The Hunt

A whole year went by and Ares had not returned. Soban grew his hair out a bit. It was about an inch long and was jet black. He was with his secondary master, Achilles at a meeting of masters and their students. They were discussing the upcoming test, a hunt.

"The winner of this test will be given the gift of ascension, but this test will not be easy," an old female god said to the students in the room.

Soban and Achilles had traveled far away from the town of Mars to the city of the Ascendency. Its leader, Demeter, was preparing another growth test for the students of Olympus. In the room were gods that made even Achilles nervous. Hermes was there with his student Diad.

Soban had seen Hermes a few times. He was too quick to be fought by someone of Soban's or Achilles' level. His student, Diad, had sparred with Soban often during the weeks Achilles had brought him to other cities to get fighting experience. Soban had beaten him more often than not but Diad was a dangerous person with speed too fast for most people his age.

Apollo was present with his son and student Kestio. They were practicing drills while listening to the speech Demeter was giving about the history of the hunt. Kestio was short and bald, unlike his father, Apollo. Soban never fought with him but knew he was a slacker and was nothing to worry about. He had failed all his tests and was once again participating due to his father's orders.

Artemis was with her student Tesalee. They were going over final preparations. Tesalee was a hunter unlike anything he had seen before. If anyone was a threat to him in the competition, it was her. She had extremely short hair and wore clothes similar to Artemis'. She had a long, dark bow on her back. It had the mark of the blacksmith god Hephaestus on it.

Soban looked to his left to see someone that came in late. It was Deimos and his student Halius. Soban chuckled as Halius, the so-called second coming of the God of Fear, stared at Soban.

"No worries from this guy, I've beaten him a hundred times," Soban said quietly.

"Don't underestimate anyone," Achilles said without even looking.

Halius walked past Achilles and Achilles looked down at him. He quickly looked at Soban.

"Forget what I said, underestimate him."

A large flame door appeared and two dark figures walked through it. Skeletons tried to crawl through the door after them. Soban saw a man in a black robe with the faces of the souls of the underworld swirling all around it. Everyone in the room bowed their heads quickly.

"Is that Hades?" Soban asked in fear.

"Unfortunately, yes, now quickly bow your head." Achilles said with urgency.

"So then that must be his student, the dreaded Cerberus," Soban said quietly while bowing his head.

Cerberus walked out from behind Hades and pulled off his hood. He had slicked back shiny black hair. His eyes had a dark red tinge to them. Hades snapped his fingers and a dark blue icy chair formed under him. He made one for Cerberus but he chose to stand.

"I didn't think an Olympian and his student would be here," Achilles said.

Demeter continued to explain the event.

"Now, all the contestants have arrived. I will begin explaining the details of this hunt," Demeter said, her old eyes examining the students competing and the masters witnessing.

Soban couldn't keep his eyes off Cerberus, his energy was sickening, but at the same time, intriguing.

"This is an exam to achieve rank two, the Hero class. You will be sent out to scour the land for two weeks, during that time you will find and capture the strongest beast you can. It must be alive or you are awarded no points," Demeter explained.

"What happens if we fight a monster too strong?" Kestio asked.

"You die, now, please don't interrupt," Demeter said.

Apollo smacked his son in the back of the head. Soban struggled not to laugh.

"Whoever brings back the greatest beast wins, second place gets nothing. Choose your target wisely, you don't know what the other competitors may bring. No one can interfere with anyone else and will be disqualified in an instant if you do," Demeter continued to say.

She once again gave a long hard look at all the competitors. She glanced at Hades and bowed her head once more.

"The hunt begins, begone!" Demeter yelled.

Diad instantly ran out of the room with Cerberus right behind him. Tesalee was the next one out. Halius jogged out and Kestio took his time and walked. Soban stayed back with Achilles.

"Are you going to go?" Achilles asked.

"I just want your confirmation on something," Soban said.

"What is it?"

