Chapter 40: Infiltrating


[3rd Person's Pov]

"Wow. The skylines have changed a lot, huh?"

"Look at all the new stars! There are so many new constellations! This is amazing!"

Lipara and Asterope were mesmerized by the night sky that stretched over their garden. Especially the latter being uncharacteristically enthusiastic with the twinkling lights in the sky, which reflected inside her wide-opened dark blue eyes.

The everlasting sunset was finally over with their captivity, looking at the milky way of stars was another first experience for them.

However, not all of them were in the mood to enjoy the new scenery.

For one, Hygeia was busy caring for the abolished garden. Even though her green eyes would take a glance upward at the sky with mild interest from time to time, most of her attention was spent tidying the ruined garden.

She was aided by Zoë, but her work was half-hearted at best. Her mind wasn't interested in the star-riddled sky, nor was it indulged in restoring the tarnished garden.

While her hands were repeatedly filling up the various holes dug in the garden, Zoë's consciousness wandered over to the small clustered arboretum; where Erytheia had taken David right after he fainted.

Truthfully, she wanted to barge in through the tall grasses and demand to tend to him herself, but she knew that a severed arm was something far beyond her skills to take care of.

Zoë bit her lip as the scene replayed inside her head. She couldn't believe that David was willing enough to sever his arm with his own hand, just to obtain the golden apple.

Not only did it make zero sense from a strategic viewpoint, but Zoë's heart had sunk to the Underworld; weighted down by the fact that the action was taken to free her and her sisters and also because she had handed over the weapon that enabled him to do so.

If she had known the outcome, she would've never handed him the knife. Not even if her life depended on it—it was borderline on the table to begin with, anyway.

Finally, Erytheia emerged from behind the bushes with a stricken expression on her face.

Zoë immediately made her way to her oldest sister, followed by the rest of the Hesperides. All of them were full to the brim with questions, but they all had a mutual agreement not to disturb Zoë.

"How is he?" Zoë demanded.

"He's…alive," Erytheia answered. Her fingers twiddled the edge of her braided hair.

Zoë waited patiently for a long 2 seconds before pushing further.

"And? What about his arm?"

"What about his arm? I can't reattach a detached limb, Zoë."

The Huntress resisted the urge to smack her sister across the face. Why on Gaia's name did she insist on being alone to heal him if she wasn't going to fix the direst issue? If bandaging a wound was all, she could've done it with no problem.

That wasn't even the primary problem either.

"So, you mean he has to live with one arm for the rest of his life?"

Zoë could barely contain her trembling voice. David would forever be a single-handed man, all because none of the other vast arrays of heroes couldn't surpass their sense of profit—that was the true challenge of the golden apple.

Who in their right mind would voluntarily take a loss as big as an arm only to set free 5 nymphs? Especially when they were a captive of the Queen of Olympus herself for that matter?

Now, Zoë knew the answer. And she hated that she did.

However, Erytheia slowly shook her head.

"Not necessarily, no."

Zoë's eyes lit up.

"Pardon?"

Erytheia, however, didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea.

"There is a way to regrow his arm, albeit very dangerous. But that'll have to wait until he gets up. In the meantime, what are you going to do now, Zoë?"

"I…"

Zoë swallowed the question of what on earth Erytheia was talking about. David's action was such a shock that she had completely forgotten about the reason they had ventured into the

The winter solstice was only a brink away. And Artemis had to be free before the Olympian council started, or who knows what the Titan army would achieve during the extra leeway they'd have received.

As much as it was painful to admit, Zoë knew what the correct decision was.

"I must go. How much time has passed since you cast away Reyna?"

Asterope looked up at the dark moon and quickly calculated inside her head. Thankfully, the cycle of the moon hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen it.

"About 3 quarters of an hour? Time doesn't flow naturally in the garden. It would take some time for it to catch up with the world outside."

Zoë clenched her jaw tightly. She didn't doubt for a second that Reyna was both a strong and smart demigod, but being stranded alone in the center of the enemy territory for 45 minutes was not a joke.

Still, she couldn't outright leave immediately. She couldn't make herself do that after everything that idiotic boy did.

So against her better judgment, Zoë stepped into the literal greenhouse. She pushed through a cluster of large Eucalyptus leaves to find David, lying in the middle of the small sanctuary Erytheia must've made.

A faint, yet steady breathing indicated that he was clinging to this world. However, his greyish skin, sweating forehead, and blood-soaked right shoulder didn't give off any positive signs of recovery.

Zoë knelt next to the hero, and carefully stroked her hand over his cheek. It was smeared with sweat, blood, and mud, but that hardly disgusted her.

"David…"

For a long segment, Zoë paused.

