Leo didn't think much. In that moment, his body and mind screamed for one thing: to escape.
The image of the Fury was etched in his mind.
He had no interest in understanding the reason for her existence or the purpose that had brought her to the orphanage. All he wanted was to flee.
He twisted his body, squeezing every last drop of his strength, and shot off.
He ran without looking back, darting through the streets of London like a lightning bolt in the dark.
The Fury watched him, her unwavering gaze tinted with a hint of mockery. "They always do the same thing," she thought. "They just complicate things." With a gentle movement, she spread her dark wings like a cloak that glided through the night, rising gracefully into the air with a terrifying elegance.
...
In a closed street, Leo found himself exhausted, but his feet kept moving.
The frantic rhythm of his heart echoed in his ears.
On either side, cars passed indifferently, people returning from work, couples sharing laughs and whispers in the dusk.
Leo tried to distance himself from them; he knew he was in danger and didn't want to risk the lives of innocents because of him.
He turned a corner and the rain-soaked ground became a treacherous enemy.
As he rounded a corner, he stumbled over something that at first he thought was a person, but when he tried to evade it, it quickly positioned itself in front of him.
When he collided with it, he quickly realized that it wasn't a 'person' since it was as hard as a stone statue.
It felt as if a truck had hit him, and he fell to the ground, the impact resonating throughout his body.
Before he could process what had happened, a powerful strike to his left cheek sent him flying against the concrete wall, shattering several tiles and bricks along the way.
The sensation of vertigo overwhelmed him; his stomach twisted and a mixture of saliva and blood spilled from his mouth.
His body lay on the ground, weak, as he fought to maintain consciousness.
A sudden feeling of suffocation invaded him.
Desperately, his hands tried to push away what was pressing against his neck.
He kicked and thrashed, the skin on his hands tearing, but the pressure didn't ease, and soon his movements became sluggish.
Just when he thought it would all end, the sensation slowly loosened, giving him a little space to breathe.
As he caught his breath, he looked up and found himself staring at the monstrosity in front of him.
"Mr. Jackson, we could have spoken calmly... there was no need for such a commotion," said the Fury, her voice silky like a poison that seeped into his mind while one of her slender fingers gently rested on his neck, as if she took pleasure in his suffering.
"You… monster! What do you want from me?" Despite the excruciating pain, Leo maintained a thread of reason and kept searching for something that could help him escape this predicament.
"Monster? Mr. Jackson... you hurt my feelings; in my opinion, those of your kind are the real monsters." The indifference in her eyes was cold, but Leo felt her grip tighten slightly around his neck, apparently striking a sensitive chord.
"Those... of my kind?"
"Yes; heroes, half-breeds, or demigods. They're all the same: hungry beings for power and glory." Her tone was almost disdainful, as if she were speaking of a plague. "Simply disgusting..."
"What do you... mean?" Leo glared at her, the tearing pain in his body only adding to his rage.
The burning in his arms and back was intense; he felt his body crumbling little by little.
"Oh, right, you still don't know what you are, do you? Well, even that no longer matters."
"After all... The dead don't need to know anything."
As she spoke, her finger slowly pierced Leo's neck, traveling up to his temple.
Hot blood began to flow, and Leo felt an authentic terror; a truth within him told him that he didn't want to die... not there, not like that.
"Will it really all end this simply?" he thought in anguish.
"However, even though I would like to kill you, unfortunately, I still have a mission to fulfill," the Fury continued, her eyes shining with malevolence.
But Leo, despite the fear, began to feel a spark of hope amidst his despair.
"Then, Mr. Jackson, you have two options: first, tell me where the gods' pendant is..."
"...or the second option; die here, but while I search for the pendant, I will go to the orphanage and exterminate one by one everyone you care about."
Leo's eyes shone with fury and determination. Rage replaced the fear that had paralyzed him.
"You... are even worse than a monster, you're a demon! Everyone in the orphanage is innocent; they have nothing to do with whatever this means."
The Fury was not angered by his words; she simply laughed, a deep and resonant laugh that reverberated in the stillness of the night.
"I am always ready to incite chaos and destruction wherever I go!"
Seeing her face twist, Leo realized his mistake: this being was a demon whose mental madness manifested in the chaos she enjoyed creating around her.
