Yo, been a while. For those that have been waiting for this chapter, I recommend going back a few chapters as a recap, I needed to when writing this. Talk to you at the end of the chapter

Btw, still don't own Danmachi but if I did I would have published Vol 18 already.

'Damn it, if only Nathan was here with us!' A prum girl thought as she watched over the expedition party struggling to deal with the massive wave of monstersa swarming towards them, with little end in sight. She watched as a level-boosted Aisha, Mikoto, Welf, Ouka and Chigusa kept taking down enemies but only to have them be replaced by new ones spawning out of the wall.

"Oi, Lili. Focus, this isn't the time to be spacing out!" Daphne shouted from behind her, defending the injured Elf that had started this whole mess. Beside her was Cassandra trying to heal the unconscious and heavily injured adventurers that had been victims of the irregular moss huge that was now consuming another handful of magic stones. Its strength now rivaled that of the level boosted Aisha, stopping her from making any more progress in dealing with the other threats that were slowly encircling them.

'Miss Daphne's right. I need to focus. I can't think about Nathan right now. He is doing something he believes is right. Just like me, Bell has changed him into a better person, someone who now believes in us and me. He is out there fighting his battle and that means we can't falter here. I trust Bell will return to us and save us as he has always done. I'm going to make sure I don't betray their trust and I'm going to do what I know I can do!'

"Lass, why 'aven't you left us yet? We're just dead weight!" Dormul the dwarf asked Lili. The Prum contemplated his words and knew her answer, the answer that up until now she thought she wouldn't have ever thought of. If someone like Nathan can change for the better, then so can she.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LET ANY OF YOU DIE!"

"LIIILLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

With the bold declaration, the shout from the hero alongside the sounds of bell chiming flooded the air, signalling that the hero had finally made his way to the stage once more.

An elephant mask-wearing God made his appearance in front of his Captain and Vice-captain, striking his usual pose, exposing his very toned body. However, he quickly straightened his spine and took a more serious pose.

"We are not here to be avengers. We'll continue to protect the masses, something Hashana would have wanted us to do instead of seeking a path of vengeance because of him."

Shakti and Ilta's eyes widened slightly at the words from their patron deity. Turning back around, they once again came face to face with the opening that led into the underground that housed monsters and demons. The man-made labyrinth Knossos.

On the other side of Daedalus street, a pair of amazon sisters were talking to a beautiful woman with long silver hair, dressed in holy white robes.

"You being here is a massive help, Amid."

"Yeah yeah, cause the captain said that if you weren't here then the casualty rate would be a lot lower."

The two sisters were very relieved to see that the Dea Saint would be joining them in the invasion.

"Well, it was at the request of Captain Finn aaaaaand also I wanted to take part myself because I am going to make sure there will be no casualties."

The healer made her will known to the twins.

"Why the 'ell are you two even coming?"

"Trust me Gareth, you're gonna need me or Dionysus at one point."

Gareth looked at his goddess for a second, contemplating what she said.

"Fine but you two stay behind me at all times, understood?"

"yeah yeah, wasn't planning on fighting anyway," Loki said in a whimsical voice while looking at the sky

"Understood Elgarm," Dionysus responded, astute and concentrated on the mission.

On the upper floors, a werewolf was shouting at an amazon woman.

"Get the hell out of here!" Bete howled.

"I found out from Aisha what is happening and I'm here to help the man I love!" Lena retorted.

Bete radiated murder. "You're not coming! Got that!"

"…ghh"

"You are in the minor leagues, a weakling. Got it!"

"…yes"

Nathan watched the interaction happen. It reminded him of someone he used to know. It wasn't a pleasant memory. He missed them dearly.

"That amazon keeps yapping on about Aisha. Is this alright, Asfi?"

"It's no better than you opening your mouth all the time."

Nathan turned to see Asfi Al Andromeda reprimand Lulune. Behind the two women were the rest of the Hermes Familia. Falgar the war tiger, Merrill the prum and the rest of them. Nathan didn't have many interactions with most of them, only ever really speaking to Asfi and Lulune about information and Falgar on occasion when those two weren't available.

"I know we formed an alliance and all but it's a real bummer that we have to go round and disable all the traps and also attempt to map the whole thing is ridiculous." Lulune moaned.

Upon hearing this, Asfi pulled her Familia aside a bit and looked over to where she knew the Half-elf was standing, well where he was a few minutes ago anyway.

"About that, we are only going to focus on mapping while looking for Barca Perdix and Daedalus' notebook/journal."