Something was lumped in the middle of her throat. Something she wanted to say dearly—to him, and only him, because Hercules never expressed himself further than the 'perfect hero' he aimed to be.

She knew what she wanted to say to him.

But she couldn't say it.

Not now, not when David was on his near-deathbed, while she marched straight into a one-way road to doom.

So, she decided to give up.

"I thank thee for thy sacrifice."

After that, Zoë stood up and left the sanctuary.

She did her best to ignore the sour taste in her mouth.

All four of her sisters; two older, two younger had gathered in one line for a proper sendoff. None of them could muster up a smile; not even Hygeia and Lipara, who were the most optimistic duo of them all.

They all knew who Zoë was going up against. The one man they all shared a mutual hatred of, the feeling only rivaled by their bilateral fear towards him.

As much as a difficult mistress Hera was, their father was the sole reason why they were tethered to this garden. The reason why, even though they were now free, didn't dare to move the garden to somewhere else.

"I hope you are aware of what you're going up against."

"I am, sister. We'll see each other again."

"I hope," Erytheia muttered.

"Be careful," Asterope whispered.

"Please, take care," Hygeia said.

"Go get him!" Lipara gave the air a nice punch.

Zoë only managed to nod in answer.

She didn't trust herself enough that she wouldn't start to tear up if she tried to give them a proper goodbye. Instead, she managed to pull through enough to ask their sisters for one last request.

The Hesperides opened their eyes wide in shock, but Zoë quickly turned around.

Because Zoë still remembered the prophecy given to her back at came, which now felt a full-on year ago.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chain,

Initially, five people started on a quest to save Lady Artemis.

One shall be lost in the land without rain.

It would always be arduous to recall, but Luna was lost in the lost kingdom of Thebe; where Queen Niobe stated that it hadn't rained for years.

Campers and Hunters combined will prevail,

Campers and Hunters did combine; she could only hope they would prevail

A stringless hero embark his travail.

This line was yet ambiguous to her. What does a 'stringless hero' even mean? She had no clue.

But what mattered most, was the last two lines:

The Titan's curse must be held alone,

For the children of sunset to be forgone.

The Titan's curse.

Zoë was certain that the phrase meant The Sky Atlas was cursed to hold up for eternity.

And the children of sunset must be pointing to the Hesperides—henceforth, The Sky must be held alone for her sisters to be truly free, and for their quest to succeed.

As the lieutenant stepped out of the garden, she wondered if she'd ever see it again.

Or if her sisters would stick by her when she gets inadvertently stuck forever.

[Line Break]

When Reyna signed up to save the illustrious goddess of the moon, she didn't expect she'd have to infiltrate through a military base all on her own.

Right after one of the Hesperides waved her hand, Reyna found herself standing on a slanting pathway of a mountain. The mist/Mist was less thick compared to the entrance of the garden.

On top of Mt. Tam, there stood a cumulative set of ruins. Blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.

"That can't be good." The praetor muttered under her breath.

It was an obvious statement, but she cut herself some slack.

Reyna sat behind a random boulder conveniently big enough to shield her from any searching eyes and contemplated her next move.

On one hand, she could wait for the other two to catch up. The ominous atmosphere of the ruins at the top was enough to tell what danger she was facing. And as skilled as she was, Reyna was honestly doubtful that she could carry out the mission on her own.

On the other spectrum, of course, she had no idea what she was up against. She heard enough from the son of Mars to get a grasp on a grand scale, but the mountain in between the top and the garden was something no one had any idea about.

No matter the circumstance, it was crucial to get information on whoever you were going up against. If they went in blindly, the near-impossibility of the quest in hand would become a certain failure.

After working through the vigorous arguments inside her head, Reyna made up her mind; she'd scout out as far as she could manage, then return, hopefully, regroup in mid-way and tell them what she saw.

The roman demigod put her aureus under her tongue. The golden coin was made small enough to fit; there was a reason why New Rome decided a standard weapon was made to be disguised as a coin.

Reyna started to make her way up the mountain.

At first, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

Sure, the road was unpaved, so she had to push aside or crouch under a low-hanging branch or so, but she was glad that there weren't any monsters waiting to ambush a stray demigod.

Soon, however, she heard faint sounds which thumped against the ground. Reyna had enough training to recognize the repeating noise as footsteps made by troops walking in order.

She decided to take the risk.

Reyna crouched down low as she could possibly go without limiting her mobility, and swiftly moved behind a set of broken pillars for a hideout.

What she saw wasn't reassuring in any way.

There was a stranding pathway leading from down the hilltop. A ravine, if you will; and that entire ravine was filled with hordes of monsters.

Dozens of snake ladies hissed as they slithered up the mountain. Hellhounds sniffed the ground, growling and yapping at each other—Reyna prayed to every Roman god she could name so that none of them would pick up her scent.

