The coffin lid crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of fine dust.
A hand covered in black feathers reached out from within the coffin and gripped its edge tightly. The next moment, a figure slowly pushed itself upright from inside.
It was another bird-man, but completely different from the filthy, twisted monsters outside the pyramid.
It was taller and leaner, exuding an ancient, imposing aura. Dense, sleek black feathers covered its entire body like a cloak of night. Behind it grew a pair of nearly fully developed black wings.
The wings were folded, but they were too small in proportion to its body, clearly insufficient to support flight.
"No matter how I look at it, this thing doesn't seem related to dragons, does it?" Finn narrowed his eyes. "It's clearly somewhere between a bird and a mammal. Aren't dragons supposed to be reptiles?"
Amon chuckled softly. "Scientific research suggests that birds evolved from dinosaurs. So surely it isn't hard to imagine that mighty Dragon Kind might have evolved a branch resembling birds, right?"
"That makes sense!"
Finn's eyes lit up as though he had discovered a new continent. "Say, if I made this the topic of my graduation thesis—On the Evolutionary Potential and Biological Significance of the Feathered Evolution Branch of Dragon Kind Subspecies—would my advisor show mercy and let me pass because it's original enough?"
"..."
Amid this somewhat off-topic academic discussion, the bird-man that had risen from the coffin slowly swept its glowing eyes over its burial offerings before turning its gaze toward the intruders and the black muzzles of their submachine guns aimed at it.
It silently "watched" them for a moment, then, with stiff, mechanical movements, slowly... lay back down again.
"What... what's going on?" Qiu Hao froze, completely unprepared for such a development.