192 Old Faces

(A/N: Gotta say, I didn't expect something that I consider was...average? to be so well received. Your comments last chapter made me very happy. Love you guys <3)

"Ghk..." A barely audible sound of pain escaped Seth's mouth. His hand immediately went to his head in a vain attempt to stop his headache. Physical pain was something he could withstand to great lengths, but when it came to the mind the story was different.

"Master... All right?" His Master has never visibly showed any discomfort, much less pain, so Asterios' question was not out of place. The only conclusion he could come up with was that it had to do with that recently-summoned Servant.

"Yes... Yes, I am. Let's get this over with quickly just in case." He was not stupid. Seth quickly arrived at the same conclusion his Servant did. However, he still felt it was not entirely that. As if it was only a part of the puzzle.

Knowing, much to his annoyance, did nothing to prevent certain memories from resurfacing. Memories of a time where headaches were part of his daily life.

Be that as it may, that cat was not getting out alive without being impaled and shredded to pieces. If there was something he absolutely abhorred with everything he had then that would be people playing with his mind. The one he wanted to kill the most in the world had done so, and to this day, his hatred for that person has not subsided. If he had to add someone else to that list, then he will not hesitate in doing it.

Seth pushed those thoughts aside for now. Remembering will work against him, so he instead opted for focusing on the things ahead of him. He had asked the Demon to take the both of them to a place it felt comfortable. The Egyptian God was sure he would get some answers there.

Without the need to say it, that place would not be 'pretty' by any standards. The more closer they got to their destination, the more signs appeared of mass killing having transpired, which did nothing more than to cement the idea that this place was fucked up.

Along the way, they were attacked mainly by automata and homunculus that the Demon disposed of with ease, but there were not even shadows of Servants no matter how much they looked around.

The Egyptian God didn't take that as a sign of being alone, though. In fact, he almost could sniff the scent of dead people hovering over him.

"Well, well, well. Look at what our little pet brought us. A wandering God and an unsightly monster. Can't say I have seen any worse combination than that."

He sometimes hated being right.

The Demon stopped in its tracks as Seth and Asterios turned to a figure levitating some distance above them. If he were to be honest, the black-haired man preferred not to initiate any confrontations for the time being considering he felt like crap, but if there was no alternative, he wouldn't hesitate in acting.

Berserker stared at the floating man with a mixture of sadness and guilt. There was no way he couldn't recognize that person—someone that cohabitated the labyrinth with him for a time.

Despite that person calling him an unsightly monster, he couldn't bring himself to hate him for it. That was because he understood his ire and even felt it was justified somehow.

"I...ka...ros..." Asterios could only mutter his name, also shocked by the fact that he would appear here out of all places. The man was of lean build. His reddish-brown hair was styled into a ponytail that moved freely under the slightly cold wind. He was wearing a chiton; the upper part being a solid black while the lower one had a light sky blue color. The Greek man was barefoot, with the only thing covering the extremity being socks from an unknown material that started on the base of his fingers and went up until his waist.

A pair of white wings rested on his back, gently flapping to keep him airborne while he stared down at the two individuals, yet his gaze was more focused on Asterios than the Deity. The Egyptian God didn't mind the treatment, being more interested in the unfolding development instead. There was also the chance of obtaining valuable information. Ikaros seemed to be the type to spill the beans as long as you didn't interrupt him, after all.

"Yo, Minotaur. Long time no see! Since I escaped that stupid prison your bastard of a father put me and dad in, if I recall?" Although his tone was light hearted and had a certain 'mirth' added to it, anyone with half a working brain could tell that he wasn't happy at all. The overflowing disgust and disdain oozing from him could not be hidden, and possibly he didn't even intend for it to be that way.

"So—... No... Why... here...?" Berserker wanted to apologize, even if he wasn't exactly at fault, but then he remembered how Euryale always told him that he should not let what others thought of him define his being, so he stopped himself. However, his curiosity remained. This place didn't look like the type the winged man would consider appearing in.

"Hoh? Curious, ain't we? I am not seeing any problem with this city. Aside from the dark surroundings that makes some unpleasant echoes from the past resurface, the fact that the sun never shines here couldn't be more ideal." Knowing his legend, it didn't sound so far-fetched for him to like this London sunk in a perpetual night.

