A Threat Even Gods Cannot Stop
Just when it looked like Artemis was about to do something, suddenly, beneath her feet, small black holes seemed to open, as dark chains burst out of them, wrapping around her instantly, before even she could react.
And they bound her body almost immediately, especially the hand she had raised toward Percy.
And suddenly, a dozen voices seemed to go straight into her head. "Gods cannot interfere, directly or indirectly, against the competitors of the trial. Should that happen, the impartial judges will be forced to deliver punishment. This is the first warning to the Greek pantheon," the voices of different people said.
Among them, Artemis felt like one of those voices was familiar. But at the same time, she realized why Percy had been freed from her command earlier. And now, her face filled with concern as she realized she couldn't stop him, if he chose to kill Zoe right in front of her.
When she looked up, Percy was already in front of Zoe, as his foot suddenly pressed down on her chest, pinning her against the wall behind her. While she tried to break free without much success, she could only quickly pull two arrows from her quiver and drive them through Percy's ankle and leg to free herself.
But Percy didn't even seem to feel the pain as he stared at her, and raised his black sword, ready to finish her.
While the hunters instantly ran, trying to reach her to save her, but they wouldn't make it in time before Percy's sword came down toward Zoe's neck.
Zoe, for her part, even after piercing Percy's ankle with her arrows, still felt the weight as if an elephant was stepping on her. She raised her head, forcing herself to breathe, and finally met Percy's eyes.
Green like the sea. Cold and deadly. And in the center, vertical pupils of a great predator. Furious.
And in that moment, for the first time, Zoe Belladona felt real danger.
Percy slightly lifted his hand above his shoulder at that moment, while his blade seemed to glow faintly with sparks of electricity, fire, and ice. An extreme mixture of elements. Though the one that dominated the most was ice, surely because of Poseidon's blood in Percy.
Percy said nothing. No, he hadn't said a single word the whole time. Just the order he gave the goat boy, and after that not a single word left his lips again. He swung directly toward Zoe's neck, and she widened her eyes, realizing that this man truly wanted her dead.
While his sword kept descending in slow motion through Zoe's eyes.
Death. That's what she felt under Percy's crushing gaze.
It was the only thing she could feel as she kept her eyes open, watching the sword slowly get closer to her neck.
Fear. Like never before. An emotion she had lost ever since she joined Artemis' command.
Every part of her body began to tremble, as if for the first time she was the prey, and not the hunter.
But just before Percy's sword could finish the job, suddenly the sound of thunder was heard. And for the first time since Percy began his attack, he shifted his attention to something that wasn't killing the one responsible for losing Annabeth.
Percy turned around instantly, as he swung downward in a fast cut, right as a bolt of lightning appeared in front of him. But it was split in half by his sword, leaving a deep mark in the ground, its edges burned by electricity, stopping right in front of Thalia, who held her spear in one hand and a shield that, just by looking at it, seemed to inspire fear. Standing before him, looking at Percy seriously.
And he looked back at her with the same cold gaze he had used on Zoe.
Thalia couldn't help but hesitate for almost a second as she felt the danger this boy was now giving off, a chill running down her spine.
She had thought that this boy, even if he was strong, was pretty simple, a bit arrogant and kind of dumb when she saw him at camp. And yes, she knew he was strong, but the fear inside her told her he was far more than anyone thought.
"Jackson, stop now," Thalia said, trying to sound calm, for the first time understanding why Percy was her opponent in this trial, the one she thought would be relatively easy. But it wasn't anything like that. Even without Luke's involvement, who seemed to show up just to ruin everything, it was never going to be easy with Percy as her opponent.
"Why?" Percy asked in a cold tone. "Because of her… Annabeth…" Percy fell silent. Even though he didn't know where Annabeth had ended up, right now he was furious to the point of almost losing total control. Only the thinnest thread was keeping him sane. And even so, he wanted to see the blood of the one responsible spill. "I told her. I would burn Olympus for her," Percy murmured as he tightened his grip on his sword again, ready to turn back and finish Zoe.
"Annabeth told me…," Thalia said instantly, making Percy stop. "She told me those words you said to her, and she looked kind of happy, but also worried. But not about Olympus. It's because she was afraid you'd lose your smile," Thalia said, making Percy turn his face toward her at once, focusing on Thalia.
"I told her you had the smile of an idiot. But she told me it was better to see you smile, because when you lose your smile… you're not Percy anymore. She said she liked that you were still Percy, that you still had that stupid smile. Do you think she'd be happy seeing you lose it because of her? What do you think she'd say when she comes back?" Thalia said, staring at him.
"And even though more than anyone she really hates Zoe Belladona, especially now more than ever… they should know where the manticore took Annabeth," Thalia said before giving Zoe a glance, who was pale as she could barely breathe under Percy's foot.
"That is true, Perseus Jackson. Even if we don't know where it is right now, it won't be difficult for the hunters to find a beast like that," Artemis said suddenly, rubbing one of her arms for a moment, which had marks of chains that looked etched into her skin like burns, maybe as punishment for trying to act against Percy earlier.
At the same time, she raised her hand, stopping the other hunters at once, who were ready to attack Percy. But if they did, right now Artemis didn't know if they could defeat him before he finished all of them, while she herself couldn't do anything to stop him.
Percy shifted his gaze, meeting Artemis as if he had just noticed her. Then his face twisted into pure disgust and contempt, and he looked away from her, like he didn't even want to see her. After all, Zoe and the hunters were followers of this… thing. And Percy already despised the Greek gods enough. This really didn't help their first meeting, not at all.
This was the first time the goddess of the hunt had ever been looked at like that. And for a moment, she couldn't help but frown. But she simply stayed still, waiting to see what Percy would do, because now nothing depended on her. for the first time in a very long time, the power of a decision the gods could force was now only in the hands of this young man.
Percy moved his gaze toward Zoe for a moment, who was struggling to breathe, and her eyes on Percy still held defiance, even with the fear of death hanging over her.
Percy crouched slightly toward her, without looking away, while everything seemed to fall into complete silence, watching his movements.
Percy lowered himself until he was almost face to face with her, and with his free hand he grabbed the dagger stuck in his calf and pulled it out without hesitation, letting it drop. Then he pulled out the arrow, while his foot seemed to press down a little more for a moment, making Zoe feel like her chest was about to explode, forcing out a painful grunt.
"Try putting my friends in danger again. Let even one of those second-rate arrows get anywhere near them… and your soul won't even make it to the Underworld," Percy said in a truly cold, deadly tone. And every one of his words seemed to carry a strange weight, almost like a pact.
When he finished speaking, Percy stood up and removed his foot from Zoe's chest, and she was finally able to breathe, dragging in air that burned her lungs because of the pain in her chest.
As Percy turned around and walked toward where Grover was healing Clarisse, who had already stopped bleeding, though she was still very pale. Nico, Bianca, and Malcolm also gathered there, while it seemed like everyone present, including Thalia, let out a breath at the same time.
"Remind me not to piss Jackson off…," Malcolm muttered under his breath to Grover, who couldn't help but nod quickly.
Not even he wanted to see Percy like that again.