Imhotep clearly ignored Ethan's words and immediately tried to rush forward, intent on seizing Ethan's life force to restore himself to peak condition.
In the original plot, this was exactly what he did, first gouging out a man's eyes and tongue to regain his sight and ability to speak.
In truth, Imhotep hadn't completely lost those two functions. It was just that the "vision of the dead" and the "whispers of the dead" were not something ordinary people could perceive. That made it difficult for him to communicate with normal humans and unsuitable for surviving in the world of the living. So, for convenience, he removed those organs first before killing the tomb raiders one by one to complete his resurrection ritual.
Ethan wasn't sure if Imhotep back then had held a bit of cruel amusement in doing so, but the Imhotep before him clearly had no intention of communicating. The roar he let out, laced with the "whispers of the dead," clearly conveyed his intent—to kill Ethan for offending him.
This sound, which directly impacted the soul, couldn't be heard by ordinary people. Even if they did hear it, they wouldn't understand it. It could trigger a range of negative effects, such as trembling in fear, stiffened limbs, and mental exhaustion. But none of that could affect Ethan.
Not only did he have ample magical power to protect him, the faint divine power within his body alone was enough to render him immune to this level of soul attack.
Imhotep seemed to sense that divine power. Even in mummy form, he revealed a hint of surprise. Then he saw Ethan raise the Book of the Living and begin chanting a spell that filled him with immense dread.
"No—!"
His soul-infused roar, accompanied by a soul attack, clearly expressed resistance. But it was useless. Ethan didn't pause for a second, finishing the chant in one breath.
Unlike the fully resurrected Imhotep, who could still function as a "normal person" even after being stripped of his magic by a spell from the Book of the Living, the current Imhotep, still in an undead state, was completely restrained by the Book. A specific spell existed to "kill" him, turning the animated mummy back into an ordinary one.
As Ethan finished the chant, a miraculous wave spread across the stone chamber and locked onto its target. It enveloped Imhotep. The mummy that had just climbed out of the sarcophagus collapsed back to the ground.
Ethan sensed it carefully and confirmed that the mummy had indeed returned to being nothing more than dried flesh. He closed the Book of the Living and reopened the Book of the Dead.
The covers of these two books were more like protective cases, each equipped with a special lock that could only be opened with a specific key.
When opened, the key became attached to the book cover and couldn't be removed. To detach it, the book had to be closed and locked again.
That same key was also needed to open Imhotep's sarcophagus, among other things, yet there was only one key. That meant Ethan had to keep switching it back and forth.
Chanting the resurrection spell for Imhotep again, the mummy in front of him came back to life. Enraged, Imhotep, remembering what had just happened, let out a roar and charged again, wanting to tear Ethan apart.
Then, in despair, he saw Ethan calmly pick up the already open Book of the Living and begin chanting again.
"Wait… No—!"
Whatever he screamed was useless. Ethan finished the spell without hesitation, then opened the Book of the Dead once more and repeated the previous steps.
The legends about Imhotep, along with Egyptian tales of flesh devouring, had left Evelyn and O'Connell very nervous. Even though they knew Ethan was a mage, facing a "legendary powerful priest" still worried them. From the beginning, they had been watching the scene nervously, afraid things might suddenly go wrong.
But then, the situation took a bizarre turn. The High Priest who was said to bring disaster to Egypt was now being toyed with by Ethan in an endless cycle.
From nervous and cautious, they had become speechless, watching the farce unfold. O'Connell didn't even know how to describe what he was feeling.
"This is the High Priest who's supposed to destroy the world? Did we find the wrong sarcophagus?"
Evelyn was speechless, yet thoroughly entertained. She was sure she hadn't made a mistake locating the sarcophagus. As for the scene before her, it could only be explained by the overwhelming power of the Book of the Living over Imhotep.
Although it was amusing at first, the repeated back-and-forth eventually became tiresome. Logan lit another cigar. The air inside the pyramid wasn't pleasant, so he relied on the cigar's aroma to ease his discomfort.
