Chapter 70: Chapter 70
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Silence reigned within the room when suddenly a spell was fired. Ethan was not sure which side had started it, but in an instant, his parents were facing off against Snyde and Rakepick.
Ethan wanted to help his parents, but the fight was way out of his league. Besides, he hardly saw how Snyde and Rakepick could defeat them on their own. What got him worried, though, was Bill, who had been sent flying and wasn't getting up. He did not know which side had attacked him, but the fact that he was not moving was not a good sign.
Ethan reassured himself that he would have noticed it if a killing curse had been used.
What was more alarming, however, was Tracey, whose demeanour suddenly changed. The moment the fight started, her back turned straight, her shoulders squared, and her facial expression turned regal. And most importantly, she was now wearing the sapphire earrings.
She looked at the pyramid with clear disdain, as well as a hint of hatred, before addressing Ethan, "Help me weaken Ramesses' hold over the Altar if you don't want to become that bastard's reincarnation."
Without waiting for him, she kneeled in front of the pyramid and placed both palms on it. As for Ethan, although he approached the pyramid, which 'Tracey' had called the Altar, he did not touch it and instead asked, "And why exactly should I trust that 'bastard's' queen? Especially when she took over the body of my friend?"
A flicker of rage appeared on her face before her demeanour changed once again to Tracey's sunny complexion, "Aww, you're worried for me! That's so cute! I'm definitely never letting this go- Ah, yeah, you got to trust the old ha- beautiful queen! Beautiful queen alright!"
Tracey interrupted herself several times in her sentence, her face torn between mirth and annoyance, as if two people were trying to express themselves at the same time through the same face.
Which was the case, Ethan had already guessed. He might have questioned the woman, whom he also guessed was none other than Queen Nefertari, the wife of Ramesses II, who was the spirit within the pyramid, or Altar.
Why exactly was she standing against her husband, Ethan also had an idea, but the Queen chose not to divulge it, as after Tracey retreated with a mischievous snicker, Nefertari said, "Stop playing games, boy. We don't have much time."
Ethan nodded and sat down in front of the pyramid, and placed both hands on it. To disrupt such a powerful artefact, simply sending his magic in randomly would do more harm than good. However, once one had a good grasp on the artefact's inner workings, it was possible to sabotage it.
Moreover, with the help of a thousands of years old witch who may have participated in its construction, things became easier.
Following her lead, Ethan pumped his magic within the Altar, with the aim of overloading the runes. However, as he did so, he clearly felt a counterforce. Someone was working against them to keep control of the Altar, and who else could it be other than Ramesses II?
His magic felt ancient and impossibly dense. It felt like a wall was standing in the way when he defended, and a giant tidal wave was sweeping everything over when he went on the offensive.
But as strong as his magic was, he had long been reduced to only a spirit. Moreover, he was alone, while Ethan had Nefertari with him. Although the two of them only had the reserves of children, Ramesses did not have much either.
It was still impressive, as while he did have the help of the golden pyramid, he had remained as a mere spirit for thousands of years, and yet he was still stronger than the both of them. Ethan did not know in which condition he had been sealed, but he was sure it had been less than pleasant.
But while Ethan and Nefertari were fighting over the influence of the golden pyramid against the one within, the fight around them had only intensified, and whether it was on purpose or an accident, one of the spells missed its course and headed for Tracey, faster than anyone could stop.
She did not even react to it, however, remaining entirely focused on her work, despite having certainly seen the incoming ominous red light. She acted like she knew the spell would not harm her.
And sure enough, just as it was about to hit her, the Altar shimmered, and the spell fizzled out of existence. Ethan could not tell whether the fighting adults had known about it or even registered it, as there was no pause in their fight.
On second thought, however, Ethan realised that in the next few seconds, the fight seemed to get even more intense, and several more spells got close to the pyramid, only to all be neutralised as well.
What really intrigued Ethan, however, was that he was almost sure this counter-spell effect did not come from the Altar's enchantment. Although he had not completely deciphered it, since it was written in a whole new (or ancient, depending on the point of view) language, Ethan still managed to get a good idea of what the enchantment did, and there was not a single trace of blocking incoming spells.
There were traces of protection effects; of course, nearly all artefacts had them, since an artefact without them would most certainly break from the magic concentrated in it or after a couple of uses. Besides, even if that were not the case, no one wanted their prized artefact to be destroyed, one way or another.
But since the counter-spell was not inherent to the Altar, it meant that it was Ramesses who was behind it, which strengthened one of Ethan's theories into near certainty.
Ethan would understand why Ramesses would protect him since he was supposed to become his vessel, so even if they were actively fighting for control over the Altar, making sure his vessel was not harmed was understandable.
But protecting Tracey did not make any sense. Tracey should have no use for him; he already had Ethan, who was supposed to serve as his vessel, and she was working against him.
As for her being the vessel for Nefertari, the Queen was obviously standing against her husband, and since she was most likely only inside the earrings and not truly in Tracey's body, Ramesses' logical course of action would be to let those spells hit Tracey and take her out. If he really cared about his Queen, Ramesses could always find her a new vessel later on.
Yet he did not. He not only protected Ethan but Tracey/Nefertari as well, which told Ethan something: He had a use for her.
A use he had guessed.
Meanwhile, on the side, Miyuki was looking around alertedly, both her body and her mind tense. She did not get the same privilege as Ethan and Tracey, as she had to actually dodge the stray spells coming her way.
But what really stressed her out was what Ethan had asked of her. She had gotten a good gist of what was happening herself. She may not have shared Ethan's vision, but she had felt glimpses of his guesses and, through them, made her own conclusions.
So she could see why he would ask her to use Tsukuyomi, a highly dangerous and very experimental technique, on him, but it did not stop her from feeling anxious. One wrong move, on any end, or one slight mistake in his guesses, and it was game over.
Unfortunately, time waits for no one, and as the fight was reaching its climax, there was a soft click from the golden pyramid.
Miyuki closed her eyes, and as much as she disliked it, she sent a massive wave of mental energy into Ethan, quickly forming a giant cancerous mass within his mindscape.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone