Stingray-

"We are approaching our stop," Bellerophon said as he left the cockpit.

"Great! Now before we land I ask one last time, why are you so nervous to meet the Slavic Gods?" Percy asked. Ares tried to ignore Percy but the uneasiness on his face was as clear as the cloudless sky.

"Yeah! You could tell us yourself, or we could ask them when we land. Either way we would find out." Billy said sitting in the chair around the table.

Ares grunted and left the dining area. He was annoyed by the constant barrage of questions from Percy and Billy.

"What is he so embarrassed about?" Percy wondered. "Anyway, where are we landing?"

"We are currently in the Ukrainian airspace. I'm glad this craft is stealthy, or we would've been bombarded by the Ukrainian military."

"Yeah! I'm glad too. By the way does the location Ares gave checks out?" Billy nodded.

"It is on the border of Sokovia; a few miles from Novi Grad. There is nothing but mountains and forest in that area."

"These Dievas, what do you know about them?" Percy asked while chewing on an Enchilada.

"Nothing much, all I know is that Perun is their God of Thunder. He is the most famous of them all other than Baba Yaga, and Chernobog." Percy offered Billy an Enchilada, but he declined. "I'll go find us a place to land." He said and went back to the cockpit. Percy gave him a thumbs up.

A few minutes later Billy landed the Stingray in the forest near a huge lake.

"Now, how are we going to find these Slavic Gods in this forest?" Percy asked.

"This is the coordinates Lord Ares gave me but there's nothing here," Billy said.

"You have lived for thousands of years, Bellerophon yet you still forget that with the gods it's not always what it looks like," Ares said as he juggled a tomahawk. "These gods are one of the firstborns of Gaea, they are not as powerful as Olympians or Asgardians, but what they lack in strength they make up for it in magic. Don't let your guard down and follow me."

They walked behind Ares for a few minutes until they reached the banks of the lake. A few meters from them on the edge of the water there were two ancient-looking stone pillars. They were covered in Moss and vines. The Pillars were on a stone platform raised above the water. Ares climbed on the platform facing the lake.

"PERUN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "IT IS I, ARES!"

As he finished shouting, the water started to bubble and from the water emerged a bridge that connected to the platform Ares was standing on. At the end of the bridge there was an arch made of stone. The arch began to glow and a bright white portal appeared in the arch.

"Let's go meet the Dievas and settle this once and for all," Ares said and stepped on the bridge.

As he stepped on it, an Axe came flying from the glowing door and embedded itself in the stone near Ares' legs. He stopped in his tracks and surprised, took a step back. The Axe was emitting sparks. Even though it happened so suddenly Ares was still standing calm, his eyes fixed on the glowing door on the other side of the bridge.

Percy saw a shadow behind the glow in the door and a man appeared from it. He had a bushy brown beard. He was wearing a white sleeveless tunic and a red skirt. Armor plates were on his shoulder and chest. Silver gauntlets adorned his arms and a red cape fluttered on his back. His helmet had horns on it and sparks crackled around him. As he fully emerged from the door, dark clouds started to gather in the sky. He walked towards Ares who was still standing calm.

"Perseus, Bellerophon, Go inside through that door," Ares said without looking at him, "I will hold him back. Do not interfere, this is between him and I." He picked up the Axe at his legs. He looked at it and threw it at the man. "It is nice to meet you again, Perun."

"Ares!" The man said as he caught the Axe. Thunder boomed in the sky. The smell of Ozone filled the air and suddenly lightning struck one of the pillars on the platform. "I was already in a foul mood today." Perun was talking in old Slavic, yet Percy understood what he was saying. "Your arrival in Svarga did not ease it."

Ares summoned a double-bladed Axe. "You know that wasn't my fault." He took a defensive stance.

"What you did was unforgivable!"

"Why are they talking cryptic?" Billy whispered in Percy's ears.

Perun suddenly launched himself at Ares and slashed. Ares deflected the slash, spun around and slashed back at Perun.

Perun blocked the attack with his gauntlet and backhand slapped Ares. The blow was hard enough to send Ares flying into the forest. Perun summoned the lightning and channeled it towards Ares with the Axe. After the lightning attack stopped, first the sound of gunfire came from the forest and then came bullets. Perun jumped high and landed in the forest.

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"Let's go, I think Ares can hold him off." Billy said to Percy.

They both climbed the platform and sprinted on the bridge towards the glowing arch. As they were about to reach the arch, Percy suddenly felt something and stopped making Billy collide who was running behind him.

"Whoa there, why did you stop so suddenly?"

"There's someone else coming through the arch!" Billy squinted his eyes and saw a shadowy figure behind that bright white veil.

Just as he finished, a man emerged from the portal. He was wearing a golden plate Armor and a blacksmith hammer was hanging from his waist. He had a snow-white Santa Claus beard and his eyes were glowing orange.

Just as he exited the portal, the air around them started getting hotter. The water that had puddled on the bridge started to turn into vapor due to the heat.

It felt very similar to how he felt in front Zeus. This guy was definitely the Skyfather of the Slavic Gods.

"Wait! We are not here to fight. We are from Olympus. We were sent by the Council of Godheads." Percy said to the new guy.

