Lmao, 'next Monday.'
Unlike the first time, Percy understood how important this shield was.
It was a god's symbol, meaning it held immense power.
If Percy hadn't been wielding two swords, he might've asked Nancy for a way to help him steal it, though that would probably be really stupid, so maybe it was for the best.
Percy decided he wouldn't think too hard about the shield. After all, demigods couldn't even use symbols of power except in absolutely extraordinary circumstances, or so Annabeth had told him once.
Well, it wasn't like Percy could think about anything too hard with his two best friends continually sking him questions about his water manipulating abilities.
"When'd you learn how?"
Recently.
"How much can you control at once?"
Enough.
"Can you, like, make water blades to kill monsters with?"
Yes, but my sword works a thousand times better.
"Is it easier to control ocean water than normal water?"
Definitely.
"When did you have time to practice?"
Let a man keep a few of his secrets, would ya?
"Can you turn it into ice or like make it boil and stuff?"
I've honestly never tried. I think I just know instinctively that's not a part of my power, but I guess if I could somehow control it at a molecular level I could raise the temperature by exciting the individual particles, or freeze it by removing energy, in theory.
"How did you know all that science-y stuff?"
I guess I just know stuff about water, like, instinctively.
Nancy and Grover were grilling him until they went back to the restaurant, where Ares was waiting. Percy felt his blood start to boil, but he was used to it at this point.
Nancy was not used to it.
"Hey, battle junkie, we got your stupid shield. Where's the money?"
Ares audibly ground his teeth.
"Real. Impressive. Damn. Brats."
Ares was upset that a few demigods saw through the trap that had gotten him several thousand years ago.
Nancy did not let Percy respond.
"Yeah, well, when there's Greek statues with Greek letters in a place where the Greek gods have been, you'd have to be an absolute fool not to investigate."
As Nancy was talking, Percy spotted something on Ares's motorcycle. But, there's no way he saw that. Right? Even Ares couldn't possibly stupid enough...
No. Ares was definitely stupid enough.
Stupid enough to openly display Hades' Helm of Darkness.
Steal what was stolen.
He had to act.
Even though Percy was quivering in his boots from the implications of this, since he was sure Ares hadn't had the helm last time, he knew this was his chance.
While Nancy finished her sentence, Percy made sure Ares's eyes were glued to her, before telling Grover, "Stall."
"Really, it would take absolutely absurd levels of ignorance and stupidity to fall for a simple trap like that! Hahahaha!"
Nancy, I know you mean well, but you're starting to hurt my feelings. Read the mood a little, would you?
"Nancy, enough," Percy said.
Grover interjected.
"Oh, Ares, glorious lord of war, we humbly beg your forgiveness!" Grover hadn't starting bowing yet, but it was only a matter of time. Percy had total confidence in his friend's abilities.
Percy whispered to Nancy, "We'll distract him. Steal the helmet on his bike. Without it, we're toast."
Nancy couldn't keep the grin off her face. The chance to steal from a god. Would this chance ever arrive again?
"Oh, wondrous Ares, hallowed be thy name, thank you for gracing us with your presence a second time-"
"Shut up, Grover. This guy-he's not worth it."
Ares showed a fury unlike any other to Percy.
Perfect.
Percy could not be harmed without attacking first. He wouldn't be turned into a squirrel or whatever because Ares knows he'll be squashed like a bug by Poseidon if he ever tries. Ares only move was to try to intimidate Percy.
Unfortunately for Ares, compared to the Titan Lord Kronos, the Olympian god of war was about as scary as a five year old with a wooden sword, mad because a grown up kept calling him a kid.
"What did you say to me, punk?"
Good. Ares has totally forgotten about Nancy. What an excellent thief. It was as if she were invisible. Percy had no idea where she was. He couldn't move his eyes to the bike or Ares would know something was up, so he could only keep up the act until Nancy revealed herself.
"I said it isn't worth praising you. Is that a problem?"
"You little punk. You think, just 'cause you're the son of old sea beard, you're hot shit. But you're nothing special, punk."
