Chapter 47:

The light of dawn was just beginning to peek over the walls of Orario. The air was crisp and clean, everything clear as the city gathered around its most important feature. Even the smallest of shopkeepers knew that the storm was breaking.

Not to mention that the Adventurers had taken the news of talking monsters well. The Xenos had been introduced to all the major Familias, and many of them just sort of shrugged. Apparently, these things just kind of made sense. The pieces clicked together, and while many were not happy, they learned to accept it. After all, with the support of the top Familias in Orario, Loki, Ganesha, Hephaestus, and Hestia, then they lived with it.

These were all things that Bell explained to Alfia's gravestone. He had come one last time to talk to his auntie. He sat in the dirt, slowly going through the events of the past weeks.

"But I got to hear from mama," said Bell. "And I got to hear from papa." He felt his eyes moisten. "How come I can get so sad, missing people that I never knew? I mean, I never met you either, Auntie, but I still miss you so much." His voice caught, and he was almost unable to continue. "How come I never got to meet my family?" His tears started to fall to the ground. "I know this isn't very strong of me, but I want my mama…and papa."

As he started to cry, Ryuu walked forward. She knelt and placed a hand on Bell's shoulder. When he had come to her in the morning, asking her to come along to the gravesite, the elf had readily agreed. She understood how important this would be to him. But Ryuu had also kept her space, careful not to interfere.

Ryuu couldn't empathize with Bell's troubles, though. She had left her family, leaving the forest behind. She had chosen to be alone. To never know one's parents or family seemed like a painful experience. So, Ryuu did her job and supported Bell.

"How much longer do you want to stay?" she asked.

Bell started to stand, taking the time to rub the tears away.

"We should probably leave now," he replied, walking towards the gravestone. "I have to leave Auntie Alfia. Hopefully, I can come back. I love you, Auntie."

The two walked away, heading back into the city. They had brought their adventuring gear with them, and Lili was already handling everything else. So, they made their way down one of the boulevards towards the Dungeon. They chatted amicably about odds and ends, catching up on everything they had missed about each other for the past couple of weeks. These talks left Ryuu feeling happy. Her new relationship with Bell wasn't quite what she envisioned, but she also felt even closer with him than before. The two felt like partners now, truly equals. Besides, there was something else for the elf.

"Woohoo! Over here, Ryuu!" came a singsong voice.

Unseen to everyone except Bell, a smile blossomed on her face. Bell pretended not to notice. Instead, he walked over to the Hostess, Ryuu following behind him.

"Hello Syr," said Ryuu. "Anything I can do?"

The grey-haired girl presented a box instead of an answer.

"I made you lunch!" replied Syr. "I know that you'll be gone for a while; just remember that I'm waiting for you to come back, ok?"

Ryuu nodded shyly. "Well, of course, and I have something that I want to tell you."

Syr tilted her head, hair swishing. "What is it?"

Ryuu, slowly turning redder, seemed to come to some decision. She leaned forward and gave Syr a peck on the cheek. Before she could escape, though, Syr grabbed her wrist. The girl had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh Ryuu, you missed," she sang.

Ryuu frowned. "What do you mean I missed?"

Syr tapped her lips. "You missed. You're supposed to aim for here."

"People are watching!" replied Ryuu. "I can't just…do I look like Mikoto or Haruhime to you?"

Syr pouted. "Well, I want one anyway, now pucker up."

The waitress just about jumped the elf. Ryuu deftly avoided the attack, and the two danced around each other like that for a while. Until Syr fell and seemed to scrape her knee. The silver-haired girl held her knee in, a look of pain on her face. Her hands covered where the wound would be, obscuring it from view. Ryuu was at her side in an instant, which was when Syr gave her a quick kiss on the lips. The girl popped up after that, not a single scratch on her. She dusted off her apron and smiled cheekily.

"Teehee, I win," said Syr.

Ryuu stood around like a gaping fish for a while before marching off. Syr laughed and bid goodbye to Bell as well. Finally, the waitress returned to the Hostess. And the Captain and Vice-Captain marched on.

