The town watched them chase a god.
That was exactly what Grekos wanted.
Ren realized it almost immediately.
The Hermes legend holder could have disappeared into open ocean the moment he escaped the docks. With his speed, none of them could have caught him before nightfall.
Instead, Grekos stayed close to the shoreline.
Close enough for the entire settlement to see him.
Close enough for every terrified civilian standing near the docks to watch the "chosen of Olympus" humiliate the people who had just saved them.
Wind spiraled around Grekos as he sprinted across the surface of the ocean like the sea itself obeyed him. Every step exploded into glowing bursts of white spray while the faint outline of Hermes shimmered behind him.
Winged sandals.
Flowing robes.
Golden wind.
The entire thing looked theatrical.
Intentional.
Grekos turned while running backward across the water and spread his arms dramatically toward the town.
"You witness the blood of Olympus!" he shouted.
His voice carried unnaturally far across the sea.
"The false heroes chase divinity itself!"
Ren stood near the front of the boat gripping the railing while Cal's painted water horses dragged the vessel violently through the waves.
"Oh my god," Ren muttered.
"He genuinely talks like that all the time."
Cal snorted while maintaining the glowing horses.
"He definitely practices speeches."
The painted creatures surged harder through the water. Their bodies looked like living sculptures formed from ocean-blue paint and seafoam, their glowing manes trailing streams of light across the darkening waves.
Behind them, the Nevada town had gathered near the docks.
Families.
Children.
Freed prisoners.
All watching.
And Grekos knew it.
That was why he kept slowing down.
Showing off.
Every time the painted horses gained on him, Grekos would suddenly leap across the water in impossible arcs or sprint sideways over crashing waves just to display the absurdity of his legend.
He wanted the town to remember this.
To remember that even their saviors struggled against Olympus.
Elise crouched atop the cabin roof, shadows curling around her boots as she tracked Grekos carefully.
"He's not escaping," she said quietly.
"He's performing."
Jonah nodded once.
"Arrogant opponents are predictable."
Ren smirked slightly.
"Hopefully fatally predictable."
The coastline ahead changed gradually as they traveled farther from the settlement.
The shore became jagged and rocky.
Ancient ruins appeared along the cliffsides.
Broken marble pillars.
Collapsed roads.
Fragments of statues half swallowed by vines and ocean spray.
Old world ruins mixed with something even older beneath them.
The wind grew stronger there.
Not naturally.
The air currents twisted strangely between the cliffs and shattered structures, creating spiraling streams of wind that screamed across the coastline.
And Grekos ran directly toward them.
Cal frowned immediately.
"He picked this place."
Mara's grip tightened slightly around her staff.
"He knows the terrain."
Ren stared ahead toward the ruins.
Which meant the battlefield was chosen intentionally.
That was bad.
Very bad.
The painted horses slammed through another wave while thunder rumbled somewhere far above the growing storm clouds.
Grekos reached the ruins first.
He landed atop the remains of a massive stone arch extending over the water.
The setting sun burned gold behind him while the outline of Hermes brightened around his body.
Wind spiraled through his cloak dramatically.
Of course it did.
"You still pursue me?" Grekos called mockingly.
"You should have knelt while you had the chance."
Ren pointed his revolver toward him lazily.
"You ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?"
Grekos smiled.
Then vanished.
The sonic boom hit half a second later.
Ren barely twisted aside before Grekos appeared directly beside him in a blur of white and gold motion.
A kick slammed into Ren's ribs hard enough to launch him sideways across the deck.
Pain exploded through his chest as he crashed into the cabin wall.
Before anyone could retaliate, Grekos had already ricocheted away from the boat and back onto the ruined coastline.
Fast.
Way too fast.
Jonah jumped from the ship immediately onto the wet black stone lining the shore.
"Spread out!"
The group moved instantly.
The battlefield stretched across both land and sea in broken sections.
Partially collapsed roads extended through shallow ocean water while jagged cliffs overlooked everything from above. Ancient ruins lined the coast in uneven clusters connected by narrow stone pathways and flooded sections of marble roadway.
Wind screamed constantly through the environment.
Perfect for Hermes.
Ren climbed onto the shoreline carefully, revolver already raised.
Probability shifted.
Searching for patterns.
Grekos stood atop a broken statue overlooking them all.
"You challenge Olympus on sacred ground," he announced proudly.
"You cannot imagine your failure."
Ren groaned.
"He talks like a villain in an anime."
Then Grekos moved again.
This time nobody fully saw him.
A white blur exploded across the battlefield.
Jonah caught the first strike head-on.
The collision detonated outward in a violent burst of kinetic force and compressed wind powerful enough to crack the stone beneath them.
But Grekos used the rebound itself to launch backward before Jonah could counterattack.
Then he struck Cal.
A blast of wind slammed into the painter hard enough to destroy one of his unfinished constructs before it fully formed.
