Elenor left the training hall and headed back to the greenhouse section. Moving straight across the room, she entered it. Five meters past the door, two more doors greeted her. She calmly scanned her surroundings, waited a moment, listened carefully, and when she confirmed there was no issue, she advanced and examined both doors.
'An elevator and stairs… So the laboratory is downstairs—but what's upstairs?'
She looked upward, thought for a moment, then made a guess.
'Probably an observation tower. Grandpa likes watching space and the surroundings. There's no need to go there for now—the door is already locked.'
She stepped up to the elevator and pressed the panel with her thumb. A green light lit up, the doors split down the middle, and slid open to the sides. Elenor entered the elevator and read the text on the touch panel to her left.
[Upper Floor: Observation Tower]
[Ground Floor: Living Area]
[Lower Floor: Laboratory]
She tapped the lower floor with her index finger. The doors slowly closed, and the elevator began moving with a slight vibration. When she arrived, she didn't lower her guard—shotgun raised, she remained on alert.
'In dangerous times, I should always stay ready. Once I settle in, I really should stash weapons in several areas. If I get into trouble, if outsiders enter the lab, or if a rift suddenly opens and monsters pour in, I can't afford to be unarmed…'
She felt the cold metal of the tactical belt around her waist and the weight of the weapons attached to it. Touching the front of the belt with her left hand, she thought:
'Looks like this will be my daily accessory. I don't want to walk around without a handgun.'
That line of thought took only three seconds. The elevator doors opened. She stepped out cautiously. The sound of her heeled boots echoed through the empty corridor. She waited a few seconds, listening, slowed her breathing as much as possible, and kept the shotgun's barrel sweeping left and right, ready to fire. After a full minute, she finally relaxed.
'Corridor is clear.'
Elenor proceeded to explore the laboratory area methodically. There were sections for biology, chemistry, machinery, a weapons workshop, rune studies, and a repair workshop directly beneath the garage. After checking each one carefully, she finally felt at ease.
'That just leaves the house. The environment seems clean, but before going there, I should reinforce the security systems.'
She entered the control center inside the laboratory and activated the panel.
[Security Level 3: Active >>> Level 5 Maximum Security Activated]
[…]
[Laboratory entering high-security mode…]
[Garage doors sealing…]
[Cargo doors sealing…]
[Observation tower sealing…]
[Generators active. Operational status: 100%]
[Weapon systems: Active]
[Security drones: Ready]
[Laboratory shields activating at full power…]
[Full authorization granted to Elenor Altarez for all laboratory systems.]
[Monster repellent: Active]
After reading the confirmation messages, Elenor let out a relieved breath. Then she decided to check the security cameras.
"Heh. Grandpa never disappoints," she muttered with a mocking smile.
"He's installed cameras watching every single centimeter inside. I can even see the living quarters… Wait."
She enlarged the camera feeds of the living area and examined them carefully. What she saw made her eyebrow twitch violently as shock rapidly turned into anger.
"What the hell happened to the kitchen!? No—let me rephrase—what the hell happened to the entire house!? Is that Grandpa's underwear sitting on top of the couch!? How many weeks have those dishes been sitting in the sink!? Why do the beds look like they just came out of a war zone!? Why are those swords lying around in the middle of the living room!? The bathroom—mud everywhere! At least the bedrooms look somewhat humane, but still… WHAT IS THIS HOUSE!?"
Instead of calming down, Elenor grew even more agitated. She rubbed her temples hard with her fingertips, and as she thought about her grandfather and Uncle Omar, her ruby-red eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint. A smile—demonic and fueled by pure rage—spread across her face. She could feel the veins bulging on her forehead, her palms clenched so tightly her nails dug into her skin.
She took several deep, controlled breaths, trying to restrain herself. Then, with a graceful motion, she tapped her smartwatch and initiated a call. The connection took only four seconds. The moment Soren accepted, chaos burst from the speaker—monster roars, heavy gunfire, and the deafening thunder of exploding magic filled the room.
