Chapter 54: Human Language Is Actually Quite Rich
When Hikigaya Hachiman stepped out of the restaurant, it was already midnight.
As he exited the restaurant, the street had become quite empty.
A breeze blew, but unlike Japan, it wasn't cool at all.
After sitting for hours, even someone like Hikigaya—who had the physique of a God-slayer—felt a bit tired. He couldn't help but let out a huge yawn.
Behind him, Seth, Hazazi, and the others who walked out as well were yawning one after another.
Turning around and seeing this, Hikigaya felt slightly guilty.
So he said, "Uncle Seth, sorry to keep you up this late. If you ever have the chance, feel free to visit Japan."
"Thanks, but honestly, I don't really like that country." Seth looked even worse than Hikigaya. His night-owl ability was basically zero; he looked like he was about to fall asleep standing.
Yikes! Are you seriously about to crash on the spot?
Come on, we still have a late-night snack session! Let's go!
"Forget the late-night snack…" Seth suddenly spoke with a face that screamed 'I want to die.' "Please, just let me go back and sleep. I haven't been sleeping well these past few days."
"Uncle Seth, you can read minds?! That's some badass magic—teach me!"
"I'm not reading minds… Didn't you just say that out loud?"
Turns out he'd accidentally spoken his thoughts.
It was an old habit he hadn't fallen into for a while. Made him feel nostalgic.
But what a letdown. This candy wizard can't even read minds—minus points!
"Well, since you're so set on going to sleep…" Hikigaya raised his wrist and checked his watch. "It is getting late. Let's chat again next time. Old Ha, help see him off."
"Boss, my surname's not Ha…"
"What's the big deal? You smiled pretty happily when my little sister called you Uncle Ha… Wait a sec! Don't tell me you've fallen for my sister!?"
"Let's not even talk about how weird this turn is… but what's with that expression!? I get it! Boss, you're a sis– PFFF!!"
"Old Ha, there are some things in this world you absolutely must not say out loud. Why don't you get that?"
Hikigaya, under the condemning eyes of everyone around, withdrew his fist and looked with great regret at Hazazi, who was now twitching on the ground. He sighed leisurely.
Seth, watching nearby, had his eyes bulge out in disbelief…
Was this kind of joking really necessary? That kind of punch could kill a normal person!
Today's young people are seriously terrifying!
"Uncle Seth, you really don't want to get something to eat? We talked for so long just now."
"Seriously no. And if you don't mind me saying… I sincerely hope I never have to see you again in this lifetime, you dangerous guy."
With what looked like a resolute decision, Seth dashed off like the wind.
"Didn't he say he was sleepy?" Hazazi, who had gotten back up, looked at Seth sprinting like a marathon runner. "He seems full of energy."
"Who knows. Whatever, let's go back."
Hikigaya was puzzled too—why did Seth suddenly seem so energized? But he'd acquired plenty of knowledge about Horus tonight, so he felt on top of the world and wasn't about to let it bother him.
Whether Horus chose to show up or not didn't matter. If he did, fine—Hikigaya had long been itching to try out Seth's "Severance."
In high spirits, Hikigaya walked toward the hotel, joking and chatting with Hazazi along the way.
As expected of a tourist city, it was still quite lively. Hikigaya had heard Westerners were punctual about bedtime, but the streets of Aswan still had crowds, and many shops were open.
The market area in particular was noisy.
This relaxed mood lasted all the way until he reached the hotel entrance.
As he approached, the atmosphere instantly turned off.
The area felt like someone had tossed a stick of dynamite into a group of rats—eerily empty. The street was so deserted it felt like someone could whip out their pants and pee right there without a soul noticing.
Although the hotel still had lights on, it was completely empty inside. Hikigaya couldn't hear any breathing.
The only humans he could sense were the Yukinoshita sisters standing at the hotel entrance.
But the two of them were standing dazed, or perhaps more accurately, they were frozen in the exact "zoned-out" pose you'd expect from One Piece's Luffy.
The one responsible for this scene—unsurprisingly—was likely the young boy standing between them.
