DOTM: Chapter 321/323

Chapter 321: Consensus Needed

Imhotep's smile said it all, with almost no attempt to hide his thoughts.

When Ethan saw that smile, he knew a fight was inevitable.

He had already anticipated this situation. Holding the Book of the Living, Ethan could have cast a spell to strip Imhotep of all his powers, turning him into a mere mortal who could easily be defeated. However, doing so would mean giving up on learning anything from the ancient Egyptian High Priest.

It would be easy to kill Imhotep, but to make him willingly uphold his promise, Ethan had to demonstrate a level of strength Imhotep would respect. He needed to make the High Priest understand that Ethan was not some "inferior being" he could casually dismiss, but a caster with profound power, possibly even more powerful than Imhotep himself after resurrection.

Only by showing his strength and earning Imhotep's sincere respect could Ethan complete the deal they had made.

Imhotep slowly raised his hands. As he did, the sand in the stone chamber began to float up and surged toward Ethan, who was standing not far away.

The sand didn't primarily target Ethan. One part aimed for the Book of the Living in Ethan's hand, while another went after Logan and the others behind him.

Imhotep was trying to force Ethan to give up the Book of the Living. Otherwise, his companions would be killed.

But Ethan, who had long been on guard, was not unprepared. His spell had already been cast and was ready to go. The moment Imhotep launched his attack, Ethan released the spell he had been preparing.

A transparent wall, like glass, suddenly appeared between them as Ethan raised his hand. It perfectly divided the stone chamber in two.

The sand controlled by Imhotep struck the transparent wall, but it was like falling into a bottomless pool. Aside from a few ripples, it had no effect at all.

Seeing Ethan neutralize his attack so easily, Imhotep's expression shifted from relaxed to serious.

Ethan didn't stop moving just because Imhotep hesitated. He lightly waved his raised hand, as if making a beckoning gesture.

"Since we're going to fight, let's find a place with more room. It's too cramped in here."

As Ethan spoke, the glass-like wall suddenly split into two, surging toward Ethan and Imhotep respectively.

Imhotep, now serious, didn't know what Ethan was trying to do, but as an experienced caster, he didn't want to let an opponent's spell touch him.

But just as Ethan had said, in the narrow space of the stone chamber, the glass wall filled nearly the entire area. There was no room to dodge. Imhotep had no choice but to transform his body into sand, hoping to avoid the spell.

However, as the wall passed over him, Imhotep only felt a slight tremor through his body. Other than that, there was no damage. When he returned to human form and looked around, he realized he had left the stone chamber. He was now outside.

Yellow sand stretched endlessly, and Hamunaptra was not far away. The bright moonlight provided plenty of light. Opposite him still stood Ethan, prepared and calm. He had combined teleportation magic into the mirror-like wall. The transparent wall served not only as a defense but also as a teleportation device, making it a multifunctional composite spell.

This wasn't a newly developed spell, but a fusion of magic Ethan had already mastered. Casting it required precise control. Even with Ethan's mastery, he needed time to prepare it in advance.

Imhotep had no way of knowing this. Seeing the young man opposite him cast such a powerful spell so casually, he became even more cautious. It seemed this battle would be far more difficult than he had expected—especially since the young man still held the Book of the Living.

He had originally believed that, as long as he could seize the Book of the Living, the restraint on him would disappear, and it would be easy to crush this young caster with his powerful magic.

But reality had slapped him in the face. The young man who had awakened and resurrected him was a caster even more powerful than Imhotep had been in life.

Even so, as the resurrected Imhotep, he now possessed even greater power and a nearly immortal body. He firmly believed that the person before him would still fall to him eventually.

At this point, Imhotep understood that killing Ethan might be unrealistic. What he truly wanted was to showcase his own strength and make this opponent realize that Imhotep was not someone to be threatened or underestimated.