Thankfully, they all passed by; followed up by a Quartet of Laistrygonian giants. They were wearing full battle armor and armed with a huge spiked club and pushing a cage full of flaming bronze dodge balls for whatever reason.

Much to Reyna's surprise, one of the giants started talking.

"How long do we have to travel?" The giant grunted. "We've been doing nothing but travel for the last year or so!"

Something flapped over the head of the grumbling giant with a disapproving snarl.

The monster landed on the giant's shoulder, giving Reyna a better view of it.

"Princess Andromeda was set to sail this spring, you dolt! Enough with the complainants!"

It was part humanoid females, part bats. It had a furry face scrunched up from irritation with fangs bared, and two bulging blood-red eyes pulsing like a set of miniature hearts.

'Letums.'

Reyna remembered the horrid descriptions of them.

Also known as Keres in greek, they were sprites representing painful death. As so, their victims tend to be in nastier shape than your usual monster attack.

The fact that not one of them—but many more fluttered overhead, made the Praetor reconsider going further inside.

The line of armies wasn't ending any soon. After the Laystragonians, several lizard men towed along an Aethiopian darkon.

After that, a legion of foot soldiers, most likely demigods, in full battle armor march along with some empousas keeping company.

It was a lot to take in; even for the brave Praetor of Rome. After the long line of the army went by, Reyna slumped against the broken pillar.

Her forehead was beaded with sweat. Her heart pounding as if she had just run a marathon. She couldn't stop herself from shaking.

It wasn't her bravest moment, nor her proudest.

As a Praetor, she was supposed to be courageous, responsible, and anchored at all times. Not shake in fear by witnessing the strength of the enemy faction.

Then a distant memory came to her, from when she was in her sister's arms, captured in a prison cell inside the Blackbeard's ship.

Bravery comes from fear, sister. We both need to embrace our fears to make it out of here.

Well, she certainly didn't 'embrace her fears' when she decided to go into separate ways as soon as they were free.

Reyna quickly shook away the bitter thought.

Pesky monologues can wait for later; she had to take action now. Regardless of her current feelings toward Hylla, it was a solid piece of advice.

Reyna peered over the pathway the advancing army made.

Taking it would be less hazardous than trying to scale up the other side of the mountain; a near 90 drop where a single misstep would mean certain death.

'I just don't have to be caught.'

She silently prayed to her mother for safety before treading after them.

[Line break]

Reyna made it to the boot camp without getting caught.

She had no idea if her mother really had been watching over her, or if she just had been lucky, but she was exceptionally glad of the outcome.

However, the real trials were only beginning.

Up to the boot camp, all Reyna had to be aware of was a back scout that would check for any followers or sluggers who'd slouch behind in the march.

There weren't that many of both occasions; the scouts didn't seem to be too concerned with being followed, and Letums kept everyone on the edge of their toes despite the constant outbursts of complaints.

As a bonus, the outpouring of gripes provided Reyna with some juicy intel.

From what she could gather, the pack of monsters was part of the grand [Titan army], serving under their lord Kronos, and usually traveled across the sea on the ship named [Princess Andromeda].

However, there seemed to be some other factions mixed in.

More brutal monsters showed more loyalty to the individual called '[General]', and they constantly brewed up conflicts with the ones that served Kronos.

Other, more ancient kinds (more than half of which Reyna couldn't even name) kept grumbling about that the '[Great Mother]' promised them more carnage.

And some of the more feminine monsters, such as empousas or more witch-variant dracaenae, blissfully praised their '[Employer]' while the others scoffed in exasperation.

Most of the tidbits were lost to her due to the lack of context, but she at least figured they were all gathered to be a guarding force for a certain ritual to take place without interruption.

What the ritual was, the majority of the monsters had no idea, so neither did Reyna.

But whatever it was, it was set to be something drastically dangerous, which was enough reason to stop it.

The problem was that the boot camp was stretched across the entire area around the ruins at the top.

There was literally no other way to go to the top without getting across the camp. And unlike the pathway they took, the monsters guarded the camp thoroughly.

Reyna paced around the outskirts of the prying eyes of the guards, circling the boot camp for any openings, but no such luck.

She was rightfully considering if she should just stop here or not when a small commotion arose at the front.

"No exit without permission." One of the demigods standing guard grunted.

Reyna saw the same orange T-shirt David wore underneath the guard's armor.

The girl halted and frowned deeply.

"I don't need others' permission to do anything."

"Yes, you do, miss—oh wait. You're..."

"The namesake of the tree back at camp. I know."

She pushed past the guard. Small electrical sparks flared up from her arm, making the guard yelp and fall back.

