Familia Myth: Journey to Hero Chapter 46

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Familia Myth: Journey to Hero! The Loki Familia has asked for secret assistance from the Hestia Familia for their first raid on the enemy base. The remnants of Evilus and those helping the Corrupted Spirit deep within the Dungeon are seemingly gathered in one place. But Cassandra’s dreams the night before were filled with blood and terror, pain and loss, horrible things will happen, but no one ever believes her…until Bell asks her for more details.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 46 – First Raid of Knossos (Part 1)

In the Hearth District, the locals that had moved in, along with those just visiting the newly opened shops and restaurants, all turned their heads to watch as a woman in a black cloak walked through the street. From the instant that she’d entered, every eye had been on her, even with all of her body covered up, just the glimpses of her face alone were enough to take hold of everyone’s attention. Even if she wasn’t trying to make such a scene, it was simply a natural part of the woman’s existence.

“Still, they’re only looking, so it’s better than it has been in the past.” Freya commented softly to herself as she walked along. She noticed more than a few men and women actually shaking their heads and snapping out of their staring as well, which was quite unusual, but a very welcome and rare experience for Freya. “Husbands and wives, I believe?” She whispered under her breath, a cute smile crossing her lips at seeing Love overcoming Desire. While she was a Goddess of both Domains, she very much enjoyed when her beauty was rebuffed by true love. “It seems Hestia’s Domain Divinity has grown stronger since the last time I was over for tea.” The Domain of Family reinforced every connection between members of a family, including the love they held for each other, allowing the mortals that held those ties to shake off her passive Beauty and Desire while she kept herself wrapped in her cloak.

With her mood already brighter as she saw more and more people NOT staring at her as if in a trance, Freya made her way towards the Hearth Household. A few children running across her path, laughing a giggling as they headed towards the park at the end of the street, made Freya smile warmly. When she reached the Hearth Household she politely knocked on the door and waited for it to open. She still felt the eyes of her ‘guards’ on her, of course, her ‘children’ unable to let her go about unprotected, but it was more than tolerable and just a sign of their love for her.

“Freya!” Hestia greeted the other Goddess as she opened the front door of her home. “Come in! You’re right on time!” She smiled warmly as she invited her friend inside and closed the door behind them.

“Lovely to see you again, Hestia.” Freya smiled as she unclasped her black cloak and let Hestia take it to hang up beside the door. “And you as well, of course, Hephaestus.” She greeted the other Goddess that was already sitting on one of the couches in front of the hearth.

Hephaestus smiled and nodded as well. “Good morning to you, Freya.”

As Freya sat down on the same couch as Hephaestus, leaving a space between them respectfully, Hestia poured her a cup of tea and offered her the plate of snacks that she’d made for their tea time. Hestia was a good cook through her Domain of the Hearth, but was equally welcoming and hospitable through her Domain of Home.

“Your cooking is still as good as ever, Hestia.” Hephaestus complimented her aunt as she took another snack from the tray and happily munched on it.

“Thank you, Hephaestus.” Hestia smiled at her niece for the compliment. She was, after all, the chief Deity of food and cookery amongst their Pantheon. But it was still nice to hear compliments on her cooking all the same.

Freya sipped her tea, enjoying both the aroma and taste, before setting the teacup down and taking one of the offered snacks with the fork that had been lying next to her teacup saucer. “Oh, what is this?” She asked after finishing the meatball.

“Keftedes.” Hestia answered with a gentle smile. “There’s also Spanakopita, Dolmades, and some cheese and bread.” She pointed out a pita pie of flaky dough, spinach and cheese, green rolls of some type of leaf that appeared to be stuffed with rice, onions, and herbs, and the fresh bread with cheese.

“It’s lovely.” Freya said with a warm smile, happy that she was able to enjoy a warm and calm moment with friends, rather than the ‘yes men’ that almost constantly surrounded her. “You truly go all out for our tea time.”

Hephaestus picked up one of the small plates of Spanakopita and cut into the piece of pita pie with a smile. “I’m certainly not going to complain.” She joked as she speared the cut off piece and happily popped it into her mouth.

Hestia beamed at both Hephaestus and Freya as they enjoyed the snacks and tea. She had her own tea and some of the food as well as they all just enjoyed their time together. A bit of light conversation was shared between the three Goddesses as they enjoyed the tea and food, but the main topic of the meeting came up shortly afterward.

