After subduing the dark mages, Ben and the hostages needed to leave the cave to return to the town.
"Can you all walk?" He asked the hostages.
The hostages check themselves out and try to stand up. Most of them can stand, but 4 of the kids and 2 adults can't even stand. They were too tired and stressed out after being held captive for 2 days.
"I-I'm sorry, I can't stand. Ple-please don't leave me behind." A little girl begged with tears in her eyes.
A thin smile formed on his face and he approached her before rubbing her head.
"I won't leave you behind, so don't worry. We will return together." Ben kindly said.
The little girl smiled and nodded before wiping her tears away.
"Let's go to the cave entrance first. I will carry the 2 adults who can't walk, so can you guys help the kids walk?" Ben asked the adults that can walk on their own.
The adults nod and help the kids stand and walk. Ben lifted the 2 adults and put them on his shoulder before walking to the entrance. He also reduced the gravity around him to help the hostages walk easier.
They reached the entrance in 15 minutes because the hostages weren't able to walk really fast. Ben called Reymond and Bella who were still hiding in the forest. He asked Reymond to call for help while he stayed with the hostages.
After Reymond left, Ben checked the condition of the hostages. He isn't a doctor, but he knew about medicine. It was a must have for someone that wanted to explore the world to know about medicine because he never knew what would happen during his journey.
Ben gave the hostages first aid using the tools and medicine he brought with him. They only had superficial wounds, but their psychological trauma must be deep. He can't do anything about it, but at least they're safe now. He would leave that problem to the professionals.
Suddenly, Ben sensed strong magic power moving toward them to the forest. It moved very fast, so he knew it wasn't a living being, but a spell. Ben flashed between the hostages and the incoming spell while preparing his magic power.
"W-what happened?" The green-haired woman asked.
"Stay back! I'll take care of this." Ben shouted.
A flash of white lightning can be seen moving fast towards their location. It destroyed the trees as it passed through without losing any of it's power and speed. Ben took a deep breath and a yellow magic circle formed in front of his mouth.
"Sun Dragon Light Roar!" Ben shouted as a beam of light came out of his mouth.
BOOM*
Ben's light beam clashed with the incoming lightning bolt. They collide for a while before Ben's light beam destroyed the lightning bolt. The light beam moved towards the source of the lightning bolt and surprised the attacker.
BOOM*
There was an explosion deep in the forest and Ben stopped his spell. He looked at the site of the explosion and clicked his tongue. The attacker has evaded his light beam.
"Damn, who the hell is that?" Ben cursed while trying to find out where the attacker is.
Ben finally found the attacker deep in the forest. He was just about to unleash a attack when a big ball of lightning flew into the sky. It moved to their position and then many lightning bolts rain down from it.
"This guy is annoying. Sun Dragon Solar Sphere!" Ben shouted as he created a big golden dome out of solar energy to protect everyone there.
The lightning bolts rain down on the sphere and there were a lot of explosions on it's surface. None of the lightning bolts can penetrate the dome. This spell is the first defensive spell Ben came up with, so it's very tough because he kept improving it.
Ben searched for the attacker again while defending them from the lightning bolts. He found the guy's location and immediately summoned his new sword using Requip. Ben grinned and charged his sword with solar energy before swinging it towards the guy's direction.
"Take this, you bastard. Solar Slash!" Ben yelled as he swung his sword.
A golden slash flew toward him at high speed. It cut through the trees and ground as it moves amidst the rain of lightning bolts. The attacker saw it and was surprised by Ben's attack.
The attacker clicked his tongue and stopped his lightning spell to defend himself from Ben's attack. He made a big white magic circle and shot a big lightning bolt. Then the lightning bolt and golden slash collide.
But Ben's attack was stronger than the attacker thought. So he needed to place more power into the spell to match Ben's attack. Both attacks finally destroy each other after colliding for a minute.
After destroying Ben's slash, the attacker wanted to get away but he had arrived at his location. Ben created a formation of defensive runes to protect the hostages, so he can pursue the enemy.
"So this is where you were." Ben grinned.
He looked at his attacker, who turned out to be a blond-haired man like him. The man had a cross-shaped scar on his face and he wore a black cloak. He also had a black goat head tattoo on his forehead.
"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Ben demanded.
"Why should I tell you?" The man asked.
"Well, you don't need to. I just want to know it before I beat you up." Ben said with a grin.
"Humph, a brat like you believes that you can defeat me, Joran, the Vice-Master of Hell's Floor? In your dreams." The man scoffed.
Ben is stupefied by the man. He just assumed that he wouldn't disclose his identity, but then he revealed it after Ben mocked him. He's either a ordinary idiot or big idiot.
Also, Ben knows the name of the dark guild after the man bragged. He never bothered to ask before because it wasn't important. And this guy is the Vice-Master, which means he is the one with the highest authority since their guild master had been imprisoned.
Ben shook his head and attack Joran. He activated his Sun Mode immediately because he wasn't interested in playing around. The hostages can't wait anymore and need to be treated soon, so he had to take this guy out quickly.
Joran saw Ben who was covered in golden flames flash towards him quickly. So he also covered his body with his white lightning to increase his speed and strength. Ben appeared in front of him and the two were locked in a close range fight.
Both of them move very fast because of the properties of their magic. But Ben gained the upper hand because of his magic's temperature. Lightning is hot, but the sun is a lot hotter and it burned Joran's skin upon contact.
"I don't want to play around with you, so I'll finish this fast. Sun Dragon Solar Domain!" Ben shouted as his golden flames spread out everywhere.
The spreading golden flame created a dome that covered both Ben and Joran. The temperature inside the dome is really high and Joran felt like his body was being burned from the inside out. He screamed as he fell to the ground because he can't stand the heat.
"Your guild's name is Hell's Floor? Then you should try to see how it feels to be in hell." Ben said before punching Joran repeatedly until he lost consciousness.
After putting his left foot on Joran's body and dispelling his magic, Ben said, "With this level of strength, you would dare to threaten the kingdom? Your guild really is a joke."
The dark mages in this guild are weak. There's no S-Class mage in the guild, even the Vice-Master's not S-Class, though he is close to it. Maybe the master is the only S-Class mage in the guild. If they weren't holding hostages, any S-Class mage would take them apart without a problem.
"But at least this finally came to a end." Ben sighed before returning with the unconscious bastard.