Sixth Arc: Final Trial

Percy spent the three days restoring himself to his best condition and regaining his energy. He opened his eyes and stood. Zoë was already standing at the exit." I'll be having my battle first, so I'll be heading out now!" she smiled at them and then strode out. Dionysus and Hephaestus turned to a simple formation set into the wall. Percy glanced at it as well." What's that for?" he asked curiously. Hephaestus answered him." It's a formation used to view the matches in the final trial. The three sect heads have their own formation in a separate room. But we can use the one here." Dionysus finished fiddling with the formation and it opened, showing a projection of an arena. The arena itself was huge, large enough to hold tens of thousands of spectators. The entire battle field was miles in radius, but to powerhouses like them, such distance was nearly meaningless.

Zoë stood on one side, her Golden Armor sparkling in the sunlight. Bow already in hand. Amphitrite stood on the other end, dressed in translucent robes tinged bluish green. Her trident was held loosely in one hand, and her expression was light and easy, as if she was out on a vacation rather than on a battlefield." Hehehe. Direct disciple Zoë. I never expected I'd get to face you." Zoë's face was impassive." Do you give up?" Amphitrite chuckled." Indeed, I can't waste time on talk. It's getting close to noon, and your power is already quite high. So I'll skip the pleasantries and directly use my trump card. If this can't get rid of you, I don't think I have a chance at victory." Zoë shook her head." Foolishness."

Amphitrite smiled." Let a girl have her fantasies." Her eyes turned greenish blue and the hologram of a trident appeared in her other hand. She tossed it up. The ground trembled as the trident grew in size." Oh holy phantom of the God of the Seas, arise with vengeance. Rain your blows upon the world and collapse all of land into the endless maw of the seas! Bring forth an endless storm of never ending despair!" space flickered and twisted behind her, then a huge presence appeared behind her, blurred and vague at first, then turning into a phantom of a huge man with a trident held in his hands. His face was indistinct, but the power and majesty of his presence was unmistakeable." Trident of the Sea God!"

Wind howled and the ground rippled as the phantom struck, bringing the terrific power of the oceans forward in a single strike. Zoë's eyes narrowed as she raised her bow." Burn all of creation to ashes. Cruel Sun: Sunlight Flare!" the phantom of a golden figure appeared behind her, grasping a burning orb in one hand. He thrust out the orb as Zoë released a golden ray from her bow. The golden ray seemed to collide with the trident. The space around the collision bent to tearing point, then shattered with an explosion. The phantom of the sea god trembled, then shattered. Amphitrite swayed on her feet and a trickle of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth." Hehe… just as fearsome as expected. I accept my loss." She coughed up a mouthful of blood and spat it out. She wiped her mouth with a hand and stowed her trident away and then walked away, exiting. Zoë seemed indifferent as if she had already known the outcome, which Percy supposed she did. Dionysus whistled." That's a direct disciple for you. now she'll move to the next dimension. Losers will return to their original dimension."

He glanced at Percy." You're turn now." Percy scratched his head." Well. Good luck to me then." Hephaestus chuckled." Just beware Drew's charm." Percy nodded and then stepped out. The vision in front of his eyes twisted and he appeared in another Arena. There was a familiar figure waiting for him at the other end. Dressed in her usual provocative clothing, and wearing her usual seductive smile, stood drew." Hello my cute junior brother Percy~" her voice was as silky as ever and seemed to sink into Percy's bones. Percy cocked his head." Hello senior sister." Drew tilted her head and held it with a hand." Killing you would be such a waste. However….." her eyes went blood red." …. I'm under direct orders." Percy smiled and summoned the heaven smiting Devil slayer sword." It depends on whether you have the skill to do so."

Drew slammed her palm against the air." A measly minor god against me? Hardly needs skill." Percy smirked and swung his sword. The ripple of air and the sword ray clashed, shattering. Drew's eyes widened." Ah yes, you can resist even master Ares's attack. But can you stand up to me if….." she pointed a finger at him. Percy's eyes widened as the blood of the Horned Dragon in his veins ignited, sending waves of fiery lust and passion through him." Hehehe. I sensed my pets blood in you. I wonder why Hestia used it on you? but no matter. Now I can dual cultivate with you before killing you. with your current power, I'll no doubt get a huge boost!" she smirked and walked towards Percy with light footsteps." Yes, you want to push me down and rip my clothes off yes? You want to dominate me and ravage my body… and I want you to~"

A dragon's roar echoed through the stadium as the dragon soul domain opened. Drew froze for a second, turning white with fear. With her power, soul suppression was nearly impossible. But what level of existence was the Azure Dragon God? Even a sliver of his soul was so powerful that Percy, at the minor god level could paralyse her for a second. A second wasn't very long. But in a battle between masters, it was fatal. Percy's eyes turned green blue and his aura surged like the seas and rose to the peak of the Minor god realm as he summoned all the power the blood of Poseidon had. He raised the heaven smiting sword and swung with all his force, slashing her from her shoulder to her waist. Drew was thrown backwards, blood spurting out in an arc as she was thrown to the ground. She lay there, still shocked, then leaped to her feet." You damned kid!" she raised her hand and green gas spread from her." Heavenly poison, turn his bones to dust!"

