The Spirits of the Universe (PJO)

Chapter 71--I Hate Cheap Tricks

My body moved instinctively. I spun Riptide into a reverse grip, then twisted my body to meet Niyomina's strike with a hang block. But there was too much strength in her attack—I went flying backwards.

My stomach lurched as my feet left the ground. I dropped Riptide and desperately reached forward, hoping to control at least a tendril of water to cushion my landing—but there was nothing. Just how hard can immortals hit?

Wind whooshed, piling my hair into my eyes. My leg was screaming in pain as I wildly thrashed around, adrenaline flowing through my tired veins. I almost grasped onto a nearby soldier's armor strap, but my fingers slipped out of the loop. C'mon, c'mon, hit something. Am I gonna fly out of the entire temple at this point?

In retrospect, that would've been a safer option—compared to slamming into the statue of End at what seemed like close to the speed of sound. 

I crashed into the stone back-first. The statue crumbled beneath me, but the impact was still too great. The air in my lungs was immediately expelled, while it seemed like all of my internal organs were about to burst through my torso. My spine felt broken. My head snapped back, and my brain bounced off the sides of my skull like a squash ball.

My statue! End screamed, but she was barely audible over the thumping of my brain. It felt like someone was making pizza dough out of whatever was left in my skull. 

Then gravity took over. I fell hard on my butt. Starting from the small of my back, my entire body began throbbing in pain. 

"Percy!" Two voices screamed out. From atop the statues, Aridne and Liam looked at me in worry.

"I'm fine—" I burst into a fit of coughing.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them had jumped down. "You are not fine," Aridne said. Slowly, she unzipped my backpack—which had cushioned the blow a little bit, enough for me to not immediately die—and pulled out a squished ambrosia cube. My last one. 

She gently pried my jaw open and placed it on my tongue. With a bit of effort and a lot of wincing, I managed to chew it a few times and then swallow it.

Being fed by your greatest enemy, End teased. How cute.

Shut it, I said. It's not like I have a choice right now.

The throbbing in my limbs decreased slightly. Second by second, even the pounding in my head seemed to subside. But it was still too slow.

Take it easy, End advised as I tried to get up, but found that I had no strength in my body. Thankfully, you don't have any broken bones—but you're not ready to walk, let alone pick up your sword again.

I closed my eyes in frustration. "What about the soldiers? Did you guys defeat them?"

"We got a few dozen," Liam said. "But the rest . . . they were all on the defensive. It was as if they were just stalling for time. And now, they're just standing in place. What about Niyomina?"

"She'd be dead if she hadn't resorted to a cheap trick at the end," I grumbled. 

"Is it really cheap if it won me our battle?" a voice asked smugly.

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear, End said.

I opened my eyes to find a familiar scene: the soldiers standing in a circle, and Niyomina only a couple of meters in front of us. She still had that confident smirk on her face and had somehow cleaned up since our fight only a few seconds ago, but her clothes were ripped where Riptide had struck her. All the wounds I inflicted on her are gone. This is why I hate immortals.