Shadow Game with the Nymphs # 7

"Hrrrgh…."

"Haaaah…."

When we made our way down to the stadium's basement room, we found a group of scrawny, emaciated men flailing about.

They looked so dried-up and withered that I half wondered if you'd get exactly this result by tossing dried anchovies into a food dehydrator and running it for another ten hours.

"Vex and Trapo! Those are the executives of the Tomb Raiders I told you about!"

Examining the crocodile and bird hieroglyph-like tattoos carved into the men's foreheads and around their eyes, Ankh identified who they were. Then, catching ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sight of the shattered stone slab collapsed in front of them, she clicked her tongue.

"The demon god's seal must already be broken! Vex! Trapo! What on earth have you two done?!"

Ankh shouted at the fallen men.

But the men could only groan like mummies or zombies — a ragged "Uuuurgh," or a wheezing "Aaauuugh."

From the look of them, their tongues had shriveled bone-dry and their throats felt as if they were packed solid with dust and sand.

That was when Oinoi puffed out her chest and declared with full confidence.

"This Oinoi shall resolve this…! Nymph Secret Art, Ruthless Water Spouting…!"

Sssssssshaaaaaa—!

Oinoi blasted a surprisingly powerful water cannon from her mouth.

I had no idea what principle allowed her to fire water like that, but watching her spray it, she was practically a fire hose. The tomb raiders, soaked through to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bone, seemed to regain a fair bit of their senses. Life crept back into their dried-up bodies, and their mouths cracked open a little.

"The s-snake demon god… he deceived us…."

"He never had any intention of granting us immortality…! We… we were tricked…!"

Well, villains double-crossing each other was hardly breaking news. They're called villains precisely because they refuse to follow the world's rules, and honestly, the idea of criminals keeping faith with their own kind was laughable to begin with.

"Muhahaha, they thoroughly deserve it, da…t! The price for making Illinoi walk all the way out here for nothing is very steep, so… I shall be relieving them of their wallets, da…t!"

"A most excellent idea, that is…!"

Jingle, jingle—.

The nymphs went rummaging through the tomb raiders' pockets.

The men tried to resist, but with bodies like dehydrated anchovies doused in water, they had no hope of escaping the nymphs' pocket raid.

"Today, too, this Oinoi has scooped up armfuls of coins from the pockets of the wicked…! Today, too, we nymphs have delivered justice upon this land…!"

"Then we must dance the nymph's dance of joy, that is…!"

"Let's dance…!"

Thump-thump, thump-thump—.

After shaking the men down for every last coin, the nymphs launched into their dance of joy. Watching them, the tomb raiders seethed. "Un… unforgivable…! Possessed by a demon god wasn't bad enough, and now they're stealing even our pocket change…!"

Frankly, I couldn't have cared less.

"The seal is broken?"

Studying the remains of the stone slab, I felt a knot of tension tighten in my chest.

A freed demon god would be hunting for a vessel.

KWAAANG—!

Just then, a tremendous rumble shook the earth to its core.

We scrambled out of the basement and rushed toward the stadium proper.

It was a certain sports arena in Seoul, scheduled to host the championship finals. Up on that enormous stage, someone was locked in battle.

"You! What the hell are you?!"

The first thing I saw was Seo Yerim.

Flames gripped in both hands, she was hurling fireballs at her opponent with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠abandon of a small child throwing snowballs in a snowball fight.

Fiery-crack! KWAAANG—! KWAAANG—!

But each blast hit harder than a decent bomb. If Seo Yerim was going all out like that, just who was she fighting?

Tap—.

A woman wearing a bird-beak mask.

The mask bore markings resembling Horus, the falcon of Egyptian hieroglyphs, and judging by her sleek, agile movements and supple footwork, her identity was obvious.

"That's that rotten villain from before!"

The bird-beak woman. An executive of some unidentified villain organization. So she had shown up after all!

Fwoosh—.

Leaping high into the air, the masked woman twisted through a gymnast's 1440-degree spin and hurled the full rotational force of it into a kick aimed straight at Seo Yerim.

A 1440-degree spinning kick.

Seo Yerim raised both hands in front of her face in a guard, and with a bone-rattling PAKAAANG, her body went skidding across the field grass, scorched black streaks trailing behind her.

"Ow—."

Even through the guard, the impact had clearly landed. Seo Yerim smacked her palms together a few times, shaking them out.

The bird-beak woman ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke to her.

『Humanity's history changes again, this very day. The age of the true gods is now well and truly over, and the era of serpents and dragons shall come. I shall be no easier to deal with than Typhon himself.』

It was a voice that made the human heart quiver.

At times it sounded like a whisper of temptation spoken directly into my ear.

I knew this sensation well. Typhon, the possessing monster that had hijacked Hex's body, had felt exactly like this.

"Who are you?!"

I demanded.

The bird-masked woman gave a low, rolling laugh. Heh-heh-heh—.

『I am the Dragon of Darkness, Apophis—!』

It was a declaration that rang out like a bell.

Watching her, Seo Yerim screamed.

