[Third Person’s PoV]

“Before we continue this any further… give me,” Lucian said, pointing to Percy’s sword and opening and closing his hand.

“Huh? Why?” Percy asked, holding it protectively.

“I’m not going to take it. I don’t need your stupid sword,” Lucian scoffed.

Percy gasped and clutched the sword closer. “Don’t call her stupid!” he exclaimed, clearly offended.

“Her?” Thalia asked in amusement before nudging Clarisse teasingly. “Looks like you’ve got some competition.”

Clarisse turned to Thalia, her eye twitching as she restrained herself.

Percy handed Riptide to Lucian, saying, “Take good care of her.”

Lucian rolled his eyes. “You’re being weird.”

He grabbed Riptide and held it to the side. His eyes flashed a deep red as he pinched the base of the blade and slowly ran his fingers toward the tip.

The others watched in wide-eyed fascination as a black wisp followed his fingers, as though he were cleaning something dark and sinister off the blade.

Lucian scoffed, shaking his hand as if brushing away dust. In his palm, a swirling black orb of darkness formed, radiating palpable power.

“What is that thing…? It feels evil,” Grover said, shivering slightly. As a satyr attuned to nature, he was sensitive to the raw malevolence the orb exuded.

“This is the power of a curse, created by a god. Ares, as the God of War, placed this curse on your weapon,” Lucian explained as he handed the sword back to Percy.

“Thank you,” Percy said, nodding gratefully.

“No, I should be thanking you.” Lucian raised the orb in a mock toast. “Bottoms up.”

“Wha–?!” Everyone gasped in shock and horror as Lucian shoved the cursed orb into his mouth.

They watched, horrified, as the curse traveled down his throat, turning his neck black as it went. Lucian slouched forward, his eyes drooping in contentment.

“Ahhhh~ That tasted so good,” he murmured, black wisps escaping from the corners of his mouth as he rubbed his stomach.

“That was disgusting! Do it again!” Nico exclaimed, his face a mix of fascination and revulsion.

“Since when can you do that?” Annabeth asked, her expression perplexed.

Lucian mimed a drinking gesture with his thumb and pinky. “Since I… you know.”

“Seriously?” Thalia asked, giving him a weird look.

Lucian shrugged. “I didn’t even know I could do it. My intuition just told me to. I should find more cursed items… my magic power increased.”

“What?” Annabeth blinked. “By how much?”

“Fifteen percent—but that’s only because it was a curse from a god. Different types of curses will increase my magic power by different percentages. And no, I can’t eat curses I created myself since they come from my own power. But that’s obvious.”

Bianca tilted her head in confusion. “If this is your first time doing it, how do you already know so much about it?”

“That’s the thing about intuition,” Lucian said. “I know things without knowing how I know them. It’s all intuitive.”

“Of course you have another power. Why wouldn’t you?” Clarisse scoffed.

“Isn’t that a bit overpowered?” Percy asked.

Lucian shook his head. “I don’t get to decide what I’m intuitive about. It’s random and could be something completely useless.”

“I suppose that’s fair…” Percy said with a sigh as he picked up a blue backpack from the ground and slung it over his shoulder. “Now that Ares is out of our hair, let’s return this to its original owner.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Lucian turned to Nico and Bianca. “It’s time to send you guys back to our father.”

“What?” Nico asked, his expression falling in disappointment.

Bianca yawned. “We did stay up all night watching Lucian fight Heracles.”

Lucian smiled and ruffled Nico’s hair. “I can’t take you where we’re going, little bro. We’re meeting Uncle Thunder, and let’s just say he’s not a big fan of us Hades kids. It’s for your own safety. After this is over, I’ll come get you and Bianca, and we’ll explore Camp Half-Blood together.”

“Pinky promise?” Nico asked, holding out his pinky with a serious expression.

“Pfft… Yeah, I pinky promise,” Lucian teased, locking pinkies with him. Then he turned to Bianca, wiggling his pinky teasingly. “You want one too?”

Bianca just stared at him with a deadpan expression, her tired eyes half-closed.

Lucian raised his hands in mock surrender as two Shadow Hellhounds appeared by his side.

