I, The Son of Zeus

Six months later

Year: 2012 Month of August

I woke up lying in my new bed, my room was large but still spartan in shape since I had no interest in filling it or decorating it with anything other than the skull of a monster I killed on my last hunt.

I must say it was a little strange that the monsters somehow 'dropped' items when they died, it almost made me feel like I was in a game world, unfortunately, I didn't have the 'The Gamer' power unfortunately.

But that didn't matter to me because today was a holiday and I was going to enjoy it in my new home.

Yes.... that's right 'my' new home that I had built or so to speak the director of the orphanage had built, after receiving new funding from a certain charitable soul.

This happened six months ago after I won the lottery and used that money both to help the place where I grew up and also to build my base here in New York.

The house was in the name of the orphanage but there were already legal clauses that would make me the owner as soon as I turned sixteen.

But this also guaranteed me more privacy since I bribed the old director and now I lived alone in this beautiful house, I must say it cost a good amount of money.

50 thousand dollars to be more honest, may seem like little when you have half a million but in my old life, I was poor so anything that went over the hundred mark I considered a lot of money.

But our minds change as we grow up, don't they?

Present time

*Narrator*

Getting up, Dante began to do his personal hygiene and prepare himself for another day.

He had managed to get into the school where Percy Jackson studied, thus giving him time to become friends with the protagonist of this reality.

Not only that, but he also met up with Nancy, who still remembered him and they both hung out from time to time. It wasn't a romance, it was more like a good friendship if he had to be honest.

After brushing his teeth and combing his hair, he took a look at his appearance.

Sky blue eyes, black hair, and a scar on his left eye courtesy of a cyclops he had faced some time ago. His skin was more tanned than he remembered, almost dark in tone.

He played a little with his hair, now straight and much more beautiful than in his old life.

He cared a lot about his new appearance, which was honestly much more beautiful than the one in his other life, even more so with his blue eyes and the new scar that made his stoic face look even more intimidating.

Smiling proudly at himself, he washed his face and went to the closet where he grabbed some clothes that consisted of black shorts and a short blue shirt.

He soon began to do some stretching and then went to the training room, something that he had spared no expense in creating.

There was everything a small gym would need and that was all he needed to do his morning workouts.

The first thing he would do was a one-hour run on the treadmill where he would take five-minute breaks every half hour of running, meaning two breaks in total.

After that, it was time to grab some weights, they were light, no more than five kilos, after all, he didn't want to ruin his own body or stop its growth.

Three hours later

After his training and eating a few more things, Dante turned his attention to the instant.

He didn't know if demigods could watch television, but he decided not to test his luck, so he didn't even buy one for himself.

In exchange, he bought a bookshelf full of books that he usually read every now and then.

It was a source of pride to be good at almost every subject in school. Seeing an A in all his grades was priceless, especially the envious looks that other students gave him.

Even more so because his hours reading physics theories and learning more about biology gave him ideas on how to further improve his powers with an idea that came to him a while ago. This was a complicated task that took months of training, but Dante could already do something that no demigod that he could remember had managed to do, and that was to levitate metals, just like Magneto in the movie X-Man.

He sat on his cozy sofa that faced one of his three trophy walls. This was the mixed wall that he had made recently. In a row, were the dozens of weapons that he had obtained from some monsters during his hunts as well as some other types of trophies such as the skulls of some of these monsters that he had defeated.

Looking around his room he had to say that it was a good amount of money spent on rebuilding and building this house in less than six months, the buildings being some items that he felt he would need despite the short time he would live in this house.

So here Dante was, lying on his couch and enjoying his small success and good fortune, Dante took some coins from his pocket and began to spin them between his fingers. Smiling proudly at himself, a few months ago it would have been a great effort but now it was as easy as breathing.

Over time Dante wondered if he could levitate a bridge like Magneto, he hoped so although he didn't know if he could do something like that without a certain paranoid 'father' watching him.

Either way, his life was good, but unfortunately, he knew it wouldn't last forever. But as he read his book a growl sounded outside his house, with a sigh the demigod got up from his couch.

