Chapter 108: The Juggernaut
As Marcus spoke, Void energy surrounded him, transforming him into Atlas, the Earth Shaker.
He recognized the intruder immediately—there was only one person with that distinctive outfit and massive frame. The red-armored behemoth, especially with that heavy helmet designed specifically to block Charles's telepathic abilities, could only be one individual.
It was precisely because Marcus knew the identity of their visitor that he chose Atlas. This opponent possessed tremendous physical power, making Atlas the perfect counter.
In the moment following his transformation, Marcus rushed toward the armored giant.
"Landslide!"
With explosive force, Marcus struck. The punch carried such power that it visibly displaced the air around his fist as it connected with the red-armored titan.
Facing Marcus's attack, the giant met the blow with his own massive fist, their knuckles colliding with earth-shattering force.
BOOM!!!
A shockwave visible to the naked eye radiated outward from the point of impact. The ground beneath them split instantly, fracturing like drought-parched soil.
"You're not Charles!" the giant bellowed. "Charles doesn't have this kind of power!"
Knocked backward but undaunted, the armored behemoth charged again. The strength of this opponent nearly matched his own—for the first time since gaining his enhanced abilities, he faced a worthy challenger.
Marcus was equally surprised by the giant's power. Though he knew the armored titan was formidable, he hadn't expected that even his enhanced Atlas frame would struggle to overpower him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their fists continued to collide, each impact sending powerful shockwaves rippling outward.
Against Marcus's ever-increasing strength, the armored giant found himself driven back repeatedly.
Finally, after a particularly devastating punch, Marcus sent his opponent flying backward.
"Impressive power," Marcus acknowledged.
The giant's strength was truly remarkable. During their initial exchange, Marcus had been unable to gain an advantage—a fact that both surprised and intrigued him.
Before he could contemplate further, the ground began vibrating violently. The red-armored titan who had been knocked away was now charging back like a runaway freight train.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Seeing the approaching juggernaut, Marcus stomped lightly on the ground.
"Tectonic Fracture!"
A massive wall formed from compacted stone rose before him, a barrier between himself and the charging giant.
CRASH!
The stone wall proved inadequate, shattering upon impact as the unstoppable force continued forward without slowing.
Recognizing the ineffectiveness of his barrier, Marcus changed tactics. A beam of light projected from his eyes.
"Petrifying Gaze!"
The beam struck the charging titan directly, causing fragments of stone to form across his armor. While this slowed him slightly, it failed to stop his momentum.
Once in motion, it seemed nothing could halt this juggernaut's advance.
Seeing that even Petrifying Gaze had minimal effect, Marcus opted for direct confrontation. He struck forward with his fists once more.
The shattered stones around Marcus began gathering, attaching themselves to Atlas's frame. Layers of rock reinforced his fists and body, preparing for impact.
BOOM!
They collided again. For the first time in his rampages, the unstoppable titan met an immovable object. His charge failed to knock down his opponent.
Though Marcus was pushed backward, carving two deep furrows in the ground with his heels, he remained standing.
The power accumulated in the giant's charge had shocked Marcus. Despite landing a solid counter-punch that significantly reduced the titan's momentum, he hadn't managed to stop the attack completely.
If not for the earth beneath his feet absorbing much of the impact, Marcus would have fared far worse.
"The Juggernaut's power is even greater than I expected," Marcus thought.
The strength displayed by this armored behemoth far exceeded that of the corrupted Black Knight he'd faced earlier—a sobering realization.
Meanwhile, Charles seemed to recognize the intruder from his voice alone.
"Cain? Is that you?"
Though softly spoken, his words reached the armored giant clearly.
The titan, who had been preparing to continue his battle with Marcus, turned slowly toward Charles, who sat hovering in his new chair.
"Baldy, how do you know my name?"
In Cain's memory, Charles still possessed a full head of hair. He didn't immediately realize that the bald man before him was the same person he sought.
"I'm the one you're looking for—your brother Charles," he explained. "But how have you become like this?"
Charles answered truthfully. Though they shared no blood relation, Cain was his stepbrother. More puzzling was his transformation—Cain had been an ordinary human without mutant abilities. How had he become this enormous, powerfully enhanced being?
Cain didn't believe him. He examined Charles with skepticism.
"You're lying," he growled. "Charles isn't bald, and he isn't disabled."
Though he harbored deep resentment toward his stepbrother, Cain wouldn't tolerate imposters. Especially not one presenting Charles as physically diminished.
If Charles had truly been reduced to this state, Cain's childhood bitterness seemed suddenly hollow. Charles had always excelled in every way—a fact that had tormented Cain for years.
Seeing Cain's disbelief, Charles felt helpless. They hadn't seen each other in many years, and Charles had indeed changed dramatically. It was understandable that Cain wouldn't recognize him immediately.
"He is indeed Charles," Marcus interjected, approaching with his body still encased in stone armor. "But what do you intend to do? Bully a disabled man who has lost his hair?"
Hearing these words from the warrior who had matched his strength, Cain knelt down for a closer look at Charles.
"Looking carefully... you do resemble Charles."
He withdrew a yellowed photograph from somewhere within his armor, comparing the teenage boy in the image to the man before him.
"Could it be... are you truly Charles?"
His tone revealed profound disbelief. For years, he had obsessed over proving himself stronger than Charles. Now that he'd obtained incredible power, he found his stepbrother paralyzed in a wheelchair, his once-thick brown hair completely gone—replaced by a gleaming bald scalp.
The realization left him adrift. All his accumulated resentment transformed instantly into pity.
His adversary was now a physically limited man. Though Charles's telepathic abilities remained intact, Cain felt not the slightest desire to prove himself against such an opponent.
What satisfaction could come from demonstrating superiority over someone in Charles's condition?
Cain had yearned to surpass the Charles who lived in his memory—not this man who relied on a hovering chair for mobility.
"Charles, you are no longer a worthy target for my vengeance," he declared. Turning back to Marcus, he continued, "You, stone man, have become my new opponent. I will prove that I am stronger than anyone!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
New : Marvel With Spider Power and Omnitrix
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~