Ryu Lyon began to stir, her body knowing it was in an unknown environment. Akin to the comforting, warm bed that Mama Mia had allowed her to rent for the past 5 years, the place where she lay had no fabric and was somewhat hard but all the while it held a familiarity she hadn't felt since she had come to Orario.

Ryu jerked up; her eyes having only fluttered open for a mere moment before she realised it. She had been sleeping outside, the grass having been a normal place for elves in her village to nap.

The level 4 adventurer quickly scanned her surroundings as she tried to remember what had happened that might've got her here. As she saw she was in some sort of clearing nestled in a small forest, she remembered meeting Bell.

"I rejected her..."

Ryu still couldn't believe it. Why had Bell rejected Syr, they were meant for each other... weren't they? Ryu still felt ashamed for feeling relief after hearing it, her selfish desires were not important when compared to Syr, the person who had saved her.

Afterward, the pair agreed to go look for her but they couldn't find her, then... he appeared. An unstoppable force. In an instant, Ottar had dealt with Ryu like she nothing more than a child, sweeping her aside and slamming her body into the concrete building. Then she woke up here.

As Ryu finished her scanning, having glanced up at the sky to register the time to be between late afternoon to early evening, she finally landed on something different from the tree line.

Behind her were two logs, having clearly been recently cut down, and in the middle a small fire was crackling away. On the bench far from the elf was a small figure and judging from the small snores Ryu was picking up, they were sleeping. Another figure, this time awake, was sat on the log nearest her with their back turned.

"H-Hello?" Ryu murmured out. She had realised if this person had wanted to hurt her, they would've done so while she was asleep and she sensed no hostility from them. The setting sun made it hard for Ryu to fully make out the figure.

The person didn't turn to face nor did he flinch after she announced that she was awake. After a second of silence, Ryu squinted between the small rays of light piercing through the trees. She made out torn clothes on what seemed to be a man's body, with red scars on the exposed skin.

There was no beast person's tail or ears, in fact the ears were pointy, like hers. Almost like hers as they held the distinction of that bit of dullness at the end that signified that the man was a half-elf.

Ryu's thoughts ceased after that, having come to the conclusion on who the person in front of her was.

Ryu slowly got up and scanned the area, searching for her daggers but they weren't there. How had she lost them or had Nathan taken them from her. Ryu went back to staring at the boy's back, waiting for the half-elf to make his move.

After another moment of silence, the boy's shoulders sagged slightly as he let out a small sigh.

"Don't worry," Nathan muttered. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I'd have done so already if I wanted to."

The boy's cold and icy voice did little to calm Ryu's nerves but she knew he was right. So she slowly edged over to the fire. As she got closer, she recognised that the other figure was Goddess Hestia. This only made Ryu even more confused.

"Where are we?" Ryu asked, her guard still up.

"About 3 miles out from Orario," Nathan answered simply.

"Why?"

Nathan took a bit longer to answer and Ryu was close enough to see the boy's fist clench in anger.

"...Freya," He muttered out, his cold tone replaced by one filled with venom.

"I-I don't understand. I was with Bell and then..."

"And then Ottar knocked you both out and presented you to Freya."

"W-what? Why?" Ryu demanded. Why would Freya be after Bell. And why was she brought in front of the Goddess of beauty as well.

"Sit down," Nathan said, implying he would answer he queries, and answer he did. Ryu asked about what had transpired since the stare down between the half-elf and Vana Freya on the giant boat.

Nathan cooly filled her in, talking about his fight and then the next day where the Hestia Familia were attacked by the Freya Familia. Ryu could only stare at the boy in abject horror as he mentioned beheading one of Gulliver Brothers and then later on, severing Dainsleif's arm off. All the while Ryu could feel the tension in the air slowly increase as Nathan struggled to keep his mind calm. As he finished, the half-elf was only looking at his sleeping Goddess.

An awkward silence quickly descended over the pair. Nathan had finished his re-telling over the events and had nothing more to say while Ryu had a flurry of questions in her head. She wanted to thank him for... saving her? But then she wanted to talk about what was behind those dark glasses, the unmistakable Jade eyes that solely belonged to the Elven Royal Family that she so revered.

