Chapter 24 – A Discovery and a New Temporary Friend
Dante then looked at Roxane and said:
— Well, you can stay there. I'll deal with the little cow over there.
Roxane answered:
— All right. Just be careful.
Dante smiled:
— Don't worry. This monster is at most among the strongest of the weak monsters. It's still far from being something interesting to fight.
The minotaur then roared and came running toward Dante with its horns—horns that could knock down a car as if it were paper—pointing straight at him.
Dante said:
— I can finally use this power.
He then transformed into his half-dragon form: his hands turned into dragon claws, his black wings unfolded, and his eyes became golden with reptilian pupils.
Dante grabbed the minotaur's horns with just one hand. The impact created a one-meter crater on the ground.
Dante looked at the minotaur, confused, and said with a smile:
— What's wrong? Were you expecting to find a weak demigod and crush him like an ant? Well, if that was your intention, sorry to disappoint you.
The minotaur roared in anger and started trying to pull itself free from Dante's claw.
Dante, looking at it, said:
— So you want to get away? Why didn't you say so earlier?
Dante lifted the minotaur by the horn and threw it toward the sky.
When the minotaur went up, Dante looked at Roxane, who was in shock, and said:
— Well, you'd better go inside. All this noise probably woke up some people. If you stay here, you might draw more attention from everyone.
Roxane looked at Dante and said:
— Well… I'll go inside then.
Dante nodded. Then he looked at the sky, flapped his wings, took off at high speed, and grabbed the minotaur that was falling in free fall.
Dante looked at the minotaur and said:
— Well, buddy, did you miss me?
The minotaur roared in rage and tried to hit Dante with its arms.
Dante said:
— Looks like you didn't. So let's do something. I bet after this we'll become friends.
He then flapped his wings and flew higher and higher carrying the minotaur.
Roxane, down below, just looked up and heard a sonic boom.
At that moment Lenny and the others got out of bed. Lenny looked at Roxane and asked why she was outside the house.
Roxane answered:
— I came to get some water and heard the noise, so I went out to see.
Kurt asked:
— Do you know what it was?
Roxane said:
— It was just a military plane flying by.
Lenny said:
— Well, people, it was a false alarm. Let's go back to our rooms. After all, it's not morning yet.
Erik, yawning, said:
— Well, since it's nothing, let's go back, guys.
Charlie looked around and didn't see Dante. So he asked where he was.
Roxane thought fast and said:
— He was going back to the girls' room when I passed by him, when I went to drink water.
Roxane thought: I don't know if Dante's parents know about him. Even if they do, I can't say "your son turned into a dragon and grabbed a two-legged bull over three meters tall and launched it into the sky breaking the sound barrier several times."
Charlie thanked her and said:
— Lenny is right. We should all go back to our beds and sleep.
On the other side, Dante finally left Earth's atmosphere with the minotaur. He then looked at the minotaur and said:
— The view is beautiful, isn't it, buddy? I bet you've never seen such a beautiful sight. You know, big guy, now I know why Superman loves coming up here to recharge.
Dante then looked down and said:
— Well, it's time for me to go. I want to sleep because tomorrow I have to confront my mom about my grandpa… or grandma.
Dante said:
— So, big guy, how about you come with me on a bungee jump without a parachute or rope? Come on, big guy!
He then pulled the minotaur. When both were dragged back into the planet's atmosphere and gravity began to work again, increasing their falling speed, Dante shouted:
— Ah, this is awesome! I finally know why Kaido loves doing this!
He then looked at the minotaur, who had become a fireball screaming like crazy, and said:
— Relax, buddy. Enjoy the moment.
When they were less than four thousand meters above the ocean, Dante said:
— Big guy, I heard that if you fall from a very high altitude, water is harder than concrete.
Dante nudged the minotaur with his elbow and said:
— Good thing we have wings.
Dante then said:
— Now, big guy, open your wings!
Dante opened his dragon wings and stopped falling. The minotaur, however, went straight into the water, crashing into it and creating an explosion of water.
Dante stretched out his hand and shouted dramatically:
— Big guy!
Dante then said while opening a portal to return:
— I will never forget you, my dear friend.
He entered and came out in the girls' room. Dante then returned to his human form and lay down with the girls, who hugged him.
The next morning, everyone was having breakfast. Dante looked at his mother Sera, who had just finished her breakfast, and said:
— Mom, I have something I want to talk to you about.
Sera looked at her son's serious face and said:
— All right. Let's go to the room and talk.
Charlie looked at Dante not knowing what he wanted. After all, her son had never been serious or made that face of someone with something very important to say.
Roxane looked at them leaving and thought it must be about yesterday's monster.
At that moment Becky arrived and said:
— Look, Mom, my little bird is healed! Let's release it?
Roxane then looked at Lenny, who understood and said:
— Let's go, people. Let's help Becky release her little bird.
Diane said:
— Come on, sweetheart. Let's go, we're going to help you.
While they went outside, Dante sat on the bed and looked at her and said:
— You know, Mom, yesterday I made my first friend.
Sera said:
— That's good, son.
Dante continued:
— Too bad he only talked about a thief of lightning. Well, even though he was a cow, he was really cool. I'll miss him.
