I'm probably going to do one or two more chapters here before moving back to Ao3. It's about time I catch up with the stories over there. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the reboot! Don't expect constant updates though I will do my best considering I have nothing better to do due to the lockdown. Anyhow, let's begin.
Time seemed to stand still for the man with the glowing sword. Briefly, it seemed as if Ken Kaneki wasn't just a mortal. Then, shaking themselves from the stupor they were in, the remaining two Furies shrieked. Unlike the first one, they chose to hang back, allowing the monster horde to charge him in their place. It would be inaccurate to call the battle one-sided. From an outsider's point of view, this wasn't a battle, but the last stand of a desperate man. What could one person with a sword do? Such thoughts were in the minds of almost all of those watching from behind their protective barrier, scrambling for weapons or just staring with a mixture of horror and awe at the mysterious person who had stepped outside to buy them time. Chiron nocked an arrow, aiming for the Furies. Take out the leaders fast enough, and maybe the rest would be sent into enough disarray for the campers to rally and fight back. He let loose the first arrow as the first monster, another Hellhound similar to the one that had almost shattered the previously impenetrable barrier protecting Camp Half-Blood crossed the line Kaneki had drawn in the dirt. He swung the sword as an arrow sprouted in the neck of the first Fury, too focused they were on the anomaly that had killed one of their own in seconds that they neglected the others still watching the scene. She managed to let out a cry of agony before a second arrow silenced her cry by piercing her forehead. The second one turned to look at him with an expression of utter bafflement as golden dust covered her like a blanket, replaced shortly by hatred and took flight. She barely made half the distance needed to reach the borders before a surge of killing intent drew everyone's attention to Kaneki.
He was already in the middle of battle, having forsaken the line he had etched between himself and the horde, leaving behind clouds of golden dust that had barely settled as he moved. The sword he carried(perhaps a relic that allowed him to see and fight monsters?) flashed once, then twice more and bodies tumbled to the floor shortly before disintegrating as well. Chiron took the display as what it was, a distraction, and fired off a volley of arrows towards the last of the three aids of Hades. He cursed when she reacted quickly enough to dodge all but one, which she ripped from her forearm almost nonchalantly. He resumed his shooting, aiming so that even if they were off target(or dodged), he would still be able to thin the horde or at least slow it down for the whirlwind of death in their midst. The Fury resumed her flight, an expression that reeked of smugness on her face as she got closer to the cracked glass-like dome that was still flickering. He shouted for the campers to get back, the younger ones already retreating while the older ones drew their weapons, standing their ground with abject terror directed towards the threat flying at them. It crashed into the dome and punched straight through it like a demented bullet, leaving a sizable hole in the solid light that had gotten even dimmer. To his relief, the Fury aimed for him first, most likely attempting to take out the biggest threat first. Good, he thought, focus on me and not on the rest. He had one shot at this before he would be met with a flurry of claws and teeth. Drawing back the bowstring, he took aim, heartbeat slow and even despite the fear coursing through his veins. She grinned at the gesture of defiance, never changing her flight path. It was as if his father had returned, using his powers over time to lengthen this moment into an eternity. He released the arrow and immediately angled his bow to protect his chest, knowing instinctively that he had missed(and was proven correct when it shifted its head out of the way, grin widening).
"I'm borrowing this." his eyes snapped to the appearance of the white-haired demon in mid-air behind the Fury, sword missing, practically caked with glowing powder. Replacing the sword was the arrow that had missed. Grabbing the monster's head, he drove the arrowhead into the side of her temple before hanging onto it with both hands. As he landed on the ground(dragging the Fury with him like a demented kite), Kaneki accelerated the dying of the monster with a savage twist of his hands, practically cutting her head in half before pulling the arrow back out. Not stopping for a second, he dashed back into the fray, Chiron's eyes following as he did so. Annabeth had rushed to his side immediately after Kaneki had left, stopping her frantic checks of him for injuries as the battlefield's true glory was etched into his retinas.
