The resurrected Titan wasted no time. With a guttural roar, it lunged forward, its claws slicing through the air with terrifying speed. “Harry, watch out!” Martin shouted, swinging his Tuning Blade. A resonant soundwave burst forth, forming a shimmering wall of sonic energy that intercepted the wind blades. The barrier held, but the sheer force pushed Martin back, his boots scraping against the marble floor.
“Why won’t it stay dead?” Harry growled, his eyes darting between Sylas and Selene.
Martin’s mind raced. The Titans weren’t just feeding off their own power—they were drawing strength from the core itself. The Atlas core’s raw energy, still in the process of purification, was sustaining them - at least that is what he thought.
“Focus on Selene!” Martin commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos. “I’ll handle Sylas.”
Harry hesitated for only a moment before sprinting to Kurt’s side. Selene, sensing the weakening barrier, unleashed a devastating strike. Her claws tore through the protective shield, sending shards of energy scattering like broken glass. The impact hurled Kurt and remaining cleric across the chamber. His body slammed into the wall, blood smearing the stone as he collapsed.
“Kurt!” Harry shouted, his voice tinged with panic.
Before he could act, Sylas struck. The reanimated Titan moved with terrifying speed dodging Martin attacks and aimed at Harry. its claws raking across Harry’s side. Blood spattered the floor as Harry was thrown across the room, his body crumpling against the base of a toppled column.
The sanctum fell into an uneasy silence. The clerics, trembling and bloodied, could only watch in despair as their last line of defense crumbled. The Atlas core lay exposed, its pulsing energy vulnerable to the Titans’ grasp.
Martin stood alone. His chest heaved with exhaustion, and his arms ached from the relentless battle. Blood streaked his face and hands, but he tightened his grip on the Tuning Blade. His comrades were down, and the sanctum was on the brink of collapse.
Sylas and Selene loomed before him, their crimson eyes glowing with cruel satisfaction. Martin’s mind raced. wondering why his first strike had failed to kill Sylas. Was it the connection between the two Titans? Or was there something deeper about the nature of the core itself that was sustaining them?
As the Titans prepared their next attack, a grim realization settled over Martin. This wasn’t just a battle of strength or skill. The Titans were drawing power from the very thing they had sought to protect. The purification ritual was incomplete, and the corrupted energy of the core had become the Titans’ lifeline.
Martin steadied his blade, the hum of the Humming Sun vibrating with renewed intensity. “If you want the core,” he growled, “you’ll have to go through me first.”
——
Meanwhile, across the city, Marge Verdant now joined by Anggie were locked in a deadly dance of combat against a relentless swarm of lesser Titans. The once-peaceful streets had become a war zone, the air thick with smoke and the acrid tang of poison and burning stone.
Marge’s twin glaives spun with precision, cutting through Titans with devastating efficiency. Ethereal, poisonous moths flitted around her, their ghostly glow casting an eerie light on the battlefield. With every sweep of her glaives, the moths surged forward, leaving trails of venomous spores that burned through the Titans’ hideous forms.
Beside her, Anggie’s presence was no less commanding. Channeling the power of her ring, the Serpent Empress, she summoned monstrous serpents that writhed and coiled through the chaos. The massive creatures struck with fanged precision, ripping through the Titans and leaving devastation in their wake.
“Marge, incoming!” Anggie warned, her serpents lunging to intercept a pack of Titans charging their flank.
Marge pivoted, her moths swarming the attackers while her glaives carved through their thick exoskeletons. Yet even as they fought with unmatched coordination, a creeping unease settled in Marge’s mind. Something was off.
“These things…” Marge muttered, slicing through another Titan. “They’re holding back.”
Anggie glanced at her, brow furrowed. “What do you mean? They’re swarming us!”
“No,” Marge snapped, her voice sharper than her blades. “Look closer. They’re not fighting to win—they’re stalling.”
Anggie’s eyes widened as she followed Marge’s gaze. The Titans weren’t pressing their attacks. Instead, they were retreating just enough to draw the soldiers into vulnerable positions. It was deliberate, calculated.
Marge’s realization struck like a thunderclap. “This is a trap. These Titans are just a decoy—they’re pulling us away from the sanctum!”
