Chapter 51:

Markus sometimes knew when he was dreaming. Both in the normal sense and the demigod sense. The latter became something of a staple ever since he'd entered the mythological world. Right now, his essence was brought before a golden sarcophagus, which was covered in runes and what looked to be fūinjutsu. Something that shouldn't be possible. Not unless there was outside interference.

Markus sighed, looking at the sarcophagus expectantly. "So? Aren't you going to brag or something? Complain on how you've been thwarted? Give your usual villain spiel."

The sarcophagus was still silent, not doing anything. Markus frowned. "Is Grandpa unhappy at how I killed his general? Or maybe because I killed his bitch? No, no. It must be how I took away your chance to kill your youngest son. Is that it?"

The sarcophagus suddenly glowed, and chuckling was heard from it. "Oh, Markus. Markus, Markus, Markus. Unhappy is something too... minor, for how I'm feeling. I'm just a little bit absolutely livid."

The last two words were spoken with so much hatred and venom that Markus was actually impressed. "Oh, quit your whining, grandpa. You rising is causing all sorts of problems, and you don't see me whining about it."

"Yes, but the difference between us is that I'll definitely live to regret it when all is said and done."

"Ooh, ominous," Markus chuckled. He looked at all the runes and seals decorating the sarcophagus. "So, decided to decorate your bed, huh? A little out of place, but overall, looks decent."

"Oh, yes," Kronos' voice chuckled. "They're little presents from my allies. What they do... well, I'll keep that to myself. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

"Ah, I see. And what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Markus walked around the cave they were standing in. "Because trying to recruit me failed, I've already heard enough death threats. And I can trace your signature to this place and find you. What's stopping me from coming here and destroying you, saving all of us the trouble?"

"That is if you can find me." At that, Markus frowned, trying to sense Kronos' energy, which he found that he couldn't. Oh, he could feel that the Titan king was there, but trying to find out where he was became much harder. "You didn't really think that I wouldn't prepare for such a weakness, did you?"

"Not going to lie, I was kind of hoping that you were going to," Markus admitted, shrugging.

"All you need to know, grandson, is that - very soon - I will destroy you," Kronos said simply, as if he was talking about the weather. "Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe not even the next day. But I will do destroy you. And when I do, you will regret trying to fight me, and also regret that you were ever born."

Markus smiled cockily, although inwardly he was a little scared. He then pushed his fear away. He was practically one of the strongest beings in the Greek pantheon, and was stronger than any of the Olympians. What exactly could Kronos do to defeat him. "Nice threat. Six out of ten for sounding a little cliché, but overall, pretty decent. So, bye bye."

With that, Markus forcefully woke himself up, feeling no resistance from Kronos. His eyes opened inside the Poseidon cabin, immediately frowning in thought. The runes and seals covering Kronos' sarcophagus were ones that he had never seen before. Which was to be expected, since there was still magic that he had never seen before. And while he was very skilled at runes, he was no master at the art.

However, he did find Kronos' threat worrying. His general was dead, his main commander was dead, and while the Olympians were reduced in numbers, they were fully focused on bringing down the Titans. Even with Kronos' new allies, he shouldn't sound so confident.

But Markus had no idea who these allies were. For all he knew, Kronos had a secret weapon that could potentially kill all of the gods and demigods. The suspense was eating at him, and he realised that this was another ploy of Kronos'. The paranoia that came with trying to figure out what the Titan had planned.

He was annoyed at finding out that it was working.

XXX

Markus walked out of his cabin, stretching his arms as he did. He absently took a note of the slowly fading snow that littered the ground. He yawned, planning to head to the sword arena. It had been a while since he had practised with his weapons, and he didn't want to get rusty.

As he walked, he heard shouting from a distance. Frowning, he turned to look at what the commotion was about. Only to glare at what he found. Near the newly designed Hades cabin, Markus saw Nico and Bianca being harassed by a few campers.

The children of Hades had arrived at camp only yesterday, having been dropped off by Alecto. Chiron was able to properly introduce them to the camp, claiming and everything. Markus was glad to have his cousins at camp, as were they.

As expected, not everybody was happy or excited at having the di Angelo siblings at camp. Many either kept their distance or made an effort to try and be friendly towards them. However, a few of them still believed that children of Hades were bad omens. Like the campers troubling them.

