## Chapter 296 – 296. God’S Atlantis
I raised my fist, crackling with power, towards the mummies before me.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Dragon Fist.
Heavenly Demon energy shot out straight ahead. The mummies touched by the energy lost parts of their bodies and collapsed to the floor. I stepped on the fallen mummies and headed towards the river.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Step.
Numerous mummies reached out towards me, but they couldn’t catch me as I moved quickly using the footwork. Even if they managed to grab my shoulder or body, they couldn’t stop me. When I swung my fist with all my might, the mummies flew away like light styrofoam.
‘Still, there are too many.’
I couldn’t just randomly attack the mummies blocking my path. Even if I did attack, the mummies would regenerate their bodies and get back up after some time. On the other hand, my mana was limited. Considering the upcoming battle with Anubis, I needed to conserve my mana.
I sensed something in my perception. I slightly turned my head and looked behind me.
A blazing fireball was flying towards me.
The fireball didn’t hit me but fell on the mummies in front of me.
The mummies’ bodies caught fire. And the flames spread in all directions, engulfing the densely packed mummies.
‘That’s not just any fire! It’s Kasha’s fire!’
The fire was so intense that the mummies quickly turned into charcoal and collapsed to the ground. Thanks to Kasha’s support, I could reach the river more easily. Of course, mummies were still emerging from the river.
“Stop right there!”
A man was chasing after me. A man with a dirty beard on his chin, the second-in-command.
I frowned.
“Why are you following me?!”
The place I was heading to was a death zone. That was why Ahmad, who hated me, wasn’t chasing me. In Ahmad’s eyes, it would only look like I was going to commit suicide.
“While tracking you, I realized. You knew more about the pyramid than anyone else! You saw through the traps and monsters in the pyramid!”
“…So?”
The second-in-command stretched out his left hand towards me. A chain extended from his left hand towards me. It was either a skill or a unique trait.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Step.
I moved like a slip, dodging the chain. As soon as I dodged, the chain disappeared without a trace. And then it extended again from the second-in-command’s left hand.
“You opened the direct gate yourself, and you weren’t at all flustered when you saw tens of thousands of mummies coming out of the river! You knew about the current situation! You lured us here to use us as bait to disperse the mummies!”
I realized that the second-in-command was quite smart. But that made it even more incomprehensible.
“You’re not following me to die with me, are you… Do you want to kill me that badly?”
“Yes. I want to kill you! I’ll kill you and take what you’re trying to get! You’re not going to die. You’re going to get something so great that you’re willing to risk your life for it. No, it might not be an object, but power!”
The second-in-command laughed.
I shook my head at his greedy smile.
“Do as you please, you fool.”
I thought he was quite smart, but I guess I was mistaken. The second-in-command was blinded by greed.
“Don’t bother me.”
I warned the second-in-command while dodging the chains. The reason I wasn’t killing him was because I didn’t want to waste time fighting him.
I headed towards a part of the river where there were unusually no mummies.
Splash, splash!
I stepped into the black river water and went into the river.
“In the river! You’re in the river! I’ll kill you and take it!”
From behind, a chain flew and wrapped around my left wrist. I couldn’t dodge it because my feet got tangled by the mummies coming up from below.
The second-in-command pulled the chain.
‘I don’t have enough time to untie or cut the chain.’
I pulled the chain instead and went into the river.
“Uh, uh?!”
The second-in-command was flustered and got dragged along. This confirmed it. I was stronger than the second-in-command. My strength stat was definitely higher. Also, I had the Heavenly Demon Physique (A).
“Damn it! You think I’ll let go?!”
The second-in-command didn’t let go of the chain until the end. Instead, he grabbed the chain and ran towards me.
I went into the black river water. I wasn’t suffocating. I could breathe. [Blessing of Water] was working properly.
‘It feels unpleasant. It’s definitely river water, but it feels like mud sticking to my whole body.’
It was a black river where I couldn’t see an inch ahead. But there was something emitting a golden light a little further away.
I swam towards the golden light. The deeper I went, the worse I felt. It was because the river water itself had evil energy.
