A Mythical Journey To Remember - Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - The Man, The Myth, The Legend

How did one defeat a monster that clearly surpassed me in every aspect? The answer was simple. I couldn't.

That realization weighed heavily on my heart, despite what I might feel, it would be a death sentence to cower to those feelings. I had to keep moving!

I ran through the streets, procuring a couple of wooden poles and tanned fur. Part of me hoped that my next course of action wouldn't lead to my untimely demise, while the other part tried to convince itself that everything would be alright.

My vision blurred, and my chest burned, exacerbated by the burden of the tanned hide and wooden poles. I wanted to lie down and sleep, hoping to escape this nightmarish ordeal.

But surrendering to rest meant certain death, and I wasn't prepared to make that choice.

By sheer determination, I pressed on until I reached the highest observatory tower close to the city walls. Fortunately, no guards spotted me.

Atop the tower, I finally found a moment to catch my breath and rest. I had to remind myself to stay awake at all costs.

Perhaps I should have boarded the ship with my team. No, I knew Camilla well enough to understand that she would pursue me relentlessly. She might even declare me a fugitive, making me a criminal in every corner of Greece.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

The sound of heels striking the stone steps reverberated, and finally, I saw the source. Despite being covered in blood, and her ripped attire barely preserving her modesty, Camilla appeared breathtaking. The full moon cast a glow upon her pale skin as her eyes locked onto mine.

My heart threatened to burst from my chest, but I maintained my composure. She had yet to attack, which provided a glimmer of hope.

Only then did I notice the decapitated head she held in her hand. It belonged to the former head guard, a clear indication that she no longer wished to play pretend.

She drew nearer, stumbling slightly. I took a step back, feeling the edge of the tower approaching. Glancing downward, I could see the ground, five stories below.

“So, how about I just walk out of here alive and I won’t mention anything I saw here?” I asked, hoping for confirmation.

"No," she replied, her voice hoarse. Her breaths were labored, and her condition appeared worse than I had initially assumed.

Upon hearing her response, I used transmutation on the wood and leather, fashioning a hang glider from pure memory. I couldn't be certain if it would function properly. The strain of this small transformation threatened to overwhelm me, and I felt a warm wetness coming out of my nose and eyes, yet I persisted.

Escape by conventional means was impossible. After all, she had managed to find me even within the confines of this tower. If I were to hazard a guess, she likely possessed a heightened sense of smell or some other extraordinary ability.

One final glance over the edge, contemplating the potential fate of becoming a crimson stain upon impact, bones shattered and flesh mended, should the hang glider fail.

"Screw it!" I leaped off the edge with the hang glider, momentarily closing my eyes. Instead of the anticipated pain from plummeting to the ground, my body was securely fastened, and I found myself soaring through the air.

"Hell yeah!" I turned around to catch a glimpse of Camilla, even from this height. Her face wore a wide-eyed expression, though it quickly vanished. Discarding her teacher's decapitated head, she descended from the tower. With her jump, the ground cracked beneath her, and I gradually put some distance between us, until she was barely visible. But then she began to run, and before I knew it, she was slowly but surely catching up with me.

What the fuck?! Just how fast was she?

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest upon seeing her in pursuit, and I was already pushing myself to my limit.

Was this it? Was I going to die here?

I attempted to maneuver the hang glider, aiming for the nearby forest. However, I found myself unable to control its direction, forced to follow the whims of the wind. If only I possessed knowledge of the modern intricacies of a hang glider, I might have been able to fashion a better one.

Strangely, instead of succumbing to panic, my mind became clearer than ever. While I hadn't fully come to terms with my impending death, and there were so many things left unfinished. I hadn't witnessed my little brother grow up or laid eyes upon a Greek god or hero.

Now, everything lay in the hands of fate—a concept that surely existed in this world, considering all the prophecies and such.

However, I never expected to crash land right onto a straw hut. The impact was softened, but the hut collapsed, and Camilla would arrive here within a minute or two.

"Shit!" I muttered under my breath, mustering the last of my energy to survey my surroundings. Suddenly, a firm hand grasped my shoulder.

