The sky turned red. Even the sun bled crimson.
The Amazon warriors were all beheaded, their heads mounted on stakes for display. Twisted features, wide, unblinking eyes, and blood dripping steadily from severed necks to the ground. Drip. Drip. Drip. It chilled the soul.
The headless bodies were dumped into the sea, forming a floating mass across the surface. Every so often, a body would bob up and down—fish pushing from below, devouring the corpses in a frenzied bloodlust, even turning on one another in the chaos.
Once-beautiful flowers, now stained by blood, blossomed into sinister crimson. Even pale blossoms had become bloodthirsty things.
Everything had changed under the weight of slaughter. Themyscira had turned into hell—no, worse than hell.
"Hahaha—" Ares howled with laughter, gazing upon the carnage. "Victory! Zeus, do you see this? I've won—!"
In the blood-soaked realm, all races bowed before the god of war, paying homage to the one who had granted them vengeance.
He had done it. He'd wiped out the Amazons. He owed Hades nothing. This was victory.
Ares picked up a wine cup—a severed head, skin still clinging to bone, the skull top sliced off and brain hollowed out. Filled with strong liquor, the alcohol poured from the eyes, nostrils, and ears like bloody tears.
It was Queen Hippolyta's head. He had turned it into his goblet.
Lifting the grotesque chalice, Ares roared, "Glory to Ares!"
"Glory to the God of War!" the crowd responded, and he downed the contents in one gulp. Blood and liquor—perfect blend.
It was ecstasy. In two thousand years, he'd never felt more alive.
But the war wasn't over. His army needed organizing. He would take this fire and scorch the entire continent. The planet would kneel before him. Obey and live. Resist and die.
The thought of the Earth at his feet made Ares grin, baring his teeth.
"Is he insane?" Diana watched the war god—bound by the Lasso of Truth—grin like a lunatic. She glanced at Liu A'dou.
Liu A'dou, battered and bloodied, had healing Ripples flowing along his arms. "Not dead yet. Just trapped in an illusion from my Genrouken."
The arena was in ruins. Ada was helping the wounded. Among the trio, Liu A'dou had taken the heaviest hit—he couldn't very well hide behind the women.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. The Ripple within caused grass to sprout where it landed. This battle had taught him a lot about the gods of this world. Ares was strong, destructive, and bolstered by Hades' necromantic powers.
If he hadn't awakened his Eighth Sense and mastered the Genrouken, the war god might've been unstoppable.
Still, Liu A'dou grumbled—weren't Saints supposed to be invulnerable to all attacks not imbued with Cosmo? Then why was he bleeding? Ah, right. No Gold Cloth. No armor, no protection. Not a proper Saint.
But there was no time for self-pity. The battle outside raged on.
"Diana, hand me your sword," Hippolyta, recovering under Ada's care, limped forward. "It's time to end this."
Diana passed her the blade. "Mother."
"This war should've ended two thousand years ago," Hippolyta raised the sword high. "Ares, this is the price for invading the Amazons' home."
She swung.
The blade sliced clean through Ares' neck. The God of War fell.
"To drown in a beautiful illusion… that's mercy," Liu A'dou said coldly.
In the underworld, before Hades, Ares still laughed in delusion until three loud snaps of the fingers jolted him awake.
Confused, Ares looked around at the burning pits of the underworld. "Why am I here? I… I won, didn't I?"
Lying lazily on a divan, the bloated Hades smirked and waved a hand. A mirror shimmered in the air, replaying the battle.
There it was—Ares clutching Hippolyta's throat, rising into the sky above the arena, tossing her to the ground like trash.
Then a man stepped forward from the crowd—Liu A'dou.
"Women, step back. This is a battle between men."
"Well said. Women should stay home and wait for the victors to return." That was Ares' belief. It was why he turned on Hippolyta. Once, they had been a perfect match—god and warrior queen. But as the Amazons' fame grew, her name eclipsed his. To be outshone by a woman? Unforgivable.
So when Liu A'dou called it a man's fight, Ares respected that.
But Liu A'dou said something that made Ares spit blood: "Don't get the wrong idea. If I couldn't beat you, they were going to jump in too. I just didn't want it to start off as three against one. That wouldn't look good for the Amazons."
Pfft—Ares spat out a mouthful of blood. He had never seen someone so shameless. Since when did the Amazons have a man in their ranks? Liu A'dou clearly had no concept of shame.
