Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth
Enyo levitates high enough to get a good view of Null City: from this height, her War Cry would annihilate the place in a second.
A bolt of lightning distracts her long enough to allow a dagger of Aether energy to fly straight for her throat, moving faster than the speed of sound.
It’s not enough: she catches it without even looking.
<It will take more than that to defeat the Goddess of War.> she boasts.
<Really? I recall kicking your butt the last time we fought!> Quantum mocks her; the radio waves carrying the message turn into neutrinos, which pass harmlessly through her body.
In the tiny instant where the particles are still inside her, Quantum converts part them into antimatter. It’s a risky move: he can’t turn his entire mass into antimatter without causing massive destruction, but it should be enough to destroy her from within.
However, the antimatter only comes into contact with the air: while neutrinos travel at the speed of light, Enyo is faster.
Under the light of the massive detonation, Quantum is kept busy re-absorbing the radiation released by the explosion into his own body. That leaves Enyo open to land with enough force to create a small earthquake.
With the buildings around her trembling, Kari Zel loses her balance just as she realizes that Enyo is about to attack her directly.
<Reaction Chain!!!> she hears Torn shout.
Enyo is restrained by barbed wire made of black Ichor, secured to the ground by strings of interconnected Blood sickles. Even like this, the restraints have to be constantly recreated: her strength is so great that even these arcane energies struggle to contain her.
<She’s stronger than the last time we fought her.> Torn informs Kari.
<So why not use Aether?>
<It’s more exhausting to sustain. This is going to be a long fight.> the Demon says.
Now fully enraged, Enyo breaks out of the chains.
<Or a short one. I don’t think we can take her without a heavy hitter.> Kari admits.
Now done dealing with the explosion, Quantum reaches the ground as a series of high-powered lasers bouncing around Enyo and failing to get through her armor or even her skin.
<You are not getting past me. I have orders to kill this planet.> Enyo tells them, with her right hand catching one of the lasers. Quantum’s energy coalesces around it, completely without his consent; struggling to prevent her from interfering with his powers, he turns back into human form.
Enyo is holding him by the throat now.
<And I will obey my orders. I took a vow.> she says, starting to squeeze.
Something flies at her at incredible speed, much faster than anything that should be on this planet. Taken completely by surprise, Enyo is punched past the horizon.
<As did I.> Vesta replies to her niece, taking Quantum into his arms before he can hit the ground.
<When did you get here!?> Kari exclaims.
<You said we needed a heavy hitter. That means someone who can hit very hard: it has nothing to do with weight.> Torn explains, proud of himself for understanding at least one human idiom.
<I hit Enyo as hard as I could, but that can delay her only so much. Give me the short version.> Vesta says, with Kari explaining quickly:
<My duplicates have been organizing a resistance on Myridia for a couple of weeks; once Enyo showed up, I sent myself a message and we came through one of Torn’s portals.>
<No offense to Vesta, but shouldn’t we take Noriko here too?> Quantum asks.
<There’s a situation on Earth; we’ll have to protect Myridia alone.> Vesta reveals.
<What kind of situation?>
<No time to explain. I will fight Enyo; you guys deal with the Athenian ships in orbit. They’re still here, right?> Vesta asks.
<Yes, they’re the reason why we didn’t launch a full attack. They put some distance from the planet once Enyo showed up, but once you get her off-planet…> Kari answers.
<…Myridia would be unprotected without you, got it. Keep the place secure, I will deal with Enyo.> Vesta says, starting to float.
<Careful. She is much stronger than the last time she soundly defeated you.> Torn tells her.
<I know. Thankfully, so am I.>
Vesta flies away, moving so fast that the gust of wind she creates almost knocks out her teammates.
Bridge of the Destiny-One, 8 light-minutes from Earth
The Sun is so close and so bright that even if the viewscreen is showing a highly filtered image of the star, both Noriko Null and Gilgamesh have to wear specially treated sunglasses.
Prometheus doesn’t have such problems, lacking both eyes.
<What are we looking at, exactly?> Gilgamesh asks.
There’s a black mass in front of the Sun, obscuring roughly a quarter of the disk. A writhing mass of teeth and claws, drawing towards itself pools of incandescent plasma.
<That’s Cerberus. Hades and Persephone’s pet monster. The sensors are having lots of problems scanning it… just how big is that thing?> she wonders.
<Last time I saw him he was the size of a planet. Sometimes he likes to roll around stars, other times he swallows them whole.> Prometheus answers.
<So he eats stars. Is that how he grows?>
<No, he doesn’t need to. I believe he just likes the taste.>
<But what’s his real size? I’m trying to understand if there’s an actual body we can attack, or if it’s some sort of energy field.>
<That I don’t know. Few gods ever dared to get too close to a beast born from Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, and Typhon, the Father of Horrors. You have met my family, why do you think none of them ever tried to invade the Underworld?> Prometheus points out.
<I heard he was just a dog.> Gilgamesh admits.
<When he wants to be, he is.>
<How did Athena get her hands on Cerberus? I thought Persephone brough him with her when she moved to the Aegian Galaxy, after the Underworld was destroyed. And she doesn’t exactly have any allies there.> Noriko wonders.
