In the early hours of the morning, the camp buzzed with preparations for departure. The sun had barely peeked over the horizon, but engines were already rumbling, boots stomped firmly on damp ground, and the tension in the air was palpable. Arthur remained silent, calmly observing his surroundings with a sharp, alert gaze.
A few meters away, Samir let out a low whistle, his eyes fixed on a figure approaching.
"My God... When you told me she was pretty, I thought you were exaggerating. But now... now I see I underestimated her." He murmured, nearly breathless.
Steve laughed at him but his expression quickly turned serious.
"Yeah. And I also warned you she has a partner you shouldn't mess with. Like... ever." Steve leaned in slightly, speaking in a lower voice. "If you value your bones intact, you'd better not even think about getting close with bad intentions."
Samir gulped, and his expression shifted from admiration to caution.
Not far from them, Arthur raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips curling into an amused smile. His senses, heightened by the radioactive spider, picked up everything around him with absurd clarity — including the whispers between the two.
"Leaving a strong impression, huh, Steve?" Arthur thought, chuckling to himself.
Unaware of the conversation, Diana was heading toward a small improvised booth.
"I want ice cream," she said, with a mix of curiosity and childlike excitement.
She had never tried one before, but had heard enough stories to build up expectations. Arthur stepped in and paid before the vendor could even react.
Diana took her first lick, eyes wide. "Mmm... it's so delicious!" she exclaimed, as if she had just discovered a new sense.
Then she held out the half-licked cone to Arthur, smiling almost challengingly.
"Try it. It's wonderful."
Arthur blinked, surprised. "You're really going to offer me something you've already licked?"
"Consider it… an intimate gift."
He took a bite and paused for a moment. The sweet, creamy flavor exploded in his mouth, and he nodded in satisfaction. "You're right."
Behind them, Steve watched the scene like he was watching a romantic movie in the middle of a war.
"If we make it back alive from this mission… I think I'll buy a suit for their wedding."
---
But happiness is a fleeting thing during war.
On the way to the front line, Diana stared intently out the window of the military vehicle. The world around her was changing. Lush landscapes soon gave way to destruction: ruined houses, flames still dancing over rubble, and people — women, children — crying over bodies covered by makeshift sheets.
The beauty of the world was being torn apart.
She clenched her fists, her gaze hardening.
When they reached the last safe point, they disembarked. Diana climbed onto the edge of a trench and, without ceremony, tore off the civilian clothes she was wearing, revealing the shining Themysciran armor beneath — it gleamed even under the gray sky.
"Arthur!" she called, extending her arm behind her.
Without hesitation, Arthur tossed her sword and shield — she caught them in midair with mastery, spinning the weapons in her fingers before securing them firmly.
"I'll clear the way. Take care of those who stay behind," she said, leaping from the trench like a golden lightning bolt.
Arthur sighed, calmly removing his blazer and rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt, exposing his forearms.
"Almost forgot… Steve, did you get what I asked for?"
Steve, still in awe of the scene, shook his head as if waking from a trance and tossed a reinforced holster to him.
"Here. But, uh… what about the weapons?"
Arthur smirked. "Don't need loud machine guns. I've got these beauties."
From his storage system, he pulled out two stylized pistols, one black and one white, with gleaming silver details. Engraved on their sides were the names:
"Ebony... and Ivory."
"He named his guns?" Steve muttered. "And where the hell was he keeping those?!"
But Arthur was already running, vanishing in a blur of speed.
---
The front line was chaos incarnate.
Bullets flew through the sky like angry mosquitoes. Explosions shook the ground. But Arthur moved like a living shadow, leaping over sandbags and barriers as if they were mere hurdles on a racetrack.
His Spider Sense pulsed with every step, anticipating bullets, blasts, ambushes.
He reached the enemy trench and, before the soldiers could react, he was already among them.
BANG!
A nervous German soldier fired — the shot missed.
Arthur responded with a swift strike: an open palm to the stomach that sent the man flying several meters back, the crack of breaking bones echoing in the air.
Without pausing, he spun to dodge another burst. Two bullets grazed his shoulder. He drew Ebony and Ivory.
"Let's see what you're made of…"
The following shots were poetry: precise, lethal, beautiful. Each hit struck a vital point. Not a single movement was wasted.
Thanks to one of his earliest rewards, Arthur was confident he wouldn't miss a single shot.
---
Soon, he and Diana arrived at a village taken over by German forces. Machine gun fire erupted from two flanks.
They looked at each other for a moment, and without a word, split up, running in opposite directions.
Arthur heard the impact — the building Diana entered seemed ready to collapse from the crash. And in a bizarre moment, his mind started playing the Wonder Woman theme music.
He laughed out loud. "Of course. Totally soundtrack-worthy."
In the other building, soldiers shouted confused orders, firing at him. Arthur advanced without fear. He caught two bullets in the air with his fingers, dodged others with subtle movements.
When the magazines ran empty, he opened his hand and let the bullets fall with a metallic, ominous sound.
"My turn."
In the blink of an eye, he vanished. He reappeared with a right hook that slammed the first soldier against the wall. The impact sounded like a war drum.
The second tried to flee. Arthur shot him in the leg, immobilizing him. The third… didn't even have time to scream.
---
Outside, Samir and the rest of the squad watched in shock.
