Chapter 47:
*Play: Indestructible by Disturbed *
Both combatants were at the centre at speeds that would've baffled Hermes himself. Before Markus was punched by Atlas, the demigods on both sides - along with the monsters - knew that trouble was going down. So, they all went towards a far enough distance from the fight. It still didn't save them from the shockwave of the two punching their fists together.
The ground splintered, the columns groaned, the air shattered and Artemis braced herself, the force vibrating her body and making her struggle to hold up the sky.
Neither Markus nor Atlas relented in their strikes. Both of them were fighting with intellect rather than brawn. For Markus, this wasn't like his fight with Heracles, where he could physically overpower him and be sure of victory. No, that wouldn't work here. Atlas was physically powerful, true. And Markus could overpower him easily, even as he was now. But that wouldn't do that. Atlas was considered the general of the Titan army for a reason. He had been battling for aeons, strategies built inside his mind before he could even speak properly. So no, brute strength wasn't the answer. What it boiled down to was strategy and skill.
Markus' eyes boiled crimson as he kept on dodging, punching, kicking and moving. His body and mind got no rest as the both worked overtime. Atlas gave him a punch that made him stagger, followed by another punch to the gut. The enhanced Titan picked him up and was about to crush him when Markus drove both his fists into his skull, knocking him back. Markus followed it up with a kick to the face that disorientated him, allowing the demigod to escape.
Quickly applying his War God Speed Impulse, Markus' perception slowed down as he took in every detail. He ignored the struggling Artemis, the worried looks of his friends and the other demigods. He only looked at Atlas, who had recovered quickly and was charging at him. He looked at the Titan for a split second, his mind making quick calculations for him. As Atlas' fist grew closer to his face, his brain worked faster than a supercomputer, calculating each trajectory and angle available from the punch. Ten centimetres away from him, the fist grew closer, cutting the distance quickly. Raising his arms, Markus deflected the fist by the rist fluidly, as if it was water passing by him. A knee was raised to meet his stomach. Another quick calculation. Seeing no possible way out, Markus used Atlas' knee, grabbing it with both hands and moving himself like liquid. He practically rolled off the strike.
Before he could even steady his position, Atlas was moving, going for a raised strike. Too easy, too simple. Markus could see the glint in his eyes, past the hatred and disgust. He could see the calculations he was making himself. Instead of going low, he went high. He jumped, going for Atlas' fists head on. Just as they were about to destroy his skull, Markus grabbed one of Atlas' arms mid-swing, rotating himself 360 degrees to give himself time and energy. Another calculation. Grunting, Markus held the arm tightly and shifted it to the left, dislocating it only slightly. He took the narrowly quick interval as Atlas grunted, surprised. He was leaning forward, going for his left collarbone instead of his head. A quick strike there, and he was already moving, evading the fatal blow from the Titan.
Markus spun off his opponent, dozens of calculations already made. Some good, some risky. Only one suited him. A burst of speed and Markus was dodging and weaving through Atlas' attacks, trajectories and time management added onto his strategy. His body wasn't doing any of this. It was his mind, every calculation being made and his body reacting. Full mind, he noted to himself, his body gliding across each blow and receiving no damage. Full body. He jumped, dodging a sneak attack from the Titan of Endurance. His body was arched at an angle, his back unnaturally bent. When Atlas tried to attack from above, Markus used that opportunity to slide down his arms and strike his vibrating arm at the left side of Titan's body. Full power!
Atlas' body ringed as he flinched, his left side going numb for a second. But that second was all Markus needed. Atlas received a fist to the face, a strike to the neck, and a kick to the knee. All of that left him open for the double-headed strike that sent him to the ground face-first.
Markus would've continued, but ceased his assault. He knew full well that he shouldn't press forward. And he was proven right. Atlas had recovered quicker than he had thought, body recovered.
"That," the Titan noted, cracking his neck, "wasn't bad. I actually felt that."
Markus clicked his teeth. He struck his chest a couple of times, purposefully aiming for Jashin's stone. Seems like it was tougher than he'd thought.
He crossed his arms together to block Atlas' punch. His arms were ringing at the blow. It sent him reeling slightly, be quickly recovered.
Before Atlas could do anymore, his body exploded, the explosion rune on his arm detonating. The son of Poseidon had put it on him without him looking. It had enough force to match a nuke, which was something.
Atlas emerged from the smoke cloud, looking no worse than before he was attacked. He brushed some imaginary dirt off his shoulders, and looked around with a smile, not seeing Markus anywhere. "Where are you, demigod?" he called out in a sing-song voice. He didn't expect an answer of course, but instead opted for a different approach.
Sensing where he was, Atlas smirked. He punched the air behind him, hearing a grunt and feeling his fist connect with something. Markus grunted as he became visible, sliding backwards and his palms outstretched, having blocked the attack.
When Atlas persisted, Markus moved, equipping Yamato and having the runes on the sword glow brightly. Atlas grunted as one of his arms came off and the sword disappeared. Markus dashed towards the red stone Atlas had, wanting to weaken him.
What he did not expect was for the Titan's arms to effortlessly regenerate like something out of science fiction when his hand was less than an inch away from the stone. Markus screamed in pain when he was subject to the double grip of Atlas, the Titan's monstrous strength threatening to crush his bones.
Atlas chuckled. "Such wonderful screams. I wonder if your friends sound the same as I kill them and take the females as concubines. I bet that their screams will be just lovely."
He wasn't prepared for Markus' body to disperse into millions of black butterflies. The creatures fluttered around, swarming Atlas and pestering him. He snarled as he swatted at them like flies. During the distraction, he was only somewhat aware of the crimson speedster that was Markus as the demigod slammed his fist into his lower back. This made Atlas launch back slightly, his feet digging into the ground. He was able to grab the fist that was about to smash into him again.
The Titan gave a savage grin as he tried to crush Markus' hand, only for him to frown as Markus vibrated his hand, phasing through. When Atlas gave punch, Markus grabbed it. Both of them clasped each others hands, struggling to overpower the other. Both of them yelled, the ground crumbling under their combined powers.
Snarling, Markus phased his body through Atlas, zooming around the throne room and gaining speed. When he gained enough, he zipped towards the Titan. When Atlas made to strike, his fist passed through an afterimage. Confused, Atlas dropped his guard, leaving himself susceptible to the brutal punch to the crotch that Markus gave him.
The Titan screamed in absolute pain as every male watching winced. Artemis and Zoe grinned.
Grinning savagely, Markus started to beat the downed Atlas to a bloody pulp. Well, if he wasn't going to do it the easy way, then just punching each other until one was down was going to have to work. Admittedly, this was Markus' favourite strategy.
His arms were blurring into afterimages from the amount of speed. That didn't even speak of the impact waves. The entire mountain shook and rumbled from the force, and this rumbling allowed the lone one-eyed demigod and monsters to fall off the edge of the cliff, sending them tumbling several hundred feet below.
A steadily growing crater appeared under Markus' furious assault, with cracks and fissures spreading out at a rapid pace. The statues and pillars trembled, threatening to topple, and many of the weaker walls already had.
Atlas, under the intense assault of the demigod, found his body beginning to ache, and it wasn't from overuse of the stone, but from the forces being put on his body. He had to admit it; even with the stone granted to him, this demigod was giving him trouble, and Atlas was now annoyed.
The red stone glowed, and the Titan vanished just as the next punch came down, splintering marble all the way down to the underlying granite of the mountain in an explosion of dirt and small rocks. Markus swiped his hand to clear the dust cloud. He saw that Atlas was already there, his fist cocked back and glowing with crimson energy.
Just as Markus was about to be hit, the entire world stopped and turned grey. The music stopped playing. Markus turned to glare at nothing in particular. "Fuck you, Kronium345, for wanting to let me get hit. Why can't you make me dodge this?"
