Alex knew he had come to the right place when he heard his name called.
He just didn't recognise one of the two people who had shouted his name in shock.
A frown was sent across his face instead of the relief and happiness he was expecting to feel when he found Mira.
The moment he landed, he scanned the cave's vicinity and didn't like what he saw one bit.
There was a flat slab of stone with some sort of rope bindings attached to it, and the cave was barely big enough to house 10 people all standing side by side, let alone big enough for two people to have a fight!
But worst of all, he saw the rope bindings around Mira's wrists and ankles, and his frown turned into a sort of rage.
It was clear to him what was going on in here.
"I don't know who you are, but don't expect to make it out of this cave alive!"
He called out to the unknown third person in the cave, his voice laced with a predatory tone.
The tense atmosphere in the cave tightened as Alex's voice echoed off the stone walls.
The dim light from the small hole Alex had made in the ceiling only made the situation all the more awkward.
Mira, clearly confused, looked at Alex with a mix of confusion and relief, as well as an odd sort of happiness and joy welling up even deeper inside.
"So you really don't recognise me!"
Nicholas sneered, though there was a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"The mighty Alex shows up out of nowhere, I have to say I wasn't expecting this!"
Alex's rage only grew as he stepped closer, his hands crackling with barely contained Phoenix Flames.
The heat in the cave instantly rose, and it only made Nicholas hesitate with the lightning he was conjuring between his fingers, hidden behind his back.
"I don't know who you think you are, nor do I care for whatever motives you have for doing this. You've already gone past the point of no return."
Alex couldn't garner a care in the world for anything Nicholas had to say.
It was true, he didn't recognise him, and that only fuelled Nicholas's hatred.
But what was he supposed to do?
Alex was clearly way stronger than him, even Mira was stronger than him!
He hadn't told Mira at the time, as he saw no benefit in doing so, but he had finished his rank up requirements right then and there.
He only needed to absorb enough energy from the beast cores he had looted to push his progress up to 100%.
This was easy to do, especially since he had some beast cores still in storage as well.
He finished ranking up to D+ rank while Mira was unconscious and bound to the slab of stone.
On the other side of the cave, which in reality was only a few metres in front of Nicholas, Alex slowly made his way over to Mira's side.
He didn't want Nicholas to try something sneaky and despicable by attacking Mira.
She could handle herself just fine, he knew that.
But it was obvious she was in a weak and vulnerable state at the moment.
"You stay back, I'll deal with this fucker."
He whispered to Mira as he positioned himself in front of her.
But Nicholas heard him just as clearly.
"No, I don't think you will."
He spoke with confidence and a cheeky smile on his face, like he was about to checkmate him in a game of chess or something.
He flicked his fingers, and immediately a portal started opening behind him.
'He's trying to leave the Primordial Expanse!'
Alex was startled a little and was about to go in for a desperate attack in an attempt to kill him before he was sucked in.
"No you don't!"
But before he could react, Mira spoke behind him.
Fwooom!
And Alex felt the space around him tighten.
'A spatial lock!?'
'Mira could do that!?'