[3rd Person's Pov]

Reyna dared to hope that they might have a chance—perhaps even a decent chance—in victory.

Yes, there were only three of them against a Titan; but Zoë was surprisingly well skilled with her knife as much as her bow, and having a child of Jupiter(or Zeus) on your side in a fight never hurt either.

However, Atlas was barely intimidated by his opponents. On the contrary, he shook the arena with his laughter as he raised his weapon.

His axe glinted under the various light of the psychedelic sky before Atlas swung down to the floor.

The ground exploded under the impact, ripping open a chasm across the middle of the arena. All three heroines were forced to scatter in different directions as the fissure widened.

Thalia and Reyna dove to either side, while Zoë ran straight forward. She jumped right before the crevasse took away her foothold and reverse-gripped her knife in mid-air.

Atlas looked up with a sneer and swung his hand in a casual swipe that would fling a car over its head.

Zoë twisted her body, avoiding the huge hand with a sliver, and plunged her knife down. However, her knife bounced off the helmet without leaving a scratch.

Atlas barked in laughter and stomped the ground. Zoë quickly rolled out of the way, but a blast of Titanic Energy flung her back.

"Now, which of my daughter's girlfriends is willing to step up?"

"Like hell I am!" Thalia ran forward.

The first thrust was easily deflected by the flat side of the axe. Atlas took the chance to step in and tried to grab Thalia, who quickly backed out of the way.

She tried to jab at his knees and hopefully take away the strong footings. However, her full thrust couldn't even make a scratch against the armor.

Thalia gritted her teeth in frustration. How was she supposed to fight someone with impenetrable armor?

Atlas struck again. This time, there weren't any ground-splittings, but the quaking impact told her that no shield would save her from an attack like that.

Still, Thalia persisted. With a raucous yell to quench the inner doubts, the daughter of Zeus swung her spear wildly, sparks emitting from the tip.

Atlas stepped back as the sparking tip nearly grazed his eyes, then booted the demigoddess in the chest.

"Ack—!"

Thalia couldn't even afford to dodge. Every organ in her body shook violently as she went airborne above the cliff.

"No!" Reyna was about to jump off the cliff in a vain attempt to catch her friend when something flew between Atlas's legs.

A silver arrow caught the hem of Thalia's shirt and yanked her to a side of the cliff where Reyna managed to pull her up to safety.

With a frown, Atlas turned around to find Zoë aiming her bow.

"I broke that." He growled.

"I had this bow with me for 2000 years. I can fix it in 3 seconds if I want to." Zoë replied coldly before letting three arrows fly.

Atlas swiped away the arrow and snorted. "And you think your asset of toothpicks can take me down? These are nothing more than distractions!"

"True," Zoë admitted. "But that would be enough for them."

Atlas turned just in time to meet the golden gladius nearly digging into his neck. Reyna weaved out of the way of the Titan's hand and Thalia took her place. She stabbed forward at one of the few points not guarded by armor—the palm.

"Argh!" Atlas growled as the spear pierced through his skin. A drop of ichor spilled on the floor as the Titan stepped back in astonishment.

It wasn't any serious injury, but the fact that he was wounded by mere mortals was frustrating enough.

"Why you little—" He slapped his hand together. A huge shock wave of Titanic Energy flung Thalia and Reyna away.

Atlas kicked up the axe and swung it around in a wide arc. Zoë's second volley of arrows was sliced in half, and Zoë herself had to scramble away from the vicious blade slashing down.

The Titan stomped the ground. A lump of energy traveled underground and split open right below Zoë's heel. The huntress slid across the marble floor until stopping at the feet of Artemis.

"Zoë..." She grunted through gritted teeth.

Zoë looked up at the moon goddess. She was in worse shape than before. Her legs were buried in the ground. Sweat drenched every part of her skin she had exposed. Her fears were correct; the Sky was too heavy for Artemis to hold alone.

"My lady, give me the Sky!"

Artemis scowled. "Don't...be ridiculous, you...need to run...!"

"No, you stop being ridiculous, Artemis!" Zoë snapped back. Artemis's silver eyes widened in shock. Zoë tried to slip under the Sky, but before she could, Atlas's roar made her turn around.

For a horrifying moment, she thought her friends bit the dust, but the actual circumstance was quite the opposite. Reyna and Thalia were locked in deadly combat with the Titan General.

Reyna ducked and weaved around the wildly flailing ax, using her trained knowledge to the full extent and more.