Seth was attentively reading Ikaros' body language. Despite having an easy-going attitude, he could see the almost imperceptible rigidness that accompanied his movements. That led to the conclusion that if the Greek found himself in another place other than this, then he would actually be way more cautious about flying.

"Having that said, I do have a motive for being here." The flying man's eyes then turned to Seth, who had been watching in the sidelines. "My 'Master' seems to have taken a... let's just say sick interest in you."

The Egyptian God's only outward reaction was to rise a single eyebrow. He didn't exactly know how to respond to that declaration. No matter how many times that had happened in the past, it was still a bit awkward.

'Still... He said some interesting things. Now the way he said them is what caught my attention. It seems this Master is not a proper one. Maybe one like Jeanne was back in Orleans? That could turn problematic. Moreover, someone is specifically interested in me? Ignoring the part where that never ends well, how can they know I, specifically, am here?' He was not sure why, but the chance of something completely crazy involving him happening was very high.

"Now, that person wants you to join on something nonsensical that I truthfully didn't bother listening about. Something-battle royal-something. It had to do with plunging this city in a mist of blood, but as I said, I didn't pay attention." Ikaros continued his light-hearted explanation without pause and without even bothering to check if the opposite party was getting what he was saying.

"And what makes you think that I am interested in playing that madman's games? I find it easier to kill that person instead and be done with it." Seth was not in the happiest of moods, and the attempt of pulling him into something ridiculous was not helping either.

"Wow, such blatant disregard for human life, my Master likes that. They predicted your response, though. That's why they told me to relay to you that you will not be doing it for free. A nice gift is waiting for you, but you will have to work for it, sounds good?" To say that Ikaros admired Seth in certain way would be an understatement. His hate for Minos transcended to hate for all Kings, so someone who once slayed one automatically earned some good points in his book. That was why he didn't feel insulted when his offer, even though it was technically not his, was rejected.

"Not interested. Nothing your Master has does. Now, if you don't mind, we must go." In consideration of his status as a simple messenger, Seth decided to avoid confrontations. That and he also hadn't shown any kind of malign intentions.

"That would be troubling."

It seemed like he thought too soon, again.

The Demon rose his arm defensively, blocking a rain of feathers descending like knives in their direction. Many of them got stuck on its body, but more than hurting, they were of an annoyance than anything.

Taking advantage of the Demon's limb that was blocking their view of him, Ikaros descended like a meteor. The moment he got past it, though, he was met with black.

Asterios slammed the blunt side of his axes on Ikaros' body without mercy, swatting him to the side. Using the momentum obtained after being hit, the winged man spun quickly in mid-air and used one of the buildings to propel himself in their direction.

This time it was the turn of the Demon to defend, throwing a punch at the incoming foe. However, when it connected, Ikaros body turned into feathers, feathers that moved to the upper part of its arm and reformed in his figure soon after.

"So easy, so easy~" The Greek man cheerfully laughed as he ran on top of the Demon's limb. As it belonged to the shoulder Asterios was standing on, the Minotaur went to meet him.

Now, instead of using the blunt side of his axes, he attacked with a chopping motion with the intention to kill. In battle, he would push his feelings aside and attack with everything he got. That was his job as a Servant.

Ikaros noticed this, and his smirk turned a bit too wide for comfort. Using his wings to stop his momentum, he managed to narrowly avoid being chopped in half.

Taking advantage of the lowered weapons, the brown-haired man stepped on the axes, using them as support to jump over Asterios' shoulders. However, Berserker wouldn't put things easy for him in the slightest.

Removing his left hand from his ax, he used it to try and grab one of Ikaros' wings. Anticipating this, the Greek used his other wing to shoot a hail of feathers against the Minotaur, causing him to shield his face.

The appendages stabbed the figure of Asterios, but other than causing a bit of bleeding, no more harm was done. Nevertheless, Ikaros achieved his goal of distracting the son of that bastard King. This time, he used his opponent's shoulder as a platform to jump at the head of the Demon. The creature had barely moved before its initial actions, possibly due to 'that person' issuing commands remotely. Be that as it may, it worked for him as it was one less person to worry about.

