34 Chapter 34

The visitors from Sloan's team were cracking their knuckles, their eyes locking onto us as if it were time for a merciless slaughter.

"Taylor," I began, but before I could finish my sentence, a dodgeball hurtled toward me at breakneck speed. Acting on instinct, I raised my hand, catching the incoming projectile with surprising ease. Man I was glad I had divine strength. The gymnasium fell into stunned silence, a brief pause before...

"Per—"

Taylor's shout interrupted me, and I instinctively moved to the right just in time for another ball to whiz past me.

Whooom!

The dodgeball collided with the wall mat with a resounding thud, and Corey Bailer couldn't help but let out a yelp.

"Hey!" I called over to Sloans team laughing. "You could kill somebody!"

One of the visitors, a guy named Joe Bob, responded with an evil grin. He had grown substantially in size, now towering even over Taylor. His biceps strained against his T-shirt, bulging menacingly. "I hope so, Perseus Jackson! I hope so!"

"Well guess we are getting straight into it," I muttered under my breath, recognizing the ominous signs.

All around Matt Sloan, the visitors began to undergo a disturbing transformation. They were no longer the kids we had faced moments ago. Instead, they had morphed into eight-foot-tall giants with wild, manic eyes, pointy teeth, and arms covered in tattoos depicting snakes, hula women, and Valentine's hearts.

The one called Joe Bob growled menacingly, his biceps adorned with a tattoo that read: JB luvs Babycakes. "We Laestrygonians aren't just here to play for your death. We want lunch!"

With a dramatic flourish, he waved his hand, summoning a fresh batch of dodgeballs onto the center line. These dodgeballs, however, were not your typical red rubber spheres. They were massive, bronze cannonballs, riddled with holes that seemed to spew out fiery energy. They must have been searing hot, but the giants grabbed them barehanded, their expressions filled with malice and hunger.

I reached into Atlan, where I had stashed away Hercules' club, and retrieved it, feeling the familiar heavy weight in my hands. Man was I glad I had stole it, well technically I had won it fair and square.

"Taylor!" I shouted over the yelling, thrusting the club toward her. "Take this! Hold off the giants with everything you've got!"

Taylor took the club, and its form began to shift and change, morphing from a white lion club into a Oni's Kanabo. Her eyes had a mad glint in them as she gripped the weapon, with both hands. Taylor grinned as she got ready lifting the heavy club, staring the giants down.

With a quick manipulation of shadows, I swept up the students and Coach Nunley, shadow traveling them to safety outside the gym. A flaming cannonball hurtled toward me, and I narrowly dodged it, feeling the scorching heat as it whizzed past. I called forth Morningstar, into my grasp and turned to face the giant that was heading to me.

I glanced in Taylor's direction and saw her in the midst of battle, swinging her newly transformed Kanabo with incredible force. She kept smashed it into the head of one of the Laestrygonians.... like the guy was not moving and blood was spattering everywhere as she kept laughing, her weapon all bloody.... how was he not dead yet?

The gym echoed with the roars of the Laestrygonians as they charged at me, their eyes wild with rage. They swung their massive bronze dodgeballs like wrecking balls, aiming to crush me beneath their sheer force. I vanished into the shadows when one of the cannonballs got way to close.

"You can't hide, little demigod!" one of the giants bellowed, his voice booming through the gym.

"I don't plan on it!" I shot back, my adrenaline pumping as I leaped inout of the shadows, somersaulting over the first giant's dodgeball he had thrown. As I landed behind him, I swung Morningstar with all my might, aiming for his Achilles' heel. The weapon struck true, and the giant howled in agony as he stumbled forward.

"Nice try, Perseus Jackson!" the second giant taunted, preparing to slam the spiked dodgeball down on me.

But I wasn't finished. With a flick of my wrist, I manipulated the shadows around me, creating a smokescreen that obscured their vision. I darted to the side, barely avoiding the crushing blow.

"You can't catch what you can't see!" I taunted, grinning.

In a flash, I uncapped Riptide with my free hand, its celestial bronze blade shimmering with power. Now dual-wielding both Morningstar and Riptide, I launched a counterattack. I slashed and parried their swings with a combination of shadow manipulation, water manipulation, and electric shocks, my blades dancing like a whirlwind of death.

"You're getting faster!" the first giant grumbled as I delivered a powerful strike to his leg, causing him to stumble. "Slow down, so we can kill and eat you!"

"I think I am good!" I shouted back.

With a final, decisive blow, I incapacitated the first giant, sending him crashing to the ground. The second giant hesitated for just a moment, long enough for me to land a devastating strike to his chest.

The Laestrygonians collapsed in defeat, their massive forms shrinking back to their original size before bursting into golden dust, I made sure noone noticed their shadows joining mine. The gym fell silent, the only sounds the heavy panting of battle-worn warriors.

Mimicry of "Laestrygonians" accquired

Skill "Gigantification" accquired

Skill "Flaming Ironball" accquired

Skill "Great Hunger" accquired

I stood victorious, my heart pounding, and my blades gleaming with triumph. I turned to see a Taylor grinning while holding her club over her shoulder a pile of dust next to her feet.

I approached Taylor with a grin, but stopped and I reached over and snatched the hat off the invisable person to reveal Annabeth.

"Hey there, Wise Girl," I greeted her, unable to suppress my grin. "Injoy the show? Thought you would wait outside?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her own smile. "Nah I couldn't miss the fight."

I turned to Taylor, who looked both curious and excited. "Taylor, this is Annabeth, a good friend of mine."

Taylor's eyes widened as she took in Annabeth's appearance, and then without hesitation, she enveloped Annabeth in a tight hug. "Hi! You're so pretty!"

Annabeth seemed momentarily taken aback, but she quickly returned the hug, albeit a bit more reservedly. "Uh, thanks. You're pretty too, Taylor."

I couldn't help but laugh at their interaction. Taylor had a knack for disarming people with her innocence, and Annabeth's subtle blush only added to the amusement.

Matt Sloan, who'd been standing there dumbfounded the whole time, finally came to his senses. He blinked at Annabet as if he dimly recognized her from my phone. "That's the girl ... That's the girl—"

Annabeth punched him in the nose and knocked him flat. "And you," she told him, "Lay off my friend."

"Meet me outside," Annabeth told me. "And her." She pointed to Taylor, who was starting to zone out. "I assume you are bringer her with us."

She put on her Yankees baseball cap, a magic gift from her mom, and instantly vanished. That left me standing alone in the middle of the burning gymnasium when the headmaster charged in with half the faculty and a couple of police officers. The class just returning from outside were in shock as well.

"Percy Jackson?" Mr. Bonsai said. "What ... how ..." I simply raised my hand, snapping. The sound echoed across the building, and everyone went into a daze.

"Matt Sloan had brought a bomb to school and I had to stop him, The bomb went off and it destroyed the gym. Matt Sloan proceded to go crazy and take out a gun and kill four students that were visiting and I had to knock him out. Anyways bye!" I replied as I grabbed Taylor and dragged her ouside the gym going to where I knew Annabeth would be waiting.