5 My Turn

All tension vanishes from the atmosphere and, for a split second, the scene looks almost peaceful. This calm, however, is short-lived! The ground begins to shake once again, but this time something feels different. Yes. There is no screech accompanying it. Despite the apparent tranquillity, the scene quickly turns even more ominous than it was a moment ago!

Without delay, the arrows pull themselves free of the earth and fly into the sky! The projectiles erratically shoot towards Hannibal, and by the time he realises what's happening it's already too late! As he jumps back, one of the arrows plunges deep into his side. Piercing his armour with ease, multiple others graze his arms and legs, and, by the time he escapes the flurry of arrows, his body is covered in cuts.

"What in Zeus' name is happening!?" Heimdall shouts. "Artemis intended to end this in one strike, but Hannibal managed to endure her ruthless attack!"

The arrows continue to gravitate towards the spinning orb for a few more moments before falling to the ground one by one. The gods watch triumphantly as Hannibal struggles to catch his breath. Sure, the goddess might not have killed him yet, but he is surely on his last legs.

"Of course. Humans never stood a chance to begin with," one of the deities remarks, her ample bosom jiggling ever so slightly. "But I have to admit, that technique… It was quite beautiful."

"Not yet. Artemis' assault is far from over," a hoarse voice rings out behind her.

"Oh? I didn't know you Egyptian gods fancied such barbarous practices too… I honestly didn't expect you to show your face around here, Horus," the goddess replies with a forced smile.

"Yes, I could say the same, Aphrodite-sama. I was quite shocked when I heard you didn't attend the Conference. Weren't you among the ones who… disliked mankind, to say the least?"

Aphrodite shoots the god a displeased look, but doesn't retort, convinced that she'd wasted enough words on that ugly thing. "This damned… He looks like a cheap rip-off of Ra-sama. Divine or not, such creatures shouldn't be allowed to exist." the goddess mutters to herself.

"Artemis' first strike has dealt a massive blow to mankind's vanguard! With that arrow lodged in Hannibal's chest, this doesn't even look like a fight anymore, but a one-sided beating!" the Watchman of the Apocalypse's voice thunders.

Displeased whispers rise up from mankind's side. People dressed in Roman garb spout insults at Hannibal, and the ones wearing modern clothing stare in disbelief at the sorry state of the general. One attack was enough for them to turn against Hannibal! The Carthaginian army, however, has settled down. No cheers or bitter remarks leave the soldiers' mouths anymore. They stare at the arena with solemn expressions on their faces.

"Not yet…" Alexander says unexpectedly. "Not yet! Hannibal hasn't lost yet! If I, Alexander the Great, don't open your eyes, then who will!? Look at him! Think of everything he's done so far, of everything he's achieved!" he yells, loud enough that the ill-wishers fall silent. "Hell, I don't even know the guy and I can still tell! You, who all claim to be great strategists and generals, are so ignorant as to not realise this? He hasn't even drawn his weapon yet! So what if he's wounded? Do you really think any warrior would fight like that without a plan? Think about it, you numskulls! He's been on the defensive since the very beginning. Sure, it might've looked like he was attacking Artemis, but…" Alexander's voice trails off, anger getting the best of him.

He simply cannot understand it. Hero or not, conqueror or not, Hannibal is mankind's representative, one of the strongest humans. Yet all those people lost faith so quickly…

"He isn't done yet. If you can't even see that, you're the lowest of the low. In fact, I'd say mankind's counterattack… begins now," the conqueror concluds.

And, in agreement with Alexander's words, Hannibal reaches for his weapon once again. With a metallic sound, the blade slides out of its scabbard, glinting in the light. The reddish hilt of the falcata seems to reflect the bloodlust in the general's eyes. The calm, cold expression on his face is now one of calculated, merciless determination. In spite of this obvious intent to attack, however, he's not moving! Moreover, he drops in a clumsy, unbalanced fighting stance!

But this time, an explanation for Hannibal's weird behaviour comes swiftly!

The spinning orb's motions decelerate, and its appearance slowly but surely returns to that of a golden arrow. Barely moving at all, it gives the impression that it might fall to the ground at any minute. Its tip isn't facing the skies anymore, instead pointing towards Hannibal. For a moment, it looks as if it is being held in place by magic, but soon… it begins its descent. Is it a slow, resigned fall? No! Reminiscent of the great hero Arash's arrow, the projectile rips through the air with enough force to make the heavens tremble! Heading straight for the general's chest, nothing in the world could stop it!

A sharp metal-on-metal sound thunders in the spectators' ears, perhaps even louder than when Artemis fired her bow. This time, however, only the gods flinch. Despite the deafening noise, despite Hannibal's seemingly imminent defeat, mankind bursts into cheers!

"T-this is… What a predicament!" Heimdall cries out. "The human has deflected the goddess' blow!"

Yes! With a movement almost too quick for the eye to see, Hannibal used his falcata to strike the arrow just as it was about to pierce his flesh!

"Phew. If I hadn't done that, the fight would've been over," he remarks with a hint of relief in his voice.

Hannibal glances at the arrow out of the corner of his eye. Diverted by his hit, it plunged so deep into the ground not even its nock is visible anymore! A small, round hole and the cracks surrounding it are the only traces left.

Artemis smirks, and the spark returns to her eyes. The fact that he survived her Iokheira Selene means only one thing… the hunt isn't over yet.

"Oh? No, no, no," the general cautions as the goddess reaches to her quiver. He shakes his head slowly, still holding the weapon out in front of him. "Now it's my turn."