A Consensus Had to Be Reached Through Fighting

Imhotep’s smile revealed a great deal, with almost no attempt at concealment.

The moment Yinsen saw that smile, he knew the coming battle was unavoidable.

He had anticipated this situation long ago. With the Book of Amun-Ra in hand, Yinsen could cast a spell to strip Imhotep of all his magical power. Once reduced to an ordinary man, Imhotep would be at Yinsen’s mercy. But if he did that, he could forget about learning anything from this High Priest of Ancient Egypt.

Killing Imhotep would be easy, but if he wanted Imhotep to fulfill his promise willingly, Yinsen had to display strength worthy of Imhotep’s respect. He had to make the High Priest understand that Yinsen was not some "inferior" whom he could casually dismiss, but a spellcaster with immense magical power—perhaps even stronger than Imhotep after his resurrection.

Only by showing his strength and earning Imhotep’s respect from the bottom of his heart could Yinsen complete their previous deal.

Imhotep slowly raised his hands. With his movements, the sand in the Stone Chamber began to float, then surged directly toward Yinsen, who stood not far ahead.

The attack was not focused entirely on Yinsen himself. Part of it targeted the Book of Amun-Ra in Yinsen’s hand, while another part rushed toward Logan and the others behind him.

Imhotep wanted to force Yinsen to give up the Book of Amun-Ra. Otherwise, the group of companions behind him would be killed.

How could Yinsen, who had long been on guard against him, have made no preparations? His spell had already been readied, and the instant Imhotep attacked, Yinsen unleashed the magic he had prepared long ago.

A transparent wall like glass appeared between them as Yinsen lightly raised his palm, neatly dividing the Stone Chamber into two halves.

When the sand under Imhotep’s control crashed into the transparent wall, it was like falling into a bottomless pool. Aside from sending ripples across its surface, it had no effect at all.

Seeing Yinsen so easily neutralize his attack, Imhotep’s expression was no longer as relaxed as before. It became slightly more serious.

Yinsen did not stop just because Imhotep hesitated for a moment. He lightly waved his raised hand, as if beckoning.

"Since we’re fighting, let’s move somewhere more spacious. We can’t really cut loose in here."

As Yinsen spoke, the glass-like transparent wall suddenly split into two, one rushing toward Yinsen and the other toward Imhotep.

With a solemn expression, Imhotep did not know what Yinsen intended to do. But as an accomplished spellcaster, he had no desire to let his opponent’s magic touch him.

Yet just as Yinsen had said, the Stone Chamber was far too cramped. The glass wall nearly filled the entire space as it swept toward him, leaving not the slightest room to dodge. Imhotep could only turn his entire body into fine sand, hoping to avoid being struck by the spell.

But when the glass wall passed through him, Imhotep only felt his entire body tremble. He suffered no injury whatsoever. When he resumed human form and looked around, he realized that he had left the Stone Chamber and arrived outside.

Yellow sand covered the ground, with Hamunaptra not far away. Bright moonlight provided ample illumination. Yinsen still stood across from him. Having prepared thoroughly, Yinsen had integrated Teleportation Magic into that Mirror Wall. The glass wall could be used for both defense and teleportation, making it a multifunctional Composite Magic.

This was not some newly developed spell, but a fusion of magic Yinsen had previously mastered. It required extremely high technical skill to cast. Even with Yinsen’s control over magic, he had to set it up in advance before he could use it successfully.

Imhotep did not know that. Seeing the young man casually cast such a powerful spell made him even more wary of Yinsen. This battle appeared far more difficult than he had imagined—especially since the young man still held the Book of Amun-Ra.

He had originally thought that as long as he seized the Book of Amun-Ra, without that Scripture restraining him, dealing with a young man using his powerful magic would be effortless.

He had not expected reality to slap him in the face so harshly. This young man who had awakened and resurrected him was a spellcaster even stronger than he had been in life.

But the resurrected Imhotep possessed even greater magical power, along with a nearly immortal body. He firmly believed that the man before him would still fall at his hands.

At this point, Imhotep understood that killing Yinsen was likely unrealistic. He instead wanted to demonstrate his strength and make this man understand that Imhotep was not someone any random nobody could threaten.

Yinsen closed the two Scriptures in his hands again. He discovered that he could not place them in his Storage Space, likely because the books themselves were magical tools containing divine power.

