Demi-God Twin Chapter 23: Hunt for More Power.

Chapter 23: Hunt for More Power.

(Iphicles’ P.O.V.)

"He's finally asleep. I left Bubba changing out his bandages." Anissa informs me as she enters the room, sleeves rolled up and carrying a basin with dirty water.

"Thank you, Anissa." Atalanta quietly says."I can't imagine it was easy convincing Master to let you clean him."

"It wasn't. But I'm told I can be stubbornly persuasive sometimes." Anissa says as she exits, leaving the rest of us in Bubba’s small hut.

The air is thick with the sharp scent of herbs and the faint undertone of decay. It’s not comforting—just a constant reminder of how little time Chiron has left.

I'm lost in thought until Bubba arrives and stands before us, her wrinkled hands planted on her hips, face set in its usual stern expression.

Behind her, the curtain separating us from Chiron’s resting place sways slightly with the faint breeze seeping through the cracks in the walls.

“His body’s holdin’ on, but only barely,” Bubba says, her gravelly voice cutting through the silence. “The salve I’ve been applying to his wounds has been keepin’ things from goin’ completely rotten, but the herbs I use for it are gone now. And truth be told, that salve is only delaying the inevitable.”

Her words hit hard, but I force myself to stand straighter. She's not telling us anything we didn't already know.

Bubba glances at me, her expression softening slightly. “The alcohol you suggested’s been helpin’—kept the sepsis from settin’ in worse. Smart thinkin’, lad.” She pauses, her eyes flicking toward the curtain. “But it’s only prolongin’ things. The stench of death hangs over that Centaur like a swarm of flies over a turd.”

Her bluntness makes Atalanta shift uncomfortably beside me. Anissa presses her lips into a thin line, while Ori, leaning against the wall, lets out a quiet snore.

Bubba straightens her apron. “If you’re serious about savin’ him, the Lunar Lotus is your only shot. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got other matters to tend to. You lot can figure out how you’re gonna pull off this madness without me breathin’ down your necks.”

With that, she shuffles out of the room, leaving us in heavy silence. The full moon is tomorrow. We only have today to come up with a plan.

Atalanta crosses her arms, her sharp eyes landing on me.

“While you were gone,” she begins, her voice clipped, “I did some digging into the Spirits guarding the Lunar Lotus.”

I nod. “And?”

She sighs, her expression darkening. “Weapons don’t work on them. Not magical ones, not normal ones—nothing. They’re immaterial. And it gets worse. According to the villagers, they can possess corpses—animate skeletons and the like—and mess with people’s minds using illusions. The only effective strategy against them is a practitioner of Spirit magic. We'd be lucky to find one in the time we have.”

“Wonderful,” I mutter under my breath.

Anissa grabs my attention with a cough, and gestures with her chin towards Ori, still leaning against the wall and snoring softly.

Atalanta frowns at the grin spreading across my face. “What’s going on?”

“We have a druid. A practitioner of spirit magic.” I say simply, nodding toward the sleeping Ogre.

Her frown deepens as she follows my gaze. When realization dawns, her expression shifts to disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Him? This brute?!”

“Trust us,” Anissa smirks. “He’s surprisingly useful.”

Ori snorts awake at the sound of our voices, blinking groggily. “What’d I miss?”

---

Later, Ori and I square off in the village training field.

The sun dips toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the ground as we spar.

My wings are spread wide, deflecting bursts of wind charged with green spirit energy as Ori grins.

“C’mon, bird boy!” he taunts, sending another gust my way.

I brace myself, digging my feet into the dirt as I bat away the blast.

Atalanta sits nearby, carving arrows with steady hands, her expression unreadable.

As for Anissa she's fully embraced the role of Chiron's caretaker. We decided that she should stay behind in the village while the three of us go after the Lotus. With a druid on our side, we stand a chance.

Speaking of...

“You comfortable with this?” I ask Ori, stepping to the side to avoid another attack, this time a barrage of earth lances. "Our partnership was only until we reached the village.”

Ori shrugs, blocking my feather assault with a wall of roots. “Doesn’t matter. The mountain where the Lunar Lotus grows is on my list to inspect anyway. Could be a good place for my tribe to settle.”

“Thanks. I'll owe you a favor.” I say sincerely, wiping sweat from my brow as the battle enters a lull.

Ori flexes his arms, shooting Atalanta a toothy grin. “Don’t worry, little Huntress. Ori of the Bitter roots tribe will protect you.”

Atalanta’s knife snaps through the branch she’s carving. “Oh, is that right?”

Ori blinks, confused. “Yeah. No one’s stronger than me. Not even Iphicles.”

My eyes narrow.

Atalanta's tone turns dangerously sweet. “Then surely you’ve got a plan for dealing with the Spirits, right? And if you’re as strong as you say, you wouldn’t mind demonstrating, would you?”

Ori hesitates, his bravado faltering. “I—I mean…”

Atalanta gets up, notching three arrows in her bow, her smile sharp. “Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you Ori of the Bitter roots tribe.”

The Ogre turns to me, panicked. “Iphicles—help?”

I spread my wings, smirking. “You said you were stronger than me. You’ve got this.”

His cries for help fade behind me as I take to the skies, Atalanta’s arrows whizzing toward him.

---

I soar high above the forest, the endless green stretching beneath me. My mind churns as I scan for movement.

Ori’s display of spirit magic during our spar was a wake-up call. According to him he contracts a Spirit's power in exchange for his Mana. That might not sound overpowered until you consider he can contract several spirits at once, unleashing a variety of destructive elemental attacks.

It irks me to admit it but currently the Ogre is stronger than me.

Regeneration and flight aren’t enough—I need more power. Which means hunting down monsters for attributes.

Hours pass, and the forest remains frustratingly still. No sign of monsters.

I kill a few wild animals, hoping for some kind of result, but it becomes painfully clear that my powers don’t work on them. Attributes only come from monsters.

By the time the sun dips below the horizon, I sigh, my patience wearing thin.

“There’s only one option left,” I mutter, descending into a familiar area of the forest, a clearing were two massive, ancient trees stand.

Their bark is thick and gnarled, their roots sprawling across the ground like claws.

I take a deep breath. What I'm about to do could be considered insane and borderline suicidal.

“Stop being shy,” I call out loudly, my voice echoing in the stillness. “I’m here. Punish me for what I did, oh mighty forest Gods...if you even have the power to.”

For a moment, nothing happens. Then, the air grows heavy with power.

The ground trembles as the two ancient trees groan, their bark splitting and twisting. Roots tear free, and the trees take on humanoid forms.

Their red eyes blaze with fury as they loom over me.

“You were a fool to return, boy.” rumbles the larger one, his voice deep and resonant. “You and the Ogre will pay for destroying our children.”

“Humans are never wise,” the smaller one hisses, her voice sharp and cold. “Reckless, dangerous, and stubborn, but never wise.”

I smirk, drawing a feather from my wing and flicking it toward a hanging fruit on the smaller Ent.

The feather strikes true, splitting the fruit in two halves. “Save the threats, are we going to fight or not?”

The larger Ent growls, roots surging forward, but the smaller one stops him with a hand of vines.

“Foolish boy,” she seethes. “You're giving up your life for nothing. Crush him children!”

Behind them, the forest comes alive. Trees tear free from the earth, forming an army that surges toward me, their steps shaking the ground.

“Here we go,” I mutter, wings flaring in preparation. Anticipation at what traits I might get fills me with excitement, and I meet the green army head on.

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