Would You Believe Me If I Said My Body Moved on Its Own?
After a short rest and crossing the Golden Gate, once they began driving up the mountain, the road turned into a dirt path that twisted constantly in sharp zigzags, surrounded by forests with steep cliffs that made it impossible to drive at full speed.
Or at least, it should have.
Because Zoë, who was behind the wheel, never once took her foot off the accelerator, even as the car bounced violently in every direction.
The scent of eucalyptus suddenly reached everyone, making Percy glance around and notice that most of the trees there were exactly that.
Percy knew koalas ate those trees, sure.
But for some reason, he had an overwhelming urge to bite one just to find out what it tasted like.
He had no idea why.
But he shook his head first, forcing himself back into a serious expression as he looked ahead at the road.
Getting closer and closer to Annabeth.
As Percy looked at Mount Tamalpais, which compared to many other mountains seemed rather small... or so he assumed.
Because from below, it was impossible not to notice how enormous it really was.
"Why is it called the Mountain of Despair?" Percy asked, perhaps hoping to gather some information about what they were about to face.
Because even though Zoë had agreed to come with them and tell them where to go, for some reason she had a very hard time talking about what was actually up there.
Or who the Great General was.
And the moment she heard Percy's question, Zoë's expression, while she kept her eyes on the road, changed several times.
Another kilometer passed before she finally decided to answer.
"A long time ago, when Kronos and his army lost the war for power against the current gods, Kronos was cut into hundreds of pieces before they were cast into the depths of Tartarus. And the general who commanded his forces, his right-hand man, was imprisoned at the summit of this mountain beside the Garden of the Hesperides," she explained in a very serious tone.
As she spoke, Zoë looked toward the mountain's peak, and for a brief moment her eyes widened while she clenched her teeth so hard that the others could actually hear them grinding.
They glanced at her before looking toward the summit themselves.
For some reason, the clouds seemed to be drawn toward it, swirling around as though the mountain itself were pulling them in and making them spin like tops.
But even if they wanted to ask more questions, judging by Zoë's expression, she wasn't going to say anything else.
She genuinely looked worried about what she was seeing.
After they drove a little farther, Zoë suddenly brought the car to a stop.
Her expression was completely serious.
"We'd better get out here and continue on foot," she said.
"Why?" Bianca asked, confused. "We're still not at the summit."
Zoë shook her head seriously.
"No. From here on, we'll be passing through the Garden of the Hesperides..."
She paused for a few seconds.
"My home... and unless you want to become dragon food, it'd be better if nobody noticed us passing through," she said.
Though for some reason, it seemed more like she didn't want to run into her sisters either.
Hearing that, Thalia, Percy, Grover, and Bianca had nothing else to say.
They got out of the car, parking it beside the road, ready for when they would need it on the way back down.
Then they started climbing the mountain on foot instead.
Fortunately, the climb wasn't very difficult.
Well... except for Bianca and Grover.
Bianca was understandable.
After all, she hadn't spent much time training to improve her physical strength.
Even if she was a demigod, if you don't exercise, you don't magically become stronger.
But Grover was another story.
Watching a satyr with goat legs—legs that were supposedly excellent for climbing mountains.
Maybe Grover needed to spend a little time exercising when they got back.
And stop eating so many tin cans.
Though he himself complained that it wasn't fair to compare him to Percy, son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three, who trained so much that he now had the physique of a monster.
Or to Thalia, daughter of Zeus, another of the Big Three, who had spent her entire teenage life fighting, and even if she had slept for many years, it wasn't as though she had lost her strength.
And then there was Zoë, who was, after all, a Hunter who had literally spent hundreds of years following Artemis and hunting dangerous beasts that undoubtedly required tremendous endurance.
While Grover was in the middle of complaining about all this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he took a deep breath, drawing the air into his lungs through his nose.
"That's..." he said as his whole body seemed to perk up and his energy instantly returned.
Then he broke into a run, taking the lead.
"Hey!" Zoë called after him, trying not to raise her voice too much as she watched Grover sprint ahead.
Though because she had tried to keep her voice down, it didn't seem to reach him.
So the others had to quicken their pace to catch up.
Fortunately, they didn't have to run very far.
Because the moment they passed through a cluster of trees blocking their view, they saw it.
A beautiful garden.
Grass that shimmered beneath the silvery light of dusk.
Bright, colorful flowers that seemed to bloom out of the darkness itself.
And an enormous apple tree standing at the center that, for some reason, they hadn't seen until they got close enough.
Even though it was at least ten stories tall.
With two staircases of polished white marble.
And branches heavy with golden apples.
As though they were made of solid gold.
