15 Eschios Vs. Heracles

Eschios pov:

Dodging the giant hand of Heracles, I leaped into the air, firing several arrows at him, only for them to fall to the ground after bouncing off his body.

It didn't matter, since they were distractions. I charged straight at Heracles, using the speed to punch him in the stomach.

Coughing out blood, Heracles staggered for a moment but soon let out a roar as his body regenerated. Tsk.

Frowning, I hid in the shadows and attacked him from all directions, giving him no time to react.

I hit him, then dodged and hid. He tanked my hits, then regenerated from the damage. it was the same pattern over and over again.

Pulling out a tree from the ground, Heracles frantically swung it around him, attempting to hit me in the process.

Jumping and landing on the pulled-out tree, I landed a downward punch on his head, punching him to the ground and causing a small crater to form.

I had to be careful while battling Heracles since he had stronger divinity than me. He was one of the few who could harm me.

Targeting his muscles, I hit them just right to weaken the muscles. Since he couldn't recover from something that wasn't a wound, I only hit the muscles just right to turn them off.

Just when the pace of the battle was at my side, the image of Heracles suddenly blurred out. For a short moment, my whole body was in extreme pain, and my legs felt heavier than ever. I felt divinity from the pain and the feeling of anger and frustration from way up in the sky.

"Hera...!"

A moment later, I felt the strongest punch that I have ever felt land on my stomach, sending me flying through the mountains, crashing through trees with blood oozing out from my body.

Just as I was about to scream out of pain, I felt warm sunlight surrounding me, and the next moment I was partly healed with some parts of my body still injured.

Ew. Apollo must have healed me. Since he did not want to go against Hera that much, he wasn't interfering in this fight, but it was useful to have him on support like this.

Dragging my now-heavy body, I ran in the direction of Heracles.

(A/N: Hera nerfed Eschios' speed from EX to B+... Too much nerf, Hera.)

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Eschios pov:

(Five days later)

Enduring an uppercut from Heracles, I hit his neck with a broken tree, sending him staggering backward. Using my daggers to leave cuts on him, I backed off, guarding myself against the spin kick Heracles sent.

After finding an opening, Heracles sent a punch to my chest, only to have his left eye be blinded but not damaged by the arrow fired by Atalanta.

Using the chance I got, I flipped Heracles to the ground using pankration and pounded him.

"Wake up, bastard! Wake! Up! Wake! Up! Wa-"

*Pow*

Sliding against the ground and getting up after the hit I received, I took out my bow and put my arrow on it, but Heracles got to me faster than I could fire it in my weakened state, then swung a long boulder to my head.

Ducking under it, I tipped Heracles to the direction he swung the boulder at, making him lose balance, then stabbed his face multiple times with my arrows.

The fight was getting nowhere. I was on the verge of fainting, Heracles was reaching the limit as well, and Atalanta won't be able to hurt Heracles.

Even though it was two against one, Heracles seemed to be winning. My speed, the biggest advantage I have in a fight, is sealed away, with my armor not being durable enough to take Heracles' attacks, as it was for sealing, not fighting.

Heracles was regenerating the second after he got injured. The blessing from Hera. She must want him to eliminate me, fall into more despair, then suffer from the aftermath of too-much regeneration.

Switching my weapon to a double sword, I readied myself to once again join in a seemingly never-ending fight.

However, Heracles suddenly fell over, fainting and falling to the ground. Carefully approaching him while hiding my presence, I checked his pulse. Still breathing. Nice.

For some reason, Hera must have decided to stop Heracles' rampage.

The sealed speed of mine was gone, too, with my body feeling way lighter.

My curiosity about the situation was answered by Apollo's voice in my head.

{'Eschios, the gods have decided to stop Heracles' rampage after the fight between you two went on for so long. But Hera's pretty angry with you two, so you're going to have to seek guidance from the Delphi temple. I voted to stop the rampage, so can we sleep together now?'}

'I refuse. But thank you.'

{'Oh... Eschios saying thank you...! I'm having a nosebleed-'}

'Alright bye.'

The gratitude Eschios had for Apollo disappeared in an instant.

"Atalanta, it's safe now."

After my assurance, Atalanta came closer but was still holding her bow, with her arrow ready to be shot. She must have still been wary. To be honest, I was too.

"Let's carry this as$hole down."

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Narrator pov:

After a few minutes, Eschios and Atalanta laid Heracles down in the cave Atalanta found days earlier. They couldn't go back to Heracles' house. Heracles' dead wife, whom he killed, was the princess of the kingdom.

The two did not want to think of what would have happened if they took Heracles back there.

"...Atalanta, where are the children?"

"I stuffed them in these bags."

"Huh?"

Eschios looked at Atalanta, who showed him several large leather backpacks inside the cave with a proud smile.

Inside those bags were children, all sleeping quietly while hugging each other.

