Chapter 191 - Drako vs Nemean Lion

"Clear the area!" Drako shouted.

There where a group of kids running, disturbing Drako. He wanted that to be cleared as soon as possible.

"RoaaaarRR!" The lion charged at Drako again.

But this time, Drako didn't dodge.

He now had a power of 3720 in his fists plus the extra of using his [Infernal Dragon Punch] skill. His defence may be no more than 6000 like the Nemean Lion, but it is still a solid 2560 plus all his defensive skills.

The lion's claw crossed Drako's entire chest, which was protected by the scales that Drako had let out.

It was at this point that Drako realized that this partial transformation had a limit, as the scales were beginning to come out all over his body as he grew in size.

If the Lion of Nemea were four or five meters tall, Drako was slowly approaching it. Drako could not control this transformation yet!

This was normal, given the short time Drako had been training him. This was-literally-the first time he had used it in combat.

Drako's fist, surrounded by flame, struck the lion's chest. It did not penetrate, but the lion shot out just as Drako had done before.

"Hahahahaha!" Drako let out a manic laugh when he discovered how strong it really was right now.

[Level of normal skill [Infernal Dragon Punch] was increased from 1 to 2]

[Level of normal skill [Infernal Dragon Punch] was increased from 2 to 3]

[Level of normal skill [Infernal Dragon Punch] was increased from 3 to 4]

[Level of normal skill [Infernal Dragon Punch] was increased from 4 to 5]

The stronger the enemy, the higher the level of the skills Drako uses!

A skill that was completely broken-Drako could injure the Nemean Lion with his fists when it was at level one-had risen to level five with a single punch.

This system was completely broken!

Though I say Drako had injured it, Drako had barely scratched the lion. He stood up again and looked at Drako more carefully. The rest of the group was ready to attack at any moment.

"Get him to open his mouth!" Zoe screamed.

Right! How could Drako have forgotten that!

Drako knew it was impossible to break through the skin of the Nemean Lion with his bare fists. It would even be virtually impossible with his sword or bow, as his skin is literally indestructible. Well, not so invulnerable. Drako was confident that he could kill him if he used his Noble Phantasm. Not so much Gandiva's or Phoebus Catastrophe's, since these will probably only hurt him, but Laevatein's.

But there were two ways to kill him without using his NPs. The first is the one Hercules used, to strangle him to death. The second is to attack his weak spot, the inside of his mouth.

Drako pounced on the lion, and the two fought for a few moments. Drako had more physical strength, but he had to be careful because the lion could bite him at any moment.

From behind, he heard that the rest of the group was arguing about something, but Drako did not listen. He was too focused on his fight against the Nemean Lion.

He devised a quick and simple strategy. He stuck his index finger in the lion's right eye, and ran backwards. He quickly summoned Gandiva and waited for the lion to do the rest of the work.

"RoooaaaarRRRRR!"

The moment Drako had been waiting for arrived.

Drako had only one chance, as he could feel many presences approaching. They were the enemies. Drako had only one arrow, and he had to kill the lion with it.

Drako created the magic arrow, which became a Noble Phantasm. Not only that, but he applied touki and Branch Destruction to the arrow. Finally, he called his Noble Phantasm.

"Agni Gandiva: Flame God's Roar"

The arrow became a guided missile into the lion's mouth, and it entered successfully. The Nemean Lion closed his mouth instantly, but the arrow had already entered.

The lion trembled, and a small popping sound was heard from within. A little smoke came out of his mouth.

[26000 experience points have been obtained.]

[Because of the effects of Title Skill [Walking Egg]. Another 26000 experience points were obtained.]

[The level of [Nephilim Dragon King] raised from 55 to 106.]

Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running around in a panic with no idea what was going on.

Grover knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed. Zoe and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed next to Drako.

Zoë eyed him cautiously, sensing the difference in his strength. "That was… an interesting strategy."

"Hey, it worked."

She didn't argue.

The lion seemed to be melting, the way dead monsters do sometimes until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of normal lion's pelt.

"Take it," Zoë told Drako.

He stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"

"It's a spoil of war," she told him. "It is rightly thine."

"Okay, then."

Drako lifted it up; it was surprisingly light. The fur was smooth and soft. It didn't feel at all like something that could stop a blade. As he watched, the pelt shifted into a coat—a full-length golden-brown duster.

"Not exactly my style," Drako murmured.

"We have to get out of here," Grover said. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."

Drako noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to arrest them. They were scrambling in all directions except them like they were madly searching for something. A few were running into the walls or each other.

"You did that?" Drako asked Grover.

He nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "A minor confusion song. I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."

"The security guards are not out biggest worry," Zoë said. "Look."

Through the glass walls of the museum, Drako could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for them to see their eyes, but Drako knew that they were looking straight at Percy.

"Go," he said. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."

"No," Zoë said. "We go together."

Percy stared at her. "But you said—"

"You are a part of this quest now," Zoë said grudgingly. "I don't like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the sixth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."

Near her, Drako was smiling a bit. It seemed like some sense has entered her head.

Ah, he was smiling for another reason—his new stats.

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Drako

Race – Nephilim Dragon King

Level – 106/125

HP – 123412/161250

MP – 51295/153750

STR – 1450

END – 1075

AGI – 1625

MAG – 1025

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(AN: I'm going to give you an explanation so you can understand a bit better about the stats and stuff.

Right now, these Drako stats that I have shown you are on the verge of being at the minimum level that a Cadre or Satan must have to be considered at that level.

The defence of that Nemean Lion, for example, to the pinnacle of what a Great Dragon King can achieve under normal circ.u.mstances (they can be greater than that, it's just an estimation). However, the rest of his statistics were within the threshold of a Cadre's power (10-winged angel).

Drako is now entering the path of the world's most powerful, althought he has a long way to go.)

........................................

They were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one they'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight towards them.

"They know the van," Percy said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Drako said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It's distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Drako asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoe shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they know the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

(riordan.fandom.com/wiki/Mist)

"I can shoot it down," Drako said.

"Don't," Zoë said with a strict tone.

"Okay," Drako shrugged. He wasn't going to gain experience from them anyway.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. They left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia said.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later, they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't there when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived there as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, Drako knew anything about D.C., but he didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing because they looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"Why don't you let me shoot it down?" Drako asked. "It would be easier for us."

"They will just send more," Zoë said. "Unnecessary deaths."

Over the next half hour, they changed trains twice before they lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when they finally got off the train, they found themselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder there.

Drako was obviously unaffected, but Percy was shivering hard. Drako give him the lion's fur coat for that reason.

They wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. They must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave them a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!"

All but Drako gave him a strange look, but the dragon was the first to approach the man.

"Of course, getting warm always comes in handy."

All of them followed his lead and huddled around the fire.

"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

"Feet," Percy corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy.

"Maybe we should contact the camp," Bianca said. "Chiron—"

"No," Zoë said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

"You know," the homeless man said, "you've never completely without friends." His face was grimy, and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," Drako said. "Can you give us one?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly, a freight train, gleaming and free of snow appeared. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's… convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of them was cold and empty as if he'd taken the flames with him.