Selica and the girls tirelessly dig along with everyone else. At this point it doesn't matter if you can move earth or just dig the pebbles out of the edges, as long as there’s space for you, you dig.

“Finally!” Khampir is the one most ecstatic about being able to dig for some reason. He’s been using the iron swords and spears the others have collected by melting them together to create large shovels to scoop the debris out of the way. “It feels good to be able to do proper magic again.” His arm band shines brightly as he haphazardly uses his magic.

“Hey watch where you move that thing!” One of the mages complains as he was nearly hit by the iron on its way out.

Such a dangerous practice, Selica thinks to herself as she catches Khampir’s work from time to time. He’s a Telekinetic that dabbles with iron, raw iron. Selica can only imagine that this boy’s ego is as enormous as the shovels he creates. ”Ughh he’s so noisy.” Ashlin scoffs at Khampir while she digs right beside the other girls. “Can someone shut him up?”

“Relax, he’s been having a shitty time with the rain from what I heard.” Gallian answers back to disgruntled Ashlin, “Let the boy have some fun.” ”Oh defensive for him are we, Gali?” Ashlin immediately finds a way to sprinkle an insult to her friend. ”Shut it and keep digging, princess.” But Gallian claps back with her usual rhetoric.

“Would you two stop flirting and start digging, please?” Selica sneaks a comment as well.

“It’s really fun to have a friendly atmosphere, isn’t it?” Mariane for once suddenly speaks up. ”Ughh digging is really not in my skill set.” Hog on the other hand seems to be more focused on himself more than the others.

”W-we’re very close! I can feel it!” Gregor who is in the forefront of the excavation exclaims as he focuses on both himself and his golems to dig. ”Just keep digging! I can already feel we’re getting close!” Mirna has also started to dig since there’s nobody else to heal inside the cave.

“Apologies. Khampir has indeed been down in the dumps for a while now due to the rain. He’s just releasing some of his stress.” Tatsu, who has been helping by carrying massive boulders away, speaks in remorse for her friend.

“Well you better tell him his goddamn stress relief program can kill us!” Sharra has actually decided to help with the digging by rolling the larger boulders away with great difficulty. ”Yes. Dangerous. Iron. Bad.” Freddie speaks the few Common words he knows to speak up about his worries.

“Come on, it’s not that bad, right? Woah!” Tavian tries to control the situation, but is actually the one who almost got hit by the flying iron shovel.

“Would you kids just shut it?” Deringer finally decides to break the conversation. “And you Khampir! Get that stupid shovel off our asses and pierce through this stone wall instead.” Deringer steps back as he commands the young boy. Everyone else follows as they prepare for Khampir’s next big move.

“Fine sir.” Khampir exhales, melting the iron shovel he’s been controlling into what looks like a mage-toxic vat of iron. He closes his eyes and raises both his hands and starts shadow sculpting. At his command, the iron liquid slowly rises, following his meticulous hand instructions and hardens when they reach the mold of his intention. All this time, his armband glows brightly as if supporting his creation until he finally finishes. Khampir reformed the shovel into a 15 ft. three-pronged spear suspended in mid air complete with intricate razor storm design carved in its blades.

After stepping back from the excavation, Selica inspects back at their progress and finally notices why Deringer ordered Khampir to do what he’s doing right now.

A cobblestone wall. It’s an actual wall instead of the stony rubble they’ve been digging through. They’ve done it, the sought after chamber they’ve been tirelessly digging for is finally at the other side of the wall.

“This should do it.” Khampir flicks his fingers and the spear starts to spin as it gets closer and closer to the wall. Sparks begin to fly once it makes contact with the cobblestone as the constant pressure quickly erodes the wall’s foundation until finally it breaks.

Falling debris crumbles as the wall finally gives out, revealing a cavernous area devoid of anything aside from stone. The room is unlit and spacious, but from the small light that they have during the excavation they spot a thin spiral staircase going up to what they assume to be the monument’s location at the top of the hill. ”WE DID IT!” A Mage shouts in excitement. “We passed the test!”

”Not yet!” Another exclaims quickly before starting to jump inside the cavernous pit. The other mages also follow in excitement. ”Wait!” Deringer tries to stop them, his eyes laden in fear of what might await inside. But there’s nothing. Once the mage enters the chamber they are only greeted by an eerie silence. ”Really?” Deringer followed suit, slowly walking inside the chamber with his gun at hand. “Is there really nothing here?” After some time, everyone else followed Deringer’s lead and entered the chamber as well. The chamber is truly spacious. Selica can imagine around 500 people fitting here snuggly if the number of applicants does reach to that amount, but right now the place feels so empty with only the 50 of them inside.

“CAPTAIN!” A desperate scream came from Despi at the mouth of the cave. “Silencers! They’re here!”

