Quick upnote:
I rewrote the Chapter 44.
So, reviews and such might not be lining up with the story itself.
Also I erased the disclaimer because I don't need it anymore.
[3rd Person's Pov]
Atlas has only met a few heroes in his protracted life.
Before the age of the gods, or the Golden Age—as he liked to call it—the so-called humans weren't anything special compared to all the animals and monsters roaming Gaia.
After he was forced under the Sky, he was isolated from the rest of the world and their civilization; her daughters kept prisoners next to him as a mockery.
Not to mention, most of the heroes who came close to the Sky were either murdered by or ran away from, his prised hundred-headed dragon.
Yet, there were two heroes he had met until today. And Atlas loathed both of them deeply.
The first ever hero was named Perseus.
He had come forth demanding two magical artifacts that the Titan had possessed. Perseus took the prized artifacts of the Titans without a second thought and had the gall to try and petrify him when he tried to stop him.
The second hero was Heracles.
This one was even more aggravating. He seemed to be more reasonable, asking for a favor to get the Golden Apple in exchange to take the Sky.
Admittedly, Atlas didn't expect the hero to be able to hold the Sky longer than a nanosecond, but a deal was a deal. He plucked the apples and brought them back as proof of his action.
But then, the hero tricked him back under the Sky and took away one of his daughters from his territory.
And today, he met two heroes—these being female, to add salt to the wound—who dared to challenge him to a fight.
At least he crushed them with ease.
But then, someone even more arrogant busted through the door. Quite literally.
Atlas slowly rose to full height.
The demigod was an inch or two shorter than the female demigods. He wasn't specifically more burly than the others, certainly nothing in comparison to the two legendary heroes from Ancient Greece.
And yet, he was the most imperious earthly being the Titan have ever seen. It was such a ridiculous situation that Atlas felt a grin in a vague sense of humor.
He hefted the javelin over his shoulder. His grin widened when he noticed the demigod following the movement and tense.
"A free shot?" Atlas boomed. "Do you realize who you are talking to, boy?"
David looked up at the hulking mass of muscle and raw power. If he wasn't so angered at the moment, he would've been more apprehensive.
"Atlas." He replied. "Son of Iapetus, bearer of the Sky."
His voice was much smaller in comparison to the Titan, but Atlas himself raised his eyebrow a tiny bit when he couldn't sense an ounce of fear within it.
"And yet you challenge me to kill you?"
"I didn't."
Atlas's eyebrow arced higher. David looked straight into the silver-grey eyes and frowned.
"I asked for a free shot, not death."
For a moment, Atlas was lost for words.
He heard several footsteps trying their best to be quiet as they scurried over to the victims. However, he couldn't care less about his daughters at the moment.
Then, a chuckle came to him. It soon became a roar of laughter so loud, that it made Thalia and Reyna jerk out of their blackouts.
As soon as they awoke, both demigoddesses regretted it thoroughly thanks to their hefty wounds; but at the same time, they were amazed that they weren't sailing over the Styx.
"How...are we not dead?" Reyna grunted.
Her hand fumbled around the area where she was stabbed. Just remembering the sensation sent a chill down her back.
Yet, her wound was much smaller than she had estimated. It was barely larger than a quarter when the weapon that skewered her was thicker than her arm.
Thalia coughed up a red mixture of blood and saliva. "I'm not complaining."
Her hands roamed over her ribs; somehow, they were healed. Not completely, it still felt like someone shoved a pair of cacti into her lungs, but at least she wasn't choking on her blood.
Then she saw four Zoë look-a-like darting towards her. "Scratch that, I'd rather be dead."
Erytheia frowned at Thalia's apparent disapproval, but still knelt next to her. "How are you? Can you walk?"
"Terrible, and of course, I can walk!" Thalia snapped. She tried to jump up to prove her point, but her legs gave way instantly.
Erytheia caught the demigod before she fell to the ground, and grunted at the weight. "By Theia, what are they feeding humans these days?"
"Hey!" Thalia complained, then winced as her ribs throbbed painfully.
Asterope helped her older sister carry the daughter of Zeus, while Hygeia hefted Reyna all on her own, courtesy of the millennia's worth of gardening.
Meanwhile, Lipara sneaked near Zoë, who forcefully tore her eyes away from her father and her...interest.
"What are all of thee doing here?" She hissed as Lipara helped her up. "Thou are all going to get killed by our father!"
