Sorry for missing last week guys! Had a pretty bad flu and it kinda hit me hard. Don't worry though, we're back! New chapter of Homecoming is also going to go up today as a bonus, so make sure you read that! And another one this Friday! I'm so generous. Also had fun reading what unanswered questions you think about, Now I know what plot holes I've created.

I'm joking.

Or am I?

Enjoy!

"It seems that your friend didn't exactly do all the math did she?" Athena asked.

Damien knew that she was just assuming that, obviously because she thought she had it figured all out. Damien had obviously been during the time when Ken was giving them the rundown of the battle plan, and when it came to Athena it seemed to truly stump the group. With that being said, Damien had offered to take her on. From what he could see, he even had the advantage in this fight.

Athena, from what the origin mythos told then, was that she was the Goddess of Wisdom. From what Ken could figure out she was the brains of the whole operation. Hell, it was possible those screens that always floated around her was Archive magic. Ken used that to deduce that she probably had an entire battle plan figured out no matter who they set after her, making her a massive problem.

Which was where Damien came in.

Damien knew that if the hypothesis was true, Athena would have a plan for everyone. Obviously including himself. But, there was one thing he may have had over her; he couldn't takeover into Xisplate. If Athena'd had planned for him, she would probably have taken that into account. But if he couldn't do it, then he could through her entire plan out of wack. And just like that, take her out. If all she had was her intelligence, than preventing her from using it to it's max potential was it's best option. Only problem being is that they were supposed to be getting backup from Drake, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe she did," he said, finally replying. "I'm not sure what the plan was at all."

'There's an 85% chance that that is a lie," Athena replied, staring at them through the screens circling her. "Of that, there is a 75% chance that you were not given a plan because you cannot out smart me, and the remaining 10% is that you do have a plan, but refuse to say regardless. And of course, a 15% chance that you really don't know what the plan is, even if there is one." The woman were just rattling off numbers as if either of them had any idea what she was talking about, but Damien knew for sure that he had no idea what she was getting at.

"So what do we do?" Bella asked under her breath. Damien really didn't know what to tell her. The whole problem presented by Athena was her battle sense and intelligence. If they could get past her she'd probably go down easy, but getting to her was the problem. The plan had been to have the boy listen to her plans, but that was clearly not an option now.

"We go with the original plan," Damien replied. "I'll go after her, and you try and look for any weaknesses she may have."

"I don't know why Ken assigned me to help you." Bella muttered. "Without Meridia, I can't fight hand to hand. And I'm not good fighting a woman without her." Damien knew that. They'd already found out that Bella could still use seduction magic on male targets, much like Damien could still use a base demon form. But against a woman it would do no good, and like she said, without the takeover she was pretty much a back liner.

"Yeah, you should have fought one of the male Olympians. That being said, I'm glad you're right here. That way I can keep an eye on you." Deep down though, Damien knew why Bella was assigned here. Ken didn't have faith in her capabilities without Meridia, and he didn't want her hurt. At the same time though, he respected Bella's wish to fight alongside everyone else. So he sent her to the safest fight there was.

"Are we going to be beginning soon?" Athena asked. "I begin to bore of talk, and I really do need to go back and find the girl."

"Keep your eyes out for any openings in her defence," Damien said, taking over into his base demon form. He really had to thank his lucky stars that still worked. Maybe because it was an absorbed soul and not a link with another. "And let me know if you see it."

"Be careful," Bella replied. "She's smart, and strong. I can tell." Damien nodded, he could tell the same thing. Preparing himself, Damien unfurled his wings and shot into the sky, and then down to the left to prepare a strike. Despite the wind rushing around him, Athena's voice echoed in his ears.

"There is a 90% chance you will start the fight in your base form," she said. "In order to gauge my strength and see if you can take me out without Xisplate. If you do, there is 83% chance you will attempt to strike me from the side and a 17% chance you will rush in headlong. A good strategy." Damien's eyes widened as Athena bowed easily underneath his strike and then dodged his follow up uppercut, sidestepping him like a dancer.

