Chapter 50: Let's Be Friends!
"Hikigaya Hachiman, what do you want?" Seth asked.
"What do I want?" Hikigaya repeated in surprise. "Why do you sound like you're the victim here?"
"You're a god-slayer," Seth replied with a self-deprecating smile. "I never expected you to be magnanimous."
"You say that like you know me so well," Hikigaya frowned in annoyance. "Can't we just have a normal conversation?"
"What is there left to talk about now..." Seth sighed. "Our ancestors said that people like you shouldn't be messed with. A Pharaon once unintentionally insulted one of you and ended up dead."
"You're overthinking it. I just wanted to chat," Hikigaya replied nonchalantly. "The Nine Gods Group and I are already allies. Besides, my becoming a god-slayer had something to do with you. Why would I make things hard for you?"
"You're really being generous..." Seth still looked doubtful. "You're not planning to wipe us out?"
"Those who deserved to die are already dead—there's no point in holding grudges." Hikigaya smiled, but his next words took a darker turn. "But since you're offering yourself like that, I might as well get a little revenge. Otherwise, wouldn't I be disrespecting your sincerity?"
Before he finished speaking, he reached toward Seth.
"What are you doing?!" Seth jumped back in shock.
That annoyed Hikigaya.
After all, the guy just offered himself up for revenge, and now he was running—clearly not sincere about atoning.
"Cut the crap. Let me lift you up once, and the past will be forgiven!"
He moved like the wind, darting forward. Seth turned and fled in panic.
While running, Seth yelled out, "Are you kidding me?! So petty!?"
But before he got far, Hikigaya had already cut him off, blocking his path with a mischievous grin.
"Don't be so tense, it won't hurt at all." Hikigaya said smugly, "Since fate brought us together, you pick the pose—horizontal or vertical? Satisfaction guaranteed."
Seth felt a deep sense of misery—yes, fate indeed! A damned ill-fated one!
"Even if you're a god-slayer, you can't humiliate me like this!" he pleaded in desperation. "I am, after all, a descendant of the Pharaohs. Have some respect!"
"Oh... you're a Pharaoh's descendant? That's a relief. Don't worry, my friend, I respect you a lot," Hikigaya said seriously. "I won't use any authorities or magic. I'll just lift you up real quick, and then we'll be best buddies."
Seth began to doubt his Japanese language skills.
But he had no time to reflect, because Hikigaya was already reaching out again.
Seth reacted quickly.
A gust of wind suddenly kicked up, and Seth's body seemed to lose all weight, floating far away with the wind.
In an instant, the space in front of Hikigaya filled with flying yellow sand.
This combination of martial arts and sorcery was the mainstream combat style in their world.
Even in China, renowned for its warrior culture, most fighters integrated Taoist arts with martial techniques. The prime example being Luo Hao, an ancient god-slayer revered as the King of Martial Heroes, whose skills in both areas had reached the state of Nirvana—a level beyond mastery, and still unmatched.
For some reason, Hikigaya had the feeling he'd eventually get a chance to learn from her. For now, though, Seth seemed like a good benchmark.
He listened carefully and immediately locked onto Seth's sound.
With his current strength, even without using divine powers, such tricks couldn't escape his senses.
Without turning, he extended his arm backward at an uncanny angle.
Smack! Seth's fist, emerging from the sand, was caught mid-air.
But in the next instant, the fist crumbled into sand, and a sharp sound came from above.
"I see... like creating a wall of air to distract the enemy." Hikigaya thought.
This method of fighting had clearly become the norm for good reason. Though the learning curve was steep, it definitely offered advantages over pure martial arts.
However, focusing on both arts did weaken one's pure martial abilities, since energy and time are limited resources.
For Hikigaya, gaining more authorities was no longer urgent. He was more interested in honing his existing strength—including martial arts.
Sometimes, fists were more reliable than divine powers.
A god-slayer's massive reservoir of mana was only massive relative to humans. Constant use of divine abilities could still deplete it, leaving one vulnerable.
In contrast, martial arts were a cost-effective choice for god-slayers.
Seth dove from the sky like a hawk, yet carried the momentum of a lion.
This martial technique was unfamiliar to Hikigaya—likely a style passed down by the priesthood.
Truth be told, Egyptian martial arts were never particularly renowned.
