Issue #50: X, Battle part 1.

Advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

3/4.

::--------------------------::

(General P.O.V)

'Itsss... Tiimmee.'

Diana's eyes snapped open.

She stood to her feet, her movements smooth, her face calm.

She stared down at her hands.

The Bracelets of Submission were given to every Amazon at age 15, at which time they pledge themselves to the service of Aphrodite.

Used primarily for defense, Diana's bracelets had another added effect.

Her brief meditation was not without cause. She had been seeking wisdom from the Fates. And praying for victory from Nike herself.

The Fates had shown her what she needed to see. Had told her what her mother hadn't.

Different from other Amazons, these particular Bracelets were special. Meant to suppress and hold back her full power.

And only by removing them could she access her Demigod abilities.

After a brief hesitation due to the significance these bracelets held, followed by a firm resolve, Diana yanked one off.

She turned around to face the wall behind her, raising her bare hand, clenching the fingers into a fist, before throwing it forward.

BOOOOMM!!!

(Kane's P.O.V)

'Stay hidden for now.'

I whispered to Spyra through our connection, my body tense and in a fight or flight mode.

I didn't need to warn her however as she was already melded into me, concealing her presence while sending me the word, 'scary' in regards to Ares.

And that was the only word that could really describe him.

A towering mountain of a man. Chest left bare to reveal the muscles upon muscles across his glowing frame.

His skin pulsed a golden luster- the basic aura of divine energy.

And every step he took forward felt like a humongous giant approaching me, just based on his sheer presence alone.

Spider Sense had gone silent once again. But this time was different from when Hermes was enslaved and killed everyone.

That time, it had felt as if Spider Sense couldn't warn me fast enough, and so the skill had malfunctioned from trying to keep up with Hermes' speed.

This time, the skill was silent because despite the sheer magnitude of power Ares was outputting, Spidey Sense could not perceive any sort of threat from Ares.

His intentions and next moves were totally obscure to me.

I couldn't get a read on him at all. It felt like I was standing before Hades for the first time again.

There's only been a few times in my life where I've had to improvise an assassination after the first attempt at it fails.

Most of that 'improvisation' meant getting in close and personal. In other words...Close Range.

And you know I fucking hate it.

But right now...I wasn't having that issue at all.

Not when staring at his face. The smug grin he had on just irritated me. He reminded me of some of the pricks I had killed in the past.

"Well well well, Circe was not exaggerating, there was one more of you."

The God of War snorted in a chuckle, hands waving in an exaggerated manner has he climbed out of the ditch he was in previously.

Only for his expression to change into a scowl, once he surveyed the area- the burning tents and destroyed terrain.

"You know...all this took time to set up."

Ares sighed.

"Sorry for crashing the party and ruining it."

I couldn't help shooting back, while circling him.

Could I take him on up close? I mean with Flame Displacement...maybe?

Ares stared at me for a second before throwing his head back and laughing.

"Hahahaha. I like you, Mr. Assassin, so I'll extend this...gesture of goodwill."

His eyes turned cold as he pointed down.

"Kneel down and kiss my feet, and I'll let you join me in my glorious crusade of War."

"A war without a purpose you mean."

I couldn't help but shoot back.

"Only a sadistic asshole would liken that to a glorious crusade. No thanks."

I bent low, stabilizing my footing.

Brandishing Crescent Moon in its daggers form was answer enough. But in case my intentions were unclear...

"Just. Bring it."

Ares shook his head in disappointment.

"I see. Death it is then."

My eyes narrowed as he raised his right hand, showing the black and green Arrow that Rhadamanthus had given me to SPECIFICALLY put him down.

"I don't need a guess to know that this is yours?"

He stated with an evil smirk.

A bad feeling gripped me. My own instincts failed to warn me of what was coming when he flicked his hand, sending the arrow flying my way at IMPOSSIBLE-to-react-to-speeds.

Spyra's flames rose up in a protective veil around me, and in the blink of an eye, I was somewhere else- the east section of the campsite, staring at the devastation the single arrow had created. Bowling over the remaining tents, before heading towards the mountain.

The ground rumbled as shockwaves spread from the slopes of the mountain. The impact crater created by the single arrow visible even at a long distance.

Luckily Spyra had used Flame Displacement at the last minute to send me away. Or else I would have met an unfortunate end.

"Thanks Spyra."

I was under no illusions that I could survive an arrow meant to kill a God.

And yet...somehow Ares was still alive. How had he tanked it? I had no idea.

Let's rectify that.

Breathing out to calm down my racing heart, I stared at the direction I could sense Ares' presence emanating from.

Spyra bloomed into existence on my shoulder.

"Okay, listen close. I have an idea. We'll use Flame Displacement to move from one spark to another faster than he can attack."

He might have been capable of dodging any and all attacks but finding that out required probing him.

'Okay!'

Spyra echoed back with determination. No one had ever unsettled her before, quite like the God of War.