"Who are you?" a deep voice inquired. I turned and faced a tall man, roughly my age or slightly older, with wavy brown hair cascading to his shoulders, piercing blue eyes, and a thick coat.

I was too exhausted to flee, even if it meant using this man as bait. Though I hadn't fully accepted my impending demise, I had no intention of dragging an innocent person down with me.

"You need to get the hell away from here!" I warned him. But when I attempted to pull him back, he stood firm, his wrist seemingly as strong as steel.

He gazed at me, our eyes locking, before finally speaking. "Chased by a monster? Sounds bad."

Rather than displaying fear, his expression appeared oddly nonchalant. With those words, a screech echoed in the distance, prompting him to stride forward. His body remained straight as an arrow, and upon spotting Camilla in the distance, his brows furrowed.

"Die!" Camilla shouted as she lunged toward the shepherd in an instant. Yet before she could do anymore, he grabbed her by the throat, lifting her as if she were a cat.

"Hey, lady, let's calm down a bit, shall we? Whatever your boyfriend did, it's not worth killing him," he stated. Despite Camilla's attempts to free herself from his vice-like grip, her struggles proved futile. Desperate, she resorted to using her claws, digging them into his skin.

"She's not my girlfriend!" I clarified. "She's a monster that has been terrorizing the city, killing people."

"Killing people?" The shepherd frowned, his interest piqued by the revelation.

Undeterred, Camilla tried to slash at his eyes. However, before she could execute the attack, the shepherd swiftly slapped her head, instantly snapping her neck.

Camilla's body went limp, her eyes widening with a hint of recognition.

"It's you!" she exclaimed, as if realizing his identity. Suddenly, her body twitched, and she raved incoherently. "It won't be like last time! During the full moon, I am at my strongest! Far superior to when you caught me off guard!"

As she spoke, the full moonlight glared behind her. But before she could say anything more, the shepherd slapped her once again, producing a sickening popping sound as her brains splattered across the grass.

He released Camilla's lifeless body, his only visible injuries being a few scratch marks that barely broke his skin. Turning toward me, I couldn't help but feel a trace of fear taking root within my heart.

After all, I had already dealt with a psychopath. There was a time when I believed Camilla to be a kind-hearted woman, but she was merely a monster pretending to be human. In her twisted way, she even attempted to play the part of a human. I had no intention of suffering from Stockholm syndrome and believing I should have tried to save her.

"Sup, my name is Alcid— I mean Herakles. No relation to the prince accused of killing his music teacher. What was that creature? It was kind of cute, though..." Herakles mumbled.

I stared in bewilderment, unsure of what to do next.

"So, do you happen to know how I can reach Athens?" I asked, my brain in a state of confusion as I tried to figure out my next course of action.

This was not how I envisioned meeting the strongest Hero known in Greek mythology. Part of me even wondered if it was merely an illusion created by my deteriorating mind.

Yet, this was undeniably real. I had survived!

"Athens? I don't even know where that place is," Herakles shrugged. "I never paid much attention during my studies. Being King was never in the cards for me, so what did it matter?"

He was revealing his true identity left and right, and I was certain he was meant to remain hidden here. However, I didn't dare talk shit to him about it. He was the kind of person who could probably kill me with a flick of his finger.

Suddenly, Camilla's body began to twitch. Herakles approached and stomped on her torso, effortlessly smashing it to pieces. It was an unpleasant sight, and even the remnants of Camilla's hand continued to twitch.

Could this be the effect of the full moon?

"I think we need to burn her to ensure she's dead," I suggested.

Herakles nodded, then gathered some straw from his hut and rubbed two ordinary stones together until a spark ignited, starting a fire. Together, we gathered whatever parts of Camilla we could find and threw them into the flames.

Despite the gruesome events, I felt a pang of sadness. She could have been so much more, and at one point, I even considered her a friend.

"So, do you have anything worth eating? I haven't had a decent cooked meal in years," Herakles inquired, his gaze scanning my pockets. He wore a distant expression, almost childlike.

And that's how I met Herakles, the mightiest hero of them all.

But as I attempted to greet him, my body gave out, and I face-planted onto the ground. Adrenaline had run its course, and darkness enveloped me.