Chapter 207 - Ladon (3)

While Drako was fighting Ladon, the rest of the group were on the top of the mountain.

"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."

Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.

"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."

"I don't understand," Percy said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."

He approached them, studying Thalia and Percy. "So these are the best heroes of the age, huh? Not much of a challenge."

"Fight us," Percy said. "And let's see."

"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal doesn't fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."

"So, you're another coward," Percy said.

Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia.

"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong," Luke said. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. "Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"

He waved his hand, and next to them a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus.

But there was a problem, a mistake that Luke and the rest have commit. It wasn't Thalia the one that the Ophiotaurus was following, it was Percy. In fact, the son of Poseidon almost call the Ophiotaurus by accident.

"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."

"Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"

"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"

Thalia shook her heard. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."

"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…"

His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."

The fear in his voice sounded real. Luke was in danger.

His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And Thalia might believe it, too.

"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "You're a Hunter now, we must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.

"Thalia," Percy said. "No."

Bianca stood there in silent, she was too scared to say anything.

Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, they saw images in the mist all around them: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around them, made of fear and shadow.

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other monsters. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand. And they were marching towards them. In a few minutes, they would be there.

Boom!

The mountain trembled. The battle between the two dragons was affecting the whole landscape. The army was shocked, fearing an enemy attack. It was quite and hilarious scene.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luka said, calming himself from those temblors. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she levelled here spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. Don't make me… Don't make him destroy you."

There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, they would be overwhelmed.

At that moment, the earth shook again.

"Up," Bianca said.

They all looked followed her eyes, and they met the most incredible thing of the night.

The golden flame ascended directly to heaven. A few seconds later, that same golden ray fell, threatening to split the mountain in half.

The tremors caused by the battle between the two dragons stopped completely.

The battle was over.

"RrrroOOooooAAAAAAARRR!"

The youngest did not know what that majestic roar meant. But Zoe, Atlas and Artemis, those who had lived for millennia, knew perfectly that it was all this oppressive aura that was gathering in the mountain.

"One more dragon has reached that level," murmured the goddess.

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Let's return back a little bit.

Drako was fighting Ladon, and both were quite injured at the time. The difference between the power was quite wide, but Drako's skills narrowed that gap to the point where they were now more or less even.

Ladon's attacks did not vary, they were always the same, but at the same time they were impossible to avoid. Drako was much bigger than the Evil Dragon, which at the same time made him an easier target for Ladon to attack, and much harder for the young dragon to defend himself. The main problem with Ladon's attacks was the poison he inflicted on each of Drako's wounds. Little by little, this poison weakened Drako.

Especially problematic were Ladon's magical barriers. Not only was Ladon's defense extremely high, but his barriers were very difficult to penetrate. Using [Infernal Dragon Punch], Drako's most powerful attack not counting his Noble Phantasm, he could barely destroy those barriers and strike a blow at Ladon. Of course, this consumed an immense amount of mana. Drako's MP was dropping at about the same time as his HP.

"RRrrroOoOaaAArrRRR!"

Drako used his best attack again, and Ladon repeated his strategy. With a powerful magical barrier, the Evil Dragon blocked 80% of Drako's attack. His scales blocked another 10%. Instantly, he counterattacked him with his hundreds of heads.

But, Drako had already learned this pattern of defense and attack. He had already prepared his own defense for that moment, the moment when Ladon was at his weakest.

Using [Dark Fang], Drako caught just under a dozen heads. However, instead of biting and releasing them to escape, Drako held them a little longer. Inside, he was channeling yet another attack.

The dark flames burned Ladon's heads. Drako had used [Breath of Darkness] while the heads were still inside, burning them at close range. This attack was very effective, as Ladon attacked like crazy trying to get Drako to release them.

But Drako did not release them, and continued to burn them without stopping. With [Numbing Darkness Claws], he defended himself as best he could. With a little luck, several of the heads that were hit by him would freeze, and fall directly to the ground. This was a side effect of this ability.

With the repeated use of these skills, Drako would level them up. Thus, he was doing more and more damage to Ladon.

[Level of normal skill [Breath of Darkness] was increased from 6 to 7]

[Level of normal skill [Breath of Darkness] was increased from 7 to 8]

[Level of normal skill [Dark Fang] was increased from 5 to 6]

[Level of normal skill [Infernal Dragon Punch] was increased from 6 to 7]

[Level of normal skill [Numbing Darkness Claws] was increased from 6 to 7]

[Level of normal skill [Numbing Darkness Claws] was increased from 7 to 8]

But even if he defended himself as best he could, and defeated many of Ladon's heads, he still had infinite heads to attack. The attacks did a lot of damage, but what was really killing Drako was the poison. It was being applied so many times, and from so many different places, that it was slowly consuming him. Even the [Poison Resistance] and [Pain Resistance] levels were not saving him.

[Level of resistance skill [Poison Resistance] was increased from 6 to 7]

[Level of resistance skill [Pain Resistance] was increased from 7 to 8]

[Level of resistance skill [Physical Resistance] was increased from 5 to 6]