𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 [Jason Grace]

57

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. It just wasn't possible that a huge, orange-ish figure could drop out of the sky and stomp Tammi flat, trampling her into a mound of monster dust.

But that's exactly what happened. The Giant was fifteen feet tall, with slicked back dark hair, wearing a massive orange velour tracksuit and with gold chains around his neck which made him look like a mobster. In his hand was a massive spear with a snake curling around it.

Dante yelped and tried to crawl away, but the giant mobster didn't seem interested in him, at least not yet. He turned to the two remaining empousai, who stood over Jason.

One was foolish enough to attack. She lunged with the speed of a tiger, but she never stood a chance. With a single deadly swipe of his spear, he cut her to dust. The last vampire tried to run. The giant threw his spear like a massive boomerang. It sliced through the vampire and returned to the giant's hand.

"Yeah! Take a message!" The Giant did a little victory dance.

Jason couldn't speak. He couldn't bring himself to believe that something good had actually happened. Dante looked just as shocked.

"H-how...?" he stammered.

"You!" the Giant turned to him. His delighted grin melted away until he was left glaring at the boy on the ground.

Jason went a little crazy, he placed himself between Dante and the Giant and pointed his gold and bronze sword at him.

"Son of Mercury!" The Giant bellowed so loud, it was a wonder no other monsters heard them.

"Who are you?" Jason asked as bravely as he could manage. Behind him, Dante slowly stood up, holding onto Jason's arm for balance. Jason quite liked the small touches now that Dante didn't seem to hate him as much, and now that they had no one else but the other.

"I'm your bane!" The Giant growled. "And I am here to destroy you on orders of the—"

He faltered. He looked embarrassed about it and scratched the back of his head before looking at his palm where he'd apparently written something. "Uh... does this say Gerber? No wait Jeeee... Guhhh.... Gahh?"

"Gaea?" Dante ventured.

"Yes!" The giant said suddenly, pointing his spear at them. Jason didn't think, he just wound his sword around the spear and in two seconds flat, disarmed the Giant.

"Aw man, come on" the giant glared at him, "That's just plain rude"

"You just said you're here to kill us," Jason pointed out.

"Oh yeah" the Giant looked embarrassed. "Whoops. Well, I can still do that, you guys are tiny!"

"I'm 5'10"!" Dante yelled, and Jason wanted to remind him now was really not the time.

"Who are you?" He asked instead.

"Who are you?" The giant countered.

"You came here to kill us and you don't know our names?" Dante asked.

That seemed to embarrass the Giant even more. "I had it written somewhere" He stared at his hand, "Is your name Daniel by any chance?" He squinted at his own writing.

"Dante"

"Yes! Close enough" The giant looked delighted. Jason did not share the sentiment. "Prepare to die, Daniel!"

"Dante, man, come on"

There was something so bizarre about arguing with a Giant about something as petty as this. Jason could wrap his head around Tartarus, around empousai and fire rivers, but not this.