A human vs a god
Ares looked at the mortal who had stepped in front of the brats for a moment, amused… like he was watching a joke. Though the smile on his lips looked anything but amused.
"What did you just say, mortal?" Ares said, with complete contempt in his voice.
"You said it yourself, sir. That you would accept fighting the knights and defeat them easily. Then… as the representative of all of them, and the protector of these children, I would like to accept that duel," Vincent said with a noble tone, something usually rare in him, considering Percy and Harry know him as a somewhat amusing old man… even if he looked like a muscular monster.
"Hahahahaha," Ares burst into laughter like it was the funniest thing he had heard in hundreds of years. "A mere mortal… challenging me? Hahahaha," he said, unable to stop laughing.
For their part, Harry and Percy both took a step forward to get closer to Vincent, but he gave them a light look, a soft smile, stopping them with a single hand. And even though his gaze was gentle… they suddenly felt like they were standing before a king… and that single gesture was enough to stop them.
They didn't understand why, since they had never felt this from him before. But Harry's gaze shifted slightly to Vincent's head, where a golden crown rested. It wasn't large; it was a small crown, something that could almost pass as part of the outfit.
But he could feel it… that was where the aura Vincent was giving off came from.
"There are always people like you. No matter how much time passes… you think you're good enough to challenge a god. And then your arrogance drags you down," Ares said mockingly.
"But there were some, weren't there? People who defeated you. Even if they were later punished… by gods who couldn't accept their defeat," Vincent said calmly, staring straight at Ares.
At that, Ares stopped laughing, his eyes locking onto Vincent.
Suddenly, the aura surrounding Ares spread outward. The moment it touched them, Percy, Harry, Annabeth, and Grover's minds began to fill with visions of hellish battles, war, death, and destruction. An insatiable hunger for rage… and for blood, like it was trying to tear its way out of their bodies.
At the same time, their bodies dropped to their knees, forced down under the will of the god standing before them. Even Percy, feeling all of that, realized at that moment that trying to challenge this guy had been complete madness, as fear started to fill his chest.
The others weren't any different… their faces pale.
But the only one still standing, staring straight at Ares, was Vincent. He turned slightly, seeing the children struggling, and took a step to the side, placing himself in front of them. His crown, for a moment, shone brighter… and a regal aura spread over both him and the kids behind him, as runes appeared circling around the crown.
When that happened, Percy and the others felt all the pressure that had been forcing them to kneel… vanish.
Ares looked at the crown for a moment and smirked.
"That thing looks familiar," he said. "But… a knight… it's been a while since I killed one of you. Well, not that long, actually," he added with a grin, glancing at the scar on Vincent's face.
For a moment, Vincent seemed to frown… but he didn't take his eyes off Ares.
"Let's see if you've got what it takes to even stand in front of me, mortal," Ares said with a smile as he raised his free hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The moment he did, the sand exploded at his feet, and a massive boar, bigger than anything they had ever seen, burst out from it. Its blood-red eyes locked onto Vincent the instant it appeared, as if he were its enemy… or maybe its next meal. Then its gaze shifted to the kids behind him, and for some reason Percy felt like that boar found him far more appetizing than he actually was.
Percy even moved slightly… and the beast's eyes followed him for a moment. He glanced back, noticing Harry, Grover, and Annabeth had taken a step back.
"Hey," he said immediately.
But before he could complain much more, the enormous boar let out a roar… strange for an animal like that… as Ares simply said:
"Go."
The boar, upon receiving the command, charged straight at Vincent, aiming to impale him with its massive tusks, which looked even sharper than any blade.
Both Percy and Harry were about to draw their sword and wand, respectively, to help Vincent. But he simply raised his hand again, stopping them with ease, before shifting one foot slightly back and taking a fighting stance.
"Now that I think about it… I never really had the time to teach you anything, did I? With you brats doing everything yourselves," Vincent said calmly, as one of his arms moved slightly back… like he was preparing to throw a punch.