Percy grinned. "Oh? Why aren't you proving it to me? Aren't you going to cut me down for my insolence?"
Ares was furious. He roared, "I'd be perfectly justified if I did! But I-
Percy roared in return, desperately trying to anger the god while not expressly challenging him to a duel.
"BUT YOU'RE AFRAID OF MY FATHER'S WRATH? OR NO, WHAT YOU'RE REALLY AFRAID OF IS THAT YOU'D LOSE, ISN'T THAT IT?"
"SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'M WAY TOO GREAT TO FIGHT A TINY WORM LIKE YOURSELF! A MINUSCULE CHANCE OF VICTORY IS THE BARE MINIMUM FOR A FIGHT TO THE DEATH, OTHERWISE IT'S JUST AN EXECUTION!"
"IS THAT SO! SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS THAT IF WE FOUGHT, YOU WOULD HAVE NO CHANCE FOR VICTORY!? HOW PITIFUL!"
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
Ares's voice practically exploded, as six huge boars winked into existence.
"DIE, PERCY JACKSON!"
But these six boars did not pose any threat to Percy. Surely, they were powerful adversaries that an ordinary demigod would have trouble dealing with one on one, but this was not one on one, nor was Percy an ordinary demigod.
However, the restriction of not being able to use Riptide was a heavy one. Percy wished he had brought a shield, if only for this situation. However bothersome it would have been to carry it would have been worth it, just for this fight.
But he would not lose.
As Percy gave out a commendable battle roar, he also took out a bottle of seawater he had taken with him, and it suddenly exploded by his command and doused him.
His mind became clear, and time slowed down.
He drew Body Odor, and the one sided slaughter of the god of war's summoned familiars commenced.
They all charged, but Percy was a demigod who was incredibly talented, forged with the training of camp and tempered by large scale battle. Whether it was one boar or six, if he could reach all of them with one slash, their numbers were irrelevant. These beasts tusks could not compete with Riptide or Body Odor, but just in case, Percy intentionally avoided them.
He bent down slightly, and slashed horizontally from left to right, in an attack boosted by the momentum of the boars themselves, as they crashed one by one into his blade.
His sword cleaved through all the beasts in less thank a second. They disintegrated before any of them were in range to stop him.
He saw Nancy grinning maniacally, and knew he was done playing.
Percy attempted to be civil, drawing on Ares clear shock of how easy his sacred animals had been to defeat.
"I withdraw my comments. Ares is truly a force to be reckoned with. Any more of those monstrosities, and I would have been forced to submit."
Ares couldn't believe his ears.
"Just what... are you trying to pull?"
"Nothing. I just came to the realization that these beasts must be only a tiny fraction of your true power. I have no great wish to provoke you."
As if. I managed to injure you at the age of twelve with no martial training whatsoever. Even if the ancient laws prohibited you from using your true strength, that's still pathetic. You truly are the most pitiful god, still on the council only because you are the son of Zeus. I remember Annabeth telling me as much. Apparently in the Illiad, Zeus told Ares he was the most hated and most detestable of all the gods. If he wasn't Zeus's son, born to Zeus by Zeus's wife, Hera, then he would have been cast off Olympus long ago. Not to mention, whenever he shows up in any story, it's to be ridiculed. Getting caught having an affair, getting trapped in a bronze urn for a year. It's said that if the stepmother of the giants who imprisoned him hadn't felt bad for him, it would have been the end of him then and there. Really, it's almost sad just how pathetic this guy is. Even though he's the god of war, he backed the losing side in the Trojan war. It's just... sad.
"Fine. Take your damn prize. Get out of my sight, you little shit."
Ares dropped a blue backpack to the ground with a heavy thud.
"In there's 200 drachmas, and a few other things. What would the other gods say about me if I didn't uphold my bargains?"
With that, he got on his motorcycle and drove away. He was so rattled that he didn't realize the Helm of Darkness was missing. What a fool.
Percy spoke up.
