Chimera struggled in vain to free himself from Echidna’s grip, but he quickly found that even his strength was unable to break her hold. Cerberus’s center head tore a huge chunk of flesh from Chimera’s jaw and then quickly swallowed it. In act of desperation, Chimera unleashed a narrow sonar blast on the two monsters. The effect was devastating. Cerberus’s ultra-sensitive hearing was overwhelmed by the attack. Blood gushed out of his ears and nose as he shook his heads and then fell off of Chimera’s body. Echidna also had blood coming from her ears, eyes, and nose. Her nervous system was in disarray and as her muscles went limp her grip loosened enough for Chimera to break free from it.
The two mythical beasts were still reeling from the attack as Chimera regained his footing. Chimera leapt toward Echidna and brought his right fist crashing down into her head. Chimera followed up the blow by landing an uppercut to her jaw with his left fist. The attack sent the snake woman’s head and torso crashing into the ground. Chimera then spun and used his thick tail as club to slam into Cerberus’s shoulder, knocking the foul creature onto its side. Seeing Echidna as the greater threat, Chimera leapt onto her chest and then began reigning down blows into her face. Echidna’s head was slowly being driven into the ground until Cerberus jumped onto Chimera’s back and began tearing into his shoulder blades. Chimera roared, reached back, grabbed Cerberus, and then he threw the three headed dog over his head and into a nearby hill.
Chimera went to resume his pounding of Echidna but was stopped short when her tail came up behind him and wrapped around his neck. She pulled backwards slowly forcing Chimera off of her body. Chimera was still standing as she once again wrapped the lower half of her body around his arms pinning them to his sides. She then leaned into Chimera’s face and hissed, revealing her long fangs. She was about to sink them into Chimera’s neck when the kaiju smashed his whale-like face into her nose. The blow rocked Echidna causing her to release her grip and fall to the ground. She was barely conscious as Chimera loomed over her and prepared to begin pounding her once more. As Chimera was lifting his arms above his head, he was engulfed in a wall of flames.
The kaiju staggered back from Echidna as all three of Cerberus’s heads poured fire onto him. Chimera could feel his flesh burning and blistering as hellfire continued to scorch him. He forced his head to turn in the direction of Cerberus and once again he attacked the canine like beast with a narrow burst of his sonar call. Cerberus’s body convulsed and his heads stopped spewing fire as his sensory organs were once again overloaded causing the beast to have a seizure.
Echidna wrapped around Chimera’s left leg and then shot in front of him, preparing to once more pin Chimera’s arms to his side in an attempt to crush him. This time, however, Chimera was ready for the attack. His left arm shot out and grabbed Echidna by the throat and held her in front of him. Cerberus had recovered from his seizure and quickly lunged at Chimera. The hell hound was viscously mauling Chimera’s right leg and hip. Chimera ignored the pain of Cerberus’s attack and continued to focus on Echidna. The kaiju held out his hand, unsheathed his lion claws, and then slashed the snake woman across her midsection where the two halves of her body connected. Her intestines spilled out of her body as the demon screeched in pain. Chimera slashed her across the mid-section a second time and the blow nearly sliced the she-beast in two. Chimera dropped the dying snake woman from his grasp and then brought his fist crashing down into the center of Cerberus’s back causing the creature’s legs to give way underneath him and driving his stomach into the ground. Cerberus was attempting to right himself when each of Chimera’s hands clamped down on Cerberus’s two outer heads. Chimera pulled the outer heads in opposite directions and tore them off of the hell hounds body. The center head howled in pain as the blood poured out of its body. When the painful howl ended, the monster’s dead body fell to the ground.
Echidna was attempting to hold her intestines in her body and crawl away from the battle when Chimera brought his foot down on the middle of her tail. He then reached down with his powerful arms and grabbed Echidna’s human upper half under her armpits. Chimera roared at the demon and then he began to pull her body up while simultaneously pressing down on her tail. Echidna’s already ravaged stomach was unable to withstand the force being exhorted on it and her body was ripped in two. Chimera held the screaming human half of Echidna in front of him while the snake like bottom portion of her body squirmed under his foot. After ten agonizing seconds, Echidna finally stopped screaming. Chimera threw the lifeless torso to the ground. The kaiju then beat his chest and roared triumphantly.
