Do gods bleed?
Suddenly, the air around them changed. It felt heavier. Everyone could feel it, even if nothing was visibly happening. Like everything… had tensed all at once.
Ares stopped smiling. And Vincent… didn't move.
For a second, neither of them attacked, standing across from each other with a large distance between them… but even that distance felt too small.
Percy understood it instantly. They were measuring each other. And the fact that a god would do that against a human… already said enough.
Grover swallowed, feeling like the air itself could be cut with a knife.
Ares was the first to step forward.
The sand beneath his feet sank, like it couldn't handle his weight.
And then… he disappeared.
None of them could follow the movement, not even Percy, whose eyes widened in shock as Ares vanished out of nowhere.
So all their gazes snapped toward Vincent, who at the same moment shifted his stance, raising both arms and throwing a hook straight into the air in front of him.
A dry explosion burst in the air before Vincent, sending a shockwave that blasted the sand in every direction, forcing the group to raise their arms to shield their faces.
But in that instant, they saw Ares… who had disappeared only to appear right in front of Vincent, his greatsword in one hand, a violent grin on his face, eyes burning, as his blade clashed against Vincent's fist, which was being pushed slightly backward, leaving the imprint of his metal boots dragged through the sand.
Ares hadn't vanished… he had just moved at a speed the human eye couldn't track.
And even so, Vincent had managed to block the attack.
Vincent's free hand moved instantly, even as his body was pushed back, sliding across the sand, and he threw a fast punch straight at Ares's face.
But Ares reacted just as quickly, ducking slightly while twisting his wrist, creating a small impact against Vincent's fist, which bounced off the sword, making his hand lift just slightly.
Percy's eyes widened for a moment at that. That wrist movement… he had learned it before from Master Einjard. A simple move, but one that could easily break an opponent's guard.
And Ares looked like he was about to do exactly that.
"Watch out!" Percy shouted, just in case Vincent wasn't ready for what was coming.
But he didn't even get to finish shouting when, suddenly, the runes covering Vincent's armor lit up faintly, channeling energy into his boots in an instant.
Vincent jumped. Fast. Powerful. Leaping over Ares's head as Ares's strike barely grazed the tip of his boots.
And while still in the air, Vincent took the same stance he had used against the boar, drawing his fist back.
Then he punched.
And even if it didn't carry the same power as before, maybe because he was midair, still… it was like a rain of blades falling over Ares, who stepped back with ease, dodging the cuts without trouble.
The blades struck the sand, kicking it up, filling the air with dust, blocking part of the view in an instant.
But before Ares was fully covered by the sand, they saw him grab his sword with both hands… and slash through the air.
Just from the force of that swing, the sand split apart, and a massive blade of air flew toward Vincent, who was still midair.
But unlike the cutting magic from Vincent's gauntlets, this… was just compressed air, driven by raw strength.
Vincent immediately moved his hands to block it, but the moment it hit, the slash pushed him back hard, trying to split him in half.
Before Vincent could react, he didn't have time.
A shadow moved above him.
It was Ares, holding his sword with both hands, having jumped higher than him… bringing it down in a direct strike.
Percy and the others snapped their heads up and saw a golden flash crash down toward the sand at terrifying speed, followed by an explosion that sent the sand rising like a wave.
"Grandpa Vincent!" Harry and Percy shouted at the same time.
Right then, Ares dropped into the same spot, his sword raised overhead, a wicked smile on his face… and another explosion erupted at the same point, carving a massive slash into the beach.
Percy and Harry looked ready to run toward it, but Grover and Annabeth stopped them. The level of that fight… they couldn't do anything there. They'd just get in the way.
All of them stared at the crater that had formed in the sand from the impact.
Then suddenly, a small swirl of wind in the center seemed to pull the sand away, clearing the view.
And there was Vincent, lying on the ground, blood at his mouth, having just spat some out.
Ares's sword was right beside him… it looked like it had almost split him in half… but Vincent must have moved at the last moment.
And Ares, watching him with interest, seeing that he hadn't died… instead saw him already pulling back for a punch, still lying flat on his back.
"Oh?" Ares said, with a hint of mockery, just as Vincent threw that punch straight at him from the ground.
Ares moved his sword at the same time, using it as a shield with ease, not even being pushed back an inch.
But Vincent, right after throwing the punch, twisted his body, planting his hand into the sand, and swung one of his legs up in a kick straight for Ares's temple.
Ares simply leaned his head back slightly, Vincent's boot passing right in front of his face by mere centimeters.
And it was obvious Ares did it with complete disdain… like he was mocking the strength of the man he was fighting.
That made Harry and Percy even more nervous… because it looked like not even Grandpa Vincent was a match for Ares, even while he was holding back.
But then, suddenly, something happened that seemed to confuse all of them.