"Do you think I can capture the Colchian Dragon?" Soban asked bluntly.

"Not a chance."

"Prepare to be surprised, Achilles, I will shock this place," Soban said.

"Don't use 'those' abilities, got it?" Achilles ordered.

Soban nodded and left the room. He jumped in the air the moment he left and casted a minor teleportation spell to get closer to the other competitors. He warped next to Halius and easily passed him up. With a series of quick bursts of speed he made it all the way up to Tesalee, passing up Kestio in the process. He knew he wasn't catching up to Diad so he didn't try but Cerberus was nowhere to be seen as well.

"So, what are you going after?" Soban asked Tesalee while running.

"None of your business, brat," Tesalee replied coldly.

Soban chuckled and manifested his weapons. He took another look at Tesalee's bow and arrows. She only had one arrow in her quiver and it was obsidian black. A dark aura was emitted from the arrow. Soban knew that it was a dangerous tool, but only one arrow confused him.

"Come on, I'll tell you what I'm going for if you tell me what you are going for," Soban offered.

"No," Tesalee growled.

"Ok, well, good luck," Soban said and broke away from Tesalee.

He ran to the edge of the city and jumped off. He plummeted down the side of the city and looked at the immensity of the new mount Olympus. He raised his crook and the wind swirled around him. The flail hummed and he swung the ends of it in a circle and the winds held him in the air and he flew quickly down the mountain at an intense speed.

He flew for several minutes before he reached the bottom of the mountain. He whipped his flail up and the wind slowed his fall. As he slowly landed he pulled out a map from a pouch on his back.

"Now where was that cave again?" he said to himself.

He looked over the map and marked a course and set off. He rode the air and glided on the water while traveling to practice his manipulation abilities with the crook and flail of Tutankhamen. He switched to flying high up for a few hours at a time to get a view of the landscape. He had to pass through two cities in order to get to the cave of the Colchian Dragon so he was on full alert. The cities at the base of the mountain were filled with random Greek god descendants that didn't have much power but were still dangerous.

Hours passed before he reached the first city, Theseus. It was a rundown city that was very damaged except for one place with bright lights. Soban passed through and eyes flocked to him. He stood out from the general population. His bright white robes didn't have a spot on them while the common people were dirty and grimy. Off in the distance he saw several shadowlike figures watching him. They moved with him and followed where he went. Their red eyes glowed in the dark and Soban got a bit nervous.

"Hey, kid!" a man said, startling Soban.

Soban looked to his side and saw two different men. One was hovering in the air with his legs crossed with tens of objects swirling around him at a low speed. He had a white rounded mask that had no facial features. It had a wicked red smile painted on it. He had long hair that was light brown and stretched to the bottom of his back. He wore a loose white shirt and white pants with a black scarf that draped off both shoulders and lightly touched the ground.

The other had a long red coat and wore a fluffy white shirt and fluffy white pants. This was all topped off with a long black hat. He also wore thick eyeliner and stood in an awkward position.

"Yes?" Soban replied warily.

"How would you like to join the circus?" the man in the red coat asked quickly.

"I'm on a mission, I can't," Soban said.

"Come on, kid, you have talent, I saw you flying to the city, you could be…..The High Flying….Kid! Yeah, that's got a ring to it that no one can resist!" the man said, his face brimming with confidence.

"Maybe when I'm done with the mission," Soban lied, trying to get away from the conversation.

"I'll hold you to it. And before I forget, my name's Caretaker, and this guy is called the Juggler," Caretaker said.

Soban smiled, nodded and started walking away.

"Wait a moment, what is your mission, might I ask?" Caretaker asked.

Soban turned his head in an annoyed fashion and kept walking.

"I am going to capture the Colchian Dragon," Soban said.

"A kid like you?" Caretaker said.

Soban stopped walking and his face turned sour. Caretaker's eyes widened with panic.

"I mean, what a noble task set upon the High Flying Kid!" Caretaker yelled.

