- Chess Board -

The stalemate continued for a few days.

The Xenos stayed hidden, waiting for opportunities to escape.

The Loki familia patrolled and searched. Freya had the only key to the Knossos they were aware of. Thus their patrols served two purposes as the enhanced monster mess and the Evilus - Knossos situation seemed to have merged. For one, continued patrols will keep the monsters under surveillance, while the patrols would put pressure on whatever was going on inside the Knossos between Evilus, the enhanced monsters, Bell and his allies.

The Loki executives already came to realize that Ouranos wants to protect the enhanced monsters and perhaps have them coexist with surface dwellers, which is almost unthinkable. However, if they had to choose which threat to eliminate, Evilus seems to be by far the biggest threat.

Freya, Ouranos and Fels waited. Hermes schemed and schemed while Asfi worried.

Ais thought about Bell and why he would help the monsters.

Bell suffered those cold stares when he was outside with Freya without the Hades Hats.

- Five Days Later -

Eventually the city returned mostly to normal. However, the main players kept their same strategies.

Finally Hermes figured out where some of the Xenos were and then made a move...

- At One Xenos Location -

Hermes and Asfi removed their Hades Hats in an abandoned building where Lyd was held up. To the Xenos' surprise, he was not attacking them and just said he wanted to talk.

Hermes "I have your ticket back to safety, but there is something that I want"

Lyd "What is your ticket to safety?"

Hermes "Well, you see how we were able to come here completely undetected?"

Ray "Yes, so how many of those hats do you have?"

Hermes "Not enough but a couple trips would get most of you back to the dungeon"

Lyd "Alright, you have our attention. Now what do you want?"

Hermes smiled "..."...

- At Another Xenos Location -

Hermes, Asfi and Lyd removed their Hades Hat in another abandoned building where Gros was held up. That shocked Gros and the other Xenos.

Gros "Lyd, who are these people?"

Lyd "They are offering us a deal."...

- At Folkvangr -

Hermes and Asfi showed up to the shock of the guards inside the Folkvangr. When they were interrogated, Hermes showed his divine aura and said he needed to speak to Freya.

Freya "Hermes, so what is it that you want to discuss?"

Hermes "Well, we have an impasse with the Loki Familia. I am offering a solution that requires your assistance."

Freya "Really, well please tell us about it"

Hermes "We need some privacy", so Hermes, Asfi, Ottar and Freya went to discuss in a private room...

- At the Guild -

Hermes and Asfi showed up at the door of Ouranos' chambers. Then they heard Ouranos inviting them in without knocking.

Hermes "Well, Ouranos, we have a predicament on our hands, don't we?"

Ouranos "I am sure you are offering a solution"

Hermes smiled "Certainly..." ...

- At the Twilight Manor -

Gareth, Finn, Riveria and Loki were discussing some the latest situation. With no key to get inside the Knossos, there was only so much they could do...

Gareth "The rumor is that something is going to happen soon"

Finn "How? We are patrolling the entire city, all the known entrances"

Riveria "And just in case, we have extra patrols at the Daedalius area"

Gareth "Well, the word is there is a lot of communications going on at the Guild."

Finn "Well, what else can we do?"

Loki "I would suggest you go to all the locations and see it with your own eyes"

Finn "That has merit to it. Alright, we will still focus on the known entrances and Daedalius."

Riveria "The problem is the Ganesha familia, the guild and the Freya familia may all be working together. And Freya has the only key to get in the Knossos..."

Gareth "We do have enough personnel"

Finn "Barely, Raul and I will stay near the Babel, and we will camp there even at night. Tione and Tiona will patrol the areas between the Babel and the Daedalius area."

Finn "Gareth, you and Bete will remain around the known entrance area at Daedalius. Camp there at night so we know that entrance area is secure. Riveria and Lefiya will coordinate the patrol of the overall Daedalius area. Ais should monitor from the top of buildings around Daedalius also."

Gareth "And we do not know where Hermes stand, though I suspect it is not with us."

Finn "And Bell is friends with the Take and Miach familias also. It seems like it is everyone against us."

Loki "What about Hephaestus?"

Finn "My guess is that she is neutral and may be puzzled about what is going on"

Loki "Well, I will talk to PhePhe. We need some allies"...