Each breath she took seemed to take her sense to a higher level; Aither, the air of the Immortals was awakening the 'god' within her demigod.

Thalia was not too different either. While she lacked years of professional, standardized training Reyna had, she pressed on with the ferociousness she picked up from fending off monsters on the streets since she was 9.

Her spear crackled with electric current as it swirled and slashed the air. The tip clashed with the ax blade, making Atlas growl from the shocks.

They traded several rounds before Atlas had enough.

With a frustrated yell, another blast of Titanic Energy swept the arena. However, this time, neither demi-goddesses were knocked off their feet.

"Running out of tactics?" Thalia taunted as she thrust forward.

Atlas snarled and grabbed the spear with his bare hand. He ignored the electricity coursing through and drove the spear tip to the ground. Before Thalia could pull back, he pinned the weapon with his foot.

"Curse your father's blood," He raised his ax high.

Just before the Titan struck, Reyna leaped to cut off the attack.

"Get down!" The praetor barked at Thalia and reached out for the broken Aegis. She couldn't tell how she knew it would work, but at the same time, she was certain that it would.

"Scutum!(Shield!)" She shouted.

Aegis wasn't any roman shield, but it reacted to the call of Bellona's daughter. It flew into the outstretched arm of Reyna, magically fixed into full capacity as Atlas's ax crashed into it.

"What!?" Atlas growled. The shield glinted as if a sudden sunlight had hit the shield. Neither Reyna nor Thalia could see the light, but Atlas felt the presence of a goddess layered over the metal piece.

Artemis? No, that was impossible. Perhaps Athena? But Atlas sensed that something was different. Not...Greek; just like the demigod standing under the shield.

"Who's there!?" He bellowed in fury and smashed his ax against the shield.

Reyna's knees buckled under the continuous pressure—the shield may hold against the might of the Titan General, but that didn't mean Reyna could face it on her own.

But she was not alone.

Thalia held up her hands and supported the shield, just like how she used to hold up the Sky. "This is my shield, by the way."

Reyna managed a shaky grin. "It's a good one."

"Yeah, I know," Thalia replied with a grin as well.

Atlas roared as he repeatedly stomped on the blade of the ax, trying to drive it into the shield.

"Ready?" Thalia asked.

"Yes." Reyna nodded and took a deep breath.

With a simultaneous yell, they pushed upwards. Thalia added a voltage of lightning strike through the shield and shocked the Titan on the foot.

Atlas roared in surprise and pain as he stumbled backward. One of his feet was smoldering badly. His silver-grey eyes bulged out as they lay on the two demigods.

He swung his ax wildly, but this time Thalia was prepared. She ducked under the swing and used its force to embed the edges into the ground while yanking the weapon out of the Titan.

"We need to break this!" She shouted.

Reyna immediately jumped forth and slashed down. As the golden sword cut through, a silver arrow pierced the cracked blade, shattering the axe to pieces.

The three heroines gathered around each other. Zoë glanced over at the Titan General.

He was no longer grinning. One of his feet was still emitting smoke. For an uplifting moment, Zoë wondered if the eons of being trapped under the Sky had weakened Atlas much more than she guessed.

But then, Atlas's lips curled back up into a smirk.

"Very good, very good." He muttered. But Zoë sensed a layer of anger beneath his voice. Meanwhile, Thalia and Reyna gripped their weapons with confidence.

"It's not as easy as you thought, is it?" Thalia gloated.

Atlas swallowed a snarl and reached out for his throne. From the armrest, a pair of javelins flew into each of his hands.

"However, none of you will be enough to put me down. It took the combined efforts of the Big Three Olympians just to match me in combat!"

Thalia snorted. "Yeah, that was before you were stuck under the Sky for thousands of years. You're old news—literally. We can take you on!"

"Let's test that claim, shall we?"

Thalia tried to raise her shield, but Atlas was faster.

He knocked aside her entire arsenal with a single swipe of his javelin, then crashed the sole of his boot against her chest. But this time, instead of sending her back, he crushed her to the ground.

"——!!!"

Thalia's mouth opened into a scream, but no sound came out. Instead of that, a splatter of red liquid burst out as her ribcage crushed into her lungs.

"Thalia!"

"Wait!"

Before Zoë could stop her, Reyna leaped in to save her friend. With a defiant yell, the praetor of New Rome slashed with her sword to the Titan's arm.

However, Atlas deflected the blade with the edge of his weapon. Before Reyna could regain her balance, the Titan swung his arm.

As Zoë desperately ran forward in a vain attempt to stop the catastrophe, the silver spear cleaved right through Reyna's stomach.