Soban turned away and continued walking.

"Do you mind if we tag along? I would like to see this spectacle that only the High Flying Kid could accomplish," Caretaker asked.

"Do what you want. And stop calling me that," Soban said.

"Okay, let's go," Caretaker told the Juggler.

Caretaker walked away but the Juggler stayed put. Caretaker sighed and stopped walking. He turned abruptly and put a hand on his waist.

"Come, Juggler!" he yelled.

The Juggler slowly floated to Caretaker's side and followed him to where Soban was. They all passed through the city. Soban still saw the shadowy figures following him and he hoped having companions would help keep them away.

Hours passed and they stopped to rest for the night. Soban used the crook to start a fire and made three small cube homes for them to sleep. The base of the mountain was dark and the shadow creatures were only seen by their eyes. Caretaker cut down a nearby tree and the Juggler dissected it with his mind without moving from his spot. Caretaker hastily put a few logs on the fire and he bundled some of the leftover pieces into two seats for him and Soban.

"You know, you are a pretty mature kid, and you don't seem like a high class warrior, you seem…foreign," Caretaker said as he sat on his seat.

Soban sat down and chuckled.

"I was forced to grow up quickly, my mother was killed by Ra in front of me last year and now I'm in the process of training to kill him," Soban explained.

Juggler's mask's smile turned blue and changed to a frown. Caretaker tried to contain his sorrow but he couldn't help but cry.

"How horrible that you, the High Flying Kid, would have to go through such a horrid event," Caretaker said, tears flowing out of his eyes.

"I told you not to call me that," Soban said with an angry laugh.

"Oh, what a sad life," Caretaker said, his head now in his hands.

"If you think that's bad you won't want to hear about what I am," Soban said and leaned back a bit.

"What do you mean?" Caretaker asked.

"It's a secret, but I feel like everybody knows now," Soban said.

"I know what you are," Caretaker said bluntly.

"You do?" Soban asked skeptically.

"You are the High Flying Kid, terror of the skies, spectacle beyond spectacles, the unrivaled, elegant, cloud gazelle. You put the cool into 'wow, that's cool'," Caretaker hollered.

Soban couldn't help but laugh. Caretaker smiled and placed another log on the fire.

"You aren't a bad guy, Caretaker, but what's the deal with the Juggler?" Soban asked.

"He is a psychic from the Land in Between. I stumbled upon him and enlisted him into my traveling Circus," Caretaker said.

"Does he talk?"

"You're lucky if he conveys his thoughts to your head."

The Juggler's mask's frown returned to a red grin. Soban got up from his seat and walked to one of his rooms. He opened the makeshift stone door and looked back.

"I made rooms for you guys. I'm going to head out early in the morning. Oh, and I hope you don't mind but I will put up a barrier so that we aren't attacked by the beasts and demons," Soban said.

"Be my guest," Caretaker said.

Soban nodded and closed the door.

Soban rose from his bed and hopped to his feet. He rubbed his tired eyes and stretched his back. His crook and flail were immediately summoned to his hands. He walked out of his stone hut and saw the Juggler still sitting at the fire. Soban froze and stared at the Juggler. The Juggler slowly turned and faced Soban.

"How are you, Juggler?" Soban forced himself to say.

The Juggler didn't respond and his smile turned into a purple plain face. Soban started to get nervous. Caretaker stepped out of his hut and placed his top hat over his messy black hair.

"High Flying Kid, how are you?" Caretaker asked.

Soban was happy that Caretaker was there, he was beginning to get uncomfortable with just the Juggler.

"Good, I'm about to head out, follow if you want. It's about a two day hike to the city of Orpheus and from there it's about four hours to the Cave of the Colchian Dragon," Soban said.

"We will follow to see the High Flying Kid in action," Caretaker said and bowed.

Soban deactivated the barrier and started walking with Caretaker. After several steps Caretaker yelled once more.

