The Vanishing Hero

chapter 20

Chapter 20: Ruthless

3RD PERSON POV

The day carried on normal enough for Percy and the Hunt as they went about their regular duties. There was only one noteworthy difference and that was in Percy's demeanor when he trained both himself and the young ones. He was colder and more calculating. He didn't give nearly as much praise as he used to and he pushed the girls even harder than he had before.

Thalia and Artemis were observing the training session from the side of the clearing when they noticed. They watched onward as Percy was dueling Estelle's group. Normally he'd hold back a great deal and allow them to get close to him, but this time, he was strict and ruthless. "Again," he called as the girls were panting to catch their breaths. So again, they charged and pressed him. Estelle with her new sword, Lora with her ax, and Rebecca with supporting fire.

"He's more merciless now," Thalia said to Artemis as Percy had just disarmed his sister and got her to yield. Artemis knit her eyebrows together in worry and frowned. Percy then flipped over Lora and held his katana at the back of her neck. "Dead," he said and moved to dodge Rebecca's arrows. After three volleys, he threw a knife and closed the distance. Rebecca managed to dodge the knife barely, but couldn't avoid the sweep of the legs. "Dead," he said.

"You girls need to be faster. Think quicker and anticipate what your opponent is going to do," he said as Artemis approached. "I think that is enough for them for today, Perseus," she said and Percy stiffened slightly then nodded. "Keep working hard girls," he said and bowed and left to his own training. "You girls did great," Artemis said, but their heads remained down at their feet. "Brother is scary now," Estelle said and the other nodded.

Artemis crouched down and put a finger under her chin to make her look up. "He just wants all of you to be prepared for anything," Artemis said reassuringly. The girls all sighed and nodded before following Thalia back to camp. Artemis went to go see Percy.

ARTEMIS POV

I found Percy in a separate clearing with seven automatons training. He was impressive. Far more so than he had already been, but more merciless too. Not a single movement, not even a breath was wasted as he weaved in and out of attacks, throwing in counter strikes of his own.

He balanced his strikes from his weapons with use of his powers so gracefully it was poetic. He used one weapon on each automaton and dropped it after each was defeated to ensure he trained with them all. By the time he was weaponless, only one remained and he charged unarmed, slipped into its guard and disarmed it with a series of quick jabs to its arms and torso. The bronze caved in slightly where he struck.

I slowly approached as he felled the last and spoke to alert him of my presence. "Seems I had nothing to worry about in terms of your ability," I said and he straightened up and turned around. 'Still with the damn emotionless mask. Why is he so good at hiding his emotions?' I mused.

"You know, you don't have to be so strict with the young ones. They're giving it all they've got and they're already leagues above the campers their age," I said and still got no reaction. "I'm just trying to prepare them as best as I can. They need to be better for what is to come," he said flatly. A slight annoyance bubbled up in my chest. "Still, there is no need to be so harsh," I said, irritated.

His eyes flared ever so slightly before he spoke again in a dead even tone. "They haven't seen what I have. They need to be stronger, faster, and merciless," he said and the rage overflowed. I closed the distance in an instant and slapped him hard across the face. "You should pray that they never have to see what you have!" I hissed at him. I saw the anger flare up in him again before he collected himself. The traces of guilt and pain were still in his eyes.