"They were... scared in the beginning, but calmed down a bit recently. The young ones consider it just a nightmare that... the incident happened. I couldn't find anything else than these bags for them to sleep on."

"....."

After thinking for a short time, Eschios decided to leave the children at the hands of Chiron, because to the children, the greatest safety assurance for them would be being raised and taught by Chiron, who is respected by even the gods.

"When he wakes up, I'll talk to him alone. You should protect the children... just in case."

"...No..."

"No? Why? It's much safer for me to-"

"He might attack you... I don't want you to get hurt..."

"...It'll be ok. I got my speed back, and Apollo told me that the gods have decided to stop his rampage. I'm leaving you here because I trust you to be able to protect the little ones."

".....Alright."

"After he wakes up... he and I are going to the Delphi temple to seek guidance. You should take the children to master Chiron's school. The sun will guide your way there."

"We'll see each other again, right?"

"Don't worry! We're the duo that puts the Dioscuri to shame, right? If due to certain circumstances, we can't reunite, go join the group called the Argonauts led by Jason in the future. I'll also be there."

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Eschios pov:

After Atalanta left with the children to master Chiron's school, I waited for Heracles to wake up.

*Twitch*

When he showed signs of regaining his consciousness, I poured cold water over him to wake him up. Revenge was sweet.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Hey, you're finally awake."

"Eschios? What happened..? Why am I... What is... this...?"

After waking up, Heracles grabbed his hair, remembering the things he did when he was berserk.

"No... no, nononononononono.... No... This... this is a dream... there's no way... no... no..."

"Uh... Heracles, cal-"

"NOOOO!!! AHHHHH!!! THERE'S NO WAY!!! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!!"

"Hey! Heracles, I know it's impossible for you to calm down, but you've got to-"

"This has to be a dream, right, Eschios? Please tell me this is a dream. Please..."

Unable to say anything to Heracles, who was breaking down on the ground, Eschios clenched his eyes shut and looked away.

"I... What did I do? I did nothing. Why? Why me? I- I..."

".....It's not your fault."

"...It is. I did it. I held her neck and... and... AAAAHHHH!!!!!!!"

The scream was the most tragic Eschios has heard before. It was the scream of a man who have not only lost his wife, but also that of a killer's guilt.

Unable to take it anymore, Heracles started to choke himself with his own hands, grasping his neck and squeezing hard, but was stopped by Eschios who pulled them away.

Eschios was mad that Heracles was just trying to end it all like that. Shouldn't he try to get his happy ending? He should show the gods who'll win in the end. Why give up? Did Eschios give up?

"HEY! LISTEN, YOU BASTARD!!! I SPENT FIVE DAYS DEALING WITH YOU, AND HAVING YOU KILL YOURSELF HERE IS JUST GOING TO MAKE THOSE DAYS WORTHLESS, WHICH WILL MAKE ME VEEEERY ANGRY!!! YOU STILL HAVE YOUR CHILDREN, AND YOUR WIFE WON'T WANT THIS!!!"

Looking at Heracles in the eye, Eschios continued with a loud voice.

"YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO? WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE HAPPIEST ENDING EVER WHICH WILL PUT PERSEUS TO SHAME!!! OK?! GOT THAT?! YOU'RE GOING TO SHOW THEM YOUR OWN HAPPY ENDING!!! I CAN'T HAVE YOU DYING HERE!"

With tears flowing like a river out of his eyes, Heracles wept silently, nodding his head.

"...Goddamnit, my lung hurts. I spoke too loud..... We're going to visit the Delphi temple. The gods will decide our fate there..."

Eschios knew that Heracles would have to complete many quests under King Eurystheus, but didn't know what his own fate would be.

Hera's anger is terrifying, but Eschios has built up a positive image of the gods so far, always sacrificing the finest animals to them and respecting them.

*Whistle*

To his whistle, two Griffins came flying down to him. Buck and Beak, the rides of Eschios and Atalanta.

"Hey, buddies... We need you two for the ride to Delphi temple... Also, be careful, Buck. Heracles is heavy."

Riding the two Griffins to Delphi, Eschios thought of the future, wrapping his cloak around his armor to cover himself more from the coldness.

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A/N: Eschios and Atalanta's main romance will begin in the Argonauts. For now, I just set up the base.

Here are how the others around Eschios views him:

Selene: Dear son. Would do anything for him.

Atalanta: Closest person. Gets a warm feeling when near him.

Jason: Best friend in the world. Also the best hero in Greece.

Heracles: Lifelong friend. Is always thankful for treating him like a person, not a monster.

Castor: An okay person, but still hates him a bit for being half-human.

Asclepius: Friend and a nice Experime-

Apollo: *Censored*

Zeus and many gods: Nice kid who has a nice behaviour.

Hera: Piece of sh*t