“You mentioned that your Familia is in a bit of a ‘situation’ in your letter, Hestia.” Freya mentioned as she set her nearly empty teacup back on the saucer, giving her friend a look of curiosity.

“Yes…” Hestia thought about how to explain for a moment before just going for the straightforward approach. “You see, my ‘child’, Mikoto, who came from Takemikazuchi’s Familia, was brought information about a sighting of an old childhood friend in Orario. This friend had suddenly disappeared from the Far East when they were all children.” Hestia told Hephaestus and Freya about Mikoto, Lili, Welf, and Bell’s trip into the Pleasure District. How Bell had gotten separated from the others and ended up taken to the Ishtar Familia home, Belit Babili, and met Ishtar briefly, before he escaped and spent a while running from the many Amazons of the Berbera and the Captain of the Ishtar Familia as well. When she told them what Bell had told her about meeting Haruhime and learning the Renard’s past and current situation, she noticed Freya’s eye narrow sharply.

Hephaestus let out a long sigh. “Your Familia just keeps getting wrapped up in one situation after another, Hestia.” She held her chin thoughtfully for a short moment before looking at Hestia directly. “In this kind of situation, having the Guild intervene is the slowest, but most reliable method. But Ishtar Familia has already gone through a situation similar to this five years ago. They won that case and then destroyed the ones that accused them.”

Freya picked up her teacup and finished the tea within, setting it down and watching Hestia politely refill it, she gave her friend a short smile. “I can’t help but feel like Ishtar’s actions are yet another of her ploys to strike out at me. Even though I’ve ignored her little provocations and tricks for years, kidnapping your Captain and trying to force themselves on him is going MUCH too far.”

“The fact that they have that Renard girl as a slave while she’s also a member of the Familia is very odd as well.” Hephaestus agreed, her eyes showing a flame within as her mind worked. “Once a child has accepted our Blessing, as long as we treat them properly, most never want to leave. So, why keep her enslaved?”

“I’m sorry that I don’t have more information.” Hestia shook her head once. “The Loki Familia has offered their help, as they have suspicions that the Ishtar Familia is part of some of the strange happenings within the Dungeon lately. So, my ‘children’ are currently assisting them with their situation and we’ll receive their help with the Ishtar situation in return.”

Freya’s Divine Aura was still partially the sharp and cold of her War Domain as she considered the options. “My ‘children’ can handle the Ishtar Familia, if you’d like, Hestia.” The cool and calculating look on Freya’s face made it clear just how her Familia would ‘handle’ the situation. “Perhaps it’s time for me to say goodbye to Ishtar’s petty little rivalry?”

Hestia held up her hands in front of her, her blue eyes wide. “L-Let’s not go straight to an all-out assault right off the bat, Freya.” Seeing Freya look at her curiously, Hestia explained. “While I’m grateful for the offer, that would put your Familia on the bad side of the Guild for a while, at least. Wouldn’t it? I don’t want you to put your Familia in a bad way just to help mine.”

“She’s right.” Hephaestus agreed with Hestia. “If you go into a ‘war’ against Ishtar Familia without a proper War Game, a massive fine is the first, and least, that the Guild would have to do to your Familia. Most powerful in Orario or not, if the Guild didn’t show that they were using the full power of the law against your Familia, then others would cry ‘favoritism’, or other powerful Familias would think they could also get away with such actions since the Guild wouldn’t do anything to them.”

“Hmm, I suppose so.” Freya, while somewhat reclusive within Orario, especially for one that led the most powerful Familia, did help maintain the city’s peace and had done so since the ‘Great Feud’ when she’d joined hands with other Familias like Ganesha, Loki, and Astrea to fight back and wipe out the Evilus. She’d personally dealt the ‘fatal blow’ to more than a few of the self-proclaimed ‘Evil Gods’ back then, as it was an incredible taboo for a mortal to slay a Deity and send them back to Tenkai. “I don’t mind assisting your Familia alongside Loki Familia, Hestia. Though if Ishtar has been scheming again, and to such deplorable means, I’ll be happy to grant her the confrontation she seeks.”

Hestia smiled brightly at Freya. “Thank you very much, Freya. I really appreciate it!” She moved over to sit next to Freya on the other couch and hugged her friend warmly.

