46

15 3 0
                                    

For the next three minutes, life was great. So much happened at once that only an ADHD demigod could have kept track.

Taehyung fell on King Porphyrion with such force that the giant crumpled to his knees – blasted with lightning and stabbed in the neck with a golden gladius.

Hosoek unleashed a hail of arrows, driving back the giants nearest to Jimin.

The Argo II rose above the ruins and all the ballistae and catapults fired simultaneously. Yoongi must have programmed the weapons with surgical precision. A wall of Greek fire roared upward all around the Parthenon. It didn’t touch the interior, but in a flash most of the smaller monsters around it were incinerated.
Yoongi's voice boomed over the loudspeaker: "SURRENDER! YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY ONE SPANKING HOT WAR MACHINE!"

The giant Enceladus howled in outrage. ‘GAH!’ The giant pulled his knife out of his head. "Monsters: destroy that ship!"

The remaining forces tried their best. A flock of gryphons rose to attack. Festus the figurehead blew flames and chargrilled them out of the sky. A few Earthborn launched a volley of rocks, but from the sides of the hull a dozen celestial bronze spheres sprayed out, intercepting the boulders and blasting them to dust.

Jungkook leaped into battle, zipping from giant to giant, stinging them with the blade of his Stygian Iron sword, an army of undead rising from the ground on his command, joining the fight.

With extremely bad timing, Kekrops and his snake people chose that moment to join the fight. In four or five places around the ruins, the ground turned to green goo and armed gemini burst forth, Kekrops himself in the lead.

"Kill the demigods!" he hissed. "Kill the tricksters!"

Before many of his warriors could follow, Jungkook pointed his blade at the nearest tunnel. The ground rumbled. All the gooey membranes popped and the tunnels collapsed, billowing plumes of dust. Kekrops looked around at his army, now reduced to six guys.

"SLITHER AWAY!" he ordered.
Hosoek's arrows cut them down as they tried to retreat.

The giantess Periboia had thawed with alarming speed. She tried to grab Namjoon, but, despite his bad leg, Namjoon was holding his own. He stabbed at the giantess with his own hunting knife and led her in a deadly game of tag around the throne.

Jimin was back on his feet, Riptide once again in his hands. He still looked dazed.  He seemed to be standing his ground against the old giant Thoon, who had somehow reattached his hand and found his meat cleaver.

He stood back to back with Taehyung, fighting every giant who dared to come close. For a moment he felt elated. They were actually winning!

But too soon their element of surprise faded. The giants overcame their confusion. Hosoek ran out of arrows. He drew his sword and using his Mist to confuse the giants once again, but they seemed to be fighting against it. Their wounds seemed to be healing faster.

Namjoon lost ground against Periboia. Jungkook was knocked out of his feet, flying feets away.

Taehyung summoned another lightning strike, but this time Porphyrion simply deflected it off the tip of his spear.

The giants were bigger, stronger and more numerous. They couldn’t be killed without the help of the gods. And they didn’t seem to be tiring.

The six demigods were forced into a defensive ring. Another volley of Earthborn rocks hit the Argo II. This time Yoongi couldn’t return fire fast enough. Rows of oars were sheared off. The ship shuddered and tilted in the sky.

Then Enceladus threw his fiery spear. It pierced the ship’s hull and exploded inside, sending spouts of fire through the oar openings. An ominous black cloud billowed from the deck. The Argo II began to sink.

Ataraxia [BTS au | Heroes of Olympus]Where stories live. Discover now