Entering The Labyrinth

"If you want to survive, then take up a weapon and fight until you are the only one left standing. Now, begin!"

In between munching on the expensive fruit slices that were being fed to her by her barely-clad attendants, a drop-dead gorgeous woman spat out words as venomous as a lethal poison. She was reclining on a luxurious but comfortable armchair. Aside from her private parts, which were mostly covered by her very inviting, black lingerie, the rest of her marble-white skin was fully exposed. Her shoulder-length black hair framed her impeccably sculpted facial features, while her lime-green eyes observed the situation just a few meters below with amusement and anticipation, as well as a hint of intoxication.

The name of this woman was Kakia, and this massive underground hall was located in the basement of her familia's home. Just like in the Colosseum, there was a fighting stage that was situated lower than the seating area from which the goddess and many of her familia members were enjoying the spectacle.

A group of thirty people, consisting of both young and old, of both men and women, and belonging to many sentient races, had been thrown into the arena, which had piles of various weapons strewn throughout. Their eyes had already turned dead, mostly devoid of hope, but when the goddess' words fell upon their ears, some determination welled up within most of them, who then proceeded to scrutinize their surroundings carefully.

For weeks, if not months, they had been living as captives of this familia. Any last vestiges of rebellious spirit had been violently forced out of them. Those who hadn't submitted had long since departed the world of the living. Originally, when they had first come to after having been abducted from various corners of the city, or after having been bought from slave merchants, they had still tried to call for help, but had quickly realized how futile it was to hope for salvation.

Their guards had laughed in their faces and had explained to them that when this mansion had been constructed, they had paid a hefty price to get a magical formation set up. One of its effects was to soundproof the entire area. This was actually a common feature that many familia homes would incorporate for the sake of privacy and security, so it hadn't been weird for them to request it as well.

'Go on, fall!'

As she was watching the people in the arena, some of which were already sneaking off to grab weapons - maybe to protect themselves, or perhaps to end the others' lives faster so that they could live a little longer - Kakia's right hand wandered down her abdomen, until it reached her panties. A rosy blush spread on her cheeks, and her breathing accelerated. Noticing how even some of the captives momentarily shot her entranced looks, she slipped her hand further down, beneath the fabric, a twisted sense of pleasure overcoming her.

'Fall faster! Show me! Come on already!!'

Shouting inwardly, she bit her lower lip and stared at a middle-aged man who had picked up a spear from the ground. The look in his eyes was a conflicted one, but he somehow managed to disregard his last reservations and charged at an elderly lady who had just grasped a dagger. The man seemed to have a reason as to why he couldn't allow himself to die here… but the same was true for most of them. Only two children and an old man didn't make any attempts to defend themselves even when they realized that everyone else was arming themselves. Whether that was due to fear or because they had already given up, nobody could know for sure.

Right as the middle-aged man had started his charge and the goddess was about to start pleasuring herself with practiced movements, a beautiful but cold voice oozing clear killing intent spoke from right behind Kakia's leather armchair.

"We've got enough. Take out the trash."

Startled, Kakia and her familia members turned around, only to notice a gust of wind rushing past them faster than they could react. A fraction of a second later, any and all conflicts within the arena had been put an end to without anyone coming to harm, and a golden-haired figure clad in a white-black battle cloth plus a couple of pieces of grey-ish silver metal armour had appeared amidst the captives. Her golden eyes stared straight at the bewitching goddess, her expression containing clear traces of disgust. Despite Kakia's ravishing outward appearance, the hideousness of her personality couldn't be concealed. Being stared at like this made the goddess uncomfortable and become offended. Who did this girl think she was for her to dare to look at her with eyes like that?!

However, before anger could overwhelm her, the rational part of her mind managed to catch up with the rapid changes in the situation. Finally, she realized who she was looking at.

"S-Sword Princess! So the Loki Familia…"

Instead of finishing her sentence, she grew silent as the pained and panicked screams of her children reached her ears. They filled both the mansion above, as well as the seating area around her. Due to her attention having been directed at Ais for these short few seconds, she hadn't even realized that tens of Loki Familia members had stormed her home, instantly overwhelming each and every kind of resistance within.

They didn't hesitate to slay the Kakia Familia members who they came across, although some of them were clearly hesitant in doing so. Amongst the group, a woman clad in a green cloak stuck out the most, because she was the only one to merely knock out her opponents, avoiding to kill them. There was a deeply disturbed expression plastered on the Elf's face, especially as she came across the cells that held tens of abused victims while accompanying the Loki Familia members who were sweeping the place.