‘It’s not like poison, so I’ll endure it.’
According to the information from the original story, it wouldn’t be a big problem if you didn’t stay in it for too long or drink the water.
Something brushed past me. I knew it was the chain. It seemed that he could throw the chain with his right hand as well.
The chain wrapped around the golden light. The golden light was coming towards me quickly. As the golden light got closer, I could clearly see its shape.
It was a coffin.
A coffin made of carved stone was emitting a golden light.
‘I’ll grab it!’
I reached out my right hand towards the coffin. But the chain wrapped around my left arm yanked me to the side. My right hand failed to grab the coffin.
‘…Damn it.’
The chain on my left arm disappeared. The golden coffin was getting further away. I frowned and swam quickly towards the receding coffin.
Splash!
When I came out of the river, the second-in-command was opening the coffin. The stone coffin that came out of the river no longer emitted a golden light.
I walked towards the second-in-command.
The second-in-command took out a mummy from the coffin. The mummy was wearing a golden mask.
The second-in-command’s lips tore as he grabbed the golden mask and tore it off the mummy’s head.
“Hahahaha! An SSS-rank treasure! I can’t believe I’m going to get such a treasure!”
“Give it up and hand it over. You can’t handle it anyway. Don’t do something you’ll regret and hand it over to me.”
“Regret?! It’s already in my hands! It’s mine! You’re the one who’s going to regret it, not me!”
The second-in-command put the golden mask on his head.
I kicked away a mummy that was rushing at me from the side and walked towards him.
“Hahahaha!”
The second-in-command laughed. It was the joy of someone who had gained great power.
But it didn’t take long for that laughter to turn into a scream.
“Kkyaaaaaaaak!”
The second-in-command flailed his arms. He was trying to take off the golden mask. But the golden mask wouldn’t come off. And the second-in-command’s body began to wither. All the moisture in his body was disappearing somewhere.
And so, the second-in-command died.
“I told you to give it up.”
I took off the golden mask and held it in my hand. The surrounding mummies didn’t rush at me.
「Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask
When wearing the golden mask, no curse can affect you.
You become a dead person.
Mana increases by 50.
You can control the undead according to your mana level. However, you can control mummies regardless.
It destroys the wearer’s mind. If your mind is intact, you can become the true owner. But if your mind is destroyed, you will become a mummy.
Rank: SSS」
The reason the second-in-command died was simple. As the information stated, his mind was destroyed.
The second-in-command was blinded by greed and overestimated himself. If your mental strength is strong, you can withstand the golden mask’s mind destruction. But not just anyone has that level of mental strength.
‘It’s impossible for a human to withstand it. Unless you have at least an S-rank level mental defense trait, skill, or item.’
In the original story, Kang Myungjin had a mental defense item, so he could use the golden mask.
‘I have the mental resistance trait I got from the game app.’
Mental Resistance Lv. 5
I didn’t know exactly what level it was, but I was sure it was at least SS-rank.
「The golden mask is anticipating.」
The throne, the golden mask.
Tutankhamun.
The true owner of this golden mask was anticipating my destruction.
‘And Anubis is also anticipating my destruction.’
The King of the Demonic Sky and the Master of the Heavens were silent. They knew. They knew that my mind wouldn’t break here. Their lack of reaction was giving me confidence.
I raised the golden mask high above my head and declared to the mummies swarming around me.
“I… will become the Lich King!”
I put on the golden mask.
Death brushed past me.
Death tried to swallow me, but it couldn’t come near me.
「The golden mask is astonished.」
「Unbelievable… A single human withstood thousands of deaths!?」
The original owner of the golden mask was astonished.
I raised my right hand. All the mummies in this space bowed before me.
The mummies that were attacking Kasha and Ahmad’s bandits, and even the mummies that were constantly coming out of the black river, all knelt to the ground towards me without exception.
The control of the mummies was in my hands, not Anubis’s.
‘My heart isn’t beating.’
As the golden mask’s effect stated, I had become a dead person.