Lipara looked back over her shoulder. She had never seen her father out of the Sky. For the longest time, she never understood why her sisters were afraid of him.
Now, looking at Atlas, she finally did.
Still, she didn't regret coming here. Not even for a second.
"Why wouldn't we be here? We're all sisters, remember?" Lipara grinned.
"..."
Zoë opened her mouth to say something, but her voice died out of the loud crash from behind. Lipara was almost thrown aside as Zoë spun around in her spot.
Atlas was just retrieving his javelin from a strike. David was nowhere to be seen, but it wasn't hard to figure out where he was. A cloud of dust arose from the wall of the arena, its debris collapsed upon each other.
"Well, that was easy." Atlas spat on the ground, then turned to them. "And now, time to punish the traitors!"
"Run!" was the only thing Zoë managed to shout. She tried to sprint to Atlas to do whatever she could to stop him, but her legs crumpled after only taking a few steps.
The first javelin sailed right over the huntress's head, landed on the ground, and exploded like a missile.
The wave of energy tossed Zoë and the others away like leaves blowing in harsh winds.
"I'm not going down without a fight!" Thalia shouted through the ashes.
She didn't have any weapon to channel lightning, nor did she like resorting to her father's tricks, but she wasn't stacked with options.
The daughter of Zeus thrust her fist out in midair, and a blue shock of electricity crackled through the air.
It struck the Titan straight on his chest plate, making him grunt. However, Atlas soon chuckled and brushed off the strike.
"You call that a Lightning?" He sneered. "This is what true lightning looks like!"
Atlas spun his javelin like a turban. Energy crackled alongside the shaft. The air around him started swirling around in sync with the weapon.
Thalia gasped as, within seconds, Atlas made a miniature cyclone around himself.
"When you're trapped under the Sky for eons," He shouted over the rumbling noise of his own typhoon. "You pick up a trait or two from it as well!"
With a yell that rivaled a thunderclap, he thrust the entire typhoon at her.
There was no time to dodge; the javelin was as fast as the real lightning from the sky. Instinctively, Thalia thrust her hands out in an attempt to block the strike.
She somehow managed to deflect the electric energy generated by the typhoon, but the air currents were too much for her.
Thalia was bounced back by the merciless winds and would've crashed into a wall if the Hesperides didn't catch her.
"We need to get out!" Erytheia shouted. "Where's Zoë? Zoë—"
Her call was cut short as the dust cleared. Zoë was caught under the foot of Atlas. He was grinding his daughter slowly to the ground, enjoying her groans of pain.
Lipara, who must've rushed to try and save her sister, was caught in between two of his fingers, getting crushed between them.
"What's the matter, daughter?" Atlas called. "Get out! I won't stop you."
A small whimper escaped Erytheia's throat. She was tempted to follow her father's words; not because she was loyal, but because she was still terrified of him.
What had she been thinking?
She knew who Atlas was and his strengths more than anyone else. No one can match up to him, much less some adolescent boy. She should've known better—the "hero" has lulled her into making a wrong decision. Yet again.
"Leave the two mortals and go back to your garden. When the Olympians are dead, perhaps I'll let the rest of you leave."
"Don't listen to him..." Thalia growled between her teeth. However, the Hesperdies' arms supporting her started to slacken.
Then Reyna, who had been wisely quiet, suddenly felt something from the pile of rubble across the arena.
The rubbles shook slightly, and as she stared at it, something shot out from it like a cannon.
Atlas noticed it from the corner of his eyes as well. He frowned as the debris trembled for no apparent reason until a couple of them got thrust aside.
David climbed out from under the rubble, miraculously unscathed, dusting off his shirt as if he got showered by a light rainy day.
He glared at the Titan, holding two of his daughters in peril.
"Let them go." He said. He didn't raise his voice, but it carried a certain weight that carried it across the arena.
Atlas, however, was unfazed by his words and laughed. He clasped Lipara tighter, making the young Hesperid groan and struggle in pain.
"Lipara...!" Zoë clawed at the floor, trying to free herself from under her father's boot, but a simple press from Atlas crushed her efforts.
The huntress gritted her teeth as searing pain evolved her legs; she knew the only reason Atlas didn't crush her like Thalia was to make it as elongated and painful as possible.
"What are you going to do?" Atlas jeered, "Each step you take will get them closer to death." He shook Lipara caught between his fingers and ground Zoë into the floor.
