Arcane Chaos

by Kronium345

A boy who leads a dark path, different than his siblings. Cut off from familial ties at a young age, he seeks power. Power to protect himself and those he cares about. This ambition, this greed, will drive him to great lengths to attain this power and become a maelstrom in the world of gods, monsters and demigods. Son of Poseiden! OC. Harem. Somewhat Dark!/Grey OC. Godlike! OC

43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43:

The shockwave from the roar Markus' demonic avatar made the demigods, satyr and Hunters fall to their knees in shock, covering their ears. They were confused as to what he was furious about. One minute, he was talking to Aphrodite in her limousine. The next, he summoned a black demonic giant, brutally butchered Ares and mutilated Aphrodite. All while looking like a demon. They wanted to ask what was wrong, but were unable to do that.

Markus continued to roar in anger, and then started cackling insanely, like a shitty supervillain. He didn't remember if he was ever this angry. He was going to go nuclear. He was going to pull Olympus from the sky and destroy everything. Gods, nymphs, other beings, everything. But why stop there? He could go destroy the Titans, go down to Tartarus and get rid of any remaining piece of Kronos that there was. And then he'd wipe out Western civilisation. Screw the Olympians! Screw the Titans! He was going to destroy all of them! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WERE GUILTY AND DESERVED TO DIE! THEY WERE DISEASES! THEY WERE SICKNESSES! AND HE'D GLADLY WIPE THEM ALL OUT!

Markus continued cackling madly as his avatar roared, growing in size and power. His eyes were nothing but scarlet supernovas. His anger was clouding his judgement, along with the use of demonic power. The result was his mind slowly fracturing. The power was getting to his head. The anger, at it's peak, was stripping him of all rational thought and replacing it with destructive thoughts. This was the result. Complete and utter insanity.

The black scales on his face started growing slowly, trying to cover his face. His demonic output kept on increasing. The atmosphere was suddenly turning evil, and the others felt this. The ground hissed and bubbled, hellfire gathering at his feet and quickly spreading. Black water started pouring from thin air, eating at the ground like acid. His black aura started glowing emerald green, until the two colours combined together due to the mix of demonic and godly energies mixing. The end result wasn't going to be pretty.

Seeing this, Percy grew alarmed. "We have to stop him!" he yelled out, trying to get the others to hear over the shockwaves.

"How?!" Grover yelled, pointing at the black flames and water. "Whatever's happened to him, he's completely gone insane! We'll die if we even try to get close!"

When he finished, the world started shaking heavily. A large earthquake was building up, threatening to destroy the surroundings. Lightning flashed, before striking down around the area. A few stray bolts got too close to them. Thalia quickly stepped forward and intercepted them.

"We have to stop him!" she shouted, struggling to hold the firing bolts. "He'll destroy everything and everyone at this point!"

"What do you expect us to do?!" Adria screamed, not afraid to admit that she was terrified. "None of us are powerful enough to stop him!"

The situation slowly turning hopeless, Percy and Thalia looked at each other, silently communicating with each other. With a nod, both of them ran towards Markus, the others screaming at them to come back.

The two demigods only made it close enough to stop in front of the black flames. "Markus!" Percy shouted. "Stop this!"

Markus continued cackling, his eyes looking at them. Both children of the Big Three flinched at the amount of anger in his eyes, along with the insanity.

Thalia tried this time. "Markus, please! You'll kill everyone! Don't do this!"

Their words weren't reaching him. Instead, the amount of power being released increased drastically, making both of their skins crawl and made them almost faint from the amount of power being given off. It surpassed anything they'd ever felt. To Percy, the amount of power surpassed Hades', Poseidon's and Zeus' power easily. And it kept growing.

Markus flicked his hand and the black water rose to his command, trying to drown them. While Thalia moved away quickly, Percy tried to control the water, which didn't work. He let the water hit him, not expecting it to harm him. He was wrong. He screamed in pain as the black water touched his skin and doused him completely. His body felt like it was poured in acid. He fell in a heap, convulsing.

"Percy!" Thalia screamed, checking up on him. She could see him coughing and hacking, as if he'd injected poison. His skin was turning blue, his body pale.

"What's going on?!" Grover yelled, running along with the Hunters to the others. Adria quickly inspected Percy, seeing his condition.

She frowned, seeing his shivering and feverish form. "What happened?"

Thalia quickly told her. "He got hit by that black water."

"But he's the son of Poseidon! How can water affect him negatively?" Grover questioned, confused.

"I don't know," Zoe frowned, looking at the cackling and demonic-looking Markus. Scales had almost completely covered his face and body. "But we need to stop him. And the only way is to kill him."

"Are you insane, Nightshade?!" Thalia yelled while Grover gasped.

"It's the only way," Zoe reasoned. "I don't know what caused him to become like this, but whatever it was, made him go insane. We can't reason with him, and if he's willing to attack you two, then he's obviously lost it."

"No way!" Thalia denied immediately, furious. "We're not killing him! I refuse!"

"Even if we did agree to killing him, how would we do it?" Adria asked Zoe. "None of us can touch him. And we can't overpower him."

"We have to do something, or else armageddon is going to be released soon!" Grover yelled.

Looking around, none of them knew what to do. They had to do something, or Markus could potentially destroy the world.

Thalia growled. "Screw it!" She jumped towards Markus, using the wind to boost her.

"Thalia!" Grover yelled in shock while the Hunters were surprised.

Thalia flew over the wall of black flames and water, landing at Markus' side. The power rolling off of him made her want to buckle, but she endured. "Markus, snap out of it!" she yelled. Markus continued roaring and laughing at the same time. His spectral giant raised its fist, aiming to strike her. She rolled away from the strike, cratering the ground where she was previously.

Stunned and angry that he tried to kill her, she continued yelling at him. "What the Hades is wrong with you?! Snap out of it and stop acting crazy! Are you so out of it that you would harm your brother?!"

At the word 'brother', Markus' eyes widened. He scrunched up his face, as if trying to remember that he had a brother.

Seeing this, Thalia pressed on. "That's right. You have a brother, remember? Percy? You hurt him! He could potentially die!"

Markus face showed surprise as the insanity was clearing from his eyes. The demonic avatar wobbled, diminishing in power.

"Please, don't destroy the world! Stop acting bat-shit insane, and come back to us! To me. Please." Thalia's voice turned to a whisper at the end, yet Markus was still able to hear her. There were slight tears in her eyes. She didn't know what was going on with him, but she couldn't leave him like this. He was hurting, she could tell. She didn't want Markus to turn into something that he'd regret or do something that he could never forgive himself for.

Immediately, the hellfire and black water disappeared as quickly as they appeared. The world stopped shaking, and the sky became clear of any lightning. And the aura that Markus was producing vanished.

Markus gasped as his black giant disappeared. He grunted, closing his eyes. Immediately, the scales on his face and body receded to his left arm. Although, his Devil Bringer still pulsed with power, and a couple of scales started to build up on his collarbone. The horns on his head receded as well. When Markus opened his eyes, they were sea-green again. All the anger had cleared from his mind.

Markus dismissed his Devil Bringer as he moved, bringing Thalia into a hug. She flinched slightly, making Markus guilty. Then she returned the hug. They didn't do or say anything else. They just held each other, rocking back and forth slightly.

For a few moments, the couple didn't say anything. Then Markus muttered, "Thank you. So much."

"It's alright," Thalia replied, rubbing his back. "Next time, if you do that again, I'll destroy what makes you a man."

Markus laughed, knowing that she was worried. "I'm sorry."