"Guys, not a word until we're somewhere private. He might come back."
Grover was confused, but still awed at how cool Percy was, while Nancy dreamily nodded. Percy had no idea whether it was because she successfully stole a gods symbol of power, or because he had killed the boars so flawlessly.
When they got to the hotel they were saying at for the night, they discussed what had happened in hushed tones, before Percy finally asked whether Nancy had really gotten it.
"Yes, it's right here."
Nancy pulled the Helm out from her bag. It radiated power. It was incredible.
Grover nervously asked, "What... what do we do with it?"
Percy calmly said, "Simple, we give it back to Hades. We explain that Ares stole it, and give it back. He lets us live, he doesn't start a war, and he gives my mom back. Three birds with one stone.
Nancy spoke next. "Then... who has the lightning bolt? And... then, was Ares working for, um, uncle K?"
Percy shook his head. "More like, he's probably too stupid to do that. But it does mean someone else is. Because gods can't take each others' symbols directly, it means a demigod must have done it. Some at camp is traitor. Someone gave the Helm to Ares, and probably gave the bolt to Hades. I guess we'll trade the Helm for the bolt. We'll make it back with plenty of time to spare.
So they did that.
They got on the train the next day, went to Santa Monica, got the three pearls and headed to DOA Recording studios.
Percy was upset he couldn't save the animals, but decided it couldn't be helped. He couldn't stop every suffering in the world. Children were being murdered and women were being raped every hour of every day, and Percy wouldn't be able to do anything about it. If Kronos took over, much worse would happen. Ignore the evil around you to prevent the collapse of all humanity. Percy needed to live like this. Of course, he would never ignore evil right in front of him, but he couldn't go seek it out. It pained him, but even before he knew he would lose to Kronos, he still didn't search the world for evil.
At any rate, Percy made it to LA, but he still had no idea where he was going.
Of course, Percy paid a visit to a certain water bed palace.
Somehow, they ended up in the same alley with the same thugs, despite it being several weeks earlier.
The same rich kids playing at gangsters all ganged up on Percy. They weren't at an age yet where they would have been openly lecherous towards Nancy, but the thought of it made him want to beat them into the ground.
So he did.
"Come at me. All of you. What, afraid? Don't be babies. You guys are tough, yeah? Let's see what you got."
As the came forward, Percy used his battle reflexes to dodge every attack while barely moving, and was able to use the same method he hand used against Clarisse earlier to dispatch them.
When the leader stabbed at him with the knife, Percy side stepped it and pulled the boy the direction he was already going, which happened to be directly towards Percy's elbow.
When their leader dropped to the ground, nose obviously broken, unconscious, Percy expected the others to turn tail and run. But they immediately attacked.
"Wow, I'm actually impressed with your loyalty. I won't leave any lasting reminders of this fight as a reward."
Percy's honed combat instincts allowed him to quickly eliminate all of the remaining combatants without breaking a sweat.
Grover and Nancy were yawing by the time it was over.
"Come on, lets go. I'm bored," Nancy said sleepily.
They walked around until they walked by a sign for a place that said, "Crusty's Waterbed Palace."
"Let's go in," Percy said cheerfully.
Nancy and Grover looked at each other but didn't say anything.
A seven foot tall gross guy said, "I'm Crusty!"
Percy said with a smile, "Not anymore!" and Body Odor flew out of its scabbard, lopped off his head (sort of, because of the height difference, the cut was, actually, nevermind, that's gross.), and returned to its sheathe.
As Crusty disintegrated, Nancy asked, "How'd you know he was a monster?"
"Easy. It was the exact same model as with Medusa. A store, titled '[Stupid Name]'s [stupid thing from their myths] [overly grandiose place name], inside of which is an abnormal existence. Crusty and Auntie Em, actually Procrustes and Medusa, Water beds and garden gnomes, palace and emporium. Inside here was a guy seven feet tall named Crusty. In Medusa's place, there was a woman whose entire face was covered up named Auntie Em. The similarities were too abundant."
