Elenor slammed the brake and yanked the steering wheel to the left. The SUV slid into a sharp drift, narrowly skimming past the rift by mere inches. She twisted the wheel again, straightened the vehicle with practiced precision, and continued forward—but for a brief second, she glanced at the rearview mirror and let out a tense sigh.
As she sped along the asphalt, another rift caught her eye to the right, torn open within the forest. A little farther ahead, she glimpsed an orange rift on the opposite side. The deeper she drove, the more the forest around her came alive with sounds—roars, howls, and distant screams echoing through the trees.
"…This forest won't be safe after tonight."
After five minutes on the asphalt, she turned sharply off the road and into the forest. The SUV drifted hard to the right, leaving faint tire marks behind. The moment she left the asphalt, she tapped the vehicle's control panel and switched to off-road mode. The tires reconfigured, becoming thicker and more rugged. The suspension lifted, the front bumper reinforced itself, and a pull bar extended outward. What had once been a luxury SUV transformed into a full-fledged off-road vehicle.
Without slowing down, Elenor skillfully guided the car through the uneven forest terrain, weaving between trees and rocks in sharp zigzags. A faint smirk crossed her lips as she thought to herself.
"Good thing I've been driving since I was ten. Those insane emergency drills Aunt Amanda forced on me finally paid off… though I'm still better on a motorcycle."
As she advanced, a group of goblins suddenly appeared in her path. They stared in shock at the approaching vehicle—something they had clearly never seen before in their lives. Elenor, upon spotting them, floored the accelerator and tore straight through the group. Three goblins were crushed instantly; two others were flung aside by the impact, smashing into trees.
She didn't look back. Biting her full lower lip, Elenor pressed on. Monsters were already pouring out of the rifts, and she still hadn't reached the laboratory. She pushed the speed higher—but drove with even sharper focus. At that moment, a goblin leapt up along the left window, shrieking as it slammed a crude club against the glass.
Kkiiiieeeee!
A normal woman would have screamed and lost control of the wheel—but Elenor, trained since the age of ten by an A-rank hunter and a former special forces commander? She merely glanced sideways for a split second, then completely ignored the goblin. She knew perfectly well that even if it were wielding an axe or pick instead of a rotten stick, there was no chance it could break the glass. The vehicle was bulletproof, impact-resistant, and constructed from special alloys designed to withstand small to medium-sized monsters.
The goblin continued pounding on the window as Elenor drove on without diverting her attention from the road. Suddenly, her ruby-red eyes widened—but only for an instant. She immediately regained her composure, her gaze sharpening as she refocused.
Ahead of her, a seven-meter-tall troll stood roaring in her path.
Elenor reacted instantly, spinning the wheel and drifting around the troll in a tight arc. She twisted the steering again with expert timing, narrowly avoiding a tree before snapping the wheel the opposite way, sending the car sliding sideways. She regained control in a heartbeat and continued through the rough forest path.
A quick glance at the rearview mirror made her frown—the troll was chasing her.
"Tch!"
She turned her eyes forward again and growled irritably.
"Eda, how far to the target?"
[Calculating… 14 minutes 23 seconds.]
Elenor's brow furrowed. It was impossible to go any faster in the forest. She flicked her gaze to the left—the goblin was still trying to break the window. She looked back ahead as the SUV tore through the trees.
Behind her, the troll continued its pursuit, smashing through trees that stood in its way, uprooting or shattering them with brute force. It roared in rage, the sound echoing throughout the forest.
RRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRR!
Elenor ignored the roar and pressed on. After passing another tree, her eyes suddenly widened in shock. With superhuman reflexes, she jerked the steering wheel hard. A blue rift loomed directly ahead—she drifted past it by mere centimeters, narrowly avoiding being swallowed by it.
Barely escaping, Elenor snarled internally.
"That makes two!"
After nearly falling into a rift twice—without any armor and without awakened powers—Elenor's anger flared. She decided to vent her frustration on her grandfather, cursing him in her mind.
"You rotten old man! Why do you always have to build your laboratories in the most hidden, cursed places possible?!"
Even as she continued mentally berating him, she never took her eyes off the road. But when she felt intense vibrations on her left wrist, she issued a command to her smart watch.
"Eda, accept the call."
The moment the call connected, the watch's speakers erupted with the sounds of roaring, explosions, screams, and gunfire. Amid the chaos, a calm, slightly worried yet warm female voice came through.
"Sweetheart? Did you make it?"
Elenor replied evenly.
"I'm almost at the gate."
As she spoke, she burst out of the dense forest into an open area. Towering mountains rose before her. Between bursts of gunfire, Amanda's voice came through again.
"I see. Did you run into any trouble on the way?"
"No. I just ran over a few goblins, barely avoided two rifts, and now I've got a troll chasing me. Nothing too serious."
Gunfire continued to crackle through the speaker. A monster's roar rang out clearly, followed by several shots and then its agonized scream. Amanda roared in fury.
"YOU DAMNED BASTARDS! YOU PICKED THE WRONG WOMAN TO MESS WITH!"
Hearing that, Elenor raised an eyebrow and asked cautiously.
"…Is everything okay?"
Through the chaos of gunfire, screams, and roars, Amanda's voice came through warm and affectionate.
"Of course~ I just went out hunting. We're buying time so people can get into the shelters."
At that moment, a male voice shouted through the commotion.
"COMMANDER! A GROUP OF OGRES HAS APPEARED ON THE RIGHT FLANK! HEIGHTS BETWEEN TEN AND TWENTY-TWO METERS—REQUESTING IMMEDIATE REINFORCEMENTS!"
