Aftershock (Rewrite)

Even amongst the darkness of the night sky, Goku's aura as a Super Saiyan illuminated the entire Combat Arena with golden light. He glared at Ares's towering Divine Form in annoyance as his now-golden locks flowed in the wind. His ki also added a bit more pressure to the entire area, exerting gravitational unto each demigod, mythological creature, and Olympian in close proximity to him.

This change in atmosphere sent a slight chill down Artemis's spine as she continued to analyze Goku's new form. She was particularly interested in his eye's emerald green color. Unlike the innocent, goofy look he once had, Goku now glared at the god of war with nothing, but fervent rage.

"A… Super Saiyan?" She muttered in response to Aphrodite's prior description.

The love goddess nodded her head, sporting a wistful, almost nostalgic expression on her face.

"Yes. Goku was the first one to acquire this form in centuries. He wouldn't have been able to ascend to even greater heights of power without it." She then cupped her cheek and blew out a forlorn sigh. "If only I could have seen it under better circumstances…"

Artemis frowned. If the Super Saiyan form was supposedly a myth passed down from generation to generation, was Goku's very significance equal to her and the rest of the Greek Pantheon? Such a thought seemed absurd at first, but Goku's immense power was enough to prove its likelihood.

"And it's far superior to the Kaioken, correct?"

"By a large margin, yes. While the Kaioken can only increase Goku's power by a multiple of 20 without causing significant amounts of damage to his body, the Super Saiyan has no such limitations. In fact, it can make him fifty times stronger than before, and even more with Grades 2, 3, and higher."

Artemis's eyes widened in shock. The difference in power was much larger than she assumed. "Are you serious?! That much strength… just seems so inconceivable for a mortal like him to possess."

"She's telling the truth, Artemis. Goku can be quite formidable as a Super Saiyan. His typical naïve, childlike nature is stripped away in favor of pure rage and instinct."

"Hm, I see. His Saiyan instincts must be awakened all at once then."

Aphrodite then knowingly snickered to herself.

"That's nothing. Wait til' you see the other two levels of Super Saiyan beyond Grade 4, or Mastered Super Saiyan as this form is called right now." She said. "They'll definitely take your breath away."

"Grade 4? Two levels? You're talking nonsense right now, Aphrodite."

"You'll see what she means soon enough. If Ares continues to anger Goku further , you might see them for yourself. Of course, that depends on whether or not they'll be required to end this fight." Hestia proclaimed in a cryptic tone.

At the same time, Dionysus scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"I don't get it. What's a change of hair color gonna do?" He gulped down some Diet Coke before examining the Combat's Arena severe damages. "Shit. Guess there's going to be more messes for the brats to clean up soon…"

A series of reluctant groans could be heard from the audience as Chiron got up to express his own thoughts. He was previously crouched down on the floor, horse body and all.

"You shouldn't saying that so soon, Mr. D. This battle is far from over. Gods know if we'll even have a camp left to clean up by then."

"Yeah, yeah. Just stop making a horse's ass out of yourself and focus on not getting incinerated, alright?"

Chiron rolled his eyes. "Never heard that one before."

Dionysus then snorted and went back to viewing Ares's fight with Goku, whom from his perspective, didn't have a name worth remembering correctly. In the arena itself, he continued floating in midair while the colossal war god looked down upon him.

"Got nothing to say? Has my can of whoop ass left you speechless or something?" The war god smarmily joked. "Or did my little comment about Chi-Chi bother you that much?"

Silence was all the Olympian got in response. This action only served to irritate Ares to an even greater context.

"Fine. If you're not going to talk, then I might as well get back to digging your grave, punk!"

He then prepared to slam Goku back into the crater he crawled out of. However, upon trying to make contact with his intended target, the Super Saiyan vanished as if he weren't even there to begin with.

"An Afterimage? But where could he have…" Ares muttered to himself. He then sluggishly swiveled his body around and spotted Goku directly above him. "There you are!"

He clapped his hands together around Goku's body, producing a bright supernova-like explosion from the resulting "smack". His orange, flaming eyes narrowed into slants as he laughed at his opponent's pathetic demise.