"Di Immortales…" he breathed as he witnessed the carnage one man had brought down upon the land. The horde may have had roughly seventy monsters in it, a mixture of beasts and the undead that he would have been hard pressed to fight with maybe twenty experienced demigods at his beck and call. And yet, looking at the few monsters left to fight the reaper that was Kaneki Ken, he wondered what this person had gone through to turn him into a war machine. He pulled his sword out from the remaining half of a monster so mutilated he couldn't discern its identity(and oddly enough, the lump of flesh vanished upon the sword's removal) and swung it with both arms. A simple diagonal slash, one that cleaved through monster flesh and the ground upon smashing into it as well like a hot knife through butter. Not missing a beat, he ripped the sword from the ground once again and spun with it held in a reverse grip, bisecting a cyclops that had charged at him from behind, arms flailing. As it's singular eye flickered shut, the cyclops screamed when the blade that had separated it into two was driven through and used as a springboard for Kaneki to launch himself towards a harpy desperately trying to fly away. Rising to its height, he gave a smile that reeked of sadism before grabbing onto its shoulders and flipping himself over onto its back. In a move that made him wince(and caused Annabeth to gag), he grasped both wings and tore them off in a single fluid motion. As the harpy began its forced descent back to the ground, he kicked off once again, softening his impact with the face of the last remaining Hellhound(they seemed to have bad luck with him). The cyclops from earlier staggered and finally fell apart, the weapon used to kill it falling to the earth with a clatter. Rather than retrieve his weapon, Kaneki brought up his fists in a boxer-like stance, daring the three remaining monsters to attack him. Showing some type of rudimentary intelligence, the cyclops, harpy and skeleton warrior(the last one gave Chiron a bad feeling) circled him and attacked him from two sides and the air. Despite himself, Chiron still reached for another arrow even as the one man army threw a punch that pierced straight through the cyclops' midsection, pulled back to reveal some organ in his hand(which was then forced into the mouth of its owner), ducked under the harpy's claws and blocked the sword aimed at his head with an arm. Instead of cutting through malleable flesh, it shattered like it had met steel, which gave Kaneki an immensely short duration, in which the skeleton staggered back, to react and tear the offender apart with both hands. Bones scattered and still airborne, he snatched a rib and repeatedly stabbed the harpy that had foolishly gone for a second dive bomb, pinning it down after the first stab with a foot and driving the bone into whatever he could get his hands on. Even when the final monster stopped twitching, he still continued stabbing, only stopping when the bone snapped from the strain. Chest heaving, the white haired male who looked like King Midas had graced him with a touch staggered back to grasp his sword and hefted it over one shoulder. As he turned his back on the battlefield he had so quickly emptied of fighters, Chiron was reminded of the demigod soldiers returning from their battles in World War II. Eyes haunted, but burning with a fire, the fire that resided in every boy or girl with a hint of ichor in them, because gods bred violence. Yet, this mortal which had showed up with a briefcase and a threat was like them and more. His eyes did not just burn, they blazed with silver fire. At that moment, Chiron thought that he was in the presence of a god of war, not Ares, but a true god of war. No one spoke a word as he picked up the metal case he had opened and managed to holster the sword in it. There were no words to describe the situation.
And of course, just because the camp was safe again, things decided to fall apart.
A fissure opened in the ground, more skeletons climbing out of it. They were followed by a pale man who radiated power. Chiron trembled at the sight of him and in a small voice, whispered the god's name.
"Hades." Annabeth felt her heart clench at the absolute fear in her mentor's voice. At first glance, the God of Death wasn't very impressive. Then again, looks were deceiving. The new kid must be something special. After all, you don't get a god to personally show up without a good reason for them to do so. And when the God of the Underworld was the one after your head, one could only wonder what the person had done to piss him off. The skeleton warriors assembled into a rough formation, shield bearers at the front, spear wielders behind them and about twelve archers behind them. They stayed stock still, almost as if they were awaiting orders(which they probably were). Hades stepped in front of them, eyes cold and emotionless, locked onto the man who had introduced himself as Ken Kaneki(Japanese?) and the boy who had followed him, wrapped in his mother's arms(there was an unpleasant feeling in her chest at the sight of motherly love). He spoke in a voice that reminded her of the sensation of sandpaper.
"Perseus Jackson and...who are you?" Ken Kaneki said nothing, but she could tell by the tiny movements his arms made that he was already exhausted from the giant fight he had from earlier. She wasn't surprised, considering how quickly he had darted around the monsters, ripping and tearing a bloody(correction:dusty) path of destruction through them, even disengaging from the battle to aid Chiron in taking out the last of the three Furies. For one person, that was a feat on par with the legends of past warriors. When no answer came, Hades adopted a look of disdain(and while unnoticed by the god himself, Kaneki's fists had tightened as soon as the expression of utter disinterest had crept across the god's face). A hand glowed with black fire as he gestured towards the petrified boy that had drawn his attention.
"No matter. Child, you have stolen something of mine. Return it and I will spare you." Annabeth could feel the undercurrent of confusion running through the campers. From the awe that this Perseus Jackson had shown when Chiron had revealed his true form, he hadn't even known about the Greek world before this day. Of course, it could be a ploy, but feelings were hard to fake and her instincts told her that she was on the right track. Another beat of silence passed before Hades' face contorted into a snarl. He snapped his fingers and stood with hands behind his back as his soldiers started their slow shamble towards the damaged barrier.