"But Braver said we were on trap duty?" Falgar questioned, confused about what Asfi was doing.

"That was just a ploy to make sure that his identity was hidden and his involvement was kept a secret."

"Who's he?" A female elf asked.

"Asfi, did you not tell them about me joining?"

All of the Hermes Familia jumped at the sudden voice. They all recognised it as they had all heard it at one point during the time they shared the same God.

"Nathan? Is that you?" Falgar was the only one brave enough to ask. The Hermes Familia and Nathan never really interacted because of two reasons. Nathan was very anti-social and the rest of them were terrified of the half-elf. The way he sprang out of nowhere, like now, was one of the contributing factors.

"Yeah, it is Falgar. Been a while."

"… It has, I suppose."

"Asfi, please explain what is…N-Nathan is doing here?" Lulune asked, failing at hiding her fear.

"Why wouldn't he be here Lulune? Do you lot not remember what he told us when he first came to us." They didn't, how could they forget. "He is here to help take down Evilus with us," Asfi responded to her underling.

"So when you said we aren't dealing with the traps?"

"Yes Falgar, Nathan will be focusing on them. He is the only one who doesn't need a map to explore Knossos and he knows where they all are."

"Well most of them anyway," Nathan added, not comforting the others much but they couldn't deny they were actually grateful that he was joining them.

"A-anyway, because Nathan is known as the half-elf in the Hestia Familia who came from outside of Orario and if it was ever found out of his involvement then it would cause questioning that we all want to avoid," Asfi explained. The Hermes Familia all mumbled out a noise of understanding.

"Could I have a look at your map, please?" Nathan asked, looking at Lulune. The Chienthrope was slightly caught off guard. Nathan never really asked for things and he had never said please to her. As she slowly handed the map to him, all the others were confused when he looked at the map and then rummaged through his bag, obviously looking for something. When he pulled at a small pen, they all just watched as he put small crosses on the map.

"Nathan, what are you doing?" Asfi asked the half-elf

"It is as you said, I will be focusing on the traps but that doesn't mean I will get all of them instantly. I might not get to the ones you cross, meaning you might still have to deal with them. My main focus is on helping Braver and the main force get through so I won't really be with you."

"So what… you are marking out the ones near us? Falgar asked.

"But that is a copy of the one you gave Loki Familia; didn't you already mark them all down already?" Asfi asked, not realising she had just told the rest of the Hermes Familia that Nathan had been collaborating with Loki Familia.

"Yes, I did put all of the main ones down but because of how big the map needed to be I couldn't put every bit of detail on it, so I'm just adding smaller things to your map, like here, it would actually be quicker to go this way to get here as to avoid where they will most likely put a group waiting to spring a surprise attack."

As Nathan finished up his add-ons, he handed the more complete map back to Lulune.

"I will be heading back to get ready." Nathan turned around and disappeared into the nearest shadow. Before any of the others could begin to talk, they heard one last thing from the very quiet voice.

"Good luck, don't die."

And with that, Nathan moved back to his original position, away from the still-huddled Hermes Familia.

"Asfi, what was that all about?" Falgar asked his captain, saying what everyone was thinking. Lulune was currently examining the new map Nathan had given her and she was quickly coming to thank the boy in her mind for a few things that he had added.

"I'm not really sure. I think I get what you mean though. That boy has changed."

"He seems a lot calmer and even showed some care towards us," Laurier said.

"But why would he be nice to us, we never were to him," Merrill the Prum said in a sad voice.

"It is his new Familia, they seemed to have been able to change him," Asfi explained.

"Why wasn't he like that with us before though? He had never said please to me before and then he even wished us good Luck, what's that about?" Lulune questioned.

"Because we never tried," Falgar stated.

"He's right. Maybe if we would have just reached out a hand, things would have been different," Asfi followed up.

The Hermes Familia all looked back to the door of Knossos, thinking of what could have been if they had treated the half-elf differently instead of just staying clear of him. Their fear and wariness of their former Familia member had subsided quite a bit as they all now regretted not giving him the second chance that Hermes had asked them to give. Sometimes that useless God knows what he is on about.

"It's time!"

Finn Deimne announced into the oculus on his wrist and to the people standing with him. All the adventuring about to put their lives on the line were now ready to face whatever was about to be thrown at them. Weapons were drawn and already the sweet sound of singing filled the air as small magic circles appeared beneath a few mage's feet, already preparing magic spells to unleash as soon as the giant orichalcum doors were thrust open. Throughout the dungeon, all the way to the 18th floor, battalions were watching with bated breath as they all zeroed in on the magic devise each of their respective leaders held, anticipating the signal from Braver to echo through the green orb.

