Knossos(end)

(A note before reading the text. In the text, it will happen that I am talking about the human part of the spirit, but I will still use the pronoun 'it')

"Liberate me! I said LIBERATE ME! Look what they are doing to my work!"

Inside the monitoring room, Barca was being restrained by the various members of Evilus and no matter how much he struggled, it was impossible for someone as weak as him to break free from their grasp, thus being forced to watch his labyrinth being destroyed by the corrupted spirit, causing him to have a nervous breakdown.

"Relax Barca, you can repair it later." - Thanatos said nonchalantly.

'Hysterical cries'

"Hahaha! Look how they're treated like rubbish!"

Unlike the despair Barca was feeling, watching his work being destroyed, Ishtar was enjoying the spectacle amused. She was initially annoyed that the second group had been able to escape, but because she wanted to test the monster, which she would later use against Freya and her Familia, she was already more than satisfied. Moreover, she was sure that Finn and the others would not survive against that monster.

While Thanatos and Ishtar were having fun, on the other side of the screen, the members who were left to fight the monster were having a lot of difficulties.

"HAHAHA!"

'BAANG!' 'BAANG!'

The corrupted spirit was acting like a crazed bull as it laughed contentedly and with its mighty body crushed everything around it. Fortunately, Tione had used her magic, which consisted of a restrictive chain that prevented the corrupted spirit from running away, but the monster's strength was such that it prevented Tione from remaining fixed on the ground, thus being shaken continuously.

"HHURGH!"(x2)

Tiona and Gareth attacked the monster's legs together, with the maximum strength they possessed but far from harming it.

"T-This thing just created a crack on my Urga?!"

The monster had suffered only superficial wounds, while Gareth and Tiona's weapons showed cracks, making everyone realize that the monster's defense could be equivalent to that of adamantine.

"Let us concentrate our attacks on the top, where the woman's torso is!" -Shouted Finn.

Finn had stayed further back than the others, to better understand the monster's strength and not to force his body too much. The wound he had previously suffered had not yet healed completely, because even though he was a level 6, certain wounds took time to heal, and if he were to overdo it from the start, the wound would worsen and become a burden during combat, so he wanted to find the best opportunity.

"GO DOWN, YOU MONSTER!"

Even with the continuous beating and the monster's frenzy, Tione managed to go around the monster's body, managing to trap the monster's legs with the chain stopping it momentarily, creating the opportunity they had all been waiting for.

This time together with Tiona and Gareth, Finn also charged, who did not hesitate and used his 'Hell finegas' magic. In the situation they were in, they had to finish off the monster as soon as possible.

"GRRR!"

With no more sanity controlling him and his strength greatly increased, Finn charged like a bloodthirsty beast toward the corrupted spirit, overtaking Gareth and Tiona.

The spirit seemed to show concern for the first time, watching as the trio approached and its body immobilized, so it began to chant a magic chant as fast as it could.

"Thunder ray!"

A ray made of lightning was launched by the spirit, but compared to the reflexes developed over the years, such an attack was easily dodged by the three.

"GHAAH!"

The first to strike was Finn, his spear managed to penetrate part of the woman's side, and before it could recover, Tiona and Garth simultaneously attacked further damaging it.

Now that they were on top of the spirit body, they continued to attack as much as possible the human part fused to the monster, which seemed to suffer more injuries.

Unlike the demi-spirit encountered on the 59th floor, this one was more specialized in fearsome strength and defense rivaling adamantine, and although it was true that it was a terrifying opponent, in the end, it was all there. With few means of attack, the monster was monotonous, especially for the core members of the Loki Familia, who braved the unknown that offered the bottom of the dungeon hundreds of times.

"GOTCHA!"

"Burn in hell, stupid cow!"

"GRRRR!"

With perfect coordination, Tiona, Gareth, and Finn executed a flawless cross-attack. Head, chest, back, with all these points targeted, they were sure of their victory, but...

"Aha!" -The spirit laughed ecstatically.

...What they were facing was still a demi-spirit.

"Rage wrath of heaven. Caelum Veil."

'A short chant spell?!' -When the realization hit Gareth, it was already too late.

The spirit's body was covered in lightning bolts that pushed the three of them away and Tione, who was holding the chain, but it was not yet the end. The bull-shaped part stood upright on its lower hooves, while all the lightning concentrated in its front hooves.