Markus decided on whether he should approach them or not. He could see that both of them could handle themselves, but it was the principle of the matter. They were his friends, his cousins. More importantly, Markus didn't like bullying.

"I think dead boy and girl need the initiation," an Ares camper - because his parentage was obvious, given his scars and cruel demeanour - taunted. His siblings laughed along with him.

"Leave us alone," Bianca said calmly, though her darkening eyes betrayed how she truly felt. She stepped forward, putting her brother behind her.

"Shut it, bitch," another boy growled, trying to be intimidating. "You think that just because you're daddy's Hades, that means your hot shit?"

"No, but it does mean that you'll suffer a cruel afterlife for messing with his children," Markus said from behind. All heads whipped around to look at him. "Of course, right now, that'll be the least of your concerns."

All of the bullies had a fearful look on their faces. However, before they could run away, Markus cast an illusion on them. One that summoned hellhounds, zombies, skeletons and shadowy monsters to form and chase them. Needless to say, all of them screamed loudly and had them running away in a particular direction, screeching like banshees.

While Bianca had a confused look on her face, Nico jumped in excitement. "That was awesome!" he exclaimed brightly. "Did you cast a spell? What was it? How'd ya do it? Wha-"

"Nico," Bianca said sternly, getting the boy to pause and look down sadly. Patting her brother on her shoulder, she looked him in the eye. Done with this, she looked back to Markus, a smile on her face. "Thanks," she said. "But we could've handled that."

"I know you could," Markus responded. "But it was the principle of the thing."

Bianca and Nico smiled at that. "Guess we need to be careful because of Dad," she spoke, frowning.

"Then the campers are stupid," Markus said bluntly, stunning them. "Your parent doesn't define who you are. I can judge the Ares campers because their dad was a dumbass-"

"Language," she hissed, gesturing to Nico. The young boy frowned, glaring at his sister.

Markus chuckled. "But I don't, because my dealings were with Ares, not them. I'd just be wasting my time. So, if anyone gives you trouble, I'll step in."

"Thanks!" Nico chirped, grinning widely. Markus smiled at him, winking. He turned around to leave, missing Bianca's frown as she stared at Markus' back.

As Markus walked towards the arena, he ignored the many looks of fear, hate, disgust and jealousy. The latter two due to the fact that practically everyone knew that Markus, Silena, Thalia and Katie were dating.

Most of the campers were shocked beyond belief and had started barraging them with questions. All of them had answered them all to the best of their abilities. The campers had mixed feelings. Many of the boys felt extremely jealous of Markus for getting more than one girlfriend, and all of them being okay with it. Some of the girls (read: Aphrodite campers) were jealous of the girls and were either badgering the girls to get Markus to add him to his harem, or trying to convince Markus to do the same thing. A few other campers thought that Markus was a disgusting pervert who was using magic to control the girls into becoming his playthings.

That last one nearly had both Markus and Thalia kill the ones who said that to their faces. It took both Silena and Katie to calm them down.

So while Markus got annoyed and even angered at some of the campers, he largely ignored them and went about his business. His reputation among them wasn't the greatest, so this was nothing in comparison.

He arrived at the arena, bringing out Wavebreaker. He sighed in slight nostalgia. It had been a while since he had held his sword in his hands. He started swinging and hacking at the dummies in the field, his mind free. No one had been able to challenge him while at camp. Not even when he held back. As Markus kept hacking and slashing at dummies, a voice called out, "Well, you seem bored!"

"Woah, Jesus!" Markus exclaimed, sword at the ready. Only to pause at who had spoken.

"Nope, just me," Susanoo said calmly, a small smile on his face. The god was speaking through a water mirror.

"Need to get a bell on you," he grumbled, frowning. "Also, really? What if someone saw you?"

"Well, you do have magic," Susanoo said cheekily, shrugging.

"Fucking smartass," Markus muttered, before putting up wards to make any camper not notice them. "Alright, so what do you want?"

"I need you to complete a mission for me," the god said, seriousness settling onto his face.

Markus hummed, contemplating. "Alright. Got nothing better to do. So where is it and what am I doing?"

"I need you to go to Kyoto in Japan. There are some rogue Inu youkai that have been attacking many youkai residents. They've strayed from the Inugami clan, and are wrecking certain shrines through out the city."

