You Make a Pretty Good Punching Bag

Josh felt exceptionally satisfied as he watched Ade-Bay lie on the ground, gasping for breath.

A demon? To hell with demons! If I were really a demon, whether you guardians—or even all of Egypt—would still exist would be a question!

Ade-Bay had thoroughly angered Josh, so Josh decided to give this guy, who never stopped talking about demons and saving the world, a proper lesson.

Of course, Josh did not use any particularly violent magic. Otherwise, he could not guarantee that the man would still be alive and breathing.

As for Ade-Bay’s subordinates, Josh did not make things too difficult for them. He merely subdued them all first; otherwise, the largest massacre in Egyptian history might have been born right then and there.

"What a bunch of idiots. I wasn’t even planning to use those Americans as sacrifices anymore, yet you’re still standing here yapping away. Do you really think I have no temper?"

Josh casually shook his hand. In teaching Ade-Bay a lesson, Josh had rarely used some of the magic he had learned at Hogwarts. Its damage was not particularly high, but it was enough to punish someone, and Josh found it quite easy to use.

To be honest, although Hogwarts magic was not all that powerful, it had provided Josh with quite a bit of useful help.

Especially in terms of his Spatial magic attainments. However, Josh had not forgotten that there was something in that world he was greatly looking forward to.

The Time-Turner. Josh had not forgotten that thing.

It was just that even Josh felt his strength was insufficient. Even if he studied it, he would not be able to figure out much. It was like knowing the principles but having no idea how to actually make the thing.

But none of that mattered. Josh felt that once his strength reached around the Seventh Tier, he could try studying it.

Time was not the same as space. Although their powers became roughly comparable in the later stages, time was far more difficult to grasp at the entry level than space.

Although Josh’s Void Blind Zone could alter time in conjunction with the Void Gate, Josh did not understand what was really going on inside it at all.

Fortunately, Josh was not someone who obsessed over things. Otherwise, he would probably have lived a very miserable life.

Shaking his head, Josh stopped thinking about such unnecessary matters. Even if he understood time magic now, it would be of no damned use.

Was he supposed to restore Imhotep, who had already become a mummy, to how he had been three thousand years ago? Unless Josh had gone insane, he would never do something like that.

In Josh’s eyes, anyone capable of doing that was like those peerless supreme beings from novels. There were even plenty of incredible figures who could directly enter the river of time and erase someone’s past existence, making them vanish from the present. Josh had neither that skill nor that ability.

At least for now, these were things he did not even dare think about.

"Just look at those Celestial Venerables from certain worlds. Even after cultivating the laws of time, they can only advance or slow time by a few seconds. I’ve already controlled the time of an entire world on my own. That’s enough to be proud of. Some things should be taken slowly."

Without bothering with Ade-Bay lying on the ground, and too lazy to concern himself with the guardians frozen into ice sculptures yet unable to die, Josh walked straight into Hamunaptra.

O’Connor and the other two stared blankly at Josh, then glanced at those ice sculptures. Most bizarrely, the people inside them were still moving. They could not help swallowing before quickly following after him.

"Who are those people?"

Hurrying after Josh, Evelyn immediately asked.

To be honest, everything that had happened that day had brought changes that completely overturned her worldview. Just yesterday, she had thought Josh and the others were merely young people who were more handsome, wealthier, and more fond of adventure than average.

But now, she no longer saw them that way. What exactly were these people?

One was a miraculous wizard, while the other three, though she could not tell what their professions were, were most likely there to protect the wizard. One of them was even the grandson of Leonidas, King of Sparta!

Perhaps others did not know who Leonidas, King of Sparta, was, but Evelyn studied history—and she was the top student sort.

How could she not understand what that name meant? Even the biggest idiot would know the story of the three hundred Spartan warriors when the Hot Gates were mentioned, and Leonidas was the one who had led those three hundred men.

If even one subordinate—Alexios certainly looked like he worked for Josh—had such an identity, then what about the others?

And what about the wizard named Josh himself? Evelyn felt as though she had opened a skylight, one that would allow her to fully understand history.

"They are descendants of the Pharaoh’s Guards. They can also be called guardians. They have only one mission: to ensure that Hamunaptra is not discovered or disturbed by outsiders, because what lies buried beneath it is no simple person."

Josh shrugged and gave a casual explanation. Evelyn immediately thought of something. "Then the demon they mentioned is Imhotep? The person you intend to revive?"

"Yes. Imhotep is the demon those people outside were talking about."

"But are you sure you can beat him?"

"Why wouldn’t I be? Don’t joke around. I really don’t consider that guy a threat."

