No Danmachi owner here, none what so ever.

Enjoy!

A quagmire of adventures crowded around the large tower, located in the centre of Orario. Only a few hours prior a mass gathering had occurred after the Guild had given the information that the dungeon town of Rivira had been destroyed by armed monsters. An order was then quickly issued to all the top Familia to help with the effort to quell the attack. The Ganesha Familia were to be the main driving point of the attack, while the Freya Familia was told to take the positions of guard duty in place of the Ganesha member's and the Loki Familia were ordered to be on standby.

Nathan was perched on top of a large building 200 metres away from the entrance to Babel, quietly observing all that was happening. Like most there, he too was curious why the Loki and Freya Familia were not here but he didn't have time to go check as he had rushed here for one reason only. Bell.

"Bell has been assigned to journey with the subjugation team to the eighteenth floor!"

"""He What!"""

The news came as a shock to everyone in the Hearthstone manor and almost immediately Hestia ran out of the massive house, her children right behind her. Nathan immediately ran upstairs to his room to grab his stuff when he decided to take it out of his drawer. He then raced ahead and sprinted as fast as possible to the dungeon entrance, where he finds himself now. His eyes scanned around the entire open area, inspecting every single adventurer as he had yet spotted his intended target.

'The guy has white hair and red eyes; he stands out like a giant in a room full of prums.'

After another minute of searching, he dropped down to a back alley where 3 women were talking.

"So what's the plan, Andromeda?" An elf asked. Her blonde hair was covered up by a long green hooded cape with her wooden sword in plain view.

"Yeah, how are we gonna help Bell Cranel from here?" A strong female voice came from a well-built, well-endowed amazon with flowing black hair. Her weapon of choice, a padoa, was also in clear view.

The final woman the two voices were questioning had sky blue hair, a white billowing robe and a pair of glasses perched on her nose.

"I believe it is best to follow the subjugation team from a small distance and intervene when we reach floor 18."

Nathan landed next to the blue-haired woman, making her jump a little, though little concern was given from the half-elf.

"I still can't see him; he must be disguised. If I have to identify him, I will need to get closer as from back here, I can't distinguish anyone apart from the Ganesha Familia heads."

Nathan had come across the three women on his way to the centre of the city and decided to see what they were up to. To his correct assumption, they were also heading out to help Bell so he mentioned the suggestion that they work together. He knew very well that all 3 of them had issues with him in some form. Asfi knew where he had come from and had been his captain for just over a year, making her wary of him. Ryu had always been cautious when in the half-elf's presence but had slowly started to put her guard down less and less over the last few months since Nathan has been a part of the Hestia Familia. Aisha was still clearly shaken about what had gone down in the dungeon and the pleasure districts on the two's brief encounters with each other but was able to control her emotions for their current objective.

"What do you suggest we do Nathan?" Asfi asked.

"I say we go with your plan. Since we can't identify Bell right now and because it could be dangerous to do so during the descent, it would probably be best to hold back until we get to the 18th floor."

The group were now all in agreement about their next plan of action. They shouldn't have trouble following the massive crowd of adventurers considering the recently formed party was made up of the most powerful second-tier adventurers in Orario. The only few who were missing was Raul Nord and Anakitty Autumn from Loki and Van from Freya and they would have the strongest people in Orario minus the first-class adventurers.

"Take these anyway."

Asfi started handing out some black helmets to the two other women.

"Hades Helmets."

"Yeah but I wasn't expecting you as well as Leon, so I only brought one more."

"Don't worry, I don't need one of them to stay hidden. I'll live I'm sure."

"Shame that"

"Bite me again Amazon, I know you about pissed yourself when I arrived."

"I can take you on now; I've gone up a level since last time."

"Tammuz went up another level when he faced me, look how that turned out."

"Quiet you two, we don't have time for this now."

Asfi sighed as she watched Ryu try and stop the back and forth between the Half-elf and Amazon, the two already not getting on well, considering each others respecitve pasts, it would make sense.

The subjugation team swarmed into the dungeon and made it to the 18th floor at record speed. During the rapid descent, the party of 4 decided to split up and try and locate Bell. It didn't take too long to find him and when they all hit the safe zone, the four reconvened on top of a nearby hill, observing the white-haired boy's movements, though Nathan was still thinking about why the Xenos had attacked the town. His thoughts would soon be answered when he started to look around from his high vantage point. What he saw made his blood boil.

