The Alchemy Lab of Bastion was located in the basement of the central keep, two floors above the dungeon. It had once been a wine cellar, but under the "management" of Valac, the Witch of Greed, it had transformed into a chaotic workshop of metal, glass, and volatile magic.
Pipes hissed with green steam.
Beakers bubbled with liquids that defied gravity. In the corner, a pile of gold coins was being melted down not for currency, but for their conductive properties.
Ash stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, looking at the device Valac had constructed.
It looked like an iron coffin, standing upright. It was covered in intricate copper wiring and studded with mana crystals—the B-Rank ones Satanachia had "tested" earlier. Thick cables ran from the coffin to a central generator that hummed with a low, headache-inducing vibration.
