Chapter 45.

Jihyo's mind was racing and so was her pulse. She was trying to calm her breathing. 

A dozen harpies and other mythical creatures were roaming the skies and grounds.

She was hiding behind a big rock only a few meters next to Sana who was also hiding. The air was tense and misty. It was hard to clearly see anything right now. 

This was hopeless. Sana was in distress and a mess, Jihyo couldn't move and God's knew where Dahyun and Tzuyu were. She prayed that they were better off. 

When the air in front of her started to flicker she nearly screamed in terror. At first she thought one of the creatures had found her. So when she saw Chungha's face and realised that it was an Iris message she couldn't help but sigh in relief and confusion. 

Chungha: "Jihyo can you hear me?" 

Chungha sounded distraught and Jihyo did not like that. 

Jihyo: "Chungha? How did- I thought Iris messages didn't work?" 

Chungha: "Long story. But we don't have enough time. Jihyo listen. The Olympus is not here. It's most likely where you are. It's a trap. Under no circumstances must you attack Dahyun's mother. I wasn't sure beforehand but I most certainly am now. Dahyuns step mom is Echidna. The mother of all monsters.-"

Of course it had to be Echidna. It couldn't have been something else now that she thought about it. 

Jihyo's anxious voice interrupted her. 

Jihyo:" We know. And it's too late. That crazy creature - Echidna or whatever ambushed us. She noticed our presence the moment we arrived at her territory. There's an army of monsters here. We can barely stand our ground. We're in the northern mountains-" A loud howl and then a scream that sounded a lot like Sana." - I have to go!" 

The moment Jihyo hastily turned around to focus on Sana the Iris message disappeared. 

Another scream caused by the creature, a harpie, this time resonated between the trees. Sana's sword was buried deep inside the monster's neck. 

Jihyo quickly ran towards the other demigod. They had to change position if they didn't want to end up being another monster's dinner. Without thinking she grabbed Sana's bloody shirt and pulled her away. 

A second later two other harpies circled the area they had just been in. Their hungry eyes scanning the ground. 

Sana gently pushed Jihyo's trembling hand away. 

Sa: "I'm fine." Her voice was quiet and hushed but loud enough to understand every word clearly. 

Jihyo nodded slowly. 

Sa: "Please tell me you know where Tzuyu and Dahyun are." 

Ji: "Sorry. I hoped you might know... But Iris messages work again. Chungha contacted me just now. Guess what, this was a trap." 

The daughter of Aphrodite sighed in defeat. Her eyes tried to pierce the fog keeping them trapped but to no avail. It was impossible to make anything out that wasn't directly in front of them. 

Ji:"We have to find Tzuyu and Dahyun. Gods know whether they're still alive or not.-" 

Sana's sharp voice interrupted her. 

Sa: "They're alive. They. are. alive. Jihyo." 

Something didn't sit right with Jihyo when the other responded. Sana was always overly protective towards her friends but this wasn't the same. This was a life or death situation. Anything could've happened to them. Sana wasn't usually this stubborn when it came to the "are they still alive or not" question. 

Sana's hands fiddled with her sword, her eyes wouldn't focus on anything but the mist. 

Ji: "Are you ok?" When those words left , she realised how stupid it sounded and Sana proved her right. 

Sa: "No Jihyo. I'm not ok. How on earth could I be ok? A crazy lady thing is trying to kill us, backup is somewhere completely else and Dahyun and Tzuyu are missing! So no I'm definitely not ok." 

It was only a short outburst but apparently a much needed one. 

Jihyo kept quiet for now. She knew that she'd only rile Sana up more if she engaged in further discussion. 

The silence was calming and suspicious at the same time. Neither of them could tell if the harpies were still on their track or if they'd given up. However, the latter seemed more like wishful thinking than anything else. 

A quiet sigh left Jihyo's dry throat. She looked at the fog then at Sana. They didn't have many options left anymore. Staying here was only slightly improving their survival chances because whilst the fog robbed them of their sight, it also shielded them from the monsters'. 

This was a losing gamble. There was no use in holding back now. Her chest felt heavy, just like it always did when she truly relaxed and let the energy  surge through her veins freely. Her whole body felt tingly and the sudden adrenaline kick felt refreshing and terrifying at the same time.

Ji: "Sana...please hold on tight." 

Sa: "Wha-" 

Before she could even really start questioning Jihyo, Sana was pulled off her feet. Jihyo had grabbed her by the hip and pulled her close enough that her breath caught in . Then the air around them felt static and the fog started to dissolve. 

Bright, yellow and white lighting hit the ground around them and with little effort both of them shot into the sky. 

