Boom!
Blood splattered under the scorching sun as Kairaf exploded, blown apart by Diana.
"This kind of person does not deserve to live!"
Diana's voice was cold and merciless.
She had just come out of Themyscira. She was not the Wonder Woman of the comics, who had long lived among humans and believed she had no right to take lives.
To someone who could crush a little girl beneath a tank, Diana showed no hesitation. She killed him outright.
And then, she slaughtered the surrounding team members one by one, demonstrating the fierce wrath of an Amazon warrior.
After the brutal execution, Diana turned back and gently embraced the little girl, her voice soft with comfort and sympathy.
But the violent scene she had just caused—the exploding bodies, the blood now staining her white shirt—had frightened the little girl. When Diana tried to hold her, she shrank back in fear, trembling at the sight of the blood.
Diana had to soothe the girl several times before she calmed down. As soon as she did, she began calling for her mother.
"I'm taking her home," Diana said, holding the child tightly as she looked to Bardi.
She was still a prisoner of war and had no authority or ability to act freely. She could only ask for permission.
Without Bardi's approval, she couldn't go anywhere. Even escape was impossible.
Bardi glanced at the little girl in her arms, then turned his gaze to Diana's resolute face.
But would taking her home do any good?
In a land overrun with terrorism, taking her home only meant she could be abducted again. The result would be the same.
Diana's mindset was focused on saving this one life. But she hadn't thought beyond that. What came after?
Sending her home was only one option. Beyond that, Diana had considered nothing.
"Do as you like."
Bardi replied indifferently. His purpose in bringing Diana here was for her to witness the world's suffering and to compare it to the stability he offered.
He wanted her to question whether her resistance was truly helping the common people, or merely serving her own ideals. Did her rebellion bring peace, or obstruct it?
In either case, Diana would ultimately go the direction Bardi intended.
Of course, his other reason for coming was more tactical. The Emperor Building was under attack by a group of superhumans. If Bardi hadn't left, they would have no chance of entry and would be wiped out by Hera.
"Thank you."
Diana let out a breath of relief. She had truly feared Bardi would force her to leave the girl behind.
In her current state, with her body and divine powers yet to recover and no artifacts to aid her, she had no way to resist him.
So the two began their journey through the Middle East to find the little girl's mother.
Bardi floated through the sky.
Diana moved quickly along the scorching Naga Highway, heading for the nearest town.
Holding the child tightly, she leapt dozens of meters at a time, kicking up yellow sand with each jump. She took care to absorb the force of the landings to avoid jarring the girl.
Minutes later, they arrived at a small village.
Smoke rose into the sky. The stench of blood filled the air, mingled with the acrid smell of gunpowder and war.
The village had been ransacked. Terrorists had attacked, killing civilians, kidnapping children, seizing women. Gunfire echoed endlessly.
Blood was everywhere.
At the sight of this, Diana's rage boiled over. She set the little girl down and stormed into the chaos. Her body moved like a force of nature. Bullets bounced off her steel frame. Her fists crushed the terrorists one by one, killing those who massacred the innocent.
But then—
"Why… why do they kill?"
Diana stood amid the carnage, her eyes full of confusion. She turned to look at the ruined, blood-soaked village.
The cries of grief and despair filled the air.
For the first time, doubt crept into Diana's heart. These people had no weapons. They posed no threat.
Even with Athena's wisdom flowing in her veins, she could not comprehend such senseless cruelty—this suicidal need of humans to destroy one another, to kill unarmed civilians, women, and children, in endless cycles of violence.
Bardi floated silently above, watching.
He had brought her here because she needed to understand: without a unified regime, humanity would only destroy itself.
Only under his rule could there be true peace.
One villain standing at the top, doing evil with impunity, was enough. No one else needed to follow.
Diana walked slowly through the village. The survivors were numb, their faces twisted with suffering. Some cried in silence, others in anguish.
She couldn't process what she was seeing.
On Themyscira, none of this existed. The Amazons were one family. There was no betrayal, no killing of their own.
Leaving the village, Diana picked up the little girl and followed the directions she'd given. She ran again, leaping across the battlefield.
One settlement after another. Some guarded, some armed, some hostile. Biological and chemical agents lingered in the air. People were dying. Women were treated like objects to be seized.
This wasn't what the modern world should be.
The chaos was beyond Diana's imagination.
In the Middle East, ethnic groups coexisted uneasily. Nationalism, the struggle for living space, religious differences, and harsh living conditions—these were the roots of endless conflict.
All of it weighed heavily on Diana's mind. It made no sense.
Even as she walked, armed terrorists looked her way and contemplated seizing her—turning her into a slave.
This place was more savage than any she had seen. A savagery masked by modern civilization.
Finally, after a long journey and quiet reflection, Diana reached Canaan, the town the little girl had mentioned.
Bardi descended from the sky. The hem of his windbreaker stirred the dust.
"This… is what you wanted me to see?"
Diana's voice was quiet. Her face reflected disappointment in humanity.
On Themyscira, the ancient records of mankind had painted a different picture.
Humans once lived peacefully alongside the gods. They were devout, humble, and free of jealousy, anger, hatred, selfishness, or killing.
Everything negative had been absent in those tales.
But what she saw now was nothing like those records.
Diana had left Themyscira, convinced by Victor and Hal to protect this beautiful world.
What she found was very different.
Now she doubted everything—her beliefs, her mission, the world itself.
"Yes."
Bardi stepped beside her, speaking softly.
Humanity had always been like this. There was good and evil, loyalty and betrayal. But Diana had known little of the world.
She said nothing, her expression heavy with sorrow. Holding the girl, she walked through the so-called safe town.
Even here, some girls were abducted. Even here, terrorists used children to send a message.
Then—
"Anluya!!"
An Arab woman in a white silk robe rushed forward, embracing the child tightly, weeping with joy.
"Mom!"
The little girl cried out and buried herself in her mother's arms.
Seeing the reunion, Diana felt a weight lift from her chest. A long-lost smile tugged at her lips.
But then—
Her smile froze.
The woman, after thanking Diana, turned to Bardi, knelt before him, and begged,
"Lord Barmulodi, please take Anluya away. Make her a citizen of Barmulodi. Let her live in safety under your protection!"
"Whatever you ask, I will do. Just please give my daughter a safe future!"
Diana had saved the girl. She had carried her through battle, through chaos and bloodshed, through horrors Diana couldn't even accept.
And now—
The child's own mother was begging Barmulodi to take her away.
Diana was stunned.
Everything she had done had not brought mother and daughter closer.
Instead, the mother now willingly gave her child to Barmulodi.
Why?
(To be continued.)
***
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