The guards, fresh from massacring the poor people on the dance floor, lined up behind Carcinus. There were about ten of them. They all stood stone-faced, staring at me as if they hadn't just killed groups of the innocent—as if their hands weren't stained with fresh blood.
Looking at each of their levels, I took a deep breath and removed Malice from my inventory, placing Riptide back into it. A spear would make fighting such a large group of people easier and let me keep a bit of range.
My left eye felt a bit hot, too. I had half a mind to rip my wrap off and turn everyone in this room to stone. It wasn't worth it, though. It was pretty clear to me that Carcinus wasn't working alone, and if I opted to take the easy way out, I wouldn't get any information. That sort of lack of knowledge could result in even more people dying. I need to win this fight the old-fashioned way—beat his ass, get information, and go home.
"Do you see, Perseus?" Carcinus taunted me, strutting over to the dance floor and holding up the corpse of a woman. "Do you see what your actions have caused? This isn't even a clean-cut. She simply won't do. Her death was in vain."
"You're getting on my last nerve."
Despite my building anger, I was still trying to keep a clear head. If I made a misstep here, despite my water-enhanced healing, I'd be a dead man.
Flame on.
Malice was engulfed in a sulfuric fire, the crackling noise of the metal being heated echoing around the empty room. The first bitch to step up was going to get turned into a fish stick.
"Oh Perseus, you honor us," Carcinus said, the horrific metal limb hanging limply against the floor, his arm still a distorted mess of blood and flesh. He tightened his claw, and the woman's body was cleaved in two. "Straight to the point already, eh? For your sake, I hope you can hang on."
Clang!
His metal arm deflected off of my spear. Sparks flew off of the impact, and I hardly even noticed the strain of parrying his attack. What I did notice, though, was that five of the guards stepped forward, forming a V formation.
Interesting.
"When we're done with you, we'll simply hunt down those who have begun to run," Carcinus laughed, his suit starting to bulge more. His chest was rolling and bubbling like he'd started a wave pool of boiling water underneath. "And I'll have even more to feast on!"
"Why?"
I couldn't even think of words to say as the guards began pushing me. I swung Malice in a wild arc, batting away their assault with a ring of fire. "Why did you do this to those innocent people?"
"Innocent people?" Carcinus scoffed, patting his mouth with a dainty handkerchief. He lifted half of the woman who was still lying on the floor next to him. "Look at her. Look closely, Perseus. There's nothing innocent about these filthy Atlanteans at all. I'm only giving them their divine retribution."
"This is all because of your vendetta against Atlantis?" I roared, punching the first guard in his stomach and driving Malice through his chest with a sickening crunch! My newfound strength pushed my muscles to their limit, and I ran through the guard's armor like it wasn't even there. A surge of energy twisted my wrist, exploding the spear back out of his chest.
SHINK!
He keeled over instantly, blood pouring out of him.
The next guard kept the assault going as if his comrade hadn't just been skewered, knocking me back with a wild bull rush. I'd expected him to at least pause at the sight of his friend dying so brutally, but I shouldn't have hesitated.
I held out my hand, and the water currents churned, shooting Malice out of the dead guard and firing it through the guard fighting me, ripping a hole through his throat. His hands shot up to the gaping wound, struggling in vain to breathe before he folded backward, dead.
I caught the bloody spear with ease, turning and bashing the closest guard, my knuckles splitting open as they made contact with his metal armor. I growled, the sea already knitting my hands back together.
As the fight wore on, my focus started shifting more from survival to straight-up beating all of the guards. I'd underestimated my own combat ability, even if I was waiting to use my more mana-intensive techniques for Carcinus.
Carcinus smiled. "Precisely. All Atlanteans are dogs. Beasts. I have not forgiven your father for creating this inferior race—when I deliver you to be host, my true lord will return, and all of these filthy breeds will be eradicated."
"You want me to be host to Oceanus?" I scoffed, engulfing the tip of Malice in a richly red flame again. The guard closest to me tasted it firsthand, the conductive spear skewering him like a kebab. "Fat chance."
"Oh, you will, one way or another," Carcinus cackled, beckoning for more of the guards to come to fight. "Dance for me, boy. Once you're incapable of fighting, I'll feast on the tasty Atlanteans and make you watch. Come, now."
