A really huge thanks to ChildOfPertemis for helping me write this chapter. The fight scenes could not have been nearly as good without the valuable help that I got.
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"I May Not Have Gone Where I Intended To Go, But I Think I Have Ended Up Where I Needed To Be"
-Douglas Adams
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While we follow our hero's tale, it is often easy to forget those that aid him. Andromeda, for one, had no small part to play in the chain of events.
For most of her life, her purpose was unknown to her. But now, as she faced the doors of the bottomless pit, it was all too clear for her.
Despite this, she couldn't suppress the worries that plagued her. She was worried about more things than she'd to admit. Her safety, her family, her future, and the result if she failed. All these things worried her.
But most of all, she was worried about Percy.
She had been worried about him ever since they first met. He was not like the other people she had known. Even by demigod standards, he was different.
There was something unique about him.
The more stories she heard about him, the more puzzling he became to her; The Saviour of Olympus, The Slayer of Medusa, the One-Who-held-The-Sky. All these titles fascinated her.
Here she was now, tasked with protecting humanity. The pedestal of the door was warm against her touch. The doors spoke to her. It was more of a feeling rather than a message. She looked back, finding an enormous crowd gathered around two people who were fighting.
She didn't remember seeing them enter. Who were they? Throughout the past few weeks, she had grown numb to any surprises.
She could see Percy, the entire mob of people obstructing her view. She figured that he could take care of himself. He was, after all, the Lightbringer.
As she turned, she pondered if everything that they both had was real.
But she liked him, didn't she? Or was it just his mysteriousness that attracted her? Some questions, she decided, were best left unanswered.
"After all," She told herself, "He is the hero of the story, not her."
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"The grounds are now shaking; kingdoms bare." Perseus hummed to himself, lying on the ground.
"Time to finish this!" War announced, lifting his weapon, now in the form of a trident. His army roared and howled, eager to lay waste to the world above.
"The floods are soon coming; all prepare."
War ignored the hero's delusional words. He ceremonially held his trident, preparing to end the only thorn in his plans. He looked at the heroes that watched him, none daring to challenge him.
But really, who could blame them? The horseman had just beaten the strongest of them all. But not all were to be silent. There would always be that one, standing up when no one else did.
"Stop!" Yelled a voice from among the crowd. The heroes looked at each other, wondering who it was that spoke. A pale boy stepped forth from the crowd, guilt tugging at his heart.
"Leave him alone!" Nico yelled at War, pulling out his Stygian-Iron sword. War laughed at the boy's foolishness. He stepped away from Perseus, much to Nico's relief, and walked towards him.
"Towers of Silver, and Rivers of Death" Perseus lay perfectly still, his hands on his chest. He kept humming in the same soft tune, not making any attempt to get up.
"Don't you see?" War asked, bellowing in laughter. "I've already won!"
"I said...leave him alone!" Repeated Nico through gritted teeth. The shadows around him bent and twisted to his will, obeying his every command.
But he was no match for War, who swiped his hand through the air and made the shadows scatter. Nico knew that he couldn't possibly win. But he was not going down without a fight.
"Percy!" He yelled at his once-friend. "Percy, you've got to get up!"
"Make way, oh, make way," Percy's head tilted ever so slightly on hearing his voice. It seemed like he was miles away. Something about the voice sounded familiar to him.
He turned and looked at Nico, recognition striking him after a few seconds. Yes, Nico.
The name brought with it many memories. Good and bad. He kept watching as the towering horseman walked towards Nico.
"Make way, oh, make way,"
"Perseus, I'm sorry!" he said, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I was wrong to believe the others over you!"
"I was a fool!" He said, sobbing softly. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood looked down in shame. Some even had tears streaming down their face.
"Oh, how cute!" War sneered, sarcasm dripping like venom in his words. "It's all a big reunion." "Make way, oh, make way,"
"Well, time to die," War said and swung his trident
"For the Herald of End."
CLANG!
Within a moment, everyone's attention shifted to the sound of metal hitting metal.
War's trident was blocked midway with Percy's sword.
Percy stood there, head bent, covering the distance between them with impossible speed.
"You!" War's eyes widened. Perseus lifted his head, and the horseman looked deep into his eyes. The glint of madness was still there. But now, with it accompanied a burning fire of determination.
Perseus stared back at War defiantly. He couldn't help but feel a strange sensation of fear while looking at the madness in the hero's otherwise normal eyes.
Percy pushed War back with newfound strength, quickly getting into an offensive stance. His gaze, never once wavering, was now trained at his opponent.
"So that's how you want to play it?" Snarled War, the trident now morphing into a Great-axe. "So be it! Feel the WRATH OF WAR!"
Perseus didn't reply. Instead, he focuses on his enemy's technique, trying to find a fault in it. But much to his dismay, the eternal being was making no mistake. Even while War was enraged, he didn't have any flaws in his stance.
War, with a groan, threw his axe at Perseus. The hero was startled, but his reflexes kicked in. He let go of his sword, making it drop to the floor, and grabbed the flying axe before spinning and throwing it back with equal momentum.
War, however, was expecting it. Seeing the hero disarmed, he took the opportunity and rushed in. By the time Percy had flung the axe back, he was already halfway to him.