A black portal appeared, and a man in his twenties stepped out of it. He wore black jeans, a crimson trench coat, a red hat, an Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt, and had big orange glasses covering his eyes. His ebony hair hung loosely, reaching his shoulders. In his hands were several objects, a large round shield that was painted red, white and blue, with a white star in the middle of it, held in his right hand. A golden gauntlet that had six glowing stones of different colours was covering his left hand. A large axe that sparked with lightning was strapped to his back, along with two katanas.
Markus glared at the mysterious being, eyes twitching. "Okay, why are you dressed like Alucard from Hellsing? And why do you have Captain America's shield, Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet and Thor's new hammer Stormbreaker? But more importantly, why, in the name of all that is holy, are you wearing an Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt, while a Disturbed song is playing?"
"Alucard is cool, Infinity War was awesome, and fuck you, that's why," the man known as Kronium345 responded. He then looked at the audience. "By the way, watch Infinity War if you haven't. It was really good. Because these-" he gestured to his weapons "-are all the spoilers that you're getting. Also, the katanas are a sort of tribute to Deadpool 2, played by the amazing Ryan Reynolds. Awesome movie, by the way. I wanted to wear the suit, but then it'd clash with my Alucard get-up, and-"
"Look, we can get to that later," Markus interrupted, annoyed. "Can't I just breeze through this fight? Please?"
"Nope," Kronium345 denied, shaking his head. "I want a good fight. Besides, you've breezed through practically all of your fights."
"That's your fault!"
"Semantics! Now, let's continue." The amazing author clicked his fingers, allowing himself to disappear and time to move again.
Markus scowled. "Fuck hi-"
Atlas' fist connected with his jaw, dislocating it and causing a shockwave to produce. He was sent flying, his body landing harshly on the ground. Markus coughed up blood, a few teeth coming loose.
Before Atlas could continue his assault, Markus decided to go with a simple process. Due to his broken jaw, the blood gushing from his mouth, and Atlas' earlier comment about his friends, his rage grew. So he decided to use that.
Just as Atlas was almost upon him, Markus disappeared. Well, he didn't disappear, he just moved really fast so no one could see him. Including Atlas.
The Titan winced as he received a powerful punch to his face, then a kick to his thigh, followed by a punch that made him keel over. He was only able to quickly grab the fist that would've broken through his torso. Just barely.
He panted as his eyes bore into Markus' furious orbs. He made to attack, but was too slow, not able to dodge the same punch to the gut that he received again. He was really getting sick of that. The son of Poseidon then followed this up with a headbutt that only winded Atlas. He responded in kind, making Markus see stars slightly. A kick sent him flying, forcing himself to dig his hands and legs deep into the ground to halt his movement.
Markus spat out a glob of blood, quickly using the ambient water vapour - which was salt-laden vapour - to heal himself of his injuries.
*Interlude Song: Play: Time of Dying by Three Days Grace*
The two of them had enjoyed their little tussle. Now, the real fight began.
The Titan's true form started to reveal itself. He seemed to grow bigger slightly, two more arms of equal build to his original ones, burst from his back and clenched into fists. The mortals in the room closed their eyes, their organs starting to burn just by looking at Atlas. Markus faced no such struggle, his red aura becoming more intense. His runes glowed brightly.
With an identical grin on both of their faces, the two divine beings charged. Both had crimson lights trailing after them as they ran, destroyed the ground beneath brought their right hands back and punched, their fists colliding and sending a shockwave through the mountain that was felt all the way on Olympus.
Everyone, both on Mt. Othrys and Olympus, felt the power rolling off each of them. They could all feel the shockwave, the destruction. San Francisco shook itself, unable to handle the force of two powerful beings colliding.
Markus caught one of Atlas' fists and countered with an elbow. He wasn't able to see one of his other fists hitting him in the side. This allowed Atlas to continue his devestating assault, hitting the demigod with powerful punches. He was only able to counter a few of them, and powering through the rest.
Each shockwave caused the ceiling the break, allowing it to give way. The two fighting beings traded blow after blow, neither giving the other an opportunity to take a small breather. While stuck in a head clinch, Markus had driven his elbow sharply into the Titan's gut. After Atlas released him, he then grabbed the Titan's head and jumped up, driving his knee into the Titan's nose and shattering it. Atlas stumbled for a moment, but quickly recovered and drove his massive right fist into Markus' stomach, making the teen double over and allowing him to grab hold of his shoulder and leg, lifting him up before dropping him down onto a knee, breaking a few ribs. Markus had needed a second to come back from that, catching Atlas' foot when the Titan tried to kick him in the already broken ribs.
Pulling Atlas off his feet, the demigod gained a few seconds to breathe easy before he began a long combo filled with mean punches. To top it off, Markus brought his left fist back and delivered a nasty left hook that dislocated the Titan's jaw. Atlas stumbled into the cavern's wall with a muffled cry as he coughed up ichor, before a sickening crack filled the area. Atlas snapped a grin before rushing him with his fists back and ready to strike. Markus managed to block a few, but another left punch to his gut disorientated him.
Growling, Markus decided to calm the fuck down and to start fighting properly. Activating his War God Speed Impulse, he started to counter and evade Atlas' blows, and responding in kind. They both moved at impossible speeds, countering and blocking and attacking. Those watching were transfixed as demigod and Titan fought.
Markus punched Atlas' strike, followed by him using his knee to block the strike. He followed it up with his own attack, the Titan deflecting it. Atlas responded with a double-headed strike that Markus immediately ducked under, weaving his way through each attack, kicking him away.
Atlas grew annoyed at the stalemate the two had. He roared, holding his right arm out, a red light building at his palm. Markus got ready at the sight of the attack, only for his eyes to widen as he saw that it wasn't aimed at him. With a grin, the Titan shot the red beam of energy at the hiding questers.
Each half-blood's eyes went wide at the unexpected move, not able to move quickly to avoid it. Percy and Thalia instinctively closed their eyes while Zoe and Adria braced themselves. Artemis screamed, her entire being telling her to protect her Hunters. But apparently, they didn't have to worry about anything. Just as the red beam was almost upon them, Markus' back appeared in their field of vision. They couldn't see anything, but there was a small flash of red, and then nothing.
What had happened was this: Markus immediately appeared in front of the red beam and grabbed it with his bare hand. Then, with little effort, he crushed the gathered energy beam, red particles flickering from his hand. He looked at Atlas, stone-faced. This unnerved the deity.
"You know what?" Markus spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. And yet the tone scared everyone. "I was just going to keep playing with you. You struggle. I struggle. And then I kick your ass. I said earlier that I was going to crush you. Now," Markus chuckled, the sound scaring Atlas severely, "I'm going to atomize you."
Markus moved instantly, punching Atlas in the nose so hard and with such terrifying force that the powered-up Titan went sailing clean off the mountain and straight to the ocean itself. Markus flew after him, the mountain shaking a little and splintering slightly. He dived into the ocean, practically ensuring that Atlas' hope of winning went from 0.0001% to 0% completely.
Markus reached Atlas in no time and punched him so hard that the ocean shook, the shockwave splitting it slightly. Atlas got no rest, because he was suddenly shooting across the state of California, the sights and sounds blurring, the G-force on his body threatening to snap off his Titan-enhanced limbs. The less said about the heat from air friction the better. Atlas felt something break when he suddenly stopped all of a sudden. All the kinetic energy had left him. He slowly turned his head to see Markus holding him.
He whimpered. Markus grinned, and his fingers dug deep into the Titan's chest. With a loud squelch, he tore out a massive chunk of flesh and bone, ripping out the stone that gave Atlas his power. The Titan was engulfed in red energy, energy that was sucked into Markus' hand. The demigod clenched his fist, and everything in it was crushed into nonexistence.
The fading of the energy revealed the depowered Atlas, still whimpering, but now he was wearing that mortal suit from before.