Amidst those who were locked up, even some corpses were present - seemingly, nobody had bothered to get rid of them yet. The majority of captives were not only malnourished, but also had bruises all over their bodies. Some had an arm or a leg missing, or possibly 'just' a few fingers or toes. A couple of women didn't even bother with trying to preserve their dignity any longer and just lay on the ground, in exactly the same shameful, biofluid-drenched states that they had been left in. After what they had had to endure, their minds were utterly broken.

'How could anyone treat other people like this? Do they still deserve mercy?'

Although Ryuu had killed many members of Evilus in a fit of rage a few years ago, she had since mellowed out again due to the time that she had spent in the Hostess of Fertility. Her original sense of justice had been rekindled, and she had once more felt that ending the lives of others was against her principles. And yet, what she saw here today made her question her beliefs. Did people who committed such atrocities truly qualify to receive a second chance? Weren't they, in some ways, even worse than those Evilus members who she had faced in the past?

Deeply shaken and confused, she provided some first-aid to the people that the group had rescued, before leaving the follow-up to the Loki Familia members around her. Not only the higher-ups and Level 4 plus adventurers were participating in this operation, nearly every single member had been sent out. Although the weaker adventurers and supporters couldn't necessarily overcome the bigger threats, they could still deal with some small-fry and handle the relief efforts.

When Ryuu arrived in the basement arena, she came across Ais grasping an almost-naked, ravishing beauty by the neck, strangling her to the point where she couldn't speak, but was still barely able to breathe. Tears were streaming down the goddess' cheeks as she miserably tried to pry away Ais' arm, but she couldn't even scratch her skin.

Taking note of the Elf's arrival, Ais turned to face her, the murderous look in her eyes turning down a notch.

"Oh, you're here. Is everything finished aboveground?"

With a short sigh, Ryuu nodded. She already knew what was about to happen, and yet she didn't plan to stop it. There was no reason to, after all.

"Yes. It was exactly like he said - two Level 3's, seven Level 2's and 18 Level 1's. Some of the rookies suffered very minor injuries, but they'll be up and ready to go within a minute or so."

Relieved at the good news, a smile spread on Ais' lips, then she gave the Elf a short but grateful nod. Once more, she turned to face the goddess.

"There you have it. It's time for you to go. Don't even think about coming back. Bye-bye!"

With movements far faster than any that Kakia's mind could follow, Ais rushed outside of the mansion, straight to the small lawn area next to its entrance.

After waiting a few more seconds, she nodded as if she had just received a message, then she unsheathed her Desperate and lightly threw the goddess up into the air. A single casual, swift strike later, Kakia was reunited with the ground, only this time, she had been cut into two from top to bottom. Her expression was one of utter disbelief as she slowly fell apart, her golden Ichor staining the ground.

But before she could fully come apart, a golden pillar of light, made up solely of Divine Energy, dissolved the gruesome mess that was her body and carried her off, back to Heaven. It persisted for about ten seconds, before disappearing as if it had been a lie. The only evidence confirming its existence was the faint burn-mark that it had left behind on the lawn.

At exactly the same time as Kakia had been returned to Heaven, two other pillars of Divine Energy had also broken through the sparse clouds - three deities had been slain simultaneously. Noticing the pained and reminiscent look in the observing Ryuu's eyes, Ais was reminded of similar scenes that had occurred in the past. That period of time also had a direct connection to the Astraea Familia's grim fate. Judging that it would be smarter to avoid speaking about that matter, Ais walked up to the Elf and waved her hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention.

Snapped out of her memories by the sudden movement, Ryuu realized what was going on and felt embarrassed at having spaced out like that. To hide this fact and move on from this incident, she cleared her throat and changed the topic, her cheeks a little flushed.

"Ahem! We're done here. Do we continue, then?"

Smirking ever so slightly, Ais pulled back her hand and nodded. By now, she felt like she understood why her beloved liked to tease this girl so much - her reactions were quite entertaining. Those random thoughts aside, she turned to face the leaders of the two squads of familia members that had been assigned to her command.

"Cruz, Elfy. Gather the others. We'll advance to the nearest entrance to Knossos."

The Chienthrope man with short brown hair nodded and hurried off, followed by the somewhat pale Elfy. She had been rather sheltered by the familia before today, and although she had heard about the evils of the world, she had never directly seen them… or killed a person. Despite her considerable mental fortitude, such things had still taken a heavy toll on her.