"Let's go!"

The sound of almost every door leading to the outside world or dungeon slammed open, a small rumble resounding through the ground as they slammed into the roof. And then another rumble took over, a much more devasting one. The mass clatter of feet spread throughout Knossos as the man-made dungeon now became an outright warzone.

Nathan watched as Bete tore through the monsters that they had immediately made contact with after entering Knossos. He listened to Alchat's advice of ignoring the blood-hungry wolf and straight away went about his mission of disabling the traps that would be a hindrance to the beast-people group and the Hermes Familia. He was the first person in after Bete and took care of the trap that was set on that door. It was a simple arrow trap but if not known about and not avoided properly then a few lives could be lost. So Nathan sprinted past the colourful monsters and set off the trap and then with immediate effect he slashed the 10 arrows that came flying at him out of the air. Without batting an eye, he bounced off a nearby wall and flew back to where the beast people were running, trying to get ahead of them. He left the monsters to Vanargand and the others in the group, instead, he focused on the other type of enemy. And just as quickly as he caught up to Aki leading the way did a group of Evilus appear.

Aki saw the arrows be unleashed and then immediately dealt with, not seeing who set them off or who took care of them but that only made her more certain that HE was with them. She took a second to give a thought of gratitude to the masked boy but she was also glad that he wasn't showing himself. But she quickly pushed those useless thoughts to the side as the first obstacle appeared, a group of people dressed in large white robes, all having drawn weapons. But before she could give the order to attack and to watch out, she heard a quiet voice to her left.

"Keep running, don't stop. I'll take care of it."

The voice made her jump but she kept running, though her subordinates noticed her miss a step. Just as she had pushed the guy from her mind, he came back into her world yet again. But she had listened to what the boy had said in Finn's office and she knew that he was on their side.

"All right, understood. Thank you!"

With that brief confirmation, Aki turned back to her group and shouted an order.

"Ignore them and whatever else happens. Keep running and make sure everyone gets through alive. Understood!"

Her group had full faith in their commander and they trusted her with their lives. So without even beginning to ask they did what they were told and kept running at full speed at the enemy.

"It's the Loki Familia, everybody, defend Lord Thanatos with your lives!"

They heard the shout from the man standing at the front of the group, his weapon now raised in hopes of inspiring his group to face the attack head-on. But none slowed down.

"Hold your ground!"

Again, the same voice shouted in the hopes of inspiring his comrades and trying to deter the charging animals seemingly ready to bulldoze them down. But their faith in their commander didn't waver and they only increased in pace.

"Kill them—"

"FWSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!"

Before the man could finish his rally cry, Loki Familia saw the man and 5 of his associated get slammed into the wall, though it was the quick they couldn't make out what. It was obvious those hit had died on impact, their crushed heads and the rapidly increasing puddle of blood proved that. Before any thought of asking what that was, three white-robed heads were detached from their bodies, blood spurting out of their neck as their bodies slumped to the ground, lifeless.

"Wha…"

One of the Evilus tried to question what was happening but she didn't get time before she too slumped to the ground, lifeless as half of her blood gushed from her now open throat, along with another 4 of her Evilus members.

Only Aki knew what was happening because of what she had seen and what Tione had told her and the rest of the Loki Familia Executives. Nathan couldn't be seen or attacked and not even his presence could be detected by the likes of her or Bete. This terrified her as it meant he could just appear out of nowhere and kill her but now she was so relieved Nathan was on their side. She assumed he was darting between the two sides of the wall where it was the darkest, slicing his sword as he dove back and forth but she could only assume as she couldn't see him. She shuddered at the thought that there was a chance he would have been against them now or even that time when they first infiltrated Knossos. The damage he could have done to their ranks would have been soul-crushing. He was made to fight in a place like Knossos and she knew that if he was her enemy at this moment, she would already be dead. Aki thought if even the executives would be able to deal with him here. He could just appear from the shadows and it wouldn't matter how fast they were because he was silent, he wouldn't be detected. If he just came up behind someone like Bete, Tiona, or even Finn then he would…

'No, Captain Finn wouldn't be taken down that easily!'

Aki shook her head as she tried to settle her nerves and tried not to think about that other world. She was in this world and in this world, the half-elf was on her side. And as she ran past the decapitated bodies of the ones Nathan saw as enemies, she was even more glad that they weren't that.