But most importantly, above all else, Ryu wanted, no, needed to know about the half-elf's ties with Evilus. What history had they shared together and how involved was he in the deaths of her sisters. How much did he contribute to the destruction of Orario and how close had one of them had been to killing the other. Ryu Lyon, the main enemy to the remnants of Evilus and Nathan, the supposed executioner of the Goddess of Death, if what that corrupted elven woman in Knossos said was true.

"Go ahead."

Ryu raised an eyebrow at Nathan. "What do you mean?"

"Ask. Honestly, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day, not sure whether I should be scared or not. I can see it, on your face that is... Evilus."

The mention of the group, out loud, had made both flinch. The group had scarred them both badly, arguably the worst victims of the terrorist organisation. Ryu couldn't help but grit her teeth slightly at it.

'How could you mention it so nonchalantly. He's been waiting? So what, every time he came into the pub, he was waiting for me to ask him or arrest him or cut him down.'

"How long..." Ryu managed to whisper out. Nathan titled his head in confusion for a second before understanding the meaning.

"Just over 6 years. I was found by my old Goddess when I was 7 and a half, then I escaped when I just turned 14."

"...7" Ryu repeated to herself. This was the problem she had with dealing with the half-elf. Every time she saw something to despise the boy for, she was given something to sympathise with. When Filvis mentioned that he was responsible for the 27th floor incident 5 years ago, Nathan revealed it was a punishment for him from his Goddess. How was she supposed to wrap her head around this? How was she supposed to feel?

"How many...?"

"How many what?" Nathan asked back, not understanding this question.

"How many did you kill?" Ryu asked. She watched as the half-elf was taken back by the question. She knew it was a horrible question to ask but she barely saw the half-elf show a shred of emotion and watching him flinch satisfied her.

"I..."

"Don't you dare say you don't know," Ryu raised her voice. "It would be cruel to the ones who died for you to not know."

"Do you?" Nathan jabbed back. "Do you know how many you killed. Not just in your rampage 5 years ago but during the dark ages and the years following that as you and your Familia hunted us down."

It was Nathan's turn to make Ryu uncomfortable. They had both shed a lot of blood. It wouldn't be a surprise if they both held the highest body counts in Orario, it probably wasn't even close. Ryu struggled to say a word but she clenched her fists, determined to hold something above the boy who had been her sworn enemy, even if she never knew about him.

"...168"

"What?" Nathan looked up at Ryu as her head sank.

"208, that's how many lives I've taken..." the Gale Wind muttered out, ashamed of her actions. She looked up at the boy, her narrowed eyes now open, riddled with guilt. But she waited for the half-elf to answer. She had been a child of Justice once and even though she had cast that aside in the name of revenge, she knew it was her obligation to judge herself, even if nobody else would. She wanted to know if the half-elf in front of her was trying as well or was he the Reaper she had heard about in the final raid of Knossos.

After a while though Nathan still refused to utter a word, not being able to hold contact. Ryu looked away in disappointment. She didn't want it but she had been proven right about the boy. She thought she had seen something in the boy's eyes, a look of sadness, regret and guilt in Knossos but maybe that had been just self-pity. If she had her swords on her, even if it was a fruitless endeavour, she would try to bring the boy to justice.

"428."

Ryu's eyes shot back at the boy. Her ears had registered a noise but her mind had shutdown.

"R-repeat that sorry," She uttered in confusion, thinking, hoping she had heard wrong.

"428... that's how many I've killed," The boy mumbled, too ashamed to look at either the elf or the deity laying next to her. As for Ryu, she couldn't compute the number. She thought her kill count was unforgivable but Nathan had doubled hers and them some, it was unfathomable. Half a thousand people slain by a boy only 15.

"H-how...?"

Nathan couldn't respond to the question at first, struggling with the intense glare the Gale Wind was throwing his way. But he relented.

