THE UPBRINGING

Ajax Draven's POV

I quickly deflected the blade of my opponent who is a son of Hades. He was covered by darkness that I almost couldn't see him. But before I could cast an art, a crackling lightning passed by me, and when it hit the tree near me, it revealed my opponent who was struck in the chest, electrocuted.

Deion retrieved his sword and looked at me from head to toe like he was scanning my whole body. "You alright?"

"Yeah. You?" He only answered with a nod.

The summoning circle glowed as the clock strikes twelve. Napakaliwanag ng ilaw na nagmumula sa paligid ng circle, at mula sa gitna, kung nasaan ang gate na umaabot hanggang underworld, narinig ko ang pagtibok ng puso ng isang malaking nilalang. Hindi ko pa man ito nakikita ay alam kong isang malaking nilalang ang kung anumang lalabas mula sa butas na iyon.

Ang sumunod na tibok ay nagdulot ng pagyanig ng paligid, at ang sumunod naman ay naging sanhi ng mga bitak sa lupa. Isang malakas na hininga ang narinig ko mula sa loob ng summoning circle. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi ko pa rin alam kung ano ang parusa ng sumpang ibinigay kay mama, at kung ito man 'yon, nasisiguro kong hindi ito magiging madali para sa amin.

Unti-unting lumabas mula roon ang isang halimaw na hindi ko kailanman nakita, kahit sa mga libro. It was a giant dragon which had a serpent's tail. It was huge and it's as tall as a huge mountain. Its torso is covered with scales looking like rocks. Its scales were black in color, but it radiated a fire-like aura. The eyes of the monster are intensely red, and its breath makes black smoke. It also bears sharp claws like those of the eagle's. The monster growled loudly, and the ground started shaking so I quickly jumped away from it.

In a few seconds, I found the Stellars and the Pillars gathered in one place slightly far from the monster. They all have the same serious expression on their faces. They look like they are ready to attack. But we cannot move hastily. We cannot afford to lose any member, because it is only us who are in this battlefield. We were left alone by the other demigods who chose to save themselves.

"What is that thing?" tanong ng isang babaeng member ng Pillars.

"It is Typhon, the child of Gaia with Tartarus. He was one of the greatest opponents of the Olympians," sagot naman ng anak ni Zeus na nakatingin ngayon sa halimaw.

"Pero hindi ba't na-trap na 'yan sa ilalim ng Mount Etna noong naglaban sila ni Zeus?" tanong naman ni Aidan.

"He was, but it seems like he is the curse, and he shall awaken today. He was the punishment for the existence of the cursed child."

Typhon, the serpentine giant who lost to Zeus?

"Does anyone know how to fight that thing?" napalunok na tanong ni Aliyah.

Tumingin si Deion sa direksyon ko at tumango. "We can kill him, but we need to trigger its final form first. Typhon has twelve heads, and they all have similarities with the abilities of the twelve olympians." Then that means this form is only his basic form. It is only the basic form, but it seems like it can destroy the whole world with its growl.

Typhon roared loudly and sent a huge amount of fire in our direction. "Stand back!" Aidan only stood in front of us and directed all the flames towards his body. It was like he absorbed the fire. "That was intense!"

"So, what's the plan?" tanong ni Eliora.

It was Gaddiel who answered. "There is no plan but to attack until it transforms to its final form."

"Try cutting its head off. Charge!" As soon as Deion commanded it, everyone attacked Typhon, their swords leaking with their vigor.

I blinked and activated my ability, but it seems like it is still hidden. "Azrael: Death claw, quadruple." A claw-like attack went towards the monster, but it did not budge. Parang walang epekto rito ang mga atake namin.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking again. Then, the wind around the monster became harsh. It started howling and it is getting destructive. Masakit ito sa balat at hindi ko nagugustuhan ang epekto nito sa akin. Ang mga itim na ulap ay nagtitipun-tipon din sa ibabaw niya na para bang pinapalibutan siya ng isang bagyo. Isang malaking kidlat ang tumama malapit sa paanan ko, kasunod ng isang kidlat.

Is this Deion's? I looked at his direction and saw him looking at me, too. A soft wind suddenly passed by me. 'This isn't mine. You know my storms would never hurt you, Uwak.' I don't know why, but I felt something inside me when I heard his voice. I realized that his storms really never hurt me. All the storms whenever I feel sad are from him, and they were gentle and comforting, unlike this one.

This is a typhoon caused by Typhon. He howled together with the wind, and we were all blown away from him. Then, it was followed by sharp drops of rain. I quickly used my blade to deflect them.

