Am back with no ownership of Danmachi in sight
Filvis/Ein had done their best. They had managed to distract and imprison a few key powers a part of Lord Dionysus' enemies.
Vanargand, now lying in a heap on the floor, his blood becoming a carpet in which he lay.
Antianeira, Perseus and other strong second-tier adventurers' part of Loki Familia, all pushed away even with the aid of the power gifted from the Renard.
She had even managed to find the Gale Wind amongst the numbers that had arrived as backup but even Evilus' greatest enemy was no match for the monster.
However, the person who now rivalled the hooded elf's title was still the main anomaly she couldn't account for. At first, they were annoyed by the Renard's ability to grant a powerful strength boost but after they took care of Vanargand, Filvis/Ein was glad she was here, as it meant she wasn't someplace else. But then she once again proved to be a frustration.
As she watched the young half-elf carefully lay the Golden-haired fox down, she knew that it was the Renard's presence that attracted their worst enemy here.
She remembered when he had betrayed Evilus, killed that deity, massacred over 100 members and vanished, leaving no trace behind. The main individuals of Evilus held a discussion on what to do about him. Valetta wasn't too bothered, still too preoccupied with how to take down Finn Deimne. Olivas Act wanted to focus on keeping the Violas numbers increasing and Barca only cared about Knossos, as always. Thanatos only watched the discussion with a smile. Revis was the only one who seemed to care about what he had done, probably due to him almost killing her. She had wanted to hunt him down but that request was quickly denied by Thanatos, saying she couldn't breach the surface and risk her being noticed.
When that became the main cause of concern, Filvis was the one mentioned to go try and hunt him. They knew that she was still able to blend in as an adventurer, even though her identity was still hidden from the rest of them. Though when she went back to Enyo to discuss this further, he immediately shut her down. He rarely expressed concern when he was sober but Dionysus looked into Filvis/ Ein's eyes that day and told her in a voice that was a mix of concern, glee and fear.
"You may not have a rival within the ranks of adventurers anymore but as a monster, you pale in comparison to that… thing, as do I when compared to the one that created it."
Dionysus always viewed his fellow deities as annoyances, hindrances and the main obstacle stopping him from creating his perfect Orgia. But when Filvis/Ein heard his voice, they understood his words and the meaning behind them.
"Not even I could create such devastation on the scale she can."
Filvis looked on.
While the others saw the half-elf of the Hestia Familia, a few winced at the first time viewing the scar plastered on his face while others could only speculate his sudden appearance.
Filvis saw something else, or more like she felt it.
When she saw the boy during the War Game, his appearance went unnoticed, the only similarity was the pair of swords, the ability of wind magic and that his eyes were hidden. However, his mask was different and the previous two were nothing special for a magic swordsman. Along with his dyed hair, he was no longer recognisable.
She and Dionysus were the only ones able to view the War Game because if Thanatos or any other Evilus God used the Divine Mirror, they would have been sensed by other Deities. Maybe if someone like Valetta or Revis had seen it then maybe they would have recognised him. But since Filvis was split in half, she wasn't at her full power and could not perceive his true nature. But now, now that she was whole, there was no mistaking it.
Aisha Belka shouted a question about why the half-elf was here, a follow-up to the Gale Wind's previous question. Just like with the Gale Wind, Skias Alf ignored it, instead keeping his focus on the creature ahead of him.
Filvis' eyes wavered at the stare as the unholy feeling emanating from his core was enough to make her knees buckle. As a monster with a monster crystal embedded in her chest, she did not need the boy to voluntarily excrete his aura, his presence alone was enough for her.
The young amazon, Lena, scurried over to the Renard and managed to move her to safety, for the time being anyway. Filvis paid it no mind. She could deal with her later. She would deal with them all later but her main priority was now the thing standing in front of her.
Then one of the most frightening images pierced her core.
Everyone in the room conscious had their eyes set on the newest member of the fight. They all saw the way his shoulders jutted slightly and the sound of short, quick breaths through the nose. Then a noise vibrated through the room. Though barely reaching a level of sound accessible by the ear, it was not a pleasant noise to hear.
The half-elf laughed. He moved his head up and brought his free hand up to run his hand through his bleached hair. The laugh slowly gained power, as the boy let out a small bellow of laughter.
"wh-why…?"
The ex-Evilus member only threw his head back further, his black sunglasses dropping to the ground.
"Nath…"
Filvis tried to find sense in the scene. Haruhime attempted to reach out to her friend. Both received no reply. They only got their reply after the boy quietened down. Running his hand through his hair one last time, he lowered his head, once again meeting Filvis' blood-red eyes.
Filvis took a step back. The grin that faced her showed no signs of a normal person, there was no happiness behind it, only a sick, twisted joy as if the boy had finally understood a punch-line to a horrible joke.
