Atrius rose from the long crater his impact had gouged into the blood-slick earth. Dust and gore clung to his towering form, auramite armor groaning as it strained to contain the titanic force surging within him. Disoriented, he shook his head violently. His fiery, red-glowing eyes flickered erratically like dying embers. For the briefest moment, clarity shimmered through the storm of rage.
He lifted his gauntleted hand before him, staring at his palm in confused wonder—as though seeing it for the first time. But before coherent thought could anchor itself, the flames in his eyes blazed anew. His body convulsed with brutal spasms. A low, mechanical creak groaned from his armor as his already immense frame bulged—muscles expanding, bones stretching—nearly tearing the auramite plating apart.
A deep, bestial roar echoed through the blood-streaked winds.
RAWWWRRRR!
His head snapped toward the sound.
In the distance, a grotesque sea-beast—towering and bloated, threw an Amazon high into the air. She screamed, limbs flailing helplessly. Her cry was cut short as the creature's massive jaws snapped shut around her falling body, crunching her into wet, gory chunks. Blood exploded from between its teeth, painting the shattered stones beneath it.
A white-hot fury surged through Atrius. With a deafening snarl, he charged—each step cracking the earth beneath his armored feet. In a blur of movement, he reached the fishmen.
CRACK!
The nearest one's skull exploded under his fist, a mist of bone and brains painting the air. Seizing its limp body, Atrius swung it like a grotesque flail, smashing into the others with devastating force. Each blow left trails of shredded flesh, scales, and shattered bone, reducing their ranks to a rain of mutilated meat.
The Amazons, already locked in brutal combat, capitalized on the chaos. they carved into the monstrous horde. Limbs were severed. Guts spilled in steaming loops onto the reddened ground. Screams of fury and agony mingled with the war cries of the warrior women.
Thanks to Atrius's savage intervention, the tide had shifted. The once-overwhelming tide of fishmen was now reduced to scattered pockets of blood-maddened survivors. Overhead, the aquatic twisters—their eerie, sky-churning transport—had stopped. Whatever unnatural magic had birthed them had faded. Nothing fell from the skies anymore. Only heavy, mournful clouds loomed, and the rain had ceased. The battlefield stank of salt, blood, and burnt flesh.
Agave, Lyssippe, and a handful of hardened Amazons turned their focus to the monstrous sea-beast. It stood apart, gorged on flesh and surrounded by corpses. With a wordless understanding, the warriors fanned out, surrounding it.
"We take it down together," Lyssippe muttered, eyes narrowed. "If we fall it, the rest might scatter."
"Wait," Agave whispered, her gaze locking onto something writhing on the creature's back. Her eyes widened. "There's an Athenian strapped to it... I recognize him—he was one of the catapult crew."
"Agave! Focus!" Lyssippe snapped. "Our sisters are dying. This beast is leading them. Kill it now, or more will fall."
BOOM!
A thunderous sound shattered the moment.
They turned. A golden blur surged through the gore-misted battlefield.
In one hand, he wielded the pulped remnants of a fishman—its ribcage shattered, limbs dangling by threads of sinew. He hurled it into the crowd, bones snapping on impact, then rampaged through their ranks like a force of nature. Amazons cleared the way, realizing quickly that any caught near the golden giant would be collateral in his divine wrath.
"I have a plan," Agave said, breath catching in her throat as another sister was ripped in half by the beast's jaws. Her voice hardened. "I'm ending this."
"No, Agave, wait—!" Lyssippe called out, but the warrior was already sprinting.
Agave slid through the blood-soaked mud, seizing a spear from the broken hands of a fallen comrade. She rushed the beast, now distracted as it chewed on a torn Amazon torso. With a ferocious scream, she leapt high, plunging the spear into its grotesque side.
SKREEEEEECH!
The beast howled in raw agony. A torrent of bile and gore spewed from its maw as it reeled back, choking on the Amazon it had not yet fully swallowed. It vomited what was left—an unrecognizable mess of torn limbs and pulped flesh—onto the dirt.
Its eyes locked on Agave.
RAAIIWWWRRR!
It charged.
She ran.
"MOVE!" she shouted. "Get out of the way!"
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD.
The creature's thundering steps drew closer, shaking the battlefield with every pace. Behind her, Lyssippe gave the command.
"All near the giant, fall back! Pass the word!"
Amazons quickly obeyed, darting clear of the oncoming monster. It ignored them. Its eyes were fixed solely on Agave.
Atrius, locked in his own massacre, turned as the vibrations approached. A trident glanced off his shoulder, drawing his attention briefly to a fishman. With a disgusted snarl, he seized the creature by the head, grabbed its legs, and tore it asunder. Blood and viscera rained across the ground.
He looked up—just in time.
Agave sprinted toward him, the beast bearing down.
"DAMN IT!" she cried.
BOOM!
Atrius met the monster head-on. The impact created a shockwave that flung Agave like a ragdoll into a mound of mutilated corpses. She landed with a pained cry, bones rattling.
Lyssippe fared no better. The beast's flailing tail caught her mid-run, sending her skidding across the dirt and leaving a deep trench.
CRACK!
Atrius's armored fist connected with the beast's skull, jerking its head back. It howled, tried to bite, but the giant struck again—an elbow to its thick throat, crushing cartilage.
The beast wailed. It spun, lashing its tail, but Atrius anticipated the move. Snarling, he caught the tail mid-swing and ripped it free.
SCREEEEEEEECH!
Blood sprayed in an arc as the beast staggered back, its jaw hanging limp, its throat crushed.
But even then, it didn't fall.
Wounds began closing. Flesh knitted together with sickening speed. Even the severed tail began to twitch, bones cracking as it reformed.
The battle was far from over.
But the golden giant stood, drenched in blood, unmoved by pain, unshaken by the horrors around him. His breathing was slow and deep, the only sound above the carnage.