It slashed at Atlas with its serrated claws. He couldn't jump out of the way in time and pay for it with a few scratches that induced the sensation of his hair rising violently.
Atlas examined the shallow claw marks on his arm and felt grateful that it hadn't gone deeper than a few inches into his skin. It still hurt like hell though.
He took a big look at the general condition of his body. There were numerous scratches from the previous fights; not anything serious, but combined into a much bigger force.
He concentrated on the Divine Energy that he'd used to perform all those incredible feats and just likened it to blood flowing in his vessels. He needed to make sure it flowed equally in each vessel in order for it not to burst.
In an instant, the familiar rush of energy overwhelmed Atlas as he rushed forward. His fist had a different type of weight behind them that crashed into the Jotun's cement grey skin.
"Ha!"
It was like gravity and everything else beneath the earth was supporting his momentum. The impact of the punch made a wide gap between them. Both opponents observed the other, trying to find openings in the other's movement.
"Die, boy!"
The Jotunn's gravelly voice echoed one second later as he appeared in front of Atlas and struck him with its giant arm.
Atlas fell to the ground, unable to put up much resistance against the sudden attack. A few red substances emerged from his mouth and nose, painting the ground with its strange resplendence.
The lights became brighter and for the first time, Atlas noticed how brightly coloured his blood was compared to other humans.
"You shouldn't have disrespected Father."
The claws were retracted, and the Jotunn slammed its large fists down onto Atlas.
A resounding explosion followed the impact, raising dust and cracking the floor. Atlas was struggling to breathe and kept trying to circulate the Divine Energy using the technique he thought of.
It didn't work, and he began to fall into the large crater created by the Jotunn.
He tumbled down weightlessly, the illusions of power he had crumbling next to him.
"He's not dead?" The Jotunn asked himself and followed after into the crater. Its claws let out a loud ringing sound as they seemed to become sharper in an instant.
Atlas was paralyzed. As stupid as that giant looked, he was smart enough to hit him in a part that would paralyze him. Atlas realized his grave mistake as he stared down the sharp silver claws.
Had he been a child, a warm liquid would have spilt down his pants, decorating the floor with a yellow colour. But Atlas was no child, and he wasn't ready to die!
He got up from where he lay and dashed towards the giant. He socked the Jotunn in its face multiple times, bruising and staining his hand with blue blood.
He wiped the fine line of blood trickling down his nose and stared at the collapsed Jotunn. Atlas then realized what would have happened if he hadn't made extra precautions. The giant was even more tricky than he imagined.
The large giant hammered down the previous time intending to paralyze him, but Atlas had already circulated the Divine Energy in order to reinforce his body.
As he recalled the string of events, Atlas was grateful that some of the jobs he had taken over the years had told him the importance of proper preparation.
However, it was neither the time for jubilation nor reminiscing.
The Jotunn was stirring. Atlas looked for the most advantageous position; a spot to the left of the creature, in its blind spot.
He ran the energy around his body one more time. However, this time around, there was a qualitative change. A scorching feeling appeared underneath his clothes, making his skin red and his palm warm to the touch.
Atlas turned to the back of his right hand and noticed a tattoo on his palm that hadn't been there before. It was oddly familiar yet he had never seen the fireball tattoo ever in his life. He stared at it a few more times but quickly dismissed it from his mind and concentrated on the fight.
He clenched his fists and shifted his weight to both. Fiery and warm energies rose up from his belly and steadily flowed into his arms. It was as if both arms were on fire!
Atlas noted the change and watched as the giant stirred from the brief coma.
"HAAAA!"
It jumped from its spot, emanating with a bright blue-ish light. The blue light arced its body like little snakes, jumping from arm to arm and hitting the floor.
Atlas' eyes changed when he finally realized what they were.
'Lightning?'
He wanted to run away but knew the lightning would harm him if he did so.
"Why not just die for the master?"
Lightning covered the entire Jotunn's body as it swiped its claws forward consecutively and followed up with multiple kicks in order not to leave itself open to any sneak attacks. Atlas barely had time to react and dodge as another punch came his way.
He rolled around on the ground, successfully avoiding them. However, the overwhelming sparks of lightning jumped off the Jotunn's arms and onto the ground at a random location.
The Jotunn roared again and hammered down with both fists then followed up with a heel stomp.
Each time the giant did so, lightning strikes would emerge from its body and attack at the same time. Gashes and burn marks soon covered Atlas' entire body as he was thrown around with barely enough time to damage his opponent.
Atlas had no time to react before the next attack came and could only cough out blood when the moments truly counted. Eventually, the Jotunn came in to finish the fight and Atlas thought he was done for.
It opened its mouth and the gravelly voice rang out again.
"Your mother comes next."
Atlas' eyes widened as he finally remembered that his mother was still there. She was still alive, so, he couldn't die just yet.
He snapped and the brand on the back of his hand began to glow with a bright orange light. He was overcome with emotions and turned them into energy sources as he stood up angrily. No longer was his eyes black as they had glowed with a faint white light.
"You made one mistake spawn of Trickery…" His now ethereal-sounding voice rang out in the Jotunn's ears.
Atlas outstretched his hands and a large orange fireball took form out of nothing. The fireball rotated and undulated with energy as Atlas finally completed his words.
"... And that was mentioning my mom!"
The Jotunn's eyes widened as it realized that the orange fireball and the child were the last things it was going to see.
"We Titan's don't take kindly to opposition and you should fucking learn that!"
****
Author's Note: Follow my Instagram @purplemidnightnovels
For more updates on God Of Gangsters and access to short stories, go to my p.a.t.r.e.o.n: Purple_Midnight
{Real Note: Did you like this chapter? Things are mostly building up from here on out. Another thing I would like to ask is if anyone noticed my subtle parallelism? If you have any clues, comment!}