The air between Hiruzen and Derrick crackled with tension. Neither moved, but their eyes locked like predators circling in silence. Seconds stretched into eternity.

  Hiruzen’s breath clouded in the cooling air as he whispered to himself, I can’t let him control the pace. Move first. Test him.

  In a blur, Hiruzen rushed forward. His arm coated in jagged ice, a spear sprouting from his palm, he lunged straight for Derrick’s ribs.

  But the massive man only grinned. His skin shimmered, hardening into rough granite. The ice spear shattered on impact, shards scattering uselessly across the ground.

  Hiruzen’s eyes widened. “Stone skin…?”

  Derrick smirked, voice low and rumbling. “Yup. And that’s just the beginning.”

  He slammed his fist into the earth. The battlefield groaned as stone spikes erupted violently upward, tearing through the cracked soil like the jaws of a trap.

  “Damn it—!” Hiruzen dove and rolled, weaving between the spikes, but one jagged edge tore across his arm. A shallow cut—but enough.

  Derrick’s grin widened into something feral. He thrust out a hand. “Now I’ve got you. Petrify!”

  A searing pain shot through Hiruzen’s body. From the cut, his veins darkened, skin stiffening into a coarse, gray crust. His left arm began to seize, heavy and unresponsive.

  Hiruzen’s breath hitched. “What the hell is this…?”

  Derrick chuckled, voice echoing with pride. “On its own, my gift lets me command the earth. But after drinking the blood of Medusa herself, I gained something greater. A god’s curse. A single drop of your blood… and I can turn your flesh to stone.” His eyes gleamed. “Slow. Inevitable.”

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  A whisper brushed the edge of Hiruzen’s mind—Iskarth’s voice, tempting and cruel. Submit, vessel. Let me burn this curse away. Let me out.

  “No,” Hiruzen growled through clenched teeth. Not yet. I can do this on my own.

  He pressed his palm to the wound, freezing the blood solid to halt the spread. His body trembled from the effort, but he forced himself upright, glaring at Derrick.

  “You think that’s enough to stop me? Watch closely.”

  He slammed both hands to the ground. “Glacial Eruption!”

  The battlefield howled as a tidal wave of jagged ice surged forward, swallowing the cracked earth.

  Derrick roared, stomping hard. A wall of stone, thick as a fortress, exploded upward to meet the ice. The two forces collided with a thunderous crack, shards of frozen earth spraying into the air.

  But when the mist cleared, Derrick’s eyes widened—Hiruzen was already behind him.

  A hand pressed to his back. The sudden chill bit deep.

  “Flash Freeze!”

  In an instant, Derrick’s granite armor frosted over, ice crystals crawling like vines across his body. His stone-skin groaned, splintering under the sudden temperature shift.

  “What—impossible!” Derrick swung his arm, but it shattered mid-motion, chunks of brittle rock falling away.

  Hiruzen’s voice was cold and sharp. “Rock hardens, but when frozen, it fractures. Breaks easier. Even gods aren’t immune to physics.”

  Derrick’s grin faltered, his tone darkening. “So what? That wound of yours is still there. Petrification’s slow, but it’s unstoppable. You can’t run from inevitability, boy.”

  Hiruzen flexed his stiffening fingers, ice spreading further up his arm to delay the curse. “Maybe. But I don’t need to run. If I knock you out first, it won’t matter.”

  Their glares locked again, and the battlefield trembled as they lunged for the next round.

  Meanwhile, on the far side of the field—

  Emma panted, back pressed against broken rubble, sweat dripping down her brow. The endless swarm of soldiers pressed in from all sides. Their blades clashed against her barriers of light, sparks scattering with every blow.

  “Where… do you all keep coming from?” she hissed.

  Her hands lit up, golden radiance spilling from her fingertips. She launched herself upward in a burst of pure brilliance, rising above the horde.

  “Solar Cannon!”

  A beam of concentrated light roared downward, engulfing the soldiers in searing radiance. Their screams were lost in the thunderclap of the blast. When the glow finally faded, the ground was scorched, the soldiers reduced to ash.

  Emma dropped back down, staggering to one knee, chest heaving. “Too much… that took more out of me than I thought.” Her vision blurred, the edges of her sight ringing with static.

  But before she could recover, a commanding voice cut through the battlefield.

  “Hold.”

  The smoke parted. Soldiers fell silent, lowering their weapons as a tall figure stepped forward.

  Golden armor gleamed in the fractured light, etched with ancient runes. An owl crest sat proudly on the chestplate. Her long hair shimmered like bronze, her eyes sharp and calculating, every step exuding control.

  Emma’s breath caught in her throat. “Who… who are you?”

  The woman stopped a few paces away, her presence heavy, unshakable.

  “I am Annabeth. Daughter of Athena. Commander of the Athens.” Her voice was calm but carried a razor edge. “You dared slaughter my sisters, and you expect to walk away?”

  She raised her golden spear, light reflecting across its blade. The air itself seemed to bow to her authority.

  “Your trial ends here.”

  End Chapter