Athena fell upon the peaks of a few mountains that still remained intact, enduring the agonizing and slow end of the planet Mars.

  As she landed, the goddess convulsed violently, foam spilling from her mouth while the pupils of her eyes vanished completely. In her condition, it was impossible for her to stand.

  “Athena!” everyone shouted as they watched their leader lie helpless and motionless before Ares’s overwhelming power. Horus, who had also been thrown away by the Greek goddess, had fallen in a similar place.

  “You all! Go tend to Athena and Horus. I will take care of that monster,” Tania shouted as she hurled herself toward the god of war, while the others yelled for her to stop.

  Ares saw her and laughed.

  “Tsemp Dalaq (Burning claws)!” Tania cried as she extended her flaming claws and tried to slash at Ares, but the god did not even bother to dodge or move.

  When her hand struck the god’s face, it shattered instantly, blood pouring from within as the Punic goddess stared in shock.

  “Can’t you see that, at your level, you cannot even make me flinch?” Ares said as he raised his claw to seize the goddess’s face. But at that very moment, Epona arrived in the form of a anthropomorphic mare and kicked the god’s hand, knocking it aside.

  “Do not let his claws touch you, or the same will happen to you as to Athena!” Ninshubur shouted.

  Ares then raised his divine power, and with the pressure of his energy, he hurled Tania and Epona far from his sight. He then turned to look at Ninshubur.

  “Well now, I never expected Ishtar’s little bitch to betray me, but this has a solution,” he said with a smile as he flew at full speed toward Ishtar’s servant—so fast that the others could not even see his movement.

  “Run!” Mitras shouted as Ares opened his hand to crush the goddess’s head. Ninshubur stood frozen in terror, unable to move.

  However, just before the god could touch her, two swords crossed between Ares and Ninshubur. One was an enormous blade with a dark gleam along its edge, while the other was shaped like a sickle.

  It was Ana and Ishtar, who had arrived at the battlefield, holding their weapons in an X to block the god’s attack.

  “Are you all right, Nin?” Ishtar asked with a smile.

  Ninshubur stared at her mistress in disbelief, then her expression shifted to joy as tears of happiness streamed down her face.

  “Yes, I am now, my lady,” she said.

  “We arrived just in time!” Ana said as she continued to push back against the god of war.

  “We will handle this now,” Ishtar added.

  Together, the two goddesses forced their swords forward, pushing the god of war back, then both assumed attack stances.

  “Ana!” the others shouted upon seeing the goddess.

  “Forgive me for worrying you all, but now it is my turn to fight,” Ana said with a smile—though a look of concern soon crossed her face.

  “Where is Rui?” she asked. The others fell into an uncomfortable silence.

  “We do not know what happened to him. He entered the palace with Athena and Horus, but never came out. I fear the worst,” Tania said pessimistically as she rose from the ground.

  “He is alive!” Epona shouted.

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  “How do you know?” Tania asked.

  “I know. My heart tells me,” the horse goddess replied.

  At that moment, Ana felt relief.

  “I… I am sure he is all right too. I believe in him,” the Irish goddess said.

  Ares began to laugh as red spears appeared behind him.

  “All of you talk far too much, but you are nothing more than weak goddesses meant to test my new abilities,” the god said as he moved to hurl the spears toward Ana and Ishtar.

  “Crág Dubán (Dubán Shield)!” Ana shouted, creating a shield before her. At the same time, Ishtar spun her sword like a whirlwind. Together, they deflected the god’s spears, destroying them and avoiding the attack.

  “Well then, this sword is even stronger than before! Thank you, Tania!” Ishtar said excitedly as she continued deflecting the god of war’s assaults.

  “I already told you I can copy any weapon that comes into contact with me, but do not get careless. Repair your weapon as soon as you can. If I lose consciousness, your sword will vanish as well,” Ana replied.

  “I will keep that in mind, Ana,” Ishtar said with a smile.