Ethan closed the two ancient books again. He found that he couldn't store them in his space ring—most likely because they were spellcasting tools imbued with divine power.

He removed the keys from them, then tossed the two books to the others behind him, asking them to keep the scriptures safe.

At the same time, Ethan activated the Mirror Dimension and sent the others inside. They could observe the battle between Ethan and Imhotep from within and would not be affected by the fight.

Only then did Logan relax slightly. He knew he had no role to play in the upcoming fight. Inside the Mirror Dimension, they were safe and couldn't interfere with the outside world.

After briefly explaining the situation, O'Connell, although still skeptical, had no choice but to believe that the spell could protect them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through the seemingly fragile "glass wall" in front of him.

"Can they see us from outside?"

"No. We're in a separate space. We don't exist in 'that world' right now."

Logan, who had spent a lot of time with Ethan and even studied Druidic knowledge, had no problem explaining the Mirror Dimension.

"But if we're in here, what if Ethan's in danger?" Evelyn was still kindhearted. After confirming they couldn't help Ethan, her first concern was that Ethan would be facing the terrifying newly resurrected priest alone.

"We can't help in the battle. Not getting in his way is the best help we can offer."

When Logan said that, even Ada couldn't fully grasp the meaning. Evelyn, Jonathan, and O'Connell, who had only known Ethan for a short time, certainly couldn't.

Ada, however, had spent a significant amount of time with Ethan. She had been with him for a year in the Resident Evil world and later followed him to the X-Men timeline.

But she had never directly witnessed Ethan's full strength. She only knew he was a mage with miraculous abilities, able to freely travel between different planes, and that he liked collecting magical items and crafting potions to enhance himself.

As for his combat ability? She had only seen his physical skills, gained through training with Loki. As for his magic, her impression was mostly that it was strange and hard to predict.

It had been a long time since anyone had seen Ethan fight using his full magical power.

Only now, seeing him fight seriously, did Ada realize Logan had been absolutely right. The battle outside was on a completely different level—something she, as a spy with a bit of enhancement, couldn't possibly interfere in.

After Ethan "gave up" the advantage of the two books, Imhotep was momentarily stunned. Then, an amused smile appeared on his face. He no longer found Ethan annoying. However, this didn't make him hold back.

On the contrary, Imhotep saw this as a great opportunity.

The High Priest, unleashing his full power, stirred up a storm of sand and dust. Nearly all the sand around them was mobilized, forming a massive tidal wave that surged toward Ethan. Even without any magic transformation, the sheer force of the sand crashing down could cause devastating damage.

Ethan, meanwhile, had already begun channeling his magic. His current magic reserves were vastly greater than before. All of it was magic he had cultivated himself, which made it extremely easy for him to control.

More importantly, this world was filled with abundant energy. As a mage, Ethan naturally knew how to use his own power to harness the energy around him. In such an environment, mages could cast far more powerful spells.

In an instant, vast energy gathered around Ethan and, under his control, transformed into blazing flames.

The powerful flames spun violently, forming a massive tornado of fire that shot into the sky. It swept across the oncoming sand waves, tearing them apart. Many grains of sand sparked as they were scorched by the intense heat.

Ethan would have preferred to wash the sand away with water. Wet sand is harder to control. But in a desert, water elements were scarce, and the ambient energy leaned toward heat. Transforming it into water would cost more magic and time.

Still, the outcome was the same. The fiery tornado didn't dissipate after neutralizing the sand. It spun even faster, gradually condensing into a smaller form. As it compacted, Imhotep finally saw Ethan standing at the center, surrounded by intense flames.

At this moment, Ethan's right hand was held flat. The flames swirling around him condensed into his palm, forming a long, rod-shaped fiery spear.

That wasn't all. A large amount of flame also gathered behind Ethan, forming a pair of massive flaming wings that lifted him into the air. He was preparing to strike from above.

His method of attack was the countless fiery feathers on the massive wings.