"Only four left. Fifteen is small for a normal group. They really have lost numbers," Nathan thought from the right side of the corridor. He watched as the now terrified remaining Evilus members were retreating down the corridor they had come from. He then saw as the group had now caught up with him and noticed Bete quickly approaching as well. So he got back to finishing off what he started.

"What was that?"

"I don't know!"

He heard them scream but he had little care for soon to be dead people's worries and thoughts.

"It must be the Rea…"

"Swssh!"

He despatched the first one with a simple swing of his sword. He definitely didn't kill that one first because of what they were about to speak.

"AAHH…. LORD THANATOS PLE…"

"LORD THANATOS SAVE…"

"fwsshh"

With another flick of his sword, he sent a small but sharp blade of wind at two of their throats, stopping any sort of prayer being sent to that deranged psychopath of a God.

"AAHHHH, I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME!" *Click*

Nathan watched as the final one started running back to the Loki Familia group with an all too well-known detonator in his hand. So Nathan turned back around and ran past the person and began to count. He knew how long it took for these types of bombs to go off when clicked, it wasn't instant like most thought but it had about a 10-second countdown, used to trick the enemy into thinking they had won. He saw Bete had made it to the front of the group and before Aki told him to wait, he began to dive at the white-robed person.

'Idiot'

Bete raced towards the white-robed man and bared his claws, ready to slice through the person like they were paper. He realised that the person was holding onto a detonator but thought he would just kill the person before they set it off. But before the hot headed werewolf got within slicing range, someone appeared in front of him. This person was a bit shorter than him and was completely covered in black armour and clothes. Bete didn't need to see the black mask that completely covered the half-elf's face to know who it was. Before Bete could ask what he was doing, getting in his way and revealing himself to the others, he watched as Nathan waited for the Evilus member to get within striking distance before…

"-UEGGHH!"

The Evilus member was slammed away by the now raised, wind-covered boot of the half-elf, throwing him back down the corridor, breaking the person's nose in the process. Nathan knew that if Bete had gone through with his attack and sliced through the man's body and also the bomb strapped around his chest, then Bete would have been severely wounded at the best as it would have been set off immediately. The same outcome would have been reached if Nathan too had sliced through the person or had severely damaged the bomb in anyway. So instead, Nathan kicked the person back down the corridor.

'6,5,4'

"What the hell you doin?!" Bete shouted at the half-elf. But instead of responding, the masked boy looked down the hallway at the Evilus member. With his level 6 beast person, he heard the voice that had screamed at him only a moment prior.

"Huh. What. Wai-"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!"

Bete's ears were suddenly overloaded with the loud bang of the bomb going off. The next sound was the noise of the many small body parts that were now scattered around the corridor just ahead of them falling to the ground.

"It was on a timer," He heard come from his right but when he looked, there was no one there.

Bete didn't bother looking around for the half-elf and instead got on with his mission.

"Oi Bete, who was that?"

"Aki! Was that why we didn't need to worry about them? Who was that?"

The two commanders ignored the questions, with Aki saying that they will talk about it later.

"Let's keep going Bete," Aki said to the wolf but all she got was some spit on the floor and a click of the tongue.

"Damn bastard," Bete muttered. He hated being helped, especially by someone like the half-elf. But he couldn't care about that right now and so he started picking up the pace.

"Oi, you weakling stop gawking and get your shit together! We've got shit to sort out so either keep up or piss off!"

Nathan heard the footsteps pick up again as he ran back down from where he came, now going to follow the Hermes Familia, on his way to help them with their assault on the main room.

An ambiguous god and a dead-looking man were standing above a mirror that was currently watching the invasion on their base.

"So Revis was telling the truth, he's helping them out," Barca monotonously expressed as he switched the mirror from looking at 15 corpses and Vanargand to another part of the invasion that was taking place.

"It appears so," Thanatos chuckled as he replayed the sight of the glorious but swift dance of death one of his old favourites had just enacted. "It does appear Hel's old toy has returned to revisit us after so long, and he hasn't brought a surprise hello gift." The God then smiled.

"Barca, what is it you are going to do?" Thanatos asked his child.

"I am going to make sure this doesn't get out of hand."

"Don't die on me Barca, I don't know what I'd do without you," Thanatos wistfully spoke.

Barca didn't show any signs that he had registered his God's fake concern for his safety. As Thanatos watched his child about to leave he spoke up once more.

"Oh, Barca. If you see that child." Thanatos began, smiling as he saw Barca stop to listen. "Give him a welcome home gift, from me."

And as Barca left the room, ready to defend the thing his cursed blood forced him to defend, he heard the malicious laugh from his God bounce around the room.

