[A/N]: This information is going to be important for this chapter. The Kurama-Arm-Strike is the technique Naruto used on Toneri around the end of their fight.
August 17th 2009:
The iridescent stars above the enormous city twinkled a bright light and brightened the planet in a sheen of silver. Green eyes of intensity peered at their opponent from across the wide roads of the city.
Percy Jackson held onto Riptide, unconcealed determination and aggression plastered onto his unblemished features. Tapping his golden scythe against the ground in anticipation, Kronos smiled.
Widening his mundane smile into a ginormous grin of perpetual insanity, Kronos deflected a violent slash from the end of Riptide. Percy aimed a front-kick for Kronos' abdomen.
Whirling around and lashing his knee out to fend off the front-kick, Kronos snapped his fingers. Tendrils of divine power manifested themselves onto Percy, chaining him and his legs down.
A burst of water erupted forth from the concrete underneath them, destroying the tendrils of divine energy and propelling Kronos into the pile of an eradicated building. Percy sprinted at the titan of time.
Most of the monsters and demi-gods in Kronos' powerful army had been either captured, killed, or subdued. His stronger subordinates had been defeated. Percy was confident this would end in his victory.
Even Kronos himself acknowledged how the tips of this entire war weighed in Percy's favour. Despite his acknowledgment of this, Kronos remained undeterred and excited. "This will be the end!"
Hachiman had been summoned to this territory of the Greek pantheon for an hour—so Kronos had one hour to battle Percy until Naruto would return. A Time-Slice found itself being slashed into Percy's face.
Ignoring the laceration on his left cheek, Percy shoved his hands forward and enveloped Kronos in a whirlpool of water. Kronos' arms twisted in unnatural angles as Percy broke the bones inside of them.
"This damn brat." Kronos leaped out of the tornado of water, healing his broken bones and chuckling. "I swear he's gotten stronger…"
"These demi-gods are engineered for battle, though." Kronos blocked a water-enhanced punch from his foe. "So they grow stronger faster."
Engaging Percy in a ruthless match of pure hand-to-hand combat, Kronos smacked his knuckles against Percy's ones. Hardened water penetrated Kronos' skin. Blood gushed out from these wounds.
Time accelerated to remove the wounds painted across Kronos' pale flesh. A right-hook was buried into Kronos' nose. Roundhouse kicking the titan of time, Percy watched him stagger backwards into a wall.
Rising from the hole in the wall he had been embedded into, Kronos hurtled his golden scythe towards Percy's chest. Water fended off the weapon and it clattered to the ground. Kronos laughed in excitement.
"There is a small chance that I could lose this battle." Kronos grabbed onto his chest, exhilarated. "When did I last feel such excitement?"
Slamming the heel of his foot into the temple of Kronos' head, Percy repositioned himself before his elbow was jabbed into Kronos' neck. More and more blood exited Kronos' body from Percy's attacks.
The ruthless void of determination within Percy's emerald-hued gaze intensified once Kronos had clashed a knee onto his knuckles. Kronos released a low hum of amusement. "Why won't you let me kill you?"
"Haven't I told you?" Percy spat out in annoyance. "You've killed so many innocent people, why the hell would I let you win and kill me?!"
Kronos back-flipped, landing on the platform of a balcony. "You mortals are so pathetic sometimes, clinging to life and hindering me."
"Your ideals are mundane, Percy Jackson." Golden eyes glowed. "But that is why I find you amusing. You represent everything I despise."
"Perhaps that is why I haven't been able to win this battle." Kronos crossed his arms, scoffing. "I must annihilate your will to fight…"
Kronos disappeared in an incredible burst of speed, appearing at the end of the street and bounding in a distinct direction. Clicking his teeth, Percy broke into a sprint and followed the titan from behind.
(-)
Charles Beckendorf had returned to the area where Camp Half-Blood had set up their main tents. His half-brother—Leo Valdez—had fallen asleep on his wooden-chair, snores drifting out from his open mouth.
Smiling and nodding at some of the more injured campers, Charles took out a chair from the tents and seated himself down onto its wooden-pad. A stray thought crossed Charles' mind. "The spy…"
Charles lurched out from his seat at this thought, sweat trailing down his coarse face. The spy had not yet been found or identified. Gulping, the son of Hephaestus stopped when he heard a thud of foot-steps.
Kronos rushed towards the area covered by the crimson barricade created from the magic of the Hecate-Cabin. Eyes widened in sheer shock, Charles murmured. "Kronos?! Why is he coming—?"
Bullets of divine power were aimed at the crimson barrier—but it remained undamaged. Kronos pressed his palm into it, transmitting a message to one of his last allies. "Hecate, open a hole in this barrier."
The mana used to create the barricade was disrupted, tearing open a wide enough hole for Kronos to enter. At the end of the street, a green-eyed silhouette turned the corner and shouted. "Kronos!"
A Time-Slice was ingrained into Percy's chest and blasted him into a pile of random rubble. Gazing at the demi-gods who had drawn out their weapons to defend themselves, Kronos searched the area.
Stepping across the area and ignoring the demi-gods, Kronos tapped one of his pale fingers onto his chin. Charles pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, waiting for whatever happened next. "Why is he here?!"
"And how did he penetrate a hole in the barricade?" Charles pondered to himself, shocked beyond reason. "What is Kronos planning to do?"
Kronos walked towards the unconscious Leo in a nonchalant gait, glanced down at him, shook his head, spotted Charles, and approached him. The demi-god grunted. "What do you want, Kronos?"
The lord of time's malevolent presence tickled at the natural senses Charles had from being half divine and half mortal. Sensations of death itself leaked into Charles' mind. "What. Do. You. Want?"
"You stay firm even in the face of death." Kronos smirked, somewhat impressed and humoured. "You have a commendable will-power."
Clapping his pale palms in amusement, Kronos summoned multiple golden scythes into the atmosphere around him. However, they were obliterated by water-constructed blades being thrown into them.
Percy roundhouse kicked Kronos' sternum and stunned him for the briefest of seconds. Deciding to help out his green-eyed friend, Charles head-butted Kronos straight in the nose and stabbed his leg.
An elbow to the abdomen hurtled Percy backwards. A front-kick to the chest propelled Charles downwards. Kronos' bright irises took a look at the prone Charles, a ruthless pleasure igniting in his golden gaze.
"You fight for your friends, do you not?" Kronos asked Percy, grinning. "Then I shall kill these comrades of yours to break your will to fight."
"Don't you dare!" Percy grunted when Kronos stamped his foot down on his stomach and yelled. "Don't even think about it, Kronos!"
Snapping his iridescent gaze over to the prone Charles, Kronos moved four of his fingers upwards. To Percy, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Numerous Time-Slices assaulted Charles' body.
An indiscernible distortion of unmatched agility appeared in front of Charles. Creating a water-constructed barricade and blocking off the multiple Time-Slices being directed at Charles, Percy gritted his teeth.
