What Alex finds on the bottom of the collapsed giant labyrinth are giant bones and a big lacrima crystal. But the bones are broken apart because of his Corrosive Gas. As for the lacrima crystal, it is still intact as it has a layer of magic shield protecting it.
Still, the corrosive gas was really strong and it weakened the magic shield very badly. The magic shield has become so weak that it now looks like a plastic membrane instead of a sturdy magic shield and the lacrima crystal glows very dimly.
"Seems like it was an active lacrima. Was it the power source of this labyrinth? But what's with these bones?"
'Watch out, kid! There's a consciousness in that crystal. I can sense a malicious intent coming from that thing.' Kurama suddenly warns Alex as he gets closer to the lacrima crystal.
Alex frowns and steps back while using his magic sense to check the lacrima crystal.
'Hey, kid. Why don't you pull that thing to our place? We'll have a nice talk with whatever inside that crystal is.' Shukaku grins evilly, followed by the other Tailed Beasts' mischievous giggles.
Alex also has a naughty grin on his face as he approaches the big lacrima crystal. He transforms his right arm into Shukaku's arm and grabs the lacrima crystal. Then, he wraps it with sand and it disappears instantly.
The lacrima crystal shows up inside the Tailed Beasts' space, inside Alex's Soul Realm. This space is unique because even if it's a Soul Realm, material things can enter it as long as Alex and the Tailed Beasts allow it.
In the past, Alex often pulled magical creatures he defeated into this realm so the Tailed Beasts could absorb their magic power to break the seals. It started when Shukaku pulled Deliora's corpse to break Matatabi's seal because Alex couldn't absorb magic power yet at that time.
But he never did it again since he could just absorb magic power by himself. So he only needs to transfer magic power to break the seals. There's no need to pull the creatures' whole bodies just to get their magic power.
Now, he finally uses it again after so long and it's not because he needs to absorb the lacrima's magic power. It's because the Tailed Beasts want to take care of whatever soul is residing inside the lacrima because it will be dangerous if Alex deals with it alone.
Right after the lacrima crystal enters the space, the soul that Kurama sensed came out. Alex is surprised when he sees the soul's appearance, but now he knows why there are giant bones around the lacrima.
"HAHAHA! I FINALLY GOT A LIVING BODY! AT LAST, I..... Eh?"
The soul that comes out of the lacrima crystal is a Dragon's soul. It's not a dragon that Alex recognizes, but he is sure that it's a dragon. This dragon has dark purple scales with glowing red eyes.
The dark purple dragon seems ecstatic when its soul comes out of the crystal, but it's stunned when it sees the Tailed Beasts that are as big as it is standing around it. Then, there's this little human sitting on top of the blue-black cat's head, giggling at it.
"I see, so it's a Dragon Lacrima, and a naturally formed one. It must've put its soul inside that lacrima before its death. Then, was it the one who created this labyrinth?"
"Let's just ask him. Oi, shithead, are you the one who created this labyrinth?" Shukaku asks the dragon nicely, for his standard.
"..... Who are you guys?" The dragon ignores Shukaku's question and asks something instead.
"MOTHERF*CKER! I'M THE ONE ASKING QUESTION HERE." Of course, Shukaku is mad.
"Hmph! Why should I answer your question?" The Dragon is not afraid of them.
"Well, you're right, you don't need to answer our questions. But then, we don't need to answer yours or even keep you alive, right?" Kurama suddenly appears behind the Dragon and slams the Dragon's head to the dark ground.
The Dragon tries to retaliate, but it suddenly feels a very powerful magical pressure coming from the 9 Tailed Beasts slamming down on it. Its eyes shake because it can feel that the Tailed Beasts are as strong as the Dragon Kings in their prime conditions.
"W-who exactly are you?"
"As I said, we don't need to answer your question."
When Kurama says that, all 9 Tailed Beasts touch the Dragon's soul. It widens its eyes before screaming in agony while cursing them. But it can't do anything as its soul and power disappear, absorbed by the Tailed Beasts.