He looked at his window a little irritated already knowing that some monster had come to him, it wasn't the first time and much less the second. This had happened many times in his first week alone he even had nights where he didn't sleep knowing that some monster could attack him, but human beings were adaptable beings and Dante was half human and with the powers of a God.

With a long course on YouTube that incredibly existed in this world, Dante set up traps all over the place around his house. There were even ditches in some places and in case things got personal, Dante had a collection of weapons scattered around the house, courtesy of a trio of Cyclops armorers and a failed negotiation, which also came with its prizes.

Dante got up grabbing a dagger and a spear.

Still remembering how he got a great supply of weapons. And a few more things in these last months, this being the blessing of a certain Goddess...

Months ago

It was night when the demigod continued his weekly hunt, on a crusade to gain experience and loot from powerful and cruel monsters. It could be described as something strange for anyone to see a child walking alone at night, but Dante was not a normal person much less the creatures he was looking for.

As time went by he learned to manipulate the mist a little, it was more like a Jedi trick if he had to compare himself.

He had learned when he dug an empusa that was eating men in an old parking lot. He saw her manipulating what seemed to be a cloud of smoke which he deduced was the mist, the monster moved it with its fingers controlling the poor man who would soon become its meal.

It was at that moment that he attacked the lonely empusa who barely had time to dodge before being kicked by the demigod who made her collide with a white car.

The monster growled in anger seeing who dared to disturb its meal.

She soon came face to face with icy blue eyes like the polar ice caps, a sword in his hands, and a chain of lightning that shone in the lamina.

"Hm..... Demigod... what do you think you're doing here?" The empusa asked, already standing up without any damage while her hair caught fire and her eyes turned black like the endless night, dark skin and sinister claws, she was naked and could be seen as an extremely flexible body despite the distorted and malicious features on her face.

Dante, on the other hand, just cracked his neck, looking at the lone empusa. It wasn't the first time he had fought a monster like that. He had learned a long time ago to always let go of intelligent monsters. After all, these are the most dangerous to have as opponents, they came up with somewhat crude but still effective strategies and worked as a group with an organization even better than that of a pack of Hellhounds.

"I was around here hunting some freak to kill and I saw in the newspaper that some men were disappearing in this neighborhood." He said with obvious disinterest as the Empusa and he began to circle each other, both prepared to fight to the death.

The empusa growled in irritation but said nothing more as she began to attack.

The demigod dodged her claws and attacked with his sword. At a certain point, he fired a ray from his free hand, sending her flying backward, hitting another car, this time a black sedan.

Dante jumped off the empusa, already with his sword at her neck, ready to slit her throat at any second. But he didn't and the empusa noticed it too.

"Rhh.... you're not going to kill me, demigod?" She had a bit of a foreign accent with a slightly hoarse voice.

Dante on the other hand smiled for a second before pressing his blade to the monster's neck.

 It was clear to him that she was either quite weak, or somehow injured, or somehow a very young monster with no experience in fighting. But that wasn't a problem now.

"I have a proposal for you, bitch. You accept it and live without me to bother you too much. You refuse and I'll cut off your limbs one by one."

Growling, the creature listened to Dante's order and agreed, and so for a week and a half, she trained him in how to manipulate the mist.

Of course, Dante made her take three oaths in the Styx River not to try to kill him, not to deceive him, and much less to seduce him.

After almost two weeks, Dante had learned everything about mist manipulation, enough to be used in combat or to deceive normal mortals.

This brings him to the present moment, when while hunting new prey, following its small tracks through the alleys he went towards an old city scrapyard. It was big and had a mountain of objects, be it iron, aluminum, or any other metals.

Dante, on the other hand, stood guard the whole time until he found a footprint of what, from his experience, was a Cyclops.

A smile formed on his lips, cyclopes usually had good treasures, be it swords or spears, it was a good choice since his house was still being finished and he would need some spare weapons.

Walking in perfect silence, Dante continued his hunt, a mischievous smile crossed his lips when a sound made him turn his gaze to a small mountain of rubble. Or was this what normal people should see, to Dante what he saw was a cave with bones and skulls hanging as a warning to any invaders.

