Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: All or Nothing

The fire around Zeus’s arm remained firm. It did not seem to have any intention of burning him yet, but everyone understood that Hestia was not asking for permission. The goddess of the hearth remained beside the fire, watching him with an expression of complete disapproval.

The king of Olympus gritted his teeth, lightning running across his body, but his gaze shifted from the fire to Hestia with caution. Many in Olympus could forget how dangerous Hestia was because of her calm nature, but Zeus knew better than anyone that his older sister was not weak.

Zeus had a habit of remembering who could become a danger to him, and that was almost always related to knowing who was stronger or who could challenge his authority. That was why he never got along with Poseidon or Hades. In his mind, both of them were the most likely candidates to usurp his throne if they were ever given the chance.

And even with all that said, Zeus knew perfectly well that Hestia was much stronger than him. The last thing he needed in that moment was for her to act against him.

”Hestia, don’t you see they’re trying to usurp my throne?” he shouted through gritted teeth. ”You should be supporting me. I am your family, not him.”

”That does not mean you should hit Hera because she disagrees with you. That is why I am telling you now, lower your hand, Zeus,” Hestia said, seriousness in her voice.

Now, everyone’s jaws were truly on the floor. One thing was the blond intruder, but another very different thing was seeing sweet Hestia, the same Hestia everyone knew for avoiding conflicts, raise her voice against the king of the gods. After all, it was clear to everyone that Hestia wanted nothing to do with the decisions, arguments, or misunderstandings that always happened between the Olympians. That same attitude was the reason she gave up her seat, which was later taken by Dionysus.

Zeus tried to move his arm, but the flame closed a little tighter around his wrist. It did not burn him, but it did remind him that it could if Hestia decided so.

Hera remained in front of him, her face red with humiliation and anger.

”You’ve lost your mind,” Hera said, full of rage.

Zeus clicked his teeth.

”Careful with what you say. I am still your husband and king.”

”No, you are not,” Hera shouted, not moving away. ”I curse you, Zeus. I curse everything about you. So you be careful with what you do.”

Zeus gritted his teeth and, using his divine power, pulled at the arm trapped by Hestia’s fire. The ring barely gave way, but even so, Zeus’s rage only increased as he looked over Hera toward the rest of the room.

”Are you all just going to stand there?” he shouted. ”That thing is attacking your king!”

More than one obeyed the order out of fear of Zeus and because they did not know Damon. After all, it was not the first time someone had tried to overthrow the king of Olympus. Hera had already tried before, so for many this was nothing more than history repeating itself, and none of them wanted to end up on the wrong side of Zeus.

Besides, that demigod was Gaea’s champion. For many, that could only mean one thing: he was with her to destroy Olympus.

More than one had that final thought.

Just like that, the minor gods closest to the entrance were the first to move. A pair of war spirits advanced with spears in hand, while several divine guards raised their shields and tried to surround Damon from the sides. Behind them, Ares raised his sword. His entire body was covered in a divine aura, and it was obvious to everyone that the god of war had no intention of holding back. He was full of fury and rage because of how easily he had been dispatched, as if he were a simple demigod facing a god.

On the other side, Apollo looked at his sister. Artemis already had her bow raised, with an arrow ready to be fired at Damon. A drop of sweat ran down the back of Apollo’s neck. He already knew his sister had been wanting to hunt the Champion of Chaos for a while, not only because she disliked men, but also because he had basically called her stupid a few days ago while talking with Hestia.

Apollo sighed.

He did not want to do this, but above all, he was on his sister’s side. His bow appeared in his hand, pointing toward Damon as well. Both gods raised their power, charging their arrows.

The nymphs near the doors did not wait for anyone to give them permission to leave. Some hid behind the broken columns. Others ran out of the throne room, smart enough to understand that things had already gotten out of control. Aphrodite did the same, moving aside and making it clear she wanted nothing to do with this.

”Stop, stop, everyone calm down already!” Athena shouted.

She seemed to be the only one smart enough to notice that the blond was completely relaxed. And as the goddess of strategy and war, she knew perfectly well what that could mean.

Unfortunately, no one listened to the goddess. Everyone was occupied with their own matters, and everything had gone to shit a while ago. Now it was all or nothing.