"My Goddess back then..." The half-elf struggled to even say her name as he stuttered. "My Goddess, Hel, gave me... challenges to meet. During the dark days, I ran around aimlessly, not knowing what to do. But then..." Ryu saw the boy shudder as he froze for a moment before continuing. "I killed someone. I don't know whether they thought I was an actual enemy or they confused me with something else but..."

Nathan relieved that moment, the action that started the downward spiral. With bombs being dropped everywhere, fires raging as screams filled the air. Monsters raged on the surface as adventurers struggled to fight back the hoard while protecting the innocents. He had been running mostly, too afraid to fight but it seemed he couldn't escape fate.

He didn't know which Familia they belonged to or even their name, but a single man ran down the alleyway he was hiding in, his spear glinting in the fire as he screamed. Instinct took over at the last moment. Nathan, just turned 8 at the time, avoided the spear and shoved his sword into the man's chest.

The man dropped to his knees as he coughed up blood, the thick red liquid coating Nathan's face as the life left the man's brown eyes and then he slumped to the floor.

Ryu gave Nathan a moment. She too remembered her first. Like Nathan, it was during the dark days and it had been just a random Evilus member but she still remembered him and his scream of agony as she clumsy gutted him.

"After that," Nathan continued. "Goddess Hel congratulated me; said I did my duty as the follower of death. And from then on, she sent me on my missions. Sometimes I was forced to aid Evilus members in random attacks in the dungeon against unsuspecting parties. I was also made the executioner when some Evilus members needed... executing. It got worse when I hit level 3, when I lost control..."

"What do you mean you lost control?" Ryu asked but this was a question that Nathan refused to answer, only mentioning it was after the 27th floor disaster.

"I then started soloing parties. Looking back with a clearer mind, it was unnecessary and cruel and she knew it. When I finally escaped, I had racked up a total of about 300. The rest from then on has been Evilus members, a few Ishtar members and the most recent one..." Nathan trailed off as he remembered slicing off Dvallin Gulliver's head. He had wished to make it 429 with Hogni but that would have to wait until later.

The two long standing enemies avoid eye contact as they both fought with their past actions. They both thought of those that they had killed. They regretted a few, not thinking it was necessary to go to such an extreme but what irked them even more is that they knew that most of them were not ones they regretted, that if they went back in time and placed in the same position, the same outcome would be the same.

In truth, both were labelled murderers by those they had been told to protect, rejections from the world just trying to get by. But the past always had a way to catch back-up.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ryu asked, trying to hide the anger boiling up. It was a thought she and her sisters had thought since they beat Alfia. Why didn't those suffering under Evilus come for help, they would have offered it. "Why tell me this now and not when it was happening, we would've helped."

"Helped? Really!" Nathan barked back, his own anger spiking. "You don't understand how you looked; did you really think you were that approachable."

"We helped save the city!"

"And condemn over a thousand of innocents to a life of darkness, starvation and fear!"

"We would have helped them too!"

"You mean like that time you raided the Set Familia and killed half of them and arrested the rest!"

"They were helping Evilus, of course we would take them out!"

"Yeah, they were helping. They were the ones supplying us with decent food and clean water. After you took them out, we were forced to scavenge in the dungeon. Frequent parties were sent to the water capital just for decent drinking water and most of the time at least half the party didn't make it back.

"I..." Ryu stuttered at that.

"Yeah exactly you didn't know. You didn't care to know as all you did was inflict your so called justice on us, condemning us to even more pain. So yes Ryu, a lot of us didn't fancy going to our enemies hellbent on our destruction for help."

"That's not fair and you know it. We tried to give plenty of chances, send out warnings that plea deals would be met with mercy."

"Oh and how do you suppose we saw them because guess what we didn't. Everything that came into Knossos was seen by the zealous leaders that wanted to prolong Evilus and prepare for a counter-attack. Those supposed acts of mercy you are mentioning fell on deaf or corrupted ears, never reaching past the first layer of that giant stone prison."

"So what, you blame us for trying to help you, saying we were dangerous. Then when we don't try, you blame us still for not helping. That is not fair!"

