The sudden voice startled Evelyn. She turned her head and saw that O'Connor had opened his eyes and was staring right at her.
"Taking something conveniently isn't stealing," Evelyn tried to argue. "According to my brother, my behavior should be called 'borrowing.'"
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly used the mysterious box to open the Book of the Dead. A surge of strange wind instantly swept out.
O'Connor crouched beside her, curiously peering at the mysterious book.
"@#￥%%" — Evelyn unconsciously read aloud a passage from the book. At once, a gust of wind blew through, as if it had come from another world, carrying a chilling, sinister aura.
"No! You mustn't read it out loud!!" The dozing American professor woke with a start, shouting frantically.
But it was already too late.
Wes knew the Book of the Dead had been opened by Evelyn. He tried to steer the story in another direction, but to his dismay, everything still unfolded according to the original script.
A buzzing sound began to echo — the beating of insect wings. It grew louder and louder, clearer and clearer.
Tens of thousands of locusts surged toward Hamunaptra, blotting out the sky like a rolling black cloud. Their sheer numbers were beyond imagination.
"How can there be this many locusts in the desert?!" Everyone stared in shock at the swarming insects, realizing their arrival foretold a dire omen.
The locusts poured into the camp like a tidal wave. Tents, camels, even the people themselves were quickly crawling with the black insects. The fabric of tents sagged under their weight, camels shrieked uneasily as the creatures squirmed across their hides.
These locusts weren't only numerous — they bit. Though small in size, their jaws were powerful; once they latched onto skin, it was almost impossible to shake them off.
Some people's faces, arms, and necks were covered in painful bites. Others tried swatting them away, but there were simply too many to drive off.
"What are you standing there for? Run!!" an American in the group shouted. "Guns won't do a damn thing against this many locusts!"
"Get into the catacombs, it's safe there!" O'Connor shielded Evelyn and dashed toward the underground chamber.
The others followed, racing for the only refuge they had left.
Only the American professor did not run. He knew the curse from Hell had come to pass. Calmly, he stood where he was and accepted punishment. In the blink of an eye, he was devoured by locusts.
At that moment, Wes began chanting an incantation. Flames erupted around him, forming a fiery whirlwind that swept every locust into its blazing vortex.
The searing heat made it impossible to get close. The air reeked of charred flesh, making everyone sick to their stomachs.
Tens of thousands of locusts were incinerated, their bodies reduced to ash. Everyone stood frozen, stunned by Wes's overwhelming display.
"So… he's that powerful," Evelyn whispered in awe.
But even this wasn't enough. No sooner had that swarm been destroyed than another wave of locusts came rolling in, endless and relentless.
"A plague of locusts…" Wes frowned deeply. He knew this wasn't something that could be solved so easily.
The Ten Plagues of Egypt recorded in the Bible were a series of disasters, and the plague of locusts was only one of them—something no human could resist. These locusts would continue to swarm endlessly, and unless Imhotep was killed again, they would not stop.
"These locusts are here because of Imhotep. We must return to the tomb."
After Wes said this, the group immediately rushed into the tomb. Wes was the last to enter, sealing the doors behind him.
Everyone instinctively stepped aside as he passed, their eyes filled with a new sense of fear toward him. He walked straight to Evelyn, extending his hand to take the Book of the Dead. Evelyn clutched it tightly, unwilling to let go.
"I believe our agreement allows me to take two things with me."
"Give it to him," Jonathan whispered in Evelyn's ear. "Let go—it wasn't yours to begin with."
Evelyn hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly loosened her grip.
Wes secured the Book of the Dead and left them only one warning:
"I advise you to leave Egypt quickly. A great upheaval is about to begin here."
With that, he walked deeper into the tomb, eager to test the strength of a high priest from three thousand years ago—and to see just how much influence the gods of Egypt could still wield in this world.
His figure slowly vanished into the darkness, leaving the others staring at each other in silence.
"What should we do?" someone asked helplessly.
"Was he telling the truth? Is Egypt really about to change?"
"Of course he's lying. Since we're already inside, we might as well grab more treasure to take back."
Even after witnessing the terrifying plague of locusts and Wes's power, the Americans ignored his warning, still blinded by greed for the treasures hidden within the tomb.
"We need to get out of here immediately," said O'Connell, joined by Evelyn and Jonathan, the only ones willing to heed the advice.
Meanwhile, deep within the tomb, a blackened skeleton stirred, moving at a painfully slow rhythm, each motion grinding bone against stone.
This was none other than the high priest Imhotep, revived by the spell Evelyn had accidentally spoken.
His lover Anck-su-namun's organs had been sealed away in five sacred canopic jars—jars now foolishly taken by the five reckless, greedy Americans.
To resurrect Anck-su-namun, Imhotep first needed to reclaim the jars. And as he had not yet fully revived, those five Americans were the perfect sacrifices.
Within the tomb, he possessed a special sense, allowing him to pinpoint the exact locations of his prey.
Just as he was about to reach them, a figure suddenly appeared, blocking his path.
Wes stood before Imhotep and greeted him in ancient Egyptian:
"Greetings, High Priest."
"Who… are… you?" Imhotep asked, his words halting and broken, his body still skeletal.
"A wizard," Wes replied calmly, drawing his wand and striking first.
"Avada Kedavra."
A blinding flash of sickly green light burst from his wand, streaking toward Imhotep like a bolt of death.
Though Imhotep's body was still fragile bone, he displayed incredible reflexes. In an instant, he dissolved into a swirling cloud of yellow sand, vanishing as if he had never stood there.
"Wizard, I will remember you. But now is not the time to play."
His voice echoed from every direction as his body disintegrated into dust, carried away by the currents of the tomb until not a trace remained.
°°°
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