This is a re-edit of the last chapter I posted as I didn't like the ending. I have chanegd quite a bit so please enjoy.

Not an owner of Danmachi

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 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 didn't have time to ponder her feelings any longer as Nathan engaged Filvis once more, but this time was different. He was letting his bloodlust flow, allowing his anger to consume him once more.

Nathan's swords flew towards the creature at ungodly speed, though Filvis was quick enough to block it. When she attempted to parry the attack, Filvis inwardly gulped as she made eye contact with the unmasked murderer. She saw the black outline surrounding the half-elf's heavily wounded eye began to grow in strength and ferocity. His other narrowed to a slit, like a dragon eyeing its prey.

This quick attack shook the room back to life. The adventurers got back up off the green flesh covered room and began to restart their own fighting will but failed at the first hurdle.

Both Ryu and Aisha gathered their weapons and stood on edge, though neither were in a position to jump into the battle.

Asfi had gone around and passed a few healing potions to Lulune and a couple of Loki Familia members before readying herself, though herself along with the others could only tremble at the feeling.

As Lefiya grasped at her staff, she saw the deadlock between the two monster's finish. She wanted to start her own chant but like everyone else, they were rooted to the spot they resided in. The bloodlust and Aura protruding from the half-elf radiated a horrifying feeling that turned all their blood cold. The silent sound of knees shaking filled the room as Nathan began blasting Filvis with a hurricane of wind slashes, forcing the creature back as bits of green flesh flew into her face.

However, one voice rose above the sound of battle. The voice that stirred the others into getting past the feeling of dread.

Haruhime, still wanting to have faith in Familia member, began her chant. She saw how the others were acting when faced with Nathan's wrath, she was not fairing much better. But she knew why he felt that way, or so she thought. She wanted to make sure Nathan would not fight this battle on his own.

As she continued her chant, she watched as the fight progressed. Even though the creature was superior in every category of strength and speed, Nathan was still managing to push her back. Haruhime knew it was because of the locked skill he mentioned and she hated it. She could tell it was consuming him more and more every second the fight continued.

She believed he could win this on his own but at the cost of himself. She feared if he were to continue, he would completely lose his entire self and being to the anger inside him and she couldn't' stand by and allow something as pathetic as fear to stop her from helping him.

It was the Renards chant that brought the entire room back into action and it was her singing that rallied them together once more.

"... UCHIDE NO KOZUCHI, DANCE!"

As Haruhime's magic descended onto it's intended targets, Filvis could do little as she watched her already small odds become smaller.

Filvis was struggling. She could barely stand. The healing steam was the only reason she as still alive. Countless times she had almost had her magic crystal shattered by Skias Alf, or had her head chopped off by the masked elf.

Though through the whole fight, she was confused. The Renard's cheat magic had the power to basically give someone an entire level up. She could understand why it was given to Perseus, the masked elf, Lefiya and Aisha Belka but Nathan didn't receive one.

If he had been given one, she would have easily been defeated by now and this train of thought echoed in everyone else's minds as well.

'Why didn't Nathan get one?' Ryu thought as she began her concurrent chant.

'Hime, what are you doing!' Aisha thought as she screamed the final line of her own magic directly towards Filvis.

'Give it to him now, why are you holding onto it!' Asfi shouted in her mind as she threw a firebomb filled with oil towards the creature.

Only Haruhime and Nathan knew why. They had already tested it. Not even Haruhime's magic could bypass his absolute resistance skill. That was why Nathan had whispered her to hang onto it a split second into the fight when he was pushed back.

She didn't know why he asked this but she trusted the boy.

"Fusillade Fallarica!" Lefiya shouted.

"Luminous Wind!" Ryu joined her elven sister.

This combined magic of two level 5 elves forced even their own allies to duck for cover, its strength was so profound. Most had to firm the impact that scattered around the room, Filvis could do little as she was dealt a direct impact.

But to the horror of the four level 5 woman, through the black cloud shone the gleam of green eyes as it was Filvis' turn to fire her own canon.

"Dio Thyrsos!"

A stream of jet black lightning shot straight towards them. The sound of the blast outdid the sonic boom created by the combined might of Ryu and Lefiya. The magic attack should've only been a straight attack but to the horror of those who watched it bend, the pitch-black lightning curved into a whip, spreading throughout the whole battlefield.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Aisha..!"

"A-Asfi

The result was devastating. The entire of the green flesh that encompassed the room turned to ash. The four who got the direct hit, Asfi, Aisha, Ryu and Lefiya were far from ok. While they were still alive, they were burnt, badly.

Asfi's legs were burnt black as she lay collapsed on the floor alongside Lefiya. Both Aisha and Ryu both suffered similar injuries. If it were not for Veil Breath, then both would be dead.

When Filvis emerged forward, even she was not spared from it. Her face showed red flesh and her arm sizzled with heat. Though her healing factor switched on as steam began pouring off her regenerating skin.

Though she could not bask in this victory for even a second as she now learnt why Haruhime had not given Nathan a level up boost.

