Diana had heard stories about Hercules since she was a child.
He was one of the most powerful children born from the union of Zeus, the king of the gods, and a mortal woman. His strength and legendary exploits were widely known across the mortal world.
But the Twelve Labors?
Those were stories she had never heard.
"It's normal that your mother never told you," Victor said with a faint laugh.
"After all, one of those twelve trials was to obtain her magical belt."
His words echoed lightly through the hall.
"No mother wants to tell her daughter about her own humiliation and failure. And besides…"
"And besides what?"
Hippolyta's heart trembled.
The playful look in Victor's eyes sent a sudden chill down her spine. For a brief moment, panic flashed across her face.
Did he know something else?
Impossible.
Only the gods knew that secret.
Victor merely chuckled and did not answer Diana's question.
If Hippolyta had ever told Diana the full myth, the girl would inevitably ask how Hercules had managed to defeat her mother.
The details were… awkward.
Diana was the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta.
Hercules was also a son of Zeus.
And yet Hercules had once nearly "captured" Hippolyta—although that incident happened before Zeus ever became involved with her.
Sooner or later Diana would learn the truth about her origins. When that day came, the flawless image of her mother in her mind would probably crack.
But compared to the usual behavior of the Greek gods, the situation wasn't even particularly shocking.
Victor sighed inwardly.
Hercules himself was a perfect example. He was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, who was the granddaughter of Perseus and therefore Zeus's own descendant.
The fact that Alcmene had also been the wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes, was barely worth mentioning in comparison.
"The Twelve Labors included tasks like skinning the invulnerable Nemean Lion," Victor said casually.
"Slaying the monstrous Hydra whose fangs carried deadly poison. Capturing the sacred stag of Mount Ceryneia alive. Subduing the terrifying Erymanthian Boar."
His voice remained calm as he continued listing them.
"And finally… bringing back Cerberus, the three-headed hound of the underworld."
As the names of those terrifying creatures echoed through the palace, Diana's expression grew increasingly shocked.
She had heard many of those names before in ancient stories. Each one represented a monster powerful enough to terrorize entire kingdoms.
Even the gods might struggle with some of those trials.
Especially the last one.
Cerberus was the personal guardian of Hades, lord of the underworld. Diana could hardly imagine how Hercules had managed to capture it.
She looked at her mother again, now understanding why Hippolyta had changed parts of the story.
"What achievement could possibly be harder than completing all twelve labors?" Diana asked.
Hippolyta stepped forward slightly.
"Outsider, you don't need to complete twelve trials."
Her voice rang through the hall.
"If you accomplish just one thing, the Amazons will recognize you as king."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"And what would that be?"
Hippolyta's voice turned solemn.
"Kill Ares, the God of War, who still wanders this world."
The moment his name was spoken, a chill seemed to sweep through the palace.
Even the fearless Amazon warriors trembled slightly.
For a few seconds, the entire hall fell silent. It was as if speaking that name too loudly might attract the gaze of something terrible.
"Ares…" Diana whispered.
"The Ares who slaughtered all the gods, including Zeus himself."
Her heart trembled as she spoke.
The Amazons had always worshiped the great gods of Olympus—Zeus, the king of the heavens, Poseidon the ruler of the seas, Apollo the radiant sun god, and many others.
Yet thousands of years ago, nearly all of them had been destroyed by one being.
Ares.
The eldest son of Zeus and Hera.
The God of War.
"Ares is the embodiment of war, rebellion, slaughter, and chaos," Diana recited softly, recalling the stories she had heard since childhood.
"He represents violence and power. He thirsts for blood and battle. Wherever disaster strikes humanity, his shadow follows."
Victor listened quietly.
"If I erase Ares from this world," he asked calmly, "the Amazons will surrender to me?"
His tone was almost casual.
It sounded as if killing the God of War was no more extraordinary than completing an everyday task.
In truth, Victor had already expected something like this.
All the ancient monsters the Amazons once fought had already disappeared. The only challenge left that could rival the Twelve Labors was Ares himself.
