Ánoixi
Nico thrust his sword into the giant's stomach, not even pausing to watch it disintegrate before spinning around to slash at another monster. He ignored the throbbing pain in his right arm from a gash he had gotten earlier and swung his sword through a monster's face. Shaking his head to clear away the golden dust, Nico scanned the area around him for more enemies. He panted heavily as he tried to regain his breath after the tiring battle, his sword clattering to the muddy ground.
They had been fighting for what seemed like hours, and it looked like the battle was finally close to being over. He, Hazel, Frank, Jason, Annabeth, and Percy had been on a small quest over in Missouri retrieving a young demigod that had attracted a lot of monsters. While the girls had stayed at the child's house to protect her, the boys had gone to take care of the monsters that lurked outside.
He was just bending down to pick up his sword when Jason cried out in alarm.
"Nico! Look out!"
He reacted with speed and alertness that had never really faded from Tartarus. Not even looking up, the son of Hades flipped backwards out of the crouch he was in, landing briefly on the palms of his hands before flipping back over in a fluid backwards handspring. Not giving himself a second of pause, Nico then darted forward, smoothly scooping up his sword on the way, and cleanly decapitated the hellhound that had nearly pounced on him.
Letting out a big sigh, Nico checked the area more carefully this time before finally sheathing his sword and heading over to the others.
"Thanks, Jason," he grunted, before noticing their gazes. "Um . . . why are you all looking at me like that?"
Frank, Percy, and Jason were all staring at him with stunned looks on their faces, jaws gaping comically. Nico shifted, uncomfortable. Was something (else) wrong with him?
"You just—you just—you . . ." Percy stuttered incomprehensibly.
Jason seemed to agree. "How'd you—what was—ugh?"
Frank was a goat.
"Err . . . I killed a monster?" Nico guessed nervously.
Jason gestured wildly with his hands. "You, like, flipped, man! Like, I don't know, an acrobat or something!"
Nico hesitated. "Like this?"
He demonstrated a perfect backwards handspring once more, coming to rest right in front of the other demigods.
When Annabeth, Hazel, and the seven-year-old girl named Jade came back, they were confused to find Jason, Percy, and Frank all fainted on the ground with absolute shock on their faces, a very sheepish Nico standing over them.
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