"You should've tried harder!" Nathan shouted, making Ryu jump back a little. She had never seen the boy this loud, the only time being when he was clearly mentally unstable in the final fight in Knossos.

"We waited in the darkness for rescue. You know I didn't see daylight for over a year and I was one of the lucky ones, getting favouritism due to Hel pretending to be a main deity in Evilus. I prayed to whatever could hear me, to any god that you would come and save me, save me like you did to those people you saved from that massive fire."

"You... saw that?" Ryu asked but Nathan just continued.

"I begged to the Gods, begging them for me to be next, to free from this torment, but they never answered so after a while I stopped praying."

"Why didn't you come to us!" Ryu asked again, this time the anger had left her voice as she could only watch tensely as the boy's voice rose louder.

"I was scared! I barely knew the world and ever since I left home, all I received was pain. The only person to pass a kindness was Hel and that was fake but at least it gave me some warmth. But it was her I was scared of the most. I didn't reach out to you because I was scared of what she'd do... and I was proven right."

"What do you mean?"

"... you know how I said that the 27th floor happened to teach me a lesson?" Nathan said, his voice having lowered. Ryu nodded, scared to even talk now as once again the demise of her family was brought up. "Y-you said it was because she wanted you to learn what death was and to be close to it," She answered.

The boy let out a pitiful smirk as looked anywhere but at her. "That was part of it I guess. But no, the lesson was something else. You see, when I turned 10 I was contemplating about it... coming to you for help."

Ryu's eyes widened in surprise.

"After a time of 'good service' I was given more freedom and was able to explore the surface. By then I had my instinct ability and my Nightcrawler skill, you know the one that allows me to hide in the shadows, so I was made into a spy as well as a..." Nathan stopped himself, his left hand gripping his right arm tightly. "Well, I started spying on the Loki and Freya Familia but then I saw them, the Astrea Familia." At that, Ryu noticed Nathan's shoulders sag in what seemed to be relief.

"They were... amazing, to 10-year-old me anyway. They shone so bright, wanting to bring justice and safety to the surface world. I grew fascinated to a point where I stopped spying on the other Familia's and only solely watched them."

Ryu cringed slightly, not knowing how to feel at Nathan's omission to watching her and her sisters daily but she was also sad about what the outcome would be.

"I started seeing that they really wanted to help, unlike Finn Deimne who just wanted Evilus destroyed. The thought started creeping into my mind, to ask for help. Maybe they would understand, maybe the Goddess Astrea would be kind and merciful to me and those who were trapped, even if I was a murderer."

"Then why didn't you?" Ryu pleaded, not understanding why the boy wouldn't come to her for help. So much pain might've been avoided. The boy shuck his head as the smirk dropped from his face as he bit his lip.

"Well Goddess Hel got suspicious and since I wasn't giving a clear answer whenever she asked about my day... well, she drugged me and forced the truth out."

Ryu's throat tightened. She didn't want to hear what happened next but she knew she needed to, no matter what.

"The next thing I knew, I was awake on the 27th floor as monsters flooded the floor and screams filled the air. I was trapped, forced backwards, fighting for my life. I must've killed easily 300 hundred monsters that day but I fell further down until I reached floor 33."

Ryu's heart beated faster as the images of that day raced in her mind. She knew what happened on floor 33.

"When I fell onto that floor an overwhelming presence that held so much pressure almost made me throw-up... then I saw it. Blood, body parts everywhere. I recognised them all. Some belonged to the Rudra Familia, some to..."

Nathan didn't need to finish the sentence as Ryu gripped her uniform in anger and sadness as she too remembered that nightmarish sight that the monster caused.

"-did you see it?" Ryu's voice was barely a whisper.

"I did," Nathan muttered, knowing what Ryu was referring to. "But it saw me first."

Ryu's eyes shot up at that. Did Nathan just admit to the Juggernaut attacking him.

"-how?"

"Honestly, I still don't know. My instinct ability did most of the work and I just slashed when I needed to, my wind magic being key to winning. When it attacked me, it was badly injured, like seriously injured. I don't know what you guys did to it but I was only level 2 but I managed to beat it."

