The stone slab groaned loudly beneath the combined strength of the group as it slowly slid aside...

The deafening scrape of ancient stone against stone reverberated throughout the crypt, until, with a heavy thud, the enormous lid toppled onto the obsidian dais.

A thick cloud of dust billowed upward... And for several moments, it obscured everything before gradually dispersing into the still air of the crypt.

Almost immediately, Regaleon stepped forward. The others instinctively followed behind him, their expressions carrying equal measures of anticipation and apprehension as they peered into the final unopened sarcophagus.

"What the hell...?" Veyrath blurted out instantly upon seeing the content of the coffin.

His eyes widened so much they almost seemed ready to leave their sockets; and he certainly wasn’t the only one whose expectations had been shattered as...

Valmyr, who only moments earlier had worn the triumphant grin of someone convinced fortune had finally smiled upon him, now resembled a man who had been repeatedly betrayed by fate itself. His face stiffened into complete disbelief as he also looked into the ancient tomb.

Clearly, this was not what the failed Vanguard had hoped to find.

Even Regaleon’s brows slowly knitted together as he silently studied the body laying within the coffin.

Then again... Calling it a body no longer felt appropriate; instead, it was more accurate to call it a skeleton.

Unlike the previous two sarcophagi, there was no preserved corpse resting peacefully within; there was also no weathered flesh, no dried skin stretched across ancient bones, and no immaculate ceremonial robes enveloping a body preserved through mysterious means.

Instead, where all those things should have being, only bones remained...

A pristine skeletal frame lay quietly inside the stone coffin with every bone perfectly aligned, as though its owner had simply withered away where he rested without ever being disturbed.

Time had stripped away every trace of flesh, leaving behind polished ivory-white bones that gleamed faintly beneath the golden radiance illuminating the crypt.

The skull rested naturally upon an elaborately carved stone pillow. Its empty eye sockets staring endlessly toward the ceiling, forever frozen in silent contemplation.

Resting atop the skull was an exquisite circlet.

Unlike the floral diadem adorning the priestess, this ornament possessed a far grander appearance.

It resembled a radiant halo forged entirely from overlapping silver wings. Layer upon layer of intricately sculpted feathers spread outward from a circular emblem positioned directly above the forehead, creating the illusion of divine light emanating from behind the skull itself.

Despite the countless centuries that had passed, the circlet remained immaculate as not even a speck of corrosion marred its flawless craftsmanship.

The eerie silence surrounding the remains somehow felt different from the previous two burials.

The elderly priest and priestess had appeared peaceful; but this skeleton... Felt abandoned, almost like it was forgotten.

Unlike the other two, whose bodies had resisted the ravages of time through the effects of the Mummification Array, this one appeared to have received no such blessing; or perhaps... Something had occurred that not even the Array had been capable of preventing.

Caelestra silently observed the skeleton for several moments before slowly turning toward Valmyr.

A trace of sadistic amusement sparkled within her eyes as she spoke. "Looks like the third time isn’t the charm after all."

Her voice carried enough playful sarcasm to make the failed Vanguard freeze where he stood.

Though she wasn’t finished yet. "You know, Valmyr, I thought you said you had a good feeling about this. Care to explain how your intuition led us to this?"

Valmyr’s cheeks flushed crimson beneath her relentless teasing. Nevertheless, he stubbornly refused to surrender.

"Well... How was I supposed to know it’d turn out like this?"

His voice carried both righteous indignation and an unmistakable disappointment. After all, Aetherium itself knew how desperately he had hoped to discover at least a single treasure hidden inside the final coffin.

Every elaborate burial he had ever heard about involved valuable possessions accompanying the deceased into the afterlife.

And that was precisely why, when Sylveris first suggested opening the coffins, he had supported the idea without the slightest hesitation.

Yet now... His lofty expectations had crumbled into utter dejection.

Caelestra merely rolled her eyes. "Of course. How would you know?"

She sighed dramatically while shaking her head. "That’s always your excuse whenever one of your brilliant ideas backfires, isn’t it?"

Valmyr opened his mouth, eager to defend himself once again. But before another argument could begin, Kaeloris suddenly interrupted.

"Guys...This doesn’t make sense."

His gaze remained fixed upon the skeleton as he continued.

"If the Mummification Array preserved the previous priest and priestess, then logically speaking, the corpse inside this sarcophagus should have been preserved as well. In fact judging solely by the central placement of this coffin and its larger size, I’d argue this individual occupied the highest status among all three."

He frowned slightly in thought.

"And if that was the case, then this body should have received even greater preservation. But instead there’s nothing left except the skeleton. I don’t understand..."

"Not only bones." Aureleah suddenly added calmly.

Everyone turned toward her.

She then pointed toward the skeletal hands of the figure.

Unlike the previous two corpses, which had each cradled a crystalline rosary, this skeleton carefully held something entirely different.

A statue which was barely the length of a person’s forearm. But despite its modest size, every minute detail had been sculpted with breathtaking precision.

It depicted the very same armored knight standing behind the three sarcophagi. Unlike the colossal guardian looming over the crypt, however, this miniature figure carried no sword.

Instead, six magnificent wings extended gracefully behind its back...

Also, the material from which it had been crafted appeared unlike any ordinary stone or metal as soft silver radiance continuously flowed beneath its polished surface like liquid moonlight, illuminating every engraved feather and every intricate line adorning the armor.