Everyone immediately understood why Grover had quickened his pace after breathing in the air, because they themselves could now smell that intoxicating scent coming from the fruit. It was as if, from the aroma alone, they could tell that a single bite would be the most incredible and delicious thing they would ever taste in their lives.
And Grover, being a satyr, probably wouldn't even be able to stop himself from trying to grab one under normal circumstances.
But there was something that completely stopped him.
Maybe it was because the Golden Apples were a gift from Zeus to Hera, and taking one would earn him the king of the gods' wrath.
Or maybe it was because of the enormous dragon coiled around the apple tree like a giant serpent, with at least a hundred heads and copper-colored scales that shimmered faintly.
Fortunately, all of those heads seemed to have their eyes closed.
Showing that it was asleep.
"I-is that... Ladon?" Grover asked, completely frozen in place, afraid to make even the slightest extra sound and wake the enormous beast with so many heads that you wouldn't even know which one would swallow you first.
"Shh," Zoë hissed, signaling for him to stay quiet as she motioned for everyone to follow her, ready to continue on without anyone noticing they had ever been there.
But at that very moment, the surrounding shadows seemed to shift ever so slightly, while a strange melody drifted through the air.
Making everyone immediately go on guard.
Everyone except Zoë, whose expression turned rather complicated as she looked toward a direction where several figures seemed to be approaching them with calm, unhurried steps.
It didn't take long before they saw who they were.
Young women who looked remarkably like Zoë, dressed in ancient Greek clothing and absolutely beautiful.
But also dangerous.
"S-sisters..." Zoë said, still wearing that complicated expression of someone painfully confronting her past.
"You're mistaken, Hunter. You have no sisters here," one of them said with a completely cold expression. "What I do see is a group of demigods, a satyr, and a Hunter who will become Ladon's midnight snack if they don't turn around and leave," she added threateningly.
"Was that a threat?" Percy suddenly asked, his tone even colder than the Hesperid's as his gaze became just a little more dangerous.
That made Zoë glance at Percy, and for a brief moment, a trace of fear crossed her face when she saw that expression.
But she quickly regained her composure.
The three Hesperides turned their attention to Percy, looking him up and down.
"Perseus Jackson," one of the sisters said, a faint look of disdain on her face as she examined him. "I don't see the threat so many people believe you are," she added.
Percy's eyes hardened slightly, but a small smile appeared on his lips.
A very fake smile.
"I see. It would seem I haven't been trying hard enough," he said flatly.
As if sensing Percy was about to do something, Zoë nervously stepped forward.
"We only need to pass through and save Artemis and Athena's daughter. Let us through," she said, unable to hide the hint of worry in her voice, because she genuinely seemed to fear the Hesperides.
The three of them couldn't help but smile mockingly.
"You have no authority here anymore. Take one more step and we'll wake Ladon. He may not hurt you... but the demigods behind you..."
Just as she turned back toward Percy and the others, the Hesperid's arrogant smile froze.
Because she saw Percy bending down and picking up a small pebble from the ground.
He held it lightly between his fingers.
Then he slowly raised his hand, aiming toward the sleeping dragon.
But his hand didn't stop there.
It kept rising.
"What are you—"
Before the Hesperides could stop him, Percy suddenly flicked the pebble.
His companions, realizing what he was doing, instantly went pale.
And they watched in slow motion as the pebble flew through the air and lightly struck one of the Golden Apples, making it sway just a little.
Everyone held their breath as they stared at Ladon, terrified that he would wake up.
But it seemed that wasn't enough.
Except...
One second later, the apple broke free from the branch and fell.
With a dull thunk, it landed right on one of Ladon's heads.
Before bouncing a couple of times across the grass in front of the hundred-headed dragon.
Which slowly began opening its eyes.
And the very first thing those eyes saw was the apple lying on the ground.
Then they looked at the tree.
And after that, at every person standing there.
But they lingered far longer on Percy, who remained remarkably calm even while being stared at by a hundred pairs of eyes belonging to what looked like the deadliest collection of serpents in the world.
"You're... completely insane," Zoë said, staring at Percy with wide eyes, as if she were only now realizing just how crazy this guy really was.
Bianca and Thalia had both gone completely pale as they looked at Percy.
Meanwhile, Grover simply opened and closed his mouth while staring at his friend, never expecting him to do something like that.
As for Percy...
He hadn't actually wanted to do it.
But ever since he had laid eyes on that sleeping dragon, an incredibly powerful impulse inside him had, for some reason, been urging him—almost forcing him—to defeat the enormous beast before him.
It felt like an instinct carved into his very existence.
Very similar to what he had felt when he fought the Hydra.
Except this was much stronger.
So strong that by the time he realized what he was doing...
He had already thrown the pebble.
"Would you believe me if I said my body moved on its own?" Percy asked his friends, only now realizing what he had just caused.