Markus' grin was positively face-splitting. He reared his fist back, the crimson aura condensing and coating his entire limb. The fist came forward, a cone of compressed air surrounding his wrist. With a thunderous sound, Atlas took a fist right to the jaw, and he went flying.
Markus instantly appeared directly in front of Atlas. He backflipped in midair, sending Atlas shooting through the atmosphere and into the exosphere of Earth, up where the oxygen was barely existent and the satellites orbited the planet. Coating his entire inner body with his divine energy to protect himself from the lack of oxygen, Markus flew up to meet Atlas.
His fist came down, blowing a hole right through the Titan's gut, impaling him up to the shoulder. Then raw force took over, and Atlas went shooting down to the planet, a cone of fire encircling his body as he descended, the pull of gravity and the cylinder of pure transcendental force bearing down on him assisting in his downward acceleration.
He came down upon Mt. Diablo, coming at over Mach 40, completely destroying the rock and causing tremors across the state. It was only due to Atlas' power as the Titan of Endurance that he survived… if only barely.
Markus appeared instantly, ripping off each of his extra arms and enjoying the screams that followed.
"You know, I see what you meant when you were talking about screams. It's exhilarating."
Done with his torture, Markus held his hand out in front of him. His hand glowed with energy.
"Well, it's been fun. But I have places to go, people to meet, asses to kick, gods to smack down, you know how it works."
A laser beam the width of a small ball discharged. It didn't explode in tremendous power, but penetrated the floor, with Atlas following afterwards. The light blinded everyone watching. After a few seconds, the light faded, leaving everyone to blink the light out of their eyes. When they looked at the scene, they saw that a large hole in the ground the size of Atlas was produced. It was cleanly cut and seemed to stretch on for metres deep into the Earth's crust.
*End Song*
Markus sighed, dismissing his Rage of Sparta. Sweat clung to his clothes and skin, and he was only slightly tired. He disappeared for a moment, then reappeared, refreshed. "Got to love water healing."
"Is the fight over?" Percy asked tentatively, walking out from behind his and the other's hiding spot. He inspected where the monsters, where the demigod was. "What about Kronos and the others?"
Markus frowned, expanding his senses. He couldn't feel Kronos' essence, nor the demigod's, or the monsters. He couldn't even feel the Princess Andromeda at sea. He growled. "Gone. All of them. Including their boat." He visibly calmed down. "At least Mt. Othrys is trashed. Oh, and I killed a Titan. Awesome."
The rest walked out cautiously. Thalia looked at the trashed eternal palace, practically rubble at this point. "So, it's over?"
"Yep. So now..." Markus appeared in front of her, shocking her, "... I get my victory kiss." He pulled Thalia in close, mashing their lips together. Thalia, practically mentally exhausted with everything, melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his. The two deepened their kiss, both feeling pretty elated at this point. Nothing could disturb them...
"Hello!" Artemis called out, interrupting them. They looked, seeing that the goddess was still holding the sky. "You foolish boy! Now who is going to hold up the sky?!"
Markus scoffed. "You disturbed me for that?" He turned to kiss Thalia again, but she turned to the side, allowing Markus to kiss her neck. While admittedly an amazing feeling, she had to focus. "She's right. Who's going to hold up the heavens?"
The question dawned on the questers. Now Adria and Zoe were panicking. They still hadn't rescued their goddess!
"Easy," Markus answered, done with his kissing. "She can."
Now the Hunters and Artemis turned to him. "How dare you?!" the goddess screeched. "You-"
"In case you forgot, do you want to remember who kicked who's ass in the first place?" Markus reminded her, getting her to clamp her mouth shut with a click. "You can take Atlas' place. Who knows, holding the sky might humble you."
"That is not why we came here," Adria retorted, scowling at him. "We came to rescue Lady Artemis."
Markus shrugged. "That's why you came. I didn't. I don't care whether she gets out of her burden or not."
Zoe sneered. "And just when I thought thou had actually become a decent male. I'm proven wrong yet again."
He rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Just remember who basically saved all of your asses and prevented you from dying. You're welcome. Now, we can go to McDonalds. I'm starving." He held Thalia's hand and was about to walk off, until Thalia yanked her arm off. Markus turned to look at her frown. "What? No McDonalds?"
"We can't leave her here," Thalia said.
Markus frowned, honestly confused. "Why?"
"Because... because she's a goddess! An Olympian!"
"Yes, and Atlas was a Titan. What else is new?"
"The burden was for Atlas to take," Artemis bit out, now weak and barely holding the sky. "It was his punishment."
"For what? His sins?" Markus almost laughed. "To be honest, you're just as bad as the Titans, so how do you not deserve this?"
Artemis mustered up enough energy to glare. "What gives you the right to judge me and my fellow Olympians?"
"The fact that I'm the only one who can actually do something about your situation. None of them-" he pointed to the questers "-are taking your burden. Zoe and Adria would die if they took it. So... yeah. You can just wait for one of the gods to help you. Because I ain't doing jack shit."
Artemis tried to glare, to curse him, but she couldn't even lift her tongue. Exhaustion, something almost alien to her, settled in. She dropped to her knees.
"Milady!" Zoe and Adria were at Artemis' side, kneeling and trying to help her. But it was useless. Both Hunters glared at the son of Poseidon. "Why?!" Adria screamed. "Is your pride so injured that you would refuse to help her?!"
"No," Markus denied. "I just don't see the point. Why should I? I don't gain or lose anything from her being freed or not."
Adria almost attacked Markus out of frustration, but was held back by Zoe. She was still glaring at Markus.
Percy walked up to his brother. "Markus, come on. Artemis is needed for the winter solstice."
"Which is something I should care about, because?" Percy frowned now. "I'm already going to destroy Olympus. Why should I aid an Olympian?"
Now everyone was angry at him. Having enough, Thalia walked up to him and poked him in the chest. Hard. "Will you stop acting like a child?!" she practically yelled, annoyed. "If Artemis isn't there for the winter solstice, we lose another year of war preparations, and Kronos will have the advantage. He'll win!"
"Then I'll fight Kronos myself."
"You can't fight all of the Titans, monsters, demigods and Kronos all yourself!"
The only one who can even challenge me is Kronos," Markus retorted. "Everyone else I can obliterate. And Kronos is in a million pieces. It's not even a contest. Problem solved."
Thalia looked at him as if seeing him in a different light. "So you'd risk Camp Half-Blood's safety? Just to prove your point?"
"No!" Markus was appalled that she would say that. "Why would I do that?! I'd never willingly endanger anyone at camp! You know that!"
"Then why can't you save Artemis? You can't do everything on your own. I don't care how powerful you are, you aren't a god."
"Technically, I can become a god," Markus mumbled, but Thalia glared at him even harder for that.
"I don't care. Even gods can't do everything on your own. I get that you hate Artemis. I get that you hate Olympus. But are you so selfish and arrogant that you'd risk our lives just to prove a point? That you'd risk our safety?"
Markus clenched his jaw tightly. He didn't want to help Artemis at all. If Olympus suffered, he'd be dancing in joy. If Artemis suffered, even better. But, he wasn't going to risk anyone's safety at camp for his anger. He still grudgingly admitted that he could defeat the Titans all by himself (and he genuinely wasn't even being arrogant about that) with possible major injuries.
Thalia looked at him, watching his expression shift. Percy also did the same thing. The stares were getting to him, making him growl. He was going to destroy Olympus! So why was he being persuaded for this?! It didn't even matter if he saved Artemis. If she was freed, she'd die along with most of the Olympians. If she wasn't freed, she'd suffer. Either way, she was screwed over. Why couldn't the others see that?!
"Please," Thalia pleaded, seeing he was struggling to decide. Seeing the pleading gaze in her blue eyes, he sighed heavily. He felt that he was already whipped by his girlfriend. If he did get anymore girlfriends in the future, he pitied his future. Well, he may have lost the battle of words, but he wasn't going to lose the war.
