BLOOD

"You did WHAT?!", Luke yelled, his shoulders held by Chump.

"I killed the Nemean Lion", Athos said calmly while being carried by the second angel.

"WHAT? I can't hear you!", Luke hollered. The sound of the wind howling made it hard to communicate.

"I KILLED THE NEMEAN LION!"

"Fucking hell kid! That's...something!", Chump exclaimed almost dropping Luke, earning another wing smack from his brother.

"Are you sure it wasn't a hallucination?", Luke yelled again.

"Did that crater look like a hallucination to you? I'm literally wearing its skin!", Athos yelled back.

"WHAT?!"

"Haaaah! Let's talk when we land."

***

A flight to San Fransico would take a really really long time, which was to be expected. They had to cover over two thousand kilometres after all. Thus, they decided to take a break in Kansas in a large field where Luke attempted to interrogate Athos on what exactly happened when he was out cold.

Athos relented and explained how he defeated the lion while making it out to be much weaker than it actually was. As for the metal angels, he waved it off as making a small deal with Hephaestus. He didn't know whether it was convincing, but Luke looked satisfied with his story - though, he did catch him grumbling something about being useless which he couldn't agree more to.

They took to the skies once again, this time stopping at Utah, where they got jumped by a group of Scythian Dracaena but Luke sliced them up before Athos could as much as pull out his sword. Perhaps getting knocked out and leaving a newbie to fend for himself made him want to prove himself. Whatever it may be, having him do all the work was beneficial all the same.

After raiding a closed seven-eleven that was hosting a bunch of tar monsters for some odd reason, they set off for San Fransico. It took thirteen or so hours for them to actually reach the state while the full trip took around three days. The angels dropped them near Mount Tampalis or Mount Othrys, on a dirt road surrounded by small hills. The summit of the said mountain was swirling with clouds, as though it was drawing them in and spinning them like a top.

"See ya kids! Hope ya don't get killed.", Chump grinned.

"Good luck. You won't need it though. Mind you. there is no glory in going to the Garden, only death awaits", the other angel warned.

With a parting wave, they took off, the giant flaps from their equally giant wings kicking up enough dust to make Luke and Athos cover their eyes.

"Well, that was a rather grim goodbye", Luke muttered, gripping his sword harder and staring ahead, at the sheet of fog drifting across the road.

Athos did not respond, instead, taking a deep breath.

'It is time'

A four-foot Stygian Iron Axe materialised in his hand and his eyes gleamed with resolve. He swung Leviathan at Luke's neck with all the strength he could muster and it cut through the air with such speed that it made the air whistle. Luke's swordsman instinct made him raise his weapon subconsciously but Leviathan cut through the celestial bronze as though it were butter.

"Wha-!!!"

Just as the axe was about slice clean through Luke's neck, white wings sprouted from his sneakers jerking him off to the side.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!", Luke bellowed gripping his now bleeding shoulder while he hovered a few feet above the ground. His face was scrunched up in pain and disbelief; both parts of his sword clattered to the ground.

'Dammit!', Athos cursed internally. Did Hermes enchant the shoes to drag the wearer away from fatal attacks? Was that why he survived being attacked by Ladon with a mere scar in the books?

A red half-mask materialised around his face and he hurled Leviathan at Luke.

"AAAARGHH!!! YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"

The shoes pulled him to the side once again but not before Leviathan made off with his wrist. Blood spurted out the stump that once was his right hand while he screamed bloody murder.

"WHY!!!! WHO ARE YOU?!!"

Luke's sneakers jerked him backwards increasing the distance between him and Athos.

"No you don't!", Athos grit his teeth and flicked his wrist. A sleek Glock 19 appeared in his hand - the one he stole from the museum guard. The Oni mask shifted from red to blue, clearing his thoughts - helping him focus.

"Eat Lead!"

*BANG*

Luke froze midair - shuddered - before dropping like a stone, a clean hole, still dripping with blood, clearly visible in the centre of his forehead.

"Shit!", Athos said, running to the place Luke fell. His fall had kicked up a cloud of dust but it cleared after a few seconds revealing a lifeless body lying spead-eagled on the dirt. The ghost of Luke's last expression was plastered on its face. A mixture of pain, fear, disbelief and lastly, betrayal.

Athos let out a sigh of relief and pushed down the growing feeling of guilt in his heart. He quickly summoned an empty flask and held it under the stump that still sprouting blood. A few minutes later, the flask was full. He'd gotten about a litre of blood from Luke. If that wasn't enough, then so be it. He slowly stood up on his shaky legs and stared inside his flask. As the dark red liquid sloshed about he couldn't help but be reminded of the line from the prophecy.

"....Another swallowed by a monster's maw..."

He took a quick glance at Luke's body behind him. The monster here wasn't Ladon.

It was him.

He put away the flask and clenched his trembling hands. He had done it. Luke was dead and he had acquired one of the three things he needed for his partial ascension. As he stared at Luke's lifeless body, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever end up that way. With Nereus' description of the path to Immortality being impossible, he really wondered whether doing all this was worth it. He immediately slapped himself. Such useless thoughts were not welcomed. He took another deep breath and the Oni mask cleared his thoughts.

'This is no time to be a hypocrite.'

His eyes glinted and he walked toward the sheet of fog.

***

The moment he stepped into the fog, into the mist he could feel the ambience of the place shift from dark and dreary to light and joyful, yet the feeling of danger didn't change one bit.

Once the mist cleared, he was on a wide dirt road and the grass on either side was much thicker and brighter. He looked up finding a familiar scene. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea and the summit of the mountain was much clearer. It was the picture the oracle conjured up. He continued forward and the scenery got brighter and more lively, but the feeling of dread never ceased increasing. A few minutes later, the winding road widened out and he immediately stopped in his tracks. What he saw made his eyes widen with awe.

The grass shimmered with a faint silvery light and the flowers were of such beauty and fragrance that words couldn't possibly describe their appeal. Stepping stones of polished black marble

led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree. It was absolutely enormous, its deep, brown bark devoid of any scars or holes. Every bough was glittering with golden apples, that shined an ethereal aurous shade in the evening light. Its heavenly fragrance overshadowed all the flowers in the Garden but Athos' attention was on something else.

It was on the behemoth that was coiled around the tree - slumbering. The dragon had a serpentine body which was almost as thick as the trunk of the tree it was guarding. Its coppery scales glinted dangerously, reflecting the light every time the dragon took a breath. Its hundred heads lay in a mound at the foot of the tree, poisonous fumes swirling about its numerous heads.

'This isn't going to be easy.'

***

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