[Third Person’s PoV]

“So, what are you going to do?” Percy asked, tilting his head, his voice tinged with cautious disbelief. “Kill them all?”

“Not all of them, no,” Luke retorted, his tone cold and measured. “Only those who refuse to cooperate.”

Percy raised an eyebrow, his skepticism plain. “Cooperate with what, exactly? Or rather, who? My grandfather? Because if that’s the case, then you’re being manipulated. I don’t know what he’s promised you, but I can tell you now—it’s nothing more than sweet words meant to lure you in.”

Luke let out a soft, humorless laugh, shaking his head. “You sound just like all the others. Always preaching the same tired nonsense. But here’s the thing: I wasn’t promised anything. Nothing but results. This isn’t manipulation. It’s collaboration. We want the same things.”

Percy’s expression hardened as he adopted a mocking tone. “Let me guess—the ‘destruction of Olympus,’ right? A tale as old as time.”

Luke laughed again, louder this time, but it carried an unsettling edge. “Mock me all you want, Percy. The gods need to face the consequences of their actions. They’ve treated us like tools for far too long. It’s time they learned what it feels like to have those tools turned against them.”

Percy scratched the back of his head, his face thoughtful as if carefully choosing his words. “Your actions… They might seem noble on the surface. But I can’t help feeling like you’re going about this all wrong. Sure, the gods need to be held accountable, but jumping straight to bloodshed? And working with him of all people? Do you honestly believe he has your best interests at heart?”

Percy didn’t stop, his voice firm as he continued. “You do realize that once you go through with this, you’ll be branded a traitor. The gods won’t just ignore this—you’ll have a target on your back for the rest of your life. And what about Lucian, Thalia, and Annabeth? How do you think they’ll feel about all of this? What kind of ripple effect will your choices have on them?”

Luke’s expression twisted into a sneer. “Don’t talk to me about them,” he spat. “Those hypocrites.”

Percy blinked, startled by the venom in Luke’s voice.

“They call themselves my friends,” Luke continued, his tone laced with bitterness. “But friends support each other. All they’ve done is get in my way. And don’t even get me started on Lucian.”

Luke’s voice rose, his frustration boiling over. “That’s right, Lucian! I know you’re here, lurking in the shadows, watching like you always do!”

Percy glanced around warily but saw nothing.

Luke’s anger only grew. “You’re the biggest hypocrite of them all! I know you hate the gods as much as I do—maybe more! And yet, you let yourself be their lapdog, completing their quests and pretending to be their ally. What is that, if not hypocrisy?”

Luke’s face contorted, veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted. “And that’s not even why I hate you. You call me your friend—your brother! But no brother does what you did!”

A long, exasperated sigh cut through the tension. All eyes turned toward a nearby tree, where Lucian stood upside down on a high branch. He was clad in a black sweater and baggy black jeans, his hands stuffed casually into his sweater pockets. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, making him look both weary and unimpressed.

“I had a feeling you’d hold a grudge about that,” Lucian muttered, his voice laced with boredom.

Luke sneered. “So you knew and still went through with it? Hypocrite.”

Lucian shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not going to deny it. You’re right—I am a hypocrite. A walking contradiction.”

“What’s he talking about?” Thalia demanded as she landed lightly on the branch beside Lucian.

“Yeah,” Annabeth added, swinging her legs from a lower branch, her curiosity evident. “What did you do this time?”

“Don’t worry about it,” both Lucian and Luke said in unison, their tones equally dismissive.

Luke’s anger seemed to dissipate for a moment, replaced by a strange, almost serene smile. “You know, Lucian… I hate you. I’ve hated you for a long time. And it feels so good to finally say it out loud.”

Lucian pressed two fingers to his lips and blew a kiss. “Love you too~” he replied with a cheeky grin.

Luke chuckled darkly. “Thank you for that. It’s going to make it all the sweeter when I slit your throat.”

Before anyone could react and to everyone’s astonishment, Luke vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared directly in front of Lucian, his sword already in motion, its edge aimed mercilessly at Lucian’s neck. His eyes burned with cold, murderous intent.

Lucian barely had time to summon his scythe, using its shaft to block the strike. The force of the blow sent him hurtling backward, crashing through a nearby tree and shattering it in two.

Flipping in midair, Lucian landed on his feet, skidding across the ground. He tightened his grip on his scythe, his brow furrowed in thought. ‘Since when was he this fast? This strong?’

“LUKE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Thalia and Annabeth screamed simultaneously, their voices shaking with disbelief.

Percy, meanwhile, summoned his trident, holding it defensively in case Luke decided that he hated him as well.

Luke shot a disdainful glare at Thalia and Annabeth. “Stay out of this. It doesn’t concern you.”

Lucian appeared above Luke in a flash, his scythe poised to strike. “But it does concern me,” he said calmly.

Luke dodged, and the ground split beneath him as Lucian’s blade tore through the earth.

Spinning his scythe around himself with practiced ease, Lucian smirked. “Do me a favor and make this fun, will you?”

Luke raised his sword, adopting a deadly stance. “Fun? I’m not here to play games, Lucian. I’m here to kill you.”

Lucian’s grin widened, a glint of madness in his eyes. “I know. And that’s what makes it fun.”

“We don’t have to resort to violence…” Thalia said.

“Sorry, but we kinda do.” Luke said looking at Lucian coldly, “I’ve been told to kill him, he’s a nuisance to our plan and I share that sentiment. He’s too much of a wild card that can’t be controlled and something that can’t be controlled needs to be eliminated”

“Phttttt! Hahahahahahahahaha!!” Lucian suddenly broke out laughing, clutching his stomach and holding his scythe as support.

Luke’s eyes just grew colder along with his expression.

“And you call me the hypocrite?! Heheha! You talk about not being manipulated or controlled as tools and here you are. Saying this bullshit about not being able to control me. That makes you no different from them” Lucian said as he continued to chuckle.

Lucian then looked at him with a smile as he mouthed the word “Hypocrite~” In a slow, teasing manner.

“Hehehe” Luke chuckled as he lunged forwards and tried to stab Lucian right in the gut.

Lucian dodged it my a millimeter, grabbed his extended arm and pulled him as kneed him in the stomach.

Spit flew out from Luke’s mouth and as he looked towards Lucian he saw him looking down towards him with cold red eyes, “Don’t Fuck with me, you dumbass” Lucian said coldly.

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