Ryu and Aisha heard the crackling of lightning behind them as they ducked, thinking there was a second attack. Instead a black boot simply walked past them.

The onlookers that hadn't been badly burnt looked on with wide eyes as Haruhime whispered out the boy's name in disbelief.

Almost akin to what she saw when he fought that black bull, Nathan walked towards Filvis with his akimbo swords held in each hand. Her green eyes were the widest of them all as she remained paralyzed.

'H-how...?'

Her mind couldn't compute what she was seeing. That was her strongest attack. One that had completely incapacitated 4 level-5s in a second. And here Nathan was, almost as if it never happened. The only signs of that he had been hit by the attack was he was topless; his clothes being burnt. But this only showed his unburnt skin.

As Ryu looked up at the sight before her, she finally lost all hope of what to do with Nathan. She gazed at the back that was littered with so many scars that overlapped with each other it was impossible to know how many there were. Yet he walked forward.

Haruhime held back tears at the horrible state of the boy's chest and torso. Along with the gash on his eye, he should be dead. Yet he walked forward.

Everyone else stared at the boy's swords. The attack that should've killed him now encircled around his swords, encased in black wind. Though the boy didn't care as he just walked forward.

"Th-that's not... not possible..."

Filvis mumbled to herself but Nathan didn't care what she thought as he combined his swords together.

As he swing his combined swords behind his back, Filvis finally began preparing for a defence. It would prove futile.

"-!"

There was silence when Nathan swung his swords. Unlike the two before, his made no noise. Maybe that was down to his wind covering the black lightning or maybe it was because the speed of the attack was so fast it broke all laws of sound itself.

Either way, Filvis only managed a glimpse of the attack before the combined strength of Nathan's wind and her lightning struck her.

Filvis hit the wall behind her, then another one, then another one, then another one, then another one...

Filvis managed to count 10 walls before she smashed into the 11th and it no longer broke behind her. The next thing she felt was pain.

It was immense. She would've have screamed but her throat and lungs had been burnt to a crisp, she had no way to make even the tiniest noise.

She could not stand as her arms and legs had been burnt black. The only movement she could manage was with her left eye, as her right one had been seared away. She could just about make out the faint glow of her purple stone, meaning her entire chest had been ripped open.

The left side of her face was red with exposed flesh while bits on the right had even been burnt down to the bone. Her hair had completely gone. The lush black hair of Filvis was now a burnt black bald skull.

Every time she attempted to draw even the smallest breath; whatever feeble excuse of a throat she had left burnt like she was drinking from a Volcano.

But throughout all the pain and injuries, she still felt it. The feeling of bloodlust still wracked her. She could feel it get ever closer as the healing steam began its job, but it would not be given much time to do its work.

As a bit of steam wafted past her only working eye, the Reaper appeared in front of her. No words were exchanged as they stared at each other. She could not speak and it did not want to. She looked into its cold, dead eyes she knew what was coming.

Its swords were now disconnected again with no magic around them, though that wasn't necessary for what the Reaper needed to do.

It slowly bent down and simply pushed its sword into her exposed chest. Filvis could do nothing as she watched it begin to add force.

She felt it.

The feeling of her magic stone beginning to crack.

It was the worst feeling she had ever felt. Worse than the pain she was in right now. Worse than when she technically died 5 years ago. The only thing all 3 had in common was the monster in front of her.

It was the one who had put her through all three and as Filvis' magic stone finally broke apart into tiny shards, she got one last look into her killer's eyes.

'I thought they were green?'

The adventures were left shellshocked after what they just saw.

How the creature that brought them to their news had been flung so far back, they could no longer hear the sound of walls shattering every time she collided with one.

Then the way the Reaper just vanished; it shook them to their core.

The silence was excruciating. No one dared breath, most struggled due to their throats being burnt to Filvis' last attack.

But just like it left, the Reaper appeared. Its presence bore down on them all as the feeling of wrath entered the room once more. Its swords hanging by its sides as it stepped through the rubble it caused.

No one considered talking to it, not even Haruhime had the nerves to conjure a sound.

It seemed the Reaper cared little for what they thought as it had now finished with what it came here to do. Its enemy was defeated and its Familia was safe. It ignored the terrified look from the Renard it had supposedly wanted to protect.

Now it only had one more objective and it wasn't in this room. So it began to make its way to the exit. It knew that it wouldn't be stopped, as the weaklings around it were not able to withstand its wrath, even though it wasn't even using all of it.

It was wrong.

"Oi, bastard!"

The Reaper slowly turned its head towards the noise. It watched as Bete Loga got to his knees as it remembered that it had given the amazon next to him a few vials of healing potions. If it remembers correctly, it was waiting for the wolf to get up and have Haruhime give him the last level up.

Oh well, it didn't matter. It had taken care of the situation before the wolf was needed.

Bete remembered this feeling from before, when the half-elf had flung his bloodlust out after the first attack, where he preceded to run off, leaving the entire Loki Famila frozen in fear.