Nathan had been running through the corridors of Knossos for almost 15 minutes, setting off every trap he remembered. He had already deflected countless arrows and set off pitfalls, throwing the corpses of the Evilus remnants that were unfortunate enough to be in his way to active the traps, before quickly vaulting over them. He had descended and scaled a few floors now, hoping to catch up to the main force being led by Finn, which was heading to the 9th floor, he was currently on the 6th. Eventually, he came up to a fork in the road with two doors blocking both entry points. One led off to the left, the other led off to the right. The sight made Nathan come to a standstill. Just like before, when he had come this way with Asterius, images flooded back into his mind about what was behind the second door. Just like before, Nathan made his way over to the right door and began to raise his Key of Knossos to open the door. However, he stopped himself.

The last time he came to this decision, it cost him about a minute to reach Bell. In that minute, Bell had defeated Dix but had lost Weine and she had started her rampage. This rattled in Nathan's mind.

What if he hadn't been afraid?

What if he had just taken the left to the door and got there a minute sooner?

This time, he calculated, it could cost him even more time to reach where Finn was heading. By the time he had circled around and if everything had gone as planned, then Finn and most of the others would have already intercepted Barca, hundreds of Evilus, and many traps along the way. How many would possibly die just because of his stupid imagination and inability to rid his mind of the past?

'No! Not this time. I swore that I would help and I promised Lady Hestia I would do what was right. I won't be able to face her if I don't do this.'

Even though the memories were encased behind that left door, the future that was behind the right door was far worse to Nathan as it held the disappointed look of his Goddess. And if she was disappointed in him then she wouldn't have any use for him and that would lead to her not wanting him in her Familia anymore.

That future replayed itself in its mind, bullying Nathan's insecurities. Because of this, his next course of action was inevitable. He raised his arm and held the Key up to the door. The orichalcum screeched upwards before slotting into position. Before he could re-think his decision, Nathan bolted down the left hallway, the sound of the large door slamming behind him certifying his path, not allowing for any backtracking.

All the way through Knossos, battles were raging. On the lowest floors, armed monsters were fighting the colourful plants. Led by Lido, alongside Finn, the pincer move they had planned was devasting the forces of Knossos with the incredible speed and precision being used by both men and monsters.

"Which way Rei?" Lido shouted.

"The next door on the right!" The siren responded.

Just above them, the group of fairies were currently waiting in a corridor, knowing what was going to appear in front of them.

"Go!" Ordered Riveria. "She's here, join back with the main force now!"

The Elves, being led by Riveria, surged back towards the main force, their role as bait to lure out Revis being a success. Ais stood at the back of the group, ready to intercept the creature at any moment

The highest battle was currently being waged between the beast people and Evilus. Well, a battle is not the right way to describe it. It was more like slaughter. Evilus were being slaughtered by the group led by Bete Loga, who was doing most of the slaughtering. Meanwhile, Aki and others were looking out for any traps that could be set off. In their previous invasion a month ago, they had already gone through here and most remember the traps that had been reset. Aki had also warned most to keep an eye out for any arrow traps after seeing Nathan despatch one earlier. They had suffered zero casualties so far, no small thanks to the half-elf's modifications to their maps.

The main force was just heading onto the 8th floor, with the Deities of Loki and Dionysus following a bit further behind. Their bodyguard was starting to get a bit grumpy about their noise and also that he wasn't in the frontlines helping deal with the enemy. They themselves had come across some of the traps but they had already been set off.

'This must be Nathan, that means he has been through here.'

This eased Finn's mind as it meant that they didn't need to worry about any more traps. They even came across a part of Knossos with its ceiling split open and a splattered pile of meat, blood and a white robe lying below it.

Meanwhile, on the twelfth floor, Barca was about to pull a switch.

'I can't believe I'm about to use your resentment for Knossos, Dix.' The emotionless man thought. The demolish of an entire floor destroyed any hope of Barca seeing the completeion of Knossos, not that he truly believed he would anyway but it still hurt the tiniest bit of hope the curse forced him to cling to. However…

"Destruct…"

"…Ghh!"

Barca's hand instinctively raised to his neck and as he pulled his hand away, the sight of blood covered his hand. His chant had been interrupted.

"Tch, missed," He heard from behind him. He turned and out of thin air, a beautiful woman with sky-blue hair appeared out thin air.

"Perseus"

It reminded him of the traitor that was currently tearing his way through Knossos. Little did Barca know that the invention that allowed Asfi to turn invisible was inspired by that same half-elf's ability to vanish.