Not saying anything, he walked towards the struggling Artemis. "Give me the sky."
"But-" Artemis tried to say, but Markus wasn't in the mood for this.
"Give. Me. The. Sky."
Reluctantly, Artemis lowered the sky, just enough for Markus to step in and take it off of her. The goddess quickly crawled out, landing in a heap. Immediately, Adria and Zoe tended to her.
Markus actually felt the strain on his upper body from the sky... before he actively started to push it back. "I could bench-press this," Markus muttered, but just loud enough for the others to hear. Scowling, he set his plan into motion. He had a theory of the sky and earth meeting. Was Ouranos, primordial of the sky, trying to get back to earth because he wants to reconcile with Gaia? What if he was trying to cause her harm? Jokingly, Markus thought that he just wanted to bang her, but he pushed that thought aside... actually, no. That did seem more likely. He was dealing with Greek mythology, after all.
With a grunt, Markus gathered the air and flew past the ceiling and up into the air, whilst carrying the sky. He was literally carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His muscles burned slightly, but he pushed on. The tube-like funnel cloud that was the 'sky' kept on rising as Markus carried it to the actual 'sky'. Gods, this was so confusing.
He kept on rising higher, now entering Zeus' domain. The sky crackled with lightning, but Markus wasn't affected by this. He kept on rising as he lifted the heavens, until he felt that he reached the level that he wanted.
What he was about to do was confusing, strange and considered foolish, but Markus was each of those things. So, he went along with his plan.
He sent a connection to the 'sky' that he was holding, feeling it travel and meet the actual sky. He pushed deeper and deeper, until an ancient being spoke into his mind, bypassing his mental shields.
Who are you? the voice asked. It was male, but sounded heavy, like trying to survive being in a snow avalanche. It was deep, very old, and frighteningly powerful. Markus tensed as he decided to choose his words carefully.
When he spoke, he projected his words mentally. Ouranos. I am Markus Henderson, son of Poseidon.
You have a connection to the sea, yet I also feel a piece of the sky from you. Why is that?
I am the champion of a Shinto god. Susanoo, the god of storms.
Ah, so that's it. The voice didn't sound shocked. Rather, it sounded amused. So why do you wish to speak to me?
The more the voice spoke, the more Markus felt unease and fear. Hell, he could feel Ouranos looking at him, and the demigod felt like an ant underneath the sun. This was a being that was ancient millennia before the Titans were born. This was a being that went beyond godly. This was a being that if it wanted to, it could step forth and erase the world with ease, because where the Titans were 'of' something, and where the Olympians were 'of' something, the primordials are something.
They were the physical manifestations of the universe's most abstract and eldritch forces. Light, dark, life, death, earth, sky, water, fate, time, day, and night. They were beyond deities, beyond something as simple as labels such as being Greek or Roman. They transcended religion and worship, and existed on a plane of existence beyond anything man or science could ever hope to comprehend.
It was a humbling feeling and experience for Markus, who gulped slightly.
He recollected himself and decided to speak. Why are you trying to connect with Gaia?
Markus could feel Ouranos' displeasure. Simply put, I'm trying to harm that woman for what she got our own children to do to me.
Markus nodded, digesting the information. To be honest, in a way, it kind of made sense. Ah. So, uh, may you please go back up into the actual 'sky' and not try to crush the Earth.
And why should I do that?
Because I don't want to hold the sky.
Markus couldn't sense anything, but he could tell that Ouranos was slightly amused. If only slightly. I see. Alright. I will retract my will back into the rest of the sky.
Markus withheld the shock of getting the primordial to agree with his request. I sense a 'but' there.
Indeed. I sense a war coming, boy. Not with my pathetic son, no. Afterwards. Gaia will rise soon.
Markus was so shocked by the news that he almost dropped the sky, but he managed to catch it. Are you serious?
Yes. Most likely due to Kronos rising also. The name 'Kronos' was spoken with rage. Do this for me, boy. Destroy Kronos and Gaia for me when she rises. I will provide you power for when the time comes. Do this for me, and I will return the part of me that you are holding to my domain. I will even give you my permission to travel my domain with no trouble. All air travel shall be safe for you and your companions.
Markus licked his dry lips, still holding the sky. This... this was good. Well, not Gaia rising, but the deal. Kronos he could handle, but Gaia was another thing. If she was anything like her husband, then he and the others were in trouble. If he could get Ouranos' aid... yes, the deal seemed very nice. And he wouldn't have to worry about air travel. Deal.
Good, Ouranos rumbled. Do not tell your Olympians of the news. They will play right into Gaia's hands. Tell only those that you trust. If need be, tell only one or two of the sensible Olympians.
Got you.
Markus suddenly gasped as the oppressive weight of the sky was suddenly not there anymore. The tube-like thing that was the 'sky' was pulled back into the heavens. Soon enough, there was no Titan's Curse. Markus actually felt that he accomplished more than he wanted.
He breathed in and out lightly, stretching his body. Gaia was coming. Maybe not now, or tomorrow, or next year, but she was coming. Kronos was... somewhat of a problem, but Gaia was the real threat. She was a primordial like Ouranos, so she was equally as powerful. This just got a lot harder. Plans, preparations... and he couldn't tell camp, as that would alert the gods. They'd play right into Gaia's hands, as Ouranos said, which was bad. And Gaia would be aware that someone knew of her rising. He didn't want her attention on him. Sometimes, ignorance really was bliss.
Markus flew down to the remains of Mt. Othrys, landing beside the others. He saw that Artemis had recovered somewhat, and was looking at Markus wearily.
He scoffed, looking at the others. He schooled his features, so they wouldn't see his worried expression. "There. You happy?"
"Very," Thalia nodded. She noted his hair. "Uh, Markus?"
"What?" Feeling his hair, he noted that it was alright. "It's not gone. So what's up?"
"Half of your hair is white," Percy noted. Markus frowned, conjuring an ice mirror to see what he was talking about. And indeed, Markus did indeed have half of his hair turn white. He frowned. "I'm guessing that this is the result of carrying the sky?"
"Guess so," Percy agreed. He chuckled slightly. "You look like an old man. All you need is the wrinkles."
"Screw you," Markus scowled. He then looked at Artemis. "So, now that you're free, are you going to transport us to Olympus? Or will I actually have to do the work?"
Artemis glared at Markus, but didn't say anything else. He just raised an eyebrow. Thalia elbowed him in the side, making him grunt and look at her.
Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer any of the demigods had ever seen. It landed right next to them. It looked like Santa Claus' sleigh.
All of them got onto the chariot, the deer started to carry the chariot upwards, the entire thing glowing with silver.
The group was silent for a moment as Artemis steered the chariot. So, Percy decided to break it as a thought came to him.
"You know," he started as the others looked at him, "I just had a thought. The Sky was trying to meet with the Earth, right?"
"Yes," Thalia answered slowly.
"So, does that basically mean that the two wanted to have sex?"
They were all silent as they processed this. Thalia had a shade of green on her face, Zoe and Adria looked slightly disgusted, Artemis looked disgruntled, and Markus... well, he already knew the actual reason, so he didn't show anything. Still, the thought did make him slightly curious.
"That-that... no. That's-" Thalia tried to refute, but she couldn't. Truthfully, she didn't know the actual answer.
"Though the idea is... odd," Artemis commented, turning to glare at Percy for his comment. He shivered slightly as Markus glared at her, "you aren't wrong, boy."
"So does that mean that... you and Markus... were holding the Sky's dick?"
Markus and Artemis went white as a sheet at that. While Markus knew that the Sky and Earth weren't actually trying to have sex, the idea was polluting his mind. Plus, he didn't actually know what part of Ouranos that he touched. Meanwhile, Artemis had a horrified look on her face. She had never once thought about it like that.