As Ethan pointed the flaming spear, the wings began firing a barrage of flaming feathers. Explosions echoed continuously from the area where Imhotep stood.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 322: Convincing People with Reason

Seemingly endless flame feathers continuously shot out from the two massive wings toward Imhotep. In the blink of an eye, Imhotep was engulfed in ceaseless explosions and towering flames.

This attack method was a tactic Ethan had long envisioned for his Flame Wings, but back then, his strength had been insufficient. He had too little magic power and lacked the technique to craft magical items capable of executing such an attack.

As his strength steadily grew, he could now unleash this attack using only his own magic power. Moreover, this level of magic posed no burden to him, leaving him with plenty of energy to launch even more powerful attacks.

This nearly uninterrupted feather barrage was terrifying enough, with a firing rate comparable to a machine gun. Each feather caused a powerful explosion and intense high-temperature damage. If Imhotep hadn't possessed near-immortality, an ordinary person would have been reduced to ashes by the relentless bombardment.

But against Imhotep, this was still far from enough.

Ethan raised the flame spear in his hand behind his head. It floated and began to spin rapidly in his palm. The flames, once perfectly contained within the spear, began to surge uncontrollably, on the verge of erupting again. Ethan didn't care. As the spear gradually transformed into a rotating cone of fire, he waved his hand forward. The cone, now as thick as a bucket, shot out instantly.

The moment it left his hand, it created a powerful sonic boom. Ethan was momentarily stunned. Did I charge it too much?

At such high speed and such close range, the "flame javelin" had virtually no flight time. As the sonic boom cloud formed, a terrifying mushroom-shaped dust cloud had already risen from Imhotep's location.

The scorching shockwave blasted a large crater in the area, then spread outward. The stirred-up sand and earth triggered a brief sandstorm.

Ethan, still hovering in the air, was blown dozens of meters away by his own attack until he summoned a magic shield and increased the power output of the wings behind him, stabilizing his position.

He felt that he might have misjudged the spell's power. After all, it had been a long time since he used magic at full strength, so it was natural that he couldn't perfectly estimate its destructive force.

However, those watching from inside the Mirror Dimension didn't know these details. To them, it felt like they were trapped in an absurd dream. How could such a terrifying person actually exist?

Ethan had emphasized his identity as a mage countless times, but they had always thought his magic was just some special technique. They never expected that the so-called "mage" would be this overwhelming.

What unsettled them even more was the pair of wings behind Ethan. They didn't care that they were formed from flames. From their perspective, Ethan's appearance… looked just like a certain special being.

Jonathan unconsciously made the sign of the cross, clasping his hands and reciting the Bible. He suspected Ethan had come to Egypt to eliminate heretics.

They weren't the only ones shocked. Thanks to the Mirror Dimension's protection, they could observe the battle up close and in great detail, without being affected by it.

This had both pros and cons.

The advantage was being able to see everything clearly. The disadvantage was that, since they were unaffected, it all felt unreal, like watching an illusion or a mirage.

Compared to them, the guardians, whose attention had already been drawn by the earth-shaking noises, suffered far more. They had just finished one round of combat in Hamunaptra and were chasing the group of Americans when they discovered something astonishing happening outside.

When the scouts reported to Ardeth Bay, the leader of the guardians, he assumed it was all Imhotep's doing. But when he rushed out with his men, ready to fight to the death to prevent Imhotep from destroying Egypt, he saw a different young man unleashing inhuman powers and thoroughly overpowering Imhotep.

Then came the terrifying explosion. The immense shockwave blew away many guardians who were hiding in the distance, too afraid to get closer. Many were burned by the scorching hot wind that followed. Ardeth Bay, who reacted quickly, managed to dive behind a sand dune just in time. Still, getting buried in sand was not a pleasant experience.

After everything settled, the guardians were still stunned. They wondered whether they could even stop such an opponent if they sacrificed their lives.

