Chirp!!

Meanwhile, in an unknown location far away from prying eyes, a young man wearing a red hooded cowl was seen to be occupied in his Alchemy workstation in a secluded darkroom as he pounded some blue-colored substance into powder form with the use of a mortar and pestle.

While he was working, a sharp, strong feeling suddenly struck inside his mind as he sensed a magic measure of his activating from somewhere far away.

'Hmm.' The hooded man momentarily halted his alchemical operation as a deep frown graced forth on his youthful face. 'It appears that unwelcome guests have killed the bandits and invaded the cave.'

'But no matter.' The man added on his thoughts as he resumed his work in Alchemy while assuming an evil grin.

'There's no chance of them surviving.'

***

"Shit!!"

Gray uttered the cursed word as he eyed the green Magic Circle with extreme wary as he and his three other companions exerted themselves in keeping up their balance amidst the earthquake that grew more intense in magnitude as every second passed by.

Running appeared to be no longer an option in their case as the shaking of the earth was now too severe for them to even handle, forcing them to their knees.

"Are… are we going to die here?" Hans is witnessed to have fallen in utter despair as his eyes lost all hope upon seeing the rocks of the cavern cracking as they fall down to the ground.

"No one's dying around here!!!" Isamu said in an attempt to boost everyone's morale despite the rather grave circumstance that they are in. "Damn it, if we're going to get out of here alive, then by Agveyr's divine name shall I confess my love to Sarah!!!"

'Hmm… Big Brother.' Selena inquired Gray quickly via telepathy while analyzing the structure of the magic circle on the ground. 'This circle is-'

Before Selena got the chance to finish her statement however, they all heard a huge crack from above as a huge portion of the cavern ceiling suddenly collapse and descended straight unto them.

***

Back at the Guild Master's office, Malic eyed with a look of solemnity at a certain lizardling visitor gracing him inside at his workplace.

Rarsu is shown stoically with his eyes close in total focus while leisurely drinking a cup of tea at his sit facing at Malic's office desk. He seemed to be in a state of complete tranquility as Malic opted to not disturb him, aware that it's one of his intricate magic at play again.

After a short while, Rarsu opened his eyes as he told Malic "My source told me that those three are currently experiencing some complications inside the cave."

"I see," Malic answered calmly. But still, he could not help but feel worried about the trio as something dreadful might happen to them even if this was supposed to be a simple mission of bandit elimination. "Are they going to be alright? Hopefully, this was not a lapse of judgment of mine as I sent them to their demise instead."

"Neh, you don't have to worry about them." Rarsu's eyes opened with an assuring smile. "Remember the time when I told you of a mutual 'ally' of mine?"

"Yes, I believe you told me that this ally of yours is a result of some shaking arrangement between you and your previous master from the Order months ago," Malic answered the lizardling with a nod.

"Correct." Rarsu frowned a bit. "Despite that old fool's greed and sick mentality of his, he still has his uses and we can't deny how powerful and resourceful he is. He's also under the protection of the White Council, being a member himself. As a result, we can't exactly go toe to toe with him directly. At our current state, attempting to bring him down for all the atrocity that he has performed would only spell us utter defeat, and the majority of the Council thinks that he is in the right."

"Indeed." Malic seemed to be in agreeable terms with the lizardling. "And despite all the grudges, the rage that you garnered against him, I still find it hard to believe that you agreed with him in the end. What's your motive for agreeing with the High Druid exactly? Don't tell me that you merely forget the sins that the High Druid has acted against your will?"

A dark chuckle was all Malic received from Rarsu as the latter gave a glower to the former.

"I never forget, Malic," Rarsu told the old human Warrior with grief now in his every tone. "I will never forget the obscenity of how that man manipulated Amirah, leading to her undeserving death. I'm sure you are well aware of how I feel as you were there too to witness his transgressions."

"Yes, a kind girl such as her truly deserves a spot with the side of the Divines." Malic nodded as he felt the same way as Rarsu. "Still, you didn't answer my question."

"Ah, yes." Rarsu's demeanor immediately shifted to a lighter expression as he crossed his arms. "Despite my animosity towards the High Druid, I'm not so blind as to be engulfed by my resentment towards him and direct it to the people working for him. My rage is to the High Druid and to the High Druid alone. As such, I agreed, no matter how reluctant I am, in his conditions, as I allowed his own apprentice to keep watch of my own, perceiving some advantages out of this deal."