「You are dead, but you are alive.」
「You are both living and dead.」
「It is an unbelievable achievement.」
「The title ‘Undying’ is granted.」
「All stats increase by 2.」
I looked at Anubis on top of the pyramid. And I pointed at Anubis with my right index finger.
“Kill!”
An army of 70,000 mummies advanced towards Anubis.
「The cycle of life and death uses power.」
「The power of the cycle of life and death (false) is strengthened.」
Anubis’s body became even larger. It was already over 6 meters tall.
Anubis slammed his staff, which had grown in size, onto the ground.
Purple flames rose around the pyramid. The flames burned the mummies.
‘…The mummies aren’t regenerating. It’s not ordinary fire.’
This time, Anubis pointed his staff at me.
「The cycle of life and death (false) curses you with decay.」
「You are immune to curses.」
It was the effect of the golden mask. When I wore it, no curse could affect me. Unless a throne directly appeared and cursed me.
「The cycle of life and death uses power.」
「The power of the cycle of life and death (false) is strengthened.」
Anubis’s body grew even larger.
I frowned. Anubis was already over 10 meters tall.
Anubis, who knew that curses didn’t work, moved directly. Every time his huge foot stepped on the pyramid, the pyramid crumbled and cracked.
「The cycle of life and death uses power.」
「The power of the cycle of life and death (false) is strengthened.」
12 meters.
A four-story building was approaching me step by step. The flames went out, and the mummies clung to the giant Anubis. But when Anubis swung his staff, they fell off like autumn leaves.
The mummies couldn’t stop Anubis’s footsteps for even a second. I was horrified. In the original story, Anubis was defeated by the mummies, but the Anubis in front of me was growing even larger.
“What is that! This is a scam! What are you doing, system! Huh!?”
「Intervening.」
「The cycle of life and death is consuming vast amounts of source power.」
「The cycle of life and death is warned again.」
「Sanctions are being imposed on the cycle of life and death.」
“Damn it.”
My face under the mask was rotting.
Source power.
The power that allows a god to exist as a god, and their very existence itself.
Using source power meant that he was going to kill me with all his might.
‘The system was doing its job properly.’
The system was preventing the cycle of life and death, which was using source power, from manifesting in this world. If he had manifested, I would have already been dead.
I raised my head sharply. The only thing that could oppose a throne was another throne.
“Master of the Heavens! Help me!”
「The Master of the Heavens looks at you indifferently.」
I realized that the Master of the Heavens didn’t even see this as a crisis.
‘I can guess the reason. In Zeus’s eyes, the cycle of life and death is no different from a stray dog.’
Zeus was completely ignoring the throne, the cycle of life and death. Zeus thought that I should be able to handle this much on my own.
I changed my target.
“King of the Demonic Sky!”
「The King of the Demonic Sky looks at you.」
“I broke through your shitty trial! You know that the reward for the trial is very stingy, right? Reward me right now! The mental shock I suffered back then…! Give me that reward now!”
「The King of the Demonic Sky sponsors 1,000 AP.
“The reward for the trial is already over. I paid the reward fairly according to the system.”」
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It was getting closer. Anubis was already 20 meters tall.
“Damn it! Before I throw away everything, including the Heavenly Demon, help me!”
I had two status windows.
Brain Severing Sword and Heavenly Demon.
Which status window I chose was up to me. I could completely abandon the Heavenly Demon and live as a Brain Severing Sword user. Then the King of the Demonic Sky would be out of the picture.
“Master of the Heavens! I’m ready to abandon the Demonic Sky and follow only the Master of the Heavens!”
「The Master of the Heavens shows interest.」
「The King of the Demonic Sky’s eyes widen.」
“Damn it! I’ll give you 3 seconds! If you don’t help me within exactly 3 seconds, even if I survive here, I won’t do anything like the Heavenly Demon!”
「The King of the Demonic Sky jumps up from his seat.」
「The King of the Demonic Sky urgently calls the system.」
「The system is busy.」
「The King of the Demonic Sky makes a proposal to the system!」
「The King of the Demonic Sky makes a proposal to the system!」
「The King of the Demonic Sky makes a proposal to the system!」
