Meanwhile, still within the labyrinthine dimension that Ares had constructed in Areopagus, Susanoo rose to his feet after having been unconscious for several minutes. Fortunately, Ogun still lay unconscious beside him, as did Khine.

  “I must needs depart from this accursed labyrinth with all due haste,” he thought as he stood and lifted the Soninke god onto his back. Fortunately, his ichor had already healed his wounds.

  At that moment, the god heard footsteps behind him.

  “Someone draweth nigh,” he thought, placing his hand upon the hilt of his katana, preparing himself to strike.

  To his surprise, however, the one who emerged was none other than Rodrigo, still lost within the labyrinth.

  “Oh no! I’ve gone back to where I started!” Rodrigo shouted in frustration.

  “Rodrigo-san, hast thou yet failed to escape this labyrinth?” Susanoo asked in astonishment.

  “I’ve tried everything, but I can’t find an exit. I somehow ended up back here,” Rodrigo replied.

  Susanoo covered his face with his right hand.

  “I fear I must most earnestly reconsider the wisdom of retaining thee as mine rival,” the eastern god muttered with disappointment.

  “I see you both managed to defeat that smith god. You’re really strong,” Rodrigo said, impressed.

  “Thou art most gracious, Rodrigo-san, yet much of my victory I owe unto Khine-sama. Now, pray follow me, for I shall conduct thee unto the labyrinth’s exit,” Susanoo replied.

  Rodrigo nodded.

  Susanoo began to run, with Rodrigo following close behind. Having already traversed those corridors before, the eastern god knew the way as well as the back of his hand.

  However, upon reaching the entrance to Ares’s throne room, Susanoo realized that the passage was destroyed and severely damaged. They were trapped within the dimension, for someone had destroyed the entrance from the other side.

  “Shimata… it would seem that the entrance unto Ares-sama’s throne hath been laid waste,” Susanoo said in dismay.

  “What do we do now?” Rodrigo asked.

  “I confess, Rodrigo-san, I know not. I have heard tell of gods who may rend dimensional walls asunder, yet I am no such being,” Susanoo replied, frustrated.

  “We have to try. My friends are surely on the other side,” Rodrigo shouted as he began pounding on the entrance. It did not open.

  Blood flowed from his fists as Rodrigo continued striking the barrier in desperation.

  “Pray, a moment, Rodrigo-san. By what means did thy totema come unto this planet?” Susanoo asked.

  “I don’t know. I think it told me something about teleportation,” Rodrigo answered.

  “Is it capable of transporting thee beyond this dimension?” Susanoo inquired.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Before—during our fight, and when I met Epona—I could only do it by sensing divine power where I wanted to appear. But I don’t know how to do it if I don’t recognize the place or feel a presence,” the young tannin replied.

  Susanoo set Khine down upon the ground and approached the shattered gateway that marked the exit of the dimension. He then noticed a small hole in the door, through which the other side could be seen.

  “A slender fissure hath opened, Rodrigo-san. Pray, look hence,” Susanoo said, pointing toward the narrow opening.

  Rodrigo peered through it and saw what appeared to be magma, a crimson sky, and distant mountains.

  “If thou canst fix that image firmly within thy mind, it may yet allow us to escape hence,” Susanoo suggested.

  “I’ll try,” Rodrigo replied.

  Focusing on the scene visible through the crack, Rodrigo attempted to invoke his teleportation power. Small waves of air rippled beneath him. Susanoo quickly grasped the young tannin’s shoulder and took hold of Khine’s hand.

  In that instant, the three gods escaped Ares’s labyrinth, appearing on the other side of the doorway—only to fall directly above a sea of lava, from which they fled immediately.

  “Why, in all reason, didst thou transport us above a sea of molten fire?” Susanoo demanded angrily.

  “Sorry! I just teleported us, that’s all,” Rodrigo replied, blushing.

  “One could plainly behold mountains through the fissure! Thou mightest well have borne us thither! And yet—why into the lava?!” Susanoo continued, exasperated.

  “Well, the important thing is that we got out, right?” Rodrigo said with a broad smile.

  Susanoo once again covered his face with his hand.

  “I cannot fathom that mine rival should be so profoundly incompetent,” he muttered.

  Suddenly, both gods sensed something terrible. Ares’s power was immense—but they could feel no presence of anyone else.

  “’Tis yonder, Rodrigo-san,” Susanoo said, pointing toward a cluster of volcanic mountains in the distance.

  Rodrigo felt a crushing weight in his chest. He could not sense Ana, nor Epona, nor Tania. He could sense no one.

  “What could have happened?” he wondered anxiously.

  The young tannin and the eastern god, carrying Khine, flew toward the mountains, witnessing the planet’s destruction under Ares’s power.

  “This planet shall soon be no more,” Susanoo said grimly.

  “If the planet explodes… will we be blown to pieces?” Rodrigo asked nervously.

  “Hai, such a fate is most assuredly possible,” Susanoo replied. “The sole means of escape lieth in the defeat of Ares-sama and the dissolution of this accursed dimension.”

  Rodrigo then remembered what Ana had once told him: that alternate dimensions could only exist so long as their creator willed it, or until that creator lost consciousness. Defeating Ares was necessary for survival.

  At that moment, they arrived at the battlefield.

  Rodrigo stared in horror at Ana, Tania, Epona, and Ishtar—whom he did not know—lying on the ground, wounded and bleeding, their faces twisted in pain and suffering.

  Farther away lay Anpiel alongside several malakim, also fallen, with Mitras and Sol nearby. In the distance, Maahes and Montu lay unconscious, both shielding the collapsed bodies of Horus and Athena.

  “What the hell happened here?!” Rodrigo shouted in fury.

  At that moment, Ares descended from the heavens like a majestic being, landing directly before Rodrigo and Susanoo.

  “Well, well. So you were the last ones missing—the boy they warned me about, a possible tannin, and the traitorous eastern god,” Ares said with a smile.

  “What the hell happened here?!” Rodrigo shouted again.

  “Oh, don’t get so upset, boy. Did you like these girls? Tell me,” Ares said mockingly as he lifted the unconscious bodies of Ana and Epona by their hair.

  “Is it these two? Or do you prefer the two dark-haired girls?” Ares added sarcastically.

  “Rodrigo-san, I beseech thee—lose not thy composure,” Susanoo said, attempting to calm him.

  But Rodrigo was furious. His fists clenched, and he stared at the god of war with a nearly deranged gaze.

  “Let them go!” Rodrigo shouted, glaring defiantly into Ares’s eyes.

  “What did you say, boy?” Ares asked.

  At that moment, Rodrigo’s eyes turned yellow. Scales spread across his skin, and fangs emerged from his mouth. Like lightning, the young tannin struck Ares squarely in the face with all his strength, sending the god reeling backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

  Then Rodrigo screamed in madness, “I told you to let them go, you son of a bitch!”

  Above Anpiel’s body, the sword continued to float, swaying more violently as it aimed at the angel’s heart.

  Less than two minutes remained before Anpiel’s execution.