Luke could not believe what he just witnessed. Chimera was bleeding from several serious wounds and most of his body was covered in burns, but the kaiju continued to battle on as if he were more or less unharmed. Looking at Chimera, Luke was sure that monster had to be exhausted and in dire need of whatever medical attention that Toombs could provide to him, but Luke also was sure that they would not have a better chance to directly attack Olympus. Diana had mentioned that there were literally dozens of monsters in Greek mythology. If Chimera returned to the ship now, would Zeus have ten monsters guarding his palace next time? Luke did not want to take that chance. He directed Jason to gallop over to Chimera. Once they reached the beast, Luke tossed him one of the reinforcer food bars that he had loaded up on Jason. Chimera was chewing on the bar when Luke yelled, “Good work, Chimera!” through his speaking horn.
The light rain that had been falling around Mount Olympus suddenly turned into deluge as the clouds opened up above them. Luke did not know much about mythology but he did know about behaviors and if Zeus was causing this increased rainfall after his monsters had been slain it meant that he was scared. Luke looked at Chimera and then he shifted his gaze to the top of Mount Olympus. He yelled at the top of the mountain, “That’s right, you should be scared!” He then placed the speaking to his mouth and pointed to the top of Mount Olympus and screamed, “Chimera, Attack!”
Chimera lifted his head into the pouring rain and roared. He then placed his hand onto Mount Olympus and began scaling the legendary formation. Luke watched in awe through the storm as the kaiju slowly scaled the Mountain of the Gods. A few short weeks ago, Luke feared the gods of Olympus, but as he saw Chimera digging his claws into the mountain and pulling himself to toward its summit, he pitied them. Luke had no doubt that when Chimera reached the top of mount Olympus that he would leave the Olympian stronghold in ruins.
Chapter 21
Despite the pouring rain making the mountain extremely slippery, Chimera continued to scale the side it. The kaiju looked up into rain to see where the summit of the mountain was but the rain clouds continued to shroud the top of Olympus. The rain and wind increased their fury as he neared the top of the mountain. Chimera had finally climbed high enough to reach the clouds when the first bolt of lightning struck him. The kaiju’s entire body lit up with white energy as the electricity from the bolt surged through his body. Chimera roared at the clouds that dared to attack him and then he dug his claws into the rocky cliff above his head. With his grip secure, Chimera pulled his massive body up once more and out of the storm clouds.
Chimera stood still for a moment when he realized that he was standing in bright sunlight in front of a huge structure comprised of white stone columns. The structure’s height was nearly equal to Chimera and it had no roof on top of it. Chimera walked toward the structure and lifted his head over the top of it to see inside. When Chimera looked over the structure, he saw roughly twenty people standing inside of a courtyard. The gods of Olympus each stood about twenty feet tall. They were dressed in togas and gowns. Each of them brandished a weapon of some manner that varied from swords, to spears and bows and arrows. Chimera looked down at the gods and he could see the fear in their eyes as they slowly backed away from him. Chimera looked to the back of the courtyard where he could see a god that was easily twice the size of the other gods sitting on a colossal throne between two large stone pillars. While the other gods loo
ked at Chimera in fear, Zeus the king of the Olympians, glared at Chimera with disdain.
Zeus stood up from his throne and screamed at Chimera, “This is the monster that would dare to scale Olympus and challenge the will of the gods!” He pointed at Chimera and electricity started to swirl around the pillars on either side of his throne. The electricity from the pillars arched onto Zeus. The god king took on a bright white glow for a moment and then a bolt of lightning shot from his finger and struck Chimera across the face. Once more a surge of pain wracked Chimera’s body as the electricity ran through him. Chimera roared in anger. He then bent down and used his body to smash through the pillars at the front of the courtyard. Chimera stepped into the courtyard, roared, and beat his chest in answer to Zeus’s challenge. The other Olympians continued to back away from the kaiju until they heard Zeus’s voice booming behind them, “You are gods of Olympus! Cowardice is beneath you! Attack this monster! With the power of your king behind you, we shall defeat this beast just as we did the Titans centuries ago.” When Zeus finished speaking, the pillars on the sides of his throne began to charge with electricity again. Once more the power arched onto Zeus and once more he unleashed that power onto Chimera.