One slip up from Percy would guarantee Charles' imminent death. Squinting his green eyes in concentration, Percy hardened the water of his barricade even more. Kronos threw his head back and laughed.
Palpable amounts of glee were evident within the aureate depths of Kronos' malicious gaze at the sight of Percy and Charles. Increasing the number of his Time-Slices, Kronos grinned. "Entertain me more!"
"Enough of this shit!" Percy shouted, dispelled his barricade, and cleaved Riptide into the slashes of time. "I'm killing you for good!"
The titan of time's collar was grabbed before Percy discarded Riptide onto the ground, slamming his fore-head right into Kronos' nose. Rivers of blood streamed out from Kronos' damaged nostrils. "Yes!"
"Attack me more, Percy Jackson!" Kronos roundhouse kicked Percy backwards, screaming in delight. "You are the one who shall perish!"
Water coalesced around the end of Percy's most trusted blade and solidified itself to strengthen the bronze weapon. Percy kept an expression of neutrality. "I refuse to die until you're defeated…"
Rushing forward, Kronos planted a powerful punch into Percy's nose and smacked him into an intact wall. Cracking the wall as his back thudded against its bricks, Percy rubbed his chin and snarled.
A water-constructed hand lashed out from beneath the lord of time, clenching its azure fingers onto his waist and flinging him into Percy's water-enhanced knuckles. Kronos flew out of the crimson barricade.
Charles limped towards the child of the ocean, pressing a coarse hand into his wounded stomach. "Percy, will you be alright fighting Kronos?"
"Of course!" An insouciant grin graced Percy's unblemished facial features. "I'll take him down and end this damn war. Trust me, alright?"
Nodding at Percy and groaning from the pain of his injuries, Charles grinded his teeth. "Percy, did you ever find out the identity of the spy?"
"The spy that leaked information to Kronos?" Percy scratched his head in brief contemplation. "No, I forgot all about the camp's spy."
"I'll be discreet about it and research who the spy could be, then." Charles whispered in a low tone. "Stay safe and come back alive."
"Who do you take me for?" Percy rolled one of his stiff shoulders, sheathing Riptide and smiling. "I don't plan on losing any time soon."
"Percy." Charles watched his friend disappear into one of the alleyways in the city. "I can tell you're becoming rather exhausted…"
(-)
Kronos flipped through the cold air of the enormous city and crashed into a crater of unthinkable depth. Coughing out unimaginable amounts of blood, Kronos dragged himself out of the massive crater.
Most of his divine energy had been depleted throughout the battle between himself and his emerald-eyed foe. Kronos' mortal body had suffered from immense strain since his invincibility had been removed.
He had also wasted much of his last vestiges of divine energy when using a multitude of Time-Slices on Charles. Grunting in concealed exertion, Kronos conjured a golden scythe into his pale hand.
"I can't believe it." Blood trickled out from Kronos' lips. "This mortal body of mine cannot handle my divine power without my invincibility."
The sound of deep breaths entered Kronos' ear-drums. Gandering at Percy and wiping the flecks of blood off his mouth, Kronos twisted his lips into a grin of mockery. "You must have gotten tired from our fight."
"Oh, yeah?" Percy pointed a finger at the remains of blood on Kronos' face, smirking in amusement. "You're all bloodied up and bruised."
Vanishing in an untraceable blur of violent speed and upper-cutting Kronos in the jaw, Percy lifted his fore-arms to deflect an axe-kick from the titan of time. Kronos let loose a maniacal laugh. Percy grunted.
A punch to the nose propelled Percy into a pile of metal from an eradicated car. A roundhouse kick to the solar-plexus had Kronos vomiting out an inundation of blood. They punched each other's faces.
Spitting out the blood coated over his blood-thirsty tongue, Kronos whirled around to unleash a destructive front-kick upon Percy's chest. However, the child of Poseidon used Riptide to slap the kick down.
Positioning himself behind Kronos, Percy threw Riptide onto the concrete for a short moment and grabbed Kronos by the neck. Drilling Kronos' face into the surface beneath them, Percy flipped backwards.
Establishing a good distance from Kronos and clenching his water-enhanced fists, Percy released three breaths of hidden fatigue. Kronos rose to his feet, grunting. "How annoying, I can't heal myself."
"I can't spend any more divine power to use chronokinesis—otherwise I risk destroying this pathetic mortal body of mine from the inside out."
"I can't believe losing the Curse-Of-Achilles would have such an effect on me." Kronos clicked his tongue, annoyed. "My power is dwindling."
A water-empowered fist was aimed for Kronos' face—but it was blocked off by an elbow. Kronos raised an unimpressed eye-brow, tilting his head and humming. "This boy is stronger than I thought."
Kronos was unsurprised when Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase entered the area he was in. Punching Annabeth in the face, Luke hurtled her into Percy. The two of them rolled into a pile of rubble.
"My lord." Luke lowered his head at the lord of time, dissipating the cloak of mana wrapped around his body. "What are your orders?"
Gazing at Luke and tuning out his reverent questions, Kronos chuckled. "Wait a minute, Luke. I want to see what they shall do…"
Annabeth and Percy broke out from the pile of rubble they had been nestled into, glaring at the demi-god of speed and the titan of time in irritation. Luke's irises glowed in amusement. "You lose, Percy…"
Percy stopped for a second in confusion. For some reason, Luke had glanced at Kronos and widened his eyes in shock—but then regained his composure. Shaking his head, Percy replied. "I don't plan to lose!"
Mana ignited itself onto Annabeth's gauntleted fists. Annabeth looked at the ruthless determination in the green pits of Percy's gaze and smiled. "All four of us have reached our limits, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh?" Kronos lifted his ebony eye-brow for a second time, intrigued. "And why would you think that I have even reached my limit at all?"
Annabeth shrugged without a sign of perturbation. "Simple." She tapped her eyes. "I've found out mana lets me see and sense vitality."
The lord of time clasped his pale hands behind his back, humoured. "Indeed, Alabaster C. Torrington had a similar ability."
"Annabeth can also see other people's life-forces?" Luke's sapphire gaze was unbothered. "I suppose it is a common ability for mages."
"I'm sure Luke can sense your dwindling life-force too, Kronos." Annabeth was calm and composed. "That mortal body of yours is dying."
"You are right." Kronos grinned, no concern whatsoever evident in his entertained voice. "This body can no longer handle my divine power."
"He's dying?" Percy whispered to Annabeth: who smiled at her green-eyed friend. "Is this because he lost the Curse-Of-Achilles?"
The child of wisdom responded. "That's our best guess, Percy. Kronos' mortal body must have been constructed by magical means."
"You'd be correct." Kronos interrupted their gentle-toned chat. "Hecate and Prometheus created this mortal body for me to use for this war."
"I bathed in the River-Styx to reinforce the vitality and durability of this form." He closed his golden eyes. "But I never realized one detail."