Markus frowned. During his training with Susanoo, he had been informed of the dealings within Japan, including the dealings between the youkai in Kyoto. While the whole politic view of the entire city bored him, he paid some attention to the important stuff.

"Isn't Kurama able to manage the situation?" he asked, confused. Kurama was the kyuubi youkai that was the king of the Youkai Empire. He was appointed due to him being wise, as well as his power as a nine-tailed fox. Personally, Markus thought that he was a decent ruler, much better than most rulers Markus had met.

Susanoo grimaced. "Kurama is doing his best, but he can't fully intervene. Most of the rogue Inu are smart, claiming to be still members of the Inugami clan, and thus have invoked one of the old laws that were laid down: the Youkai Leader cannot interfere in clan affairs. Even though they are rogue, their names are still listed in the Inugami clan's memoir."

"Then why don't the Inu youkai clear their name off the memoir?" Markus asked, stumped. Was this really what was stopping Kurama? An old law that didn't have any place in this certain affair?

"Yes. The clan elders are agreeing with it, and are causing a fuss. Even with all of the evidence that the rogue youkai are clearly causing havoc and destroying sacred ground, they are still persisting that Kurama do nothing, as they want to save face in front of other clans."

"I-I don't..." Markus groaned, facepalming. "Politics are stupid."

"Indeed," Susanoo agreed instantly. "But while the youkai can't do anything, they can't oppose intervention from the gods. That's where you come in."

Markus sighed. "Got it. And I expect not to face any politic bullshit or divine intervention from anyone, right?" He looked towards the god pointedly.

"The former? No. The latter... as I said before, I can't predict what Fūjin and Raijin will do, but they won't do anything drastic while you're in Kyoto. Any divine interference could have dire consequences, and none of the other gods would like that."

"But at the same time, since I'm on their home turf, it'll be easier for them to attack me?" he countered.

Susanoo didn't say anything, only further cementing Markus' thoughts. He sighed. "Great. Well, I'll get to it."

"Thank you," Susanoo nodded, a thankful look on his face. The water mirror faded away, splashing a little on the ground.

Markus cracked his neck, hearing it pop. "I hate politics." He summoned his speed clones to inform his girlfriends, friends and brother as to where he was going. With that, he ran out of Camp Half-Blood.

Colour blurred past his vision as Markus kept on running, donning his Godspeed suit. His speed increased, the ground he was running on quickly fading away to let water carry him forward. A fine spray of mist was formed as he ran, his muscles pumping.

In five minutes, he had entered the borders of Japan, quickly stopping by a food stand to order some food. He devoured the whole stand, leaving a huge stack of yen on the table. With that, he ran out, soon meeting his destination.

Markus stopped as he saw that he was in some dense forests. He was a little bit awed, feeling the amount of nature energy. It managed to overwhelm him for a moment, not being used to a place with this much energy. He knelt down, peering at some exotic flowers and plants. Maybe he should get Katie some of these. They were very beautiful, plus could help develop her powers in plants.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" a stern voice called out, making Markus alert as he expanded his hydro-sensing, feeling the water signatures of several presences. The presences quickly passed through the dense foliage, revealing themselves to be men wearing traditional miko outfits, including tall geta with white tabi as footwear and blue hakama. Markus noted that they had fox ears and multiple tails.

Been a while since I've seen fox youkai, Markus thought to himself, before listening to the youkai speak.

"State your business! Or you will not be allowed in!" one youkai barked, standing at the ready.

Markus held up his hands. "I am on business from Susanoo-sama. I am his champion, and was tasked with the mission of exterminating the rogue Inu youkai."

The youkai frowned for a moment, before one spoke up. "You say you were sent by Susanoo-sama? You do have a divine signature attributed to storms, but that alone will not convince us. If what you say is true, come with us. Kurama-sama would most likely have words with you."

Nodding, Markus followed the youkai, feeling the others surround him and walk in a circle. Despite knowing that this was standard protocol, his instincts weren't settling down as he did his best to calm them.

The group continued walking, past the forest area and walking into a large, magnificent city. Tall buildings were everywhere, and roaming the streets were youkai of different kinds. Markus almost gasped at the humongous amount of nature energy that was circling through the atmosphere (A.N. - Identical to the Youkai Faction Palace and city in Highschool DxD).

As they walked into the city and through the streets, a number of youkai were glancing at Markus and whispering.