"Come, Juggler!"

The Juggler slowly drifted and caught up then matched their pace. His mask's face shifted back to a menacing red smile.

Soban and his new friends traveled until they reached the City. They passed through it with no problems, except one nagging thing, the shadows had not stopped tracking him. Even so, he felt safe with companions, despite not knowing them for long.

"Just ten more minutes, you might want to take cover and watch from afar," Soban warned.

"Good idea, we'll hide over in the forest right outside his cave," Caretaker said and pulled the Juggler with him away from the area.

Soban prepared himself and he pulled his crook and flail out. He began creeping around corners and making his footsteps lighter and more quiet. He slowly peeked his head around the corner to look at the dragon and what he saw startled him. The Colchian Dragon was staring directly at him. Soban slowly retracted his head. He didn't understand how the dragon knew he was there. He quickly ran out and used his crook to conjure a large stone cube and he launched it with his flail. The dragon lowered his chin and the cube broke over his head harmlessly. He stood up and spread his mighty black wings. Black scales broke off his body as he moved and he let out a terrifying roar.

"You can do this, kid!" Soban heard from the forest.

Soban raised his crook and conjured a massive ball of water, the difficulty of the feat clearly showing on his face. It engulfed the dragon while it charged at Soban but didn't slow it down. Soban quickly shot a bolt of lightning from the crook and it hit the water, shocking the dragon. Even that didn't faze it.

Soban knew that his Egyptian lightning would be better but couldn't use it due to his proximity to Olympus. The dragon was quickly closing in and it stood on its hind legs as it got closer. Soban now truly marveled at the size of the dragon. It was at least three hundred feet long and had a very long tail. Soban looked closer at him and saw a white crest on his chest. It was glowing purple and was protected by a series of smaller arm-like protrusions.

"You dare disturb my domain? I shall cook and eat you, foolish child," the dragon roared.

"Lame," Soban scoffed.

Soban jumped in fear and locked eyes with the dragon. He manipulated the air and launched himself up above the Colchian Dragon's charge. He landed on the dragon's back and coated his flail in fire and began slamming his weapon into the back of the dragon. The dragon quickly folded his body backwards and opened his mouth. Soban quickly jumped aside to avoid the bite. The snake-like body of the dragon twirled around and attacked Soban again. Soban casually dodged by flying in the air.

"You got to do better than that, dragon. No matter what you do, you're coming with me," Soban boasted.

The dragon roared in anger and swung his long tail and again Soban dodged. This time it was different. Arms started coming out from under the scales on his body. They aggressively grabbed Soban and held him in place. The sleek body of the dragon folded around and he looked Soban right in the eyes.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" the dragon bellowed.

Soban struggled to get free with no success. The dragon opened his mouth and closed in on Soban. The dragon's head bounced off the invisible shield of the crook of Tutankhamen. The dragon pulled his head back, looking as confused as can be. He threw Soban away and created some distance between them. Soban stood quickly and put his eyes back on the dragon. To his surprise, the dragon began puffing up and water in the room started to dry up. The dragon roared and with it came a massive stream of fire. The rocks below melted instantly and Soban raised his arms to block his face. The stream of fire continued for a full minute. The dragon puffed out some smoke between his scales at the end of his attack. Soban lay lifeless on the ground, his white robes charred by the attack. There was an immense pool of lava around the cave that made the air shimmer. The Colchian dragon slowly made his way to Soban's body.

"No, High Flying Kid! I will always remember how you flew so high!" Caretaker yelled.

The dragon didn't pay attention to him and continued making his way to Soban. It took a few seconds for the dragon to swim to Soban through the lava. He reached out his long main arm but Soban popped up into the air.

"I'm immune to intense fire and heat, thanks Poseidon," Soban said.

Soban conjured another massive ball of water and dropped it onto the lava the dragon was in.

"You trickster! I will annihilate you, I stake my life on it!" the dragon bellowed as he was slowly sealed into the ground.