"Ikelos Familia."

The quiet voice drew the 3 other sets of eyes towards the half-elf, all now wearing a wide-eyed expression.

"Are you sure Nathan?" Asfi quickly asked.

"Positive, I recognise some of them." Nathan didn't realise his thoughtless words as he had forgotten who he was with after seeing his tormenting past comrades. Even though Asfi knew about him being a part of Evilus, the other two did not and this was evident by Ryu quickly taking charge of the conversation.

"How do you recognise Ikelos Familia, have you already encountered them before." The coldness had also made its way into the elf's voice as well, her hatred towards Evilus the only one to rival the half-elf's. The recklessness of Nathan's actions bit him in the back instantly, though right now he didn't care.

"You could say that."

"Where?"

"Places."

"Nathan!"

"I'm going after them."

"Wait what about Bell and the monsters."

"Don't try and stop me Asfi, you know how I feel. Besides, you guys are strong enough. As the Bimbo said, she has gone up a level so you should be fine. I'm trusting you to be able to keep him safe."

With that said, Nathan ignited his magic and leapt towards his next victims, leaving the 3 women with the task of watching over Bell.

"Oi Asfi, what did the little shit mean about how he feels?" Aisha said while still looking in the direction Nathan went. Asfi instead went back to looking at the captain of Ganesha Familia dish out orders.

"It is not my place nor the time to talk about that. If you wish to know, talk to him yourself." Though she answered Aisha, she was talking to the still invisible elf to her left that very much wanted to know about the connection between the masked boy and the faction that had killed her sisters.

"I am going to assist."

"Huh, wai-Leon!"

"I'm going too, if that brat gets to go fighting, I ain' missing out either."

The two women quickly removed their Hades Helmets and set to work joining in the battle, leaving Asfi to clean up a mess she had once again unintentionally made.

Nathan had leapt over a few hundred metres to where a group of Xenos had been fighting what he knew as members of the Ikelos Familia. When he made his presence known to the side of each of the two groups, he dashed towards the adventurers without any hesitation. He slaughtered them immediately, none of them even coming close to even blocking an attack. He believed what he was doing was justified and that he was helping but deep down he knew it was only for his own benefit. To try and sate his infinite hole of rage and revenge. Nathan had let his rage take some control of his actions, his aura now leaking out and his Reaper skill starting to become active. After finishing off the last one, he didn't even acknowledge the monsters behind him and ran off in the directions of battle with intentions of continuing his almost 2-year rampage of blood, murder, and revenge, he cared little for the Xenos right now, though some of them had recognised him as one of the surface dwellers who visited them.

The half-elf raced through the thick forest, cutting down anything that was in his way with his wind. Leaves, branches, fallen foliage and blood spewing organisms, he didn't care right now as all he was focusing on was taking out as many of the Ikelos Familia as he could. He could sense that Dix Perdix had not joined the battlefield which led to disappointment and then to more rage. Nathan's mental fortification was working on overdrive to keep him in his senses and allow him to keep control over his wrath from completely spilling out. Though his control was not required when an abnormal howl resonated from the forest.

"UUUWWOWOOOOOOOOOOO!"

It was foul and radiated unbelievable strength the likes only a few in the world could come close to pulling off. It pulled Nathan out of his revenge fuelled trance and made him change his direction towards whatever made that roar.

Ryu was looking around the recently made battlefield. All around were bodies, thrown in every direction. Not even the level 5s of the Ganesha Familia were left standing, with the Ankusha herself unconscious, only a trail of blood sliding down the tree to show what had happened. Ryu saw that alongside her, there was only Aisha and Asfi standing. The cause of all this was the giant, pitch-black monstrosity of destruction in front of them. It was a pure black minotaur with blood-red horns. Stood over 7 foot tall, it wielded a giant battle-axe that the elf had watched decimate the now unconscious pile of adventurers.