"Is that a human?" a tengu asked, curious.

"No, I can sense his divine energy!" another tengu called out.

"Is he a god? His power is immense," an Inu youkai commented, shivering in fear.

Markus frowned a little, leaning towards some of the fox youkai as they walked. "I take it that it's rare for non-youkai to walk through the city?"

"You could say that," one spoke. "We have never really encountered any other being in our city. In fact, it's rare for even the Shinto gods to visit us." Markus went quiet after listening to that bit of information.

It wasn't long until the demigod found himself standing in front of a massive red torii gate, which was connected to a huge mansion. As they walked through it, Markus took in each of the decorations hung up. He saw a painting of Kurama hung up on the wall, his red fox ears and nine tails displayed majestically. While he could see that the painting was used to promote Kurama's figure, he could see that it was an excellent painting. Numerous other decorations were hung around, like urns, more paintings and other different trinkets.

Eventually, the youkai and Markus had reached the throne that held the Youkai King, Kurama. The kyuubi had crimson spiky red hair, red slitted eyes and wore a dark black haori with magatama attached to the fabric. On top of his head was a golden crown, signifying his status. Surprisingly, he wore no footwear, allowing his rusty-coloured skin to be bare.

Markus could tell that Kurama had the air of a ruler. Despite his unruly attitude (his outfit not counting) he had an aura that demanded respect and power.

"I take it you are Kurama?" Markus asked, ignoring the already bowing kitsune and the glares he received for not doing the same thing.

The youkai looked at Markus, before smiling. "Yes, I am. You say you are the champion of Susanoo-sama?"

"Yes," Markus answered, a serious look in his eyes. "I am here to exterminate the rogue Inu youkai."

"I see. Very well. I have the location of their camp, so you can be off on your mission."

"You don't question my statement on my patron god, nor my mission?" Markus asked, ignoring the burning glares the kitsune were giving him at questioning their leader.

Kurama chuckled. "No. I can see in your eyes that you are genuine, not to mention that your divine energy is a giveaway. The Inu youkai are located at the south-west of the city. You should be able to find them easily."

"Understood," Markus nodded. With a nod, he exited the mansion of the Youkai King, using his super speed to dash towards the location of the Inu. Expanding his senses, he located them to be residing in a abandoned and damaged shrine. He went over his battle plan. He didn't know the full capability of youkai, so rushing in blindly wouldn't work.

"Maybe I should've at least asked of their capabilities..." Markus muttered to himself, before shaking his head. "Fuck it." He had to stop overthinking this. He'd dealt with situations like this many times. He should be fine.

As Markus walked towards the entrance of the shrine, he immediately brought out Wavebreaker, blocking the claws of what appeared to be a rabid monster. The one who attacked him was male, with thick black hair that reached his lower back, golden eyes with slits and wore a simple grey robe. His extended claws glowed with energy as he growled like a beast.

"So, that pathetic fox had the balls to actually send someone to attack us!" he barked, growling as he tried to push Markus backwards. "Maybe not enough balls, because he ain't here himself!"

Just as Markus was about to respond, he quickly moved to the side, avoiding the surprise attack from behind. This attack came from another Inu youkai with similar features as the other one, only with silver hair and brown eyes, along with a red cloak. "Don't worry, brother! At least we get a free meal this time!" His tongue appeared out of his mouth, dripping with saliva.

Markus saw that more youkai were appearing behind the duo, making them over a dozen in number. He spun his sword around, a smirk appearing on his face. Good way to make sure that his skills hadn't rusted.

"You know, I've never actually encountered talking mutts before," he taunted, smirking. "I wonder how you'd do in dog shows. I bet most of you would take first place."

"Fucking prick!" the one with the golden eyes snarled, claws extending. He leapt forward, ignoring the warnings that came from his brethren.

Still smirking, Markus quickly sidestepped the advance, and sliced his sword across the Inu's neck, beheading him easily. He looked back towards the stunned and furious youkai, ignoring the fallen body. "Looks like you're nothing more than simple bitches!"

"Kill him!" one Inu yelled from the crowd, getting identical roars and cheers from the others. Markus grinned, deciding not to use magic this time. Sword at the ready, Markus charged towards them.

