Chimera, Part 2
"At this point, I think Fluffy is actually way cuter than that thing, don't you think, Harry?" Percy said with a faint smile, looking at his brother's worried face, trying to cheer him up and show that he was fine.
But his pale face and sweat-covered body didn't help much.
Harry said nothing. He just stared at him with concern, and little by little, panic began to take hold of him, afraid that something might happen to Percy.
"Don't worry… I'll be fine. I'm always fine, Harry," Percy said weakly, with a smile so fragile it didn't look like he was fine at all.
"Yeah… you're always fine," Harry replied, watching him while trying to think as fast as he could of something that might help. But every idea felt like it wasn't enough.
Annabeth turned for a moment when she saw Percy weakened, being held up by Grover and Harry as they ran.
Then, in the blink of an eye, her eyes widened when she saw a shadow lunging toward them.
"Watch out!" she shouted.
The three of them turned.
Everything seemed to slow down as they watched a tail with a stinger at its tip rushing toward them.
Percy reacted instantly. He shoved Grover to the side as one of his swords appeared in his hand, deflecting the tail that threatened to pierce him.
But weakened, he was pushed back and fell to the ground.
Harry caught him with one hand while raising his wand with the other.
He was about to shout a spell with all his strength.
But the tail that had struck Percy redirected at a brutal speed.
Straight toward his stomach.
There was no time to dodge.
Harry could only watch as the tail approached in slow motion, ready to impale him.
Suddenly, the shadow beneath his feet stirred as if it were a bottomless pit.
And a massive black wolf's jaw burst out of it, clamping down on the tail with brutal force.
"GRAAAAH!" the chimera roared, thrashing its tail in pain.
At the same time, the rest of the body fully emerged from Harry's shadow.
A massive hellhound, the size of a grizzly bear.
Without hesitation, it lunged at the chimera with savage violence.
"GROOOGH!"
The chimera roared and struck back with claws and fangs.
Harry fell to the ground from the near impact, a look of complete confusion on his face as he watched the two beasts clash right in front of him.
One of them… had come out of his shadow.
"Guys! It's the same one we ran into before!" Grover shouted, staring at the massive hellhound.
Percy and Harry's eyes widened in realization.
It was the same hellhound that had attacked them when they were with Sirius.
When they were attacked by the Minotaur.
And now…
It was protecting them.
The chimera, though smaller than the hellhound, looked far more ferocious. Flames poured from its mouth as it spat them straight at the dog's face.
The impact pushed it back.
That gave the chimera the perfect opening to lunge at its neck and bite down viciously.
"GROOOOW!" the dog roared in pain.
But it didn't stop.
It raised one of its massive paws and slammed the chimera into the ground with its weight, forcing it to let go.
In the same motion, it opened its jaws and went for the beast's neck.
The chimera reacted instantly.
Its tail whipped around and struck the dog, pushing it one or two meters back.
It rose immediately, stepping back slightly as it lowered into an attacking stance, staring the dog down with a low growl.
Without hesitation, it lunged again, leaping with its claws extended, taking advantage of its momentary imbalance.
"Harry!" Percy shouted as he ran to join the fight.
Harry, under his brother's worried gaze, clicked his tongue.
He pulled out his magical tome and raised his wand.
Several fireballs began to circle around him.
And almost instantly, they shot toward the beast.
The chimera, for a moment, turned its gaze, distracted by the attack, though its claws still managed to tear across the hellhound's face.
The animal let out a growl of pain, but opened its jaws to counterattack.
The chimera responded by striking its snout with its tail.
Right at that moment, Percy appeared with his sword raised.
He struck toward the chimera's side.
But when his blade hit its scaled hide, metallic sparks burst out.
He barely managed to leave a shallow mark.
Showing just how tough the creature was.
And how weakened Percy had become.
The chimera turned, ready to strike.
But several fireballs slammed into its face in rapid succession.
That gave Percy the chance to jump back and create some distance.
For a moment, Harry saw that pentagram again.
It glowed faintly.
And this time… it seemed to move in a specific direction.
Like a signal.
Something that, for an instant, Harry felt like he recognized.
"A fireplace! Follow the pentagrams!" he shouted to Annabeth and Grover.
As he waved his wand, his magical tome began flipping pages on its own.
