For the next thirty minutes, Atlas continued to increase the amount of the Beyond that he accepted into his body by about a hundredth of a percent a level as often as he could, around once every ten minutes. Big A took full advantage of his increasing strength to completely obliterate any of the Tainted before they completely exited the portal, though he was now so strong that any weapon he took from the Warriors disintegrated after one or two uses. Atlas appreciated it because acting as a conduit for the Beyond and increasing the amount of power as quickly as he had started to take its toll. At first, when he had increased it to around a seventh of a percent, he had only felt a little dizzy, but with each subsequent increase, the damage to his body had gotten more apparent to the point where he sat down just to ensure he didn't pass out and crack his head.
Meanwhile, at the portal, the number of Warriors and Grunts spearing themselves on the end of whatever weapons Big A took from them rapidly decreased until it trickled to practically nothing. Atlas's hopes began to rise that Big A had managed to kill the entirety of the invading horde, but the Titano shot that hope down when he didn't relax his stance. Instead, he backed away from the portal wearily and shouted over his shoulder at Atlas. "Be ready, boy! The next ones to come through will be the lieutenants of this horde of Tainted. They might only be around E-rank, but more than two at a time will be a challenge right now."
Atlas felt fear rise in his stomach and he gulped down the lump that had appeared in his throat. If Big A was telling the truth, and Atlas had no reason to believe he wasn't, the giant would need all the power he could get, and soon. Unfortunately, soon came far quicker than Atlas liked.
With a pulse of power that knocked Atlas's head against the rock he leaned against and caused him to see stars, the portal let out a flash of light, blinding Atlas and Big A. When Atlas managed to blink away the spots in his vision, he observed the people who had exited the portal. Atlas gulped as he realized Big A needed the power even more than he'd realized.
In front of the portal stood three of the Tainted and Atlas did not doubt that they were the lieutenants that Big A had mentioned. The sheer aura that the lieutenants let out had more than enough strength to push back Big A's at .09 percent. What disturbed Atlas the most was how human they seemed as they were far more developed than the warriors had been, and the spark of intelligence had grown into full-blown sapience if the cruel smiles on their faces were any indication. There were some differences that he observed, however.
The most human of the bunch stood to Atlas's right. Female, Atlas couldn't help but think of some of the Alien fanart his friends in high school had forced him to see. A layer of chitinous armor with an almost blinding green-glowing core covered her body and extended from her neck down to her feet, so form-fitting that he could see far more of her body than he felt comfortable with. She stood at least as tall as Atlas with a build similar to a gymnast and had a massive battle axe gripped in her hands. The most inhuman thing about her was her face, as Atlas could see her eyes had no sclera and her teeth were sharp and pointed.
The man in the middle wore similar armor to the first of the lieutenants, again far too revealing for Atlas's comfort, and it revealed tight, ropelike muscles on a thin, runner's frame. He shared his partner's pointed teeth and sclera-less eyes, but a pair of dark, bat-like wings loomed out from his back. Atlas saw a pair of swords between them peaking out from the man's shoulders. Atlas's fear of the man's swords was quickly overtaken when his eyes landed on a whip hanging on his waist. Comprised of pitch-black leather strips, the whip glowed with an ominous green light that matched the Tainted's cores and emanated an aura of corruption.
Just looking at the whip sent shivers down Atlas's spine, so he quickly looked at the last member of the trio. Muscles bulged along her arms, and her tight suit highlighted an eight-pack on her abs. Her muscles were only really matched by her voluptuous assets, something Atlas found impressive considering how muscular she was. Despite her pointed teeth and sclera-less eyes, Atlas's eyes gravitated to her long and pointed ears. He absentmindedly wondered whether they were an effect of the Taint before his eyes landed on the most inhuman feature of her body: the scorpion tale that extended out from behind her and hooked over her shoulder, ending in a wickedly sharp stinger that dripped a glowing green liquid.
Big A also used the brief lull that filled the air after the Tainted lieutenants exited the portal. When he tensed up and dropped into a more defensive battle stance with a spear crossed defensively in front of him, Atlas knew they were in trouble. Trying to get out of the way, he crawled behind the boulder he'd been lying against.
He peeked over the top and watched as the Tainted man took a step forward. He looked at Big A before he said, "When the higher-ups told me that I would be leading a strike force against the legendary Titano general, Atlas the Unbreakable, I wondered if I had been sent to die for some unknown slight. I guess not. You're barely even out of F-Rank right now, are you? I have to admit, I'm disappointed."
Atlas gasped in shock. They could talk!? He ducked further down behind his boulder as he predicted things would go bad real quick. That prediction came true when Big A responded.
"That is ambitious talk for someone fresh off their mother's tit. I may be limited to early E-Rank strength, but I can put you in the ground any day, worm."