The dark jade eyes that met her red ones almost forced her to look away in fear. If the ex-Elf was sound of mind, she might have recognised the colour registered to only those born of a descendant of Queen Cecilia. But instead, she saw a small gleam that reinforced Dionysus' comment about him.
'I want to save my Familia…'
Though the boy had finally concluded what he wanted, was he by no means fine. His mind was still a fractured mess of emotions and thoughts. To call him sane would be wrong but the boy couldn't remember the last time he had been what most people would consider sane. But after so long of relying on his mental fortification to keep himself from drowning, he had forgotten how to swim.
His mind had been slowly dragged deeper and deeper, away from the clearer waters down into the dark ocean of insanity. By no means was he at the bottom but there was little he could do to stop his descent.
And so, in his murky, clouded mind the half-elf could only come to one conclusion. One way to know for sure is that he could destroy the monster in front of him.
'I want to save my Familia, and to do that I must become a monster once more.'
As the boy concluded, he laughed at the cruel irony. To stay in control of his mind, he must relinquish it to the monster he had been able to push to the side.
So using whatever remnants of his mental fortification he had left, the half-elf allowed the monster to step out of the shadows as he felt the skill on his back unlock, the heat being the only warmth left in his body as he stared at the other monster down, no intent of letting it leave the room alive.
"What are you laughing at?"
Nathan's smile only widened at the question from the creature in front of him, the small parts of wrath seeping out only serving to intensify his terrifying smile.
"It's nothing. It's just that... I realised something."
"And that would be?"
The others present didn't dare speak, the cold voice of the half-elf taking control of the fight. Most were content in allowing the conversation to continue as it allowed them to gain a small rest though they would have struggled to move under the slowly rising pressure forming from the newcomer's aura.
"It's just that I had never failed a task that… she gave me."
Filvis flinched at the change in tone. It made her blood run cold but that was due to who the half-elf was referring to.
"…except one. One job I could never accomplish but now... now I've done it, though it's a bit late."
"I don't understand?" Filvis' voice was shaky, struggling to hide her discomfort.
"Yes, you do. How Enyo always stayed hidden, cowering away behind those masks."
Filvis did not like the way the boy talked about her God.
"And how you never revealed yourself. Well, my Goddess gave me the task to find out who you were. I guess even she wasn't immune to the mystery."
Filvis gulped at the thought that the Reaper had been following her, tracking down her identity. It was not a pleasant thought, knowing full well his capabilities.
"But I never could. Honestly, I should have known sooner, considering that."
Nathan emphasised his point by pointing his sword at the girl's chest.
"-huh?"
"Come on, don't play dumb. It's one of the first things I always try and figure out when walking into a room. How many are there? I do that by listening."
"W-what do you…"
"Nathan? What are you talking about?"
Out of all the fighters in the room, it was Ryu who had been the most attentive. She could tell by the way he was talking; he didn't mean Hestia when he mentioned his Goddess and Nathan was acting like he previously knew their enemy.
Nathan chose to ignore the elf, not bothering to deal with her yet. He had lost all care in keeping his secret now, knowing it wouldn't stay a secret for long.
"I listen to anything. Footsteps, weapons, breathing… heartbeats."
Filvis' chest tightened at the last word. Her eyes widened.
"Filvis… what does he mean, why did you react like that?"
"My dear thousand Elf," Nathan said, a cocky grin spreading across his lips as he bared his fangs. "It's exactly what I mean. I can hear all of you. Yours is rapidly increasing. The wolf's is slowly trying to pump blood back around his body and the gale wind is doing her best to stay calm, though she isn't doing a very good job."
The elf in question clenched her hands around her short swords.
"But your friend here…"
"Shut up!"
"She doesn't have one."
"SHUT UP!"
Filvis' shout only made Nathan smile more, the manic look in his eyes growing.
"I never noticed Filvis of Dionysus Familia because you were so insignificant and to think such a proud elf would fall to be such a disgusting monster."
Nathan enjoyed the look on Filvis' face and even more the one on Lefiya's. He had always enjoyed mocking elves and his dark mind wasn't hiding it anymore.
"The last time I saw you as Filvis would have been… what, the incident 5 years ago I think."
Both Ryu and Filvis' eyes narrowed at the mention of the catastrophe on the 27th floor. One would go to lose their family to a monster never seen before, the other would lose everything and become one.
"You... were there?" Filvis voice was quiet. She hated thinking of that event.
"What do you mean? Wait, did your God never tell you?"
At the lack of response and the blank stare, the boy laughed. His cold, haunting laugh bounced around the barren room.
"What are you on about?" Filvis said with narrowed blood red eyes. That day never left her mind. How she lost her family and her life as well. The day she became a monster with a purple crystal embedded in her core.