They were enjoying each other's embrace, content. That is until Grover shouted at them. "Hey! Percy's still injured!"

Markus' eyes went wide as saucers as he sped to where Percy was. Seeing his condition, Markus wasted no time. He placed a hand on Percy's chest. "Pāji (Purge)," he muttered. A golden glow emanated from his palm as he healed his brother. The others watched, stunned.

Percy gasped suddenly, his skin returning to its original tan. The negative effects from the black water were fading at a rapid pace. In just a few seconds, he was back to normal.

Done with his healing, Markus placed a hand on his chest, where his heart was. Gathering lightning, not enough to injure him, he poked at the spot.

Percy shot upwards, breathing heavily and trying to grasp oxygen. He held his chest, his heart beating. Markus held him steady, patting his back.

"You okay?" he asked guiltily. Percy slowly frowned, trying to get his heart to stop beating so fast.

"Y-Yeah," he nodded shakily. He looked to his brother, and punched him in the gut. Not expecting this, Markus grunted.

"That was for almost killing me, asshole," Percy said, glaring. Markus chuckled, though there was no humour in his tone.

"I deserved that," he muttered, helping Percy stand up. Percy looked at Markus, inspecting him. "So... you're not going to go crazy again?"

Markus shook his head firmly. "No. And sorry about that. I... just snapped."

"Would thou tell us what made thee... act like that?" Zoe asked, crossing her arms. The others looked expectantly at him as well.

Markus frowned, remembering what made him snap. "Let's just say that the Olympians fucked up. Big time."

"We're going to need a little more than that," Thalia said, frowning.

Reluctantly, Markus told them about what happened in the limousine, word for word. At the end, Zoe, Adria and Thalia looked disgusted and furious. Percy and Grover were shocked as well as disgusted.

"I... I can't believe that she'd do that," Percy muttered, feeling sick at what he'd heard.

Zoe scoffed. "And thou wonders why I cannot stand that bitch."

Markus raised an eyebrow at Zoe when she said that. Zoe - seeing this - suddenly flinched, remembering their conversation the last time.

Thalia looked worried. "What if she tries to curse you? Or... make us move apart?" she said quietly, afraid of that outcome. She was happy being with Markus along with Silena. Although she wasn't looking forward to sharing him with other girls, but she could manage. If Aphrodite decided to ruin all of that...

Markus walked to her, holding her hand and looking into her eyes. "She will not touch any of you," he said, though the others were confused at his words. Thalia seemed to understand what he was saying. "I will not let her. She has doomed Olympus anyway. That, along with my curse, will be nothing if she were to do anything. Then I'd destroy her."

"W-What do you mean Olympus is doomed?" Grover stuttered.

Markus looked at Zoe and Adria, then to Percy, who seemed to know what he meant. He looked to Zoe. "Do you know of the Great Prophecy?"

Zoe seemed to be in thought for a moment, before she said, "No. I have heard inklings of it, but not the whole thing."

Nodding, Markus told all of them. Well, the ones that didn't know. "The Great Prophecy talks about how a child of the Big Three will save or destroy Olympus when they reach sixteen."

Stunned, Grover and the Hunters looked at Percy, Thalia and Markus in shock. "W-What?" Adria simply said.

"I won't bother you with the lore or details, but that's what it entails. Of the three of us, Thalia is the only one close enough to sixteen. However," here, he turned to look at said girl, "I refuse to allow her to take on the prophecy."

Now everyone was stunned. "B-But you said-" Thalia started to say, shocked at her boyfriend's declaration.

"That I would be there for you. That has not changed. I intend to keep that promise. However, the prophecy says that you also die. I will not let that happen. At all. Even if there was a slight chance that you would still live, I wouldn't let you tackle the prophecy. I'll take you place." Here, a mad glint appeared in his eyes. "And then I'll destroy Olympus."

"What?!" they all exclaimed, stunned. They knew that he didn't like Olympus. They didn't blame him, since the gods tried to have him killed on Zeus' orders, along with the ordeal of Aphrodite. But to think that he'd willingly destroy them...

"Traitor!" Zoe shouted out, bow raised. The others - except Adria, who got her bow out - looked at her.

"Nightshade, put your bow down, now!" Thalia yelled, drawing out her spear and Aegis.

The Hunter turned to glare at the girl. "Clearly, thou infatuation is blinding thy sight! He just admitted to be a traitor and destroying the Olympians! Including milady!"

Markus scoffed. "Can't be a traitor if I was never loyal to Olympus in the first place." He looked to both of the Hunters who were ready to strike. "Thalia, it's fine."

"But-" "It's fine," he said firmly to her. He stepped forward, not bothered by the tension in the air. "Thanks for coming to my defense, but they're only doing this because they want to defend Artemis. That's admirable. However," Markus turned to look at them, "it's futile. It doesn't matter if I'm sixteen or not. I'll start the prophecy and take control of it. By killing the gods."

"You disgusting and vile pig!" Adria barked, arrow at the ready. "You would condemn everyone on Olympus to your petty rage!"

"Petty?" he said quietly. Then the air got heavy. This wasn't bloodlust, but Markus' mere presence. "First of all, only the Olympians would be killed. And even then, only the ones who participated in wanting to kill me will die. The rest I don't care about unless they also want to kill me. Then they're fair game. And secondly, do you really think that I should spare them when they have expressed their desire to have me dead. On the orders of a foolish king who is acting the same way as his father."

At the sky booming, Markus just looked up at the sky. He shrugged. "I'm not wrong," he called out to Zeus. "You can blast me if you want. It'll only make me more convinced to come up there and kill all of you."

The sky rumbled, but no lightning flashed.

Markus then looked to the Hunters. "As I was saying. The Olympians have done nothing but cause misery and despair. They don't act any different than the Titans who ruled before them. In fact, they're worse. At least Kronos and the others were honest about their intent to be cruel. The Olympians sprout out lies about how they'd be better when they're nothing but hypocrites, liars and rapists. Their arrogance is the reason for their downfall, and it'll come soon. That, I'll ensure."

The air got heavy with tension. Percy, Grover and Thalia had contemplative looks on their faces. They agreed with what Markus was saying. But they were unsure if killing the Olympians will yield any results. And these were they're parents they were talking about.

"Markus," Percy said, sounding unsure. "You're sounding exactly like Luke."

He flinched as soon as he said that, along with the other two. They knew that he hated Luke, even if he was dead. So Percy comparing the two was bound to make him mad.

Seeing this, Markus frowned. "Percy," he said seriously. "I'm nothing like Luke. While I understand his hatred for the Olympians, something I now share, I refuse to betray any of you or raise the Titans. Both are just as bad as each other."

This seemed to relieve them, but only slightly.

He then turned to the Hunters. "Put down your bows. I have no desire to kill any of you over a stupid goddess."

At that, they began to shoot their arrows, but stopped their movements. This wasn't due to their actions, however.

Markus frowned as he glared at them, using blood control. "That wasn't a request." He then commanded them to drop their weapons. "Now, we're going to continue this farce of a quest. The only reason is because there's someone ahead that I'm going to face. 'The one free from the frozen jail'. I'm not going to tempt fate by leaving and letting you guys face him or her. But first, we'll rest. We'll wait till the sun is up. Then we can rescue your goddess and then I'll destroy Olympus."

If looks could kill, then Markus would be disintegrated at the looks that Zoe and Adria were giving him. Nevertheless, he forced them to walk and sit down.

