A Dishonored Demigod

The Horned One

Bold- Power/Voice change
Italics- Thoughts
Bold+Italics- Sword Technique

Many Months after the last chapter
I roll under the slash that nearly chops my head off and retaliate by coming up with Dyrwyn blazing. The Outsider blocks the strike easily and I frown before executing a ten strike combo of heavy hits before jumping into the air. I spin as I ascend to create a small tornado of fire that my master dodges by sidestepping while I grit my teeth in frustration. At the apex of my jump I cast a minor weight increase spell on my sword while bringing it down with my body,"Got you!"
The Outsider blocks with his smaller blade and Dyrwyn seemingly screams in anger at being stopped. Sweat drips from my face and my exposed upper body since my shirt had long since been shredded when I was on the defensive. My muscles strain and for the briefest of seconds I think I can see my master's arm tremble before I'm thrown up into the air from the force of my master pushing Dyrwyn back. I land on my back and the chunk of rock on which we were fighting shakes from the impact while I groan before getting to my feet. My breath is coming in gasps as I temporarily merge with Thráfsma and my pupil changes to a split while my breathing evens out. I barely draw a full breath when my head is slammed into the ground by my master's fist,"I told you this training is to boost your base form. I'm fairly certain that if you train your body in its human form and not that semi-monster form you're always in you'll become stronger."
I mutter curses into the rock and my left hand latches onto my master's ankle and pulls his leg forward while I make my spine bend unnaturally. My master's body is pulled forwards while my spine folds in half so my feet crash into his stomach. He coughs and stumbles back while I do a back spring to my feet with Dyrwyn's flames emitting enough light to mimic a star and a roaring sound. The fire writhes and leaps off the blade to form a rough armor over my whole body,"I've been meaning to try this trick out for a while. Hope it works."
I lunge forward but my sword passes through my master easily before his image vanishes,"Afterimage!"
I barely position my sword behind my back to stop the thrust that would've severed my spine and am shoved forwards from the force. I let my instincts take over and feel something split off from my back and hear the sound of steel scraping against something. My body pivots on my heel to see a fiery projection of Thráfsma digging his claws into the steel of my master's sword. I recall the construct and it retracts so it glares over my right shoulder with embers in its eyes. I get in a stance to defend but my master retracts his blade,"That's enough for today. It seems you've indeed improved your human form enough, for now."
I sigh and dismiss Dyrwyn in a shroud of dark mist before raising my hand and part the air like a curtain so I can easily exit the dimension. I walk out the portal and into my room before throwing on a blue dress shirt but leave my jeans on after casting a dust removal spell. My hand burns slightly from the use of magic, not enough to hurt me, but just enough to annoy me. I yell so June can hear me in the living room,"Hey June? I'm heading out to pick up Zoë! Dinner should be in the fridge!"
She yells something back and I drop into my shadow to see the familiar eyes piercing the darkness,"You feelin' okay there monkey? Your core energy seems to be down."
I look at them out of the corner of my eye,"I'm feeling okay. Lord Outsider just had me training without Thráfsma influencing me. I need you to drop me off in the Garden of the Hesperides."
The eyes close and I wait the 30 seconds it usually takes to travel while Thráfsma makes himself known,"You have to admit though, the training in your base form has made our joined form stronger in a shorter amount of time than what we could've accomplished otherwise."
I nod and hiss as I feel my right hand throbbing,"My body still hasn't gotten used to the power flowing through it. Master wasn't kidding when he said a human body wasn't made to be compatible with his power."
Now Empathy chimes in,"Indeed. However I noticed you draw out more reiatsu when you're in your true human form. Your core fluctuated when you accidentally pushed reiatsu into Dyrwyn, hence the fire armor and projection of Thráfsma."
I step out of the shadows projected by Ladon's massive frame,"That reminds me, was that really you Thráfsma? If it was just a copy maybe you could possess it with enough practice."
I feel him shifting around in the back of my head,"It was just a shell with raw instincts to protect you. I think I could possess it if I really tried, but now isn't the time. Me and the dragon are gonna cut the link so you can get some personal time. Night boss."
"Indeed. I'll be following his lead and take a quick nap before checking you core for any more possible fluctuations. Have a good date."
The link extending from their parts in my soul is cut and I feel the unusual emptiness caused by their absence. I shake it off and lean against Ladon while I wait for Zoë, unbuttoning the top two buttons near my neck and roll my sleeves up to my elbows since it's a humid day. I don't have to wait long as I feel a presence behind me and turn around just in time to catch Zoë before she can jump me,"Almost. You stepped in a shadow a few seconds ago."
She pouts then gasps,"Perseus! Your eyes!"
I grin and sea green eyes twinkle in amusement,"You like? Master was training my powers while I was in my true human form. I just decided to keep it for this date."
She nods and I take a moment to take in her form. She decided to go with a white short sleeved shirt with an archery theme and plain blue jeans that conform to her body. She grins when she notices my admiration and gives me a quick kiss on the lips,"You can look, but we agreed that we wouldn't touch until after our one year anniversary."
I nod and extend a hand out while the shadows start to wrap around me,"Shall we go? I do believe Central Park is calling our names."
Zoë smiles and grabs my hand as the shadows finish enclosing us and I provide the power and guidance for our trip. When we pop out of the shadow of one of the many trees in the park nobody seems to notice us. Snow covers the ground and Zoë shivers while my body had long since adjusted to the cold brought about in the ice fields of Alaska. For the sake of appearance though I summon my lion skin and drape it over Zoë's shoulder while a coat made of The Darkness forms over my body. My girlfriend thanks me quietly before we start walking around until we end up on a bridge above a small frozen pond. Zoë notices my muscles tensing and the look of mischief in my eyes,"Perseus don't you dare."
