It took two days for the requested backup to arrive. They spent two days reinforcing the secured mine entrance, tending to minor wounds, and exchanging terse updates with Bureau Command via intermittent signal relays.

Henry spent much of the time in observation. His Mystic Sense mapped the tunnels, confirming the absence of the Shardbeast, but he felt the constant thrum of corrupted energy coming from the deeper passage guarded by the fallen Warden.

The silence felt heavy with anticipation. Neil despite his injuries being stabilized by Henry's field dressings and his resilient Rank 4 constitution. He sharpened his aether blade, his eyes fixed on the dark passage.

In the two days they waited, Henry and Neil would sometimes sit and discuss their assignments, the pleasures and even the perils of their time with the Investigation Bureau. Henry recognized Captain Jacobs's likeness in Neil: both were formidable, courageous leaders, attentive to their squadmates, and favored the greatsword.

Gomir, having retrieved the core components from his shattered Construct Warrior, supervised his Dwarven miners as they meticulously cleared debris and established a defensible perimeter just inside the mine. Their faces reflected a mixture of professional diligence and wary respect for the unknown depths.

Finally, word came. The reinforcements were approaching. Henry felt their arrival before he saw them - powerful aether signatures cutting through the ambient gloom. He alerted Neil and Gomir, and moments later, the vanguard emerged into the torchlight near the mine entrance.

Chief Investigator Ragley led the way, his presence dominating the space. His stern features were set like granite as his attention swept the area, taking in the fallen Warden, the Dwarves, and the makeshift defenses. He radiated the potent, controlled energy of a Rank 5 powerhouse, an aura that seemed to press down on the air.

Beside him walked Brena, her investigator's cloak draped neatly over practical armor. Her expression was composed, but her sea-blue eyes held a keen alertness. Her Rank 4 presence felt like finely sharpened steel compared to Ragley's crushing weight.

Behind them marched a dozen elite Bureau operatives, clad in dark, reinforced gear, their movements silent, disciplined, their faces showing no emotion, ready for anything. This was no mere reconnaissance team; this was an extermination force assembled for threats exceeding standard capabilities.

"Report," Ragley's voice was low, cutting through the greetings, directed at Neil.

Neil stepped forward, gesturing towards the passage beyond the fallen Warden. "Sir. Corrupted Construct Warden, Rank 4 confirmed, neutralized here. Guarding passage leading deeper. Preliminary assessment indicates potential Ancient Ruin structure beyond. Heavy necromantic or corruption signature detected coming from within, source unknown but powerful. Strike," he nodded towards Henry, "detected initial anomaly leading to discovery."

Ragley's gaze shifted to Henry, piercing, questioning. Henry met it. "My senses detected unusual energy fluctuations and residual scents consistent with significant corruption originating from that passage, sir. Specifically, a metallic scent mixed with aged blood, unlike typical mine deposits." He maintained the established narrative of relying on mundane senses, reinforced by Gomir who quickly added, "Aye, Chief Investigator! Not ore! It smells like… burnt blood and rusted iron! I've never smelled the like in fifty years of mining!"

Ragley absorbed the information, his eyes lingering on Henry for a beat longer than necessary. A flicker of calculation appeared behind their cold eyes. He then nodded. "Understood. Gomir, your people maintain security here. The Bureau proceeds." He turned towards the dark passage. "Brena, Neil, Strike - front rank. Elite squad, tactical formation behind. Maximum caution. We assume Rank 5 hostile presence within."

The team moved into the darkness. Lumen-orbs conjured by Brena and the elite squad's mages cast overlapping pools of cold, steady light, pushing back the gloom.

The tunnel descended gradually, the air growing colder, damper, thick with the metallic tang Henry had sensed. Ancient, unfamiliar carvings covered the walls, depicting grotesque, non-humanoid figures locked in eternal struggles. The stone seemed to drip with condensed moisture that felt unnaturally cold to the touch.

Henry walked point beside Neil, his Mystic Sense pushed to its full seventy-meter radius, constantly scanning ahead, mapping the unseen twists and turns, alert for traps or hidden alcoves. The clinging wrongness of the place intensified with every step, a psychic residue of immense age and forgotten suffering. However, no hostile presence registered within range.

After what felt like an eternity navigating the winding passage, it opened abruptly into a cavern. Stalactites, thick as ancient tree trunks and stained dark by mineral seepage over millennia, hung from the unseen ceiling above like the teeth of some colossal, petrified beast.

The floor was unnaturally smooth in places, polished stone hinting at artificial construction, contrasting with jagged natural rock formations. And at the far end of the cavern, partially obscured by fallen pillars and debris, stood the ruin proper.

Blocks of obsidian-like stone formed crumbling walls engraved with the same disturbing symbols seen in the passage. A wide stone gate, carved with sneering, demonic faces, lay shattered, half-buried in rubble, revealing a gaping black corridor beyond. The air here was frigid, carrying the stench of decay so strongly it was almost physically nauseating.

"Seven hells…" Neil breathed, hefting his greatsword. Its blue aether flame cast eerie reflections on the damp surfaces "What kind of civilization built this? And what happened here?"

Ragley ignored the question, his focus absolute. "Perimeter security!" he snapped to the elite squad, who fanned out silently, securing the cavern entrance. He approached the ruined gate, examining the symbols intently.

"This architecture… predates known human or elven settlements by millennia. Possibly Second Epoch remnants… or earlier." He frowned. "Proceed with extreme caution. Assume automated defenses, dormant guardians…"

His warning came late. Just as Henry's Mystic Sense flared with sudden, overwhelming warnings, the ruin itself seemed to awaken.

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Grind… scrape… The sound echoed from the darkness beyond the gate, growing rapidly louder. Then, figures began to emerge, pouring through the shattered opening. Not living creatures, but constructs forged from jagged shards of the same black stone that formed the ruins, fused together into roughly humanoid shapes.

They stood nearly two meters tall, limbs disproportionately long, moving with an unsettlingly fluid speed. And where eyes should have been, malevolent red light burned, fixed upon the intruders.

"Corrupted Constructs!" Brena shouted, already reacting, white light gathering around her hands. "Dozens of them! Rank 2, maybe low Rank 3!"

"Engage!" Ragley roared, wasting no time. Flames erupted around his fists as he launched himself forward. The battle began instantly.

"Incinerating Sphere!" Giant fireballs, radiating heat, slammed into the advancing constructs, shattering stone, melting corrupted cores.

He moved with deceptive speed for his rank, wading into the thick of the fight, fiery punches pulverizing stone bodies, leaving trails of molten slag behind him. His Rank 5 power was overwhelming against these lesser guardians.

Brena provided support, her movements precise, tactical. "Holy Barrage!" Arrows of light shot out, striking construct joints with accuracy, immobilizing them, creating openings for others. Her familiar, the bronze Griffin, appeared with a screech, diving into the fight. Its talons tore through stone armor, its beak shattering corrupted cores.

Neil was a storm of steel and blue light. His greatsword, radiating potent aether, scythed through the construct ranks. He employed cleaving techniques - "Azure Cleave" - sending shattered stone fragments flying, his movements a blur of controlled destruction. Above him, his summoned Great Eagle harassed the constructs from the air, talons seeking vulnerabilities, diverting their attention.

Henry, though lacking their raw destructive power, moved like a phantom amidst the chaos. His Mystic Sense allowed him to anticipate attacks, weave through the constructs' clumsy strikes, his blade flickering like silver lightning.

He didn't waste energy trying to shatter the thick stone armor. Instead, he targeted the glowing red cores directly, or the vulnerable articulated joints, using rapid, precise thrusts - "Viper Strike!" - disabling constructs efficiently, letting the heavier hitters focus on clearing paths.

The elite Bureau squad worked with cold efficiency, forming firing lines, unleashing coordinated volleys of arcane bolts and specialized anti-construct munitions, methodically thinning the seemingly endless flow pouring from the ruined gateway.

Yet, for every construct destroyed, two more seemed to emerge from the darkness. The sheer number was beginning to overwhelm them.

"They keep regenerating from the fragments!" Brena shouted, erecting another shimmering light shield just as a volley of splintered stone shards slammed into it. "There must be a controller! A central source!"

Even as he blasted another wave of constructs into molten ruin, Ragley never took his attention off the dark corridor beyond the gate. "Agreed! Master source likely deeper within!"

Henry pushed his Mystic Sense deeper, past the chaos, probing the oppressive darkness of the corridor. And there it was. A massive concentration of corrupted energy, far stronger than the individual constructs, located in a large chamber at the corridor's end. Pulsating, malevolent, controlling.

