Chapter 43: The World After part 3: Hercules.

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Chapter 43: The World After Part 3: Hercules.

(Billy's P.O.V)

My body smoothly sank through the massive water pillar. The water enclosed around the egg and I, before twisting under my command.

Then the malleable liquid construct bent, depositing me and the egg onto the banks of the river gently. My breath came out in harsh bursts.

But I was alive.

I started giggling, looking at the Trident before I turned back to face the mountain. Only to come face to face with a row of sharp teeth about to rip my body in two.

Time seemed to stop. The Wyvern had dove down after me, it's eyes crazed with rage. I hadn't noticed it and now it was too late to defend myself. I blinked.

Bam!

Something fast slammed onto the Wyvern's side. The close relative to dragons was unceremoniously thrown away, crashing through the trunks of a few trees and causing a massive cloud of dust to rise up.

It tried to get up, shaking it's head but the hit seemed to have been too much to handle. It fell over and passed out, causing the whole area to tremble at the action.

At the Wyvern's previous position, Hercules stood, wiping his hands at a job well done.

"She'll be down for a few few hours but by then, we'll be far gone."

He declared with a small smile on his face.

"That was fun, don't you agree?"

He gave me a thumbs up.

"Dude, you just flicked that thing away like it was nothing."

I told him, a little surprised at how casually he'd made it seem. How much strength did he actually have?

And was there even a limit?

"You don't play with the...finger of doom."

He raised up said digit in a dramatic fashion.

"This baby right here has spelled doom for many."

"Finger of...doom?"

I muttered, a little thrown off by the naming and also exhausted by how close I had come to finding out if ghosts could die.

"Speaking of which, that's one."

Hercules declared, fully turning around to face me.

I scrunched up my brows in question.

"One what?"

Hercules grabbed me by the shoulder and lifted me off the ground, making me feel even more useless.

No, I wasn't useless. I tightened my fingers around the Trident. With this, I was going to survive. Survive and thrive. Even without my Psionic abilities.

He held up his finger once more.

"One of only three times I will intervene if your life is in danger."

His tone had lost the playful nature I'd associated with him.

"It's a divine promise. No matter what, where or when, call on me and I'll save you. Use the two chances left wisely."

He slapped my back, walking past me.

"Now grab that egg and let's head for camp. I wanna make some omelette! I'm starving."

"Wait!"

I called out, gulping.

"I'm not going anywhere until you answer a few questions."

I had had enough. The past few days I had spent with Hercules had been exciting, terrifying and most of all, exhausting.

I looked up with a sigh.

"We've been attacked by dire-wolves, a colony of dog sized ants and now a Wyvern. You've dodged all my questions about where we actually are or what happened to the world when I died."

Another sigh escaped me.

"Or even if I'll ever go back..."

My time in the Marvel world hadn't been the safest. But it had been the most fulfilling.

My mundane life back on my normal world had left me feeling empty. As if I'd been meant for more but had fell short of achieving that destiny.

Dying and getting transmigrated to Marvel had been the new beginning I'd been craving. I had landed a sweet deal, power and the chance to interact with my favorite characters.

There was no way I was going to let it end like this.

Hercules chuckled.

"You think threatening to stay here will force me to answer your questions. How naive."

"No."

I shook my head with a self-satisfied smile. Because I knew his game.

"It was never meant as a threat."

I turned around so that we were now face to face. Hercules looked down at me, one eyebrow raised in question.

I pointed the Trident straight at his heart.

"You are all about power and strength. Acting weak before you won't get me anywhere. So here it is."

I breathed in.

"I challenge you to a one on one fight. If I win, you tell me everything I want to know. If you win, I'll do as you say."

Hercules blinked in surprise, not expecting such a bold move. Then his face split into a wide savage smile.

"Not that I'm not interested in that idea, but trust me, you were already going to do as I said regardless."

He folded his hands above his chest.

"What do you want then?"