Amanda's authoritative voice rang out.
"I UNDERSTAND. DEPLOY THE 5TH AND 6TH HEAVY ARMORED INFANTRY SQUADS, AND THE 12TH, 13TH, AND 27TH TANK UNITS TO THE AREA! ESTABLISH IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION WITH THE BASE AND REQUEST MECHS IN THE 10 TO 20 METER CLASS!"
"YES, MA'AM!"
Meanwhile, Elenor continued forward without breaking her focus. As she approached the gate, she tapped on the SUV's panel—Omar's vehicle—and prepared to enter the password via voice command.
Ah! This is so embarrassing!
"Password: My Cute, Little White Bunny, Elenor."
A green light illuminated on the panel.
[Password confirmed. Voice recognition verified. Welcome, Elenor Altarez.]
Amanda couldn't hold back her laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! That old man is still completely obsessed with his granddaughter! WATCH THE RIGHT SIDE!"
Hearing the mockery, Elenor's eyebrows twitched wildly, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.
'One of the first things I'll do in my new home is change that password!'
The gate, isolated within the rocky face of the mountain, began to open slowly. Glancing into the rearview mirror at her furious pursuer, Elenor started to slow the car. With graceful hands, she reached for the bag filled with bombs resting on the seat beside her. Keeping her left hand on the wheel and her eyes fixed on the road, she opened the bag with her right hand and carefully felt inside, recognizing the stamped markings on the bombs by touch alone.
'Let's see… smoke bomb, grenade—ah, there they are!'
She pulled out two cylindrical, black, futuristic bombs adorned with glowing neon lights. Setting them within reach, she held the steering wheel with her right hand and lowered the left window with her left. The sudden movement startled the goblin clinging there; as the glass descended, it prepared to strike—but unfortunately for it, Elenor was faster. Keeping her right hand steady on the wheel, she slammed her left elbow hard into the goblin's face.
The goblin was stunned. A tooth flew from its mouth, its nose shattered and bled as it fell from the window, rolling on the ground before groaning in agony and trying to stand. It glared with hatred at the retreating vehicle—then felt the ground tremble. Turning around, its world froze: a five-meter-tall troll was about to step on it. Regret flashed through its mind for attacking the car so persistently—but it was far too late. The troll crushed it underfoot. Green blood smeared against the troll's sole, but the creature continued forward without a second thought.
At the same time, Elenor slipped on a pair of sunglasses. Her vision became slightly more difficult, but she only needed to drive straight for another 200 meters. She had already memorized the path and every obstacle along it.
Reaching to her right, she picked up one of the two bombs. She slowed the car just enough to keep a seven-meter distance between herself and the troll, then activated the bomb. Its neon lights began to blink as a countdown beep sounded. Elenor counted the detonation timing in her head.
'6… 5… 4… 3…'
As she counted, she glanced into the mirror. The ferocious troll was dangerously close—but that was exactly what she wanted. With two seconds left, Elenor hurled the bomb out of the window and immediately looked away. She grabbed the second bomb and activated it, never increasing her speed.
The bomb struck the troll square in the face, exploding in a blinding flash that painted the world white. Caught completely off guard, the troll roared in confusion, clamping its eyes shut as it slowed to a halt, rubbing its watering eyes. What it didn't realize was that Elenor had already thrown the second bomb backward the moment she activated it—and then floored the accelerator, speeding away.
The second bomb spun through the air toward the troll's head. Its casing bore a green skull entwined with a smoke emblem. Thick clouds of purple-and-yellow gas poured from it mid-air. The troll, still rubbing its eyes and screaming, was engulfed by the toxic fumes.
Its skin began to burn. Abandoning its eyes, the troll roared in agony and opened them, surveying its surroundings. Its green eyes were bloodshot from the flashbang. Its lungs and throat burned as it clutched its neck with both hands—the poison had already been inhaled. Its body began to shut down from the inside. Green blood spilled from its mouth.
With hatred, it looked toward the car entering the mountain. The gate was closing behind it. The silhouette inside the vehicle was barely visible, but its vision was already blurring. With a final mouthful of blood, the troll collapsed to the ground. It was dead.
As the gate sealed shut, Elenor swallowed hard at the pitiful sight.
Amanda's worried voice came through.
"Elenor? Are you okay?"
As the entrance locked, Elenor calmly raised her left wrist and spoke into her smart watch.
"…Remind me never to get close to those poison gases again… They killed a troll in seconds… I think…"
Gunfire echoed as Amanda laughed.
"HAHAHAHA! Those gases are the deadliest poisons your grandfather, Omar, and I ever created! Anyway—did you make it?"
Elenor looked around and let out a relieved breath, speaking in a slightly melancholic tone.
"Yes… I've arrived at my new home."
"Got it! I'm cutting the call—things are chaotic here! WOLVES FROM THE RIGHT, INTENSIFY FIRE! See you, sweetheart~"
Text appeared on the smart watch screen.
[Connection terminated.]
Elenor took a deep breath. She leaned her back against the SUV, tilted her head back, and stared blankly at the laboratory ceiling, her beautiful ruby eyes unmoving as she murmured softly,
"…Home, sweet home, huh."
She stood there for several minutes, letting her body process the intense adrenaline of the past hour and a half. Placing a hand over her chest, she felt her heart pounding like a drum—not from fear, but from exhilaration.
"Hahaha… That was fun."