The elf herself was in a bad condition. Blood fell from a cut on her forehead, covering one of her eyes. Her clothes were in tatters. Her cape didn't even possess half of its original design from an hour prior. Her tank top had been sliced even slimmer, only her breasts now covered, with her stomach bare to the cold air protruding from the large monster's nostrils. The other two women left standing were in no better condition as they also seemed to suffer wounds of their own. Aisha was pretty much naked, only parts of bloodied cloth still somewhat covered her modesty. Asfi had lost her entire white battle robe with her glasses being lost in the thick undergrowth of the 18th floor. Only the minotaur was left seemingly unscratched even though it had several first-class adventurers and many more second-tier ones thrown its way.

All three women were locked onto the monster in the centre of the battlefield, waiting for any movement. They wouldn't have to wait long when it took one footstep forward. With their weapons already raised, Aisha and Ryu rushed the beast at full speed, Asfi following quickly behind. She had ignited her flying shoes and had now become an aerial presence, as to call her threat against such a creature shouldn't even be considered. As the three drew close, the monster picked its target. Its leg was too quick to process until it was mere millimetres from the Amazon's face. Bringing up her weapon she managed to block it but the result was a broken Padeo and several broken fingers.

Aisha watched helplessly as the monster moved to slam its palm into her gut, with no means to defend herself from the inevitable punishment for even trying to attack the minotaur. The amazon went flying, but not in the direction she thought she would go. Instead of flying backwards and into a tree, she was sailing to her left, the only similarity being that she was still going further away from the hulking form. What made her look around was that she felt no impact though she could see the minotaur had its arm stretched outwards in the place where she had once been. What she could feel was an arm under her left shoulder and body pressed against her back. Landing on the ground, she felt the arm unwrap itself and the body stood in front of her. As she looked up she saw a large weapon that resembled two swords joined as one in the middle.

Ryu and Asfi had both seen Aisha in her defenceless position, both anticipating a merciless attack from the minotaur. Though that didn't happen as they saw Nathan jump from behind the minotaur and grab the amazon away a millisecond before her fate would have been sealed. The women looked on as the half-elf dropped the dark-skinned woman and turn to face the overshadowing figure.

'Is he really going to try and face that thing?'

'He might be stronger than us but still nowhere near the monster's level'

Out of all the things they thought could happen, what occurred next was not one of them.

"We won't fight you, ok. I know you are one of them."

The minotaur stopped in its advances, looking straight at the half-elf. Its muscles pulsated under the crystals signalling that it showed no signs of wanting to stop, though it still had a puzzled look on its face. That look paled in comparison to the three other people around as they stood there shocked that not only had Nathan talked to the monster, but it had also seemed to listen. They could only look on wide-eyed at the following confrontation.

"I know you can understand me, even if only a little. Your kind is trying to rescue the others now. Don't waste time here as they need your help."

This seemed to make the Minotaur stop and think about what the half-elf had said, its blood-red eyes narrowing at the young boy's words.

"I can take you there. Leave these people and let us go now, we don't have much time to waste."

Asfi, Ryu and Aisha stared at what the boy was saying. It sounded like he was trying to team up with the monster to go help the other monsters that had attacked Rivira. The notion was so foreign in their minds that they couldn't process what was happening. And what made it worse was the reaction from the massive black beast that they had been attempting to kill a moment ago, with it returning the gesture.

Nathan made a sigh of relief as the creature made a gruff noise through its nose, lowered its large weapon, and got out of its battle stance. With that sorted out, the half-elf turned to address the three women still left standing.

"I don't have time to explain, I need to go now. Bell is most likely in danger right now and I need to go help. Try and help as many of these people as you can and leave the dungeon, don't bother coming."

With that, the half-elf turned back to the monster, nodded in a direction, and set off east, the minotaur following swiftly behind, leaving the stunned women behind.

"Andromeda, I would very much like an explanation on what just happened."

Asfi gulped at the thought that she now had to explain the situation to two dangerous women who were already on edge.

Nathan ran through the foliage of the dungeon floor, hearing the large stomps of the black minotaur's footsteps close behind him.

'Thank fuck I was able to sort something out, I wouldn't have lasted more than a few seconds against that thing in that place.'