Deringer leads the charge as everyone runs towards the cave’s entrance. Selica’s heart pounds just as fast as when she was fighting Dimas earlier. She and the other mages familiar with “Psy Shield” immediately cast it to the entire group.

We’re finally here, she thought. We’ve finally done it, and now these Silencers just came at the right time to stop us. When they reached the entrance, they were greeted by a peculiar scene.

The first thing Selica notices is their number, based from the stories and experiences she’s had, she predicted that the Silencers army within the test would reach about the hundreds in number, but the ones facing them right now are roughly around 20 to 25 people. The second thing she notices is their apparel. Gone are the ratty robes and failing swords Selica has seen them use, these Silencers are wearing pristine White Iron cloths and sashes along with a wider assortment of weapons: from the finesse rapier to the gratuitous hammer. These are not the same Silencers they’ve been dealing with today.

”My, they’ve sent an actual Silencer unit already.” Deringer points out the obvious. “So what, are you going to finally start cleaning the house now?” A Silencer steps forwards. Compared to the rest of his colleges, his White Iron apparel has a more regal finish. He also adorns quite a pompous turban clasped together by a golden signet of a blade. “On the contrary, we are here to congratulate you.” The Silencer speaks. “On behalf of the city, we are proud to welcome you as the first residents of our latest district: District Hameza. You did just enter the chamber deep within the hill, correct?”

There’s a pause in the air, either for tension or confusion. For some reason everyone thought there’s a twist that would happen when they finally reached the proverbial finish line, but the lack of it seems to have made a greater impact than having one. The Silencer fixes himself again, preparing another speech. “Now please, stay within the chamber’s premises until the test is over as we guard this entrance with our team.” The Silencers immediately scatter and begin setting up their base. They’re installing barricades, setting up tents, and even preparing a nest complete with guns and ammunition inside.

Selica is speechless, yes they did let them go, but at the same time they’re covering the path to victory they’ve all worked hard for everyone. She looks back at her friends, all seem speechless as well.

They won, but at the cost of everyone else? They still have friends out there! Shellon! Buck! Revo! And everyone else who stayed behind to check up for their sake. Will they really just leave them behind?

The rest of the group starts to walk back, seemingly both confused and elated not to be finally in the crosshair for a while, but Selica, Gallian, Ashlin, and Deringer are not moving from their place. Selica looks at Deringer who she catches looking at her, his eyes are sad and pondering, she can see the machinations going through his mind right now.

This is a battle where sacrifices has to be made. But is it really? Is this the kind of sacrifice he’s willing to make?

Selica stares back at both Ashlin and Gallian. After the initial shock, both of Selica’s friends seem to be also looking at her as well. ”We're all in this together,” Ashlin says, staying confident. “One way or another. I don’t really need to be in Magecraft City, just being outside of my home city is a good enough compromise for me.” She stares at one of the Silencers and a short static shock appears in her hand.

Gallian sighs, "Hey are we forgetting to tell her that we'll lose our memories if we die here?" Gallian reminds Ashlin, shocking Selica in the process. "What? No one told me-!" Selica's body freezes, making her waver towards pushing for her plan. The idea of her both dying AND losing her memories with her new friends scares her so much. "But still," But Gallian continues her little speech, not letting Selica spiral into sadness. "I don't think I can live with myself if I just let this happen." Gallian grabs Selica's arm and begins casting "Sparks" with it. "Hey what the-OUCH!" Selica immediately pulls back before Gallian could burn through her arm completely, leaving her with a searing mark similar to Gallian's hand. Gallian then places the same "Sparks" spell on her arm and sears it as well, creating a similar mark. "There, just so we can remember each other after we die. To help jog your memory." Selica looks back at her scorched arm once more, it stings extra hard with the rain pouring down on it, but the warm intention behind negates most of the pain.

Gallian raises her "Sparks"-coated hand in front of Ashlin. "Come on, princess. I know you don't like things messing with your skin, so this will be extra effective for you." Ashlin was at first taken aback and sad about forgetting the memory wipe, but seeing Gallian’s action against it slowly warms her up as well. "Seriously," Ashlin gives Gallian an arm shake, letting the "Sparks" spell sear through her arm as well without flinching. "You come up with the dumbest of ideas." Despite teasing Gallian, Ashlin is brimming with a big smile on her face. "Oh I'm only second compared to what this idiot is about to do." Gallian looks at Selica who is now uncontrollably smiling about everything.

Selica's heart swells and warms up considerably. Having both of her friends affirms her that they’ll still be together despite the next stupid decision she will make today only solidifies her stance.

“Hmm? Still here?” The Silencer leader looks back and sees the girls still standing in front of them. “We’ll be quite busy so please do as you’re told.” Selica takes a deep breath and steps forward “We-!”

