Nothing Like Going on a Raid With Friends – Part 2
The moment the acid fell over Arthur's body, he grabbed the upper part of his clothes and ripped it off in one motion, throwing it aside while it slowly began melting on the floor of the Underworld.
But even though his face and arms were still burning, the man didn't show even a trace of suffering.
Only a faint grimace of pain that was barely visible.
And then his gaze slowly passed over every single one of them.
He had understood everything.
Harry never truly defended himself. He had hidden his attack behind a supposed Protego.
Percy took the hit only to switch swords.
And Annabeth's dagger never intended to hurt him. It was only meant to give Harry that tiny instant… and then Percy.
Arthur's face slowly began filling with anger while parts of his blackened skin continued regenerating little by little.
His breathing started coming out heavier.
His chest slowly rose and fell.
"Good… good," he finally said. His gaze stopped for a moment on Annabeth.
"I'm doing this wrong. I truly underestimated you because you're children," Arthur said slowly.
Then his eyes shifted toward Grover.
Then toward Harry, who was still holding his shoulder burned by his own spell. But even in pain he kept staring directly at Arthur.
"But I shouldn't be attacking only one… when all of you are the ones interfering."
Finally his gaze returned to Percy.
The demigod slowly stood up while slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out a pen. He uncapped it.
And Riptide appeared in his hand in a flash.
At the same time he touched his pendant.
Excalibur appeared again in his left hand.
Percy was holding both swords now.
And a slightly mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Yeah. But don't feel bad. Everyone tends to underestimate us," Percy said.
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly.
Annabeth also had a small smile. She couldn't help feeling a little proud, because right now the four of them were facing a legend.
A monster capable of easily fighting an army.
A strategist who built his own kingdom and the envy of every child of Athena, all of whom felt like they could never become someone like him.
His mother's beloved son.
Though obviously she understood that if Arthur were truly in his prime, they probably wouldn't last at all.
But they had two advantages.
The first was Harry.
And the magic Arthur couldn't see because of his curse.
The second…
Was Excalibur.
Ever since he saw it appear, every single one of his movements against Percy had changed.
And that was exactly what she was using to even be able to fight this legend.
But the problem for them was still obvious.
Arthur's semi immortality as a spirit in the Underworld.
Unlike him, who was already dead, they weren't.
And the exhaustion kept slowly piling up on them.
Her gaze shifted toward Percy and Harry.
Percy had already taken several hits, and Harry's magic wasn't infinite.
He had even taken damage himself just to land a hit on Arthur.
Annabeth had to find a way to stop him, so her eyes moved in every direction.
Until she noticed something impossible to ignore.
The massive hole not far from them.
A complete darkness that seemed to devour everything.
"No… of course not," she muttered, dismissing the idea forming in her mind.
But at that moment, when she looked toward the abyss, she didn't notice that both Harry and Percy suddenly seemed to look in the exact same direction as her before glancing at each other for the briefest instant.
Before both of them showed the exact same smile.
Connected through years of brotherhood.
The same one they had when they played that prank on Vernon's sister, Marge.
There was no need to say it out loud, but that look clearly seemed to say: Are you thinking the same thing I am?
Arthur, now completely recovered from his burns, still didn't attack as he stared at each of them while his gaze swept across the battlefield in complete silence.
Before letting out a sigh that seemed to calm every single one of his emotions, returning him to total coldness.
This time the stance of his sword changed.
Before, it had been the stance of a one on one battle.
Now…
It was a stance meant to properly face several opponents, like it should have been from the beginning.
"Get ready!" Annabeth shouted instantly the moment she noticed, while Arthur's footwork slowly shifted and he looked at each of them one by one as if measuring who to attack first.
Until his gaze settled on Grover and his annoying plant.
And in the next instant, he disappeared.
Annabeth's eyes widened after noticing Arthur's last glance, and she shouted:
"Grover!"
The satyr, hearing his name, instantly blew hard into his flute, and the plant in front of him suddenly spat every single seed it had stored inside its multiple sacs straight forward, all of which exploded immediately and released the acidic liquid, creating a sort of temporary wall.
But the liquid hit the ground almost instantly while nobody appeared in front of him.
Then Annabeth quickly looked around until she spotted a shadow, causing her to lift her gaze upward.
Arthur was above her in a leap while his sword came straight toward her neck.
For a moment Annabeth held her breath, because she hadn't expected herself to be the one attacked.
