VERSATILE: ALTERNATE WORLD

The violent fate of the blob didn't just end with the flames burning its insides but it melted its body to the point where recovery is impossible. It tried to attack us in one last attempt but it died anyway. It's good that everyone is high-level enough to kill it without having the trouble of dealing enough damage just to do it. Of course, it was also thanks to Queen Tanya, otherwise, it will take a few more hits before it died. It only died due to the enhancing skill that Queen Tanya did to the burning flames which resulted in the blob dying faster.

"Let's deal with the rest of the enemies and we will be done with it!"

Everyone went to their work. I also did mine and eliminated all of the remaining enemies alongside the others. And as usual, they made quick work with the enemies that they didn't even end up being a threat, just a major nuisance. Eventually, they all died and everyone is now done with the job.

And so, with clearing the monsters done, the three of us went up ahead to the giant machine. It was like the combination of all the machines we saw on the previous floors. It was like it was specifically made to be one like that. As we are nearing the base of the machine, we spotted something on the base as well. We couldn't make out what it was but we continue to press on to see what was that thing we are seeing.

"Is that..." Lucia squinted her eyes ahead of us.

Queen Tanya also did the same also frowned as well. From the looks of it, they are seeing something I don't quite see yet. Even if I squint my eyes, I think I still can't see it.

As we get closer to what they saw, I finally found out what they saw by squinting their eyes.

It's a skeleton wearing some kind of lab coat on the body. The hair of this person has fallen to the floor and to the clothes while some are still attached to the skull but definitely will fly away if disturbed. The skeleton has glasses hanging on the head which means this guy wears glasses. _{Google search 𝑓𝒓e𝑒w𝑒𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃ℯ𝙡. c𝚘m}

We don't know who this person is but based on the diaries we found, the one writing the diaries and the skeleton here are the same person. In short, the author of the diaries died after fleeing from the things overwhelming the place.

The skeleton's left hand, holds a knife, while the skeleton's right hand holds a notebook similar to the notebooks we found on the previous floor, in short, the diary. Seeing that the cover of the book has been splashed with blood, it is clear that the skeleton died from a stab wound as it won't cause a blood splash like that if it was just the normal slitting of the wrist. There are only two probabilities on why this person is now dead. One of that is that this person got attacked by someone and after fending for their life, the skeleton ends up dying as a result of it and the knife in the skeleton's hand is a weapon used before to defend.

Of course, the second theory is that the guy killed themselves in the end. Being overwhelmed by monsters without any place to hide or fall back into, they either tried to fight back, or lose all hope and decided to just end it all to hammer the nail to this individual's death. Since the person in question is a skeleton now, we don't know how the person killed themselves, but one thing is for sure. This is the demon and the ruined occupant that we are looking for.

Lucia pulled out the final diary from the skeleton's hand and opened it. Although the cover was drenched in blood, the contents within were unharmed and it is still readable.

"Poor guy. It looks like going deeper into the ruins was a bad idea. Now, look at the guy, reduced into a pitiful skeleton, forgotten by time, and waiting to have their bones collapse due to old age. It's quite sad but perhaps death was their only way to escape whatever they are trying to escape in."

Lucia and Queen Tanya continue to check on the skeleton while I headed to the machine that the skeleton was leaning on before it died. It is the lone machine on this floor and it seems all of its mechanisms are connected to the upper floors as well. There is still some kind of a mystery about what this machine can do.

I turned to the side and I saw the control panel that I think controls this big machine. The machine is complicated and has so many buttons just to be controlled but I don't know what it was. All I know is that this going to end up being either pretty useless or this thing might have a big usage of something.

Still busy checking out its control panel, I didn't realize Lucia has already approached me.

"Master, from the looks of it, the machine is an energy and mana generator and once operated, it will release lots of energy and produce mana for every single one who is exposed to whatever thing it was releasing. It won't stop releasing those power and mana until it was turned off manually."

"Energy and mana generator huh? That's interesting but that will also prove to be something of a dangerous tech as well,"Queen Tanya joined in our conversation.

"How so? Based on the description that Lucia gave me, it doesn't sound dangerous, more like it sounds pretty beneficial. It doesn't even consume fuel just to function as well."

"That's the dangerous part. That alone can trigger the greed of many people. I might be the absolute ruler of Sandurk and I rule the entirety of it, but that doesn't mean I can manage all of the Sandurk which is why we have the lords governing every city of Sandurk. You have seen that my sister governs the Frozen Region and even though I technically ruled that place, my sister is the one managing the place. That is also true for the other cities as well but unlike my sister, they are more ambitious people. Some of them had even plotted against me to overthrow me from my throne and take over as well."

"So in that case, they will try to covet this thing for themselves and use it for their own purposes if they caught wind of this thing?"

"Exactly. Raw energy and mana supply are great but a generator of both? Then that is something worth looking out for. I can't even deny that this thing will be a great addition to the city as well which will improve its development pretty much and help the denizens as well with problems of mana and even get a steady supply of energy that would help decrease the cost of the energy they needed to pay."

"And when a greedy person finds out about this..."

"They will try their hardest to find the chance to obtain and take ownership of this place and use it for their own business and whatever greed scheme they are plotting," I nodded in response.

Now I see what Queen Tany meant about this being a dangerous thing to exist. Its existence alone can cause several wars and the peace that Queen Tanya was trying to achieve will disappear once the war is full-blown and it's just because of the people trying to claim this thing."

"Are you suggesting that we destroy this machine?" Lucia asked.

"If possible, that is my biggest plan now that I realized what this thing was. If this thing is gone, then others will stop whatever they are planning, and their plans to wage war will also be nulled without this. Of course, I have to decide whether we will destroy it or preserve it. Lucia, now that you are one of the primordial demons who discovered this thing, it's either you leave this one out or we will proceed to destroy it once we are going to leave?"

A decision. It was a hard decision for sure. After all, this thing might have a connection to the Primordial times when Lucia once existed and lived on.

"It's a tough question, Your Majesty. Perhaps I would like time alone for this," Lucia answered with a sigh.

"Well, we don't need to hurry with your decision. I guess we will make camp here now that we are done with the situation. Just tell me if you ever think up what we will have to do about it in the future. Think hard before you do it, Lucia. We will await your decision later on.

Lucia is conflicted and yet, she felt that it was indeed necessary but she wasn't sure if destroying it was the only thing they can do. Her connection to the machine will prove something difficult for Lucia this time around, either for her own or perhaps for her family.