<If I were in charge of that thing, I would also get rid of it as fast as I could.> Gilgamesh says.
<It can’t be a coincidence that Cerberus shows up to eat the Sun while Enyo attacks Myridia… Athena is trying to divert my attention. She might even be trying to force me to recall Persephone back from the Dark Galaxy.> Noriko reasons.
<That wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Persephone could certainly soothe the beast.> Prometheus says.
<Yes, that would probably be the safest move.> Noriko nods, pressing a button on the captain’s chair. And the ship fires its plasma cannons at the monster.
The alarm sounds once the ship is hit by the gravitational wave caused by Cerberus growling angrily through the vacuum of space.
<Why did you shoot!?> Gilgamesh exclaims.
<It would take too long to get Persephone here, and if Athena wants me to bring her back, that’s exactly what I am not going to do. Besides, we got the dog’s attention now.>
Cerberus leaves the Sun to move towards the Destiny-One, which only has moments to activate its engines before it can be swallowed.
<Now I just have to figure out what I want to do with it.> Noriko adds, working on a plan.
The Sun’s surface
Athena watches the ship fly away, standing mere feet above the star. It would be the last place where she would expect someone to strike a conversation, if she hadn’t sensed the arrival of her half-brother long before he decides to talk.
<Bold strategy. What are you trying to accomplish, exactly?> Hermes asks.
<I am not going to reveal my plans to a traitor. Unless, of course, you have regained your sanity and have decided to drop your dubious alliance with Null.> she answers.
<Would you even believe me if I tried something like that?>
<Not for a moment.>
<Did you really expect Null would fall for your trick and deliver Persephone to you?>
<It would have made things easier. But she simply fell into a less obvious trap.>
<You’re really going all-out this time, aren’t you? You really think this is going to end with you on our father’s throne with nobody left to challenge you.>
<I am no fool, Hermes. I know the risks: Null is the only challenger left that could defeat me, and I still calculate a 78% probability of achieving ultimate victory.>
<You know, I could take a shot at the throne. For old time’s sake.>
<You could. With a 12% chance of success.>
Hermes doesn’t reply. He stays in silence for several seconds, with Athena taking notice.
<You are uncharacteristically quiet, Hermes. Are you actually considering my offer?>
<You could have ordered Cerberus to eat the Sun before Null showed up, or you could have ordered the destruction of Earth before she set up her shield. But you didn’t.>
<Ares was the god of senseless bloodshed. I am the goddess of strategic war: the unnecessary destruction of useful assets is beneath me.>
<Don’t waste your propaganda on me, Athena, I know just how ruthless you can be. Be honest with me, for once… what would your chances of victory have been if you destroyed Null’s world?>
Now it’s Athena’s turn to be strangely silent for an unprecedented amount of time.
<How strange for the god of thieves to demand an honest answer.> she deflects.
<I think I realized why you started this war and why you’re acting this way, Athena… I came to the same conclusion when I decided to stop antagonizing Null.>
<And what would that be?>
<You are scared. You know that, if pushed her hard enough, you would stand no chance.>
Athena doesn’t respond.
<You’re playing a dangerous game, Athena. We both know how heroes work… the worst possible thing you can do with a hero is to make them truly furious. Because rage makes heroes unbeatable: they will become stronger and more resourceful than they’ve ever been, and they will annihilate whatever tries to stop them. If you go too far, Null will annihilate you.>
<A fascinating theory. And yet, Null herself doesn’t think she’s a heroine.>
<Then you better pray whatever god is still on your side that she is wrong.> Hermes recommends, before running away faster than the speed of light.
Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth
Enyo didn’t expect Vesta to be so aggressive. She’s actually putting some strength in her punches, to the point that she’s even feeling them.
As do the people of Myridia: each time she hits the goddess of war, the impact echoes through the atmosphere like deafeningly loud thunder.
Vesta is under no impression that this will actually hurt her adversary. In fact, her own knuckles start to bleed after failing to dent her armor.
<The last time we fought, I broke your bones. And I wasn’t even at my peak.> Enyo tells her, easily dodging the next punch. Now that she’s trying, Vesta can no longer lay a finger on her.
<You also didn’t have the full use of your voice. Noriko gave it back to you, and that’s how you repay her? By betraying her?>
<Null is the one who betrayed her empire. She murdered Hebe.>
<You actually believe Athena’s lies? After she let Ares abuse you for so many millennia?>
<Don’t you DARE bring that up!!! WAR…> Enyo inhales deeply, ready to unleash the full extent of her power. Vesta knows for certain that the next word coming out of her mouth will break Myridia in half… and she responds in kind.
<Infernal Resonance!!!>
The power of Hell itself resonates with Vesta’s divine essence, closing the distance both literally and figuratively: Vesta flies through the hypersonic pressure wave, covered by an aura of plasma hotter than the surface of a star, and her hands are on Enyo’s throat fast enough to stop her from completing her attack.
<I’m sorry. HELLFIRE INFERNO!!!>
An explosive force unlike anything the war goddess has ever experienced overwhelms her completely, and Vesta pushes her well past Myridia’s atmosphere.
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