Isabella smiled widely as she let out a slow breath. She was really grateful that Aaron had decided to go to the second floor; it was a sign that her plan was successful in leaving David's control.
'Thank goodness he decided to leave,' Isabella said.
"But going to the second floor in the current situation will not benefit you. It will actually harm you," said Hilda.
"With his strength, I think he'll be fine," Isabella retorted, supporting Aaron's decision.
"And what about you, Ms. Isabella? David wants you to return to base after the raid is over."
Isabella chuckled. She walked towards Aaron and returned to embrace the young man's arm, which was full of warmth. Isabella's eyes were focused forward as she hugged Aaron.
"I'll go with him," Isabella replied.
"Huh? Are you out of your mind? David will go and hunt you both down!" snapped Hilda, annoyed.
"This is my problem. You have no right to interfere!"
[WARNING!]
[The last hour before the Raid on the Dark Pillar ends]
[Exit the Dark Pillar immediately!]
A notification panel appeared before all the adventurers on the first floor of Dark Pillar, bearing a clear warning to leave the place immediately. Hilda clicked her tongue. Arguing with Isabella would only make her even more pressed for time.
"You'd better hurry back if you don't want to get trapped!" said Isabella.
"I'm not returning without you. I don't want to disappoint Captain David again!"
Isabella had guessed it; Hilda would be a stumbling block for her. Aaron didn't care; he pressed the yes menu to make his body glow brightly. That suddenly made Isabella even more pleased.
"I'll go with you, Aaron."
"No! You will come with me at any cost."
Not easily persuaded, Isabella pressed the yes menu and made her body also glow brightly in white light. A notification panel appeared in front of Aaron and Isabella.
[Teleportation to the second floor confirmed]
[Destination: Second Floor Light Stone]
[Initiate teleportation to destination in five minutes]
[00:00:04:59]
"I will not disappoint Captain David. I must take you even if I have to disable you!" Hilda threatened.
With the power of her talent, Hilda released the fire ability forward to make Isabella injured and failed to teleport to the second floor. Isabella blocked the attacks with the power of her flower petals.
"Are you dumb? You won't be able to beat me."
"We'll help you, Hilda!" they all said, obedient and loyal to David.
The power of their attacks grew stronger until Isabella had to do everything she could to withstand them. The woman's face was turned aside with a scared expression as she looked at Aaron.
'H-Help me, Aaron!
'I don't want to be his whore anymore. I want to be free!'
Tears fell down Isabella's cheeks, coming from the left eye as a sign of sadness and fear. Aaron took a breath and exhaled gently. He reached forward to help Isabella's defense magic.
Hilda gasped, not expecting that Aaron would protect her. Now, it was even more difficult for her to get Isabella back to the base.
"What are you doing, Aaron? Didn't you ever think about David's feelings?" asked Hilda.
"From the start, David wanted to kill me. He held a grudge against me just because of my closeness to her. Why would I try to be loyal to him?" asked Aaron.
[00:00:02:12]
"Hold on a little longer, Ms. Isabella," Aaron replied.
"You may call me by my name alone. Thank you for helping me."
Aaron nodded. He clenched his palm and made magic energy explode between them. Aaron was able to withstand the explosion while holding Isabella, while Hilda and the others were knocked down by the strong wind energy from the explosion.
"Do you want to make enemies with the entire group of Night Liberators?!" shouted Hilda.
"I'm not interested in your group game and your pride. I'm only interested in this hunt as I need to level up quickly!"
[00:00:00:35]
"Don't come looking for us if you still want to live. I truly mean what I say!" Aaron threatened.
[00:00:00:00]
[Time runs out]
[Teleportation begins]
Isabella and Aaron left quickly, using the Dark Pillar teleportation to the second floor. Hilda gritted her teeth, annoyed that the two had left the first floor.
"Get ready to tell David about this. They won't be able to live in peace!"
Aaron opened his eyes and found he was already outside the Dark Pillar gate on the second floor. He arrived while clutching Isabella's body, where the woman could be seen burying her face in Aaron's chest.
"Hilda was right. The conditions here are just the same as on the first floor."
Aaron tried to calm Isabella down, telling her that things were fine after all that had happened. She released her embrace on Aaron, then cast her eyes around her.
Several people began to step out of the Dark Pillar's gates. Some were injured, others were happy because they had successfully mapped the maze.
"I didn't expect to be completely free of David."
Aaron held Isabella's shoulders and looked at the woman carefully, "What do you really want? Why do you always involve me in your problems?!"
The expression of fear was clearly displayed on Isabella's face, precisely when Aaron asked so in a raised tone of voice. The woman's eyes glazed over, then returned to crying with tears falling through the crack of her cheeks.
"I've been trapped in that place for seven years. I've always been a whore for David because he loves me."
Aaron gasped, then slowly removed his hands from Isabella's shoulders. He didn't know how much pain the woman had to endure, but it was undoubtedly great since she had been holding back for seven years.
"I don't love him... I hate him so much!" Isabella insisted.
"Every day, I always imagined that I would kill him. Still, I always didn't have the strength to do that."
"Until you came to the group. I didn't care at first, but after you showed me your dark energy, I was convinced you could help me get rid of David."
"I apologize for yelling at you. I didn't know about that; I thought you two loved each other," Aaron explained.
"Only he loved me so much. I never looked him in the eye during my time here."
'So, you can be sure David will hate me even more because I took away the woman he loves.'
'This is becoming more and more trouble for me.'
Aaron no longer asked and chose to watch the people passing by in front of the Dark Pillar gate. Isabella wiped her tears and tried to calm her heart, following where Aaron went.
"Where are you heading?" Isabella asked.
The young man shook his head. If it was true that there was no small town on the second floor, then it was sure that he had to find the base of the adventurer group to survive.
"We have to join another group, which definitely can't join the Night Liberator group."
While the two were talking, they heard crying coming from somewhere else near the Dark Pillar gate. The two nodded as they approached where the sound was coming from.
"How can we survive if our members keep dying in vain?!" snapped the man, annoyed to see that only two members of his group had survived.
"We did everything we could to survive, but we couldn't save them," replied the woman, visibly injured.
"It looks like we won't be able to participate in the next Raid," said the man, presumably the group's captain.
Aaron took a step toward them, startling the three. The man turned around and took an alert stance, worried that Aaron and Isabella had come with bad intentions.
"Take it easy. I have no bad intentions towards you."
"Then what do you want?" asked the man, annoyed.
"We're new to the second floor. Can you provide a room for a few days until the Raid reopens? We'll pay for it."
"You? You just arrived on the second floor. Are you planning to enter the Dark Pillar again?" shocked the man.
"It seems so. We need to reach the 10th floor quickly."
"Woah!"
"Come join our group," the moderately fat man invited Aaron.
"Group?"
"We are members of the Star Pillar Group. I'm the group leader; you can call me Robert."