"Barca Perdix and if I recall correctly from the God Ikelos and another source, a descendant of Daedalus, half-brother of Dix Perdix and builder of Knossos. Meaning, you are responsible for the death of our comrades."

Asfi squinted her eyes at the pale man from behind her glasses, and with a flick of her wrist, others materialized out of thin air alongside another blade now firmly in her grasp.

"..Hermes Familia," Barca whispered as he saw the rest of Asfi's comrades appear out of thin air just like she did. He noticed them all holding black helmets, assuming that that was the explanation for the invisibility.

"You came all this way here for what… me and Thanatos?"

"And this," Asfi said as she bent down to pick up Daedalus' notebook.

"…So, from the very start…"

"Yes, everything has gone according to Braver's plan," Asfi finished off the man's sentence.

Barca watched as Asfi put her wrist near her mouth and spoke into a shining green orb.

"Nathan was right, the enemy is situated on the 9th floor."

And through that simple bit of information, all forces were now ordered to the ninth floor, heading straight to the heart of the enemy, taking out any obstacles in the way.

"But how did you get here…? You shouldn't have been able to find this room without anything short of a miracle." Barca asked, perplexed.

"Well, we gained an important advantage after you lost it, simple," Asfi commented back.

"Oh… so it was you who picked up the traitorous half-elf, was it?" Barca said, figuring out that it must have been him who gave up this location.

"I will admit, it is very handy to have someone who knows the layout of Knossos inside and out on our side. I believe that is your fault for driving him away." Asfi struck back, remembering to thank Nathan for telling them of that shortcut, it had helped and after sending Lulune back the way they would have gone just to make sure, they would have encountered a nerve-wracking force of plant monsters and suicide bombers.

"I had no part to play in his betrayal nor I can think of any reason why I would be the cause of it."

"I have seen his back, Barca. Scars that the falna cannot heal are only brought on by the use of cursed weapons and from our information, you are the only one able to make them."

Asfi saw Barca look away from her for a second before turning back to her, a small grin on his face.

"You know what, you have reminded me of something. That boy was quite nice as an experimental guinea pig for testing my weapons if I do recall."

Barca saw slight irritation in the Hermes Familia after mentioning this. He could still get out of this, he just needed to beat the ones in front of him and get out. No one knew Knossos better than him, not even that half-elf would be able to find him. He would escape and even if everyone else in Knossos was killed and he lost his falna when Thanatos is inevitably sent back to heaven, he could still work on Knossos. Barca still clung to this belief, the curse engraved into his left eye forced him to. His blood boiled to a point that made him think of any way out of this scenario. So he kept toying with the people in front of him.

"If I remember correctly, it was his goddess who came to me and asked me if she could borrow some, apparently he needed to be taught a lesson. I'm glad she did because that boy helped me master my skill and craftsmanship. Because my weapons were being used to punish him and hurt him, I got valuable feedback from those who used them and used that new information to refine my cursed weapons."

The Hermes Familia were now getting ready to strike at any moment, not enjoying the fact that they were being told that the boy that had just helped them out massively had been mistreated in such a way.

"I remember one time," Barca said, as he slowly manipulated his way back to the destruction lever created by Dix, "Valletta came back once and said that the whip I had created was wonderful, do you want to know why?"

As Barca slowly started moving again, he didn't register the faint glow on Asfi's wrist nor heard the noise that came out of it, a noise that made the Hermes Familia lower their weapons but still with scowls on their faces.

"Because on that day, apparently, she had only whipped him a few times after some training and he had almost died from blood loss, no matter how much healing was given to him, the wounds never closed up. I can hear her laughing as she retold it now."

Barca was now just in front of the lever though now Asfi had noticed this. She held her knife, ready to throw as if to say, 'I dare you'.

"Apparently the boy only survived through some makeshift healing by putting some sulphur on his back and setting it on fire, closing his wounds by searing the skin, I imagine that was quite painful for a 9-year-old."

Barca let out a small laugh, seemingly enjoying reminiscing the memory of hearing about how he helped make the half-elf suffer. He caught the glimpse of Perseus' knife that was aimed at his eye but only now noticed that the others had put away their weapons but still kept in formation. He gave a slightly puzzled look as he wasn't sure why they hadn't attacked him yet. Not that he cared as much, he was now in front of the lever and if he could just get Asfi to fire off her knife, it would give him time to chant and use Dix's explosive trap.