"HEHEHE! Even a Super Saiyan wouldn't be able to survive an explosion that size!" He then parted both hands from one another to see that Goku was, in fact, no longer there. "W-WHAT?! Another damn Afterimage?"

Getting angry again, Ares reclaimed his sword from the battlefield's ruins. The weapon flew towards its master's hands and merged with his photonic skin. It then transformed into a massive blade of blue and purple hellfire that almost cut through what little was left of the Combat Arena.

"Show yourself, coward! There's nowhere you can hide from me." The god of war snarled in contempt. As he held his sword's hilt with both hands, Goku instantly transmitted behind Ares's back and kicked him right in the spinal cord. He almost fell over from sudden pain due to the sheer strength placed into the Saiyan's normal blows.

"GAAAAAGH!"

Before the Olympian could recover, Goku flew to another portion of the Combat Arena at breakneck speeds. His aura left a trail of golden energy wherever he streaked by.

Ares stood up straight and grabbed onto his sword tightly. "That was a lucky shot, but I hope you realize that Afterimage Technique won't last this entire battle. Neither will your annoying Super Saiyan shit."

Goku folded one arm over the other and shook his head in disappointment.

"And I hope you're smart enough to know that statement is just flat out wrong. The Super Saiyan transformations allow me to handle a lot more than this." He said. "To be completely honest, Ares, I expected a lot more from you all things considered. You really are all bark and no bite."

He then quickly teleported in front of Ares's face and punched it. This smacked him into a kneeling position that hurt far more than expected.

"Grrrgh! What the hell did you just say?!"

Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and used Instant Transmission to go back to his original position. He sighed and gestured to the war god's entire Divine Form.

"Your Divine Form is flawed; more flawed than a true form should be, in fact. Sure, those punches hurt a lot, but they weren't even close to doing any serious harm to me. They really won't do anything lethal outside of my base form due to one simple, yet significant flaw: speed." The martial artist explained. "Since your body is so huge, a lot of my attacks can connect without much effort. It's a big reason I never bother used Super Saiyan Grade 3 in preparation for the Cell Games."

The muscular, overly bulky Grade 3 was another example of raw power taking priority over actual effectiveness in combat. Aphrodite agreed wholeheartedly with such a comparison, even if all Divine Forms were different in their own ways.

"If Grade 2 and Grade 3 have their own flaws, then is Grade 4 a perfect balance between them?" Artemis asked.

"That's right. Grade 4 is essentially a perfected version of the first Super Saiyan form without any of the drawbacks that come from 2 or 3. Goku now uses it in place of the original Super Saiyan form he first unlocked on Namek. He can even increase its power to a higher multiplier if need be." Aphrodite recalled knowledgeably. She then stuck two fingers in front of her from across their sections. "The other two versions, however, are where the real upgrades come in."

Artemis nodded along in understanding. She'd have to save her questions about these potential Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 forms for a later date.

She then watched as Goku sported a deep, contemplative grimace on his face.

"I don't want to stomp on your pride as an Olympian or anything, but in this Divine Form of yours, you simply won't be able to defeat me. No Divine Form can if they all work like this."

Artemis was surprised by this bold claim. She wondered if that applied to her own godly appearance. Goku's either ignorant or actually truthful in what he claims. He doesn't seem like the type of person to lie, but for his own sake, he better be. I'm not sure how Father will react to Ares's potential defeat… or worse.

The god of war's body, after hearing these words, began to pulsate with raging, unextinguishable purple flames. The angrier he got, the stronger these flames were.

"Can't… defeat you? Hehe… BAHAHAHAHAHA!" He guffawed at Goku's brutal denouncement of his own strength. His energy progressively skyrocketed, stockpiling itself with sinister dark ki as he continued laughing like psych-ward patient. Even the cowering demigods were disturbed by this crazed fit of uncontrollable laughter. "BAHAHAHAHA! You have some nerve, mortal! Balls of steel, in fact! HAHAHAHA!"

Aphrodite winced a little in nervousness. "I… I think Ares might have finally lost it."

"You're acting as if he weren't deranged already." Artemis said.