"My brothers and sisters will forgive me if their children die. After all, they'll just make more, the shameless lot of them. I hope you understand what you have done Perseus Jackson. These children will die in fear and in pain because you refused to give up something that did not belong to you. I do not condone violence, but it is of utmost importance that I reclaim it, especially during this time."
"Hades, you must understand that these are just children. Please, have some mercy." the god in question tossed Chiron a pitying look, yet the skeletons continued marching forward. Chiron began to reach for another arrow before a pale hand placed itself on his arm. Kaneki and the centaur exchanged a silent conversation before the arm dropped back to his side and the mysterious mortal walked forward, once again placing himself as a physical barrier between Camp Half-Blood and the enemy. A hand reached inside the coat that had taken many hits and yet was as pristine as it was at the beginning, if one ignored the golden dust that fell from it with each movement. The sword made a reappearance(how did it fit inside that case? And why did it look alive?) at his side and he drew what seemed like a black mask from his coat. The god now focused his attention on the new person to pique his interest, and the skeleton warriors froze in mid step.
"You asked me who I was," and Annabeth witnessed the faint glimmer of a smile, one that screamed I know something you don't, "have you already forgotten about me?" Ken Kaneki did not wait for a response before donning the mask with one arm. A shiver of revulsion ran down her spine at the Frankenstein-esque bolts screwed into the sides, the toothy smile that reminded her of a serial killer and the gleaming black eyepatch that he adjusted with what looked like pure muscle memory. The mask meant nothing to her, but the God of Death recoiled in what seemed to be horror. The skeletal men also appeared to shudder alongside their master.
"You, it's you! The insolent mortal who thinks he can cheat death! So you've finally decided that being a nuisance wasn't enough? You now dare to defy the gods?" Hades was a far cry from the regal figure he had been just a few seconds ago. Pale flesh was flushed with red and black fire flickered on several parts of his body, including his sleeve. Understandable, considering the sheer anger one could hear in his voice. The masked man was not as ruffled as his counterpart, gently brushing off the dust that had gathered on him without acknowledging the aura that made the air itself heavy. The sword was doing an incredible(and comedic, considering the situation) job of balancing itself on his shoulder without a hand to hold it in place. The clear dismissal of him made Hades seethe and he drew himself up into his full height(and reminded her of a bird puffing out its feathers to look more intimidating. A singular grey eye flickered lazily to meet his gaze as Kaneki stopped his ministrations.
"Yeah. It's me. I've broken a lot of my rules today, so...I guess I can make an exception for you." he held the sword in a two-handed grip in front of him and she felt the smile hidden behind leather. Hades sneered at the nonchalant tone and relaxed slightly. Only to stiffen up when the sword began to look as if it was decaying, starting to suck in light rather than emit red light. It projected a black aura similar to the one that had briefly surrounded the god himself. He backed away slowly, stepping back twice for each one Kaneki took in his direction. The sword flashed like quicksilver, cleaving through shields like paper and bones just as easily. Those that were cut, even as tiny an injury as it was(although the most minor injury was a severed hand) just crumpled like puppets with their strings severed. Now, the feeling Kaneki was giving off was that of sadistic glee. His mask now matched his demeanor.
"Wanna be the first god I kill?" Hades took on a look of abject horror, began to glow and forced Annabeth to shield her eyes or be vapourized by his true form. When the light died down, she reopened them. Kaneki had walked to the scorch mark on the ground and removed his mask to reveal a scowl, but his body had winded down from the battle mode it had slipped into. He drove his sword straight into the ground, took off his cloak(he was wearing a black bodysuit underneath that left nothing to the imagination) and sat down to lean against it, a drawn out sigh being the only sound other than the thunder and rain. He closed his eyes and his head immediately dropped to rest against his shoulder. Looking at this scene, instead of being filled with fear at this man who had scared off a god with little to no effort, she only felt a sense of pity. Unconsciously, she approached Kaneki, brain full of questions. It was the mother of Perseus Jackson, who had moved to her side who eventually voiced the thought that was running through her head. Bending down to brush a stray strand of hair from its place in front of an eye, Mrs Jackson whispered, "He's lonely." Annabeth squatted down beside her, eyes drinking in every curve and edge of the face of one who had made himself known with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. And for some reason, she felt immensely sad for this man, this killer of monsters who was ready to throw his life away for people he didn't know.
"That we can agree on."
And that's a wrap. I'm more productive because of the lockdown in my country, I literally have nothing better to do other than sleep and I can't even do that because of my stupid insomnia. So here's a second chapter, already different. I hope you enjoyed it.