In the hundreds of thousands of years of his life, Deimos has witnessed fear in all of its forms. As the God of Terror, it was his duty to inflict this kind of punishment to its fullest extent. It’s been so long since the last time he’d feared something, but new he remembers that old emotion.
And it’s all thanks to the small and frail female mortal standing before him, as the illusory world created by Deimos crashes down to once again reveal the arena of the “Strongest Under The Heavens” contest.
<It feels so good to be alive again> the girl comments. The heavy distortion in her voice, as wells as the fact that Noriko Null’s silver eyes are now completely black, is a dead giveaway for the mortals in the audience.
<She turned back into Abyss? How!?> Vesta asks herself, covering her mouth with her hands in a clear show of shock.
<We have to do something!> Kari exclaims, ready to jump into the arena; Quantum shares her concern and transforms into light, however before any of them can do anything they find themselves in front of an energy sword held by Torn.
<Don’t. If you interfere, she’ll be eliminated from the tournament.>
<Who cares!? You know what happened the other times she transformed!> Quantum shouts.
<Torn is right. Besides, your friend can handle herself> Ulysses reminds them, remaining strangely calm about the whole situation.
For once, Dmitry Voron doesn’t share his chill demeanor: he’s staring at Abyss, with his jaw dropped and barely breathing.
<Well, what are you looking at? You’ve never seen the incarnation of the darkest side of humanity before?> Abyss asks Deimos, reveling in his hesitation to make any move.
<I don’t know how you negated my illusion, but you’re still a mortal: there must be something you fear> Deimos tells her, making a grand gesture with both hands that is probably meant to accompany some very spectacular power demonstration… but nothing happens.
<Seriously? You expect to use fear as a weapon against ME? You idiot, that’s like trying to put out a fire with gasoline! Let me show you what fear really looks like!>
She raises her left arm; the metal beneath the fake skin morphs rapidly, transforming the prosthetic hand into a very complex piece of machinery. It crackles with black electricity, and Abyss looks at it with an expression of ecstatic bliss on her face.
<Null is such an idiot. The kind of damage this thing could do…>
She’s interrupted by the sound of a god’s fists colliding with the forcefield that protects her: Deimos is punching it with enough force to take down a building.
<You may be immune to fear, but I’m still a god! I’m still terror itself!!!>
<Terrorize this: GOD ERASER!!!>
The forcefield disappears just as Abyss releases a stream of electricity from her left arm, discharging it directly into the head of Deimos. The god screams, grabbing his own helmet and holding so tight to it that it shatters like glass.
<Stop it! No! No! Father, please, let me go! You’re hurting me! Stop!> he shouts, falling to his knees as his armor begins to melt. Abyss is still linked to him by a stream of electricity that holds him down like a leash.
<What? I thought you were all about fear! You don’t like the memory of your father Ares abusing you and Phobos when you were children? Could it be because I’m forcing you to relive all of that twenty billion times per second?> she mocks him, coming closer.
<Make it stop! Make it stop!> Deimos pleads, looking up to her as he cries.
<Now do you realize who I am?> she asks him, pointing the God Eraser to his head.
When it reaches peak intensity, the scream of pure agony of Deimos sends chills down the spines of every mortal and god that hears it. It seems to last an eternity: when Deimos finally collapses, his armor has completely vanished and his body has been reduced to a skeleton.
The God Eraser shuts down, transforming back into a fake arm. There’s not a single sound in the arena until Abyss turns towards Thoth and snaps her fingers.
<C’mon, bird brain! Call it!>
<Deimos is dead. The winner is…>
<Don’t you fu##in’ say HER name. You ALL know who won> Abyss says, proudly walking back towards the mortal audience.
The gods are still in shock: most of them had never seen one of their kind die, especially not in such a brutal way. They’re all in silence, except for one.
<That was fu##ing AWESOME!!! I LOVE the style of that b##ch!!!> – Persephone exclaims.
Abyss calmly walks towards the seats where the Vanguard is waiting for her: despite her calm demeanor, keeping her hands in her pockets like nothing happened, she can tell that they’re just waiting to attack her. And none of them seems willing to hold their punches.
<Just so you know, this isn’t MY fault. Null deleted me when we last fought in Hell; she’s the one who decided to rebuild my personality to fight Deimos.>
<You’re lying. Null told me she’d rather die than transform into you again> Torn replies.
<Well, I’ve been dead before and I didn’t like it. I’m too smart to think you guys will let me stay around, so I’ll give you this one… tell Null I still fu##in’ hate her> she says, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. When she opens them again, they’re back to being silver. Considering the shock on her face and how quickly she turned pale, Noriko know what just happened.
<Oh God. It happened again> she realizes, fighting as hard as she can to hold back the tears.
<It’s alright, you’re not going through this alone> Kari reassures her, as both the original and the duplicate hug her. They help her reach her seat, where she notices that Dmitry Voron has left and is walking back towards one of the temples.
<So that was Abyss. Quite intense… I think you can learn a thing or two from her, sunshine> Hermes tells her, only to find himself face to face with a very stern Vesta.
<Drop it. There’s nothing funny about this.>
<Not even a little bit?> he asks, pointing at the Greek amphitheater housing the gods.