'I'm sorry, my friend, but we can't protect you forever…'

After lamenting the unfortunate fate of the innocent girl for a moment, Ais shook her head and casually advanced towards the north, followed by Ryuu and the majority of the familia members that she had come with. Only a few were left behind to tend to the injured and handle various follow-up affairs. There was no need to worry about their safety, though - after all, sufficient measures had been taken to ensure it.

Two minutes of marching later, Ais' group had entered the basement of an abandoned building located about half a kilometer north of the Kakia Familia's mansion. There, behind a suspiciously placed, difficult-to-move cupboard, they found a secret passage leading further underground. The hallway's walls were made out of neatly arranged stone bricks and every ten or so meters, magic stone lamps had been placed to light up the area. They automatically turned on once someone entered the surrounding fifteen meters. As for the corridor, it quickly grew bigger until it reached more than seven meters in height and five meters in width, at which point they came across an expected obstacle: A massive gate made entirely out of orichalcum.

One other observation could be made as well. The walls, floor and ceiling were now fashioned out of adamantite. Considering how pricey this material was, and that - according to Isaac - every part of this manmade labyrinth from this point onward consisted of it, it was no wonder that whoever had created this place had stooped to crime to earn an income.

"Just in case, please step back, everyone."

Once she had sufficiently cautioned her group, Ais pulled out an eyeball-shaped object from her inventory, masking its use by making it appear as if she had pulled it out of a pouch, and injected some of her mana into it. Then, she walked up to the gate that appeared immovable. When the distance separating the two got smaller than five meters, it rumbled and opened, allowing the group passage. No traps of any kind had been triggered. If they hadn't had access to these keys and had attempted to force their way inside, then they surely would have had a far more difficult time as well as faced a lot of resistance.

"Let's go."

After having made sure that everyone had entered, Ais passed this checkpoint as well, the gate closing shut behind her.

-----

On Knossos' second floor, around ten minutes before Ais' party had entered the labyrinth, a dashing gentleman with waist-long, flaxen hair was strolling through a corridor, his arms clasped behind his back. His clothing was quite extravagant, with many ornaments and embroideries spicing up his red long-sleeved coat and grey-blue pants. Despite how comical this getup would look on anyone else, due to his noble-seeming demeanour and the gentle glint in his blackish-brown eyes, he didn't appear displeasing to those who saw him.

And yet, he felt totally out of place here. The two men and three women walking behind him were dressed in fur-based adventurer clothing and sported many a scar, whilst this corridor housed a fair number of cages at its sides, which housed a large variety of feral, but relatively weak, monsters.

Their howls and roars shook the air, causing the man to frown a little, only to shake his head and smile again right after. With a glance behind him, he got the attention of the woman leading his entourage, an Amazoness that was at least a head taller than him - considering that the man that she was being compared to was already considered to be above average in height, this woman was truly impressive. She was dressed more conservatively than most of her kin and didn't have a flirtatious air around her either. Rather, she exuded the aura of a battle-hardened warrior.

"Do you need something, Lord Sabnac?"

His smile as intoxicating as the fresh spring breeze, the god was just about to praise his familia's Captain for having brought them another huge haul, when he suddenly froze in place. The expression on his face turned uncharacteristically gloomy.

"Three were returned to Heaven at the same time?! What is going on? From their Divine Energy, I can tell that they were… Kakia, Dipsios and Sabaktes. Does that mean that they were exposed?!"

From one moment to the next, his casual air was completely gone. His gaze as he looked upon his children had changed - he was clearly extremely worried and shaken.

"Quick, spread my orders! Prepare to defend this place!!"

He had expected the members of his familia to heed his words immediately, but they instead sent him confused glances. The Amazoness Captain was the one who eventually put into words what they all thought.

"Lord Sabnac, even if the three of them had their crimes exposed, how would anyone come to know about this place? And how would they enter it? We should avoid the city for now, yes, but preparing for an assault? Wouldn't that just be overreacting?"

Almost livid at her ignorance, Sabnac needed to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. When he felt his emotions to be stable again, he deigned to explain his line of reasoning.