In the end, what remains from that dark purple Dragon is a small lacrima crystal the size of a pingpong ball. It packs the Dragon's pure magic, but there's no trace of its soul, mind, memories, or consciousness left inside because the Tailed Beasts have absorbed it all.
"Oh? So it has the power to manipulate gravity. It seemed to be strong too. No wonder it was so arrogant just now." Son Goku smirks while rubbing his chin.
After absorbing creatures' soul and power, the Tailed Beasts can find out those creatures' abilities. They find out that this Dragon has Gravity Magic and Kurama who can detect negative emotions finds out that this Dragon is truly evil.
"Such an evil creature. Even Madara was not as evil as that Dragon. Disposing it as quickly as possible was the correct move."
"It was that evil? Then, will this lacrima crystal be fine?" Alex is holding the small lacrima crystal worriedly now.
"Don't worry. We've taken its soul, memories, intent, and everything else except for that Dragon's magic. That's why its size becomes that small, because it purely contains the Dragon's Gravity Magic, nothing else. So if you give that lacrima to someone, they won't be affected by that Dragon's soul at all." Matatabi assures Alex.
"I see, that's good. But Gravity Dragon Slayer Magic, huh? Who should I give it to?" Alex is pondering deeply.
"Why are you thinking so deeply? Just give it to your descendant." Gyuki doesn't understand why Alex is so confused now.
"My kid, huh? Hmm, not a bad idea. Dragon Slayer Magic will be even rarer in the future and Gravity Magic has great potential too. Alright, I'll keep this Gravity Dragon Lacrima for my kid."
Alex decides to keep the Gravity Dragon Lacrima to be passed down to his child in the future. But then, he suddenly realizes something.
"Wait a minute. If this Dragon's Magic is Gravity, then I can understand how he created this labyrinth. But how did he create those monsters? I don't think Gravity Magic can create magical monsters like those things."
The Tailed Beasts also finally realize that it's very strange. So they tell Alex to inspect the bottom of this collapsed labyrinth again. He inspects thoroughly to make sure he doesn't miss anything that can answer this problem.
After looking around for a while and removing a lot of rubble, Alex finally finds some broken magic formations. His corrosive gas has destroyed big parts of these formations, making them useless.
He can't understand their structures, but he knows that these must be the magic that created those monsters. The magic signature of these formations are different from that Dragon's, so someone else must've created these and that Dragon simply used it.
"Now it makes sense why a Gravity Dragon could create those monsters. But we can't find out who created these magic formations. There's also no trace of someone else being here other than that dead Gravity Dragon's soul." Alex still can't find who created these magic formations.
"No need to think too deeply, Alex. We aren't detectives and it's not your job to investigate this mystery. Your job is simply to destroy this labyrinth that becomes a disaster to this Kingdom." Matatabi tells Alex to stop investigating because it's not worth his time.
Alex agrees and then he transforms into Mini Shukaku. He uses Shukaku's Earth Release ability to destroy everything on the bottom of this collapsed massive labyrinth that's made of rock and soil.
As Matatabi says, his job is to destroy this labyrinth and make sure no monster is coming out again. So he does it thoroughly by destroying everything here completely. Now, he just needs to confirm that everything is over by waiting for the next monster wave that shouldn't happen.
Alex goes out of the massive hole to inform the Kingdom first and to take a rest after working nonstop for a week. But sometime after he left, a black portal appears on the bottom and a man with black hair comes out of it.
If Alex is here, he will recognize this man even though he never met this man directly. After all, this man's features are so recognizable. This man is none other than Zeref, the creator of those damn Etherious Demons.
"I see. Someone destroyed the lab that I abandoned centuries ago, huh? Seems like someone used it for something dangerous without my knowledge too."
If Alex heard this, he won't be surprised to know that Zeref created this place. Though it seems he abandoned it and that Dragon found it by chance, then used it. As for what lab this is and how that Dragon found it, Alex will never know.
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Ch. 152. The Storm Hasn't Passed