"And do you trust this apprentice of his?" Malic asked with a look of intent. "I'm afraid that this person might manipulate the Paragon on his side."

Rarsu merely chuckled playfully in response to the Guild Master's remarks as the latter looked at former in confusion.

"Knowing Gray, I believe it'll be the other way around, hehe." The lizardling answered with confidence in his every word. "That brat has his own remarkable way with people."

***

Death…

Death seemed to have made its agonizing embrace the moment when the huge ceiling of rock made its way down to slam their bodies into a horrifying pulp.

Of course, Gray was having none of that shit as he instantly fired a quick <Arcane Bolt> from his right hand to shatter the ceiling into pieces, with the hopes of preventing them all from being squashed in an untimely manner.

Although his efforts were in vain, but not because of the four of them being ended up in a bloody pile of mess into the ground though.

Quite the contrary actually.

The quartet could only stare in bafflement at the quick turn of events as they were suddenly teleported out from the cave, their eyes now marveling at the familiar sights of the forest exteriors, a little bit afar from the cavern entrance.

Additionally, they felt the utmost relief at the ground being static and calm as they find themselves standing at the grassy surface of the majestic Chadena Woods.

"W-we're safe?" Hans stuttered in his voice as he gazed with disbelief and utter relief at seeing the dangers ultimately out of their reach.

"Uh… what just happen?" Isamu blinked in utter astonishment as he saw the clear bright sky greeting him instead of the rocky ceiling that threatened to take him and his companions' lives just a few seconds ago.

"I'm not sure." Gray's mouth was currently agape as he and his other companions tried to make sense of what just transpired to them. He then rubbed his chin in pondering as he thought of a plausible answer of how they were able to get out of that mess just like that in an instant. "But I believe that circle has something to do with this. Isn't that right, little sis?"

'I believe so Big Brother.' Selena agreed with an extremely serious manner of telepathic speaking. 'I was able to discern the circle's structure and I found out that near its circumference, it's mostly made up of the Elharis symbol of Teleport.'

"I see," Gray answered his sister in a vocal way for everyone to hear. "Whoever was responsible for that Magic Circle appeared to have saved us all the trouble from being squashed to death."

While in their discussion, all of them heard a collapsing sound coming from behind them. Turning around at their back, they all witness the huge rocky cave crumbling to the very ground as the earth beneath it made its final tremor of deadly proportions.

All they now witness is a rocky mess forming a whole new huge clearing littering at a considerable part of the woods itself.

"C-crap," Gray said with a nervous sweatdrop at seeing the calamity that has occurred right in front off them. "We are so turning into a pulverized pile of body mush if the situation said so otherwise, hehe."

Thankfully, the convulsion of the ground only applied to the vicinity of the cave itself, and not on its surrounding area. Although such an occurrence is unquestionably unnatural to be considered something of a natural cause by nature herself.

Which brought them all to the topic…

"Wait, only the cave was affected?" Isamu tilted his head in bewilderment regarding the phenomenon that they saw. "That's definitely fishy."

"It would seem so." Gray nodded with suspicion. "I can only conclude that there's some sort of magic on the equation, as the earthquake was most likely triggered intentionally in a pre-determined space probably by another party the moment when we made our attempts of exit."

"W-well, we can talk about it some other time, right?" Hans made his opinion known with his hand raising to emphasize his point. "Why don't we head on back to the town first and tell all our findings to the guild. After all, I'm not so sure if we're still in the safe here as long as we're outside."

"Agreed," Isamu said while Gray and Selena nodded alongside him. The four then immediately departed as they made their way back to Chadena with the hopes of making sense out of this messed up situation that they found themselves at.

"So..." Gray grinned mischievously as he elbowed Isamu playfully at his side while they were walking. "Sarah, huh? You mean that farmgirl who you have been talking about non-stop every time we spend our Sextus night drinking at the tavern?"

"N-not now, Gray!!" Isamu blushed in embarrassment as he tried to ignore the elf's further attempts of teasing him concerning his affairs regarding the sensations of love.

Although the four of them failed to notice one particular brown sparrow flying above them as its small round eyes focused meticulously on their small group while following them, as it always does for the past three months.

"Chirp!!"

The little bird tweeted to itself proudly, feeling accomplished at its extraordinary feat of saving the four of them with the use of magic as per instructed by a grudging agreement between its… her master and a certain lizardling.

'Gray Allister… hopefully, we can be friends!!'