"How could you not invite us?"
The voice was calm, yet it rolled through the entire cavern with enough force that every fighter heard it clearly. The ongoing clashes froze mid-motion. Both humans and Gnomes wore the same lost expression as they searched for the speaker.
The scarred Ninth-stage Gnome halted his attack and turned toward the empty air, eyes cold and sharp as he tried to pinpoint the source. Lewis, finally given a heartbeat of breathing room, immediately fell back toward the rest of the squad near the partially opened tunnel. Alice stopped as well, but her lips curved into a faint, familiar smile. She knew that voice better than almost anyone here.
'I hope he didn't come alone,' she thought, never taking her eyes off the scarred Gnome.
The Seventh-stage Gnomes and their puppets also scanned the darkness, elemental energy still flickering around their hands.