Anggie cursed, summoning another wave of serpents to cover their retreat. The massive creatures hissed and lashed out, tearing through the advancing Titans with ferocious precision. “If they’re going for the sanctum, we’ve got to warn them now!” she shouted, her eyes narrowing as the Titans pressed harder.
Marge nodded grimly, “Verdant to Oracle Innovators,” she barked, her voice steady despite the chaos. “The Titans are coming. Sanctum defense must be reinforced immediately!” Static crackled in response, the silence that followed unnerving her more than the fight itself. “Oracle Innovators, do you copy? This is Captain Marge Verdant. Respond!” she demanded, her urgency growing with each passing moment.
Nothing. Not even a faint acknowledgment.
Marge’s chest tightened as realization dawned. She clenched her jaw, her movements quickening as she slashed through another wave of Titans. “Something’s wrong,” she muttered, her voice low but charged with tension. “If they’re not responding, the sanctum must already be under attack.”
She didn’t waste another second. She sent orders to the rest of her team, commanding them to hold the line against the lesser Titans while she and Anggie rushed back toward the sanctum. Her heart pounded in her chest, her mind racing with fear for what awaited them. The Titans had planned this perfectly—they had drawn her team away, leaving the core and Martin’s group vulnerable.
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As Marge and Anggie sprinted through the winding streets, dodging debris and wounded civilians, Marge’s thoughts turned to Martin. She could feel a growing sense of urgency, a pull in her chest that told her they were running out of time.
——
Back in the sanctum, Martin stood alone, his breathing ragged as he faced the two Titans looming before him. Sylas and Selene, their grotesque forms illuminated by the flickering light of the Atlas core, exuded an aura of unstoppable malice. Around him, his comrades lay motionless, the aftermath of the earlier battle leaving the sanctum in eerie silence. The core pulsed with an unstable glow, as if mirroring the dread permeating the room.
“I won’t let you take this,” Martin growled, his grip tightening on the Tuning Blade. The resonance of his ring surged through his veins, filling his body with a humming vibration of sound energy. He knew this would be his final stand if help didn’t arrive soon.
Sylas and Selene, their twisted forms brimming with dark energy, advanced steadily, their eyes filled with hunger and malevolence. Martin readied himself, his ring glow brighter and the hum of the Tuning Blade growing louder, its vibrations sharpening into a lethal edge.
But then, just as the Titans prepared to lunge, something changed. The moonlight streaming through the sanctum’s marble floor flickered, shifting as if shadows had come alive. A strange fluttering filled the air, accompanied by the faint hiss of scales sliding across stone. Martin’s eyes snapped upward toward the stained glass windows high above the sanctum.
With a deafening crash, the windows shattered, shards of tinted glass raining down as a cascade of ethereal moths and massive serpents poured into the room. The Titans halted, momentarily thrown off by the sudden invasion. Their malice-filled eyes turned skyward, searching for the source of the assault.
Amid the chaotic storm of moths and serpents, two figures descended from above with commanding presence. Marge Verdant landed first, her twin glaives already spinning, cutting through the swirling air as the moths swarmed protectively around her. Her violet eyes were alight with fury, her expression one of unshakable resolve.
“Marge!” Martin called out, his voice tinged with a mixture of relief and urgency.
“Looks like we made it just in time. We’re not letting them take this core," Marge declared, her voice steady despite the chaos around them. Her gaze quickly assessed the situation, taking in Martin's bruised and exhausted state.
She strode toward him, her glaives spinning idly at her sides, their edges gleaming with ethereal energy. “Can you still fight?” she asked, her tone firm but not unkind.
Martin straightened, tightening his grip on the Tuning Blade despite the fatigue weighing on him. He gave a sharp nod, determination flickering in his eyes.
“Good,” Marge replied, turning her attention back to the Titans. She pointed one glaive toward the larger Titan, Sylas, whose hulking form exuded menacing energy. “Hold the big one for a while. Anggie and I will take care of the smaller one quickly.”
Anggie nodded from behind her, her focus sharp as she summoned another pair of serpents to her side.
Martin steeled himself, the resonance of his ring vibrating through his arm as the Tuning Blade hummed in anticipation. Without hesitation, he charged toward Sylas, sparks flew as his blade met the Titan’s claw, the sheer force of the clash echoing through the sanctum.
