Dorry gritted his teeth behind Joy Boy and said,
"Joy Boy, do you have any idea what kind of trouble you've stirred up? Someone like Loki will never repent! He's nothing but a disaster!"
Joy Boy didn't turn back and simply replied,
"No, he's just momentarily lost in his own power."
Just as he spoke, Loki moved again. He spread his hands apart, and two golden spheres of light emerged from his palms before extending and merging into a long, golden bow.
Loki drew back the newly formed bowstring, and a scorching golden arrow materialized in place.
Aiming the arrow at Joy Boy, he said flatly,
"Solar Arrow."
The moment he finished speaking, Loki released the bowstring. The Solar Arrow shot forward, leaving a brilliant golden trail in its wake.
Joy Boy's eyes slightly widened. His arm suddenly enlarged, and his massive hand, surging with white aura, opened wide, catching the incoming Solar Arrow in his palm.
In the next moment, fiery golden flames burst from between his fingers, intertwining with the white aura surrounding him.
The overwhelming heat of the Solar Arrow, capable of vaporizing any living being instantly, failed to harm Joy Boy's bare hand. A few moments later, the golden flames fizzled out, leaving behind only scattered embers before finally dissipating into wisps of black smoke.
Loki's facial muscles twitched almost imperceptibly. Just this one move alone was enough to exceed his expectations of Joy Boy's strength.
However, he showed no intention of stopping. Back when he had been imprisoned in the Underworld, Joy Boy had approached him, surrounded by a group of giants who revered him as the legendary Sun God. Loki had scoffed at the notion.
The giants had records of Joy Boy's feats—after all, 800 years ago, he had gathered many giant companions around him. His connection to the Giant ran deep.
But to Loki, Joy Boy and his so-called Nika Fruit were nothing more than stinking rubber.
A lump of rubber dared to call itself the Sun God? What a joke!
As the wielder of the Apollo Fruit, he was the one and only Sun God in this world!
(T/N: in Greek mythology (= ancient stories), a god who is connected with many things including music, poetry, medicine, and the sun.)
...
With this thought, Loki exhaled a wave of scorching breath. The sun-patterned tattoos on his body slowly rotated, and the solar disc behind his neck returned to its original size.
Seeing this, Joy Boy grinned and said,
"Come on then! Show me the power of your so-called Sun God!"
With that, he shifted from his seated position, spreading his limbs as his body grew larger. He only stopped when he reached Loki's size.
As the prince of the Giant, Loki carried the bloodline of the Ancient Giants. His lineage was far purer than that of his half-brother, Hajrudin—something evident from his sheer size and build.
Ordinary giants, even ones as robust as Dorry and Brogy, struggled to surpass 25 meters in height. Yet, Loki, still in his youth, had already exceeded 30 meters.
When he activated his Apollo Form, his height broke past the 40-meter mark, towering far above regular giants.
Now, with Joy Boy also growing to match him, the other giants had to tilt their heads back to watch the clash of titans.
Loki glared at Joy Boy, his voice cold.
"Joy Boy, are you mocking me? You can still grow larger, can't you?"
Joy Boy exaggeratedly waved his hands and exclaimed,
"No, no, no! That's not it! I just think this size makes the fight more interesting!"
"What a dull and foolish thought. I take back what I said. You're not some god-like figure. You're just an idiot worshiped by fools!"
Loki's words insulted not only Joy Boy but also the giants and Minks standing behind him. Being relatively simple-minded races, they immediately flared with anger.
Joy Boy, too, dropped his grin. His expression turned indifferent.
Gone was his usual carefree, exaggerated tone. Instead, he spoke calmly,
"You shouldn't have insulted my comrades, Loki."
Loki had long found Joy Boy's idiotic smile unbearable. Seeing his expression shift, he smirked and raised his chin mockingly.
"The Sun God doesn't need comrades, let alone a bunch of trash."
"Huff..."
Joy Boy didn't respond. He simply exhaled a large breath of white mist.
When he lifted his head again to face Loki, his eyes had turned ice-cold.
"Loki, you're in desperate need of a proper lesson."
Loki scoffed, slowly taking a stance.
"A lesson? From a lump of stinking rubber like you?"
...
Swoosh!
Joy Boy suddenly appeared right in front of Loki, their noses nearly touching.
His massive frame hadn't hindered his speed at all. Loki's eyes widened as flickering golden light danced within them, shocked by Joy Boy's sheer agility.
But Joy Boy didn't strike just yet. He simply stared into Loki's glowing golden eyes.
Under his Apollo Form, Loki's eyes were more than just cosmetic. The Apollo Fruit, a Devil Fruit passed down through the giants' legends, bestowed terrifying abilities.
His eyes, known as the Eyes of Apollo, could ignite intense solar flames wherever their gaze landed. Any ordinary person would be reduced to ashes within seconds at this range.
Yet, Joy Boy remained entirely unaffected, as if mocking Loki right to his face.
Without lifting a finger, he had already gotten under Loki's skin.
Loki's fist ignited with golden flames as brilliant as the sun. Enraged, he roared and swung at Joy Boy's face.
"Bastard! Who the hell do you think I am!? I am the true Sun God!"
Joy Boy crouched, easily dodging the attack, then countered with a powerful rising punch to Loki's abdomen.
The impact was so forceful that Loki's muscular back protruded outward, showing the shape of Joy Boy's fist stretching through his entire torso.
Loki gagged, spitting out a mouthful of saliva that splattered onto Joy Boy's wild, flame-like white hair.
Joy Boy didn't even flinch. Instead, he murmured,
"If you're the so-called Sun God, then let's see... does your sun bleed?"
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+160 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg