Apocalypse: King of Zombies Chapter 1213: That’s a Coffin… Right?

While Garrick continued channeling extra power, the fissure across the altar began extending—agonizingly, torturously slow—lengthening and broadening bit by bit, millimeter after millimeter.

By now, Garrick clutched multiple Tier 8 crystal cores in his mouth, grinding them up and drawing in their energy nonstop. Emily stayed right behind him, unleashing her restoration ability without pause to keep his mental reserves fully replenished.

Nevertheless, sweat poured endlessly. His face burned a vivid crimson, clearly showing this effort far exceeded what his present strength could bear without strain.

Yet they'd come so close. Giving up wasn't an option for anyone.

Second by second, the fissure inched its way over the altar. The whole group held their breaths, tension gripping them so tightly no one dared make a sound.

After a full hour, Garrick appeared utterly drained, on the verge of collapsing—then the fissure finally spanned the entire altar.

"Shatter!" Garrick bellowed, squeezing out his final reserves of power.

The altar burst apart in a shower of fragments.

As it crumbled, the secret concealed below finally came into view.

The instant they laid eyes on it, the team froze solid, minds blanking out like crashed machines.

Precisely where the altar's heart had stood... rested a coffin, crafted from some mysterious substance.

They gawked at it in stunned silence for what felt like ages.

At last, straightforward Skinny Pete shattered the quiet. "Unless my eyes are fooling me... that's a coffin, isn't it?"

"..." Chris massaged his face, baffled. "Yeah. No illusion. That's definitely a coffin."

"Jesus Christ." Big Mike's frustration erupted. "We slaved away the whole day, Garrick nearly dropped dead three times, and our reward is this? We crack it and find... what?"

Ethan stayed silent. He triggered [True Sight] right away and peered into the coffin.

The coffin's material was odd, yet with the altar destroyed, no barriers remained. Peering inside proved simple.

The second he saw within, icy dread rose from deep in his gut.

"This... no way that's real?"

A man lay inside the coffin—utterly bare.

Perhaps due to the coffin's unique material, the corpse showed no decay despite countless years. But his garments had vanished, eroded away completely.

Proving the coffin couldn't block time entirely. Not perfectly.

The man possessed striking good looks. His physique and form were flawless, sparking a twinge of jealousy in even Ethan. Eyes shut, he seemed merely asleep at first.

But Ethan saw the truth.

Upon closer inspection, no heartbeat stirred. Blood had solidified long ago. Skin carried a subtle blue-green hue—dead for ages.

Even so... why hide a corpse beneath the altar? Ethan struggled to make sense of it.

"Ethan," Chris ventured carefully, "anything in the coffin?"

"Yes," Ethan replied. "A body."

"A body?!" Shock widened every eye.

Ethan continued flatly, "A dead one."

"Fuuuck..." Big Mike exhaled heavily, clutching his chest. "Captain, next time drop the full line upfront. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Henry scowled, eyeing the coffin warily as if it might stir. "So this altar... was it built to offer that monstrous mutant beast to the guy inside?"

"Likely." Ethan nodded.

"But the reason?"

Ethan's lips quirked. "Beats me. We're already deep in unknown territory here."

"...True," Henry grumbled. "Point taken."

Ethan approached the coffin and heaved against the lid. It budged slightly—enough to confirm.

He breathed softly. "It can be opened."

"Ladies, face away. Chris, you all come help. We'll slide the lid off as a team."

"On it!" Chris responded, stepping forward fast.

Emily blinked. "Why make us turn? We want to assist too."

"The corpse inside has no clothes," Ethan stated bluntly. "If you're fine staring, join in."

"..."

Emily flushed scarlet and spun around swiftly with Mia.

With their combined force, the lid shifted aside rapidly, exposing the contents.

Nothing filled the coffin but the naked man.

"Damn," Big Mike grumbled, inexplicably irked. "That chiseled and hot... bet this dude was a total womanizer back in life."

"Dude, beefing with a dead guy?" Chris chuckled, shaking his head, then laid a hand on the body.

Surprise flashed over his features.

"Body's... insanely tough."

Curiosity overtook the rest. They probed it themselves, faces shifting one after another.

Ethan's gaze sharpened. "Chris. Test it properly."

"Gotcha."

Chris unsheathed his dagger and thrust it at the chest.

The tip halted dead—skin unpierced.

Chris scowled, activated the dark edge on the blade, and stabbed harder. No dice. Force meant nothing; the skin held firm.

"What the..." Chris gaped, as if the dagger failed him.

The others reeled in disbelief.

Indestructible skeleton was wild enough. Now a corpse with uncuttable skin? This had to be a prank.

Some denied it, grabbing weapons to slash and bash the body.

Identical failure.

Zero effect.

Big Mike, still fuming, hurled fireballs at the groin area.

Just singed the hair. Skin stayed unmarred.

"...This is overkill," a voice echoed, drained.

Pride stung for them all.

Above ground, they ruled as apex predators. But underground, powerless against the skeleton... and now helpless against a corpse too.

Utter embarrassment.

From the rear, Emily piped up, curiosity as sharp as ever. "You done yet? Or can you cover him so we can see?"

"Whatever." Ethan sighed, fetching clothes and chucking them to Big Mike. "Big Mike. Clothe him."

Big Mike snagged them. "Me? Why?"

"You torched his hair."

"....."

After fumbling awkwardly forever, Big Mike wrestled the outfit onto the corpse, all thumbs throughout.

Emily and Mia pivoted back. Their faces lit up instantly.

"So gorgeous..." Emily sighed, eyes sparkling.

"....."

Chris coughed, fiddling with his nose, aiming for nonchalance. "Hey Emily... I'm no slouch in looks myself."

She eyed him. "You? Nowhere near."

"..."

Chris whipped toward Mia like a drowning man. "Mia, back me up. He's hot, yeah?"

Mia grinned. "Decent enough. But our captain edges him out."

Chris jabbed a finger her way triumphantly. "See? Mia gets it."

Emily pouted. "Fine, fine. You're okay too, Chris. Still not matching him though."

"..."

"Enough gawking," Ethan ordered, pinching his temple. "This corpse is likely the prime treasure from this Void Realm. We'll haul it back for analysis."

He shook his head, then gestured, sucking the body into his spatial storage ring.

The ring rejected the living, but dead matter worked fine.

Next, Ethan gathered the coffin and the altar's broken chunks. Both the coffin and altar screamed rare materials—too good to leave.

With all secured, Ethan gazed at the massive skeleton and its binding chains, a pang of reluctance hitting him.

Those treasures tempted... but lay beyond their reach.

Skeleton, chains, pillars—untouchable at their current power.

Return later.

When stronger.