I grab her and jump over the railing in one motion to land on the edge of the pond without a sound. I let Zoë go and I get a kick in the shin for my actions before she taps the frozen water with her foot,"What are you thinking?"
I smile,"All in good time my queen. Before we can do anything though I need you to sit down and lift your feet up."
Zoë looks at me with questioning eyes but complies and sits down on a small bench before I channel magic through my mark,"Pago."
Two thin blades of ice form on the bottom of her boots while the same thing happens on the bottom of my shoes,"You ever been ice skating?"
Zoë shakes her head,"No. Artemis never allowed us to go near water unless it was to bathe for some reason."
I snort,"That's because she had a run in with some ocean nymphs after she insulted their beauty. I found out when they migrated to Alaska to seek clean waters."
Zoë giggles at the image of Artemis being soaked by the nymphs and awkwardly gets to her feet,"So how do you do this?"
I grab her arm so she evens out and help her onto the ice,"Okay. First step is keeping your balance."
She nods and I let go of her arm and push against her mid-back. She slides forward and almost slips but catches herself before turning her head to look at me,"Now what?"
I grin,"Just walk over like you would do if you didn't have the skates."
She tries but nearly trips with her first step so I explain,"It's impossible to do it like you're trying. I just had you do this so you know you should never raise your feet when you're skating."
She glares at me so I decide to help her,"Push off with your dominant foot like you're sprinting and then do the same thing with your other foot."
I quickly skate backwards and grin as my girlfriend manages to push off and cover half the distance to me before pushing off with her other foot. She covers the remaining distance and I catch her in a hug,"That was pretty good for your first try. Now we gotta do turns, but that's not really all that difficult. Just watch and copy me."
She nods and I skate towards the far side of the lake while building up a little speed before slowing down and lean my body into the turn while slowing down. I finish smoothly and Zoë is on my tail as she also finishes without a problem. We do another lap before simply skating around and I let my feet fall out so I slide over the ice like a penguin. Zoë laughs a little as I pull myself out of a snowbank and leave the snowflakes in my hair before grinning. Zoë is still laughing a few seconds later when my snowball hits her left shoulder and explodes to cover part of her face in freezing snow. I falter at the glare she throws me and back up slowly,"Hang on a second a second Zoë. No need to go overboard here."
She keeps glaring as multiple tendrils of water break through the ice and scoops up multiple loads of snow. I gulp and keep backing towards the barren trees,"We can do this peacefully. Just put the snow down and-!"
I jump behind the tree as multiple objects slam into it and poke my head out to see if the coast is clear, only to dodge a massive ball of snow. I feel water splash against my face as it barely misses,"You're using slushballs?! I wouldn't mind if they were just snow, but that's totally unfair!"
I can practically feel her smirk before I let some of my magic loose and stop time. I Blink behind Zoë and freeze the water tendrils and their ammo before picking my girlfriend up and moving her to a nearby bench. I snap my fingers and time starts up again and Zoë falls backwards onto the park bench when I give her a little nudge. I sit next to her and listen to the sound of nearby traffic while she rests her head on my shoulder. We stay that way for a while until a Darkling pops out of my shadow and bows his head,"Master. We've received a distress signal from one of the fragments you gave away."
I lean forward and Zoë takes her head off my shoulder, much to my displeasure,"Do you know which one sent out the signal?"
The Darkling nods,"Yes master. The single was from the one you gave to the horned child."
My blood freezes and I'm on my feet immediately,"Take me to her location, now!"
The Darkling nods and I reach a hand out for Zoë,"I'm sorry about the interruption my dear, but this has to be important. I think it'd be best if you tagged along in case things get ugly."
Zoë nods and grabs my hand as darkness covers us and I add my own power to speed up the transport and avoid getting wet from traveling outside the US. We're spat out in the middle of a classroom and my eyes land on Lucy and the boys holding a puppy on the ground. One of the boys raises a rock over his head and brings it down to crush the puppy's head, only for my hand to snap around his wrist and hold it,"I really don't appreciate animal cruelty."
He lets go of the rock when I start squeezing his wrist,"Ow! Let go, you're hurting me!"
I fling the boy away and he slides across the floor into the wall while Zoë has Lucy wrapped in a hug. I pick up the puppy and bring him over to the horned girl,"I think this is yours?"
She grabs the puppy and cuddles with it while I will The Darkness to surround Zoë and Lucy with orders to send them to her home. They vanish while I wipe the memories from the minds of the  children who tried to kill the puppy. I Blink out when I see there are no cameras in the room and end up outside the school. I start walking away and pull my phone out before dialing the number of the person in the government who hires my services,"Hello Fragment. What can I-"
"Tell me what you've heard about horned children being born in Kamakura Japan."
She goes quiet for a while,"How do you know about that?"
I snort,"I just helped one out of an abusive situation. Now tell me, or I'll just get the answers myself."
The woman on the other end sighs,"Fine. That girl is called a Diclonius. We've heard rumors from our people in the Japanese government about attempts to eradicate them since most are sterile, but they can reproduce by infecting fetuses with their cells. We know that a few years ago a man caused a ripple when he claimed to have found a woman who could birth Diclonius who were fertile. Listen to me Fragment. I've got an idea of what you're going to do. Personally me and those my group works for won't tell anything, but you have to destroy everything in the National Research Institute on Human Evolution. If you don't the info there could cause a war."
I nod my head,"Got it. Where's the institute?"
The woman sighs one more time,"Off the coast. Remember, complete destruction. Make it look like a terrorist attack for all I care."
The line goes dead and I pocket the phone and breathe out,"Terrorist attack huh? I can work with that."
I Blink multiple times until I'm on the roof of a skyscraper and my wings snap out and I take off into the midst of the dark clouds that are rolling in.