Ascension of the Fallen

The King's Dilemma

The hunters were the first to respond coherently. They fanned out of the Artemis cabin, quickly settling in a defensive formation and firing at the monsters with practiced accuracy, the twang of their bows the only consoling sound.

Still, the deprivation of their three most experienced huntresses left their leadership significantly weakened, as the newly sworn in lieutenant of the hunt was inexperienced and unused to the weight of responsibility. Without the guidance of Zoe, Phoebe, and Celyn, they panicked when the monsters fell on them. They had to break formation, separated by the vast amounts of monsters that had wisely chosen to eradicate the bigger threat first. More than a few of them began to fall. Despite their prowess in wielding knives, daggers could only do so much damage up close, with a short length. Getting up close and personal with monsters was dangerous, and small knives were prone to getting stuck in muscle and bone.

All of this spelled disaster for the huntresses, had the Ares cabin not come to their aid.

The berserker sons and daughters of the war god fell upon the beasts like they were beasts themselves, alleviating some of the pressure off of the hunters. The other cabins joined in after they had cleared their own cabins of the monsters. The battle raged throughout the camp, demigods valiantly holding the line, and actually managing to push the monsters back towards the entrance of the Labyrinth.

Until they came out.

Echnida. The mother of all monsters slithered out, along with the fire-breathing Chimera. Kampê, the jailer of the Hundred-Handed Ones emerged from the entrance near Zeus' fist, hissing in glee and delight.

They were fucked.

Oh so very very fucked.

---

"Let me go down there!" Artemis furiously hissed at her equally angry father, "Even you know that the Ancient Laws are just a bunch of arbitrary laws that no one cares about, so why won't you let us go down there!? My huntresses are down there, and they're being slaughtered!! The demigod camps need help!! If you haven't noticed, Echnida and Kampê are down there!! There are unknown assailants ravaging New Rome!!"

"No," Zeus denied, "The Ancient Laws are a set of rules enforced by the Fates that prohibit us from interfering with the demigods. We shall not break them."

"That's bullshit, and you know it!" Apollo narrowed his eyes at his father.

"Zeus is using the demigods as bait to draw out Perseus," Athena deduced, stormy gray eyes narrowing.

Upon the god of thunder not denying it, the room burst into an uproar.

"I cannot believe you!" Artemis spat at Zeus, who did nothing to stop the accusations.

"You are disgusting, father," Hermes narrowed his eyes, "Using our children as bait just because of your paranoia. We all know Perseus was ten times the king and god you will ever be."

The room's atmosphere grew almost oppressive at the name of the former king of the gods, darkness seemingly creeping into the corners of the room.

"Silence!" Zeus hissed, his face red with anger, "If such baseless accusations continue, you will be banished as a traitor to Olympus!"

"Wow," Apollo drawled, "We care so, so much. Unfortunately for you, I care more about my children. You can't stop me from going down there."

Zeus opened his mouth to retort, but Apollo was already gone.

Along with the rest of the council.

He turned to look at his wife, but she only looked at him in disdain, before flashing away.