Chapter 74: Just in Time

It had been over an hour since the invasion began. Parademons swarmed the planet, their shrill cries filling the skies, but wherever Wonder Woman went, they met only death. From Washington to Metropolis, Princess Diana of Themyscira had carved a bloody path, her sword cleaving through the monsters, her golden lasso binding and breaking their ranks. She had even resorted to using abandoned vehicles as makeshift projectiles, hurling them with devastating force when necessary.

As she flew, four Parademons attempted to ambush her from all sides. The first lunged at her, but with fluid maneuver, Diana ducked under its attack and sliced it cleanly at the waist. The second one barely had time to react before her lasso wrapped around it, pulling it into the third. With a quick flick of her wrist, she impaled them both with her blade. The fourth Parademon came up from below, claws extended, but Diana met it with a brutal kick, shattering its head with such force that it exploded on impact.

"Is that the best you've got, mindless beasts?" Diana smirked as she watched the remains fall.

Hundreds had already been saved by her efforts, creating time for the evacuation army to secure the area. The Parademons, recognizing her as a significant threat, had begun to focus their attention on her instead of the civilians. Diana welcomed it.

"Yes... come to me, mongrels," she muttered, satisfaction flickering across her face as the horde turned their focus on her, giving the civilians a chance to flee. The more she fought, the more the monsters were drawn toward her. It allowed her to leave the civilians behind, knowing that their attention was fully on her now.

Down below, Colonel Steve Trevor was tirelessly directing the local military's defenses, coordinating the evacuation while Diana bought them time. Washington still had defenders, but it was clear the situation was becoming more dire by the second.

Diana continued her battle, cutting down dozens more Parademons as she moved forward. Her sharp eyes scanned the horizon, noticing the density of the monsters increasing. Frowning, she turned to a nearby soldier and shouted, "Which city lies in that direction?"

The soldier, firing his rifle into the swarm, shouted back, "Metropolis, ma'am! They're converging there!"

Metropolis. Diana's heart sank. More lives were at stake.

Without wasting another moment, she cleared the surrounding area of monsters, cutting down hundreds, even thousands, as she surged forward, making a beeline for the city.

As Diana flew past the outskirts of Washington, she spotted a new swarm on the horizon. Preparing to engage, she squinted and noticed something strange. The creatures were not attacking; they were fighting the Parademons. Taking a closer look, she saw figures riding on birds, some flying alongside them, firing white energy orbs that disintegrated the Parademons on impact.

'Who are they?' Diana thought, narrowing her eyes at the strange sight. Some of the figures wore cloaks, adorned with a symbol of a yellow lunar moon and a dot in its center. Others had their faces bandaged. Whoever they were, they weren't ordinary humans.

As she approached closer, a few of the figures locked onto her, readying to attack. Diana tightened her grip on her sword, prepared for a fight, but they quickly ignored her, recognizing she was not one of the Parademons. Seizing the opportunity, she shouted, "Who are you?"

None of them answered, continuing their relentless pursuit of the Parademons. They moved with incredible speed, some flying like blurs through the air, while others served as shields, blocking explosions and protecting civilians below with transparent white energy shields.

Suddenly, a raspy, empty voice sounded behind her. "We serve Lord Ōtsutsuki."

Diana spun around, sword raised, surprised by how she had not sensed the presence of the being. 'I couldn't sense it... Is it because of how chaotic this place is?' she wondered as she locked eyes with the speaker. Its face was pale, with empty blue eyes, the lower half of its face bandaged tightly.

"What's your objective?" Diana demanded.

"To secure all civilians and kill all who oppose our Lord," the puppet-like being replied coldly.

"Where is your Lord?" she asked, her voice steady but firm.

The puppet remained silent, then suddenly flew off, leaving her question unanswered. Diana frowned, watching as it vanished into the chaos. Looking around, she saw that the Parademons were being effectively dealt with by the strange army. Glancing down, she noticed that some of the puppets had been destroyed by surprise attacks, only to crumble into empty shells upon impact.

'Puppets,' she thought in surprise, realizing that the beings fighting alongside her were not alive, but mere constructs. Whoever controlled these puppets was powerful, capable of commanding hundreds—no, thousands—at once.

She scanned the city, trying to locate the puppeteer. 'Whoever is controlling them is incredibly powerful...' Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of the larger battle, Diana flew through a less chaotic area, hoping to avoid unnecessary fights.

As she neared Metropolis, she saw the same puppets from earlier continuing their battle against the monsters. Explosions rocked the city as Parademons collided with buildings and the ground. Some of the puppets were shot down by surprise attacks, only for their hollow forms to fall apart, disintegrating into nothing.