"Wait! You beat it at level 2!" Ryu shouted out. Her Familia was made up of level 4s and 3s and they had been slaughtered, had she done that much damage to the monster. No, the person sitting in front of her, she had come to realise it. He really was a killer. It only made her angrier.

"How do you think I got to level 3, though I didn't come out... unscathed," He finished off, his fingers following the invisible scars along his back where the monster had shredded his skin away.

"After that, I made my way back to Knossos and my mind went from me. I became Hel's obedient servant that she always wanted and did her bidding without question. It was during my time between level 3 and 4 where I killed the most, not questioning it... she really did break me huh?"

Nathan leant back down on the log. He waited for an answer, an uproar, a beating from the Gale Wind but he got nothing. He looked through his glasses and into her eyes and saw a whirl of emotions, ones he couldn't make out.

In truth, he was too busy supressing his own emotions. Revisiting his past had only made him more volatile, more willing to kill the Freya Familia. He knew he couldn't control them forever but for now, with Hestia with him, he had to remain at a certain degree of calm.

"Why now?"

Nathan was confused at Ryu's question as he raised an eyebrow as he stared at the elf.

"Why tell me now? Why me? What point will it make? Did you want to make me angry or did you just want to get it off your chest?" Ryu started talking with an icy tone. Nathan stuttered. He was unsure why he had done it.

"Did you think I would forgive you?"

Of course not, Nathan knew that he could never be forgiven. Ryu just huffed in disappointment at the lack of reaction from the half-elf. She could see it; his mind was weak. That made him dangerous so she chose not to prod him even more but she made her point clear.

"So... now what?" Nathan tilted his head in confusion. "When do we return to the city and what is the plan, do you even have a plan?" Ryu battered Nathan with her questions, the prior conversation making her just as cold and emotionless as Nathan.

Nathan did have a plan and Ryu saw it as he clenched at his blades.

"Seriously, you plan on just killing them all."

"It's the only thing I'm good at," Nathan mumbled in half-hearted reply. Ryu just clicked her tongue at it.

"Well, you do what you want. Tomorrow, I'm going to sneak back in and find out what I can and help who I can... especially Bell."

"I've got Bell and the rest of my Familia," Nathan retorted but Ryu shot him a look that made him flinch.

"Oh and do you think they want to see you slaughter almost a hundred people; do you think that is how Bell want's to be saved. We don't even know what Freya wants with Bell."

Nathan began to open his mouth; to tell Ryu about Syr and the truth but he withheld it. He didn't know which one was more spiteful, telling the elf that her closest friend betrayed her or having her find out for herself but Nathan wasn't in the mood to help Ryu right now. Instead, he turned back around.

"I'm getting a bit of rest, I suggest you do the same but do what you want," Nathan mumbled to the elf sitting behind him as he slipped off the log and leant back on it. His blades were drawn across his lap, showing he was ready to anticipate any attack.

Ryu just looked at the half-elf. The things she had learnt only served to cloud her mind even further. What was she supposed to make of the boy that had been the cause of her sister's death. Was it even his fault? Was his age a good enough excuse? Part of her shouted out to hurt the boy, the one who had been responsible for the continuation of the terrorists that plagued Orario long after than they should have.

But then his eyes re-appeared. The jade only conflicted her further. At that moment, she wished nothing more than to talk to her Goddess, to search for guidance. But Ryu didn't have that luxury so she slumped down and leant against the log, getting some rest.

As the two enemies closed their eyes, Hestia opened her just a bit. Having heard most of the conversation, she did her best to not interrupt. It seemed good for both of them to talk about their shared past but it took a lot of effort for Hestia to not break down in tears at her child's childhood.

Hestia shut her eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep. The memories of today festered in her mind. Seeing the weapons of her children broken and scattered in front of her. The way Freya touched Bell, demanded her to give him over. It made Hestia's blood boil. For every moment she remained conscious, her mind stewed.

"This is my final offer. One last show of kindness and compassion."