"That whole thing. The monster parade, the bombs…" Nathan gave a glance to Ryu. "The destruction of the Astrea Familia, it was all for one purpose."
"NATHAN!"
Ryu had now stood up, pointing her sword to the half-elf, bloodlust radiating off her at the mention of her deceased sisters. Her voice then dropped to a deathly hiss.
"Explain yourself, now!"
At the death stare, the half-elf sighed, his cocky grin dropping slightly.
"Suppose you were gonna find out eventually." He muttered to himself.
"The reason both of you lost your families and everything you held, dear, was because my Goddess wanted to teach me a lesson."
Filvis held her breath. She had quickly come to know how brutal the Goddess of Death was when it came to her teachings and how she treated her only follower.
"When I was younger, she felt I hadn't come to understand the true meaning of death. Since she was a Goddess of Death, she couldn't allow her only follower to be so blind to the great, meaningful event of dying" The half said, sarcasm dripping off his tone.
"So she decided on a plan. That plan led to me being surrounded by so much death that I wouldn't have a choice but to understand it. You couldn't even begin to imagine it; it was everywhere you looked. You remember it, don't you Ein? The streams ran red with blood. Screams of terror were drowned out by the roaring rapids of the Great Falls. No one survived it. No one could survive it. How could they, the Goddess of Death orchestrated it so they had no choice but to follow her script." Nathan laughed, the insanity festering his mind becoming ever more present.
Filvis had fallen to her knees, the PTSD from the event killing any balance she had as the memories swarmed her mind, as if she was reliving it again.
Ryu took a step towards the half-elf.
"That was something you lot never understood. You never understood who you were talking with. They…" Nathan said, pointing his sword at the rest of the people. "They never understood who they were up against. That was the only time she ever planned anything and it caused more destruction and death than anything the rest of you could come up with. All the death of mayhem Evilus caused, she beat that in the span of one day."
Nathan was doing his best to not break down as well. The memories of the event too stayed in his mind. It was the event that truly brought into his perspective how powerful the Gods could be if they wanted to be. Without even using a single bit of Arcanum, she completely annihilated hundreds of adventures, and it was all to teach him a lesson. To teach him not to question her, not to wrong her… to never disobey her again.
"Why are talking like that?" Ryu said in a shaky voice, her head down.
"Like what?" Nathan responded.
"Like you were part of the attack like you were on their side."
"I was on no one side... no one other than hers."
"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"
"Nathan… stop."
Nathan looked back to the Renard that was begging him to not say anymore. The pleading look in her eyes doing its best to bring the boy back to his senses but it was already too late. The tears that stung the rims of her emerald eyes could not bring the half-elf back into the shadows.
"I'm sorry, but I don't care anymore. I'm done caring." The boy turned back to look at Ryu, ignoring the pained look In Haruhime's eyes.
"Yes Ryu! I was on the side of Evilus. During both the Dark Ages when Orario was brought to its Knees and the catastrophe of the 27th floor. Happy now?" Nathan said, spreading his arms wide, acting as if Ryu had caught him red-handed.
Ryu's eyes lit up in fury.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Ryu dived towards the half-elf. She knew they were of the same level but she could take him. She viewed this as a betrayal. He had sat in the same place she had, talked to her, knowing he was responsible for the death of her Familia, even admitting to having a personal role in the events leading up to their demise.
This was the explanation. The reason why he acted coldly around her, why he didn't look at her the same way he did everyone else. Why she always had a bad feeling about him.
"Lyon, wait!"
The elf ignored Asfi's shout, baring her teeth towards her newest but oldest enemy. With a swift motion, she swung Kaguya's sword up, ready to split the boy's head in two, only for it to be stopped.
The half-elf had casually held the woman's sword at bay without even drawing his own. Ryu tried desperately to pull away but the grip on her wrist was firm. It took only this defence to make her realise.
'He's a level above me.'
Ryu knew he was a struggle when they were on the same level but now it would be impossible to beat the half-elf but she would still try. The anger in her heart had not yet been sated. Even though Bell had done so much to help her, this betrayal in her eyes was enough to re-kindle some of that hatred.
However, all that anger immediately evaporated. Ryu was now looking into the boy's eyes. She could recognise that colour anywhere. It was the same one Lady Riveria had. The colour only seen in the royal Alf forest.
But even with that, Ryu saw something else. She could perceive every emotion swirling in his head. Anger, fear, sadness, defeat.
She lost all her fight in that one look as she loosened her grip on her short sword. At that moment, she wanted to say something. Wanted to ask why he did all the things he did. Did he have regrets? Did he feel guilty? Who was he?
"I...can't..." Ryu's grip trembled as tears began springing in her eyes.
"Can't what? Can't accept I was Evilus all along."
"My Familia...my sisters, died all because... of you."