"Kill Ares…" Victor repeated inwardly.
Gods could not truly die.
At most they would fade away when humanity forgot them.
But if Ares were defeated, he would likely be forced back to Mount Olympus, imprisoned by the very gods he had once destroyed.
"With his personality," Victor thought calmly, "he'd probably spend eternity resenting the mortal who defeated him."
A faint glimmer appeared in Victor's eyes.
A god endlessly generating emotional energy would be an incredible source.
Even if Hippolyta had not proposed this challenge, Victor had already been considering it.
Now the final piece of the puzzle had appeared.
If he succeeded, he could conquer the Amazons legitimately.
Two benefits with a single move.
His expression remained calm, revealing nothing.
"…You know far too many secrets for an ordinary mortal," Hippolyta said slowly.
"But have you never heard how terrifying Ares truly is?"
Victor chuckled.
"Strength and fear are always relative."
"To you, Ares is as terrifying as death itself. But to me… he isn't."
The confidence in his voice was absolute.
He spoke of the eldest son of Zeus as if he were no more dangerous than an ordinary enemy.
Diana found herself staring at him.
Since childhood, her mother had told her many stories of Greek heroes. Those tales had shaped the ideals she carried in her heart.
Heroes who never retreated.
Heroes who faced impossible challenges without fear.
Heroes who protected others no matter the danger.
The man before her possessed that same fearless confidence.
Handsome.
Powerful.
Completely unafraid of the challenge ahead.
Bound tightly by the Lasso of Truth, Diana felt something stir in her heart.
"Amazons despise lies," Hippolyta declared suddenly.
She had made her decision.
"Outsider, the promises of the Amazons are upheld until death."
Her words echoed through the hall.
The Amazon warriors behind her straightened, their expressions equally resolute.
Long ago they had been deceived and enslaved.
Because of that history, deception had become the greatest disgrace in Amazon culture.
"Lying represents cowardice," one warrior said firmly.
"It is the most shameful act in the world."
"Very good," Victor said slowly.
A faint trace of satisfaction appeared on his face.
"I hope you keep your word."
His gaze swept coldly across the palace.
"Otherwise I'll only gain an empty island. That would be terribly boring."
Under his gaze, Hippolyta and the Amazons tensed instinctively.
Victor's strength was still far from matching Zeus at his peak.
But thousands of years ago, Ares had managed to kill Zeus for one reason.
His divine domain.
War.
Whenever war erupted in the world, Ares grew stronger.
On a battlefield, his power multiplied dramatically.
Victor's thoughts drifted back to an ancient story.
"Long ago, Darkseid led the armies of Apokolips to invade Earth," he recalled silently.
"That war involved humans, gods, Green Lanterns, Atlanteans…"
During that catastrophic conflict, Ares had grown unimaginably powerful.
Even Zeus himself had served as little more than support during that battle.
There was even a story that Zeus had carried Ares's axe for him.
Before entering the battlefield, Ares calmly put on his helmet and accepted the weapon from his father like a general taking command.
At that time, Ares had nearly killed Darkseid with a single strike.
Even though Darkseid had been only eight years old then, the battle had still shaken the world.
In that era, Ares's strength had surpassed even the other gods.
After the war ended—while the power of war still surged through him—Ares turned on his own family.
One by one, the Olympian gods were driven back to the divine realm.
Ares became the last Greek god remaining on Earth.
It was a terrifying record.
But that was ancient history.
Victor shook his head slightly.
In the modern world, large-scale wars were rare.
Without constant battle feeding his power, Ares was no longer anywhere near that level.
He was probably weaker than he had ever been in ancient times.
Finding him wasn't difficult either.
Victor looked toward a distant direction beyond the palace walls.
His gaze seemed to pierce through thousands of miles.
Far away, he could almost see the God of War walking through a battlefield covered in corpses.
Gunfire roared like music.
The scent of blood filled the air.
And Ares stood there, intoxicated by the most beautiful symphony in the world.
Victor smiled faintly.
"The God of War," he murmured softly, "naturally stays wherever war exists."
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