Arcadia Planitia, Mars
The red sand floating in the air gravitates towards the StarScourge, as the black sword absorbs anything it comes into contact with. The same electromagnetic field that is preventing the sword from swallowing the planet is responsible for generating the small sandstorm by agitating the iron sands. Ares stands before her, completely naked.
<So you are the Slayer of Gods? I expected you to look less pathetic.>
<And I expected you to wear pants, but we can’t always get what we want.> she replies.
While he’s not embarrassed in the slightest, she’s quietly relieved when he manipulates the iron in the sand to build himself a new set of armor, molecule by molecule.
<This should allow you to have less distractions. I can sense you are itching for a fight.>
<Man… you have no idea.> she answers, charging towards him.
He should be much faster, but he finds himself more sluggish than he anticipated; he gathers more iron particles to fashion a sword for himself.
When he blocks the StarScourge, the dark blade devours the sword of Ares with terrifying efficiency. He should, by any account, be able to swat her away like an annoying insect: he’s the God of War, the absolute terror that makes the Galaxy shake in fear.
But he’s never met a mortal who just wasn’t afraid of him, and the light shining from her silver eyes makes his own power wane. Gods are only as powerful as they think they are… and for the first time in ages, Ares is having doubts about this fight.
A second iron sword is annihilated when it reaches the StarScourge; it’s only meant to be a distraction, as the sand molecules behind her assemble into two daggers who are levitated to stab her in the back.
Before they can even reach her forcefield, they are cut in half by a scythe made of Blood energy.
<Finally, a warrior. Let’s fight for real now.> Ares says to Torn, moving his attention towards Noriko one last time: while he can’t seem to be able to affect the StarScourge, he increases her personal gravity to levels lethal to a human.
She’s not entirely surprised by this, as his daughter Adrestia had gravity powers as well. The Gravity Gauntlets assemble themselves around her hands, but they are barely able to make her survive… she’s basically stuck in her place right now.
<Hold him steady so I can finish him off!> Null orders.
<Will do. INSTINCT KILLER!> Torn nods, powering up by the same technique that allows him to push his connection to the Blood to its fullest.
He moves faster than even Null’s brain can track to circle behind Ares; the scythe triples in size before he uses it to impale the god to the ground with its blade, pushing so much Blood through it that the weapon is crackling with red energy.
<Is that it? I heard you fought against my sister at the Strongest Under The Heavens. You couldn’t even defeat her, and you think you have a chance against ME?> Ares asks, still able to move. Just as he didn’t display any sign of pain when the blade sliced through his body, he casually twists his torso to completely shatter the scythe. He raises both hands, assembling one large iron mace for each one, and prepares to smash Null into a bloody pulp.
He’s been so focused on the target immediately before him that he forgot that there are other Demons on the battlefield… specifically, the millions of warriors that are channeling their power into a ludicrous amount of Blood chains that are used to prevent him from striking Null.
If this was any other fight, Ares would’ve already painted the Martian sands with their entrails.
But the thought of losing this fight is slowly creeping into his mind, weakening his resolve to the point of allowing the strength of millions of Demons to barely hold him in place.
This is maddeningly frustrating for Noriko as well: she has everything she needs to kill him and he’s well within range… if only she was strong enough to actually lift the sword while under increased gravity.
<Let me help you.> Vesta volunteers, painfully plodding towards her. Being hit by Ares’ planet-killing sword has left a huge hole in her abdomen, which is still leaking flames; combining her divine power with the Blood is taking her toll, and every step she takes is an agonizing process.
But she’s more than willing to suffer to help Noriko kill Ares, and she lets her friend lean against her despite the fact that the girl currently weights like half a mountain.
And watching a goddess selflessly help a mortal is enough to awaken the rage of the god of war.
<No… NO! I won’t be defeated by a bunch of WOMEN and WEAKLINGS!> Ares shouts, finding the resolve to believe himself strong enough to overpower millions of Demons and break through the Blood chains… and he simply becomes that strong.
He pulls the Demons connected to the chains, throwing them around like ragdolls; the only positive note is that he stops concentrating on the gravity field.
Noriko doesn’t waste any time swinging the SoulScourge; Ares is so close that she can’t possibly miss. Or at least she wouldn’t miss if Ares still had the intention to fight.
Instead he just floats above her and looks down:
<I will take everything you hold dear before I kill you!> he threatens, then flies towards space significantly faster than the speed of sound.
<What the… where is he going!?> Vesta wonders.
<Earth.> Noriko grimly realizes. She puts the StarScourge back into its scabbard and quickly takes out her N-Phone to give an order:
<Activate planetary shield, authorization code 3YAF2485R7D9-NULL.>
<How long can it last against Ares!?> Vesta asks, but Noriko ignores her.
<Torn! I need a portal to Earth, NOW.> Null orders, her silver eyes shining for emphasis.
The Demon obliges, but instead of going through the pentagram he generated he extends his hand towards his friend and leader.
<Give me the sword. I have a better chance than you to get within range.>
<I can’t. It has to be me.> Noriko insists.
<You can’t possibly be serious!> Vesta protests.
<Why do you think I didn’t just shoot the sword through a cannon!? The only reason the sword doesn’t obliterate the planet the second it’s unsheathed is I recalibrate the blade’s energy matrix twenty million times per second; there isn’t another brain in the Galaxy fast enough to do this kind of thing, and I need to keep physical contact to…>
<I get it, I get it. We’ll try to give you an opening.> Vesta replies, concentrating on the hole in her stomach: the raging flames inside her turn back to flesh and blood, but from her expression it’s clear that she’s far from being healed.