Thanks to the Genrouken, Ares's memory was a little muddled. But even in death, seeing this replay made him cough up metaphorical blood.
The mirror continued to replay the scene. At the time, Ares was fuming and launched his attack without hesitation.
Liu A'dou countered with Rozan Shō Ryū Ha. Black flames clashed with soaring dragons across the sky. Meanwhile, Ares summoned undead legions to swarm the arena.
Diana and Ada Wong were tied up dealing with waves of the undead, unable to help.
The battle shook the arena. Pillars cracked and began to fall.
Liu A'dou and Ares fought fiercely. A'dou's burning Cosmo was slightly weaker than Ares's divine power. As they fought, he kept analyzing—how could he defeat a war god?
Rozan Shō Ryū Ha alone wasn't enough.
The war god's physical density far surpassed that of humans. Even with Cosmo, he couldn't be brought down easily. Gods in this world weren't abstract forces of belief—they were a distinct race with godly power as their strength.
That divine strength, coupled with their indestructible bodies, was why gods once ruled the world without resistance. Unfortunately, even gods had their divisions, grudges, and wars. That internal strife gave humanity room to rise.
Now, a man wielding Cosmo stood before a war god—proving to the gods of Mount Olympus that a human, without divine blood, without sacred relics or blessings, could still stand toe to toe with them.
In the mirror, Ares was still grinning wildly, but inwardly he was roiling. He'd slain thousands of mortals, yet none had ever withstood him this long. Liu A'dou was the first to exhaust him without using a single divine aid.
"Human, your strength is impressive. Will you stand with me? Together, we could conquer the world."
"I'm no war fanatic. I prefer peace. So, no—I'm not interested." Liu A'dou's blunt rejection stung Ares's pride, but it won the crowd's admiration.
Ares didn't get angry—he sneered instead. "Don't get cocky. You're no match for me. One punch is all it takes, and you'll be dust."
"If you throw a hard punch, I'll counter with one of my own. Let's see whose fist is stronger!" Liu A'dou had no fear. He let his Cosmo burn to the limit, ready to unleash the ultimate Rozan Shō Ryū Ha.
You dare?! Ares was truly enraged. His divine power surged and gathered in his fist. He aimed to splatter Liu A'dou's head like a melon.
Burn, Cosmo! Liu A'dou met Ares's glare without flinching. His nontraditional Cosmo flared straight to the Eighth Sense, flooding into his right fist. "Come on—!"
One punch. That punch shattered the arena. That punch blew everyone away. That punch broke Liu A'dou's right arm. But that punch also drove Ares back a full hundred feet. The ground buckled and cracked beneath them.
"One more punch and you'll be dead. Why not call for help? Go ahead—run behind the women's skirts!" Ares mocked as he steadied himself.
But Liu A'dou stood sideways, ignoring him completely. He looked at his still-intact left hand, deep in thought.
Ever since he started, he'd known Rozan Shō Ryū Ha packed power—but it didn't fit his identity as Kaitou Kid. So now he was trying to think: what other move could suit his unique Cosmo?
Being ignored enraged Ares again. He launched another punch, his deadliest yet, red divine light spiraling around his arm like a living serpent.
"Die!" he bellowed.
"A'dou??!!" Ada shouted in panic, trying to snap him out of it.
"Man!" Diana shouted too, her heartbeat racing.
But neither was close enough. Ares's punch was almost at Liu A'dou's face. Both women shut their eyes.
Then—Liu A'dou's voice echoed across the battlefield: "I see now. So this is my real trump card." He looked up at the incoming Ares and gave a faint smile.
He threw a punch.
"Genrouken!" His fist hovered in front of his brow—and Ares froze on the spot, face slack.
"Diana, now! Bind him!" Liu A'dou called out.
Then came the moment when Hippolyta beheaded the war god.
"I… died?" The realization stunned Ares. The gap between triumph and death left him reeling.
"Yes. You died." Hades was beside himself with laughter. He'd known this deal would pay off: "Your soul belongs to me now."
"No—Zeus!!" Like a brat calling for his dad.
But Hades knew that if Zeus had intended to intervene, he would've done it when Ares was about to be killed. "Scream all you want. You'll stay in the underworld, slaving for me forever. There's no reincarnation waiting for you."
"Hahahahahahaha—!"
"No—you can't do this! It's not over—it's not over—!" Ares's howls echoed through the depths of the underworld.