The man who made a god step back
Ares didn't hesitate for even a second and vanished.
This time, not even a shadow or blur of his speed could be seen, appearing almost instantly as if he had teleported right in front of Vincent. His burning sword was already descending toward him, and Ares's gaze was like when you're about to step on an ant… completely indifferent.
At that moment, Vincent moved as well… but not to defend himself from the attack. Instead, with the sword he had taken from Ares, he struck straight toward his neck, not caring at all that the flaming blade was coming down toward his head.
Ares couldn't help but let out a slight mocking smile at the sight. After all, even if this mortal had one of his weapons and could harm him… he would never be killed. And certainly not by a mortal.
Ares was already seeing his blade about to cut Vincent in half… but as it got closer to the human's body, he suddenly noticed something.
Across Vincent's armor, small golden gears began to appear right where Ares intended to strike. At the same time, the material of the armor itself started to shift, turning into a completely golden substance, very similar to one he had seen before.
Ares's sword struck Vincent's armor, but as if it had hit something indestructible, its edge was stopped with a powerful clang.
Meanwhile, Vincent's sword kept moving toward Ares's neck, and Ares's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he saw a mere suit of armor withstand the strike of his flaming blade.
"Athena, you again!" Ares shouted instantly, filled with rage, trying to figure out who could have helped this human just now. Only one person came to mind… just like before.
And as if Ares's anger fed the flames of his sword, it suddenly spat out a surge of red fire, hitting Vincent's shoulder head-on.
Vincent was struck by the flames before he could complete his attack and was sent flying back at high speed, crashing into the sand multiple times before driving the sword into the ground to stop himself.
A red flame burned on his shoulder, still clinging, trying to consume him.
"—" Vincent felt the heat tearing into his shoulder, letting out a strained sound. But the small gears quickly repaired the armor, putting out the flame.
Annabeth and Percy widened their eyes, as if recognizing those gears for a moment.
"No… it wasn't Athena. It was you, you damned cripple," Ares shouted into the air, as if expecting someone to appear in front of him, a smile full of contempt and mockery spreading across his face. "You think interfering is going to help?" he shouted before vanishing again.
This time attacking with his shield, which Vincent, still feeling the pain in his shoulder, rolled across the ground to avoid. But Ares moved instantly with his flaming sword and struck downward.
Vincent let go of Ares's sword without hesitation. And as the blade came down toward him, Vincent pushed himself up in a burst, leaping straight back at Ares, as if his own life didn't matter at all.
His hands spread like claws on either side of Ares, and a massive amount of wind was drawn into his metal gauntlets, which seemed to finish restructuring themselves.
The wind he absorbed was even greater than before, forming two small vortexes of cutting air in his palms.
Ares frowned at the sight and quickly raised his shield to block. But his sword kept its course, aiming to finish Vincent once and for all.
Then the wind inside Vincent's gauntlets suddenly exploded, blades of air bursting violently in every direction, cutting through everything around them… even the sand beneath their feet.
And it forced Ares to step back for a moment.
Even though his sword still struck Vincent's chest, leaving a deep gash that was instantly burned by the heat of the flames. But most of the impact seemed to be absorbed by the armor, which felt like something beyond anything mortal.
The armor quickly extinguished the flames as it regenerated itself completely.
Now, the armor had changed entirely into something that looked like solid gold. Even the joints seemed to have disappeared, yet it still moved with the flexibility of leather… but was harder than anything.
Suddenly, different kinds of Greek runes appeared all across the armor, from end to end.
Then those runes flared at once and seemed to sink straight into Vincent's body, and just like Ares earlier, he vanished, surrounded by a furious storm of wind.
Even Ares's eyes widened in surprise, raising his shield again, which instantly shone with a reddish aura.
Vincent moved like a beast… like a lion on the hunt.
Instead of throwing a punch, he slashed with his hand like a claw, sending five blades of wind at Ares. But when they struck Ares's shield, they were shattered with ease.
Ares then shoved the shield forward, smashing it into Vincent's face, staggering him for a brief moment.
Ares moved with the same inhuman speed and delivered a sideways slash straight across Vincent's stomach. But once again, the armor destroyed most of the impact, though for a moment it split open, revealing Vincent's burned skin beneath.
And he didn't even flinch.
Instead, he moved both hands, trying to tear into Ares's neck, releasing those blades of wind at point-blank range. But the god of war quickly raised his shield, destroying the attack effortlessly, and was already about to strike again…
But suddenly Vincent grabbed the shield with both hands, twisted it, and it flew into the sky.
He was about to attack Ares again, but Ares instantly kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying, before slashing through the air and releasing a red arc of fire that looked ready to burn everything in its path.
This time, for the first time, Vincent seemed to defend against an attack, raising both hands to block the flaming slash. But the moment it touched him, a surge of pain hit him as his gauntlets and the armor on his arms began to melt almost instantly, turning into liquid.