Soban landed and ran up to the crest on the chest of the dragon. He put his hands on it and started to rip it off. More hands came from the scales of the dragon and he grabbed onto Soban's body. Soban struggled to shake them off. He reached down for his crook but the dragon grabbed his wrist. Soban refused to let go of the crest and the dragon didn't pull him off.

"Seems like we are at a standstill, you can't pull off with only one arm and I can't pull you away or else my crest will be ripped off," the dragon said.

"I still have something up my sleeve," Soban said with a smile.

The dragon scoffed and continued his hold. Soban opened the palm of his captured wrist.

"May the lunar force guide us! Repel!" he yelled.

The dragon moaned as Soban slowly pulled off his crest.

"Repel! Repel! Repel! Repel! Repel! Repel! Repel! Repel! Repel!" Soban yelled.

The crest was slowly pulled off as he forced himself away from the dragon. The dragon used more hands from his scales to hold on to Soban but it didn't matter. Soban casted one more spell and was flung off of the dragon, holding the crest in his hand. The dragon yelled and smoke erupted from its body. Soban landed hard on the ground but popped up to his feet quickly.

"What have you done?" the dragon yelled from the smoke.

Soban raised his crook and a burst of wind rushed through the cave and blew the smoke away. A hole in the ground remained where the dragon used to be. Soban jumped in the hole and soon after he jumped out. He had a dark coil in his hand.

"Let me go, child!" the coil yelled.

"The Colchian Dragon is just a tiny snake without his Crest of Colchis, that's what Ares told me," Soban said.

Caretaker walked out from the tree with the Juggler in tow. They went up to Soban to see a small black snake biting his arm. Soban was unfazed by the attacks and met Caretaker and the Juggler at the entrance of the cave.

"Wow, I had to use a great majority of my power there, those repel spells really take the energy out of me," Soban said.

"That…was…brilliant!" Caretaker yelled.

Soban cocked his head in confusion. Caretaker rushed to his side and put his hand on Soban's shoulder.

"High Flying Kid, with you and our Circus of Gods we will be even bigger than before!" Caretaker roared with a smile.

Everything was silent for a few moments and Caretaker continued to smile wide. Soban brushed Caretaker's hand off and returned the smile.

"If you can get a permit to have your show in the city of Mars, I will perform with you a few times," Soban said with excitement.

"That will be a difficult task but I will get it done," Caretaker said.

Soban manifested a bag and put the Colchian Dragon into it. He looked over the white crest of the dragon and inspected it. He teleported it away with a snap and walked out of the area. Caretaker gasped and his lip quivered.

"Such class!" Caretaker yelled.

Together they made the long journey back to the circus in the city of Theseus. Soban had a few days left for the hunt so he decided to meet a few more members of the circus. The circus was closed for the week so only two other members were there, the rest were out with their families. They went to a back room and two men were talking to each other.

"High Flying Kid, this is Blaze and Flood, they are gods from the Shinto area, don't tell anyone. The Juggler hides our true identities from all gods," Caretaker explained.

"The Juggler?" Soban asked.

"Yes, he is pretty incredible, but he doesn't like to listen," Caretaker said.

Blaze was the first to approach Soban. He had red hair that was cut short. His outfit matched his hair and his skin was undamaged unlike most other gods.

"Hello, young demigod, how are you?" he asked.

"A bit tired. So, what's your specialty?" Soban asked bluntly.

"I'm thinking that my name makes it kind of obvious but whatever. I control fire, lots of fire," Blaze responded.

Flood approached next with an angry look on his face.

"I, Flood, control all forms of dirt in this realm!" Flood yelled.

"Quit messing around, Flood. Sorry, kid, he controls water. He is the grandson of the Shinto sea god Watatsumi, and I am the grandson of Kagutsuchi, the God of Fire," Blaze said.