The entire courtyard light up with energy when the lightning bolt struck Chimera’s body, causing the hair from his mane to stand up straight. When the other gods saw that Zeus’s power could indeed injure the monster, they regained their confidence. The sun god Apollo suddenly flew over the gathered gods in his flaming chariot. He lifted his spear above his head and screamed, “Gods of Olympus, follow me to victory!” Apollo drove his chariot at Chimera and threw his flaming spear into Chimera’s shin. A barrage of spears and arrows followed. Within seconds, Chimera had the projectiles sticking out of various points on his body, but the attack did not slow Chimera’s advance in the least. He walked through the spears and arrows as if they meant less to him than the rain which had pelted his body on his way up the mountain. Apollo turned his chariot around and charged at Chimera once again. He flew in close to Chimera and buried another flaming spear in the kaiju’s chest. The sun god was pulling his flaming chariot away from the beast when Chimera’s hand shot out and swatted Apollo to the ground. Before Apollo could right his chariot, Chimera backhanded the transport, sending both chariot and god flying into the pillars at the sides of the courtyard.
The other gods continued to throw spears at Chimera as he lumbered toward them. He had reached the amassed gods and he raised hand to strike at them when Zeus sent another bolt of lightning to strike Chimera. Chimera’s body froze in place as it was jolted with the electrical charge. The wounds from his battle with Cerberus and Echidna were overwhelmed by pain when the electricity scorched them. After the shock from the bolt had passed, Chimera roared in defiance at the gods who continued to stab him and shoot arrows into his body. The kaiju stepped forward and brought his hand in a backward swing connecting with three of the gods at the front of the group. The blow sent the gods flying into the pillars that lined the sides of the courtyard. Another god stepped forward and drove his sword into Chimera’s foot. Chimera winced and then unsheathed his claws and slashed the god across the face and torso. What was left of the god fell to the floor in a bloody mess.
Chimera directed his eyes to the back of the courtyard to see the pillars around Zeus charging up for another blast of electricity. As Chimera was staring at Zeus, two more gods stepped forward and threw spears into Chimera’s chest. The massive golden weapons were still impaled in Chimera’s chest when Zeus’s lightning bolt struck the monster again. The spears embedded in his chest acted as conductors and sent the charge coursing deep into Chimera’s body. While the other blasts had been painful, this attack had caused damage. Chimera’s heart skipped a beat causing the kaiju to fall to the ground face first. The Olympians cheered as Chimera crashed into the ground. From his throne, Zeus yelled to his subjects, “Now is our opportunity! The creature has fallen! Quickly pounce upon the monster and slay it!”
The Olympians cheered in response to their king and as one they fell upon Chimera. The Olympians stabbed at Chimera and dug their weapons deep into his flesh. The pain reinvigorated Chimera and a burst of adrenaline steadied his heart. The monster roared and then stood up shaking the attacking gods from his body. When Chimera reached his feet, he went into a rage using his claws to slash at any god within his reach. The Olympian’s bodies were ripped to shreds as they were sent flying to every corner of the courtyard. Zeus watched the carnage and for moment even he was in awe at the kaiju’s strength and fury. Zeus began to charge up the pillars which provided him with his power when he saw Chimera lift up his massive foot and bring it in crashing down onto the last of his subjects that was still standing.
Chimera looked to the sky, beat his chest, and roared. The beast then turned his attention to Zeus. Chimera began walking toward Zeus when the pillars around him again danced with electricity before sending it Zeus. Zeus quickly redirected that energy at Chimera but the kaiju kept walking forward as if the electricity had no effect on him.