The tiny statue looked alive somehow.

Aureleah slowly shifted her gaze toward the enormous guardian standing behind the sarcophagi.

"This..." She started, pointing between the two statues. "...Is the same statue as that one."

A thoughtful expression settled upon her face before she continued. "So perhaps whoever lies here wasn’t merely buried beneath its protection. Perhaps they were entrusted with the original symbol from which those guardians were modeled..."

Kaeloris immediately nodded his head as he supported her conjecture. "She’s right..."

He adjusted his spectacles once more.

"Perhaps the most valuable things buried within this crypt aren’t the corpses but the Artifacts accompanying them."

He gestured toward the rosaries before pointing at the miniature knight.

"If you examine them carefully, you’ll notice something remarkable. The bodies have deteriorated, the burial robes have aged, but every Artifact remains completely untouched. As though they’ve survived the passage of time even better than the people buried alongside them."

Veyrath frowned. "So you’re saying someone went through all this trouble just to bury a few Artifacts? How does that make sense?"

"Not merely the Artifacts." Regaleon finally spoke.

The silver-haired Knight had remained unusually quiet ever since the final coffin had been opened. But throughout the discussion, his attention had never once left the skeleton.

And now, he appeared to have discovered something...

"What?" Veyrath looked toward him.

Regaleon pointed at the skeleton. "The coffin wasn’t meant to protect either the corpse or the Artifacts."

Vaelorin blinked.

"And how would you know that?"

Without answering immediately, Regaleon carefully stepped beside the sarcophagus. Supporting the skull with both hands, he gently lifted it upward...

The others instinctively leaned closer.

"Because the corpse is merely a decoy."

Regaleon said, pointing at what lay underneath the skull...

Beneath the skull rested what initially appeared to be an ordinary stone pillow. However, upon closer inspection, several peculiar discrepancies became immediately apparent...

Unlike the rest of the coffin, the pillow possessed no visible seams connecting it to the surrounding stone. Its texture was noticeably smoother and clearer...

Also, the elaborate carvings decorating every other surface of the sarcophagus abruptly ended around its edges, as though the pillow had been inserted afterward.

And most strangely of all, tiny grooves surrounded its base; they were almost invisible, yet perfectly symmetrical. This was the sort of craftsmanship that is simply impossible to dismiss as coincidence.

The group crowded closer.

Veyrath furrowed his brows even further.

"Are you trying to say that someone built this entire crypt, performed elaborate burials, and raised an army of stone guardians all just to conceal something beneath a pillow?"

"Yes..."

Regaleon’s reply came almost immediately, the conviction lingering in his voice leaving little room for doubt.

He slowly turned toward the countless kneeling knight statues surrounding the chamber as he continued.

"I think we’ve been looking at everything from the wrong angle; the bodies, the coffins,the Artifacts, and the Terracotta Guardians. They might all have been distractions..."

He paused slightly, letting that observation settle before continuing somberly.

"If you think about it carefully, you’ll realize this entire crypt was designed to draw intruders toward the obvious treasures while diverting attention away from whatever truly lies hidden beneath the central sarcophagus. The corpses weren’t the actual objective, they were custodians, even in death."

Sylveris unconsciously hugged herself as she asked.

"But what could possibly be so important that they’d go through all this trouble just to hide it?"

Regaleon’s expression hardened.

"That’s exactly what we’re about to find out."

His golden eyes drifted toward Valmyr, Vaelorin and Veyrath as he pointed at the skeleton. "Lift it..."

All three simultaneously grimaced. Only a few minutes earlier, they had sworn never again to touch another corpse. And now... They were about to do precisely that.

Both Veyrath and Vaelorin looked ready to protest. But unfortunately, one stern glare from Regaleon immediately silenced them.

Grumbling beneath their breath, the trio reluctantly stepped forward. Carefully supporting the ancient skeleton, they slowly lifted it from the sarcophagus...

The bones remained surprisingly intact as not a single piece shifted from its original position. But just as they were about to carry it away...

RUMBLE!

A faint vibration echoed overhead as tiny grains of dust drifted from the ceiling...

At first, nobody paid much attention. After all, they had just moved a centuries-old skeleton from its resting place. Naturally, they all assumed the disturbance had merely loosened accumulated dust from the ancient ceiling.

But then more dust began falling; not just a few grains. Instead, it fell in a steady stream...

Sylveris’ silver eyes narrowed. Then perhaps out of curiosity or something else, the fourteen-years-old raised her head toward the source...

The instant she saw it, her reaction was immediate as...

Her pupils violently contracted...

Her mouth slowly fell open...

And absolute terror flooded her expression.

Aureleah immediately noticed the change in her younger sister’s face. Then following Sylveris’ trembling gaze, she looked toward the towering guardian standing behind the three sarcophagi.

The moment her own eyes landed upon it, the silver-haired Assassin’s expression instantly darkened...

A cold chill crawled down her spine before she called out.

"Guys..." For someome who always seem calm, her voice was unusually tense and this immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"We might have a problem..."

She silently nodded toward the colossal statue and istinctively, the others followed her line of sight.

Then every trace of color drained from their faces upon seeing it.

The gigantic guardian no longer appeared lifeless. Instead, deep within its hollow eye sockets, two blazing crimson lights were already ignited...