"NO!" both of them denied quickly, startling the others. Artemis almost lost control of her deer, and Markus looked like he was about to collapse, having a disgusted look on his face.
"Oh, by the gods..." Artemis whispered, looking like she was about to puke. "Father... father, why?"
Markus almost looked like he was about to cry. "I touched another man's dick..." He sank to his knees. "Percy, why?! I was better off not knowing!"
"Don't look at me! The thought just came to me!"
"Then you should've kept your mouth shut!" Markus looked at his hands in horror. "I... touched a dick... oh, gods. I think I'm going to be sick."
"For once, boy, I agree with you." Artemis' milky complexion looked just a tad bit green. Markus curled up into a ball and cried slightly.
Percy, feeling bad for his brother, walked forward and patted him on the back comfortingly. "Uh, there, there..."
"Fuck you, Percy," Markus responded, sobbing quietly. "Fuck you to the deepest pits of Tartarus."
Thalia came this time, trying to do her best to comfort him as well. "Come on, Barnacle Brain. It-It's not so bad." At that, Markus sobbed even louder.
Artemis still looked green, still feeling like puking. "I'm very grateful that Atlas is dead. Otherwise I would curse his name and kill him." She whimpered, appearing to almost have a nervous breakdown. The Hunters comforted her, looking mortified.
After a long, long while, Markus and Artemis recovered, albeit barely. The son of Poseidon tried to force the previous thoughts back to his head and focus on his plan. He was at full strength, so this should work. Well, emphasis on 'should'.
None of them slept, as their nerves from before kept them awake. Pretty soon, Manhattan was coming into view. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.
The lightning and thunder didn't affect the moon chariot at all, practically ignoring it, in fact. All of them watched the eternal palace in awe. In the early morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. They caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things that were unnamable. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.
Towering at the peak of the mountain was (one of) the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.
Markus, despite himself, started to grin widely. He hid it quickly in front of the others. He didn't know exactly how today would play out, but he would make sure that it would end in a bloodbath.
Artemis mounted the silver chariot in front of the silver gates that were repaired from before. The goddess landed, along with the others. Artemis turned to look at Markus, who gave her a meaningful look. Regretting every bit of her actions, she allowed the demigods to follow her. Not knowing why, the others could sense the tense atmosphere. They all had a sinking feeling inside of their guts, knowing the reason why.
Thirteen enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The Olympians (barring Aphrodite and Ares, for obvious reasons) plus Hades were seated. The ceiling above glittered with constellations. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall. The air got extremely heavy, as if all of the demigods and demi-Titan were carrying the sky themselves.
As the gods laid eyes on them, Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Dionysus and Athena glared at Markus. Poseidon smiled at his sons, Hermes looked extremely sad, Hephaestus looked slightly happy at seeing Markus, Demeter looked indifferent, while Hades looked intrigued. Artemis immediately joined her fellow Olympians on her throne, growing to her respective fifteen feet. Her wounds had healed, and her exhaustion had disappeared.
There was silence for only one moment. One small, sweet, peaceful moment. And then Zeus spoke.
"You dare?" his voice whispered, fury laden in it. He glared at Markus, who looked indifferent. The others had shivers crawl down their spines. "You dare show your face to me? After the crimes you have committed against Olympus? You have killed two of my sons, humiliated two others, disfigured Aphrodite, and nearly killed my daughter. When will your madness end?"
Markus was silent, not even looking at Zeus. Instead, he turned to Hades, who still looked intrigued. Getting the message, he grinned, nodding his head in confirmation. Then Markus turned to his father, who looked remorseful, but nodded nonetheless.
"Look at me, boy!" Zeus bellowed, his voice reverberating across the throne room.
"I warned Aphrodite," Markus spoke suddenly. "I said that Olympus will be razed and be nothing but a bad dream. And I intend to keep my promise."
Hera scoffed. "Foolish boy. You think that you can stand up to the combined might of Olympus? Your foolish claims are nothing but bravado."
Markus ignored the Queen of Olympus, something that irked her. Instead, he continued to look at Zeus. "Like I said before, history is repeating itself. I'm not here to threaten you. I'm not here to spare you." Markus grinned insanely, madness creeping into his eyes. "I'm here to commit deicide."
At that word, the Olympians didn't waste any time. They knew that the son of Poseidon was here to kill them. Well, most of them. They had already heard his message before, and so had prepared for such a case. Instantly, Apollo, Artemis and Athena had sprung from their thrones, bows and spear and shield unleashed. As they got closer to Markus, the demigod did two things. One, he quickly and discretely put up a barrier around Percy, Thalia, Adria and Zoe, who looked stunned at the sudden movements. And two, he entered God Trigger.
Markus' body exploded with such power that everyone, gods and demigods, had to look away. The mortals inside the barrier weren't affected by the shockwave of power, but their organs did burn intensely. This was the feeling that they got when in the presence of gods revealing their true forms. The implications of this shocked them.
The Olympians themselves were floored and blown away from the release of power. They all felt it... and felt fear in their hearts. The elder gods - Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter and Hera - almost collapsed in fear, even though three of them weren't being targeted. This was because Markus' power was beyond theirs... and neared the level of their father. In fact, was exactly on the level of their father. They all felt this same type of power when he was facing Samael, but being this up close, they could now practically taste how powerful he was.
Markus' body was revealed, his crown of thorns that was his hair and his emerald eyes that revealed that his Greek omegas interlocking with his pupils showed clearly. While the appearance was quite simple, it was the eyes that shook the gods. Those eyes that showed the end. The end of Olympus.
Apollo and Artemis then looked to each other and nodded. Despite their fear, despite the power that Markus had displayed... they were still going to defend their home They began to run at high speeds in a circle around the throne room, and were rapidly firing arrows at him. However, their arrows just went through Markus like he was made of water. Artemis and Apollo made to retreat, but Markus disappeared.
Stunned, they couldn't see that Markus had appeared between the two of them and grabbed them both by the hair and lifted them in the air. Grinning, he forced them to headbutt each other, causing the two gods to cry out in pain.
Both Artemis and Apollo's hair were caked with golden blood. Markus then slammed them into the ground, creating a small crater and resulting in a horrifying crack, and then threw both of them to the other side of the throne room like ragdolls, colliding with a wall. Their bodies seemed to be stuck inside the outline that they left.
Before Markus could pursue them, he sensed a disturbance in the water vapour. Using his War God Speed Impulse, his perception of time had slowed down so dramatically that it looked like time had stopped. (A.N. - Identical to when Quicksilver moves in X-Men: Apocalypse). He looked to see that Hermes was trying to speed towards him. Markus ran towards him. Of course, everyone saw things differently. To Markus, it looked like his was running normally, without God Trigger. To the gods, it looked like he had moved at the speed of light.
Markus punched Hermes, making him fly into the air. Again, Hermes was moving in slow motion compared to Markus, so it was like all the gravity in the room had disappeared and he was merely drifting in the air. Markus practically ran out of the throne room and performed a lap around the eternal palace, all in but a second. Then he jumped up and, while still in motion, punched Hermes so hard that he literally folded in on himself.
A massive shockwave that blew the gods back was produced, and Hermes was instantly unconscious.
Dismissing his War God Speed Impulse, he suddenly saw a shadow appear around him. Curious, he looked up to see that Hephaestus had grabbed a large pillar and was planning to smash him with it. The object connected, creating a large dust cloud to be produced, along with a powerful crash.
Hephaestus didn't even get to breath as the pillar was immediately destroyed by Markus' power. Not done yet, Markus snapped his fingers, turning the pieces of rubble produced from the pillar into bats that immediately swarmed the god.
His body burst into flames, destroying the incoming bats. And yet, more kept coming, overwhelming the god. This allowed Markus to zip past the bats and clothesline the god of the forge, making him hack up blood.