One youkai charged at him, a zanbatō in his hands. Markus clashed with him, right foot raised to kick and push any oncoming foes. Easily pushing back with his superior strength, Markus quickly disarmed the Inu and stabbed him in the gut, killing him. A roar from the side alerted the demigod to his advancement. Taking the free sword, Markus started slashing and hacking any oncoming youkai, taking them down quite quickly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some Inu cut themselves and chant some incantations. Finished, they threw their blood at him, the liquid hardening and forming blades in mid-air. Markus didn't stop to be impressed, as he casually dodged the attack and hurled the zanbatō in his hand towards one Inu, who was so surprised that he got impaled by the sword.

Backflipping, Markus' foot caught one Inu in the chin, sending him flying backwards. Multiple Inu fired off their blades of blood at him, along with claw strikes, but the son of Poseidon parried them away. He landed on one Inu, who collapsed in a heap, dead due to the sword plunged into his head. A spinkick knocked one approaching from behind, snapping his neck easily.

"This is actually getting boring," Markus noted with a frown, continuing his decimation of the Inu. While he expected to be able to take care of the youkai easily, these guys were laughable. They were essentially thugs, using their feral nature and appendages to attack him. They were literally no better than random dogs.

"Die!" one yelled, sword raised. Markus got so annoyed at his weak display that he knocked his sword away and beheaded him on the spot. His sword became multiple flashes of bronze as he decapitated, dismembered and dispatched the youkai easily. Only a few were able to weakly block his sword with their claws, but the effort was futile.

After a few minutes, the fight was finished. Blood sprayed the entire shrine floor and walls as bodies, limbs and other body parts were strung all over the place. Markus sighed, removing the blood on Wavebreaker. "Dear God, that was boring," he noted, dismissing his sword. Sighing, he walked out of the shrine, bringing out his Devil Bringer to set the place alight with hellfire, burning the evidence of there being a fight in the first place.

XXX

"What is the meaning of this, Kurama-sama?!" an elderly man with dog ears and canines jutting from his teeth yelled, enraged.

Kurama sat in the centre of a U-shaped table, where multiple youkai elders sat. Markus stood beside him, a frown on his face. He could see all kinds of different youkai. He saw a young looking woman with brown hair and a pair of cat ears sticking out from her hair, a single tail lazily swishing behind her as her eyes inspected the demigod next to their king. He looked around and his attention landed on a short male covered in brown fur. Wrinkles covered his face making it hard to see if the man was paying attention or not. The last one that got his attention was an elderly kitsune youkai. He was old and from how he presented himself, Markus could tell that the man was more than likely the oldest in the room. He had a goatee and wrinkles covering his forehead. Three brown tipped tails could be seen behind the man in combination with the brown fox ears protruding from his head.

"Is there a problem, Ōkami-san?" Kurama asked, a raised eyebrow indicating that he knew what Ōkami was talking about.

"Yes! You have interfered in my clan matters, and killed the rogue Inu clan members!" Ōkami bellowed, slamming his fist on the table. "This is a clear violation of the old laws!"

"But I was not the one to take action," Kurama pointed out, gesturing towards the demigod standing beside him. "It was Markus Henderson, the Leviathan and champion of Susanoo."

"Yes," the cat woman said, frowning. "You expect us to believe that the gods would send a mortal to interfere in our affairs? Preposterous!"

"And yet," Markus commented, looking at the youkai, "I killed the rogue Inugami. As per the orders of Susanoo himself."

Ōkami scoffed, glaring at Markus. "Silence, boy! Your blasphemy has been tolerated long enough! You should be executed for your interference!"

Markus gave Ōkami a look, just a single look. Yet the whole room went cold. Markus had tapped into his godly power and used more than enough to unnerve each and every youkai in the room. Even Kurama was unsettled slightly.

"Blasphemy?" he whispered, glaring heavily at the Inu youkai. He took out the Kusanagi from his pocket dimension, each youkai shuddering from the power of the blade. "This is the Kusanagi, the sword gifted to me by the god of storms. The weapon he received from slaying Yamata-no-Orochi, the weapon I received as a gift for slaying his reincarnation. This is proof that I am Susanoo's champion."

With nought but a flinch, the divine blade pierced the space next to Ōkami's head, making the dog youkai sweat bullets and pale rapidly. "Is that real enough for you?" Markus whispered, appearing before him and staring into his eyes. "So do. Not. Test me. When I say I'm Susanoo's champion, then you take my word as truth."

