Titanomachy V

" I'm not making the same mistake as last time. " Atlas replied, looking out for any sudden movements.

" So. Be. It. " The Hydra decided not to stall any longer, they've been waiting ages for this!

Deciding to open with an advantage, they lifted themselves up like a bear. With magic in their bones, that feeling in their soul, they slammed their whole weight on the ground!

Instantly, the Earth split and fractured, and infused with chaos, shifted into a liquid state! Atlas' instantly started sinking, surprised by the unfamiliar lightness of the ground that used to support his Titanic frame. He sunk and sunk, until finally it stopped at around his knees, which was already about 50 meters high!

Meanwhile, the Hydra was perfectly fine, navigating in the now water-dense soil leisurely. But this was not all, the now ocean-like ground started whirling and turning. Until finally, hundreds of whirlpools littered the battlefield!

" RAH! " Atlas, heaved and strained, hampered by the raging currents.

' Damn! I have to act now! ' He thought, deciding to act before he was put in a further disadvantage. Channeling his domain of strength and endurance, he manifested the aspects of his strength into the outside world. Unhindered! Indomitable! Unstoppable! Immovable!

" HRAAAHHH! " With a mighty determined shout, he charged. Through his domain, he was able to mitigate the effects of the whirlpools. Approaching the beast, he raised his fist! Their several terrible heads spread out, limiting their openings.

With a BOOM! The sky split from the impact, and the sound rung in each deity's ears. Atlas had managed to strike one of the heads out of existence, obliterating it's physical form!

The Hydra, seeing an opening, bit down on each malicious jaw. Armor creaking and straining under their bite force. And from point blank, they expelled their poisonous breath onto the armaments. Atlas was entangled, but this was no problem. As four heads bit and crunched, he grabbed their monstrous form. And with a heave, threw them with enhanced momentum.

They flew for hundreds of meters, and their descent had kicked up the sea of soil. Getting up swiftly, each side examined the results of their exchange. Atlas' armor was withering, and some of it's enchantments have gone haywire.

It seemed Chaos had variating effects on enchantments. Sometimes it would melt under it's influence, or it would assimilate, and through the energy's influence, revert it's own effects. This was the reason the wall hadn't held up, with its enchantments having inverted actually made it much frailer.

But the Hydra had not gotten scot free either, multiple of their bones had fractured, and their left head had been obliterated and was currently regenerating. At first glance, it would seem like an equal exchange. But in the long term, Atlas was in a very bad spot.

It seemed changing the environment had only worked barely, the beast thought. Staring each other down, they charged once more, holding nothing back. It seemed they both decided that fancy attacks would result in nothing but an elongated fight. Deciding to just rely on their natural strength, and abominable healing factor.

Within moments, the battle had turned into a bloodbath. Punches flew, teeth bared and struck. Claws and kicks exchanged in equal measure. Rivers of poisonous blood had started tainting the sea of soil, posing danger to everyone else.

The Olympians and Titans could only stare, bewildered and horrified.

" Was this what she meant that we would see? " Demeter muttered fearfully. All of them had decided to just sit it out on the sidelines and recover. Besides, not like they could do much, the combined pressure from those monsters had rendered them unable to do much at all.

" Monster... " Zeus whispered to himself, having never seen a creature like this before. The blasted thing dwarfed even Atlas! Their baleful presence unnerved him greatly.

" Was this the creature that bested you before? " Koios asked Oceanus, having a conversation while Hades continuously struck at them.

" Indeed, that wretched beast has terrifying powers. I suggest we stay on the sidelines for now. " The River God answered while dodging a hidden bident from behind.

" If it is as you say, this could be very bad for us. " Koios whispered faintly.

" RAAHHH! WHY WON'T YOU DIEE!! " Atlas raged in frustration. Each time he destroyed a head, it would just come back! Every time!

" Sssss... General. Is. It. Not. Because. You. Are. Lacking? " The Hydra mocked as they traded blows. Indeed, they were a bad matchup for him. Strength and endurance he may have, but for how long? With each wound and gouge, poison seeped into his flesh and prevented recovery. It was only a matter of time before the mighty general fell to his wounds.

" Tch! AAAAA-RAAAHHHHH!! " Atlas roared. He knew that, knew it the most, and knew that better than everyone here! Which is why-

" WHICH IS WHY IM GOING TO END THIS - RIGHT NOW!!! " With a might uppercut that split the sky and destroyed everything around into smithereens, the beast was tossed into the sky. They rose and rose uncontrollably, breaking the sound barrier each time they broke past each layer of the heavens. Their scales burnt off and then regenerated again and again.

Until finally, they got flown so high that they could see the whole Earth from below. The sun was right in front of them, and looking down, they could see the very planet that they inhabited. It was beautiful! They just spent the whole moment, staring in awe and fascination at the swirling hues of green, blue and white.

But something broke their reverie, a sparkling dot of orange fire. It was travelling really, really fast! And right at them too! Almost as if - oh right.

After Atlas had sent them skyward, he jumped with all his might, his ascent so fast it looked like he flew! Seeing this, the Olympians and Titans all fled as far as they could before creating a barrier for themselves, some without magic hiding right behind the enchanted wall after having passed through the giant opening.

Right in the Earth's exosphere, just barely out of space's reach, a beastly Hydra was staring at the approaching threat! It was clear that Atlas wanted to punt them into the ground, hoping to thereby destroy their whole being.

With a hiss, they decided they weren't gonna take this lying down, or rather, just suspended in the air. With their powers, they enhanced their strength and charged right at the flaming Titan General!

Latching on to Atlas, they bit down with each head and pulled their weight downward as much as possible. Atlas, who was now facing down onto the incoming planet, wrestled with the Hydra fiercely. Constantly seizing the safer position, and throwing each other around. They had reached terminal velocity at this point, burning up in the atmosphere.

" Fine! If it's gonna be like that, YOU'RE COMING TO THE UNDERWORLD WITH ME!!" Atlas said unfaltering. Now grasping the beast as tight as he can, he resolved for both of them to take the full brunt of the impact, struggling side by side.

" Desperate. Are. We? " Even with it's imminent obliteration, they still felt the need to mock and jeer. They fell and fell, not unlike the Hydra's first entry into this world, just that this time he had someone to relive it with them. They could see the ground by now, it was approaching swiftly. From below, it looked like two mountain sized meteors were coming for Earth's demise!

--- To Be Continued ---

( Sorry for the cliffhanger again, but again, it was getting too long. Remember to support the novel if you like it, anything is appreciated! Until next time. )