Practically feeling the ozone in the air, Markus didn't do anything as the master bolt was thrown at him. As it struck, a massive flash of light and energy engulfed the throne room. From the barrier, Thalia and Percy screamed as they saw this. The gods couldn't see what had happened, but they had assumed that Markus had been destroyed.
As the light from the bolt dimmed, the remaining Olympians squinted their eyes to see Markus' fate. What was revealed shocked and horrified them. The light fully dimmed to see Markus, standing in the same position as before, unmarked. What shocked them even more was that he was holding the master bolt.
Markus inspected the weapon. "I can't believe I almost risked my life for this thing," he muttered to himself. The bolt shook, as if trying to resist his hold, but he gripped it tighter, not letting it go. Then he gripped the weapon in both hands. And what he did shocked everyone watching.
He held both ends of the master bolt and grunted. The bolt shook more violently and seemed to emit a high pitch wail, almost as if it was crying. Grinning, Markus kept on adding more force. The vibrations picked up as the noise got higher and higher.
Zeus tried to summon his weapon back, but it was resisting his command. "Impossible," he whispered, eyes wide.
Markus gave a wide grin. "No. A reality." And with that, Markus grunted even louder, snapping the bolt in half.
Following this, a powerful explosion occurred. Thinking quickly, Markus opened one of his personal dimensions to absorb the blast. If he hadn't done that, he would've risked the questers' safety, and he wasn't going to do that. The pocket dimension that he opened up was something that he dubbed the 'Antimatter Dimension'. An alternate dimension where a majority of the matter in this universe is made out of antimatter. Using his control over the dimension, he produced several lightning bolts from this dimension that were composed of positrons. As the resulting explosion from the destroyed master bolt entered this dimension, it was annihilated, and produced enough energy to outstrip dozens of nuclear bombs at once. Thankfully, Markus had closed the dimension before it could spread to this dimension. For future use, Markus absorbed a large amount of lightning from the remains of the master bolt.
Markus grinned, crushing the now useless remains of Zeus' bolt. He enjoyed the shocked and fearful looks the gods gave him. "Is that all you got?"
Athena decided to attack now. She charged, spear and Aegis shield raised. Markus wasn't faltered by the ugly sight of Medusa on the shield and brought out Tsunami and met her charge. The two duelled for a bit, moving around the throne room as Markus dodged any incoming fire. Athena was a better fighter than him, he could admit that. She analysed everything that he did, and made counter-measures for them. Like Ares, it seemed like she knew each move that he made before he could make them. Truly, she did deserve her title as goddess of wisdom and battle.
There was one small problem, though. Actually, two. One, Markus already knew that he was no match for Athena. At least, in a fair fight. That was made evident when Markus took control of her ichor. Athena's body was halted, and her widening eyes indicated that she had no idea why. At least that answered the question of whether or not he can control ichor. Oh, and the second problem was that Markus outclassed her in both strength and speed. So, even though she was a better fighter than him, it was kind of pointless if she couldn't hit him.
Using this knowledge, Markus stabbed her in the gut with Tsunami, getting her to grunt as she was skewered. He had to give her credit, she could take a hit. Channelling lightning through his trident, Markus watched the goddess scream in pain as she was electrocuted. Lifting her as she was impaled, Markus slammed her limp body on the ground, the ground and Athena's bones cracking.
When he saw Artemis charging at him, he merely lifted and extended his trident towards her, spinning it. The result was that Athena was dislodged from his weapon, allowing Markus to Spartan-kick her towards the direction of Artemis, pushing both goddesses back. Holding out his hand, Markus launched a large storm laser towards them, sending them flying.
Both Zeus and Hera shrunk down to a normal human size and started to engage him in a fight. Hera drew a sword, while Zeus did the same.
Seeing this, Markus smiled. "So, is the king and queen done sending their pawns?"
Snarling, Hera charged first. A foolish mistake. Markus moved and backhanded Hera to the side as he engaged Zeus. Zeus' body exploded with power and lightning, clashing with him as he tried to skewer him. Markus merely blocked and deflected. It seems that Zeus preferred using his precious master bolt over the sword. Something that aided him. Channelling earthquake energy to his right hand, punched Zeus in the gut. It was so satisfying to see his body fold in on itself. He launched the god of the sky towards the floor of his throne, landing in a heap.
Turning to the one of the gods that he wanted to kill, Markus appeared in front of a shocked Dionysus. "Hello, Mr. Dick."
Dionysus snarled, and was about to attack Markus until he touched him, removing all the kinetic energy in his body. Nodding, Markus put his plan into action.
Taking out the shakujo that Savitr had given him, he called upon a branch of magic that he hadn't touched in a while. Hindu magic. "मैं न्याय के भगवान, यम से आह्वान करता हूं! इस पापी और न्यायाधीश की आत्मा चुराओ, इसलिए वह पीड़ित होगा! (I call upon the Lord of Justice, Yama! Steal the soul of this sinner and judge, so that he shall suffer!)"
It was silent for a moment, the Olympians being shocked from Markus invoking another being from another pantheon for a spell. And then Dionysus screamed.
His screams were loud and painful. He tried to thrash about, but he was held in place by Markus, who didn't let him go. The reason for Dionysus' screaming was because a figure had appeared. Only Markus and Dionysus could actually see him.
The figure looked like a demon. He wore ancient but beautiful traditional blue robes of Hindu design, an odd golden crown on top of his head that was shaped like a house, and gave off a powerful aura of death. His skin was blue, and had fangs that jutted from his upper teeth. Finally, he had gold eyes that shone with intelligence and power.
Who has summoned me? the voice rasped, ancient and powerful. It wasn't even above a whisper, and yet the voice was projected to the only two who could feel and see the presence. Not even Hades could see or feel him.
The Olympians were stuck in place as Markus quickly and discretely summoned speed clones to deal with them. Then he turned to the being in front of him. "Yama. It is an honour to meet you," Markus greeted.
The demigod could feel the gaze of the ancient and powerful deity on him. Oh? Savitr's little insurance. For what reason have you summoned me into this pantheon?
Markus ignored the part about Savitr and focused on the task at hand. "I have called you to judge this person and to let him enter Naraka for eternal torment."
Markus could feel Yama frowning in confusion. I sense his heart. He is guilty, true. Worthy enough to enter Naraka. But he is Greek.
Markus clicked his teeth. He was hoping to use the bare minimum to get Dionysus to go to Naraka. "He is a Greek deity. One of the worst and most useless. Besides, you must hate the Olympians as much as I do. Surely, you can make an exception."
Yama was silent for a moment, contemplating it. Finally, he answered. While it is normally against my laws, I can make an exception. I do harbour a hatred for the Greeks, as do many from my pantheon. Very well.
Yama reached forwards and put his hand down the throat of the wine god. He then grabbed his tongue and pulled. Markus - knowing of the legend - looked away, making sure the scene was obscured for the others in the barrier, as well as dampened the sound. The gods watched, horrified, as Dionysus' tongue was being pulled and pulled, until there was a sickening tearing of flesh and a scream. Against his better judgement, Markus turned to look at a now lifeless Dionysus, who slumped in his throne. Yama floated in front of the god, holding a long strip of pink, wet flesh covered in golden ichor.
The deal had been met. I will take my leave, Yama announced. And then he, along with the tongue, had vanished from Olympus, along with his presence. Dionysus' body was still for a moment, before it started to break down in golden dust. This time, however, the golden dust disappeared as well. Following this, the god of wine's throne started to crumble, bit by bit. Soon, Dionysus' throne had been destroyed, and his body faded.
Markus grinned madly. "Finally. Hated that little shit." Dismissing Tsunami, he turned to the Olympians, who managed to defeat his speed clones. "Now, who's next?"
Apollo snarled, having recovered from his body-slamming. His body steamed and glowed brightly. "Take this!" His body superheated, every part of his body igniting in a chain reaction. The entire throne room was blasted with energy, as Apollo became pure light.
