Chapter 19 Ceremony
On the beach, contemporary priests from Egypt were preparing their ritual.
Hikigaya was handed over to Seth for supervision, while the rest of the Egyptians prayed toward the sea. Since he couldn't understand their language, Hikigaya had no idea what they were saying.
"Don't be nervous. They say 'sacrifice,' but it doesn't mean what you think. The 'sacrifice' you understand is something else entirely," Seth said from the side.
To be honest, Hikigaya didn't really like this person.
His current predicament was entirely caused by Seth. While it might seem reasonable from Seth's perspective, it clearly wasn't the same for Hikigaya.
"What are they saying?" Hikigaya asked after a moment of thought.
Since he couldn't move freely now, getting some information was necessary.
"They're inviting the god Set," Seth replied with a smile.
"Inviting?" Hikigaya was puzzled. Wasn't it supposed to be summoning? Wait, heretic gods can be invited? What kind of joke was this? If that were possible, that marquis character in anime would be sending out invitations to every god he knew.
"Our ancestors valued communication with the gods and were very cautious. They believed gods were invisible, hidden, all-knowing, and omnipotent beings. So when they wanted to call upon a god, they would first invite him, then inspire him, and only after that speak his name and call him to appear. That was the earliest ritual to summon Heretic Gods. Though, it rarely succeeded," Seth explained, clearly someone who liked to talk and lecture.
"The priests often use the invocation 'Amon' during rituals. The Greeks misread this word as 'Zeus,' and later, some even thought our god Amon was the same as the Greek Zeus. But that's not the case. The word actually means 'the hidden one' or 'hidden thing.' As for the god Amon, we believe he brings the power hidden in things into the light, and he himself is hidden and absorbed by the great god Osiris."
What? Wasn't Amon once the supreme god? And now we're back to Osiris again? Just how obsessed were they with Osiris?
Hikigaya thought ancient Egyptians were indeed a bunch of incomprehensible creatures...
And the current Egyptians were just plain lunatics.
But since he started this conversation, even with tears in his eyes, he had to finish it.
"Amon is the sun god, right? So does that mean Osiris is also a sun god?" Hikigaya asked while watching the Egyptians continue their ritual.
"Osiris is the god of the underworld in your culture, right?"
"Hehe, to our ancestors, the god Osiris was omnipresent. His name originally implied the renewing and developing power of the sun across seasons. Also, our ancestors believed that moisture sustained the burning of the sun. In mythology, when he was born, it was said: 'He is the lord of all things in the light.'"
Holy crap, what a powerful god. How did that marquis character even defeat him...
And if he was this powerful, yet still got wrecked by Set in the myths, then how terrifying must Set be?
"God Set is no simple figure either," Seth said, seemingly noticing Hikigaya's confusion. He looked at him with a half-smile.
"Worship of him dates back even earlier than our ancestors, making him one of the earliest gods to be worshiped. Back then, he was considered quite savage and had several names, all with meanings like 'cutting,' 'chaos,' and 'violence.' It probably originated from ancient people's reverence for natural disasters."
Wait a second—something doesn't feel right.
Hikigaya suddenly realized something and looked over at Seth.
"That's right, I told you all this on purpose. It might help you. At the very least, you should understand what you're facing. Gods may not come from myths, but myths definitely influence them, shaping them into what we expect them to be."
Seth's expression turned serious.
"I truly hope my companions can make it back alive. That's why I chose to sacrifice you. But it's not just for them. It's also for your own sake. The consequences of summoning a heretic god won't be limited to this place."
"I've been observing for a while. You think it's just that girl? No. In the limited time I had, I ultimately chose you, because among all those people, you are the most suitable. This isn't something a priest should be doing, but since it's come to this, I have no choice. I also don't want too many people dying from what might happen next."
He paused for a moment.
"Do you want me to continue?"
At this moment, Hikigaya had only one thought — Are crocodile tears really this entertaining?
Honestly, this could've been easily resolved if Seth just dealt with his own companions, but he clearly avoided doing that.
The unspoken idea seemed to be: no matter how many outsiders die, they're not as important as one's own people.
Even if you're in the wrong, you'll still sacrifice others — at most, you try to minimize the harm. It's hypocritical, sure, but it's also realistic.
Hikigaya could hardly blame him. He'd probably do the same if the roles were reversed.
The only difference was that he was the one being sacrificed.
"Go on," he said after a moment of silence.
"Then I'll continue," Seth nodded. "Those three meanings represent what the name Set stands for. He was worshipped by our ancestors as the god of power. The meanings likely originated from ancient typhoons, so he's also the god of storms."
"And since storms always bring destruction when they come, another meaning developed: like the Hyksos, foreigners who came to Egypt and brought war and oppression to our ancestors. That's why the ritual must include a foreigner like you — because the god Set is the protector of outsiders."
"Since he protects foreigners, naturally he also protects merchants who cross the desert into Egypt. But since he's also a storm and desert god, he attacks foreigners too."
"That's way too arbitrary!" Hikigaya couldn't help himself. "Is he protecting or harming people?"
"He's a god, of course he does whatever he wants," Seth laughed. "If you were a god, you could do that too."
"..." Hikigaya fell silent.
Damn it, if he were a god, the first thing he'd do is wipe out this whole bunch of Egyptians!
Just then, a sound that didn't belong suddenly came from nearby.
"The second stage has begun…" Seth looked toward the sound.
Hikigaya also turned to look, and to his surprise, a cow had appeared in the ritual circle at some unknown point.
Yep, a cow.
A cow covered head to toe in red fur.
"Why is it red?" Hikigaya asked, puzzled.
"Because the god Set is the lord of the red land. Red is his favorite color. So anything offered to him to inspire him must be entirely red, with no other colors allowed," Seth explained, pointing at the cow.
"Looks like there's no time to tell you more. It's about to begin. Let's go over there too."