“STOP THE CAR!” Zoe yelled and Kurayami hit the brakes. “Everyone quiet, Do you want to wake Ladon?”

Kurayami looked over. “You mean we’re here?”

“Very close,” she said. “Follow me.” Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoe stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia, Percy, and Bianca looked at each other before going. Kurayami was right next to Zoe as he was excited as he will get his dragon.

“Concentrate on Zoe and Kurayami,” Thalia advised. “We are following them. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind.” Bianca, Percy, and Annabeth did not complain and began to chase the two of them through the fog..

Zoe knew the best way to the through the garden as Kurayami was looking all around. When the fog cleared, he was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of him. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight.

To Kurayami the garden didn’t matter, Artemis did not matter. All that mattered is that he found his prize for taking this trip. The enormous dragon, coiled around a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and he doesn’t mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. Real golden apples.

“The apples of immortality,” Thalia said. “Hera’s wedding gift from Zeus.” Kurayami was going to take a few for himself if they survived. Why would he not as he will get Ladon one way or another? Ladon has a serpent’s body that was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. That was a bummer, but that would change. He had more heads than anyone could count as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.

Then the shadows in front of them began to move. There was beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. Kurayami was going to summon Rebellion, but Zoe stopped his hand.

Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoe. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. They looked just like Zoe—gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.

“Sisters,” Zoe said.

“We do not see any sister,” one of the girls said coldly. “We see four half-bloods, a Hunter and a fallen angel. All of whom shall soon die.”

Kurayami stepped forward with a big grin. “I only care for one thing. Give me Ladon and I will not destroy your whole garden.” They all looked at him and his true goal was Ladon all along. Saving Artemis was just the bone on top for him.

The girls studied him. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black. Like his own pure violet as they also lacked pupils like him.

“Kurayami Himejima,” one of them said.

“Yes,” mused another. “While strong he cannot best Ladon.”

Kurayami grinned. “So I am no threat? We will see who is a threat to who.”

The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. “You are strong. Father has proposed you join him against Olympus. If you desire it we can be yours, Ladon can be yours, monsters so ancient you have not heard of them will be yours.”

She pointed at the rest of the group. “All you need to do is kill all of them. It is beneath you to go along with demigods and Olympus. Lord Kronos will have thee as a brother in arms.” They saw Kurayami think about the offer and they thought he would immediately refuse.

“Tempting sometimes,” Thalia admitted. “But no, thanks. He’s our friend.”

“There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus,” the girl said. “Only enemies and a powerful being above your power. Go back, or die.”

“Not without Artemis,” Zoe said. “We must approach the mountain one way or another.”

“You know he will kill thee,” the girl said. “You are no match for him.”

“Artemis must be freed,” Zoe insisted. “Let us pass.” Annabeth let her lion who returned to his full size. He did not roar as he did not want to wake up Ladon.

The girl shook her head. “You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake.”

“He will not hurt me,” Zoe said.

“No? And what about thy so-called friends?”

Kurayami ignored them and walked in front of Ladon. “LADON. WAKE UP!.” Everyone watched as Ladon twisted and tuned waking up. The Hespheirds shook their heads.

“You are strong, but you cannot face Ladon. Even the gods cower at his might.” Kurayami did not care as he knew dragons. They always keep their word evil or not and their pride is above the roof. Annabeth patted him on the back and kissed him on the cheek and smiled. “Go get him.” He popped his neck and he looked at Bianca.

“You better come back alive, for Nico’s sake, or I will drag your soul from Hades if I have to.” She got serious and nodded.

“I will not fail.” Percy looked down, but he mused to himself that there will always be others. He would not pursue her any longer. Maybe he will find someone good. How right he was, but that is a tale for the future.

Thalia got her spear ready and took a deep breath. “No way you are fighting him alone.” Kurayami raised his hand and made a wall of blades blocking them off from him. “Go!” They all gave him one last look and ran up the moment. Zoe was the last one to leave and gave one Greek prayer for his success. “May the hunt be with thee.” She ran up the mountain after.

He smiled and placed Rebellion on his shoulder. “When she is kind she is actually really pretty. Who would have guessed? Now, for my prize.” The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl looked at Kurayami like he is a fool.

“He will kill thee. He is untamable even if you defeat him. You could have had us. US.” He shook his head.

“While you are all pretty I have better.” They looked offended and all backed off. The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Kurayami stepped in front of Ladon where the dragon looked right at him.

Kurayami smiled. “I am Kurayami. I challenge you on the River Stix unless you are a coward Ladon.” London’s eyes glinted as he was no coward. Landon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down the girls. The smell was like acid.