As the half-elf contemplated what could have been, he comes into a clearing at the edge of the 18th floor. It looked like the rest of the safe zone, a green life filled the area with no monsters and little to disturb the peace. Nathan had come through here plenty in the past as a way in and out. He knew very well what was hidden here. The half-elf laid his eyes on the large orichalcum door that was embedded into the dungeon wall.

"Are my kin in there?"

The deep, gruff voice rattled Nathan's ears. He turned to see the black minotaur standing next to him, his once blood red eyes now yellow, currently observing the doors.

"Yes, they are."

"How do you know?"

"We don't have the time for that right now." A large exhale was the end of that conversation.

Nathan reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out the object he had gotten from his draw before he left to come here. A small sphere. It had gold enlaced around its circumference, with a red D engraved in its centre. The key for Knossos he had gotten from Ishtar's chamber. It had been quite a while since he had used one of these but it was quite simple to use them, not like he could forget about his past anyway. Holding up the object towards the door, the red D glowed. The door recognised the key with its own engraving lighting up blood red at the top of the large metal frame. A rumble was sent through the floor as the door slowly lifted itself off the ground, revealing a dark passageway. A horrid stench flew out, the smell of dampness and death infected the air.

"Before we any further, now that I know you can talk, what is your name so I can call out to you if need be."

"….Asterius."

"Ok, my name is Nathan. Shall we." Natha said, directing his conjoined swords towards the darkness ahead. With a nod of the bull's head and grunt for an answer, the two set off into Knossos. For one it was the very first time in its life, for the other it was re-entering the darkest part of its past once again.

As the pair moved through the man-made dungeon, everything came flooding back to the half-elf boy. The only sound that accompanied their footsteps was the small drips of condensation dripping from the roof. All the memories of what had transpired in these walls, where not even the brightest rays of sunlight could reach. All the routes were never lost in his mind as he easily traversed his way to where he knew the battle was taking place but he was struggling to keep that at the front of his mind. As he raced past doors he used to once freely enter, screams from the past echoed in his mind. Cries of starving children, laughing of sadistic leaders and the lack of sound he always use to carry around, never speaking out at the injustices that took place daily. Shoving the key in the air once again, the next area was unlocked for the half-elf and minotaur to continue their advance onward. Nathan had made sure they take a quiet route to the location as he didn't want to get completely lost in the past as memories flooded his mind whenever he came to a corssroad and looke both ways before making a decision, his own painful experiences trying to stop him from getting to his destination. There was something more important in the present that he needed to save. They had only come across one small group of Evilus members, who were immediately cut in half by a swing of the black bull's axe, not even giving Nathan a chance to say or do anything. Asterius couldn't possibly know that he wasn't taking the direct route to their location as the minotaur had clearly never been in here, shown by his constant wariness. Nathan did hold a level of wariness about his surroundings too but unlike the bull monster, his was crafted through years of gruelling experience in the catacombs.

A minute later, the two to a pair of doors. One pointing to their north-east, the other to their north-west.

'It would only add an extra 30 seconds to go right, it could be even less if I go full speed. It should be fine.'

Asterius had noticed the strained look taking form on the seemingly unfazeable adventurer's face as he looked at the door to their left. A bead of sweat formed just below the blue mask, the tensing of muscles and a small gulp of the throat made the decision easiy for the half-elf. It then came to little surprise when he opened up the one on the right and made his way through it, not even waiting for it to go high enough that the black-skinned bull could get through. Asterius didn't bother questioning why the boy wanted to not go through that door as he too believed there were other things of more importance right now. After a minute of running down the corridor and taking sharpish left that almost appeared out of nowhere, the sounds of battle could be heard. The two experienced pairs of ears could tell that it was on its dying embers and that the fight was soon to be over. As they came to the final door, the fighting had seemingly ceased. With a final raise of the key, Nathan and Asterius made their way through.

They looked upon a field of blood but little death, well little death to be concerned of. It seemed only adventurers had perished, with only one or two magic stones laying about. Though this did not include the cages that had piles of ash in them.

"Asterius, Nathan! What are you doing here and how?"

Nathan looked over to see a black-robed figure address them. He simply raised his key to answer Fel's latter question while the first answer was being answered with Asterius looking around at his comrades.

"Where is Bell?"

