บท 4: Chapter 4. The Prophecy.
LYCAN'S IMPENDING anger had him clenching all hell out of his fists. He took a glance at Remi as she held onto the girl's hands. Uncertainty clouded her eyes as they were cornered, the deadly spikes of the echidna daring to kill them on that spot.
No... He wasn't going to let Remi waste another quest because of him. He was going to get them out of this.
Lycan leaped. He tackled the monster without waiting for Remi to devise a plan. A shot, and Lycan heard Remi yell– a two-foot long spike had impaled his left shoulder. The echidna turned, cuffed him across the forehead. The blow made him see white.
Another shot, and this time Lycan felt it in his leg— wet and hot. He groaned but held on to the struggling figure. "Run Remi!" He felt something rake his head and blinked against the pain.
Maybe he hadn't realized, but they were still trapped. And Remi wasn't the one to scram, leaving her partner behind.
"You pathetic fool!" The echidna kicked him away. Rolling off till he eventually stopped face buried into the floor. "You think you can beat me?"
"Lycan!" Remi yelled.
Lycan faced the sky and saw the buttstock of a giant fist toward his face. He rolled. It landed on the ground. His assailant swore when Lycan grabbed his ankle. He tried to rise but his leg wasn't working, and another fist came down on his wounded shoulder. He howled in agony.
"Useless mortal." The echidna jabbed Lycan by his collar, his body too weak to fight back. He bared a spike over his temple, daring to stab him to his death.
"Let him go!" Tori yelled from the distance, unable to flinch due to the child's safety.
"Let the girl go first, then I might consider letting your puny friend live." The echidna looked over at Tori where she hid, scurried behind Remi. "C'mon Tori, come to your loving priest."
"You're nothing but a monster!" Remi argued. She made a body shield over Tori. "And I won't let you hurt her."
"Alright fine, have it your way. I'll just kill you both and take her." The monster made to send Lycan his final struggle.
But just at that moment, an arrow impaled through the large glass window. The echidna dodged a inch, and it ended up in the brains of a nun, who felt comatose and slowly dissipated into dust.
"Ahh, she missed." A voice spoke behind them. A guy, with ruff grey hair and a mischievous blue eyes walked courageously down the aisle, with a humorous grin on his face. A large sword was hinged behind at his back. "Artemis won't be happy with that."
"Axel, what in the world are you doing here?!" Though she was thankful he had suddenly appeared at the most crucial second. She still remembered that he was interfering with her quest.
"Playing backup, what does it look like?"
"Did Rhoecus put you up to this?"
"Yeah." Axel chuckled. "It's funny how he was able to tell that you won't be able to do this on your own."
"I see, another demigod." The echidna had recovered from the shock of the attack. He flung Lycan away and headed towards Axel. "Fine. I'll delay their deaths and play with you a bit."
Axel stopped him, "wait, you could get hurt if you move another step."
"Try me."
Axel made a signal with his fingers, and then from nowhere, another arrow was shot at the monster. But this time, he was faster. He caught it and snapped it with one hand.
"Whoa, you really are strong. And here I thought Remi was being too agitated."
The echidna didn't wait, it shot out spikes from its skin, the needles flaying around like a porcupine's. However, Axel didn't seem to have been having any trouble dodging them. He moved swiftly, away from the needles direction before they got to him.
The priest retired, glaring at the demigod as he dusted off his black coat. Confusion was his expression as the questions ran endlessly. Nobody had ever been able to avoid his fast travelling spikes. Who was this guy?
"You're fast." Axel grinned. "But unfortunately, you lack skill."
"How dare you!" The monster charged at him with full resolve, resorting to smashing him off with his gigantic fists. But Axel had pulled his sword, easily blocking off his hit.
The sudden effect resulted to a mighty wind that blew across the room. The nuns had begun transforming into their monstrous identities, panicking at the tension before them. Before Remi's eyes stood a dozen Empousas and Dracaenas combined, all baring their fangs at whomever they supposed was their challenge.
"I told you not to move another step. Now you're only going to get hurt." The wind blew across Axel's grey hair as he earned the imminent scowl of the echidna.
He quickly glanced at the little girl behind Remi. "Remi, take the girl and go. Things might get messy from now on."
"But– Lycan..."
"I'd come back with him once I'm done with this weakling before me."
The monster groaned. He managed to send Axel sliding aback. "If I'm a weakling, then why haven't you killed me yet?"
"Don't get cocky, I'm only just getting warmed up."
"Don't let them get away!" The echidna yelled to his legion as Remi scowled.
But he was occupied. Reminded by another sword slash on his shoulder that he wasn't yet done with his current threat.
"Don't get distracted." Axel face expression seemed permanent, a dark smile forever representing his countenance. "I don't wanna kill you so soon."
• • •
• • •
6PM. APOLLO WASN'T USUALLY AVAILABLE BY THIS TIME. But he probably had been awaiting the troupe's return, to finally get a glimpse of the child of the oracle.
The long school bus stopped in the academy. The parking lot glistened under the glare of lights. This rain misted in their rays, evidence of the gloom beyond. Remi scooped up Tori hands and headed towards the doors, feeling a sudden tension like Freon in her veins.
*DIRECTOR'S OFFICE. KEEP OFF-LIMITS.*.
It was understandable how much the sun-god hated his job but still had to do it because of Zeus's supremacy.
Tori ushered into the room, and there she met the academy's assisting director, Rhoecus. His hooves cluttered as he paced around the room worriedly.
Well, not until he saw Remi. "Remi! You're okay!"
"Yeah, thank the gods."
Apollo was seated calmly on his desk. He quietly arranged through his long stack of paperwork and refused to acknowledge Remi's return. He was a god afterall, and she was in no place to feel equal to him.
"Did you accomplish the quest?" Asked Apollo, his attention still focused on the work before him.
"Yes I did." Remi revealed the girl, she was hiding behind her again. Probably afraid of the centaur or most definitely - Apollo. "This is Tori Wilson. Child of Zeus."
"Come child." Apollo finally raised his head up. His hair was a million golden line arranged into perfection. His eyes was plain white, and they held the charismatic mannerism and emotional definition of a poet.
Tori gasped a bit, overwhelmed by sudden fear. Remi looked at her reassuringly. "Don't worry Tori, he won't hurt you."
Tori was brave. Even braver than Remi the first time she'd ever met Apollo, his cold but gentle attitude washing her into inferiority.
She nervously stood before Apollo's godly appearance, barely managing to keep her feets up.
"Give me your hand." Apollo ordered and stretched out his right hand to her.
He palmed her hand as soon as she placed them on his. Closing his eyes, he seemed to have examined something in his illusions, as his face expression changed like he saw something.
But of course, Apollo was an oracle himself, and he was able to see through a person's destiny.
"Zeus was wrong," He opened his eyes like he had seen it all. "She's not the child of the prophecy."
"What....?" Remi almost yelled.
No, there hadn't just gone through all of these escapades just for someone who wasn't the child of the oracle. Lycan had almost even lost his life.
"The gods weren't even sure. Then why did you send us on this quest in the first place?!"
"Remi—" Rhoecus had noticed Apollo getting appalled and wanted to warn her, but she didn't care to listen.
"And more importantly, what are the chances that we'd ever find this child if the only child of the big three we've found in centuries isn't the one in the prophecy?"
There was a sudden knock... no, an urgent thud on the office door.
"Rhoecus, are you in there?!"
The centaur walked towards the door and slammed it open. A boy stood outside, panting fiercely from the fatigue of running.
"Speak."
"It's... It's an emergency." The boy tried to gather his words. "A boy has fallen unconscious at the entrance gate."
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