Chapter 2

The doctors in the illegal hospital had no idea that their fates were about to be sealed. All they felt was the elation of being able to lace their pockets with money. It wasn't until they heard the doors being busted down that they realized Atlas was there. He was covered in rust flakes, courtesy of his actions of busting the rusty doors down earlier. "Who are you?" one of the doctors turned to ask him. Atlas didn't hesitate to greet him with a slap in the face. "Why didn't you save her?" he bellowed furiously. His voice reverberated throughout the corridors of the hospital. The doctor frowned, having recognized Atlas at that moment. "Aren't you the fiancé of Ms. Sierra Hammond, the CEO of Century Group? "Hah! So, this girl's your daughter, eh? No wonder she's nothing but a bastard child all this time! Turns out no one's bothered to drill any manners into her!" The enraged Atlas grabbed the doctor by the collar and lifted him in the air as though he weighed nothing. After that, he slammed the doctor into the floor without bothering to explain himself. He needed to save Stacy's life immediately. The doctors in the morgue didn't deserve to live. After punching the doctors away from the metallic table, Atlas turned to holler at Ian. "Ian, set a lockdown on this hospital right now! I want to save my daughter! Also, deal with those goddamned bastards!" Ian's heart went out to Stacy the moment he drank in her blood-drenched form. He clenched his fists tightly as well. "Roger that!" he snarled out while nodding. Atlas rushed over and scooped Stacy into his arms. "Don't be scared. Daddy's here now. Stacy, you're such a good girl. I'll definitely save you." He could feel his hands trembling as he withdrew a box of silver needles. 17 of Stacy's bones were broken, not to mention there were countless glass fragments lodged into her body. A few bruises were even blossoming on her body, signifying that she had gotten beaten up in the past. The world knew Atlas as the miracle doctor, Thaddeus Blackwell. He would never lose his cool, even if he were greeted with the sight of the apocalypse. But now, terror shook him to the core. Atlas was terrified about the prospect of not being able to save Stacy's life if he were to make even the smallest mistake. He was frightened about the possibility of hurting her if he inserted a needle an inch deeper than usual. Still, Atlas was determined to save Stacy's life. No one—not even the Grim Reaper—could stop him from saving her. It was true that Atlas was Sierra's fiancé over the past five years. All those years, he thought he had hurt Sierra that night. That was why he had to make it up to her by leaving behind his most precious medicinal formula in Newtropolis out of guilt. But to think that Sierra was such a cold and heartless bitch! It was bad enough that she had pretended to be pregnant with Atlas' baby and lured him all the way to Northern Bronshire with that lie. To make things worse, she spent the past five years coming up with various ways just to kill Tabitha, who was also the woman Atlas had taken advantage of that night. Despite being blessed with the riches and success brought to her by Century Group, Sierra still refused to spare Tabitha's impoverished and tormented life. Half an hour later, Atlas was finally done with the treatment. He wiped the sweat off his brow before gently brushing a palm across Stacy's forehead. As expected of his kin. Stacy never groaned out in pain throughout the treatment. The little girl slowly opened her eyes. Tears began trickling down her cheeks the moment she spotted Atlas. "Daddy, is that really you?" Atlas nodded hastily. His voice came out boomingly loud, as though he was worried Stacy might not be able to hear him. "Yes, it's me! Daddy's back now! Don't worry. I'll definitely treat all of your wounds. I promise I'll protect you and your mother." Suddenly, Atlas' gaze was attracted to Stacy's clenched fist. The first thing she did once she opened her eyes was extend her fist at him. Atlas slowly pried Stacy's fingers loose, only to reveal a crumpled piece of paper that contained doodles. Upon unfurling the paper and looking at the drawing, he felt a surge of emotions overwhelming him. Three stick figures were doodled on the paper, each labeled "Daddy", "Mommy", and "Stacy". The family of three seemed happy at first glance, yet the stick figure that was supposed to represent Atlas didn't have an actual face. In a choked-up tone, Atlas asked, "Did you learn to draw in kindergarten?" Stacy shook her head. "Mommy taught me how to draw. I've never been to a kindergarten." Atlas continued asking in a shocked tone, "Why don't I have a face?" Stacy choked out softly, "I've never seen you before, Daddy. Mommy didn't tell me what you look like, so I couldn't draw a figure of you on paper." Atlas could feel his heart skipping a beat. Maybe… Maybe Tabitha didn't even know what he looked like. At that moment, the doctors were shrieking in agony at the top of their lungs. Atlas gripped Stacy's hand while saying, "I'm back now, Stacy. You've met me now. Once you fully recover, you can draw my face on the stick figure, alright?" Stacy wanted to say "yes", but she ended up vomiting instead. Shockingly enough, the pile of vomit consisted of garbage. It appeared that someone had forced Stacy to eat heaps of garbage before pushing her off a crane tower! Just how heartless was that person to submit a little girl through such torture? Atlas rushed out of the hospital with bloodshot eyes. He towered over the doctors menacingly as he growled out, "Who gave you the order?" The doctors were as arrogant as ever. One of them shouted, "So what if you're back, Atlas? Mr. Dawson's the one who gave us the order! He's also the one who pushed your daughter off the crane tower! "Your balls are only big enough for you to holler all you want in the hospital! I'll have you know that Mr. Dawson's the one who runs the city of Newtropolis! If he wants your daughter dead, you best believe she'll die at the end of the day!" Atlas grabbed the doctor by his neck tightly. Waves of rage flooded his senses, making him see nothing but red. It was as though he was peering into the depths of hell. Hell was laid before him, barren and soulless. Yet, the demons that were supposed to be there were now roaming the streets in the mortal realm. Had Atlas been a few minutes later, Stacy wouldn't be able to live long enough to see him. She'd no longer be able to bask herself in this colorful, radiant world. Unfortunately, heartless bastards like these doctors didn't regret their actions at all. Atlas couldn't believe that he had spent the past five years fighting the war in Northern Bronshire just to protect bastards like these doctors. "I'm going to kill you!" he screamed ferociously. Never had he felt so much hatred toward a human being before. His screams were so loud and ferocious that all of Northern Bronshire—no, even the entire nation of Chernea—could hear them. Five years ago, Atlas chose to enter the frays of Northern Bronshire and form his own organization, Aerial Blade. That would be his first step toward saving the nation. Aerial Blade had slain countless enemies and saved many lives over the last five years. Its reputation was well-known throughout Chernea. Of course, its existence drilled fear into the hearts of many enemy forces. Atlas might be the strongest member of Aerial Blade, but his own daughter was bullied by others in such a pathetic fashion. The other warriors of Aerial Blade arrived at the illegal hospital at that time. When they heard Atlas' furious roars, they adopted their stationary stances immediately. Just the sounds of their heels clicking together were loud enough to reverberate through the junkyard.