Percy and Harry looked at Vincent… and then at the beast charging toward him.
"I don't think this is the best moment for a lesson, sir," Harry said immediately.
"You can teach us later… I think right now you should worry about the boar coming at you like a truck," Percy added right away.
Vincent let out a slightly excited smile, barely paying them any mind.
"First lesson of the day… sometimes all it takes is a good punch to end a fight quickly," he said, and suddenly his fist shot forward with tremendous force, just as the boar reached him.
The moment his arm moved, it suddenly felt like a massive gust of wind was being pulled straight into Vincent's fist, even shaking everyone's hair.
Ares raised an eyebrow when he saw that.
Right as Vincent's fist was about to connect with the beast, the gauntlet on his right hand lit up with a silver glow, as if it had absorbed all that wind in an instant. And the spikes on his knuckles suddenly began to vibrate.
Then, the moment his fist touched the boar's snout, as if all that air had been compressed, it burst forward… and blades of wind shot out ahead of Vincent's punch, slicing through the boar at incredible speed, continuing straight toward Ares.
Ares's eyes widened slightly before he stepped to the side, the wind blades passing right by him, carving deep marks of different sizes into the sand where he had just been standing.
Ares glanced at the ground for a moment… then back at Vincent, his mocking smile fading.
As he watched the boar freeze right in front of Vincent, only to suddenly begin falling apart into perfectly cut pieces, without even letting out a single squeal… because the blow had been completely lethal.
Percy's eyes widened instantly, filled with both shock and excitement. He didn't even understand how he had done that. It was… incredible.
"Is that… cutting magic?" Harry said, surprised. Even if he didn't recognize the enchantment on Vincent's fists, he knew more or less that most of the enchantments the knights used, whether on their armor or weapons, were enhancement-type enchantments.
But casting spells like that… that didn't make sense.
Vincent, calm, without a single stain on him, straightened up again, looking at Ares before saying:
"Well… I've dealt with your servant. So… will you fight me now, or are you afraid those old stories might repeat themselves… and a god might be defeated… again?" Vincent said, giving him a leonine smile.
There was something more in his words…
like he was reminding him of something neither of them needed to say out loud.
And Ares, hearing that, seemed to understand, his expression twisting into a violent smile, his eyes burning with flames as his face turned a deep shade of violet from contained rage.
"What did he mean by that?" Percy asked, confused, looking at the others. But Grover and Harry didn't seem to know. Only Annabeth seemed to vaguely sense something, thinking it through carefully.
"Hahahaha," this time Ares's smile wasn't amused… nor mocking… it was completely deadly. Maybe Vincent's words had hit exactly where it hurt the most.
"You got yourself a couple of toys and now you think you can stand against me. Fine… fine. That's what you want, isn't it, mortal? Fine. There won't even be a body left for them to bury. And when I'm done with you, right in front of those brats, so they can see there's no hope for them… I'll finish them too. And then I'll use their skulls as decoration for my throne," Ares said, lowering the sword that had been resting on his shoulder and slamming it into the ground.
The moment it touched the ground, the sand beneath it split open, leaving a deep groove with just that minimal movement.
"I'll give you the chance to show what you can do. I won't even use my full power, so you don't think I need everything I have to crush an ant," Ares said, looking at Vincent with disdain.
Vincent seemed to smile slightly at those words.
Harry's eyes widened a little… and he glanced at Percy for a moment. When Percy had said earlier, "Do you remember what Mr. Dorien said when he let himself be defeated by us?", those had been his exact words.
And now Harry understood.
The strong always underestimate the weak.
But unlike Percy, who had tried to provoke Ares into fighting him with insults, lowering himself so Ares wouldn't use his full strength… Vincent had used a completely different method.
He made Ares, through his own arrogance, choose not to use his full power… leaving himself even more open.
Percy seemed to realize it too.
He wasn't provoking him like Percy had… he was forcing him to hold back. And Ares… didn't even notice.
His eyes gleamed faintly.
Maybe that was lesson number two.