He then turned to the others, who looked concerned. "Guys," he said, catching their attention. "I know that what I'm doing seems drastic and extreme, and you might not agree with it. That's fine. Just know that I'll never leave or betray you guys. I promise you that."

They all nodded, reassured. While they knew that anger and greed were his fatal flaws, they also knew that he would do anything to help his friends.

Once he made sure that Percy and Grover were okay - along with setting everything up for camp - Markus shared a sleeping tent with Thalia. When their tent was closed, he kissed her. While she was stunned, she reciprocated. Both of them fell onto their mattress and continued making out. Markus' hands roamed across her body, settling on her hips. His fingers were just near her ass, wiggling. This had the affect of making Thalia laugh and moan at the same time, allowing Markus to take advantage. His tongue was like a moist snake, slithering into every nook and cranny of her mouth.

Pulling back, both of them panted slightly. Thalia was left breathless, any time that he kissed her. Markus just stared lovingly and possessively at her.

Getting her breath back, she spoke. "Is this because of Aphrodite?"

Markus nodded, not bothering to hide anything. "I'm not worried. I'm just... I want to make sure that you - and the others - are alright. If I detect anything that I find suspicious happen to them, I'll go to Aphrodite and wipe her from existence."

Thalia rolled her eyes, but her heart warmed at his words. She was glad that he was extremely worried for them all, even if she didn't show it. "Relax, Barnacle Brain. We're big girls. We can take care of ourselves. Besides, it's not like you can know what goes on with all of us at every moment..." Her words died when she saw that he still had his serious expression. "You do, don't you?"

"Yes," Markus answered, though he was smiling lightly. "I get that I'm acting like a stalker, but there's a reason for what I did. It's... sort of a plan I have. A backup plan."

"You going to tell me what it is?" Thalia asked, annoyed and slightly thankful at the same time. She knew that her boyfriend had secrets. She could live with that. Everybody had secrets. Though they did annoy her.

Markus grinned. "Patience, sweetheart. The surprise will unfold when the time is right."

She glared while he chuckled. "Okay, okay. But I'm serious. When it unfolds, you'll know. I promise."

That got her to calm down, but only slightly. She decided to ask another question. "Are you really going to destroy Olympus?"

"Only a select few Olympians," Markus corrected. "Maybe half of the Olympian council. But yes. And I'm finding it very hard to change my mind." He decided to ask a question of his own. "Do you love Zeus?"

"I..." her words failed her. Truthfully, she didn't love Zeus. He was never there for her when she was still living with her bitch of a mother and dealing with Jason. Only a few times did she see him, and he didn't even acknowledge her. When she was on the run, he never answered her prayers for help. The only thing he actually ever did for her was turn her into a tree. Not even a lightning bolt, but a fucking tree.

So no, she didn't love Zeus. In fact, the only reason that she didn't want Markus to kill the Olympians was because of the consequences. While she knew that he could handle and kill gods, he couldn't stand up to the combined might of Olympus. And if he did kill them, then what about the Titans? They could use that chance to attack Camp Half-Blood or destroy Olympus, throwing the world into chaos.

"I don't," she finally answered. "I'm just worried about you."

"You're worried about me killing the Olympians and possibly dying," Markus said knowingly. "Or about the war with the Titans." Thalia nodded slowly. "Thalia, you don't need to worry. I don't plan on leaving you or the other girls alone. Trust me. Thanatos and Hades themselves will have to drag me kicking and screaming, and I'd still defy them." Kissing her forehead, he relieved her worries. "Now, let's not talk about the quest or Olympus. I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Thalia asked, curious.

Smiling, Markus spoke. "When the quest is finished, do you want to go to a Green Day concert for your birthday? They're doing world tour around America and they're playing in New York around your birthday, which is a crazy coincidence."

Thalia was shocked for a moment, before her face showed happiness. Happiness that belonged to a teenage girl and not a demigod warrior. "Really?!" she squealed, before clearing her throat. Markus still looked at her knowingly with a smirk, making Thalia threaten him with her eyes. "I'd love to go. Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Henderson?"

"Why of course, Ms... I just realised that I don't know your last name," Markus said with realisation. At his words, Thalia's face fell. Something Markus noticed. "I'm sorry," he apologised, knowing that her past and surname was a sore subject for her.

"No, it's... it's okay." Thalia sighed with sudden weariness. "You told me of your past. It's only fair I tell you about mine."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Markus offered.

"But I want to," Thalia insisted. Markus sighed, cuddling with her as she started to tell him about her past.

"I… had a little brother." Thalia started softly, eyes lost in memories long ago. "He was about seven years younger. You see, after I was born, Zeus left my mum. She went into a huge depression. You couldn't not see with some booze on hand. Her career went to shit, and that just made the booze all that more enticing." Thalia took a shuddering breath, "Seven years later, Zeus came back… but he was weirder, more fatherly yet stern. He also spoke Latin a lot."

Markus' eyes went wide at that last remark, though he didn't let Thalia see his expression. It seemed that Zeus was Jupiter the second time he visited. That meant that... suddenly, an idea was forming in his head, but he focused on Thalia's story. "So you knew that he was Zeus then?"

Thalia nodded, "Not at first, but Mum loved to boast about it when she got really drunk. How she got together with the king of the gods. Like she was something special." The daughter of Zeus spat, sneering "Trust me, she wasn't. Anyway, Zeus came back. And later on, Jason was born. I though, stupidly, that maybe things would get better." She slowly closed her eyes and after a moment opened them. "They didn't. Zeus left again, she kept pestering him for eternal beauty, or to visit Olympus. The whole house reeked of alcohol from that point on." Thalia's hands balled, her nails digging into Markus' back slightly, but he ignored it. "She couldn't even take care of Jason, I did all that. I... I wanted to give him the love he deserved… That I didn't get." She felt feeling a struggle to press on. Markus kept rubbing her back comfortingly. Swallowing, Thalia steeled herself.

"Mum, she was just too unstable. After three years, I tried to do everything I could for Jason." Thalia's shoulders slumped, "But with her, it was taking care of two babies. I just couldn't stand her. The only reason I stayed was for Jason. Suddenly, Mum wanted to go on a picnic, I was stunned. We never vacationed. Ever. But she was insistent on going. Once again, I stupidly thought she was trying to change. We went to Sonoma Valley, nice little place, peaceful. All those birds and squirrels and stuff." Thalia's tone tightened, her eyes gaining a dark glint.

"She was holding Jason, very rare, showering him with attention. She told me to go get the picnic basket from the car. I did. When I came back though… she was sitting on the stone steps, crying. She told me Jason was dead." Thalia growled out, "I thought she'd finally lost her mind… I searched for hours, all day. He was gone." She said this in a defeated tone, but righteous fury soon took hold. "When we got back, I blew the whistle on her. The cops came. They questioned her for a long time, but she wasn't arrested, no matter what I told them." Her jaw jumped in frustration at remembering it all, eyes glazing over in memory.

"Then, she turned onto me. She was screeching about how I'd betrayed her. How I should've sided with her. How it was the right choice!" she snapped at the end. Markus simply held her left hand gently, squeezing it slightly. "I just... lost it. It was the last straw. I zapped her with lightning." Markus wasn't bothered by what she'd done. He didn't judge her, only comforting her. Thalia's heart soared at this, as she continued. Damn drunk went sailing through the air like a rag doll.

"I then left. Drained every bottle of booze she had along with some cash." Thalia finished her story, trying to keep a strong face.

Markus just held her, using his magic to act as a cocoon around the both of them. Finally, he said, "At least I know that you were a badass then."