"All too easy." Atlas hefted the javelin up.

Reyna's fingers fumbled around the handle as her mouth gaped for air, desperately clinging to the living realm.

The Titan cackled as droplets of blood trickled down his spear, and thrust down the limp body at his daughter's feet.

Zoë couldn't manage to check if Reyna was alive or not. All she could do was hope that she was breathing as Atlas towered over her, casually shaking off the blood from his weapon.

"Brings back old memories, doesn't it?"

A drop of blood splattered on her cheek.

It was hopeless.

From the left, she could hear Thalia still gasping for breath to no avail, and Reyna was trying to keep the whimpering to a minimum as she tried to crawl away from the Titan.

It was hopeless.

Zoë felt her grip getting loose around her bow. She has seen many of her brothers and sisters get crushed to death—literally under this man's feet in the name of "Preparing for war."

Only now did she realize that the terror hadn't been washed away, even after all the times that passed.

"You're disappointing me, Zoë. Just like from all those times ago." Atlas lowered the bloody tip down Zoë's hunter outfit.

The huntress flinched at the cold sensation of the weapon tracing her skin as the silver hunting attire was tainted with red.

Atlas sneered at his petrified daughter. "But then again, I suppose I shouldn't have had too many high hopes; considering what she became after getting a taste of my true power."

He nodded over to the Sky, and Artemis trapped underneath. Zoë's eyes flickered over to the moon goddess, and then she saw something that she had never seen in her before.

Fear.

Artemis was looking at the Titan Atlas with fear. She was afraid of her. Just like she was.

Zoë heard her own words echo within her ears.

"No, you stop being ridiculous, Artemis!"

Atlas never saw what came next. In less than a second, Zoë shot a pair of arrows straight into his eyes.

With a surprised yell, the Titan staggered back and swung his javelins around. Zoë leaped over and ducked under the slashing points and rolled between his stomping legs.

Atlas plucked an arrow out of his forehead. A trickle of ichor flowed down the bridge of his nose. With a snarl, he crushed the silver arrow into dust.

"You dare to challenge me?!" The Titan bellowed in fury and thrust forward in a blind rage.

"I thought that'll make you less disappointed!" She dodged the strike and aimed, but she had to move out of the swiping hand. "Or is that not how it works?"

Atlas replied with another swipe in a wide arc. Zoë ducked under the bristling edge and dove in. As she was about to aim again, the other javelin came in from the side.

Zoë had to roll away to avoid it, putting some distance between her and Atlas. She forced her eyes to be locked on the target; if she ever wanted to defeat him, she had to be focused.

Atlas cast aside Reyna with the tip of his javelin. Her body landed next to Thalia's, both of them unconscious; but still alive.

"Face it, Zoë." He growled. "You cannot win. Even Artemis fell under my foot. There's no way in Tartarus that you'll end up victorious."

"Perhaps."

Zoë glanced over the Titan's shoulder, to the Sky.

The Titan's curse must be held alone,

For the children of sunset to be forgone.

She embarked on the quest while bracing that she'd have to save Artemis by carrying the Sky on her shoulders. But, just maybe, she was reading the prophecy wrong this entire time.

If there was such a thing as a miracle, this was the one moment to make it happen.

Zoë darted forward as fast as she could. With a roar of laughter, Atlas clashed his weapons together.

As soon as Zoë stepped in range, the Titan struck. The speartip dug into the ground as if it was made of marshmallows, but Zoë leaped over the javelin and slid between Atlas's legs.

She nocked an arrow on her now and aimed under his helmet. Before she could pull off the shot, however, Atlas tore through the ground and swiped under her legs.

Zoë fell on her back, and her father brought up his javelin for the end.

"Time to meet your mother." Atlas gloated and stabbed downward.

However, Zoë reached out and grabbed the javelin with both of her hands.

"What?!"

"You may not realize it," Zoë growled through clenched teeth, "but it requires quite an amount of strength to pull a bow."

The huntress pulled back as hard as she could, yanking even the mighty Atlas off his feet, and kicked him over her head toward the Sky.

"No!" Atlas tried to grab the floor, but his fingers slipped against the sleek marble floor. The Titan General slid under the Sky and slammed into Artemis.

The Sky buckled and sank feet or two. Zoë was lying on the floor, panting heavily. Her arms felt like spaghetti snapped in half.

But as she looked at the dust cloud surging up underneath the Sky, a fatigued smile appeared over her lips.

