Sphinxes were high-ranking Phantasmal Species. Even ordinary dragonkind paled beside these bizarre-looking monsters.
No, they should have been called divine beasts.
They were divine beasts belonging to Egypt, belonging to the Pharaohs!
But...
While Egypt did indeed have sphinxes, along with countless legends about them...
No one had ever heard of a Pharaoh being able to control sphinxes.
Moreover, sphinxes in mythology were not plural beings. Yet ten had appeared here at once, both male and female.
Honestly, mythology alone would have been fine, but the live-action Sphinxes displayed through the Light Screen had an exceptionally bizarre appearance—a fantastical sort of beauty that drained one's SAN.
Especially since, whether male or female, their human faces did not change expression in the slightest. Only their eyes moved, making the whole thing feel even more twisted.
Phantasmal Species.
That concept was once again presented through the Light Screen.
Unlike before, when only some low-ranking Phantasmal Species had appeared, the sphinxes this time were undoubtedly mythical creatures. Da Vinci had called them high-ranking Phantasmal Species, beings close to dragons, instantly elevating the sphinxes' prestige to tremendous heights.
After all, in Western fantasy settings, dragons had always been a high-ranking race, while true dragons unquestionably stood at the peak of the pyramid.
In traditional Western fantasy legends, true dragons were even associated with archdemons. They were often the final bosses of fantasy tales, or major bosses at certain stages; sometimes, they might even be stronger than the final boss.
Within the Light Screen, true dragons might not hold a status as exaggerated as they did in those fantasy stories, but they were undoubtedly beings at the apex of Phantasmal Species.
Sphinxes were divine beasts close to that level, likewise standing at the peak among Phantasmal Species.
And judging by how they slaughtered magical beasts