Ada also found the smell unpleasant, but with her professional training, she could tolerate it. At the same time, she was observing their surroundings.
"Those faint sounds we heard earlier have stopped. It seems the guardians hiding on the other side of the dunes have begun attacking the explorers."
The earlier noise, similar to construction, had come from the archaeologists who were digging everywhere, trying to find treasure in this legendary city.
That sound had now stopped. Faint gunshots could be heard. Ada immediately realized the guardians had begun their assault on the group of intruders.
Logan noticed too. His sharp sense of smell had picked up the scent of blood, indicating a fight had broken out.
"Ethan, you'd better finish this soon."
Ethan had been resurrecting and killing Imhotep repeatedly, but he was always aware of the situation around them. He heard Ada and Logan's warning and figured that after being tormented a few times like this, Imhotep should understand that brute force wouldn't work.
He also noticed that the High Priest had been using each resurrection to inch closer to Ethan, quietly trying to shorten the distance. He was clearly planning to launch a surprise attack once he got close enough, thinking that if he could prevent Ethan from finishing a spell or seize the Book of the Living, he'd finally be able to strike back.
But when he was resurrected once more and found that the distance between himself and Ethan had grown again, he realized his plan had been seen through.
Ethan had long seen through his intentions. He hadn't done anything while Imhotep slowly moved closer, but once the mummy was near enough to pounce, Ethan kicked him back to the sarcophagus—right where he had stood the first time he was resurrected.
Resurrected again, Imhotep looked at the reset distance and finally didn't roar or charge forward. Instead, he stood still.
"Now we can have a peaceful conversation."
Ethan had been learning ancient Egyptian from Evelyn. He hadn't been studying for long, so reading complex hieroglyphs was still difficult, but basic conversations were no problem.
Imhotep didn't speak. He currently lacked the ability to "speak human language," but that didn't stop a powerful priest from communicating.
With a wave of his hand, fine sand in the stone chamber rose and gathered around Imhotep, forming a line of text in midair: What do you want?
"I want to learn necromancy magic from you."
Imhotep was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected Ethan to be seeking this kind of magic: The Book of the Dead contains necromancy magic. Isn't that how you resurrected me?
"What I want are the detailed spell principles, not this kind of…" Ethan curled his lip. He was genuinely annoyed by the spells recorded in the book. "Half-baked divine arts that don't even explain what's actually happening."
As a powerful priest, Imhotep understood what Ethan meant. He never expected that after more than three thousand years in captivity, the first person he would meet upon resurrection would want to learn magic from him.
A faint smile seemed to appear on Imhotep's face, but his mummy form made any expression look terrifying. No matter what emotion he tried to express, it came off as hideous and grotesque:
Let me be fully resurrected, and I will teach you the magic you want.
Ethan nodded. That was exactly what he had wanted to hear from Imhotep.
He assumed that Imhotep had his own plans. Perhaps he had no intention of honoring his promise at all, and only wanted to trick Ethan into helping him achieve full resurrection so he could regain his strength and act freely.
Teach Ethan magic? Maybe, if Ethan's performance satisfied him, he wouldn't mind having another servant. If not, he'd likely settle the score for the humiliation Ethan had just put him through.
However, Ethan's next action made Imhotep pause. This young man, who "seemed to know a thing or two," suddenly conjured a bottle of water from thin air. The water flowed out, forming a floating sphere above his palm.
Imhotep could feel the immense life force he desperately craved emanating from it. And Ethan's effortless control of the floating water sphere made him realize that, even without the Book of the Living, this young man was not someone who could be easily dealt with.
"There's no time to find human sacrifices now. You can try this."
Imhotep waved his hand, and the sand spelled out: This water infused with life force is far better than sacrifices.
With great anticipation, he reached for the floating sphere and absorbed the powerful life energy into his body. As the life force entered him, dramatic changes began to occur. The dried corpse-like body started to regenerate, gradually restoring a normal human appearance from the inside out.
Finally restored to human form, Imhotep took a deep breath and looked at Ethan with a smile on his face.
(To be continued.)