Chương 36: Chapter 34

Bakari hung Granessa upside down from a palm tree that leaned over the bloody oasis. Once she was secured, he produced a razor-sharp ceremonial dagger. The blade was perforated and clearly designed for bloodletting. Granessa struggled violently, snapping several of the white cloth bindings around her body. For a moment it looked as though she might break free, but more cloth immediately slithered across her limbs and torso, wrapping her even tighter than before. Bakari released one of her arms.

Granessa instantly reached for the dagger, but he calmly stepped aside and drew the blade across her wrist. Blood streamed down her arm and dripped into the crimson oasis below, darkening the water by another shade. He freed her other arm and slit that wrist as well. Twin streams of blood poured steadily from the wounds. Judging by the amount, the dagger likely carried some kind of bleed enchantment.

"Little girl, you don't have to do this," Mei said softly, speaking as though she were trying to reason with a stubborn child.

"Doing this is really, really bad." The tiny pharaoh spared her a bored glance before turning her attention to Adam.

"You are a healer, yes?" she asked, though the answer was obvious.

"If you don't want your friend to die, I suggest you cast a healing spell on her."

"Free me," Adam said. To his surprise, the bindings unraveled with a casual flick of Hatshepsut's hand. Without the cloth suspending him above the ground, he dropped hard onto his backside. Suppressing a groan, he pushed himself upright and aimed a palm toward Granessa. [Heal]. Green light washed over her wounds. The bleeding slowed, flesh knit itself back together, and a little color returned to her face. As he watched the spell work, he noticed something. He immediately schooled his expression.

Floating beside Granessa's upside-down head was the familiar attack power indicator. It showed she was receiving more than a five-hundred-percent increase to her attack power. Bakari didn't give the wounds time to fully close. With several quick slashes, he opened fresh cuts farther up her arms before reopening both wrists. Blood immediately began pouring from the new injuries. The attack boost climbed another ten percent with each cut. Adam's eyes narrowed. So that was how it worked.

The system apparently classified every one of those injuries as life-threatening, granting Granessa the maximum increase from her passive. Which meant they were still considered to be in combat. Otherwise, the buff would have vanished. Could that be their way out? The thought died almost as quickly as it formed. No. Even if Granessa somehow accumulated a several-thousand-percent increase to her attack power, she would still be hanging there, trapped and slowly being drained dry. They needed a way to free her.

More importantly, they needed a way to stop whatever Hatshepsut was planning. Unfortunately, Mei was in no condition to help. The lingering effects of magic fatigue had left her barely able to stand, let alone fight. Which meant it was all up to him. But how? As Adam searched desperately for an answer, he continued casting [Heal] whenever Granessa's face began turning pale blue. Each spell restored some color and closed the worst of the wounds, but the process was becoming less effective.

[Heal] accelerated her body's natural recovery, including blood production, yet that recovery wasn't infinite. Eventually her body would reach its limit and it would begin to break down. When that happened, the best-case scenario was that she ended up crippled.

"I'll kill you all!" Granessa roared.

"You cowards, free me and fight!" She bucked and twisted against the bindings, her muscles straining hard enough to snap stone. Unfortunately, Bakari's cloth restraints were far stronger than those used by the ordinary level sixty-five mummies.

"And you!" She glared at Adam.

"Stop healing me! You're only helping them!" Adam shook his head.

"No, Granessa. I'm helping you. Every wound you endure brings you one step closer to becoming invincible. After all, they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Right?" Granessa blinked at him in confusion before understanding dawned in her eyes. A savage grin spread across her face.

"You're right!" she growled.

"Every wound they inflict on me, I'll return tenfold!" Her wild laughter echoed across the oasis. Bakari merely chuckled. With practiced motions, he opened fresh wounds across her arms, shoulders, legs, and torso.

"Let's see if you survive long enough to make good on that threat." Within seconds, the white bindings wrapped around Granessa were stained completely red. Combined with her blood-soaked hair, she looked as though she had been submerged in a lake of blood. Instead, she was the one filling it. Adam cast another [Heal]. The green light washed over her body, but this time the results were noticeably weaker. His stomach sank. Granessa's body was already beginning to fail.

The wounds refused to close completely, leaving behind pale scars that hadn't been there before. Her recovery was slowing despite his constant healing. If he didn't think of something soon, she might never fully recover. His gaze drifted toward the pool beneath her. The blood had become so dark it was nearly black. Everything revolved around that pool. As if confirming his suspicion, the small pharaoh finally rose from her throne. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road.

Report any occurrences elsewhere. The oasis fell silent as Hatshepsut stepped forward. With each step she took toward the blood-filled water, color returned to her skin. The dull gray complexion of a corpse gradually transformed into a healthy bronze tan kissed by the desert sun. By the time she reached the water's edge, she no longer looked dead at all. She lowered herself into the blood with a contented sigh. Then she disappeared beneath the surface. Adam tensed.

