Ataraxia [BTS au | Heroes of Olympus]

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He almost felt sorry for Clytius. They attacked him every direction – Yoongi shooting fire at his legs, Jimin and Namjoon jabbing at his chest, Jin slashing at his hands, Taehyung flying into the air and kicking him in the face. He was proud to see how well Jimin remembered his sword-fighting lessons.

Each time the giant’s smoky veil started creeping around one of them, Jungkook was there, slashing through it, drinking in the darkness with his Stygian blade. The giant was surrounded.

Clytius snarled, turning back and forth as if he couldn’t decide which of them to kill first. Wait! Hold still! No! Ouch!

The darkness around him dispelled completely, leaving nothing to protect him except his battered armour. Ichor oozed from a dozen wounds. The damage healed almost as fast as it was inflicted, but he could tell the giant was tiring. One last time Taehyung flew at him, kicking him in the chest, and the giant’s breastplate shattered.

Clytius staggered backwards. His sword dropped to the floor. He fell to his knees, and the demigods
encircled him.

Only then did Hecate step forward, her torches raised. Mist curled around the giant, hissing and bubbling as it touched his skin.

"And so it ends," Hecate said.

It does not end. Clytius’s voice echoed from somewhere above, muffled and slurred. My brethren have risen. Gaia waits only for the blood of Olympus. It took all of you together to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?

Hecate turned her torches upside down. She thrust them like daggers at Clytius’s head. The giant’s hair went up faster than dry tinder, spreading down his head and across his body until the heat of the bonfire made him wince. Clytius fell without a sound, face-first into the rubble of Hades’s altar. His body crumbled to ashes.

For a moment, no one spoke. He heard a ragged, painful noise and realized it was his own breathing. His side felt like it had been kicked in with a battering ram. The goddess Hecate faced her. "You should go now, Hosoek, with your friends out of this
place."

He gritted his teeth, trying to hold in his anger. "Just like that? No “thank you”? No “good work”?"

The goddess tilted her head. "You look in the wrong place for gratitude," Hecate said. "As for “good work”, that remains to be seen. Speed your way to Athens. Clytius was not wrong. The giants have risen – all of them, stronger than ever. Gaia is on the very edge of waking. The Feast of Hope will be poorly named unless you arrive to stop her."

The chamber rumbled. Another stela crashed to the floor and shattered.

"The House of Hades is unstable," Hecate said. "Leave now. We shall meet again."

The goddess dissolved. The Mist evaporated.

Then his friends started dissolving too. The nauseous feeling made him close his eyes hard. When he opened them again they all were on top of the hill side facing the river Acheron.

"She’s friendly," Jin grumbled.

Taehyung ran to him. "You’re hurt," he said.

"Ribs probably broken," he admitted. "But, Jungkook – what happened to your chest?"

Jungkook managed a smile. "Long story. We’re alive. That’s what matters." Taehyung helped him eat an ambrosia square.

The sun was just rising, making the
water glitter and the clouds glow orange. The cool morning air smelled of honeysuckle.

They were all alive and mostly whole. The sunlight in the trees was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He wanted to live in that moment – free of monsters and gods and evil spirits.
Then his friends began to stir.

Yoongi staggered backwards. "You know … I think I’ll sit down."

He collapsed. The others joined him. The Argo II still floated over the river a few hundred yards away. Had they been in the temple all night? Or several nights? But at the moment the group was too tired to do anything except sit and relax and marvel at the fact that they were okay.

They began to exchange stories.

Jungkook explained what had happened with the ghostly soldiers and the army of monsters – how each of them had bravely fought.

"Jungkook is being modest," Taehyung said. "He controlled the entire army. You should’ve seen him."

"And Hosoek?" Yoongi said. "You should have seen him. He did magic." That caught everyone's attention.

"Magic? Is that why Hecate was there?" Jimin asked.

"I don't think you can call it magic. It was something with the Mist. Even I had no idea what happened. Hecate helped I think." He said.

"Still dude." Namjoon exclaimed. "This is a big deal."

"Hey, is it bad if I asked that did you close the Doors of death?" Taehyung asked. "I was just so engrossed in kicking the guy that I totally forgot about the Doors." He smiled apologetic.

No one even looked surprised at that, they rolled their eyes. "Yes, Taehyung. Hosoek broke the chains of the elevator." Yoongi said.

"It was an elevator?" Jimin asked and they started telling the story.