The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 136: Merneith’s Rematch

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At the same time as Merneith awakened her Golden Bloodline Ability, the place where she had been trapped this entire time finally opened, a blinding sword of light slashing through it, and a woman made of light, accompanying Sara, appeared.

This woman, with her glistening beauty and her radiant eyes, made Merneith almost paralyzed. Not in her entire life had she seen such a beautiful woman before. It was, in her mind, as if she were facing a goddess right now.

“Are you a goddess?!”

“Oh? Hahahah!”

The woman laughed as she quickly broke open the entire sphere of Dark Matter, freeing Ra and Merneith.

“I suppose some call me that,” she said, as the winds made her long, silvery hair flutter. “But my name is Bing Xue… Nice to meet you, princess Merneith.”

And this was the moment that Merneith’s entire life changed.

“Merneith! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Sara greeted Merneith with her usual cheerful voice, making Merneith relieved she was alive.

“Do you think you can break through this on your own?” Bing Xue asked. “It looks like you gained some new strength… Or do you need a hand?”

“I… thank you for opening the way,” said Merneith. “But don’t worry! As a proud Princess of the Empire of the Sun, I can handle this trifling Dark Matter sphere like nothing now!”

FLUOSH!

With Ra fully fueled with the Sunlight Merneith emanating from her body, the giant bird-shaped mech roared, beginning to spread out its wings made of flames.

“CRYAAAAH!”

FLAAASH!

As the Mechanical God spread out their wings, an explosion of Plasma erupted. Bing Xue grabbed Sara and quickly retreated, before the entire sphere of Dark Matter quickly exploded into pieces.

BOOOM!!!

The Dark Matter quickly dissipated into thin air, disappearing as if it were never there, and the radiant and glorious Ra remained there, glistening with divine brilliance.

“Looks like she’s back at full power!” Bing Xue giggled.

“Amazing! I think she’s even stronger than before!” Sara cheered cutely as Bing Xue held her in her arms.

“Those machines these people brought from that other parallel world seem quite amusing,” nodded Bing Xue. “They carry enough power to rival magic and supernatural powers yet have no such powers themselves; it is technology so advanced it resembles magic, huh?”

“Is that so?” Sara wondered. “Ah! Right! I need to go heal everyone else! Bing Xue, can you please help me get there?”

“Sure, let’s go then, Sara.” Bing Xue nodded.

Moving at lightning speed, she carried Sara around El Cairo. Sara’s healing magic was incredible, spreading through hundreds of meters around her. Even the worst-wounded citizens were rapidly recovered.

“Her healing abilities are incredible; she’s perhaps the best healer I’ve ever met since I came back to Earth,” Bing Xue thought. “I definitely have to recruit her as my disciple!”

As Bing Xue helped Sara heal the rest of the city of El Cairo and also gather with the Hunters that had been harmed by Akhenaten, she glanced at the fight between siblings from afar.

“AKHENATEN!”

“Huh?!”

The Egyptian prince’s eyes widened as he heard the voice of his sister. He had been fighting John, Francisco, and Yanisse this entire time, and all three of them were on a stalemate until now.

“That’s…?!” John muttered. “Wait, is she his sister?”

“Nice!” Francisco celebrated. “Master freed her!”

“Nicely done, Katherine!” Yanisse nodded. “Now… Was your sister’s name Merneith? Well, it looks like she’s coming to say hi.”

“AH!”

Akhenaten gasped as a giant humanoid falcon-shaped mech emerged above Anubis. Within a split second, two giant spears made of plasma rushed down, piercing through Anubis arms, which Akhenaten tried to use to defend.

CRAAASH! CRAAASH!

The plasma spears began melting the internal circuits of the arms, making them rapidly fall into pieces. Akhenaten screamed in horror; to see a Mechanical God being harmed was something almost impossible!

“NOOO! ANUBIS!”

“This time I’m not holding back, Akhenaten! You’ll pay for what you’ve done! So many people died, and so many almost died because of you and your army! YOU’RE A MONSTER, NOT MY BROTHER!”