When Vincent's kick missed, and he was just starting to lift his body, he suddenly moved both hands. His left hand went for Ares's face… but dropped at the last moment, while his right struck straight at Ares's sword, completely throwing him off.
When his fist hit the lowered blade, it barely moved it a centimeter, drawing a brief look of mockery from Ares… until Vincent's left hand moved again and grabbed Ares's wrist, catching him off guard.
Then his right hand closed over the blade itself, gripping it, twisting his wrist, while his left hand held Ares's wrist tight.
That made Ares let go of the sword instantly.
Vincent pulled the sword in toward his chest and spun, raising it over his head while still holding it by the blade. His other hand released Ares's wrist and moved fast, grabbing the hilt, spinning it over himself before catching it with both hands.
And suddenly his armor flared with light… and his body moved so fast it blurred.
Ares's eyes widened for a moment in surprise, and he jumped back on instinct.
But his own sword, now in Vincent's hands, came down so fast it looked like a silver flash.
Before he could even complete that step back, Ares looked down at his own chest… and saw his jacket split right down the middle, a cut in his skin letting a golden liquid drip out.
His own blood.
He lifted a hand slowly, his face frozen in disbelief.
"Whaaaat?" he suddenly screamed, like something being torn apart. "You… you… you hurt me?" he shouted, caught between rage and pain, like he had never felt what it meant to be injured.
That alone left Percy and the others froze. They hadn't expected Ares to scream like that over a cut that didn't even look fatal. He was supposed to be the god of war.
Only Annabeth didn't seem surprised. After all, she knew the story of Ares getting hurt and running back to his father, Zeus.
Meanwhile, Vincent was breathing a little heavily, a wide smile on his lips, even with his mouth stained by his own blood. Those exchanges had left him completely battered.
"Ever since my sword broke, I haven't used one that fits me. This one's pretty good," Vincent said, glancing down at the blade in his hands calmly before looking back at Ares.
Ares, in response, seemed to snap.
"Damn mortal… I'll kill you. I'll burn every one of your bones until they turn to dust, and I'll cast your soul into the abyss where it'll be completely destroyed," Ares roared, as suddenly the air around him began to change, a suffocating heat warping the space itself like a mirage.
Then pure red flames ignited around him. From behind him, within those flames, the screams of war could be heard. Even the sand beneath his feet seemed to melt from the sheer heat radiating off him.
But Vincent's expression… turned into complete shock.
Staring at those flames, his eyes widened with real surprise… his hand instinctively rising to his face, touching the burn scar that covered part of it, and much of his body beneath the armor.
His jaw trembled slightly.
"Hahaha… you recognize it, don't you?" Ares said, laughing while still holding his chest in pain. "Yeah… I recognized those scars the moment I saw you. You're one of those three weaklings who survived, right? Hahaha. The three who had to kill all their allies and family to stop them… from the madness of war. While their tears soaked their faces… hahaha," Ares said, clearly enjoying the pain Vincent was showing.
Hearing those words, Harry connected it with what Ares had said before… about how he had destroyed the knights himself.
Percy's eyes widened as he understood the same thing… and both of them looked at their grandfather Vincent with concern. They didn't know the full story, but from Ares's words… it wasn't anything good.
Vincent snapped out of it and clenched his teeth so hard they almost creaked. The veins in his neck bulged, his forehead tightening as he gripped the sword harder. Even his enchanted gauntlets seemed to groan under the pressure.
"You won't even see them in the afterlife," Ares roared, as now a shield and a sword appeared in his hands. His biker clothes shifted into full Greek armor, helmet included. And as it did, the flames behind him intensified, the edge of his blade seeming to absorb that fire.
his presence exploded… thousands of times over… maybe millions.
For a moment, it even looked like cracks were forming across his body, as if he couldn't fully contain that power, forcing him to hold it back slightly.
Even so, it felt like a single swing could wipe out an entire city.
And the only reason he took that form… was because he wanted to end Vincent in one strike, using everything, and get rid of this whole situation once and for all… like he didn't even care anymore about whatever "honor" he had pretended to follow.
And even if Vincent seemed to feel the same thing…
Suddenly, his expression calmed.
As if he heard something, his head tilted slightly, his eyes opening just a bit.
Then he looked back at Ares.
Without a trace of fear.
Percy and Harry thought they saw Vincent's lips move.
"I accept."
But it wasn't directed at Ares… nor at himself.
It felt like he was speaking to someone else.
In an instant, the air around him changed.
Before taking his stance, gripping the sword with both hands in front of his face… and then slowly lowering it into a combat position.
Ares looked at him with mockery, seeing that this man still wasn't ready to accept his death, still trying to stand against him.
And he only gave him another cruel smile.
"Let's end this… You've lived longer than you should have," he said, like those were the last words Vincent would ever hear before being brought to his end.