Sana held onto Jihyo like her life depended on it, which was quite an accurate description. Her eyes widened with suprise and slight shock. The girl holding her wasn't the sweet and caring Jihyo anymore. At least she didn't feel like the Jihyo she knew. 

Holding her tightly now, was the frightening and overwhelming descendant of the God of lightning. The most powerful God amongst all of them. 

Zeus. 

The fact that Jihyo was the daughter of Zeus and extremely powerful was well known but to what degree her abilities ranged had always been a mystery. It wasn't in Jihyo's nature to brag about her skills. She was aware of how dangerous the children of the big three, especially the kids of Zeus, could be when they lost control so she kept this part of her hidden. And quite frankly she was skilled enough to neglect her powers and still kick .  

Additionally, she had always shown great distaste towards her father, who had treated his children more like his underlings and slaves than anything else. And she was also very vocal about all the obvious flaws all the Gods had but refused to acknowledge. Which had caused her trouble numerous times though. 

Knowing all that, Sana still couldn't believe that Jihyo could fly. Rumors said that some children of Zeus could defy gravity and fly through the sky. But it had always just been that. Rumors. Now, however, Sana was being overwhelmed by the fact that Jihyo could really fly. 

She quickly snapped out of her trance though. Their little stunt had caused the smoke to disappear completely leaving them in the open. Hundreds of creatures roamed the grounds and the skies. 

The dozen harpies noticed them immediately but they seemed wary about whether they should approach right away or wait. Even if they weren't the brightest creatures they could sense danger from a mile away

And the daughter of the lightning God was definitely dangerous.

Ji: "Let's kill some harpies." 

Sana couldn't do much but nod and wait for Jihyo to make her move. It was scary to see this side of Jihyo and it would definitely take some time to get used to.

The air was still filled with electricity and without hesitating Jihyo pointed her hand, the one that wasn't holding on to Sana, towards the sky. 

Another wave of lighting bolts struck the ground, occasionally taking unlucky harpies or other creatures with them. The smell of burnt flesh hovered around them. 

Whilst most of the monsters were busy with dodging Jihyo's lighting assault, she decided to find a safe spot where she could let Sana go without fearing that she'd be ripped to shreds by twenty harpies. 

Now that the fog was gone it didn't take her long to find a few spots. One in particular caught her eye. Or rather the lean and tall figure of someone very familiar did. 

There was no doubt that it was Tzuyu so Jihyo immediately set course and flew in her direction. 

The daughter of Hades was, at least it looked like it, lazily dodging the attacks of some kind of greek creature. There was no effort in her attacks either. Her face seemed paler than usually and blood was dripping from her face. It was like she was the empty shell of her past self again. 

With a smooth strike of a small metal dagger the monster collapsed onto the floor and dissolved into nothingness. 

Jihyo dropped Sana a few feet above the ground and then landed right next to her. When she looked up Sana was already hugging Tzuyu tightly. 

Tzuyu wasn't shying away as per usual but she wasn't engaging the hug either. Her hands stayed where they were, still clutching the bloody silver dagger. 

Jihyo scanned the younger's body. She couldn't find any obvious wounds so she guessed the blood on her face wasn't hers. Or she hoped it wasn't. Her chest felt tight just by thinking about Tzuyu being hurt. Regardless, she had to make sure. 

Ji: "Are you wounded? Is that your blood?" 

The words hung in the air for a few seconds, then Tzuyu slowly shook her head.

Ji: "Who's blood is it?" 

Tzuyu's eyes were fixated on the floor, refusing to look up. 

Sana finally let go of Tzuyu but she didn't step back. She was closer to her than she'd ever been. 

Sa: "...Tzuyu... Where is Dahyun?" 

The silence that followed was deafening. 

Sa:"Don't tell me- Is.. is that Dahyun's blood..? " 

Tzuyu swallowed. Then she slowly nodded. 

Sana nearly collapsed but Tzuyu actually stopped that from happening by grabbing her by the shoulders and steadying her. Something she would have never done before. 

Ji: "Tell us what happened. Now." Her voice had an unusual edge to it which Tzuyu wasn't used to. 

Tz: "It's- When the harpies found us...Dahyun pulled me away somewhere behind a rock. You guys went the opposite way but because of the fog we soon lost track of where you went...We waited for what felt like hours until we heard Sana Unnie scream. Dahyun was so scared something had happened that she leaped forward to get to you. I pulled her back without thinking but we tripped. Because the mist had stopped us from seeing what was around us, we never suspected that we'd be standing right at the edge of a hill. The dirt was slippery so we lost our footing and rolled down the hill. Of course the noises attracted all the creatures around us... I was still getting up when it attacked. That ing chimera jumped out of the fog and tried to bite me..." 