“Get on them,” he said. “They’ll take you to the Underworld. Hold on tight, and don’t let go.”

The siblings climbed onto the Hellhounds. Nico waved enthusiastically. “Bye! See you later!”

Bianca gave everyone a polite wave. “It was nice meeting you all. I had fun.” Before disappearing into the shadows, she smiled faintly at Percy. “Bye, Percy.”

Lucian immediately grabbed Percy by the collar, pulling him close. “What the hell are you seducing my sister for, you dumbass?” he growled coldly.

“Huh?! Since when did I seduce her?!” Percy exclaimed, looking around in confusion.

Thalia and Annabeth grabbed Lucian’s waist while Clarisse and Grover restrained Percy. As they pulled the two apart, Lucian pointed at his eyes and then at Percy in a silent warning before scoffing and letting it go.

“You need some serious help, you lunatic!” Percy yelled, straightening his shirt.

Lucian opened his mouth to retort but froze as he felt a hand moving up and down his abs. His eyes followed the hand to Annabeth, who was rubbing his stomach with a concentrated expression.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lucian asked, snapping Annabeth out of her reverie.

“Huh? Oh, nothing… I was just wondering if these got harder,” Annabeth replied quickly, shaking her head as if trying to clear it.

Lucian glanced down to see her hand still moving before smacking it away. With a quick motion, he conjured a sweater and pulled it over himself.

“Aww,” Annabeth muttered in disappointment.

“I had to, or I’d be assaulted,” Lucian scoffed, rolling his eyes. He turned to address the group.

“I’ll teleport us outside the Empire State Building, where Olympus is located, so everyone get ready.”

They all nodded and a moment later, they all reoriented themselves in an alleyway with the Empire State Building looming in front of them.

“You know, I think it’s best if I stayed out here and waited,” Grover said nervously.

“I’ll stay with Grover and keep an eye on him,” Clarisse said, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. It was clear she wasn’t eager to meet the Ruler of Olympus—or deal with Percy’s father.

Annabeth looked between Grover and Lucian before sighing. “I’m not a child of the Big Three. I’d feel out of place going with you three. It’d be more symbolic if Lucian, Percy, and Thalia went together. I’ll stay behind and look after these two.”

Lucian nodded but paused when Annabeth kissed his cheek. “Good luck,” she said with a small smile.

Lucian scoffed, returning the smile. “As if I’ll need it.”

“When it comes to HIM, you need all the luck you can get so he doesn’t kill you” Annabeth teased

Percy glanced between Lucian and Annabeth before turning to Clarisse, who rolled her eyes and lightly punched his shoulder.

“Don’t push your luck,” she said.

“I didn’t say anything,” Percy replied innocently, shrugging his shoulders.

“You didn’t have to. Your eyes did all the talking,” Clarisse shot back with a scoff as she rolled her eyes at him.

“Oh, so you were staring at my eyes now?” Percy teased.

“God, you’re annoying…” Clarisse muttered, grabbing his collar and pulling him into a kiss. “Maybe that’ll shut you up.”

Percy blushed faintly and spun on his heel, walking ahead with a newfound stride.

Lucian and Thalia followed, watching the exchange in amusement. Thalia leaned toward Lucian as they crossed the street. “Why was that kind of cute?” she whispered.

“I know, right?” Lucian whispered back, still smiling.

When they entered the elevator, an attendant turned to face them.

“The 500th floor, please!” Lucian declared. Then, with a sly grin, he added, “But before that…”

He clapped his hands twice, and in an instant, their outfits changed.

Percy was now wearing a sea-green toga that matched his eyes, paired with a golden laurel. Thalia’s outfit transformed into a radiant golden toga with a matching laurel, and Lucian himself was adorned in a sleek black toga with an autumn-colored laurel crown.

Percy and Thalia looked down at themselves, then turned to Lucian with deadpan expressions.

“Was this really necessary?” Thalia asked flatly.

“Yes. Yes, it was,” Lucian replied proudly. “We have to dress for the occasion, after all.”

The elevator began its ascent toward the 500th floor.

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