At that moment, many of them were confused, unsure if this terrifying power came from Imhotep or the stranger.

Ethan also noticed the appearance of the guardian group. But ever since Ardeth Bay had refused to communicate with him, Ethan had no interest in dealing with them.

Shifting his attention to the massive crater he had created, he saw Imhotep, who had once again been severely injured and was in bad shape.

Originally, Imhotep had regained his human form and powerful vitality thanks to the Water of Life Ethan provided. But Ethan's previous attack, with its explosive impact and intense heatwave, had nearly evaporated all the vitality and moisture in his body. At this moment, Imhotep looked more like a dried-up mummy than he had when sealed in the sarcophagus.

"Tsk. You just had to fight me, didn't you? Now you're paying for it."

Ethan landed on the ground. The massive flaming wings behind him folded gently before vanishing. Some of the contained magic power flowed back into Ethan's body. If this reverse flow of released energy wasn't controlled, it could damage the user, but Ethan had no problem managing it. This was one of the benefits of his training method.

Watching the battered Imhotep slowly gather magic power to recover, Ethan noticed that the sand beneath his feet was flowing into Imhotep's body.

Of course, Imhotep couldn't recover by "eating" sand. The so-called sand was actually part of Imhotep's body. It seemed that, in the previous attack, Imhotep had once again "sandified" himself to withstand the impact. While the force could be mitigated this way, the extreme temperature couldn't. After transforming into sand, parts of his body retained the properties of sand—some of which had melted into glass or vaporized entirely. That part was permanently destroyed.

This meant that Imhotep's vitality had taken a serious hit. The sand that returned to him couldn't fully restore his form. Now, he was caught somewhere between human and mummy, resembling the incomplete resurrection state from the original story.

"It seems a strong enough attack can still completely kill Imhotep."

Imhotep's current form was more like a twisted life state. While difficult to kill outright, it wasn't impossible. Once his vitality was entirely drained, even if his soul was protected by divine power due to the curse, without a vessel, he would no longer pose a threat.

And souls were fragile. Even with divine protection, it wasn't absolute. Especially for spellcasters, who had many ways to attack the soul directly. He could be captured, imprisoned, or even used as special spell material.

Ethan saw that Imhotep still wanted to resist. The intact sand around him began to rise again. Ethan curled his lip and once again summoned the magic power around him. A brilliant torrent of energy formed around him, glowing conspicuously.

As he moved, the once-clear night sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. Terrifying bolts of lightning gathered above. Dazzling arcs of electricity began flashing from the torrent of magic surrounding Ethan, echoing the lightning above, ready to unleash an attack powerful enough to obliterate Imhotep at any moment.

Imhotep looked at the swirling magic around Ethan and the increasingly ominous lightning above. He realized that the previous blast wasn't even the mage's full strength. The opponent could easily kill him. So he made the wise choice.

He slowly lowered his hands. The floating sand beside him also fell back to the still-hot ground. Imhotep bowed deeply to Ethan.

"Please forgive my earlier offense, powerful spellcaster."

Ethan watched Imhotep submit, but his feelings were complicated.

He felt incredibly pleased. This might be the first time he had forced a powerful enemy to yield solely through strength. It was exhilarating, and for a moment, he even found himself wanting more fights like this—wanting to crush more powerful beings beneath his feet.

From Imhotep's perspective, Ethan was silently looking down at him with a cold expression, saying nothing. The oppressive silence only heightened the pressure.

Especially with the fluctuating magic around Ethan and the occasional bursts of lightning flickering on his body. The increasingly dense clouds above seemed ready to unleash divine wrath.

Imhotep panicked. He believed he had truly enraged this powerful mage. Desperate to survive, he dropped to his knees.

"I beg for your forgiveness. I am willing to offer everything for it."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 323: Want To

Imhotep was a complex individual. In the original plot, upon realizing that he would lose all his magic and revert to a normal state when facing the Scorpion King—and then, after seeing the Scorpion King and understanding his odds—he immediately retreated, appearing like a coward who valued his life above all.