Josh sighed. Why did no one believe anything he said?

Josh could hardly bluntly tell them: the ceiling of your world isn’t even as tall as I am. If I wanted to, I could poke right through it.

It might sound pretentious and feel rather satisfying, but it had no meaning.

"All right. Do you know the story of this mummy?"

"I think that’s what you’re actually most interested in, isn’t it?"

"Of course. I study history! This kind of hidden history is the most tempting."

Faced with Josh’s questioning, Evelyn nodded very directly.

Indeed, after experiencing this series of bizarre events, Evelyn was no longer worried that Josh would be unable to defeat the demon those men in black had mentioned.

Of course, Evelyn’s frame of reference was limited, but she was not wrong.

Since Josh could perfectly resolve all of this, Evelyn naturally did not take such matters to heart.

Instead, she had become interested in the history of the mummy inside. What kind of person needed such heavily armed guards even after being dead for three thousand years?

"Hmm, let me think. Around 1719 BC, Imhotep was the High Priest of Thebes. But he had an unspeakable affair with Anck-su-namun, the Pharaoh’s wife. Unfortunately, their affair was discovered."

"Whoa? The High Priest had an affair with the Pharaoh’s wife? Now that’s some explosive news!"

O’Connor whistled from the side. That news really was shocking.

In that era, the Pharaoh was more or less the king of a country, while the High Priest was roughly equivalent to a prime minister. A queen having an affair with the prime minister would be explosive news anywhere.

"And then?" Evelyn shot O’Connor an annoyed look, clearly blaming him for interrupting Josh.

"And then? They joined forces and hacked the Pharaoh to death. But unfortunately, the Pharaoh’s screams drew his guards over. Anck-su-namun chose to kill herself so Imhotep could escape. And Imhotep, being hopelessly devoted to her, agreed to her request and directly violated the rules of the High Priests by taking out the Book of the Dead to revive Anck-su-namun."

At that point, Josh paused and spread his hands. "The result is obvious. He failed. Or rather, just as he was about to succeed, the ancestors of those people outside captured Imhotep and interrupted the summoning ritual. Because of those unforgivable acts, Imhotep was subjected to the most horrifying punishment—he was locked alive inside a coffin with Scarab beetles, forced to watch as the insects devoured his flesh while his soul was cursed."

"That’s truly cruel." Evelyn shook her head. Just thinking about such a terrifying death sent chills down her spine.

But Evelyn thought of something else. "By the way, if you’re so powerful, why did you bring us along?"

Evelyn’s question immediately made both O’Connor and Jonathan look at Josh. Indeed, why would such a powerful wizard bring along three ordinary people like them?

Suddenly, they had a very bad feeling. Revivals seemed to require sacrifices, didn’t they?

Equivalent exchange: using one life, or several lives, to bring another life back. It might seem like a terrible trade, but that depended on whose life was being restored!

The three of them suddenly shuddered. Josh wanted to learn magic. For a wizard, if something benefited him, he would probably spare no number of lives.

"Y-you aren’t planning to use us as sacrifices to revive Imhotep, are you?" Jonathan asked, his mouth twitching.

"Huh? That does seem possible! It would save me a lot of trouble. Thank you very much for the suggestion. I think I can adopt it."

"Well… if you use us as sacrifices, you’ll probably be getting a bad deal, especially me. I might not even qualify as a sacrifice. How about considering those people outside instead, Lord Josh?"

"Idiot!"

Josh rolled his eyes. One look at the three of them told him that they were probably all thinking the same thing, which left Josh rather depressed.

If one really counted it, Josh had saved all the potential sacrifices—aside from those Americans who had yet to appear. Since that was the case, why would Josh need to use sacrifices at all?

"If I truly needed sacrifices, you would have become mindless puppets long ago. Would you still be standing here talking nonsense?"

"Then why did you bring us here?" O’Connor asked cautiously.

"Because I don’t know the way." Josh shrugged helplessly.

"Who comes to this lousy place called Egypt for no reason? Besides, I don’t know Ancient Egyptian. I needed someone who understands those languages. Evelyn happens to be very skilled at it, and O’Connor, you’re well suited to lead the way, so that’s why I brought you along."

"Then… what about me?" Seeing Josh explain Evelyn’s and O’Connor’s roles while saying nothing about him, Jonathan inexplicably asked.

Hearing that, Josh turned and carefully examined Jonathan. Only after staring until Jonathan’s scalp began to tingle did Josh let out a slight sigh.

"You? I think you’d make a pretty good punching bag. Trust my judgment—it definitely won’t be wrong."