"Where is Perun?" He asked. Flames danced on his hammer. Lightning struck somewhere in the forest. "Who's he fighting?"

"Umm… That would be Ares." Billy said.

Hearing that his eyes widened. The anger on his face faded and confusion took its place. "Ares? As in Greek Ares?" Percy nodded. "Hmm… Then it's better if I didn't interfere. Let them sort this out on their own."

"If you don't mind me asking, why is Perun so intent on killing Ares?" Percy asked.

"We will talk inside the palace, this is not the place to talk."

0-0

Svarga was impressive. Not impressive like Olympus or Asgard but impressive in its own way. It was a realm similar to other realms Percy's been to a floating island in the void. There was one big city surrounded by a river that fell in the void around it. There were mountains in the distance and what seemed like a charred ground with a tower in the middle. According to what Svarog told, that was the domain of Chernobog, a chaotic god of night.

The palace was big but not as big as the Asgardian Palace or the Pantheon Hall. It was the same size as the Jackson House. At the entrance was a statue of a guy standing on a fish lying on what looked like a vase and holding a flower basket and a wheel.

"That is Rod, my grandfather and the first of the Dievas."

"Why is he… nevermind! So what is the deal with Ares and Perun? Why do they hate each other?" Percy asked.

"Perun has always been hotheaded and does not know how to control his anger. He keeps grudges for years as you can see with Ares. When he and his brothers were born, I attributed shares of my power with them, but Perun and Svantovit usurped their other brothers' share of powers to gain my favor, ultimately turning on each other, I refused to involve myself. Perun managed to obtain the largest share of power."

Billy was about to interrupt, but Percy stopped him.

"This caused a rivalry between Perun and his brother Veles, the god of the underworld. He kidnapped his wife Saule and fled Svarga. Perun chased him across the earth and battled him and won."

"Is this story somehow related to Ares?" Billy asked.

"Very much. When Veles was running away from Perun, he came across Ares and asked for his help in return, he offered Perun's Axe to him. Ares, unaware of his plot, decided to help and blocked the way. When Perun came he found Ares blocking his way. They both engaged in battle. It lasted three days and three nights. On the fourth day Ares overpowered Perun and would've killed him if Zeus hadn't intervened. On their second encounter which happened on Olympus. A meeting of the Council was held and I came with Perun and other Dievas. That time Ares tried to hit on his wife, which Saule complained about to her husband."

"No wonder Perun wants to kill him!" Billy remarked.

"Indeed! When Saule told Perun about this, a war almost broke out between them. That time it was prevented by Zeus and I, because the Host of Celestials was approaching."

They entered the great hall while talking. The hall looked like a dining room with a long table in the middle and throne-like chairs around it, with one being . Svarog settled down on a throne at the end of the table. He mentioned Percy and Billy to take a seat. Both took the chairs nearest to him.

"I understand his hostility towards Ares, but what was it that caused his anger to flare up?" Percy asked.

"You said you are from Olympus and you brought Ares with no intentions of fighting, what is the purpose of your visit boy? And you did not introduce yourselves."

"Of course, My name is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, and this is Bellerophon, my half brother."

"You can call me Billy, nobody uses Bellerophon anymore."

"We came here on behalf of the Council. Odin sensed your internal affair are causing too much trouble in the mortal world. He requested us to look into the matter and help in any way we can. Also, we came to invite you to the Council on behalf of the current heads."

"So, the council has gathered eh! You told me your name, but that is not all, is there? You did not mention your godhood, boy. I am a skyfather and an elder god, did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"My mistake, I'm still new to this god business. I'm Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, the God of the Seas and the King of Olympus."

"A fellow Skyfather!"

"No, I'm not currently at the Skyfather level, I'm not that wise."

"Do not, belittle yourself, young one. You may not be able to notice but I can sense great power within you. The Skyfather title is not for the weak. Anyway, let's get to the point. As I mentioned before, Veles is jealous of Perun. So he tries different schemes to harass the Thunder god. This time he has again kidnapped Saule and hid in his underworld realm of Virey."

"Why doesn't he go there and bring her back?" Billy asked.

"He moved the entrance of his realm to the bottom of the lake. Veles is the god of death and the underworld as well as earth and waters. Inside the lake he is more powerful. As for Perun, he's the God of thunder, lighting, and storm. He's not very powerful underwater. Still, Perun tried to enter Virey by force, but Veles overpowered him and banished him out of his realm. Since then Perun's anger is rising day by day. It won't be long before he evaporates the entire lake. I'm glad you brought Ares with you, he now has a target."

"What about Veles and his wife?" Percy asked.

"As much as I want to bring her back and punish Veles, I can't interfere, simply I won't interfere. It's been many millennia, yet they both act like children. They need to learn for themselves. I tried to teach them this many times before, but to no avail."

"What if we help bring her back? We both can operate underwater since we're both children of Poseidon."

"Hmm… That could work!"

"But Percy, we are in their domain, you don't have the authority over their waters." Billy said."

"That is true, Your control over water is in your domain not in mine. Here drink this." He offered a glass of water. "I give you the gift of water from my land."

Percy picked it up, "bottoms up!" He emptied the glass in one gulp.