Chương 37: Chapter 35

Beneath the bloody waves, Adam smirked as blood poured from his heart like a broken dam. The dagger buried in his chest carried a guaranteed bleed effect. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a death sentence. Combined with his five-hundred-percent increase to natural health recovery, however, his body simply replaced the lost blood as fast as it escaped. The result was absurd. An endless stream of blood flowed from his chest, feeding the crimson oasis around him.

In this situation, he was essentially immortal. The only thing his regeneration couldn't replenish was oxygen. Still, as he watched the beautiful woman sinking alongside him, he knew his plan had worked. At least partially. Above the surface, he could faintly hear Granessa rampaging through the battlefield. The muffled booms and tremors carried through the water, giving him more hope than he'd had only minutes ago. Hatshepsut glared at him through the thick red water. For once, there was nothing she could do.

She was the one trapped now. Restraints made entirely of blood, Adam's blood, wrapped around her body and dragged her downward. The more he bled, the tighter they became. More and more crimson bindings formed around her limbs and torso, pulling her deeper into the darkness below. Soon, she vanished completely into the black abyss at the bottom of the pool. Adam's lungs were beginning to burn, so he couldn't stay and witness whatever fate awaited her. He could only hope it was permanent.

Kicking upward, he swam for the surface and burst through the water with a desperate gasp. He didn't dare remove the dagger. On the off chance Hatshepsut could escape, the continuous supply of blood might be the only thing keeping her imprisoned. Glancing across the battlefield that the oasis shore had become, Adam found Granessa standing amid a field of devastation. She was panting heavily while staring down at what might have once been Bakari. It was difficult to tell. There wasn't much left.

With Bakari dead, Mei's bindings had disappeared. She was already wandering around the battlefield, enthusiastically collecting whatever loot had dropped from his corpse.

"Were you two not worried about me at all?"

"No," they answered simultaneously.

"What happened to the hot lady?" Mei asked while stuffing another item into her already full arms.

"Honestly, I don't know. She got dragged to the bottom of the pool by... my blood, I guess."

"I guess it's true what they say." Mei stared at the blood-filled oasis with surprising melancholy.

"Men are the scourge of women." Adam blinked.

"Who says that?" She shrugged.

"I dunno."

"Anyways, how long am I supposed to stay here?" he asked.

"Until I finish collecting all the loot." Granessa snorted.

"Wait and see if she dies. If she does, the battle should end. There shouldn't be any enemies left nearby." Then, after a brief hesitation, she turned toward him.

"Thank you for your words. I had nearly lost myself and become a sinner who embraced death." Adam opened his mouth to respond. The words never came. Something moved beneath him. A disturbance rippled through the bloody water. His stomach dropped.

"No..." he groaned. The movement below intensified.

"Get ready. This isn't over!" The instant the words left his mouth, the entire oasis exploded. A colossal figure erupted from the bloody water, sending crimson waves crashing across the shore. It possessed Hatshepsut's body, but enlarged several times over. Her elegant frame had become something monstrous, towering above the battlefield like a living monument. Its head, however, was no longer human. The elongated muzzle and angular features resembled a doberman, though far more severe and unnatural.

Adam recognized the face immediately. The Egyptian god of death. Anubis. Though it was admittedly strange that he had arrived attached to a giant woman's body. Anubis (Mythic BOSS) - Lv. 100 Partial Descent"Oh... fu—""The curse was broken?" Anubis asked in an impossibly deep, masculine voice. He lowered his massive head to look down upon them from far above. One eye gleamed gold while the other was as black as the void itself.

"Little ant, was it you who broke Hatshepsut's curse and nearly freed her?" This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Do I look like a virgin woman to you?" Adam retorted. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. That was a several-dozen-foot-tall dog-headed god he was talking to. Mocking him was probably not the brightest idea. To his surprise, Anubis burst into laughter loud enough to echo throughout the entire desert.

"No, I suppose you don't," he admitted after a moment, wiping a tear from his pitch-black eye. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air. After a few moments, he turned his gaze toward Granessa.

"It was your blood which nearly freed her. Was it given willingly?" Granessa immediately shook her head.

