"Anyone have another question?" Ashtarot asked the children.
One of the children with dragon scales raised his hand. "Why is this place so lame? Look, it's all ruined. Even that boss robot is ugly."
Zaek, hearing this, felt hurt and protested, "It's for aesthetics! Aesthetics!"
Ashtarot sighed, knowing he was lying. He often complained to him that his domain was too hideous and wanted it to be 'fixed.'
"Some of the dungeon floors are built based on the owner's will and mutual agreement by all the head divisions," Ashtarot explained.
"So it's all because of that three-headed ice dragon."
He said with an annoyed expression, remembering how the triplet dragon always bothered him. He just hoped they did their job properly instead of stalking him.
The children's eyes widened and sparkled with excitement at the mention of the three-headed dragon.
"Can we meet the three-headed dragon, Mr. Ashtarot?" one of them asked eagerly.
"Me too! I want to meet them too!" another chimed in, followed by a chorus of excited shouts.
Ashtarot nodded, "Of course, you'll meet them later. We're doing a tour anyway."
"But before that you guys need to be a good children!" Moloch chimed in, eager to improve his reputation.
"So children, if you have any questions, you can ask me instead of him, I also know the dragon well," he pointed at Ashtarot and whispered, "You know how scary he is, right?"
"I can perfectly hear you," he remarked, annoyed, veins popping on his forehead.
"Ah... But it's fine if you want to entertain them. I need to talk to Zaek."
He then left the children and Moloch behind and approached the mecha, inspecting the progress of the repaired robot with a thoughtful expression.
"Open status," he said.
Then the blue screen started to appear in front of him:
[14th Floor information]
[Territory: Automaton Sanctuarium.]
[Terrain: The abandoned laboratories.]
[Area: 50 km²]
---
[Climate: Cool and damp, with a constant low hum from the dormant machinery.]
[Special Attributes: Technology enhancement; magic use is suppressed]
[Hazards: Unstable structures, corrosive chemicals, energy surges]
---
[Monsters]
[Population Density: Approx. 10 monsters per km².]
[Hierarchy: Common (Lab Sentinels, Nano Swarm, etc), Elite (Giga Scorpions, Cyber Wraiths, etc), Boss (Enigmata Genesis).]
[Behavior: Aggressive towards intruders, territorial.]
---
[Status]
[On Maintenance]
[Areas Under Maintenance: Boss Domain.]
[Detail Repairs: (1) Enigmata Genesis's body & environmental repairment, (2) Core System inspection, (3) Reprogramming Security System.]
[Workers available: 250 mechamites.]
[Approx time finished: 1 hour 10 minutes.]
---
"Hmm... It's running smoothly," he nodded. "Zaek, I need to talk to you. Come out from your pod!" he yelled at him.
"Ughh... NO, I'M BETTER HERE! Don't worry, I can still hear you!" Zaek insisted.
"Are you still not confident with your appearance? Just come out, no one cares!" Ashtarot became even more impatient.
He knew that Zaek could be a pain in the ass. Most of the time, he just chilled out since it rare occasion the parties challenge his domain.
But when it came to his appearance and unreasonable complaints, he was a lot of work, and Ashtarot hated it!
"NO!!! I CARE!!! You can't say that when your face is so handsome!" he crossed his arms, becoming more persistent.
'He rarely does anything and even gets a salary! That damned lazy alien!' He thought to himself.
"Tch, if you don't want to come here, I will be the one to come to you!"
And with that, Ashtarot flew and stuck to the mecha's eyes like a spider, looking at Zaek who was inside the pod menacingly. His face was sticking close to the glass, looking funny.
"What the hell is Ashtarot doing???"
Moloch looked at him like he was some kind of freak, while the children looked amazed and even laughed like it was some kind of joke to them.
"You lazy ass! Do your job properly or I will send you to the deserts so your delicate skin becomes dry and you dry up like a raisin!" His crimson eyes bored into Zaek, making him shriek.
"What- I do my job properly! I fought with the previous party, right?!" Zaek defended himself.
"You fight once a month! So at least be brave and talk to me down here! Or I will crush this glass and drag you out with me!"
Ashtarot became even more menacing, leaving him with no choice but to come out from the pod.
He given up, he sat on the floor while Ashtarot reprimanded him. He just listened to him like a scared puppy. In his mind, that devil was a crazy psychopath.
After being reprimanded, Ashtarot turned around and looked at the children. "All of you! Remember to be a good part of monster society! Work hard until you can't!"
"Work hard until you feel the blood coming out from your face! And then you will understand the meaning of becoming an adult!" he said, speaking like it was some kind of sermon.
While the children just looked at him perplexed and didn't understand what he meant, they kept whispering things like:
"Adults are scary."
"What a weirdo."
Moloch and the teacher just shook their heads in unison, not knowing how to feel about all of this. Ashtarot kept talking about work ethic and Zaek cried in the background.
However, without their realizing, three monsters were lurking, taking photos of all of them especially Ashtarot, capturing his every expression.
"Ugh, Ashtarot is so hot when he's angry!" one of them remarked, her long silver hair flowing as her blue eyes sparkled with admiration.
"I know, right, sister? Don't forget to share those pictures with me!" chimed in the other, sporting short hair and the same blue eyes.
"Ehhh??? I want some too! Don't leave me out!" the last one said, her wavy hair bouncing as she pleaded, her blue eyes gleaming with excitement.
The three of them looked nearly identical, especially with their silver horns, except for one who has black one.
Their fingers dancing over the controls of the camera from the system with practiced ease.
They snapped away like professionals, capturing every moment until Ashtarot's gaze flickered in their direction. With a gasp, they quickly ducked behind the ruins.
"What! We almost got caught!"
"What do you mean? We're using invisibility magic!"
"He can't see us!"
"Ah, yes, I forgot, hehe."
They chuckled nervously, grateful for their magical concealment.