Chapter 43

I raised my blade up to reflect the assault of Pseadea, no Noir's, sword. He crashed with surprising force, force stronger then Phonoi's but weaker then Ponos's.

I grunted a bit before reflecting him back.

The god skidded back across the wood floor, and I felt a odd feeling. Though the being hadn't touched me, I felt a sharp gust of wind across my neck area, as if the air itself had wanted me dead.

"I have power unlike anything you've seen before. Fall now, and save us both the trouble." Said the god, raising his sword.

I took a deep breath before getting into a fight stance. I didn't know what it was, but even though I should have been near dead right now, I felt rejuvenated. I didn't know out the time, but this was not my own power.

"I can't do that, Noir." I said defiantly. "If you insist on talking, you'd have a better chance with a wall."

The god said nothing as he moved forward.

I parried his first attack expertly, but wasn't expecting it to knock me all the way into the living room. I quickly found fighting in a Vegas hotel was not too practical.

The god leaped forward again, but instead of going for me, he kicked up the large white semi-circle couch like it was nothing.

He stabbed his sword forward, launching the furniture in my direction.

With little time to think, I ducked down, saving myself. I heard glass break as I assumed the sofa had gone through the window and landed on some unfortunate mortal below.

I glanced up to see Noir's blade smoking.

The floor he had stepped on was splintered, and the area the couch stood on was burnt.

I didn't think he had any special fire powers, but I wouldn't have been surprised if this was caused by the sheer force and speed of his attacks.

I had expected the god to go back into talking, but he apparently got the message, going forward.

He swung for my head, and I ducked down, stabbing forward. The god turned sideways to avoid the blade to the gut, and kicked his knee forward, getting a clean hit in right on my nose.

I flew back surprisingly easily, but was caught mid air by my neck being gripped by the god.

I scowled, and attempted to say something but couldn't. All I could squeak out was "Wait-!"

The god wasted no time by swinging me forward, and like I had wings I flew out the broken window, twirling around in the air.

I moved in slow morion, having plenty of time to think, but none to react. I quickly came to, but I still could do nothing.

I looked down below to see I was quite the ways up, and falling from here would definitely mean I would not be fine. Though, it didn't seem like I'd fall anytime soon, in fact, it looked like o was gaining speed in the air.

I had been more or less unharmed as I flew until I hit a lamppost head on at max velocity.

*Bonk*

...

*Bonk* *Bonk* *Bonk* *Bonk* *Bonk*

I flew down the entire block, hitting steel bar after steel bar, giving me mini concussions each time. I didn't think I could take much more when I heard the distinct voice of Noir, even though I was 6 buildings down.

His voice surrounded me, making it seem like the only other thing that existed.

"Return."

It said, and I felt my body contort. In that second, I stopped completely, and almost instantly I was brought back to the hotel, as if I had never left.

Though, based of my large bruises, I had defiantly gone on a trip.

"What the hell?!" I said, confused on what had just happened.

"This is it. My true power, it is something you cannot comprehend. Come demigod, let me show you what makes me the strongest of the Androktasiai."

I stared at him for a second, contemplating. I didn't know exactly what his "true power" was, but it did seem potent. I decided to just stick to the plan, and raised my sword once more.

The god huffed before coming forward, letting go another onslaught.

It was hard to keep up with half a sword, but I made do, barely. That said, it was obvious I couldn't survive this for long as my arms were quickly becoming stained in red as attacks slipped though, cutting me up.

I was pushed back to the corner of the room where my back pressed up against the bookshelf. I filled up with fear temporarily as I didn't know what to do.

I sent out a hopeful jab and somehow was able to stab the god on the inside of his elbow, making his blade falter. With this space, I kicked out, sending Noir back.

He scowled and uttered a word.

"Come."

Due to whatever force of nature he was using, I felt my feet be pried off the floor and dragged towards the god.

Noir cocked a fist back and swung forward, hitting me square in my face.

I flew back effortlessly, hitting the elevator door with a thud. I felt myself "dive under" for a second, but I quickly came back to consciousness, slowly getting up. I struggled up to see Noir staring intently.