"These here seem to be smart, hehe, it's going to be fun"

With his time hunting and fighting to the death, Dante learned a little more about the 'fauna' of New York, incredible as it may seem, it was a collection of wild mythological races that lived among humans. To be honest, there was everything from goblins living in the sewers to giant insects, gargoyles, and other creatures that could only have come out of a suspenseful and horror film.

Dante, on the other hand, followed the saying of the greatest demon hunter in history: 'Rip and tear until it's all over.' And following these simple words, Dante hunted any species that he considered a threat to his survival in this world. Of course, there were also 'intelligent' monsters like the Cyclops he was hunting.

Entering his cave carefully, viewing the archaic writings and symbols, Dante felt as if he were in a fantasy world instead of the modern world.

"I know you're there, stop hiding and come out!" The son of Zeus shouted without the slightest concern, based on his little experience with wild cyclopes, it was clear that they had some brains, instead of attacking him head-on.

They were hiding in the cave, probably waiting for the demigod to enter deeper.

A guttural growl was heard, heavy footsteps sounded and an immense cyclops with a white beard, tanned skin, and no shirt left his belly only protected by a cape made of some animal skin.

The monster was accompanied by two others who seemed younger and carried spears and axes unlike the oldest in front of Dante who carried a huge hammer.

"Rhhgh.... Demigod... you have the nerve to show up here..."

The monster was irritated by the invasion of his territory but his instincts screamed danger and he stood guard while looking at the demigod who was not even twelve years old yet but already had a strong smell of divinity.

Dante's lips crossed in a distorted smile, on one hand, he thought about challenging the Cyclops to a duel, but as soon as he saw the three monsters he had a different idea.

"I came here to demand your surrender and of course submission," He said as his spear was stuck in the ground with a small electric glow.

The three cyclopes looked at him in astonishment before laughing enthusiastically. "Surrender? Hahaha! From a cub who barely got out of fraud? Never!

Dante smiled expecting a reaction like that but he already had a plan for it, it was risky but life was and always was risky no matter the day or even the time, even more so being a demigod son of the three great.

"I challenge you, by the river Stix fight me if you win you and your other friends will serve me, handing me weapons and equipment every month"

The monster growled annoyed.

"You can kill me...." 

Dante replied to which the bearded cyclops and the other two even smiled sadistically. 

"I would kill you anyway, but seeing that you will go into Thanatos' embrace without even a fight, that's going to make my night."

Then, with the two of them making their vows, they both went on the attack without even a second of thought when Dante struck the Cyclops' leg and the monster blocked it with his hammer.

They both dodged and moved away for a short time before the Cyclops came with a furious attack aiming to crush Dante under his hammer.

But the demigod was fast and dodged, his hand extended and a lightning bolt was fired at the cyclops who was caught in the shoulder, making him let out a cry of pain as the burn formed on his right shoulder, burned by the lightning.

The monster wasted no time and ran towards Dante who was surprised that a three-meter monster could run so fast. But in his momentary lack of attention, he was punched with enough force to kill ordinary mortals. But for a demigod, it was just a great pain in the body, but in the next second Dante was already sliding between the cCyclops'legs and making a cut on his calf.

The monster fell to his knees on the ground but was far from defeated when he threw a steel beam that he pulled from the ground.

Dante used his magnetism technique to slow down the object but was defenseless against the hammer blow that was coming towards him. The pain was great when he was thrown like a rag doll, into a pile of debris that luckily didn't have anything too sharp that could damage him.

The monster laughed happily, as did his compatriots as they roared in joy. "Haha this is what a foolish mortal gets for challenging me, the almighty Alazonikós" [Alazonikós means arrogant in Greek]

Unfortunately, the battle was not over yet as Dante got up from the wreckage, with a look of rage, electricity running through his body weakly but still noticeable.

One of his ribs had been broken and blood was running from a cut near his eye that almost left him blind. But the demigod refused to give up when his spear, which was still stuck in the ground, flew towards him and soon a static hiss was heard under the silence of the night.

