Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – Berserker on Standby, Flag in Sight

The horn blew.

I stood in the trees above the Camp Half-Blood forest clearing, arms crossed, wind brushing through the ripped sleeves of my hoodie like even the gods were nervous to touch me.

Below, the Blue Team surged forward.

I didn't move.

Not yet.

Not until I felt it.

That first pulse.That first signal.That first note of war.

There.

The forest groaned. Mist unraveled. Something shifted in the air—intent, danger, momentum. My body tensed, and deep inside, the berserker gauge blinked online.

[BERSERKER GAUGE: 0%]

I rolled my shoulders.

"Not today," I muttered. "This is a game. Not war. Don't get greedy."

But my blood was already humming. That ancient, stupid, beautiful part of me that screamed "Fight. Break. Burn."wanted out.

Instead, I dropped down into a crouch, chain blades rattling quietly behind me, and watched my team start the assault.

Clarisse was leading the charge like she was storming Troy. Beckendorf moved with the weight of a tank. Katie from Demeter cabin had grown thorns on her knuckles and was punching monsters disguised as bushes.

We weren't holding back.

But neither were they.

Across the field, the Red Team had Thalia and Percy up front. Annabeth was already strategizing behind a barricade, setting up flanking routes like she was in a war council.

And then there was Grover, sitting calmly on a stump, flute in hand, surrounded by a suspicious number of woodland animals. Definitely up to something.

I leapt to the next branch, crouched low.

Then—

"NOW!"

Thalia dropped in from above.

I blocked her swing with my forearm and grinned. "Hiya, Tree Girl."

"You're going down, Warboy."

"I always did like a dramatic entrance."

We exchanged three fast blows—shield to blade, electricity cracking through the mist, her smirk sharp enough to slice bronze. I pushed off the branch and spun through the air, using a chain to redirect mid-leap.

I hadn't even activated the berserker system. Not even 10%. Not worth it. But my arms ached to throw open that gate.

Then Percy joined.

"Hey, guys," he said like we were all just grabbing lunch.

He flicked his wrist and a water whip snapped across my back.

I staggered. "Okay. Rude."

"Just keeping it even."

Thalia laughed, pressing her advantage, shield slamming into my side. I rolled through it, landed in a low crouch.

"Right," I muttered. "Playtime's over."

I turned and ran.

"Coward!" Thalia shouted.

"Tactical Kratos maneuver!" I shouted back, flinging a chain to swing from a tree.

She hurled a javelin. I flipped around it midair.

Below me, my team rallied.

Clarisse tackled Percy into a boulder, her electric spear crackling like a lightning rod on steroids.

"Take him!" I barked to her.

"Don't need your permission, baby brother!"

Annabeth tried to intercept me from the left.

But I'd already vanished into the canopy.

I spotted the Red Team's base from above—a columned gazebo wrapped in magical illusions, light filters that turned allies to enemies, and at least two Hermes kids hiding with enchanted slingshots.

I smirked.

"Let's take this thing like Kratos took Athens."

I spiraled in from above, chain blades swinging wide, scattering illusions with the sheer speed of my descent. My boots hit the floor of the gazebo with a crunch.

The flag was mine.

Silken red cloth. Gold embroidery. Radiated glory like it knew it was about to be stolen.

I reached.

My fingers brushed it—

Then my foot yanked backward mid-step.

I face-planted into marble, rolled, and looked down.

A vine.

Of course.

My eyes locked onto Grover, 20 feet away, calmly playing his flute.

Woodland creatures surrounded him like fluffy mafia goons.

"Grover," I growled.

"Sorry," he said, still playing. "You're too dangerous to let through."

He wasn't wrong.

I tore the vine off, but then—

Shadow above.

Thalia.

Descending again.

"Fine," I muttered, "let's get creative."

I charged Grover.

He blinked, startled, scrambling to stop playing—

But I twisted mid-run and hurled the flag in the opposite direction.

"HERMES KID—CATCH!"

A scrawny kid with goggles snatched it from the air. "Wha—ME?!"

"YES YOU—RUN!"

Percy rose from the lake, soaking wet, flicked his hand—and the water obeyed.

It surged like a serpent, curling into a massive fist and slammed toward Hermes Kid.

Panicking, he chucked the flag—

It soared across the clearing—right into Katie's waiting hands. She disappeared into a tree.

"HA! That's what you get for underestimating agriculture!" she shouted, vine-leaping across the forest.

I took off after her, spinning through tree branches like a Kratos-flavored ninja.

Then I stopped.

Because right at our base, Annabeth waited. She said something quietly.

An Aphrodite camper stepped out from behind a bush and hummed. Just one note.

Katie froze.

Her arms dropped. Eyes glassed.

Charm-speech.

"Oh come on!" I shouted.

A raven swooped in, grabbed the flag, and took off.

"Grover's bird!" I growled, chasing.

I chain-whipped forward, using branches to hurl myself after it. When I was close enough—

[CHAIN BLADE: WHIPLASH MODE – SNAP TO TARGET]

I lashed out.

Caught the flag gently.

"Gotcha."

I looked at the bird. "You're innocent. Go."

It cawed and zipped away.

I turned—and immediately saw Percy's water charging behind me like a blue tsunami.

Thalia above. Electricity flaring.

"...Oh, you want that game?"

I pushed off the nearest tree and went full Naruto-run through the canopy. Trees blurred. My chain blades whipped for momentum. The flag clutched tight to my chest.

"Clarisse!" I roared.

She heard.

And smiled.

She raised her electric spear and threw it—

Right at Percy.

It speared through his water form. Electricity crackled across the water. He stiffened mid-step, eyes wide, and dropped to the ground with a splash.

I leapt one final time and baseball-smashed the flag with Oathbreaker, sending it spinning like a red comet across the forest.

"BECKENDORF!"

He turned, mechanical arm already opening.

The flag smacked his palm.

He slammed it into the Blue Team's pedestal.

Horn blew.

Blue Team wins.