Yet after falling into despair and being abandoned by Anck-su-namun, he decisively chose to end his own life, acting as though life held no value for him.

Upon reflection, the only explanation seemed to be that Imhotep had a firm belief at that moment: to resurrect Anck-su-namun and live happily ever after with her.

As long as that goal could be achieved, even kneeling before his enemy and begging for mercy was no big deal. Because, in his eyes, dignity paled in comparison to Anck-su-namun's resurrection.

The magical fluctuations around Ethan gradually subsided. His control over the lightning element wasn't particularly refined, and since he had just pushed his magic to its limit by channeling the immense energy of this world, it wasn't as easy to stop as manipulating his own internal magic.

Even though he no longer intended to continue fighting, the dark clouds, flickering lightning, and the swirling torrent of magic around him had yet to fully dissipate. Still, the imminent sense of danger from earlier was gone.

"Offer everything?"

Ethan began to seriously consider the meaning behind that statement.

Imhotep was a High Priest with deep magical knowledge and formidable strength. The main reason he had been so thoroughly beaten by Ethan wasn't due to an insurmountable power gap, but because he initially hadn't taken Ethan seriously. By the time he realized the threat, Ethan had already crippled him with a series of relentless attacks.

Otherwise, with Imhotep's ability to level a city, if both of them had fought at full strength, the entire terrain around Hamunaptra would have been reshaped.

Imhotep being willing to serve him was, of course, a welcome outcome. But his loyalty was highly questionable—or rather, he had no loyalty at all.

"Get up."

Regardless, Ethan still needed to learn necromancy and summoning spells from Imhotep. The reason he had beaten him so severely was to teach him a lesson, to make Imhotep understand that he wasn't someone to be taken lightly, and that he should take Ethan's words seriously and follow through on them. Otherwise, Ethan wouldn't hesitate to fight again.

And if they fought again, Ethan certainly wouldn't give up the advantage offered by the Book of Amun-Ra. At that point, he would go all out to kill him. With the power Ethan had just displayed, Imhotep now understood that the immortality he relied on was meaningless before Ethan. Being defeated again might even lead to the complete annihilation of his soul.

The lightning within the dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the heavy gloom faded, revealing a bright moon and a sky full of stars.

The magical aura surrounding Ethan also faded. Now, Ethan simply stood there, looking like an ordinary man.

But neither Imhotep nor the distant guardians viewed him that way.

Compared to the already-yielded Imhotep, the guardians in the distance were more conflicted.

Their duty was to protect Hamunaptra from being discovered, and to risk their lives preventing Imhotep from endangering the world should he be resurrected.

But what was the current situation?

Imhotep had indeed been resurrected, but was immediately and brutally beaten by a mysterious spellcaster who had appeared out of nowhere. The once-feared priest now knelt on the ground, begging for mercy. Should they now charge in and try to take him down?

That thought barely formed before Ardeth Bay dismissed it.

He wasn't a fool. He could see that the powerful spellcaster had no intention of killing Imhotep. If they charged in now, it would be the same as declaring war on that powerful individual.

Ardeth Bay wasn't afraid of death, but he wanted his death to be meaningful. A suicide mission like this was worthless. He recalled Ethan's earlier offer to talk, and now might be the best time to do so.

"I hope he's still willing to talk."

Quite a few guardians had come this time, and Ardeth Bay wasn't the only one in command. After a brief discussion with another black-robed guardian, Ardeth Bay decided to personally approach and test Ethan's intentions. If the man planned to use Imhotep's power to harm the world, the guardians would fight to the last man, even if it meant total annihilation.

But if that wasn't the case, perhaps they could reach some kind of agreement?