"Of course I'm not denying that, Artemis, but Camp Half-Blood might become ground zero if Goku doesn't do something about this quick."

Hestia frowned. She could also sense something… off about Ares's energy during this battle. "It might be too late for that."

Artemis and Aphrodite exchanged weird looks with one another.

"What do you mean, 'too late'? Goku's winning, is he not?" The goddess of the hunt inquired.

"Have you noticed that Ares has been using purple flames to attack Goku? As the goddess of the hearth, I know the fire he's capable of producing and it's not purple. It doesn't even burn or crackle the same way." She continued in dismay. "It burns with… death, sorrow, and malice. It fits with Ares's domain like a glove, yet doesn't at the same time. I don't exactly know what to make of it."

Aphrodite snapped her fingers in sudden realization.

"Oh, I remember now! He blasted my cloud out of the sky with purple fire too! But it wasn't just fire. It felt like some sort of… ki that corrupted Ares's normal flames, rather than produce them outright."

"But what does this all mean? Is someone… or something influencing Ares's and Goku's from the shadows?" The moon goddess asked.

"Whatever it is, I believe Goku has already sensed its presence. This fight won't be as much of a clean victory as he assumes. It'll only be a matter of time until this dark power awakens itself from within Ares's body… and lord help this camp when it does."

Aphrodite clasped her hands together and, from now on, wouldn't even dare take her eyes off Goku. "Be careful…"

Ares then stopped his laughing to brandish his sword and prepare to fight once more.

"You're a dead man now, Son Goku! You and that blonde mop of yours are getting a one-way ticket straight to Tartarus!"

His eyes surged from an orange fire to purple, contrasting with the calm serenity laced within Goku's own green pupils. The Saiyan sighed, realizing that an agreement between them could never be made. This battle would either end with one of their deaths or both.

"I tried to be reasonable, Ares, but you've forced my hand. What happens next will be out of my control." He then looked over at the goddess of love and gave her a slightly sympathetic grin. Sorry in advance, Aphrodite. I know he means a lot to you, regardless of what he did or does during this fight…

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Goku?"

Goku slightly widened the grin on his face before glaring back at Ares with a fierce glare.

"Nothing is under your control, fool! Not even the gods themselves can defy fate, so what makes you any different? That dystopian dream my father had proved, without a shadow of doubt, that we were destined to fight. And by extension, I am destined to kill you, Son Goku! Right here, right now. Everything I've been through has led up to this exact moment." The god of war sinisterly exclaimed. "Our respective fates are now drawn to each other; fate vs. fate, god vs. mortal… Olympian vs. Saiyan. So don't even think about returning to that worthless universe of yours! I'm sure it'll be in good hands when you're gone."

He then upturned his chin and smiled in a confident, yet resentful manner.

"Besides, when it comes to your sons and wife, it wouldn't be the first time you've walked out on them without any warning. Hahaha!"

This comment was the last straw for Goku. He increased the size of his golden aura and let out an almost inhuman, Oozaru-like roar.

"GRRAAAGH! YOU WANT TO KILL ME SO BADLY, ARES?! THEN LET'S GOOOOO!"

He then squatted downward in midair as if preparing to strike back without an ounce of mercy left to give. This was the type of bloodlust that Ares was waiting for all along.

"Thought you'd never ask, Son Goku! LET'S SOUND THE DRUMS OF WAR THEN, SHALL WE?! HAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled in excitement. As his body fumed with the emergence of dark energy, Ares's armor began to change further. Multiple fiery spikes protruded from the sides of his helm, matching that of an ancient Spartan warrior, but much more imposing. His face, arms, and legs were also enshrouded by a dark void that concealed the god's most distinguishable features in shadow.

The Olympian's muscles additionally grew larger in terms of overall mass and were coated with dark blue plating made from celestial flames. At first glance, it looked as if Ares was wearing a literal supergiant star on the cusp of going supernova. The most intimidating aspect of this new Divine Form, by far, were the soulless orange eyes that were lit up by his empty visage. They narrowed dangerously and attempted to incinerate Goku with one single glare.