Deion sent thunderbolts towards the enemy, and when they hit the scales, the monster shrieked. Cracks formed on that part. The monster eyed Deion angrily and shrieked again. Sharp waves of water came splashing towards him, but before it could hit him, Deion was surrounded by a huge current of air. The water was carried away by it. Deion is at the center of the current that is full of lightning bolts, but I saw the golden streaks in his eyes glowing as he walked towards Typhon. When the strong current touched the monster, it screamed loudly before jumping away from him. The ground shook, so I quickly struck my sword on the ground to support my foothold. The others did the same, and before the shaking even dissipated, everyone attacked at once.

"Azrael: Dark crow's screech." Then, as I swung my sword, I heard the sound of a crow. When my sword touched the scale closest to me, cracks formed. I am still using the sword given by my father, but I used a sword art related to my grandfather's ability.

The others did the same, and we all successfully made breaks in its armor. Too many cracks were now marking its body, and the monster is looking more furious now. It screeched and now, green pigments went approaching our direction. "It's a deadly plant pigment! Protect yourselves!" Gaddiel warned as the blade of his sword became a huge vine full of thorns and leaf blades. Then, he ran towards the monster. He jumped high, but he only reached Typhon's legs. He targeted a broken scale, and from there, blood started gushing out.

Typhon screamed again before hitting Gaddiel with its wings. Gaddiel was thrown off, but he immediately got back up and started attacking with his blade continuously changing.

Eliora's eyes glowed like her fiance's, and just like that, she disappeared from my sight. She appeared on the neck of the monster where fewer scales were present. Her sword was enveloped by a white light before she struck it on the monster's neck.

The moon glowed blood red, and from the other side of the plaza, I saw a girl reflecting the crimson glow of the moon. She was radiating power with the moon's light. She also disappeared from my sight, and then, I saw her beside Eliora. "Luna: Exploding crimson moon." Then, she struck the neck of the monster.

Both of them jumped away from the monster that is now raging. It is now covered by light. It opened its mouth, and from there, a huge amount of crackling light was forming. It was getting bigger as seconds passed by.

"Do not stop attacking!" Deion said as he plunged his sword towards the foot of the monster. The ground started shaking again, making us jump away from the monster. Then, Typhon growled loudly before releasing the enormous ball of light towards us.

"Get in front of me, now!" I shouted. They quickly followed me. I closed my eyes and felt the stable circulation of magi inside my body. I need my grandfather's blood to dominate my blood. "Azrael..." When I opened my eyes, I saw a spark of light on the tip of Azrael, like it responded to my call. "Dark wings, encage." Then, I struck the Azrael on the ground.

Before the light could reach us, a huge black light bloomed from my back, covering me and the others. I felt the effect of the attack. It was heavy, but I didn't have any choice. The black and dark green vigor bloomed before me as I intensified the sword art. I cannot lose in this battle of power, because we, and all of humanity, will die.

A few seconds have passed, and I felt everything calmed down. I disintegrated my wings and just like that, they were instantly gone from my sight. Lights of different colors flashed before my eyes as they dug in for a counterattack.

As soon as their swords struck him, all of Typhon's scales fell from its body. Now, its body was now exposed to us. His body is like a volcano. His skin is black in color, and it was full of different symbols of different colors. On the veins visible from his skin, Typhon's magical energy was surging. It makes his body glow red together with his eyes.

The monster growled once more. It was now coupled with an intense heat that I cannot withstand if it's not for the cold wind surrounding me. The trees around us were now covered in flames, as well as the dried grass on the ground. It looks like we are now around an erupting volcano.

"Aidan, tone the heat down! Absorb as much heat as you can!" Aidan followed Deion's orders. He removed his shirt before his vigor covered his whole body, then, I felt the temperature slowly going down.

"Eliora, blind the monster for as long as you can! Gaddiel, restraint! Aliyah, hide everyone behind the mist!" The three complied with what he said and now, the monster is screaming as it was blinded by an intense light coming from Eliora, followed by the huge roots now covering its body.

"Everyone, charge, now!" Then, we all ran towards the monster, aiming for its neck.

We chanted different sword art as we jumped high. A soft wind supported our jumps, enabling us to reach the neck of the enemy. Then, with a full swing, we all landed on the ground with the head of the giant serpentine monster on our back, its blood dripping from its neck.

It was only a matter of minutes when its head grew back on its neck, followed by another, and another, until the twelve heads appeared.

When I looked at Deion, I saw a smirk formed on the side of his lips. We successfully made him transform to his final form. This would be hard, but we would not lose. The strongest of demigods are with us, and by the looks of it, they were itching to remove the twelve heads of the monsters. None of them looked scared. They were looking excited to bring Typhon down, and so am I.

"Surround the monster and strengthen your footholds! Reach the peak if you must, and don't die!" Gaddiel commanded and positioned himself on the point near the trees.

"Unsheathe your swords, now!"

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