  “Súil Balor (Eye of Balor)!” Ana shouted, and the one-eyed giant appeared behind her. From its eye, it fired a powerful crimson blast, which was absorbed by the enormous sword of the Irish goddess.

  “This will be my strongest attack!” Ana cried as she charged at Ares, striking him directly with her blade. The god blocked the blow with his arms, and Ana could not push him back.

  “Nin An!” Ishtar shouted, her body glowing with an almost divine white light.

  “I will not be left behind either, Ana,” said the Mesopotamian goddess as her sword began to shine like lightning.

  “This is Ishtar’s most powerful attack: ‘Zi-sha-ghal Nigh-si-sá’ (Divine Justice)!” Ishtar cried.

  She hurled herself toward Ares like a comet, gripping her sword with both hands as it blazed like lightning, scattering multicolored sparks as she flew. Her blade collided with Ana’s, and both goddesses screamed with all their might.

  The impact caused Ares to lose his footing and be hurled far away by the combined assault.

  Ana and Ishtar panted heavily. Those attacks had cost them nearly all their manna. Yet they were stunned to see Ares slowly flying back toward them, having suffered only a few scratches.

  “It cannot be… our strongest combined attacks did nothing to him,” Ana said in disbelief.

  “I knew he was a monster, but this is beyond imagination,” Ishtar added, biting her lip in frustration.

  “I am beginning to tire of you. I will erase you with a single attack!” Ares roared as two red spheres formed in his palms and merged into a massive ball of crimson energy.

  Then the god shouted, “I orgí tis Spártis (The wrath of Sparta)!”

  Ares hurled the energy sphere, but just before it struck the two goddesses, Tania stepped between them and shouted, “Galad esh qoph!”

  With both fists, she launched a massive fireball that collided with Ares’s energy. The two forces struggled against each other, unleashing red thunder and earthquakes across the planet.

  Tania screamed in pain and fury, pouring every ounce of her being into the attack, yet Ares controlled the clash with a single hand.

  At that moment, Tania shouted, “Now, Epona!”

  The Celtic goddess, still in her anthropomorphic mare form, charged into the collision of energies, shouting, “ép tascip (Horse assault)!”

  As she entered, Epona absorbed the immense power and pushed it forward like a comet, hurling herself straight at Ares.

  “What is happening? I cannot stop the attack!” Ares shouted in shock.

  Epona kicked the god of war squarely in the abdomen with the absorbed energy. A tremendous explosion erupted from the impact.

  “Of co… course, now I understand. Epona can absorb attacks because she is an Ea… Earth,” Sol said in amazement, recalling how she had absorbed his power when facing Khonsu atop Areopagus.

  Epona lost her anthropomorphic mare transformation and was flung away by the explosion. Tania, meanwhile, collapsed to her knees, having expended nearly all her manná.

  “Those girls are… simply incredible,” Mitras said in astonishment.

  “I knew… that Epona and the others would be… become the hope of this world,” Sol said with encouragement.

  Maahes and Montu, who were tending to Athena and Horus, saw the explosion from afar and were left stunned.

  When the blast faded, Ares appeared again—this time with blood on his lips and bruises across his body.

  “Wretched scum! Do you not understand your place?” the god of war roared as birds once again formed from the feathers of his wings.

  “These birds, known as the Stymphalian birds, will lead you straight to your deaths!” he shouted, signaling the birds to attack.

  Tania, Ana, Epona, and Ishtar gathered together, preparing to fight the birds—but at that moment, the creatures halted.

  “Controlling birds is my specialty, Ares!” Anpiel shouted, raising one hand.

  “As long as I am here, no bird will be able to attack us,” he said.

  The Stymphalian birds then turned toward Ares and hurled themselves at him like flying daggers, slashing at the god with their beaks and steel wings.

  Furious, Ares detonated them into fragments with his overwhelming destructive power.

  “How does it feel, Ares, to be wounded by a mere malak? Tell me!” Anpiel shouted with a broad, proud smile, as Ares glared at them all with a gaze full of hatred and doom.