That question set off the old sage as he began retelling the recent events. He recollected how they made their way into Knossos, the confrontation with Hazer and the rest of Ikelos Familia. The curse and finally Weine having her gem being ripped out of her head. How she lost control and started to run away, with Bell following straight afterwards.

"Which way did they go?"

As soon as Nathan saw a skeleton finger point in a direction, he immediately left the group of Xenos and ended the short partnership of him and Asterius without a second thought. The black bull was not as keen to let the half-elf be the only one to follow the sound of battle. Now that he knew his kin were safe for the time being, he too set off in the same direction, though with not as much haste but with more hunger for a fight.

Nathan made his way down the winding corridors. He had quickly picked up a scent of blood and followed that. Not too long after he saw a blood trail on the ground and the further he went down, the thicker and newer the blood splatters came until he heard a cough and a groan of pain. He looked up to a sight that froze his blood in one second, then put it to boiling point the second after. Just ahead of him was a man he had always despised. A sadistic creep who always derived pleasure from harming others, especially those much weaker than himself. The eyes that were hidden behind a pair of goggles were brimmed with malice and were always on the lookout for some sick form of self-fulfilment that allowed him to go against his cursed blood.

Nathan didn't bother hiding his presence as he made his way up to the first-class adventurer, though with his wounds he isn't much of a threat anymore. The man had sensed the half-elf's presence when he stopped his slow, painful advance and turned to look at the boy, also getting a familiar sight.

"Haaaa… haaaa. Twin blades *cough* mask covering up scared eyes. It's been a while reaper."

"Dix!"

Though he was smiling at the half-elf, the Hazer was now more scared than he had ever been. He remembered this boy, maybe a better way to say it is that he never forgot him. How could he? The boy had quickly grown infamous, even in a group of sick creeps who derived pleasure from hurting people and leaders who could control legions of people, the small boy stood out and for one reason only. The half-elf's kill total was unknown, not even the deity that had owned him knew how many lives he took. Even when he was only a level 3, none messed with him as they had seen how easily he could take down an opponent's fair superior to him in a matter of seconds. The true embodiment of what he and most of Evilus had come to perceive as death incarnate was now walking towards him.

'Like hell am I going out cowering and pleading for my life!'

"So…. What brings…. Brings you here, Reaper."

"Do not call me that, never mention that name to me again."

The voice was cold. So cold and almost emotionless though the wraith could be felt etched into the tone.

"Sorry, sorry. Yeah, I remember now. When… when you betrayed us and slaughtered your entire Familia."

Another step closer.

"How you went on a rampage and attacked everyone, yeah I remember hearing about that night."

Another step closer.

"I distinctly remember seeing that beam shoot out of the sky. Cheers for killing that god while in Knossos. It is greatly appreciated as it was *cough* a shit storm to cover up the giant fucking hole and keeping all this *cough cough* all this a secret. How thoughtful." The man said through coughing fits of blood and pain

The half-elf was now within striking distance. Dix still carried a knife on him and he thought that if he could distract the boy long enough, he could still escape and survive this. Using the boy's anger as a way to make him lose his cool.

"I mean *cough* you say you don't like that name but here you are, making full use of it once again," Dix said through a vomit of blood. The half-elf took another step closer, now standing right above the injured man.

'I can still do this; I won't die here. Not now and not to this brat.'

"I mean… you *cough* you are just a puppet, a tool, a killer; you can't be nothing more."

The aura that was generating off the boy would make anyone below level 3 faint immediately, the sheer rage was almost to the point that the reaper skill was now burning the boy's back so ferociously, that it could leave a permanent burn there. Dix took this as a sign that the boy was fully taken over with rage and now that he was in striking distance, the Hazer took his chance.

In less than a second, Dix had unsheathed his hidden blade and dived into the half-elf's flesh. He had aimed for the heart, or anywhere in the chest region. Anything as long as it could incapacitate the half-elf bad enough that he could get the upper hand. Even with his injuries, he was still a level 5 and that meant he still had his speed. He was still faster than Nathan's reactions. However, Nathan's instinct was faster still.

