"You dare to bargain for the soul of a god? Have you no fear?"
Mark remained calm in the face of Charon's anger. Mark would have had a bit more respect for Charon if Charon hadn't tried to throw him into the river earlier, but after something like that, there was no way Mark was going to show him any fear or respect.
Mark waited for Charon to calm down again, and Charon finally huffed and turned away from Mark with an annoyed look on his face. Charon was thinking about the deal that Mark brought forward and what sort of changes he should make to it. Mark was right that the deal was too one-sided.
Even though the gods could do whatever they wanted, they could not force mortals into deals without the mortals accepting it on their own. Even though the god tempts you and lures you towards the deal, so long as you willingly fall for the temptation and allure, then the deal is sealed.
If Mark refused to accept the deal, then Charon would have to change it a little. Charon still had the intention of throwing Mark off the boat once they got far enough into the river. It would be a big blow against whatever god sent Mark down here, and Charon was petty enough to derive joy only from that split moment of anger he knew he would cause.
The other gods think that they can just ignore him for centuries and then send demi-gods down here for him to test like he was a glorified school teacher!? They will feel his anger.
It never even crossed Charon's mind for a moment that this was not the first time that he was meeting with Mark. Charon simply went forward with his deal like normal.
"Very well then. You do not have a right to bargain for my soul. It is not something a mere mortal will even know what to do with, but if you can withstand the temptation to enter the river until we reach the shores, then I will grant you a gift."
Mark smiled internally as he heard Charon say this. Mark knew that his initial request was too absurd. Asking for the soul of a god was insane and a little greedy, but that was exactly why Mark did it. This bastard tried to down Mark, and Mark was going to get compensation for that one way or another.
If Mark had asked for something small, then Charon would have given him something even smaller as a counter-reward, but since Mark asked for his soul, Charon's counter-reward would be something worthwhile. Now all Mark had to do was to make sure that Charon did not throw him off the boat while they were riding towards the shore.
From the previous journey, Mark knew that he and Charon were not too far apart in terms of strength. If he really tried, Mark could hold Charon back, and perhaps even win against him in a tussle. That meant that Mark had the upper hand here.
Charon was paddling slowly while keeping his attention off Mark. He didn't know what it was, but something was making him feel unnerved. Although they had not said a word to each other since they entered the boat, Charon could tell that Mark's senses were sharper than ever.
Even when Mark was not looking at him, Charon still felt like there were eyes on him, and he knew that it would not be a good idea to rush in at that moment.
Charon had to be patient. He knew that there would be a moment on this journey when you would see someone who was once close to you along the way. It has happened to everyone that Charon ever transported across the Styx and Charon knew that Mark would be no different. It was only a matter of time before Mark lost his focus because of that!
And immediately after Charon thought this, he could hear the sweet voice of a woman echo from somewhere to his left. Charon saw Mark's eyes widen in surprise, and Charon's mouth split into a grin as he prepared himself for the inevitable.
"Is that you, son?"
Mark couldn't have stopped his head from tilting towards the left once he heard that voice. Even though Mark knew that it was coming. Even though he prepared for it and told himself that he would try to ignore it. It was almost surreal hearing his mother's voice so close to him, and he made the mistake of tilting his head to his right for a split second! But it was only for a split second!
Woosh!
Mark ducked down once he saw Charon's stick flying towards his head and he quickly dashed forward and slammed into Charon's midsection! The boat rocked in the water and Charon yelled in anger as he almost fell off, but he was held in place by Mark!
Mark's fist began to release electric bolts as he pulled it back and delivered a massive punch right into Charon's stomach!
Boom!
The punch struck true and Charon gasped for air as his rod fell from his hand!