Chapter 92: Problems At Egypt
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The press of the city of Cairo had gone insane with this new and mysterious girl, who called herself “Princess Merneith, third heir of the Red Sun Empire." Her adorable looks, appearance, golden clothes, and the giant mech she piloted quickly made everyone believe she came from a very high floor of the Tower, a true royalty that had paid a visit to Earth, and Egypt no less! Many of the citizens felt rather excited to see her around, thinking they had gained a new guardian.
Unlike the first-world countries, most third-world countries had much less protection against monsters. There were hunters everywhere, yes, even S-Rank hunters too, but usually not as many, especially when the first-world countries would usually offer exorbitant amounts of money to contract these hunters to their own countries, leaving the smaller countries even more defenseless.
A prime example of this was the Kingdom of North America, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany, which constantly bought over any B-rank and above Hunters from smaller, poorer countries to protect their own.
Egypt was one of such victims because the economy wasn’t the best, and most of the hunters struggled to make a living even now. The enormous amount of money offered to them was absolutely life-changing, making many of them decide to leave their country with their families to have a better life, be much more protected, and also be well paid.
The city of Cairo was one of the few cities in Egypt that ended mostly unscathed from the Tower’s arrival, although Monster Gates happened more frequently now, which had shaken the population’s sense of security.
Merneith has become a slight beacon of hope for these people. Although she intended to move over soon enough, she stayed for a couple of days, almost a whole week. Being always praised, fed anything she wanted, and given a nice hotel room to stay in the night made the princess very happy. Not even back in her own kingdom has she experienced this level of hospitality.
“Oh, it’s Princess Merneith!”
“Good morning, young lady!”
“Can I see your big robot, Missy?”
“Woah, she really has a tail—she’s so cute!”
As she walked through the streets of Cairo, enjoying a cold drink and wearing sunglasses, Princess Merneith was greeted by almost every person she came across. Children ran to see her, asking her to show off her mech.
“I can’t just summon the great Mechanical God so easily, children… I do require some Essence every time, but I can do this for almost no cost!”
FLUOSH!
A spark of golden electricity surged out of thin air, suddenly materializing the bird-like talon claw of the robot for all the children to see and admire. The golden metallic construction made all the children’s eyes widen in shock due to its awesomeness.
“Wooaah!”
“So huge!”
“I can’t believe it! You can summon just parts of it?”
“That’s right!” laughed the princess. “Now if you excuse me, children, I have a meeting to attend. Some of these peasants really have been bothering me lately.”
The princess walked through the streets and reached a huge building in the middle of the city, where people constantly walked inside and outside.
This building was El Cairo’s Hunter Association Building, where hunters gathered for requests, to retrieve rewards, and also to sell monster products.
She made her way inside, showing her a platinum-colored card they had provided her beforehand. It wasn’t as if it were that necessary; her appearance alone easily told everyone who she was.
“P-Princess Merneith?!”
A brown-skinned, white-haired girl gasped as she saw the princess step in; her revealing clothes, golden ornaments, and pointy jackal ears, combined with that fluffy tail, told everyone she was Merneith, without a shred of a doubt!
“Who else, girl?” Merneith smiled smugly. “I’ve come here because you peasants called me for some sort of meeting. I have only agreed to come because you do make some good food, so it was my way to repay for your kindness.”
“T-Thank you very much for your honesty…” The receptionist laughed a bit. “Yes, the Association chairman is waiting for you on the second floor. There are a few other Hunters there too.”
“Very well, if you excuse me then, cutie~” Merneith walked away.
“D-Did she call me a cutie?” The girl blushed a bit.
Merneith made her way upstairs as her assistant robot, a floating golden eye-shaped drone, started speaking to her again.
[Your majesty, it has already been over a week since you ran away from home! Is this really okay? And now you’re even meddling with these strange peasants from another world! What will your family say about this? Won’t they worry?]
“Worry? The only thing they’re worrying about is the money they’ll lose for not marrying me to that ugly Roman prince,” Merneith sighed. “I have no interest in marrying any Roman! In fact, I don’t want to marry anyone. I am a strong, independent princess!”