With the Army:

The Allied Adventurers Army had many leaders. Anyone level five or high immediately qualified to lead a platoon/cohort. The only one who was different was Amid Teasanare, leader of the medical unit. The level two was automatically put in charge of the medical team, and nobody questioned it. In all honesty, the Dian Cecht Familia made up most of the medical unit. There were only a couple from other Familias scattered here and there, the most marked of them being 'Mirabilis' from Miach Familia. When Amid was waiting outside the Dungeon, going over her supplies one last time, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning, she found someone that she rarely saw, Nahza.

The chienthrope was not part of the forces, citing previous injuries. Amid blinked in surprise, though, knowing how the dog woman seemingly felt about her.

"If Cassandra comes to you and tries to warn you, listen," said Nahza.

Her message given, she turned to leave. However, she stopped when she felt Amid grab her metal arm. Nahza turned to find the Dea Saint frowning. The healer dropped her arm and looked to the ground. Feeling impatient, Nahza started tapping her front, arms crossed across her chest.

"Well, I'm waiting," said Nahza, her droopy eyes hiding a vicious glare.

Amid looked up, a deep frown on her face.

"In case anything happens, I want you to know…I really am sorry about everything," said Amid, her voice small. "I know that it's meaningless, but I wanted to tell you… I've only ever wanted to be your…friend."

Amid's hesitation on the last word carried heavy tones. And to Nahza's surprise, her tail started wagging without her knowing. She glared at it while it betrayed her true intentions but then turned back to face Amid. She gave a sleepy smile.

"We will talk when you return," said Nahza.

Now, she walked away, and Amid felt her heart beating in her chest.

In a different part, Daphne walked around her own platoon. She gave out orders, trying to get them organized and ready.

"And has anyone seen our Captain?" shouted Daphne.

She received a bunch of 'no's!' in answer. That made the strict girl want to claw her hair out. She was hoping that the Cohort Leader would take over quickly so that she could check on Cassandra. It had taken a while, but the two had finally confessed and were going steady, and Daphne was worried. It was going to be the first time in a long time that she wouldn't be there to watch Cass's back in the Dungeon.

"Sorry I'm late!" screamed a voice.

Daphne whirled around to find the Amazon, Tiona Hyrute, running towards their group. Slowly, the pieces clicked together, and Daphne finally understood who would be leading them. Mentally, she cursed Lilliruka Arde and all the hair-brained schemes that the little prum concocted. Daphne knew that it would be Lili's idea to put the two of them together.

"So, I'm not very smart," said Tiona. "Which means that I'm going to be relying on you a lot for strategy and stuff, ok?"

For emphasis, Tiona slapped her on the back. Daphne stumbled in response and sighed. She settled down, resigning herself to her fate, and started giving out orders to the rest of her squad. Tiona nodded along, affirming all of Daphne's orders. She was only there to give the crimson-haired girl legitimacy. After all, these were the orders that the Dauntless had left with her. Tiona was only to be the group's muscle and make sure no one died. And Tiona would do it, to with a smile on her face.

Gareth was at the entrance to Knossos with his rather sizeable heavy infantry unit, and behind him was his second-in-command, Raul Nord. Behind them was the vanguard unit, led by Ais Wallenstein and her second, Bell Cranel. Finally, they had half of Riveria's mage brigade. The mages there would be left in the care of Alicia Forestlight. The mage had been summoning her courage before walking up to Bell Cranel.

"That siren, her name is Frei, right?" asked Alicia.

Bell nodded, an uncertain look on his face.

"And you said that she's probably a…reincarnated version of Rei, right?" questioned Alicia. Her grip on her weapons tightened. "Are we sure there isn't…something we can do?"

Bell's mouth tightened into a firm line. But he did not despair. Instead, he tried to give a reaffirming nod. He almost reached up to grip her shoulder for comfort, but then he remembered his place.

"I don't know if I should be promising this, but we're going to do everything we can today. I don't want her to die either," replied Bell.

Alicia nodded along. "She saved my life once, and I know that she isn't evil deep down. And I want to return the favour. Especially after what happened last year."

Bell grimaced, and the mood dropped. For Hestia and Loki Familia especially, this was a sombre reminder of what everything had cost them. It was also a reminder that this war was partially their fault. Freya was still the one pulling the strings and orchestrating everything horrible that had happened with the Sun Seekers, but it was their inaction that made everything so much worse.

Finally, though, at a separate part of the square, stood the scouting unit. It was one of the largest units, and so while it had its leaders, Bete and Ryuu, there were also several smaller sections within that unit. These were led by other second-class adventurers.