Freya blinked at the friendly affection, but smiled and hugged Hestia back. “You’re welcome, Hestia.”

Hephaestus couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in surprise at just how much the new friendship between Hestia and Freya had changed both Goddesses. ‘Hestia has changed her lazy ways since starting her Familia, and Freya has opened up a bit and actually seems happy to listen to someone else’s opinion.’ She couldn’t help but smile at the change having a Familia had brought to her aunt, and how that change was seemingly changing Orario for the better. “What are your ‘children’ helping the Loki Familia with, anyway?”

Hestia pulled back from hugging Freya and returned to her own seat before answering. “I promised that I wouldn’t spread it around, even though they kept the full situation under wraps. But I can say that because of the current situation they find themselves in, Loki has, sort of, partnered with Hermes and Dionysus.”

“Hermes and Dionysus?” Hephaestus repeated, her expression a mix of confusion, suspicion, and annoyance. “That’s already SO MANY red flags about whatever they’re caught up in.”

Hestia sighed heavily. “Yeah, that’s what told Loki.”

Both Olympian Goddesses knew EXACTLY what Hermes and Dionysus were like and just how many secrets both Gods kept. While Hermes was usually just annoyingly mischievous—it came with being a Divine Trickster—it was Dionysus that had caused more than one problem among their Pantheon.

“Anything that makes two Divine Tricksters work against it can’t be good though.” Freya hummed out as she picked up her teacup and sipped from it. Loki was considered the greatest of the Divine Tricksters in Tenkai, but for her to work with Gods that she certainly didn’t trust meant that the current situation had to be rather dire. ‘Perhaps I should look into this myself a little?’

-Loki Familia-

“Gah!” Raul cried out, jumping back as he caught sight of a monster. When he noticed it was just a very realistic statue, he looked around with a flat chuckle, seeing the rest of the Familia looking at him. “J-Just a statue… Sorry about that.”

Aki shook her head at Raul as the whole group continued onward. “Just when I thought we’d found the enemy’s hideout…it turns out to be just like the Dungeon.” Her black cat ears flicked atop her head, carefully listening for any suspicious sounds.

“Admittedly, any sort of stronghold would likely go to great lengths to hinder enemy infiltration.” Lefiya said as she walked, her eyes looking around carefully. “Though this seems a bit much.” She referred to the Orichalcum doors that they’d stumbled across after entering, blocking off one path after another.

Bam

Bam

Bam

The group stopped at a corner and saw that Cruz and a few of the other members acting as scouts were before another Orichalcum door. Even as Level 3 and Level 4 Adventurers pushed against it or slammed into it with their shoulders, the large doors remained unmoving.

“This path is blocked too.” Cruz told Finn, Gareth, and the executives with a shake of his head.

“Again?” Tione grimaced, wondering why some doors were left open while others were firmly closed. It was making not only her, but most of the group uneasy.

Finn examined the situation as he held his chin. “Our options are being limited…”

Tiona looked away from the Orichalcum door and towards Finn. “Are you saying that we’re being led somewhere?” She grinned at the idea. “That’s no problem. We can just bust our way forward if we have to!”

“Afraid it ain’t so simple, lass.” Gareth shook his head as he’d been examining the walls the entire way here. With a punch, the bricks shattered around Gareth’s fist and fell to the floor. The Dwarf pointed his thumb at the hole he’d made and Tiona leaned forward to look.

“No way…is that Adamantite?!” Tiona exclaimed at the metal she easily recognized, given that her Urga was made from it.

Gareth nodded to the Amazon. “Covered by a layer of brick, yeah…but this whole tunnel’s probably lined with rare metal.” He’d been a miner for years before he’d joined Loki Familia and had a bit of a ‘feel’ for when metal was hidden within rock. “Not unbreakable for the likes of us…but not realistic.” Smashing through Adamantite would take too long and result in injuries even for First-Class Adventurers.

Tiona looked at the length and height of the walls they’d walked down so far and her eyes nearly bugged out. “That means… Behind all of these walls…” The sheer amount of Adamantite down here was beyond what even blacksmiths would probably see in their lifetimes!