"Isn't it dangerous to reveal ourselves?" Flood asked, nervously gripping his shirt.

"If Caretaker and the Juggler trust him I don't think we should question his trust-i-worthiness," Blaze said.

Caretaker called for them to come out to the main stage. Soban came out and saw hundreds of animals, beasts and demons lined up in a circle with Caretaker sitting on a chair in the middle of them.

"High Flying Kid, it's about time I show you what I do. Juggler, create the lights," Caretaker said.

Spheres of light formed around the stage. A whip formed in the hand of Caretaker and he cracked it once. All of the creatures stood upright, even the Colchian Dragon in Soban's bag.

"I control all manner of monster, animal and demon. I am the Caretaker, Beast Master of the Circus!" Caretaker yelled and cracked his whip once more and the beasts all sat back down.

Soban's eyes widened with amazement. He checked the bag his dragon was in just to make sure it was secure.

"How many of you are from different regions?" Soban asked.

"Nearly all of us, we only don't have two factions with us, the Hellspawn, who are nearly all dead and the ones who can't be talked about in insecure areas," Caretaker explained.

Soban wondered who 'the ones' were but he didn't ponder on it for too long. Caretaker then escorted Soban out of the Circus. The Juggler created a ball and handed it to Caretaker telekinetically.

"Here, take one of the Juggler's metal balls, if you ever need us just crush it and we shall come. We look after all the members of The Circus for the Gods!" Caretaker said and tipped his top hat.

Soban smiled and turned to leave but froze in his tracks. There were now several times more creatures with red eyes than before. They were everywhere a shadow was.

"Caretaker, do you know what they are?" Soban asked.

"No idea, they aren't demons or beasts so they must be something else but they have been following us since you got here and haven't attacked so I don't think they are here to harm you," Caretaker replied while surveying the area.

Soban nodded nervously and raised his crook and then his flail. The winds raised him into the air and he took off back to the city of Ascendency.

"Soban, you have returned, and a few days early too. I take it you didn't capture the Colchian Dragon," Achilles said with a forced plain face.

Soban opened the bag containing the dragon and it instantly slithered out and started biting his arm again.

"Quit it, dragon!" Soban yelled.

"That's not the dragon, Soban," Achilles said bluntly.

Soban teleported the crest to him and the dragon lunged for it but Soban quickly grabbed him.

Achilles could do nothing but stare at Soban. After a few minutes he got the courage to speak.

"How did you defeat him?" Achilles asked.

"Ares told me stories about a dragon that never rested because he feared someone stealing his crest to lock his powers, so I fought him and stole it," Soban explained.

"With tricks!" the tiny dragon yelled.

"Listen to me, dragon, I am going to explain this once. You are MY dragon now, got it? From now on you will obey me. I'm going to put a spell on your crest and when I want it will warp away from your body causing you to revert to your current form and you get one chance to obey and afterwards I'll have my brother send you to the deepest depths of the underworld," Soban yelled.

"I definitely see a bit of Ares in you," Achilles said.

The dragon and Soban locked eyes for a few moments before the dragon averted his eyes in submission. It ran up Soban's arm and gently wrapped itself around his neck.

"Thank you. May I ask your name?" Soban asked gently.

The dragon didn't respond and Soban respected his anger and left the topic alone. He looked to Achilles who was looking in awe at what just transpired.

"So what do we do for the next few days?" Soban asked.

"We wait and train," Achilles replied.

Soban left with Achilles to a special room for practice. They spent the remaining days there and once the bell marking the end of the hunt rang they made their way to the same room they received the mission. Halius, Kestio and Diad were already present with large sacks carrying their prey. Cerberus and Tesalee had not arrived yet.

"We shall start the presentation. Who wants to go first?" Demeter asked.

"I will," Halius said.

He hastily opened his sack revealing a demonic harpy. It had very large fangs and large wings. Halius smiled and glanced at Soban and scoffed. Soban just laughed and waited for someone else to volunteer.

