Connor

That wasn't a Duellum, that was a complete massacre!

The second the match was over, I jumped out of the stands and right onto the arena. I ran over to Emiko, who was already unconscious. I held her in my arms until the medical team arrived. They took her away on a stretcher, which seeing this hurt me really bad. You never really know what it's like to have to protect a sibling until you actually have one. You want to protect them at all costs, and if they do get hurt, you feel like you've completely failed.

What really made my skin crawl was the fact I could see Siyuka laughing and giggling as they took Emiko to the infirmary.

I wanted to shove my sword right into her neck, but I didn't want to cause any more problems than there already was. As I walked past her, going towards the exit, I heard her say something to me.

Siyuka: "This is only the beginning"

One Week Later

Emiko was finally released from the infirmary after a week of healing sessions. According to Hygieia, the Greek Goddess of Medicine, and the school's main nurse, Emiko was seriously injured from the fight. A few bone fractures, a broken rib, some internal damage, a concussion, and she even had a broken leg.

All this, and Siyuka was still acting smug about it for the entire week. She challenged me to Duellum multiple times, but I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a battle. No one else in the school did. After what she did to Emiko, in front of the whole school, no one wanted to fight her. What she did was just plain cruel. I seriously don't know how the Gods work. They send evil people to their version of the underworld, why wasn't she already there?

On the plus side, me and Angel have grown a little closer. She isn't as shy around me, but still pretty shy. With her help, and money, I got some new clothes, which were actually extremely comfy.

On a side note, I was deemed a child of Heka, the Egyptian God of Magic and Medicine. I guess it made sense, since if Emiko was the daughter of Heka, I was too. It wasn't my first choice for a godly parent, but you know what, I wasn't complaining. Being a demigod of a magic god was pretty exciting. I could be Harry Potter!

Anyways, I was mostly by Emiko's side whenever I could be. Once my classes were over, I'd head straight to the infirmary.

The second I saw her wake up, most of my worries had disappeared.

Emiko: "C-Connor...?"

Connor: "Yeah, it's me, try not to move too much"

I quickly pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. She was obviously tired, but she looked like she was about to fall back asleep.

Emiko: "W-What.... happened....?"

Connor: "You fought Siyuka, and... lost"

Emiko: "Where's my bow...?"

Connor: "She.... snapped it in two"

Emiko's eyes started to water. I quickly leaned over and hugged her.

Emiko: "I-I hate her.... so much..."

Connor: "I know, we'll get her back for this"

Emiko: "M-My... bow..."

Connor: "It's... broken. But we could probably get it fixed. According to Kaito, if we get the god who originally made it to fix it, it'll be as good as new, maybe even better"

I did my best to try and cheer her up, but nothing I said could work. It was probably to be expected. She was beaten enough to where she passed out and had her bow broken in two, right in front of the entire school. And of course, it had to be from the school bully.

Emiko: "I-I'm.... such an idiot...."

Connor: "Don't talk like that, you gave that fight everything you had"

Emiko: "And I'm still weak...! I can't do anything...!!"

Emiko groaned in pain as she placed her hand on her chest. I guessed the yelling was hurting her.

Connor: "You're not weak. You stood up against her. Even if you didn't win, you were stronger than most people here. Almost no one would've challenged her.

Emiko didn't seem to feel any better.

Connor: "I've been going around, asking people what they thought of the fight. And pretty much everyone is on your side in this. I guess breaking someone's weapon in Duellum is very dishonorable. So I doubt anyone will listen to Siyuka for a while"

Emiko: "C-Can you just leave me alone..."

Connor: "You just woke up after a week of being in a comma, I'm not just gonna leave—"

Emiko then shouted.

Emiko: "Just leave me the hell alone!!"

I understood that she just wanted to be by herself for a bit. So I respected her decision and stepped out of the infirmary. The second I left, I could here her quietly crying.

That wasn't a fight, it was a massacre. And Siyuka was going to pay.

Later that day, I was relaxing with the group. You know, me, Angel, Himari, and Kaito. We were in the Norse wing, inside Himari's dorm room. We were gathered in the living room. The entire time Emiko was in the infirmary, Himari seemed to be very distant from the rest of us.

Himari: "How is Emiko?"

Connor: "Not good in the slightest"

Kaito: "Makes sense, but why did you leave her there?"

Connor: "She told me to leave, and I didn't want to get her all worked up. She needs to rest if she wants to get better"

Angel: "Poor Emiko... I wish we could help"

Himari's eyes grew dark.

Himari: "We need to get revenge"

Kaito: "Don't be stupid, you know good and well that none of us here can beat her"

Himari: "I don't care. We can beat her together in a Duellum"

Kaito: "You really are thick minded... Duellum's can only be 1 on 1"

Himari: "Shut up!!"

Normally, when Kaito would call her stupid, she knew he was just teasing her. But this time, she wasn't amused.

Himari: "I'm going to beat her ass whether you guys want to help me or not. No one does that to Emiko"

Angel: "Please try and calm down"

Connor: "I want revenge more than anyone, but we can't be the ones to attack. She'll be waiting for us"

Himari: "Then what the hell should we do?!"

Connor: "Emiko needs to get well first. Then we'll figure out a way to get her back"

Suddenly, a knock could be heard at the door. Himari leaped out of her seat and opened the front door.

Himari: "Oh! Miss Aphrodite!"

Aphrodite stepped inside. The second she did, everyone around me started to blush, however I wasn't affected.

Aphrodite: "Good afternoon, sweeties! I'm sorry to drop in so suddenly, but I need to talk with Connor, privately"

I got a bad feeling about this. Since last week, after she took some of my blood, she hasn't been paying much attention to me.

