Chapter 40: Who Are You
The blazing sun beat down from above.
Though Hikigaya didn't sweat because of it, he was definitely annoyed.
He glanced around. Alright, to be fair, this wasn't the 21st century anymore.
He and Haruno were currently standing in the most luxurious chariot of the Meshwesh people.
What an idiot move...
That's what he thought to himself.
On either side of the chariot stood the full might of the Meshwesh tribe — though let's not overstate it. It was just around a thousand warriors.
But in an era where even major nations only had populations in the low millions, a thousand soldiers was already quite significant.
That was about the same scale as a standard interstate war. In contemporary China at that time, the total number of professional soldiers recognized as a national standing army might've been only this many.
This showed just how formidable Egypt under Ramses II had become.
That final flourish before the decline — 25,000 professional troops.
That's a staggering number.
Even the militaristic 18th Dynasty couldn't match that.
Of course, to Hikigaya, it made no difference.
They were all just dealt with one slap anyway.
When the connected row of tents appeared in the distance, Hikigaya knew they had finally arrived at the Libu camp.
If possible, he wanted to resolve this peacefully—not for any moral reason, but purely because... if he ended up wiping out the ancestors of Uncle Gaddafi, wouldn't that mean one of the future five great rogues (superpowers) would be missing an entertainment piece?
Put yourself in others' shoes—there was no bad blood here. Taking away their future fun just didn't feel right.
Just as he was thinking that, a series of "woo-woo" sounds came from the camp ahead—likely some kind of horn.
Libyan mercenaries had always been favored by Egyptian rulers throughout history.
Especially given how the Egyptian way of war dominated the world, Libyan military civilization developed rapidly in its wake.
Hikigaya was sure that under the care of such a great client like Ramses II, these people's business would be booming in the future.
Whether they chose to go crazy and attack Egypt first, though—that wasn't his problem.
Not that he looked down on the ancient Libyans, but Egypt under Ramses was even stronger than in the 18th Dynasty. Though it was a setting sun, it still burned the Hittites half to death.
He was just here to retrieve his lost soft girl.
A thousand-strong welcoming team—now that was proper face. Yukino would surely be moved.
Oh, right. And there were the husky and the fox dog too. He knew—those three had crossed over as a group.
Suddenly, the Meshwesh started getting restless. Hikigaya looked past them toward the Libu camp, where people were gathering.
But only one thing caught his attention.
A girl.
Compared to before they crossed over, she now looked slightly pale.
Her pure black pupils now held something indescribable.
Hikigaya couldn't tell exactly what changes the time travel had brought her.
She was still so beautiful. The rough robe draped over her slim figure.
She stood alone in front of the crowd, her face as calm as ever, lips tightly pressed together—betraying that her emotions were far from calm.
A girl born to a wealthy family, who had likely never even killed a chicken before, now standing among over two thousand armed, battle-ready ancient savages... That was already quite something.
"It really is Yukino!" Haruno's voice beside him trembled slightly.
To Hikigaya, it looked like she was trying hard to maintain her usual older-sister persona—pretending not to care even though she clearly did, cracking jokes and teasing.
Too bad, even if her voice hadn't trembled, those watery eyes were fooling no one.
Oh well, time for the handsome hero to step in. Let her take a moment and hold back those tears.
Hikigaya leapt into the air, did a dramatic midair entrance over the heads of a bunch of ancients, and landed gently in front of Haruno.
The girl had already been dumbfounded ever since someone flew through the air.
But when she saw the beast who appeared in front of her was Hikigaya, her shock became complete.
What came next, though, surprised Hikigaya.
"Who are you?"
She even said it in the ancient Libyan tongue.
What the hell? She could speak ancient Libyan now?
"I mean... Yukino, don't be so distant, alright?" Hikigaya forced a smile and reached out to grab her arm.
But Yukino's expression suddenly twisted like she'd seen something horrifying. She screamed and stumbled backward, causing Hikigaya's pupils to narrow.
Divine power.
There was divine power!
He understood now. In this era, while humans could possess divine power, only two kinds of people ever did:
One: devout fanatics utterly loyal to the gods, their puppets and mediums—completely without independent will.
Two: those who dared to deceive the gods—so-called god-experts.
The former were tools.
The latter never met good ends, because the gods would always eventually find them and kill them.
Hikigaya didn't think this girl just looked like Yukino. No—he could still feel the mark he had left on her.
So there was only one explanation.
"Come out!" Hikigaya's face darkened. "I don't know who you are—but leave this girl's body immediately!"
But Yukino ignored him, retreating into the crowd in a disturbingly unnatural way. Her slender hand pointed straight at Hikigaya as she coldly ordered the surrounding Libu warriors:
"Kill him! He is a blasphemer!"
And with that, she vanished into the crowd.
Instantly, all Hikigaya could see were the snarling faces of the Libu warriors—and the gleam of their bronze weapons swinging down.
"You're asking for it!" Hikigaya finally lost his temper.
With a terrifying sound, all the Libu warriors who had attacked him were instantly reduced to blood mist, revealing Yukino's retreating figure once again.
She still looked expressionless.
But now the rest of the Libu were screaming in panic—because they realized the one they had mistaken for a Meshwesh warrior... wasn't even human.
Actually, the Meshwesh themselves were the same.
Until now, they had simply thought Hikigaya was a ridiculously powerful warrior. But now, like the Libu, they were filled with terror at the sight before them.
Around Hikigaya's body, heat distortions began to ripple through the air. From within those distorted waves, dog-headed creatures with squared ears began emerging.
These beings appeared suddenly and dove into the ranks of Libu warriors trying to block Hikigaya's path. Whether flesh or metal, anything they touched was instantly shredded.
But Yukino was now displaying an inhuman level of speed—flitting like a mirage, slipping past Libu after Libu, rushing deep into the camp.
Behind her was a storm of blood and carnage unleashed by Hikigaya's Beasts of Set.
He hadn't used this technique in a long time. But this time, he was really angry.
He was certain: Yukino had been taken as a vessel by some ancient god.
So he summoned the Beasts of Set—not only out of hatred for the unknown god, but because only this power was suitable for the situation.
Set, the Egyptian god of strength and destruction—one of his most fundamental powers was pure severance.
As an embodiment of destruction, this ability had been stolen by Hikigaya and became his earliest Authority.
This Authority could sever nearly anything: physical, non-physical, even conceptual—including divine power itself.
It resembled the "Golden Sword" used by Kusanagi Godou in the original work.
The difference was that this destructive power was pure, meaning it was harder to control. A single mistake could have disastrous consequences.
But his time in ancient Egypt had unexpectedly allowed him to fully master it. What he hadn't expected, though, was that the next time he used it... his target would be Yukino.
That only made his fury worse—especially since she kept running away, which really ground his gears.
"You mother—! If I don't beat the shit out of you today—" Hikigaya was just about to curse viciously, when a sudden flash of inspiration struck him. He shouted loudly:
"Athena is actually my wife in disguise!"
"Silence, you disgraceful god-slayer!" Yukino, still running, suddenly turned around and screamed furiously in his direction.
In the next moment, both of them came to a halt—staring at each other, expressions shifting constantly.
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