This boy was dressed in ancient Egyptian attire, clearly out of place in the modern world.
Hazazi and the others had already stopped behind at some point, unable to move forward. A strange yet overwhelmingly familiar aura had locked them in place.
Only Hikigaya could still walk forward.
He and the boy locked eyes, each with an amused expression.
After a while, Hikigaya glanced again at the Yukinoshita sisters.
It was clear now—they had lost consciousness. You could see it from the total absence of focus in their eyes.
So he turned his gaze back to the boy and spoke first.
"Bad style points. Ancient Egyptian kids didn't wear clothes."
As he spoke, Hikigaya wore an expression that said, do it over properly.
"Hmph, only a fool like you, who doesn't understand rank and order, would say something so idiotic." The boy sneered. His doll-like, delicate face was full of scorn. "Do you understand your situation? You've opened the door of death for the other idiots."
"Not gonna lie, kind of annoying. But do you think we care?" Hikigaya looked around, making sure the place was as empty as it seemed. "So you cleared the field. Not bad for a 'benevolent god.' Though if you refuse to obey, you're just another troublemaker."
"Ha? Mere mortals should feel honored to even be stepped on by me, okay?" the boy said, arms akimbo, trying to look fierce—though Hikigaya just found the face adorably dumb. "Still, I'll admit humans are alright. Better than bugs, at least. I'm surprised your language is this developed."
"Since you know it's complex, stop learning it so sloppily, you dumb god." Hikigaya rolled his eyes. "You open your mouth and all the gods are ready to cry."
He raised his arm and pointed in the direction of the Nile. "You're supposed to be a benevolent god. Picking on regular people—what kind of level is that? How about we change the battlefield—dare to come with me?"
Hikigaya's body began to blur, and if you listened closely, you could hear the sound of wind.
"Heh, is that a provocation? Fine. I am a god, and I will show mercy to ants I am about to crush. I accept."
The boy raised his chin proudly. From his back, a pair of falcon wings unfurled.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew the Yukinoshita sisters through the hotel doors.
With sharp eyes, Hikigaya "saw" the sisters fly a great distance and land safely on the lobby sofas.
Yep—just like Osiris.
Even when Heretic, they still love to act cool.
But Hikigaya decided to forgive him—because he was planning to punch him right in the face soon anyway.
"Let's go, God Horus. It's time we settled this."
Hikigaya's body began to float.
With a sweep of his arm, he used a gust of wind to blow Hazazi and the others—who had been frozen in place by Horus's divine power—far away to safety.
Once that was done, his body turned into a flash of lightning, shooting straight toward the Nile.
Chapter 55: Illuminated Aswan
"Godslayer, let me ask—surely you at least know my name?"
"Horus, right? I'm not sure how the ancient Egyptians called you, but the Greek version should be acceptable enough for you."
"Not bad. Since you know my name, your pathetic little life finally has a bit of value. Now, die with dignity—I'll see you off to the realm of the dead with a look of pity for an imbecile."
"Will it kill you to talk like a normal person…?"
This exchange was currently taking place between the godslayer Hikigaya Hachiman and the Heretic Horus who had picked up all the wrong cues from human speech.
The setting? The Nile River beside Aswan.
It should have been a dark and silent night—perfect for a dramatic battle entrance.
But instead, Hikigaya felt like he'd just been verbally assaulted by this divine being's bizarre interpretation of human language—utterly inhumane, in every sense.
And it wasn't even dark.
Electric lights, symbols of modern civilization, lit the area.
Egypt, after all, was never a backwater—its prestige remained even when it had fallen to weaker times.
A massive sand dune along the riverbank was decorated with colorful lights, turning it into a dazzling hill of many hues.
Under the glow from both shores, the river surface shimmered like scales of a fish, reflecting the brilliant colors.
There were no boats on the water—no one sane would be sailing at this hour.
Ideally, Hikigaya would've preferred to fight in a place less likely to involve civilians, but for now, this was as secluded as it could get.