Yanking his sword from the wall, he returned it to its pocket dimension as he returned to the position beside Kurama, the earlier atmosphere fading slightly. Though that didn't mean that the youkai weren't shaken by Markus' display.

Kurama coughed slightly, clearing his throat. "Yes, well, as I was saying. Markus killed the rogue Inugami, preventing our people and shrines from being further bothered and desecrated. As the champion of one of our Trinity, I think we should give Markus our thanks."

Many of the youkai didn't want to, but after Markus stared at them for a moment, they reluctantly muttered out their thanks.

Kurama was grinning widely at this point. "Now, let us move onto other discussions..."

XXX

Markus had managed to arrive at camp, blood pumping from his run. It was now midday, and he quite enjoyed his journey to the Youkai Palace. Apart from dealing with some cowardly and stupid clan elders, he had quite enjoyed the visit. Kurama was also a delight, since the demigod had figured out that - despite his title - he was actually a chill guy. A prankster at heart, he reminded Markus strongly of the Stoll brothers. When he invited him over for tea, Markus almost spat his own drink out, finding that it was bitter. The Youkai King later admitted that he intentionally made his guest's tea bitter, because he enjoyed the disgusted expression on their faces. Not to mention that it helped unnerve them immensely.

His sick humour aside, he was quite cool. He was a little easy-going, but was kind of brash and hot-headed at times. Good thing that he had his advisers close by.

Markus sighed. While the mission was quite easy and quick, he was eager to get inside camp. Just lie down on his bed, cuddle with either one of his girlfriends. Maybe eat a couple of piz-

The clear sound of numerous gun shots made Markus' eyes go wide for a moment. The only ones with guns were the Hephaestus cabin, but they wouldn't test weapons right out in the open. What the hell was going on?!

Quickly using his superspeed, he dashed towards camp, taking a brief glance to look at Peleus. Using his War God Speed Impulse, his eyes widened upon seeing the dragon dead, multiple bullet holes riddling his body, and slash marks across his neck and torso. Ichor bled from his wounds as he laid there. As he crossed Half-Blood Hill, Markus saw that Camp Half-Blood was a complete war zone. Campers ran, screaming and shouting and shooting arrows and trying to run away. Bullets sprang from a group of men and women standing at one side of camp, mowing down some campers.

They were then spreading out, moving in to take down the demigods, satyrs and nymphs. One particular man stepped forward, raising a machine gun of all things to shoot Malcolm down, who was trying to steer some campers to shelter. The man fired, bullets spraying instantly. Just as Malcolm could even register the attack, Markus swooped in, instantly taking out Wavebreaker to decapitate the man, only to be stunned as the blade passed through him.

He's mortal? Markus thought, shocked. Then how'd he get inside camp?!

Though surprised, Markus continued his movement, stepping in front of Malcolm and catching each one of the bullets, stealing away their kinetic energy. Redirecting it back, Markus launched the bullets at the man, glad that they pierced him and killed him.

"Markus?!" Malcolm said, stunned.

Markus turned towards the son of Athena. "What the hell is going on?!"

"I-I don't know! These guys appeared and managed to kill Peleus! W-We tried attacking them, but our weapons didn't have any effect. L-Like they were-"

"Mortal?" Markus finished, surveying the situation. "Only explanation. Take any and all campers to the Big House!" With that, he disappeared.

Markus' perception of time slowed, trying to discern each situation at once. He saw Chiron knocked unconscious near the Zeus cabin. Many campers were running away, seeing that their weapons had no effect. Two mortals - male and female - were walking towards them, shooting any stray camper. He growled, causing their blood to burst from the inside out. Their bodies popped like balloons in a gory and bloody display.

"It's the Leviathan!" one man noted, getting his group that stood beside him to aim their guns at the son of Poseidon. "Kill him!"

Snarling, Markus ripped the water out of their heads, busting their heads open like watermelons. He then dashed towards the cabins, avoiding every stray bullet and directing them away from any camper. He appeared beside the Poseidon cabin, seeing Percy use the water from the spring to defend himself from the attacking mortals. Roaring, he turned the water to ice and hurled the newly formed ice particles to connect with the mortals. Each particle embedded itself into their bodies, injuring them.

Rolling his eyes at his brother's squeamish manner, Markus popped their heads by ripping the water. Percy looked stunned at the bloody display.