Something about the girl drew Reyna's attention. Her blue eyes, in particular, reminded her of Jason back at Camp Jupiter; almost as if they were a relative.

But then again, none of the other features matched each other.

The girl in question had short spiky black hair unlike Jason's neatly trimmed blonde.

And while Jason reminisced a sense of calm yet stern aura, this girl was more like a bottled-up storm; poised to burst out at any given moment.

Too late, Reyna realized that the girl was striding toward her. Ironically enough, she had been too occupied with the girl's appearance to notice what she was doing.

It was too late to make a run for it. Reyna clipped the coin between her teeth, ready to flip it as soon as the girl stepped in range for a fatal stab.

However, the girl raised both of her arms right before she did. A clear sign of coming in peace.

Reyna didn't buy it, but she refrained from drawing her weapon just yet. Even if this turned out to be a trap, she might be able to disguise the kill if they both roll back into the woods deep enough.

The praetor let the punk girl come closer into the woods, out of the sight of the guards.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The punk girl asked, much less viciously than Reyna was bracing for.

She slipped the gold coin from her mouth to her fist before retorting:

"I'd like to ask the very same questions to you."

The girl frowned again. Her eyes seemed to light a bit more under the dark shadows of the trees.

Without any discussion, they started to walk deeper into the woods; away from everyone.

"I don't like getting questions as an answer.

You do realize, you're the one most likely to get killed off, right?"

"It won't be easy without the myriads of armies behind your back."

The girl stopped in her tracks.

Reyna tensed. The 'daughter of Bellona' part of her noted the girl's obvious stress at being challenged about her strength.

For a moment, the pressure at the moment looked to be growing excessively; both girls were aware that the other was an inch away from pulling out their weapons.

But right as it was about to break out, the punk girl sighed deeply and relaxed her shoulders.

"I'm Thalia. I suppose you're one of the newer recruits in Camp Half-Blood?"

"What?" Reyna asked, confused.

In turn, her confusion baffled Thalia as well, drawing yet another frown over her forehead.

"You mean to say, you came here by complete accident? I've heard the camp border failing once to let in some pizza delivery guy, but..."

Thalia's voice trailed into silence. Because Reyna's expression abruptly changed from confusion to horror like a stop light.

"You're from the other camp. The Greek one."

The praetor glanced up at the sky again. She was fully expecting a huddle of black thunderclouds ready to strike her down at any moment, but the sky was clearer than ever.

That, however, was much less surprising compared to what Thalia muttered spitefully.

"I've never been to camp. I only ever protected it while I was a tree."

Reyna blinked.

"You were a tree?"

She felt like an idiot, repeating phrases like that; but it was such a bizarre case. A human turning into a tree was one thing—turning back into a human from a tree was a whole other story.

Thalia grimaced.

"It's not a good experience."

"I see."

Reyna said dryly as possible, but her mind was recalling the time when she was nailed into a box and hugged over the deck as a punishment in the pirate ship.

She wondered if being stuck as a tree was somewhat of a similar experience.

Funnily enough, if anyone were to ask to describe the experience, Reyna could easily imagine her answering exactly the same as Thalia just did.

Despite her better judgment, Reyna found herself asking further.

"How long have you been a tree?"

"About 7 years."

The praetor had to try very hard to hide her shock, however, Thalia seemed to have seen through it anyway.

She gave a mixed grin and kicked a small pebble into the dept of the woods. Blue sparks crackled in the darkness.

"Yeah, sometimes I wish I...didn't become a tree. Be a bit more normal."

"I can relate to that."

Reyna rubbed the eagle medal. The very symbol of her praetor-ship.

As much as she cherished and honored the position given to her, she would be lying if she hadn't wondered...what if she wasn't?

What if she had been normal? Would she still have met Jason? Would they never know each other, or become close either way?

...If she was normal, would Venus still have appeared in front of her, dooming her forsaken love life forever?

Without meaning to, the two demigods had walked a full circle around the base.

Thalia was the first to put out her hand.

"Well, it was a nice little chat. Your name is..."

"Reyna."

Reyna grasped the hand. She was less than surprised to find them rougher than anyone else she'd met prior.

Thalia was thinking the same thing, an impressed eyebrow rising as she looked at the Latino with a bit more respect.

"Last name?"

"You didn't tell me yours." Reyna pointed out.

Thalia let out a burst of laughter and they shook their hands."

But good moments aren't meant to last forever.

"...I'd suppose you aren't here to join the Titan army, are you?"

Thalia asked. Her smile dissolved like a pinch of sugar thrown in a lake.

"No," Reyna admitted.

A similar tension started to build up again. They both let go of each other's hand and awkwardly shuffled back a few steps.

"Counter-wise, I don't understand why you are with them."