[But your bloodline has a duty… To reject it is to insult the entirety of the history of your empire! You are a descendant of the Ancient Queen Cleopatra VII, which means you must be avid about the rules and regulations of your family. They always want the best for you.]
“They don’t! Nobody back home has ever CARED about me since my REAL mom died…” Merneith sighed. “They’re all obsessed with amassing fortunes and warring against smaller independent countries, and they’re constantly fighting for who has the right to pilot the Mechanical Gods.”
[Princess…]
Her assistant always insisted she had to go back to her family; it was within his program to take care of her and bring her to safety. But at the end of the day, it was also an Artificial Intelligence that slowly adapted to their owner and learned the more they talked with them.
[I just want the best for you, for you to be safe…]
“Hah, well, as if we could go back anyway. Those gray portals that pulled me here won’t let me go back anyway, so we’re stuck here,” the princess shrugged.
[Yes, but many of your family members also came; those Golden Pyramids must be looking for you!]
“Ugh, I don’t care! Leave me alone! I am finally important; the people here need me. That’s something I’ve never experienced before. I want to... I want to help them. Instead of using my power to just hurt others, I will use it to protect people.”
[That is very noble of you, but-]
Before the assistant could speak any other word, Merneith opened the door in front of her and walked inside. Four hunters were waiting for her on the other side of the room.
A tall, brown-skinned man with short black hair and a muscular frame, wearing a white blouse and black pants, and with a big, claw mark-shaped scar in the middle of his face.
The chairman of the association of hunters in the city of El Cairo, Mohamed Khaled.
A slender, beautiful black woman with short black hair and seductive, bright blue eyes, wearing a colorful dress and many pieces of jewelry, especially rings and magic rings.
Heba Marwa, often known as “Queen of the Dunes," is an S-Rank hunter.
An annoyed-looking man with long white hair and a slender figure, wearing a black blouse and jeans, looks to be in his late teens. His sharp red eyes emanated a slightly menacing bloodlust.
Ahmed Mostafa, known as “The Blood Beast Berserk," is an S-Rank hunter.
And lastly, the youngest of the four, a girl no older than fourteen, wore a white cloak and black clothes that covered her hair. Her clear brown skin and adorable silver-colored eyes caught the attention of many, especially due to the bright aura she emanated.
She was the newest S-Rank Hunter of the city of El Cairo, Sara Asmaa, “The Sacred Child.”.
Every S-Rank Hunter was usually given a special title, oftentimes made by the citizens themselves based on the abilities they showcased.
Despite their slightly intimidating presence, Princess Merneith didn’t seem to pay attention and only gave them a single glance before smiling at the chairman.
“And so your majesty is here! What do you want, peasants?” She asked with a smug smile.
“Hahh…” Mohamed sighed, facepalming; he didn’t like her attitude one bit.
“Hey, what’s wrong with this brat?” Ahemed groaned. “Who does she think she is to just talk to us in such a way? Has anybody even taught her manners?”
“She is quite lively, isn’t she?” Heba giggled, drinking some tea afterward.
“So you must be Merneith! I mean, Princess Merneith! Nice to meet you! My name is Sara! Let’s get along!” Little Sara ran to Merneith, greeting her.
“Ah, yeah, let’s get along, little Sara,” Merneith giggled.
Despite her short height, she was actually in her early twenties, but it seemed that Sara thought she was around her age.
“Anyways, Merneith, come sit down,” said Mohamed. “There are many things we need to discuss. We've only been observing so far, letting you do as you please. You’ve been helping people mostly, and for that, we are grateful. However, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re not a human, doesn’t it? You come from the world of the tower, right? Which floor do you come from?”
Merneith sat down, enjoyed the Arabic sweets given, and then drank tea before even talking.
“I don’t belong to that weird tower you’re talking about,” she said. “And as far as I know, I am a human! My ears and tail represent my high lineage as a wielder of the Golden Bloodline. They are the only ones that can accumulate essence and pilot the Mechanical Gods. I am Merneith, the third princess of the Red Sun Empire! I already told you, peasants.”
“She’s a what?!” Ahmed wondered. “Golden Bloodline? What is she even talking about? My patience is already running low.”