"Percy, when someone shoots at you, you take them out, not down," Markus told him, making Percy face him.

"M-Markus?! Wha-" "Later. Right now, we're being attacked. Kill them or get killed." Markus moved towards the rest of the cabins. As he was taking care of the mortals, he saw bolts of lightning raining down at a particular place beside the climbing wall. Following that, vines that were covered with thorns grew together to form one giant plant construct.

Markus nodded. "Definitely Thalia and Katie." Moving quickly, he arrived to see Thalia and Katie standing back-to-back. The daughter of Zeus had lightning surround her form, like armour. Any bullet was either fried or blown away, while any mortal that got close became charred. The daughter of Demeter had several vines surround her body, which constantly blocked and bit at any bullets or attackers.

Roaring, Thalia spread her hands, allowing her lightning to arc and burst across the group of mortals, electrocuting them severely, leaving them twitching and paralysed. Katie managed to both defend and attack, letting her plants ensnare many of her attackers. Seeing a stray woman aim their gun at Thalia from behind, Markus immediately moved and grabbed the woman's neck, snapping it.

He grabbed the gun from her dead hands, aiming the nozzle at several mortals. He pulled the trigger, shooting each mortal with powerful rounds.

"Took you long enough, Barnacle Brain!" Thalia exclaimed, panting as lightning surrounded her. "Where the hell were you?!"

"On a quest," Markus responded, spinning around and creating a whirlwind of bullets. The air shattered at the powerful sounds, Markus throwing the gun at one approaching man, who fell down unconscious. He ended his life with another round of blood manipulation. "Where's Silena?"

Before anyone could say anything, an electric whip wrapped itself around one woman that Katie was fighting, electrocuting her. The woman's eyes rolled into the back of her hand, her body collapsing. An angry Silena stomped forward, bow in her arms and shooting down any approaching mortals. A large cut appeared on her cheek, making the others realise why she was mad.

"Take that!" she yelled, shooting an arrow in the groin of a man, which exploded. "And that!" She followed this up with an arrow to the chest of another mortal, freezing him in a large block of ice. Ducking, she rolled, kicking another man in the groin.

"... Note to self: don't ever scar Silena's face," Katie commented, stopping to look at the scene before him.

"I was not ready for today," Thalia said, wincing a little as Silena promptly bitch-slapped a woman, knocking her unconscious.

"I don't think any of us were," Markus added. Seeing that she was slowly being surrounded, Markus retrieved a shotgun from a dead mortal and aimed it at some of them. He pulled the trigger, his body shaking a little from the recoil. He continued firing, most of them flying backwards from the bullets. Silena turned around, eyes narrowed, only for them to soften as Markus nodded at her. Once the gun was empty, Markus used the shotgun as a baseball bat, smacking it into the face of a few mortals.

He dropped it, speeding around and helping any available campers. Pretty soon, many of them had gathered at the Big House, taking cover. The son of Poseidon took note of who was with them; Percy, Thalia, Silena, Katie, Annabeth, Bianca, Nico, Will, Beckendorf and many of their respective siblings. Other familiar faces, like Alabaster amd Lou were there as well. All of them could clearly see that some of their siblings and friends were missing, likely dead. Some of them cried, a few had stony faces, and the rest steeled themselves.

Markus stepped forward, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, here's the plan: Aphrodite kids, stay here and tend to the wounded. As well as children of Apollo good with healing. They'll be able to defend any injured."

"But how are we going to attack any of them if our weapons don't harm them? And who are these people?" Annabeth asked, frowning.

"Leave that to me," Markus assured. "And we'll take care of that later. Demeter cabin, use plants to defend the Big House and the campers. Make sure that you follow their movements and their backs. The rest of you..." Markus looked at them intensely. "... don't die."

With that reassuring message, Markus zipped out of the Big House, pissed off. He appeared before a large gathering of the mortals, magic at the ready. "Ionioi Hetairoi: Dākukingu-ban! (Army of the King: Dark King Edition!)"

Mistform weapons coated in darkness were hurled towards the mortals, skewering them instantly. A wordless Sagitta Spiram Verberare added to the chaos, reducing their numbers rapidly.