Both of them laughed at that, making the sad atmosphere almost fade. Then Thalia had talked about Jason himself. About how he'd tried to eat a stapler when he was two, and ended up with a scar on his upper lip. Markus laughed at that, imagining what had happened. She also told him about how he used to wear Superman footie pajamas as a kid. He knew that she was doing this to remind herself about the good things from her past. Then the two of them just hugged each other in the end, falling into a comfortable silence. Finally, Markus spoke. "Thank you for telling me that. I know that it wasn't easy. And I know that your life was pretty shitty, no thanks to Zeus. But know that I'll do my damn best to make sure that you have a much better future. While you may have lost your family then, you have a family now. At Camp. With Annie and Blue Boy. With me. I'll make sure that you'll have something to look forward to in the future, and make Zeus pay for what he did to you."

"You know just the thing to say to make a girl feel better," Thalia said sarcastically. "Tell her that you'll kill her dad for her."

"I have a way with words," Markus nodded, amusement in his eyes. He then kissed her lightly, Thalia doing the same thing. They disengaged, looking into each other's eyes. Both containing love for each other.

"I love you," Markus said deeply. He wanted to let her know that someone loved her. Her mother probably never said the words. Her brother was dead (presumably). And her father was Zeus. Enough said. So he wanted her to know that there was someone who loved her for who she was.

Knowing this, Thalia felt tears at her eyes, something that she didn't mind at the moment. "I love you, too."

The two held each other like a newlywed couple. Both falling asleep.

XXX

Markus' essence was brought forth to a dream. Joy.

He was standing on the hill near the Garden of the Hesperides. Meaning that the hill he was standing on was Mount Othrys. He also saw Artemis, struggling to hold up what looked to be a swirling black funnel cloud.

Markus walked forward, his astral form nearing the goddess' struggling form. "Kind of sad, isn't it?" he asked mockingly.

Artemis looked up, seeing who had come this time. When she saw who it was, she flinched. She almost lost her hold of the sky, but caught herself. "You! What are you doing here?" She tried to sound righteous and proud. But she was a shadow of herself. All he heard was weariness.

"I didn't have a choice," Markus told her. "Though I should thank him or her, since I get to see your pitiful self." Artemis glared, but couldn't do much of anything else.

"You're welcome, then," a voice said behind him. Markus turned to see Atlas, along with a demigod with an eyepatch.

Markus smiled. "Hello, Atlas. How are you? I hope that you haven't suffered too much. What, with Luke's death and all."

Atlas glared, his aura emanating from his form due to his rage. The demigod beside him stepped back quickly. "Ah, yes," the Titan said, gritting his teeth. "While you did throw a wretch in Lord Kronos' plans, we will not be stopped. There'll be more of our allies waiting for you, waiting to kill you filth and retrieve either the other child of Poseidon or Zeus."

"Mind telling me who they are?" Markus asked with an easy-going smile on his face. Atlas sneered.

"No. I don't really feel that I'm in a giving mood."

Markus clicked his teeth. "Shame. Well, then. We're probably going to face each other, even if it's saving this worthless bitch." He gestured to Artemis, who grunted. "Hopefully, your skills haven't gone rusty from holding the sky, old man."

Instead of being offended, Atlas threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Oh, don't worry, boy. A benefactor of ours has guaranteed our victory. He has given quite useful gifts to us."

Markus raised an eyebrow. "Since you're so confident, then you wouldn't mind telling the name of this 'benefactor'?"

The demigod made to interject, but Atlas glared at him, cowing him into silence. He then turned to Markus and smirked arrogantly. "Since there's no chance of you winning against us, I can tell you. If only to see the fear on your face. You may even know of him. His name is Jashin."

Markus' eyes went wide as he heard the name while Atlas laughed seeing this. What the fuck was the god of pain, death and destruction doing helping the Titans? If that were the case, then Susanoo had to know of this now.

Markus glared at the arrogant Titan. "Just because you have Jashin helping you doesn't mean shit. We're still going to face you, we're still going to kick your ass. Nothing more, nothing less."

And with that, Markus removed himself from the dream. Now, he sent his essence across the globe, putting his earlier thoughts at the moment aside to make a quick stop, trying to find out something important.

He projected his essence to Camp Jupiter, which was something that he'd found easily. The energy from the demigods and a god were easy to pinpoint. His form was now overlooking a grassy plain and a walled city in the distance. Markus could tell that if the sun was fully up, the city would look beautiful. Annabeth would be going gaga over this place. He noted that the secret entrance of the camp was in Caldecott Tunnel. Up ahead, he could see a small river beyond the walls but not too far into the city.

He inspected the city before him, admiring the view. Then he spread out his senses, searching for a particular energy signature. He found that it was located in a garden with a statue - was that Dionysus? - sprouting water from its mouth. (A.N. - At the time, I don't know whether Jason or Reyna were made praetors or not. Just assume they aren't at this period).

The person that he was looking at was sipping a cup of coffee. Two dogs - one made of silver and the other gold - hung at her side. He smiled, inspecting her features. She had dark hair and eyes. Her face showed that she was of Puerto Rican descent. She wore Roman armour that was the colour of gold, along with a Roman spatha at her side.

Markus smiled. "Well, don't you look grown up and serious?" he said in casual tone.

Immediately, she reacted. She had her sword in hand, raised to attack. Her two metal dogs now growled, standing to attention at their master's command. She froze, looking at Markus' features. Even if he was in his astral form, and was much older than he should be, she still recognised him. The one who saved her and her sister. "M-Markus?" she stammered, unsure.

Markus grinned. "Good to see you, Reyna? How are you?"

Her dogs shifted, unsure whether to attack or not. She waved her hand, telling them to stand down. "M-Markus!" she shouted in slight happiness. She made to hug him, but he held up his hand quickly. Reluctantly, she stopped, confused. "I'm not actually here. I'm speaking to you through Essence Projection. Think of it as my consciousness talking to you rather than my actual body."

Reyna frowned, her happiness fading slightly to be replaced with curiosity. "But how can you do that? From what I have experienced, only gods have been heard to do such a thing. Is this some sort of magic?"

Markus smiled lightly. "Of a sort," he answered cryptically, making her furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "But enough about me. It's good to see you. What happened since you've arrived?"

And so Reyna told him about what had happened since her and her sister were rescued. After arriving to Camp Jupiter, she had been accepted into the First Cohort (Markus had done a brief read-up of Camp Jupiter while he was training. He didn't know how Susanoo, a Shinto god, was able to get information on a Roman camp for demigods, but he wasn't complaining), being claimed as a daughter of Bellona, and living life at camp. Hylla had been offered a place to the Amazons, which were basically the Roman version of the Hunters of Artemis but slightly different.

Through her tale, Reyna was smiling widely, which was unlike how Markus had first met her. It seemed Camp Jupiter had been exactly what she had needed after Circe's Island. While the camp was much stricter than Camp Half-Blood, she still enjoyed it. Reyna had also asked how he'd been. Markus had given her a brief summary of his quests and achievements. While Reyna was surprised, she had expected as much from her saviour. Though she was slightly worried for his well-being, given that Jupiter was furious with him.

While the conversation was nice, Markus wanted to get onto the reason as to why he was here. "Reyna," he said seriously. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" she asked, seeing the serious expression on his face.

"Do you know of a boy named Jason? Scar on his lip? Possible electric-blue eyes? Son of Jupiter?"

Reyna was shocked at the questions, wondering as to how he knew of one of her friends. "Uh... yeah. He's in the Fifth Cohort. Why? And how do you know about him?"

