Knossos(6)

(Author: I admit that I have slowed down publishing these days, but because of holidays and with the fact that I am correcting old chapters, I just didn't have time. At the very least, the chapter you will read will be quite long, more than 2k words).

(Aiz Perspective)

'Cough'

"Your perseverance is noteworthy Aria, but even so, there is little you can do."

The red-haired woman looked indifferently at Aiz, who was kneeling on the ground with a cut on her chest. Fortunately, the wound was not too deep, as at the last second, Aiz managed to deflect part of the blow by not being stabbed, but with her wound not healing, she was losing too much blood, weakening herself.

"HM!"

Using all the strength she had, she stuck her sword into the ground and used it to raise herself, albeit with difficulty.

"It is useless for you to struggle. In the state you're in, you can't fight, and none of your comrades will come to save you when they're already dead in this damn maze." -She said coldly as she pointed her sword at Aiz.

'No one will come to save you.'

Aiz was too used to those words. There was no salvation for someone like her who only wanted to kill monsters for revenge, but even so, there were people she did not want to lose.

"I simply cannot give up."

With a small smile on her lips, she closed her eyes. The wind began to form around her, becoming second by second, stronger and stronger. She knew that with her current strength, she could not defeat the woman in front of her, so the enemy she had to face now was the labyrinth itself.

"Rage Tempest!"

'FUSH!

"WHA-?!"

A tornado formed inside the room, generating such a powerful wind that the woman's body began to be pushed back, and inside the eye of the storm, there was Aiz, who continued to provide strength to the wind.

(Gareth Perspective)

Smoke filled the view along with the flames that still danced on the floor, making the corridor air so hot that it made it difficult to breathe. Gareth's group had been victims of a suicide attack by Evilus members, ending up submerged in the explosion that occurred in the hallway that was filled with explosives.

In that situation, hit by the shock wave and flames, just surviving could be considered a miracle, but the group's situation was even more unimaginable.

"...Are we alive?" -Narvi, a level 4 girl, asked.

Besides having survived the trap, they presented only minor burns, but this was only possible thanks to the person who had been the wall in front of them.

"Gareth you..."

"...KAHAHA! What's the matter, guys? Finn used to say that the only good thing about this body is its toughness."

Although Gareth was laughing without concern, he was actually gritting his teeth in pain. His body was still smoking and part of his back was burned, but he could not afford to show weakness in front of his three companions, not when they still needed him.

"Still, it's strange. How come the flames didn't consume us?"

As one of them pointed out, even if Gareth had acted as a shield, he couldn't block all the incoming flames.

'crack!

Hearing the sound of falling rubble, the trio shifted their gaze to the wall, but as soon as they did, their jaws almost touched the ground.

"I have to say it was a close call." -With a sigh, Gareth withdrew his hand from the adamantium wall, where there was now a person-sized hole.

"Y-You did a hole in the adamantium with ONLY BARE HANDS?!"

Thanks to his move, the flames came out of the hole he had created, without being concentrated in a single area.

The trio's minds froze at that point, but even so, they followed Gareth into the passageway, ending up in another corridor.

'I don't think I can do this again.'

Taking a potion, he poured it on the hand he had used to destroy the wall, which was now all bloody and had several fractures. The only reason he was able to perform that feat was because of the combination of his body structure, magic, and skills, which enabled him to generate a force that was equivalent to that of a level 7, but it would take time for him to recover.

'fush!

While they were still organizing, suddenly a strong wind came up, forcing them to raise their hands to shield their eyes, but Gareth was different.

"This wind...! Follow me!"

With his command, they began to run toward the direction from which the wind came.

(Bete Perspective)

"GRAAA!"

"GRRR!"

"HAHAHA! What's going on Vanargand, don't tell me you're going to let your comrades kill each other?"

"That bastard."

Bete watched the scene in the hallway with annoyance as he remained hidden behind a corner with Rakta, the Familia mapper.

He and his group were attacked by the man who was taunting him, afflicting them with a curse of confusion, which caused them to attack each other in a berserk state. Fortunately, he managed to dodge being hit, but now he was stuck where he was.

The man who was enjoying what was happening was Dix Perdix a level 5 and Barca's brother, but unlike him, Perdix was bursting with vitality because the effects of his ancestors' curse, had less of an effect on him, managing to retain his personality. Of course, this did not mean that he was completely immune to it. He still felt how his bloodline kept commanding him to build Knossos, which distorted his personality.

'Hehehe, what are you going to do now wolf boy.'

Perdix was sure of his victory. If Bete had given up on his comrades and charged toward him, he would have lowered the gate, causing Bete to fight with his friends. Instead, if he had decided to save them, he would have cursed him and enjoyed the spectacle of the mad wolf killing indifferently between allies and enemies.

"I have already lost too much patience."

"W-Wait Bete, where are you going?!"

Seeing Bete coming out of the safe zone, Rakta called him back, but he ignored her and started to approach his comrades who were fighting beastly.

"I got you." -Seeing him approaching his comrades, Perdix began to recite the curse chant.

"GRRR!"

Seeing someone approaching, the members of the Loki Familia attacked without the slightest hesitation, and it was at that point that Perdix did not take into account one thing...