Knowing what was happening, Markus' plan was already in play. As the throne room was blasted by light, darkness started to spread, making the Olympians sink into darkness. The only ones not affected were Hades, Poseidon and Demeter. Dozens of red eyes and fanged mouths that turned into grins formed.
Apollo's light was absorbed by the darkness. Markus commanded it to trap him in a cocoon of darkness. Apollo screamed as he was drained, the light and heat leaving his body.
"Apollo!" Artemis screamed. She shot dozens of arrows at Markus, who just liquefied his body, avoiding the damage. Snarling, he moved so quickly that he was in front of the goddess, index finger pointed at her. Artemis couldn't react as a small storm laser produced from his finger pierced her chest, just near where her heart was. Both Artemis and Apollo screamed from their respective pains.
Markus then started to wail on Artemis, beating her black and blue. She tried to fight back, but her injury prevented her from putting up a better fight. A punch to the face sprayed ichor along the floor, knocking her down. Artemis crossed her arms, futilely blocking the rain of blows that Markus was delivering to her. They were so fast and strong that they cracked the floor underneath her. Each blow rattled her skull and made her bleed even more. A kick to the side launched her towards the edge of Olympus.
As the demigod made to advance on her, he dodged attacks from the other gods and returned them in kind. Apollo futilely tried to break free from his prison, but it was pointless. His aura and light had faded, leaving him weak. Satisfied, Markus removed the dark prison from the sun god. Leaving him to collapse in a heap. Moving towards his direction, Markus produced his Chains of Heaven to bound Apollo, leaving him weak and drained.
He then turned to look at Artemis, who now grabbed her bow and summoned arrows to shoot at him. Markus just kept liquefying his body, walking to meet her. When he reached her level, she roared, summoning one of her hunting knives to stab Markus. Like a viper, he grabbed both of her wrists. Then he wrenched the knife out of her hand and stabbed her with it.
She gasped, stumbling back slightly. Her silver eyes went wide with pain. Ichor freely flowed from her wound, falling down to the inky darkness below. Markus looked in her eyes, seeing the pain, the anger. He could kill her easily. He should. He wanted to. But... Markus turned to look at the barrier that contained two Hunters. Two Hunters that would be devastated if their goddess died. He hated Artemis, with every fibre of his being screaming at him to kill her. And yet, he knew that Zoe and Adria cared for her. Despite his misgivings with them, the two Hunters grew on him. Well, Zoe did. Adria was annoying.
With a grunt, he removed the knife from Artemis before she could bleed out even more. He leaned forward, whispering into her ear. "I will not take your life today. Your lieutenant cares for you. She was willing to risk her life to rescue you. I won't let her pain and determination be in vain." With that, he ignored the widening of Artemis' eyes and punched her in the face, knocking her out. He then bound her with his Chains of Heaven, weakening her.
Sighing, Markus cracked his neck. He summoned some water vapour from the air that healed him and restored him to his full strength. He then inspected the Olympians. Dionysus was dead, Apollo and Artemis were knocked out, Ares was dead, Aphrodite was... he growled suddenly. He zipped past the gates of Olympus, searching for someone. A few seconds later, Markus came back, dragging the now ugly goddess of love by the scraps of her straw-like hair. She wailed and cried with each tug, but Markus slapped her, hard.
"Shut. Up," he growled. Aphrodite whimpered, but stayed quiet.
The goddess still looked like a disgusting nightmare. Her lips were still burnt and scarred, her skin cracked and rotten, her face disgusting. Markus guessed that she had tried to use magic to heal the wound, but it had been unsuccessful.
Sneering, Markus threw her towards the standing Olympians. "It's fitting that you have the rest of your own that's still alive with you."
Hera snarled. "You damned monster! We will see to it that you will not live past this day!" Zeus and Athena shared the same sentiment, while Hephaestus grunted.
Markus smiled. No grin, no sneer. Just a small smile. He held up a hand to the sky. "Funny. I was going to say the same thing."
Up in the sky, a black sphere started to form. This sphere - which was actually a condensed gravity field mixed with dark energy - started to groan and form several pieces of earth. It looked like a mud ball, then a massive ball. It kept getting bigger and bigger, until it's size was a fraction of a small planet. Soon enough, it started to glow and shine with heat and light.
Markus' grin couldn't possibly get any wider at the gods' stunned faces. He then turned to Poseidon, Hades and Demeter. "Leave now and take the unconscious Olympians."
"But Markus-" Poseidon started to say, but his son interrupted him.
"Dad, please. This ends now." Bringing his hand down, he called out one of his most powerful spells in his arsenal. "Lunar Devastation."
The false moon that he had created moved at the command of Markus, the gravitational field bending to his command.
Left with no choice, Hades disperses into shadows as Demeter disappears into a flash of light. Sighing, Poseidon vanishes in a cloud of vapour, taking the other unconscious gods with him. That left the rest of the Olympians, Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus and Aphrodite, to defend the remains of their homes.
Having enough, each god assumes their true forms, their bodies beginning to glow. Markus quickly sent the group in his barrier to the Mirror Dimension, where they'd be safe. The barrier faded as he did so.
He looked upon the gods, his body not disintegrating. He saw that his moon was almost close to the eternal palace.
No words were said between them. Markus summoned all of his power as he was in God Trigger. His body was bathed in an emerald light. He took out Kusanagi from his pocket dimension, the sword wreathed in golden lightning.
The Olympians charged at him, making Markus grin. He went for Aphrodite first, who's face still looked horrific. Not wasting any time, Markus quickly grabbed her face and slammed it down onto the gold floor, hard. The goddess of love was knocked out before she could even use her charmspeak. He didn't know whether it could affect him at full power, and he wasn't willing to find out. He parried Athena's attacks, the contact zapping the goddess of wisdom badly. He quickly brought up his sword to block the warhammer that Hephaestus attacked him with. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Hera and Zeus were closing in. Snarling, Markus froze Hephaestus in a block of black ice from the waist down. The forge god tried to erupt in flames to melt the ice, but not even a flicker of flame was produced.
Markus slammed Kusanagi onto the ground, slicing through the floor and making lightning travel along the path the two gods took. Hera was too slow to dodge the attack. She screamed as her body was fried from the divine lightning. Zeus, however, was unaffected. He roared, charging forth with his own lightning.
When the sky god was close, he unleashed an electrified punch that would've destroyed Olympus itself, snapping it in half. A powerful explosion was produced from this, the force knocking Athena and Hera away while Hephaestus remained frozen.
Zeus grinned for a moment, feeling victorious... until he felt his fist was being held. Shocked, he was able to see past the dust cloud produced that Markus was still standing, still uninjured... and also holding his fist.
With nought but a twitch, Markus crushed Zeus' fist in his hand. The sound of bones cracking made Zeus grunt. The son of Poseidon kept on putting force, making the god of the sky cry out. Markus looked at Zeus' electric blue eyes and grinned.
"I win," he muttered, just as his false moon impacted the throne room. The force from it shattered the silver gates of Olympus, along with flattening almost every temple on the eternal palace. The minor gods, nymphs and other divine beings on Olympus quickly fled the place for their safety. Most of them tried to investigate what the cause was, only to be blocked by a powerful barrier set in place.
The peaks of the mountains on Olympus shook and shattered as a result of the powerful shockwaves being produced. Gardens became covered in debris and dirt, the force shaking them and definitely ruining the beauty that they once contained.
Down below the Empire State Building, the building rumbled. The security guard who sat at the desk was in a panic, not knowing what to do. The floors from 600 down to 103 shook from the force of the impact. The magic surrounding Olympus did its best to protect the rest of the 102 floors, but it barely managed.