Those had been the words Freya had said to her before Nathan appeared. The Goddess had demanded not only the right to her beloved child but also threatened to kill her other one. That was something she would not forget. It was something she would not forgive.

The inferno that blazed in Hestia's mind continued to burn until she allowed rest to take her once more.

Hestia woke up a couple of hours later. It was night but the sky was not completely dark as a bit the sky held a bit of lighter shade, signifying the sun would rise within the hour. She blinked a few times, unable to see even a few metres in front of her.

"Nathan?" She called out.

"Yes, Lady Hestia," Her child responded, his voice was still emotionless and cold but he responded to her.

"What's the plan?" She asked calmly, knowing that the half-elf was terrible at going to sleep and he probably spent most of his allocated rest thinking. Nathan didn't respond. By that time, Hestia's eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could make out Nathan and Ryu. The fire from earlier had been put out and she was thankful of it being the summer in Orario.

"I'm going back to see what's happened, to check on my friends and find Bell," Ryu responded, making her objectives clear. Hestia thanked her for caring about her child but she still looked at Nathan, waiting for an answer.

"Nathan, you know I need to get back. We read Hermes' letter."

"What letter?" Ryu asked. Hestia raised an eyebrow; she would've thought Nathan would've told her. As Nathan raced past Hermes on his escape, Hermes had been holding a letter that Nathan snatched away. After they had escaped and landed here, Hestia and Nathan had read it. It detailed the plans on what Hermes thought would happen and the way to resolve it and Hestia was the key to breaking Freya's charm.

"Nathan, why didn't you tell her." Hestia saw that Nathan was withholding the information on purpose. "Answer me."

Nathan clenched his hands at the command as he avoided eye contact. "I..." He began. "I don't like it. I don't want you even near that city, not while it's like that."

"Like what, can you please tell me," Ryu asked, still not knowing the situation. Hestia gave one last look at Nathan who was still unwilling to cooperate.

"Freya has charmed the whole city and now has full control over it, including the Guild." Hestia explained.

"W-what, she can do that? Why?"

"For Bell," Nathan responded, his fists scrunching tightly.

"I-I don't understand. Goddess Freya want's Bell and she'd charm the entire city for him..."

The silence confirmed Ryu's question who, after thinking for a second, shot Nathan a furious look.

"Why didn't you mention it!" She shouted out, frustrated with the secrecy of the half-elf.

Instead of a response, Nathan stood up and picked up his swords.

"Ryu, you stay here and protect Lady Hestia."

"Nathan!" Hestia objected.

"W-what? No! Did you not here me, I'm going back!" Ryu shouted out; her voice raw with anger at being given a command from the half-elf.

"If Freya finds out Lady Hestia is in the city, she'll send her back to heaven. You are to stay here and protect her."

"And what do you plan on doing?" Hestia asked, her voice getting louder as well, not liking what Nathan was asking. "Do you plan on taking the whole Freya Familia by yourself?"

Nathan let a silence descend again. This made Hestia's eyes go wide in shock as her question was given a terrifying answer.

"You can't be serious!" Ryu remarked but Nathan ignored her and began walking away. Enraged, Ryu marched up to him and went to grab his shoulder but Nathan avoided it and instead grabbed her wrist.

Ryu felt a wave of disgust at being touched by someone she viewed as a monster and went to slap Nathan away, who simply dodged it before pushing her wrist away. He didn't turn to look at her as she fell away, the only movement he did was sheath his swords on either side of his waist.

He didn't look at Hestia or Ryu, only staying still for a moment before the half-elf activated his wind magic and shot up into the sky.

Both Hestia and Ryu just stared up at the sky where Nathan disappeared into. Ryu was enraged at what just happened and Hestia wasn't doing much better. She accepted he was thinking of her safety but they were in no position to think like that.

Hestia stared at Ryu, expecting her to run away and chase after Nathan, leaving her here. But to the elf's credit, she stood up and looked over the Goddess.

"Goddess Hestia, explain to me fully what Lord Hermes' plan is."

