The Greek gods suck… that's not me saying it, history says it.
Arthur quickly lowered his body and this time put both hands into a blade shape to use the same attack as before to split them apart, but…
"Fireball!" was heard again.
Which caused Arthur to jump backward, rolling through the sand. But once again, the attack hadn't been aimed at him.
But this time Arthur quickly looked toward Percy… and saw him swinging his sword through the air, hitting something Arthur couldn't see.
Arthur jumped to the side.
But the moment he did, he saw Percy's mocking grin… and his instincts warned him of something, causing him to instantly turn his gaze toward Harry, who this time actually was aiming at him.
"Fireball!" he said as fast as possible, attacking while Arthur was in the middle of dodging a feint.
Arthur pushed against the sand with his hand, but his body wasn't in a good position to move, causing him not to have enough force to propel himself very far… which made an explosion ring in his ears while he felt the heat of the blast hit his shoulder, dislocating it from the fire impact while causing burns just as painful as the ones across his chest.
The impact made him spin across the sand several times before Arthur pushed himself off the ground with his good arm, landing on his feet… while also creating some distance.
Arthur stared at the group of brats with a cold expression… while they looked back at him rather proudly, especially Annabeth.
Even Harry and Percy couldn't help giving Annabeth a quick glance, because they were already used to working together in sync… but that came from all their years living together and causing problems together. But with Annabeth, Grover's attacks and his plants combined perfectly with them.
"At this point I don't know whether to feel proud of one of my siblings… or genuinely annoyed because all you're doing is delaying the inevitable," Arthur said while frowning with obvious irritation, something that normally wasn't easy to see on him, as he jerked his shoulder back into place with a crack.
At the same time, the burns on his chest were already beginning to regenerate… although his clothes remained damaged.
Meanwhile, the group stared toward Arthur while standing on guard, though now with more confidence, because at least he wasn't a monster on Ares's level. The problem was that he was still extremely difficult to kill.
Because Arthur was already dead.
Arthur brushed the dust and ashes off his now somewhat torn clothes while letting out a sigh filled with annoyance. There was even a slight grimace on his lips as he looked at the group of brats.
"I don't understand why you insist on standing in the way and siding with them. As a daughter of Athena, you should understand my point," Arthur said while looking seriously toward Annabeth, clearly disappointed.
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, frowning at those words.
"Hecate made a mistake a long time ago," Arthur said. "Normal humans should never have received a power capable of rivaling the children of the gods. That's why they entrusted me with this mission."
Annabeth's eyes widened again in shock and she couldn't help asking:
"My mom approved of that…?"
Arthur gave a slow nod.
"Our mother and Zeus fully understood the danger," he said. "Mortals without divine blood… capable of altering the natural balance of the world simply by learning magic. At first it was only about controlling the growth of wizards. Preventing them from becoming too dangerous. But they surpassed that point a long time ago. They created dangerous magic capable of harming the soul, something only gods should be capable of, not mere abominations. They became too strong… too quickly. Avalon was the final proof of that."
"So because you had the power of the gods, they ordered you to destroy an entire city," Harry asked coldly. "And you say it like you did something good."
Arthur watched him silently for a few seconds.
"Tell me, grandson of Hecate," Arthur suddenly said. "If a power capable of destroying the world was out of control… would you allow it to exist?"
His question sounded so simple… as if the answer was obvious.
"Don't give me that. You think I don't know? I saw it myself in my dreams. Those poor wizards just trying to defend themselves. Protecting their children, their families… defending their kingdom from the endless attacks of people who, like lifeless monsters, kept attacking without caring if they died. I saw one man fighting against an entire army just to protect that kingdom and die pierced by dozens of weapons… and even then he never lowered his head until the very end. A man who accepted a curse to stop that massacre… and failed, condemned to live in the same place for all eternity. And you're trying to make us believe you're doing this for the good of the world?" Harry shouted, for the first time truly sounding angry.
As he remembered the scenes from his dreams, watching the soldiers of Camelot fight against the mages of Avalon… how Lancelot gave his life fighting against those he once believed were his comrades from the Round Table, all just to stop the invasion.
Mordred suffering while fighting against his own father, trying to protect his mother's kingdom. And not only did he fail, losing everything along the way… he was even punished to live in that same place for eternity.
"Wars are never clean," Arthur replied with absolute calm.
Harry clenched his teeth tightly… while Percy glanced toward his brother. He could feel the anger coming off him, because he himself was feeling that same rage toward the man standing in front of them.
Meanwhile, Annabeth was shocked by the things Harry was saying, while at the same time looking toward Arthur as if she had just received a blow after hearing that her mother had caused a massacre in a kingdom that, even if she didn't know it personally, still existed in Avalon, where Mordred had been imprisoned.
And she had believed Mordred was the one in the wrong, even feeling deep disgust toward the killer of heroes.
But from Harry's words and Arthur's responses…
Then the stories she had heard… were wrong?
She remembered Mordred's words in Avalon.
"Yeah… history written by the winners is rarely the real story."
Now she understood what he meant.
Because in this case, even though Mordred killed Arthur to stop him… he wasn't the winner in the end.
Arthur looked toward Annabeth as if expecting her to join him.
But Annabeth's expression was surprisingly calm.
"I'll give you a piece of advice, though you can take it however you want. Maybe it'll help you a little. Sometimes, just because a parent does something that, from your point of view, feels deserved because you chose a path they dislike… doesn't mean they're right," Annabeth said calmly while looking at Arthur.
Arthur seemed confused, not fully understanding her words, which sounded almost unrelated to the conversation.
"That's something someone told me… someone I feared way more than I wanted to admit the moment I met him because of a badly told story. But thinking about it now, he actually seemed like a good person. Unlike you. I don't care what my mother ordered you to do in the past… I make my own choices. And mine are on the side of my friends," Annabeth said while briefly glancing toward Percy, Harry, and Grover, giving them a smile before gesturing for them to get ready.
"Harry… I think we broke her settings," Percy muttered slightly toward his brother.
"Don't talk about her like she's a machine… although you're right," Harry couldn't help adding while managing to control his anger enough not to let it distract him. That was a skill only Percy seemed to have in situations like this.
Arthur sighed in disappointment toward Annabeth while shaking his head… but once again raised his guard.
"I see. If that's the case, then there's nothing left to discuss. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to keep my promise not to hurt you like I tried to at the beginning. It seems you had very capable teachers. It's a shame you'll never get the chance to show your full potential," Arthur said as his gaze turned detached once again… but this time it was far worse. As if right now he was only looking at insects interfering with his divine task.
Insects he would now have to crush in order to keep moving forward.
Even his body released a killing intent sharp enough to make anyone standing before him tremble. As sharp as a blade.
"At the very least I'll bury your bodies so you may rest in peace… and I'll inform your relatives of your deaths," he added.
But his words sounded so emotionless it didn't feel like he meant any of it at all.
"You know? At this point I understand why Aunt Mor divorced you," Percy said while frowning in annoyance. "You really are an idiot," he added.
Arthur didn't respond to that. He merely snorted… while raising his hands into guard once again.
And instantly launched himself forward without waiting another second.