Jihyo didn't like where this was going. 

Tz:"I couldn't move... If it weren't for Dahyun pushing me out of the way that would've been my end. The chimera got a hold on Dahyun's arm and before I could even think straight it dragged her off into the mist." 

Sana's face was unreadable and Tzuyu looked like she thought she deserved to die. 

Ji:" Let's think about this rationally. Dahyun's step mother, who apperantly is Echidna, had a lot of chances to kill Dahyun but she never did. She stated that she wanted to see her suffer before taking her life, which means that Dahyun is still alive and Echidna must be waiting for Dahyun to lose the last thing she still has."

Sana's brain started to work again. 

Sa:" Us. She still has us. Her friends."

Jihyo nodded. 

Ji:" Exactly, so for now Dahyun should be safe, since she hasn't lost us yet. We just need to find her and get out of here." 

Tz:" Easier said than done. We've got company." 

A circle of prying eyes had formed around them. Harpies and other creatures neither Sana nor Jihyo could name were all waiting for them to let their guard down for just a second. 

Ji:" Tzuyu, don't hold back and look after Sana. I know you can stand your ground Sana but there are just too many and it's still dangerous for even the children of the big three so you or anyone else won't last a second alone." 

Sana didn't argue with Jihyo, she knew that she was right after all. 

Tz:" What will you do?" A worried expression decorated her face.

Ji:" I'm more useful near the clouds. So I'm going to roam the skies, cause some trouble for all the harpies and mainly look for Dahyun. Don't worry about me I will seek shelter if I get overwhelmed." She grinned and was about to take off when Tzuyu stopped her.

Tz:"...Just... be careful... I don't think I could handle losing you... There are so many things I still need to tell you. I- Jihyo I think I lo-" 

She was interrupted by Jihyo's lips touching her forehead. 

Ji: "Let's talk about this when this is over." She smiled lovingly and took off. 

Leaving Sana and Tzuyu with a circle of enemies behind. 

Sa: "Hate to ruin the moment but we could really use your powers now." Her voice sounded steadier than before. The small bit of hope Jihyo had provided by convincing Sana that Dahyun must still be alive had awoken something inside the daughter of Aphrodite. 

The creatures around them were still waiting but now Tzuyu was done with that. She concentrated and closed her eyes. That was the small opening the monsters had waited for. They leaped forward. 

Suddenly the earth underneath them cracked open. Skeleton hands grabbed the creatures by their feet and pulled them under the surface of the earth. Some of the dead, Tzuyu had summoned, emerged completely from the ground and started attacking the monsters. Overwhelming them with sheer numbers.

Sana could only watch while the creatures around them screamed in agony. 

Sa:" Neat trick. ing terrifying but cool." 

The daughter of Hades opened her eyes again. She definitely disagreed that her powers were "cool" or "neat" but she wasn't going to lie. Her abilities were terrifyingly powerful and quite useful. 

Sana decided not to stand around either. She grabbed her sword and with precision she cut two enemies down that had somehow made it through Tzuyu's defense. 

Sa: "Let's go. We still have around a thousand to kill." It sounded like a joke but it wasn't. 

Over the next few minutes they continued eliminating as many enemies as possible but there were just so many. It felt like everytime they killed one monster another two appeared out of nowhere. It was like a never ending cycle. 

They couldn't give up though. Not without knowing if Jihyo had found Dahyun. 

Tzuyu looked up at the sky, hoping to see Jihyo. It was useless though. A tight knitted carpet of Harpies that were spread across the sky were stopping Tzuyu from getting a glimpse of the daughter of Zeus. 

Only the occasional wave of lightning that ripped through every creature that was too close indicated that Jihyo was still alive. 

Tzuyu probably should have paid more attention because the next thing she knew was that an arrow as big as her forearm nearly pierced her in half. Sana was just as terrified and surprised when another arrow came crashing down. This time, however, it took an unfortunate harpie to its grave. 

Tzuyu's blood ran cold when an all too familiar voice made its way to her ears. 

Or: "And here I had hoped to never see your face again." There was an ominous bite to his words. 

Tz: "Orion. I thought Dahyun crushed your lungs back in the underworld." 

There were so many harpies around them, that Tzuyu couldn't figure out where exactly the giant was. The Arrows were angled so that she assumed he was somewhere to her right but he could have changed positions a hundred times already. 

Sana was still holding off harpies that managed to get past Tzuyu's dead warriors. It worried Tzuyu to no ends that not only the chimera had appeared minutes ago but now the bane of Artemis and Apollo was walking on the same grounds. 

Certainly, he'd be out for revenge after what had happened during their last