One of those second-class adventurers was Urashima Taro. He had a unit and was busy relaying the last of his orders to them leading up to the beginning of the expedition. Thankfully, they had taken to him well and were not too worried about his missing arms causing them problems.

However, his last orders were interrupted when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to find the high smith, Tsubaki Collbrande, smirking down at him. In her hands was a large wooden box.

"Got something special for you, Living Weapon," she said. "A custom order weapon just for you." She popped open the box, and there was a pair of gleaming white arms. "Their name is 'The Dragon's Wings,' and they're Durandal weaponry." She winked. "So, there's no need to worry about them breaking like they did in the tournament."

Ura blinked. "Who in the world commissioned these?"

Tsubaki's one good eye rolled in its socket. "If I have to tell you who that was, then you're more hopeless than I thought."

Ura's eyes drifted, finding her in the crowd. He always knew where she was, her presence always on his mind. She was chatting happily to Aki, going over tactics and squad formations. As if feeling his gaze, she turned and waved. He returned the wave, backing in her radiant smile for just another second.

"You really do have someone special, you know that, right?" said Tsubaki.

Before Ura could respond, someone else called out across the courtyard. Standing on a raised platform, spear in hand, was Finn Diemne. His battle attire seemed to shine in the light as it came over the wall.

"Alright, everyone, it's time to listen up!" said the Braver. "There is no pretty speech and no words of wisdom I can give you! All there is to do is listen to your Captains and watch each other's backs. These monsters are threatening our very way of life, but this is their home we're entering! They will know it better than us, and we cannot underestimate how prepared they will be!" His face shifted into a grin. "But we are adventurers! We cannot and will not step down! Some of us fight for glory, some of us fight for money, and some of us fight vengeance. But those reasons don't matter anymore. All that matters is what we do now. The reason why you're an adventurer doesn't matter, as long as you're ready to fight to protect it!"

A resounding cheer went up from everyone around. The gathered adventurers roared their defiance. They would fight. They would not let the Sun Seekers keep them from the Dungeon. It was a place of death and destruction, but it was what made them. They stood as the strongest in the world because of the Dungeon.

"Alright, you heard the Commander, so let's get moving!" commanded Aki. "We're heading to the eighteenth floor, and we WILL retake Rivira. Vice-Captain Otohime, take point!"

"You got it!" replied Otohime.

She gave a signal and a group of adventurers formed behind her. They waited for the scouting unit to head inside before following along. As she watched them run by, Otohime's eyes connected with Urashima's. She wished that he was by her side, but they both knew that they had different jobs that they had to take care of.

Aki's squad soon followed when the scouts had disappeared into the Dungeon. They were closer to the front of the formation, Finn wanting to give Anakitty as much experience on the front line as possible. He also trusted the firepower of that squadron since Otohime was there and could boost herself up to level five with her magic.

The first levels were simple. In fact, the Sun Seekers hadn't even left guards. Apparently, the Knossos raid had already put a burden on their resources.

"Honestly, Knossos is probably going to be the place that's more heavily guarded," said Otohime.

The adventurers behind her exchanged looks.

"Why do you say that?" one of them asked.

"Knossos is man-made, so they have to put all the monsters in there. Not to mention, it looked like they were establishing some kind of settlement," explained Otohime. "Ryuu said that the place looked like a reprieve."

Cracks on the wall signalled monsters being born. Otohime's bisento was quick to dissect the goblins that fell out of the wall, though.

"Meanwhile, down here, they get monsters for free. Weak monsters, to be sure, but monsters nonetheless," she said. "But if any of those weak monsters were able to attack our baggage train, they could inflict a fair amount of damage."

The baggage train was more a long procession of supporters. That was where the majority of non-specialized level twos were. They carried large packs, filled to the brim with supplies for the journey. There was no space for collecting magic stones, though. Finn had made it clear that all rocks were to be crushed. They couldn't bring the stones with them, but they couldn't leave them for the enemy to find. The path of dust became a tale told in the days to come.

Meanwhile, in Knossos, Bell and Ais were doing their best to lead troops. They were the vanguard, and they were already thick in the middle of the fighting.

"Cover the left flank!" shouted Bell.