The shockwaves cleared any clouds in the sky and disturbed every cloud and person in the near vicinity. They were almost immediately deafened. All of the windows of several buildings and skyscrapers shattered, making it rain down glass on unsuspecting bystanders. The buildings themselves shuddered, almost collapsing.
Back on Olympus, the throne room was practically destroyed. The thrones were demolished, which had a bad advantage on the gods. The thrones were tied to their powers. If they were destroyed, then the Olympians would be extremely weakened, to the point that they could easily be overwhelmed. Like right now.
Markus stopped vibrating his body, having avoided the damage. Through his hydro-sensing, he could sense that, surprisingly, the Olympians were still alive. If only extremely weakened. Both by the attack and the destruction of their thrones. As he continued sensing where the gods were, he could tell the extent of their injuries. Hephaestus shielded Aphrodite from the attack, taking most of the force. How touching. It seemed that the forge god had a concussion, which wasn't surprising. He was also deeply unconscious, the ichor leaking into and out of his head. Markus didn't know how he was able to overcome the black ice, but he gave points to him. Hephaestus also had broken limbs, half of his body being fractured, bones crushed and body bloodied.
Athena was unconscious as well, her injuries almost as bad as Hephaestus' was. A fragment of Markus' Lunar Devastation lodged itself into her body, killing her slowly. Her skull was also fractured, along with her body being mostly fried from his lightning. Her legs were twisted at an odd angle. She also was lying in a massive pool of ichor, spear and Aegis shield broken.
The worst were Zeus and Hera. Zeus was partially unconscious, his beard and toga looking as if he had taken a bath in ichor. His arm was also twisted at an odd angle, and the rest of his bones had been shattered. He also looked fragile and pathetic, his muscular body turning into sticks of cracked flesh and broken bone. He looked like a beaten, bloody and pathetic homeless person.
Hera was somewhat conscious, though her body was just as broken as Zeus' was. Her toga was ripped in several places, showcasing her broken body. She weakly coughed up ichor, her bones broken in every place as well. Her flawless and immortal beauty had faded also, replaced by an weak and withered woman.
Markus walked forward, intent on ending this. "You know," he said, walking past Hephaestus' and Athena's bodies. "I've seen so much ichor that it's ridiculous. I'm even covered in it." He gestured to his ichor-soaked clothes.
Hera wheezed, not even having enough strength to to glare or insult Markus.
He sighed. "Well, no point stalling." He walked forward to the Queen of Olympus. Hera tried to crawl away, but it was useless. "Bye, bitch. This should be enough to make sure that you never come back."
His Kusanagi sparking and glowing with power, the son of Poseidon stabbed Hera through the heart. The goddess screamed, but futilely did nothing else as her body broke down into particles of light instead of golden dust. Her dead body slid off of the blade, pathetic and weak. It started to wither away, the light particles flying into the air.
Satisfied, he walked forward to the king of the gods. He was on his stomach, coughing and hacking heavily. His bloodshot eyes glared into emerald green.
"Well?" Zeus wheezed, trying to maintain a kingly posture but ultimately failing. "Do it already. End me, you monster. I should've ended you when I had the chance."
Markus grinned. "You should've." Raising his sword high into the air, he brought it down with a swing. However, before he could end it, a flash of light appeared near his vision.
Shocked and furious and against him better judgement, Markus turned to look at the one who was interfering. He paused, looking at three ancient-looking ladies in withered cloaks. They were all glaring at him.
"Markus Henderson," the Three Fates spoke as one, glaring at the demigod. "You have altered fate. This cannot happen."
And... FINISHED! Whew!
Hope y'all liked the chapter! And if you didn't, it's your loss. Guess Markus' words rang true. Well, partially.
So, few things. One is the fight with Atlas. I know some of you may not have liked the fight, for a number of reasons. And that's fine. I can understand that. It was probably too short, too predictable (that one is pretty obvious), etc. But there's a reason for it. The reason (in my opinion, at least) that it was short was because of Atlas himself. He was boosted to the level of the Big Three, and maybe I didn't show it. But he is, first and foremost, the Titan of Strength and Endurance. There'd be no point in pulling out beam-struggles like in DBZ, or other amazing feats of energy blasts or lasers or whatever. What it essentially boiled down to was two combatants who's physical strength was put to the test.
I tried every angle that I could to make it good, possible and somewhat realistic. Atlas wasn't a brainless brute like Heracles. He had been alive for milennia, and was the General in the Titan army. So obviously an enhanced Atlas wasn't something Markus could immediately breeze through from the start. He actually needed to fight properly. In fact, if Atlas hadn't decided to attack the others, then the fight would've probably lasted longer. Until Markus decided he'd need to end it.
And I also hoped that you liked my intro, and my sponsoring Infinity War and Deadpool 2 (awesome movies, by the way. No spoilers to those who haven't watched it... but you really should. In fact, if you haven't already, I'd be really surprised), and the battle music.
Markus met up with Ouranos and briefly had a discussion where Markus was told that Gaia would be rising. He won't tell everyone, only those close to him.
And... uh, what else? Oh, yeah. The killing of the Olympians.
Now, if you didn't like it, fine. You're entitled to your own opinion. If you liked it and thought it was awesome, thank you (also, I took a bit of scenes from Infinity War and put it in the battle). But don't say that you hated it because Markus was OP. Then I'm just going to ignore you. It was implied that he'd kill most of the Olympians and possibly destroy Olympus. He's said it, I've said it - you get the gist.
And the Fates popped up. Well, it was actually obvious that he was going to meet them, since he's been screwing with the canon plot and certain events. All of that will be discussed next chapter.
Now, Guest Reviews:
1) Thanks
2) You're welcome
3) (To Apollyon, I will address all of your points in one go, since it'd be tedious to do it for each point)
4) To Silver crow, thanks. I'm glad you like Markus. Calypso and Reyna will be paired with Percy, since he needs some lovin'. As well as Rachel. To be fair and all.
5) To Gin, thanks for the compliment on the chapter, Markus and my story. I'm really grateful.
Now, Apollyon, I shall respond to your points/reviews:
(i) I can understand about your point on the fight last chapter. Everyone loves big kaiju brawls. I love them, you love them. You're not alone, mate. You kind of already did give more info on Toriko, but I love it, and it's been really helpful, so thanks.
(ii) Your points on Silena, Aphrodite, and Piper about the reality-warping idea from Toriko is really good. Hell, the Ouranos/Pontus part is something that I've never thought of (as you pointed out). And the story will extend into HoO. "Conduct of the King - Ultimate Routine" sounds so badass that I think I'd have to do it. Also, thanks for the heads-up on not using the anime counterpart.
(iii) I could add Khione, but it's not a yes. Haven't decided yet. And I agree that your method of her attraction - pet/master relationship - is the best case
(iv) "The Forgotton One" is actually one of my favourite PJO romance fics. The fact that it has Khione makes it more interesting
(v) I do love "Static Shock", so I will take some ideas from it. And you can leave as many review and ideas that you want, and I'll listen. Thanks. And I would like to listen to your 2 ideas about Riptide.
(vi) I did my best with the Atlas fight. Again, sorry if it's not up to your standards, but it was the best that I could do.
(vii) Thanks for your re-edit on "Conduct of the King". I already looked it up, but it's still greatly appreciated.
(viii) Markus will travel to many other dimensions/worlds. Though I'm on the fence about DxD. Not that the idea isn't good, I'm just trying to formulate which worlds and what he'll do in them. Here's the list so far:
One Piece, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Justice League/DC universe, Marvel Universe (no MCU, as it basically ties into the same elements), Fate/Stay Night, (possibly) God of War, Asura's Wrath and Attack on Titan.
It's in that order. Again, not saying no to DxD, just need to finalise it.
(ix) That. Idea. Is. AWESOME! Pretty random, but also awesome! I like it!
Now, without further ado, I bid all those who reviewed, favourited, followed and read the story a big thumbs-up and lots of love!
Read and Review!