The battle was fierce. In the air, puppets chased Parademons, sending them spiraling out of control with well-placed energy orbs. Others intercepted incoming Parademons, protecting civilians with their energy shields, preventing debris and explosions from harming anyone. On the ground, more puppets held firm against the horde, using efficient teamwork to wipe out any who crossed their paths.

Diana herself made good progress, cutting down any Parademons in her way. Her sword was a blur of motion as she sliced through the enemies, her golden lasso ensnaring and incapacitating those too far for her blade to reach. As she drew closer to the city limits, the chaos intensified, but she was on the brink of breaking through the enemy lines and reaching Metropolis, her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of several Parademons veering off from the main horde. They were heading north, straight for a large aircraft, a plane struggling to escape the chaos.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath, immediately changing course. She pushed herself harder, flying toward the plane in hopes of intercepting the Parademons before they could bring it down. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several of the puppets from earlier following behind her, most likely with the same goal in mind.

---

Australia, Sydney

On the other side of the globe, in Sydney—a city close to the sea—the Parademons had descended like locusts, swarming the coastline. Thousands of them filled the skies, darkening the horizon with their numbers. Tanks rolled through the streets, their cannons firing into the air in desperate attempts to bring down the invaders. Soldiers unleashed everything they had—machine guns, rockets, grenades—but it wasn't enough. The Parademons were overwhelming.

From above, fighter jets streaked across the sky, launching missiles into the masses of monsters. Explosions rocked the air, sending Parademons plummeting into the sea and crashing onto the beaches. Yet for every one that fell, three more took its place.

In the cockpit of one of the jets, a pilot stared out toward the ocean, his breath catching in his throat. "There are too many… thousands of them… We can't stop this."

Suddenly, another pilot's voice cracked through the radio, his tone panicked. "What the hell is that? We've got incoming—four o'clock! Something's moving fast—Mach 50!"

The pilots scrambled to adjust their instruments, their radars lighting up with a new signature moving at impossible speeds. Desperation set in as they tried to brace themselves for whatever was coming. Then, without warning, the sky exploded with sound. A deafening boom, louder than anything they had ever heard, shattered the air. The sonic barrier had been broken—several times over.

The sky itself lit up like it was daytime, the clouds instantly vaporizing as the water beneath them churned and released steam. All eyes turned toward the spectacle unfolding above the ocean, and what they saw would be forever etched into their memories.

A figure floated high in the sky, his pale complexion made him look otherworldly beautiful. Toneri Ōtsutsuki had arrived, far ahead of his puppets. His gaze swept over the swarming Parademons below, and he frowned.

'I made it just in time. How did so many make their way here so quickly?' Toneri thought to himself, but the concern faded from his mind just as fast. 'No matter… I shall welcome them with death.'

Green pigmentation bloomed beneath his eyes, signifying his entry into Sage Mode. Toneri raised his hand, chakra swirling around him as he muttered, "Senpou Katon: Tajuu Gouenka no Jutsu" (Sage Art: Fire Style, Multiple Flame Flower).

In an instant, thousands of massive fireballs—each the size of 30 meters across—blazed to life, floating behind him like a swarm of fiery meteors. The sight was nothing short of breathtaking.

One of the pilots, trembling at the controls of his jet, whispered in horror, "God help us…"

Toneri's cold eyes gazed down at the Parademons, and with a simple, commanding gesture, he moved his hand down. "Fall," he said, his voice icy and indifferent.

The fireballs descended with a terrifying fury, raining down upon the Parademons like a meteor shower of death. The ocean itself boiled under the immense heat, releasing thick plumes of steam as the fireballs crashed into the water. Explosions rocked the coastline, their force shaking the very foundations of the city. The beach sand turned to glass under the searing heat, shimmering as it cooled into an eerie, reflective surface.

The sight was apocalyptic, yet hauntingly beautiful, a symphony of destruction as the fireballs continued to obliterate the Parademons. From his vantage point high above, Toneri watched his jutsu rain death upon his enemies, his thoughts calm and singular.

'To ashes.'

The destruction was controlled, calculated. The fireballs didn't reach the city, nor did they harm the civilians. Toneri's mastery over his jutsu allowed him to guide the flames, avoiding the populated areas and even sparing the few remaining aircraft that had scrambled away before the fireballs had been released. However, the heat was so intense that the metal hulls of some of the jets began to warp and melt as they escaped, barely holding together until they were out of danger.

Down below, the battlefield was left in flames, thick steam wafting from the ocean due to the immense heat looking like an everlasting fog, the Parademons reduced to nothing more than ash, their remains scattered on the wind.