"We're not done here yet, you wretch!"

Dante, furious at the audacity of this monster to mock him, threw his spear covered in electricity, causing the unsuspecting cyclops to scream in pain as the spear lodged in his back.

"Damn you! I'll rip your guts out while you're still breathing!"

Alazonikós cursed as he picked up a huge car piece and threw it at Dante.

Using both hands, the demigod summoned all his strength to grab the piece of iron and throw it at the cyclops, who was surprised and took a strong blow to the head, making dark reddish blood cloud his eyes.

Dante jumped on top of the Cyclops, striking him with the hilt of his sword and hitting the monster's nose, which was broken by the impact.

The cyclops tried to grab the demigod but soon received a strong shock that gave him enough time to strike his sword again, but this time at the monster's left leg, making him fall.

A deafening silence was present as the cyclops could no longer get up with the golden sword stuck in his skin and the intense wave of electricity that held his muscles.

"Do you surrender?"

Dante pointed the palm of his hand at the Cyclops, small bolts of lightning ran through his hand, while the wounded demigod stood firmly.

Alazonikós looked at the demigod's hand. He tried to get up, grunting and growling, but he couldn't move under so many volts running through his body.

"I will never submit to you, I owe you nothing, a mortal worm!"

Thunder resounded in the heavens, followed by a mini earthquake that shook the junkyard.

Looking at the other two cyclopes, who seemed to fear as if Zeus himself was present.

Dante looked back only to see the earth open up and water as black as oil began to gush out.

His instincts screamed at him to get away and so he did. With a quick magnetic control, the demigod grabbed his weapons back before they were treated by the black water that was heading towards the cyclops who, pale and afraid, pathetically crawled back in a vain attempt to escape.

"Wait! Wait! I surrender, I surrender, you hear me! Please no!" His screams fell on deaf ears as the water swallowed him as if his size meant nothing as he drowned.

Sweat dripped from Dante's face and a look of surprise appeared. He couldn't believe something like this would happen in his duel against the Cyclops.

But not even in his wildest dreams would he be prepared for when the water, dark as oil, began to bubble, growing and shrinking until it transformed into a woman with brown robes and dark eye sockets. Her hair was long and brown, her skin was a light bronze tone.

As soon as she appeared, the two other Cyclopes ran as if Tartarus itself was behind them, sweat dripping from their faces as the woman walked oblivious to the monsters who fled like cockroaches.

"It's been a long time since someone broke their oath in my name...." Every word that left her lips seemed to contain power as Dante felt himself being struck by intense pressure. His hand tightened on his sword while his spear lay buried under the ground serving as a support and a catalyst in case he needed to use an area attack.

"But it's also been a while since I've seen a fight tied to my name" The woman's eyes turned to Dante who for a second appreciated the unnatural beauty that lay beneath her, his mind soon realized that he was in the presence of a God, or so to speak a Goddess.

Taking a deep breath, noting that it might be impossible to escape, Dante positioned himself to fight to the end.

"So... would you be Styx, Goddess of Oaths?" With a command of his free hand, Dante made electric bolts appear that shone in static.

"Yes... But to be honest, I am the personification of the River whose name is given to me and would you be the mortal who swore my name a few times in recent times?"

Dante nodded, saying yes to the Goddess's question as his mind prepared for anything that might happen.

Seeing the demigod's action, Stix did nothing but raise an eyebrow as an amused smile appeared on his face.

"Why are you still holding your sword, do you think you would have a chance against me?" There was more curiosity in her tone than irritation at the boldness of the mortal in front of her, but his answer also surprised her.

"Nah, I doubt that I can even scratch a Goddess, but if you think I'm going to die without a fight, you can bet that won't happen."

She laughed haughtily at the demigod's words. Dante stood still, his posture relaxed a little, giving way to surprise, when for some reason he felt his face heat up a little.

The Goddess held her belly as a tear fell from her black eyes. "Kill? Such a funny boy, no, absolutely not, I have a much better plan."

