Versatile: Alternate World

The huge desolate ruins were situated out of the wasteland not too far from the forest and the elf folk's village. In the past timeline, it was the main topic on what is the main purpose of the ruins. Since the place is just full of puzzles and a labyrinth maze but no monsters to kill made the community theorizes the main purpose of the place.

When it was conquered and found out the bottom of the labyrinth is just an empty room without anything even a single common chest that contains the most common items made the players who were invested in solving the puzzle got angry and said that the time and effort they did for cracking all of the puzzles are just a big waste of time. It was kind of pitiful since their efforts were not even rewarded.

Who would have thought that the main purpose of the ruins was the tomb of the demon princess that is not even mentioned ever in any of the main stories and this secret quest is the first time the demon princess was ever mentioned. So that means, this princess was forgotten over the course of the story.

Since the solution of all the puzzles was already in my mind, I didn't need to wack my brains just to solve them. The only problem is the ruins and the labyrinth structure inside. Yes, there are 20 puzzles to solve to proceed to the last floor but with the solutions all printed in my head, that isn't a problem at all. The main problem that made this place time-consuming is the changing hallways and different places that would suddenly shift while you are walking. It is very frustrating especially if you are bad at directions since this will further cause you to get lost.

Even I who has an eidetic memory will have one or two troubles along the way. It is frustrating to some extent.

...

Around 2 hours later, I finally cracked the last puzzle. If I didn't know the solutions to the puzzles beforehand, I might have been stuck in the 4th puzzle to the 10th puzzle since even with solutions, it took me a few retries before I managed to solve it due to how tricky some of its mechanics just to trigger the lock from opening. Thank goodness I am now able to break through the last puzzle.

Descending on the long staircase that appeared after the last puzzle crumbled, Atlas appeared from my summons area. I didn't forbid him and allowed him to descend the stairs with me.

"Master, I sense a great dread at the end of these stairs."

"Is it the same as those times when you detect a demon?" I asked.

"Twice the intensity, Master. It seems not only does the energy of dark matter really strong down there, it seems to be sealed."

"Sealed huh... maybe due to the fact that the demon princess was asleep that is why you sense the dark energy to be "sealed"? That might be the main reason you seemed to feel the power of it differently."

"Perhaps, Master. Unlike the usual demon aura that I detect, this dark energy seems to be much more chaotic and destructive. Be careful Master, even I can't guarantee your safety in this dungeon if something comes up unexpectedly."

"Don't worry, I can handle things on my own and I am a tough nut to crack, I won't be broken that easily."

As we arrive at the bottom of the stairs, the same room where the stream in the past timeline visited appeared before my eyes and I can tell that the intricate design of this place is much different compared to some dungeons I have seen so far. This place is made so intricately I have a hard time believing that this place doesn't have a purpose.

Not only that but the feeling of heaviness is also getting more intense here too. It seems like you are experiencing an increased amount of gravity while in the area alone.

"Master, be careful, there seems to be something in here that I can't pinpoint. Be vigilant and keep your guard up."

Atlas looks around the place and observing the situation. Meanwhile, I look around the place and started looking for the mechanism that will reveal where the demon princess was located. If it wasn't here when we arrive, then it must be a hidden mechanism that is easy to dismiss as a design of the place rather than a trigger to the hidden place.

While investigating the pillars, all of a sudden, a flying weapon came straight to me and you can only react to it in split second. Thankfully, due to my training in katana, it wasn't troubling at all to block it.

PENG!

The weapon was deflected and it went straight to the wall, destroying it completely. The walls broke down, and a hidden chamber appeared.

"The f*ck?"

"Master, there was a hidden chamber in the walls."

"I can see that and it seems like it was a deliberate attempt to hide this place since I never suspected this place to have a room behind it."

"Not only that, Master. The dread that I am feeling since we came down from the stairs seems to come from this area. Since the feeling earlier seems to circle down in this room, it seems the hidden room has a way to disguise the aura of the chaotic energy on where it was coming from."

"Let's investigate it right away."

Entering the room, the heaviness I felt since earlier intensified and I can barely move around due to how heavy the feeling I got. But it was enough for me to get inside and investigate the new area. The room is small but it was enough to house the coffin inside the room. Not only the coffin but there is also a little altar without any sort of items placed on it. More like it was a sacrificial altar, only a miniature version.

"Atlas, can you tell me if you have seen this kind of altar before?"

Atlas approached and investigated the altar closely. It took him quite a while before he answered my question.

"This altar is called the Basin of Blood. It was meant to use as an altar to offer blood. I saw it once in some of the demon realms but it was only for the sake of offerings and nothing else. This one seems modified to channel through something in which this case has the Basin of Blood connected to the coffin."

"So, that means inside the coffin is most likely the demon princess?"

"It might be possible."

After getting the confirmation on the real usage of the Basin of Blood, I went to the coffin and started my inspection of it. Sliding the lid, the cover of the coffin slightly moved.

"Ah, it opened."

"Might as well open it completely. Don't worry, Master. I can be your shield if something happens."

I nodded and slowly push open the lid of the coffin. It took me a few moments before the coffin lid was removed completely.

THUD!

All of a sudden, the Basin of Blood suddenly glows red and the empty basin started to fill with blood suddenly even though I didn't see any kind of connection on where the blood might have come from.

The inside of the coffin is obscure and still quite hard to distinguish. Due to the Basin of Blood suddenly filling blood, I have a bad feeling about the coffin's contents.

I pull out my weapon and assumed the fighting stance. It was not a good idea to open the lid. If I have known the basin would start to fill with blood and flow towards the coffin, I wouldn't be opening this cover lid. However, what's done is done.

"Get ready, Atlas. I might need your help against this one."

"I am always ready, Master," Atlas said before pulling his weapon out of thin air.

Then I sensed movement inside the coffin. It was subtle but it seems whatever is inside the coffin is getting the hang of it and is trying to get out.

Soon, the one inside the coffin stood up from the coffin. A girl with white hair, black clothes that seem very close to gothic lolita. She was also a bit taller than an average girl and she is quite pale.

"Master, she is filled with dark energy. It seems she is the demon princess that we are looking for."

I prepare my weapon in case she started attacking.

"Where... am I? What is going on?"

"She seemed to have no idea what is happening, Master. It seems during her slumber, she was unaware why she was put to sleep."

"Why is she put to sleep anyway?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea about that, Master. I just heard of her today after you got that demon's diary so don't ask me about it. We are both in the dark here."

The girl looked at us and rubbed her eyes. "Are you two my new followers? Where are the others? How come my whole body is so sore?"

That moment was also the day the demon princess was resurrected.