"Great target, Halius," Demeter said as she looked over his capture.

"I'll go next," Diad said.

He undid the ties on his large sack and a dark winged horse was revealed. It began to buck but Diad whacked it on the head and knocked it out.

"The dark horse Pegasus, scourge of the sky," Diad said proudly.

Kestio raised his small sack and started to sweat.

"I forfeit," he said.

"Let's see what you have, Kestio," Demeter insisted.

"No, I give up," Kestio said.

Demeter then looked to Soban, waiting for him to present.

"I'll wait for the next one," Soban said.

He didn't have to wait long, Tesalee walked into the room through the massive side doors. She was dragging a large cart covered by a large tarp. She had a minor shoulder injury which caused her to drag the cart with only one arm.

"Presenting, a hydra!" Tesalee yelled.

She pulled the tarp off and it uncovered a large seven headed beast. It had thousands of arrows in it and was barely alive. Soban still saw only one arrow in her quiver and didn't understand where she got more arrows. Tesalee walked to Soban and he saw the pain she was holding in.

"What was your creature?" Tesalee asked.

"I guess I'll show it off now," Soban replied.

Soban walked to the same doors Tesalee came from. He pushed the hydra away and called attention to himself.

"Everyone!" Soban called out.

"Yes, Hybrid?" Demeter said, annoyed by the brashness of the young god.

"I have already won this competition. Be prepared to be amazed," Soban said and put the dragon's body on the ground.

Demeter looked closer but still didn't get what was going on. Soban snapped his fingers and summoned the Crest of Colchis. Soban gently placed the crest on the dragon which covered his body. A huge plume of smoke filled the room followed by a wave of heat. Demeter flicked her wrist and all the smoke disappeared. The massive Colchian Dragon was coiled up and very angered. All coiled up, he was at least sixty feet tall. The dragon looked around the room then turned his eyes to Soban.

"The Colchian dragon," Soban said calmly.

"You must have cheated," Demeter said.

"You had me monitored, ask your monitor," Soban said.

A man with a white bag over his head warped into the room on his knees. Demeter talked to him for a moment and her eyes widened when he relayed the events he saw.

"It is legitimate," Demeter said out loud.

The room gasped while Achilles smiled with pride. Soban took the crest off the dragon and he shrunk down and slithered up Soban's arm and returned to his neck.

"Do you mind closing the door Soban, I also got a report that Cerberus will not arrive," Demeter said.

Soban chuckled to himself and closed one door and closed the other. In an instant the doors blew back open and Cerberus stood at the entrance.

"I changed my mind," Cerberus said.

He whipped a bag into the center and it burned away. After the fire disappeared there were ten different Egyptian gods tied up together with a black rope. They all had their headdresses on and were breathing heavily.

"Cerberus, did you defeat them on your own?" Soban asked.

"Child's play," Cerberus responded.

"Cerberus, what have you done?" Demeter yelled.

Cerberus laughed and pulled the headdresses off the gods one by one. Soban quickly turned around to conceal his face. The ground began to shake violently and a flash lit the room. A sphere of water surrounded the Egyptians. Poseidon stood in the room with several other gods.

"What is going on here, Demeter?" Poseidon yelled, his voice shaking the room.

"Lord Poseidon, I'm sorry. Cerberus decided his target for The Hunt would be these gods," Demeter explained with her eyes firmly locked to the ground.

"Impossible, these are all class four Egyptian gods," Poseidon yelled.

"Don't underestimate me, old man," Cerberus said.

Poseidon slowly turned his gaze to Cerberus who locked eyes with him while he pulled a gray sword from his waist.

"You dare raise a weapon to me?" Poseidon yelled.

"You insulted me and I must put you in your place," Cerberus said and removed his robe revealing his dark colored armor.

Cerberus lunged forward and swung his blade at Poseidon's throat. Soban teleported and intercepted the attack with his crook and he was sent flying away into one of the large doors. He struggled to get up and Cerberus chuckled maniacally.

