Chương 21: Mark's Final Reward.
Mark teleported directly to the base of the Empire State Building causing shimmers of silver from where they appeared. Of course, this would have caused trouble so Mark made sure to wave his magic to cause the regular mortals to not look at them.
Once they had arrived Mark waved for them to follow him.
"Come on, once we deliver this your lives will be able to go back to something like normal. Though, after this, I have a car to steal."
Percy knew what he meant.
"You were serious about Gabe's car?"
Mark nodded.
"That man does not deserve such a thing and it will be mine. Also, he does not deserve a woman like Sally. She is much too kind from what I have seen so I will deal with the problem once and for all."
Percy nodded.
"Please do so."
As they walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building, Grover asked something.
"Before we do this, can I ask a question to Ddraig?"
[Go ahead.]
Regular humans would only see Mark's gauntlet as a cast as Mark was using the mist of the Greek gods to hide their more supernatural features. Grimnar looked like a service dog at the moment to the mortal observers
"Do you know anything about Pan?"
[The god of wild places? I believe he must be dead, but you Satyrs won't accept this so you won't listen to me look for him. Though, I recommend you train like Percy here to fight what you may face.]
This made Grover look down as that did not give him much hope. Annabeth did not have any questions for Mark as she was still hurt about the fate of Luke. Being tortured by the furies was a worse punishment than just death.
Mark walked toward the front desk and spoke to the guy.
"Six hundredth floor."
The guard looked up and then back at the book
"No such floor."
Mark smiled as he leaned forward.
"I have Zeus' lightning bolt."
Mark slipped off the backpack and unzipped the top. The guard looked inside at the metal cylinder, not getting what it was for a few seconds. Then his face went pale.
"You found it."
"Yeah, I could just give it to Hades as he and I are close."
"No! No!"
He scrambled out of his seat, fumbled around his desk for a key card, then handed it to Mark.
"Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else except your group is with you."
Mark nodded as they walked toward the elevator. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them, Mark slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600.
Mark pressed it and then the elevator began to rise above. Mark turned to Percy and Annabeth.
"Have you two met your parents?"
Percy shook his head.
"No, only in memories or in fleeting glimpses."
Annabeth nodded though.
"Yes, she gifted me my knife and cap."
Mark hummed.
"I see."
Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. When they stepped out, Mark could tell Percy was shocked. They were standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below them was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane.
In front of them, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. Mark looked up to the sky where Mount Olympus peaked above the clouds. Its summit was covered with snow and more noticeable features.
Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces-a city of mansions-all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow.
Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rose bushes. They could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome, and a coliseum on the other.
[Greek culture may have been barbaric, but it was flashy.]
"You are not wrong."
As Mark passed by 3 wood nymphs who looked like Dryads or elves giggled as they looked at him. From the look of it, they liked what they were seeing about Mark. Ddraig was not wrong that Red Dragons drew women to them easily. Just Mark walking drew their attention. Eventually, one of them the most mature looking dressed in a green dress approached Mark who glanced at her.
His black sunglasses covered most of his eyes from sight so she had no idea if he was pleased or mad. Though when she saw Mark looking at her she smiled at him.
"Hi, I am Lexia, my sisters are kind of fawning over you at the moment, and so am I. You just smell so nice, want to get to know us?"
She hugged Mark's arm causing him to look down at her. He leaned down and sniffed her causing his hot breath to hit her face. She was hit with the aura of a Red Dragon along with the scent of brimstone and fire.
A wood nymph was not good with heat, but in this case, the heat was not bad. Mark laughed as he walked away.
"Keep in touch."
She placed her hands over her chest and nodded.
"Yes."
When they walked past her Percy looked up at Mark.
"Hey, what was that? You did nothing and she was all over you. No, I can see a lot of women here doing the same. What is the trick?"
"Male dragons are known to be chick magnets. Just our aura proves our supremacy as males. Power sells in the supernatural. Who knows, if you get strong enough you might have your harem."
Percy blushed and shook his head.
"No thanks."
[And we Red Dragons have no foe among dragon kind when it comes to our aura. Those Nymphs will be fawning over Mark when they see him. So keep your mind open Percy.]
As they kept walking up the mountain Mark's eyes became big as saucers when they reached the peak. Gold was everywhere and he loved it. The palace at the peak of Olympus was a reverse copy of the palace of Hades.
There, everything had been black and bronze. Here, everything glittered white and silver. It made Mark's eyes go wide as he looked at the mountain of treasure that he now wanted.
However, he controlled himself as this was not the time to be thinking of more treasure. No, this was a perfect time as he was getting paid.
"Come on."
They all walked up the steps to a central courtyard. Past that, was the throne room. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations.
Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit. The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left.
Zeus and Poseidon, the sons of Kronus along with Hades.
Mark walked toward the both of them without fear.
"Zeus, Poseidon, I have come to finish my mission. I have kept Percy safe and retrieved the Masterbolt along with Lord Hades' Helm of Darkness."
Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud, handsome, and grim.
He did not speak so Mark spoke again.
"I also caught the mastermind behind this theft. Luke, the demigod son of Hermes. He did it during the Winter Solstice. Hades has already gotten the traitor and will torture him for the rest of time."
Hearing him made Poseidon smile.
