlet Father's authority, stripped of wisdom and power, and reduced to a beast. Thereafter, Scarlet Father was widely worshipped throughout Egypt under the name Horus."

"Pharaohs of every generation inherited the divine blood of Scarlet Father, and their conquest of monsters and foreign races knew no end."

"The King of Scarlet Ibis, Thoth, meanwhile dissolved before the Brilliant Twins... The honored names of these twins are Mr. Day and Lord Twilight."

"In Egypt, they were respectively regarded as Aten, the dawn sun that heralded the light, and Atum, the setting sun of dusk."

"Influenced by this, all apprentices who studied the King of Scarlet Ibis's secret teachings possessed an irrepressible urge to pursue light, as well as the risk of their minds dissolving from excessive immersion... Ridiculous, was it not? The greatest danger did not come from without, but from the learning to which they devoted their lives."

There was not the slightest hint of amusement in the King of Rams's words. Instead, they were filled with sorrow too heavy to dissolve.

"His Majesty's mausoleum lies ahead. I can go no farther."

He handed over the stone tablet in his hand. "Go... pay thy respects alone."

Those eyes, flickering like wildfire, stared unblinkingly at the girl.

Hebe took the warm stone tablet and held it in her hand.

The instant Hebe stepped into the narrow passageway, azure light shone from afar and swept over her body with a distinctly technological air.

This light... is somewhat like the Cobalt Blue Light in the wilderness, Hebe thought calmly.

The Red King's intentions were utterly undisguised. After ascending to become the Scarlet Crowned God-King, He had placed elements like these within His own mausoleum, attempting to artificially recreate the environment of the "wilderness"!

At the end of the passage stood a square stone platform.

When Hebe stepped onto it, the stone tablet in her hand emitted a soft blue glow.

The platform swiftly rose. A transparent barrier shielded it, leaving Hebe unaffected in the slightest.

She rapidly passed through layer after layer within the pyramid, watching the artificially constructed grasslands, mountains, oceans, and forests, watching those differing landscapes gradually vanish beneath her feet.

She silently committed these wondrous sights to memory.

At last, the stone platform slowly came to a stop. A golden Imperial Road gradually rose, leading into a stretch of deathly dark silence.

Candle flames flickered, and smoke hung down like curtains. There was no throne for a king to sit upon.

This is the palace of Ozymandias, the Red King? It's far too cramped.

The moment the thought surfaced in Hebe's mind, she felt a faint tremor beneath her feet.

Pale mist suddenly surged forth. The Imperial Road beneath her feet was dyed bright silver, and a sensation of weightlessness spread through her body.

Hebe gently raised one foot—she stepped upon the mist and ascended step by step.

Even most beings of daylight could not achieve "flight," for the laws of the present world suppressed the "reality" of the unreal. But in the past, the commandments had not been so strict.

She passed through the candlelight, passed through the smoke, and saw magnificent blue light descend from the apex of the pyramid.

That blue light emerged from the mist, transforming beneath her feet into a flight of steps.

Hebe stepped onto the stairs and left the pyramid. Her view suddenly opened up—above the dense clouds was pure light, which suffused the clouds like a burning sea.

And above that vast sea of clouds stood an enormous, intricate mechanical construct.

It was an existence far beyond this era, even beyond Hebe's own future age. It resembled both a magnificent palace and a spire forged entirely from metal. Countless gears turned intricately within it, cycling again and again as they gave off thunderous roars like heartbeats.

Nine interlocking metal sun wheels revolved around this colossal array.

With Hebe's arrival, the massive array began to rumble into motion. Then, at the center of the gears, levers, and array, a searing brilliance no less fierce than the true sun flared to life in an instant.

Hebe had looked away before that happened, but the stone tablet she had been carrying suddenly flew up, forming an azure barrier around her.

The sun wheels turned, and the blazing light gradually dimmed, seeming to change from the scorching sun at noon into the setting sun of dusk.

A grand, magnificent voice came from all directions, carrying indescribable cruelty and savagery.

"—Since thou hast come before me, why dost thou not kneel?!"

Conjugate Sovereign and Minister

Majestic, imposing light radiated from the enormous and intricate mechanical construct.

This was the Red King's true form. After discarding His ancient human body, He had ascended into a Mechanical Holy Body that eternally maintained balance and never decayed. Yet what ran within it was not oil, lightning, or steam, but the unreal kingship and Divine Authority.

—The radiant and resplendent Radiant Composite Temple.

The Radiant Composite Temple suspended high in the sky was Ozymandias's imperial body.

Yet Hebe merely gave a slight bow, without pausing for even a moment.

"Do You require my prostration, Your Majesty Ozymandias?"

The girl breathed steadily and spoke words of blatant defiance. "There are already enough people in all of Egypt who kneel before you. If you merely wished for me to kneel and bow my head, why issue an oracle at all?"

"Besides, there is not much time left."

After speaking, Hebe quietly awaited Ozymandias's judgment.

Almost as soon as her words fell, a thunderous roar came from all directions. It was not punishment delivered by the Scarlet Crowned God-King in a fit of rage, but hearty, exhilarated laughter.

"Hmm heh heh heh, hahahahaha!"

It was like a tender green shoot finally breaking free and sprouting from the earth after being crushed beneath a boulder for centuries.

"Delightful, delightful!" Ozymandias laughed thunderously. "In that case, come forward!"

Hebe's heart abruptly relaxed: she had gambled correctly.

No two kings in the world were exactly alike. Even as high-ranking figures of the Authority Path, Arthur and Ozymandias could not be treated the same way.

If Arthur, after ascending the Iron Throne, had gradually transformed from a wise king who accepted counsel into an arbitrary tyrant, then Ozymandias had been a violent and unrestrained monarch from the very beginning. He was already at the bottom of the valley; no matter how he tossed things about, it could only be upward.

Thus, Arthur needed to be met with a submissive, yielding bearing; while before the Red King, one had to straighten one's back without being either servile or overbearing.

Ozymandias had long grown accustomed to everyone bowing before him, and the role of a remonstrating minister would please him even more.

If Hebe and Ozymandias were seated at the same gambling table, she had already successfully drawn Ozymandias into the game she had set.

And indeed, when Hebe approached Ozymandias, the legendary tyrant did not punish her. Instead, his booming voice continued.

"Heh. Whether valiant warriors or sorcerers wielding secret arts, in my eyes, all are living beings to be ruled, like grains of sand. Yet there is one kind of person who is an exception."

"Those who possess kingly bearing—not those with divine blood, but those who understand a king's duty... You are one of them as well."

The metallic sun wheel slowly turned, its dim, savage light transforming into the clear brilliance of morning.