He grabbed the incoming axe midair and lifted himself off the ground with a jump. With a horrifying scream, he hurled himself towards Perseus and brought down his axe on him.
The heroes and monsters alike were stunned as smoke and dust encased both of them. When it cleared, they saw Percy holding the Sword of Eden at full length against War's axe. The celestial sword hummed as it turned a light shade of silver.
Beads of sweat dripped down Percy's forehead as he tried to push War back. After a few seconds of stalemate, he kicked War in the groin and shoved him back with a burst of his strength.
War roared in frustration, turning to his monstrous army, furious.
"Why are you idiots just standing there?!" He boomed. "ATTACK OR ELSE I'LL KILL YOU ALL MYSELF!!!"
"Don't worry, Percy!" Olivia shouted. "We got them!"
"CHARGE!" Jason screamed at his comrades.
Percy steadied himself, taking a few breaths to regain his bearings. He turned back to see Nico, standing there, shell-shocked at the events that had just unfolded.
"Well, are you just going to stand there?" He asked Nico, "Or are you going to help?"
Nico nodded and readied his Stygian-Iron sword. They both looked at War, towering with an enormous sword in his hand.
They both steeled their nerves and charged at the Horseman of War.
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While the battle took place on the surface, a darker force grew under it. After all, the real danger is not the kind you see, but the kind you don't.
Underneath the layers of shifting rocks, there was a large room. The light was dim, and the air was chilling. In its centre was a coffin, wrapped in chains. The ground pulsated, with veins stretching out from the coffin to the surroundings.
It was the same room that Perseus had come across while trying to escape.
He had instinctively known that something was very wrong with it. And he was right.
In the coffin, through the glass, one could see a pale woman. Her features kept changing, making it rather hard to describe her.
The room suddenly became much dimmer as the lights flickered off. In the darkness, one could notice small movements through the glass.
The woman's eyes were closed and had remained closed for countless centuries, only showing occasional movements. That was, of course, until now. Because now,
Her eyes opened
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The hellscape above was a nightmarish scene, blood covering the entire battlefield.
The heroes of Camp Halfblood, Camp Jupiter, The Egyptians, The Legions of Valhalla, all gave their best. They fought with impeccable coordination and terrifying ferocity, the likes of which might never be seen again for generations.
Olivia was chopping up the monsters with her trusty axe, her speed unmatched by anyone. She picked up a spear from one of the corpses and threw it at the monster horde, embedding it in the chests of numerous shades.
The rest of the Einherji were not to be so easily dismissed either. They fought courageously, humming ancient war-chants. The berserkers were going, well, berserk. It was a massacre, to put it lightly.
The Greek and Roman demigods fought together, going hand-in-hand with their counterparts.
Leading the Romans in the attack was none other than Reyna Avira Ramirez-Arellano and Jason Grace. Reyna was holding her own against the monsters pretty well, using the power of the goddess Bellona, her mother, to empower her soldiers. Accompanied by Jason's quick but deadly thunderbolts, they were a duo to be reckoned with, appearing as an unstoppable force.
The hunters fired arrows upon arrows at the monsters, picking out any strays. The Goddess Artemis was not among them, along with a large number of hunters. What were, however, more than made up for the missing. And leading them was none other than Thalia, daughter of Zeus, firing arrow upon arrow into the demon army.
The Egyptians were on a whole new level of their own. They called upon the power of the gods and wrecked destruction on their enemy.
But even the best could only do so much. The sheer number of the monsters was too much for the heroes to handle. One by one, their numbers fell. Very soon, the heroes' numbers reduced to a few hundred. The ones that remained knew that they couldn't possibly win. Yet, they didn't back down in the face of danger.
"This is going to be the end of us few," Jason murmured. Reyna placed her hand on his shoulder, "Then it will be the noblest ending in history." She told him.
Life has a funny way of making sure you appreciate it. It gives you certain moments in which you can look back on all you've done. For Reyna, it was the flying arrow of darkness hurtling towards her. Everything seemed to slow down, and she look at it, she felt a wave of peace wash over her.
She gasped as the arrow pierced her chest. Jason's eyes widened as he screamed, grabbing her before she hit the ground.
He slowly placed her head down, tears threatening to fall.
"No, no no!" Jason murmured, removing the arrow and putting pressure on the wound. "Oh god, Reyna!" He said.
"It'll be okay," Reyna said, coughing. "Just, promise me something..."
"Anything" He replied instantly, his voice breaking.
"Promise me..." She said slowly, "That my death would not be in vain."
Jason couldn't bring himself to speak, nodding instead. He sobbed as she smiled weakly. His sadness, however, was short-lived.
He felt anger. A burning rage that he couldn't control. He felt incomprehensible anger at the foul creatures that did this to Reyna. He felt an overwhelming fury at War for ordering them to kill her. But most importantly, he was angry at himself. He felt desolate at the fact that he couldn't save her.
"Don't worry," he whispered to her, standing. "Rest."
He turned towards the roaring creatures, his eyes red with wrath, and charged. His rage was beyond describable terms. He took out his wrath on the enemy.
He killed everything in his path, tearing them to shreds. No demon wanted to get too close to him in fear of being destroyed. Even his comrades feared what they saw in him.
Reyna looked at the hero with a smile, groaning as she rested her head. She knew that Jason would go on to avenge her. And with that,
She took her last breath.
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