Now don't get me wrong, I was happy she wasn't trying to preform her 'experiments' on me, but this was very unusual compared to how she acted towards me before.

Connor: "Uh, Okay"

We stepped out of the dorm room, so we were both standing outside.

Aphrodite: "I got your results back from my tests"

Connor: "What do you mean?"

Aphrodite: "I had a suspicion about what happens to people who are possessed by Apophis. And... my suspicions were correct"

Connor: "What was?"

Aphrodite: "I tested your blood, and I found traces of Apophis's DNA inside you"

Connor: "W-What?!"

Aphrodite: "It likely happened during your Duellum. We've never been able to test this before, so it's likely he has a connection with you, even if he isn't possessing you"

Connor: "Can we get it out?"

Aphrodite: "For as powerful as us Gods and Goddesses are, we aren't stronger than a few beings. Apophis for example. Even entities like Surtr or Cronus can't be defeated permanently. And if they are defeated, our victory will have almost been failure"

Connor: "So... there's nothing you can do?"

Aphrodite: "Me, no. However, if you seek out Heka, he should be able to help. Besides, you deserve to meet your father"

Connor: "I don't get it... I thought he died... Why would he just leave us"

Aphrodite: "Us Gods and Goddesses have many problems mortals have a hard time comprehending. While yes, Mytho-Academy is technically in the mortal world, it is a place built by us to allow us to keep our physical forms here. Anywhere else in the mortal world, we can only hold our physical form for less than a year. Afterwards, we need to retreat. If we stay too long, we may fade away into nothing. Our power comes from our offspring. The more offspring we have, the more powerful we become, in addition to our already incredible power. Our popularity in the mortal world also increases our power"

Connor: "But he was with us for years, after mom died"

Aphrodite: "That, remains a mystery to me. A god shouldn't be able to spend that much time in the mortal world"

Connor: "Still... he should've contacted us somehow after he left."

Aphrodite: "By the time he was able to return, after that much time had passed, he'd need a minimum of 10-20 years before he could return"

Connor: "Okay, okay, fine. How would we find him?"

Aphrodite: "You must travel to Egypt and find the Pyramid of Giza. There, Heka will be waiting for you and Emiko"

Connor: "Well, I guess that'll have to wait until Emiko is better"

Aphrodite: "Speaking of, something was off about the Duellum"

Connor: "What do you mean?"

Aphrodite: "Ever since Siyuka came to Mytho-Academy, she's always been a natural at Duellum, or just combat in general. Her demigod powers are second to none"

Connor: "And I was the only one who beat her"

Aphrodite: "If you ask me, I think she cheated somehow"

Connor: "What makes you say that?"

Aphrodite: "The attack Emiko used was no ordinary ability. That arrow was the same arrow used in the fight against Apophis many centuries ago. The bow was used by her father, Heka. With that arrow, they were able to severely damage Apophis, which is no easy feat. While the attack Siyuka did was powerful, it shouldn't have been able to overpower the Arrow of Avalon"

Connor: "Did she get a power boost from something?"

Aphrodite: "We don't know, however we feel something was off about it. I just wanted to let you know"

Connor: "Right, thanks. Anything else?"

Aphrodite gave me a sweet, innocent smile.

Aphrodite: "Why don't you come spend the night at my place~? It must be more comfortable than the Egyptian dorm rooms"

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, since I'm technically the son of an Egyptian god, I got moved into the Egyptian wing. However... Angel claims she can't sleep alone anymore. So I offered to let her stay with me for a bit. Don't worry, we had separate beds.

Connor: "You don't give up, do you?"

Aphrodite: "I most certainly do not"

Aphrodite winked at me.

Aphrodite: "Very well, but just know the invitation is available whenever you need to relieve some stress~"

Aphrodite waved to me before leaving. I then went back into the dorm room. Suddenly, I was bombarded with questions from Angel.

Angel: "What did she say? She didn't try anything, did she? Did you say yes?!"

I gently placed my hands on her shoulders.

Connor: "Calm down, it was just something about Heka"

Kaito: "Oh, are you gonna be given a quest?"

Connor: "Quest?"

Angel: "A quest is sometimes given to a group of demigods. It involves a big task they have to complete. I think I once heard of one about finding Zeus's stolen lightning bolt"

Connor: "All she said was that me and Emiko have to go to Egypt to find dad"

Himari: "Oh no, Emiko is staying here. She is in no condition to go to Egypt"

Connor: "I never said now! I meant in the future"

Kaito: "If you do end up going, mind if I tag along? It's been forever since I left this place. Don't get me wrong, it's nice here, but I need a change of pace"

Connor: "Look, whenever Emiko is up for it, we'll go to Egypt"

Angel: "Where exactly in Egypt?"

Connor: "I think she said it was the Pyramid of Giza or something"

Kaito's face went pale.

Kaito: "No, no no no no no! Count me out!"

Connor: "What's wrong?"

Kaito: "The pyramid Giza is infamous in here. It's said that all who go there never return"

Suddenly, without warning, a siren started blasting outside of the dorm. We all ran outside, to see all the other students outside. Then, we all heard Orin's voice from the speakers spread throughout the school.

Odin: "This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Baldur, the most beloved god in Norse Mythology has been slain by none other that Loki, the God of Mischief"

Himari collapsed to the ground in shock and fear. I managed to catch her before she hit the ground

Connor: "Himari!! What's wrong?!"

Himari looked up at me with nothing but pure terror in her eyes.

Himari: "I-It's happening...."

Connor: "What!! What is?!"

Odin's next line shook me to my very core.

Odin: "Attention all students, as of today, the world ending event has begun. Today marks the beginning and end of the age of the gods. Ragnarok has begun"

———————————————————————

Rangarok is here!!! Cue the ACDC!!!!

Hope you enjoyed, see you next time