"I'm not with them. We're just in a temporary alliance. Because we have the same...enemy."

"The gods?" Reyna guessed.

Thalia neither confirmed nor denied the speculation, but that was more than enough answer for the praetor.

"Is this because you've been turned into a tree?"

"Part of it, yes."

"Quite excessive, if you ask me."

"It's not that simple!" Thalia snapped but then sighed.

"I—I don't, know. There is..."

She closed her electric blue eyes and took a deep breath, leaning against a pine tree.

"There is a guy I like. And a girl I'd happily take care of until I die.

All I want is for the three of us to be together. And, make sure nobody else interferes between us any further.

No gods, No Titans. No anything."

"..."

Thalia crunched a pinecone in her hands with a small thunderclap. The flaming sparkles scattered on the ground and died out.

Reyna couldn't speak. It was such a deranged idea to comprehend. Even Thalia seemed uncertain about the concept as she spoke about it.

"It is possible. Once the...ritual is done, I can make it happen. I'm the only one who can."

"Thalia—"

The daughter of Zeus whipped around.

"You're a good person, Reyna. I wish we'd met some other time. But I implore you to go down the mountain.

If the Titan army is what concerns you, I promise; there won't be anything left of them soon enough."

Thalia marched out of the woods. Several armed men rushed over to her.

From the few words that could've been heard, Reyna could easily deduce that they were just about to send scouts out in search of her.

"I've been out for a walk. There's no reason for any alarm."

"One of the guards said there was a girl in the woods. We'll have to search regardless."

"I was just in the woods. Don't you think I would've seen whoever that might be in there? Which they aren't?"

"But—"

"Are you questioning my authorities, Chris Rodriguez?"

The guard flinched as a small bolt of electricity sparked in between her finger and his armor.

"...no, ma'am."

Chris signaled to his troops to move back inside. Thalia followed them with a convincing defiant huff.

Reyna was left alone again, stuck in the outskirts of the boot camp.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Thalia was taking covers for her. But she couldn't just turn a blind eye to the situation.

It was now something much more than just a tag-along journey.

Reyna put the coin under her tongue once more. There has to be a way to infiltrate the camp. She just had to be smart enough to figure it out.

After another scout around the perimeter, Reyna figured the easiest way to sneakily foist her way in was through the side facing the cliff.

Since the area was guarded by natural terrain, only 4 dracaenas were half-heartedly slithering around.

Reyna peered down the narrow pathway over to the opening.

It was barely forearm's length wide, and the stability was nothing to make note of either. This 'road' was clearly not made for a human to use.

Climbing over the cliff would drain more energy than it was worth, but it was still a much safer option.

Reyna took a deep breath, and reach out for the nearest rock.

[Line Break]

In total, Reyna brushed past death a total of 12 times, which was a bit more than it was healthy in her opinion.

For such a steep cliff, the jagged rocks she used as foot/hand holders were very unreliable. It was always luck of the draw if the next piece won't break or not.

In the end, Reyna managed to reach the relatively safer top. She crawled behind a nearby bush before sprawling on the ground, exhausted beyond belief.

The praetor silently swore on her mother's name, she'd definitely get some sort of climbing activity involved in the various training routines Camp Jupiter had.

A Castle wall scaling would be nice; perhaps they can add the water cannons as an extra challenge.

'That's if I make it through alive...'

Reyna pried through the small leaves. 4 dracaenas were just coming around from a corner.

"Thisss isss pointlessss." One of the dracaena hissed, her forked tongue flickering between her sharp teeth. "Who would climb thisss way?"

"Don't Sssay that. The Keresss hasss sssharp earsss." The one next to her pointed out.

Though, judging from how they dragged their trident over the dirt, Reyna figured none of them were really thrilled at their jobs.

"I wisssh I had magical talentsss. The [Employer] sssounds like a reputable leader."

"You don't have to be talented to join hisss ssside. You jussst have to find hisss wearaboutsss."

"Really?"

Reyna wondered if she attacked them now, she could dispatch them before an alarm could be raised.

But even though the dracaenas were well-distracted talking amongst themselves, Reyna wasn't in her full capacity either. And it was unlikely she'd manage to get another chance like this half an hour later.

It was do or die. Reyna flicked the coin, and it landed in her hand as a golden gladius.

Unfortunately, one of the dracaena spotted the golden glitter through the bushes from the corner of her eyes.

"Wait! I sssaw sssomething, right there!" She shrieked, more excited than angry.

The other dracaenas all whipped their long greenish hairs around frantically, sharing the enthusiasm to the bones.

"An intruder?"

"Where?"

"I don't sssee anything!"

"Behind the busssh! Sssomeone wasss dumb enough to try and climb up!"