Seeing that more mortals were appearing in the centre of the camp by some odd teleportation, Markus' rage grew. So he decided to go for broke. Holding up his hand in the air, a familiar black sphere formed, creating several pieces of earth. "Lunar Devastation," he whispered, the false moon much smaller than the one he had used against the Olympians. Meaning that it moved much faster.

Bringing his hand down, the false moon quickly impacted with the stunned and terrified form of the mortals. They tried running, but it was ultimately futile. The moon collided with the ground, shattering it and creating a giant shockwave that shook the cabins and Big House, along with making the demigods get knocked off their feet from the energy and force produced.

In a powerful light, the ground shook as the mortals were either crushed or disintegrated, the effects being visible after a couple of minutes. Using his hydro-sensing, he discovered that there were no more mortals. Sighing, he walked towards the Big House, taking in the destruction that both the mortals and himself. He pushed away his sadness at seeing one of the few places that he could call a home destroyed. All the dead bodies, the ruined hearth, the destroyed cabins... Markus kept on moving, lest his grief keeps eating at him.

He arrived at the Big House, seeing that Chiron was now awake. While normally he wouldn't be happy seeing the centaur, Markus was just glad that he was awake. "Chiron," Markus nodded in greeting.

"Markus." Chiron's face was stern, though he could tell that trying to keep a straight face. Both for himself and the campers. The overwhelming sadness in his eyes made Markus pity him. "It is good to see you. Thank you for managing to take care of the rest of those mortals."

"Chiron, do you know what they are?" Percy asked, coming up to the two. The campers looked at him with hope, wishing that they had answers.

The centaur frowned. "Not exactly, though I have an idea of who they work for."

"Who?" Thalia asked, confused.

Chiron's face was grim as he spoke. "Before I was knocked unconscious, I saw one of them showcase a tattoo. It was on a man, by his neck. It was a tattoo of a scythe."

Everyone's blood turned cold at the mention of the scythe. Despite most of them not being that knowledgeable, they knew who that symbol belonged to. "Kronos," Markus growled. His eyes widened, remembering the Titan king taunting him with his smug tone. He didn't think too much about it, but now, he realised that this was part of his plan. Since when the hell did he start using mortals for his plans? Was he using the Mist? How was he even controlling and recruiting them? Why-

"What's that sound?" Percy asked. Everyone now paid attention, hearing a beeping sound.

"Y-Yeah," Beckendorf answered, frowning. "And it's close. Very close."

"And sounds like an awful lot like-" Wide-eyed, Markus moved at superspeeds, having an idea of what it was. It was crazy, but he was willing to believe anything at this point.

Markus went up to the attic of the Big House, where the old trophies and the Oracle laid. Sitting in the centre was what looked to be a bomb. Multiple wires were attached to it, like the ones found in the movies. Only this one was very real. A timer on the front showed that there was seven seconds left till detonation.

"Fuck!" he roared, moving at superspeeds and slamming his War God Speed Impulse on, kneeling down at the bomb. There was no way that he could disarm it. Five seconds. He cursed again, reaching out to pick it up and throw it outside. His eyes could've popped out of their sockets at how wide they were. The timer sped up. One second.

Markus had only one thing to do. Wrapping the bomb in a powerful magic barrier, Markus moved out of the way, dodging just in time to avoid getting fully caught in the explosion that rocked the attack, making his world go bright as everything exploded.

And done. Been a good while.

I'm going to be honest, I felt like this chapter was rushed. Felt lazy, so decided to shorten most of what happened. Hope y'all liked it.

The Youkai Palace bit was introduced as Markus getting more involved in Shinto affairs. Cameo was definitely short, but in later chapters, it'll be expanded on. Also, the politic side of things will be a bit... lacking. Since I suck at it. Not a politics guy.

So, the invasion of camp rose the stakes a bit. I've wanted to use the idea of Kronos using mortals as pawns. And while that did happen in Titan's Curse, I wanted to expand on it a bit, making them act as a hit squad. Definitely makes things harder for Camp, as they use celestial bronze for practically all their weapons. Not to mention that it'll allow them to experience death up close.

Guest review time!

1) True.

2) All points have been answered. And you should wait until the story progresses with more darker themes.

3) Dunno. Honestly didn't think of adding them in the fold. Give me a few ideas on how those interactions could go.

4) Thank you very much.

Now, just wanna say: first chapter in 2019. Expect to see more. So... Happy New Year! (As well as thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story.)