Ryu choked her words through her tears with the realisation of the past. She had just got through that; Bell had helped her get over the death of her Familia once and for all. But now here was the person responsible for their deaths, standing right in front of her. And she couldn't do anything.
Before Ryu had any time to get her mind in order, Nathan flung her backwards. In a split second, the elf had slammed into the far wall. A gasp of air broke through as the force of the impact winded her.
As the elf fell onto her knees, gasping for air she looked back up at the half-elf that had thrown her.
"Why did you do that?"
Ryu heard Filvis speak as she saw a long black tendril recoil from the place she previously stood.
In response, Nathan shrugged.
"You just saved our greatest enemy, you know that?" Filvis hissed out, annoyed about the boy once again stopping her from taking out another enemy. She knew the boy had some sort of ability that allowed him to read attacks but she thought if she went for the elf, he wouldn't be able to react in time. She was clearly wrong.
"What are you, huh? Are you an Evilus member or are you trying to be one of them?"
"I was never an Evilus member." Nathan spat back, still denying his past. "My Goddess only associated with Evilus because it brought her some entertainment."
'And I can never be one of them.'
"But you just saved her life, why? Just like you did with the renard. Even saying that you want to protect your Familia. What happened?" Filvis asked, forcing her point across.
Nathan stared at the creature, readying his swords for the incoming battle. But then a voice came from behind him.
"Sir Nathan is a kind person."
"…Haruhime?" The boy whispered in shock, his jade eyes looking back at the fox behind him.
"You dumb fox, what are you doing?" Aisha cried out. She didn't want her sister to gain any more attention. She did not like hearing what she heard about the half-elf but she couldn't really judge as Ishtar had forced her into a similar situation. The rest of the fighters looked on as the renard stood up and walked up beside the half-elf.
"He is a kind person. Whatever happened those years ago distorted who he really is. I know that the person who he truly is, a kind person."
"How much has he actually told you?" The creature laughed. Just like with Nathan's, it was an uncomfortable noise to hear.
"He told us enough. That he was just a young boy when he was dragged into a mess that he had no part in." Haruhime's voice got stronger.
"...Haruhime... stop." Nathan's voice was quiet, his head looking at the ground.
"He was forced to do horrible things by bad people. But he is trying his best to make up for it!" the fox girl was now standing strong, defending her friend. Making sure that any unjust blame and hate towards him were dispersed.
"...please stop." Nathan hated listening to the young woman's voice. The hope it had in him, that belief. It was all based on lies and false truths.
"And he does that by taking down people like you!"
Haruhime's speech was met by silence. All those in the room had heard it. Even Ryu could only look at the half-elf, the want to attack receding even more as the renards words sank into her.
However, the only response Filvis gave was an increase in her laughter. Distorted and crude, it made the fox-girls ears shudder.
"He really did tell you nothing. Hahahaha!"
Filvis was beginning to enjoy this now. After the half-elf came in, he had the upper hand in their argument but now it was her turn, her revenge for mocking Lord Dionysus.
"No part in it! Forced to! Are you kidding me!" She shouted out, a sinister grin peeling on her face.
"...enough..." Nathan whispered.
"Do you know what his Alias was when he was part of Evilus? He wasn't just called the Reaper out of a small laugh like how the rest of the Gods pick names. "
"Rea...per?" Haruhime said confused as she looked at the back of the motionless half-elf.
"See, he told you nothing."
Filvis then looked back at the half-elf as he raised his gaze to meet hers.
"You going to tell her or can I do it?"
At that, Nathan launched himself at the monster. His speed was incredible, even without his wind. He raised his sword, his aim precisely on Filvis' throat. He always got his target when he aimed for the throat, it was his favourite place to strike when taking down an enemy. But this time was different. It wasn't like most other times when the opponent was only marginally stronger than him or even weaker than him. This time, his opponent outclassed everyone in Knossos... even Revis.
Filvis managed to evade the attack but before she could deploy a counter, Nathan pushed off the ground and sprung into the nearest dark spot next to the wall. Filvis knew it would be this kind of fight but she had come to realise something, the half-elf was unstable. So with a sinister grin, she continued to talk.
"The Reaper was infamous throughout Evilus..."
A sword slashed at her calf but by the time Nathan came to continue his second move, the injury had healed and Filvis sent a half dozen black tendrils at him, forcing him to retreat backwards.
"... he earned his Alias by racking up a kill count so unimaginable, it could put the dark ages bombings to shame."
Nathan bounced off another wall, appearing behind the monster but Filvis felt the change in air behind her, her senses heightened beyond comparison. With a speed unreadable she turned around and slammed a wave of tendrils into the half-elf, the boy narrowly escaping a head-on collision but the force generated by the attack that split the floor in half threw him backwards. When he slammed into the wall near Aisha, a small bit of blood splattered out of his mouth.