Four adventurers moved to answer Bell's call. He watched with trepidation, hoping that he was making the right calls. Lili had done what she could to drill the basics of strategy into Bell's head, but he knew that he wasn't anything special in this department. And unfortunately, neither was Ais. After all these years, she had learned from watching Riveria, Gareth, and Finn, but communication still wasn't her forte. Her biggest problem was having herself heard over the melee. After all, she was a relatively quiet girl by nature. Thankfully, she and Bell had worked something out ahead of time. They had created a straightforward set of signals so that the naturally quiet Ais didn't have to worry about trying to raise her voice. She would use her free hand to gesture and send the fighters where they needed to go.

The system worked to a degree, so the adventurers' squads progressed through Knossos. Behind them, Gareth marched along. His shield was at the ready if he needed it. They mopped up the leftovers, and everything made Gareth worried. They used all the strategies they had made for Knossos before, and their maps were still accurate in this endless metal maze. But when things went well in Knossos, Gareth was only too aware that it wasn't for a good reason.

"Everyone, watch the shadows. If you hear anything going on behind you, I want to know about it, am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

Alicia said the same to the mages in her unit. There was agreement there marching down the shadowy halls. The silence threatened to be overwhelming. All they could hear was the faint sounds of battle from the vanguard unit up ahead. In fact, not a single mage had actually cast a spell yet. There had been no need for them to do it. And that just made Alicia more worried. The battle was supposed to be fierce.

"If I were a bunch of monsters with heightened senses…what would I do?" asked the she-elf.

Slowly, she stared up into the shadows. They seemed to dance around her, shifting around the dark ceiling of the man-made Dungeon. Even those with enhanced senses found it hard to focus on the goings up there. Alicia also had a disturbing thought. The last time they were here, they fought humans. The members of Evilus that had called this place home thought and fought just like them. And even now, they had been told that the Sun Seekers could reason and talk like them. Which meant that they had assumed they would use the same strategies that humans would use. They had been arrogant.

"Someone with light or fire magic, cast a spell upwards!" ordered Alicia.

This caused a moment of general confusion, but soon enough, a couple mages chanted. Magic circles bloomed at their feet and pointed their magic staves upwards. Their spells launched, and as the orbs of light shot upward, Alicia could feel her heart freezing in her chest. She prayed that she was wrong, but then she saw the first glint of a feather, and her stomach dropped.

"Watch out from above!" she shouted as chaos descended.

With the Scouts:

While progress within Knossos was slow, the force in the Dungeon made steady progress. The scouting unit had been so quick and efficient that they were currently just outside the eighteenth floor. And by that, they were just at the entrance to it. The only thing stopping them was the Goliath that had been waiting for them.

"So much for the element of surprise," said Ura. "The bastards set up the perfect warning siren."

"It doesn't matter; we push through," responded Ryuu, who had just landed at his side after giving some strong hits to the monster. "Rivira awaits us, and more importantly, this is our job." She levelled her wooden sword straight at the beast. "We are the ones that clear the way; we set the path that our comrades will follow, so cut through! Charge!"

The collective scouting unit roared their approval, streaming forward like a river of violence and death. Ryuu watched them go, aware of Mikoto standing at her side. She turned to her apprentice to tell her to keep moving but was met with the sight of Mikoto smiling, eyes wide.

"You're so cool, Lady Ryuu!" chanted Mikoto. "You're just such an inspiration!"

Ryuu felt her face heat up again. "Oi! Now's not the time to turn into a fangirl! We have a monster to deal with!" She tried to hide how pleased her apprentice's words made her feel.

"She's right! No one in my unit is allowed to be any kind of weakling!" shouted Bete Loga, already at the front.

The werewolf had been the first to attack. He had jumped higher than anyone else and had swung his leg down like a hammer. His foot crushed in the Goliath's skull, bringing the beast down onto its back. Adventurers were quick to pile on and hack the beast to pieces. When the magic stone had been uncovered, it had been obliterated into dust.

Bete stood at the entrance to the eighteenth, peering into the darkness. He kept his sense open in case they would be attacked.

"You weaklings get five minutes if you need it," he said.

When there was no response, he turned his head to shout at them. The sight in front of him made him stop. Every adventurer stood at the ready, weapons still drawn. Some of them might have been tired or had suffered injuries, but none of them looked like they wanted to stop and rest. The sight of them made Bete's blood pound. A feral grin overtook his face.