Through all that noise, Soren's warm, elderly voice rang out:
"My honey bun! Did you make it safely to my laboratory?"
Elenor's reply was ice-cold.
"Yes."
At that moment, Omar's energetic shout—clearly coming from the middle of battle—rang out:
"HAHAHAHA! I TOLD YOU SHE'D MAKE IT! WATCH THE LEFT FLANK! MINOTAURS INCOMING!"
Gunfire, explosions, and the dying screams of monsters overlapped as Soren's murmured incantation echoed through the chaos:
"Flame Tempest!"
A massive, ear-splitting roar followed, but Elenor didn't care in the slightest. She trusted her grandfather's and Omar's strength completely. The real battlefield wasn't outside—it was inside the house.
"HAHAHAHA! OF COURSE SHE DID! THAT'S MY GRANDDAUGHTER!"
Soren roared, then tried to lower his tone.
"Elenor, about the cargo I sent—"
"Soran Altarez! Omar Demir!"
Elenor's voice, paired with the dangerously gleaming eyes reflected in the laboratory lights, made the temperature in the room seem to drop several degrees. The veins on her forehead stood out clearly now. She was using her most authoritative, most queen-like tone—as if she weren't addressing two legendary warriors, but two children caught misbehaving.
"Would you care to explain why the house I'm supposed to live in looks like it hasn't seen a broom in months? Your underwear is lying around everywhere! There are swords casually left in the living room! The kitchen is coated in filth, leftover food, and grease! The bedrooms look worse than a battlefield, the bathroom is a breeding ground for bacteria, and the laundry room is piled with mountains of dirty clothes! Am I your maid!? If Aunt Amanda were here and saw the state of the place she was supposed to live in, she'd turn both of you into target practice!"
Elenor was not shouting, yet the coldness in her voice was as clear and sharp as the edge of a blade. With a faint, unsettling smile forming on her lips, she continued:
"Would you tell me, my dear grandfather… while there isn't a single speck of dust in that enormous laboratory of yours, why is only the living area in this state? Huh?"
Amid the chaos and explosion sounds pouring from the watch, there came the unmistakable sound of both heroes swallowing at the same time:
"Oh no!" ×2
Omar immediately tried to take control of the situation.
"I GOT IT! I'LL PERSONALLY PROVIDE SUPPORT ON THE RIGHT FLANK! OLD MAN, THIS PLACE IS YOURS!"
"HEY! OMAR, DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY! DAMN IT! COME BACK!"
Soren shouted helplessly.
Elenor cut him off in an authoritative tone:
"Answer me, Grandfather."
Soren seemed to choke for a moment. He was paying a heavy price for having forgotten, even briefly, Elenor's obsession with discipline, hygiene, and order. The level of disorder in the living area was, for Elenor, right on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Soren stammered in a trembling, guilty voice:
"Ah… well, this situation… actually, everything has a perfectly logical explanation, my honey bun…"
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling, feral roar erupted from the watch. Immediately after, Soren's voice echoed with a panic and urgency Elenor had never heard before:
"DAMN IT! Elenor, listen to me carefully! Use the device in the cargo I sent you. Right now! This is more important to me than anything else!"
Elenor frowned, the anger inside her giving way to a sudden sense of unease.
"What's going on?"
Soren tried to answer, but his voice roughened, dissolving into digital static.
"I'll expla—… Bzzz… Bzzz… Bzzz…"
Elenor touched her watch in shock, trying to restore the signal.
"What's happening? Did the signal drop? But why?"
At that moment, an invisible force swept through the laboratory; a massive electromagnetic wave shook everything. Systems instantly went berserk—lights flickered, screens turned on and off at random. Red alarm sirens began screaming in every corner of the lab. Elenor struck the main panel in disbelief.
"I asked what's going on!"
[!!!!!!System Error!!!!!!]
[!!!!!!System Error!!!!!!]