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The war against Thebes lasted barely a single day. Maria and her family seized all ten worlds that Ra governed. After a decisive battle, she defeated Ra and the remaining Egyptian gods, then fused them into an abhorrent divine ghost chimera as punishment for their countless sins. She transformed them into a foolish, hideous monster that would obey her will and protect her family for all eternity.

Anubis and Zobek watched the monstrous chimera with a mixture of shock and relief. They were grateful they had surrendered to Maria in time. Zobek felt less fortunate. He had already been beaten and turned into a divine ghost himself, though he had been recruited when Maria was in a kinder mood.

Set, God of Storms.

Thoth, God of Wisdom and Magic.

Osiris, God of the Afterlife and Resurrection.

Sekhmet, Goddess of War.

All of them had been merged with Ra into a single monstrous chimeric entity that displayed the features of every god at once.

It was perhaps Maria's largest and strongest ghost yet, possessing power comparable to a peak L+++ Rank entity. It had not quite reached X Rank, but she could clearly see its potential.

She decided to name the chimera "Apophis," deliberately mocking them by using the name of the monstrous serpent of chaos they had once slain together. Anubis and Zobek found the choice cruel, but they did not dare comment. They had no desire to join their brethren in the same fate.

Through her words alone, Apophis began to take on the form of the chaos serpent. Perhaps it was because Maria had now seized the Divine Thrones of all the worlds once ruled by Thebes, including their original realm. Her authority over divine beings had grown even stronger.

By naming the chimera formed from the ghostly souls of five gods, the shapeless monster quickly adopted a more uniform serpentine shape. Although the many limbs, wings, and heads of the other gods remained visible across its body, it now glowed with dark purple, black, and red hues. A giant snake-like head formed the centerpiece, crowned by the five divine heads arranged like a golden circlet, their jeweled eyes shining with their respective colors.

"Hoo…"

Maria smiled as she observed the titanic being. Her naming alone had helped it evolve into a monstrous chimeric creature of pure chaos, reaching…

"X- Rank?"

It was not fully X Rank, but X- nonetheless. It had clearly transcended the realm of gods and stepped into something far beyond.

Maria laughed softly.

"So combining the gods simply created an Outer God pet? Now that is amusing!" she said, laughing out loud. "Hmm, maybe if I add the two of you to the mix, it could reach true X Rank! What do you think? I will even let you control it."

"W-What?!" Anubis gasped. "C-Can we reject the offer? I-I… Right! Verdanthral! I am their Guardian Deity after all. I cannot do that… Hahah! But Zobek can! He is free!"

"W-What?! No!" Zobek screamed. "I-I also became a small deity of Lakevale. The people there call me the Swamp God… Please! They will miss me if I disappear!"

"Hm, hahah! Okay, I was only joking," Maria said, patting their heads. "Why are you two so serious? Why would I ever do that to you? We are all one big family now."

"H-Hahah…"

"Yeah… Y-Yeah, family…" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Anubis and Zobek forced awkward smiles as they laughed nervously. Maria then turned her gaze to the newly reborn Apophis, who glared back at her with its massive snake-like head.

"Apophis, you may rest and grow accustomed to your new powers for a day. Once we have rested and prepared, we will continue," Maria commanded.

"SHAAAAAH!" Apophis roared ferociously. It had developed a new personality of its own, while the minds of the five Egyptian gods remained sealed within the crown of heads atop its body.

Maria wasted no time. She quickly gathered the families that represented each god in Thebes.

There she met the Pharaoh, the former vessel of Ra, who cowered in fear and prostrated himself before her.

It turned out the humans of Thebes were not particularly strong on their own. They had relied heavily on their advanced technology and the power of their gods.

Once stripped of those advantages, they were no stronger than the humans of Yggdrasil.

"P-Please forgive us, oh great Outer God! We swear eternal loyalty! But please do not kill us all! Thebes will fall into chaos if you do!" the Pharaoh begged.

"Not really," Maria replied. "I can guide them just fine. You have little reason to exist now that your gods belong to me."

"Eeek! I-I know of many places where you could find great treasures!" the Pharaoh continued desperately. "Please forgive us—or at least me! You can kill everyone else if you want! They are all worthless garbage that only drain my resources! I am far more special than them. I possess the strongest compatibility with the gods! I can be of great help! I can do anything! I willingly offer them all to you as sacrifices, oh great Outer God!"

"What?!"

"Pharaoh?!"

"Lord, how could you!"

"Father?!"

The rest of the families stared in shock as their pathetic Pharaoh trembled on the floor, first begging for forgiveness and then offering to let Maria slaughter everyone else, including his many concubines and over a dozen children, whom he clearly did not care about.

"Hm, so this is the kind of Pharaoh you have been following," Maria sighed. "I pity you all, so I will let you live. You will all be demoted to commoners, stripped of your riches and titles. From now on, you will live and work as simple farmers for the rest of your lives."

"E-Everything!?"

"Shut up. It is better than dying!"

"Is it?! Our entire legacy…!"

"I don't want to be a farmer—AAACK!"

Those who complained were instantly pierced by rays of pure death and died on the spot. Their souls were then returned to their bodies and revived as zombies.

"If you do not agree, I have another way of making you agree," Maria said with a vicious smile. "You either obey… or you obey. I am not negotiating. You can work honestly as farmers, or serve as zombies for eternity."

"Eek!"

"Please forgive us!"

"We will work earnestly!"

"Yes! I love vegetables!"

"Hm…" Maria nodded, then glared at the Pharaoh.

"D-Do I get my own farmland?" he asked nervously. "A-At the very least… to keep some dignity as… a once-great ruler?"

As he asked with lingering arrogance, the rest of the nobles glared at him with fury and resentment.

Maria smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"After seeing how everyone hates you and how willingly you offered to sacrifice your own family to save yourself… I have decided something much better for you, Pharaoh of Thebes."

"…Eh?"

"An agonizing death, and no afterlife."

As Maria spoke with a bright smile, the Pharaoh screamed in horror and tried to flee.

Maria's tentacles dragged him back.

Her aura surged and devoured him.

"KUAAAAAAGH!"

With a scream of utter agony and terror, everyone watched in fear as the Pharaoh was executed. His body was torn apart slowly, then his soul was shattered into countless pieces and completely pulverized, denying him any afterlife.

"Phew! I love killing assholes," Maria said with a satisfied nod. "Anyway, did you see that? Try to be better from now on. Your Pharaoh died so that all your sins could be forgiven. Never forget his great sacrifice. Understood?"

"Y-Yes!"

"We understand, oh great Outer Goddess!"

"We will be forever grateful!!!"

"Euk…! Yes…!"

"Good. Now that I am the ruler here, let us make a few changes…" Maria declared.

She immediately began reorganizing the entire government of Thebes.

The first thing she did was liberate all the worlds Thebes had conquered, just as she had done for Olympus and Umbralheim.

Although most had been eroded into desert wastelands, some areas remained habitable.

She freed all the slaves and returned their lands to them, then began restoring the worlds using her vast divine power and the Divine Thrones she had seized.

However, the cultures destroyed hundreds of years ago might never fully return. Most original inhabitants had perished, and the current population consisted of descendants of slaves who had known nothing but servitude.

Maria was a necromancer. Using her power, she gathered the lingering ghosts of each world and granted them powerful undead bodies while restoring their memories and souls.

She then appointed them as elders and leaders, tasking them with guiding and teaching the descendants of the enslaved about their ancient cultures and true history.

With her Divine Thrones, Maria also began healing the worlds from the erosion inflicted by Thebes.

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