I asked, my heart pumping in my chest.

"If I Win, you have to do 12 labors of my choosing... without this fancy weapon."

He said, tapping the prongs of the Trident.

The trident vibrated.

I sucked in a deep breath. 12 labors? And of his choosing.

"Fine. But I'm changing my wager as well. If I win, you tell me everything I want to know and on top of that, I get to leave this place. The world needs me, I can't be stuck playing 'how to survive the jungle' with you."

The Demigod rubbed his chin in thought.

"I accept!"

He declared.

'It's not like you had a choice you battle-maniac. You're incapable of passing up a fight.'

I snidely thought to myself.

"Of course I do!"

He chortled, flexing his Collosal biceps.

"I was just moved by your audacity, so I accepted. We always have a choice, young Billy."

"Whaa?" I muttered, caught off-guard. Shit, I forgot he could do that.

"Stop reading my mind! It's annoying as fuck."

I grit my teeth, taking a few steps back in preparation.

Hercules cracked his knuckles.

"You don't have to be insufferable if you want a fight, Little man! If a brawl is what you seek, then a brawl is what you'll get, Little man!"

God. This is so needlessly dramatic.

"I'll show you who the little man is."

I shot back, diving into the connection I had with the trident.

Challenging Hercules was never part of my grand plan. I mean, who in their right mind would willingly pit themselves against a demigod with unmatched strength?

But this was the only way to get through to the buff bastard. He respected strength. Preached it, even.

The questions I had were too vital. My time was too vital. If there was a chance to make it right, then...I would take it.

So there I stood, at the banks of a majestic waterfall, Neptune's Trident in hand, in a face off with arguably the most powerful Demi-god in Greek mythology.

The azure waters of the river roared beside us, echoing the tumultuous conflict that was about to unfold.

Hercules straightened, towering over and looked down at me with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"This is going to be fun."

With a nod of acceptance, he signaled his readiness.

"Just...bring it."

Oh, I brought it.

Without a moment's hesitation, I extended my will over the water in the river near us.

The river's current responded, surging into a colossal, watery fist that I launched at Hercules.

The punch struck him square in the chest, water splashed around and behind him but to my disbelief, he merely chuckled.

His laughter booming louder than the waterfall itself.

The brute shook his head, water spraying off his drenched long blonde hair.

"You'll have to do better than that!"

he taunted, his voice carrying over the crashing water.

Frustration gnawed at me as I clenched my teeth. He's right. He wasn't the predictable types that I was used to fighting. I needed to get creative.

I stretched out my leg, shifting my balance as I used the trident to call on another wave. The torrential amount loomed over both of us.

Hercules whistled.

"Ok, that's better!!"

I swiped the Trident down. The wave launched forth into uncountable raindrops. Then I went step further.

When I'd grabbed the trident this time, it had felt different. It had been... whispering to me. Bolstering me. And teaching me what it could do.

My breath came out in a condensed whoosh.

The droplets froze, shaping into sharp icicles that hurtled at lightning speeds towards Hercules.

But he was quicker than I anticipated.

With a mere snap of his fingers, he conjured a ripple of air that shattered the icy barrage. I shielded my eyes from the sharp shards as the pressure wave sent me flying back.

Fuck, I knew he was powerful but...

I stabbed the Trident onto the ground, bringing my momentum down.

But while my instincts were screaming at me to move, my eyes were slower to see why.

Hercules, with a manic glint in his eyes, had lunged toward me, his gargantuan palm outstretched.

"I'll burst your head like a watermelon inside my hand, if you don't dodge, little man!"

he roared.

Panic surged through me, the trident grew warm to the touch and I was immediately filled with a small burst of energy.

It wasn't psionic energy. It was thicker, somehow. Psionic energy felt physically fragile; it was lighter and more fleeting.

This new energy was different. It was more grounded in everything around. I could feel it more clearly now, this place.

