The Scorpion King lunged again, and Daniel moved to meet him — but this time he didn't take the clash head-on.
Instead, he dropped low, sliding across the stone floor beneath the massive scorpion body. As he slid, two blood-red words formed in his hands, shaping into blades of condensed chain-energy.
He swung them in a clean arc along the creature's underside.
The blades cut through several of the scorpion's legs, severing some completely while the rest buckled halfway, leaving the monster stumbling and off-balance.
Daniel completed the slide, pushed off the ground, and came back to his feet a short distance away.
He glanced at the damage.
"Tch. I was aiming for all the legs."
The Scorpion King turned toward him, body dragging awkwardly, half of its limbs ruined but far from finished.
The Scorpion King, now limping on his half-ruined legs, seemed to grow even more enraged. Instead of charging again, he shifted tactics entirely.
He began tearing through the arena, grabbing anything within reach — fire torches, broken pillars, chunks of stone — and hurling them at Daniel with raw, furious strength. Anything to keep Daniel at a distance. Anything to avoid another close encounter.
Daniel ducked under a spinning torch, then sidestepped as a boulder smashed into the ground where he had been standing seconds earlier.
"Shit," he muttered, weaving between the barrage. "Now he doesn't want to get close."
Another pillar chunk flew toward him. Daniel twisted out of the way, landing lightly on one foot before another projectile came from the opposite direction.
While dodging another chunk of stone, Daniel's eyes locked onto the Spear of Osiris lying on the ground behind the Scorpion King. He made a split-second decision.
He sprinted, slid beneath a flying torch, planted his foot, and leapt.
His hand closed around the spear's shaft the moment he landed.
Before the Scorpion King could react, Daniel kicked off the ground again, launching himself high into the air.
"Enough running."
He gathered everything — energy, strength, killing intent — and let it erupt.
Above him, massive broad swords of crimson energy began to materialize. Not elegant. Not symbolic. Just heavy, brutal killing weapons.
He sent them down.
The first sword plunged into the Scorpion King's lower body, splitting open chitin and flesh. Blackened ichor poured out, steaming as it hit the scorched floor.
The second sword speared through the monster's upper arm, pinning it to the ground. Muscle tore, bone cracked, and the remaining claw twitched uselessly.
The Scorpion King roared in agony, thrashing violently, blood pouring out in thick, dark streams.
Daniel descended, spear aimed directly at the creature's heart.
"This is the end of you, half-scorpion."
He drove the weapon forward.
The Spear of Osiris punched through the Scorpion King's chest with a wet, heavy stab, tearing through ribs and sinking deep into the corrupted heart.
Blood burst out, spraying across the stone floor and splattering Daniel's arm as he pushed the spear all the way in.
The Scorpion King let out a raw, ragged scream — part human, part monstrous — echoing painfully across the chamber.
His body convulsed once.
Then began to collapse under its own weight, blood pooling rapidly beneath him.
Daniel held the spear firm until the creature's struggling slowed…
Then stopped.
Daniel pulled the spear free and stepped off the Scorpion King's corpse with a long, controlled exhale.
It was finally over.
***
Behind him, the three who had been watching from cover slowly emerged into the ruined chamber.
All of them were frozen in place, mouths hanging open in pure shock.
Jonathan looked like his brain had rebooted and failed to restart.
Ardeth, usually composed even in the face of death, had gone completely still.
But Evelyn… even she couldn't hide her disbelief.
She knew Daniel could perform inhuman feats. She had seen him pull off things no ordinary person could ever manage.
But this tearing apart the Scorpion King piece by piece, overwhelming a creature blessed by Anubis. Her husband might not be human.
"Now it's time to collect the soul," Daniel thought, eyeing the ruined corpse.
But before he could recover the soul, the body of the Scorpion King twitched once… and then dissolved.
A thick black mist erupted from the remains, swallowing the body whole. The mist churned violently, spiraling upward until the entire arena was drowned in darkness.
Daniel froze.
"Huh?"
This wasn't in the plot.
Daniel scanned the room, trying to understand the shift, when a sudden pull hit his chest. A bright blue light tore free from him, drifting upwards.
The light expanded, slowly forming a humanoid outline. As the features sharpened and the face became distinct, Daniel felt his stomach drop.
That was impossible.
Yet completely unmistakable.
"…Uncle Luke?"
He stared, stunned. The figure looked exactly like him—calm expression, familiar posture—just rendered in glowing blue energy.
Questions slammed into Daniel's mind all at once. What was his uncle doing here? Why had he come out of him, of all places?
*****
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