A/N: For those who want to read ahead of the Webnovel schedule, you can read up to Chapter 29 on my Patreon — that's 10 chapters ahead, and the gap will keep growing over time.
So if you want daily updates and early access, feel free to join my Patreon.Your support really helps keep me motivated to write faster.
👉 patreon.com/cw/Universal_Peace
*****
On Evelyn's side,
They were cornered.
The corridor had caved in behind them, leaving nothing but a wall of sand and rock, and in front—ten mummified figures closing in, their dry, rasping breaths echoing through the chamber.
O'Connell fired again. Bang! Bang!
The bullets tore through the nearest mummy, but it didn't even flinch — just kept moving, tattered wrappings fluttering like dead leaves.
"Bloody hell," he muttered, ejecting the magazine and slamming in another. "They're not going down!"
Jonathan fired beside him, panic written all over his face. "I'm shooting, and It's doing nothing!"
"Yeah, I noticed!" O'Connell barked, kicking one square in the chest as it got too close. The thing stumbled back, ribs cracking like dry wood — but it still kept crawling forward.
Evelyn pressed against the wall, clutching the Book of Amun-Ra so tightly she could barely hear the gunfire over her own heartbeat.
"Evy," Jonathan blurted between shots, "didn't you say there aren't any mummies?!"
She shot him a glare sharp enough to kill. "Jonathan—now is not the time!"
He held up his gun helplessly. "Well, apparently it's the perfect time! Because they're right here!"
"Less talking, more shooting!" O'Connell shouted, blasting another round into a mummy's face. The head snapped back, half its jaw disintegrating — but it still lunged, arms outstretched.
"Unbelievable…" Jonathan muttered, reloading with shaking hands. "Why won't these dusty bastards stay down?!"
And then—
They did.
The mummies suddenly froze mid-step. The sound of gunfire echoed into silence, leaving only the flicker of flames and the group's ragged breathing.
Jonathan blinked. "Uh… did I just break them?"
O'Connell lowered his gun slightly, eyes narrowing. "Don't flatter yourself. Something's not right."
The mummies began to move again—but not toward them. Instead, they shuffled backward in eerie unison, forming a crooked line along the chamber walls. Their heads bowed, their arms hanging limp at their sides, as if… waiting.
Then the air changed.
A faint, dry wind swept through the chamber, stirring the sand at their feet. The shadows shifted.
From the darkness beyond the line of mummies, a figure emerged.
This one wasn't like the rest. It still had patches of skin stretched tightly over its bones — gray, cracked, and dry like parchment.
Half a face. Dry skin. Eyes like dead coals.
This wasn't one of the usual corpses — this was Imhotep.
He turned his head slowly toward them, lips cracking into a cruel smile. Then he spoke — deep, guttural Egyptian spilling from his throat.
"Wn ḏsr. ḫpr tpj ḥms nṯr. ḏd.f… ḥtp, mrrt n ḫprw."
("Be honoured. You are the chosen.")
"Umm… did that thing just talk?" O'Connell asked, his face a mix of disbelief and horror.
Jonathan's gun shook slightly in his grip. "I don't know, mate, but it's definitely not English. Want me to shoot it anyway?"
Evelyn's brow furrowed as she translated under her breath, voice trembling. "It said… 'Be honored… you are the chosen.'"
O'Connell blinked. "Chosen? Chosen for what, exactly?"
He is sure that if he survives this whole mummy crisis, he'd never step foot in this cursed place again — not even if someone held a gun to his head.
Jonathan muttered, "Hopefully not a human sacrifice."
Imhotep's expression hardened. He lifted one withered hand, barked another command —
"ḫft! sḥḫ!"
("Seize her! Bring her to me!")
The mummies instantly obeyed, closing in around them, their steps thudding in unison.
Then, out of nowhere—
BOOOOM!
A massive sledgehammer came flying through the air like a cannonball, slamming straight into Imhotep's face with a sickening
CRACK!
The ancient priest didn't even get to finish his ominous chant — his half-rotted body was launched backward, smashing into the stone wall hard enough to leave a crater. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Everyone froze — even the mummies — as the hammer clanged to the floor.
Then came the sound of footsteps. Heavy, fast, frantic.
From the shadows of the corridor, Daniel burst into view, sprinting full tilt, sand and debris flying behind him — and the faint, echoing ROARS of something big chasing him.
"What the hell are you all doing standing around?"!" He shouted, grabbing the hammer mid-run. "This isn't a damn show — RUN!"
He charged swinging the hammer in a wide arc that smashed three nearby mummies to the ground with a thunderous THUD!, their brittle bodies cracking against the stone.
Evelyn blinked, her mind struggling to catch up, eyes wide with a mix of shock and disbelief.
"Daniel— what—"
"No time!" he snapped, grabbing her hand. "Move your ass!"
O'Connell didn't argue — he grabbed Jonathan by the collar, dragging him along.