Alex found himself standing before a colossal tower that rose so high it seemed to pierce the sky itself—the Tower of Ascension.

The air around it vibrated with ancient power. At its base, enormous gates of stone and strange shimmering metal loomed over him, carved with shifting constellations and figures climbing ever upward, as if frozen mid-ascent. As Alex approached, the runes etched along the surface began to glow one after another, reacting to his presence.

With a deep, resonant rumble, the massive gates slowly opened on their own—as if the tower itself had been waiting for him.

Alex watched the widening gap, feeling the pressure that leaked from the darkness beyond. "Did she really go into the tower," he muttered, "without knowing what it is?"

He sighed heavily. 'What the hell do I do now… I had plans for her.'

'But nothing ever goes according to plan, does it?'

He stared at the entrance. 'If I go in now, all hell will break loose here. I need someone who can keep things running while I'm gone. And I'm sure we're going to run into some very powerful enemies inside.'

The system spoke in his mind. [ Host, what about the promise to Hephaestus? ]

"Useless," Alex muttered under his breath. 'How many days do we have left? I remember we had four months of time.'

[ Only seven days remain, ] the system answered. [ And the situation here is very delicate. You also know the enemy has likely already infiltrated the capital to gather information on us. ]

Alex let out another long sigh. "I know, I know. There's just too much on my plate right now. I need allies—powerful, intelligent ones I can trust in my absence. And we seriously need more manpower."

Just as he said that, a voice came from behind him, low and calm. "So you're here. I've been looking all over for you."

Alex turned around.

A beautiful woman with blue hair streaked with silver stood a few meters away, arms folded. Her hair fluttered slightly in the wind, and her silver-tinted eyes watched him with a mix of amusement and seriousness.

"So you've finally decided to end your vacation, huh, Zara?" Alex said.

"I was never on vacation to begin with," Zara replied. "I infiltrated the new continent and found some… interesting things I'm sure you'll want to know."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You actually did something spectacular this time."

Zara shifted her gaze to the Tower of Ascension. "So, are you planning to go inside? Or should we go back to the palace and discuss what I found there?"

Alex looked at the open gates, then turned away. "It's not time yet. Let's go back to the palace. These days I barely have time to breathe."

Zara smiled. "For a lazy person like you, that must have been quite an experience."

Alex shot her a look.

"What?" she said. "I'm just stating the truth. You're the kind of person who prefers eight hours of sleep a day. Seeing you work like a donkey… I'm actually proud of you."

"Stop acting like my grandmother," Alex grumbled. "Let's go. We've got work to do."

Zara's face reddened slightly. "Hey, I'm not that old, okay."

"So you admit you're old," Alex said immediately.

Zara's mouth twitched. She smacked the back of his head.

Wincing, Alex rubbed the spot. "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't you have a shred of delicacy?" Zara said. "You never ask a beautiful lady her age."

Alex smirked. "And where is that beautiful lady you're talking ab—"

Another smack, harder this time, landed on his cheek.

"Alright, enough," Zara said. "Let's go back."

"Yeah, yeah… I liked you better when you were just an AI," Alex muttered.

Zara narrowed her eyes. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing, ma'am. Let's go back," Alex said quickly.

Zara took his hand.

Their bodies began to glow, lines of light wrapping around them. In the next instant, both of them vanished from the tower's entrance.

---

They reappeared just outside the main palace of Avaloria.

Alden was already there, waiting anxiously. The moment he saw them, he rushed forward. "Did you find anything? Where is she? Is she safe?"

"Relax," Alex said. "I know where she went. We'll find her soon. Don't worry."

Alden let out a breath of relief. "Good…"

Then his eyes finally registered Zara standing beside Alex.

"Come on, dude," Alden said, looking between them. "Another hot chick? How do you even do that?"

Alex answered without missing a beat. "Step one: you have to be good-looking."

He paused. "Step two… is not important for you, because you're not good-looking. So I won't bother explaining the rest."

Alden's eye twitched. "You bastard. I'm going to roast you alive someday…"

"Alright, time for introductions," Alex said. "This is Zara—a super bot created by Draven. She's an artificial intelligence who's evolved to do everything a human can."

Alden's mouth fell open. "Seriously? Draven made something like that?"

"Never underestimate him," Alex replied. "You don't realize it yet, but that guy is one of the biggest players we have right now. You could even call him our greatest weapon."

Alden sucked in a cold breath. "Wow… you really think that highly of him, huh."

"Because he deserves it," Alex said simply.

Alden frowned. "And I don't…?"

Alex smiled. "You'll deserve it when you finally manage to roast me alive."

Zara let out a small laugh. "You two really do like each other, don't you?"

"I hate this jackass," both Alex and Alden said in perfect unison, glaring at each other.

Zara only laughed harder.

Alex sighed. "Where is everyone else?"