The gas revolved like a tornado and swept towards Percy. Percy's eyes flashed and a smile touched his lips.' Moonlight Flash!' he shot forward like a silver meteor, directly rushing for the tornado. Drew laughed crazily." You fool! You'll never even make it through the tornado!" phoenix flames erupted all over Percy, and a phoenix cry rang out." Phoenix Fire Lotus!" a Fire Lotus abruptly bloomed, slamming into the tornado and covering it with flames, filling the arena with smoke. Drew was still laughing." You're already dead!" suddenly Percy appeared behind her.' concept of stealth: Perfect Concealment!'. Even Hestia was unable to sense Percy when he was a demigod, not to mention now when he was a minor god! He slashed again and now his sword was covered by Golden Flames. He slammed the sword into her shoulder and she screamed as she was engulfed in a ball of fire. At the same time, the Powerful Vibrations within his sword directly rushed into her body, tearing her internal organs apart.

She trembled intensely, grabbing his sword to stay on her feet. The fire subsided, then revealed the ruined form of Drew, burnt black and red in patches. Her luxuriant hair was now completely roasted away and blood was spilling from all her seven facial orifices, as well as the two savage cuts Percy's surprise attacks had put on her. she struggled to stay on her feet for a few more seconds, then her grip on his blade weakened and she fell down. Percy knelt and fed her a medicinal pill." Take care senior sister." He smirked lightly, then rose and headed towards the exit." How…. How… did you… break the horned Dragon's blood?" Percy glanced over his shoulder." Oh that? I had already suffered under its effects when I was a demigod. It couldn't control me then. It hardly had a chance this time." He chuckled lightly then walked out.

Zoe glanced at him as he stepped through." That was impressive." She commented softly. Percy grinned." Well what can you say, I got lucky." "Why did you not finish her off?" she asked puzzled. Percy smiled." We have a history." He said mysteriously. Zoë shook her head." But regardless, you defeated her using surprise attacks. In a one on one, it would have been a very close battle and you probably would have lost." Percy rubbed his head." Ahahaha. That's probably true. Like I said, I got lucky" Zoë snorted coldly." Then you might as well give up right now. In our battle tomorrow, you will be absolutely crushed. Drew, compared to Amphitrite can be said to be a toe to toe rival. And so, you are a weakling before me." Percy smiled thinly." What thinks you've seen all me cards?" Zoë snorted." And I haven't shown mine either."

They both fell silent and turned to the array on the wall, watching silently as Dionysus and artemis faced off in the middle of the stadium." Yield." Artemis said coldly. Dionysus chuckled." It's not night yet. So I might stand a chance." He started walking, circling around artemis. Suddenly, the sunlight seemed to turn purple and dozens of Dionysus's appeared, circling her. their movements were all matched as he walked around artemis. Artemis didn't even bother looking at them. She just kept her eyes straight ahead. Suddenly, a single Dionysus darted forward, holding a short sword in his hand. He directly thrust at her but she didn't even flinch, raising her hand to grab the sword. But just as she did, the sword turned into purple mist, along with the rest of him. Another Dionysus appeared behind her, slashing downwards. Her eyes flashed silver as she disappeared, then appeared behind Dionysus.

Her hand was bloody, and so was Dionysus's chest. She flicked her hand, and the ground was covered with blood and her hand was once again restored to it's pristine condition. The phantoms of Dionysus faded away and he collapsed to his knees, vomiting blood and clutching at the bloody hole on the right side of his chest." If that had been the left side, you'd already be dead." She said coldy, then stormed out. Zoë glanced at Percy from the corner of her eye." Now do you understand the difference between a ordinary peak full god and a direct disciple peak full god? And that is when we are in the weakest level of strength. Artemis at night is infinitely more powerful." She huffed angrily. Percy kept silent. Zoë turned away from him." If you wish for me to beat you up, then so be it!"

She switched the array to the next battle. Percy was quite curious. Thalia was the one he knew least about after all. She was an enigmatic mystery to even Hestia. She was after all someone capable of resisting athena's soul control, and yet was the direct disciple. His eye twitched slightly as she walked into the arena. Both Amphitrite and drew dressed provocatively… but thalia was a different level of provocative. They relied on elegant charm and seductive power to arouse. But thalia… she was like an exotic wild fruit. She dared people to test her, to draw out her charm. Thalia grinned as she saw Hephaestus." Heffy! I heard we were gonna fight! And I was like.. totally no way! I was like so confused for these three days.. like can I use heffy's weapons on him? Would that hurt your feelings heffy?" Hephaestus chuckled." Hardly. But you wont use my weapons right?" thalia pulled a gun from its holster on her thigh, then tossed it aside." Of course not. You probably have defenses against each one." Her hair crackled and rose slightly as her clothes were torn apart by tendrils of lightning, that wrapped around her, forming an armor of lightning. She grinned and shook her hand, a tendril of lightning turning into a long coiling whip." Heffy~ prepare to be shocked!" she said with a giggle. Hephaestus sighed." How many times did you practice that line?" she cocked her head." A few… hundred times!" then she lashed out with the whip. Hephaestus body glowed and his own shirt exploded as thrusters propelled him out of the way." Overdrive!" he rushed forward and his arm thrust out glowing." Meteor Cannon!" a beam of pure energy exploded forward and Percy couldn't help but whistle." He's really powerful for a second successor!" thalia wasn't able to move away and the beam slammed into her, turning the arena into a blinding supernova.