The country was always more famous for its sorcery.
The modern English word "magic" came from the Egyptian god of magic, Heka, which passed through ancient Greek phonetics.
Civilizations throughout the ancient Near East believed Egyptians had natural magical prowess and considered Egypt the ultimate place to learn the craft.
Martial arts, on the other hand... were pretty much an afterthought.
Hikigaya's body, cloaked in Ki energy made manifest through magic, moved.
With a flick of his feet, he spun like a top, easily deflecting Seth's diving strike, then landed a palm strike on Seth's chest.
That strike was supposed to be a spear-hand technique.
It was a move from the martial god Yue, with a long name: Omnidirectional Recovery Spiral Spear-Hand—designed to punish those suicidal enough to jump at someone from above.
Hikigaya had been kind of overindulgent lately—fighting gods, wielding authorities, dabbling in magic—but he hadn't slacked off on martial arts training.
In an instant, Seth felt like he'd been hit by a truck and was sent flying.
He was speechless.
Despite being a globally renowned expert, he knew that in martial arts duels, leaping recklessly was often suicidal.
These flashy moves either cracked an opponent's skull or got you beaten back to your ancestors.
Still, his style was based on both magic and martial arts, and against human opponents, his move would've been solid.
That slap made him give up completely.
A god-slayer without even using divine powers was still basically a cheat.
The fact that he actually thought they could spar was proof he'd eaten something weird earlier.
So tragic. The guy who used to be a weakling you could squash with a finger had turned into the world's scariest being.
Everything changed too fast—he wanted to go home.
Moments later, the wind and sand dispersed, leaving only Hikigaya standing tall—and Seth lying flat on the ground.
"You can lift me now..."
The head of the Set cult, a top fighter of Egypt's Nine Gods Group and a man known as the "Pharaoh," silently wept in his heart.
He even made a vow: never to leave his country again...
"You should've agreed earlier. So melodramatic." Hikigaya walked over and lifted him up.
In that moment, he felt absolute satisfaction.
Ugh! Even a little thrill!
"Alright, let's go!" he shouted gleefully, breaking into a run.
In that instant, he felt like he'd become a Gundam.
Chapter 51: A Rather Nostalgic Conversation
When said he was going to "carry someone," it was actually just a joke—he only wanted to mess with Seth a little.
Why would he actually carry a man and run with him? He wasn't some kind of pervert.
So after picking up the already miserable, eyes-shut-in-despair Seth, Hikigaya simply threw him into the Nile.
A little revenge was necessary. Tossing him into the river for a bath seemed like a good way to do it, and the expression Seth made—an unmistakable "What the hell!?"—was quite satisfying.
Of course, Hikigaya didn't notice that behind him, the Egyptian sorcerers were all making the exact same "What the hell!?" face.
"You're so mean, Master," Tamamo-no-Mae, who had been quietly resting on Hikigaya's shoulder since they got on the plane, finally spoke her first words since arriving in Egypt. "What if he drowns?"
"An Egyptian drowning? Are you kidding me?" Hikigaya stood on the sandy bank of the river, smiling and watching as Seth began swimming. "This is the only nation in the world that once liked floods, you know."
"That was a long time ago…" Tamamo, despite being in her fox form, rolled her eyes in a very human-like manner.
"Nice quip, Foxy. You're becoming more modern! You're not even using that weird 'watakushi' or 'sessha' way of referring to yourself anymore. And calling me 'Master'—I expect you in a maid outfit when you're in human form." Hikigaya laughed heartily and made a triumphant fist-pump. "But regardless of what you say, even the gods can't stop me from dunking this guy in the river."
"Hmm, I don't really get what you're so touched about, but that human is already swimming back to shore…"
"Oh? He really is… Alright, time to talk business." Hikigaya whistled and walked over, extending a hand to the thoroughly confused and exasperated Seth, wearing a "What the hell do you even want?" expression. With a smile that screamed "I'm concerned for the mentally challenged," Hikigaya said, "Uncle Seth, even though it's hot out, you'll catch a cold if you don't change clothes. Come, grasp this hand that represents friendship!"
"..." Seth stared at Hikigaya's hand waving in front of him, feeling that the rest of his life was probably going to be miserable.
This guy… he really was planning to mess with him to death, wasn't he!?
