Every day, the words cross my mind. "If I had done this back then..." but they don't take the sincere form of regret. The words are just an excuse that come to my mind then disappear.
"If this is how it's going to end... Then so be it! But I'm not going down without a fight!" My grip on Riptide tightened and I looked around again, I was absolutely surrounded. Hordes of monsters, littering the forest I was in; from Cyclopes to Hellhounds to Hydras and Empousai, there they were. The next few minutes— or hours, I wasn't sure—were a blur of movement. My blade sliced through everything in its path, I dodged several jaws, claws, and clubs, and some I didn't. My personal hurricane kept most of the arrows at bay, but after a while, even that began to die down.
There was only about a quarter of the monsters left when I felt the arrows pierce my right thigh and left shoulder. I sank to one knee, cursing my luck. The monsters were circled around me, aggressively closing in. I was bleeding heavily and could barely move but I swung my sword in a wide arc as best I could, sending a few of them back to the hell they came from.
"You have done well, Perseus!" a voice boomed, "I would've never guessed you'd survive so long!" My head shot up in search of the source and I found it in the form of a giant.
Polybotes.
My father's bane sneered at me, swinging his trident nonchalantly as he walked closer. I could barely pick up my sword anymore and my breathing was laboured, but that wasn't going to stop me from insulting the fool.
"Polybotes... Didn't I beat you over the head with a statue? I'm pretty sure that happened. I distinctly remember the clunk of that thick skull of yours." The giant war was only two years ago, and I was sure Polybotes couldn't have risen from the depths of Tartarus that quickly. A scowl appeared on the giant's face and his knuckles tightened around his trident.
"You've always been a pest and a thorn in my side. I'm glad HE decided to get rid of your first." He shook his head wildly and basilisks fell from his hair, littering the ground.
"Unfortunately. Torturing you would take too long. This'll have to be quick. Goodbye, son of the sea." The poisonous snakes slithered towards me and wrapped around my body, their touch poisoning me. I screamed in pain and even after I hacked at them with my blade, my skin was still blackening, and the poison was spreading throughout my body. I couldn't move, stuck in an unending loop of pain and agony. The giant said one more thing to me, but I couldn't hear through the ringing. With a defiant yell, I stabbed my sword into the ground, bringing forth fissures and earthquakes, the monsters closest to me turned to dust, but as I raised my head I saw Polybotes wave his hand in a flash of gold.
In one swift movement, his trident had pierced my chest.