‘So this is where all the money they made in Melen went.’ Finn thought as he looked up at the ceiling, imagining all of the Adamantite behind the masonry work. ‘However, it would take more than a few years to build a place like this…decades, no, even longer.’ The size and the amount of material alone meant that this place couldn’t have been built in a short time, nor with just the money that the Evilus remnants could’ve made in Melen. “With an Orichalcum door and walls made of Adamantite…breaking in or out will be difficult. A nearly impenetrable fortress.”

“Why would the Evilus remnants build something like this?” Tione questioned as the group backtracked to the previous fork in the corridor and took the other path, letting the scouts look ahead again.

Aki said what most of the group was now thinking. “Was this place really designed to be an enemy hideout?”

The entire group was completely alert, a few sweating just slightly as they kept their eyes on the walls and ahead of their path. The unsettling thought that this place WASN’T a hideout, but something else entirely, now a firm possibility in their minds.

When the group got to the next split in the corridor, Cruz was waiting for them, having finished scouting with the others.

“There’s a staircase leading to a lower level up ahead.” Cruz pointed down the right corridor. “Another is in the opposite direction.” He pointed towards the left corridor. “No enemies appear to be in the vicinity.”

“Plans, Finn?” Gareth asked, resting his huge axe against his left shoulder.

Finn held his chin as he considered their options. “…we’ll split up. Trying to fight with such a large Party will be difficult either way.”

A short time later and the large Party had split into two smaller groups. One a Party of eighteen led by Gareth and with Ais, Tione, Tiona as part of it. The other Party was smaller at only ten people and led by Finn, with Bete, Aki, Lefiya, and Raul as part of it.

“Any idea why he split us up like this?” Aki asked Raul quietly.

Raul rubbed the back of his head once as he put his lessons in leadership to use. “I’d say he wanted a strong group and a quick group.” Given that the larger Party had many high strength members and the smaller one was mostly faster members, it made sense.

“I’m counting on you, Gareth.” Finn said to his friend as he held out his fist.

“Finn,” Gareth lightly fist bumped the Prum’s fist. “Stay on your toes, ya hear?”

Finn nodded once. “I’ll be on my guard.”

The two groups split up and headed down their assigned corridor.

Ais, Remilia, and Sharon were acting as the rearguard for their group at the moment, the three young women each had their weapons at the ready. Ais had Desperate in hand, while Sharon lightly tapped her gauntlets together, and Remilia had her large shield strapped to her back and her halberd in hand. They got further and further away from Finn’s group as they headed deeper into this strange underground place.

-Finn’s Group-

“Strange as it is, this maze feels even creepier without any Monsters.” Raul said as he looked around at the bare walls, the bare floor, and the odd statues that occasionally decorated certain places between he blank areas.

“The whole place reeks of those flower Monsters though,” Bete said as he lightly sniffed the air. “…the ones that wound up in the sewers definitely got carried through here.”

Finn walked at the head of the group, his sharps eyes not missing anything in the lamplight coming from the walls. ‘The layout is similar to the upper floors of the Dungeon. Given our path thus far we should be somewhere between the First and Second Floors. Putting aside the matter of how someone could feasibly connect this place to the Dungeon and create a separate entrance apart from Babel Tower, this manmade labyrinth could very well be the second entrance that we’ve been looking for.’ As the group began to descend the staircase to the lower level, a massive statue of giant, human-like heads with creepy expressions made up a support pillar connected to the ceiling high above. ‘The question is depth, judging by the number of steps we’ve taken since going through the door and how much time it took for us to get here…this place is massive. The Evilus remnants were spotted on the Eighteenth Floor. The Violas were born in the taken over Pantry on the Twenty-Fourth Floor. Does that mean this place is as deep as the Middle Floors? Just how vast and deep is this labyrinth?’

At the bottom of the large staircase was another Orichalcum door, those this one was opened. The Party of ten carefully approached the doorway, looking, listening, and even sniffing for any hint of Monsters or other people. Not finding any trace, they slowly moved into the room and found it to be a wide open space with large stone support columns holding up the roof. There were three doorways on each of the other walls and Finn quickly motioned for two people to check out the ones at either end first.

“Is this just a room?” Aki questioned as she looked around cautiously.

“This one is sealed too!” One of the scouts said as he threw his weight against the Orichalcum door on the right wall. The left had also been sealed and only the one at the far side of the room, up a flight of stairs, remained open.