Landon spoke for the first time since he guarded the tree. Not even Zoe knew he could talk as he avoided talking out of pride. “This aura,… your a fallen angel. One close to the superclass. I smell something…different. Delicious even. Answer.”

Kurayami nodded. “My aura helps creatures evolve. If you ate me or enslaved me you might break free of your bonds.” At his words, Ladon wanted nothing more than to eat him on the spot, but he could barely move from the tree.

“You want a fight Fallen, on the river Styx? You shall have it. What are the terms?” Kurayami was more than ready.

“The loser becomes the winner’s slave for the rest of time.” Landon was going to refuse, but he also felt Kurayami’s two Longinus. He would get a super fallen angel slave with two Longinus and his pride as a dragon would not allow him to back down.

“I, The Insomniac Dragon swear on the river Styx to the terms of the fight.” Kurayami did the same and the sky rumbled with lighting. Kurayami was still away from Ladon and he began to chant, but Ladon would not allow him to finish. He began to bombarded Kurayami with acid, but Kurayami blasted it with fire while he finished his chant.

“I cheer at the slaying of one thousand humans. I revel in the slaying of ten thousand goblins. My name, immersed in the deepest darkness, I am the Imitation of God in the Polar Night. You who perishes by my own black blade, Fools you are. oh, deformed blade. Night Celestial Slash Dogs. Balance Breaker.”

“AWWWOOOOOOO.” The whole mountain shook while his wings were extended. The sky shook with lighting while the fire raged through the area. Landon was no slouch and began to cast barrier after barrier and poison magic.

Kurayami looked right at Ladon and his body was shrouded in touki unlike any other he had used and it shook the whole area. Kurayami felt the creating of two barriers one around Ladon’s tree and the other around the area, so he could not escape.

“You felt it didn’t you. My barriers are unmatched that even the gods can’t destroy them. Kurayami did not care and charged with Shin at his side. Ladon used poison magic circles, spat acid, used barriers to get him in the way of the toxin. Kurayami’s response was a barrage of light spears of his element.

Landon was uncaring as most of them were blocked by his barriers and the ones that got to him did not much. 20 heads charged at Kurayami who ran along with them while he slashed at the heads. The scales gave way to Rebellion and he chopped every head he passed. He received a bite on the leg and he felt poisons enter his body.

There was no avoiding it and his use of touki would delay the spread. Ladon’s fangs pierced through his balance breaker easily and Shin was not holding back and slashed head after head with his sword in his moth.

Kurayami chopped off the head grabbing his leg and he and Shin ran side by side avoiding the biting heads and barriers. A barrage of weapons emerged from the darkness that descended on the whole mountain getting through the chinks in his scales.

Black flames burned on his left sword and he chopped off a head that tried to bite him from behind. Ladon roared in pain and rage as he was losing heads. That was never pleasant, but he would fight, or he would be a slave. He would not lose.

“Good flames young man. I don’t have flames, but I do have this.” Landon opened his 80 mouths and Kurayami knew he had to avoid those and his wings and his whole body coursed with lighting. A giant blast of flames hit that ain’t wave of poison and it caused the air to fill with evaporated poison.

“Bad call young man, poison is my domain.” Shin and Kurayami did not say a thing and both of them were coursed in lighting and rushed at Ladon while not taking a breath. Kurayami eyes squinted and a giant fireball formed in the air and descended on the dragon. The explosion shook the mountain and the heat was off the charts.

That was not the end as a barrier stopping his flames from reaching Ladon. It looked cracked, but that was just who Ladon was. Not even Azi Dahaka could compete with Ladon when it came to barriers.. However, it was cracked slightly. Ladon looked at the cracked and shivered.

Kurayami and Shin charged once more and black flames and while lighting formed on his blades. He and Shin swung at the barrier and Ladon made it even stronger. The barrier held while the mountain was worse than ever. The shock waves of their clash were causing San Francisco to be hit with a category 5 earthquake and it was possible the Golden Gate bridge had collapsed. Lucky for him he has put a huge ward at Annabeth’s dad’s house.

Kurayamid did not care and began to use more and more of his magic to attack. Lightning, fire, light, weapons, brute force. The more the fight raged on the more berserk they got. This was the first time in his life that Kurayami found a genuine fight to the death with a true equal.

He needed Ladon even more. Kurayami flew in the air and charged at Ladon letting go of his second sword and using Rebellion. He grabbed it with both arms and swung it down on Ladon’s barrier. He used so much force that the barrier burst with a huge explosion wreaking even more of California.

He cut off 10 heads in one swing and yet Ladon caught his arm, leg, chest with his heads, but Kurayami kept on slashing even if he felt his blood boiling and his body going numb. This fight was too much fun.