"Wow. You're really smart, aren't you?"
I wish.
"Naw, plus, if you meet someone seven feet tall, it's probably better to take a swing out of the blue anyways. It wouldn't hurt a mortal in the first place. With nothing to lose but everything to gain, can it even be called a gamble?"
When they finally arrived at the entrance to the underworld, Percy didn't even bother trying to pretend they were all dead. He just pulled out 20 drachmas one by one and laid them on the counter. Charon looked at him, and they came to a tacit agreement.
"I'll take you over, but don't expect anything else from me."
"I'd never expect anything from you in the first place."
When they got to Cerberus, Percy went all or nothing. Of course, he had several rubber balls from the waterpark, but he took care of Mrs. O'Leary. He knew big dogs.
Essentially, if you could ignore their teeth and claws and size, they were pretty much like any dog.
Even if Cerberus had orders from Hades, he was still just a big lovable dog. Intelligent, but still a dog.
"Cerberus!" Percy said sternly, exuding an aura of coolness.
Cerberus tilted his middle head.
Instantly, Perseus's coolness aura vanished.
"Who's a goo'boy? Who's a goo'boy? You are, yes you are, Cerberus."
Percy talked like he was speaking to a baby or a puppy, not a giant ferocious three headed monstrosity that could annihilate him in two seconds flat.
Now all three heads were tilted, tough two were tilted right and one was tilted left. It was very cute. Aditionally, it was possible to see his muscles were tensed. Anyone else would have assumed it was about to pounce, but Percy knew Mrs. O'Leary well enough to recognize the position. It indicated he wanted to go act like a puppy and roll around like a good boy, but was still apprehensive. Percy knew just what to do.
"Hades sent me to play with you! So come on! Come on, boy! Come here!" Percy continued to speak as if Cerberus were, in fact, a baby."
Cerberus could no longer take it. He bounded over to Percy with immense speed. Grover and Nancy were certain they were done for, but Percy kept talking the whole time.
"Who's a good boy? Yes you are, yes you are! Such a good boy, ah?"
Cerberus had practically faceplanted in order to get low enough to the ground for Percy to pet hm.
And pet him he did.
For a solid fifteen minutes, all Percy seemed to do was pet the big puppy and scratch him all over while singing his praises.
Cerberus rolled around all over, tongues hanging from his mouths and exposed his stomach to Percy so he could scratch there, too. Cerberus howled in delight.
"Ah, who's a happy dog? You are, yes you are!"
Eventually, Percy told Cerberus to sit, and he did so almost immediately.
"Now, I promise I'll be back. I've got to go see Hades."
Cerberus whined.
"Now, now, I won't be gone forever. I'll be back with some big chew toys for you, how does that sound?"
Cerberus's three heads barked happily in unison, nearly tearing Percy's skin off his body with how loud it was.
"Bye bye, dogling! Keep up the good work!"
As they walked past Cerberus and looked behind, they saw his tail wagging happily.
Percy had felt the backpack get heavier once they reached the underworld. Alright.
As they were walking along silently, Grover's flying shoes started acting up. Percy tackled him to the ground, and ripped the shoes off his hooves.
He set them down, and the started flying away.
"Follow them!" Percy shouted.
They tailed them to the mouth of a cave, and saw them flying into a gaping black hole.
"That's an entrance to Tartarus. You'd think they could at least put up some caution tape, or something."
Nancy put it together instantly.
"Luke set us up. Those shoes were a gift from him. He tried to kill Grover!"
So close!
But why was Nancy able to instantly figure this out when Annabeth hadn't even questioned why it happened at all?
Oh, right. Annabeth was in love with Luke. She must've come to this conclusion and immediately written it off. Luke could do no wrong. That stupid fucking bitch. If she had told everyone that earlier, maybe people could've detained Luke. No, that was a ridiculous thought. No one at camp could come close to Luke. He was stronger than anyone else, and if they tried to capture them, they'd be killed with the pit scorpion like Percy almost had been.
