Chapter 34: The Appointment
"An alliance?" Hachiman looked around at the ancient gods surrounding him. "You don't intend to strike, do you? If that's the case, why bother descending here?"
As for that "breaking the ritual" talk, Hachiman honestly didn't understand at all. As for killing gods—that was his own business.
"It was necessary to descend," Horus was still the one to answer Hachiman's question. "We cannot allow latecomers to disrupt our plans."
"Your plan is the Hebrews' defection?" Hachiman asked.
"They too are believers. Since believers have made offerings, delivering them from suffering is our rightful duty."
"What did they offer?"
"To humans, it is myth. To us, it is the spiritual framework that makes us eternal."
Horus' answer made Hachiman realize the truth.
So myth was indeed equal to divinity. Gods who lost their myths—those who were disobedient—naturally lost their divine framework. What remained was merely a projection of power, which explained why gods could not be killed—their true selves were always housed within their myths.
At the same time, that residence was also a prison, which was why there existed ways to project power out of mythology. But such methods were surely undeveloped in the beginning. After all, gods too were originally beings of this world, who evolved gradually. "Omniscient and omnipotent" was nothing more than a rhetorical flourish in myth, meant to glorify gods.
The godly silhouettes before him must be the early forms of those disobedient gods.
"Sorry, I still don't understand. What does this have to do with me?"
"A great deal," Horus replied. "The undying spirit that came with you was despicable enough to precede us, attempting to steal a divine framework that did not belong to him."
"If I remember correctly, the Hebrews worship one God, which should mean there is only one divine framework. Yet you number more than ten, don't you?"
"Holy Spirit, that is a mistaken notion," Horus' voice carried amusement. "The covenant between man and god is eternal and indestructible. First it was Set, now it is my turn."
"Indeed, we have already met before," Set added.
Hachiman suddenly understood.
No wonder Teshub at Kadesh had acted so strangely, and why Set had abandoned Ramesses II on the battlefield. It turned out they were the same god all along, just tending crops in both fields…
In that case, things became clear: this was a Horus-vs.-Horus conflict, with three thousand years separating them.
But after some thought, Hachiman decided to refuse.
Gods helping a god-slayer? That sounded unreliable.
And besides… there were more than ten of them here, yet they wouldn't gang up on one opponent? Too suspicious.
"I refuse." Hachiman looked at Horus. "The ritual you speak of has never harmed me. On the contrary, what you propose would cost me dearly."
"We do not see it that way. The ritual binds your spirit, preventing it from being pure." Horus countered with a question of his own. "That you can withstand three different rituals shows your spirit is extraordinary. Would it not be a pity if it fell into corruption?"
"I've never heard such a thing." Hachiman shook his head, his face showing no tension. "Give me a reason to believe you."
"The flesh is but an empty shell. Only the spirit matters." Horus showed no anger at Hachiman's refusal, continuing calmly: "Only with a pure spirit can you walk far along the path of the Holy Spirit."
After a pause, he added: "We have no need to deceive you."
That, at least, was true.
Hachiman had encountered many gods, but none had ever used trickery to win. Even the Horus of three thousand years later, shameless as he was, only preferred ambushes.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"In the disasters to come, we ask that you do not intervene immediately. Only shield the Egyptians five times."
"And after five times?" Hachiman asked at once.
"After that, we shall stand with you to slay the undying spirit. Not only will you gain his power, but we shall also break your rituals and purify your spirit. But beyond that, you must no longer intervene."
Protect only half the disasters, then join them in a group beating, then let them keep grinding down the Egyptians afterward? Didn't they just claim to treat their believers kindly?
Hachiman was dumbfounded, feeling the Egyptians must have really chosen the wrong gods.
But his own purpose was simply to shoot birds and protect the little girl. The rest had little to do with him. Egypt, historically, still thrived for decades, even fending off the Sea Peoples' invasions.
So, after a moment's thought, he agreed.
"I'm glad you've accepted our proposal." Horus' voice was cheerful. "Until we meet again."
His silhouette dimmed, power quickly withdrawing from this world. Soon, the other godly silhouettes followed.
Within just a few minutes, the power of more than ten Egyptian gods had completely vanished from the temple.
Hachiman felt exhausted just from all that talking…
He stood, stretched his muscles, and let out a big yawn of relief.
Then he noticed someone standing dumbly at the temple entrance—looking very familiar, with an utterly dazed expression.
After some effort recalling, he remembered—an old patient of his.
Nefertari, that was the name.
Quite the high rank—she was the queen!
Now that he thought of it, since this time-travel, he hadn't properly interacted with anyone besides Ramesses. He'd almost forgotten this familiar face.
But judging from her stupefied look, she had probably just witnessed those ten-plus Egyptian gods returning home.
Understandable.
If a sci-fi fan from later ages woke one morning to see an actual Death Star hanging above, they'd be just as excited.
Since she was an acquaintance, Hachiman decided to help salvage her worldview.
But just as he stepped toward Nefertari, ready to act, the Egyptian queen rolled her eyes and fainted…