Luckily Harry reacted in time.
"Protego Maxima!" he shouted while pointing his wand toward Annabeth.
A shield instantly formed around her just as the sword struck against her neck, stopping barely a centimeter away.
The sword bounced back while the Protego exploded like shattered glass.
But Arthur immediately swung at her again.
This time Annabeth instinctively crouched just in time. Even though part of her hair was cut, she didn't stop for even a millisecond and, after ducking, used the strength in her legs to jump to the side and roll across the sand.
Right as she heard the explosion of the wooden sword slamming into the ground.
If she hadn't moved, that hit would've landed.
But Arthur didn't stop there, because he swept the sand up with his sword, sending it flying toward Annabeth and forcing her to turn her head so the sand wouldn't blind her.
But that single involuntary movement left her completely open for Arthur to attack her point blank.
And his sword was already moving directly toward Annabeth's head, as if he wanted to kill one of them immediately.
At that exact moment, a voice rang out.
"Bombarda Maxima!"
Followed by an explosion and something rushing toward Arthur at incredible speed.
And just as Arthur's sword was about to touch Annabeth's head, a silver blade blocked its path.
Annabeth looked up and saw Percy's sword, while Percy himself was now somewhat burned, with torn clothes and blood on him.
Meanwhile Harry had an irritated expression after being forced to use a spell that hurt his brother just to stop Arthur from killing Annabeth.
But Percy didn't even let out a grimace of pain while staring at Arthur with a truly serious look.
As his sword clashed against the wooden blade.
A hit that before would've made his hand tremble, but now sent both swords rebounding backward.
Even Arthur opened his eyes slightly wider in mild surprise.
Percy briefly let go of Riptide over Annabeth and grabbed Excalibur with both hands before unleashing a completely furious slash.
Arthur managed to glance toward Excalibur and moved the wooden sword to block the attack.
Percy felt as if everything slowed down, watching his sword approach the wooden blade.
He was genuinely furious.
Right now, all he wanted was to cut Arthur down.
The guy who tried to kill one of his friends right in front of him.
The sword in his hand, the same one that until now still struggled to cut through certain things unless he focused enough, carried all of that anger.
The moment the wooden sword touched Excalibur's edge, it was directly cut apart with ease, breaking through whatever spell made it harder than any sword, or the different enchantments placed on it to repel magic, resist it, and remain indestructible.
Arthur saw that and, for the first time in the entire fight, moved with all his strength to dodge the slash heading directly for his neck.
For an instant he even showed… fear.
Percy slashed, but Arthur, dodging with all his strength, launched himself backward at incredible speed, almost disappearing in a blur while sand rose around Percy at the same time.
But the sand itself split apart from Percy's slash, which even seemed to cut through the air itself.
BOOOOM!
The sound echoed when Arthur landed far away, propelled only by his own momentum.
To the point it looked absurdly exaggerated.
Something both Harry and Annabeth stared at with narrowed eyes.
When the sand blocking the view where Arthur had landed finally cleared, Arthur was standing there with a dark expression while holding the wooden sword in his hand… split in half.
Staring directly at it.
And a small cut on his cheek that was still bleeding.
Not very deep, but…
Even then, for several seconds, he remained like that.
While Arthur raised his hand and lightly touched the blood, observing it with a heavy look before wiping it against his pants, his eyes fixed on Percy and the sword in his hand.
"That was it," Annabeth suddenly let out as if realizing something.
The reason Arthur had been acting so strangely around Excalibur.
And why it was their second advantage.
The sword that can cut through anything.
Those words weren't just exaggeration or legend. They truly explained its power.
"You got it, Annabeth," Percy said without taking his eyes off Arthur. "We're making a slight change of plans," he added.
Annabeth frowned in confusion.
But at that moment Arthur, who was still pretty far away, stopped looking at Excalibur.
Instead, his eyes widened behind them as he looked directly toward Harry, who was currently running with the backpack carrying the invisibility helm and the Master Bolt.
And he was running straight toward Tartarus.
"What are you trying to do?!" Arthur shouted for the first time completely thrown off balance, as all his strength went into his legs while he sprinted directly toward Harry.
"Grover, Annabeth; if he wants the Master Bolt that badly then… let him go look for it in Tartarus," Percy said while running to intercept Arthur.
Meanwhile, Annabeth and Grover, after hearing those words, froze for barely a second.