Markus had a shocked expression on his face, before he schooled his features. So, his theory was right. Jason was alive. And at Camp Jupiter. So Zeus had visited as Jupiter and had Jason along with Thalia. And Jason's 'death' was supposedly a way for the two siblings to be separated, due to the Greek/Roman stigma. Markus had another new reason to want to kill Zeus. Because of him, he allowed Thalia to not only suffer with her bitch of a mother, but also allowed her to believe that her brother was dead. All due to his inability to quench his lust, which caused Jason to be a son of Jupiter. Markus mentally did the math in his mind. If Jason was around two when he was 'killed', and he was alive and well, then that meant that he was roughly around thirteen, Reyna's age. So he wasn't viable for the Great Prophecy, then. Which was good.

Markus quickly answered Reyna as he was thinking. "Oh, nothing. Just... I wanted to check up on him. For someone special." He decided to do something dangerous and risky. But it was worth it. "Listen, Reyna. I want you to do a personal favour for me. I'll owe you for this. I want you to tell Jason that I have information on his family. Specifically his older sister, Thalia. Tell him that I will meet him at a later time and reveal the truth to him. I swear on the River Styx." Thunder boomed in the sky due to the oath. "In those exact words."

"But, why-" "Reyna, please," Markus interrupted, a pleading tone in his voice. He had to do this. After the quest. If Olympus was still standing and everything didn't go to shit. "For me. I'm begging you."

Reyna had a contemplating look on her face, before slowly nodding. "Okay. But you have to explain to me what the Pluto is going on."

"Noted," Markus smiled, relieved. "Thank you so much, Reyna. And tell Jason not to go looking for me. Once I'm done with my quest, I'll meet him." With a wink, he commanded his essence to go back to his physical body.

Markus' eyes opened instantly, noting that he was inside his tent with Thalia. Mentally checking on the wards that he had placed last night, he could tell that they were in top condition. And that it was morning.

While Markus knew that he needed to get up, he also noted how Thalia was practically using him as both a blanket and a pillow. To which he didn't mind. He could feel her breasts on his chest, along with her long and toned legs wrapped around him. Yep, he wasn't getting up. And he didn't mind one damn bit.

He made himself comfortable, enjoying the feeling of Thalia pressed up against him, easing his worries over her and the other girls. Yeah, he was going to enjoy this.

His tent flap opened up in a rush, Percy poking his head in. "Hey, guys. Time to wake u-"

A gun was aimed at him before he could finish his sentence, followed by annoyed sea-green eyes. Seeing the sight before him, Percy did the smart thing and immediately closed his mouth. He then slowly pulled his head out of the tent.

Sighing, he put his gun away, annoyed. He knew that it wasn't Percy's fault, but he wanted to enjoy this, damn it! He tried to force himself to go to sleep.

"I know you're awake," a voice said literally beside him.

Markus groaned, opening his eyes to see Thalia's amused ones. "Well, I'd actually wake up if someone wasn't so lazy."

"Can't help it. It's not my fault that I'm being spoiled by my wizard boyfriend." She then stretched, arms raised in the air. Markus enjoyed the frontal view of her chest puffed out. He really did.

"Perv," she said without even looking at him, finished her stretching.

Markus shrugged. "Can't be blamed. I'm a growing teenage boy."

"Is that why I can feel something poking against my thigh?" Thalia commented with a deadpanned look, though she was blushing.

"That's morning wood. Nothing to do with my actions," Markus smiled. "Though, we do have to get up."

"Don' wanna...," she mumbled, flopping onto the soft mattress that he had conjured beforehand.

A devious look in his eyes, Markus flipped over, pinning her arms and legs. She nearly shouted in surprise. "Markus, what the hell?!"

"Well, princess. If you don't plan on getting up, I'm going to have to convince you." Grinning like a madman, Markus bent down and started kissing and sucking on her neck, making her moan loudly.

XXX

The questers stood, ready to move on. Though the Hunters were impatiently tapping their feet. "When will they wake up?" Grover asked. He turned to Percy. "Didn't you tell them to wake up?"

Here Percy snorted. "I did. But Markus put a gun to my head. Seriously, he is so lazy."

"Nothing wrong with that," Markus commented, Thalia following him. They all noticed that Markus was grinning and Thalia had a slightly dazed expression on her face. They also noticed that she had a couple of hickeys on her neck and collarbone. It was obvious as to what they had been up to.

Grover blushed a little as Percy smiled a little, giving him a thumbs up. Markus returned the gesture.

Adria snarled. "I can't believe this! You made us wait all because you were merely toying with your love-struck bitch. I pity her, being in love with a monster like you." Immediately, the blood vessels in her left arm and leg - along with almost half of her body - ruptured violently. She shrieked as she collapsed instantly, blood erupting like a volcano. Zoe was immediately at her side, alarmed.

Percy, Grover and Thalia were shocked at the sudden display as Markus walked forward, grinning like a loon. Trying something different, he summoned darkness using his Yin tattoo, the ground turning pitch black. Zoe was alarmed as she felt her and Adria sinking into the darkness, the Hunter's blood and body sinking like quicksand.

Adria was barely conscious due to the enormous pain she felt, though she was able to take note of the darkness coalescing, turning into several features. Dozens of red eyes. Several mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. And Markus looking down at her, still grinning and eyes red.

"You're right," he said, voice thick was bloodlust. "I am a monster. And I damn well enjoy it. But let's make one thing clear." Here, Markus grabbed her face, making her look at him directly through her pain. Zoe was also trapped by the darkness, so she couldn't do anything."If you call Thalia a bitch again - or do anything to annoy me - I will rupture every blood vessel in your body, only to repair them again, and repeat the process, slowly. You would still live, if only to suffer again and again. And I will make you all the more willing to live off of pain. Do I make myself clear, you pathetic and pitiful mongrel?"

Adria's BITCH tattoo burned as she cried out, crying in agony. She couldn't do anything but cry out, a miserable and pitiful mess. Markus immediately recalled the darkness and bloodlust, leaving the Hunter to cry in a pool of her own blood. Half of her body was still bleeding tremendously. The only reason that she was still alive was because Markus was halting most of the bloodflow in her body, so she wouldn't die of blood loss. She was still suffering, though.

Markus scoffed, walking away to deal with something. "You're a healer, aren't you? Heal yourself, then. And Nightshade." Here he turned to a shivering Zoe. "Just because I don't want to kill you for your devotion to Artemis, doesn't mean I won't torture you. Remember that."

And with that, he walked off, telling the others that he'd be back. When he was far away from them, he controlled the water from the air to form a sort of mirror. Allowing it to fully form, he made to talk with someone. A figure was quickly forming in the mirror. It was the god Susanoo, who was in a Shinto temple. Probably meditating or something.

"Susanoo-sama," Markus greeted, alerting the god of his presence through the water-mirror.

"Markus. It is nice to see you. What brings you to want to see me?" he asked, slightly surprised.

Markus frowned, telling Susanoo about Jashin teaming up with the Titans. The god frowned heavily upon hearing this.

"That is indeed troublesome," he said at the end. He then looked directly at Markus. "At least for now, the good thing is that Jashin isn't directly interfering in his aid of the Titans. Certain conditions need to be met for Jashin to actually be summoned or to appear in the mortal world. Although he could be supplying the Titans power. Though since he's not directly involved, the power may not be anything big. Maybe a power boost to one of the Titans' forces. I trust you to handle it."

"I can," Markus said. "But can't you send aid to deal with Jashin's interference. I can handle it, no problem. But it is a Shinto affair, even if I'm your champion."