"Well, alright then! Let's see if we mop up this place before Finn and the others get here!"

"Yeah!"

The alpha led his pack through the darkness, unafraid of what they would find on the other side. Dimly, he was aware of the three from Hestia Familia nipping at his heels. The four of them formed the tip of the spear of the scouting unit. His ears also heard mumbling, but he could not tell where it came from. He chose to ignore it, though. He focused on leading the charge with these three. They were at the front of the expedition. Which meant that they were the first to burst into the Dungeon-made light of the eighteenth floor.

Bete's feet did not falter, but he did slow down. In front of him was a wide semi-circle of open terrain. After that was a sea of monsters. All of them had the tell-tale purple-eyes of those under the control of another. While he moved forward, he tried to find the best place to make an impact. No matter where he looked, though, he knew that the monsters would just close in around him and his fighters. His teeth tsked, and he almost howled his frustration. They need a path or at least something that could buy them just a single moment.

"Descend from Heaven, rule the Earth – Shinobu Tensei, Futsunomitama!"

An explosion of purple rocked all the monsters in front of Bete. The weaker monsters were instantly crushed by the intense gravity they were faced with.

"I will clear the way!" declared Mikoto, standing firm. "Now, go forward and fight!"

Bete smiled; he didn't need to be told twice. He shouted for those with injuries or were tired to stay behind and protect the Black Crow.

"And don't you hold it longer than you have to," he ordered Mikoto. "We'll still need you for the rest of this!"

Those were his last words to her as he crashed into a knot of monsters just outside the gravity spell's influence. He took to the right, and Ryuu took to the left. This adventurer-created obstacle was just the thing they needed to establish themselves on the floor.

"Faerie Princess, go retake the town!" ordered Bete. "Living Weapon, go search for stragglers around the big tree." His wolf instincts howled. "I'm going hunting for Sun Seekers."

"Understood!"

"I'm on it!"

Ryuu and Ura took off, taking adventurers with them. Bete charged off on his own, hunting for the leader. From what he had been told, it would be either the siren or the gargoyle. Both of whom had been one-time allies, but Bete pushed those feelings deep down. For once in his life, he wanted to protect everything he held dear. He would crush anyone that stood in the way of that dream.

With the Elf:

Alicia shot off her ice magic into an incoming pack of kobolds. They all froze, snarls permanently etched on their faces.

"There's no end to them," she said.

Indeed, ever since they had been discovered hiding in the shadows, the monsters and their Xenos leaders had been pouring out in a constant stream. It was going to be death by a thousand cuts at this rate. And they had not spotted either of the potential leaders of the Xenos yet. Neither Frei nor Garess had been found in the melee.

"Lass, we have a stampede of mammoth fools," called Gareth. "Your mages need to do their job and take em out!"

"Right away, Gareth," replied Alicia. "Mages, ready your combat spells!"

In front of the heavy infantry, the vanguard unit stood in the thickest of the fighting. They had been making steady progress towards the possible Sun Seeker settlement, and the ferocity of their opponents had only increased.

"Why the hell are they fighting so hard?" asked one adventurer.

"We're close to their home," replied Bell, daggers in hand. He parried a hobgoblin's attack and then slashed into its stomach. "It's like if we were fighting in the streets or in front of children."

The following response was delayed.

"Can these things even have children?"

Bell didn't have the time to shrug, as he was too bust grappling with a harpy. He cut off one of its wings and shot off a firebolt into its face.

"Maybe, but there are Xenos that are more childlike than others," he responded eventually. He looked back. "And if those little monsters surrender, no one is to harm them! I will not abide by cruelty!"

Again, a pause before the response came. There was less enthusiasm, but everyone understood the orders of one of their commanders. Not to mention, it didn't sit right with them. They called monsters, but none of them had the inclination to torture. Even something as soulless and violent as a monster was only cut down as a matter of business.

"We have to keep moving forward!" called Bell.

But the throng was too much for many. Adventurers around him started to get weighed down by the sheer number of opponents they faced. Their crushing weight started to drag adventurers down. Bell tried to help them, trying to ready an argonaut charge. But everywhere he looked, he knew that his attack was just as likely to hit comrades.

'I can't save them all!' thought Bell, despair creeping into his mind.