"Hey! Ha Ildo! Get away from here, now! That woman's physical abilities are at least on the level of an S-Rank Awakener! This place is about to become a battlefield!"

"There is no need for that…! A wicked, evil dragon is something we nymphs, fairies of nature, can handle…!"

"This Coris thinks so too…! We have done it once, so doing it twice more should be easy…! Everyone, let us spout water together…!"

"Let's do it…!"

FWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH—.

The nymphs fired ferocious torrents of water from their mouths.

They were as majestic as brave fire trucks rolled out to a horrifying blaze.

However—.

Not even the fairies' water cannons budged the bird-beak woman.

All it did was make her sleek leather suit look even sleeker.

"Wh-why is it not working, I do not understand…!"

"This Coris does not understand either…!"

"Dragons are absolutely vulnerable to the nymphs' attacks…, so perhaps that bird-beak mask's wearer is not a dragon after all, da…t! Nothing else makes sense, da…t!"

The nymphs plunged into full-blown panic.

Right at that moment.

Step, step. Clack.

The priestess Teto appeared, staff in hand.

"To re-seal the demon god Apophis, we must perform the ritual of the duel, just as the ancient heroes, the gods, and their priests once did. the Festival of Kings. That is the only path there is—."

The duel ritual.

It was called a Duel Stone — a game built on the motif of the trial-by-combat ceremonies performed in ages long past.

"I don't know how to play card games?"

Seo Yerim scowled, widening the distance as though she still regarded the masked woman with suspicion.

I turned to Teto.

"Are you going to perform the ritual, Miss Teto? Should we provide covering fire in the meantime?"

"No. I am fated to serve as the referee of the game, as its priestess. And in my judgment, the hero suited to face the demon god is you, Mr. Ildo."

"M-me…!?"

I was thoroughly startled.

Then Teto's younger sister, Ankh, leapt up in protest.

"Big sister, you're really going to make Ha Ildo duel that demon god? This man isn't from a priestly family! It's far too dangerous! He won't be able to endure it — he'll lose instead…!"

"Ankh, I have much I would say to you, but now is not the time. I believe in him. Ildo is no S-Ranker, and yet even so, I believe he can wield a God's Card."

Here—.

Teto held a single card out to me.

Seeing this, the nymphs also offered up the cards they treasured most.

"We nymphs shall fight alongside you…!"

"Take this Coris's card…!"

"Please take Illinoi's power out for a spin as well, da…t!"

『Very well. Come at me. Any warrior who dares face me shall be slain in a single turn of the duel. And should you lose to me, the loser's soul will belong to me…!』

Tap—.

The woman who called herself the demon god Apophis produced a card disk from somewhere and strapped it to her arm.

It was an extremely surreal scene, and my head swam in more ways than one.

Giant letters bloomed across the scoreboard.

Staring at them, I drew my hand.

"My turn!"

My hand held five cards.

Three of them were Death Squirrels that Oinoi had given me.

"I summon a Squirrel!"

Plat—.

I laid a squirrel down on the field.

Watching this, the demon god Apophis laughed.

『And what exactly do you plan to do with that tiny, adorable squirrel? Then I shall summon the Dog Snake.』

Keong-keong—.

A one-cost snake that barked like a dog.

Its attack was a measly 100, but it carried the Venom keyword.

For the record, Venom was an effect that dealt damage equal to the monster's attack continuously for 5 turns after striking an opponent.

"My turn! Draw!"

Plat—.

Turn two.

I drew another card.

And that card was….

It was the card the priestess Teto had given me!

A God's Card — a premium ultra-rare worth tens of billions of won!

At the thought of how expensive it must be, my hands trembled violently.

For now, I laid down two more squirrels.

My field was now populated by three adorable squirrels.

But that wasn't the end of it.

"I now summon… a god…!"

On turn two!

Offering up my three squirrels as tributes, I summoned the colossal god, the Pawn Soldier of Obelisk!

GOOOOOOOO—.

Thunder began to crack across the stadium, and rainbow clouds gave voice to their cries.

━Ing-ing-yaa-ing.

KWA-REUNG—!

At last, amid a ferocious storm, the great god was summoned.

Everyone was stunned by its overwhelming pressure.

"Summoning a god straight away in only two turns…, Mr. Ildo, you truly are…."

"That is the very Pawn Soldier this Illinoi often summoned with five pawn tributes when playing chess with George Washington, da…t! It is incredible, da…t!"

"This Coris has no idea what any of that means…! In truth, this Coris still does not understand the rules of this thing called a duel…! What on earth is an Xyz Summon supposed to be…!"

"Even this Oinoi has never laid eyes on such a mighty god…!"

I felt my head go slightly dizzy.

Because somehow, the moment I summoned the card, I could feel my mana draining away in an instant.

So this wasn't just a card made of paper and ink!

The sensation of it materializing was remarkably similar to projecting my mana into my animal companions like Keongkeongi, Kwangkwangi, and Angangi!

It felt just like Hyper Evolution.

Was this card a genuine artifact of the Age of Gods!?