Another 15 minutes passed, and the spell finally subsided. The woman had lost consciousness.
Daniel was surprised by the outcome; this was the first time his spell hadn't had an absolute effect. The spell, which should have killed her, only made her faint after about an hour of excruciating pain.
He recalled that his card's power adapts to reality while trying to maintain its original effect without breaking the rules of the world. This meant the power of the 'Merciless' card couldn't kill this woman without disrupting reality.
There had to be a reason for this—either the woman was too powerful, or she possessed some special identity or protection that prevented the spell card from taking full effect.
Daniel looked around and saw that the entire second floor of his house had been blown away. If not for the floor being reinforced with adamantine to prevent the shield's power supply from being interrupted, his entire house might have been destroyed.
"Maybe it's time to reinforce my entire house with adamantine armor plating... and install an energy shield capable of withstanding a nuclear bomb," Daniel muttered as his paranoia kicked in once again.
Little did Xi Wang Mu know that her little curiosity would lead Daniel to turn his home into a fortress capable of withstanding an armageddon, all disguised as a cozy little house on top of a skyscraper.
Daniel opened the communication channel on his wrist console.
"Prime, summon the metal scarabs, construction drones, and worker drones to clean up the scene. Also, help me gather all the items scattered by the explosion," Daniel commanded.
"I'm on it, Master," Nexus Prime replied. By now, he had already mobilized numerous drones to clean up the area and gather any items that had fallen from Daniel's house, preventing anyone from taking them.
Within a minute, a swarm of metal scarabs and a large group of construction drones arrived, beginning the repairs to restore the house to its former state.
The construction drones worked in tandem with the metal scarabs, and within 15 minutes, the house was fully restored. While the items, experimental models, and artifact drawings were still piled up in the warehouse awaiting Daniel's inspection for any damage or missing pieces, the structure and overall appearance of the house were completely restored.
Greed, Penthesilea, and Michaela returned to their respective bedrooms to continue resting after everything was done.
As for the mysterious woman who had lost consciousness, Daniel still wanted to question her in the morning. Since it was already late at night, he initially intended to place her in the living room, but when he noticed that her blood from the spell had smeared his body, he decided to move her to the bathroom instead.
He settled her down in the bathtub and realized it was inappropriate for him to change her clothes himself. Since the other ladies were already asleep, he opted for the next best solution that wouldn't violate her privacy.
"Prime, can you bathe her and change her into a clean set of clothes? Her current clothes are soaked with blood," Daniel instructed the A.I.
"Of course, Master. Let me search the internet for how to bathe this female primate first," Prime replied, immediately controlling a butler drone to enter the bathroom. Daniel quickly left the bathroom before seeing anything inappropriate.
In my opinion, the British accent, coupled with my perfect calculations and demeanor, will likely enhance your standing in front of any lowly primates, Lady Envy," Nexus Prime replied with pride.
"Was that pride I'm sensing? You're becoming more and more like a human," Envy commented with a wry smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, my lady," Nexus Prime said with a bow of gratitude before excusing himself to continue his butler duties.
Envy shrugged and continued to browse the data on the tablet.
"Huh...?" Envy paused as she stumbled upon a file detailing a recent incident at the house.
She saw a picture of a stunningly beautiful woman with black hair, whom Daniel had brought to rest on the long couch while he sat beside her.
"Oh? What's this? Is he bringing in a new sister while I'm away? Interesting, Just you wait, Danny." Envy remarked with a mischievous smile. When she returned, she will tease the hell out of him.
— Morning —
The repair work was completed, but it was only temporary. Daniel needed to design and write new specifications for his improved home. This time, it would become a fortress capable of withstanding armies and even nuclear blasts.
In the kitchen, Daniel was the one preparing breakfast. With Envy away and the three ladies in the house prohibited from entering the kitchen—especially Michaela—he took on the responsibility himself, doing what a man with a family should do by making breakfast.
Fried eggs and grilled sausages, the best and easiest breakfast a man could prepare. As Daniel was grilling the German sausages, nearly finished with his preparations, he heard someone screaming from the living room.
He poked his head out of the kitchen to see what the fuss was about and found that the mysterious woman had regained consciousness.
Of course, Daniel had placed a seal on her body to prevent her from doing anything reckless, so at the moment, she was no different than any other normal woman. She was now inspecting her body in panic, her face pale as if she had discovered she had been violated the night before.
The woman turned toward Daniel, glaring fiercely at him. She gritted her teeth. "What!? What have you done to me, you beast!?" she roared in anger.
"Other than having someone bathe you, I didn't do anything. You were the one who invaded my home first. I should be the one getting angry, not you," Daniel retorted.
"My purity mark has vanished! And you say you didn't do anything to me!? Aren't you the one who kidnapped me and... and... You... you beast!
Worse than a beast! Shameless!" The woman grew even angrier, hurling insults at Daniel, who was utterly confused.