"I hadn't realized this body would fail me if I lost the Curse-Of-Achilles!" Kronos chuckled. "It was a shocking revelation!"
"You've gotta be kidding me." Percy murmured to himself, baffled. "He doesn't give a shit about the idea of him dying in that mortal body."
"Even I'm a little shocked." Annabeth mumbled to the child of the seas, surprise in her tone. "I thought he'd be at least worried about it."
Kronos morphed his lips into a psychotic grin. "I can still use some divine power—but, if I surpass the limit, then my body will collapse."
A Time-Slice slashed open a deep gash in Percy's unprotected stomach. Annabeth channelled mana into Percy's body, healing his wound. "So you only have a few more of those Time-Slices left?"
"I'll leave that up to your imagination—." Kronos coughed out a flood of blood, grin widening in excitement. "—My body really is failing me!"
Luke—who had stayed silent throughout the conversation—extended his mana-empowered hand out to block a slash to the neck from Riptide. Percy twirled around, reaching his arm out for Kronos' neck.
"A distraction?!" Luke whirled around on the spot, catching Annabeth's mana-enhanced fist and driving his knee into her gut. "Too slow…"
A discharge of powerful mana from Luke's body knocked everyone backwards—this included Kronos and Percy. Climbing to his feet, the titan of time spat out a little puddle of blood. "Alright, you three!"
The authoritative inflection in Kronos' voice had Percy and Annabeth stopping in their tracks. Kronos stretched a single arm out, gathering an accumulation of divine power into his hands. "Let us end this!"
"I have no interest in prolonging this boring battle." Kronos' aureate eyes twinkled in demented anticipation. "Charge up your attacks."
Percy and Annabeth leaped backwards to create a good amount of space between themselves and their foes. Without wasting any time at all, Percy summoned an abundance of water onto his finger-tips.
Enhancing the Condensed-Layer cloaked over her body, Annabeth amassed an unnatural amount of mana into her hands. Luke clasped his palms, bursts of potent mana erupting forth from his ten fingers.
The four of them took a single step back. Kronos slanted his head, a perpetual amount of amusement simmering in the blood-thirsty voids of his yellow gaze. "I wonder what the outcome of this war shall be…"
There were no heart-felt or mocking statements exchanged between the two sides. All that remained in the air was a blanket of endless silence. All at once, the four of them released their powerful attacks.
A cataclysmic shock-wave was produced from the mixture of pure mana, divine energy, and solidified water. Enormous chunks of stone flew across the atmosphere. The remaining sky-scrapers crumbled.
Sonic-booms echoed throughout the gigantic city, rattling the ground and shaking the foundations of every area. Smoke billowed out from no-where, covering the sector where the fated battle had occurred.
Percy barrelled out from the clouds of smoke, deep grunts of exhaustion escaping his mouth. Swatting his hand through the air and dispelling the smoke, Percy widened his eyes in stunned disbelief.
Thoughts about Luke exited Percy's mind within the blink of an eye. Taking a shocked step forward, the child of the ocean gazed down at Kronos' somewhat mutilated and bloodied body. "Did we really win?"
"Do not get ahead of yourself, demi-god." Kronos wrenched his eyes open and chuckled. "Did you really think this was the end of this war?"
Percy gritted his teeth, unamused. "You do realize that your body is mangled, right? I doubt you can even stand up—yet alone fight me."
"Indeed." Kronos' bruised and blood-soaked lips twisted into an amused smile. "But did you really think I don't have contingencies?"
"I have lived for countless millennia, Percy Jackson." The lord of time groused. "I created many contingencies on the occasion I lost this war."
The child of the seas stumbled back in confusion as Kronos murmured. "To the concept of magic itself, I offer this mortal body."
"Is he creating a contract between himself and the concept of magic?" Percy pondered. "Didn't Beckendorf do something similar to this…?"
Bending his knees and rushing towards Kronos to end him, Percy grunted at the barricade that materialized in front of him. The titan of time grouched. "I ask for three things in return for this sacrifice."
"Grant a weakened version of my chronokinesis to Luke Castellan." Kronos grunted. "And create a rune that shall keep Hachiman in this area for three hours."
"My last condition is a simple one—imbue a small amount of my divine essence into Luke Castellan to increase the divine blood in his body."
"What the hell did you do, you bastard?" Percy whispered, frustration lingering in his voice. "Why the hell must they cause all this suffering?"
"I've told you this one too many times, Percy Jackson." Kronos grinned. "I live for my pleasure and displeasure. I live for myself."
"I was bound to perish once this mortal body of mine failed." He twitched his mutilated hand. "So I decided to cause some mayhem."
"Naruto Uzumaki is still a great threat. Prolonging the amount of time Hachiman can stay in this city shall keep him busy for a longer time."
"Don't get any ideas, demi-god. I am immortal. Even if my mortal body is killed and my divine essence scattered, I will somehow survive…"
"Alas." Kronos rasped, amusement plastered on his bruised face. "It's such a shame I won't be able to see how these next events shall unravel."
Raising his mutilated hand and snapping his pale fingers, Kronos laughed. "Contract created! My will shall be inherited by Luke…"
The magical barricade in front of Percy dissolved and he sprinted at Kronos' prone body—but it was surrounded by a crimson glow and crumbled into red particles. Percy grunted. "So Kronos is gone…"
A powerful shock-wave of magical-power erupted out from the spot where Kronos' body had been seconds ago. Percy watched all of the smoke in the atmosphere clear, noticing Luke in the distance.
Tendrils of mana manifested out from nowhere and touched Luke's body, integrating a weakened version of chronokinesis into him. This chronokinesis would be fuelled by mana instead of divine power.
Luke had overheard the conversation between Kronos and Percy because of how his five senses had been enhanced by mana. Annabeth was nestled into a pile of rubble, rather harmed.
"Lord Kronos has entrusted his will to me, huh?" Luke used his newfound chronokinesis to mend his wounds. "I shall not fail him…"
Stretching a calloused hand out into the open air, Luke chanted an incantation of magic to himself to enhance the potency and general power of his weakened chronokinesis. Time rippled from his words.
Percy dug his knuckles downwards into the cracked concrete, generating fifteen geysers of solidified water. Luke slowed the speed of these geysers down, disappearing in an indiscernible distortion.
A mana-enhanced punch to the neck flung Percy into multiple boulders and had him rolling through numerous walls of smaller buildings. Mana flickered around Luke's arms. "I feel so powerful…"
"The divine essence lord Kronos imbued into me must have empowered my physical attributes to an unnatural degree…."
Back-Biter materialized into Luke's hand as he deflected fifteen slashes from Riptide. Burying his knee into Luke's abdomen, Percy grunted in annoyance at the touch of Luke's fist against his left cheek.
"I'll replicate the method lord Kronos used to harm your indestructible body." Luke murmured, lifting three fingers. "Take this, you nuisance!"
