"Finally.... a worthy one."

Gabriel’s eyes stayed on the helmet, watching the faint red light inside it flicker weakly, almost like the fire within had been left alone for too long. The glow was not strong, and it did not carry the fresh energy of a living fighter.

The knight’s helmet turned toward him at a slow pace. Its old armor made a faint grinding sound at the neck, and the movement looked stiff, but not broken. Gabriel could tell it had not fully awakened yet, but even like this, the pressure coming from it filled the chamber.

The long weapon beside the knight dragged across the stone as it straightened. The blade left a thin line on the floor, and the sound moved through the chamber until the air around Gabriel felt tighter. Dust near the knight’s feet shifted outward in small waves.

Gabriel remained where he stood. His right hand was close to his weapon, but he did not draw it yet, because the knight had spoken instead of attacking. That single choice already made it different from every other monster he had encountered in this tomb.

The red light inside the helmet steadied slightly. The knight’s posture rose a little more, and its large frame now looked less like a statue and more like an old guard finally returning to duty. Its voice came again, rough and slow, as if the words had to be forced through something damaged.

"Every group that came before you attacked immediately. Not one of them waited. Not one of them asked."

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed behind the White Phantom mask. He still did not respond, because silence gave him more time to read the thing in front of him. The knight had no reason to explain itself unless there was a rule behind its behavior.

His perception moved over the knight’s body. The result was not clean. Some parts of the pressure felt heavy and solid, while other parts were empty, as if the armor was holding together a warrior that had already lost too much of itself.

He looked back at the knight. Whatever this thing was, it was far from its peak. Even so, Gabriel understood why Broken Dawn would have suffered if they had tried to force their way through.

The knight was not an ordinary undead. The other monsters inside the tomb had moved on simple orders, with nothing real behind their eyes. This one had awareness, and even while half-awake, it was watching him with purpose.

Gabriel finally spoke. "What are you?"

The knight lowered its weapon slightly, not as a sign of peace, but as if the question had activated a rule. The red glow inside the helmet pulsed once, and the old armor released a small sound from deep within. Gabriel kept his posture relaxed, though his fingers were already ready to draw.

"I was a general," the knight replied. "I served the god buried beneath this tomb before the surface kingdoms had names. I led armies, broke gates, defended temples, and stood beside my master until the day the seal closed."

Gabriel stayed silent for a breath. The answer was direct, but the mention of a god made the situation more complicated. He did not show surprise, because showing too much to an unknown enemy was a habit for dead people.

The knight continued without being asked. "I was not placed here as a trap. This chamber is a test. My master ordered me to wait for the first intruder who entered and did not strike first."

Gabriel’s gaze moved across the walls for a moment. The chamber had always felt too empty for a normal battle room, and now the reason was clearer. It was not built to overwhelm intruders at first sight.

"So I earned something by doing nothing?" Gabriel asked.

"Not by doing nothing," the knight replied, its voice rougher this time. "By thinking before attacking. Every group before you failed before I needed to speak."

Gabriel’s eyes shifted slightly. He remembered Sophie’s group, Ragnarok99’s probing attacks, and the guide trying to push them forward. If they had gone closer, they would have triggered the same response as the others.

"How many groups came before me?" Gabriel asked.

The knight paused. The red glow inside the helmet burned a little steadier, and the long halberd remained angled toward the floor. For a moment, the chamber became quiet enough for Gabriel to hear small stones settling near the wall behind him.

"Nine hundred and seventy-two groups."

Gabriel went still for one breath. His hand did not move, and his posture did not change, but his mind quickly measured what the number meant. This was not a hidden room that only a few people had reached.

Almost a thousand groups had arrived here.

None of them had passed.

Gabriel exhaled softly through his nose. "So the tomb has been killing people for a long time."

"The tomb tests what enters," the knight answered. "Some die because they are weak. Some die because they are greedy. Most die because they cannot wait long enough to understand what is in front of them."

Gabriel’s mouth remained flat beneath the mask. He had no interest in giving the dead god praise for murdering fools, but he could respect a rule that punished bad judgment. A place like this would never reward people who treated every room like a treasure chest.

"You said the first person who did not attack could ask a question," Gabriel said.

"Yes," the knight replied. "One question. One piece of knowledge locked inside this tomb. No living person above the ground currently holds it."

Gabriel’s fingers finally touched the handles of the Twin Dragonfangs. His interest rose, though his face did not show it. Knowledge left behind by a sealed god could be dangerous, but dangerous things were useful when placed in the right hands.

"What kind of knowledge?" he asked.

"You may ask after the measurement," the knight said.

Gabriel tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Measurement?"

The knight raised the halberd a few inches from the floor. The blade was old, but its edge still looked clean, and the shaft did not bend under the monster’s grip. The red light in the helmet grew brighter by a small amount.

"The knowledge does not move through speech alone," the knight said. "It transfers through combat. Not a fight to the death. A spar, but a real one. If you cannot hold your own, I will not speak again."

Gabriel stared at it for a moment. The rule was annoying, but not surprising. Powerful things in places like this rarely came free, and if they did, they usually carried worse costs later.

"Why does the measurement matter?" Gabriel asked.

The knight’s answer came without delay. "Because the knowledge is dangerous. Giving it to someone too weak to use it properly is the same as wasting it."

Gabriel’s eyes lowered to the halberd, then returned to the helmet. The knight was weakened, incomplete, and old, but it had once been a general serving a god. Even a damaged version of such a thing was not something he could treat carelessly.

His shoulders rolled once as he loosened his body. The Twin Dragonfangs slid free from their sheaths, and the chamber’s cold air touched the edges.

The knight lifted its weapon with both hands. Its armor gave another sound, and the red light inside the helmet finally stopped flickering. Gabriel watched it calmly, his breathing steady and his eyes locked onto the knight.

"Start whenever you’re ready."