David raised an eyebrow. He lifted his sword behind his head, gripped it tightly, then threw his weapon at the Titan.
The sword spun in midair like a boomerang as it sailed across the air. However, Atlas only laughed as he lifted Lipara in lines of trajectory so the sword would skewer her before it reached him.
"No!" Erytheia screamed, but before she could intervene, David pulled out a small leaf from his pocket.
A short tweet of the grass flute made the sword lurch out of its regular trajectory. It swerved out of the way at the last second, spiraling around Lipara's limp body, and slammed into the helm of Atlas.
"Gah!" Atlas growled. He thrust away Lipara and staggered backward as he waved his hand, unknowingly freeing Zoë as well.
David continued to play his tune. The sword flew out of Atlas's meaty hands, only to swerve around and slash at his arm.
However, the Titan General was no schmuck when it came to battle. His silver eyes were scrunched up as he watched the movement of the weapon, and when it struck, he swatted it away with his forearm guards.
The black sword nearly took Zoë's ear off as it spun out of course. David quickly redirected it with a simple tune, but he parted his lips from the leaf.
"Magic tricks won't save you or your friends with me, demigod." Atlas snarled.
His eyes flickered to Zoë, carefully picking up her younger sister from the ground, and also to the side, where the rest of the Hesperides and their patients were. A grin appeared across his face again.
With a stomp, he lifted the two javelins back into his hands and aimed each of them at two different targets. The air hummed with energy as
David, realizing what he was going to do a bit late, started to sprint toward the Titan, but Atlas thrust the weapon at both of them.
Thalia and Reyna sprang forward as one of the javelins sped toward them. The three Hesperides hymned in harmony, weakening the strike, and they managed to catch the javelin.
On the other hand, however, neither Zoë nor Lipara was in any shape to dodge out of the way; much less try to enchant the powerful thrust.
"No!" David shouted—his voice overlapping with Artemis, of all beings.
Time seemed to slow down. Even in the crisis, David's hyperactive brain recalled that a situation had happened before.
On the very first day, he was introduced to the world of Greek Mythology. At the cliffside of the Westover Hall.
Zoë ran out in lines of fire from a machine gun to save Luna, one of the younger hunters who couldn't move out of the way. And he, David had ended up somehow saving them by intervening at the last second as a meat shield.
To this day, he couldn't understand how he managed to reach them in time. It didn't help that he lost consciousness right after getting shot in the back. But now, he finally could.
The sigil burst with flaming gold energy, shining brighter than ever before. The heroic boost coursed through his veins within seconds and connected to the right arm.
Zoë had clenched her eyes shut, embracing the inevitable pain of death; but it didn't come. Instead, a sudden current of wind swiped across her face, making her eyes open.
"...David?" She gasped, in awe and surprise in equal amounts. David looked over his shoulder with a grin.
The hunter also recalled the same event, only this time, he wasn't just a meat shield. In his right arm, he held the javelin of Atlas without so much as a scratch.
His fists closed around the edge, and the bristling tip of the weapon smashed into bits. The useless pole fell to the ground.
"You, but, how—" Zoë's mouth gaped, speaking thousands of words without making little sound.
Her head spun trying to make sense of how it happened, but at the same time, her heart swelled up with so many emotions at once that she couldn't think straight.
She stared at the demigod as he helped her and her sister up.
"There's nothing more to worry about, Zoë," David said with a reassuring pat on her back. "I'll take care of Atlas."
Atlas snorted, which jerked Zoë out of her shocked state.
She realized that Atlas had his eyes mostly fixed on David, and when he caught her staring at him, he coldly nodded toward the sides, telling her to get lost.
Zoë grabbed the hem of David's shirt.
"David," she started to say, but again, millions of words tried to rush out at once and got clogged up.
The huntress was unaware, but her expressions reflected the blended feelings bottled inside her. Still, she managed to muster out a word.
"Be careful."
David's grin widened. "I will. I promise."
After the Hesperid huddled away with the rest of her sisters, Atlas scowled. "Be glad that I decided to wait instead of killing all of you."
"Yes, that was actually kind of nice of you." David replied, "But excuse me for doubting that you did that out of the good of your heart."
Atlas's lips curled up into a cold, ruthless grin. He stomped once into the ground, but instead of causing a wave of energy as an attack, it stimulated a memory of the arena.