Even so, Vincent didn't let out a scream… even as the smell of burned flesh spread through the air.
He moved his hands, drawing the wind around him once again into his fists. They were melting… but somehow still holding together, still keeping their power as they struggled to rebuild even while being consumed… and the wave of flames split in two.
At that exact moment, Ares appeared right in front of him, this time holding the flaming sword with both hands, his face filled with irritation that a mere mortal was still alive after taking so many attacks from a god. Even if he was restrained by his vessel right now, it still felt like his pride was taking a hit… so he decided to end it once and for all.
For the first time, Ares looked Vincent in the face.
And unlike the way he had been attacking before, lost in his own fury… the man's expression was calm. Almost unnaturally so.
And then… Vincent gave him a small smile.
He opened both arms… like he was welcoming the attack.
Ares looked at him with mockery before bringing the blade down.
In an instant, a burst of blood came out… only to be dried away immediately by the flames of his sword.
With that strike, all the blood inside Vincent's body should have evaporated on the spot. Even the fire was still burning in his chest, surely scorching every organ inside.
That's what Ares thought, with disdain.
He could admit it, maybe… the mortal had endured more than expected. But of course, he hadn't done any real damage.
"Nooo!" Percy and Harry shouted at the same time when they saw it.
But Ares frowned… because Vincent was still standing in front of him, with that same smile. Even with the flames burning through his body, Ares could feel the vitality inside the old man.
And then Vincent moved.
Both hands at once.
For a brief moment, Ares was caught off guard, because that vitality… it wasn't human. He tried to step back to dodge.
But suddenly, it felt like his movements were reversed… or rather, like the entire world had flipped for an instant, as if sky and ground had swapped places.
That disorientation lasted only a second… but that was enough.
Vincent closed the distance.
Both hands, like claws, struck toward his head—
And in the next instant, two streams of golden blood fell to the ground.
Silence.
Ares staggered back, regaining his control.
Only to see his ears… falling to the sand, soaked in divine blood.
"AAAAAAAH!" Ares screamed, his voice tearing out of him with brutal force… but he couldn't even hear his own scream as his hands flew to where his ears had been, now nothing but blood. "You bastard!" he roared in pain.
He had never felt something like this.
Even as a god of war… no one had ever hurt him like this, except one person… and even then, it had only been because of Athena.
"Damn you! Damn you! You'll pay for this!" Ares roared, shaking his sword wildly, completely consumed by rage.
And then dozens of flaming slashes shot out in every direction, tearing through everything without control.
Or rather… in his fury, he wanted to destroy all of them at once.
Percy reacted instantly, grabbing Harry and the others and pulling them out of the path of one of the slashes, which flew straight into the sea.
Vincent moved fast, weaving through the attacks as he ran straight toward Ares. He couldn't let the kids get caught in the middle of this.
But his speed had dropped. Every step seemed to reopen his wounds, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
His right fist drew in all the wind around him… with every step bringing him closer to Ares.
At some point, even the wind itself started cutting into Vincent's face, small blades tearing at him with each movement.
Ares, still out of control, suddenly saw Vincent charging toward him… and looked at his fist.
And for a moment… he hesitated.
Not because of the human in front of him… but because of the pain from his attacks, like some buried memory had just been dragged back to the surface.
"This isn't over. Every time you fight, every time you raise your swords or those stupid sticks… you'd better watch your backs," Ares threatened everyone who had seen him in this humiliating state, as his body began to glow with golden light.
"Don't look at him!" Annabeth shouted instantly.
Percy and Harry didn't understand why… but they listened anyway. Annabeth and Grover lowered their gaze.
The only one still looking straight at Ares… was Vincent, who had already reached him.
And for the first time, with a roar that came from deep within his chest… he threw a punch.
At that exact moment, Ares's figure suddenly flared like the sun itself… and vanished.
And Vincent's punch went through empty air.
Then suddenly, a hurricane seemed to burst out from that punch… rushing straight toward the sea, which for an instant looked like it split apart under the force of the wind.
Vincent watched Ares escape… and his body began to tremble.
His armor started to break apart piece by piece, along with his gauntlets, leaving only his body behind… now covered in bleeding and burned wounds.
Wounds that were absolutely fatal… any normal human would have died long ago from just one of them.
The cut across his chest even exposed his burned bones… his organs now dry and ruined.
One of his eyes was completely burned away… along with half his face.
His legs finally gave out, and he dropped to his knees, like his body simply couldn't hold him anymore.
His breathing started to fade.
But his gaze dropped to the ground… noticing more golden blood.
And suddenly—
"AAAAAAAH!"
A scream that shook the entire city… echoing from the sky itself.
"Looks like… gods bleed… and a lot," Vincent said, coughing up blood as his body collapsed onto the sand.
As his life started to slip away, he saw—through the one eye he had left—Harry and Percy running toward him, their eyes filled with tears and desperation.
And he gave them a small smile…
Before closing his eyes.