Divergent Path

An Olympian Stands

Chapter 23: An Olympian Stands

Frank's leg buckled under the ever-increasing weight of the ravenous mob trying to tear past him. He dropped to a knee and, in his hulking transformation, still towered above the enemy's frontline. The demigod looked ahead in a panic as he watched horses without their demigod riders whinny and screech before being mercilessly silenced by packs of hellhounds.

He shut his eyes for a moment, begging to every god he could name that Hazel was still safe and on horseback. His prayers were answered when she appeared a dozen meters ahead, riding Arion and tearing a hole through the thick ocean of monsters. Frank's relief was quickly wiped away when a lucky empousa jumped forward at the perfect moment, sinking her teeth into Hazel's upper shoulder while Arion blazed past. The daughter of Pluto vanished into the mob as the vampire ripped her from the horse's back and Frank snapped.

The son of Mars shouted as he climbed to his full height and explosively shoved the line of monsters back, giving him a moment of free space. Frank was already in motion, transforming back into the Minotaur and unstrapping Ultor from his back. But the moment he grasped the spear out in front of him, he instinctively dropped it as the red-hot metal burned through the skin of his palms.

Frank stared in shock at the sizzling metal in the sand in front of him as the legendary spear burned a bright red. The war raging around him faded to background as the pulsating echo emanating from Ultor bounced around inside the demigod's head. Frank's confusion pulled at a memory from the awards ceremony where he received the weapon.

Mars unstrapped his rifle from his back and it transformed into a spear, nearly identical to the one he gave Frank before his quest to Alaska. He handed it to Frank, who took it tentatively. Frank examined it and the only difference was that instead of a drakon tooth at the end, this one had a tip of Olympian Silver with an engraving of a wolf's head on either side of it.

"This is Ultor, after my title of Mars Ultor. As Praetor, you will be the leader your troops look to in times of battle. At any time, you may use the power imbued within the spear to rally your legion together. But as you know, Ultor means avenger. If you use it at a time when you are losing the battle, you will see its full power as a tool of vengeance. As a Roman, you fight to win but it would be unwise to not plan for possible failure."

The violent storm surrounding Frank returned to the forefront of his mind, deafening him. He involuntarily stumbled forward as Ultor seemed to pull at him from the sand. Frank gritted his teeth as he wrapped his hands around the scorching weapon. His hands bled and his head throbbed as Ultor exuded vengeance, demanding to be released. The son of Mars lifted the legendary spear overhead, threw up his bullish head, and roared.

Ultor unleashed waves of light that tore across the battlefield in every direction. The energy instantly incinerated the nearest hundred monsters and scattered their surrounding allies. Frank felt ungodly adrenaline coursing through his veins as he tore forward with his spear.

"Advance!" he shouted, not waiting for a response from the demigod lines behind him.

He didn't expect the most terrifying sound he had ever heard as over a thousand demigods unleashed their own war cries and thundered forward, empowered by the spear. The armada of monsters collectively stumbled backwards in response, revealing Hazel already back on her feet and feeling the effects of Ultor, beheading the horrified empousa.

Frank grinned, transforming into a drakon as he surveyed their own now-monstrous army, his eyes flicking between all of his formerly thrashed or unconscious friends that were now battling like demons, and he finally understood Ultor's true power.

(Line Break)

"OH, HELL YEAH!" Ares whooped wildly over the raging storm, looking down at his hands that glowed a bright red along with the rest of his body.