"I am not the god of war, Diana..."
Ares spoke to her.
His eyes glowed with a dark intensity as his fingers slid along the lasso of Truth. "I am the god of truth."
Diana gasped, feeling the heat of the lasso's magic crawl across her skin and pierce her mind. As much as she tried to resist, the truth was undeniable. The world was in ruins, and Ares' words—though twisted—came from a place that resonated deep inside her... a seed of doubt.
"Mankind stole this world from us," Ares continued, his voice deep and calm, like a destructive tide ready to swallow everything. "They corrupt it more and more each day, and I—alone in my wisdom—was left powerless to stop them. Abandoned by my brothers... and by you."
He didn't let go. The lasso trembled, reacting to the tension between them.
"All these years... I whispered in their ears," Ares said, his calmness bordering on the delusion of a madman. "I planted ideas. Formulas. Weapons. But I never ordered them to use them. They chose that on their own. War is not my creation... it is theirs. I simply showed them the path they were already destined to walk."
He circled her like a serpent around its prey.
"I orchestrated a truce... not for peace, but for hope. The hope that, blinded by their own ignorance, they would destroy themselves. But it wasn't enough."
His gaze hardened. "Then you appeared."
Ares stepped closer, his face inches from hers.
"At first, yes, I wanted to crush you. To eradicate the last spark of the gods. But when I saw you... the flame, the potential... I understood. Only you could grasp what the others never could. Together, we could purify this world."
Ares extended his hand, offering a new future.
"Imagine it, Diana... with our combined power... we would end pain, end suffering... and return this world to the paradise it was before mankind. Forever."
Diana stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion, rage... and deep sorrow.
"I... I would never be part of that," she finally replied, her voice firm as the steel of her blade. "Humanity may be flawed, but it still has hope. Love. Courage. They don't need to be destroyed... they need someone who believes in them."
"My dear child..." Ares murmured with a sigh of resignation, his eyes darkening. "I did not wish to fight you... but if you insist..."
With a snap of his fingers, he channeled divine energy into the Lasso of Truth. A white bolt tore through the sky, blasting the tower in a wave of light and power.
The explosion echoed like thunder across the devastated plains.
Arthur, fighting soldiers in the distance, turned his head toward the flash.
"Diana..." he whispered, eyes wide.
"Steve! Handle the rest!" he shouted, already sprinting at full speed toward the blast.
"Go! She needs you!" Steve replied, spinning his pistol and leading the group against the remaining troops.
Arthur tore through the smoke and rubble like an arrow, his eyes scanning only for Diana.
He found her lying among the debris, gasping for breath, part of her shield broken, her face smudged with ash.
He knelt beside her, reaching out.
"Looks like you picked a fight with a hurricane."
Diana looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Arthur... he's Ares. The real Ares. We can't let him win."
"Then we'll defeat that god," Arthur murmured, helping her up.
Ares watched them from afar with amusement.
"Hm. A demigod..." Ares remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Now things are getting... interesting."
He raised his hands, and the ground trembled. Two walls of stone and steel rose on either side of Arthur and Diana, trying to crush them like insects.
"LOOK OUT!"
Both reacted with superhuman reflexes. Diana used her legs to launch herself upward, shattering one wall with a single sword strike. Arthur twisted his torso, punching the other wall at a weak point, shattering it like glass.
Diana charged at Ares again, her shield steady on her arm, her eyes blazing with determination.
Arthur stepped back, drawing Ebony and Ivory, his divine-energy pistols. He opened fire.
"Let's see if you can handle this."
The bullets stopped midair as if hitting an invisible barrier. Ares deflected them with contempt, until a direct strike from Diana's fist hit his jaw, forcing him back.
With a roar, he counterattacked, punching Diana in the stomach with a fist engulfed in flames. She flew dozens of meters, skidding across the ground with a muffled cry.
"DIANA!" Arthur shouted, holstering his weapons and sprinting.
"Awakening Breath..." he muttered, assuming his combat stance.
His body moved with supernatural grace, feet dancing over the wreckage, the air vibrating around his fists. He vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing in front of Ares with a strike aimed at his heart.
"Instant Movement."
Ares dodged with ease, grabbed Arthur's wrist, and slammed him into the ground. A white blast exploded from Arthur's chest, hurling him into a concrete wall.
"Ghh!" Arthur coughed blood, but rose again, eyes blazing.
Ares grinned, entertained.
"Interesting. You possess remarkable strength for a human. But you're still far from enough."
He raised his arm, manipulating nearby scrap into floating metal orbs and hurled them at Arthur.
Arthur activated his defensive technique.
"Water Stream Encampment!"
His fists spun in spirals, smashing every metal sphere approaching him. Sparks flew like fireworks, each clash more intense than the last.
"That bastard's stronger than I thought...!" Arthur muttered, feeling his muscles burn.
Having his strength limited to such a high-level world was taking its toll.
If he had his full power, defeating Ares would've been as easy as squashing an ant.
Suddenly, a blazing fireball formed in Ares' palm.
(Damn it! I should've remembered his invulnerability and pyrokinesis!)
Arthur shot a web to a beam and pulled himself away just in time, dodging the explosion.
"Hyaaaaaa!"
Diana burst in like a storm, slamming her shield into Ares with such force that it sent him flying.
From afar, Sameer watched in awe.
"My God... this is real... That's really Ares?"
"Focus, Sameer!" Steve ordered. "Arthur and Diana will deal with him. We have our own mission!"
Steve looked toward the planes. Each was carrying bombs with timed detonators—Arthur's plan from hours earlier.
"At my signal, fly into the sky..." he muttered. "And end this with a bang."
Amidst the flames, Ares' body was clad in armor. His eyes were bottomless voids, and his hands glowed like divine furnaces.
"Strength is all mankind understands!" he roared to the heavens, his voice shaking the earth. "Strength is all they worship! AND I... AM STRENGTH INCARNATE!"
Arthur and Diana glanced at each other.
"Ready for our GLORIOUS final battle?" Arthur teased, patting Diana's shoulder.
"I'm always ready." Diana replied with a smile.
She looked at him with a mix of pain and tenderness.
"Arthur... if we don't make it out of this..."
"Don't say that, Diana," he interrupted gently. "I love you. And believe me... I won't let you face this alone."
She nodded, eyes glistening.
"Together, then."
"Always."
They turned in unison, facing Ares... ready for the final battle.
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."