"H-How did she do that?" Bella asked from behind him.

"I don't know," Damien hissed, keeping his eye on Athena as she did the same to him. He rushed in again, this time flying behind her and attempting to grab her.

"There is a 65% chance you will try the same strategy to test if my previous evasion was purely luck." Athena said, dodging him again and rolling away. "If you do, there is a 32% chance you will continue for a few more strikes." Damien felt angry that he stopped as she said this, making her calculation true. Even if he did go in though, would it have mattered? She probably had a strategy if he did.

"She's just spitting out calculations," Bella said. "I don't get it?"

"I wouldn't expect you to," Athena replied. "It's not a magic I've seen used in Fiore." Great, so it was magic that they'd never even see before. "It is more common back in Pergrande. It is referred to as Strategy Magic. Using it, I can create complex and intricate plans that can branch out like a spider web. I can think of any combination, any outcome. If there's a chance it could happen, I thought of it and factored it into the overall plan. With that being said, there is nothing you can do. No plan you could come up with, I had a strategy for every coupling off, every group fight, every swing of a sword and every breather you take."

"Did you want to keep flaunting it, Ms. I Am Very Smart?" Damien demanded, growing annoyed with her ranting. "Because all I'm hearing is smack talk."

If you don't want to believe me, that is your own concern." Athena said as she shrugged. "Please come and try it again, I can guarantee not a single attack will land."

"Damien don't be stupid!" Bella shouted. "She wouldn't lie about it, she's too confident!" Damien knew that, he'd seem it already. She'd been so casual in avoiding him already that there was no way she was just spit balling. Growing irritated, Damien raised his hand and prepared a volley of darkness. As he did so, Athena smiled.

"In the event you try a ranged attack, there is 92% chance it will be a volley of attacks, perhaps at random as to make it so I cannot predict where they will go. An excellent take on the situation. That being said-" Damien blasted off his attacks, and seven different blasts of darkness flew towards Athena without waiting for even a moment.

If she avoids every single one, we're in trouble.

Four were ahead of the others in a square shape, aiming to take at least a chunk out of Athena's chest. The woman watched the blasts warily before she gracefully ducked underneath them, but this left her in the radius of the remaining blasts. Even so, Damien wasn't done. He sent off countless more blasts, all aiming for the openings that she gave him.

All of the blasts, one by one, were avoided. He couldn't believe it.

"It the event of a ranged attack, the aim of the enemy will be in the openings I create for them. Purposefully creating these openings to lure you in is all that is required to make it out." Athena stood back up straight and brushed her hair out of her face, still smirking at him. "Any other ideas? I really must focus on my main task."

Damien really hoped this was going better for everyone else.

Drake could hear explosions and the clanging of steel all around him, but it didn't concern him. Not as much as reaching Elise and Luna. He was following after the girls using his sound magic, and he'd heard Elise get into a fight and Luna be taken onto a transport by Hephaestus. The two were fighting at that very moment, and he needed to get there and give her assistance. The last thing he needed was for them to get Luna already.

"My my, you're a handsome one." Drake jumped at this and retracted his hearing from Elise's fight. He'd been so focused on her that he hadn't heard this woman approach him. Right out of the gate he knew she was one of The Olympians, he'd seen her back at the meeting. She was wearing what looked like some sort of dress, pure white in colour, and a laurel wreath emblazoned on her chest. As he met her gaze, her piercing golden eyes made his stomach queasy, which coupled with her black hair falling down her shoulders so gracefully made him strangely attracted to her. Despite knowing she was the enemy, he couldn't help but feel attracted to her.

Wait. The Mythos.

Eyes widening, Drake turned away from the woman and clenched his eyes as shut as he could make them, making her laugh.

"It seems you did know more than we thought. You figured me out quite quickly."

