Ascension of the Fallen

Westover Academy

Westover Academy

Ascension of the Fallen: Chapter 4

Thalia looked at Theo, the irritatingly stupid son of Poseidon who had essentially ruined the mission to collect the children of Hades. Theo was rolling down on the ground in pain, and Thalia had to suppress a smirk. Theo deserved it after all. The son of Poseidon was always far too arrogant for her taste; his ego was larger than even hers, which was saying something. The only reason he was hailed as a hero in camp was due to pure luck on two quests. Theo was always clumsy, stumbling about in the quests, somehow managing to get them done. The daughter of Zeus was broken from her thoughts as her battle reflexes forced her to duck quickly under a manticore thorn, and she retaliated with a lightning-fast spear jab, but the manticore was out of the reach of her devastating spear. Thalia spared a glance at her companion. Annabeth was busy battling the other monsters with her dagger, just barely holding on as she was getting overwhelmed. The good news was that the two children of Hades seemed safe, hiding behind a tree to Thalia's left.

Suddenly, silver tipped arrows appeared seemingly out of nowhere, embedding themselves in several monsters who were fighting Annabeth, causing some to burst into dust, and others to retreat and hide behind the horde to nurse their wounds. The monsters ceased fighting, and the manticore cried out in surprise and frustration, retaliating by shooting more thorns into the thick forest, which were promptly split in half by more silver arrows, and fell into the trees.

Thalia growled to herself as she saw the silver clad girls approaching through the trees. The daughter of Zeus was certainly not a fan of the hunters.

"NO! Direct interference is forbidden," the manticore venomously snarled into the darkness. The group of monsters around the manticore froze in fear of the hunters. A twelve-year old girl stepped out of the forest. Her auburn hair shined bright under the full moon, while her eyes burned silver with smugness. "Not so," she claimed, her voice oozing with the power of a divine goddess, "the hunting of wild animals is within my domain, and you are a wild animal."

"Permission to kill, milady?" A girl with volcanic black eyes and a silver tiara questioned from the right of the goddess. Thalia's blood boiled with rage at the voice, already intuitively knowing who it was.

"Permission granted Zoe," the goddess quickly replied.

The huntress raised her bow to fire a multitude of arrows at the manticore. In a fit of rage and frustration, Dr. Thorn lunged at Thalia, aiming to claw her throat out, only to be frozen in the air. The manticore's eyes widened but said monster could not move, no matter how much his leg muscles burned. The hunters and demigods didn't make a move either, as their eyes were glued to the darkness of the night. The pitch-black night somehow became even thicker, making it hard for Thalia to even see her own hand. The air of the darkness suddenly became venomous, but Thalia and Annabeth, along with a few select hunters appeared unaffected. Unfortunately for Thalia, that irritating Zoe girl was unaffected. Such a shame, she thought. It would have been great to see her gasping for air.

The monsters began to cower in fear of what was to come, and the moronic son of Poseidon was having a coughing fit, spasming all over the ground. The hunters and Artemis began to wheeze and splutter violently, dropping their bows and collapsing to their knees.

After a minute, the oxygen levels in the air rose again, as those affected greedily sucked air into their lungs, sighing in relief. The darkness of the night cleared itself back to normal, making it seem like nothing had happened at all.

A tanned hand suddenly appeared in the night, using great force to rip a rift in the night violently. The rift opened loudly, drawing attention to the man who stepped out. A hood concealed many of his features, although a smirk was present on his lower face. The man strolled towards the frozen manticore, snapping his fingers to dissolve it into golden dust. The demigods and hunters watched in shock as he moved towards the monsters as if he were saying hello to a few old friends. The said monsters started to backpedal slowly in fear, but the man brought out a great shield and threw it straight for the monsters' necks, decapitating all in one go and turning them to dust.