A replication of the Time-Slice was summoned by Luke, slashing itself at Percy's abdomen and throwing him into a pile of rocks and debris. Luke chuckled. "Typhon should be able to keep the gods busy…"
"I'll have to find a method to resurrect lord Kronos in another body." Luke cupped his chin in contemplation. "But I'll think about it later."
Clasping his hands and conjuring a multitude of Condensed-Cubes in the atmosphere, Luke propelled them into Percy. Barricades of water warded off the mana-based attack. Teeth clenched, Percy moved.
The son of speed and the child of the ocean entered a heated match of physical ability. Five minutes into the battle, Percy spotted how fast Luke was able to heal his wounds. Percy kicked Luke's abdomen.
"Even until the very end!" Luke spat out three globs of blood gathered into his mouth. "You're still such a determined pain, aren't you?!"
A psychotic inflection of deep-rooted approval highlighted the insanity in Luke's voice. "That's good, Percy! I'll break your will to live!"
"Good luck." Percy controlled his wrathful emotions, tilting his head without a hint of concern whatsoever. "You won't be able to, Luke."
"I'll do what lord Kronos planned to do and slaughter your comrades!" Luke's grin was borderline unhinged. "I refuse to lose this war…"
Bounding towards the end of the road and jumping onto a roof-top, Luke slapped a palm across the air in a diagonal motion. A crimson portal materialized in front of Luke before he stepped into it.
"Damn it! He's heading to where the others are!" Percy glanced at Annabeth: whose mana mended her wounds. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Yeah." Pants of complete exhaustion escaped Annabeth's bruised lips. "I had to convert most of my stamina into mana to survive…"
The child of the seas managed to twist his lips into a bitter smile. "I'm pretty sure you were able to overhear everything that happened."
"Yeah." Annabeth nodded in response, rising from the rubble and rolling her shoulders. "Come on, I have a feeling this is the real end…"
(-)
August 18th 2009:
Charles and his fellow campers had gotten over the shock of Kronos somehow being able to enter the barricade-covered area they were in. They were then shocked for a second time at the sight of a red portal.
Weapons drawn out once again, the warriors of Camp Half-Blood tensed their muscles and steeled their determined gazes. Jake Mason—who had recovered from his injuries—squinted his eyes.
Travis and Connor Stoll had their blades pointed in the direction of the crimson portal. Michael Yew and his siblings had their bows and arrows nocked. Charles extended his dagger-occupied hand out.
A single individual walked out from the portal in a casual gait, unbothered by the numerous weapons being jabbed at him. Luke grinned, blue eyes glinting a malicious light. "It's been a while!"
"Luke…" Connor hesitated at the sight of his half-brother, hand trembling for the briefest of moments. "No, I can't forgive you—!"
Appearing behind Connor and slapping the back of his head, Luke chuckled as he slumped into the ground. A hum of amusement buzzed from Luke's lips. "I'm not interested in talking to any of you."
"I wonder if this is how Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki feel?" Luke pondered. "Being so much more powerful than everyone else."
"A lot of you are still out fighting the last members of lord Kronos' army, I see." Luke's eyes glowed. "Just give up and let me kill you."
"Not happening, you bastard!" Michael yelled, nodding at his siblings. "All of you, keep on firing your arrows until this bastard is dead!"
Back-Biter was used and blocked off all of the arrows shot towards its owner's body. Luke lowered his most commendable weapon, punching Michael straight in the abdomen. "Would you look at that."
A small shield of magical power had been crafted onto Michael's stomach to defend him from Luke's mana-empowered strike. Luke stared at Lou Ellen, humoured. "The mage reveals herself at last."
"Your magical items hindered us a lot." Luke had an insouciant lilt in his smooth baritone. "Though, I do respect your magical strength."
Snapping his fingers in amusement, Luke summoned fifteen magical bullets and fired them at Lou. Head tilted at an annoyed angle, Lou constructed a blade of mana and slashed through Luke's attacks.
Michael regained his balance from the disorientation of having a magic-shield on his stomach and smacked his bow towards Luke. Catching the son of Apollo by the arm, Luke tapped his forehead.
Releasing Michael's arm and stepping backwards four feet, Luke watched the overall speed of Michael's movements decrease. Striking his palm into Michael's chin, Luke pushed him backwards into a crowd.
"Time manipulation." Lou's green eyes widened in concealed disbelief. "How on earth were you able to gain such a coveted ability, Luke?"
"Oh, you mean my new abilities?" Luke shrugged, wearing a demeanour of pure nonchalance. "Lord Kronos gifted it to me."
Luke gazed at the crowd of demi-gods he had thrown Michael into and blurred towards them, hand outstretched. Lou moulded her magic to form another shield—but she was flung backwards by a pulsation of mana.
Mana-Burst had been activated by Luke to keep one of the camp's most powerful magicians off of his back for the time being. Luke reached his hand out for Michael—but he was shoved away by someone.
Jake had moved Michael out of Luke's radius and was punched in the solar-plexus. Vomiting out an unthinkable inundation of blood, Jake grunted when Luke slammed him downwards into the ground.
"I'm not interested in you." Luke grinned in derision, teeth glinting under the light of the stars. "I guess you will suffice, though."
A sickening crunch echoed throughout the air of the sector as Luke crushed the bones inside of Jake's arm. Staying silent, Jake glared at Luke and gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Don't even try it, Luke."
Luke raised an entertained eye-brow at the child of Hephaestus until he was roundhouse kicked into a random wall. Leo huffed in exhaustion, strands of fire exiting his body. "It's been a while, huh?"
"Leo Valdez, indeed it has!" Luke widened his grin, more amusement bubbling on the surface of his handsome face. "You've grown strong."
Opening his mouth to respond to Luke, Leo became blindsided at the mana-enhanced knuckles being pressed into his chest. Luke propelled him fifteen metres away. "But not strong enough to challenge me."
Stabilising his footing and landing on the heels of his feet, Leo crouched down and grunted in mischief. An unbothered smile was present on his coarse features. "You're surrounded right now, pal."
"Oh?" Luke kept his eye-brow raised and spotted the demi-gods who circled him in the area. "Then let's shorten the amount, shall we?"
Mana boomed out from every pore of Luke's body and slammed into numerous demi-gods—even killing a good number of them. Leo was shocked. The demi-god's mouth parted. "He killed that many?!"
"How dare you." Having become enraged at the sight of the corpses, Leo summoned a sphere of fire. "How dare you kill them, Luke—!"
A punch to the top of the head rendered Leo unconscious on the floor. Gazing at the other semi-conscious and dead demi-gods around him, Luke chuckled. "Man, I wonder how Percy will react to all this."
Whistling a jaunty tune to himself and using a burst of mana to hurtle everyone else in random directions, Luke approached Charles. His old friend had his dagger in one hand. "How can I break his will to live?"
"You've been such a heavy nuisance, Charles." Luke had a smile of feigned amiability on his face. "Developing those two magic weapons."
