A Night To Remember

"Good news, everyone!" the Grand Master mused as she entered the Lanox's city hall with a letter in her hands. The whole El Search party was reunited again, which was something rare, considering Ain's frequent absence from the group.

"Did the priestesses heal their own wounds? Are they willing to open the portal now?" the blue-haired priest inquired with his usual distant tone. His arms were crossed over his chest and he tapped his upper arms with his four visible fingers.

The Iron Paladin and the Lord Knight frowned at his words and Elesis's enthusiastic smile died out. Ever since Ain had decided to follow the path of Ishmael without any distractions, he felt more and more like an outsider. Eve glanced at Ain and let out a short sigh. Rena smiled to try to ease up the silent animosity among the other eleven people gathered.

"That's great, Elesis! What news do you bring?" the elf warrior asked.

"Oh, right." the captain of the Red Knights replied before glancing back at the letter. "Well, Penensio wrote to me, inviting all of us to Hamel. We'll celebrate the capital's reconstruction and our success here in Lanox."

Chung's eyes brightened. "They did? I'm glad to hear that my kingdom is getting back on its feet."

One by one, the members of the El Search party gathered their stuff from the inn to get ready for the trip. Ain eventually found himself alone in the city hall; his gaze was lost in thoughts and his ever-growing disappointment in humans. The priestesses were the agents of the Goddess, the ones that were destined to accomplish the prophecy and help him with his mission. A week had passed since they had rescued them from the demon's claws, and they were still supposedly healing.

There was truly no lazier and greedier species than humans. As he was about to leave to remind the priestesses of their duties, the Nasod Queen watched him run. Her cold golden eyes looked up at him, and her brow furrowed.

Ain returned to the inn by the time everyone had finished dinner, he seemed extremely upset and went upstairs, without replying to Elsword's nor Rena's welcoming words.

The elf let out a deep sigh, and Aisha shook her head in disbelief. Ain had never acted that way before, although his attitude was getting worse as the years passed by. The bluer his hair and eyes became, the more distant he was. It was as if he had forgotten how to be human.

"I wonder what happened in the Shadow Forest back then to change him so much..." The elf bemoaned, her long ears perking slightly down with her voice. That question had stayed unanswered for so long that raising it up again was like a cold punch on the face.

Add turned away from the multiple screens that surrounded him and looked at the elf. "I doubt he was that different before I got here."

Ara nodded. "I know that he's been with the Party since the beginning, but he doesn't really..." she fell silent for a second, adjusting the fur scarf over her shoulders, before finding the least insulting word possible. "...seem to be the kind of person to work with a team."

Elsword sighed, taking his head in his hands. He understood all too well what Ara was talking about, but as a Knight and as a friend, he was as concerned as Rena about Ain's sudden change.

"Ain relied on us before and even now he's helped us, but I understand where you're coming from."

Raven looked at Elsword. "I think Ain is a good ally to have, but I have to agree with Ara. He's helped us in his own way though. I find that very valuable." He knew that the Lord Knight would never like to accept the difference between friends and allies

Add shrugged. "Can't argue with that. I guess that giving a helping hand every now and then is the only requirement to enter this team."

The albino untied his hair to adjust his ponytail as his gaze darted for a couple of seconds towards the two demons in the room before sliding calmly back to his screens.