She'd done it.

She defeated Atlas.

After all this time...

Then, a figure rose from behind the dust. Zoë smile designated as the slow realization settled in.

"No..."

She tried to force herself back up, but her body would just not listen to her commands.

"No, no..."

The huntress watched helplessly as Atlas revealed himself from the cloud, a victorious grin across his mouth, and a murderous glint behind his eyes.

"Not bad, Zoë." The Titan growled. "But it's time to pay your price."

"How...why?" Zoë groaned.

Atlas laughed, knowing that the question wasn't directed at him. "Your fatal mistake was putting your trust in a god."

He waved his javelin and cleared away the dust cloud. Underneath the Sky, there was Artemis; hunched over in pain as if something rammed into her gut.

But what really tore apart Zoë was the look in her eyes.

Fear.

Artemis, of all the people—or gods, had been immobilized by fear. So much so that, even when the Titan slammed into her, she couldn't let herself get pushed out of the way.

"From birth, Artemis has only been in one environment; her hunt, where she is supreme. And she is much, much younger than you, or anyone else gives her credit for."

Remembering what Aphrodite told her in the limousine, Zoë's hands clenched into fists. For the first time in her nigh uncountable life of service to her, she was furious at Artemis.

But as soon as the waves of anger crashed in her mind, the huntress realized she wasn't too different as well.

'Polyphonte...'

Regardless of how painful it was, she hadn't done anything to help her dearest friend. She excused the act as loyalty for so long, but only now did she realize it was fear.

She was afraid of Artemis's wrath. That she'd be banished from the hunt as well.

"It must've been scary, wasn't it, goddess?" Atlas knelt next to Artemis. "To have someone outmaneuver you in your home ground when you spent your whole life believing you were the best." He touched her face, and the goddess flinched at the contact.

The General's bark of laughter echoed in the arena. "Pathetic."

He stood up and swung his javelins in a leisurely manner. There was no one left to oppose him; as it should be.

Atlas raised his javelin for the finishing blow...only to pause right before the strike. An idea came to his mind; her daughter wasn't the only arrogant mortal in the room.

"What are you waiting for...?" Zoë muttered in defeat, before noticing who he was looking at.

"No, wait-"

"I'm sure we both remember your mother's...'passing', Zoë." The Titan grinned as he recalled the day. The screams of his daughters were very amusing.

Atlas's javelin crackled with blue energy as he held it aloft. "Treachery should be punished with the highest severity."

The tip of the spear aimed at Reyna and Thalia. Zoë tried to crawl in their direction, but it was futile.

Boom!

Zoë nearly had a heart attack. For the slimmest moment, she thought Atlas had struck, but even the Titan was taken aback.

The concentrated energy around his spear dissolved as he lowered his weapon. The silver-grey eyes narrowed as he stared at the source of the noise.

Boom!

Another impact. This time, it was followed by a whisper of voices.

"—id, it's useless. You can't just punch your way through a magically sealed door!"

A small whimper of terror slipped between Zoë's lips. She recognized the voice—Erytheia. What was she doing here?!

Her horror only grew when a second, equally familiar voice said: "Wait, I think there's a crack open. We can break it open!"

'Lipara.' And the following quartet chant of Ancient tongue indicated that every Hesperides were present.

Atlas sneered as the entrance started to crack open. He realized the voice of his daughters as well. If the whole Hesperides were going to rebel against him, he was more than willing to give them all a painful death.

Then, another voice interrupted the chant.

"This is taking too long. We're breaking in."

Zoë's eyes widened as the final Boom!! shook the arena once more. The magical barrier of the entrance crumbled.

A boy walked through the combusted gate.

"See? This is much more efficient. And..."

His grin staled as he scanned the area. His eyes went from the two demi goddesses lying unconscious to the goddess trapped under the Sky, and then to the huntress—who wasn't sure if she was delighted or furious.

Finally, his eyes snapped up to the Titan in the room. Without a word, he started to walk up to him. As he did, a black sword grew in his left hand.

The Titan raised his eyebrow and grinned. Yet another pretentious demigod for him to slay.

"Who are you?" Atlas asked, looking down at the mortal.

He took a deep breath and looked up.

"I am David Lee.

And I'll give you a free shot."

I hope this was worth the wait.

I don't like to keep having these massive gaps between chapters, but sometimes I just have a massive writing block thrown at my face.

Also, I need to sleep. The midterm exams were...traumatic...

I hope you all had a fun time reading, I'll see you all in the next chapter.

Ta ta~