Then, as if waking from a nightmare, a breeze passed by his cheek.

"Awaken, Tempest," came a voice like a spring wind.

And what followed was a hurricane. Monsters were blown aside like leaves off a tree with uncanny precision that should not have been possible. Adventurers picked themselves up off the ground, only to be faced by the sight of her back. Her blonde hair flowed like a stream of pure gold. She looked back, eyes blazing in intensity.

"This is no place to die!" were her words.

Adventurers flocked to her, taking up her call.

"To the Sword Princess!" shouted Bell. "Follow her blade!"

"AYE!"

The vanguard continued forward, cutting a path for the rest to follow. And in the darkness, they were watched by a monster with wings of gold.

After all, Frei did not think the same as the other Sun Seekers. She had been curious when she was reborn, and she watched them with intent. Some part of her mind told her to do this. She saw how they argued amongst each other and how they seemed to delight in putting each other down. But she also saw how they stood up for each other. Watching them in the Dungeon, she had seen how they would come together in times of crisis. To her, they were not evil. They committed acts of kindness and malice in equal share.

"Still, though," she mused. "I cannot allow them to attack the hatchlings."

She flew through the darkness, eager to get ahead of these adventurers. That was when she heard the voice of her dreams.

"Rei!"

With the Scouts:

Mikoto had dropped her spell an hour past at this point. She instead sought to move forward and regroup with the others. While Ryuu reclaimed the town and Urashima the forest, Mikoto moved towards the springs. Part of her feared that she would run into Garess, but another was hopeful. She reasoned that she would stand a better chance of reasoning with him than the others. After all, they had known each other at one point. As Mikoto's battle senses took hold, her subconscious took over where she was going.

Behind her, adventurers followed with bated breath. They knew to protect their squad leader and knew that chances were better if they stuck together. But they could not quite understand the path that the Black Crow took.

If Mikoto had seen the direction her feet had been taking, she would have stopped. But her mind knew that something was wrong. She knew that she had to check on this spot, this holy ground. And when she got there, her worst fears were confirmed. Her footsteps slowed, and her heart went with it.

In front of her was a mound of dirt with a collection of weapons poking out of the ground. At any other time, the place would be serene and idyllic. The way the light bounced around the trees brought a sense of calm and peace over anyone there. However, that serenity was ruined by the large marble gargoyle standing atop the gravesite.

He knocked over the weapons, the tombstones of Astraea Familia, without a care in the world. Each movement was filled with anger and hate.

"How dare you pathetic humans attempt to claim this place as your own! As if I would let this place stand!" shouted Garess. He finally swung his large rocky head around to stare at the adventurers. "I will use your blood to cleanse this place of your filth!"

He saw the girl in the lead's face fill with fear, but it did not seem to be of him. She raised her hands placatingly, weapons still sheathed at her side. The adventurers behind seemed just as confused as Garess was starting to be.

"I promise, we can fight and kill each other as soon as you want," she said, her voice shaking. "But please, for the love of anything you hold dear, move away from this place. We have to leave this place."

The girl's voice was pathetic, thought Garess. It was as if she had abandoned all her pride and was now begging. And what for? What made this place so important? Garess knocked over a sword, sending it flying into a bush. The girl flinched as she did so, hands clasped together in prayer. Garess opened his mouth to ask what so damn terrifying was, but then he felt it.

His instincts screamed, and that primal urge that all creatures carried told him to run for his life. It was only his pride as a Sun Seeker that kept him there. He turned from the opponents in front of him, opening himself up to attack, and faced in the direction of this new enemy.

Out of the woods strode a woman clad in green. Her footsteps were silent, but it did not matter. Garess, a battle-hardened monster whose heart had frozen over, trembled. Such was the strength of this adventurer's killing intent. Slowly, his monster senses picked up on three words.

"I'll kill you," said the she-elf. "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"

In slow-motion, Mikoto watched Ryuu's attack. The burning hatred that had been rolling off her suddenly stopped. Then, like a flicker of wind, Ryuu vanished. She had moved too fast for even Mikoto's level four eyes to comprehend. The next thing the samurai knew, Ryuu's wooden blade was crashing into Garess's face. The Sun Seeker's head twisted, and he flew into the trees.

"You damn mongrel!" shouted Ryuu. "How dare you desecrate their graves!"