Finn looked up at the open doorway sharply. “Which means the way forward is…” He stop as a loud and familiar voice rang out from the darkness beyond the doorway at the top of the staircase.

“FIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNN!!!” A woman’s voice drew out the Captain’s name in a high pitched growl. “Braver! How I’ve been dying to see you, little prick! You remember me, don’t you, shorty?! You better! Cause I’ll rip you apart if you act like you don’t! I’ll tear out your entrails…slice up your face…gouge holes in your body…and carve my name so deep into your soul you’ll never be able to talk shit again!”

The woman that appeared had a large, strangely-shaped sword in one hand, the tip dragging along the ground and making a scratching sound. She had her mouth wide open and her tongue out, licking her lips. She had medium length pink hair and yellow eyes that were wide open and filled with mad rage. She wore a black top and black pants that had red lines in them, with both the top and bottom shredded to some extent, leaving her stomach exposed, along with a brown belt around her right thigh and an open black coat with fur trimming over her body.

“Hey, Finn…” Bete said as his eyes narrowed on the loud woman. “Do you have some kind of disease that attracts crazy women?” This wasn’t the first time that Bete had seen Finn have a stalker since he’d joined Loki Familia.

Rakta, a Hume Bunny girl with green hair and matching green rabbit ears, who was serving as the Mapper for this raid, looked at Finn worriedly. “D-Do you know this person, Captain?”

“I do.” Finn said, his eye fixed on the loud and violent woman. “So…she survived…” He’d honestly thought she’d died like most of the other Evilus members back then. “Valletta Grede. She was a leader of the Evilus uprising shortly after the Zeus and Hera Familia’s lost their power and were banished from Orario…they upset the order and gave rise to Orario’s dark age.”

“She fought against our Captain, but she made herself an enemy of the Ganesha Familia, Freya Familia, and every other Familia that sided with the Guild back then.” Raul still recalled those days when Orario was practically a warzone.

Finn stared Valletta down. “Gale Wind’s rampage a few years ago is what finally wiped out the Evilus. But you were already presumed dead by that point. Everyone thought you’d died during the Nightmare of Floor Twenty-Seven…which would mean that the Nightmare was all a ruse for you to fake your death and go into hiding, no?”

“It pisses me off how right you are, puny Braver!” Valletta sneered at Finn. “You and the rest of the Guild’s dogs really had us Evilus on the ropes that day! So we had old Olivas go out there and make it look like we all bit the dust!” She gave him a ‘thumbs down’ motion with her free hand. “But you really are scum, Finn! Miserable, disgusting scum of scum! You left everyone to die on the Twenty-Seventh Floor that day! You used spies to lead Freya, Ganesha, and the like in an attack on our Gods!”

Valletta’s accusation was entirely true. Finn had determined that the Twenty-Seventh Floor was a lost cause and had instead lead an all-out attack on every known Evilus hideout while their defenses were spread thin. Together with the help of other Familias and their Deities, they’d managed to send the majority of the so-called ‘Evil Gods’ back to Tenkai. That had been the tipping point that had sealed the Evilus’ downfall.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW TERRIFYING IT IS TO HAVE YOUR GOD WHISKED AWAY AND FALNA SEALED…IN THE DUNGEON?!” Valletta nearly howled in rage at Finn. “I lost count of how many Monsters almost sank their teeth into me!” She clenched her free hand into a fist so tightly that her knuckles popped. “I’ll make you pay if it’s the last thing that I do! Once I’ve hacked off your limbs, I’ll mount whatever’s left and violate it to my heart’s content and then I’ll soil that arrogant face of yours!”

“Is that an invitation to a one-night stand?” Finn didn’t lose his calm and collected expression in the slightest from Valletta’s vulgar tirade. “I’m flattered, but I am the hope for the future of my race. I’ll only engage in pillow talk with my own kind. And I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re far too vulgar for me.”

Valletta snarled and pulled something out of the pocket of her long coat. “Smirk while you can, puny bastard! I’ve been waiting for you! Waiting for all of you to come strolling right into our castle!” She raised the object in her hand high above her head, revealing it—to Finn’s sharp eyes—to be a small sphere that looked like an eye wrapped in thin gold wire with a red iris and had a glowing red ‘D’ right over the pupil. “This will be your grave! Get swallowed in the majesty of Knossos and die!”