Nathan raced through the sky, climbing further and further. The wind whistled in his ears as he raced towards the stars. He knew he couldn't reach them; he'd tried before as he almost collapsed from a lack of air. This time he wasn't aiming for the stars.

He knew that Freya Familia would be patrolling the city walls, looking for him, Ryu and Hestia. Even with the argument, he knew Ryu would not abandon Hestia. That was why he left, forcing her hand to participate in his plan.

He had wanted to leave during the middle of the night but wanted to wait for Hestia to wake up before he left. It felt wrong leaving her like that, not that he left her in a better position.

He didn't care that it was a bad thing to do or that it might have upset Hestia. He was beyond caring about that. Hestia had been right when she thought the half-elf had been awake instead of resting and his mind had been driving him insane.

He straightened out his trajectory and went at full speed towards the Tower that pierced through the clouds. Only a few floors were nestled this far up and everyone knew who those floors belonged to.

As Nathan got within two miles of his target, he unsheathed his blades. He eyed where he should strike. Should he take out the whole bit of the tower that stretched out and let it plummet to the earth along with anyone who was in it.

But then what if Freya was keeping Bell up there or the rest of his Familia as hostages. Was he willing to risk it?

Nathan enhanced his eyesight and when he saw the tower closely, he clicked his tongue in frustration. He was on the wrong side from where the giant glass window was. He couldn't see if anyone he cared about was on the top floor. But that meant he still had the advantage of not being spotted.

As Nathan flew through the final mile, he bared his swords ready to strike. Aiming for the top floor, he slashed through the stone wall. Debris went everywhere as chunks of stone flew past him, whipping in the wind as they plummeted to the earth below.

Nathan didn't even give a second thought at anyone below being injured as he landed on the staircase. There wasn't much in the giant area he landed in, only a few magic stone lanterns that illuminated the space and the giant staircase. The lanterns rattled on the walls as their hinges kept them from being flung out the giant hole.

Nathan stayed still for a moment as the wind whipped through his hair. He didn't try to fight it as his glasses flew off his face and joined the conclave of stone that fell to the ground below. All the half-elf did was listen.

He knew that his impact had created noise, a loud one. Yet the doors in front of him remained shut and no noise came from inside. Nathan scowled as he marched up to the giant metallic doors and with a swift, wind enchanted kick, he smashed through the giant double doors and entered.

A sickly sweet smell infested his nose as he looked around the giant room and his brow furrowed even more. He was right, the room was empty. No Bell. No Lili, Welf, Mikoto or Haruhime. No Ottar or Allen. No Freya.

He walked into the room as the darkness from outside filtered in, only being pushed back by the lanterns that were on in the Goddess' room at the top of the world.

Everything Nathan saw pissed him off. The giant bed, the stacks and stacks of bookshelves, the wine cabinet. Everything infuriated him as it only reminded of the bitch that had taken his friend away and threatened his Goddess.

The wind from the hole in the wall was still howling as it swayed into the giant room. Nathan remained still a bit longer, listening and hoping for any noise below him. Anyone that he could attack and get information from.

There was still nothing, only the howling wind could be heard, even with Nathan's hearing. That was until the faintest noise made its way through the wind.

'Screaming.'

Nathan was all too familiar with that sound. It was faint, very faint but there was no mistaking it. Nathan turned around and faced the giant hole that he made as his entrance. He quickly realised where the screaming was coming from.

There had been people below where he had smashed through the wall and most likely some people had been hurt from the falling debris. That was of no concern to Nathan but it made him realise something else. This would surely attract attention.

Nathan turned around. He began looking through the Goddess' room once more, this time with a sick, sadistic grin on his lips as he grasped his blades once more and started filtering his magic into them.

All this nice furniture. All this luxurious décor and rare items. All of them belonged to Freya. Nathan readied his swords, intent on sending a message.

And with a swing of his swords, his razor sharp wind smashed into the giant pane of glass, smashing it instantly.

Hedin had rushed to the scene after being notified. He was still on high alert, as were the rest of the Familia. Freya had ordered an around the clock search for the Goddess Hestia and her child. Not even Hogni had been spared from guard duty as he saw Heath for a few minutes to heal his wound shut before he went back out again, one arm down.