"You have done us, brothers, a service Mark. As I promised for keeping my son safe and proving my innocence you shall be greatly rewarded by me. And my brother for returning his Masterbolt, right brother?"
Zeus scoffed.
"Me not killing him should be enough payment."
Poseidon pushed a bit more.
"Big brother Hades has paid him and expressed his interest in him. You would dare kill someone big brother is interested in? And not pay him?"
Zeus scoffed.
"He deserves his due, I shall reward him for ensuring peace among us for another time. And catching the one responsible. I would have preferred to punish him myself, but if brother Hades is doing it then it is fine. Mark was it, you will get your reward in due time. I swear it."
Mark took out the metal cylinder from the backpack which began sparking in the Sky God's presence. Mark walked toward Zeus and laid it at his feet.
There was a silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire. Zeus opened his palm and the lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding pure lightning.
"Mark, you have done us three brothers and Olympians a service. If we ever need your services again will you work for us?"
Mark nodded.
"As long as I get paid I am willing to work. I am a business-loving dragon after all and my hoard needs to grow. I am open for anything except sexual favors."
Zeus laughed a bit.
"I like him, a dragon that can be bought off. If only the rest of your kind were like this, now let us address your son, brother."
Percy walked forward and kneeled between the two thrones.
"Lord Father, Lord Zeus."
Zeus stared at Percy from above with barely any expression on his face. Poseidon turned to Zeus with a smile.
"Peace brother?"
Zeus scoffed.
"Peace. Now, do you still claim him then? You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"
Poseidon pushed back.
"You did the same for Thalia, why can't I?"
That seemed to have hit a nerve as Zeus' eyes twitched. Mark spoke up to get their attention.
"When I captured Luke he told me that Kronus had been speaking to him. It was under the orders of Kronus for Luke to steal your symbols of power. Though, Luke is taken care of and his symbol of power is gone."
Hearing this the brothers began to argue in ancient Greek which Mark did not get. They stopped when Zeus angrily stood up.
"We will speak of this no more, I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human and dragon taint from its metal. Now, You have done me a service, dragon.
Better than any hero so you will get your reward as soon as possible. As for you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."
Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone. Poseidon reached into his short pockets and pulled out another ring. He tossed it to Mark who caught it and sent his magic inside.
Poseidon gave Mark piles and piles of treasure from sea wreaks along with some better items. One was a big egg, 5 times the size of an ostrich egg which glowed blue and black. Seeing it made Mark realize what it was, a dragon egg.
That was not everything as many vials of glowing liquid were inside the ring. Some were blue while one was golden in color. Though all that did not matter as a huge Red scale made Ddraig instantly speak.
[MY SCALE!]
Hearing that made Poseidon smile.
"That is a Water Dragon egg. Water Dragons serve me in my army as my living war engines, but this egg has not hatched in many nearly a century. As for the gender of this one, it is female and I feel she will serve you well once you hatch her. As for the vials, some of them are Dragon's blood I received as a gift.
One of those is Ichor from me, and the rest contain purified essence of the sea, you can use it to feed your dragon when she hatches. As for the scale, well, I beat Dionysus at cards with that as the prize and I decided to give it to you. I know it would help you.
It is also an apology from me."
Mark nodded.
"You're forgiven and I should do the same. I insulted you the first time we met, but you do deserve it I will still apologize. If you ever want to hire me, I will live in New York in the same house. Just try to not make me mad like last time."
Poseidon nodded.
"I will certainly try. Now, Percy comes, I wish to speak with you. As for your friends, you all are welcome to stay in Olympus, I am sure your mother would like to speak to you, lass."
Annabeth nodded as she saw Percy leave with Poseidon who shrunk down to human size. As for Mark and Grimnar, the two of them were ready to leave. He turned to Grover and Annabeth.
"I am leaving. I might stop by the camp from time to time so, keep in touch. Annabeth, Grover, take care."
Mark walked forward as Space warped as they vanished from Olympus in a flash of silver. The first place Mark went was the apartment where Gabe lived. Mark and Grimnar appeared right next to the car which Mark had marked with his magic.
"Just wait for me there, I got a fat pig to slaughter."
Both Mark and Grimnar walked up the steps toward the apartment where Gabe lived. When he reached the doorbell he rang the doorbell and waited. When the door opened he saw the same fat and smelly man from before.
When Gabe saw Mark, his cigar dropped out of his mouth from fear. Well, it did not help that Mark had shoved his arm into his chest.
"You know, Gabe, I would have let you live, but you just suck as a human being. So, burn."
Dragon fire flashed in Gabe's body turning him into ashes. Mark did not destroy his soul though as a bastard like Gabe would do better tortured in the Underworld than just destroyed.
Mark extended his hand and made Gabe's friends fall asleep. They were not as bad as Gabe, just rude. He also dragged the keys of the Camaro into his hands. He closed the door and walked out of the apartment with Grimnar toward the black 1978 Camaro.
He unlocked it and got in the driver's seat with Grimnar in the passenger seat. The dog stuck his big head out the window while Mark revved up the car. He stepped on the ignition and drove off in his new ride toward his house.
This car alone was a reward by itself.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
God_Of_Wolves
God_Of_Wolves So, Mark is going to be a big ally of the Greek Gods. He dislikes the gods, but he loves getting paid by them. Also, his spending a while on Olympus is going to be important when it comes to some virgin goddess. HAHAHAHHAHA
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