Castor's body ached. His breath came in ragged gasps as the smoke curled around him, stinging his eyes and lungs. The abandoned school building was barely standing, debris strewn across the dusty tiled floor, flames licking along the far wall where the last of his tripwire traps had ignited. Amid the chaos stood Ethan—or what was left of him—his body twitching and convulsing under Medusa's control.
The black veins across Ethan's face pulsed violently, his eyes swirling with a dark green glow. Medusa snarled through him, her voice layered with Ethan's, distorted and monstrous. "You think this… this little toy can save your friend?" she spat, glaring at the Aegis Shield gripped tightly in Castor's bruised hands.
But Castor was already moving.
Shards of broken mirror, carefully laid earlier in his preparation, glinted like stars scattered on the battlefield. Medusa turned to strike—only for her gaze to reflect back at her. Her eyes met her own through the angled glass, and instantly, the curse recoiled. Screaming erupted from Ethan's mouth as blood spattered onto the ground. He staggered back, clutching his head as dark fluid oozed from his eyes and ears.
It was working.
Medusa, furious, retaliated with blistering speed. She lunged, fist curled, aiming to shatter Castor like glass. The shield slammed into place just in time, and the impact rattled every bone in Castor's body. He was thrown backward, skidding across the cracked linoleum, coughing blood. The Aegis Shield hummed faintly in his grip, scorched but unyielding.
He rolled to the side just in time as a charred hand slammed down where his head had been. Medusa roared, her skin burned from the earlier fire, but her power was barely diminished. She was adapting.
Castor pushed to his feet, legs trembling. He hurled another flash bomb, the blinding light erupting like a miniature sun. Medusa recoiled, disoriented, slamming her fists wildly into walls and floor. Castor darted around her, evading her flailing limbs with near-inhuman instinct.
The Aegis Shield wasn't just protecting him—it was enhancing him. Whether it was adrenaline or something divine coursing through his veins, Castor moved like lightning now, every motion purposeful.
But Medusa struck again.
A brutal hit caught Castor across the ribs, flinging him through a collapsed doorway and into a desk. He groaned, clutching his side, blood leaking between his fingers. He could feel it—a crack in his ribs, maybe more.
Medusa followed, walking through the fire like a demon. "You're just a boy," she hissed, her voice echoing through the room. "A child playing hero."
Castor's hand trembled as he reached into his hoodie and pulled the final trigger.
The tripwire behind Medusa snapped, and the firebomb suspended above her exploded. A burst of searing heat filled the corridor as flames engulfed her completely. She screamed, a horrifying mixture of Ethan's pain and Medusa's wrath. The fire bit deep, this time clinging to her form, igniting the corruption.
This was it.
Castor knew he only had seconds. He charged forward, dodging the burning debris falling from the ceiling. The divine symbol on the Aegis Shield pulsed bright gold, reacting to Medusa's weakening state.
He tackled Ethan's body—no, Medusa's body—shield-first. The divine purge began.
Light erupted from the shield, sacred, searing, unrelenting. Medusa shrieked, the blackness unraveling from Ethan's flesh in steaming tendrils. The shield's purging energy surged through both of them. Castor bit down a cry of pain. It was like holding lightning. The heat scorched his palm; his bones felt as if they were fracturing from the divine force alone.
And still, it wasn't enough.
Medusa refused to die. The last threads of her being coiled tighter around Ethan's heart.
With a desperate screech, her corrupted arm lashed out—and the blade of blackened bone she conjured sliced clean through Castor's wrist.
His scream tore through the heavens. He dropped to his knees, the shield tumbling from his severed hand, blood gushing like a crimson fountain. The pain was all-consuming, threatening to drown him in darkness.
"No—no no no—!" Castor gasped, fighting the nausea and tears.
Medusa staggered, her form crumbling, weakened but not gone.
"I won't… let you…" Castor's voice trembled. With trembling fingers, he grabbed the Aegis Shield with his remaining hand. The divine power was still there, still humming, calling to him.
He thought of Ethan—his best friend—the boy who used to race him down the alleys of Abigal, who shared snacks with him during class, who once said they'd grow old and build a tech empire together.
He thought of all of it.
"I'll save you, Ethan Winters," Castor whispered.
And with a final, agonizing cry, he unleashed the purge again.
This time, the shield blazed with godly fury, the light pouring out in a halo of divine gold. The floor cracked beneath them, windows shattered, and the very air seemed to scream.
The black goo that was Medusa twisted and hissed, writhing as it burned away. It tried to cling to Ethan's skin, to his eyes, to his heart.
But it was no use.
Medusa was banished in the light of Perseus's legacy.
The corruption peeled away like molten wax, leaving behind only the unconscious, trembling body of Ethan Walker.
Castor collapsed beside him, one hand clutching the shield, the other a bleeding stump. He could barely see, barely breathe. Tears mingled with soot and blood on his face as he reached out and cradled Ethan's limp form.
"You're safe now…" he mumbled. "You're okay…"
The pain finally overtook him.
And as the sun broke through the charred windows of the school building, illuminating the ruin and the two broken boys at its heart—Castor passed out, still holding his friend in his arm.
The battle was over.
But the war for their future had just begun.