volume 3 - Chapter c240 (1/2)
Ciel's Mistake
Brendel opened the stone coffin.
At that moment, a sharp drop in the temperature of the tomb could be felt. A layer of frost had started to gather on the walls of the tomb. From within the shadows, a faint tapping sound could be heard. Jana, who was standing with the others at the entrance, was startled by the noise. She turned around, trying to locate the source of the noise. She noticed that the merchant lady’s complexion was pale, body s.h.i.+vering and teeth chattering in the cold.
“Are you okay?” Curiosity flashed across the mercenary commander’s face, wondering why the little lady insisted to remain standing despite the cold. However, Jana knew that amongst the people gathered there, she was the most fragile. “Would you like me to escort you out first?” Jana offered. Romane wrapped her arms around her torso, still s.h.i.+vering from the cold, yet she stubbornly shook her head and answered shakily, “N-n-no thanks…… I-I w-would l-like to s-see B-B-Brendel open the c-coffin. I w-want to s-see what’s inside.”
“But are you not cold?” Jana could clearly see that Romane was nearly freezing to death.
“Of c-course I a-am……”
“Let’s head out then?”
“N-n-no!” Romane’s curiosity had evidently overwhelmed her rationality. She would willingly become a frozen statue if it meant she could find out what laid within the stone coffin. This display of curiosity, was really alike Brendel.
“...”
Jana did not understand the lengths Romane was willing to go to sate her curiosity and was struck speechless by the perplexing lady. Little did she know that a year ago, Brendel had wondered how similar he and the girl were when he saw the dauntless expression she had on the face during the night Aouine was attacked.
While Jana was still at a loss for words, Brendel managed to pry open the coffin lid with Ciel’s help. The huge coffin had a trapezoidal shape, similar to those found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. This proved that it had different origins from the Kirrlutz people whose coffins were either rectangular or hexagonal, similar to those used by vampires. The Aouine people and Kirrlutz people’s culture were nearly identical. The Highlanders usually did not bury themselves in graves, but rather in catacombs.
Therefore, Brendel concluded that the tomb had been built a long time ago, even earlier than the era of the mountain people.
Prioritising safety, Brendel only pried the lid slightly open, only to be stunned. Light shone through the small crevice to reveal… nothing. There was no trace of the corpse or mummy, but rather a huge sum of treasure.
“The BOSS is not inside?” Suspicion flashed through Brendel as he carefully signaled to Ciel. Both of them pushed the heavy lid off to check the contents of the coffin. Between the rusted gold and silver tools, instead of a corpse at the center of the coffin, there laid a pile of shattered crystals.
Looking at the crystal pieces, Brendel felt a s.h.i.+ver run up his spine.
The crystal pieces were laid upon a cloth, arranged into the silhouette of a man. Four limbs and a torso, yet the head was missing.
“Holy… Please don’t scare me senior.” Brendel let the comment slip out for only himself to hear. However, no matter how he looked at it, he could not make out what race was the corpse.
“What the h.e.l.l is this?” Ciel was shocked as he looked into the coffin. Normally, burial rites in most places involved mummifying the deceased. Mummification was a complex process. However, turning a body into crystals was unheard of. The absence of a head made it even more perplexing.
Brendel thoroughly checked the contents of the coffin. Other than the crystals, nothing else bore the slightest resemblance to a corpse. If he guessed correctly, then that was the owner of the tomb. As for the objects in the coffin, Brendel immediately identified them as magical equipment, which would usually be the reward for eliminating the boss.
Could this be the boss? Brendel couldn’t help but take another glance at the crystal pieces. That can’t be. Even though my Willpower stat was high, I don’t think it was capable of one-shotting the boss.
It was not only Brendel, but Ciel too who thought that the man-shaped pile of crystals seemed familiar.
Uncertainly, he sent a mental transmission, “I think…… it’s the same thing as before, My Lord.” Brendel nodded his head silently. From within the pile of items, one of them caught his eye. Within the gold and silver objects was a dark grey piece of stone the size of a palm. It was dull and appeared to have broken off from a part of the coffin lid. If Brendel weren’t so vigilant and repeatedly scanned the coffin for abnormalities, he might have actually missed this seemingly plain stone.