On the other side, Horus, appearing in the form of a child with large falcon wings fluttering behind him, was still tormenting Hikigaya's ears with his verbal barrage.
"Heh. Foolish mortal, clearly you're just jealous that I've mastered your language so well. Do you really think your lies can escape my divine sight? My eye perceives all!"
Spoken like a true clueless god.
His face showed not a hint of irony, only total confidence that came from who-knows-where.
And blocking out a god's voice? Totally impossible.
"You're seriously blind in more than one way…" Hikigaya raised his hand and made a grasping motion in midair. "In that case, how about I take your other eye too!"
"Hmph. If you think you can, go ahead. I'll punt you just like I did Set—"
"Yeah, how about you don't finish that sentence!"
Hikigaya had had enough.
He launched himself forward, stepping on a blast of compressed air, and instantly closed the distance between them.
His outstretched hand, unnaturally red, radiated scorching heat that filled the air with a sulfuric stench.
The very atmosphere around him ignited. From a distance, he looked like a fireball crashing forward.
"Hey, you really are no different from Set. The power you received is remarkably complete," said Horus as he met Hikigaya's palm with his own.
His chubby little hand radiated a completely opposite kind of power—the kind that could contain and encompass all things.
Their palms clashed hundreds of times in an instant.
Hikigaya felt his burning energy being drained, fully absorbed by his opponent.
A bit surprised, he attempted to pull back, but Horus's palm had locked onto him with an irresistible force.
"Even Set could only rampage on the ground. The sky, however, can contain all."
On that childish face, now twisted into a grotesque expression that didn't match his appearance at all, Horus's right eye burst into flames like a miniature sun, while his left eye turned silver, radiating an eerie yet gentle light.
"Truth be told, your expectations of me pale in comparison to my expectations of you."
In the next instant, a beam of light shot from Horus's right eye.
It was more brilliant than anything—like a compressed sun.
Hikigaya saw only blinding light before it swallowed him whole.
To outside observers, what unfolded in the night sky was like a river of light and flame stretching over the Nile and Aswan.
Day and night were reversed.
Clouds exploded in layers above, and the heavens themselves looked on the verge of collapse.
People across Aswan—and even further—were awakened by the shock. Those who saw the spectacle first were so stunned, they practically lost the ability to think.
In the invisible heights of the sky, unreachable by human eyes, Horus—still in his childlike form—sighed in disappointment.
"So this is the one who defeated Set? Pathetic…"
He waited a moment longer, letting the storm of light and fire rage, but no sign of Hikigaya appeared. Finally, as if giving up, he muttered, "Fine. Let me grant you a more merciful death. People like you can't be taken to that other world anyway. Think of this as compensation for my broken promise."
He extended his hand, and the sea of fire in the sky began to collapse inward. But at that moment, a voice rang out.
"Don't go deciding things for people like that, you creepy little pedo freak!"
With that voice, the sea of fire began to churn like a real ocean. The flames surged and exploded.
From its center, a shockwave erupted—one strong enough to tear through the firestorm.
The inferno transformed into pure light. What now filled the hollowed-out space was thunder, lightning, constant electrical discharges—and sacred incantation.
"Split, O earth that nourishes all! Boil, O sea that bears no fruit! Let flames leap to the luminous heavens! And let my weapon blind the eyes of the Titans!"
In the heart of that divine utterance, Hikigaya Hachiman reappeared—scorched black from head to toe, yet wholly alive. His entire body was now made of lightning. Electricity sparked and burst from him, layer after layer, blowing away the flames.
In his hand, he held a spear made entirely of lightning.
It was nearly five meters long, crackling with electric arcs at both ends. Along its shaft ran vein-like patterns of flowing current, glowing brilliantly.
"The power of a foreign god-king, huh…" Despite having his own attack shattered, Horus looked thrilled. "I take it back—you're a very interesting opponent!"
Hearing this, Hikigaya pulled a face already blackened by the blast and replied, "Quit yammering, you're loud enough to kill someone. Eat my homerun special!"
And with that, he hurled the lightning spear straight at Horus.