"Of course we did our research," Drake replied as his head began to go fuzzy. "Besides, I have a friend similiar to you. I recognised the feeling quickly enough."

"Ah yes. The Succubus friend. I was told our powers are similar. That being said..." Drake listened attentively as the woman began to approach him, and he readied his fists. He didn't need his eyes to fight her, so as long as he didn't-

"Open your eyes."

Drake's eyes snapped open and his head whirled back to the woman. She smiled at him as she reached forward and cupped his face in her hands. No matter how much he argued with himself, Drake couldn't break free from the spell. He knew what she was doing, why couldn't he break free from her?!

"W-What are you doing to me?" He demanded as she got closer to his face. He felt blood rushing to his cheeks as she did, and she chuckled softly.

"I suppose The Succubus and I are a bit different," she said. "Yes, at their core both our powers revolve around the seduction of our enemy. Ha, except mine isn't limited to men. How does that make you feel?"

Drake wasn't sure he really needed to tell her that.

"It's called Hormonal Magic," she said. "I can use ether-nano to control the hormonal balance in your body. Generally I only use it for means like this...But that's just the beginning. Hormones control all manners of things in a persons body. If control is taken by a third-party..."

The woman kissed Drake full on the lips, and his mind went blank. His body slumped over her, and she grinned as she snapped her fingers. Drake stood back upright, his eyes dead but attentive.

"You're going to help me take down your friends," she said with a smile. "How does that sound?"

"That sounds great," Drake replied in a monotone. "Where shall I start?"

"Hermes is fighting close by. Go over pretending to help and take your friends down when you get the chance. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am. I'll get right on it."

Aphrodite watched as Drake walked away, a smile still on her face.

"Let's see how they handle fighting themselves and us at the same time."

Winter didn't like how this battle was going. For one thing, it didn't seem like Hermes was willing to give them any sort of opening.

For another, he wasn't using any original spells.

Every time someone else's magic got to close, he touched it and then blasted it back in their own direction himself. It was odd, and she didn't like it.

"Can someone please explain this guy to me?" She demanded. "I don't get it!"

"It's probably some sort of thievery magic!" Ken shouted from the back line. "He's their patron Saint in the mythology."

"That sure gives us a lot of openings," Taro hissed, wiping sweat from his brow. "So we're fighting our own spells."

"We're better at our magic than he is," Terra replied, preparing herself for another engage. "Sp we have the upper hand. Don't lose faith."

Winter had to admit, this was probably Juno's sloppiest teleport so far. Instead of splitting them up more equally, all of Blue Pegasus except for Mami and Bella, and all Lamia Scale had been sent with Hermes. It didn't even seem like all of them being here had done them much good either, because Hermes as just giving it to them rough. He was way too fast and way to strong, especially if all he was going to do was steal their spells.

"Jackson, do you think you could out run him?" Winter asked, turning to the black haired boy crouched near her. "If you could, we may be able to keep an even playing field."

"You're asking a bit much, Winter." He replied, grimacing. "Dude is moving way faster than I am. Jeez, I didn't think joining this guild would get me in situations like this..." Ignoring the former students complaining, Winter turned her attention back to Hermes. Given his attack style, it was clear he was going to wait for them to make the first move. What that move was going to be, exactly, she didn't know. What was the point of even concocting one if he'd just steal it away from them?

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do." Terra said, taking charge. "I'm going to manipulate the earth beneath him and make him move. When I do, you need to keep pace with him Jackson. Don't give me this I'm too slow shit, you can do it!" This shut down Jackson's initial complaint, making him frown.

"I'll try my best," he replied.

"When he stops, which will probably be to surprise attack one of us, call it out. When he does, Taro, you need to encase him in a sphere of air. Can you do it?"

"Of course I am, sweetheart," Taro replied, straightening his classy jacket as he was called for. "I've got it." Terra nodded.

"And Winter, I need you to help me make him move. I doubt changing his footing will be enough."