With loud rumblings, something dug itself out from underground. David frowned as he realized what it was.
"That's a wrestling ring." He said.
The floor was a white, hard canvas coated with dried blood. Four ring posts stood on each of the corners with highly elastic-looking vines wrapped around to form the actual ring.
"Wrestling ring, ha!" Atlas laughed out loud as he leaped into the blood-soaked ring. His foot shook the canvass, and David realized that there wasn't any safety installed in the ring.
"The Titan's culture is the foundation of every other so-called-civilizations that may have infested Gaia. Your little sports rings were created as an imitation of our design.
Back in the Golden Age, we didn't separate training from execution. The condemned would fight for their life in this ring. If they prove themselves worthy, they live. If not..."
He rubbed one of the bloodstains on the canvass with his foot.
"It was a glorious time; when your worth was determined by nothing but your own strength."
"We call that primitive." David pointed out, though he guessed Ares would appreciate this lifestyle.
Atlas scowled again. "And that's why you mortals all weaklings compared to us, the Titans!"
"Mortals aren't weak," David countered, "We aren't so different from immortals, afterall. And we have something you don't."
Atlas only laughed and beckoned him onto the ring. David happily obliged, leaping over the vines and landing on the canvass.
Atlas shrugged his armor off and flexed his fingers. Even without arms, he was more intimidating to David than Ladon ever was.
From the side, the Hesperides flinched at the sight of the ring. Some even groaned slightly at the prospect of what was most likely to happen.
"What's the matter? Doesn't the kid have a better chance now?" Thalia asked. After all, Atlas had disarmed himself.
However, Erytheia shook her head. "To Atlas, weapons are more of a nuisance than anything. He uses them because he likes it, but his true strength comes when his hand is empty."
"He'll be fine," Zoë said. Everyone stared at her in astonishment, but Zoë had her eyes only on David.
Erytheia smacked her lips, trying to ignore the small knot twisting in her chest.
"We'll see."
And she averted her eyes to the demigod as well.
[Line Break]
[David's Pov]
It became obvious almost immediately how outmatched I was in terms of strength.
We locked into each other in the middle of the ring, and almost immediately Atlas snapped my spine into half by simply pushing down.
I quickly slipped between his legs, grabbed his waist, and tried to flip down, hoping to bring him down to the ground, but I'd have better luck taking down a 500-year-old tree.
Atlas laughed at my attempt and thrust me aside with a single arm. I flew into one of the vines and was thrust back to him in a rebound.
"This will be my shortest execution yet!" Atlas gloated and stretched out his arm, aiming to slam it into my neck or chest and snap me in half.
Right before the impact, I ducked under the gap of his arm and rolled away. Atlas thundered past like a freight train.
He turned around, "What's wrong, demigod? Where's your confidence?"
Somewhere back at Cloudcroft, I thought, but I still got back up.
There was no doubt that Atlas was leagues stronger than I was, and unlike my hopes, he wasn't particularly slow either for his size.
But that was the key word; his size. Atlas was large, and as much strength the extra mounds gave him, it also provided more openings in proportion.
Atlas charged. His arms were outstretched forward to grab me as soon as possible.
I moved back, leading him to the corner. Right before a set of palms squashed me flat, I flipped onto the ring post and vaulted over his head.
Atlas tried to swing his fist over his back, but I was just out of reach as I landed back on the canvass.
The Titan turned around. His grin was slightly faded.
"I see, you're decently skilled at running away." He said, "But that won't save you in this ring."
"Prove it."
Atlas's smirk contorted into a snarl as he advanced once more.
His fist slammed into the bloody canvass as I got out of way just in time. He tried to crush my foot, but I slipped out again.
It was like playing a game of whack-a-mole, except I was the mole and any hit would be the end for me.
At least I was doing well on dodging. Atlas's fists or feet always seemed to land a second after I moved out of the way.
And then, something caught my back.
I realized too late, I was the one led to a corner this time, and Atlas made sure that I won't jump over his head this time. He had completely cornered me.
"Time's up, godling."
The Titan clasped his hand into a ball and swung down like a hammer.
I had to run. But there was nowhere to run.
I was left staring blankly at death whooshing down from overhead, just like a small kitten getting faced down by a tiger.
Then, my eyes spotted something.
I leaped forward into the strike, ducking my head as low as it could go. Right before Atlas smashed me into a pulp, I slipped between the gap between his arms, and I slammed my knee into his nose.
