Chapter Five

"So, you met the hunting children?"

I asked, leaning back into my seat and biting into the slice of cooked meat. Thalia, on the other hand, looked at me confused before she realized what I asked and snorted.

"Yeah, but why do you call them that? I know they are bad and all, but won't their goddess strike you down or something?"

I sent her a raised eyebrow and shrugged uncaringly.

"I call it as I see it, Immortality is great and all, but spending time with people your age, scarcely interacting with proper adults doesn't really let you mature. They might be stronger, they might fight monsters, they might train with a goddess of the hunt, but they are still thirteen. Besides, alienating a whole gender is kind of hypocritical since they are in the hunt because the men did the same."

I continued to eat, watching the fireplace as everybody went over to throw their food into the fire. A waste if you ask me.

"I noticed you didn't sacrifice the food to any god, why is that?"

I sighed, putting the fork down and leaning back, looking up at the sky.

"I don't really have anything to thank them for, really, and they just have to get used to that."

She looked at me for a moment and returned to eating her plate silently as I continued with mine. I would have to train slightly older campers today, but that was nothing compared to what I would have to do after.

I would have to ask for a quest to sacrifice something to Hades, hopefully, he would get the message to stop, if the Oracle of Delphi didn't really want to give me the quest, well, I would have to ask my father then, he's all for bloodshed, doubt he would disagree.

But something felt wrong, a feeling of foreboding that rested in my gut, and refused to leave. It has been two days since the daughter of Zeus arrived and it should not be just some Hellhounds around, the the torturers didn't come back.

I sighed, I didn't like the situation, at least before three arrived, it was mostly quiet.

Before I could bite into another slice, the sound of shouting reached my ears. Dropping my fork and standing up, I looked in the direction of the shouts and rushed off.

I could hear Thalia shout before a faint sound of another pair of footsteps sounded behind mine.

But that wasn't my focus.

"Cyclopses!"

I scowled at the information.

Seconds later, I reached the son of Hermes who was running into the camp, the girl catching up to me.

"How many?"

The runner took a deep breath, trying to get his lungs to work again as he gripped my forearms.

"Three of them! We didn't notice until the ground shook! They are at the hill! The campers won't last long!"

I nodded and rushed off. The others were already running toward the commotion, spears, and swords in hand.

Using the newly built bridge that was closer to the entrance of the camp, I joined the other campers momentarily.

"Brother!"

I glanced to the side, catching the spear that was thrown my way, and nodded. Channeling the divinity to my legs, I rushed forward, outpacing the others.

The run later minutes, but I reached the hill, feeling the ground shake and hearing the shouts of the perimeter patrol.

Rushing uphill, the battle came into my view.

As Mike said, three giant humanoid monsters with one eye, currently trying to land a blow against the agile campers, who were thankfully older and had more experience.

I spotted a few that were unconscious, and hopefully still alive.

Clutching the spear tighter, I dashed forward, closing the distance between a distracted Cyclops and two campers who were trying their best to survive.

My spear sliced into the left leg of the Cyclops, otherwise known as Peroneus longus.

The giant roared in pain, falling to his knee and causing itself more pain than he already was in. Passing between its legs, I stopped at the giant eye that was currently dilated thanks to the pain.

Air coated my spear as I thrust it upward, Piercing it in the eye as the layer of air rotated like a drill and shot forward, exiting from the other side and destroying the monster's head in the process.

The giant body dissipated into dust as I turned to the other two, who were much taller than the one I just killed.

They were tall, not as tall as the trees but still large enough to eat a twelve-year-old by just dropping them into their mouth.

Scowling, I looked at the two that were catching their breath.

"Get the injured back to the camp! Reinforcements are coming, there should be some healers with them!"

They looked over at me and nodded as I rushed toward the tallest one of the two who was chasing a camper, probably a member of cabin eleven judging by how quickly she maneuvered around the trees.

Twirling the spear to hold it in a reverse grip, I threw it, using the air to give it more speed, and watched as the spear entered the back of the Cyclops' knee.

Unlike the first one, this guy didn't scream, it just looked back at me and changed its target. Good.

Rushing forward, a wave of ice burst from each step, slicing into the Cyclops as I ran in a wide circle around it.

"Leo! Catch!"

I looked toward the shout, seeing a blade heading in my direction that just left the hand of an injured camper.

Catching it in my hand, I coated it with air and slashed at the other leg of the Cyclops, successfully cutting it off.

The sound of lighting resounded in the area as something hit the back of the monster's head, tipping it forward.

Using the opportunity provided, I slashed at its incoming neck, Decapitating it. The body turned to dust and the head fell to the ground as I changed my plans for an offering.

The last one was already being taken care of as a few campers were restraining its hands with ropes while others made sure that it couldn't stand by slashing at its legs.

This battle was over, I just needed to make sure that everyone survived.