‘Knossos?” Finn made a note of the name and wondered if that was the name of this manmade labyrinth.

The Orichalcum door they’d passed through to get into this large room slammed closed loudly.

“We’re trapped in here!” Raul yelled out.

“Something approaches from beyond the doors!” Another member of the Party yelled out a warning, hearing something slamming into the sealed Orichalcum doors on either side of the large room.

“FALL BACK!!!” Finn ordered instantly and everyone rushed towards the center of the room as the Orichalcum doors on the right and left sides of the room slammed open and unleashed dozens and dozens of Violas into the room, the long, sinuous flower-headed Monsters shrieking and snapping at the air as they slithered into the room like a wave.

“Give ‘em hell!” Bete roared out as he pulled out his twin shortswords and charged at the Violas.

The rest of the Party attacked as well, cutting through the Monsters to avoid being surrounded. Blades cut down one Viola after another, but there always seemed to be another to take the place of their fallen kin.

“Everyone, charge!” Finn’s ordered as his spears pierced the head of one of the Violas, killing it instantly as he rushed forward. “Target Valletta Grede!” The rest of the Party followed Finn’s orders without hesitation, rushing straight towards the staircase and only killing the Violas that got in the way.

Valletta glared hatefully at Finn as he reached the bottom of the stairs, “At least act scared, damn it!” She turned and fled through the doorway behind her immediately. “Damn it, they move fast!” She rushed down the corridor beyond the doorway with a dark smirk. “Buuuut…”

Finn charged up the staircase along with the rest of the Party, his mind quickly processing everything that just happened. ‘That magic item that Valletta just used is the key to the Orichalcum doors! Did she show it to us like that as bait to draw us into the actual trap?’ He wondered as he rushed down the corridor beyond the doorway. ‘Unfortunately, we have to take it.’

“Captain! Please allow Filvis and I to handle the ones that gave chase!” Lefiya called out from near the rear of the group.

Finn glanced back, seeing Lefiya and the Elf woman from Dionysus Familia side by side as they ran. “They’re all yours, Lefiya!”

“At once!” Lefiya and Filvis turned to face the rapidly approaching Violas.

“Miss Filvis!” Lefiya looked to her friend.

Filvis raised her wand and aimed it at the approaching Monsters. Understood. Leave it to me!”

Both Elves began to chant simultaneously.

“Shield me, cleansing chalice!” Filvis’s chant was super-short, so she took up the defense.

“Unleashed pillar of light, limbs of the holy tree!” Lefiya chanted as the top of her staff glowed with magical energy.

Filvis thrust her wand forward. “Dio Grail!” A nearly blindingly white light formed a strong circular barrier that filled the space between the floors, walls, and ceiling. The horde of Violas slammed into it with their jaws wide open, snapping at the spell as they frenzied from the magical energy.

“You are the master archer! Pierce, arrow of absolute accuracy!” Lefiya finished her chant. “Now, Miss Filvis!”

Filvis moved her head to the right while swishing her wand to the left, just as Lefiya’s staff was lowered right where her head used to be. The fluid movement got Filvis out of the line of fire, allowed Lefiya to aim, and cancelled Filvis’s spell at the same time.

“Arcs Ray!” Lefiya fired her spell at the Violas that fell forward from the sudden loss of the barrier they’d been pressed up against.

BOOM

The Violas vanished in the powerful blast, torched to ashes from the intensity of the spell.

Lefiya even seemed surprised by how well their combo had worked. “Th-This tactic is Dungeon worthy.”

“Yes. Let us experiment with it many times once this is has ended.” Filvis agreed. “Brace for the next wave!”

“That was awesome, Lefiya!” Raul called back with a grin.

“Whew~” Aki whistled, impressed at the total annihilation of the Violas.

Bete glanced back as he ran forward, a small smirk crossing his face. “Heh. Looks like you found a way to be useful.”

Finn took the success of the ‘rearguard’ into account as he gave his next orders. “Bete! Destroy everything in our path! But stay close! Don’t let the ranks get spread too thin!”

More Violas came slithering towards the Party from ahead, but behind, them, skittering across the floor, were Monsters that none of them had ever seen before. They were like meter tall insects with a large spire of red crystal on their backs with one large eye on their misshapen heads.

“Wh-What’re those?!” Raul questioned as the horde of bug-like Monsters crawled closer in a swarm. “They’re not Violas, another new species?!”

