"Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is often unpopular but I spoke the truth; you are dangerous." The gray-eyed woman said to the young man standing in front of her.

Percy felt a wave of anger go through him. So, this is what he was to them? An inconvenience? For a long time, he had felt nothing but hatred towards Luke but in that moment, he somehow was able to empathize with how he must have felt around the gods. They didn't care. Or, at the very least, few of them did.

He felt another surge of anger as he thought about the countless millions who dwelled in cities all over the world. Some of them acted and some of them prayed; prayed to some God out there for action to be taken. Many believed that it was the key to salvation; the key to a life of no suffering. They didn't realize that the gods were this nonchalant to their suffering; they didn't care at all. If you were an inconvenience to them, then they'd destroy you.

Sure, he was lucky to have been spared. After all, his Dad wouldn't have just sat by and allowed him to have been destroyed. Being a Son of Poseidon did have its perks. But how many other demigods had stood before the same council and had been deemed dangerous enough to be destroyed on a whim? How many demigods in the past had been subjected to a needlessly harsh life because of the temperament of the gods?

He clenched his fists and looked her in the eye. "Maybe I wouldn't be so dangerous if all of you cared a little more.".

The goddess was rather taken aback by his words. Her eyes widened as she fully absorbed their meaning, trying to find a good retort. That was the last thing that she had expected him to say, though she should've come to expect that sort of thing. A Son of the Sea God was never going to be predictable. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Care to explain yourself, Perseus? You forget who you are speaking to, it seems." Athena said.

He smirked, "Oh? It just seems like you've forgotten why this war is happening in the first place, why Kronos is rising at all."

Percy didn't understand where all that confidence was coming from. He was pretty oblivious to most things but somehow, he had attained some enlightenment through his experiences. He felt as if he was piecing things together properly, in a way that not even Annabeth had considered. Even if he didn't know everything, he was sure of what he was about to say next.

"You think it's just some stupid prophecy, don't you? It was always meant to be? You're wrong. YOU could have prevented this. Your arrogance, and I really do mean the arrogance of all of you gods, is what has led to all of this. Your insistence that things be done in your way; that your demigod children throw their lives away in service for your pathetic cause is what has led to this."

Athena gritted her teeth as her temper began to flare. She had never been spoken to in this way. Somewhere deep inside her, she realized that he was speaking the absolute truth. She refused to yield, not to the likes of him. Athena always had a plan and he was the one thing that could ruin her plan and be the destruction of Olympus. Percy's smirk grew bigger as he realized that Athena's hand was her inching its way to her sword at her waist. He almost knew what she was thinking.

Percy hadn't been careful in controlling his voice. He was getting rather agitated himself, almost relishing in the anger that he was causing Athena. The Olympian Throne Room had gone rather quiet and everyone there had their eyes fixed on both of them. Percy had a feeling that Annabeth was staring at him from his side but he didn't care.

"You have a plan, don't you? Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, always has a plan, doesn't she? Don't tell me you didn't see it coming to this? Did you think that every demigod was going to sit by idly, waiting for their parent to show some semblance of love to them? Did you think that every demigod would tolerate your nonchalance towards their lives?"

"Half-blood, you dare –" Athena tried to say but she got interrupted. Percy was on a roll.

"Yes, I dare. I'm sick and tired of you playing games with me. I'm tired of watching over my back, just waiting for you to throw something I can't handle. If you want to kill me, then now's your best chance. If I win, then you lay down your sword and vow on the Styx to not bother me again."

It took only a second before the young demigod and the Goddess drew their weapons, clashing against one another with their weapons. The sound that the clash made reverberated throughout the Throne Room. The other Olympians and demigods present simply stared at them for that one second.

"PERCY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Percy could hear Poseidon shout at him in the background.

"ATHENA! WE AGREED TO NOT KILL THE DEMIGOD! LET IT GO!" Zeus shouted.

Both of them took half a second to shift their eyes off to the side where they saw their parents standing. Zeus had his Master Bolt in his hand and Poseidon had the trident. Both were just about ready to lose their temper but the two warriors did not care at all.

"STAY OUT OF OUR FIGHT!" They said simultaneously, turning their eyes back to focus on each other.

Athena, even amid pushing against Percy's blade with her own, did not miss the red gleam that had taken its place in Percy's sea-green eyes. Unbeknownst to him, the gods had recognized his skill in battle. She was the one who had given him the title of "Sword Demon". When he wanted to, he could absolutely fight like a demon. Of course, he could certainly improve. But they had no doubt that he had a prodigious amount of skill in swordplay, to the point where he would certainly surpass every hero before him in that regard.

Poseidon could only watch helplessly as Athena and his son fought each other. The others in the room had spaced out a lot more, giving the two of them room to "play". The speed at which their weapons clashed was insane, even to the eyes of a trained fighter such as himself. Even his own battle with his father had never been this intense or fast. Father was a more careful fighter, using his scythe to deal slow but devastating blows.

Percy, on the other hand, fought a lot like his granddaughter, Pallas. She had grown up alongside Athena, training with the woman who would eventually be revered as a Goddess of Wisdom and War. It was unfortunate that she had been killed in a sparring match they had a long, long time ago. His son, Triton, had never truly gotten over her death and Poseidon saw a lot of his granddaughter in Percy.