The rest of the occupants of the room did not know whether to join in on the fight. What from they had gathered, this was almost an internal fight between two of the strongest members of their enemy and they were fine gaining a rest as the two attempted to tear each other apart. But they were learning one was much worse than the other.
"He truly was a follower of the Goddess of death!" Filvis stated a sick grin on her face. She was enjoying this. After hearing how it was the boy's fault for ending up the way she was, she was finding enjoyment in beating him down. The one who was so feared, his Alias making some tremble at the mention of it was now struggling to stand up at the shockwave of one of her attacks. She was going to make sure she enjoyed this.
"I mean the reason Evilus was even able to operate for so long was mainly down to the Reaper killing anyone who got close to unveiling our secrets. Whenever we wanted someone killed, we gave him a name and sent him out to deal with it and he'd be back within a few hours. Honestly, his efficiency was outstanding."
The looks of horrified faces were making this all the more enjoyable, especially the one on the now shocked renards face. Where was once a strong, determined look in her eye had now been replaced by a scared look that didn't want to accept what she was hearing.
"And you say he is trying to reconcile for what he did, implying he felt guilt. Don't be ridiculous! He would come back covered in an entire Familia's blood that he had massacred and his expression wouldn't have changed from when he left. He felt nothing! He hid behind a mask his entire life, not even letting a shred of care or empathy present itself to the world! No remorse for the people he killed! The lives he ruined!"
Filvis was now screaming, her anger towards the half-elf for being the reason who she is now. If it wasn't for him, maybe she could have lived a different life. Maybe she could've been happy. Maybe she could've... loved.
Those thoughts crossed her mind as she looked over at the orange-haired elf, tightly grasping her wand as tears brimmed in her light blue eyes. Filvis now had a different motive to continue this fight. She knew it was unbecoming of an elf to seek such a disgusting thing as revenge but she was far past seeing herself as a typical elf.
"Look at me!" Filvis continued as she addressed the room, all the others inside moving their eyes over to her, still unsure of what action to take, however, their minds forever changed on how they viewed their apparent ally. Filvis kept her eyes well-trained on the half-elf, making sure he doesn't leave her eye line.
"He admitted that it was because of him so many people died that day 5 years ago, me included. I became the monster I am today because of him. I am the only one remaining alive of the hundreds of adventurers who were down there."
It wasn't just Filvis who was hurt that day. Most of Orario felt that loss. Widespread grief spread through the city. There were adventurers' part of many Familia's, including the Loki Familia. All their eyes darkened as they had no choice but to sympathise with their enemy.
There was only one who refused to believe this. Even though Nathan had yet to defend himself, Haruhime still would.
"How do we know you aren't just lying?"
She hoped that the others would realise that this was a ploy by their enemy to divide them. That this wasn't the truth, that Nathan didn't do all those horrible things. She was truly grasping at anything she could to make herself not believe in those horrible things.
"It wasn't his fault for the disaster 5 years ago! He said it himself; it was his Goddess' plan and he didn't want it to happen."
The others contemplated the Renard's claim. They knew they couldn't trust what the creature was saying but whenever they looked at Nathan, they couldn't help getting a feeling and Filvis had the explanation for that feeling.
"Haruhime's right. We can't let this bitch get the better of us. She's trying to get in our minds!" Aisha shouted, wanting to believe in her sister.
"You think I need to do that!" Filvis shouted as she shot a black tendril at Aisha, sending her hurtling towards the wall.
"Miss Aisha!" Haruhime cried as she watched her sister cough up blood. She began to run over to her side before she was stopped by another tendril in front of her.
"The Reaper isn't a person, you hear me? You think he cares about you. It's a lie, an act! He doesn't feel! He doesn't care! The only thing he does is destroy and kill, that's it."
Filvis began to wrap her tendril around Haruhime's waist. She began to squeeze. If Filvis wanted to, she could've snapped the frail renard in two. And she wanted to, there was only one thing stopping her. Her tendril was now turning to ash on the floor.
Haruhime fell to the ground, coughing for air as black leather boots stepped up beside her. Nathan had once again saved Haruhime from Filvis and it was beginning to piss Filvis off.
"Nath- *Cough* Nathan, tell... tell her... tell us that she's wrong. You didn't do those things, you're not a bad person."
Instead of answering, Nathan continued walking. To some, the lack of an answer was a sign of confession but Nathan would not indulge either side. Because in his mind, he did not know what to say. The truth would come at a later date but now, he had something more important to do. While the last time Filvis saw him as the Reaper, he had no emotions but anger. This time, he has people that he cares for and Filvis just hurt one of them again. And Nathan still had all that anger.