"Tasty? Killing them isn't enough to prove your point to me?"
"Of course, not," Carcinus laughed loudly. "I kill them because they're Atlanteans, yes, but I eat them because they're tasty. Why else?"
I was terribly angry. I'd been a demigod for a few months now, and I'd seen some truly evil things, but this was just…this was insane.
Carcinus was the embodiment of evil. There was no redeeming a man like him. This wasn't like Ares, who had been under a curse, or Zeus, who was blind with pride. Even monsters weren't inherently evil, well at least some of them.
Carcinus, though?
This was a true monster. A man of no morals, who would spread chaos and kill the innocent…just because he wanted to. He wanted to kill people like it was a sport. He enjoyed it. He wanted to hurt the people I'd lived amongst for weeks. The ones that waved to me on the daily, the ones that looked up to me as their hero. The people I'd sworn to protect.
Just beating him would never be enough, would it? No matter how hard I'd beat the living hell out of him, no matter how hard I'd dismantle him, he'd still be the same. The unspeakable evil would still be there, waiting for the perfect opportunity to rear its head.
Plus, how many of his victims did he show that mercy to? How many of the civilians that he'd slaughtered wished for that very kindness? How many people had to watch their loved ones get dismembered like cattle, only to realize that they were next up?
Oh, man, I was barely holding on. The thought of the people I'd grown to care about getting slaughtered like pigs…it was rough. Unlike my fight with Ares, I wasn't angry and nervous, so those two feelings weren't slowing each other down. I knew I was capable now. I knew I was strong.
And, I knew I was angry.
Really. Fucking. Angry.
My spear was shaking with barely contained anger. This wasn't even comprehendible. I'd read stories about evil dictators like Hitler, but seeing it firsthand was a whole other animal.
All of those innocent people…like the ones on the dance floor a moment ago. How many parties had he had? How many groups of people had become his dinner?
My blood ran cold.
Amphitrite said she went to parties like this often…Malia had said she'd been trying to contact Atlantis for months.
No way…
"All of those lives you took, for what?" Something inside of me snapped, and I felt blood roar in my ears. I felt like I could feel my heartbeat in my entire body. "You're sick. You're a sick fuck."
"Oh, Perseus, don't give me that," Carcinus gave me a wide smile as the rest of the guards came running at me. "You should have been a good boy and waited for me to serve you Amphitrite. The sweet taste of flesh—especially an immortal like hers—mm. You would have gained her power."
"You were going to kill her…" I stopped moving for a moment. The blood roaring in my ears seemed to get louder, and I could barely hear myself speak. "You…you wanted me to eat…"
"Why of course! Nothing more fitting than a prince eating—"
FWOOM!
That was the last straw. That was it. I'd been holding on for so long, trying to convince myself that this situation was salvageable, that Carcinus was salvageable, that maybe there was a better way to do things.
I screamed as my heartbeat grew louder and more frantic. My body exploded in a flash of green fire, encasing my entire frame in bright light. Fire poured out of my mouth and eyes, and I screamed again, letting the anger in my body fuel the fire. My glasses burnt into ash.
The cursed eye came to life, instantly turning some of the guards' arms and legs to stone.
I was stupid. At the start, I'd thought I was still dealing with someone that could be bargained with, that maybe the myths were wrong. That Carcinus had changed in his second life. That he'd ever change, ever be contained.
I chuckled to myself hopelessly. There was no bargaining with people like this—no point in trying to get them to see the light. Not that Carcinus deserved that chance—he only deserved one thing and one thing only.
Death.
And I was going to give it to him.
His last meal would be from me, and I'd make sure it wasn't an enjoyable one.
A ring of green fire exploded outwards from me. The guards closest to me instantly withered in the flames, dying instantly. I ignored the tick of damage that popped up in my vision as their bodies crumbled into ash a few moments later.
I growled, a gurgling noise echoing out of my throat as more fire spilled out. I locked onto Carcinus and I disappeared in a haze of heat.
"You fucking bastard!" I roared, my flame-covered fist slamming into Carcinus, sending him blasting across the room. "I'll kill you!"
His body slammed into the adjacent wall, a low chuckle reverberating against the floors.
"I see. Well, then. Gentlemen?"
The guards resumed their onslaught, but I'll be quite clear. I don't even remember much of my fight with them.