Atlas didn't want to use the one charge of Hellfire he had so early on, but he had set up a stage where he could if he needed to. Utilizing the system's forced Authority once he hit 10% HP, he had changed the location of the fight to somewhere he didn't have to suppress the AoE of Hellfire which shortened the time needed to activate it.
Seeing the ethereal purple arms sprout from Vishnu's back and shoulders, Atlas now counted 8 extra limbs.
"What are you, a fucking octopus?"
Vishnu didn't respond to the provocation, instead lunging towards him faster than Atlas thought someone with 8 extra arms should have been able to.
'The arms don't have weight? But I was still held in place by them in my apartment.'
Deciding to test the damage negation of Malicious Raiment and to test a theory of his, Atlas made no effort to block the incoming attack. He tanked a blow directly to the stomach and flew backwards.
Negating damage doesn't negate pain.
It still hurt like a motherfucker.
But.
"I was right. Your ability isn't to make extra arms. The arms are an illusion to mask your telekinesis, aren't they?"
Vishnu's face showed a slight reaction, but not slight enough that Atlas didn't see it.
'When I was hit, I didn't feel an impact. I only felt myself flying back and the pain that would accompany a hit.'
Fine. Atlas was no stranger to telekinesis.
Holding Blessed Hellfire in an offensive stance, Atlas threw numerous kitchen knives he had stored before-hand out of his Inventory onto the ground. Rushing forwards, Atlas fully unleashed the extent of the system's skills.
[ Skill: Sovereign of Shortswords (0.01%) has activated. ]
[ Attack damage has increased by 40%. ]
[ Skill: Footwork of Syrtos LVL.2 has activated.]
Stepping in a semicircle with his left foot, Atlas thrust his shortsword forward at an incredible speed. Feeling no resistance to his weapon when he passed it through an ethereal arm, his hypothesis was confirmed.
Atlas mentally located one of the previous knives he threw, and entered a third person point of view- this time from a bird's eye view- to lift it up and fling it telekinetically towards Vishnu from behind him.
Caught off guard, Vishnu hastily dodged the flying blade- consequently not being able to dodge Atlas' second stab with Blessed Hellfire.
But right before making contact, Atlas warped backwards- as if he was retreating. But he wasn't. His only goal was to stall for time, and he only had 4 HP. Any attacks that didn't one-shot his opponent could kill himself instead, since Vaishnavi Pressure was probably still active. He would continue to stop right before dealing damage until midnight, where he could safely test if Vaishnavi Pressure was still affecting him and if he could tank it.
The one advantage that Atlas had, even momentarily, is that his opponent didn't know how low his HP was. Sure, he looked like shit right now. But-
Atlas' internal monologue was cut short by Vishnu, who lunged towards him at an unfathomable speed. Caught off guard by this new level of agility, Atlas instinctively warped several meters backward.
But Vishnu was already at his destination before Atlas was, and Atlas took an ethereal right hook to his liver.
He dropped his arms to try an block the hit on instinct, and to his surprise, he actually felt the sensation of touch.
The arms had manifested.
They were no longer illusions.
Thanks to Malicious Raiment, his HP didn't drop but that didn't mean his body wasn't on the verge of falling apart.
Several ribs were broken and the blood he constantly spat indicated an internal injury.
But.
His stalling had bore an unforeseen fruit.
[ Skill Acquired: Agni Purana LVL.2 ]
Agni Purana.
A martial art text of Hindu origin consisting of nine "asanas", or stances.
The main skill that Vishnu had been using to keep up with Atlas' cheat-like movement speed.
Atlas had now obtained the same skill.
The only problem was this.
[ The higher beings of the Vedas object to the Olympian Deity Incarnate possessing Vedic skills. ]
[ Your usage of the skill has been limited. ]
But Atlas was not without his own loopholes.
[ Skill: Metacognition LVL. MAX has activated. ]
[ Your understanding of Skill: Agni Purana LVL. 2 has slightly increased. ]
Vishnu's face could not have been more shocked, when Atlas' feet assumed a stance semblable to his own- his right knee bent and left knee perfectly straight.
[ Skill: Agni Purana LVL. 2 has activated. ]
[ Asana: Dandayata has activated. ]
[ All attacks will assume the attack range of 1.7 meters. ]
[ If you wield a staff, this range is doubled. ]