"Close, Nancy. But remember who those shoes were originally for?"
"He tried... he tried to kill... you..."
"Yeah. Luke is the one who betrayed the camp. He's the one working for K."
"Holy shit."
"Man, the backpack feels even heavier now. I didn't pick anything up, right? Let me check."
Percy unzipped the bag, and took out the metal cylinder that was the master bolt.
"Oh. This is what we thought Hades' had. Perfect. That means Hades' is actually totally justified. No one approached him, but his Helm was stolen, and he was just trying to get it back. To him, his Helm is probably as important as my mother is to me. I'd probably send my bloodthirstiest minions to get her back, if I had any. Let's go."
Nancy and Grover were unable to understand.
"Ares hid the bolt in this backpack so we'd unknowingly bring it into the underworld. Once we'd done that, Hades would kill us and he'd have the bolt, thus angering both Zeus and Poseidon. It would be world war two all over again. Only, that was a war between demigods. This war would annihilate humanity. But no way Ares is smart enough. Luke gave him both. The helm was stolen so that Hades would be mad and try to kill me, so I'd think Hades had the bolt and go to get it. A great plan. However, they forgot one thing."
"What's that, Percy?"
"I'm the son of the greatest mortal woman on earth, Sally Jackson. That makes me awesome."
When they reached the throne room, Percy threw open the doors, and was surrounded by undead soldiers. Regardless of this, Percy threw the Helm at Hades, who caught it with a dangerous, but confused look in his eye.
"Thanks so much for telling everyone that that was missing. It was easy to find out who stole it."
"What!? You dare mock me? If I had-"
"Yes, yes, I know. You assumed you would have been attacked immediately if it was discovered you lost your symbol. You need to have some faith. At any rate, Luke Castellen stole that Helm and the Master Bolt under the order of your father, for some reason. He gave them to Ares, who just likes war, hoping he'd cause a massive one. Ares enchanted a backpack so the Master Bolt would return to it once we brought it to the underworld. After killing us for our insolence, you'd be in possession of the Master Bolt and will have killed the only son of Poseidon. A three way war. I'll assume you don't want that. The souls of dead mortals serve no purpose in a war amongst gods. It would only serve to weaken your infrastructure. So, we decided to avoid that, banking on the fact you wouldn't wish to invite war. We stole your Helm back from Ares, and have delivered it to you. Please let my mother go from her wrongful imprisonment. I had done you no wrong other than killing your servant in my own defense at the time of her abduction. I ask that you release her, for she is also innocent."
"Did you say my father?"
"Yes. Luke gave me a magic pair of flying shoes, which nearly dragged my friend directly into Tartarus. However, since it was originally intended for me, we can assume it was I who was meant to enter Tartarus. I've also had dreams of someone referring to 'The Crooked One.' That's your father, correct? Of course, I have no real proof of my grandfather's involvement, other than I cannot think of anyone other than Ares, who is too stupid to concoct such a plot, who would gain from all three of the eldest gods going head to head."
"I see. You must have inherited your mother's intelligence. In truth, I was also interested in your mother, but I would not break my oath. Unlike your father. By the way... do you see your mother here? No, you don't. She already convinced me to let her go. And with a large amount of gold and jewels, as well. Somehow she managed to convince me to let her go with my money without a single ting in return. What a terrifying woman. At any rate... I believe you. If my father is truly behind this, I will need time to strengthen my defenses. It is no time to be bickering with the Olympians. I will allow you to leave here unharmed, as a show of grace. Take that dastardly Master Bolt with you."
So that's what was meant by save themselves? Maybe this time he hadn't kept her locked in time, since she was kidnapped outside of a fight situation. Huh. Maybe they'd killed Gabe, too? My mother wouldn't have any blood on her hands, then. How thoughtful that would be. Plus, she's escaped with gold and jewels!?
"Thanks, Unc."
"Don't ever call me that again. Out of my sight."
Suddenly, the three heroes were standing on a beach. Ares were here.