Elise vanished into shadow and attempted to intercept him.
Grekos accelerated sideways across the ocean itself before reappearing behind Mara.
Wind exploded outward from his kick.
Mara planted her staff downward.
Golden force erupted around her like a shield, blocking the strike barely before the impact launched her backward anyway.
The battlefield descended into chaos instantly.
Grekos moved constantly.
Across water.
Across ruins.
Across collapsing pathways and broken pillars.
He never stopped moving.
Never stayed in one place longer than a second.
And worst of all…
The environment amplified him.
The twisting wind currents between the ruins accelerated every movement further.
Every sharp turn created more speed.
Every collision became momentum for another attack.
Hermes wasn't simply fast.
Hermes controlled flow itself.
Ren fired three shots rapidly.
Billy bent the bullets through impossible angles.
The rounds chased Grekos across the battlefield and still missed.
The Hermes wielder twisted between them effortlessly before appearing atop another ruined archway.
"You cannot strike the messenger of the gods!" Grekos shouted.
Then he slammed his foot against the stone.
The entire coastline erupted.
Compressed wind exploded outward in all directions. Ocean water surged violently upward while weakened ruins shattered apart from the pressure.
Ren ducked behind broken marble as debris tore through the air around him.
"Okay!" he shouted.
"He's officially annoying!"
Cal crouched behind another ruined pillar while rapidly painting glowing shapes into existence around himself.
"No disagreement here!"
Another sonic burst cracked across the battlefield.
Jonah intercepted Grekos again, this time managing to grab the Hermes wielder's arm briefly before Grekos twisted free using the momentum itself to spin over Jonah and blast him backward with a kick enhanced by compressed wind.
The ruins trembled from the impact.
Grekos landed lightly atop the ocean surface afterward.
Actually standing on the water.
Smiling.
Arrogant.
The rain finally started falling.
Thin at first.
Then heavier.
Thunder rolled overhead.
Lightning flashed across the distant sea.
And Grekos laughed.
"You are insects chasing a storm!"
Ren narrowed his eyes.
Probability lines shifted across the battlefield inside Ren's instincts.
Patterns.
Movement routes.
Wind paths.
And one thing became very clear.
Grekos was predictable.
Not because of his legend.
Because of his ego.
He kept taking the most visually impressive route.
The fastest route.
The route that made him look untouchable.
Ren slowly grinned.
"Oh…"
Jonah noticed instantly.
"You see it."
"Yep."
Another burst of wind exploded toward them.
Jonah punched directly through it while Ren shouted toward Cal.
"The ruins!"
Cal blinked.
Then immediately understood.
"You evil bastard."
"Thank you."
Cal slammed his glowing brush across the stone.
Paint erupted outward into massive constructs.
Stone wolves.
Walls.
Chains.
Not to hit Grekos.
To alter the battlefield.
Jonah caught on immediately afterward.
He began shattering specific ruined pillars with controlled kinetic strikes.
The moment several major structures collapsed…
The wind changed.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
The natural flow between the ruins shifted slightly.
And Grekos stumbled.
Just one imperfect step across the water.
Ren fired instantly.
The bullet curved sharply through the altered wind currents and sliced across Grekos' shoulder.
Blood sprayed across the rain.
The Hermes wielder landed awkwardly on a ruined platform several yards away.
For the first time since the battle began…
He looked surprised.
Ren grinned wider.
"There it is."
Grekos' expression twisted instantly into fury.
"You dare!"
Wind exploded around him harder than before.
The outline of Hermes behind him expanded massively.
The storm overhead intensified immediately afterward.
Rain hammered the battlefield now while waves crashed violently against the broken coastline.
Then Grekos stopped holding back.
The next attack nearly killed Ren.
The Hermes wielder accelerated so quickly the air itself screamed apart.
Ren barely saw the blur before Grekos slammed into him from the side hard enough to launch him across flooded marble pathways and into shallow ocean water.
Pain detonated through Ren's ribs.
His revolver nearly flew from his hand.
Before he could recover, Grekos was already attacking Jonah again.
The kinetic fighter blocked the strike and still got launched backward through an entire ruined wall.
"He's getting faster!" Cal shouted.
"No," Mara corrected.
"He's getting desperate."
That mattered.
Desperate people made mistakes.
Even legends.
Especially arrogant ones.
Elise emerged from shadow directly behind Grekos during his next acceleration and managed to slash across his side before he escaped again.
Blood splashed across the rain-soaked ruins.
Grekos hissed in pain.
Then retaliated instantly.
Wind exploded outward in a circular shockwave that forced everyone backward.
The Hermes legend behind him flickered violently now.
The more emotional he became…
The more unstable his movements grew.
Ren slowly stood again despite the pain ripping through his ribs.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Then he smiled.
Because he finally understood exactly how to beat Hermes.