“Clearly, whatever this Golden Bloodline is, it might be what has given her that appearance,” said Heba. “This probably also means she is a different type of human... Well, it is not as if humans don’t exist in other worlds of the Tower. But her inability to accept that she comes from there worries me. Is she truly from the tower, or perhaps... Did you come from that gray gate, girl?”
“A-Ah!” Merneith grew nervous as she realized those gray portals had been causing a lot of problems around the world.
If she admitted she came from there, they would probably try to deal with her.
Of course, she was confident she could beat them all easily with the power of Ra.
However, she didn’t want to leave yet! El Cairo was a beautiful city, and she wanted to continue enjoying her time here.
“Of course not!” she said. “I come… Err, from the stars! Yeah, I’ve come to visit your little world with my clearly advanced technology.”
“An alien?!” Sara gasped. “Wow! Does that mean you’re from another planet? What planet?! And are they all like, Ancient Egyptians like you?”
“Wait, if she’s an alien, that proves the Ancient Egyptians were actually aliens too?” Ahmed wondered. “I never liked that dumb theory the Westerners created... But is it true?!”
“Hah, after everything we’ve seen and gone through, somehow, the existence of aliens is not hard to believe anymore,” laughed Heba. “But you’re clearly lying.”
“E-Eh?!” Merneith gasped as she was found out very quickly.
“So she’s lying, huh?” wondered Mohamed.
“What makes you think I am lying?!” Merneith cried, getting slightly desperate.
“I have a Lie Detection Skill,” laughed Heba. “Girl, nobody can lie in front of me. Are you from the Gray Portals or not? And are those pyramids related to you?”
“E-Eeehh…” Merneith was growing more and more nervous.
“Heba, don’t be mean to her!” Suddenly, Sara stepped in, running towards Merneith. “I don’t sense any malice within her heart. She’s pure-hearted and a good person! She is simply... Well, I think she ran away from an abusive family.”
“Sara! Don’t go revealing your abilities like that!” Heba facepalmed.
“Huh? How can you know that?” Merneith wondered, tilting her head.
“It’s my ability! I can read people’s hearts and see if they are bad people or good people! Most of the time, everyone is in between. But as long as they lean only a bit to the good side, I consider them good people. But you… You’re very nice, aren’t you, Merneith?”
Little Sara’s silver-colored eyes seemed full of honesty and innocence.
“I-I… Okay, fine… You peasants win this time! I indeed come from those portals." Merneith sighed.
“I knew it! She’s like those cavemen that appeared in America! Didn’t you hear?! If it wasn’t for Bing Xue, they would have killed hundreds of people! She’s going to do the same!” Ahmed summoned his giant sword and was about to fight Merneith. “Let us take care of her while she’s lowering her guard!”
BAAM!
Before he could rush towards her, a giant hand made of sand smashed him into the ground, pushing him down.
“Ugh! HEBAAA! Let me go!”
Heba was glaring at the man with her sharp blue eyes.
“Ahmed, you’re too temperamental,” she sighed. “I won’t let you go unless you calm down. Sir Mohamed already said that we were not going to try to fight her, so behave yourself, boy!”
“Tch, okay, fine!” Ahmed felt intimidated when he noticed Mohamed’s glare. “Ugh… Let me go already.”
“Hmph…” Heba lifted her hand, and the sand quickly went back to her, spiraling around and then depositing itself inside one of her Spatial Inventory Rings.
As Ahmed sat down again, he looked at Merneith.
“So what’s your big plan then? Why are you helping people who aren’t even from your world? And what are those portals appearing all around the world?”
Merneith sighed. “I don’t know either... It just happened out of nowhere. A bright blue light sucked me and, like, half of my city away. When I opened my eyes, I was already in the middle of your desert.”
“So you’re saying that portal wasn’t something you caused?” wondered Mohamed, readjusting his glasses.
“No…” Merneith said. “Do you know something else about them? I tried going back to my own world before, I swear! But I couldn’t cross the portal. There’s a special force that only brings things out but won’t let them go back.”
They looked at Heba, and the woman nodded.
“She’s not lying either,” she said.