The blade that was meant to strike into the boy's chest was now firmly lodged into the boy's hand. Blood trickled down from the wound as the knife had gone right through the boy's hand and the tip could be seen poking out the other side. Nathan then slowly gripped Dix's hand and stopped any chance of pulling himself and the knife free. Then with a swift swing of his sword, the hand was now firmly in the grasp of the half-elf and no longer attached to the black-haired man's arm. Instead of a pained cry, Dix could only laugh.

"Ha-ha, you… you really haven't changed."

With that final line, Nathan swung his combined swords and decapitated the man known as Hazer, Dix Perdix.

"I hope you find peace now, Dix."

With that the only thing said, the half-elf took off once again in pursuit of his main objective. He let his skill heal his pierced hand, then slowly reeled in his aura. He raced down the dark hallway, knowing that even though there twist and turns, there weren't any doors left to open. This made Nathan worry as he recognised where this would lead him.

'I need to reach them before they get to the surface.'

"Gift me the power to control the wind around me, so I have the strength to survive another day."

With that in his mind, the half-elf activated his magic picked up his speed. No past voices could distract him from his drive to get to Bell and Weine before they broke out into Daedalus street. A quick left came and went, Nathan not slowing down in the slightest. A sharp right came up but the half-elf already knew of this and jumped onto the sidewall just before he slammed into the one just ahead and pushed off it. Using his magic, he stayed airborne, continuing to pick up speed as he raced across invisible platforms created by the wind on his feet. Not even 30 seconds later, he could feel the breeze from outside and smell the fresh air.

'This is bad! Really bad!'

If he could smell the fresh air, that meant that the door was open and that Bell and, more importantly, Weine were most likely already in Daedalus street.

"a-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A howl of pain erupted up ahead. It was the sound of a monster being attacked, a sound he knew all too well. Vouivre's were exceptionally rare monsters to find but having lived next to 6 years of his life, Nathan had come across a few of them. Large monsters with a body of a female and the legs, or lack thereof, of a snake. When he killed them, they always shared the same cry of pain before turning to dust, and this one was incredibly similar to it. His instinct was roaring at him to be careful when exiting Knossos but the half-elf chose to ignore it and surge forward and out into the light that was drawing ever closer.

Finn Deimne looked on at the scene before him. A monster had somehow managed to make its way to the surface and had gotten into Daedalus street. After he slammed his golden spear into its shoulder, he had put together that it had somewhat matched the description of the winged monster that had attacked that child a few days ago. However, what he was looking at now was even more shocking than the report. Having examined the vouivre that was writhing around in pain, he once again turned his attention downwards towards the white-haired adventurer that was standing in front of it. With his arms stretched outwards, it almost seemed like he was protecting the creature from something, most likely him. But why? Why would Bell Cranel protect a monster, especially one that had broken out onto the surface and is now classed as a threat to the citizens of Orario? His red eyes were filled with fear and despair, a look of desperation filling in the gaps. Even so, he still stood unwavering in front of the Loki Familia executives. The boy had claimed that he had found this monster first and it was his prize to claim but Finn knew that was not who the boy was, even with the little time they had conversed. It wasn't until a sudden burst of movement from his right moved his attention away from the unfolding conflict.

A blackish-green wind came into his view as quickly recognised the half-elf from the Hestia vs Apollo war game that had helped the Little Rookie win the battle. With great intrigue, he watched as the young half-elf seemed to pause for a second as he was now able to see what was happening. Then their eyes met. Even with the dark blue mask covering his eyes, Finn could tell the boy was looking at him directly. A twitch of the mouth caught Finn's level 6 eyesight and then a quick turn of the head back to the white-haired boy and the winged monster. Finn too turned his gaze back to the monster and speculated what he and the other Hestia Familia would do. He would be answered instantly. The Prum Captain had turned his attention back to the issue at hand at the same time as Nathan had decided to act. Finn, along with the rest of his Familia, watched as the half-elf jumped behind Bell Cranel and grabbed the Prum's golden spear with his free hand. With a lightning-fast motion, he ripped the spear from the monster's shoulder and when the monster lurched forward with pain, the half-elf slammed his foot into its back, sending it careening forward. By now, Bell was also seeing what Nathan was doing and before he could cry out at what he was doing, Nathan once again kicked the vouivre, this time down a road.