"It was for the greater good, Luke." Charles' gaze was steadfast and determined. "I can't believe you've changed this much in personality."
Luke's smile shrank in tranquil contemplation. "I have changed, haven't I? But who cares? I can change everything about this world."
"You've become a mad man—hypnotised by the idea of being strong." Charles murmured. "To think I once called you a friend shames me."
The child of Hermes responded in a nonchalant tone. "I suppose we were friends, yeah. But I'm more annoyed by you nowadays, Charles."
Noticing the demi-gods in the area had risen to their feet, Luke dispelled Back-Biter and clapped his hands. This applause was met by confusion. "I guess I should tell you all a little secret, then."
Elsewhere in the same area, Silena Beauregard was helping Lou onto her feet from the discharge of mana Luke had blasted into her. The daughter of Hecate was grim. "His mana is on an unbelievable level."
"He took down so many of us at once." Silena observed, releasing Lou's shoulder and cupping her chin. "How can we hope to stop him?"
Lou shook her head, a palpable prudence in her green gaze. "Our best bet would be Percy and Annabeth stopping him."
"But Luke and them were fighting across the entire city, so it could take long for them to get here." Lou sighed. "This situation sucks."
They had reached the front of the crowd when Luke announced his intention of telling them some type of 'secret'. Eye-brow lifted, Lou saw the sweat that had trailed down Silena's fore-head. "What's wrong?"
"N—Nothing!"
The shout was much louder than Silena anticipated—but everyone gazed at the source of the sound. Luke aimed a malicious grin at her and yelled. "The spy you all searched for is none other than her!"
"If you don't believe me." Luke clicked his fingers and a miniature scythe floated out from Silena's pocket. "That is proof of my claim!"
Snatching the small platinum-tinted scythe out from the air, Luke rummaged through his pocket and retrieved his golden one. His grin turned even more villainous. "What do you think about that, huh?"
Everyone stopped when they heard the sound of two sets of feet digging themselves into the ground in shock. Annabeth's eyes were wide while Percy's fists were clenched. "What did you just say?"
The people around Silena had taken a step away from her—some were comprehending this newfound information and others were submerged in complete surprise and disbelief. Luke smirked.
Percy's voice was quiet in concealed confusion. "Is it true, Silena?"
Silena wrung her hands together and lowered her head. Shame tainted Silena's next statement. "Everything Luke says is true…"
Annabeth copied Percy and clenched her gauntleted fists in disbelief. "How could you? Why would you work for Kronos of all creatures?"
"Oh, it was simple." Luke grinned, head tilted and eyes scrunched up in amusement. "I threatened Charles' life if she refused to be the spy."
"Isn't romance just such a wonderful concept?" Luke's mischievous grin was enlarged. "I threaten Charles and she's on board!"
Silena looked up as Charles planted a hand down on her shoulder. Twisting his lips into a somewhat brittle smile, he whispered. "I can't blame you, Silena. But why didn't you tell anyone about this?"
"I just wasn't sure of what to do." She directed her gaze to the ground in shame, voice coated in despair. "S—So many people have died."
Annabeth approached the two of them, having recovered from the shock of such a grand reveal and touched Silena's free shoulder. "I can't say I understand your decision to work for Luke. But—."
"But nothing." Silena suppressed the urge to tremble and sighed. "There's nothing I can say or do to redeem the effects of my actions."
Charles looked at his fellow demi-gods—who had also recovered from the shock of Luke's revelation. Standing in front of them, he bowed. "Please, do not blame her. It's my fault your friends were killed."
"Just don't do that, man." Michael released a low breath of contemplation. "It's Luke's fault. He's the reason all of this happened."
"Yeah." Lou nodded in agreement, walking towards Silena and smiling. "I'm sure everyone who died wouldn't blame you either."
It was a rather cliche sight—everyone voiced their agreement over the blame being placed on Luke and not Silena for their loved ones' deaths and being the reason why this war had even been kick-started.
"Thank you, everyone." Tears of gratitude and relief welled up in Silena's eyes. "I'm grateful for all of you and I'm so sorry for—..."
Percy—who had been catatonic in contemplation and deep thought—was snapped out of his trance from the sound of shocked gasps, enraged screams, and confused yells. "What the hell…?"
A Time-Slice had reduced Silena's body into nothing. Annabeth's hand was caught by open air. Charles rose from his bowed position, mouth hanging open in unadulterated disbelief. Luke let loose a proud laugh.
"Man, all of that camaraderie and melancholy was hilarious!" Luke shouted, a maniacal lilt in his tone. "You all are so damn amusing!"
"LUKE!"
Annabeth turned towards Luke and dashed at him in a vicious flash of mana-enhanced speed, lashing her fist out for his heart. Kicking her away from him and humming, Luke blocked off a fire-enhanced punch.
Leo had woken up from being knocked out by the son of Hermes, flames covering his bandaged body. Grabbing an air-borne Leo by the ankle, Annabeth hurtled him into Luke. Leo grunted. "You monster!"
Pushing Leo off of him and karate-chopping his head, Luke propelled him into the ground. Annabeth rushed in, engaging him in hand-to-hand. Luke caught her fist and punched Annabeth backwards.
"He's on a whole other level of power." Annabeth's jaw was front-kicked by a mana-enhanced foot. "He killed Silena and so many!"
Luke gripped Leo by the collar of his shirt, smacking his head into Annabeth's forehead and flinging them in similar directions. Blue eyes gazed at Charles: who had collapsed to his knees in disbelief.
Red portals were opened and unhinged monsters ran out from them. The unharmed campers armed themselves, charging at the creatures in hopes of reducing casualties and ending this hopeless war faster.
Creating a dome of magic around himself and Charles, Luke crouched down to see the pure despair in his eyes. Luke shook his head. "I told you, Charles. You all would be punished for not seeing the truth."
"For not following the titan of time of all entities?!" Uncharacteristic rage boomed forth from Charles' lips. "How could you do this?!"
"You left camp, poisoned Thalia's tree, attacked the camp, worked for the lord of time, helped him start a war, and have killed countless!"
"Oh, isn't that just the billion-dollar question?" Self reflection glinted in Luke's gaze. "The status quo of this world had to change, Charles."
"I understand my role in this universe." Luke's head was slanted at a peaceful angle. "My role is to fulfil Kronos' will and I shall succeed."
Charles trembled in anger. "You fool! Kronos has disillusioned you! Planting grand fantasies in your head! Take a look at reality, Luke!"
Rising to his feet, Luke dissolved his magical-dome and kicked Charles' jaw before grabbing his neck. Squeezing it, Luke gandered at Percy. Teeth gritted, Percy charged at Luke and yelled. "Beckendorf!"
Using his chronokinesis and lowering the speed in Percy's movements, Luke slowed the child of the ocean down. Hand holding onto Charles' neck, Luke looked Percy straight in the eye and grinned.