"Okay… now I believe everything you said…" he murmured to Steve, stunned.
Arthur wiped the blood from his hands as he walked among the unconscious bodies, as if it were just another regular Tuesday.
Steve smiled, drawing his weapon.
"Let's go, soldiers. The party's just getting started."
Arthur quickly reached the small square at the center of the village. In the middle of it stood a tank, idle but imposing.
"Boom!" The tank fired without hesitation at Arthur. At the same time, soldiers around it opened fire.
With superhuman reflexes, Arthur dodged every shot — even the tank's cannon shell. In a flash, he drew his twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory, and returned fire with surgical precision.
Within moments, most of the soldiers were down. The few who remained, realizing they stood no chance, dropped their weapons and surrendered.
But the tank wasn't done. It fired again at Arthur.
Arthur smirked and once more dodged effortlessly. This time, however, he sprinted straight toward the tank.
"Bang!!" A powerful punch struck the armored vehicle. The impact was so massive that the tank was launched several meters away, flipping and landing upside down with a deafening metallic crash.
Soon after, Diana, Steve, and the squad arrived, finishing off the last enemies and securing the area.
"Bang!!" Suddenly, a lone shot echoed through the air. Arthur dodged left instinctively, guided by his spider sense. On the ground, a crack marked the exact spot he had just been standing.
"Snipers!" Steve shouted as everyone looked for cover.
"Diana!" Arthur called, extending his hand.
Diana understood immediately. She ran and tossed her shield to him, accelerating right after.
Arthur caught the shield firmly, bracing himself.
Diana sprinted toward him, stepped onto the shield, and with the combined momentum of her jump and Arthur's launch, she was hurled into the air, soaring toward the snipers' location. As she approached the building, she clashed her bracers together.
BOOOOM!
A powerful shockwave erupted, destroying part of the structure and neutralizing the hidden sniper.
After that, the villagers began emerging from their homes, still trembling. Once they realized they were safe, they started clapping with enthusiasm and relief.
"Arthur! Diana! Come here, this is important!"
Steve called them to join the squad for a commemorative photo.
"Thank you! It's an honor to take a picture with you!" said the photographer, smiling.
---
Night.
The village, once gripped by fear, was now celebrating. The people sang, danced, and rejoiced in their hard-earned victory.
Steve approached Arthur, holding two beers. He handed one over and discreetly gestured toward Diana with a smile.
"Here, take this."
Handing him the drink, Steve stepped away, leaving Arthur alone with Diana.
Arthur approached her and offered the beer. Diana accepted it readily and took a long sip, bold and natural.
"So this is what beer tastes like… It's quite refreshing," she said, eyeing the golden liquid in her glass. To her, it had the effect of a light juice.
In silence, the two watched the villagers dancing. Diana then looked at a particular couple and asked:
"Are they lovers?"
"I believe so," Arthur replied, still watching the celebration.
Diana remained silent for a moment, her eyes reflecting the image of the smiling couple. Then she turned to Arthur.
"Ever since you gave me that pill… I've learned so many things about the world."
She stood up and faced him, her eyes locked onto his.
"And one of the things I learned… is about love."
Reaching out to him, she made an unexpected invitation:
"Would you like to dance with me?"
Arthur hesitated for a moment, then smiled and took her hand.
They danced under the village's soft lights, while snowflakes gently fell around them. The world seemed to pause in that moment.
After a while, Diana murmured sweetly:
"Arthur… I realized that… I love you."
Arthur looked at her, moved by her sincerity.
"I can't deny that the time I've spent with you has been wonderful."
He gently cupped her cheek and sighed.
"But…"
"What is it, Arthur?" she asked, placing her hand over his.
"I'll be honest with you, Diana."
"Yes?" her eyes were confused, yet attentive.
"The truth is… I already have a lover… or rather, two," he said, looking directly at her.
"I don't know if I can be the right man for you…"
Diana didn't hesitate. She squeezed his hand with a gentle pinch.
"First of all, that's for me to decide."
"Ow! That hurt!" Arthur exclaimed, pulling his hand back.
"And second, I don't see any problem with you having more than one lover," she replied, laughing at the stunned look on his face.
"What?"
"I've been holding this back for a while, but I think now's a good time to tell you." She smiled, tapping his chest with her finger.
"Tell you what exactly?"
"My mother probably sensed it the moment she saw you. And I believe that's one of the reasons she trusted you..."
"Can you just say it already?" Arthur sighed, exhausted.
"Of course. Arthur, you are a demigod."
Silence fell between them. Arthur blinked, stunned.
"... You're joking, right?"
"Not at all. I'm being one hundred percent serious," she said, clearly amused by his reaction.
"A demigod... How is that even possible? My parents were human."
"I don't know either. But it seems like your powers are somehow sealed, or maybe just dormant. As if they're not entirely yours."
"And do you know who my divine parent is…? Mother or father?" he asked, trying to keep up.
"No. All I can sense is that your origin has some sort of... Sumerian root."
(Sumerian…? Okay, that explains a lot…) Arthur thought, still dazed.
"Can we leave this subject for later? We've got something more important going on right now," Diana said, cupping his face in her hands.
"Right... I already have a headache. Who would've thought I'd be a demigod..."
Diana smiled softly, and before Arthur could react, she kissed him.
The sudden move left him stunned for a moment. But then, with a faint smile, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back.
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."