𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀 | No way out, nothingness, or the impenetrable. A puzzle or something puzzling.
Esmerelda spent the school year dog-hunting after discovering the truth about the mortal side of her family during a 'visit' to the Underworld. Her summer v...
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▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN ▬▬▬
ETHAN WAS THE FIRST TO recover from the shock.
"Hey, Luke," he greeted casually. "I see your bowels are doing fine."
Esmerelda shot him a horrified look. Why would he say that?! Did he want to get them killed?!
"So you're finally back from your bathroom break," Luke said tightly, and now it was Ethan's turn to be confused.
"Uh," he said lamely, then caught sight of Alabaster nodding his head wildly in the background. "Yeah."
"You've been gone for almost an hour," Luke deadpanned.
Ethan's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment and Esmerelda suppressed the urge to snicker at what the older man was indicating to. "No, hold on, I wasn't—"
"—But I see you were busy trying to bring Esmerelda over." Luke finished, looking like a weird mix of relief and guilt.
"Um... yeah..." He lied weakly, glancing over at an equally worried Esmerelda.
This was literally the worst thing that could ever happen to them. Ethan's goal was to get Esmerelda out of the Labyrinth and away from Luke, only for them to do the exact opposite. What sort of shitty luck was this?
He remembered his chilling dream and suppressed a shiver. He couldn't let that dream become a reality. He didn't want Esmerelda to get possessed... and especially not by an ancient deity who vored his kids and a goddamn rock of all things.
I mean, seriously, what dumbass mistakes a rock for a baby? He thought.
"Luke Castellan!" The man next to Luke (aside from Alabaster of course) boomed, which was unnecessary since he was literally right next to him.
Esmerelda was amazed. The guy was gigantic, probably over fifteen feet tall and was built like a tattooed sumo wrestler. He was so wide he took up three seats. He wore a loincloth, and his skin was an unnatural dark red that was covered with bright blue wave designs. Not a very good color scheme, in her opinion.
"Is this boy the fighter we've been waiting for?" He asked in that same, booming voice.
Luke refrained the urge to cover his ears. "Yes, Lord Antaeus. This is Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis. Apologies for the wait."
Hold on, Antaeus? As in the son of Poseidon and Gaea? Ethan and Esmerelda exchanged horrified looks. Their situation just got a hundred times worse, if that was even possible.
"Will the girl be fighting?" Antaeus gestured over to her.
Fighting? She thought, shrinking a little.
"No," Luke shook his head. "She's needed for something else." He motioned over to a group of nearby monsters, and they immediately went over and seized her. Ethan moved forward, but another group prevented him.