"You know, because of the boy, I was able to create weapons so potent that they were the ones used to kill your comrades as well as the Loki Familia when they invaded a month ago. That means that he actually helped in killing your friends, something he had become quite good at over the years."

Barca smiled as he realised that Asfi was about to throw her knife his way. However, he caught glimpse of something golden flying straight towards him. If it wasn't for his level 4 status, he would have been slammed into the wall behind him and impaled through his chest. Instead, he had dived out of the way just in time. He looked back to where was standing and saw a golden spear buried in the wall, destroying the lever that he was hoping of using.

Barca immediately recognised that spear, everyone in Orario would. It was a staple part of Evilus' biggest enemy and threat.

"Barca Perdix."

A voice brought him to turn to face the entrance in which the Hermes Familia had appeared from. Out from the darkness strode a small figure. Wearing a golden vest on top of a blue shirt, crisp blonde hair and blue eyes that housed a lot of determination, intelligence and a fair bit of anger.

"Finn Deimne," Barca practically gulped the name.

"I would very much like you to stop continuing your little story as I do not wish to kill you right now. I had to ask Asfi to not slit your throat before I arrived."

Barca only now realised what had happened as he looked at the matching pair of green orbs. One on Asfi's wrist and one in Braver's hands. It must some sort of device that can transmit a person's voice. That means…

"Really, it's taking a lot to not kill you myself as I wish to question you a bit after this but I would recommend you not talk about the fallen comrades and friends nor your history with our mutual associate," Finn said in his commanding voice. All that was in possession of an oculus and those around them heard him, as they had heard Barca speaking about the cursed weapons that had killed their friends and how they were used on Nathan. All those that were now convening towards the 9th floor all held the same expression of determination and a cold, merciless emotion. None of them liked being reminded of failing the ones they had lost, having survived while others haven't. However, while most did not know who Barca was talking about when referring to Nathan as Asfi had only switched on the oculus after she had mentioned him joining Hermes Familia, those that knew who was being talked about all had varied reactions.

Bete and Shakti only hardened their gazes as they slashed their way through the enemy, not enjoying being reminded of how young the half-elf was when going through the same hell they did. Finn too hardened his resolve to destroy Evilus. The Xenos alongside Fels roared in anger after hearing about how one of the few who had helped them and even saw them as fellow people had been mistreated. They stepped up their ferocity and smashed back into the vibrant plants and Evilus, shredding them apart with Fels not bothering to hold back his sage abilities which blasted the enemies away with the risk of caving in the entire ceiling above them.

As the elves watched Ais and Riveria face off against the red-headed creature, all those in the room heard what had come from the oculus on Riveria's wrist. The mention of their fallen comrades only stirred their resolve, much like their captain, and they all kept piling on the help as much as they could, forcing themselves to push past their limits. They also heard what had happened to the half-elf they had seen decimate an entire force of Evilus. They now saw why he held so much hatred towards them and some even reverted their previous fear of him into pity and sympathy.

Ais, having heard what came from the oculus, used all her status. She unleashed everything that she had earned from her training with Ottar onto the creature. Riviera too began chanting more spells, ignoring the normal voice in her head to conserve mind power. She bombarded the creature while simultaneously supporting Ais. She upheld her name as the strongest and most skilled mage in all of Orario and proved more now than ever why she had gotten the Alias Nine Hells. However, all saw the smug look on Revis' face. Even though she was being held by Ais and sometimes having to push back a bit to avoid the magic being thrown her way, she was still smiling. She too heard what had been said and when she heard the memory of Valletta almost killing Nathan with a whip she had actually laughed.

"Hahaha, I remember that," she said as she parried one of Ais' attacks. "That pathetic boy didn't stop crying the whole time."

Revis quickly dodged an upward slash from Ais and threw a kick, forcing the girl to block it with her sword. Her superior strength forced Ais backwards a bit but as soon as she found a footing, the Sword Princess sprung straight back at her.

"That brat didn't even thank me after I stopped his bleeding," Revis laughed as she swung her weapon to Ais' right side, making the girl somersault over it. This gave Revis the opportunity to gain the upper hand again on the girl. However, she was immediately forced backwards and just narrowly dodged a massive pillar fire that erupted from the ground

"Tch, annoying fairy."

But before she could complain anymore, a tsunami of ice barrelled towards her at tremendous speed. It was only because of her recent 'levelling up' that she had managed to come out unharmed. Revis turned her head towards the culprit and saw Jade eyes staring daggers into her. Unbeknownst to Revis, she had hit a tender point with Riveria.