I fully expected to feel the Titan's nose crack under the pressure.
Something did indeed, crack.
But that something was my knee.
Red lights flickered in my eyes as my mouth opened in a slient scream, only silent because the pain made it impossible.
I fell back on the cavass cuddling the knee, and Atlas towering over with a grin. He rubbed the small bruise on his nose bridge.
"Did you honestly think, just becasue your half god, that you could maim the body of a Titan? Even with your Celestial Bronze weapons, you'll have a hard time getting under this skin."
I couldn't make a reply. Every ounce of insigt I had was on red alert, screaming that I should get out of this situation, right now.
I did my best to try and roll sideways, but Atlas picked me up with ease. He held me as if I was a lego piece as he mused on.
"I thought you'd be a somewhat of an worthy challenger after you caught my javelin. Alas, it seems my judgment was wrong."
"Well..." I croaked through the crushing fingers, "...at least you admitted your mistake."
Atlas slammed the fist into the canvass. Everything shook in magnitude 10, and then went black.
But I can't just...lose.
[Line Break]
[3rd Person's Pov]
Atlas smirked as he got up. The screams of his duaghters never failed to amuse him.
He turned his eyes to where the rest of his victims were taking a (temporary) shelter. Zoë was getting desperately pulled back by the rest of the Hesperdies, while Thalia was getting pulled back by Reyna.
"There's no need to hurry!" Atlad shouted. "One way or the other, you're all still going to die."
He poked at the head of the mangled body of the demigod, now barely recognizable after getting crushed.
He left the ring and reached out for his javilen. It flew into his hand and he made a leisurely stroll over to the soon-to-be deads.
Or he would've, if something didn't grab his ankle.
Atlas frowned and looked down at his feet. He was surprised to find one of the hand of David weakily clutching onto his ankle.
The Titan shook off the hand with a simple kick. But even before he took another step, something grabbed his other ankle. Needless to say, it was David once again.
Atlas's hand gripped the javelin more tightly. He was going to leave the mortal behind, because that would be a more slow, painful death.
But if he was going to be a nuisance like this, it'll be better if he just made sure that he was dead.
Atlas spun around, kicked David off his foot and thrust his javilen. The weapon smashed the ground, showering the nearby area with rocks and pebbles.
But David wasn't there.
Atlas blinked in astonishment, wondering if he had been hallucinating until he realized that David was grabbing on to his waist.
The attempt was so pitiful to look at, he couldn't help but to laugh.
"You couldn't even attempt to throw me when you were at best condition," Atlas jeered, "What makes you think you could—"
His words werre cut short when Atlas felt himself getting lifted. It was less than an inch, perhaps even less than half an inch, but the Titan felt his feet getting forcefully pulled away from the ground.
There was a horrific sound coming from his stomach area, as if someone was gargling a stack of sand in their throat.
Atlas realized that it was a low growl coming from the demigod latched on to his waist as he struggled to lift him even higher.
"You arrogant little—"
He slammed his palm into David's back. But instead of crumpling down as he should've, David took the hit without anything more than a grunt, and lifted the Titan over his head.
By now, even the spectators were noticing that something was out of the ordinary. The ruckus made by Thalia and Zoë died down as they watched, in awe, the Titan General Atlas struggling in the air.
"What's going on...!?" Atlas growled through his teeth.
He tried to squash the boy, force his arms away, even wriggle out, but any attempt seemed to only make the grasp even tighter.
Then, everyone saw the source of this unwordly achievement. From David's left palm, the sigil shined faintly than ever.
Because he believed hero wasn't something flashy.
Hero? What is a Hero?
"My answer belongs to mine alone." Cadmus had told him."What is your answer, lad?"
"A hero..." David clenched his jaw tightly. His arms, even though maimed horribly, had more strength than ever.
Because...
"A hero is a man who never gives up!!!"
David roared and hauled the Titan Atlas over his shoulders.
The 10ft tall giant soared across the air, crashed into the ancient ring of the Titan, mauling it to scrapes and crashed into a pillar with his own image inscribed on it.
David panted heavily. He looked down at the sigil. It wasn't glowing anymore. It didn't need to anymore.
From far away, from the two parts of the world, he could almost see his father and his mentor grinning proudly.
As the rubbles of the pillars rumbled, radiating rage like no other, David balled his fists.
"Let's do this."