With rage-fuelled blows, the Gale Wind came to the front. She pounded into this once terrible Sun Seeker, who was forced to cower from the sheer ferocity he faced.

"I will wipe you clean from this plane!"

Garess did the only thing he could do; he retreated from the onslaught. He sought to run and hide, but it did him little good. The second he thought he had lost the elf, she appeared in front of him, her eyes those of a killer.

"You're not allowed to leave!" she shouted, swinging her blade down onto his shoulder.

There was a cracking sound as the gargoyle's rocky skin splintered. He crashed through a tree and slammed into a boulder. Ryuu landed in front of him, and with her level six strength, she lifted him off the ground. Her hand pressed around his throat. Garess took the opportunity to slam his claws into her body, hoping to have her shrink from the pain. In response, her vice grip around his neck tightened.

"For your crime, you will not leave this place alive," said Ryuu, her voice cold.

"Then kill me, human!" snarled Garess. "Prove to me how you're as much a monster as me!"

The two stood in silence like that. At that time, Garess saw something he had not noticed before. The girl's piercing, frost-blue eyes, which were so filled with hate, had tears sitting in their corners. Her body, which he thought trembled with rage, appeared different.

"I want to," came the whispered voice.

Her grip was still firm, but her voice shook. Garess was confused now. Humans were not supposed to act like this, showing regret like this! They were horrible creatures that killed without thinking! They were violent machines of destruction!

"I want to snap your neck," said the human girl. "I want to crush your throat and turn you to ash." She looked up. "But people on the surface are waiting for me. And those people that you dishonoured, whose graves you stepped on, wouldn't want to live like that anymore."

Her grip loosened, and she dropped Garess. His claws fell out of her, taking chunks of flesh with them. If she noticed, she did not mind, though.

"Once upon a time, I would've done it. I would've killed you, a living creature that had a reason to hate my comrades and me, and I would have moved on without a thought." She blinked past her tears. "I am not that woman anymore." She raised her blade. "But you are my enemy, and I must defeat you."

Garess hobbled to his feet. He took a wide stance and then launched himself at his enemy. The two battled back and forth. Where rage had once fuelled Ryuu's attacks, a desire to live and go back home drove her.

In response to that, all Garess had was his hate. He hated humans and their hypocrisy. Standing there, claiming to have grown and changed, when they still fought and killed each other. He had seen it with his own eyes! How these pathetic humans would attack each other for nothing but glory and greed! She could talk a big game, but Garess had seen that same hatred in the eyes of his opponent. She was no better than the rest of them.

"You damn hypocrite!" he shouted.

"And you're a blind fool who can't see past his own rage," countered Ryuu. "I'm sorry, Gros. I'm sorry, Bell." Ryuu's blade went for Garess's neck, which had been left unprotected. "Some people can't be saved. If I thought, you would stop or could be reasoned with." Her grin was bitter. "But I see the strength of your conviction, and I will not disgrace that.

Wood met marble, and the stone shattered. The gargoyle lost his head, a sneer still on his face.

"I will bear this sin just like I bear the rest," said Ryuu. "But I hope that you have another chance. No one deserves to suffer three lives in a row."

That was the last thing Garess heard. Slowly, his mind fell into a never-ending sea. Waiting for him was his mother, catching him in her warm embrace. As his eyes closed, his rage left him, and he found his peace.

With the Heroes:

Ais and Bell stared at the sight in front of them. Tiny monsters, appearing like children, cowered in structures made of debris. It was a ramshackle thing that reminded Bell of the refugee camps he had seen in his stories and on his travels. People with no home who were forced to travel uncountable distances just to find a place to rest.

"Ais, I don't want to fight these ones," said Bell.

This was a sentiment shared by the entirety of the vanguard. They all stared on awkwardly, unable to stop comparing these fearful monsters with the orphans and destitute people of Orario. It was like an underground version of Daedalus Street.

"I didn't sign up massacre children," said one adventurer. "Monster or not, that's just wrong." He looked to Bell and Ais. "That wouldn't be very heroic, would it?"

Bell nodded. "You're right." He turned to the Sun Seekers. "If you all stay here and don't poke your heads out, we'll leave you alone." He turned to Ais. "That's ok, right? At least until we talk with Mister Finn?"

