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Nereus continued to thrash about in his crocodile form, but Athos was as unrelenting as ever. He tightened his legs around the God's torso while sticking to him like a leech. But a few seconds later, Nereus' body morphed once again, shifting into the form of a large polar bear.

Athos couldn't wrap his legs around the God anymore and was now practically riding on the God's back, which further loosened his grip.

"Dammit!", he cursed, trying to find a better chokehold, in vain.

The bear then leapt forward, carrying him, heading for the sea that was just a few meters away.

"Oh no! You don't!", Athos growled. He could not allow Nereus to get to the sea, as fighting a sea god when in water was suicide. He released the rear-naked choke and slide down the Bear's back, wrapping his arms around its stomach. He slammed his feet on the wooden pier, which cracked slightly, but managed to stop the bear's advance. The God still weighed around half a ton, and with Athos' strength, he could fling him far, far inland with little effort, but that would mean letting go of the said God.

Thus, he settled on discombobulating Nereus via a mild concussion.

He bent his hips, tightening his hands around the writhing bear and with a 'Hup!', lifted the giant predator, slamming it backwards in a german suplex.

*CRACK*

The wooden planks started to break due to the sheer force of the throw, so Athos quickly grabbed the disoriented animal and jumped back, preventing both of them from falling into the water. He then dragged the giant white bear away from the sea and away from the pier, to his backpack. He wasn't taking any chances.

He threw the bear against the car, and it morphed back into the Nereus' original form. The old, fat man now looked a little roughed up.

"FINE! FINE! FINE! I'll answer it, demigod! I'll answer it!", Nereus groaned, holding his head. "I was having a fantastic dream too. Fuckin' half-bloods and their quests. Which one is it this time? The apples of immortality? The golden fleece? or do you have to fight some damn monster? "

"Tone it down, old man. I'm not here for a quest", Athos answered, rubbing his ring.

"Eh? You're not here for a quest? Why else would you godforsaken demigods come to me? Why can't you upstarts leave me alone!", Nereus looked up, annoyance clearly visible on his face.

"I have a few questions, you see. And you're someone who knows everything. I'd appreciate it if you'd answer them", Athos replied, trying his best not to show his excitement.

Nereus frowned, and waved his hands, "Don't get too ahead of yourself demigod. Anyone who manages to catch me gets one question answered. Only one. That's how it's been since the time of Herakles and that's how it'll be now as well. You half-bloods would never leave me alone otherwise"

Athos' eyebrows twitched.

"Listen here. I understand you may be angry, but a few more questions wou-

"ONE QUESTION!", Nereus bellowed, interrupting Athos, and the earth started to rumble. Giant waves materialized, smashing against the pier, pulverising it in its totality, while strong gales started to blow.

Athos instinctively stepped backwards in fear as the winds howled in his ears while Nereus' eyes started to glow a swampy green.

"DON'T TAKE IT TOO FAR BOY! I was ancient when the first mortals were moulded using Prometheus' clay. I was old when the Gods themselves were conceived. I witnessed the death of Ouranos himself! I can atomise you with a flick of my finger this very moment!", Nereus boomed, the swampy green light rolling off his figure in waves as his voice echoed in the empty streets.

Athos gulped and took a few more steps back, summoning Leviathan. He'd been an idiot again. How could the offspring of two primordial gods ever be weak? The books portrayed him as some feeble old man, but that certainly wasn't the case here. He should've just stuck to a single question. Now he was about to get ripped apart, atom by atom, by a god who looked like a homeless old man.

He gripped Leviathan harder, waiting to get blasted to shreds, but the rumbling stopped and the wind ceased its howling. The sea regained its calmness and Nereus stopped glowing like an LED.

"You! How are you able to hold that?", Nereus asked, back to his old self, acting as though nothing happened.

"Huh? Wha....This? Stygian Iron?", Athos stuttered, caught off guard by the seemingly bipolar God.

"NO! no, no, no, no. I don't give a rat's ass about your little axe, half-blood. I'm talking about the gem that's been inelegantly jammed into it", Nereus said, shaking his head, intently staring at Leviathan.

"What? The gem? I have no idea. You know of it? What is it?", Athos replied, his brows furrowing. The glowing blue gem did stand out quite a bit. Even his father, who was a God, had no idea what it was. He didn't pay much attention to it honestly, as the fact that he could wield Stygian Iron in the first place, overshadowed the strangeness of the gem.

"I do know of it. As for what it is.....it is, well, a simple, yet complicated answer. I shall answer it if it is your question. But is it though?", Nereus said, not taking his eyes off the gem.

Athos' eyes widened at the revelation that the blue gem was important enough to catch the attention of Nereus. He wanted to know more, be he pushed his curiosity down. He had come here to find his path. He couldn't waste his chance.

"No. My question is this. How do I become a God without receiving a God's Blessing?", Athos said, his heart pounding with anticipation. Ascending to Godhood using a God's Blessing would make him weaker than whatever God he got the blessing from, which he did not want. If he ever became a God, he wanted to be one of the strongest, for he hated losing, and that translated into reckless ambition, of which, this was just one example.

Athos' absurd request made Nereus wrench his gaze away from Leviathan, "You are a fool! Even Perseus....no....even Herakles did not have such inflated ambitions!"

"Well, do you have an answer? You're the Old Man Of The Sea. You're supposed to know everything", Athos replied, ignoring the sea God's flabbergasted expression. He needed an answer to the question that had been hounding him, ever since he heard his father's stories.

"Hah! Don't call me that! I should've knocked some sense into Pherecydes when he gave me that title. Anyway, as for your question....although your axe would've made your journey easier, I cannot answer that. It's above my pay grade", Nereus scowled. "Ask me something else"

'Fuck! Shit! No, That can't be it. I can't just give up like this', Athos cursed. He didn't expect the ancient God to just say 'No, fuck you' to his question.

"Why? Paygrade? Are you afraid of the Gods? Aren't you stronger than them?", he pleaded.

"SHUT IT, BOY! I do not want to be pestered by the Olympians if they find out. Just ask for anything else. And be quick about it. I want to go back to sleep", Nereus adamantly shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Anything that can change your mind?", Athos added, refusing to back down. He'd come so close to his goal and He wasn't going to yield now. If he did, he didn't think he could live with himself.

The sea god snorted, "Are you telling me that you can offer me something, that would make pissing off the Gods worth it?"

Athos' heart skipped a beat. Perhaps he had a chance.

"How does a sacrifice of unlimited food and wine sound?"