Beside him, Bakari finally stopped carving new wounds into Granessa's body. The attack power indicator floating beside her had reached a terrifying nine hundred and ninety-nine percent. The highest value Adam had seen yet. It didn't matter. Granessa hung limply from the tree. Her head sagged and her eyes stared blankly ahead. The endless bloodletting had drained more than just her body. It had stripped away her rage, her stubbornness, and seemingly even her will to resist.

Before Adam could formulate a plan to somehow free her and bring her back to herself, the oasis erupted. The blackened blood began to bubble and churn violently. Waves crashed against the shore as something rose from the depths. A woman emerged from the blood. She shared a striking resemblance to the child pharaoh, yet there was no mistaking that this was an adult. Deep brown skin gleamed beneath the crimson liquid cascading down her body.

Medium-length black hair framed a sharp, elegant face beneath a golden pharaoh's headdress. A form-fitting gown of golden silk clung to her figure, accentuating every curve without quite concealing them. Blood streamed down her skin in crimson rivulets, tracing lines along her body before dripping back into the oasis. She looked less like a ruler and more like a goddess emerging from a sacrificial ritual.

"Oh god..." Mei whispered, her jaw slowly dropping.

"She's hot." Hatshepsut scooped up handfuls of blood and drank deeply, savoring every drop.

"Ah~ It's been so long," she said in the same husky tone as before.

"Finally, I feel like myself again." Her voice suited her new body far better than it ever had in her childlike form. Another shiver ran down Adam's spine when he heard it. This time, it wasn't disgust.

"She is..." he admitted reluctantly.

"Hey! Your girlfriend, me, is right here!" Mei protested. Adam shrugged.

"I must thank the three of you," Hatshepsut said.

"Had one of you not been a healthy and vigorous female virgin, I would have eventually fallen completely to my curse. Instead, after thousands of years, I can finally break free." A pleased smile spread across her face.

"I think I'll reward each of you with a night of utmost bliss before you join my undead legion." With a casual wave of her hand, a massive canopy bed appeared from nowhere. Thick curtains of silk draped from its frame, and the sweet scent of desert roses immediately spread throughout the oasis.

"But first," Hatshepsut continued, "I must finish removing Anubis's nasty curse from my body."

"While I do enjoy blissful nights, I'm unfortunately taken, so I'll have to sadly decline," Mei said.

"How about you just let us go instead?" Hatshepsut turned toward her with a predatory smirk which revealed a mouth filled with sharp canine-like fangs.

"I think I'll enjoy your man first while I savor your sweet pleas."

"You can enjoy me now," Adam said unexpectedly. Both women stared at him in mild and extreme shock respectively. He offered no explanation. Instead, he raised both hands. Twin pulses of divine light erupted from his palms. The beams struck Bakari directly in the eyes with the intensity of two million-lumen flashlights.

"Aaah!! My eyes!!" Bakari screamed. Smoke rose from his face as he staggered backward, clutching at his ruined eyes. The ceremonial bloodletting dagger slipped from his grasp. Adam lunged. His fingers closed around the weapon moments before it hit the ground.

"Granessa!" he roared. Her vacant eyes shifted toward him.

"Remember who you are! You're a warrior! You never surrender to death!" Then, before anyone could stop him, he plunged the dagger into his own chest. Right through his heart. Blood exploded from the wound. Adam fell backward into the oasis. Neither Mei nor Hatshepsut had time to react. As he dropped beneath the surface, he formed a razor-thin and sharp blade using shield magic and hurled it toward Granessa. The spinning dagger of magic flashed through the air. Adam wasn't sure whether his words had reached her.

He wasn't even sure his plan would work. A moment later, the bloody water swallowed him whole.

"NOOO!!" Hatshepsut's scream echoed across the oasis. For the first time, genuine panic appeared on her face. She scrambled desperately toward the shore, sending waves of blood splashing in every direction. She was too late. The oasis erupted. The blood began to churn violently around her body. Countless crimson tendrils rose from beneath the surface and wrapped around her limbs like grasping hands. Hatshepsut fought with all her strength. It wasn't enough. The blood dragged her downward.

"Pharaoh!" Bakari shouted. Blind and panicked, he stumbled toward the oasis but couldn't cross its edge to aid her. Mei blinked. She had absolutely no idea what was happening. Then a deafening roar shook the oasis. Granessa bellowed like a wounded beast. The cloth restraining her body exploded apart as she tore through it with raw strength. Adam's magic dagger had sliced through part of the bindings when he threw it, weakening them just enough. A tiny cut bled from her cheek where the blade had nicked her.

Floating beside her head was a blood-red number. 1, 000% Granessa's eyes widened and she grinned so hard her teeth creaked. Summoning her battleaxe from her inventory, she swung with every ounce of strength left in her body. The axe cleaved through Bakari in a single strike. His body split neatly in half. Unfortunately for her, undead were notoriously difficult to kill. Unfortunately for him, Granessa was in no mood to stop. She hacked into the remains again. And again. And again. Bones shattered.

Sandstone exploded into fragments. And chunks of undead flesh were pulverized into paste. By the time she finished repeatedly swinging her axe, it was impossible to tell where Bakari ended and the ruined ground began. A familiar notification appeared. Her attack buff increased by one percent.