"Now that that's taken care of, we move back to you," Cerberus said.

Poseidon didn't even move, he just stared at Cerberus and the ground started to shake. Cerberus slashed at Poseidon and hit him directly in the neck. Poseidon grabbed the blade and crushed it in his hand. He was unharmed. Cerberus' eyes widened in disbelief and he took a step back. Soban snuck up behind Cerberus and grabbed him, locking his arms to his body. Poseidon's eyes went dark and he raised his trident and jabbed it at Cerberus. A flame wall arose and Hades stepped out and grabbed the trident.

"Enough," Hades ordered, his voice like the sound of death.

"Move, Hades, your student attacked me and now he will die for his transgressions," Poseidon yelled.

"I said, enough," Hades ordered and stared into Poseidon's eyes.

Poseidon dropped to his knees and released his grip on his trident. He couldn't look away from Hades' gaze.

"Are you done?" Hades asked, his rage clearly felt by everyone around.

Poseidon nodded and Hades released his mental grip on his brother. With a scoff he threw Poseidon's trident on the ground. Cerberus pushed Soban away who ungracefully fell to the ground.

"Zeus will hear about this," Poseidon said.

Hades scoffed and opened another fire gate which he and Cerberus walked through. Poseidon rose to his feet and walked over to his trident. He scooped it up and walked to Soban. Soban wiped blood from his lip and bowed to Poseidon.

"Don't bow to me anymore, I need you for something," Poseidon said, his cold eyes now glowing.

"What is it, Lord Poseidon?" Soban said with a wince.

Poseidon put his hand on Soban's shoulder and Soban was instantly healed.

"This Cerberus…lad, he needs to be taught some manners, and by manners I mean he needs to die," Poseidon said.

"You want me to murder him?" Soban asked.

"Yes, but maybe not. No, I don't want him dead, I want him humiliated," Poseidon said.

Achilles hopped down to where Poseidon and Soban stood and put his hand on Soban's head to calm him down a bit.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Soban questioned skeptically.

"There is another ascension test for level two gods in three months, it's a combative tournament that will take place at your current home, the city of Mars. I'm sure Cerberus will be there," Poseidon said.

"I don't think I'm a match for him, his power is greater than maybe even Achi-" Soban stopped before going too far.

"He got that powerful by being trained by a seated Olympian; I guess I will have to get a seated Olympian to oversee your training. The only one available would be me, so, welcome to the school of Neptune for the next three months," Poseidon said.

Demeter walked up to the group of Egyptian gods Cerberus had captured.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Lord Poseidon, but what shall we do with these gods?" Demeter asked.

"Wipe their memory and send them back, we don't want Zeus and Ra to have another war. I'm sure Achilles would agree, wouldn't you?" Poseidon said.

Achilles remained silent. Demeter nodded and moved over to Soban. She held out her hand and in it was a gold powder.

"Since Cerberus was disqualified for not bringing in an actual monster or beast, the Hybrid is the winner," Demeter announced.

Soban smiled with excitement and prepared for the ascension ritual.

"Here you go, champion," Demeter said and tossed the powder over him quickly.

Soban began to glow and a sheet of paper appeared in his hand. The light faded and he looked down at the sheet.

"You have been given more access to your power and now are able to get a weapon crafted by Hephaestus," Demeter said before walking away.

Soban nodded and looked to Poseidon.

"Soban, go get your weapon and meet me at Neptune city. Achilles, you will come as well," Poseidon said.

"Yes, Lord Poseidon," Achilles responded.

Achilles walked away with Soban at his side but Soban was quickly stopped. He was turned around and he saw Tesalee.

"I will win the hunt next week and beat you in the tournament," Tesalee said.

Soban smiled and nodded.

"And I will win the week after her," Diad yelled in the background.

Soban continued to walk with Achilles and left the room.