"No? Well, it doesn't really matter one way or the other. According to the terms of the curse, whoever breaks it must take her place as the undying virgin pharaoh of the Desert of the Dead."

"Wait..." Mei raised her hand.

"Hatshepsut was a virgin? Then what about her promise of a blissful night?" She pointed toward the canopy bed nearby. Anubis slowly turned toward her with a blank expression and tilted his head in confusion.

"Is that important right now?"

"Well... no. But she really shouldn't lie about stuff like that. I was nearly swayed, y'know?" Anubis blinked. For the first time since arriving, he looked completely lost.

"Uh...? No, I did not know."

"Well, I was. I mean, who could resist a sexy woman asking them into bed? I did, obviously, but it took all my willpower to hold back. Could you have done it?" Straightening proudly, Anubis placed a hand against his chest.

"The only woman I will ever share a bed with is my wife, Anput."

"Eh? You have a wife?" Mei asked.

"Does she know you're here taking over a woman's body? And touching said woman's breast?" The confidence instantly drained from his face and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he quickly removed his hand from his chest.

"No... she does not."

"Maybe you should go back before she finds out." Anubis considered that. For several long seconds, he genuinely seemed to be weighing his options before slowly nodding.

"Yes, perhaps that would be wi—" He suddenly froze. His golden eye narrowed.

"Wait... you little ant! You nearly tricked me!" Mei shrugged innocently.

"I was just having a conversation." Anubis bared his fangs in a scowl.

"Whatever. I don't have time for this. I need to complete my duty... preferably before my wife comes back." A massive golden ankh materialized in his hand. Raising it to eye level, he aligned it with his glowing right eye.

"The curse—""Wait, wait!" Mei interrupted.

"The curse wasn't fully broken, right? Adam stopped it. So why do you need to transfer it?"

"No!" Hatshepsut's voice suddenly echoed from within Anubis's body.

"I broke my curse! I drained all of my cursed blood and replaced it with the blood of another pure virgin woman who had never even kissed a man. I am no longer cursed! Let me be free!"

"While that is technically true," Anubis replied, already sounding tired, "the virgin blood became tainted by the blood of a man while you were absorbing it. Therefore, the curse could not be fully broken. You currently exist in a half-cursed state."

"No, no, no! I've waited thousands of years for this moment. Transfer the curse!" Anubis stared off into the distance for several seconds, then looked down at the party before glancing back toward the horizon. Finally, he threw both hands into the air.

"Ah! This is far too much of a headache!" He pointed at his golden eye, where Hatshepsut's voice had come from.

"You want the curse transferred." Then he pointed at Granessa.

"You nearly broke the curse." Finally, he pointed at himself.

"My wife may discover I'm possessing another woman's body any moment now." His ears flattened against his head.

"We are doing this the simple way." Before anyone could object, a beam of golden light erupted from the Eye of Ra. The divine ray passed through the center of the ankh and struck Granessa directly, enveloping her body in a brilliant golden glow.

"There. I transferred half of it. You all figure out the rest yourselves."

"Wait, what does that even mean?" Adam asked.

"I have absolutely no idea." Adam stared at him.

"That's not reassuring."

"It is not my problem anymore." With that, Anubis vanished. The colossal divine presence disappeared from the desert as though it had never existed, and Hatshepsut's body immediately shrank back to normal. Almost. A new notification appeared above her head. Hatshepsut (Legendary NPC) - Lv. 95 Soul permanently linked to Player Adam Colt (Level adjusted accordingly.) New Level: 45 Adam blinked at her. Hatshepsut blinked back.

They stared at each other for several awkward seconds, neither having the slightest idea what had just happened. Then Adam felt a cold sensation crawl down his spine. Slowly turning around, he found Mei standing behind him. She was smiling. The smile looked perfectly normal. Her eyes, however, did not.

"Uh..." Adam began while waving his hands frantically.

"I can explain."

"Oh really?"

"Umm…? No." Mei took a slow, menacing step forward. Fortunately for Adam, a notification suddenly appeared between them before she could continue.