Dante felt more relaxed seeing that the aura that the Goddess emanated became much more bearable.

"That's what kind of plan a Goddess wants with a simple demigod?" Dante asked with a raised eyebrow, it was clear as day that he did not trust the Goddess in front of him, much less have much respect for her since he did not bow like most demigods.

Unfortunately or fortunately, the Goddess did not see this as an insult, if anyone knew her, they would realize that she became even more interested in the mortal in front of her.

"Plan.... I would say one more proposal that you might like and enjoy a lot."

Dante was taken by surprise, but the doubt was still present in his mind, so he did not put away his weapons but turned off the small electric current in his free hand.

"I'm listening." Was his short answer, on one hand, he wondered if it was right to listen to the Goddess' proposal, which he had little or no knowledge of since there was nothing very describable about her in the mythology books.

"I propose that you become my champion, simple and easy, don't you think?" The Goddess looked at him with a somewhat suspicious smile. 

It took one...two...three seconds and a few thousand for Dante's mind to process what the Goddess had proposed to him and soon his face was taken over by surprise.

"Why do you want me as your champion, if I may ask, Lady Styx?"

The Goddess shrugged. "I need your help and I think you would be useful to me, for the task at hand."

Dante's curiosity was aroused, but with his time-fighting in search of experience for when the real and most crucial battles would occur, the demigod was cautious, thinking deeply about each word and action, not wanting to be killed or fall into a trap set by some Goddess or God.

"Well, I have a few questions before I accept any proposal from a Goddess or God. No offense, but the stories are full of you Gods fucking with the lives of mortals." The demigod replied, convinced of his words, based on reading many stories to deepen his knowledge of mythology, and it was clear to him that he would want to keep his distance from most of them, of the Gods and Goddesses of his pantheon, and if by chance there were other deities in this world he would be on guard at all times.

On the other hand, Styx just shrugged with a mutter of 'clever'. "Ask your questions, but be quick we don't have all night."

Taking a deep breath Dante began the series of questions and answers. "What kind of task do you want me to do? And also what will be my advantages as your champion?"

These were the most prominent questions in his mind and he wanted to be sure of what he would gain and what would be the cost he would have to pay.

With a nod, The Goddess approved the Demigod's questions, as they were the most intelligent he could have asked her. "The first thing is that I want you to fight in my name, bring honor to the Styx name and I will reward you over time" Dante nodded understanding the first answer. "For the other question, which is quite simple besides increased defense and resistance, I will also give you some advantages" Dante was going to ask but Stix spoke first. "These advantages I will only give you if you accept and only when I consider that you have done enough to receive them"

Dante accepted despite wanting to know what advantages those would be. "Ok.... last question, why me? Why do you want me to be your champion? I'm sure there must be some more skilled demigods out there."

This was also a question that hammered into his mind why the Goddess would choose such a young demigod as her champion and why would it be him who wasn't even properly trained?

"Oh, that's it, quite simple. You're young in your body but your mind... your mind is old, not like an old man but with enough wisdom to avoid most of the mistakes that these heroes make along their path, and I also consider that you won't be bound by your mortal flaw."

Dante was a little surprised by the Goddess' answer, a little more surprised that she had said something about his soul which was true since he had died when he was almost forty years old, he had his life experience and a little knowledge about right and wrong and what can be avoided.

But he also didn't understand what kind of mistakes heroes make along the way on their journeys, well beyond those super altruistic heroes who try to save the villains.

"Right... But what kind of mistakes do heroes make that you don't seem to like?" It was good to know in case he accepted to be her champion, it was good to know which path to take instead of walking on eggshells.

"Very simple, idiocies like thinking that everything is good or bad, madness like giving everything you have for someone who doesn't care, and also that of judging a book by its cover or dying fighting for honor and glory, I honestly hate fools like those," Styx said with a note of irritation in her voice clearly thinking of all the fools who have done or still do something like that, but she had unknowingly gained some points in Dantes' book of Favorite Goddesses.

"Okay, I made my decision to accept your proposal under one condition."

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