Ais nodded, her gaze passing over the scene in front of her. She put her blade back in its sheath, and everyone took a deep breath. She crouched down, though, to get a better look at the monsters.

"Where's your leader?" she asked, head tilted. "We need them to surrender to stop the fighting."

One of the braver ones, a young kobold, stood up. He placed his body in front of the others, glaring down at the Sword Princess.

"Mother Frei is probably back there; attack your friends! And she's going to win too!"

Ais stood up, turning to her unit. "You all should stay here and secure the place. Me and Bell will find Gareth." She frowned. "If I hear that any of them were hurt, you answer to me."

The adventurers nodded quickly. She seemed happy with that response and took off down the tunnel. Bell followed, smiling.

"I'm happy that you're giving them a chance," said Bell.

"They're just like I was," responded Ais. "When I was little… they're just like I was."

Bell had nothing to say to that. Instead, he chose to continue running through the darkness. However, his progress was stopped by a large gathering of Sun Seekers and adventurers mixed together.

"What in the world?" asked Bell.

All the rank-and-file monsters had been killed, but the Xenos seemed to only be mildly injured. It was a strange sight to see.

An adventurer turned back. "Lady Forestlight challenged the leader to a duel!"

Bell and Ais hopped to it when they heard that, pushing and shoving their way through. Eventually, they found Gareth standing at the front of the circle. The dwarf seemed to not have a care in the world, slowly stroking his beard. He looked at the spectacle in front of him thoughtfully.

Ais took a spot next to him. "What happened, Gareth?"

"The lass said that she'd fight Frei herself and that if Frei won, we'd leave Knossos to the Sun Seekers," explained Gareth. "Caused a whole ceasefire and everything."

Indeed, the Sun Seekers stood by warily, watching adventurers from the corner of their eyes. The adventurers did the same, hands resting casually on their weapons.

"This is insane," said Bell. "Frei was able to fight Ryuu, so she's at least a level five. And Mister Gareth…we found something."

Gareth nodded. "I'm sure you did, but we'll talk more about that afterwards. And I think we all need to watch our lass has planned."

Bell looked at him uneasily before turning his gaze to Ais. The blonde wasn't looking at him, though. She was focusing on what happened in front of her.

Frei stood tall, wings spread out wide. Her whole body screamed that she was ready to fight. In response to that, Alicia stood by, deceptively calm. She held no weapons, and her body language was forcibly relaxed.

"Take this seriously!" screamed Frei. "Fight me, you filthy human!"

Alicia flinched but soon resumed her calm posture.

This was the final nail, aggravating the siren into action. She flew forward, piercing into the cold silence of Knossos. Bell felt himself tense up, ready to intervene and save the elf's life if need be, but he felt a hand latch onto his elbow. Ais shook her head slowly, and Bell felt his confusion mount.

Watching in slow motion, he saw Frei slam into Alicia. Her wing pierced through the elf's abdominal. In response, Alicia did nothing except crumpled to the ground. Frei pulled pack, watching the elf fall, confusion and frustration alight on her face.

"Why didn't you fight back?" asked Frei.

Alicia gave a shaky smile, her skin already starting to pale.

"You have such beautiful feathers; I didn't want them to get dirty," she said.

As adventurers were shaken from their stupor, rushing forward to help their comrade, the Sun Seekers watched on uneasily. They awaited orders from Frei, orders that would never come. Because the siren's brain was alight with memories. Her feathered hands reached up to clutch at her head.

"No, no, no," she muttered. "This is wrong." She made a squawking sound. "You're not…you weren't supposed to be real! Typhon said it was all a dream! Nothing but a fantasy!" Tears fell to the ground. "That isn't true! You can't be real because it never happened!"

Alicia, supported by her comrades, struggled to stand.

"It did happen. You saved my life. Whether you're Frei or Rei, you saved my life because you care." Alicia pushed her comrades away. "I never got to say it before, and I won't make that mistake again." She stumbled and fell forward, arms wrapping around the siren. "Thank you for saving me. I know this is a bit of an awkward time, but" Alicia looked up with a smile that melted the siren's heart. "Would you be my friend?"

Frei fell to her knees then. Alicia held tight through the pain, struggling to hold on.

"Aye, I think the battle's over for now," commented Gareth. "Now for the hard part. How are we going to explain this to Finn?"