For his part, Damon looked at the gods coming toward him and let out a sigh, wrapping an arm around his sister Demeter’s waist. She looked at him with concern, ready to help him if necessary.

”Relax, sister. I have everything under control,” the blond whispered with a smile.

Demeter simply nodded slowly, pressing her face against her brother’s chest. She did not want to look, but she did not want to let go of him either.

”Under control? Ha. I thought you said you would avoid causing a commotion, and look at you now,” the nine-tailed fox said with amusement, watching the blond’s calmness while, in everyone’s eyes, he was about to be turned into mush.

”Well,” Damon said with a small laugh, ”what better way to make my point than through fists? Better to show now that even all together, they can’t beat me. I don’t think anyone here has received a good beating in a long time, and who better to pull the stick out of their asses than their older relative?”

Kurama had to admit that Damon was right. Besides, assuming he did nothing, he risked having several gods conspiring against him later, believing they had some chance of taking him down.

Putting those thoughts aside, Ares was the first to roar and charge toward Damon. Apollo released his arrow at the same time. Hermes, seeing the current situation, disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind Damon with his caduceus moving toward the back of his neck. The minor gods closed the path from the front, trying to use the distraction to immobilize him.

Damon moved one hand.

The arrow of light stopped a few centimeters from his face. Hermes froze behind him, with the caduceus unable to move any closer. The spears of the minor gods bent downward until their tips scraped against the marble. Then, with a gust of air, Damon sent them flying while small nails of air buried themselves in their knees. Some minor gods let out heart-wrenching screams.

For his part, Ares resisted with all his power the force trying to push him down. He did not understand how it was possible, but he felt as if the sky itself were concentrated over his shoulders. Even so, he pointed his great sword toward Damon, the sharp tip approaching the blond’s heart.

Damon simply raised his hand, palm open, placing it in the sword’s path. To Ares’s surprise, as soon as the edge touched his palm, the sword began to disintegrate into particles, as if it were disappearing into Damon’s hand.

Ares lost his balance.

Damon took advantage of the moment and reinforced his knee with his power, striking the god of war in the stomach with enough force that Ares shot upward, releasing a mouthful of saliva and golden ichor.

Hermes, who had freed himself from the blond’s control, appeared at his side again with the caduceus aimed directly toward his ribs. But Damon had already seen it coming. Before the weapon could touch him, a white wall appeared between them.

The caduceus struck it with a dry sound.

Hermes opened his eyes.

What the hell? A simple wall out of nowhere?

Damon raised a hand and the wall broke apart into several white chains that wrapped around the messenger god’s body. Hermes tried to disappear again, but a current of air pushed him down, pinning him against the marble before he could gain momentum.

Damon looked at him from the corner of his eye.

”You’re fast, kid,” he admitted. ”But you’re still too predictable.”

Hermes swallowed.

Damon simply opened his hand.

Hermes, wrapped like a hotdog by the white chains, shot backward and crashed into a golden table near Apollo’s throne.

More minor gods tried to approach the blond, using their powers to try to harm him. But it was useless. They were thrown in different directions, their shields ripped from their hands and embedded into the walls.

Apollo and Artemis’s arrows twisted in the air, changed direction, and returned toward them with enough speed for both of them to widen their eyes.

Artemis managed to dodge.

Apollo barely did.

He had not expected his own arrow to return toward him with that kind of speed. The projectile cut a thin line across his cheek before burying itself into the wall behind him, leaving a small line of golden ichor.

Artemis landed on the marble after dodging her own arrow, her silver eyes moving toward Apollo’s cheek. The line of golden ichor was small, almost insignificant for a god, but it made it clear that this was no game. Apollo touched the wound with two fingers and looked at the ichor on his hand, completely losing the joking expression he had carried until now.

”That was low,” Apollo muttered, gritting his teeth.

Damon let out a small laugh.

”It was your arrow, kid. Besides, there is no honor in a fight. You should know that, after all, you’re a god, aren’t you?”

Apollo clenched his jaw, but he did not answer. Beside him, Artemis let her bow change shape until it became a silver dagger. Apollo did the same, forming a dagger of golden light in his hand.

Damon looked at them for a moment and smiled. ”Show me what you’re capable of, children of Leto.”

And just like that, the sun and the moon launched themselves into the fight of their lives...

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