"Got it," Winter replied. After this, Terra raised her arms and made the earth beneath Hermes rise, which made him look surprised as it started to flip over. The man began to jump away, but Winter was ready. she sent volley after volley of wind at him, making him fumble his footing a few times as he tried to regain it. Soon enough he disappeared in a blur, and Jackson did the same. Winter kept her ears and eyes open as the two sped around the clearing, clearly fighting a speed battle. After a few blows, Jackson hit the dirt in front of her, coughing.

"Jackson?" She asked. "Where is-?"

"TERRA MOVE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Winter's eyes widened, and she whirled around just in time to see Hermes prepared to run Terra through with the staff he was carrying. Terra didn't even bother moving, she simply caused a pillar of earth to erupt from behind her, which blocked the strike. Hermes stumbled back at this, and Taro made his move. He encased the man in a sphere on air.

"Suck it dry," Terra ordered. Knock him out."

"You got it," Taro said, clenching his fist to carry out the order. Winter watched as the air in the sphere began to tighten and dissipate. Hermes, however, didn't seem worried.

"Ah, I see you're going for the quick knockout." He said.

"We need to help the others," Winter said, ignoring him. "Does anyone know where the others are? Which fight would be the hardest?"

"Probably the one against Ares," Ken provided. "If Juno got it right, Nami and Simon are fighting him. Mami as backup as well, which I hope worked out. So we should head for-!"

Ken was cut off as a sphere of air circled around him, similar to Taro's, and began to constrict his air.

"Are you kids really that dumb?" Hermes asked. Winter whirled to find the man standing where he had been, completely fine. "I can steal your spells. All I had to do was take it."

"Ken!" Akio shouted, pounding at the sphere. "Taro, can you let him out?!"

"No, of course I can't!" Taro shouted. "It's technically not my spell!"

"Let him go!" Terra shouted, raising fifteen pillars into the sky. Winter took action and propelled them with her magic, making them fly at high speeds at Hermes. Of course, though, he evaded it.

"I'll do no such thing," Hermes said from the void as he sped around them. "Unless, of course, you give up and tell me the location of one Nashi Dragneel. We've wasted enough time here, and I'd rather not fight children I can spare."

"Shut the hell up and come out!" Winter said. "You're not taking her!" Using her Sky God Magic, Winter took control of the air around them and concentrated, feeling movement off to her left. "Sky God's Whirlwind!" She shouted, forcing the wind to move as hard against Hermes as it could, which slowed him down a considerable amount. He came to a hard stop and tried to keep his footing against the wind, which gave Jackson his opening. The boy sped forth and kicked Hermes square in the face, sending him backwards into a tree. With this the mans control of the sphere around Ken faded, letting the boy breath again. Ken collapsed to his knees and started to cough, roughed up but alive.

"I see," Hermes said. "The Sky God is a problem." Before Winter could even say anything the man had disappeared. She made a face and prepared to use her whirlwind again, but before she could she sensed a presence behind her.

She turned just in time to see Hermes about to bring the Caduceus of his staff down on her head, probably to crack her skull and kill her. There was no time to move, it was already nearing her forward with ever second.

Until the man was kicked to the side by an unknown force. Hermes flew away from her, and Winter was spared lethal brain damage. Her saviour landed on his feet, and turned to look at her with a smile on his face.

"Playing it risky, aren't you Winter?" He asked. Winter tried to hide the relief that flooded her face, but she knew she did a shitty job.

"You should know that," She said as she smiled at Drake. "I dated you. I'm a risk taker."

You know, I think my ability to write good fight scenes has diminished a lot in recent years. What do you guys think? I don't really like my fight scenes these recent chapters, I don't know what it is. It's weird. Whatever, onto todays actual question!

As of the first half of this arc, we're probably just past the halfway mark for the story (seriously). So given this, where do you guys think I'll take the story for its finale? Let me hear your theories! I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!

Chapter 219: Old Friends