Akhenaten grew furious, gritting his teeth as he glared at Merneith with utter anger, his Golden Bloodline Aura growing stronger.

“SILENCE, YOU WENCH!”

With a furious howl, Ma’at’s Insurance activated once more, its numbers rising rapidly because of the damage Anubis ended up taking from Merneith’s opening attacks.

Its number went to 100 immediately, and Merneith quickly felt the debuff, weakening the power of her machine in contrast.

“You can’t beat me so easily as long as I have my Divine Bloodline, Merneith!”

With wicked laughter, the prince punched Ra away through Anubis arms; although its claws and half of their arms were gone, he quickly regrew new ones made of materialized Dark Matter.

CLAAANK!

Ra was pushed away several meters as Anubis rushed forward, conjuring countless chains made of dark matter and trying to entrap Merneith in the same bubble as before.

“That trick is not going to work a second time!”

However, the princess quickly unleashed her Golden Bloodline Ability, the Sky above began to tremble rapidly as a giant storm of lightning and winds descended, encompassing Ra’s body and sending a mighty shockwave around her, destroying Anubis technique.

TRUUUM!

“W-What?! That’s…!”

The young prince’s eyes widened even more once he realized that his sister had developed what he feared the most! The reason he wanted to kill her so quickly to begin with was because she had yet to develop one.

“A Golden Bloodline Ability?!”

“Turns out my mother left a gift with me,” Merneith’s eyes were reflected on the fiery eyes of Ra. “Not only Ra, but this Ability! It is my birthright privilege! This is the Bloodline Ability you feared so much, to the point you killed her, right?”

“N-No…! But mother said that…!” Akhenaten muttered, quickly realizing he had to shut his mouth and not say what he was about to say.

“Afraid of saying its name?” Merneith asked with a smile. “Yeah, it’s [Horus’ Domain of the Sky]!”

“NO!”

Horus’ Domain of the Sky is perhaps one of the strongest Golden Bloodline Abilities documented in the history of the Empire of the Sun.

Its power was simple, yet incredibly powerful, granting the wielder the power to manipulate weather within a range, and also to use the elements of the sky.

One of such elements was also Sunlight, giving the user incredible compatibility with Ra, a Mechanical God whose fuel was Sunlight.

By being inside Ra, a user of this Ability could grant the machine as much fuel as they wanted, not only allowing Ra to function even at night but even exceeding its limits.

The power that Ra can gain during the day is limited to the sun, after all. But what if a user of this ability is piloting him, giving him even more sunlight?

FLAAASH!

Ra’s entire body was covered in bright sunlight, with plasma coursing through every part of its body, quickly turning its metallic body into a deep red, gold, and orange color.

Its entire mass grew twice as large, with enormous arms and legs packed with cannons; its wings spread out and were divided into four; and its helmet’s beak became longer and sharper, as did its eyes.

And above all, a third golden eye appeared on Ra’s forehead, spreading out golden-colored circuits that empowered the machine even more.

“This can’t be happening…! This is…!” Akhenaten screamed, gritting his teeth. “No, wait! As long as she’s not like her mother, then… I’ll just kill her before she gets a gist of that form!”

Indeed, “that form” was what Merneith had achieved—Ra’s “Awakening”!

In the legends, it is said that every mechanical God has an “Awakened Form” that is only unleashed when their Pilot’s Golden Bloodline Ability is compatible with them.

Unfortunately for Akhenaten, his powers didn’t allow him to unleash Anubis Awakening, therefore, he was now at a disadvantage, even with Ma’at’s Insurance!

“Let’s leave him to her,” said Yanisse. “Francisco, John, let’s go help Nicholas!”

Yanisse quickly flew away, bringing the two other Hunters with her. She knew Merneith had this covered now; not only has she been freed, but when her brother imprisoned her, Merneith came to terms with her own life, and her ideals and convictions solidified.

Although it seemed depressing that she said she would rather die than do as her father told her and become a little princess slave to her empire, this was her resolve. She will simply never back down and never kneel ever again to those who think they can control her life.

Her mother’s will lives within her, and so she will do as her mother told her.