Ottar remained back in Folkvangr not even moving an inch from their Lady who was most likely watching Bell Cranel sleeping in his own bedroom they had created in order to trick him.

Hedin had been informed of the incident by one of his underlings and he raced to the main square. As he got there, he winced.

Giant pieces of stone had smashed into the brick-layered ground. He looked around, seeing a few stains of blood as he assumed at least one person had been very unfortunate. That didn't matter right now as Hedin quickly evaluated the scene and knew where those pieces of stone had come from.

He looked up with a scowl as the cloud cover blocked his view from seeing the gaping hole in the tower that he was sure was there. But as he looked up, something caught his eye. He squinted as he tried to deduce the object. Then he realised it wasn't just one object.

"Clear the area!" he commanded as a thousand shards of glass flew to the ground. They shredded through the clothes of any who were in the firing range, cutting through the skin. Hedin saw one of his Familia members look up just as a shard glass slammed into his eye, causing him to scream out in pain. Hedin stared at the shard, recognising the colour. He threw his head back up and his eyes widened in shock.

It was books. The hundreds of books his Goddess at collected over the years, some of them he had found himself. They began crashing into the floor.

The people in the danger zone began sprinting for cover as the desperately dodged the artillery that was raining down on them. Whie the books showered the ground, bottles of wine followed next as they smashed on impact, the liquid splashing everywhere as even more glass was added to the shower that hailed down on the ones that still hadn't managed to escape.

Hedin saw one, his legs having been sliced to pieces by the glass was screaming out in pain, pleading for help. Before anyone even thought of going to help him, he was silenced by another item. Goddess Freya's double sized bed slammed into the ground, shattering into pieces as the wood splintered and flew into all sorts of directions, directly hitting the adventurer on the skull. His screaming stopped but it only made the rest of the terror increase.

Hedin watched as anarchy unfolded, clutching his sword tightly. He shot his gaze back towards the top of the tower. He knew that only person was responsible. He hoped that the half-elf bastard felt his bloodlust. The destruction of the most sacred being's possession was blasphemy and he, along with every other Freya Familia member would not stand for it. And now that the Lady Freya had the whole city under control with her charm, she would send everyone at him.

"I'll fucking gut him!" Allen hissed out as he stared up at the tower.

"""Unforgivable! Die!""" The three Prum brothers spat up at Skias Alf.

Hogni stared upwards, clutching the stump where his right arm had been as his body shivered in anger.

This was a direct message they had all understood.

'Everything. Not just you and your children, I will destroy everything.'

And Nathan has sent his message and is back in Orario. Next chapter, which is already halfway finished as well, will be the last chapter before the actual Battle as, like in my other story, I just keep writing stuff I find interesting.

I hope you enjoyed more history being discovered, especially Nathan's kill count. Let me know if you think it is too high or low. I did have it a bit higher but he's only killed about 200 evilus max with the return to Knossos so I turned it down a bit. And what did you thnk of Ryu's part int he Convo.

I hope this chapter is a bit better, I don't feel bad about it like I did with last chapter.

On with ther reviews and I just want to say, thanks for support, it is appreciated and it's made me appreciate you guys more too.

NinjaFang1331 - Cheers mate

alex882 - Thank you man, it means a lot. I know fanfic isn't as 'important' to get right as a proper book but people have invested time in this, it is over 45 chapters and almost 300k words, they deserve good stuff and I hope to keep giving it.

Roland Tepes - Hermes can useful sometimes and no, Nathan wasn't going to wait around for that long.

jank7457 - Thanks jank, you've been supproting me almost from the start with both my stories and I appreciate you. I like to think I do things different and my own way but part of that is re-thinking stuff. Like this chapter, especailly the ryu converstaion, has kept me up long into the night with constant re-writes. And thx, I'll do my best.

Guest - I am also sad about Nathan, he's had it hard.

As always, thanks for reading. The next chapter will be soon like this one as I said it is almost done. I'll see ya next time, Peace!