"You insist so much on following us, but then you prove to be completely useless."

Bete was a complete asshole.

'BAAM!

Grabbing the faces of his 'comrades' he crushed them to the ground causing them to pass out.

"...Huh?" -Perdix was momentarily stunned by this and seeing how quickly Bete was laying down the other members, he tried to speed up the chant.

By the time Perdix finished the chant, Bete had already started running toward him, and there a doubt arose in his mind. Even if he had cast the curse and Bete had started to run wild, the only person remaining in front of the boy was none other than him.

"Shit!"

Seeing Bete's arm was about to reach him, he lowered the gate with the artifact he had in place of his eye, similar to his brother's.

"Haaaa, what a mess."

Perdix sighed in relief. When he had the curse active, his status decreased, and considering the already overwhelming difference in strength between him and Bete, if he was hit even once, he would end up severely damaged.

"I'd better retreat and regroup, maybe-"

'rumble'

His expression stiffened at the sound and he turned slowly toward the gate that was slowly being raised.

"OIOI, do you have any idea how much that thing weighs?"

Perdix began to back up slowly, and when the gate was high enough to see Bete's bloodthirsty eyes, Perdix did not hesitate to run.

"Damn you Barca! These guys are not human!"

"Tch, the coward escaped and you move to take those idiots out! This thing is heavy." -He shouted in irritation.

'fush!

"Wind?" - A gust of wind magically rose in the hallway.

(Tiona Perspective)

Tiona's group ended up in the hallway full of poison vermis, where no matter how many were killed, more would appear soon after, but the situation changed completely when the monsters coordinated and sprayed their acid poison at the same time, creating a wave of poison directed toward the group.

"NOT TODAY!"

Positioning herself in front of the group, Tiona began to spin her urga even faster than helicopter propellers, creating a barrier against the poison, but it could not be maintained for long.

"Cast magic, quickly!"

Tiona's hands were beginning to be corroded by the acid, but even so, she would not stop spinning her weapon to protect her comrades. The seconds seemed to last for hours and the feeling in her hands continued to diminish, and when it seemed she could no longer hold the weight of the weapon, the magic was cast.

Various fireballs flew in the direction of the monsters, killing most of them, allowing the others to finish them off and Tiona to catch her breath.

'heavy breaths'

"Tiona your hands..." -Said Elfy, the same girl Mark had spent some time with during the expedition.

"Don't worry, compared to the poison I was hit with in Melen, this is nothing." -With a tired smile, she made V with her fingers.

'fush!

A strong breeze hit them, but Tiona's expression brightened, recognizing who had produced it.

(Tione Perspective)

Tione's group was attacked by a group of people, but they did not look like members of Evilus. Their strength was superior and they were much more organized, looking more like a group of assassins. In fact, they quickly realized that Tione was the main problem and the first thing they did, was to tie her up with a rope that was used to suppress the status, or at least that was what they hoped.

"GHAA!"

An assassin who had gotten too close to Tione was sent flying by a kick to the stomach from her.

"W-Why does she still have all that strength?!" -Shouted one of the assassins.

"First a shitty maze, then pesky traps, then you separate me from my sister! Then shitty assassins appear! Finally, to make matters worse, you separate me from MY CAPTAIN YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!"

With bloodshot eyes, she tore the ropes holding her back and assaulted the various assassins present.

Meanwhile, her comrades were standing in the corner, with no room to do anything in the one-way extermination that Tione was doing in her state of rage.

"Her 'Berserk' ability is such that it nullifies the effects of the status suppressor..." -From that alone, one could tell how angry Tione was.

When the assassins were finally hit so many times that they became piles of flesh, Tione was able to quell some of her anger and as she thought of a next plan of action, a current of air rose in the hallway.

(Evilus Perspective)

"Extraordinary...extraordinary! To think that a girl could generate such a wind that mocks our work, our ambition." -Barca looked in admiration at the monitors.

The wind could not be controlled, no matter how many gates he lowered, there were not enough gates to block it completely, and it was giving the other members of the Loki Familia the direction in which to go.

"No matter what I do, eventually they will all gather in that girl's direction."

'TREMOR!

"What is happening?" -Ishtar asked irritably. She was already unnerved that the Loki Familia refused to die, but there seemed to be more problems now.

"Supreme Thanatos! The Bull of Heaven has gone mad, it is destroying every restriction!" -A follower of Thanatos said in panic.

"Haaa, this is a problem." -Thanatos sighed wearily.

The two gods headed toward the area where the corrupted spirit was contained, and in a deep pit, the monster wriggled uncontrollably. The various members of Evilus did their best to contain it, using other giant chains in reserve, but they were destroyed shortly thereafter.

"Since this wind came up, it has gone mad." -Commented Thanatos.

"...How about if we set this thing go wild?"

"Fufufu Ishtar, you are so wicked, but don't you think our sponsor would get angry?"

"With the Loki Familia still inside, don't you think that's the best way to test its strength before facing the Freya Familia?"

Ishtar turned around smiling, and even Thanatos' expression was distorted by the amusement he was feeling.

"Well... I am also curious about the strength of Enyo's secret weapon."