The guardians' highest duty was to ensure that Imhotep did not threaten the world. If this powerful mage could control Imhotep and had no malicious intentions himself, the guardians might not have to fight to the death.

Of course, the guardians were not so easily swayed. Ardeth Bay's willingness to entertain this possibility was based solely on Ethan's terrifying strength.

If it had been an ordinary person, they wouldn't have bothered negotiating. They would've killed them on the spot.

Ethan noticed Ardeth Bay approaching from the dunes but couldn't be bothered with him at the moment. He casually took out some Spring of Life water and handed it to Imhotep, telling him to restore his human form first.

The mummy form wasn't pleasant to look at. Since Ethan didn't plan to kill him immediately and would be interacting with this High Priest for some time, he didn't want to tax his eyes or patience. Better for Imhotep to return to his human form.

At the same time, with a casual wave of his hand, the Mirror Dimension protecting Ada, Logan, and the others was dispelled. In Ardeth Bay's eyes, a group of people had suddenly appeared out of thin air, which startled him. He thought more powerful enemies had arrived.

He stood and observed for a moment before realizing these people were companions of the powerful spellcaster. As for how they had appeared so suddenly, he simply couldn't understand it.

His attention then shifted to Imhotep—the legendary terrifying figure—who now sat meekly on the ground. Even when he stood up, he slightly bowed his waist, respectfully receiving a glowing water orb from the mage. After absorbing it, his previously "broken" body gradually returned to normal.

Seeing Imhotep restored, Ethan smiled and asked, "Are you ready to fulfill the promise you made earlier?"

Imhotep bowed respectfully. "Whatever you command, I will faithfully carry out."

At this point, the situation could be considered settled. Logan and the others walked over to Ethan's side, looking at the once-feared High Priest who now appeared so obedient.

Evelyn and O'Connell, for example, had countless questions about ancient Egyptian civilization that they wanted to ask Imhotep. But they understood now wasn't the time for such things. Ethan had revived Imhotep for his own purposes, and now that the priest was finally resurrected and subdued, Ethan would obviously focus on his own goals.

The knowledge Evelyn sought could wait until later.

When Imhotep saw Evelyn, his expression changed slightly. It wasn't obvious, but both Ethan—who stood closest—and Ada, who excelled at reading expressions, noticed.

Ethan, knowing the plot of the second film, understood the reason. Evelyn was later revealed to be the reincarnation of the Pharaoh's daughter killed by Imhotep, and she eventually awakened her past-life memories and even combat skills far beyond that of an ordinary person.

It would be several years before she awakened those memories, so Ethan wasn't worried she'd suddenly recall her past life and try to kill Imhotep now.

By then, Ethan would have long since achieved his goals and left. Whether or not the two fought later would have nothing to do with him.

"Let's find a place to talk properly. If you can perfectly solve some of my problems, I might even help you resurrect Anck-su-namun."

If Ethan had offered other benefits, Imhotep might not have cared. But the resurrection of Anck-su-namun was something he couldn't ignore. For him, bringing back his beloved was the most important thing. Especially now, realizing Ethan had such potent magic and a spring containing immense life force, if Ethan was willing to help, Anck-su-namun could be resurrected even more perfectly.

Imhotep dreamed of her coming back to life so they could live happily together. Before, he hadn't thought much beyond that, only worrying about the Book of Amun-Ra.

Now that he saw a chance to free himself from the Book's restraint, he couldn't help but care. After all, no one wanted to be controlled or threatened by a restrictive item.

Naturally, he didn't know that Ethan planned to use Anck-su-namun as an experiment—to test whether a complete, unrestrained resurrection was possible, something that might allow him to bring back Tony's parents through true resurrection, immune to items like the Book of Amun-Ra.

Just as Imhotep was weighing his options, Ardeth Bay walked up to the group and awkwardly greeted Ethan.

"May I speak with you?"

Ethan glanced at the black-robed guardian and gave a curt reply.

"No."

(To be continued.)