#113. Fourth Guardian, Pao (1)
Finally arrived at the 444th floor.
The panorama that unfolded before my eyes was a bit different from the other levels of the pyramid I had seen so far.
“… “Is this the 444th floor?”
An arch-shaped stone gate is visible.
A door that looked like the entrance to a small castle was located at the end of the stairs leading to the 444th floor.
‘There were no doors like that on other floors.’
Normally, after climbing all the stairs, you would start out in a spacious hallway.
“Bro, why is there such a grand entrance only on this floor?”
Baekgureum tilted his head.
Then Poppy, who was standing in front as a guide, added an explanation with a serious expression.
“I told you so. The 444th floor is the most mysterious place in the pyramid… .”
Before Poppy could finish speaking, Damdeok waved his hand and stepped forward.
“Ah, I know, I know. It is called the “maze of death” because it is a place where once you enter, you can never get out. “Is that what you mean?”
“… Yes, that’s right.”
Poppy nodded solemnly.
Damdeok chuckled.
It was a story I heard ad nauseam as I walked up the stairs.
The 444th floor, unlike other floors, has sealed stone chambers connected like a maze.
This floor is a place where all Egyptian gods are prohibited from entering, and ordinary gods never go there.
“But for a place where entry is prohibited, the security is very lax?”
There were no dog-headed or bird-headed guards like I saw on the first floor, no safety devices to prevent entry, and no warning signs at all.
“It’s so shabby that no one goes in here?”
“Of course, at first, there were many people who entered the scene without fear like you. but… .”
Poppy said, setting the mood with a gloomy voice.
“but… ?”
“Not a single one of those who have entered here so far! However, not a single person has returned. However, not even one person… .”
Poppy resolutely raises her index finger.
Damdeok looked at the guy in silence.
I don’t know where it came from, but I’m shining the light of the flashlight under my chin.
“… Put it in.”
“yes.”
Looking at Poppy obediently putting the flashlight into her cube, Damdeok hurriedly put a sword around his shoulder.
“Whatever happens, let’s go first.”
* * *
“Ugh!! “It’s gross!!”
Poppy screamed and hid behind Damdeok.
From the front, mummies wrapped in bandages were approaching with their arms outstretched.
– Ugh!
– Sigh!
Damdeok swung his sword like lightning, and the heads of the two mummies that were running towards him were cut off cleanly.
Damdeok glanced back.
Poppy was watching with her face sticking out.
“Didn’t you say you were a bit stronger among the lesser gods?”
“That and this are different cases. My brother is a god from another world, but I am an Egyptian god! “You can never touch the mummies who are Osiris’ direct subordinates!”
At the same time, it was Poppy who forced that large body onto his back again.
‘It seems to me that Osiris is just an excuse and is just afraid of the mummies.’
“Hey, it’s a waste of your size, man.”
“So I didn’t say I wouldn’t come in! This is a place you should never enter… !”
For a moment, Poppy’s eyes widened and she could not finish her sentence.
Wedge!
Suddenly, Damdeok’s eyes flashed and he punched himself in the face.
[
Pow!
Mira’s head exploded right next to Poppy’s face.
Looking at Mira’s lifeless body, Poppy was pale and trembling.
“Oh sorry. I was in a hurry so I couldn’t tell you to avoid it. “But you survived thanks to me?”
Poppy’s face became increasingly tearful as she looked at the grinning Damdeok.
‘What on earth am I doing here?!’
In fact, the reason Poppy followed was simple.
Damdeok, the bright external god before my eyes.
He had promised himself that he would complete the 666th floor of the pyramid in one day. And that’s in Area A, where the highest gods live together!
‘If the entire floor of Area A is truly delivered… !’
It was a self-evident fact that his performance would skyrocket.
Damdeok was, after all, a new part-time worker under his charge.
‘I am the main one. ‘Brother serve!’
Did they say that a bear gets the talent and someone else gets the money?
It was a really great feeling when Damdeok, who has a cool personality, said yes to his suggestion right away.
I thought that having a mid-level god automatically roll under me was a blessing I would never have in my life.
however… !
‘Who on earth are you looking for on the 444th floor, so you even have to stop delivering?’ !’
Poppy’s face became even more tearful.
In fact, he had no other choice.
Because I couldn’t stop Damdeok with force or persuade him with words.
Moreover, since he is Damdeok’s responsible partner, if he is found to have entered the 444th floor, he will be severely punished.
‘If you happen to lose the delivery cube, something even more terrible will happen… Hoo~!’
Staring at Damdeok’s cube that had not yet been delivered, Poppy let out a small sigh.
‘Whatever it is, I hope we can finish it quickly and leave!’
Contrary to his earnest wishes, Damdeok was quite excited.
The scene of a battle taking place right before your eyes, no… It was closer to a slaughter than a battle.
Damn it! Awesome!
Ice spreads out from my fist,
Grumble!
Flames spewed out from the sword,
Damdeok’s hands, feet, swords, and feet swinging something, the mummies were lying around creating various appearances.
A feast of truly spectacular effects filled the stone room.
Poppy is right on the wall far away from the mummies! She stayed glued and watched the scene blankly.
‘It’s a monster… monster… .’
