*Cough*

*Cough*

*Cough*

Zeel coughed repeatedly as he desperately tried to get the dirt out of his throat; however, what came out of his mouth was a sludge tinted with a reddish-gold color – Ichor, and dirt.

Zeel was not particularly disgusted with the notion of eating dirt, he had eaten much worse things in the past.

Dirt could be considered a luxury compared to some of the things he ate.

Zeel's arms bled and his skin was red from the intense heat of the steam blast. The heat was so intense that even Zeel's dense skin developed blisters and burns.

Luckily, the blisters on Zeel's skin were gradually disappearing as his healing factor swiftly worked to return his body to peak condition.

Though, anyone familiar enough with Zeel would be able to tell that the rate of his healing was slowing down the more he fought Ahmanet.

Zeel's energy was being depleted at an extraordinary rate, Ahmanet's Death-Energy was naturally corrosive to anything it touched, including the Divine-Energy reserves of a God.

Zeel found comfort in the fact that Ahmanet was not much better than him at the moment.

A couple meters ahead of Zeel, Ahmanet stumbled to her feet, her pristine skin had once more returned to a pseudo-decaying state.

With his [Draconic Eyes], Zeel could see the Life-Force of her victims leaking from Ahmanet's body causing the decaying rate to increase.

Ahmanet was just as exhausted as Zeel was, maybe even more since her skin was literally falling apart.

Ahmanet racked her brain for a solution to her current predicament. First, she needed Nick but that clearly wasn't going to happen with Zeel around.

For some reason Ahmanet couldn't phantom, she knew that Zeel also wanted to possess Nick just as much as herself.

Second, Ahmanet needed to find the gem that should have been within the hilt of Seth's Dagger. The gem was a Divine-Spark that would convert her 'Setepa-I' into the incarnation of a God of Death.

Everything was turning into a shit-show for Ahmanet and if anything else worked against her favor, Ahmanet would fail her mission and be trapped in a Sarcophagus for another thousand years.

As Ahmanet racked her non-existent brain for ideas, a sudden thought entered her mind, a solution that was so simple that she even gasped at the mere thought of such an absurdity.

Ahmanet stared at Zeel intently, like she was searching his soul for justification that her idea might work even a little, and then she saw it.

'This might actually work,' Ahmanet realized and her eyes brightened.

Zeel had also been observing Ahmanet the entire time, looking for openings to attack and kill off the threat of Seth entirely.

Ahmanet slowly opened her mouth and said something that made all hostilities disappear from Zeel's mind.

"Perhaps there is a deal to be made that can be equally beneficial?" Ahmanet said with a careful tone.

Zeel's brows quirked but his body was still poised to attack.

"Maybe the deal can be more beneficial for you than me," Ahmanet said with hesitation.

Basically, she noticed Zeel was not seduced by equal benefits, so Ahmanet decided to give him as many benefits as possible without requesting much in return.

Zeel's mind ground to a halt and a small smile tugged at his lips for an instant.

Had Alice and Elizabeth been here, they would have recognized that signature small smile as the one Zeel gave when Planet Mogador was destroyed in the Lorien Universe.

That was Zeel's signature 'condemning a world to die' smile.

It was not just Zeel that behaved this way, but the entire Homo-Superior species, especially The Crawford Household.

Homo-Superiors were not known for their kindness after all.

It was not an exaggeration to say that benefits were programmed into Zeel's essence since birth.

Such was the story of all Homo-Superiors – today, they would be fighting for justice and righteousness, but the next moment, they would leave a world to die if the benefits were enough.

Some, like Zeel, would even help destroy the world if more benefits were provided.

"What kind of benefits?" Zeel asked, codes flickering across his pupils as his nanites generated a list of the many things he could extort from Ahmanet.

Ahmanet was old, very old, so it would be no surprise if she had a vault full of powerful artifacts stashed away somewhere in the desert since Ancient times.

Of course, Zeel was not planning to really go along with Ahmanet's schemes. Seth had something precious to his extinct species, and Zeel would afford The God of Death any mercy.

Even more worrisome was the fact that Zeel was now on Seth's radar, and leaving an enemy alive was not Zeel's style.

Retreating was also not a bad option if Zeel could get a method to bring Aurolana back to life without involving Grimm Reapers or Heaven.

Once he resurrected Aurolana, his damaged soul would recover along with the section of his power that was sealed within Aurolana upon her death long ago.

Dealing with Seth at that time would be easy, but something within Zeel fought against all the logical conclusions that could lead to an easy victory.

The memory of Alice within Zeel kept giving him disapproving looks every time he considered a solution that would condemn others to death – a death he could easily stop.

Still, Alice's righteousness within Zeel's heart was not nearly enough to dissuade him from his own selfishness.

The World be damned and Zeel didn't care…

The humans be damned and Zeel didn't care…

Jenny and Nick be damned, and Zeel still didn't care…

Everything be damned and Zeel still wouldn't care…

"What are the benefits?" Zeel asked, finally choosing himself over human morals.

Ahmanet gave a disturbing smile and even managed a reluctant giggle.

"هكذا يسير الأمر الآن [That's not how this works]," Ahmanet said, reverting back to Ancient Egyptian.

Ahmanet knew a deal with a God was a tricky thing so she started to speak in Ancient Egyptian – the language she knew best.

Ancient Egyptian also held hints of mystery within the words, which further guaranteed that she would not be taken for a fool.

The last time Ahmanet made a deal with a God, she was also tricked into eternal servitude.

After all, the deal she made with Seth was only to sacrifice a mortal as his incarnation, but condemning her to immortality until the task was completed was never discussed in the terms of the deal.

This undying commitment to Seth also came along with the deal she made, and Ahmanet didn't hate the feeling even if it was not entirely her own.

"سأمنحك كل المعرفة التي أملكها عن كل مصر القديمة والآلهة في المقابل، سوف تمنحني خمس سنوات من الحرية. [I will grant you all the knowledge I possess of all Ancient Egypt and the Gods. In exchange, you will grant me freedom],"

Zeel's face cringed in agitation at Ahmanet's request. He didn't expect her to be as brainless as humans but her choice of words was very carefully chosen nonetheless.

As a Homo-Superior, Zeel could calculate thousands of loopholes to her request, but none of which could completely remove the deal completely.

Zeel knew a culture as ancient as Egypt would have long replaced antiquated human memories for storage units separate from the body.

The knowledge Ahmanet possesses would be minimal, and she could acquire knowledge periodically from Egyptian Places of Power.

All advanced civilizations stored knowledge separate from their minds in a heavily guarded location because the collective mind of a species could be manipulated by certain species.

Zeel didn't think any further since Ahmanet was clearly pinning everything on this deal.

Ahmanet was growing more anxious since Zeel was taking a long time to reply, but her anxiousness was quickly quelled when the skies were suddenly covered in clouds.

A storm had materialized out of thin air, and unlike most storms, this storm was as silent as a whisper but as eerie as abyssal darkness.

This was a climatic phenomenon that a world would call forth to shroud the deal of a God, so Ahmanet knew that Zeel was ready to agree with her conditions.

But like always, just when the things we want are in reach, the Universe sends something along to fuck with our plans.

Zeel and Ahmanet suddenly picked up the subtle vibration of the earth and trained their senses north.

Three miles from their direction were two men walking through the forest towards their direction.

"Agent Simpson and Nick," Zeel whispered, and then raised his voice for Ahmanet to hear "This changes things don't it?"

Ahmanet hissed like an angered animal, but transparent lightning was all she saw in Zeel's place.