Athena had always been the disciplined fighter. She learnt how to fight with technique, with finesse. She was a "professional fighter", as the mortals would say. On the other hand, Percy and Pallas were both "street fighters". Pallas had gotten into all sorts of fights in his kingdom when she was younger and she knew her way around the sword like she knew the backstreets of Atlantis. Percy was much the same way, learning most of what he knew about swordplay from his quests.

The both of them had separated, panting as they looked at each other with wide smiles on their paces. Percy was holding Anaklusmos in both hands, with its tip pointed straight towards the Goddess. He had never dreamed that he would see Athena panting and almost struggling against a demigod in swordplay. However, she also had a wide smile on her face and she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

"You fight well, half-blood." She panted, clearly pleased with the fight.

Instead of responding to her immediately, Percy darted towards her with such speed that she was completely taken by surprise. He swung his blade at her in an arc and she was barely able to hold up her own sword to defend herself. She immediately realized that had been a mistake when she was hit by a strong kick from the side, no doubt Percy having taken advantage of her focus on his blade.

Percy had been sure to kick her as hard as he could. She yelped from the pain and her sword gave way, enough for Percy to turn Riptide enough to slash her on the stomach successfully. He had taken first blood in this fight and he jumped back, satisfied when he saw the golden liquid pouring out of the wound. Athena dropped to her knees as she clutched the wound, gritting her teeth.

That damned sword! Poseidon used it to beat Kronos back in the day. Of course it would cut me deep. She thought as she focused on trying to heal herself. She wasn't lying; the wound he had given her was rather serious, no doubt owing to the power of the blade he held in his hands as well as his damned affinity to it. She'd have to start healing that wound immediately while trying her best to fend him off.

Of course, Percy wasn't stupid. He saw what she was trying to do and he certainly wouldn't let her have the chance. He brought Riptide up to his side as he focused. There was no water for him to rely on here but he could call forth the power of the sea from within him. All he needed was to will the sea within him to explode, to crash down upon the Goddess and overwhelm her like any wave would overwhelm a mere ship. He could feel that power build up inside him within just a few seconds. He had to release it somewhere or else it would destroy him from within.

He raised his sword above his head as he jumped towards Athena, with every intention of bringing down its power upon her. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do but she could only bring her own blade up to defend herself. As he brought it down upon her, a wave erupted from the edge of the sword and completely swallowed the both of them just as their swords clashed for the final time this night.

"MOTHER! PERCY!" Percy heard Annabeth scream just as the water he created engulfed both him and the Goddess before him.

A wave nearly filled the throne room but Poseidon, who had felt that eruption of power within Percy, slammed his trident into the ground and it "recalled the water to its master" before it could flood the place. He was sure that the impact it had on Athena was tremendous but he was more worried about his son. He was, after all, mortal and releasing that much power without prior training with his own power would've taken a lot out of him.

As the wave disappeared, everyone watched on in surprise to see a figure standing in the middle of the room pointing his sword at the throat of a woman on the floor. The woman was coughing violently, sputtering out water as she tried desperately to recover from the shock of having been engulfed in that much power. She hadn't experienced that ever since…..that person had sparred with her. Her sword had been tossed across the room and she was lying defeated on her back, with Percy's sword at her throat.

"You lose." Percy said, the red gleam not escaping his eyes even for a moment. His sparring sessions with Annabeth had taught him never to hastily assume that victory was his until he was certain that his enemy was in absolutely no position to fight back. He was thankful; that had truly made him a better swordsman.

She looked at him with an intense hatred in her eyes as she realized her sword was not near her. Sure, she could conjure a new blade and fight him with that. But he had clearly demonstrated superior swordsmanship and fighting skill in their battle. Much like her former best friend, Pallas, he had shown his nearly unstoppable fighting power in front of all the gods and even her own daughter.

She looked over to Annabeth, who was standing behind Percy. She was covering her mouth with her hands and her eyes were filled with tears, threatening to spill over. In that moment, Athena realized the anguish that she must have been feeling. She was looking at her own mother fighting against her best friend, possibly the love of her life. Athena felt her heart soften.

They said that every swing of a blade carried, within it, a message. Athena felt as if she could see Percy's message clearly now, despite being a complete mess in front of her fellow gods. Ares certainly wouldn't let her live this down, while Artemis and Apollo would tell her to not feel so bad as everyone met their match at some point.

Percy's eyes softened as he realized that Athena had no intention of fighting anymore. He removed his sword from her throat and immediately sheathed it, turning it back into a ballpoint pen. He turned around and stared at Annabeth for just a second before he walked towards her. He gave her a hug and she reciprocated, showing everyone in the room just how close she felt to Percy.

Excessive personal loyalty. That was his fatal flaw; the flaw that could doom them all, she thought. She had wanted to tell him that in their conversation just now, a fact that she was hoping he would hold on to. It would prevent him from acting rashly, from giving up the world for the sake of saving a friend.

As the grey-eyed goddess sat there watching Percy hug Annabeth, she realized something. The thing that would doom them wouldn't be his wanting to give up the world for the sake of a friend. No, not at all.

It would be him truly believing that the gods didn't care.