"Any last words, Charles?" Luke kept staring a slowed down Percy in the eye. "We both know that you won't survive the next minute."
"Percy!" Charles, despite having his neck compromised, shouted. He also looked Percy right in the eye. "You're one of my greatest friends."
Percy trudged towards Charles in desperation, hoping to stop Luke and rescue his friend. Charles coughed, inhaling oxygen through his nose before he smiled. "Thank you, Percy. Promise that you'll live."
Retracting his hand from Charles' neck and plunging a mana-empowered fist into his chest, Luke punctured Charles' heart. The child of the forges stumbled as Luke moved his hand away.
Charles collapsed to the ground, blood soaking his body and the sector around him. Luke stared down at his blood-soaked hand, a merciless smile etched upon his emotionless face. "Perfect…"
The speed inside of Percy's movements was reduced to normal. Stopping in his tracks, Percy gazed at the corpse strewn across the ground. A hollow despair filled his emerald-hued gaze. "Charles…"
Falling to his knees and checking on Charles' corpse, Percy injected water into his body in hopes of healing his wounds. Alas—Percy was unable to regenerate an entire organ. Charles was dead for good.
Silena was also dead. Others had lost many of their loved ones. The only positive light in this situation was that many more people had lived than died. Percy's body was immobile as Luke laughed in glee.
"I've become enlightened by the truth!" Luke stretched his hands out wide. "Similar to Naruto Uzumaki, I have reached true enlightenment."
"Enlightenment-?" Percy was cut off by a kick to the jaw. He staggered into a pile of debris. "Don't you dare compare yourself to Naruto…"
"Naruto Uzumaki is still out of my reach." Luke shrugged. "He's a monster of unbelievable strength. Hell, even you've seen his power."
"Prometheus once told me Naruto Uzumaki is one of the 'blessed ones' and I agree. His power is unnatural, an anomaly to this world."
Luke's face was rather nostalgic. "I still remember the first time I met that damn Shinobi. He throttled me. But enough about him…"
"Lord Kronos extended the time Hachiman would remain in this city." Luke performed a strange hand-sign. "Let's see if this will work."
A magical-construct in the form of a blade was directed towards Percy—who was paralyzed by his intense emotions. The Curse-Of-Achilles defended him and the blade bounced off of his skin.
"I'll have to use lord Kronos' method to kill you, then." Luke moved two fingers downwards, bored. "This shall still take some time. Be patient."
Shadows twisted around Luke and pushed his hand to the right. The Time-Slice was redirected into a random car. Nico Di Angelo meandered out from the darkness and glanced at Charles' corpse.
"He'll be treated well in the afterlife." Nico told himself, concentrating on his enemy and pointing a finger forward. "Having fun, Luke?"
"So much fun." Luke flicked a hand at Percy and smiled. "Speak to him if you want, I have plenty of time to wait until I kill all of you."
"Such deep-rooted confidence." Nico resisted the urge to scowl and spoke. "Percy, are you really about to give up and let Luke win?"
"Demi-gods have a propensity for being killed and having short lives. But they accept that and guarantee that they live good lives."
"Don't forget that Luke and we are demi-gods. We've been guided by fate to where we stand right now. This was the planned outcome."
Silence was Percy's response.
"But that doesn't mean Charles' and everyone else's deaths were pointless. Honour those lost and fight in their name for victory."
Even more silence was Percy's second response.
Realizing Percy would remain silent, Nico sighed. "Charles wouldn't want you to be stuck in this despair. Remember his last words?"
"Promise that you'll live." Those words flashed in Percy's mind before he wrenched his eyes open. "Sorry, Charles. I forgot for a second…"
Nico sliced his hand through the air in a horizontal gesture, using his umbrakinesis to teleport Percy behind Luke. The child of Hermes laughed when his occiput was punched by a water-coated fist.
A palpable despair and apathy lingered in Percy's eyes—but merciless determination and hope joined these emotions. Luke spat out a little amount of blood. "There he is! I'm glad you're back!"
Shadows danced to the rhythm of Nico's hand-signs. Percy punched Luke, crafted shields out from water, and blocked off a Time-Slice. Nico smirked. "The Curse-Of-Achilles upgraded Percy's power."
"I'm sure Kronos noticed this too—but the Curse-Of-Achilles has enhanced Percy's hydrokinesis to the point where it can touch time."
Percy had also acknowledged this fact in its entirety. Luke snapped his fingers to slow down Percy's movements—but the child of the ocean wrapped solidified water around his body to speed himself up.
Skeletons surrounded Luke until they were disintegrated by a burst of magic. Luke deflected a right-hook to the face, lashing his leg and aiming a roundhouse kick for Percy's solar-plexus. Nico clapped.
Having used his shadow-based teleportation, Nico had transported Luke straight into Percy's fist. Punching Luke, Percy hurtled him backwards. Luke chuckled. "What a unique trick, Nico Di Angelo!"
Slapping a mana-enhanced hand down into the concrete, Luke pulled out a slab of stone and bashed it into Nico. A Condensed-Cube crashed into Percy—but he walked through it and grunted.
A skeleton caught Nico—who performed another hand-sign. Shadows twisted and turned. Percy emerged from Luke's shadow, twirling around and embedding his knuckles into the back of Luke's head.
"What the hell can we do, though?" Nico wondered, dispelling his skeleton. "Annabeth and Leo were knocked out earlier."
The monsters summoned by Luke were keeping everybody else busy. Naruto was fighting Hachiman. Nico stumbled when a destructive shock-wave reached him. It came from where Naruto was battling.
In the deep distance, Nico noticed a ginormous black portal open above a section of the city. Naruto and Hachiman's outlines were dragged into this portal. Nico also noticed another outline in the portal.
Looking through the eyes of the phantom he had left to watch Naruto, Nico saw Naruto widen his sapphire eyes in pure bafflement. Nico spotted two distinct black irises glinting a bright red from the portal.
Naruto and Hachiman disappeared into the enormous portal—but Nico, using the five senses of his spirit, witnessed the portal closing. Sweat cascaded down his face. "Naruto was taken elsewhere…"
No longer concentrating on the tumultuous battle, Nico was attacked by a Time-Slice to the knee and collapsed. Blood seeped out from the laceration on his leg. Percy grunted, driving his shoulder into his foe.
Stabbing his blade into the ground beneath him and being impelled backwards, Luke swung himself into Percy. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, Luke hurled the child of the ocean high into the grey clouds.
Tendrils of mana manifested themselves underneath Percy from mid-air. Morphing the tendrils into enormous hands, Luke moved his entire hand downwards. Percy was slapped around the night-sky.
Percy flexed three of his fingers, maintaining his calm facade of neutrality and summoning multiple water-constructed hands. Luke was grabbed by an azure hand and drilled against numerous trucks.
Time was dialled forward to heal Luke's gashed body. Luke clenched his fists as Percy landed on the ground, excitement filling his blue irises. Nico, despite his wounded leg, extended a pale arm out.
