Chapter 3 - Meeting Lili

The voices were becoming clearer. Although it was difficult to distinguish them, one could hear laughter.

"Ehh... mortals, at least the monsters attention will be diverted".

"Above all, the most important thing is to get to the surface" - Zagreus repeated to himself.

Ironically, knowing the character of the prince it was not common sense, which he accused mortals of lacking, but curiosity and challenge that guided his actions. So it was only natural that he subconsciously decided to head in the direction from where the sounds came from.

As the voices became clearer, almost so that one could understand what they were saying, there came suddenly a high-pitched squeal.

At this particular moment he heard from behind him the chewing of mandibles. The dungeon, supposedly not letting the prince down, presented him with over 20 killer ants.

In front of his eyes stood a red ant monster with four legs and two arms. Its hard shell had served its purpose in earning it a reputation as a killer of new adventurers.

"Aha, yes, carry on everyone, don't mind me."

Despite the prince's sincerest intentions, the killer ants did not share his opinion. Zagreus reflexively reached for the weapon at his belt.

"Uh oh..." - He recalled his last encounter with an armoured armadillo, trying to grasp the air.

So he was left with two options. Swim the Styx into the unknown or emerge from his tragic situation in some breathtaking way.

As befits a noble god, concerned about the fate of mortals, he decided to see if they needed help. Of course, in that case the epic battle with the killer ants would have to be postponed , this had nothing to do with the overwhelming number of enemies or the lack of weapons.

"I'm leaving. Try and stop me, numbskulls" - Zagreus rushed in the opposite direction

Nothing in her life was simple. Her parents did not care for her. In their eyes she was just a way to make money. After their death, she was left alone in this cursed Familia. At first she tried her hand as an adventurer, however, the bad reputation of her Familia only worked against her. She also had no talent for this profession herself. In the end, all she had left was to be a supporter.

Before her eyes she saw a young killer ant dying. In a moment a whole bunch of them would gather in the room. Maybe she deserved this fate. The last time she had tried to run away from them she had only brought misfortune on an old couple who wanted to help her. So she couldn't become an ordinary citizen or adventurer. Only an over-blooded supporter. Cursed Familia, cursed Soma and cursed... me.

As if she had been too lucky in life. When Joel threw her against the wall, she tried to cushion the impact with her leg. The effect was that her leg was pulsing with pain and although she wasn't a doctor she was sure the bone was fractured.

The throat was no better either. Although that shouldn't make any difference now as no one would come to her aid. The dungeons were closed for a reason and apart from this greedy group, there shouldn't be anyone here.

Closing her eyes, she could hear the killer ants approaching in the distance. She could have sworn that the moment she lost consciousness, among those sounds was the sound of someone running.

Years of attempted escapes have accustomed the prince to running. Although voices could no longer be heard, he was convinced that he would be able to catch up with them.

He managed to gain about 40 seconds advantage over the army of ants. Without fooling himself, he wasn't in the best of shape after the battle with the goliath. As the number of ants was increasing with every second, the Prince himself began to wonder whether it would be wise to fight.

After he ran into a larger room, he saw the corpse of an infant killer ant. Just as he was about to run out a bloodied silhouette against the wall flashed before his eyes. At first glance she resembled a little girl.

Without thinking long he moved towards her and took her in his arms. She was of petite body, with chestnut hair and eyes. Her clothes were soaked with her own blood. Her complexion was pale from the loss of blood. She had at least a few minutes left to live. The only option for her to survive was to get to the surface as quickly as he could.

The prince, therefore, concentrated on only one action - to leave the place as quickly as possible. Despite his own wounds, he ran as fast as he could. Passing some strange shadows on his way, he covered the little girl with his arm, so that nothing would happen to her.

Finally, unbeknownst to him, after how long, the walls of the underground began to seem thinner.

Unfortunately, the closer he got to the surface, the shallower was the breath of the mortal woman. So, when he started to feel a different air, he knew that he had no more than one floor left.

Fate, unfortunately, is a capricious creature. Just as hope of getting out was at hand the little girl stopped breathing.

Zagreus all bloody laid her on the ground. He looked at her face. You could see the pain in it, but it was not only physical.

It was impossible for her to defy death. There are few ways to cheat it and only few known. In the Codex, Zagreus remembered one entry that had always seemed strange to him in its own way.

[... Mortals must regularly nourish themselves with food and drink merely to stave off death. The gods have no such fear, and consume only for sake of tradition or revelry. Some say it gains its potency once transferred to another through a selfless act of giving]

Ambrosia, given to him by the Lord of Hades after winning the battle.

Zagrus took the only vial in his hand and tilted it into the girl's mouth.