The image of the half-elf's back had never left Riveria's mind when she had inspected it after his fight with the black bull. Now she knew what had caused all that pain and the reason to why she hadn't been able to help heal those scars. She still held guilt about not being able to do anything at that time and now standing before her was the reason for all that pain. The reason why he was able to deal with such pain and injuries, shrugging broken bones and a hole in his chest like it was almost nothing. How he was only 9 when having to deal with the likes of Valletta and Revis's sadism. Why a 15-year-old was so accustomed to such suffering was a crime she couldn't let slide, especially with her experience with Ais. It was because of this she had forsaken any thought of conserving her mind and decided to start attacking instead of playing the support.

Barca looked on. He was surrounded. In front of him was an entire army. Made up of the Hermes Familia, Braver, Tiona and Tione, Amid. The main fighting force of his enemy was now facing him and he was on his own.

"…This is where I meet my end, huh?" The man said. His voice was not sad or scared. He didn't seem like he really cared.

Everyone watched as he moved his hand down to his belt, revealing a hidden blade. Amid's eyes narrowed as she immediately felt its cursed properties. As the main force readied themselves, Barca looked over at them.

And then he plunged his sword into his chest.

Everyone was taken aback. Voices mentioning suicide and why were thrown about. But the main force only watched as Barca repeated this.

Tione and Tiona winced as he plunged another Cursed blade into himself. Time and time again he repeated this. He punctured his arms, shoulders, legs and body

"As you said… It's our loss," Barca said, seemingly unfazed by the self-inflicted wounds. Finn and the rest didn't understand what was happening as they continued to watch the man, all standing ready but with a few choosing a more defensive position. Then everyone's eyes widened as he pulled out his final object.

"The fetus of a crystal orb!" Lulune shouted.

"However, our ancestor's dream will not die here."

Barca held onto the infected spirit, knowing what he was about to do would be suicide. But he did not care, as long as Knossos lived on.

Before Barca completed his final act, the roof above him suddenly opened. Everyone looked up, even Finn and Barca took their eyes off their enemies and looked up at the now open ceiling. Barca remembered that a pitfall led here from the 7th floor.

Just as Barca thought of that, corpses rained down from the now opened trap. A mixture of men and monsters hit the ground. However, one seemed to have survived. But it was heavily injured. Cuts could be seen all over its body as green blood spilt out and onto the ground. But before it could let out any noise of anguish, a sword split its colourful head open, turning it to dust like the rest of its siblings. A black figure quickly followed that sword as everyone watched it silently land, bending one knee to soften the fall. Finn and the main force all saw it pick up the sword that had killed the plant monster, an exact replica in the figure's other hand. Barca on the other hand saw the figure's completely black mask and the sight of green blood drip from the other sword in his hand. Only a few recognised the person, immediately knowing who had dropped down. Barca was one of them.

Both sides also happened to notice the same green orb that Perseus and Braver shared, cemented into his wrist plate.

Hey, its uhm been a while. Let me check...91 DAYS, WTF.

Excuses. Well I could say that my wrist healed and I went back to work. Then I have come to uni. But really, I had the time but never sat down and did it. Idk why because I had a blast. I enjoyed it so much that this only part 1 of what i was going to post as a chapter but I wrote that much, I'm having to split it. So good news there as I have pretty much finished th next chapter as well, so look forward to that.

Again, I'm truly sorry for making fans of this story wait. This story never left my mind for a single day. Everytime I put on music or walked to a shop or a uni class I always thought of where I wanted the story to head and my god have I come up with material. But I need to get there first. I'm hoping now that I have poste one/two chapters I will regain my motivation for this.

Anyway, Im posting this at basically midnight EST and writing really makes the time fly. I also would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and if people could favourite or follow this story it would really mean a lot as it would show that people still want to read my story. Let me jsut check how much we are on...hmmmm...hmmm...errrrrr 153 FOLLOWS AND 110 FAVS. God why did i take so long.

Reviews:

Jank7457: Firstly, I missed talking to you, hope your are still around. And if this chapter wasn't enough of a bloodbath, next one certainly is more... well lets say it soley focused on Nathan traversing Knossos and dealing with past Trauma in a not so healthy manner.

red skull 564: Thank you so much for the praise. Errm I hope this response isn't too late, sorry for leaving you on read. And yes, I do hope I am continiung this story.

Like I said at the beginning I recommend going back a few chapters to see where were at and heading.

The next chapter should only be a day or two. Thank you so much to those that have come back and thank you to new readers who didn't have to experience the long wait.

With that said, See ya next time and peace!