It was a simulated space, and it wasn't created by Hercules like I'd been thinking. He'd called it a what? a soul transmission. And a few other cryptic words.

He'd mentioned someone had been responsible for all this.

'And I have a pretty guess who.' I thought to myself as a certain King-mage appeared in my mind.

Seems like I'd retained my speed thinking, as all that had gone through my head in an instant.

Hercules was still moving towards me.

With a mental command, I called upon the water, and a serpentine tendril coiled around my waist, yanking me into the river's embrace.

I barely evaded his grasp as his massive form crashed onto the bank of the river, sending a cascade of waves and rocks in all directions.

Meanwhile, I hit the water and sank to it's depths.

A suit of watery armor quickly formed around me. It was roughly as huge as the Hulk, providing protection and filtering air for my lungs.

Just in time, too, as the water above churned with Hercules' powerful leap into the river after me.

Gritting my teeth, I thrust Neptune's Trident forward, commanding the river to create a furious whirlpool around the Demigod.

He struggled within the vortex, fighting back with relentless determination. However without traction he sank to the riverbed quickly.

I beat my legs, the motion pushing me after him. The Trident glowed golden. I stopped in place as two huge similarly glowing eyes appeared below me.

A new sense was opening up to me.

In the watery depths, I felt a connection with the freshwater life swimming around.

Fish like trouts, salmon, catfish, and crustaceans like crayfish and crabs were mine to control.

So I chose the biggest of them all to aid me in the fight.

A massive crab, the one whose eyes glowed responded to my call, it scuttled through the water on the floor of the river, its pincers reaching for Hercules.

"Yes! A chance!" I muttered, using the Trident to propel myself with increased speed. The prongs aimed to pierce him through.

Hercules snorted, tearing the crab's arms off in one single motion and then faster than I could react, he used them to smack me away with brutal force.

The impact sent me hurtling out of the water, into the air, my form flipping through the air.

I crashed on the side of a mountain, ripping chunks of rock free. Before falling down on the ground near the entrance of the Wyvern's den.

Fortunately, my watery armor protected me, absorbing most of the force but I was still left breathless and disoriented.

Above me, a shadow loomed, and to my horror, it was the lifeless carcass of the giant crab I had sent after Hercules.

The bastard had killed it and hurled its remains toward me. Instinctively, I rolled away, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

I looked at the trail the Crab made with it's body before I turned to my front. Hercules was coming down from the sky with his forearms pulled back.

Shit. I extended out tendril of water to an outcrop of rock and used that to pull myself away.

Hercules caused an earthquake when his attack landed. The ground split into two as a part of the mountain was seared off.

Through the dust, Hercules came at me once more. But this time I was ready. A tendril wound through the side and grabbed his shin.

Then I spun and with the motion, the tendril danced around the air, pulled back and launched the God of Strength through the mountain.

I slammed the trident's pommel onto the ground. More water rose up at my command, it flowed through the air, wrapping around huge chunks of rocks. Then the tendrils threw them through the hole, he had created with his body.

What was left of the mountain range disappeared. Boulders and rocks begun to fall towards me.

Any projectile headed for me was sliced apart by blades of flexible water tendrils.

I was breathing faster and heavier now. Controlling that much water hadn't been

"Lets see you break out of-"

The whole mountain rumbled, then the ground burst apart. I formed the water behind me into giant ice wings then pushed off the collapsing ground.

I blinked watching Hercules get up from among the shattered stones. He patted himself down. Then he looked around at the devastation in what seemed to be disbelief.

I glided closer to the ground.

"So, you give up now?"

I asked, even though I knew the answer already.

Laughter bubbled out of him.

"You buried me in a mountain, little man! Don't misunderstand me, that was awesome. But now it's my turn."

He grinned.

"Now accept my righteous vengeance. Finger of Doom!"

He flicked his finger my way.

I didn't register the impact. I didn't feel a thing. No pain. No touch. All I know is that everything immediately went dark.