Not through force.
Through interruption.
Speed depended on rhythm.
And Grekos believed nobody could disrupt his.
Ren pressed one hand briefly against the wound in his chest.
Pain flared.
Blood seeped between Ren's fingers.
Then condensed.
A dark crimson bullet slowly formed in his palm.
Cal glanced toward him and blinked.
"Oh."
Jonah immediately understood too.
"Wait for the opening."
Ren nodded once.
The blood bullet pulsed darkly in his fingers before sliding into the revolver chamber.
One shot.
That was all he would get.
Ahead of them, Grekos landed atop the remains of a massive marble statue overlooking the flooded battlefield.
Rain streamed down his body while golden wind spiraled around him like divine fire.
"You force a god to dirty his hands with mortal blood!" he roared.
Ren pointed upward.
"You really don't hear yourself, do you?"
Grekos screamed in fury and launched downward at full speed.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
But Ren didn't track movement.
Ren tracked probability.
And Grekos always attacked the same way when angry.
Straight line.
Direct target.
Maximum force.
Jonah charged him head-on intentionally.
Exactly what Grekos expected.
The Hermes wielder accelerated for the killing strike, and straight into Cal's trap.
The painter slammed glowing paint across the flooded stone pathway beneath Grekos' approach.
The surface transformed instantly.
Not into ice.
Into polished reflective paint slicked by rainwater.
At Hermes' speed…
That tiny disruption mattered.
Grekos slipped.
Only slightly.
But slightly was enough.
Jonah caught Grekos' arm mid-acceleration.
The collision shattered the flooded pathway beneath them.
Kinetic energy detonated outward.
For the first time in the entire battle…
Hermes stopped moving.
Elise appeared from shadow immediately and drove her blade deep across Grekos' ribs.
The cultist screamed.
And Ren fired.
Billy bent probability violently.
The blood bullet curved through rain, debris, and spiraling wind before slamming directly into Grekos' leg.
The impact exploded.
Blood erupted from Grekos' knee as the crimson round tore through muscle and destabilized the Hermes wielder completely.
Grekos collapsed.
Jonah's punch landed a split second later.
The kinetic blast launched the Hermes wielder across the ruins hard enough to crater solid marble before crashing into shallow ocean water.
Silence followed.
Only rain.
Only waves.
Only Grekos struggling weakly to rise again while the outline of Hermes flickered behind him like a dying flame.
Elise's blade rested against his throat before he could move.
Ren approached slowly through the rain.
"…Still feeling divine?"
Grekos glared upward with hatred burning in his eyes.
"You know nothing."
"Correct," Ren said calmly.
"So start explaining."
The storm weakened slightly overhead while the group gathered around the defeated Hermes wielder.
Cal sat against a broken pillar breathing heavily while Mara stabilized Jonah's injuries nearby using the glowing force from her staff.
Ren crouched beside Grekos.
"Who runs the cult?"
Grekos laughed weakly through blood.
"You think I do?"
Ren frowned.
"…You literally called yourself chosen by Olympus."
"I am."
"That doesn't answer the question."
Grekos smiled bitterly.
"I am a herald. A messenger."
The realization settled heavily over everyone.
He wasn't the leader.
Just the face.
Just another fanatic drunk on borrowed power.
Jonah folded his arms.
"Then who commands the cult?"
For the first time…
Fear crossed Grekos' face.
Real fear.
"The Oracle."
Mara narrowed her eyes instantly.
"That title should not exist anymore."
"It does now."
Rain dripped steadily from the ruins around them while distant lightning flashed over the ocean horizon.
Ren stared at Grekos carefully.
"The Greek government allows this?"
Grekos laughed again.
"They do not understand how deep it spreads."
Cal frowned.
"You infiltrated them."
"We became part of them."
That answer chilled everyone.
Grekos looked eastward toward the distant horizon.
Toward Greece.
"The collapse awakened old bloodlines tied to Olympus. Politicians inherited legends. Military officers inherited legends. Wealthy families inherited legends."
His smile returned faintly.
"And they believed themselves chosen."
Ren slowly stood.
The realization settled heavily inside him.
Greece wasn't simply surviving after the collapse.
It was changing.
Rotting slowly from inside beneath the influence of the cult.
"How many?" Mara asked quietly.
Grekos smiled weakly.
"Enough."
Elise pressed the blade slightly harder against his throat.
"Specifics."
"The Order of Olympus controls ports. Trade routes. Political families. Military officers."
The wind stirred softly through the ruins.
"And every year…"
Grekos looked toward the distant eastern sea.
"We grow stronger."
Silence followed.
Far across the dark water, faint outlines of distant land barely emerged beneath the storm clouds.
Greece.
Ancient.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Ren stared toward it for a long moment before finally sighing.
"Well."
He holstered the revolver slowly.
"I guess we're going to Greece."