LXX

Annabeth breaks free of paralysis at Tartarus’s command to “destroy them” and cuts the chains anchoring the Doors of Death while Percy drives back the first wave of monsters. Together they reach the doorway; Percy suffers lingering pain from an arai’s curse but keeps fighting as Annabeth holds the entrance open.

They refuse to separate despite the Doors requiring someone to hold the button for twelve minutes. Percy unleashes Phlegethon fire to incinerate a charging phalanx of Cyclopes, buying a brief pause, but more enemies surge. With their backs to the elevator, they realize stepping away could lose their only exit, yet staying means facing endless waves.

Nearby, Bob and Small Bob battle the newly embodied Tartarus. As Tartarus adapts, he disarms and kicks Bob aside, breaks the Titan’s spear, and proclaims the giants’ superiority. Knowing Tartarus can’t be beaten by demigods, Annabeth still resolves to die fighting with Percy rather than abandon Bob.

Before they charge, the battlefield erupts with screams and a rolling boom. A swath of green poison gas melts through the horde as the Maeonian drakon barrels in, ridden by Damasen. The giant scatters monsters and announces he has chosen a new fate, turning the tide just as Annabeth and Percy stand their ground at the Doors.