He could only put away the keys separately, then toss the two books to the people behind him and have them keep them safe for him.

At the same time, Yinsen cast a Mirror Dimension and sent them inside. They could watch the battle between Yinsen and Imhotep from within without being affected by it.

Only then did Logan relax his guard slightly. He knew the coming battle had nothing to do with him. They would be safe enough inside the Mirror Dimension, and they would also be unable to interfere with the battle outside.

After he briefly explained the situation, O’Connell found it incredible, but he had no choice but to believe that the magic could protect him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shatter the seemingly fragile "glass wall" before him.

"Can people outside see us?"

"No. We’re in another space now. We don’t exist in ‘that world.’"

Logan had spent a long time with Yinsen and had seriously studied druidic knowledge, so explaining a Mirror Dimension was not a problem.

"But what if Yinsen is in danger while we’re stuck in here?" Evelyn was still kind-hearted. Having just confirmed that they could not help Yinsen, her first thought was that Yinsen had to face that terrifying priest who had just been resurrected all by himself.

"We can’t help with the battle ahead. The greatest help we can give him is staying out of his way."

When Logan said that, even Ada did not fully understand what he meant. Evelyn, Jonathan, and O’Connell were one thing; they had known Yinsen only briefly.

Ada, on the other hand, had spent quite some time with Yinsen. They had even lived together for a year in the Biohazard World, after which she had followed him to the X-Men world for some time.

But she had never had an intuitive understanding of Yinsen’s strength. She only knew that he was a Mage with incredible abilities, capable of freely traveling through different Cosmic Planes. He liked collecting all sorts of items and turning them into miraculous potions to strengthen himself.

As for his strength? She had only seen Yinsen’s fighting ability, thanks to his previous training with Loki. As for his magic, her strongest impression was that it was bizarre and difficult to guard against.

In truth, it had been a long time since anyone had seen what Yinsen looked like when he went all out with magic in battle.

Now that he was finally using all his strength, Ada understood that Logan had been completely right. The battle outside was not something an agent like her, who had only just received a little enhancement, could take part in.

After Yinsen "gave up" the advantage of the two Scriptures, Imhotep froze for a moment before revealing an amused smile. He began to feel that Yinsen was not quite so irritating after all, but that did not make him think Yinsen was a decent opponent deserving of mercy.

On the contrary, Imhotep thought this was an excellent opportunity.

The High Priest unleashed all his power, stirring up sand that filled the sky. Nearly all the sand around him was mobilized, forming an enormous Sand Wave that swept toward Yinsen like the heavens collapsing. Even without any further transformation, so much sand crashing down on him would cause considerable damage.

Yinsen likewise began to draw upon the magic within him. His magical power was now countless times stronger than before, and it was entirely power he had cultivated himself, making it exceptionally easy for him to wield.

More importantly, this world contained considerable energy. As a Mage, Yinsen naturally understood how to use his own magic to leverage the vast energy present throughout the world. In such an environment, a Mage could often cast even more powerful spells.

In almost an instant, tremendous energy gathered around Yinsen, then transformed entirely into blazing flames under his control.

The fierce flames spun ceaselessly, forming a gigantic Fire Tornado that reached into the sky. It swept the incoming Sand Wave off course, and countless grains of sand sparkled under the scorching heat.

Yinsen had actually preferred to wash the sand away with water. Once soaked, it would be much harder to control. But in the dry desert, there were not enough Water Elements nearby, and the energy drifting through the air was also more inclined toward heat. Turning it into water would have wasted far more magic and time.

In any case, the result was no different. After scattering the sand, the massive Fire Tornado did not dissipate. Instead, it gradually condensed and concentrated as it spun. When the flames slowly gathered into a smaller form, Imhotep finally saw Yinsen at the center, surrounded by countless flames.

Yinsen held his right arm level. The flames swirling around him continuously converged into his open palm, eventually forming a long, staff-like spear of fire.

But that was not all. More flames gathered behind Yinsen’s back, forming a pair of enormous Fire Wings that carried him into the air. He was preparing to launch an attack from above.

The means of attack was the countless Flame Feathers on those enormous wings behind him.

With a point of Yinsen’s flaming spear, the spread wings continuously fired their Flame Feathers. The area where Imhotep stood immediately erupted with unceasing explosions.