Hebe is the only one saddened by the murder of Deimos, crying against the chest of her husband Herakles. Tyche is the most surprised: she foresaw Null’s victory, but not in such a brutal way. Dionysus is so focused on trying to reattach his head to his body that he probably didn’t even watch the match. Hera is furious, barely containing the flames emanating from her blue hair, to the point that Ilithyia tries to get some distance from her while keeping quiet.
<You seem upset, grandmother> Adrestia comments, completely devoid of emotion.
<Of course I am! Your brother just got himself killed by a mortal… what a disappointment! What will the other pantheons think of our family!?>
<They shall learn it soon> Adrestia answers, looking at Tyche.
<The next contestant has been chosen by Inanna. Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, may approach the arena.>
<About fu##ing time!!!> Persephone shouts, leaving her seat by releasing enough energy to create a small crater to replace it.
<Her opponent has also been chosen by Inanna, at the behest of Rhea. Enyo, the Goddess of War, may approach the arena.>
<Finally> Enyo says as she proudly stands up. Hera grabs her arm and tells her firmly:
<Do. Not. Lose.>
<Won’t.>
The two goddesses approach the arena from the same side of the audience. Walking next to each other, it’s hard to miss how different they are: Persephone is as informal as it gets, with her metal bikini and the tattoo of a dragon on her chest. Enyo is fully covered in black armor, leaving only her head exposed. She’s also taller and more muscular than her half-sister: if they were human, there would be no doubts about who is the strongest one.
<This is exciting. Who do you think is going to win?> Hermes asks Ulysses, moving next to him in the blink of an eye.
<It could go either way. They’re both among the strongest Olympians, but there’s little data for a match of this caliber> the hero comments.
<Yes, it’s hard to keep witnesses when you throw planets at each other. Speaking of which, we should make things more interesting> Hermes suggests, disappearing as rapidly as he appeared.
Meanwhile, Lily gets a little closer to Vesta to ask:
<Hey, uhm, I’ve been meaning to ask you… I’ve read about what Earth books tell about Persephone, and they’re all wrong. I mean, a lot of their mythology is wrong, but Persephone really doesn’t match… why do they think she’s a purely innocent agricultural goddess?>
<Most of Earth’s mythology has roots in the period when it was ruled by Demeter’s oracles. My sister had a rather, let’s say, idealized version of her own daughter> Vesta answers, shrugging.
By now the two contestants are facing each other, right under Thoth’s nose.
<Now declare the prize you wish to claim in this tournament. Persephone?> the Egyptian asks.
<I’m about to kill this fu##ing c#nt by myself, so I don’t fu##ing care what happens next: you can make Priapus fall in love with Hebe’s a## for all I care.>
<Should I even ask?> Kari whispers to Vesta.
<Please don’t> Vesta shuts her off.
<Enyo, what is your wish?> Thoth continues.
<Kill> the goddess answers, taking a long breath before adding: <Persephone.>
<What!? That’s not what I told you!!! You’re supposed to kill Apollo!!!> Hera protests.
<The stakes are decided, until defeat or…>
<WAIT!> Inanna shouts, her voice echoing loud enough to attract the attention of the gods.
<Hermes has wisely suggested to me a way to make the rest of the tournament a little more interesting. Would you mind?> Inanna asks to Hermes, who is sitting next to her now.
<Gladly> Hermes answers, clapping twice. There’s less than a second between the two claps, and the latter is impossible to hear it coincides with an extremely loud earthquake.
It’s not the only shock: the Uruk Galaxy doesn’t loom above the arena anymore, replaced by a clear blue sky where a red star is shining brightly. It’s immediately clear to everybody that the arena has been transported to the surface of a planet… or at least, to almost everybody.
<Oh, wow, he turned the Galaxy blue!> Rhea exclaims, with an amazed expression on her face.
<He just moved the arena> Inanna explains her, with an annoyed sigh.
<Really!? But this one looks exactly like the first! You’re a great artist, Hermes!>
<Rhea, I’m pretty sure the only reason someone as dumb as you isn’t dead yet is because you’re immortal> Inanna blatantly insults her, while Hermes suppresses the urge to laugh.
<I don’t know who that someone is, but I love guessing games!!! Is it Hekate?>
<Hekate is dead.>
<Does that mean I guessed right? Did I win!?> Rhea excitedly asks.
<Hey!!! Can we fu##ing fight now!?> Persephone protests.
<Yes, please, I can only tolerate so much stupidity> Inanna concedes, and Thoth resumes his role.
<The stakes are decided, until defeat or death. Persephone versus Enyo. FIGHT!!!>
Both goddesses look at each other, surrounding their bodies with green and purple energy respectively.
<About fu##ing time. Any last words, C#nt of War?>
<Scream> Enyo answers, pausing to fill her lungs. Then she unleashes her war cry, a sound so powerful it can shatter mountains. The only reason this doesn’t obliterate the audience’s sense of hearing is the barrier summoned by Thoth; under the strain of the attack, it’s becoming visible.
<I’m glad I’m not the one on the receiving end this time> Vesta comments, pushing her luck: the entire arena is now vibrating, with more and more intensity.
<She’s gonna wreck the place! We’re not supposed to fight her later, right!?> Quantum asks, biting his lower lip when he notices the barrier is now bending under the massive strain of the war cry.
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