It seemed unbelievable anyone could take that strike head on. Even Zoë's eyes were narrow as she stared at the array." She should have tried dodging as soon as he raised his arm." She murmured softly. Then the light faded and the arena was filled with dust. Hephaestus was still holding his arm up, though he was clearly exhausted. Then a wind swirled and thalia rose from the dust, completely unscathed. Even her armor was perfect." Heffy, you held back!" Hephaestus stared at her open mouthed. She giggled then pouted." I gave you a chance, but you actually held back! Awww how sweet." Hephaestus sighed again, as if wondering what was wrong with his life. Not only was she unscathed, she was also asking him why he held back." I was worried a full power attack would cause you a fatal wound."

Thalia settled down then smiled." Show me then, your full powered attack!"Hephaestus's face hardened." You asked for it." his entire body glowed brightly, all over, then dimmed. He raised his arm and pointed at her. Zoë's eyes narrowed." Foolish girl, move away!" suddenly Hephaestus's palm glowed and an even more powerful attack exploded forth." Big Bang Annihilator!" his chest suddenly opened and a new cannon protruded and another ray exploded out. The first ray smashed into thalia, causing an even more powerful explosion, and right as the explosion began to spread, the second, even more powerful ray slammed into it, causing the explosion to implode, focusing itself on thalia. Hephaestus fell to a knee, then raised his other arm. His eyes turned electric blue and tendrils of electricity exploded from all parts of his body.

Percy gaped at him." What's wrong with him?!" Zoë snorted." He's almost out. This an attack that needs nearly all his power. He also used that first attack, so it's a really big strain trying to finish it." Hephaestus's body shook and his chest exploded, belching acrid smoke. He opened his mouth and roared." Third cannon: Black hole grenade!" a thin ray of concentrated power shot out of his arm and sliced into the fiery flames that were engulfing thalia and they all suddenly shrunk, turning into a blinding ball of pure white about two meters tall. The explosion of a hundred metres was compressed down to a mere two metres!

Hephaestus shuddered and collapsed. His body was sparking and crackling and black smoke was emitting from every part of him. He glanced at the concentrated ball of power then groaned softly. Then suddenly the ball exploded, and the entire arena was ruined. The entire array flickered for a few moments, threatening to collapse under the strain. Then the image cleared. Showing a pristine thalia brushing her hair behind her back." Heffy are you alright?" she asked with concern. Hephaestus belched some more black smoke as he raised a charred and melted arm and gave her a thumbs up. Half his thumb was missing." Absolutely ….fine….. thalia. I've…. never been….. better." He muttered sarcastically. Then he groaned." I give up." Thalia chuckled, then skipped over to him and carried him over to the exit." Get some rest." She called out as she tossed him through. Then she turned and exited.

Zoë was silent with shock." That power… should not have been blocked so easily. Even me… I would've been injured severely if I had faced it! but she took it head on without even singeing a hair!" she was obviously concerned." Now I really don't know if I'll meet her or artemis in the finals. At first I was almost sure it was artemis, but now I'm not so sure." Percy gave her a sideways glance." First get through the semi's, then worry about the finals." Zoë looked at him, then spoke in a voice usually reserved for idiots or toddlers or idiot toddlers." So I should worry if you'll beat me tomorrow? When it will probably be noon? Yeah you're right, I'll worry about it. I'm sure it'll haunt my dreams tonight. Or maybe the nerves will get to me and I won't even be able to sleep. Or maybe I'll stay up all night training. Or maybe I'll just give up. Or maybe I'll just run away." She threw him an icy look and stalked out of the room. Percy laughed then called out." Don't run away! I'm looking forward to our fight!" he burst into laughter, then sat down to meditate. All jokes aside, he needed to be in tip top condition if he wanted to fight Zoë tomorrow.

A.N.: sorry about the short chapter, but I had quite less time. I wasn't at home. Also I may go on hiatus soon. I'll be gone for maybe two weeks or so, and I won't have time to write even if I do carry my laptop over. It is holiday time, so I have a busy schedule now. Don't worry, I'll use that time planning the next arcs.

Hope you enjoyed the first battle. Percy is obviously the weakest. So how the hell does he beat Zoë? Those of you who've read the Seven Deadly Sins might be able to guess.

And yes I based Zoë's rise in power off Escanor's sunshine. It just fit perfectly. The power of the sun god obviously depends on the sun, so it was a match made in heaven.

Just review you guys. And I loved ya'll reviews on my April fool's joke. I hope no one actually took it seriously though. Ciao.