The faces of the four Demi-Gods still fighting greatly changed and they scattered away from their current positions like mice fleeing from a cat.
Miranda was able to process what was happening just as fast at they did, but the charging time for any of the rail guns to fire was not enough to stop Hercules from crash landing right into the center of the base.
Immediately, a great shockwave emerged as the dust was blown up, the area becoming obscure and clouded upon contact. The Demi-Gods coughed as they cleared the dust from their faces, Medea using her win to blow it away.
When they gazed upon what was left of the base, their faces cramped. A huge crater now existed where the central area of the base had been and parts of the metallic flooring had been crushed into bits, displaying the wasted earth below.
Only some mounted guns near the outskirts had remained safe and unharmed from the barrage. However, they had stopped firing as if they too were looking on in shock at the carnage dealt.
From the center of the crater, where heaps of metal had been compressed and shattered into bits, Hercules climbed out with a vicious expression on his face. Externally, he was completely unharmed from that attack except for some smoke and dust on his body..
However, the mighty Demi-God knew the extent to which he had suffered, and most of it stemmed from the attack that had sent him flying. He had underestimated these machines and had paid a small price for it.
On the other hand, crashing down from almost orbit had done nothing to him given his level of Strength and Endurance. Nevertheless, it was a perfect way for him to vent his anger at being hurt by these measly, yet surprisingly effective, metal things.
Truly, the disadvantage of having a fixed base or position was that it was either extremely difficult or impossible to move, making it impossible to avoid such attacks during conflict.
However, the downside on Hercules' end was obvious. Theseus facepalmed as he did his best to hold down his anger and started to speak slowly.
"By parleying with these machines we could have discovered who was behind them, which would have likely solved one of the mysteries of our Divine Odyssey mission."
"Instead, one of you decided to play a trick, believing that I wouldn't see it in order to force the conflict. Hercules, you in particular not only suffered the brunt of their attack, but you just leveled that entire base in a fit of anger, leaving us no way to achieve the whole point of this confrontation."
Pyrrha raised her hands up immediately. "Wasn't me!"
Theseus spared a smile for the only member of the group who had actually been cooperative and wasn't a nuisance. "I know, don't worry."
Hercules folded his arms with a look of dissatisfaction. "How is it my fault that the base got leveled? I didn't even attack, I was sent flying and came back down as best as I could. Also, I distinctly remember that we decided to battle it out instead of whatever stupid parley!"
This seemed to make the ever calm Theseus snap as his muted golden eyes shone with intensity. He stepped forward and stood right before Hercules, the height difference between the two doing nothing to lessen his imposing presence.
In the coldest voice possible, the first of the Three Great Heroes of Olympus spoke darkly. "You did not make any decision to do anything because none of you have the right to make any decision during this Divine Odyssey!"
"That is a privilege left for myself, who is the only competent one here. Your duty, which is the only thing you are good at, is to follow my orders."
Theseus then looked at the rest coldly. "I have been lenient with you all because conflict within the team from the first day is how other Divine Odysseys ended in failure!"
"But fine, since you all took my good gesture and trampled over it, I will just have to force what should be done down your throat whether you like it or not!"
The Son of Poseidon also glanced at Medea with a hint of disdain. "I will also report everything that happened here at the end of the Divine Odyssey for the Gods to judge."
"Whoever initiated that attack sought to sabotage the mission and should be stripped of their Divinity. If you've got any objections then you better show your worth during the rest of it!"
He then turned to Hercules once more. "As for you, we all know your father will never allow for such a punishment, but I can certainly see to it that you'll be deprived of Faith Energy for the next millennium!"
Theseus then raised a white orb slowly, which captivated the attention of the other four. "Those are punishments that will be doled out regardless, I am not using them to threaten you. They will definitely occur, so mark it down somewhere in your ledgers."
He then gestured to the orb he was holding up. "However, this is my threat. The next time any of you so much as breathe in a way I find personally in conflict with any of my decisions, I will summon a God down to perform a judgment. Do not test me!"
He then pocketed the orb and walked over to the remains of the base to see if there was anything left for them to salvage. Pyrrha looked around blankly then scampered after him, as she wasn't really the target of that scolding.
Achilles gripped his spear tightly until his brown knuckles turned white, then sighed tiredly. He retreated his weapon and followed after Theseus with a calm look, not showing his emotions on his face anymore.
Hercules gritted his teeth with absolute fury on his features, his body shaking from anger. His eyes quickly became bloodshot as he gazed at the back of the exiting Theseus, but he still managed to refrain from making any hasty moves.
Rather, he breathed deeply to calm himself and managed to do so after a while. With his anger reigned in, he realized he had forgotten the rules of these missions due to the security he had enjoyed with his father supporting him.
Unlike the others, Hercules had been born a Demi-God, and he even had a Divine Spark large enough to become a God. This was why he was so powerful in proportion to the other four here with him.
However, due to him being found by Hera, Zeus had initially greatly disliked him as he was proof of his cheating ways. Neither Hera liked him nor Zeus, so he had a tough time in his early days, where he had to prove himself.
Eventually, he went out on his own journey and gathered great fame for himself, even foiling an escape attempt by the Titans of Gaia that almost saw fruition. After this, the attitude of the Gods had done a U-turn and Zeus had since warmly accepted him.
Bathed in the love of his father and having his backing for so long since then, that dominating mentality of a hero had faded away, the legendary Hercules who had cleared the 12 Labors had become like a petulant child.
Hercules had calmed down and began to realize his folly all this while. It wasn't that he only regained his intelligence at this moment, but in Elysium, no one dared to talk to him like this as he was Zeus' son, not to mention his own power.
What was even more important was who said it. Theseus was a Demi-God as old as time, and was known as one of the Three Greatest Heroes before the days of Hercules.
Theseus (Slayer of the Minotaur and killer of Medea, the Witch Queen), Perseus (Slayer of Medusa and Vanguard of the Gods), and Bellerophon (Slayer of the Chimera and Rider of the Pegasus) were the fabled three.
Hercules was used as a breaker to separate their era from the modern one. In Hercules' era, he was regarded as number 1, while those like Odysseus, Achilles, and Jason had come later.
Being lectured by a Hero that predated him was enough to wake him up. He grimaced and followed after Theseus silently, pondering many things.
This left Medea, who displayed an expression so cold it could freeze over hellfire. A spark of intense killing intent smoldered in her eyes as he gazed at Theseus, her deep-seated hatred she held back coming to the fore as a result of his threat and warning.
Most importantly, if he was allowed to have his way, she may have her Divinity stripped!
As a new Demi-God, she had no real backing, and Aphrodite had only given her a Divine Spark out of pity and would certainly not speak up on her behalf.
Medea made a decision at that moment to make sure that, no matter what, Theseus could not be allowed to make it back to Elysium alive!
However, Medea would soon find that her wishes were too limited in thinking, as the survival of all five hung in the balance.
From a bird's eye view of the entire continent, one would be able to see countless machines rushing towards a certain spot, all of them armed and murderous.
Author's Note: Let's play a little game. Comment which of the Demigods you think will die and who will survive. I'm curious to see what you all think.