He was breathing slightly heavy, his chest going in and out. I would find this a small victory in most cases, but it was obvious I was worst off.

"You should've died minutes ago. Your delaying the inevitable."

I almost laughed. "You think after all this, I'll just give up? I can't, for more then just my sake." I said. The heroic words were unlike me, but it was the truth. It may have just been only a handful of people, but they were enough to fight for.

"The ones you fight for, they shall be your undoing."

I smiled. "You talk as if you can kill me."

The god scoffed. "You really think you can stop me?"

I twirled the broken sword in my hand before sheathing it. I reached my hand out and closed my eyes. Focusing.

"No, Noir, I know I can stop you." As soon as I opened my eyes, a black mist started to fill the room, shrouding the floor.

I mentally smiled once more. I didn't even know if this would work, but it was needed if I wanted to stand a chance.

The god looked alarm for a second before he scowled. He jumped forward, jabbing his blade.

I put my hand out forward, a ball of mist forming in my palm. The "mist" reflected the god, blowing out the windows and the lights as we made contact.

The god was pushed back, a look of distaste as he watched the mist take form in my hand.

I swung my arm away from myself as my perfect weapon came to be.

I raised Retribution in front of me proudly.

"That blade has slain many creatures on this earth. My brethren are apart of those who have fallen to it."

"You'll soon join them."

The god gave off one more disgusted grunt. "You are a fool."

I nearly blinked at the wrong time as Noir was on top of me in seconds. Before, I would've struggled to counter with half a blade, but now with my scythe I found fighting a whole lot easier.

I locked blades with Noir and stared him dead in his grey eyes.

"I'm going to kill you."

Noir pushed off and we began fighting in a flurry of slashes, fighting faster then then the normal eye could track.

Even as a demigod, I struggled to keep up with my very own movements. Noir fought calm and collected, and though I was an expert with a scythe, he was able to match my pace, without using whatever special power he had.

That would soon change in a matter of minutes.

After tussling for some bit, I decided to try and make some space to hopefully form a plan. I ducked under an overbearing attack and thrusted the bottom of my hilt into Noir's stomach.

The god was pushed all the way to the bar, forming a Noir shaped divot.

Without hesitation I rushed forward and made a move to cleave the god in half, slashing down on the gods position.

Noir seemed surprised for a split second before he rolled away to my right.

I huffed for a bit before removing my blade from the wood. I planted it in the floor and leaned on it as I turned to my side to stare at Noir.

The bastard was tough, tougher then most I had ever fought if not all. He didn't seem too fatigued by my efforts, looking at me with the same face as before.

I was kinda thinking to myself when Noir's voice interrupted. "If you do not fight seriously, then your efforts are fruitless. Do you expect me to believe that this is the power that defeated Riyu?" He asked.

I lifted my blade and raised an eyebrow at the god. "You want me to make this harder for you?"

"If you believe that you truly must stop me, then you will find it impossible to do at this rate. If you insist on being difficult, at least put in the effort."

I said nothing as I shifted a bit. It was true that I wasn't making any progress, but I was also still testing out the waters, getting used to my scythe once again and adjusting to Noir's fighting style.

However, the time for that was over. If I wanted to leave here alive, it'd take literally everything. I took a long, deep breath as I met the gods gaze once more, at peace.

I had been a little uplifted thinking about fighting for someone other then myself, but now was not the time to go soft. If I wanted Noir dead, I'd have to do things my way.

"Good. A fighter worthy of standing before me." Said Noir. "Now Perseus, witness the power of a Greek god."

I scowled before rushing forward, clashing with the god using all my strength. Behind each attack was enough power to slice a cyclops in half, but Noir repelled with only slightly more effort.

I kicked the god back and twirled my blade, prepared on hitting him at a different angle, but was stopped when he spoke a single word.

"Repel."

Even in the heat of the moment, Noir speaking was clear as day to me. I saw the second his lips opened and closed, the words sounding perfectly clear throughout my head.

Apparently an effect of the word, my blade was launched away from the god without even touching his sword.

I fell back with a stumble, partly due to the sheer surprise. I heard Noir scoff at me condescendingly quickly recovered.

"What...what was that?"