"Guys, run. I'll handle this."
Grover and Nancy looked pained, but they relented to Percy's command.
"Hey. Little punk ass bitch. You stole from me. I can't forgive that."
"Actually, I repossessed stolen property. You're incorrect. As usual."
"You can't make me mad, kid. I fell for it at the diner, but now, you're going to die. You fought six boars before. Think you can handle six thousand?"
"I'll do you one better. I challenge you to a duel. To first blood. Whoever wins gets the Master Bolt. No hard feelings. Medieval weaponry only."
"I like your gusto. Prepare for death."
"I could say the same to you."
Percy knew he was destined to kill a god on this quest. Perhaps it was Ares, perhaps it was not Ares. At any rate, he could not lose. The nereid had told him the pearls were to be used when he needed them. If he used one now, what would happen?
He dropped on on the ground, and crushed it.
Immediately, a huge wave crashed on top of Percy from the ocean behind him. Percy obviously was not bothered in the slightest.
When the water receded, he was in full Atlantean-style battle armor, made from some unknown green metal. It was light, but seemed much stronger than celestial bronze.
Ares let out a whistle.
"Whew, never thought I'd see the day a twelve year old demigod wore adamantium armor. That's the same stuff that keeps the Titans locked away, you know. A huge door of this stuff. Needless to say, it's the strongest metal there is. No question. Never rusts, never tarnishes, never breaks, never yields to anything. The walls of Troy had only a trace of this stuff in 'em, and it was a legendary unsiegeable city because of it. Only the twelve Olympians have armor made with that stuff. You're probably wearin' your old man's set, shrunk down. An ordinary celestial bronze sword's got no way a' cuttin' through that stuff. Impressive. Unfortunately, it can't hold edges because of the way it's forged. Only Hephaestus knows the way to forge it, and the only weapon you're gettin' made out of it is a mace. Even then, there's no point. Not even adamantium is strong enough to hurt adamantium. Gotta work around it. In a way, your old man just sealed your fate. Atlantean-style armor is impressive stuff. Only your neck is unprotected. Since it's adamantium, I can only aim for your neck. First blood or no, you're dying here. If the first blood is when your head gets disconnected from your body, then you die, and I still win. Hahaha! Man, if I was fighting another god, I'd put my armor on, but if I'm forced to by a child, I'll be laughed off of Olympus. But, at least, with that armor, you've got a microscopic chance of victory. This is no longer an execution. It's a real battle."
Percy quickly made sure he could still reach Riptide. He could win if his enemy thought he only had a single blade. He could do this.
Percy offered up a prayer in thanks for lending him the armor, before he said, "So quit your yapping. Let's fight."
As Percy drew his sword, a giant greatsword appeared in Ares hands. Percy knew Ares could wield it in a single hand with ease, if he wanted to.
"I will give you one free attack, since seeing that magnificent armor has put me in a good mood. I'll still block it, though. But I won't counter it, just this once."
Normally, this would have angered Percy, as the god was clearly saying Percy could never land a hit on him, no matter how significant, without Ares letting him.
However, in this case, he was glad.
Ares's arrogance would be his undoing.
The essence of a feint was to signal to the opponent where you would attack, then change where you would attack, so the enemy would guard the wrong place.
However, the effectiveness varied wildly depending on the situation.
In this situation, it would be most effective.
In the situation where the enemy believed you had only one chance to kill them.
Ares was certain Percy would go for the kill, since he seemed to have successfully angered him with the taunt. He'd go for the neck. A slash to the neck.
So that's what Percy would give him.
Of course, there were other factors that affected a feint's effectiveness.
Firstly, how soon in your attack could you signal your intentions? How quickly could you make the foe block the desired area?
Then there was how quickly you could change to a new area of attack. How long would it take for a slash to the neck to become a slash to the abdomen, or somewhere else?
Luckily, Percy had trained extensively.
For the particular feint Percy was going to use had another factor.
The length of the sword. A slash from above would take longer to get below the foe's guard the longer the sword was.