“I am free… I will not go back to that Empire, and I will not die by your hand, brother! Ra is my mother’s gift, and I will not give him back! He’s… my family!”

“CRYAAAAH!”

Merneith spoke as Ra roared, rushing towards the fearful Akhenaten, who quickly decided to fight back using his own tricks.

“Don’t think you can approach me so easily, you fool!”

The Dark Matter that would have formed a new Veil over Anubis was instead used differently, as shadows spread out everywhere, covering the skies.

“{Kekui’s Eternal Darkness}!”

FLUOSH!

Anubis spread out its arms widely as Dark Matter consumed everything, quickly trapping Merneith within a domain of pure darkness.

“This is…?”

“Hahaha! Did you think I would face you head-on, idiot?!”

Merneith could hear her brother’s voice everywhere as she suddenly noticed a mechanical claw rushing towards her.

CLASH!

She quickly blocked it with Ra’s wings, and as she aimed to grab the claw, it disappeared into the Dark Matter.

Then another claw surged from above, below, left, and right, from every angle at once.

“Aah!”

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Ra was resisting each blow pretty well, even more on its Awakening form, but the damage was going to eventually accumulate.

“Brother used the Dark Matter to create the same thing he did to trap me, but in a wide area, and with him inside!” she thought. “But how come he can attack me so many times? This doesn’t make sense… Wait!”

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

As the sound of metal hitting metal reverberated across the skies, Merneith’s eyes glowed bright gold, quickly realizing what Anubis true ability was. It wasn’t just the creation and control of Dark Matter.

But it also had the ability to become Dark Matter. The reason why it was so tough, why it was able to confine her and weaken her… It was because every particle of this “Dark Matter” was mixed with black colored nanobots, making the technique even more complex.

“It’s as if Anubis had turned into this darkness…! But that means…”

Her eyes widened as she smiled.

This meant one thing.

Akhenaten was exposed!

As Merneith started searching for him while tanking the hits, her brother smiled, floating amidst the darkness, encapsulated in several layers of Dark Matter.

“To think I had to use the Secret Ability of Anubis in such a way… only for her!” he thought, frustrated. “But no matter, there is no foe that has survived this technique.”

By putting all his energies into concentrating on the attacks, Akhenaten believed that Merneith would eventually run out of stamina, the primary force that allowed Mechanical God pilots to use the Machines through their Golden Bloodlines and fall before his might.

Yet…

FLAAASH!

“Huh?!”

His eyes burned as he saw a giant sphere of light emerging from amidst the eternal darkness. The shadows attempted to swallow it, but the sphere, a miniature sun, continued growing larger and larger and larger.

“Does she have infinite energy or something?!”

And then, as the light burned through the darkness, the body of Akhenaten became very clear to Merneith’s eyes.

“How is this possible! Y-You! You’re merely a novice in handling Mechanical Gods!”

“Maybe! But unlike your Anubis, Ra is much more special… And he loves me too!”

“CRYAAAAH!”

Ra roared, rushing towards Akhenaten, who hastily attempted to reform Anubis from the dark matter.

However, he only managed to materialize the torso and one arm; unable to get completely remade in time, the giant miniature sun reached him.

“Burn, {Khepri’s Eternal Sun}!”

The light of this small sun burned horrendously, making Akhenaten scream in agony as he was unable to be fully protected by Anubis.

“W-Wait…! WAIT MERNEITH! I’M YOUR BROTHER! YOU CAN’T… DO THIS!”

He tried to push back the sphere of plasma and fire down back to Merneith, yet the princess could only smile as she heard her brother trying to appeal to their family bonds now.

“I used the same argument against you! Did that make you stop?! Did you try to not kill me?!”

Merneith’s eyes glowed bright red, synchronizing with Ra’s fiery powers.

“YOU DIDN’T!”

She pushed the miniature sun even further, which quickly began melting Anubis and making it fall apart into pieces.

Meanwhile, Akhenaten was…

Roasted alive.

“Merneith…! WAIT…! MERNEEEEEEITH!”

BOOOMMM!!!

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