Reyna internally cursed her luck with such furiosity that would make Blackbeard proud.

She gripped the handle of her sword. She did not dare look over the bush. Instead, she pricked up her ears to guess how close were the snake ladies.

Right when she was about to sprint out, however, someone swiftly leaped over the edge of the cliff.

Reyna barely managed to witness something silverish leap over her head into the clear view of the dracaenas.

"What isss thisss!?"

"It'sss a Hunter of Artemisss!"

And that was as much as the four dracaenas managed to say.

A single bowstring sent 4 arrows—one for each of their necks—and pieced right through the middle with apt precision.

They all burst into golden dust without as much as a shriek. Their armor and weaponry clattered to the ground, and Reyna remembered to breathe before taking a look at the sudden intruder.

"Thou looks worn out," Zoë said in a stoic voice.

"Would thee indulge in some honey water?"

The honey water was much more relaxing than it sounded. Aided with some massages, Reyna was back to her full condition in less than 10 minutes.

During that time, Reyna told Zoë everything she had learned.

"That was an admirable shot, by the way." Reyna complimented. Zoë, however, only shortly nodded once before standing up.

"The deadline is under an hour. We don't have time to waste."

Reyna stood up too.

The entrance was now unguarded, but it was roughly a 7-mile run across. Not to mention it would be packed with monsters of all sorts.

"We can't just barge through the camp. Unless we used the bike—"

"No."

Zoë shot Reyna a disapproving glare before clearing her throat.

"Anyway, David is...not well. He is heavily injured and therefore, won't make it here."

Reyna didn't say anything.

It may be a hallucination (Reyna had to deal with them from time to time), but the way Zoë phrased it sounded like she was convincing herself more than anyone else.

Either way, they both decided stealth would be ideal.

The inside of the camp was as horrible as Reyna expected a camp full of monsters to be.

Bickering and squabbles were all over the place, giants loudly arguing with their booming voices, often developing into a fist fight within seconds.

The spectators didn't bother to break the fight apart. Rather, they took bets on who'd be the winner and cheered every time blood dropped.

"Disgusting," Zoë commented, an apparent wrinkle over her nose.

Reyna wholeheartedly agreed, but it was helpful nonetheless.

"At least it is easy to go about. Let's move."

They snuck behind a row of shabby tents as dozens of Keres came flapping by with their bat wings, screeching order.

Soon, the ruckus of the monster squabbles was behind them. The tents were smaller, and the overall atmosphere was...gloomier than prior.

The inhabitants of this area were mostly demigods, mixed in with more humanoid monsters such as empousas or dracaenas.

A cluster of people was drinking in an outdoor pub, while others lumbered about, busy with their own business.

Zoë scowled at the sight of one empousa seductively luring a random 20-ish man into a tent.

Reyna had to pull the hunter behind a set of wooden barrels filled as she went for her bow and arrow.

Someone was staggering out of a tent.

It was a girl looking no older than 10, holding a mountain of dirty laundries that was as tall as she was.

She stumbled a few steps forward, only to get his feet caught by a stray rock.

"Ow!"

Some of the demigods spared a glance, only to avert their eyes without interest. Others snickered and glanced at the commotion, which pushed the girl into a frantic cover-up of the mess.

Before she was even close to the finish, someone walked over to the site.

"What's the hiccup here?"

The girl let out a single hiccup and coward under the shadow of the man. Zoë's hand carefully crept over to her bow once more.

"How old are you?"

"I, I, I'm 12, sir."

The man frowned.

"I don't remember any 12-year-olds in charge of daunting chores. Alphric!"

One of the guys drinking at the pub turned around. His face was blood-shot red.

"Isn't it your week for laundry choirs?"

Alphric laughed and held up his jug.

"Sure is, Mr. housewife! But Mary there volunteered she'd do it for me, didn't you?"

The man looked down at Mary, who quickly shuffled behind him to hide from Alphric's glaring bloodshot eyes.

"I-I did. Sir. Really." She muttered.

The man didn't take longer than 3 seconds to make up his mind.

"I call Minotaur shite. Alphric, move your own stubby legs and do your damn job."

The drunken smile wiped off from the reddened face. Alphric staggered up to his feet, his jug sloshing with alcohol, and cross-walked his way right into the man's face.

"And why should I listen to you, Chris Rodriguez?"

Alphric belched loudly in Chris's face.

"Just because you got a higher rank thanks to your half-brother—"

Before that sentence could ever be finished, Alphric's pants suddenly undid themselves. The drunken man yelped and crouched down, lower than Mary in a vain attempt to cover up himself.

"That's why, schmuck."

He shoved the belt in his face and booted the hobbling man into the pile of laundries on the ground.