Sera became serious upon hearing this and said:
— It seems that no matter where I go, it's impossible to get rid of this past.
Dante looked at her and said:
— Mom, isn't it time you tell me what that thing was and why it attacked us?
Sera then began telling him about the gods, Camp Half-Blood, and all the other things. Even knowing the truth, Dante asked which pantheon: Norse, Greek, Aztec, Egyptian?
Sera said:
— Well… Greek.
Dante, even knowing, sighed and said:
— It had to be the Greeks.
Sera said:
— Dante, even though I left that place, it's still part of my childhood.
Dante said:
— Sorry, but you know the reputation and history of the Greek gods, especially Zeus.
Sera stayed silent hearing this from her son, but what could she do? It was the truth.
Dante then said:
— Let's see… that cow thing is probably after you because you're a demigod, besides being a shapeshifter. They're suspecting that you stole the lightning bolt of the perverted king-god Zeus.
Dante said:
— And it seems the situation isn't going well if a minotaur was sent.
Dante sighed and said, looking at his mother's worried face:
— Mom, there's something I have to tell you. I bet you were curious about me turning into a dragon instead of a wolf, right? But you never asked.
Sera smiled and said:
— I'll wait until you think you can tell me.
Dante looked at her and said:
— What I'm about to tell you will blow your perception of reality just like what happened when you discovered the gods existed when you were younger.
Sera took a deep breath and said:
— Speak.
Dante then looked at her and said:
— You know, our world is not the only one. I'm not talking about planets. I'm talking about a completely different universe. Mom, do you know the multiverse theory?
Sera said:
— A little.
Dante said:
— When I activated my power for the first time, I ended up in a place completely different from our world. There were mages and dragons with terrifying power that could destroy a country in minutes.
Sera stared at him.
— There I learned the story of a black dragon capable of devouring all things—magic, energy, or even space-time. Legend has it that he was only defeated by combining the power of the entire world, depending on several lucky accidents.
— Then I had an idea: find the heritage, the power of this black dragon.
Dante said looking at Sera:
— And as you can see, I found it. So with this power I'm on the same level as Zeus and the others. So if they want to fight, let's fight. I'd like to see who kills who in the end.
Dante said as his energy leaked from him. Sera at that moment finally believed, feeling the energy and the same presence she had felt in the Big Three.
Sera then looked at her son and said seriously:
— No, you're crazy! Dante, what do you think will happen if you win or lose? Earth will cease to exist. Everyone will die. Do you want me, Bella, your father, and your girlfriends to die?
Dante said:
— Don't worry, Mom. I'm going to win. I have a power stronger than the dragon's.
Sera said:
— And what power is that?
Dante then said with a smile:
— You know, Mom, since I was little, I discovered my power to create portals and teleport. I mastered it well, you know? Then I found out I can open portals of any size I want. And to teleport somewhere, I don't need to know the location's coordinates.
Dante said as his smile grew more and more insane, like an Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. He then continued:
— I thought: what if I open a portal to a supernova aimed at my enemies? With just one attack, all the gods will turn to dust. I doubt Zeus or any other god could survive that.
Sera calmed her urge to scream and asked:
— Then why don't you use it?
Dante said:
— Well, it's because the power isn't mine; I'm just channeling it like a magnifying glass. I can't control the intensity of the attack. But it must be just small damage, nothing too much.
Hearing this, Sera couldn't take it anymore; she grabbed a magazine and threw it at Dante's head while shouting:
— Do you think your mother is dumb and doesn't know the danger of a supernova?! One mistake in this little prank of yours and the whole solar system will cease to exist!
Dante said:
— Well, don't make it sound so bad.
Sera sighed looking at her son. Before she was worried about the battle between them destroying Earth. Now she was worried about Dante erasing the solar system from existence.
Dante said, lying on the bed:
— So what are we going to do? They're convinced you, Mom, stole that lightning bolt.
Sera said:
— Why do you only think about fighting? All we have to do is find the bolt and return it before everything falls apart.
Dante said:
— Okay, but how are we going to do that?
Sera said:
— Well, I'll have to try to find out the situation with your grandfather.
Dante then remembered and asked:
— Who is my divine grandfather? It's fine as long as it's not Aphrodite.
Looking at Dante's desperate expression, Sera smiled and said:
— Well… my father is Poseidon.
Dante was shocked and thought: So Percy is my uncle… well, laugh less at him when he gets beaten by several creatures.
While Sera and Dante were talking at the top of a building, Zeus and Poseidon confronted each other.
Zeus looked at Poseidon and said:
— My master bolt is missing. And you know only demigods can do that, right?
Poseidon said:
— My daughter has nothing to do with this. She left that world. She's living as a normal person. She even has a family now.
Zeus said looking at Poseidon:
— Yes, but you still have another child, right? The younger one. Or did you think I wouldn't know you broke the rules again?
Poseidon said:
— Percy doesn't even know who he is.
Zeus looked at Poseidon and said:
— I only know one thing: if the master bolt is not returned, it's war.
Zeus said as he vanished with the sound of thunder.
Poseidon looked up and thought:
Percy… Sera… I'm going to have to leave this task to you.