Once the Greek man landed on the boney horns of the behemoth, he was able to stare at his true target. From the very beginning, he had not made any sign of acting, merely playing the role of an observer. Even now, the Deity wasn't looking at him like an enemy. His gaze remained neutral through it all.

Ikaros was not perturbed by it, though. He descended rapidly, his arm stretched out as his hands formed into claws, ready to seemingly mangle his target's face.

When he was centimeters away from achieving that, though, Seth tilted his head from his sitting position, easily avoiding the supposed attack. Not happy with just that, the hand that was dropped at the side caught on fire before shooting up with the intention of paint a burning hole in his enemy's chest.

However, the moment Ikaros' body registered the heat, he immediately retreated mid-attack, flapping his wings to soar high with hastiness, as if he had just come face to face with a terrifying existence, which, knowing his legend, might as well be true.

Even so, if he felt that he had escaped, he was going to be proven wrong. The Demon, who had barely had any action up until this point, grabbed him as he was retreating. Now in its clutches, the Greek man could do nothing but watch as the creature raised its hand before bringing it back down soon after, opening just in time for him to crash like a meteor against the ground, creating a crater in the process.

Ikaros coughed and grunted as the pain registered in his being, yet that didn't spare him of the giant fist that impacted on his fallen figure, nor the other one, or the other one...

The Demon only stopped when Seth told it to. The said God using his Wind Authority to clear the smoke that had emerged from the previous attack. What was revealed to them was not an unrecognizable gooey display, or a messed up corpse for the matter. There was blood, but not a body.

"Heh... Hehehe... I know I am not much of a fighter... but damn... that was embarrassing. I will attribute it... to being three versus one... though..." Asterios, Seth, and the Demon turned their head to the roof a building to their side, where Ikaros bloodied figure stood. He was kneeling and panting, but the smile on his face remained.

"It was your choice from the very beginning." That was the answer he received from the black-haired man, and one which he could wholeheartedly agree to.

"Yeah... but at least... I got what I wanted." The son of Daedalus took a moment to catch his breath before raising a barely but still trembling arm. His finger seemed to be grasping something practically unnoticeable.

It took a moment for Seth to recognize what it was considering the distance between them, the dark surroundings, and the small size of what Ikaros was holding, but he eventually identified it as a small strand of black hair that, and, considering he was the only one there with that hair color, it was obviously his.

Knowing that he was immune to corruption-type curses, and that he had Medea as a backup option in case something outside of that happened, he was not worried about whatever uses the other party had with it. Still, it was best to account for everything than regret it later.

"Well. That will be all from me. You can keep that little traitorous pest if you want, I am sure he will find some way to get rid of it eventually. As for my Master's previous offer, you should reconsider it. It's not an ordinary gift, you know?" The Greek man got up from his kneeling form before urging Seth to give another thought to the idea. Unfortunately for him, he got the same response.

"I told you I am not interested, so you can go and tell your Master that." The Egyptian God was beginning to think that Ikaros was one of those people that did not have the word "No" in their dictionary. Either that or he was partially deaf.

"What a shame. I thought you would want to have 'the one who burns eras' in your possession." The winged man took especial delight in seeing how Seth's expression changed from neutral to serious with partial anger on it.

"How do you have it...?" His voice was low and dangerous. Ikaros understood that he was not playing around anymore, so he dropped his cheerful attitude, albeit only a little.

"Isn't it obvious? My Master knows what you need the most, and they are the only ones capable of easily obtaining it. Their generosity knows no bounds, yada, yada, yada. You know the drill." Having said his piece, the brown-haired man flapped his wings, preparing to take off. However, just as he was about to do so, the tips of a spear was closing really fast into his eyes. The moment it 'impacted' though, Ikaros' body transformed into feathers, leaving no traces of his real body.

Seth clicked his tongue as he landed where his opponent used to be. 'I better get that thing fast. Absolutely no one should have it... Not if I have to say something about it.'

"Praise Gaia, last living God. Focus your hearing on the sky and hear them approaching to fight you. Their hunt... is merely beginning." Ikaros' voice echoed one last time around them, finally leaving them to their devices.

'For you and whoever your Master is' good... You better uselessly hope you didn't mean what I think you meant.' The growing snarl on his face barely showed his inner turmoil.