BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 51 (WN)
Chapter 51 – Queen of the Pyramid
The undead capital was teeming with mummies walking about freely, but there did not seem to be Lord class creatures among them. In other words, they didn’t pose much of a threat on their own: I cut down any one that crossed my path, as I headed directly towards the triangular building.
I planned to use Herakles if the circumstances demanded it, but it wasn’t necessary yet.
“Okay…so far, so good. The question now is, how do I find the queen…?”
“GWOOOOHHH!!!”
“…I see someone’s here to show me around. What wonderful hospitality…!”
As soon as I stepped inside the building, mummies emerged from the back of the room, one after another.
If I advanced in the direction the undead spawned from, I was going to eventually reach the queen’s throne room. Probably.
“The biggest issue is solved, then. If I know where I have to go, trash like you has no chance of stopping me…!”
I swung my sword and cut down the mummies standing in my way. Staining the stone corridors with the sand and dust of their remains, I proceeded deeper and deeper inside.
I continued mowing down the undead without pause: I had probably returned more than 200 to the earth when I arrived in a large hall.
“Well well…this is quite something.”
The hall was brimming with gold, gems and all sorts of treasures.
The walls were lined with golden sculptures, beast-like humans with lion or eagle heads, gemstones shining in place of their eyes, red and blue. Each one was easily worth hundreds of golden coins.
The floor itself was covered with countless golden coins, leaving almost no room to walk. The coins were engraved, with characters I had never seen before.
Then — in the deepest part of the room.
On a golden throne, studded with gems shining like stars in the night sky…there was a woman.
“…you must be the one giving birth to the mummies, yes? I was looking forward to meeting you.”
“…………..”
I pointed my sword at the woman. However, the queen stayed perched on her throne without reacting in the slightest.
Her eyes faced forward, but were dark and hollow. Her gaze seemed to be pointed in my direction, but I was not sure she could actually see me.
I took a better look at her dead gaze, but the utter lack of reaction made me grimace.
“Alright, if you don’t say a word, you’ll make it harder to cut you down…!?”
I felt an ominous presence above my head and instinctively jumped to the side. Exactly on the spot I was standing moments ago, a blade sliced through the air.
“Whoa! A new guest?”
“Do nOt tOUcH hEr!”
The mummy of a young man, clad in armor, descended from above. He was probably clinging to the ceiling.
The undead guard was armed with swords in both hands: if I didn’t dodge, he would have surely cleaved my skull in two.
“Since you can talk, I assume you’re a Lord class…still, you can’t even compare to the fake Valon!”
“GRWAAAHHH!! TINAAH, NEFERTINAAAHHH!!!”
I quickly drew my sword and split the mummy’s body vertically.
Lord class mummies could have wildly varying degrees of strength, apparently: this guard was a pitiful bug, compared to Valon. He could not have given me trouble.
“Tina…that’s a woman’s name, isn’t it. Is that the queen’s name?”
“Gwraah…”
“…looks like he can’t hear anymore. You’ve done enough…time to rest.”
The mummy’s body pulverized, scattering over the treasure.
After dealing with the surprise guest, I pointed my sword to the queen once again. It pained me to use my blade on a beautiful woman, but I wasn’t so soft as to spare her, after everything that happened. Too many people died for her to be forgiven.
“I’d ask you if you have any final words…but if you can’t speak, there’s no point. I’ll put you out of your misery in one blow, at least.”
“…………..”
“Hm?”
My blade was inches away from the queen’s neck when I stopped it.
There was a golden necklace around her neck, with a red gemstone in the center. It flashed on and off, just like a beating heart.
“This is…!!”
I did not know the reason why, but I had the hunch that danger was approaching, and tried to take the necklace off the queen’s neck.
Just one instant before I could, however — the gemstone emitted a bright red light, and I was engulfed in it.