Chapter 29 ◈ Mission Vesuvius (Part 3)

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"What have you done?"

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"What have you done?"

He remained silent.

I slammed my fist on the ground. "Why did you have to kill him?!"

"I did what I had to do," he said. "He was going to kill you."

"But you didn't have to take the life out of him!" I yelled. "You. . . you could've just given him a gash in the arm!"

"He could still hurt you with his daggers if I did that."

"Well, I could beat him by myself just like before!" I said. "He didn't have to die!"

His eyes flickered, and something passed over him. He shook his head and blinked as if he just woke up.

"Oh no. . ." His sword clattered to the ground. "D-did I do this?"

"Yes, you did," I replied grimly. "How could you, Poseidon?"

"I. . ." He took a step back. "I-I'm deeply sorry. I didn't mean to— I was trying to protect you and. . ."

I tuned out from his excuses. I can't believe he was able to kill someone so easily, and just like that in front of me. He could've just knocked him out like I did earlier, and he would still be fine and breathing.

As I stared at the dead body of Apollo, a harsh realization hit me.

All of this, this fighting, hurting, and. . . killing, this will go on and on as long as the Artifacts are out there in the world. They're the reason why we're here, and the reason why I trained to fight and defend myself from the Rouges. Because they're the enemy, and they will use the Artifacts for bad.

But are they though? Although they were Chosens like us, are they really evil? Will they use it to hurt people and rule the world?

Even if they would, is it all worth it? Was it worth the pain and bloodshed to get all the Items? If we ever got them all, what would we use them for? Would we let it dust in the school basement, or would we use them for something else? Were we the evil ones?

Now that I think about it, I never knew why we're collecting them in the first place, other than they're too powerful in the wrong hands. Hell, even Hera didn't give me a straight reason why I should collect them.

I sighed. I don't know what to think anymore. What have I gotten myself into, volunteering to be involved in a scavenger hunt/battleground and thinking that I would survive without a scratch?

Maybe I shouldn't ha—

"A-amelia?" I heard Poseidon say. "Are you okay?"

I perked up. Poseidon sat down beside me and averted his gaze.

"Amelia. . . I'm sorry. I really am." He sighed. "I-I know that this might be hard for you to understand, but. . . you should know that the moment you told us that you wanted to help us find the Artifacts, there will be times when you will have to make a tough choice for the greater good. The arrow Apollo shot was too close to get to you. I thought that I wouldn't get to you in time, I swear. But then I stopped it in time, and you were okay, so I thought it was over. It turns out it wasn't.

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