Riptide would have been too long, and Percy would have had to use the method from before to injure Ares slightly.
But Body Odor was just barely short enough.
He could do this.
Percy let out a roar, and charged Ares.
Sea water drenched Percy, and time slowed to a crawl. The adrenaline of this all or nothing feint combined with the seawater augmenting his senses caused time to slow immensely for Percy.
He could do this without revealing his secret weapon.
Percy raised BO, and started the feint. Normally, when hacking, as Percy seemed to plan to do to Ares, one would also use the wrist to swing the sword faster.
It looked like Percy was going to. It truly did. After countless hours of trining this one strike, he was finally able to eliminate any signals it was not ordinary from his face and body, up until the exact moment it changed.
As Percy brought down his sword, Ares's went up to block.
Perfect.
Ares's hands were level with his head and his sword was slanted diagonally down. He clearly thought he didn't need to swing to build up momentum to block Percy's attack. It was true, he didn't.
This superior defensive strategy meant Ares wasn't in motion with his arms, which would have essentially sealed his fate.
But it was still not enough. Ares's arrogance had blinded him. He had planned to immediately counterattack after Percy's strike failed. After all, all's fair in love and war. And he was war.
Because of this, he had not prepared to recieve a feint. If he had actually been focused on receiving the attack properly, there's no way Percy's feint would have worked.
But it did. As the blow came down, Percy's wrist moved to counteract his arm, which is to say that the end of the sword remained in relatively the same place.
It moved slowly below Ares sword.
As soon as the edge-like tip of Body Odor was under Ares sword, Percy jabbed forward while maintaing the momentum of the feint. Ares's smirk vashished from his face at the exact same time.
Ares tried to jump backwards, as was the only available option since Percy's sword had reached between Ares's sword and body.
However, because Percy had anticipated Ares noticing before he was struck, and jumping back was the only thing he could do, Percy also leaped forward.
Ares had only meant to leap back far enough that the thrust wouldn't hit him. He was so caught off guard by the feint that he nly saw the swords end, not the body behind it. As such, Ares leapt back only three feet.
Percy leapt forwards five feet.
Body Odor reached the god's chest slightly above the heart. It passed through like butter.
Because Perseus's feint still maintained the momentum of the original direction, after the sword pierced all the way through the god's chest, it continued its path downward, through the heart, through the stomach, through the leg, and finally passing through the shin. Only the work of the genius son of the blacksmith god or an immortal sword like Riptide would be able to cut through a god's bones, which were stronger than celestial bronze, so effortlessly.
It was a disgusting sight.
Ares's body was nearly bisected, and its entire supply of ichor poured out in an instant.
The god had no time to scream.
He was dead.
A perfect victory.
Of course, even if left alone, he would be alive again in a few days, and he was still conscious despite not being able to move in any way or even speak.
He was immortal after all. Even so, Percy had achieved victory over the god of war.
But... it was no great victory.
Ares was, without doubt, the weakest of every single Olympian god. Even the noncombatants like Demeter or Dionysus or Aphrodite.
A god's power was not determined by things like what they represent.
They were powered by worship they receive and have received throughout their long lives.
Ares had been worshiped in very few places, even in ancient Greece. He was honored before entering war, but he could not even be trusted to pick the winning team.
Now, in the modern world, how many were there left alive who worshiped war as a concept.
War was brutal, and ugly, and horrifying. It was senseless and stupid.
Almost no one wanted war, loved war, worshiped war.
In contrast, all the other Olympians were worshiped even now, through what they rule over.
Humans have dreamt of flight since they first saw a bird in the sky. Zeus was loved.
Everyone loves the beach, and people depend on the ocean for food and transportation, not just recreation. Poseidon was loved.
Few men welcomed death with open arms, but even fewer turned away from money. Hades, as the god of the riches under the earth, was loved.
Humans have desired marriage since ancient times. Hera was loved.
The moon was worshiped by every civilization, at one time or another. People who didn't admire the moon when it was full were as scarce as those who had never heard of it at all. Artemis was loved.