"Do you really believe that those three fools didn't leave behind any evidence related to this place in their homes? Also, they should have a couple of keys as well. It's only a matter of time until someone finds out how to use them. Additionally, this was clearly a coordinated, premeditated attack. I don't believe for a second that someone who has the means to organize such an event doesn't have the capability to sniff out intel about Knossos! Now, how much time do you plan to waste?! Libin, Klait - you two escort me to the shelter. The rest of you, prepare to repel the invaders. But if they are too powerful, make haste and escape into the dungeon!"

Although many wanted to refute their god and call him paranoid, they didn't say anything and did as they were instructed. Time would prove that his fast reaction speed had indeed been the best available course of action. Many of his brethren didn't move as quickly, or underestimated the threat. It was just a pity… that all of Sabnac's efforts were fated to be for naught.

-----

"Why is this happening?! Things are moving far too quickly!! My plan… it isn't ready yet! If only I had another year… no, half a year would already be more than enough!"

In some of the deepest depths of Knossos, a handsome man with medium-length blonde hair was overcome with rage. A goal that he had chased after since a thousand years ago, a 'foolproof' plan that had finally started to blossom into success since that event five years ago… Why, just why did a wrench have to be thrown into his plans now?!

With an immeasurable amount of hatred in his eyes, he stared towards the surface. If looks could kill, then any and all invaders that had made their way into this place would have turned into dust right at this moment - not that he could actually directly see anyone. Just like Sabnac, he was fully aware of what the fall of these three deities signified, that was why he knew: Someone was coming.

"My Lord, not much is lost. We might have to take some drastic measures, but if we manage to wipe out everyone who has dared to step in here, as well as every other familia calling this place their home, then we can collect all the keys and buy ourselves the time that we need."

The words of the black-haired Elf standing nearby caused the god's madness to recede a little, and some rationality returned to his eyes. Beaming at this favourite child of his with appreciation, he eventually nodded and heaved a sigh.

"Yes, yes, you're correct! Although I don't know who has come, because nobody knows of our real trump cards, we should be able to take our enemies by surprise and overwhelm them. Let's allow them to eradicate our 'neighbours' first, to lure them further in, then spring the traps. You better get yourself ready as well. I will let Olivas contact some of the Evilus kids to stage a diversion in the meantime. Go!"

Shooing off his most faithful follower with a wave of his hand, the god took a deep breath before a deranged grin stole itself on his lips. He grabbed a black hat, a black-and-white mask, as well as a black coat that had many other masks fastened to it, and changed into the attire that he normally used to interact with those who served him.

Not too many rooms from where he had been, he found the man that he had been looking for: Olivas Act, a man who had been a member of Evilus in the past, but had turned into a Creature since then.

The white-haired man was currently feasting on a generous diet of magic stones, chewing and swallowing them with reckless abandon. Once he noticed that the god had entered the room, he hastily stopped his consumption and stood at attention. Although the one in front of him wasn't the one that he truly served, he was currently under his command - therefore, he had to at least put in minimal effort and show some respect.

"Olivas, gather your men and contact the Remnants of Evilus. Knossos has been breached - so go and repel the invaders. Use the members of Evilus as cannon fodder and lure the enemy in as far as possible, so we can obliterate them in one swift strike."

In response to his orders, Olivas grabbed a horned skull mask from a nearby cabinet and put it on, the look in his eyes one that was full of anticipation. Even though he had had a few chances to prove his mettle in the 'outside world' in the past years, he had still mostly been confined to Knossos. With a chance to finally let loose again, and an opportunity to experience his newfound, rapidly increasing power, why wouldn't he be happy?

"As you command."

Staring at the back of the disappearing Creature, the god shook his head, both in pity as well as in amusement.

'That's most likely the last that I'll see of him. I'll have to ask her for reinforcements soon. I've already been delaying to do so since Revis' disappearance, but once Olivas will be gone too, I'd be dangerously low on competent manpower.'

As for why he didn't expect this pawn of his to return? Considering how arrogant he was, Olivas would surely overestimate himself severely. With no real support from the god's personally created monster species, and with only the Evilus members to support him, it would actually be considered quite impressive if he could fulfill his role of a bait slash diversion properly. To expect even more of him would be plainly foolish.

"Next, it's time to awaken 'them'…"

Mumbling to himself, the god descended one floor further, to the 21st floor. It was still far from completion, but he had gotten permission to occupy the majority of the parts that were structurally sound. This was where his 'secret weapons' were hidden.

If he had known that their existence had already been exposed, he would have likely searched for an opportunity to escape - but even then, it would have been too late. The net had already been reeled in.