Here, Susanoo had an expression of anger on his face. Markus thought that he had said something to offend him, but that wasn't the case. He had anger and regret in his eyes. "Since we are gods, Shinto gods at that, we cannot directly interfere in Greek affairs, even if one of our own is involved. Jashin will be punished heavily, rest assured. Izanagi-sama will not allow this to stand. However, our aid is limited. One option is allowing our demigods to intervene but..." Susanoo turned silent at this, confusing Markus. He knew that there were Shinto demigods around, though he'd never met them. So why was Susanoo looking so regretful? "... that's not possible. And some youkai are occupied in their own affairs. Don't worry, though. If the situation turns extremely dire, I will step in, damn the laws. But I trust that you will handle this."

"I will," Markus nodded. He couldn't blame Susanoo for not being able to do much. Besides, he could handle it. This was only a surprise. Nothing serious. At least he wasn't fighting Jashin himself. Then that might've made things harder. "Thank you, Susanoo."

"You're welcome." Here, Susanoo frowned. "Although, I could sense that your powers were almost at their maximum, along with your emotions spiralling out of control. Practically all the gods here could feel it. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Markus assured. "I was just... a little pissed at someone. The situation is handled."

"If you're sure," Susanoo said warily. Then the water mirror dispersed.

Markus quickly joined the others. Despite not wanting to, Thalia had forced him to heal Adria, as her injuries were extremely fatal. Reluctantly, he healed her, though he made sure the process was extremely painful. Now both Hunters made it their priority to not antagonise him, not even looking in his direction. Though Adria was whimpering slightly, phantom feelings of pain ripping through her body.

After everything was packed up, they bravely made their way into the Junkyard of Hephaestus. They knew this due to Percy telling them and Zoe's experience. What they saw was a junk mountain.

Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Looks like a hoarder's dream place," Thalia muttered.

"Some of this stuff looks like real gold," Percy commented, looking at most of the stuff.

"That's because it is," Markus answered, still walking and inspecting the stuff. Normally, his greed would be acting up at seeing all the valuable stuff here. But he had seen and was in possession of much better things.

"Don't touch anything," Zoe warned. "This is the junkyard of the gods."

"A shame. Many people could use this junk," Percy said.

"Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?" He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted it out of his hands, scolding him.

"Well, I suppose one man's trash is another's treasure…. or in Grover's case, an all you can eat buffet," Markus commented, making Percy laugh at the truth of it. Percy then had a mischievous light in his eyes.

"So... everything here is cursed?" He got nods from the Hunters and Thalia. "Then should we leave Grover here, since he ate something that could be cursed?"

Grover's face paled drastically. "C-Cursed?" he squeaked.

Markus chuckled slightly, seeing where Percy was going. He threw an arm around the satyr's shoulders. "Oh, don't worry, Grover. A little curse ain't going to keep you down. Though maybe we should drop you off here, just to be safe. What do you think, Percy?"

"I think the answer would be obvious," Percy said with a big smile, enjoying the joke.

Grover started whimpering and bleating nervously, trying to throw up what he'd eaten. It took both sons of Poseidon to reassure him that they wouldn't leave him.

The group continued on, weapons at the ready. "I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.

"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" Percy asked.

She gave me a hard look. "Things get thrown away here for a reason, Percy. Now come on, let's get across the yard."

They started picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for the sun's position, They would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.

Now, while they were told not to mess with any of the junk, there were too many cool things there to be left alone. Percy found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre that was so sweet he had to pick it up. Grover found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when Grover picked them up, trying to flap their wings.

Finally, they saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of, what looked to be a highway stretching through the desert ahead of them. But between them and the road…

"What is that?" Thalia asked, shocked.

Ahead of them was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

Percy frowned, feeling silly at what he was about to say. "Uh... they kind of look like toes."

"Really large toes," Markus added, feeling slightly amused.

Zoe and Adria exchanged nervous looks.

"Let's go around," Thalia said. "Far around."

"But the road is right over there," Percy protested. "Quicker to climb over."

Ping!

Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe and Adria drew her bows, but then they realised it was only Grover. He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded.

Grover cringed. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?"

"Come on," Thalia said, looking at the others. "Around."

Percy quickly agreed, getting a bad feeling from looking at the toes.

After several minutes of walking, they finally stepped onto the highway. They were actually glad they did this during the day. Even if it was night, the highways would still be lit well enough to see.

"We made it out," Zoe said. "Thank the gods."

But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. At that moment, they heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.

Behind them, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The ten toes tilted over, and they realised why they looked like toes. They were toes. The thing that rose up from the metal was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armour. He was impossibly tall - a skyscraper with legs and arms. He gleamed wickedly in the early morning light. He looked down at the six of them, and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME. Markus felt that he had seen the figure before. With a startling realisation, he figured out where he'd seen it.

"Talos!" Zoe gasped.

Markus calmed down, seeing that it wasn't the Elemental Talos' that he had dealt with. Nor was it the original.

Percy frowned in thought. "B-But that can't be him. He's much smaller."

"You're right," Thalia agreed. "It must be prototype. A defective model."

The metal giant didn't like the word defective.

He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. It looked rusty and dull, not that it mattered. Getting hit with that thing would be like getting hit with a battleship.

"Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?" She then glared at Percy, thinking that he was the culprit.

Percy shook his head. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a thief."

"Look at me like that and you'll regret it," Markus muttered just as she looked at him. He was still pissed at both Hunters.

"Well, someone took something! So who-" Adria started, before frowning. She shifted from foot to foot, checking her legs. Then - with a wince - she lifted her right leg up, revealing that something was stuck to the sole of her foot. A small gold trinket that got wedged into her feet.

She gaped while Percy and Markus looked at her with accusing looks. "I - I didn't-"

"Oh, come on!" Thalia exclaimed, annoyed. "Are we really going to fight this thing because of a fucking speck of gold?! And why did you get the thing stuck on your foot?! Now we're going to die because of your clumsiness!"

"I'm - I'm sorry," Adria stuttered. "I didn't-"

But she couldn't formulate her thoughts properly. The defective Talos had taken one step towards them, closing half the distance and making the ground shake. It swung its sword, raking the ground and creating sparks and cracks along the ground. All of them rolled out of the way, avoiding the weapon.

Talos, however, didn't seem to be focused on them. Only Adria.

Frantically, Zoe started shooting it with arrows, but they did little good. Thalia struck Talos with lightning, which managed to halt it for a bit, before moving. Adria tried to move, but winced. The pain from before was coming back up.

Talos swung its sword at Adria, who closed her eyes. Zoe was too far away, and couldn't get to her in time.

Adria had accepted her fate. The words of the prophecy rang through her head: One shall be lost in the land without rain. That was going to be her. Her only regret would be not being able to rescue Artemis herself.

Adria kept closing her eyes, awaiting the agonizing pain and weightless feeling of death. Instead, she only heard the sound of two large objects crashing by her side. The force made her fall in a heap, her legs shaking from the force. Startled, she opened her eyes, looking up to see the back of Markus facing her.

"I'm going to regret this. So much," she heard him mutter.

Confused, she turned to look at what had landed behind her. She saw that it was Talos' sword, broken into two pieces. No, not broken. Severed. The giant weapon was bisected cleanly, having crashed into a heap of junk and making it fall.

Ignoring the shocked Hunter behind him, Markus saw that Talos was confused. Well, not confused, since it was an automaton. More like, trying to process what had happened. In its hand, only the hilt of its sword remained. Dropping the useless piece, it instead tried to crush Markus with its hands.