The sun was loved more than almost anything else. Requirements for a beautiful day were being able to clearly see the sun. Apollo was loved.
Everyone needed to eat. There were even more who loved food than their wives. Demeter was loved.
True love, as well as sexual desires, were the driving forces of human life. It went without saying that Aphrodite was loved.
Technology was perhaps the greatest convenience of all time. Hephaestus was loved.
The only thing needed as much as food was a place to call home. Hestia was loved.
They say knowledge is power, and the first quarter of most humans lives was spent in pursuit of it. Athena was loved.
Infrastructure and traveling, correspondence and communication, all these things were necessary for every nation. Hermes was loved.
Drink and song and dance were never unloved. Some did not enjoy revels, but most did. Dionysus was loved.
But even those involved with it hated war. War was not something to be loved, even by the victors. The loss of human life was senseless. War was not loved.
Ares was hated.
Ares was the only god of Olympus that the majority of humans agreed would be tremendously beneficial for humans to not exist.
He was, by far, the weakest of all Olympian gods.
He had been defeated in one attack by a single demigod. Twelve or sixteen, the issue of the demigod's true age was like the issue of a marathon's finish line being one inches off or two. It did not matter at all. Whether it was luck or what was irrelevant. What was relevant was that a major Olympian god was killed in single combat by a demigod, without inflicting even a single injury on his opponent.
In honesty, the fighting strength of Ares was comically garbage compared to other gods. Demeter could kill hundred instantly with her dominion over plants. Aphrodite could warp the minds of others so completely that they would kill themselves just to please her. Dionysus could strangle any demigod in a matter of seconds with his vines.
But Ares had no powers like those. All he had was intimidation, and the ability to make others angry just by seeing him. Since Percy was affected by neither, it would come down to armed combat. Ares had the skill of, perhaps, fifty demigods. That was his strength in battle. Fifty demigod units. If he was rated a 50, even the next weakest, Demeter, would be ranked in the 10,000s range.
That was the difference in worship.
Also, the estimated strength of a demigod is not linear, or geometric, or anything like that. Any god could defeat any number of ordinary demigods, including Ares. Rather, a demigod unit was derived from the notion that losing a 'heroic demigod,' a demigod who has the strength of the famous heroes of the past, or just 'hero,' would be as bad as losing fifty demigods for Olympus's overall fighting strength. Alternatively, it could be said said gods' strengths could be measured by how many heroes would be necessary to defeat them, working in tandem. This number, multiplied by fifty, is the god's strength in demigod units. Under this method, Ares hero unit strength would be 1, while Demeter's would be 200-400. Of course, this number would be impossible to assemble. The largest group of 'heroes' was the Argonauts which numbered 50, but in truth, only 4 members were counted as true heroes. So, no more than 4 heroic demigods had ever existed at once. As such, the defeat of gods other than Ares by demigods was impossible.
Wowza, sorry I took forever. My excuse is that I don't need an excuse. This story is fucking insanely time-consuming to write, because I have to research nonstop, and cross-reference with all the books to see what would really happen if Percy did this or didn' do this, or whatever. Obviously some stuff I just made up. But, I'm under the firm belief that Riordan totally nerfed the power of the gods. No way would the original Percy have ever hurt the fucking god of war, it makes no damn sense. That's why I had to make Ares so pathetically weak. Luckily, I can make up an acceptable reason for pretty much anything. I think saying it's all about worship makes perfect sense. Also, the greeks really did not Ares at all. Other than Sparta, who thought he was the perfect warrior, he only had like a few temples. Zeus really does blast Ares in Homer's Illiad like that, saying he hated him the most of everyone, and it was only because he loved Hera and he was born of her that he was even on the council, and if he wasn't he would be the first to be cast from Olympus. He also calls him a double faced liar, so, that's why he lies to Percy about counterattacking, though he didn't get the chance to make what he said untrue.
Please review and tell me what you think. All feedback is greatly appreciated.