The one having the worst time dealing with all the emotions was Ryu. Her mind felt like it was being dragged through the levels of Tartarus. Part of her wanted nothing more than to join hands with Filvis and take down the half-elf responsible for ruining both their lives. But what about his eyes, their colour of royalty. Maybe she her eyes weren't working properly and she misjudged the colour.
'No, they were definitely the same as Lady Riveria... who is he?'
However, she knew that there were more important things right now that needed addressing. Fortunately for her, there was someone who would simplify her thinking, for the time being.
"Who gives a fuck!"
"-huh."
Filvis turned her head, facing the gruff voice, a clear annoyance stitched into his tone.
Bete had been conscious for most of what had been said. He had heard about who Nathan was and what he had apparently done and to say he wasn't pissed off that the boy hadn't been fully truthful with them was an understatement. Just like the Gale wind, he too wanted to dig his fangs into the boy and rip him to shreds for everything he has done and been a part of. But he also knew he had a job to do and that the other issue could be saved for later.
"I said who gives a fuck. What's done is done, no point bitching about it now!" Bete snapped, managing to stand back up.
"How? I beat you within an inch of your life!" Filvis shouted, outraged that this fierce opponent was already back on his feet.
"That just shows how stupid you are that you didn't finish me off!" Bete replied, pissed off as the sweet taste of a healing potion lingered on his tongue. He too wasn't sure how Lena had gotten those two potions but when he asked, she replied she just found them at her feet during the confrontation between Filvis and Nathan.
Bete wasn't stupid enough to not realise what had happened. As he looked over at the half-beaten, unmasked half-elf, he knew it was him who had dropped them off out of the shadows. This only enraged him even more, now being indebted to someone like him.
"What the fuck are the rest of you doing, staring at me like this! We are meant to be fighting that thing and here you lot are, sitting on your asses. Pisses me off seeing weaklings like you just waiting for someone to come along and do their job for them!"
While Bete understood that they were getting a much-needed rest, he wasn't happy that they had allowed valuable time to deplete over something pathetic as the past. The hypocrisy was not lost on him.
His little rally seemed to work as most of the adventurers listened to the ashen wolf and began to stand up again, readying their weapons for another attack on the monster. Lefiya, Asfi, Aisha and the others turned their focus back on the creature in the centre of the room, planning on ignoring Nathan for the time being, still unsure of who he is.
Though that would turn out to be impossible as Bete would not allow Nathan even a shred of compassion, mercy or any sort of kindness.
"Oi, bastard!" Bete said with a click of his tongue, not bothering to look over towards the half-elf's direction. Everyone knew who he was referring to but none chose to look, not wanting to even look at the boy they had just learnt could possibly have been their biggest enemy for the past 7 years.
"Let me make this clear," Bete continued. "I hate wanting to even think of working with you ever again and after all this is done, I'm going to personally rip you apart. But right now, I got something else to do, so either do what your good at or fuck off..." Bete spat. On top of what he just heard from Filvis, he also had what Loki got from Thanatos. And both stories seemed to align and to Bete, that was putting in the pieces to a puzzle that Finn had wanted to solve for the past month.
Bete's rant was met by silence. Haruhime, Asfi and Ryu were the only ones who turned to the place Nathan was standing. Haruhime was still pleading with her eyes, hoping for Nathan to defend himself. Asfi and Ryu, the ones who had arguably known Nathan the longest, could not figure out their emotions with the half-elf.
"You know what Bete Loga..." The cold, emotionless voice had returned as the figure of the Reaper stepped forward, adjacent to the Wolf. Filvis whipped her head around as she saw the gleam from the pair of swords by the first-class adventurer's sides. As prepared for what would be the final stage of their fight for the city of Orario's future, she felt a small tremble in her knees.
"...I feel the exact same way."
With a cold stare and a sinister grin, the Reaper readied for an attack.
Filvis was doing everything she could. It had only been a minute into the fight and already she realised it was hopeless. There were too many of them. Vanargand was the worst. His fangs and claws bared and tore into her flesh. Her regenerative powers were doing everything they could to keep up but whenever she found time to heal, there was everyone else. The gale wind slammed her twin shorts-swords into her and straight after Antianeira swung her giant Padao into her stomach, her tendrils using every ounce of strength to block the attack. Behind her, she heard the beautiful singing of Haruhime.
All while this was going on, her mind still had to remember that the Reaper was about, waiting in the shadows. He had started the attack with a double swing towards her body, his wind slashing through her black arms. He then pushed her back into the claws of Bete, who began his barrage of attacks. But the worst thing out of all of them was the singer. She caught glimpses of the golden renard but she heard the chant clear as day. The same chant that had awoken a power within anyone she gifted her magic to. And now she had the choice of the Reaper and Bete Loga at her disposal. If Haruhime got her magic off, Filvis would have no hope, even with her strength and healing.
She was overwhelmed to the point of her whole body breaking and then she heard it. They all heard it.
