บท 86: DA : Chapter 86: Third Front III
He knew Percy had eradicated the Horrors locked in the deepest reaches of the House of Night days after ascending himself and now it was Nico's turn to put to rest the last of the Horrors. And if it helped work out his own frustrations, all the better.
Without another sound, he took a step and descended into the true Hell of this world…
...
( Athena POV )
Athena dragged her feet as she walked back into the throne room, her eyes unusually dull as she looked around. The room was a mess, the previously spilled ichor still staining the floor as every torch was put out and the atmosphere was bitingly cold.
Even now Athena could still hear Hera crying even from her palace lower on the mountain, and even now Demeter had joined her sister in terror for her daughter. Mere hours after the demon had appeared, Hades' throne along with Hestia's had cracked and fallen.
Two more Olympians gone as far as they knew and that had set off another chain of panic and hysterical gods. Demeter worried for Persephone but none dared venture to the Underworld in fear of a trap yet Demeter had almost gone.
Only the swift reaction of Poseidon as he all but tackled his sister and knocked her unconscious before she could flash away had saved Demeter from meeting a possibly similar fate. Olympus was in upheaval as several more palaces and temples connected to numerous gods, many of which had disappeared, had crumbled as well.
Then she along with Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Artemis once she was healed enough, had traveled to the camps to get a better look at what had happened … and it wasn't good. In camp Half-blood, entire cabins for the missing or dead gods had been literally swallowed by the earth.
Some of the campers who witnessed it said that it looked like the massive maw of a lion had come forth to destroy said cabins while the campers of those cabins also vanished. Some fading into shadows, others whisked away in explosions of fire and even some struck by both white and blue lightning.
Dead, kidnapped, or traitors, it was all unknown. Even worse still, Peleus and his charge, the Golden Fleece, had also disappeared without a trace amongst the confusion.
New Rome and Camp Jupiter hadn't been much better with a good half of the military barracks incinerated or leveled with earthquakes.
The new coliseum was beyond repair and the fields of Mars looked more like a war zone after a bombing. It was nothing short of a miracle that all the present campers had been unharmed but even then, nearly 150 campers from the camps had disappeared with the 'attacks'.
Many of the younger demigods had been struck to the core and the veterans were trying to run damage control but it was an uphill battle, not to mention a significant portion of New Rome was screaming for blood to the extent of foaming at the mouths. Seeing one of their patron gods murdered before their eyes had set them off like nothing else since the times of the Old Roman Empire.
And now it felt like the cold, bitter quiet before the storm and what was worst of all was that Athena knew nothing to prepare for it. Nothing she'd found even hinted to what or who Umbra was and now, either by choice or accident, Umbra had let slip that he wasn't acting alone but part of a group.
And from what could be found, one had extensive control of the earth if they were able to set of earthquakes that Poseidon couldn't quell. It just felt like everything was falling to shambles around them.
She glanced at the damned sword still impaled in the hearth, a thin layer of frost having formed along the cracks and slowly spreading as time went on. The atmosphere was becoming so cold that Athena could even see her own breath and kept having to flex her fingers or else her hands would go numb. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed the arrival of her daughter.
"Mother," Annabeth greeted soberly as she walked up to stand beside the Olympian, both their grey gazes transfixed on the same blade.
They stood in silence for some time, both too embroiled in their raging thoughts to really speak much, at least until Annabeth asked a question.
"How are they?"
"Your siblings?" she returned without a glance and knew that Annabeth nodded. "Shaken but they should recover some by tomorrow."
"I heard that New Rome was already beginning to form up the war council and even called in all retired legionaries from across the country."
"They have but it won't do much good right now. Not without a lead at least," Athena supplied.
"They'll charge north then, it is the only clue any of us have," Annabeth continued as she crossed her arms under her bust. "But they could just as easily be heading into a trap. I think Leo and Calypso are going to try and convince them to be patient tomorrow."
Athena snorted at that. "Leo Valdez, practically the god of ADHD and excitement telling rabid romans to wait from going on the war path. I can already taste his success."
"Never thought I'd see the day you would be sarcastic," Annabeth muttered with a humorless smirk before her face got grim. "It isn't just the romans though.
I've never seen Apollo that angry before and seeing his precious little sister hurt before being humiliated in front of all of Olympus and his children did not help his temper. I had to slap him across the face otherwise he was going to incinerate our whole temple if he didn't get some control."
"Ares' children are split up," Athena said as she stepped a little closer to Riptide to get a better look at it. "Most of the younger ones are in complete shock in both camps and the older ones were ready to march within the hour. Not to mention with the speculation about Hestia being dead too, a whole contingent of minor gods and several demigods that liked her want revenge too."
"It's all going to Hell," Annabeth sighed as she kicked a shield that had been dropped when all the demigods had armed themselves on Umbra's arrival.
Athena grimaced at the sharp clang of the metal but made no move to reprimand her daughter, a part of her also feeling like causing noise if only to distract her thoughts.