"Hehehe"- Laughing happily, the spirit crushed the ground with all the weight it had, and then it happened...

'RUMBLE!'

As if hundreds of lightning bolts fell in the same spot, the room momentarily lit up, but what followed was an electrical explosion that destroyed everything in its range, going so far as to pulverize the adamantine floor they were on, ending in the one below.

"HAHAHA! That's what I was looking for! With this strength, even that bitch couldn't survive!"

Ishitar's face was pressed to the monitor as she watched the whole thing with ecstasy. She could already imagine the Freya Familia being demolished and standing in front of that annoying goddess with her foot crushed on her face.

"Indeed, such strength is absolutely fantastic." -Even Thanatos admired such strength with a distorted smile.

He now understood why Enyo considered it a secret weapon. It possessed all that strength without even having absorbed all the magic stones they had collected.

"Oh? Looks like they are still alive." -Commented Thanatos.

In the now destroyed and rubble-filled room, the spirit looked around before it started to move away, but before it could take a step, one of its legs was restrained by a chain. Following the direction of the chain, the spirit saw that it was Tione, now full of wounds, who was holding it.

"Hehehe."

The spirit seemed to find the situation amusing and began to move her body dynamically, fanning Tiona as if she were a kite at the mercy of a storm, then flinging her against the ground.

"Hehehe, bye-bye."

Confident that no one could stop her, the spirit began to move away again, but as before, a chain stopped her, but this time, it was tied around her neck.

"...Wait... a minute you... bitch. I will not allow you... to leave... I must... I must protect everyone else. I..."

With her body lying on the ground dripping with blood and one broken arm, she tried to slow the spirit down, but the little resistance she had left was useless compared to the monster's strength, which made her slowly crawl over the various debris as she was towed.

The spirit's escape seemed sure, but a sudden tug of the chain encircled its neck stopped it.

"You did well, little girl." -Also covered in wounds, Gareth gripped the chain as tightly as he could.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"

"?!"

With a powerful tug, he pulled the chain even tighter against the spirit's neck, preventing it from being able to recite spells.

"Do you have a problem using your beautiful voice monster? And you Tione, is that seriously all you've got? Where's your proud spirit?! Looks like Finn does well to still see you as a child!"

The last words seemed to have activated the switch in Tione's brain, who opened her bloodshot eyes and reared up in anger.

"WHAT DOES A WALKING FOSSIL THINK HE KNOWS ABOUT MY FEELINGS!!!"

She also grabbed the chain as hard as she could. With two people pulling it, the spirit felt the chain tighten even more around its neck and its body being dragged by them, causing it to panic.

'BAANG!' 'BAANG!'

With no more control, the spirit was freaking out to free itself from the chain, but Tione and Garet refused to let go.

"HRRRRUAAHH!"(x2)

Pulling even harder, they managed to unbalance it, but the spirit wanted to use the opportunity to crush them with its hoof.

"TIONA WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

'crack!'

With incredible speed, Tiona emerged from the rubble that had engulfed her and leaped into the air.

"I was just resting!"

She was also badly injured, but even so, she used all her strength and gravity, to stick her weapon inside the monster's leg, preventing it from crushing the two and finally managing to land it.

All three were doing their best to keep the monster pinned down, but it wasn't easy. With the movement of its tail, it sent debris made of adamantine flying like bullets, injuring them further, but they could not give up.

Too much depended on them and with the state they were in, they had no other option. They bore the pain, the tiredness, and the fear that death could come at any moment, they wanted to escape but it was not possible, because the people they loved were behind them. So they would live this adventure. No matter how much blood they had to lose or how much they had to suffer, they knew that the Loki Familia would never collapse because they had comrades to whom they could entrust the future.

And it was precisely because they had such comrades that they would make sure that they overcame all odds and returned to them.

"AAAHHHHHRRRGHH!!!"(x3)

"GHHA?!"

With the grip on its neck tightening to the point of almost decapitating it, the spirit struggled even more desperately, finally managing to break the chain that held it back. Now free, it hurled everyone around it away, and as it prepared to cast the final magic...

"?!"

"G-GRR!"

What appeared before the spirit's eye was the tip of a spear held by a pallum with a bloodlust that rivaled the pitiful state of his body.

