"No! Diana!"
Hippolyta, one of Zeus, King of the Gods', lovers, Queen of the Amazons, and Diana's birth mother, shot down two approaching monsters before being the first to grab the Mother Box that had rolled to the ground.
She looked back, and the sight that met her eyes filled her with rage.
The one-armed Steppenwolf ignored Diana's attack, swinging his axe and bringing it down on Diana's head.
Clang!
The sharp axe blade struck Diana's gauntlet, and the divine energy wave generated by the clashing metal instantly knocked everyone within a ten-meter radius of the two off their feet.
"Tell that Darkseid,"
"Don't even think about Earth!"
Boom!
Above Themyscira, lightning flashed and thunder roared at Diana's furious shout. She was the daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods; her divine power had once defeated her own brother, Ares, the Greek God of War, during World War I! She was Diana!
Bang!!!!
Surging divine power instantly shattered Steppenwolf's armor, and Diana's longsword immediately plunged into his chest!
Pfft!
The blade entered his body, blood gushing!
Splashing blood stained Diana's cheek and collarbone, and Steppenwolf's body slowly turned into sand and vanished before the incredulous eyes of the Amazons.
"It's a clone!"
The well-informed Amazonian Queen Hippolyta instantly recognized Steppenwolf's trick, warning Diana not to let her guard down.
However, even after the leaderless army, now without Steppenwolf's command, was completely annihilated by the Amazons, the vanished Steppenwolf did not reappear.
"Clear the battlefield, tally the casualties."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The surviving Amazonians sadly gathered the bodies of their comrades, burning the remains of the monsters with fury. All of this, Diana saw and remembered. Since her birth, the Amazons had never experienced a large-scale war like this.
"This is war."
"Our enemy has arrived, Diana."
After delegating the post-war duties, Queen Hippolyta came before her daughter, her voice heavier than ever.
"Mother?"
Diana, standing outside the side temple overlooking all of Themyscira, turned her head.
"Darkseid, a terrifying entity that once clashed with our Amazonian tribe in ancient times."
"Now, he's coming back."
"Are you ready for battle, Diana?"
Hippolyta caressed her daughter's cheek, asking gently.
"Mother, I don't understand, what exactly is going on?"
"Who is Darkseid?"
Diana never dreamed that after finally returning home, she would run into Steppenwolf.
This sudden war weighed heavily on Diana's heart.
The wind precedes the coming storm; sensitive as Diana was, she naturally sensed her mother's worries.
"Come with me, Diana."
Gazing at the ravaged land, Hippolyta was silent for a moment, then turned and motioned for her daughter to follow.
The database within Themyscira, which stored various secret information, was opened to Diana at Hippolyta's signal.
"Darkseid, an extremely mysterious and terrifying entity."
"No one knows his origin, nor how powerful he truly is."
"In ancient times, his subordinate Steppenwolf descended upon Earth with Mother Box weaponry bestowed by Darkseid, attempting to conquer this world with its power."
"But ultimately, he failed."
"The Amazons, the Atlanteans, and humans divided the Mother Box into three after the war's victory."
"And this, is the Mother Box our Amazonian tribe guards."
Walking through a wide tunnel, the image of the Mother Box that Steppenwolf had pursued earlier appeared before Diana.
"Steppenwolf's reappearance means he's prepared for a comeback, and more importantly, this time, the entity behind him named Darkseid might personally intervene."
"Do you understand the gravity of this situation, Diana?"
Hippolyta's voice was incredibly heavy, her fear of Darkseid clearly evident.
"Mother..." Diana, having no concept of the name Darkseid, didn't know what to say.
The atmosphere between mother and daughter fell into a silent stillness for a moment.
"Oh, by the way, Mother, have you heard of a Son of Titan named Lothar?" Remembering her other purpose for returning, Diana asked Hippolyta.
"Lothar?"
"Yes. He should be a Titan descendant, and he also has the ability to change his form. He can transform into a giant ape with golden fur."
Diana took out the photo Bruce Wayne had printed and handed it to her mother. In the chaotic scene, a blood-stained golden-furred giant ape had a ferocious expression.
Fierce, tyrannical.
With just a single glance, a hint of unease arose in Hippolyta's heart.
"A Titan's... child?"
...
Underwater, Xebel Kingdom, Royal Palace.
King Nereus looked grimly at his daughter, who was bound to a chair, and at the shattered conch beneath his feet. He had crushed it with his own hands.
"You've disappointed me greatly, Mera."
"I am your father! Not your enemy!"
Nereus felt a pang in his chest. His daughter was like a mute, refusing to answer any questions.
"No, I'm just your pawn, a pawn for your ambitions!"
Mera retorted.
"This is for your own good!"
"Now, tell me, who did you call for help?"
He was just beginning to establish his daughter as the future Queen of Atlantis, and now his daughter had secretly gotten involved with some shady character and was planning to rebel against the palace?
Did he, as a father, have no dignity left?
"You can't stop Lothar, Father."
"No one in the entire underwater world can stop him."
Lothar's divine appearance, like a god descending from the heavens, had been deeply imprinted in Mera's mind not long ago, giving her immense confidence.
This only caused Nereus more chest pain.
"Don't forget your identity! You're an Atlantean! An Atlantean!"
He didn't know what his daughter was thinking; she couldn't even grasp her own position.
The princess of a noble Atlantean kingdom was siding with humans.
Nereus didn't even realize his own daughter had a tendency to become a traitor to her own kind.
"If one day I go to war with humanity, will you still side with them to destroy your father?!"
Nereus bristled with anger. The next second, the entire palace shook!
Rumble!!!!
A golden flash descended from the sky, shattering countless decorations.
Lothar, who had once cut down Odin, the Allfather, appeared before the arguing father and daughter, carrying the lives of the entire palace.
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
The Xebel Palace collapsed!
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