Chapter 86: Slaying the Sky Father's Eldest Son
Diana had heard of Heracles since childhood.
He was one of King Zeus's most powerful offspring born to a mortal, a renowned hero in the mortal realm, but she had never heard of the Twelve Labors.
"It's perfectly normal that your mother never told you. After all, one of the Twelve Labors was to obtain her magical belt." David chuckled.
"My mother wouldn't tell her daughter about embarrassing failures, and..."
"And what?" Hippolyta's heart pounded as she met the young man's playful gaze. A flicker of panic crossed her eyes. Did he know something else? Impossible, only the gods knew about that.
Facing Diana's questioning, David smiled faintly and didn't answer.
If Hippolyta had told Diana about this myth, Diana would surely have asked how Heracles defeated her mother. Some of the details would be quite awkward.
"Diana is the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, and Heracles is Zeus's son. However, Heracles almost 'captured' Hippolyta, though that was before Zeus." Eventually, Diana would learn of her parentage, and her perfect image of her mother would likely shatter.
"But then again, that's not out of character for the Greek gods," David mused with a sigh. Heracles was a prime example. He was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, who was the granddaughter of Perseus, making her Zeus's great-granddaughter. As for Alcmene being the wife of Amphitryon, the King of Thebes, that was comparatively minor.
"The Twelve Labors: skinning the impenetrable Nemean Lion, killing the enormous, venomous Hydra, capturing the hind from Mount Ceryneia, trapping the incredibly strong Erymanthian Boar... and finally, bringing back the three-headed dog Cerberus from the Underworld." David casually listed Heracles's twelve trials. Diana grew increasingly astonished as she heard the names of terrifying monsters she'd heard of since childhood. These trials would likely be difficult even for gods, especially the last one. Cerberus was the pet of Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. She couldn't imagine how Heracles managed it.
Diana looked at her mother with disbelief, finally understanding why she had changed the subject.
"What achievement would be more difficult than all the Twelve Labors combined?"
"Outsider, you don't need to complete so many trials. Just accomplish one thing, and we will crown you king." Hippolyta declared loudly. "That is—slay Ares, the God of War, who still roams the earth!"
A thunderclap seemed to echo through the hall. The valiant Amazonian warriors trembled at the name, a hint of fear in their eyes. The hall fell silent, as if they feared that by uttering the queen's command, Ares's malevolent gaze would fall upon them.
"Ares, who killed the gods, including the Sky Father Zeus!" Diana exclaimed, her heart shaken. The Olympian gods, revered and worshipped by the Amazons—the all-powerful King Zeus, Poseidon, King of the Sea, Apollo, God of the Sun... all these mighty deities had been slaughtered thousands of years ago by one being. That being was Ares, the eldest son of the Sky Father Zeus and Hera, Queen of the Gods.
"Ares is war, rebellion, slaughter, and chaos. He is the symbol of strength and power. He is bloodthirsty, savage, the embodiment of human disaster..." Diana recited the terrifying legends she had heard since childhood about the Sky Father's eldest son.
"If I make Ares disappear from this world, the Amazon tribe will submit to me?" As if oblivious to the fearful reactions of those in the hall, as if he had never heard of Ares's fearsome reputation, David spoke the name as if it were ordinary. In his words, slaying the God of War sounded like a mundane task.
It was much as David had guessed. The Amazons had encountered and defeated all the strong individuals and monsters, leaving only Ares. What else could serve as a trial?
"Slaying Ares..." Gods couldn't truly be killed; they merely faded. They died when they were forgotten, when their worship ceased. "If I can 'kill' Ares, he will return to Mount Olympus in the realm of the gods. He'll likely be imprisoned immediately by the very gods he killed." "His arrogant nature would surely lead him to eternally resent the mortal who killed him while imprisoned." David's eyes gleamed. This meant a god would continuously provide him with emotional points. He had already considered doing this even if Hippolyta hadn't mentioned it. Now, the final piece of the puzzle for 'legally' conquering the Amazon tribe was laid before him.
"Killing two birds with one stone..." His expression remained impassive, betraying neither joy nor sorrow.
"…You know many secrets that mortals shouldn't, but haven't you heard of Ares's terror?"
Hearing David rephrase and having her hidden thoughts exposed, Hippolyta, who had been a queen for thousands of years, merely shifted her expression slightly. Unembarrassed, she asked with a belly full of surprise.
"Strength and weakness, terrifying or not, are always relative."
"Ares is as terrifying as death itself to you, but not to me."
David chuckled lightly, exuding immense confidence that he didn't consider the firstborn son of the Sky Father a terrifying threat. Diana couldn't help but glance at him.
Although her mother hadn't told her about Heracles's Twelve Labors, she had told her other Greek myths about heroes since childhood.
Diana, who grew up listening to those stories, had always admired heroes who faced any insurmountable trial head-on without flinching. She aspired to be like them, never fearing any hardship or difficulty.
The man before her was handsome and powerful, possessing the confidence to challenge and complete anything, much like the heroes she admired as a child.
Bound by the Lasso of Truth, Diana's eyes flickered slightly.
"Amazons despise lies!"
Looking at David, who was speaking eloquently, Hippolyta paused and stated resolutely.
"Outsider, an Amazon's promise will be fulfilled until death!"
She responded to David's doubt.
After she finished speaking, a group of Amazon warriors also showed determined expressions.
The Amazon tribe had been deceived and nearly enslaved, which was why they detested deception; this was a tradition passed down from ancient times.
"Lying represents cowardice, represents baseness, and is the most shameful thing in the world!"
"Very good."
A hint of satisfaction appeared on David's face, and he said slowly.
"I hope you will keep your promise then, otherwise, I will only receive an empty island, which would be too boring."
Hearing his warning, his cold gaze swept over them, and Hippolyta and the Amazons in the hall felt a jolt of unease.
His current strength still had a certain gap compared to Sky Father Zeus.
But thousands of years ago, Ares was able to kill Zeus by relying on his divine position as the God of War.
When there was war on Earth, Ares's strength would increase, and being on the battlefield would grant him even greater bonuses.
"In ancient times, Darkseid led the armies of Apokolips to invade Earth. The war affected humans, gods, Green Lanterns, Atlanteans…
Ares's strength surged to an unimaginable level."
Even Sky Father Zeus helped him hold his axe in that war. Ares, without hurry, put on his helmet and then took the axe from Zeus, appearing as if he was the main force of the war.
David's eyes were deep and distant as he looked towards the far sky beyond the hall.
"He almost cleaved Darkseid to death with one axe. Although the Dark Lord was only eight years old at the time, it was still earth-shattering."
Ares's power at that time far surpassed that of the other gods. It was very likely that he took advantage of the period right after the war ended, before his surged power had completely subsided, to attack his father, mother, and siblings, sending them back to the realm of the gods to be reborn, leaving only him, a Greek god, on Earth.
His achievements could be considered glorious.
"But that was in the past."
He shook his head inwardly.
In this current era, there were very few wars on Earth. Not only was he no longer at his peak, but he was probably even weaker than his normal state during ancient times.
As for Ares's location, it wasn't difficult to guess.
David's eyes gazed fixedly in a certain direction.
His vision seemed to pierce through a thousand miles, seeing the firstborn son of the Sky Father walking amidst the corpses scattered across the battlefield, listening to the roar of gunfire as if appreciating the most beautiful symphony in the world, and becoming intoxicated by the smell of blood.
"The God of War naturally stays where the war is happening!"
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