Markus didn't move. Instead, he commanded the water vapour to coalesce into a thin stream of pressurized water, like the kind they used in industries to cut stone. He was using the same principles, except cutting through Talos with a higher pressure of water, around 90,000 PSI.

Talos' hands were cut cleanly in half, the pieces falling to the ground in a heap. Grinning, Markus waved his hand like a conductor in an orchestra, commanding the thin beam of pressurized water to keep on cutting into Talos. The automaton tried to resist, but it was futile. First the arms, then the heels, and then the rest of its body. He was like a surgeon, cutting off each body part with deadly precision. The water was acting like a whip, striking, beating and cutting the automaton until there was nothing else.

The others watched, transfixed as Talos was slowly being disassembled. Pretty soon, there was nothing left of Talos. Motor oil was pouring like a fountain from the stumps where its limbs previously were. Its head was severed into pieces. Before it could do much as detonate, half of its body was severed in half cleanly. The automaton stood still, before the two pieces of its body fell in the opposite directions.

Markus faced the others and gave a mocking bow. "And that, people, is how you slice and dice a giant robot with nothing but shear badassery. Be in awe and gaze upon my magnificence."

Thalia scoffed. "It's an automaton, Barnacle Brain. Not a robot."

Markus shrugged. "Same thing."

"Showoff," Percy muttered.

Markus rounded upon him. "Oh? And how, baby brother, would you have managed to deal with the situation?"

Percy shrugged. "We could've handled it."

"Uh huh."

"Y-You saved me," Adria muttered, still shocked. The reason being that Markus would be the last person expected to save her.

Seeing this, Markus sighed in annoyance. "Don't look too deep into it. You still annoy me. I only saved you because we need the numbers. The trials ahead are severely dangerous and... what?" Markus asked, seeing the disbelieving looks he was receiving.

"Yeah... even I can tell that all of that was bullshit," Percy spoke for the others. He then had a teasing look on his face. "Aw, you do care about the Hunters."

"No, I don't," Markus denied instantly.

Now the others also had teasing looks on their faces. Thalia walked up to him, pinching his cheek. "Don't worry, Barnacle Brain. We won't tell anyone that the scary, big bad son of Poseidon is a real softie on the inside."

Markus glared at the the ones who were chuckling, even Zoe. "I will freeze all of you solid and shatter you."

"We love you, too!" the demigods and satyr chorused.

Markus' fingers twitched, as if contemplating on strangling them. He was very tempted to do so. He sighed, dismissing the urge. "Let's just-" Before Markus could finish his sentence, his senses blared. He ducked, narrowly avoiding being beheaded by a large scythe that was sent flying to his direction. It kept on moving past him, cutting through a junk mound in a single sweep.

All of them had their weapons at the ready in the direction from where the scythe was launched.

"Where are thou?! Show thyself!" Zoe commanded, bow at the ready.

It was silent for a moment, before laughter came from one side of the junkyard. The laughter sounded ominous, echoing across the field. It sent shivers down their spines, but they still stood firm.

"It seems like the pagans' filth are somewhat competent. That's good," a dark voice called out. Walking out from a pile of junk, a man appeared. He wore a black cloak that went straight down to his feet. The cloak seemed to absorb any light around him, making it even darker. He had black hair of the same quality as his cloak, and a pale face. His eyes were pitch black. This guy seemed even more emo than Hades, which was saying something. Though the shocking fact was that he had wings on his back. Large, black-feathered wings, like a crow.

When Markus tried to sense his presence, he recoiled slightly. This being was shrouded in death. Like Hades, but much more powerful. But that wasn't what made Markus so shocked. His aura and power felt similar to Zerith's. Not demonic, but... not Greek. The best way that he could describe it was that both Zerith and this man were aligned in the same type of mythology. Meaning that this being was involved in Christian belief.

Markus frowned, alarmed. "What the hell is a fallen angel doing here?" he asked seriously, shocking the others with his words. Fallen angel? What was he talking about? There weren't any angels in Greek mythology.

The man chuckled, his voice scratchy. "Good. You know of what I am. But not who I am." The fallen angel held his hand out, commanding his scythe to return to him. "Normally, I wouldn't introduce myself to you disgusting pagans. You all are not worthy. But, since I'm here of my own accord, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." The fallen angel gave a mocking bow. "My name is Samael, archangel of death. The 'Venom' and 'Poison' of God. How nice to meet you, pagan filth."

Now everyone's eyes widened at the introduction. This guy was an archangel?! Like, an actual angel?! They knew that Markus had revealed the existence of God, heaven and hell to them, but this?

Meanwhile, Markus was extremely worried. More worried than when he heard about Jashin helping the Titans. They were in deep shit.

"It's good to see that you at least recognise a being of my status," Samael said mockingly. He then looked at Markus. "Though, I wouldn't mind killing you all, I came specifically for you, my dear boy."

Now this worried the others extremely. They all stood at the ready. "What do you want with Markus?" Thalia asked firmly, though they could tell that she had an undertone of fear.

"Simple. He has intrigued me. He was the one who killed Zerith and - due to this - is largely responsible for most of the demons from hell to join with the Greek scum that you call Titans. Honestly, it was the stupidest decision they made, even for stupid demons," Samael answered, looking quite annoyed.

Markus frowned heavily. So he was partly responsible for the demons joining the Titans? "That wasn't my fault," he said. "I was tasked with killing Zerith by Hecate. You can't blame me for the demons getting involved."

Here, Samael was amused. "You misunderstand me, boy. I'm not blaming you. I don't care. Frankly, I'm just interested that a pagan mortal managed to kill a Duke of Hell. Zerith wasn't anything special, to be honest. But the matter still stands."

"Then why are you here?" Percy asked, gaining some courage.

Here, Samael looked annoyed again. A massive aura of death surrounded him, affecting the others. All of them, bar Markus who stumbled slightly, fell to their knees. They all saw their deaths flashing across their minds. The ground was slowly being disintegrated. The junk around them was slowly decaying. This was like Markus' bloodlust, only on a much, much higher scale.

Samael glared at Percy. "I wasn't addressing you, filth," he snarled, eyes flashing with power. "And do not presume to speak to me in such a manner again."

Percy was choking slightly, the aura being too much for him.

Markus stepped forward, releasing some of his own power to push the aura back. An emerald aura surrounded him as he stepped forward. "Leave them alone," Markus said. He glared at the being in front of him. "You're fight is with me."

Samael grinned, shrugging. "That's fine, pagan. Though I'm only here on a whim. You're death means nothing to me. But the death of the your friends..." The offer hung in the air.

Markus turned to the others. "Run. Now."

"But-" "I said now!" Markus yelled now, interrupting Thalia. "This isn't some monster from Greek mythology. He's more powerful than the Olympians. He'd crush you like insects. Now get out of here!"

Samael grinned widely. "You really think that I'd let you escape?" He dashed forward, scythe at the ready. Before he could get far, he was blocked by a barrier, courtesy of Markus. Knowing that it wouldn't hold him, Markus moved at superspeeds, also applying Third Gear. He grabbed each of them and opened a dimensional portal, transporting them to the Mirror Dimension. That way, Samael wouldn't hurt them.

His task done, Markus had the time to move, dodging the swing of the scythe. Samael grinned. "Do you really think that they're safe? When I'm done with you, I'll go after them next. Though don't die too quickly. I want to enjoy this."

"Noted," Markus snarled. "And I'm going to enjoy butchering you."