More and more shadows coalesced around Percy and covered his water-enhanced knuckles. Luke widened his eyes in pure intrigue. "Nico used the shadows to enhance Percy's physical strength more!"
Hardened water and materialized shadows were wrapped around Percy's fists. Bending his knees and steeling his gaze in merciless resolve, Percy aimed a right-hook for Luke and was axe-kicked.
Rolling down into one of the craters within the concrete, Percy let loose an irritated breath of fatigue. Luke rose to his feet, cracking his neck. "Just why must you resist me so much, Percy? Just why, hm?"
"Who should I kill next?" Luke's head was tilted in contemplation. "Should I kill Annabeth? What about Leo? He can join his brother!"
A bitter laugh of sarcasm erupted forth from Percy's lips. "Man, you must love hearing yourself talk! I doubt you could kill those two!"
Nico had consumed some Ambrosia to mend the wound on his leg and walked up until he stood next to Percy: whose green gaze was focused. Luke's head remained tilted. "Do you want to bet on that?"
Clapping his pale hands at a dissonant rhythm, Nico gave Luke a heartless grin as the shadows whirled. Percy materialized out from beneath Luke's shadow, dragging him down into the darkness.
They were teleported fifteen feet high into the air. Descending to the streets of New-York-City, an air-borne Luke failed to fend off a shadow-empowered and water-empowered smack to the face.
Percy dropped his elbow straight into Luke's back and they fell into an enormous crater. Jumping out from this crater, the child of the ocean felt Nico transport him behind Luke: who had also left the crater.
Another ruthless elbow to the back of the head propelled Luke forward. Nico hid in the shadows, waiting for his moment to strike. Sensing Nico's presence, Luke released a powerful pulse of mana.
Nico was flung out from the shadows and groaned. "Damn it!"
A Time-Slice was catapulted towards Nico—but was stopped by a water-constructed barricade. Percy used the water to take Nico to a safe distance. He gandered at Luke, unamused. "No more games."
"Games?" Luke raised an amused eye-brow, blond hair somewhat soaked in blood and grime. "I'm the one who has the upper-hand!"
"You've never had the 'upper-hand'." Percy rolled his green eyes, unimpressed. "You've always relied on someone else for power."
"Hell!" Mockery burst forth from Percy's tongue. "You've even copied Kronos' time slash technique or whatever that damn move is called!"
"It's called Time-Slice." Luke waved a coarse hand around in dismissal. "So what? I'm still inexperienced in chronokinesis."
A Condensed-Cube was formed behind Percy and conjured an explosion of pure mana. Riptide cleaved into the explosion, defending Percy from the spell. Luke clicked his tongue. "Good reflexes, Percy."
"Percy!"
"Sailor-Boy!"
Two voices cut into the discussion between the two demi-gods. Annabeth and Leo approached Percy. Luke hummed. "Oh, what an excellent chance for a rematch! The three of you versus me…"
"How much stamina do you have left that you can convert to mana?" Leo asked Annabeth in curiosity. "You've been fighting non-stop."
"Turns out Ambrosia helps in stamina restoration." Mana flickered to life around Annabeth's gauntleted fists. "So I'm fine right now."
Percy glanced at his two friends in appreciation. "Good. I'm glad the two of you are okay. Annabeth, do you have any weapons left?"
"Just this one." Annabeth murmured, pulling out a bronze dagger from nowhere. "The one Luke gave me when I first met him and Thalia…"
Sighing in melancholy, Percy flicked a glance at the child of the forges. "How about you, Leo? I know you have those screw-drivers of yours."
"I've got plenty in stock—!"
An aureate distortion of speed grabbed Leo by the throat and began to choke him. Flames trickled out from Leo's flesh to stop Luke from crushing his neck in its entirety. Annabeth and Percy snarled.
Cart-wheeling a ruthless mana-enhanced kick into the temple of Luke's head, Annabeth propelled him twenty metres away. Leo shot fire-constructed bullets in Luke's direction. Percy's arm was tapped.
Shadows engulfed Percy's vision as he was teleported above Luke. Annabeth and Leo were stunned by this, not expecting to see Percy teleport at all in this battle. Luke laughed. "Nico helped you again, huh!"
Time was slowed down for Leo and Annabeth before Luke raised a fore-arm to block Percy's punch to the top of his head. Whirling to the left, Percy lashed his arm out and bull-dozed Luke right into a truck.
The decrease in Annabeth and Leo's movements was cancelled. Nico emerged from the darkness of the area, teleporting the two of them next to Percy. He snapped his pale fingers, taking in a deep breath.
"I'll use my phantoms to drain Luke's mana and stamina." Nico schemed in his mind. "They'll be invisible so Luke won't see them."
"Ghosts can't be detected in usual circumstances." Nico chuckled. "Even Luke shouldn't see this one coming, at least I hope he won't…"
Two Time-Slices were directed towards Leo and Annabeth from the truck Luke had been slammed into. A barricade of water stopped it. Luke scowled, somewhat annoyed. "What a real pain in the ass."
Percy moved in the direction of where he had punched Luke—but paused in his tracks at the sight of Luke stumbling forward in unexpected exhaustion. "What happened?! My mana is depleting!"
Stepping out from the shadows in delight, Nico smirked at Luke. Annabeth, Leo, and Percy were surprised by his declaration. "Your chronokinesis runs on mana, right? What happens if you run out?"
"What did you do, Nico Di Angelo?!" Luke shouted, teeth clenched in unanticipated exhaustion. "You're always plotting from the shadows…"
"You're not the only one who was given extra abilities by their benefactor." Obsidian eyes widened. "My father is a prudent one."
"He only gave me three of these phantoms that can absorb mana." Nico explained. "You're powerful enough to destroy them, though."
A discharge of mana from Luke proved Nico's statement to be true as the ghosts revealed themselves to everyone before they were obliterated. Luke scowled again. "I didn't even sense them until now."
Percy was patted on the shoulder by a pale hand. Nico grunted. "This is the last bit of help you're getting from me, Percy. Understood?"
"Heh." Percy snorted and nodded. "Understood, Nico. Annabeth, Leo, and I can handle the rest from here on out. Get some rest, alright?"
Smirking at his green-eyed friend, Nico collapsed and was caught by Annabeth: who settled him against a pile of rubble. More and more bursts of mana escaped Luke's body. "No more playing around…"
Tendrils of aureate mana coalesced from Luke's shoulders and lashed out at everything around him. The wind kicked up and blew in everyone's faces. Luke was demonic, blue eyes glowing in intensity.
Annabeth and Leo lifted their mana-enhanced and fire-empowered fore-arms to shield themselves. The demi-goddess swore for the briefest of moments she could see golden wings on Luke's back.
"So Nico managed to piss you off this much, huh?" Percy was casual and walked towards his foe without concern. "Man, you're really mad."