Damdeok was definitely strong.
In fact, not only Damdeok but the white-haired boy next to him also had great skills.
Suddenly!
Squeak!
The sight of the sword swinging cleanly and the young human’s blue eyes flashing looked somewhat eerie. It was completely different from the playful side he showed while climbing the stairs.
gulp.
Poppy swallowed.
I wondered if even human priests of intermediate gods were that strong.
When the mummies in the stone chamber were almost finished,
Coo coo coo coo coo!
A large tremor began to occur.
Poppy shouted urgently.
“older brother! “The room structure is changing!”
“Uh, yes!”
Damdeok killed the last mummy and hurriedly ran towards Poppy along with Baekgureum.
The bricks on the floor of the stone chamber began to rise one by one, and then began to be rearranged like Tetris.
Coo coo coo coo!
Dedddddddd!
The structure of the stone chamber changes in an instant. The unpredictable movements of the giant bricks were much more threatening than the mummy.
“Hold on tight!”
Damdeok firmly grabbed Poppy and Baekgureum by the necks and kicked them to the ground with all his might.
Hermes’ shoes.
In a space where the entire floor moved abnormally like this, the survival rate was much higher if you dodged in the air.
Coo coo coo coo!
Dedddddddd!
A structure that changes rapidly.
Damdeok poured his strength into Hermes’ shoes and avoided the huge bricks.
Shoo shoo shoo!
The movement that violently changed the structure of the room for about 30 seconds gradually subsided.
“Whoa.”
Only then did Damdeok land on the flat ground.
Poppy was so big that his knees hit the floor! I pounded it.
“older brother! “It hurts!”
“Blame it on your physique, man. Your balance is off when you fly. “Balance.”
Flying with two people hanging on, I think I used three or four times more physical strength than usual.
Damdeok looked straight ahead.
Inside a room that was much smaller than the one I was in.
Previously, it was a room with doors on both sides, but this time, the new room had doors on the north, south, east, and west.
A completely new structure.
“Now I don’t even know which side the entrance was.”
Damdeok said that and looked around.
The layers of the maze change irregularly every 10 minutes.
It seems like it’s been an hour since I came in, and I haven’t even found the room where the fourth guardian is.
“But there are no mummies in this room!”
Poppy said, straightening her shrunken shoulders as if she was fortunate in the midst of misfortune.
Damdeok looked at the guy with sad eyes.
“Do you like it? Isn’t this the time to relax? Poppy, please quickly interpret the map and give me directions. Or what? “You don’t want to finish delivering the package?”
Among the cubes hanging from his waist, Damdeok held and shook the unfinished delivery cube.
Poppy shouted as if it was unfair.
“No, brother! What use is a map in a place like this that changes all the time? Map this! this! “It means the Sphinxes were playing a joke!”
“Then what should I do? There is no way to find it other than a map. They say you are the god of math. Substitute this and that into the calculations and do something, man.”
In response to Damdeok’s words, Papi took out an old parchment map as if she had no choice.
When leaving the room, the Sphinxes gave me a map telling me to take it with me.
Among the rooms on the 444th floor that were tangled like a spider’s web, there was a room in the middle marked with an ‘X’ like a treasure map.
It was a place where the fourth guardian was located.
Poppy bit her lower lip and began to mumble.
“therefore… The room structure drawn on this map was created based on the time we left the Sphinx room, so it took us 2 and a half hours to reach the 444th floor, and an hour had passed since we entered the maze. If we analyze the patterns of the room that have been moved so far, the structure of the room changed after three and a half hours… .”
Poppy’s eyes sparkled.
“oh. Did you find out?”
Damdeok’s expectant eyes met Poppy’s dry gaze.
“I figured it out… There is no way!! “This is not a problem that a math god can answer!!”
“Hey. That’s it then. “I have no choice but to search blindly.”
Damdeok waved his hand and walked straight toward the front door.
“Tongue, brother! Are you going straight to the next room?”
“Okay~ I’m going to find it quickly and go out~”
“Go together! brother.”
Baekgureum glances at Poppy and runs after Damdeok.
Poppy looked at the back of the two gloomily.
‘If I keep running like this and run into the boss, it’ll be a really big deal… .’
Owner of Pyramid Courier,
Seth.
He was a boss with a very cruel temperament, who was cruel to the point of punishing his employees if they made even the slightest mistake.
Poppy’s body trembled slightly as she imagined the hellish state her boss would be in, but she soon took a deep breath and calmed down.
‘no. It will be fine. Today is not a special day, and the boss said he went on vacation a few days ago.’
This is what I heard in training last week.
‘okay. First of all, it’s best to let my brother find what he wants and get out of here quickly!’
Thinking like that, Poppy quickly got up and chased after Damdeok.
“older brother!!”
Although the Sphinx’s map is very difficult, it may be solvable given enough time.
“older brother! I’ll try to find out the location, so if you wait a moment… !!”
Jump up!
Damdeok opened the door to the next room.
And there,
“ah… .”
Poppy’s brightly running steps suddenly stopped.
Beyond the wide open door, I saw a pair of bright eyes full of life.
The moment she saw his face, Poppy immediately became meditative.
“Yes, boss… ?”
fantasy,