“Hmmm. There is some intel about those portals that have been shared by the North American branch so far,” said Mohamed. “Apparently, what Bing Xue stated is that... those portals seem to have been opened by a God of the Tower, someone known as the Grandfather of Time, who has opened portals to Earth’s... Parallel Timelines. I know it sounds insane, but that’s what she said. And she’s so far the strongest human in this world.”
“P-Parallel… Timelines?” Merneith gasped. “I-Is that way there are ruins of my beautiful Empire in your deserts? So in this world, something different happened?”
“You are truly an Ancient Egyptian, then?” wondered Ahmed. “My God, this is getting weirder.”
“Yes, that is the name of our Ancestors, the Ancient Egyptian Empire,” she said. “Don’t tell me that you never had a Queen Cleopatra VII?!”
“Yes, she existed, but long ago,” nodded Mohamed. “History in those times is still being researched, yes. But after the arrival of the Romans, things became blurry. She married a Roman king, I think? But Ancient Egyptians slowly mixed with many other tribes and people. It could be said we are all their descendants, but their culture, their gods, and all of those things are no longer truly... There are new religions now, and well, most people believe that the ancient Egyptian gods were very... fantastical, haha.”
“Y-You’re insulting Ra, Lord of the Sun?!” gasped Merneith. “But this is… Wait a moment, did your ancestors never discover the steam engine?”
“Steam… engine? No, that’s something that happened elsewhere,” said Heba. “Oh? Don’t tell me... Is this the point of divergence then?”
“It must be!” Sara nodded. “Wooww! The ancient Egyptians discovering the steam engine sounds crazy! Did you industrialize?”
“Yes, we did! Over two thousand years ago, though, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since then. We’ve even begun colonizing planets in our solar system,” Merneith smiled.
“So you truly come from a much more technologically advanced society, a parallel world.” Mohamed muttered. “We’ll have to keep this a secret. Other countries could try to kidnap Merneith and steal her technology if more of her becomes public.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit too late now, Mohamed?” laughed Ahmed. “Miss Princess over here can’t get away from the journalists, always showing her face on TV!”
“Ugh, okay, I admit I shouldn’t have done that!” Merneith sighed. “But for now, I suppose most things are cleared, right? I don’t really have intentions of going back, so I hope you could let me stay for a bit more.”
“Of course, I guess there’s no helping it then,” Heba shrugged. “Maybe you could.”
RUMBLE!
However, this civil conversation filled with revelations was suddenly interrupted as something above the skies suddenly emerged.
Or, well, it seemed as if it had materialized out of thin air!
The people of El Cairo pointed at the sky in fear and awe.
A giant golden pyramid floated above the skies as several smaller silhouettes started flying off of it, going down into the city.
They were all huge mechanical constructions—piloted robots!
Merneith looked at the scene through the building’s window.
“Ah, this is bad.” she sighed.
“What’s going on?!” Heba asked.
“That’s the pyramid?!” Mohamed asked.
“Don’t tell me they’re looking for you?!” Ahmed wondered.
“Merneith!” Sara said.
Merneith gritted her teeth, grasping her hands tightly.
“T-This is all my fault… I have to take responsibility.”
She suddenly jumped out of the window, making the hunters panic.
“Merneith?!”
However, as she fell, her Golden Bloodline activated.
An aura of gold and silver light surged from her body as a giant mechanical god materialized around her body.
Ra, the God of the Sun!
She flew into the skies with her fiery wings, confronting the group of dozens of mechanical soldiers.
The group was led by a larger mech, one resembling her own in detail and height.
Yet this one was black and gold-colored, with its head resembling a jackal.
“T-That’s Anubis?!” The princess gasped. “Big brother Akhenaten... Is it you?”
“Who else than me, Merneith?!” Akhenaten’s voice echoed from inside his mechanical god. “I have finally found you... You little brat. We’re going back home, and you’re marrying that Roman prince!”
“No… I’ll never marry a Roman!” She roared furiously. “I am going to be free, and I will not follow your insanity anymore!”
“You’re really bold to say such blasphemy. You don’t deserve the power of the gods. The power of Ra would do much better in my hands!”
With a furious roar, her big brother rushed towards her, materializing a huge black and gold scythe.
“Are you really going to fight me?!”
Merneith had no time to think, materializing a spear made of flames and sunlight to defend.
CLASH!
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