Meanwhile, Marge and Anggie charged toward Selene with synchronized determination. Anggie’s serpents lunged ahead, their fangs dripping with venomous energy that crackled through the air. Selene hissed in fury, her massive claws swiping through the serpents, dissipating several of them in bursts of dark energy. But Anggie’s control was razor-sharp. The surviving serpents darted and weaved, coiling tightly around Selene’s limbs, locking her in place with a vice-like grip.
“Now!” Anggie shouted.
Marge didn’t waste a moment. Her glaive spun in her hands, a blur of steel and shimmering poison as she charged at Selene. With a swift, calculated strike, her blade slashed across the Titan’s chest. The cut was deep, and a burst of toxic energy erupted from the glaive, spreading through Selene’s wound like wildfire.
Selene howled, her form shuddering as the poison coursed through her. Her movements grew erratic, but even in pain, she was a force of pure rage. With a powerful roar, she tore free from the serpents binding her, the fragments of their energy dissolving into the air.
Selene lashed out, her claws slicing through the space between her and Marge. The speed of the attack was blinding. Marge barely managed to block, raising her glaive just in time to deflect the blow. The force of the strike reverberated through her arms, sending her skidding backward. Her boots screeched against the marble floor as she fought to maintain her footing, her balance precarious.
“Shit!” Marge shouted, her voice edged with urgency, but the storm of battle swallowed her words.
Selene was relentless. Seizing the moment, the Titan lunged at Marge, her claws aiming directly for her heart.
Anggie moved before Marge could react. With a desperate dive, she landed between Marge and the Titan. Her hands glowed with serpentine energy as a shimmering barrier formed in an instant. Selene’s claws crashed against it with devastating force, shattering the barrier into shards of light. The impact deflected the blow away from Marge but struck Anggie with brutal force.
The power of the attack sent Anggie hurtling to the ground. She hit the marble hard, skidding to a stop. Blood sprayed from a deep gash across her chest, and she gasped in pain, her trembling hands pressing against the wound in a futile attempt to staunch the bleeding.
“Anggie!” Marge cried, panic flashing across her face. Her heart pounded as she took in the sight of her underling, battered, bleeding and unconscious.
Selene roared, her fury focused entirely on Marge now. Gritting her teeth, Marge forced herself to focus. She couldn’t falter—not now.
“You’ll pay for that!” Marge’s voice was a sharp promise of vengeance.
With a surge of adrenaline, she launched herself toward Selene, her glaive gleaming with lethal energy. Poison and moths swirled around her in a deadly dance. Closing the distance in seconds, she struck with precision and fury, driving her blade deep into Selene’s torso.
The Titan let out a piercing scream as the venom spread rapidly through her monstrous form. Her body shuddered and began to disintegrate, her strength draining as the poison consumed her from within.
But as she turned toward Martin, it happened again—Selene’s body, instead of vanishing into dust, began to reform. The disintegrated particles swirled and coalesced, reassembling in the air, as if pulled back together by some invisible force. Marge’s eyes widened in horror. How was this possible? She had poured everything into that attack, and yet here was Selene, whole once more, her red eyes locking onto Marge with an almost taunting glare.
“What...?” Marge whispered, disbelief settling in as her mind raced for answers. She staggered backward, exhaustion creeping in, her muscles burning from the overexertion.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Martin was locked in fierce combat with Sylas. His body was aching, his movements becoming slower as the battle dragged on, but he refused to give in. He had managed to keep the Titan at bay with his sound waves, but something about the fight felt... off. No matter how hard he struck Sylas, the Titan would regenerate, just like Selene.
As Martin parried another brutal strike from Sylas, a realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. The two Titans—Sylas and Selene—weren’t independent. They were linked, connected in some profound, unnatural way. It wasn't just a bond between siblings or allies; it was deeper than that. The Titans were one.
His breath caught in his throat as the truth dawned on him. That was why his attacks hadn’t killed Sylas. That was why Selene kept reforming. They couldn’t be defeated individually. They were two parts of a single entity—a single monstrous force that shared a life force, a consciousness, a will.
“They’re connected!” Martin shouted to Marge, his voice strained as he blocked another blow. “They need to be destroyed together! If we kill one, the other will just bring them back!”
Marge’s eyes widened in realization, the pieces falling into place. That’s why her final blow hadn’t worked. No matter how much lethal poison she injected into Selene, it would never be enough as long as Sylas was still standing.