An hour later, Atniel finally arrives at Ezlenmir Garden, a military base housed inside a dome the size of five football stadiums. It's not your typical dome. It's more like a giant honeycomb where bees forgot to move in.
Considered the safest place in Fracklosk, this dome can whip up a protective barrier faster than street vendors open their stalls. The Great War may have wrapped up about a century ago, but the leftover skirmishes are like those stubborn party guests who just won't leave.
Inside the dome, complex buildings sit atop a small land in the middle of a small lake, which is probably the only place where ducks don't have to worry about getting bombed. There's also a big circular road surrounding the lake, and four overpasses crossing the water.
Meanwhile, the boys' dormitory is chilling on the easternmost side of the dome, far away from the girls' dormitory on the western side. But strangely enough...
"What are they doing here this late?"
Atniel notices the presence of two girls who have just come out of the boys' dormitory. One of them has pointed ears similar to Elea. But she has tanned skin and black hair, and dark brown fur on her bottom legs. It's a girl from the fisherman elf tribe, basically the underdogs of the fantasy world, known for their distinctive heritage of dirty blood amongst the elves.
"Another descendant of Princess Louisia?"
And to his surprise, the other one is actually Irvine's girlfriend, a girl from the human race with an innocent face and long yellow hair named Maya Helzenski. As soon as he recognizes her, he ducks behind a hedge like a ninja in training. But…
"Why am I hiding here? I could just use this chance to lecture the girl and bring her back to God's path!"
An urge to confront her bubbles up, but just before he decides to make his grand entrance…
"Lily! Should we look for him outside?" the timid girl asks, her voice wobbling like a Jell-O on a rollercoaster.
"Come on, Maya!" the elf girl named Lily sighs dramatically. "Irvine is not as weak as people say. He'll definitely be in class tomorrow. Trust me!"
But anxiety still paints Maya's face. "I'm worried something worse than just bullying might have happened to him. You saw the video the other students shared, right? What if he really tried to commit suicide?"
As the girls walk away, Atniel can only see Maya's back, but he can practically hear her worry echoing in his ears. The fact that she's still concerned about Irvine is a real head-scratcher.
"What a dumb girl! You just did an indecent act with four dudes, remember?!"
With a face looking so disinterested, he cancels his plans to lecture her after realizing her moral compass has apparently been broken so badly.
Once he gets into Irvine's room, he's immediately drawn to the desktop. He turns on the computer and is greeted by a cute smile on the screen. It's Maya during her junior high days. She looks so simple and normal here, unlike the beauty he just saw.
He shakes his head with a sigh and quickly opens a browser to escape her innocent face.
"After doing such a lewd act with them, she still had the audacity to look for you like nothing had happened."
"I'd like to beat them all up for you. But excuse me! There are more important things I have to do."
Diligently like a genuine detective on a caffeine high, he starts surfing the internet all night long. He can't help but marvel at the technology that's so new to him. But he's a quick learner, thanks to Irvine's memories.
"This internet browser is like magic! But I bet it has some nasty side effects to society."
"What's this? OnlyPorn? This is the first time I've encountered a word like…"
"Oh, God! No good! No good!"
He's eager to catch up with the outside world and hunt for clues about the Nephilim he's searching for. This situation continues until dawn as he fights off fatigue like a heavyweight boxer in the final round.
Well, despite his divine regeneration, that body still needs rest after all it has gone through. Just before dawn, he falls into a deep sleep, and oddly enough, about 15 minutes in…
"Please! Help me!"
"Urgh! I can't… breathe!"
He starts thrashing around like a fish out of water. If someone saw him, they'd be confused about whether he was really asleep or just auditioning for a stand-up comedy.
After hours trapped in a nightmare, he starts begging to be woken up.
"Somebody. Please wake me up."
"Get me out of here. I can't…"
SPLASH!!!
Someone kindly douses him with a bucket of water, causing him to wake up in a panic and tumble from the chair, flailing like he's in a wild sea.
To his surprise, there's Elea Adlen, holding a bucket and glaring at him like he just spilled her secret recipe. Now he's starting to think he's jumped into another nightmare.
"Aaah, shiit! Not this one!"
The elf girl snaps at his cluelessness and slams the already empty bucket on his head.
"How could you still be asleep at this hour?"
"Eh?"
Judging by his bewildered expression, you should know that this is not Atniel, but Irvine who has just woken up from a slumber party gone wrong.
And there's the brightest talent in Ezlenmir Academy in his room, the one girl who's adored by everyone. Irvine is clearly not ready to face such a popular girl, especially not alone in his room.
"This must be a wet dream! No! Don't start it! I have a girlfriend!"
Elea snatches a pillow and starts whacking Irvine's head left and right. "Get the heck out of here, you slacker! Ezlenmir pays you to keep this country safe, not to snooze like a bear in hibernation!"
Irvine glances around, finally realizing he's not in a dream. He turns his attention back to the girl, and…
"You? How did you get into my room?"
Moments later, he realizes she's only wearing a sports bra and knee-length leggings. It's not clear what she was doing before this, but she's drenched in sweat and staring at him like she's ready to start a hard core wrestling match.
Terrified, Irvine begs with trembling fingers.
"Please! Don't rape me!"