“Hell if I care!” Bete roared out as he cut through four of the insect Monsters with his shortswords. “Just crush the damn things before they get close enough to attack!”

As the Party cut down the new Monsters quickly, it was Raul that spotted where they were all coming from.

“Heads up! The Monsters are coming up out of pitfalls in the floor!” Raul called out to everyone while cutting through another of the insect Monsters.

Finn spun his spear and killed four of the new species easily. But even as he fought, his mind was taking in everything…including the sudden lack of Valletta. ‘She’s watching us…’ He’d become very familiar with Valletta’s style back during the ‘Great Feud’ and knew of her fondness for lethal traps. His thumb suddenly throbbing stronger than it ever had before, to the point it actually hurt, alerted Finn to the change before it even happened. ‘This is…?’

The Party watched as the insect Monsters stopped attacking, even retreating a bit, before they formed neat and orderly rows with a clear and straight path between the two groups they’d split into. It was as if they were following orders. As if making a pathway for their ‘king’.

From the next doorway beyond the new species of Monster, emerged the red-haired ‘Creature’. Though she looked human, this was a mix of mortal and Monster, and despite her beauty, her expression was flat and cold. She had a sword matching Valletta’s in her hands as she charged forward in a blur. The black and red blade had four hook-like protrusions on it, two that pointed upwards towards the tip on the right side of the blade, while the two on the left pointed downward towards the hilt.

Finn barely got the shaft of his spear up in time to block the first swing, the force rattling his body as he grit his teeth. ‘She’s stronger than before! Unbelievably so! Creatures and an enhanced species… Just how many Magic Stones did she consume since we fought on the Eighteenth Floor?!’ He knew that if he didn’t use his Magic: ‘Hell Finegas’, to greatly increase his power at the cost of going into a berserker-like state, that he’d lose this fight. ‘But if I do, what will happen to them without a leader?’ He glanced at his Party as they fought off the Violas behind him.

That single moment of indecision was all that the Creature known as Revis needed.

“This is payback for the Eighteenth Floor.” Revis said coldly as her second swing cut through the shaft of Finn’s spear and tore through his shirt, one of the hooked protrusions cutting the space between his neck and the collar of his shirt, barely missing his vital artery as blood flew through the air.

But even though the blow was powerful and hurt. Both Revis and Finn noticed the distinct lack of blood from what should’ve been a massive wound on the Prum’s torso.

Revis’s eyes widen as she saw the black shirt beneath Finn’s clothes and the way her sword hadn’t cut it in the slightest. ‘What is that?’

Finn didn’t give her time to think as he threw the top of his cut spear straight into the Creature’s chest with all his might, sending her skidding back a step. ‘The Goliath Cloth really is durable.’ Finn thought to himself as he felt the incredible pain from the cut near his neck and the abnormal amount of blood that was spilling out of the injury.

“Die.” Revis raised her black and red sword above her head and brought it down on Finn in a helm splitter.

Finn was Loki Familia’s rock.

A presence that must never falter or fall.

But as Finn grabbed at his injury and hit his knees, everyone in the Party nearly froze up, Aki, Lefiya, and even Bete.

“Captain!” Raul roared out as he leapt forward, nearly tackling Finn out of the way of the strange sword that cut into the ground as it missed.

Revis’s eyes narrowed into a glare at the interference, but Raul had already made his decision on escape.

“FOLLOW ME!!!” Raul yelled out to everyone close to him as he slid down the pitfall in the floor.

The closest members to Raul’s position leapt in after him, including Aki. All of them vanishing into the dark below before Revis could decide on if she should follow or go after her true target.

“BWAHAHAHA!!!” Valletta cackled loudly as she appeared from beyond the doorway that Revis had emerged from. “How’d you like that, Finn?!Seeing you run away with your tail between your legs like the miserable dog you are makes for a wonderful show!” She swaggered next to Revis, their matching sword showing to be identical when side-by-side. “Nicely done, merc. Now to finish the job…”

Revis didn’t even look at Valletta as she pulled the top half of Finn’s spear from her chest and tossed it aside, the injury healing up near instantly. “I will pursue Aria. Finish this yourself.”