”Well you see we have a little problem here.” Suddenly Deringer speaks up before Selica could begin. “We didn’t make this hole over there just for us you see, we made it so that everyone can come in.”

The Silencer’s aloof nature subsides, replaced by a stern look of disappointment. “Huh I was expecting a more accommodating answer considering the trials you’ve just been through, old man.” The other Silencers have picked up the sudden reprisal from Deringer and have started to move accordingly. Selica watches them move with precision, no more are they simple grunts looking for the next kill, they now act like a proper police force enacting a standard protocol for engagement.

Deringer snickers, “What can I say, I’ve been quite a masochist lately.” He slowly pulls out his gun. “Sorry for taking your spotlight kid, Despi!” ”Kids get back here!” Despi, finally alongside Catrid and Bolt, aims down with their guns by the cave’s entrance.

The Silencer unsheathes his rapier, pristine and ever humming as the tip of blade glistens under the rain. “I find no joy in this task, old man. So please, stand back and just stay in the chamber.” He raises his blade preparing for a fight, “This is your last warning.”

“What?” Derigner feigns deafness as he aims his gun towards the Silencer. “Sorry sonny, but I didn’t catch that.”

“Foolish all man-!”

Suddenly a bright flash explodes in the dreary sky. Selica watches as it illuminates the entire Entrance facade, reminding her once again that they are in an enclosed district. She watches the light travel high until it fizzles out into nothingness.

“A flare?” The leader Silencer immediately picks up what it was. Well I’ll be. They did find her.” Deringer also comments on the flare.

“CHUNCK” Something flew from the building canopies flanking the cave and hit one of the Silencers in the chest. Selica didn’t see what it was at first, but when it finally landed it looks like an axe.

“Captain!” The Silencer shouts before falling. Even when garbed with the most pristine White Iron apparel, a good axe in the chest can end even a Silencer’s life. ”Reinforcements?” The Silencer Captain looks back to see the escalating situation. Attacks are coming from different angles on their flank, he quickly watches as two or three splinter groups emerge from the buildings to directly confront his unit.

But turning his back on Deringer might have proven fatal. “Wrong move.” Deringer quickly aims his gun and starts unloading his revolver at the Silencer Leader’s back. The familiar crescendo of Deringer’s Silverado howls once more in the torrential rain.

But instead of hitting his target, Deringer’s magic missile is immediately blocked by his comrades. The moment Deringer’s gun fires, two Silencers jump to body block the magic missile with their White Iron sashes. Once hit, the bullets push the Silencers so much it’s as if they are body tackled. Fortunately only the force harmed them as no wounds were visible on their body. A silvery shimmer emanates instead from the White Iron that got hit by Deringer’s magic missiles. ”Damn it,“ Deringer immediately reloads his gun and runs for cover. Despi and the rest begin firing as well to provide cover for their captain’s escape. ”We’re surrounded! Find cover quickly! Call in the rest!” The captain immediately takes a commanding role as the fight begins. Upon his command, his soldiers bunkered into whatever kind of fortification they’ve completed. Other Silencers have even covered their entire body fully with their sash to prevent getting hit by any stray magic.

Selica and the rest of the girls run straight for the caves the moment the battle begins. Even with the “Psy Shield” on, them fighting under this rain is just one mishap away from total defeat.

“Where do you think you’re going!” But despite her best efforts, Selica’s arm is caught by one of the Silencers. The Silencer pulls Selica back and tries to grapple the young child. “We didn’t want to fight, but we will end it!” The Silencer pulls out a short blade from her sash and aims straight at Selica’s neck. ”Damn it!” Ashlin swiftly switches stance between running to combat as she runs back to save Selica. Her hand fizzles with electricity as she plans to collide with the Silencer fist first. ”BANG!” But before the blade lands, before Ashlin reaches her friend, a gunshot propels the Silencer away from Selica. The body flew a good few feet before it landed motionless in the ground. She looks back and sees a familiar tattered coated man aiming his long rifle at the Silencer who almost killed her.

“Stay away from the girl!” Shellon reloads his gun with another magic missile. He uncocks the bolt open and presses his finger inside to rearm it. A humming purplish magic slowly develops inside the gun and once it’s done Shellon cocks it back with the bolt.

“Shellon!” Selica looks back at her friend and notices a group of figures also standing behind him by the buildings’ canopy. Other mages who have followed Shellon back to his return.

Reinforcements have indeed arrived.

“Eye for an eye, then.” From the shadows of the conflict, the Silencer leader manages to slip between the turmoil and appear behind Shellon. His elusive rapier at hand, pointing at his victim’s back. ”Wha-!”

“SHINK!” The Silencer’s prized blade pierces between Shellon’s shoulder. The pristine rapier peeks through its latest victim and shines on the other side with a deadly afterglow as it pierces both Shellon and his gun together.