"GRAAAA!!!"

With his last remaining strength, Finn thrust his spear forward piercing the woman's head, killing it.

'THUD!'

Both Finn's body and the corrupted spirit fell heavily to the ground, and the latter's body began to crumble, turning into a pile of dust in no time.

"Still alive Finn?" -Fatigued and wounded, Gareth approached Finn with a satisfied smile.

"I feel like dying 'cough'." -Although the wound in his chest had reopened and just breathing flooded him with pain, Finn smiled as well.

"What about you two?" -Gareth asked the two Amazons lying on the ground.

"I can't move a muscle."

"Me too."

The two amazons couldn't even lift their faces to answer.

"What should I do with you guys."

Shaking his head, Gareth loaded everyone on top of his body, paying particular attention to Finn, who was in the most critical condition.

"Take us home." -Finn said before closing his eyes to speed his healing.

"You bet."

With the weight of his companions on him, he began to walk slowly in the direction the others had gone. It was time to go home.

(Evilus Perspective.)

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

'sbang!'

Slamming her fist on the platform that transmitted what was happening in the maze, Ishitar was filled with rage. All the plans she had come up with and the resources she had spent on that monster had proved to be completely useless.

"Fufufu, they played us well. Even Enyo's secret weapon failed to stop the Loki Familia, they are truly worthy of their fame."

Unlike Ishitar, Thanatos did not seem to be too worried about the development of events. For him, whether the Loki Familia survived or not, it made little difference. All he wanted was to have fun and be in a place full of death, so he was more than satisfied with the events of that day.

"Oh, leaving already?" -Tanatos said, seeing Ishitar getting ready.

"I have nothing more to gain here and want to return to the red light district. Since there is no concrete evidence of my participation, they cannot come and investigate my Familia, especially in the area where I am in charge." -Said the goddess huffing.

"So cold. After all our time together you leave me like this. Ah! My poor little heart." -With exaggerated gestures, he held his chest as if truly hurt by the goddess's actions, but his smile betrayed him.

"What are you going to do with Freya anyway? We no longer have the bull of heaven."

"For that bitch I still have an ace up my sleeve."

The figure of a golden-haired fox girl appeared in the goddess's mind.

"Is that so? Oh well, bye-bye." -Waving his hand lazily, he waved goodbye to the goddess, who began to walk away.

Inside the room remained only Barca, who seemed to have lost years of life, and a few members of the Evilus, who began to organize themselves to figure out the damage done to the labyrinth.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something... whatever, if I don't remember it's definitely not important." -With a shrug, Thanatos also began to walk away.

(Inside the labyrinth.)

Heavy breathing.'

In one of the remote corners of the labyrinth, a figure was breathing heavily while covered in blood.

"UGHH!"

A sudden pain forced her to cover part of her face, where there was a nasty wound that seemed to have been caused first by something sharp and then by something that burned her, causing the loss of her eye.

But if there was one thing that overcame the pain and tiredness she felt, it was a deep hatred that burned menacingly in her heart.

{YOU'LL LOOK GREAT WITH AN EYE PATCH!}

"MARKKK!"

Gritting her teeth on the verge of breaking them, the words Mark shouted at her before disappearing still resonated in Valletta's mind, bringing her to the brink of madness. After being wounded in the eye, it became a nightmare. The dust thrown at her constantly attracted the monsters, forcing her to use the blood of her comrades to clean herself and run away, but the throbbing pain of the wound never left her.

She knew it was impossible to recreate an organ, even for the saint. That meant she would be blind in one eye forever, increasing the bloodlust she felt even more.

"I will not kill him. Every day I will make sure to torture him, I will cut him, I will burn him, I will break every bone in him! I will do it again and again, AGAIN AND AGAIN! AS LONG AS HE CAN BREATHE, HE WILL NOT HAVE A MOMENT WHEN HE IS NOT IN PAIN!"

In Valletta's mind, Finn and the other members of the Loki Familia disappeared, and only Mark remained. As long as she knew he was still breathing, the pain she felt from her vanished eye would never heal.

"Come on guys, hang in there a little longer, we'll be able to find the others."

"Try to help the wounded."

Hearing voices, Valletta hid in one of the side corridors, but when she saw that it was only a few of the remaining members of the injured Loki Familia, her face turned into a distorted smile.