65 SHUDDER

"GGGGGHHRRROOOAGHHH"

The vine monster boomed once more, making Herakles jump back.

"You sure you don't need help, son? No matter how weak, he's still an Olympian"

"YOU DARE CALL ME WEAK?", Dionysus thundered and three more vine giants clawed their way to the surface.

"I'll be fine", Athos answered before disappearing from his position and reappearing above a giant, bearing down on it as though it were but a bug. He brought his claw down upon the monster like a wild beast, forgoing any technique - revelling in the ecstasy that came with Divine strength.

*BOOM*

The monster split into five and so did the ground below, blasting the other three giants backwards. Dionysus' eyes burned with purple fire and the vines joined back together, reforming the monstrosity. It seemed that as long as the Wine God stood strong, fighting the giants was a waste of time and effort.

"GRRHOARGHH!", the monster bellowed and swung a large fist at Athos' hovering figure. It was imperceptibly slow but carried enough power to wound a minor God, yet he paid it no heed.

He lacked the Divinity that true Gods possessed but was sure he could contend with his Dad in strength, perhaps even surpass him. Else he wouldn't have dared to take on Dionysus on his own. The blue slits on his helmet regarded the incoming fist with disregard. Did the drunken idiot really think this would harm him?

He flexed his arms and felt pure power coursing through his muscles. Wasn't this what he'd fought for, for so long? Wasn't it for this that he had ruined the lives of so many?

His eyes hardened and his body seemed to meld into the very air.

BOOM!

With a sonic boom, he blasted through the giant's chest, pulverising its torso, straight toward the Wine God. Dionysus barely had time to raise his eyebrows before he felt claws dig into his neck and drag him into the air. His watery eyes bulged with rage and humiliation. When had he ever been disrespected in such a way? The last time it had happened, the people responsible were now dolphins!

"RELEASE ME!", Dionysus boomed, his voice multiplying in both volume and depth. Purplish energy erupted from within the God and rammed into Athos' chest making him spit blood and summersault away. When he righted himself and caught his bearings, he looked up to see Dionysus holding a pine cone-topped thyrsus rod wreathed in ivy. It would've looked comical if the Wine God's eyes weren't filled to the brim with fury.

"ATHOS!", Herakles roared from below and tried to rush to help but was blocked by the vine giants. He grit his teeth and dodged a punch that was aimed at his head. With his Divinity drained and arm broken, he couldn't be of much use anyway. Athos would have to deal with the Olympian on his own.

Back in the air, Dionysus snarled at Athos, spraying spittle everywhere, "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into demigod if that's what you even are... Olympus' might is something no immortal can withstand!"

Athos coughed and wiped the blood that trickled down to his neck. He may look injured but his enhanced healing factor had already taken care of whatever internal damage he'd suffered in a second. Perks of having such a robust Divine body.

"You're right. Olympus is not to be underestimated, but you seem to have forgotten something", Athos said, cracking his neck and holding out his hand.

Dionysus' eyebrows furrowed. Did the abomination truly have something up his sleeve that could counter Olympus' wrath? Was that why he dared act so brazen?

Thunderclouds began forming in the clear sky, shrouding the sun and crackling with lightning.

For a brief moment, Dionysus' expression was filled with dread, thinking Zeus had made his presence known. But just as he was about to kneel to show his respect, he noticed something was off. The lightning, instead of the signature electric blue looked to be crafted from shadows. It was as black as the night and twisted and exploded with no semblance of order - a clear juxtaposition to Zeus' lighting which dictated order and was used to dish out his judgment. He looked incredulously at Athos whose helmet failed to betray any emotion. The metallic surface stared back at the baffled God with insouciance.

Just then, as if to one-up Dionysus' thyrsus, a giant weapon materialised in his outstretched arm. It was Leviathan but it was now so large that it dwarfed even Athos, standing at a mighty seven feet tall. Such a drastic change had to be attributed to the Dragon's Blood which had mutated almost all of his items including Perastos, which was why it looked like what it looked currently. But at the same time, it destroyed anything it deemed unworthy which led to him losing the Oni Mask, something that had been a great help when he was a mortal.

Regardless of his loss, the benefits he gained were undeniable. Any resemblance Levithan had to Stormbreaker was lost with its metamorphosis. Every inch of the pitch-black weapon seemed to be crafted to spread death and destruction. The blunt side was no more, now replaced with another bigger and partly serrated edge. It was as though Leviathan was declaring to the world that using it to knock someone out was an insult. Both the blades almost seemed to be the size of Athos' torso and the now bigger blue gem was embedded in the middle, similar ethereal blue lines extending from it.

"I don't give a fuck!", Athos roared and with a clap of thunder, disappeared once more, appearing above Dionysus and cleaving the axe downwards. The Wine God didn't falter, whipping up his thyrsus to meet the blackish blur.

BOOM!

The shockwave split the partially broken island in two, revealing the sea below but Athos did not hesitate in the slightest, he was enjoying himself way too much currently. He brought down Leviathan again and again, ribbons of black lighting bursting out of his body and slamming into the purple barrier around Dionysus who seemed to be hanging on for dear life.

With every strike, the God's divine bones seemed to turn to jelly. He couldn't even run - Athos' strikes were too quick and seemed to magically meet his thyrsus every time he tried to counter. The Divinity he needed to keep up with the demigod's strikes was obscene but luckily he was an Olympian. Lose to a demigod? Never! He was God!

Just then, time seemed to stop and the purple fire in Dionysus' eyes burned brighter. Alarm bells went off in Athos' head and he immediately retreated, leaving arcs of lightning in his wake. The next second, the Wine God's skin began to crack and rays of white light began to shine through.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES!", Herakles hollered from below, standing on the remains of the vine giants but Athos ignored the warning even though he knew it was the most sensible thing to do. Dionysus was manifesting his Divine Form that would incinerate any mortal being if they were ever stupid enough to look at it but was Athos truly mortal anymore? He knew for sure that he was not fully Immortal nor mortal which placed him somewhere in the middle. Moreover, if he couldn't withstand the Divine Form, he would die either way as fighting with his eyes closed was just asking to be gutted. Thus, he took a gamble - if he died, he died.

Cracks continued to spread on Dionysus' skin before his body exploded making Athos place Leviathan in front of him for cover - the light was simply too blinding. When he peeked out, what he saw shocked him.

Dionysus' drunken fat man image was nowhere to be seen, instead, a veil of intense white light enveloped a lean body whose looks could probably rival Apollo - though the Wine God lacked the Sun God's roguish charm. He looked more effeminate and had softer features like a woman, but it only served to make the Thyrsus all the more intimidating. Purple flames flickered on the pinecone-topped weapon and Dionysus' curly hair which was so black, it looked purple, flowed down his shoulders to his back.

"How would you like to die?", he whispered with a voice that seemed to be softer than silk.

Yet the world shuddered.

***

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