A burst of laughter rang across the camp. Even Mary managed a small giggle until she was called.

"And you. Mary, was it?"

"Y-yes?"

"An army is no place for a child. If you can't stand up for yourself, leave while you can. We'll do better with someone with a proper spine."

"I-I'll keep it in mind, sir."

Chris waved his hand dismissively. Mary thanked him before sprinting into one of the tents, and Chris made sure everything else was fine before walking away.

"He's decent," Reyna stated.

Zoë huffed. "He's an enemy."

"He is, but he is decent."

Zoë didn't argue any further.

Reyna felt the grudging agreement concluded in her mind, but the hunter only hastened their pace to the ruins.

They were right at the entryway of the ruins when the last roadblock appeared.

"What do you mean Luke is unavailable?"

An empusa clopped her bronze feet in frustration. The dracaena standing guard flicked her tongue and gripped her trident more tightly.

"Massster Luke hasss been sssummoned by the general. The ritual is clossse, you sssee."

"Well, I have important information to tell him. Just let me through—"

"What's the commotion? I can hear someone yapping like a degenerate poodle."

Empousa Kelli stepped out from the ruins.

Her eyes immediately landed on her kin, fluttering merely two feet above the ground with her tattered wings.

"Oh, it's you. Hello, Serephone."

"Kelli. I've just gotten word; the Ophiotaurus is ready, and—"

Kelli cut off her via a long, exaggerated groan.

"We already know, you dense gardening tool."

Serephone tilted her head, confused.

"Gardening tool?"

Kelli rolled her red eyes.

"I meant a hoe, you hoe."

"Hey!"

With a wave of her hand, Kelli silenced Serephone's protests and sighed.

"Don't you think the very first person that would've been contacted is Luke? This is why you'll never be a leader, Serephone. You have nothing up here."

She tapped the side of her head to prove her point.

"And your bimbo friend takes too long. If it were me, it would've taken less than a day to do it."

Suddenly, Serephone's hair burst into flames. Zoë heard a faint shatter of the silence spell breaking into pieces as Serephone snarled in fury.

"Don't call my friend a bimbo! Just because she has a crush on Luk—"

Kelli's eyes flashed red once more, and a firey explosion happened right in the face of Serephone sending her flying back several steps onto the cold, hard stone floor.

Kelli snorted as Serephone groaned and winced in pain, then turned to the dracaena guards.

"If she tries to come in again, you have my permission to kill her. Do I make myself clear?"

"But..."

Kellie extended her claw-like nails in the face of the leader dracaena. The dracaena nervously slipped her tongue behind her fangs and bowed.

"Yesss, madam empousssa."

"Madam empousa. I like that."

With that, Kelli went back inside without a single back-way glance.

Serephone fluttered up to her feet with the tattered wings and glanced before fluttering away. The smallest sprinkles of liquid trailed behind her face.

For the longest time, neither Zoë nor Reyna didn't speak.

Reyna was surprised and uncomfortably disturbed by the idea that an empusa could show that much level of genuine affection to someone.

Meanwhile, Zoë couldn't help but wonder what would have David done if he was here. There was no doubt that he'd feel sorry for the lesser pompous.

"...we should find a way to make it inside."

Zoë muttered. Reyna pulled herself out of her inner thoughts as well.

They really couldn't afford to scout around like the

"Probably because the General thinks it is unnecessary," Zoë grumbled.

Reyna wanted to ask how did she know anything about the General, but Zoë laid out the plans.

It was similar to the last time; she'd take out the guards with her arrows, but the leader dracaena had enough thick scales to survive an arrow wound. They'd have to take care of her in close combat.

"As long as we go in, we won't be pursued."

"Why not?"

"Because the General would be much more intimidating to them than anything else."

It sounded like they were jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Something Reyna wasn't thrilled to do after that one incident with a cyclops in Brooklyn.

Either way, they had to wait for the guards to come around once more.

Zoë glanced up at the clear sky. The full moon; the symbol of Artemis was hung up high in the night sky.

Quite Ironic, considering where the goddess was currently at.

It would probably be the last time she'd ever see it properly ever again, so she decided to have a good look at it.

"Are you alright?"

Reyna noticed the gleam in the hunter's eyes. It was the one her sister had right after she wrestled with Nereus. After that, she said goodbye to her forever.

Zoë turned around to see Reyna eyeing her wearily.

"I am." she lied.

The dracaenas came around. Zoë quietly notched her bow. Reyna had to focus her attention on them as well. But even as she gripped her spear, she couldn't rub off the foreboding feeling in her gut.

She can't stop whatever Zoë was about to do. The huntress was too...alienating for her to get through.

Whatever state was David in, Reyna hoped he'd manage to return.

"Get ready."

