"LILLYYY!"
Everyone watched in horror as the two young women fell into endless darkness. A few fighters tried to reach out, but they were obviously too far away.
The rebel leader arrived next to the dead Bisera as he angrily observed the hole before him. He contemplated to go after them, but even for him exploring undiscovered terrain would be dangerous.
Would he really risk his live for a young girl, who hadn't even dug out her own potential yet? Was she really that important?
A lot of excuses surfaced in the rebel leader's mind.
Suddenly a tall figure rushed past him. Iain arrived besides the hole, searching for anything that could allow him to climb down in desperation. Just as it looked like he would jump, a strong hand clamped around his arm.
With anger and some self-blame, the rebel leader shouted at Iain:
"Don't do anything stupid young man!"
A crazed look confronted him.
"Stupid?! I need to save my sister! Let me go!"
Pain spread through Iain's arm as he used all his strength trying to free himself. But the gold-masks hand was too overpowering.
"What can you even do now?! They are most likely…"
"NO! Lilly would never die here!
LILLY! LILLY! Answer me if you hear me!"
Tears ran down Iain's cheeks as he shouted hoarsely. He sounded forlorn, trying to get any life signal from his sister.
With quiet steps Groob came behind the two men.
"Iain. Let's go home."
Suddenly the young smith snapped:
"YOU! You DARE to talk to me?! Wasn't it you who weren't able to protect my sister?! The both of you!
You, rebel. Only because of your selfishness is my sister now alone in the darkness!"
Guilt and anger mixed on the higher-leveled fighter's faces. They realized that they carried some of the fault here, but it was hard to admit mistakes. Unfortunately, their pride suppressed any critique:
"Shut up!", exclaimed Groob.
Meanwhile the rebel leader reacted even more overbearing. Since when had a grandmaster ever explained themselves towards an apprentice?
A dangerous aura filled the air, as the rebel leader strengthened his grip on Iain's arm. He pulled the powerless young man towards himself. Iian staggered slightly before staring at the golden mask.
"Careful with your words young man! One more insult and I throw you after your sister! Then you can find out by yourself if it is possible to survive such a fall!"
Defiant eyes confronted the rebel leader. Silance spread through the darkness. A few quiet steps sounded while Iain thought about his answer.
A mild voice tried to calm down everyone's minds as the plant mage made her way over:
"Leader. Iain. Please don't do anything stupid. This day was terrible for us all. Let's just move on. Don't forget that our enemies might also still be around."
The surrounding fighters also echoed those words. Only now did Iain pay attention to everyone else. However, his anger rose again when he noticed that no one showed any signs of wanting to help Lilly. Even Voro and Uramant were shamefaced as their eyes avoided Iain's.
Dry, angry laughter sounded from Iain's throat. He understood now why Groob's team were only mercenaries. The weak link of friendship wasn't enough to make them take risks in the siblings' favor.
The young man felt bleakness spreading through his mind. He didn't know how to progress from here. Just as he was at his deepest point, a voice sounded out.
[Don't worry. Lilly is fine! Take care of yourself for now.]
Suddenly Iain's eyes lit up with hope and warmth. When everything seemed to crumble around him it was his father who once again supported him. He didn't even feel any headache this time, as those words swept away all negativity.
Iain and the rebel leader took a deep breath at the same time. The surrounding people were surprised as they noticed the gloominess leaving Iain.
The rebel leader wanted to say something more, but the young man threw one last look at the abyss before walking away. He ignored his surroundings, wafting through blood and corpses, as he exited the mines.
Everyone had strange looks on their faces. Voro feared for Iain's mental health, quickly catching up to the young man:
"Are you… ok, Iain?"
The young smith calmly gazed at the familiar face. Disillusioned, he only mumbled a quiet 'sure' before continuing on his way.
Watching the young man's back, Groob let out a deep sigh. He waved his hand once, filling his space storage with as much corpses as possible. Still under the rebel leader's observation, he didn't dare to take high-rank materials unfortunately. They were all killed by the rebels after all.
In a bad mood the team leader signaled Forgoz and Uramant. It was time to leave this place.
As he watched the mercenaries catching up with Iain, the rebel leader felt his guilty conscious. He hesitated for a second, but still decided to speak up:
"Yrolin. Escort them back to the checkpoint. I will take care of our group."
The golden masked plant magician turned her head towards the rebel leader. Not certain what was going on in his mind, she quietly consoled him:
"Don't beat yourself up over this."
She didn't wait for an answer before swiftly leaving the mines. A few hours earlier she might have still had some doubts if their leader could single handedly keep everyone safe.
But ever since he revealed his grandmaster rank, Yrolin knew that nothing could endanger their group anymore. At least as long as they weren't plotted against.
It was common knowledge that level 50 to 51 was a dividing line. A deep chasm separating the weak and the strong. The same was true for beasts. Naturally it wasn't easy to become a grandmaster with such an obstacle in place. Even with the vault's help, one needed talent, luck, and resources.
If the vault's purpose was to quickly produce a huge number of serviceable fighters, than everyone below level 50 might as well be called cannon fodder. Only those reaching level 51 had some capital to defend themselves and others. They could work as commanders and lead armies.
Yrolin knew that the rebel leader wasn't able to demonstrate his might earlier. If he went all out, the rebels would have most likely died together with their enemies. Admiration shone from her green eyes as she imagined the rebel leader's full power.
Noticing the approaching plant mage Groob was slightly confused at first. He soon understood her purpose, however. He showed her a thankful nod as the team advanced in silence.
An obvious estrangement could be felt among the EFM team 5. Iain didn't talk a single word on the way back.
Everyone was left to their own thoughts in the silent darkness. Only the sound of steps accompanied the team. Fortunately, no enemy attacks followed.
Narteik knew he failed this time. Instead of desperately sending his second bodyguard out, he counted his losses and retreated. Not wanting to run into the EFM team, he continued hunting in the Frozen Hell for a few hours before returning home. No one could tell if his failure angered or unsettled him. He was patiently staying in the shadows, waiting for another chance.
Iain was definitely thinking about who might have attacked them. Although his father assured him multiple times that Lilly was fine, the young man couldn't deny the hatred he felt in his heart. This was the first time that Iain swore revenge upon someone.
With each passing moment it became more and more clear to him that his peaceful village days were over. The young man began to form plans. He contemplated on how to find out the culprit. At the same time, he felt an urge to become stronger quickly. The assassin was at master rank, way ahead of Iain at the moment.
Unfortunately, the young smith didn't want to exchange even a single word with Groob. The mercenary had some guesses about the attacker. On the other hand, it would have been impossible to reveal those to Iain anyways. He wouldn't spill the EFM's secrets this easily.
Furthermore, the situation wasn't that clear cut. Judging from the rebels' reactions they weren't strangers to sudden ambushes as well.
With those chaotic emotions the team finally reached the army's checkpoint. The rebel mage obviously excused herself way before that. She wasn't suicidal after all.
This time Iain and the EFM team 5 also didn't stay long at the checkpoint. They soon left for the tunnels. Still showing some teamwork the team quickly got rid of the sporadic beast attacks before safely reaching the elevator.
As they traveled from the darkness into the light, everyone knew this would be their last ride in this constellation. It was obvious that Iain would leave them, although his training time paid for by Nua wasn't over yet. Right now, the young man had other worries than the money though.