I'VE GOT YOUR BACK
"I was running through the forest, without looking back, without any direction to go, without any thought in mind. My lungs were burning because of how fast I was going. I didn't know if I could keep up that pace any longer. My legs were getting heavier with every stride I took, and my wounds hurt like hell. My ears could only hear my breathing and the beating of my heart, which seemed to come out of my mouth.
I couldn't stop. Indeed, I shouldn't. If I did, the man-eater would tear me apart."
…15 minutes earlier…
If someone had told Eri that she was going to have a different day from all the others, she would not believe it, as normally, days were almost the same: work and more work. If someone told her it was going to be hectic, well, she would still admit it and tell you, "Oh yes, in the quarry we have a frenetic schedule."
But if someone told her that today would be so entertaining, they would, more precisely, find the lair of a hungry man-eating creature. To that assumption, she would honestly laugh and tell you, "You have given the wine a good drink," but after all, that is accurately what they have done.
There stood Eri, motionless, next to the boy they had beaten, who was now trembling with fear, for she felt it too. She felt the fear slowly take hold of her, while she saw how the beast was not only destroying the machinery they were using, but also attacking the men it had at its mercy.
What was she supposed to do? She was paralyzed. Her mind was screaming, "Run!" But her body was not reacting. She was in shock. Not many times did she have a monster in front of her. Immediately, the manticore faced where they were and started to approach.
At that moment, he remembered some words that Phil had said to her:
"When you are in danger, remember rule 95: Concentrate! Don't let panic invade you, and above all, rule number 15: a hero is worth what his weapon is worth".
That's when Eri started to react. "A weapon, a weapon," she said to herself mentally.
"Aha! I've got it!" She saw a pickaxe on the ground and grabbed it. She put the little boy behind her while she put herself in a defensive position.
Hades watched the scene from a safe distance. He didn't want to get involved in this mess. "How foolish, defending herself with a pickaxe," thought the flaming god. He was going to witness the possible death of the daughter of his greatest enemy, but for some reason he did not want anything to happen to her. "What are you thinking about? No, of course I want her to die, but not like this; I want to see how the whole family suffers. Especially, my dear nephew Jerkules, when he comes back from war to see that he has nothing left," his twisted mind had another plan that might work.
"Number 48, I mean Asclepius, as soon as I tell you to run, run as fast as you can, okay?" Eri indicated this to the frightened boy.
"But Eri, what about you? It will tear you apart!"
"Don't worry about me and do what I say, okay?" Asclepius nodded, and while Eri saw how the monster was only ten steps away from where they were, he noticed that above the monster, there was a net with stones that they had put aside before the demolition. "That's it!" She just had to cut the rope. No… With the pickaxe, she wouldn't break it the first time, but she could unbalance the pulley with one blow.
When the manticore was positioned in the right place, she rushed to the wheel of the pulley cart, where she had a safety device to stabilize it and prevent it from moving. She hit it with her pickaxe, and immediately, the weight of the net full of stones, fell on top of the manticore.
"Now, Asclepius, run away!" shouted Eri, who was also getting up to escape. The boy fled as fast as he could, although his wounds stung. In the distance, he saw number 32, Patroclus, with a group of men, all of them armed, so he went towards them.
The rocks were of no use to the manticore to get back on its feet. It was now enraged and had its eye on its next victim: a succulent boy.
Asclepius heard the monster's roar and looked back: it was staring at him! The manticore was after him! Nervous, he stumbled and fell face to the ground.
Eri watched in horror as the beast was about to attack Asclepius, didn't think twice, and swung his pickaxe at the man-eater monster, which hit him right in the head.
There was silence in the quarry. "She's crazy!" thought those present when they saw the girl's performance; even Hades and the imps could not believe it. Either she was very brave, something that came from her family, or she was stupid, something that could also be hereditary.
"Pick on someone your size, you monster!" Eri shouted at the huge manticore, which turned around and roared with rage.
Erianthe didn't think twice and ran like crazy. "I'm so stupid! Pick on someone your size. What a thing to say!" she thought as she ran for her life.
She ran and ran and ran into a dense forest. She knew it was following her. Not only that, but she knew if she stopped, it would kill her. She could hear the branches creaking as it stepped on them with its claws, and she could even smell its putrid breath.
Suddenly, she saw how the forest was gradually disappearing, giving way to an embankment and then a cliff. "It can't be!" She thought, terrified, that since she had no escape, she was completely cornered.
She stood at the edge of the cliff, observing the height and considering her chances of survival. Null. She heard the rustling of dry leaves and slowly turned around to find the manticore watching her with its feline eyes. She knew she was at its mercy, just waiting for the right moment to attack.
She was freezing, and she didn't realize that it had started to rain. She thought about how to get out of it, thinking that she was not going to see her family again. Likewise, she looked everywhere, looking for an escape route, but she found nothing. She saw that she had no options, so she decided that if she was going to die, she would die fighting!
She bent down to pick up a branch thick enough to hit the monster, and as she did in the quarry, she got into a defensive position.
The manticore licked its lips. What a foolish mortal! With a stick, she had nothing to do, but it was time to end the game. It rushed at Erianthe to give her a bite, but she protected herself with the stick.
The monster struggled with the girl, who did not let go of the stick that protected her from those powerful jaws, but it was to be expected that such a beast would have much more strength than a mortal. With the stick in its jaws, it shook Eri with such force that she was thrown away, hitting her head with the trunk of a tree.
"AAA!" she cried out in pain. She was on the ground in a daze. She felt a hot liquid sliding down her cheek. Furthermore, she felt weak, numb from the cold of the rain, and tired after running away. Moreover, she was about to faint before being devoured by a manticore.
"Somebody help me…" was the only sound she could articulate.
Hades had just arrived. "Holy mama! She's fast!" he thought, but he immediately saw the macabre scene: Erianthe lying on the ground, bleeding, and a hungry manticore about to eat her.
One would think that this was what the Lord of the Dead was seeking for the daughter of Hercules—a slow and painful death—but no, all revenge is done in due time.
He removed his helmet, revealing his figure in front of those present. The manticore raised one of its sharp claws to kill Eri who was about to faint, but before it could deliver its deadly blow, it was attacked by a fireball, which hit the monster right in the face. A roar of pain was heard, for it had been blinded.
Disoriented, the manticore went backwards without noticing the cliff behind it. Taking advantage of the moment, Hades shot another fireball at it, hitting it in the side. This caused the manticore to lose its balance and fall into the abyss.
Erianthe was on the ground, watching what was happening with stupefaction. Who would attack with fireballs?
Before she lost consciousness, she turned around to see who saved her, for she could only glimpse a dark figure with a blue flame on his head. She could only manage to mumble a faint "thank you".
Finally, another chapter translated! This week, you've got two chapters in English. Those were the shortest; the next chapters will be longer!
I hope you like it! And please don't forget to leave a review.
Thank you for reading.