"The Amazons and Hunt are gathering as well," Annabeth commented idly as she watched the previously kicked shield sway along the curve of the guard.
"Yes, they'll group in New Rome and looks like Artemis is heading for aggressive recruitment from their ranks," Athena agreed as she heard some footsteps ascending the stairs to the throne room.
Both goddesses turned to see the angry face of Deimos, son of Ares and god of Terror, dressed in full war regalia. The breastplate, plated skirt, and helm all painted to resemble fresh split blood as the god's red eyes flashed with his barely contained rage, the grip on his spear leaving his knuckle bone white.
He walked up to them before shooting a baleful glare at Riptide, as if blaming the sword for the fate of his late father, before looking to Athena.
"Lady Athena," he said curtly, barely managing to show some respect for his higher ups. "I've come to inform you that myself, as well as my brother, will be heading to New Rome to convene with Bellona for the war council."
Athena nodded in her acceptance. With her father tending to Hera and Poseidon back in Atlantis mustering his own forces, she was the de facto leader of Olympus and as first acting order had been to seal the mountain and erect a barrier to prevent flashing, thus hopefully cutting off any other gods possibly escaping as traitors.
So far she had permitted only a handful of other gods to leave and even then she was keeping a wary eye.
"Very well but make sure that there are no actual movements until we can accurately plan an offensive. From what we know, our opponents are in the north but how far and their strengths are still unknown," she replied as she turned to look at the sword again.
However she heard Deimos clearing his throat and turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
"My lady," he ground out, looking decidedly unpleased with how he addressed her. "Could I make a suggestion?"
"Speak," was the curt answer.
"What of making fodder armies from gathers monsters and the like? If we do not want to risk our forces what better way that throw together a monsters and have them function as scouts to find our targets?"
"It's risky though," Annabeth cut in as she narrowed her eyes. "A monster army could just as easily be turned on us if this demon offers them something better."
"Not to mention that we don't know if there hasn't been an army gathered already," Athena added. "It's just too risky at the moment and besides, counting the Amazons, the Hunt, and both camps along with vets coming back, we have a force of nearly a thousand, the most there has been centuries.
Manhattan was defended by a fraction of that and held against thousands of monsters at the call of the titans, and that's not counting the fact that now Poseidon's armies are available as well. No, we will keep to our current forces for the time being."
Deimos didn't look happy at his idea being rejected but kept silent on the matter with a begrudging nod. He then looked to the impaled sword and sneered, "Why hasn't that sword of the coward been removed?"
"Don't call him a coward," Annabeth retorted as she narrowed her eyes at the god. "He faced you and your brother didn't he?"
"Perhaps," Deimos growled as he set his spear aside and approached the sword. "But he isn't here now and this is now just an eye sore."
Athena was getting a bad feeling as she looked at the sword as a thin mist wafted off it but before she could tell Deimos to be careful, he'd already gripped the handle. He grimaced slightly, likely from the cold of the metal, before he started to tug at it. Nothing happened though, and even as Deimos threw his body weight behind his pull, the sword refused to budge.
"Blasted sword," he grit out as he tossed aside his shield from his other hand.
"Deimos just leave it," Annabeth said in frustration but her words fell on death ears.
"No," be snapped as he moved his free hand to grip the sword along the edge of the hilt.
His grasp slipped though and his hand went beyond it, slicing his palm open the blade edge itself as he cursed out from the sting.
"Deimos just—"
"Aaahhh!"
Whatever Annabeth or Athena was going to say on the matter was quickly cut off as Deimos suddenly let go of the sword and started screaming. They both looked in alarm as the skin around the cut started to pale and then dull into shades of light blue and streaks of black slowly spreading around his hand.
"Deimos!" they both shouted as they rushed forward, the god throwing himself back as his uninjured hand clutched at the forearm of his left.
"Make it stop! It's freezing!" he shouted as some sort of curse started to rapidly spread through his hand, making its way up his wrist.
"Stop thrashing," Annabeth shouted as both goddesses tried to hold him down, looking at his freezing limb in increasing alarm.
Athena summoned a torch to herself and immediately placed the fire right under Deimos' hand but it seemed to do nothing as the black-streaked frost continued to climb past the wrist.
Deimos' screams had also alerted other gods and Athena could feel Apollo and Hermes inbound as she held onto Deimos' bicep while Annabeth held his other arm and the god in question kept screaming and begging for it to stop. In a bright flash her half-brothers were there, rapidly scanning around with their weapons primed before their eyes settled on Deimos.
"What happened!?" Apollo asked as he quickly kneeled and looked to Deimos' arm.
"Don't touch it!" Athena shouted, not knowing it whatever curse had struck Deimos could be spread through contact. "He cut his hand on Riptide and started freezing but the fire won't do anything."
By now the frost was almost to Deimos' elbow and the god was in so much pain he'd been reduced to babbling and begging, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he thrashed even harder.
Apollo cursed under his breath as he raised his hands over the frozen appendage and began to radiate a mix of raw sunlight and his healing magic but it barely seemed to slow the spreading frost.
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
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