<Are you sure you can do this?> Noriko asks.
<Earth is my home too.> the goddess replies, being the first one to step through the portal.
Parthenos, 80,000 light-years from Earth
<Shut it all off.> Athena orders, making the room fall silent.
Over a hundred staff members stare at her for several seconds. The war room is filled with state-of-the-art sensors, among the most advanced in the Galaxy, and the massive screens that loom over the mortal staff are showing every possible detail picked up from Mars.
Until, one by one, they are all shut down. Even Athena’s personal assistant Nike, the Goddess of Victory, is baffled by this decision.
<Return to your families. Thank you for your service.> Athena tells the mortals; they are all sworn to absolute secrecy about what goes on in the war room, so she doesn’t have to explain herself.
Only once the two immortals are alone Nike has the courage to question her superior.
<Lady Athena… Ares has been sufficiently weakened. At this point you should be able to defeat him in single combat.>
<I know.>
<Then… are you you going to intervene?>
<That would invoke the wrath of Hera; it is important that I remain as neutral as possible in these matters, or all my schemes will all have been for nothing.>
<But if Null is able to defeat Ares, she will undoubtedly realize that you didn’t…>
<Null is destined to die at the hands of Ares. Whether she does before or after she kills him is no concern of mine. What’s important is that Ares does not implicate me in his petty squabbles.>
<I understand. But Lady Athena… the Slayer of Gods has successfully overcome any obstacle in her way. What if she…> Nike pauses, uncertain of how Athena will respond to her doubts.
<What if Null cannot be defeated by her own destiny?> Athena finishes the question for her.
Nike waits anxiously for her to make her final decision.
<I am leaving for Thebes. Nobody must know that I’ve left my station, not a single god and especially no ally of Null, is that clear?>
<Yes, Lady Athena. May I ask the reason for your visit?>
<I’m going to retrieve a weapon that will either replace Null or defend me from her. Keep me informed in case Earth is destroyed.> Athena informs her assistant before teleporting away.
Nike waits a few seconds before reconnecting one of the screens, while the words of Athena echo incessantly in her mind.
“What if Null cannot be defeated by her own destiny?”
Earth orbit
A few minutes ago, half of the planet witnessed a truly historical moment: the sky turned red. Even those who paid attention to the words of the President or of the representatives of the Global Defense Organization didn’t really know what to expect: nobody had ever seen the planetary shield.
But now a glowing and semitransparent dome of red energy is surrounding the entire planet, obscuring the sky. It’s a terrifying sight that leads to widespread panic, but it’s nothing compared to what would happen if Ares hit the planet instead of the shield.
While he cannot move faster than light in this solar system, thanks to the effect of the Palladium, he emerges from the tear in spacetime he created with his bare hands.
He expected to land on the planet, preferably in a populated area, which he would’ve hit with the force of a meteorite. Instead he hits the shield: the kinetic energy is distributed towards its shining red surface, but the barrier holds.
<Like this could hold me!> he laughs, striking the shield with the force of several thousand warheads. This time the shockwave is much more visible: a ripple expands at the speed of light on the entire surface of the shield, which struggles to remain intact.
He prepares to strike it a third time, knowing that it will be enough to overcome the shield’s limits, but a hundred Blood chains wrapping themselves around his arm and a million daggers hitting his back are enough to distract him.
<Hit him with everything you’ve got!!!> Noriko Null orders by radio; she lands on the shield as well, keeping enough distance to avoid being hit by the combination of Blood weapons and Vesta’s superheated plasma.
The Survival Field that allows her to move freely in space is already at its limit. She looks down at the planet beneath her feet: it’s clear that the planetary shield is going to break very soon.
<New plan! Torn, get him off the planet, I don’t care how! Vesta, get ready to hit him with your Hellfire Inferno on my signal!> Noriko orders.
<Are you crazy!? That would incinerate the planet!!!> Vesta protests through radio.
<Leave that to me!> Noriko replies; her hand reaches inside the pocket of her green leather jacket, where she presses a button on the N-Phone.
Homeworld Security Office, Washington D.C.
Like the rest of the country, Todd Slate is watching the red sky get progressively brighter as the shield continues to deflect more and more energy. Unlike everybody else, however, he knows that the shield is only supposed to be the first line of defense.
The coin he’s holding in his hand is a constant reminder of that. As Noriko told him, it started to glow green the moment the shield was activated… and now it’s started to glow red.
He knows what it means: she told him that the coin would activate the last line of defense, “guaranteed” to save Earth. But she also told him it has a 20% chance of blowing up the planet.
As Secretary of Homeworld Security, it’s his job to keep the world safe. She wouldn’t have given him the responsibility over this decision if she didn’t trust him… and despite everything that happened between them, Todd has to believe in her.
<I hope you know what you’re doing, Noriko.> he tells himself before pressing the coin.
The Moon, 1 light-second away
Ares emerges from a pentagram and smashes through a grey mountain, pushed by the strength of Vesta and with his body covered by lances of Blood energy.
<Insolent vermin! Does your wretched kind want MORE punishment!?> Ares shouts, flexis his muscles to push all the Blood weapons out of his body.
<I will go back to Hell to finish the job once I have destroyed… the…> he continues, looking up: much to his confusion, however, there is no planet in the sky.
<Where did Earth go!?>
<Better question…> Vesta replies, landing behind him and gathering all of her strength to connect to the Blood once again.
<…can you survive this without your armor? HELLFIRE INFERNO!!!> she shouts, releasing enough fire to burn down the solar system.
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