Valletta sneered at Revis. “Don’t like taking orders, eh? Rotten girl.” With a sick grin on her face, Valletta looked at the pitfall that Finn and the others had escaped down. “Whatever. I wasn’t going to let anyone else have him anyway. You better wait for me, Finn. I’m coming to put the final nail in your coffin.”

Bete’s growl got both Valletta and Revis’s attention as the Level 6 Werewolf nearly snarled at them. “YOU BASTARDS!!!” He blurred towards them, intending to kill both before going after Finn.

“I have no intention of fighting a Level 6 like you, Vanargand!” Valletta mocked as she held up the strange orb in her hand and an Orichalcum door slammed down from the ceiling, having been completely hidden before it was activated.

Bete skidded to a stop right before he’d hit the door, now separated from both Valletta and Revis, but also Lefiya and Filvis. “You pieces of shit!”

“Bete!” One of the other Party members called out, making Bete turn and growl as more Violas and weird insect Monster were rapidly approaching them all.

“Move your asses!” Bete roared out as he charged towards the horde of Monsters.

Beyond the Orichalcum door, Lefiya and Filvis were alone with Valletta and Revis.

“Captain… Bete…” Lefiya worried for both of them, even as potential death stared her and Filvis down.

Valletta rested her weird red and black sword over her shoulder with a twisted smirk. “Hey, merc. At least clean up the Elves. I have the tear-stained face of a Prum to see!” She hopped down the pitfall without looking back.

Revis stared down Lefiya and Filvis for a long moment before turning away and leaving on her quest to hunt down Aria.

‘Have I been deemed too weak to even kill?’ Lefiya thought, nearly leaping forward to try and cast a spell at the retreating Creature.

Filvis’s arm holding her back stopped Lefiya’s reckless charge. “Lefiya! Calm down!”

“But…Captain and the others! We need to rescue them!” Lefiya said as she stared into her friend’s eyes.

“We cannot reach Braver as we are!” Filvis stated the truth dimply. “The best thing we can do right now is find a means of escape from this place for everyone!”

Lefiya knew that Filvis was right, even if reluctantly, and the two quickly took off down the now empty corridor to try and find a way out of this manmade labyrinth.

-Bell’s Party-

“Where do you need to be, Cassandra?” Bell asked as he guided his Party away from their hidden position, following Cassandra’s lead from her strange and horrible dream.

“It’s further than this…” Cassandra looked like she was trying to recall a place that she’d been long ago and didn’t fully remember. “…down this way!” She made a turn down an alleyway as everyone followed her.

Lili looked around, mentally mapping their path in her head. “This way will take us closer to where the Loki Familia entered the underground!”

Daphne was running just behind Bell. “Cassandra, are you sure you know where you’re going?!” She still didn’t believe in her friends ‘dreams’, but Bell had given the order and she would follow it.

“Yes!” Cassandra’s loud reply was quite a surprise to everyone, given it was the loudest and surest they’d ever heard her as Cassandra entered a side street and her expression took on a look of recognition, as if she’d just found a landmark that she vividly recalled. “This way!” She took off down the street quickly, clutching her staff tightly.

“Let’s go!” Welf said as he brought up the rear. While he wasn’t one to believe in a random bad dream, Bell seemed convinced that it had merit, and he’d follow his buddy.

Bell hoped that everyone from Loki Familia was okay. Cassandra had mentioned blood and pain, terror and death. A cackling woman and a strange sword among screams. Bodies laid out on the ground and slowly dying. ‘If we can prevent that, then it’ll be worth believing in Miss Cassandra’s dream!’

-End Chapter-

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Hestia has tea with Hephaestus and Freya while telling them about what is going on with Haruhime and how her Familia is currently helping Loki Familia.

Neither of the other Goddesses understands Ishtar’s motives.

However, Freya offers to ‘take care’ of the Ishtar Familia for Hestia.

But, as a good friend, Hestia tries to rein in Freya’s War Domain a bit.

The Loki Familia within Knossos has split up and Fin’s group has fallen into a trap!

But…unlike in Canon where Finn was nearly fatally cut down, a change in the past, a favor repaid, has negated most of the damage. A single cursed wound, even near the neck, is much preferable to having your entire chest carved open with the same cursed blade.

Is Gareth’s group fairing any better within the manmade labyrinth?

Will Bell’s Party following Cassandra’s dream make a difference in the fate of the Loki Familia?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!