Naturally, his words would have no effect. Someone like her knew no guilt or remorse since she had been born.
"Besides, kid, you should speak more carefully. If I lose my cool, you lose your head." He felt her finger piercing deeper into his mind.
However, since she mentioned killing everyone at the orphanage, Leo lost the fear. "Get lost! I don't even know what pendant you're talking about."
"Oh... are you sure about that? I've been searching for a pendant all over the world for years. It wasn't until a few days ago that I came across you." The Fury's voice became intriguing, almost melodic.
"At that moment, I wasn't very sure, but today, for some reason, everything is different. Your power is spilling out everywhere; it's very attractive to us monsters."
"The necklace must be an ancient one made of celestial bronze and gold... It is of vital importance. Listen, let's make a deal. If you give it to me, I'll make sure there are no problems. I promise you a less painful death and I will let your friends live. How about that?"
Leo hesitated for a moment. When she mentioned the gold and bronze pendant, he remembered the one he had brought with him to this world.
But that didn't make sense. He was sure that aside from him and Mrs. Helen, no one else had seen it. Why would an object he brought from another world attract the attention of a native demon?
For the first time, he realized he knew nothing at all.
His fate seemed no longer within his reach; he felt weak and helpless, as if he couldn't do anything, despite possessing infinite potential.
He no longer even remembered when was the last time he felt so powerless.
He wanted to become strong, strong enough to never feel that fear again.
Leo clenched his fists tightly, and an unstoppable desire surged in his heart.
The Fury watched him calmly, confident that no matter what he did, he would never be her opponent.
Although she didn't know which god this boy was a son of, in her mind, she only had to wait for his response, obtain the necklace, and then kill this horrible mixed blood.
After all, the gods were no more...
Just at that moment, an unexpected change occurred.
'Whoosh!'
With a loud sound of wind and a burst of energy, a loud crack resonated.
A shadow shot out and crashed against a concrete wall.
The Fury simply felt a sharp pain and her jaw broke.
The intense pain made her eyes turn red with fury as if they were two glowing coals, and she quickly emerged from the hole created earlier with renewed rage.
When she looked around, there was no one else but her and Leo.
"You... bastard... I'll kill you!"
...
Although Leo did not know how it had happened, he looked at his fists, astonished. He had felt a burst of energy, as if a limitation had broken within him.
But that feeling was momentary. After striking the demon, his body was battered. Every part of him ached, and blood stained his face and clothes.
He had broken bones in his hands and feet, as well as an intracranial fracture. That single punch had drained all his strength.
Leo sat down, leaning against the wall, waiting for Fury to emerge again.
His head throbbed, his eyes blurred; he stayed awake purely by sheer willpower.
When he saw the shadow quickly emerge from the crevice, he couldn't help but sigh.
It seemed that, after all, he wouldn't survive that day.
'I wonder if they'll scold me later for not finishing my plate.'
'Hahaha...'
...
When Fury saw Leo slumped against the wall, rage overtook her.
She had forgotten everything her sisters had told her before coming.
With insane determination, she prepared to unleash her fury on the boy who had dared to challenge her.
In that moment, Fury only thought of revenge, an uncontrollable fire burning within her as she wished to end Leo and turn him into food for Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld.
Each step resonated in the silent alley, every sound amplified by the tension of the moment, like an echo reverberating in the emptiness of the night.
Leo, overwhelmed by pain, felt his being slowly fading away, as if darkness began to pull him toward his inevitable fate. His breathing became increasingly labored.
As his consciousness crumbled, everything around him turned into a whirlwind of blurred images and dancing shadows.
Before losing full awareness, he felt a terrifying presence; he saw a thick, sharp hand coming closer, ready to crush his head as if it were a sheet of paper.
The air in the alley became thick, almost unbreathable, as death approached with every step.
But in the critical moment, something extraordinary happened. A dazzling emerald lightning illuminated the place, blinding both of them and filling the atmosphere with a palpable energy.
It was a brilliant flash that cut through the gloom.
And at that crucial moment, a voice resonated, clear and powerful, with a chime of experience that pierced the darkness.
"Avada Kedavra."
The utterance of those words sealed Fury's fate.
Before she could react, the impact of the powerful curse came, and then, everything faded away.
Leo felt darkness engulfing him completely, like a heavy shroud dragging him into a deep, unknown abyss.