Deep within Echidna's tomb, in the burial chamber where the trials were conducted, stood a heavy door.
The door stood in the middle of the wall, rather inconspicuous. But now that the trials would no longer take place and the witches' miasma in the tomb had dispersed with the completion of all the trials, it was clearly visible to anyone who entered.
Beyond the door was another burial chamber.
The chamber was a size smaller overall than the trial room, and its area was limited. If one placed the luxurious beds from Roswaal Mansion inside, at most two would fit, leaving no room even to stand.
Yet at the very back of such a room stood a transparent coffin.
A subtle wave of magical power constantly pulsed from the coffin.
Clearly, it had been fashioned from the same Magic Ore Stone crystal used to seal Ryuzu Birma's original body. In terms of purity alone, it was even far superior.
The quality of such a high-purity Magic Ore Stone likely surpassed even the Crystal Stone Emilia had previously used as Puck's vessel.
A Magic Ore Stone capable of sealing an existence greater than a Great Spirit like Puck now contained only a single woman.
At the sight of that woman, Beatrice completely held her breath.
Her hand also reached unconsciously toward the crystal coffin, her fingertips lightly touching it as they trembled faintly.
Then Beatrice called out softly in a voice that sounded almost like a sob.
"Mother..."
Who else could the person Beatrice called that be but Echidna?
The woman lying inside the crystal coffin was none other than Echidna.
More precisely, it should have been said that it was Echidna's body from when she had been alive.
Thus, there was neither any sign of breathing nor any trace of