Jonathan bolted toward Evelyn without arguing, sliding across the stone floor as he ran.
O'Connell sprinted the other way, scanning the shadows for the Golden Book And Found it.
Jonathan hurried to Evelyn and fumbled with the bindings, hands shaking. "Hold still, hold still—these knots are ridiculous!"
Evelyn finally got her arms free, rubbed her eyes once, then froze.
"Jonathan… am I the only one seeing this, or is Dan surrounded by—by something and swinging around a very unnatural sword?"
Jonathan didn't even look. "Evy, you're the one who's closer to him than any of us."
Evelyn smacked his shoulder. "Don't bring that up now, idiot! Just—just go get me the book!"
***
On Daniel's side,
Imhotep and Daniel clashed again, blades screaming as they collided. The chamber shook with each strike — shadow against sand, death against the undead.
Then the ground rippled.
Sand burst upward like a geyser.
Anubis soldiers materialized out of the swirling cloud — towering jackal-headed warriors forming a ring around Daniel in an instant.
Daniel clicked his tongue. "Great. More mutts."
With a smooth motion, he flicked his foot under the hammer's handle. THUNK — the weapon spun upward off the floor, flipping end over end.
Daniel twisted, caught the hammer mid-air with his left hand, and spun with both weapons in motion.
CRACK—BOOM!
The hammer smashed into the first Anubis soldier's head, exploding it into a spray of sand.
A second swing followed instantly — another skull shattered like dry clay.
Without losing momentum, Daniel pivoted and hurled the hammer head-first toward Imhotep.
Imhotep raised his stolen sword to block—
SNAP!!
The blade broke clean in half from the sheer force.
The hammer slammed into Imhotep's chest a heartbeat later.
KRAAASH!
The priest flew backward like a ragdoll and smashed into the stone wall, cracks spreading out behind him.
Daniel lowered his stance, the Sword of Death resting on his right shoulder, the hammer held casually in his left as its head touched the ground.
A shadow-smirk curled across his dark silhouette.
The sword's power pulsed through him, sharpening his senses and boosting his reflexes — every movement faster, heavier, more precise than any human could hope to match.
He looked like a reaper dual-wielding judgment itself.
***
On the other side of the chamber, Ardeth Bay kept his sword raised but couldn't tear his eyes away from Daniel's fight.
"Hmmm… is your companion truly human?" Ardeth asked, voice low. "He looks more like the incarnation of death come to reap the living."
O'Connell didn't look away either. He swallowed hard.
"I'm starting to wonder the same thing. You two—where did you even meet this guy?"
Jonathan pointed immediately at Evelyn. "Ummm… ask Evy. ."
Evelyn didn't respond. She was in daze.
Though she wouldn't admit it aloud, she had to confess—Daniel looked insanely cool just now.
"Evy, are you done?" Daniel called out, his voice normal again.
The black mist peeled away from his body, the Sword of Death dissolving back into his inventory. In a blink, he looked like an ordinary guy again.
Evelyn snapped out of her daze. "Ah—yes! Yes, I'm ready!"
Before she could read, a horrible sound tore through the chamber.
Imhotep pushed himself off the cracked wall and opened his mouth—
wider… wider… unnaturally wide—so wide it looked like he was about to fire a missile straight out of his throat.
A deep rumble echoed from inside him, like something ancient and furious preparing to burst free.
Evelyn didn't wait.
She read the spell.
Her voice rang through the chamber.
The air trembled. The torches flared.
And then—
TATATATATATA—!!!
The thunder of ghostly hooves erupted out of thin air.
A blazing, spectral horse and chariot burst into existence above them, materializing from pure light.
The phantom rider cracked his whip—
—and the chariot charged straight through Imhotep.
A blinding flash exploded across the chamber as the spectral horse ripped something out of him—
a blazing, writhing mass of power—
and dragged it away into the darkness.
Imhotep staggered back, screaming in ancient Egyptian.
"MY POWERS—!! GIVE THEM BACK!!"
Daniel smiled.
"Finally."
Without even thinking, he reached down, grabbed the broken sword Imhotep had lost earlier… and wound his arm back like a baseball pitcher.
"One last pitch, mummy bastard."
He threw.
FWOOOOSH—!!
The blade cut through the air like a bullet and buried itself straight into Imhotep's forehead.
SPLURT.
Blood sprayed across the stone floor—dark, thick, unmistakably human.
Imhotep's eyes widened, shock filling them as the last breath rattled out of his chest.
"Hehe… finally got you, you dusty bald idiot."