The Demigod King; Book 2

"You Have NO Idea What Tartarus Did to ME!"

"ARE YOU DONE PLOTTING?" Percy called. He was holding a sword in each hand, looking unnervingly comfortable, leaning against the rock Nico had summoned. "IT WON'T HELP YOU, IN THE END."

"Funny!" Nico yelled. "The last primordial we killed said that!"

Percy growled. "YOU SPEAK SO DISMISSIVELY OF MY WIFE?"

If the situation wasn't so dire, Nico might have actually laughed at that. Unfortunately, it was, so he didn't.

"CHARGE!" Nico screamed, raising his sword. 

The demigods roared, banging on their shields, and ran. They encircled Percy, just as Nico had instructed, but the primordial laughed, seeming to think their strategy was quite entertaining.

Jason launched himself into the air, so Nico thrust himself and Leo up after him by raising rock under their feet. Piper threw knives at Percy, but the primordial deflected them with icicles.

Jason fired lightning at Percy while Leo shot green fire from his hands, screaming, "Flame on!"

Percy clenched his fist and Leo's body folded in on itself. 

Unfortunately for Percy, that distraction prevented him from blocking Jason's lightning, which stuck him full-force in the chest. A blow like that should have knocked him out, but it barely knocked him off his feet. 

Percy stood, his dark hair falling into his face. He glared up at them. A slow, sinister smile stretched across his face. It struck an uneasy feeling in Nico, paralyzing him with terror. It was undoubtedly the creepiest look he had ever seen on Percy's face. Percy shook with rage, snarling at Nico. "YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME?" He bellowed. He threw his arm at, causing Jason to fly away. He flicked his hand, and the entire Roman legionnaire fell to the ground, writhing in pain as their blood boiled at Percy's hand. 

He stalked towards Nico, raising a storm. The winds picked up again, skies darkening, as Percy enclosed himself and Nico in a hurricane. The range expanded, diameter increasing to cover twenty, thirty, fifty feet. The winds were going so fast that Nico could barely ground himself. Percy, however, seemed entirely unaffected as he looked upon Nico with disgust and loathing.

"You stupid child!" He sneered, smacking Nico across the face.

The son of Hades fell to the ground, holding his face. A line of blood trickled down from his cheek.

Percy stalked toward him. Nico scrambled to get up, but Percy grabbed his shirt and slammed him down. He struck Nico again, opening up a new gash on his chin, and again, splitting his lip. Blood fell onto Nico's shirt, staining the white letters of his band tee. 

The primordial let go of Nico, letting the demigod drop to the ground. "Get up," he snapped, throwing Nico's stygian iron blade at him. "Fight me. Give me your best shot. I want to laugh at how pathetic you are."

Nico growled and staggered upright. He grabbed his sword and swung at Percy. 

Percy dodged, laughing, and sliced through Nico's calf.

Nico yelled in pain, dropping to a knee.

"Come on," Percy laughed. "You're making this too easy."

The son of Hades growled and got back up. He struck at Percy, who parried. They exchanged strikes, stabbing, slashing, blocking, slicing. But Nico wasn't able to get in a single hit, whereas his body was littered with wounds.

"Fight me like normal!" Nico yelled, slashing his sword. "Drop the primordial bullshit and fight me only with Percy's skill!"

Percy sneered and sliced into Nico's left side. "I am!"

Nico howled in pain, dropping to the ground. His hand clamped to his side as it poured blood. He was losing too much, he knew this had to end soon. His strength was diminishing. 

Percy stood over Nico, smirking sinisterly. "I will destroy your entire world, di Angelo!" He yelled maniacally. "Everything you care about will be obliterated. And I will take your friends, and your precious son of Apollo, and torture them. I will rip the skin from their bodies and pull their organs apart!"

"I won't let you do this!" Nico screamed, the wind whipping at his hair.

"YOU HAVE NO POWER TO STOP ME, DEMIGOD!" Percy screamed. "ALL YOU CAN DO IS RUN THROUGH THE SHADOWS AND CALL THE UNDEAD TO FIGHT FOR YOU. YOU HAVE NO STRENGTH OF YOUR OWN!"

"That's where you're wrong," Nico said, deadly quiet. "You say Tartarus changed Percy? Well guess what, dumbass? It changed me too!" Nico threw out his arms while darkness exploded from his chest. Pure shadows radiated from his body, wrapping themselves around Percy's arms, legs, and throat. "You have no idea what Tartarus did to me!" Nico yelled furiously. "I was alone! ALONE! I had no root, no one to ground me as Percy did! I had no Annabeth! All my life, it has been me and only me. I have been shunned, rejected, secluded. Maybe we can't defeat you with the goodness that the others have, but I have no reservations. I am not good as they are. I am not even a demigod--I am the Ghost King!"

Percy screamed in rage, falling to his knees as he struggled against the ropes of shadow that would not give. "RELEASE ME, NOW, DEMIGOD, OR I WILL DESTROY YOU!" 

"As if you could!" Nico yelled, throwing the primordial's words back at him. "I have faced everything you could imagine. There is nothing you can do to me, no words you can say to me, that I haven't thought and wished upon myself! That is the strength I have that the others don't. I have already prepared myself for the worst. I've lived it. You are nothing."

"LIES!" Percy spat, jerking against the shadows. He ripped himself free and lunged at the demigod.

But Percy, for once, wasn't fast enough. 

Nico had grabbed the stygian iron chains from his waist and whipped them at Percy. The chains, as if they had minds of their own, wrapped around Percy's wrists, branching out into dozens of metal links. Nico threw the ends to the demigods surrounding Percy--Jason, Frank, Piper, Hazel, and so many more. Even the wizards were all holding the ends, rooting Percy in place with the metal that was rapidly sapping the primordial's strength.

The son of Hades held out his hand, and his sword hurtled into his grip. He turned to Percy and glared furiously. "You," he said, pointing his sword, "will die, Ouranos. You're at my mercy now. Except, I have no mercy."