As a squad of guards came by, Zoë sent a volley of arrows to fly.

Regular dracaenas burst into a pile of golden dust, while the chief dracaena yelped as an arrow landed on her neck.

Before she could regain her posture, they jumped out with their weapons ready.

Reyna swiped her spear in a wide arc and knocked the trident aside.

The chief dracaena snarled and slashed outward with her claws, but Zoë dove under them and brought the hunting knives straight into her midriff.

Chief dracaena shrieked with pain. However, she didn't disintegrate as Zoë had hoped. She was forced to retreat to avoid getting torn into bits.

The commotion started to get noticed by the surrounding monsters. Fortunately, none of the monsters had dared to keep close to the ruins, nor were they particularly eager to.

The chief dracaena yanked out the arrow from her neck. Dark red blood oozed down from the wound.

"What are you foolsss doing?!" She hissed, regardless of her injury. "Get them, or face the General'sss wrath!"

That was enough threat to push the monsters into action.

Hellhounds, giants, and other various monsters roared in their respective vocal cords and charged forward.

"Oh, great."

Reyna raised her spear, preparing for the incoming crowd. Zoë, on the hand, had a different idea.

"Reyna, we have to go inside!"

She ducked under an exceptional jab from a trident. The chief dracaena snarled and flicked her tail, swinging it like a hefty club.

Zoë had to flatten herself to the ground as Reyna came for assistance.

Her golden spear stabbed forward, but the dracaena deflected the attack with the tip of her weapon.

"Not too easssy, isss it?" She hissed and returned with a thrust.

Reyna blocked the edges with the shaft. She was less than thrilled to discover that dracaenas had surprisingly good forearm strength.

The chief pushed back hard, forcing Reyna to take several back steps and cackled in glee.

"For too long, demigodsss have treated usss nothing more than foddersss."

Her tail lashed upward and wrapped around Zoë's neck, right when she was about to jump her from behind.

"And the huntersss considered usss nothing more than a common exercissse.

It would be more than enjoyable to take sssome form of victory myssself."

Zoë gasped for air as the muscular tail tightened. The chief dracaena pressed one of her

"Any lasst wordsss, Zoë Nightssshade?"

"Your kind always had a short vision."

The chief dracaena frowned. Then, her face exploded; a gleaming golden spearhead extended out of it.

Reyna pulled back her spear. The rest of the reptilian/humanoid body fell, disintegrating into dust before

They didn't have time to exchange thanks. Zoë grabbed the praetor and practically thrust her into the ruins before diving in herself.

The stampede of monsters skidded to a halt.

They gathered behind the invisible line drawn around the periphery of the ruins, all of them growling and snarling at the panting prey; so close, yet so far away.

Chris Rodriguez pushed past through the crowd and cleared his throat.

"You won't survive inside! If you come out and surrender, we'll settle for two prisoners."

Zoë raised her eyebrow at Reyna and mouthed "Nice guy?". The roman demigod made a grunt of resentment and got up to her feet.

"Let's go." As if she'd submit in fear of death of all things.

Zoë brushed herself off the ground, fired an arrow half a foot in front of Chris (mostly just because she could), and swiftly turned around to face the daunting hallways she grew up in.

"Home sweet home." She muttered.

The two heroines walked into the ruins, quickly to be swallowed by the darkness within.

Monsters that surrounded the area grumbled and started separating again.

"Stand your ground," Chris ordered. But none of them were thrilled by the idea.

"I'm sure the General would take care of them."

"If you want to be a good dog, then you stay here Rodriguez."

Chris tried to retort, but the batch of armies that gathered was gone in minutes.

Left alone, Chirs glanced at the ruin with unease and quickly turned away from it as well.

Compared to that place, the Labyrinth didn't feel too bad.


The problem with writing longer chapters is that I get exhausted when I'm finished and just can't afford to make more subtle fixes.

But then again, I do like to continue the story without 'To be continued...' waiting around every corner.

Writing really makes you appreciate how important 'pacing' is, and how hard it is to maintain it.

As a bulk chapter, this has many kinds of content inside; some legwork for the foreseeable future, some cameos, and some action scenes which I'm still trying to figure out.

Spears and bows have such a limited use compared to swords. There is a reason why the majority of the protagonist has a sword instead of any other weapon.

Well, that's enough from my rants.

Same drill as ever; comment on about your thoughts on the chapter. Was it good? Was it bad? Are there anything you'd like to see?

I'm not promising anything, but something creative can come from everyone; don't be afraid to share them!(so I can take the idea and use it as my own, MWAHAHAHA—)

Seriously, though. Don't keep your imagination in your head, because that's the most useless way you can use them.

I hope you had a fun time reading, I'll see you all in the next chapter.

Ta ta~