But just as he was thinking that, the hand stopped waving and was withdrawn.
"No more jokes." The voice in his ears was no longer teasing but serious. "I came to this country to become stronger. Among the gods I've slain, only two were from Egypt. So it's only natural that I approach your side. If we can understand each other, that's best. If not, I'll still use my identity as a God Slayer to get what I want."
Hearing those words, Seth suddenly felt a sense of relief.
Even though Hikigaya had plainly stated something that sounded exactly like a threat, it actually made him seem more trustworthy.
"God Slayers really are something else. Reading about them in books is nothing like the real thing," Seth said as he stood up, steam rising from his wet clothes as heat evaporated the water.
He said earnestly, "If that's the case, I can understand why you came here beyond just revenge."
Upon hearing that, Hikigaya looked pleased.
"Looks like we really can become allies. Your understanding of the gods left a strong impression on me, and your magic really opened my eyes."
But contrary to Hikigaya's expectations, Seth showed a somewhat sorrowful expression.
"If it were in the past, we could indeed use deceit and unsavory means to steal power from the gods. If that level of power were still available, it could've been a valuable weapon for you. But now, that's no longer possible."
After saying this, Seth paused, seemingly reluctant to recall painful memories, and only continued after a long silence.
"Since the fall of the kingdom, our magic has not been fully passed down. Over the years, we've lost too much. Now, we can only rely on temples and tombs to try and recover the wisdom of our ancestors."
"That does sound rather bleak." Hikigaya nodded and posed sympathetically, though clearly without much sincerity. "But I already know that. Even the remnants are enough for me. You guys performed quite well back in Japan, didn't you?"
Then he noticed Seth's expression shift into something... oddly gleeful.
"Oh, they did perform well," Seth said, his tone oddly sarcastic. "Because the people from the Horus sect brought everything they had left with them. But at this rate, they'll probably burn through it all soon."
That surprised Hikigaya.
"Can't they just make more? I even created a Djed Pillar."
"That's because you have the power of Osiris. Like I said before, it's extremely difficult to borrow power from the gods now—or more accurately, it's basically impossible. Especially in this era, when your kind is at its height."
Seth casually dropped a detail that piqued Hikigaya's interest, but he quickly let it go.
There's no point obsessing over things that can't be changed.
"I see…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a while. Then, unsatisfied, he started rubbing the fox on his shoulder instead.
Tamamo-no-Mae felt really nice to the touch…
After thinking for a bit, Hikigaya asked, "I want to learn more about Osiris and Set through your temples. Do you have any recommendations?"
"In that case, I recommend the Temple of Horus," Seth said with a mischievous grin. From the way he spoke, he had completely returned to the talkative persona Hikigaya remembered. "Even though I don't like them, the Horus sect was the first to systematically study magic. Their temple is also the best preserved among the main gods' temples."
"Oh?" Hikigaya looked puzzled.
He had been expecting to learn about Osiris and Set.
"Don't assume that just because it's not a temple to Osiris or Set that it's useless." Seth seemed to read Hikigaya's mind. "I think you already understand Set well enough. But you probably don't know much about Horus, do you?"
"You're right, but how are they connected?" Hikigaya thought to himself—yep, asking Seth was definitely the right move.
This guy was a good fit for him, and from the way he'd previously talked about Set, it was clear Seth really knew his stuff.
"Our magic stems from the worship of gods. If you trace it back to the origin, it doesn't start with priestly rites—it goes back even before the time of the Scorpion King, to the era of tribal mythology. That's our mythic age."
"Sounds like a long story…" Hikigaya couldn't help but comment.
This guy was clearly about to launch into a full-on lecture. It had been a while since he'd experienced that kind of thing—it was almost nostalgic…
"Yeah, it's definitely not short," Seth sighed too.
He missed it as well.
The youngsters in his sect never wanted to study.
In that regard, they were just like their ancestors—completely uninterested in the origins of the gods.
He had no one to teach, and it made him quite lonely.
If there was one thing he could expect from this God Slayer named Hikigaya, it was this.
"Alright, let's find a place to eat and chat," Hikigaya said. Behind him, the ever-efficient Hazazi was already making calls to arrange it.
"No problem. I'll tell you everything I know. It won't take long, really," Seth said, grinning widely.