This time was no different, it was actually a little lighter than before but no less oppressing. He had been awake throughout most of the battle. He had heard what Filvis had said about the half-elf and it only fitted in with the puzzle pieces from what Loki had gathered from Thanatos. It only served to heighten Bete's suspicion and anger towards Skias Alf.

Not liking the silence, Bete continued.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going!"

For a response, the Reaper just looked at the beast man for another second before turning back around and continuing. It didn't have time for all this.

Bete did not like that answer and began making his way towards the boy. When he had gotten up, Lena was unconscious and as he looked around most of the others were.

The only ones left awake were the masked elf, the amazon Lena kept going on about, Lefiya but barely and the fox girl. The rest were slumped over due to the combined effort of Filvis' attack and the half-elf's bloodlust.

Bete went to make his move but was then frozen in his tracks. Before he even took another step forward, his animal instincts kicked into overdrive as the powerful stare from the Reaper stopped his movement completely.

Bete's heart rapidly started beating. The Reaper heard it go up.

Bete began sweating violently as he struggled to move under the horrible feeling of dread and wrath as the Reaper's aura was directed solely at him. It became hard to breath as the Reaper's anger wrapped itself around his throat. However, one outcome came of this.

"Haruhime, give Vanargand the level up boost!"

Due to the Reaper concentrating its wrath on Bete, Aisha managed to fight through the pain and fear, yelling at her younger sister to act.

"That's not Skias Alf anymore!"

Haruhime for her part almost wanted to follow Aisha's instructions but her mind was split. She could tell Nathan had lost himself to his skill but she didn't want to set a level 7 on him. He was about to walk out of the room and leave them all alone before Bete Loga intervened. Haruhime would not have to make this decision though as she immediately fainted on the spot.

"Haruhime!"

Aisha shouted as she watched the Renard collapse. Just as that happened, Bete leapt at the Reaper. It seemed the Reaper didn't want to give Haruhime the choice so It looked in her direction for a split second, giving her a small dose of its anger. But because of this Bete Loga was now free and took the opportunity to jump him.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

Bete shouted in frustration as he slashed at thin air. The Reaper was nowhere to be seen as he vanished once again. The feeling of bloodlust evaporated instantly as well.

In the battlefield that housed over 20 fighters, only 4 remained conscious.

Bete Loga was currently seething at the teeth. He was pissed off at what just happened, especially now, in his mind, it was all but confirmed what the half-elf from the Hestia Familia really was. He swore to kill him the next time he saw him.

Aisha Belka was crawling over to her little sister as she began checking to see if she was ok. Her PTSD from her time in Ishtar Familia was coming back at full force as she fought back the feeling to openly cry at what she just went through, something that put her past experience to shame. If she ever saw him again, she would probably piss herself in fear and runaway like a scared little girl. She never wanted to see him again.

For Ryu Leon, she was in a state of shock. She had just witnessed something that would never leaver her mind. The person who had invited her along, someone who had sat in her workplace, had conversed with her. That person was the monster that was the root cause for her sisters' deaths and so many more innocent lives lost. That monster that had helped Bell Cranel win the War Game and had run all the way down to floor 37 in such an injured stated to save her. But worst of all, he shared the eyes of the royal elf family. If she ever saw the half-elf again, she did not know what her reaction would be but at that moment in time, she knew it would not end well.

As for Lefiya, her thoughts were not on the half-elf but on the pile of ash 200 metres down the large hole in the wall. She desperately began crawling towards it, willing her legs into working but they would falter each time she tried to stand. She never got to say goodbye, never got to ask why, never got to say sorry. The pile of ash so far away would not answer any of her questions or her pleas. Lefiya openly wept on her knees as she clung to her staff and Filvis' sword.

The Reaper made its way through Knossos. It could feel the presence. It knew where he was and he would not escape.

It was reminiscent of before. Now it had gotten the name of its new target, the target would not live to see the next sunrise. This was the last name on the list its Goddess had given it back then, though she was no longer its Goddess. It didn't want a Goddess. It hated deities. And as it traced the presence of not one but two in the same room, it surged forward. The last name it had to deal with etched into its mind.

'Dionysus.'

I wasn't satisfied with how I ended the chapter. When I re-read again I didn't like a few things, such as "They were like me" bit and how Nathan acted. His mind is meant to be losing control and he is going off the deep end and I kind of did nothing.

Also, he techinically had no effect on the fight at all as Filvis still split into two and Lefiya got her closure and Ein ran off to Dionysus. NO! After reading the synopsis of Sword Oratorio Ln 13 and re-reading LN 12, I knew I had to make this a change in story as I want to make Lefiya a big part in the story alongside Riveria. ALso, I read the part where Filvis uses Dio Thyrsos and I had to write that in as it was almsot like Nathan's fight with Asterius was a foreshadow to this which I forgot to utilse.

Next chapter is the last chapter of Knossos but it is going to lead to the first major turning point in the story. I still want to follow Canon and do the freya war arc and a bit in SO Ln 13 but I want to start setting up for when I go past the books and into my own territory for real.

For those that didn't get to read the first draft of this chapter, then don't worry you aren't missing out on much. I hope you enjoyed it.

See ya next time, Peace!