Chapter 60: Game

At Olympus, in the main temple, all 12 gods gathered with Zeus at the center for a meeting.

"Brother, are you responsible for the lightning at the half-blood camp?" Poseidon inquired.

"No, it wasn't me," Zeus denied.

"Then who could it be?"

"There is someone. They manipulated lightning without using the lightning bolt," Zeus replied with a grim expression.

"Are you suggesting that there is a being capable of wielding lightning power?" someone questioned in disbelief.

"Yes, this individual might possess a power equal to mine," Zeus confirmed.

"Should we investigate this new god, then?"

"No, our priority is the return of the stolen lightning bolt," Zeus declared.

"My son is not the thief," Poseidon defended.

"He still has 13 days to return the bolt to me," Zeus stated firmly. "Otherwise, war shall ensue."

At the half-blood camp, Chiron called for the attention of the heroes and warriors.

"Today, we welcome a new member," Chiron announced loudly.

"Please welcome Alex, who will join our ranks."

Alex, dressed in armor, entered the gathering.

"So, he needs a team to join," Chiron continued.

Alex noticed Annabeth giving him a furious glare, and he couldn't help but remark, "Chiron, can't I join the red team?"

"No, you will join the blue team," Chiron responded.

"You're deliberately making things difficult for me, aren't you?" Alex accused.

"Yes," Chiron admitted without hesitation.

"We will take him into our group," a person with light blond hair and a somewhat handsome face spoke up.

"My name is Luke, son of Hermes and team leader," he introduced himself.

"Hello, my name is Alex," Alex greeted.

"Alright, Luke, take care of Alex," Chiron instructed.

"Sure, give him a helmet," Luke ordered.

"Hey, Alex, why is she staring at you like that?" Luke asked, noticing Annabeth's gaze.

"You could say that she'd kill me if given the chance," Alex replied.

"Whoa, you've managed to anger her quite badly," Luke commented.

"Yes, so what do we need to do in this game?" Alex asked.

"We have to capture the enemy's flag," Luke explained.

"Now that the teams are ready, guard your flag well and try not to get injured too much," Luke instructed.

"Let the game begin!"

Once the game started, all the members of the blue team abandoned Alex and ran off. Witnessing this, Alex couldn't help but think, 'Aren't we supposed to be a team? Why are they leaving me behind?'

Alex caught up to Luke and questioned, "Why are they running away from me?"

"They heard about how you angered Annabeth, so they don't want to be near you," Luke revealed.

"Alright, Alex, I need to focus on winning the game. Can you leave me be?" Luke requested.

"Okay," Alex conceded. Left alone amidst the trees, Alex pondered his next move.

"Well, I'd better find a hiding spot," Alex mused to himself. As he searched for a suitable place, he noticed the red team's flag in a nearby location.

"Is it really this easy to capture the flag?" Alex wondered. Lost in thought, as he approached the red team's flag, they slowly surrounded him.

"Do you think it's that easy to capture the flag?" Annabeth taunted.

"As I suspected, it's a trap," Alex acknowledged.

"Yes, I am the daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Trapping enemies is also a battle strategy," Annabeth explained.

"Annabeth, I'm truly sorry about last night. Can't we forget about it?" Alex pleaded.

"We can forget it after you defeat me," Annabeth challenged.

"Really?"

"Yes," Annabeth confirmed.

"Then look, my team is coming back," Alex pointed out.

Everyone turned around to find no one there.

"Haha, I have fooled you all," Alex declared triumphantly, as he dashed toward the flag.

"Stop him!" Annabeth commanded.

The red team moved to intercept him, but Alex skillfully evaded their attacks and successfully seized the red flag.

"Yeah, we won!" Alex exclaimed, swinging the captured flag.

Simultaneously, all the members of the blue team cheered, "We won!"

At that moment, a sword slashed toward Alex, but he managed to dodge it and confronted Annabeth.

"Hey, you said you would forgive me," Alex reminded her.

"Why are you still attacking me?" he questioned.

"I never said anything about stopping the fight with you," Annabeth replied.

"You like to twist your words," Alex remarked.

"If you're the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, then I'm the god of running,"

"Bye-bye," Alex said, as he turned and ran away.

However, this time Annabeth decided to follow him.

"Stop! If you're a man, fight!" she demanded.

"No, I won't. I'm not good at dealing with girls," Alex confessed.

"I'm not like other girls," Annabeth asserted.

"That's exactly why I'm running from you!"

"You stop right there for me," Annabeth shouted, chasing after him.

"Do you think I'll stop for you? Stop—" Alex began to say, but he tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground.

"Caught you, Alex," Annabeth proclaimed, pointing her sword just 15 centimeters away from his head.

"Annabeth, hey… we talk about this?"

"Yes, we can. Looking at your face makes me both happy and angry," Annabeth responded.

"Then please let go of the anger. It's not good for your health," Alex suggested.

"Okay, then I'll beat you until my anger completely dissipates," Annabeth decided.

"No, you can't do that," Alex protested.

"Why not? I've caught you, and now I'll punish you for what you did," Annabeth insisted.

"It was an accident," Alex pleaded.

"Then this is also an accident," Annabeth declared.

"You truly are the daughter of the goddess of wisdom," Alex acknowledged.

"Then let's begin your punishment," Annabeth proclaimed.

"No!" Alex shouted.

After an hour, Alex walked alongside Annabeth, his clothes riddled with holes, while Annabeth smiled.

"You certainly didn't go easy on me," Alex commented.

"Why would I go easy on a formidable opponent?" Annabeth replied.

"You said you were happy seeing me."

"Why is that?" Alex remarked.

"I'm not sure," Annabeth confessed.

Just as Alex was about to ask another question, Grover arrived on the scene and called out, "Alex!"

"Annabeth didn't hold back, huh?" Grover remarked.

"Can't you see it by looking at my clothes?" Alex replied.

"And stop laughing."

"It's the first time I've seen a god in such a state, so I couldn't help but laugh," Grover explained.

Upon hearing this, Annabeth's face turned pale.

"Grover, what did you just say?"