Without warning, a wall of ice rose up in front of them.
At the same time, a burst of flames shot from the chimera's mouth, aimed straight at Harry.
But the hellhound took advantage of the distraction.
It lunged at the chimera.
Both beasts rolled across the ground, locked in a violent struggle.
Meanwhile, Percy felt weakness spread through his entire body for a moment. He swallowed and shook his head, bringing a hand to his inventory necklace.
The sword in his hand changed.
Riptide vanished, replaced by the silver blade his Aunt Mor had given him.
Though, in his current state, he doubted he could even use it properly.
It was the only one capable of cutting through anything… as long as he had the will to swing it with everything he had.
And it didn't depend on his physical strength.
A strength that was fading with every movement, as if each step was speeding up the poison running through his veins.
Annabeth and Grover, hearing Harry's shout, looked toward where he had pointed earlier.
At first, they could barely make out a faint glow in the bricks.
But when they focused, they saw an image beginning to form.
As if it were being drawn in blue fire.
A pentagram.
A symbol tied to magic and the occult.
And then others began to glow faintly across the nearby bricks.
As if marking a path.
One that could only be seen by those who could perceive magic.
Grover and Annabeth turned back, looking toward the battle in front of them.
"We need a fireplace to get out! And to cure Percy's poison!" Harry shouted, his tone completely serious.
He looked back at the fight just as the massive hellhound was knocked down by the chimera, which leapt onto it and raked its chest with its claws, leaving a deep wound.
At that moment, Percy moved again.
Without saying a word.
Fully focused.
Percy clenched his teeth.
The world was spinning… but even so, he leapt forward and swung the silver sword, slicing across the chimera's tail.
The beast let out a cry of pain.
And spat a massive blast of fire toward Percy.
At that exact moment, Harry raised his wand and pointed straight at him.
"Aguamenti!" he shouted.
A large surge of water burst from the wand instantly, surrounding Percy in a bubble that covered him completely. Percy barely had time to take a breath before being submerged.
The fire slammed into the water.
Steam rose instantly.
The water began to boil.
Percy struck outward with both hands and was thrown back, breaking the bubble and rolling across the ground.
He tried to stand.
But the moment he did, he dropped to his knees.
His skin had taken on an unnatural greenish tint.
The poison was no longer just in his blood…
It was winning.
"Percy!" Harry's voice broke as he saw him fall.
The chimera was already leaping toward him again.
Harry reacted immediately, waving his wand. The boiling water surged like a wave and crashed into the monster, forcing it to twist aside for a moment.
But the bubble burst under the beast's roar.
The chimera was about to lunge again, furious, toward the one who had cut its tail.
Right then, the hellhound bit down on one of its hind legs, stopping it.
But it was badly injured too.
It could barely stay standing.
The chimera let out a pained snarl, turned, and slashed at the dog's face again.
The pain forced it to release its bite.
The beast was about to finish it.
But a rain of ice arrows fell over it, forcing it to stop.
The chimera turned its head.
And saw Harry.
Standing.
Watching it with a serious expression as he moved his wand, surrounded by the flow of his own magic. His face was pale from the strain, but he kept attacking.
Harry clenched his jaw. In the next instant, his body split into multiple copies of himself.
All of them ran in different directions, without hesitation, as if each one was willing to die in his place.
The chimera hesitated for a moment.
It looked toward Percy, who was barely breathing, watching Harry with difficulty. He knew exactly what he was doing. And he hated that he couldn't stop him.
But he didn't even have the strength to speak.
Or to stop him.
The hellhound tried to get up as well… but collapsed again, bleeding.
The chimera made its choice.
It chased the nearest Harry and caught him in its jaws.
But it was an illusion.
It immediately turned toward another, moving away at full speed.
"Harry… idiot…" Percy muttered, his voice broken and weak, forcing himself to stand through sheer will.
He took a step.
His legs trembled.
Then another.
Barely moving in the direction where his brother and the chimera had disappeared.
The hellhound watched him for a moment.
Then, with great effort, it stood.
It approached Percy and, carefully, lifted him with its head, as if offering to carry him.
Even though it could barely walk.
"Thanks…" Percy murmured, feeling the poison spreading through his body.
But even so…
He wasn't going to stop.
He wouldn't let his idiot brother run into danger.
Not alone.