"My sister is showing Elaria her living accommodations," Alden replied. "Evelyn went back to stabilize the trading routes. Everyone else is still busy working on the tasks you dumped on them."

Alex nodded. "Alright. Where's Draven? I want to talk to him."

"He's working on the task you gave him," Alden said. "Gathering as much intel as he can."

"Let's see what he's got," Alex said.

---

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the royal family's research facility.

It was a sprawling complex attached to the palace—crystal panels, reinforced walls, and mana conduits humming faintly. The doors slid open automatically as they approached, reacting to Alex's aura.

Inside, dozens of researchers in white lab coats were busy at work—scribbling on floating screens, adjusting devices, calibrating crystals, monitoring instruments.

The moment they noticed Alex, Alden, and Zara, they stopped what they were doing and quickly gathered at the entrance, bowing deeply.

"Your Majesty," they greeted together.

"Alright, enough," Alex said. "I don't need formalities. I need results."

One of the senior researchers stepped forward. "Don't worry, sir. The cure for Abyssal Corruption is being produced in large quantities without any issues. And… you'll be surprised to hear this, but using that research, we've developed weapons that can fight the enemy using corruption itself."

Alex, Zara, and Alden all raised their eyebrows.

"You're telling me," Alex said slowly, "you managed that just from analyzing the antidote?"

The researcher adjusted his glasses. "We had help. Most of the credit goes to—"

"It was me," a tired voice cut in. "Me, you bastard."

A figure stepped out from behind a cluster of machinery.

Dark circles hung under Draven's eyes. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were slightly wrinkled, as if he hadn't left the lab in days.

A grin spread across Alex's face. He hurried over, throwing an arm around Draven's shoulders. "How horrible. Who did this to you? Did you not rest at all?"

Draven's mouth twitched. "Well, my boss is an asshole who won't let me rest. What do you think I should do? Maybe kill him in his sleep? I should probably start working on a weapon that can do that too. I'll add it to my to-do list."

Alex coughed. "How can you say that? Maybe he just wants you to reach your full potential."

"Enough," Draven said, waving a hand. "I know why you're here. Come with me."

Alex nodded, and the three of them followed him.

He led them into a separate chamber deeper in the facility.

The room looked like something out of a futuristic hacker's den: dozens of holographic screens floated in the air, filled with data, maps, faces, and code. Weapon blueprints hung as rotating projections. Lines of script and mana equations scrolled past semi-transparent walls.

They all took seats on a long, low sofa facing the largest central display.

Draven flicked his fingers, and one of the main holographic screens flipped over to reveal multiple faces arranged in a grid—different races, different disguises, all marked with red.

Alex said "Let me guess these bastards are exactly what I'm thinking?"

"That's right," Draven replied. "These are all infiltrators who've managed to sneak into our country."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "There are hundreds of them…"

"At least," Alden said grimly. "And more are probably still coming."

"You've spread the news, right?" Alex asked.

Draven nodded. "Yeah. I spread it everywhere that Elaria Moonshade Lareth'Thalas, the elven princess, is here. I knew you were an asshole—but using her as bait?"

"Hey now," Alex said. "She was the one who came asking for help, okay."

Draven exhaled. "I'll keep sending you updates on every move the other countries are making."

Alden whistled softly. "I have to admit it, Draven. I always thought of you as a nerd, but you keep proving me wrong."

Draven crossed his arms with a smirk. "That's right. Keep the praise coming."

His face turned serious again. "There's more. Kidnappings are increasing. I suspect the cult is behind it. I've seen the aftermath of their experiments on common people."

The room's atmosphere darkened.

Alex's expression sharpened. "Erwin," he said quietly.

A shadow rippled at his feet.

Erwin emerged from Alex's shadow and materialized on the floor, kneeling on one knee, head bowed.

Alex's voice dropped into something cold. "You have twenty-four hours. I want every last one of those kidnapping bastards licking the floor I walk on. Use whatever means necessary."

"It shall be done," Erwin said loudly.

He vanished back into the shadows.

Draven let out a long whistle. "Okay, that was kind of cool. Way better than you acting like an fool all the time."

Alex clicked his tongue. "How rude."

Draven smirked. "Anyway, about the new weapon I mentioned that can spread corruption on our enemies—I've finished the prototype. I named it 'Blight-Spreadator.'"

Alden's eyes lit up. "Sounds cool."

"I suspect they don't have a proper cure like we do," Draven said. "So it'll be even harder for them to deal with it without our antidote."

Zara smiled warmly at him. "You've really exceeded my expectations, Draven. You're a genius."

Draven's face flushed red. "C-come on, it's not that big a deal…"

Before he could finish deflecting, Zara's expression shifted, turning dark and serious.

"I have some bad news," she said quietly. "The enemy has an entire legion of ruthless dragons."

She met Alex's eyes.

"And they'll be attacking us. Soon."

----

A/N:

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