"gong!"
It was fairly dim at first but then it grew in volume.
"Gonggggggggg!"
It echoed throughout the entirety of Knossos. The ringing of a Bell.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG!"
To everyone in the room, it was inspiration. The drive to push forward, the same way the one who rang that bell had done so many times. To overcome the insurmountable odds and win, even if it meant giving everything you had.
But to Filvis, it spelt the end. Haruhime casted her magic. With each ring that resounded in her pointy ears, the clock ticked closer and closer. As the attacks grew quicker, stronger, more ferocious, she felt herself growing weaker. Lights poured out of the fox's tail and descended onto her attackers. The elf, now with the power of a level 5, began her own chant.
Filvis knew she had to stop Lefiya or that would be game over for her. The magic cast by The Thousand Elf would be enough to stun her for a long enough time that the others could attack. But as she set her new target, the fangs of a level 7 werewolf dug into her skin.
Filvis could do nothing but scream in pain as she was overwhelmed in strength by the ferocious wolf as he tore into her grey flesh. The others didn't even need to help much, only there to block any outward attack directed towards Lefiya. Filvis' strength was quickly depleting as she couldn't dispatch Bete.
"...Arcs Ray!"
Filvis heard Lefiya finish her chant. A part of her wanted Lefiya to never stop singing, her beautiful voice had always calmed Filvis down. But all she could do as she felt the weight of Vanargand bounce off her was stare at her friend as she saw the flames of arrows hurtle towards her.
Lefiya could barely hold back the tears as she buried her dear friend in a mountain of flames. The screams of the elf bounced off the walls as Bete backed off, staying clear of Lefiya's magic. However, he was quickly replaced.
Lefiya watched time and time again as Skias Alf jumped back and forth through her magic, slashing away at Filvis' flesh. She had seen this before, how her magic had no effect on him. She wanted to scream at the half-elf, beg him to stop. But from what she heard; she knew it would be fruitless. She knew the boy was not their ally and not their friend but she saw the sad look in his eyes and the way he had protected both Haruhime and the masked elf swordswoman. She had yet to register the Jade colour.
To the rest of them, the sight only reinforced what Filvis had said. How he mercilessly dug his swords into the creature, even though it was already beaten. Even after the flames had died down and Lefiya's magic had dispersed, Nathan's attacks did not slow down. To them, they were starting to see the vicious killer that had taken so many lives, that had allowed so many deaths to occur by prolonging Evilus to continue. All of them had loved ones in their mind as they watched the half-elf slice the creature's legs in half for the fifth time.
Asfi saw her Familia members that had died on the 24th floor, ones that had shared the same Falna as Nathan. Did he have some role to play in their deaths?
But she also saw all the times Nathan had tried to help. The times when he did the right thing. With the Xenos and making a deal with the Loki Familia even though it would expose him. Helping out the Hestia Familia during the war game. The sky-blue-haired woman looked over at Haruhime.
'Was it all just an act or has he really changed? And does that excuse for all the bad things he has done?'
She had known he was Evilus but to Hermes' request, she tried to accept him. She knows she did a terrible job looking back on it but still, was that person who had been a part of her Familia really the same person who the creature described? He had always kept quiet and not gave much away about himself, she was sure not even Hermes knew his full story. Asfi hoped that someone she wished to consider a friend would not have done all those things. She wouldn't know what to make of him if he had.
In Ryu's mind were her sisters. The ones Nathan personally held accountability for. Did it matter whether he was forced to or not? To her it did and she wasn't so blind to realise that 5 years ago would mean that Nathan would have been a child.
"You think you're the only one to be hurt by them?"
What he had said in the hospital. Was he really what Filvis said he was or was he a pawn in Evilus' plans, forced to do horrible stuff?
The other Loki Familia members saw their loved ones. Friends they lost in their first invasion of Evilus 2 months ago. The awful stuff they saw, the monsters they encountered. To them, the half-elf seemed to be just like them. The way he swung his swords with little regard for life and how he never even gave his opponent a chance to scream. How he continued to rip away pieces of flesh, even though a spell was cast by one of the strongest mages in the city, with a level boost on top of that. To them, they couldn't help but believe in the creature's words.
Lefiya herself saw past all that and began to cry as she watched her friend, the one she has treasured ever since they met. The one who has been through so much pain and suffering already. The one who was currently being slashed and torn, inch by inch by the Skias Alf's swords. She wanted it to end. She saw that Filvis was beaten, that it was only a matter of time. But she saw the dark look on the half-elf's face. How he was continuously going for the chest, where Filvis' magic stone was, only to be pushed back time and time again.