"Your just now noticing, demigod? I'm afraid it's too late for that."

I gnashed my teeth before rushing forward.

"Raghhh!" I said as I swung my scythe forward with unmatched force.

"You just don't seem to understand."

The god raised his sword, meeting my blow and creating space. I was halfway through another swing when he spoke again, stopping me.

"Back."

My blade flew back and I struggled to keep a grip. With an exposed torso, the god stabbed forward, cutting deeply through the side of my stomach.

"Gah!"

I fell back and clutched my stomach. "What the hell?!"

"Your weak demigod. Don't you understand."

"Shut up!" I said, removing my now bloodied hand and running forward. I disliked being talked down to, no matter the situation, and I guess that was enough to help me ignore the pain.

I still didn't understand what Noir was doing, but I didn't much care. The god only sniffed as he raised his weapon.

I got to attacking, doing my best to be unpredictable, hoping to get in a hit. It was going smoothly before Noir resorted to his most powerful weapon. His words.

In addition to his swordsmanship, the god was using words like "back", "return", and "repel" to make things harder then me. Through some sort of magic, whatever came out of the gods mouth became reality, not helping me at all in my fight.

Though with that said, I do was doing relatively good for a demigod in my position. I was able to overwhelm the god at times when it came to weaponry, but would fall short when the god opened his mouth.

I found myself getting thrown around by the invisible force, and was starting to realize why exactly Noir was the final Androktasiai.

He was untouchable.

I had gotten inches away from slashing the gods nose in two when he forced me back. Though, instead of the usual words, he did something different.

"Blast!"

There was a boom!, and I flew through the air, landing roughly on the wooden floor. I glanced around groggily to see the windows had exploded completely, and half the furniture was ripped off from its position.

I looked behind myself to feel a cold gust of wind, and I realized that I was on the edge of the room, not even a foot away from falling 20+ stories down.

I turned back quickly to see Noir looking at me menacingly.

I quickly shot to my feet and brought my blade up, but halfway through it a sword forced me back.

I held my scythe, frozen with a sword within striking distance of me. I wasn't necessarily on the ropes, but one wrong move and I'd fall to my death.

I thought about my options. An attack was plausible, but there was a high chance it would end in my death. Talking was definitely out of the options as Noir wouldn't hesitate to kill me. The only plausible choice was to roll to the side and recover in time. I just hoped that would be enough.

"Pitiful." Said Noir as he tensed up, about to kill me. I predicted the attempt and rolled away, but was surprised when a large hand gripped me by my leg.

"Tch." I said, kicking my other foot forward so I could wiggle out. The god didn't seem fazed as he adjusted his grip to keep me in his hand. I attempted to get out of his death grip, but failed miserably as he lifted me up so I was upside down, eye to eye with him.

"Your a bastard." I spat.

The god smirked for the first time, showing a little bit of his pride of.

"Of course."

Noir reached back with me in his hand and swung forward, bashing my head into the hardwood floor. I immediately felt the surface, my ears starting to buzz.

I blinked and found myself back into the air, only to be swung down yet again.

I coughed out, blood spilling from my mouth, blood that came all the way from my stomach. Yet again, in seconds I found myself back up into the air.

Instead of swinging me though, Noir threw me forward, sending me flying towards the opposite end window. I was going to brake through easily and fly out.

I snapped back into reality, my vision blurry. With what little time I had, I stuck out my scythe and slowed myself down just barely enough to survive.

I swung my body down and my feet touched down on the floor. My feet felt hot through my shoes due to the friction being applied. I used my entire body weight so sink down, skidding to a stop only seconds away from falling out the building.

I was breathing heavily as I slow looked up at the god. "I told you already, I'm here to kill you. If you want to stop that, your gonna need to use that blade of yours." I said with my arms out and a scowl on my face.

I felt confident. Like I said before, something was keeping me going, something separate from myself. I didn't know what, or who it was, but it was all I needed to take care of the god, and I would make sure not to waste that power.

Noir shook his head as he came closer, his sword dragging on the floor. "You don't understand...

Come."

I flew forward, almost teleporting towards the god. I found myself once again in the gods grip, this time however he had his hand on my neck, stopping my from breathing.