Flame Displacement brought me back to the ditch.

Only for Spider Sense to pick that time to blare at me so loudly I momentarily froze.

That cost me as I found myself sent flying by a huge and intimidating suit of armor with Ares' slave brand burning on its forehead.

The eyeholes glowed scarlet with a sickening aura of blood.

The damn thing had it's hand clamped on my neck and was moving at speeds something of it's size was not meant to.

Dammit! Even breathing was hard. Above me, I managed to catch a glimpse of Ares' form shooting towards the mouth of the mountain.

Shit. He'd left this thing behind to deal with me.

My body slammed onto a wall of stone and hard bedrock, before getting dug in, pushed by the immense Physical Strength the fucking Armor was exerting on my neck.

'Spyra!'

I called out to my Spider Totem to use Flame Displacement.

An instant later, I was teleported through another small spark left in the Campsite.

The problem was that the stupid Armor somehow came along with me!

(General P.O.V)

With the Godkiller Armor handling the Assassin, (he was too weak for Ares to spare him any more thought) the God of War wasted no time in flying towards the summit of Mount Etna.

With the appearance of an assassin wielding an arrow filled to the brim with chaos energy, it became more apparent that the Gods were finally making a move.

If so, he couldn't waste any more time and had to accelerate his plans.

[Phobos! Where are you?]

He demanded through telepathy, calling for his most useless son.

[F-father! I, ah was manning perimeter when I-]

Phobos replied through the established mind link.

[Your brother is dead. Make yourself useful and bring me your niece, Diana. Meet me at the mouth of the Volcano. Now!]

Ares ordered before cutting off the link.

Before dealing with Diana and awakening Typhon, he needed to handle a certain witch who thought she could steal from him.

Breaking his trajectory from a direct path up the mountain, Ares cut a sharp left, flying alongside the slopes of the mountain before spotting his target fleeing towards the west, about to close the ranges.

The God of War paused in the air, a glint of malice that promised pain, in his gaze.

"There you are, Circe."

-0-

Flying on her carpet, Circe wasted no time escaping. Especially after seeing what had happened to Ares.

Anything that could put down that monster was something she wanted to be as far away from as possible. Besides, it was time to cut her losses. And it's not like she was coming out of the whole ordeal empty handed.

She had her life and Ares' Helm. All she had to do was use the remnant divine energy in it and undo the Brand on her.

"Goodbye and good riddance Princess!"

She said to the rapidly shrinking campsite to her back.

"Too bad I couldn't kill you. But no worries, destroying Themiscyra is more than a worthy compensation. Hahahahahaha."

"Going somewhere Circe?"

Ares asked, casually flying next to her.

"-hahaha-ack! L-Lord Ares!!"

Immediately, Circe's flying carpet came to a sudden stop.

And that was because Ares had grabbed her neck and was now steadily choking her.

Noticing the helm in Circe's hands, Ares shook his head at the frightened woman with wide pleading eyes, trying to wrench off his hold.

"Tsk tsk Circe. I didn't think you were stupid enough to think a mere mortal could defeat me."

He said in disappointment.

The sky rumbled with thunder, the clouds gathering fast at the behest of Circe's magic.

Great emerald bolts of lightning fell on the levitating pair.

When the barrage of lightning bolts ended, Ares was revealed, unharmed.

"Weak."

He mocked.

"Not even a strand of hair went out of place."

Circe's heart immediately sank. She tried to push him off with a blast of telekinesis, but all that did was cause a brief breeze to buffet against Ares.

That said, it did manage to ruffle his hair.

Despite the vice grip on her neck, the Witch of Aia grinned at the minor accomplishment.

Ares eyes grew cold.

"My turn."

Circe's eyes bulged out of their sockets as the strength gripping her increased. She could feel the shadow of death creeping up on her. Already she was seeing spots in her vision.

"Ares!!!"

Before Ares could snap her neck however, a shout from the ground grabbed his attention.

Only to find a large boulder the size of a chariot flying his way.

The God punched out, reducing the whole thing into molecules, resulting in a cloud of fine dust that blew past the two of them.

Down below, Diana straightened up after chucking the massive rock at the God of War.

Without her Bracelets on, her physical strength alone had shot up to insane levels and was continuing to increase with every passing second.

Not to mention the feeling of boiling within her body. An eclectic chaos that felt foreign yet familiar to her.

She didn't know what it could be other than her Demigod abilities. With them, she could hopefully finish this.

Eyes blazing with blue lightning, Diana tapped into the boiling sensation, channeling it forth around her body.

The wind in the surroundings gathered, shrouding her like a mother would shield a child during a rainstorm.

She didn't even need to bend her legs just to jump in hopes of clearing the distance between them.

She simply willed and the air carried her up towards Ares.

And before he could react, Diana got some much needed payback when her punch landed on his neck with a resounding crack!!

The force threw Ares away from Circe, sending him on a collision course with the vent of the volcano below.