Samael laughed as Markus put Wavebreaker away. Instead, he used his space/time magic to open two portals across time and space. Putting both hands in, he brought out two large and beautiful broadswords. These weren't regular broadswords, however. These two swords were legendary in myth. In his hands were the two swords, Excalibur and Caliburn (A.N. - Design is similar to their Fate/Stay Night counterparts).

During his training, he had come far with space/time magic. So much that he could even summon legendary weapons that were lost in time. He had a type of subspace dimension where he could connect with other parts of time and space where the weapons rested. So he could pretty much use and summon almost every weapon in existence, theoretically. The only weapons that he couldn't summon were divine weapons or weapons that were already wielded by gods or other beings.

Samael scoffed. "Do you really think that those swords will actually help you?"

"Well, I won't know until I try," Markus replied. He was thankful that Samael was still acting playful. He needed to go full power from the start. He couldn't fuck around here. This was a being that could kill him without blinking. And made the Olympians look like ants. So he needed to go all out. Meaning that he had to use that.

Flooding his body with divine energy, Markus was bathed in an emerald sheen of light. He dug deep, deep into his divine core, immersing himself in his power. Controlling his energy, he flooded his human cells with his power, carefully but quickly doing so. The result...

Markus' body exploded with power, pushing back Samael back slightly and cratering the ground around him, flattening the junkyard and making everything blow back. Unlike Markus earlier display of power, this seemed more tamer in comparison, but still had a lot more raw power.

With his 'transformation' complete, Markus faced Samael, looking much different. His hair had spiked up, not unlike a Super Saiyan. Only, his hair was in the shape of a crown. It looked to be made of black thorns, having sharpened in length and structure. Another difference was his eyes. Instead of being sea-green, they were a shining emerald with a Greek omega symbol in them, interlocking with his pupils. Suddenly, a sheen of his signature golden lightning surrounded him like armour.

Markus contemplated on what to name his transformation. He didn't really have time for being original, so went simple. God Trigger. An apt name.

Markus cracked his neck, a grin appearing on his face. "Let's dance."

Samael grinned in return. "Indeed."

Both beings clashed, weapons striking. The ground cratered even more under their feet due to their blows, and Hephaestus' Junkyard was immediately destroyed.

Done. Good to write to you all again. Nice to write for this story again.

So here, we have Markus going in almost full rage mode, with Thalia calming him down. After hurting Percy and almost destroying the world, though. Then Markus revealing his plan to destroy Olympus. Well, more like kill the Olympians who want him dead, but you get the idea. Then a little couple's moment between Thalia and Markus, with Thalia revealing her past. Followed by Markus visiting Atlas and learning that Jashin is involved. Le gasp! What dastardly agreement has Jashin planned with the Titans? Also, Markus met Reyna and discussed the details about him visiting Jason after the quest.

Skipping the Talos scene, we have Samael, the archangel of death. And this is something I really, really wanted to add. The lines from the prophecy, including 'the one free from the frozen jail' relate to Samael. Here's why:

Samael was an accuser, seducer and destroyer in Talmudic and post Talmudic lore, along with Judaism myth. I took his Highschool DxD counterpart (which relates to his imprisonment in Cocytus, along with him having his Dragon/Fallen Angel abilities) and mixed it with his iteration from the Ethiopian Book of Enoch 6, where it said that him and other angels rebelling against God. Hence his fallen angel side and being sealed in Cocytus. Yeah, it's really confusing. Basically, I mashed the versions of him from Talmudic lore, Judaism myth and DxD together. I know that technically it's incorrect to his character mythology-wise, but I wanted a way for him to be introduced to the story convincingly. And not half-assed. Let me know what you thought.

Now, God Trigger. Basically, this is Markus' Six Paths Sage Mode, his Super Saiyan (SSJG, technically, but still), his Fourth Gear, his - you get what I mean. It's his ultimate form. It essentially allows him to become a god. Though the way he went about it was more complicated than the usual way to become a god. That was why he was studying genetics in Chapter 38. I will get into the mechanics behind it later. While it's simple in appearance, I thought that it'd be better that way. Rather than some complex additions to a transformation. Hope you also like it. Oh, and Markus will still grow stronger, so he hasn't reached his limit. God Trigger just puts him beyond Big Three level and on Titan King level. Not primordial level, though.

Now, Guest review answers:

1) That's a good idea, enchanting Markus' sword to act like a blunt weapon. I might add it.

2) (Since it's the same reviewer, I'll answer it in one go) While Markus did kill Heracles brutally, I admit that I didn't do it because I hated him. Quite frankly, I kind of like him. I pity him because all he has is suffering from his past, along with dealing with immortality. The only reason that he died a brutal death is because of Markus' character. And I do admit that being proud of his twelve labours doesn't actually make sense.

I like your take on Heracles, and how it wasn't really his fault with what happened with Zoe. Looking at it, it was mainly Zoe's fault for following him, and (technically) he did keep his promise.

Thanks for your piece and understanding that it's an AU. Also, amazing quote and idea. Made me think a lot on what I already knew.

3) I do agree that the world of Percy Jackson (bar a couple few) could be a match for Markus. That's why I included beings like Jashin (who won't actually fight him) and Samael. Along with others that I won't say yet. And your ideas and suggestions are very good and useful. Thank you!

4) That is a really good idea. I do plan to do that. It'll be my fanboy arc. And yes I'm calling it that. Though I'll see which universe that he'll go to. I already have a couple set out, but I can let you guys decide on some others. Thanks!

5) Despite others telling him, he wouldn't want to get rid of his Devil Bringer. Even Big G himself might not be able to convince him.

6) Thanks for the other suggestions of stories. My favourites were i) Warhammer 40k: Between Gods and Monsters by Titan of War, ii) Get me Out of this Hellhole & Path of the Old Born Renew by DuesExTrnshuman, iii) The Spider & Percy Jackson and the world of magic by I'mjusttryingtofindmyway, iv) One Punch DxD: Legacy and The Fist Marks by ahsoei, & v) Transcendence by JMB Fictional Writing. I did like your other suggestions and gave them a read but the ones I mentioned were my favourites. Thank you very much!

7) Ares' childrens won't be happy when they hear the news of their father's death. And most of the Olympians are screwed, but more will be revealed near the end, since I don't want to spoil it. And he will do quests mainly for the Shinto pantheon, though other pantheons are welcome if you want. And there will be some dimensional hopping (most of the options I've already picked, but if you have any options, feel free to tell me), and he could take the other girls along with him. And Hades knows that Markus is more powerful than he let's on. So he's comfortable to sit back and watch the 'show' unveil. He won't really intervene that much.

8) Zoe is in Markus' harem.

9) I think I answered this request before. If Markus killed the Ophiotaurus, he's get a power boost that would screw everything up. So, no.

10) Markus can use his space/time magic to obtain certain weapons/items that augment his power. Though there are limits to this. And he will take the golden apples later on. He's just focused more on stuff that he would really need.

11) The minor gods support him, since the Hestia cabin allowed their children some hope, even if they didn't get their own cabins. At the end of the quest, he will take care of that, though - again - I won't spoil it for you. Got to keep ya reading. And the political side of things will turn very interesting. Despite his claims about destroying the Olympians, he has some allies in the minor gods (the peaceful Titans wouldn't be affected by this) and he doesn't even know of it. A third faction has been made, kind of. And Kronos and his minions are actually suffering slightly, since not many demigods are joining their side. Though they will be screaming in terror soon.

12) I have.

Well, with that done, I bid you all adieu for now. Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Glad y'all love it.

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