"Source detected!" Henry yelled over the din. "Large chamber, end of the corridor! Single powerful entity!"

"Neil! Brena! Cover our advance!" Ragley commanded instantly, already moving towards the corridor, flames surrounding his form like a protective cloak.

Neil unleashed a ground-pound with his sword - "Seismic Shock!" - sending ripples of force that staggered the nearest constructs, giving Ragley precious seconds. Brena focused her magic, conjuring a brilliant wall of solid light that momentarily blocked the corridor entrance, holding back the flow. The elite squad intensified their covering fire.

Henry sprinted after Ragley, his senses on alert. The corridor was short, opening quickly into a vast, circular chamber. The air here felt cold, thick with the stench of corruption and ancient dust. In the center, atop a raised stone platform, floated a massive, multifaceted aether crystal, easily two meters across, glowing with an angry, unstable red light. Tendrils of the same red energy snaked outwards, connecting to the hovering figure beside it.

The figure was a nightmare given form. Larger than the standard Warden, easily three meters tall, composed of the same black, corrupted stone, but its form was more fluid, less rigid. Multiple stone tentacles writhed around its torso, crackling with red energy. Its head was a featureless block of obsidian, save for a single, massive crimson eye that swiveled, fixing on Ragley and Henry with hatred. Construct Master - Rank 5.

"The controller!" Henry confirmed, skidding to a halt beside Ragley.

Before Ragley could unleash his attack, the ground trembled violently. From the shadows surrounding the dais, three more figures rose ponderously. Construct Custodians. Hulking, heavily armored Rank 4 guardians, their bodies dense blocks of granite, featureless except for glowing red sensor slits. Their arms were massive floating slabs of stone detached from their torsos, crackling with defensive energy. They moved silently, positioning themselves between the intruders and their Master.

The Construct Master screeched, a sound like grinding glaciers, and pointed a tentacled appendage. The three Custodians surged forward.

"Take the Master! I'll handle the guards!" Ragley roared, intercepting the central Custodian with a blast of concentrated fire, while simultaneously launching fireballs towards the Master hovering near the crystal.

Just then, Neil and Brena burst into the chamber. The light wall behind them finally collapsed under the renewed assault of the construct soldiers pouring into the corridor. "Engage the Custodians!" Brena commanded, her Griffin already diving towards one, while Neil, his Eagle providing aerial support, charged the other with his blazing sword.

Henry found himself facing the third Custodian, the one Ragley had initially engaged. The size and power radiating from the Rank 4 guardian was intimidating. He knew direct confrontation was suicide. Agility and precision were his only allies. He darted sideways as a massive stone fist crashed down where he'd stood, the impact shattering the ancient flagstones.

He saw Neil locked in a furious exchange with his Custodian. The Eagle harried it from above, blue sword light clashing against red-veined stone. He focused his Mystic Sense, searching for a weakness on Neil's opponent. "Neil!" Henry shouted, dodging another crushing blow from his adversary. "Left shoulder articulation! Weak point!"

Neil didn't hesitate. With a roar, he shifted his attack, pouring aether into his blade, delivering a powerful, focused horizontal slash - "Azure Severance" - striking the precise point Henry indicated. A sickening crack echoed as the Custodian's massive stone arm sheared partially loose, hanging at an unnatural angle.

Seizing the momentary advantage, Henry sprinted forward, ignoring the Custodian looming over him. His sword became a silver flicker, "Viper Strike" thrusting repeatedly into the damaged joint identified by Neil, prying, leveraging, widening the crack until, with a final wrenching motion, the stone arm detached completely, crashing heavily to the floor.

The Custodian roared, swinging its remaining arm blindly. Henry danced back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Across the chamber, Ragley, having momentarily driven back the Construct Master with a torrent of fire, turned his attention back to the remaining Custodians. Seeing Neil and Henry had disabled one, he unleashed his fury on the other two.

"Inferno Cascade" he bellowed, hands outstretched. Pillars of swirling blue fire erupted around the damaged guardians, engulfing them, melting stone, overloading their corrupted cores. Their red light sensors flickered, dimmed, and with final groans, they collapsed, inert heaps of slag and fractured rock. The threat of the guardians was neutralized, but the battle was far from over.

The Rank 5 Master still hovered by its crystal, gathering its power for a counterstroke.

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