Chimera was only a few steps from the throne as the pillars were once more charging up for another blast. The monster was directly above Zeus when he sent his last bolt of lightning coursing into Chimera’s body. Chimera ignored the blast and reached down to grab Zeus. Chimera stared at Zeus as he struggled against the monster’s grip and yelled defiantly at the beast, “You cannot kill us, monster! We are immortal! You have only temporarily delayed our victory! Our brother pantheons will still exterminate the blight that is humanity! The Olympians …” Before Zeus could finish his thought, Chimera brought the god king up to his jaws and bit into him. Zeus screamed in pain as the upper part of his body was ravaged by Chimera’s lion like teeth while his legs hung out of Chimera’s mouth. Chimera shook his head from side to side and then he released his grip and sent the defeated god hurling into the corner of the courtyard. Zeus rolled over as the blood poured out of his broken body to see Chimera once more beating his chest and proclaiming his victory.
Zeus reached out to his pillars and once again electricity began to swirl around the stone constructs. He called the energy to himself and for a second the electricity danced around his body. As the energy was washing over Zeus, he lifted up his hand and the power shot out of his hands and began to cascade over his fellow Olympians. The Olympians’ bodies began to rise into the air and then the electricity carried them back to the throne between the two pillars. The energy kept the gathered Olympians suspended above Zeus’s throne. Chimera watched as the electricity around Zeus began to lift him into the air as well. Zeus stared at Chimera with hatred in his eyes as the electrical current carried him to his throne as well. When Zeus joined his fellow gods in the space above the throne, there was a bright flash and then the Olympians were gone.
Chimera roared in anger at the now vanished gods. He was unsure of what had just occurred before him but what he did know was that he was robbed of the ability to slay his enemies. Chimera stared at the two pillars. His limited intelligence was able to comprehend that the pillars both had caused him pain and had helped his enemies to escape his clutches. He roared once more then he lumbered over to the pillars. Chimera stepped on Zeus’s throne and crushed it into dust. He then placed his hands against the two pillars and began to push on them. The power from the pillars coursed through his body. The hair on his mane stood straight up as electricity ran through him. Every nerve in the kaiju’s body screamed with pain but Chimera refused to let the pillars defeat him. He fought through the pain and he continued to push on the pillars of Zeus’s power. The pillars slowly began to bend from their original positions and a moment later two loud cracking sounds echoed through the empty courtyard when the pillars snapped in half and fell to the ground. When the pillars broke apart they lost their power and the electricity which was assaulting Chimera finally ended.
Chimera looked around the courtyard to see that his enemies were defeated and that the source of their power was cru
shed beneath him. Chimera roared but he lacked the energy to beat his chest. The exhausted kaiju lie down on the former throne of Zeus and shut his eyes.
Chapter 22
Luke and Diana had been waiting at the base of the mountain for two hours. They could hear the horrible sounds of the battle above them and when the raging storm finally halted they thought that it may have signaled the end of the battle. The question was who had won? Had Chimera defeated the Olympians or had they slain the mighty kaiju?
Diana finally placed her hand on Luke’s shoulder, “It has been a while. Maybe we should go back and see what Parsons wants to do next.” Luke nodded but he kept his eyes fixed on the clouds that covered the top of Mount Olympus. He jumped up and screamed triumphantly when he saw a gargantuan foot reach down from the clouds. A second later, the rest of Chimera’s body began to emerge from the clouds.
Luke grabbed Diana by the waist, picked her up, and spun her around as he shouted, “He did it. That big beast did it! He kicked the Olympians’ asses!”
Luke let Diana dropped to the ground and she hugged him in jubilation. Chimera soon reached the base of the mountain and Luke yelled through his speaking horn, “Good work, Chimera! Come and get your reward!” Luke tossed Chimera one of his food reinforcers and the monster fell onto top of the cube and he began to devour it.
Chimera: Scourge of the Gods: A Kaiju Thriller Page 9