Finn immediately clocked onto what was happening with everyone else realising the same thing a second later. The young elf had freed the monster and pushed it away from them. Then they saw as he grabbed his captain by one of his shoulders

"GO NOW! DON'T LET HE… IT GET AWAY." And with a push, Bell Cranel turned and raced after the fleeing monster.

'He was about to call it her, wasn't he. What the hell is going on?' Finn had caught onto the quick recovery in the boy's speech and soon watched as Bell Cranel raced after the runaway monster.

"Don't let it escape. Follow it and kill it when possible. Go now!"

The Braver swiftly gave out his orders as the Captain of the Loki Familia. His fellow members immediately responded in kind by listening and taking action. None of the executives had gone. A golden-haired girl and short black-haired amazon were looking in the direction the white-haired boy and monster had run. The rest were now glaring down at the half-elf who was now wielding his combined swords in his right hand and the golden spear in the other. A boy was carrying something that they all saw as part of the symbol of their leader and to have it now pointed against them was something they did not appreciate.

Nathan looked upwards at the daunting sight of seven level 6 gazes baring down on him. A small bit of sweat dropped off his forehead as he continued to stand his ground. He didn't dare look over at the others in his Familia in case the Loki Familia decided to attack them or even just secure them. So long as no harm came to them, he would take on what they had to offer.

Nathan started to eye every single one of them. He had observed them on several occasions, even once following one of their expeditions until the 37th floor. He knew what they could do, their main skill set, and he was stupid enough to believe it would be enough to fight them. If he could take them out if needed to but that would be a sneak attack with no warning and no head-on battle. But now, now he was facing them on and all at once. His eyes lingered on the unnerving familiar Jade coloured eyes for a little longer than the rest. Before any conversation could begin a multiple of large roars intercepted any hopes of a peaceful conclusion.

'What the hell are they thinking.'

The Xenos were now let loose on the surface world for all to see. Lyd, Rei, Gros and the others were filing out of Knossos with their fangs bared and weapons drawn. The Loki Familia was also drawn to the commotion and started to act. Bete Loga went for the grey gargoyle that had positioned itself in the sky and with a swift kick, Gros was now on the ground. Lyd was taking on the amazon twins, only just keeping them at bay. Neither Finn, Riveria, Gareth or Ais had joined in, the first three telling the last to not interfere just yet. It was Riveria this time to look back down to now see that the half-elf had vanished, taking Finn's golden spear with it. Though she and the others had little time to question where the boy had disappeared too as they had to focus on the main danger first.

"What the hell is going on Nathan! Why is Weine like that?"

Nathan had made it back to the rest of the Hestia Familia and was now filling them in on what he knew was going on.

"We need to help the Xenos, now!"

"I'm sorry Haruhime but we can't possibly do much at this moment. We would be flattened in a second and worse, it would show that we are siding with the monsters completely."

"But isn't that what Master Bell wants." The Renard's question made Lili stop and think, distress all over her face. She knew what they should do but she didn't want to go against Bell, she promised to always support him, no matter what he did.

"I think we have already shown that part with Bell and Nathan's actions just now. I mean Bell was protecting her from the Loki Familia while Nathan, instead of killing her, freed and let her escape."

Everyone knew Welf had a good point and they were all now in a state of confusion on what they should do, their leader nowhere to show them to way.

As Nathan watched everything unfold, still trying to contemplate what the next move should be, the worst possible thing happened. Large, booming footsteps made their way towards them. He knew whose footsteps they belonged to as only a few short minutes ago he had been walking side by side with them.

"-!-"

Out from the dust and debris that littered the area, a black, hulking figure emerged. Muscles glistened in the sunlight for the first time alongside its massive battle axe. Red horns protruded from the top of his head as a warning sign to not engage with the creature at any cost. Its presence was immediately felt by all, and those who could not handle it fainted. Mikoto was close enough to catch the unconscious Haruhime while Nathan dived down just in time to stop Lili from hitting her head on the stone pavement. The half-elf looked up to see that Welf and Mikoto were frozen in place, fear not allowing a single muscle in their body to move. Only the divine nature of Hestia and Nathan's level and past experiences were what kept the remaining two conscious and aware of what was going on.

Bete, Tiona, and Tione all stood in a defensive stance, ready for the monster to reveal itself. Up above stood the rest of the executives, all waiting with bated breath to see what this very formidable opponent would do.

"UUUWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

And with that as the signal, the three-level 6s jumped straight at the black minotaur. Even though they were moving at a speed that only someone of their level would be able to see. The first attack that reached the monster first was a high kick from the grey-furred wolf.

Blocked.

This was followed up by a punch from the short-haired Amazon.

Blocked.

Before the third attack could land from the remaining level 6, the monster pushed both of its assailants away at the same time, using so much force it created a wind that knocked Tione backwards as well. However, the three were still first-class adventurers and they proved this by quickly reconvening ahead of the monster, once again ready to use their years of fighting together. Though no of that would be able to take on what the Black Minotaur had next for them. They had only now just seen the emerald green axe on its back. As it drew its second weapon, Finn was once again first to spot something that wasn't normal.

"Riveria, create a magic barrier now!"

Braver had immediately seen that it was a magic weapon and one with great strength. Hearing this, the high elf began her incantation for a magic barrier while the three below went into another defensive stance, prepared to try to take on whatever was thrown at them. As the Bull lifted its arm, everyone could feel the sheer strength that was about to be released. A mere second before the axe dropped and just after Riveria had finished her chant, a golden streak of light flew straight between the pair of amazon twins. Both recoiled a bit but it didn't take them long to recognise the spear as the one their captain always used.

"-UUUUUWWWWWWAAAAAAAA"

When they looked forward again to the roar of pain, they saw that the Minotaur had stopped mid-swing. Their curiosity to why it had stopped was answered when they looked down. One of the giant red horns was now by the monster's feet.

"Didn' that lad from the Hestia Familia nick that."

Upon Gareth Landrock's words, that very same lad sprang from behind the giant black figure and kicked it square in the jaw. Using it as a platform, the masked boy pushed off towards the spear he had just thrown. The Loki Familia watched as he yanked it out of the wall and jumped back down, standing in front of the two amazons and the beast person. It was only Riveria who realised that he had managed to get through her magical barrier with no problem.

Nathan took a defensive stance. Crouched down low, readying his conjoined swords behind his back in anticipation for a sweeping arc. The newly retrieved spear in his left swivelled twice before being put across the half-elf's body, ready to block any attack that he knew he stood no chance of dealing with. He didn't want to do this but he felt like he had little choice. At the very least this would put the Hestia Familia allegiances into a grey area. It was also because he didn't want any damage to occur that could lead to a full out hunt and if that meant taking out one of the Xenos to save the others, then he would take that option and deal with the consequences later.

As he and the Loki Familia looked back towards the giant black set of muscles, what they saw froze all of them to the bone. Asterius was grinning. Its grinning teeth on show for everyone, it raised its arm once more, ready to finally swing down its magic axe once again but this time, there would be no one to prevent it from igniting.

And that is another one down. I enjoyed writing this one, especialy the team ups. I mean, how did Asterius get to the surface in the main series. Were all teh doors left open or was he actually given a key for himself. My theory is that it's Asterius and we shoudln't question the beast.

Anywho, explanation for my absence. Basically, life. Work and preparing future and that whole schtick that we all love doing. I do now have a consistent schedule that does allow me to plan to find time to write so hopefully less of a gap between each chapter, who knows.

Also, sorry for kinda constantly mentioning that Nathan hatses Evilus and about his rage but to him that is equavilant to Zuko's honour. It is his main driving point. When talking to others it would come up now and then and when someone new hears about something they didn't know, of course questions are gonna be raised and repetition will ensue so I kinda can't help it. TBH I do try and fund ways around it but sometimes it jsut needs to be mentioned, so bare with if you don't really like it.

BTW WE HAVE HIT OVER 10,000 VIEWS SO BIG SUIIIII THERE! Cheers guys!

From the next chapter, I shall be leaving the main series for now and follow Sword Oratorio so i think yall know where this is going.

The reviews:

mistalenny: Thanks man and yeah me too.

jank7457: I know but that is what I'm best at writing, while dialogue isn't my best stuff. The dialogue I believe I'm good at writing are one sided arguements and fun, stupid dialogue (Which I am struggling to use in this story so far but I will make sure it happens)

With that, thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed and see ya next time. Peace!