"My power is too great for you to handle alone, demigod, and even with the help of your friends," the god threw me away effortlessly as if I weighed nothing.

"You would not stand a chance."

Return.

I flew back towards the god, only to be hit dead in my face, sending crashing to the floor once again. At this point, I grew numb due to taking so many blunt hits, but they still hurt like all hell.

I clambered up but struggled to get all the way on my feet. I glanced at the god defiantly, but I wasn't too intimidating looking at the time.

"You don't get it, do you Perseus. The power of The Word granted to me by my master is too much more then you could ever hope to handle."

I perked up a little at his words. "The power of what?" I asked groggily. I wasn't completely seeing straight.

"The Word, Perseus Jackson, or simply stated, the power over the Word." He said. "A power that makes any sound I utter reality, giving me full control of this battle."

I looked on confused. "And what exactly is the word?" I asked.

"You truly are a fool, boy. There is no one word, it is a enchantment attached to every word I wish to have power. With this powers, whatever I want can be the truth."

I almost laughed at the use of his words. The truth, ironic considering his domain. I was planning on using this new knowledge to form some sort of counter attack, but something dawned on me.

"Wait a second. If you can do things with words alone, why don't you simply order me to die?" I asked. It seemed like the easiest option, so it was possible the god was lying.

"It is not that simple, demigod. I can only command things within my power. To order you to die, you'd have to be not to far off death already. Meaning, if I'm to do enough damage, you will fall to simply one word."

I scoffed before forcing myself to my feet. "So is that your plan? Rough me up a little bit just to end me with a single word? That'd be a great way to end the quest I'm on, huh." I said shakily. I raised my scythe.

"It would be a great way to exhibit just how weak you are when compared to me and my forces, yes." Said the god raising his sword.

"Do you wish to stop me?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

I didn't hesiatate to launch myself forward with my scythe branded out wide.

I was planning on ending this all with Timoria, putting Noir to rest. "What a fool."

The god didn't move an inch as his mouth opened.

Back.

I flew towards the bar area, but flipped around mid air. I placed my feet on the cupboards and pushed off, going straight back to the god.

Noir seemed surprised, but he was able to stop my attack with very little space between Retribution and his face.

He pushed off and spoke, clear annoyance on his face.

"You are getting on my nerves, demigod. I plan on ending you soon. Do not worry though, I will make-..." The god took a step back as he was inches away from losing his face. There was a prominent swish as my blade just barely missed him.

The god jumped back quickly and started to breath heavily.

A single drop of blood fell from his face, then started flowing from a cut on his lips.

"Didn't I tell you. If you start talking again, you will die." I said darkly.

I mentally scowled. I had hoped to cut the gods mouth of to hopefully stop him from talking, but even while speaking he had been able to dodge the surprise the attack.

However, it was clear the god was slightly shaken by the attempt, as it could've easily ended his chances here.

The god gave off a a small "hmph", as he wiped his lip.

"A lucky shot. That will not happen again."

"We'll see." I said with a steady breath, raising my weapon once again.

The god pointed his blade at me, then opened his arms outward, welcoming me.

"If you truly think you stand a chance, demigod, then come at me. Prove yourself." The god lifted his sword across his body.

"But I must say, you are forgetting one crucial fact when it comes to fighting beings within Greek mythology." He said.

The gods eyes glowed white as he seemed to "power up". I felt chills run through my body. I was bleeding from shallow cuts, but the worst of my injuries came from blunt damage. Safe to say, I wasn't looking too good.

I thought about this as the god finished his sentence.

"And that is that words have power."

Man Percy is ruthless lol. As soon as he finds out Noir's power, he goes to cut off his mouth without hesitation.

But this my first chapter back on this story, hope it suffices. I really pushed for the first part of this fight to be at least 3k words, which I'll do the same for next chapter.

The fight will end next chapter, btw.

I plan on uploading that before any of my other stories, but do check out both The Betrayed and Council of Zeus, specially the former as it was just recently updated.

But yeah, I hope you enjoyed :)

Fun fact: Percy once had a cat named Noire. It died after falling of his balcony.