Betrayal

13

"So, Perseus, do you know all the abilities you've acquired by now?" Tartarus sat across from him as they chatted.

Perseus thought for a moment, as if he had many to remember. "Well, increased strength, speed, eyesight, I can bend shadows to my will given enough time, blood sustenance which let me go longer between meals but I need more per meal, immunity to poisons, I'm nearly impervious to damage thanks to that Lydian Drakon, ability to imbue an delayed firebomb onto things I touch, flashing, I can fluxuate the effect of gravity upon myself and objects in direct contact with me, I can reap a soul and insert another's into the corpse as long as I do it fast enough...I mean I got a lot. Oh yeah, I can sort of fly but it's more like stepping on the air and pushing off of it like it's solid ground."

Tartarus nodded. He'd known most of them, and he was sure there were more that Perseus had gained. He also knew that he'd given a few abilities to Zoё, Reyna, and Bianca. Zoё had gotten a large boost in her movement speed from the Queen of the Harpies. Reyna got what seemed like the opposite of her innate demigod power that made enemies feel uncomfortable and even at times would make them easily frightened. And Bianca, since she had lost her demigod abilities after she had died, was given the ability to shadow travel, which Perseus had acquired from Hellhounds. He didn't give any monster abilities to Styx for obvious reasons. Though, Styx for her part gave her blessing to the other girls, though it wasn't as powerful as when Percy had gotten it in the past, since he had bathed in her river directly. That was what she had given them, along with partial immortality when they met the first time.

"I think it's about time you start fighting the few ancient monsters I have here. There's three of them. And they are the predecessor's to some of the monster races you know. While history teaches of Typhon and Echidna being the forebears of monsters, that is only part of the truth. You know Hecate created the Empusa, that the Cyclopes are born of Gods and nymphs except the eldest which were of Gaia and Ouranos, and that several humans were cursed and turned to monsters by the Gods. But Typhon and Echidna only birthed a few of the more normally powerful monsters. The ancient monsters gave birth to things like the drakons and Kraken. Monsters that normally are beyond demigod's abilities to kill.

"These will be some of the toughest fights you'll face. Seeing as that's the case. I will only have you battle once a week when we start. I'll give you time to recuperate before I bring them in. They won't be happy, as they are not here for the glory as normal monsters are. They were captured, mostly by luck, and brought here. That's why I only have three. The predecessor to the drakons, the dragonmen, and the Immortals."

Perseus' eyebrows creased. "Immortals?"

"I don't mean Immortals like gods. No. They were a race before, and during the early times of humans. But they were not created by Prometheus as the first humans were. Honestly, not even I know how they came about. But it is said that Prometheus based the first humans off of them, but created them so they would be more easily exploited. They are stronger, faster, and smarter than humans. They can fight Titans to a draw and still be able to walk away. The later generations weren't quite Immortal, though they did have very long lives. I believe some other religions were based off them.

"The Christians thought of them as early humans like, hmm. I believe they had names like Adam and Eve. Very odd. Immortals did not have names that could be pronounced in the human tongue. Anyways, they all but died out. There are maybe a handful of the originals left, if that. They were the truly immortal Immortals."

Perseus nodded, understanding better. "So you want me to kill one of, if not the last, of these Immortals? They aren't a monster. They won't be reborn if I kill them."

"This is all in pursuit of a future without my father in control. What must be done, must be done."

The old Percy would have hesitated. He would have questioned more. Made excuses or completely denied the battle. But this wasn't the old Percy. He was a darker, more brutal killer. This is what the world needed. Not some former hero. No. He wasn't the hero everyone wanted. He was the villain they needed. "Okay. Though it doesn't sound like they have any especially good abilities that I don't already have."

Tartarus shrugged. "I know how your Curse works, not what each outcome will be. I am not my sister Ananke. I cannot see into the Cauldron of Fate."

Perseus rolled his eyes. "Well, if that's it, I'm going to go relax. How long you giving me to get ready for the first fight?"

"One week. Then you'll start with the Ancient Drakon."

Perseus didn't even reply, but have a short wave as he walked off, closing the door to the room they were in behind him.