The shadows Nico had used to enhance Percy's physical strength had been dispelled. Annabeth gazed at Percy alongside Leo. She blinked. "He must have a plan in mind, I hope. He's being too nonchalant…"
"I guess I have to use the technique Naruto taught me in the end." Percy clenched his fists, entering a stance. "You ready for this, Luke?"
"Hah!" A demonic golden glow originated from Luke's blue eyes—a sign of the divine essence Kronos had left in his body. "Are you?!"
Naruto had not intended to leave Percy to fight his battles without some type of training. The Kurama-Arm-Strike was a technique where Naruto condensed Kurama's chakra into his fist and unleashed it all at once.
The basic principles of such a technique were simple. Percy summoned an unbelievable amount of water, hardened it, compressed it into one of his fists, and rushed at Luke in a blur of vicious speed.
Luke stretched both of his muscled arms out wide, miniature hurricanes of mana dancing around him. Flapping his translucent wings, Luke imbued his mana into his knuckles and flew forward.
"What the hell is Percy doing?!" Leo yelled, fore-arms raised. "I'm not sure this technique Naruto taught him is gonna work against Luke!"
"Have some faith, Leo!" Annabeth's grin was fascinated. Wind slapped her and Leo in the faces. "I'm confident Percy's going to win this!"
Percy and Luke appeared in front of each other. The child of speed struck his mana-imbued hand forward—but the child of the seas tilted his head out of its range. Percy slammed his fist into Luke's abdomen.
Teeth gritted in unadulterated and endless ferocity, Percy drove his water-empowered knuckles straight into Luke's stomach. Unthinkable amounts of shock-waves were created from this clash of strength.
Annabeth formed a barricade of mana to shield Nico, Leo, and herself. Luke coughed out inconceivable volumes of blood. The ground beneath Percy cracked as he punched Luke backwards. "Take this…"
Luke was propelled into the distance and rolled throughout the area until his body was embedded into a pile of debris. The golden glow to his blue eyes had vanished and his translucent wings had dissolved.
Dragging himself out from the pile of debris, Luke fell to his knees in sheer pain and heard calm foot-steps. Percy stood in front of him, a somewhat impassive and apathetic glint in his emerald-hued eyes.
Annabeth dispelled the barricade. She and Leo rushed to Percy before they stopped. The night-sky brightened itself in intensity. Annabeth blinked, realizing her dagger was no longer in her hand.
Annabeth shook her head at that random observation while Leo opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. Silence filled the cold atmosphere—except for the sound of Luke coughing out more blood.
Clouds within the beautiful night-sky parted. Starlight glistened off of the bronze tip of Riptide from its sheath connected to Percy's waist. Luke looked up when Percy spoke. "I accept what you told me, Luke."
"You and I are cut from the same cloth." Percy's green eyes glowed in apathy. "You and I are different sides of the same coin. I accept that…"
"At first, I denied everything you told me." Luke staggered backwards, still on his knees as Percy talked. "But, in the end, it was true…"
"My duty in this war was to stop you and Kronos." Percy tilted his head at a contemplative angle. "My decisions may not be understood now."
"But, maybe, for the next generation of demi-gods, in the next hundred years, the value of my actions and decisions will be understood by them."
Percy clenched his fists and murmured, voice gentle and apathetic. "I just wanna kill you. Even if you revive yourself or come back, I'll kill you again."
Luke grunted in pain, exhaustion, and annoyance. Percy watched him vomit out another inundation of blood from his mouth in silence. Leo and Annabeth stood immobile, digesting the meaning within Percy's speech.
There were no words exchanged between Luke and Percy. Lowering his head as he spat out blood for the umpteenth time, Luke groaned. Percy flicked Annabeth's knife downwards, ending Luke's life.
"Cursed blade shall reap…"
Though, Percy swore he heard Luke murmur in peace, regret, and acceptance. "I'm sorry for everything…Thank you."
The war was over.
(-)
Naruto had been able to fend off both Hachiman and Izanami for the next hour and had managed to escape the dimension she had dragged him into. However, Izanami's words lingered in his mind.
〘Be careful from now on, Naruto Uzumaki. You will soon be sunken into the deepest pits of misery and despair…〙
"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked his most trusted partner, landing in the middle of a random area. "Kurama?"
A guttural voice grunted from the inside of Naruto's head. "She's trying to intimidate you, brat."
"I guess." Naruto searched the area and rushed towards where he had sensed his friends' presences. "I hope everyone else is alright…"
Reaching the area where Camp Half-Blood had set up their tents, Naruto noticed Percy carrying a distinct corpse in his arms. Sapphire eyes widened in disbelief as Naruto rushed over.
"Is that Charles?!"
"Naruto." Percy managed to give his friend a relieved smile. "I saw you get dragged into that portal, I'm glad you're okay. About Charles…"
Naruto spotted the soft smile of acceptance on Charles' bruised face and sighed, sad beyond belief. "I'm guessing he died happy, huh?"
"Happy enough." Percy struggled to maintain his relieved smile and set down Charles onto the corpse-covered ground. "Luke killed him."
"He did, huh?" Crimson flashed in the blue depths of Naruto's gaze. "Where is he—?"
"I stopped him once and for all." Percy interrupted, tone subdued. "Listen, Naruto, do you have any method to repair the city?"
Their conversation was interrupted by a burst of magic. Lou and her siblings stretched their hands out, exerting all of their mana and repairing all of the damage caused to the city.
Another spell was able to teleport the unconscious mortals back to the places they were in before the entire war had started. Lou nodded at Percy, walking off into one of the tents. Percy chuckled. "Nevermind…"
"I'll talk to you later, Naruto." Percy turned around—but smiled. "Thanks for teaching me that technique, it came in real handy."
"No problem." Naruto shrugged and slid his calloused hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry for your death, Charles. You deserved better…"
Gazing at the individuals in the area, Naruto realized that—despite the death and destruction—everyone held onto their positivity. Naruto activated Sage-Of-Six-Paths-Mode and Kyuubi-Chakra-Mode.
"I guess they have it handled from here on." Naruto ascended into the air, noticing how it had become morning. "I'll give them all some space and come back later."
Giving the city one last glance, Naruto vanished as he returned home.
Silence was all that was in the air.
A/N: Hope all of you enjoyed that chapter. The next one is going to be the last one for this story before I start writing its sequel.
Sorry for everyone that wanted to see what Naruto was up to. The reason why I didn't write it out was because it is going to be relevant later on in this story.
Also, hope you all enjoyed those Jujutsu Kaisen references. Kurama taking over Naruto's body in chapter 18 was inspired by Sukuna vs Jojo. The speech in this chapter was obviously inspired by Yuji Itadori's speech.
The ending of this chapter may feel a little weak for some readers, but everything shall be covered in the last chapter.
Nothing else to say. Leave some reviews, I appreciate them and hope you all enjoy the next chapter.
Thanks for reading.