Lefiya knew he would get past the defences eventually. The bloodlust that was seeping out of Nathan was becoming more apparent as he became more annoyed at being stopped from his kill. So that's why Lefiya unsheathed the sword strapped to the waist. The sword that she had picked up in Knossos a week ago after she watched Filvis die. The sword that had taught her so much. Lefiya clutched it tight to her chest and pushed off the ground.
Nathan turned to see Lefiya come running forward, her cry piercing his ears. He knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to be the one to finish Filvis off. It was her friend, after all, that's what he had heard anyway. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to be the one to kill Ein but he relented. But he would make sure that this would be it.
He jumped behind Filvis/Ein and held her, facing her towards Lefiya. To his surprise, he felt little struggle from the creature. Someone who should have easily escaped his grasp. At that moment, he realised she had accepted her end. That she could no longer escape death.
As Nathan forced Filvis/Ein's chest towards the sword ready to pierce her chest, he realised he was jealous of the elf. That she was able to accept death while he was still running from it. As he looked back on their shared history he realised something else. They were the same. Both haunted by their pasts, the injustices they have caused. Both used by evil deities and how they resent themselves for the monster they became. Nathan realised that Filvis/Ein might have been one of the only people that he could relate to and he was now helping kill her. She was going to leave him all alone.
Nathan had never spoken to either Ein much, barely even giving her a second glance until this very fight. So in their last interaction together, as two people with their nature twisted by the perverse entertainment of the Gods, Nathan spoke to the creature in his grasp.
"I'm sorry..."
Filvis/Ein heard those words as Lefiya punctured her chest. As she felt her magic core crack, it felt like time came to a standstill as she thought about those words. She knew they meant little. She had seen the Reaper many times in Knossos, not knowing what he was. But she now heard the sadness in his words. The regret, guilt and pain in those two words made Filvis' anger towards the boy subside as she stared into the elf's eyes. The eyes that had held a possible future for her. A future she had dismissed. A future that the boy holding her has a chance at.
The crystal nested inside Filvis' chest cracked, bursting into a thousand pieces under the pressure of the sword she once wielded, now held by the one who brought her closest to feeling like a person again.
Filvis/Ein could feel themselves being split in two. Almost as if it were a defence mechanism to prolong the inevitable, Ein and Filvis once again became two different entities for the final time.
While Filvis could nothing more than sit down and look back on her life, Ein could only think of their Lord. In an anguished voice, the usually robed creature, now exposed to all those around her, dashed forward into the dark corridors of Knossos, crying out Dionysus' name, the only to have accepted her for who she was.
As Ein vanished from sight, the entire room collapsed. The bell that had tolled so loud had now quietened, telling everyone that it had performed its task. But while most turned their eyes to the ground, a sad smile on their lips in relief that they have avenged their loved ones, a few looked at the doorway.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Bete was out of breath. Haruhime's level boost drained his endurance, his body not used to being able to fight with such strength. But he still had enough strength left in him to question the half-elf about to leave the room.
"Where do you think?" Nathan coldly responded. "I'm following her, making sure the job is finished."
Before anyone else, from Haruhime to Ryu, could question him, the half-elf soon followed Ein into the hallways of Knossos. She would not escape him. Now that she was back to being a regular strength, she would not be able to run away. Her scent, the sound of her footsteps, the vibrating on the floor each time she took a step. Nathan would use his senses to make sure she would escape. Because she was his key to finding the true person he wanted now.
'Just like before. I've found out your name, which means that you will not live to see the next day.'
Nathan dashed away from the battlefield. No voices cried out for him to come back, or to be careful. Only the wailing of an elf girl over the death of her friend rang in his ears as irreversible words were said that day, forever altering the future of everyone in Knossos, Orario and the every mortal across the world.
Hey, my wrist broke... again. Trust me, it has annoyed more than you can think.
This chapter was one of teh hardest to write as there was so much to cram in, I feel like I did an alright job but there is still a lot that I didn't add that will hopefully come in the next few chapters. I can't promise when they will be out as I wrote this with a broken wrist over the span of a month along with a chapter for my other story.
I'm also working and uni starts soon as well so a lot going on but as I always say, this never leaves my mind and I will continue this until I publicly say its finished or that i can longer continue.
Reviews:
NinjaFang1331: Yeah about getting his shit together, It might be the exact opposite. The truth is never fun to relive
Uodoh: Cheers mate :)
Guest reviewer: Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Already explained his name situation. NATHAN ISN'T HIS ELF NAME FFS. You really think that would be his real name, for Hestia's sake.
Jank7457: That he did because Revis is not his main fight, even though of their history I'm itching to explore
Krumpte: I really want to talk about his life in the Alf forest but for the past chapters it has mainly been Evilus but after Knossos there will be a lot of Royal Elf past that needs to be shared.
ardianlura: Welp... better late than never I suppose.
That's that done, I'll see ya next time and please, go and enjoy my other story. Peace!