The white camels, blessed by Herman's divine power, were exceptionally sharp. Even before Herman and Apocalypse had begun their battle, the two had already fled far from the pyramid to take refuge.
Now, with everything calm once more, the camels galloped back toward Herman and Evelyn.
"Let's go."
Herman hadn't forgotten the original purpose of entering the desert. He swung onto the back of one of the white camels.
There was no battlefield to clean up. The surroundings were barren—there wasn't even a trace of debris left. As for the historical relics once inside the Apocalypse Pyramid, those priceless ancient artifacts had turned to dust along with it.
Fortunately, Evelyn was still dazed from the complete upheaval of her worldview; otherwise, she would have been heartbroken over the loss of such treasures.
Herman, however, hadn't left empty-handed. He had no interest in artifacts. Gold diggers might crave those ancient trinkets that were useless but could fetch a price, yet the only thing Herman valued inside the Apocalypse Pyramid was the miniature pyramid reactor—of course, gaining the Apocalypse's soul as an added bonus wasn't bad either.
During his battle with Apocalypse, he had quietly slipped the miniature pyramid reactor into his dimensional space, and Apocalypse hadn't even noticed. Now, the reactor lay quietly within that space, waiting for Herman to analyze and study it in the future.
"Are we heading out now?"
Seeing that Herman was already mounted, Evelyn rubbed her still-aching thighs and approached her own camel.
"This time, you'd better not throw me off as bait again!" she warned her white camel seriously.
"Pffft~"
The white camel snorted loudly.
"I don't understand your language either, so I'll just take that as a yes." Evelyn gave a few more mock-serious reminders before climbing onto its back.
The two set out once again.
Since entry to the City of the Dead, Hamunaptra, could only occur during a specific time window, there was no need to rush at full speed. They only needed to arrive at dawn—when the sun first rose—to see the special entrance to Hamunaptra.
"I'll read for a bit."
Still shaken by Herman's power, Evelyn didn't dare to chat idly with him. She pulled a book from the camel's pack and began reading intently. A true lover of books could always lose herself in the sea of words. Though unsettled at first, before long she was completely absorbed.
"How much longer until we get there?"
Herman leaned back against the camel's hump, eyes half-closed as if dozing, though in reality he was observing the [Realm of the Dead].
Apocalypse's suffering there was yielding an impressive amount of energy. When he had demanded Herman's servitude, he never could have imagined that he would end up eternally tormented, providing Herman with an endless flow of power. In the end, the real clown turned out to be Apocalypse himself.
Though merely a hollow Sky Father–class being, his soul was still of far higher quality than that of a quasi-Sky Father like the Frost Giant Laufey. Surprisingly, the power drawn from the miniature pyramid reactor, though chaotic and complex, could even influence the essence of a soul.
"That reactor's even more incredible than I thought," Herman mused, glancing at the small pyramid reactor resting in his dimensional space. The methods of the Celestials truly exceeded his expectations. If he could decipher the principles behind that reactor, he might even gain the ability to "devour" the powers of others.
"Apocalypse had it for thousands of years and never once tried to comprehend its secrets. No wonder that false Sky Father-level being lost so pathetically."
Herman shook his head at Apocalypse's ignorance, saying no more. After all, Apocalypse's current torment in the [Realm of the Dead] was miserable enough—though even then, his followers had it worse.
Those followers, slain by Herman and cast into the [Realm of the Dead], had become the lowest of souls, endlessly tormented. Their only hope—their only solace—came when Herman later sent Apocalypse himself to join them. When they saw his soul, they all broke completely. That crushing sense of despair—like the heavens collapsing—was absolute.
Because of that, the energy drawn from the followers actually rose slightly. Of course, being mere low-level beings, the increase in efficiency wasn't much. Now, within the [Realm of the Dead], the only true "major energy source" was Apocalypse himself.
Still, the anguished cries and furious accusations from his followers made Apocalypse's shame and pain even greater, and that only caused the energy he provided to grow stronger... Herman had thoughtfully gathered both Apocalypse and his followers in the same area.
"If we don't run into any nasty weather, at our current pace, we'll definitely reach Hamunaptra before dawn tomorrow."
Evelyn spoke with absolute confidence. It was still afternoon, which meant they had more than ten hours of travel ahead.
"Don't worry. Not a drop of rain or a single gust of wind will touch us."
Herman was calmly watching the tangled web of grudges and emotions playing out between Apocalypse and his followers within the [Realm of the Dead]. His mood was quite good.
He answered Evelyn's question with a faint, amused smile, never bothering to look at her. After all, what beauty could compare to the spectacle of a "battlefield of love and hate" between a god and his worshippers?
"I know you're a powerful wizard—summoning wind and rain is probably nothing to you… but could you maybe cast a spell to cool things down a bit?"
Evelyn glanced up at the scorching sun, wiped the sweat from her brow, and raised her water jug to take a long drink. The water was salted—under such brutal heat, it was just as important to replenish salt as it was to stay hydrated.
"Sure."
Herman simply snapped his fingers.
At once, Evelyn felt a wave of refreshing coolness surround her, as if she'd stepped into an air-conditioned room. The sudden comfort drew a soft sigh from her lips before she even realized it.
The moment she became aware of the sound, her porcelain-pale cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
Herman gave her a glance, then turned his focus back to observing the situation in the [Realm of the Dead].
"Wizards really are something else," Evelyn murmured, trying to cover her awkwardness.
"Of course they are."
Herman's reply was casual, almost absent-minded. Within the [Realm of the Dead], the followers of Apocalypse were now shouting in confusion, questioning why their Almighty Lord had fallen into the same suffering as themselves.
"Almighty Lord, how could you fall too?"
The scene was, in its own way, almost comical.
...
While Herman observed the chaos and drama between Apocalypse and his followers, far away in the necropolis of Hamunaptra, a group of uninvited guests had already entered ahead of them.