While this would have worked for any normal mortal or demigod, he, through the might of his Super Saiyan form alone, managed to push it back without injury.

"Hmph. Still refusing to die, huh? THEN IT'S TIME YOU'VE FACED THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING UP AGAINST AN OLYMPIAN GOD!"

Hoisting up his gaseous weapon, he thrusted it downward in an attempt to pierce it straight through Goku's chest. The Saiyan expected this attack and somersaulted backwards toward another portion of the sky. Ares was unable to slow down his forward momentum and pierced the stadium floor, anyway, producing an earsplitting implosion of fire, wind, and energy that cracked the entire Combat Arena apart into four equal sections. Fortunately, this four-way crack didn't bring harm to anyone or anything except the stadium itself. It was just barely left standing at this point.

Taking advantage of Ares's stagnation, Goku took a deep breath and ever-so-slightly leaned back a bit. He then vanished in an instantaneous flash of lightning and became invisible to the naked eye. At near-uncalculatable speeds, he became a stream of golden light itself and let loose hundreds of blows onto the war god's body. All that could be seen were large, gaping craters in his skin that bled golden ichor.

I-Incredible! How could he produce that many blows in such little time?! Artemis gaped in complete awe. Goku's speed, to her best estimate, was thousands of times faster than light or even higher.

After his relentless onslaught came to a close, Ares froze from a mixture of shock and pain. Goku then teleported himself back to where the god stood, preparing to deliver yet another attack. Facing him from behind, he tilted his head to glare at Ares in anger.

"HYAAAAAAH! TRAAAH!" He wound up his leg and spun around his entire body around like a golden tornado. He finished off this highspeed spin by slamming his foot deep into the Olympian's stomach, extending it as much as he possibly could.

Leaving Ares with little time to react or counterattack, Goku backflipped away and, like a rocket, launched his head right across the immortal being's chin. His teeth involuntarily clamped together, causing him to spew a large mouthful of golden ichor all over himself and the arena. Nonetheless, he continued to regenerate at a slower rate and kept fighting.

"Keep at it, Goku! The more energy you waste, the more of a chance I have of winning this fight in the long run. This pain is only serving to make me stronger, whether you like it or not!"

The Saiyan of Earth scowled. "Don't you ever shut up?"

Internally balking at Ares's ludicrous statement, Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and teleported away. He then sporadically used Instant Transmission to circle around the entire stadium in seconds, making multiple copies of himself while in motion. Ares anxiously spun himself around to get a proper read on the real Goku's current location.

"Quick little bastard. Where he could he have… TWAAH!"

He glanced down to see Goku plant a short barrage of punches onto his kneecap. As a result, his leg caved in and left him unable to stand properly. This left him no other option, but wound his trusty sword like a baseball bat. The sword, in that precise moment, began to glow with radioactive, star-like power.

Although Goku couldn't sense Ares's divine ki, he could tell this attack was not harmless by any means.

"Here! Try dodging this, you annoying little shit!" Thewar god growled. He heftily followed through with the sword's swing, releasing a massive, portable blue star from its tip. Much to Goku's horror, it was on the very cusp of going supernova upon impact with another object or himself.

"EVERYONE! GET DOWN!"

He then transmitted some ki into his left foot and kicked the ball away from him like a soccer ball. It managed to land in Camp Half-Blood's lake and, as expected, completely exploded into a massive pillar of energy. This divine geyser protruded from the water's lowest depths, tearing apart nearby trees and producing large waves that covered the shoreline.

By the end of it all, a large crater was engraved into the water's surface.

He deflected my attack easily?! Damn it all! I should have expected him to pull off some unfair shit like that. The violent Olympian swore in displeasure. Goku looked just as displeased by what happened, but for a different reason entirely.

"We had a deal, Ares! That… artificial star or whatever you just made could have destroyed the entire stadium, including the demigods all sitting inside it!"

"Oh, please. You think I honestly care at this point?! All I care about is putting your corpse on display for all of Olympus to see. Nothing else matters!" Thegod of war exclaimed. He fully outstretched his arms, emphasizing the sharp, dagger-shaped claws the divine armor granted him.

With that, Goku could tell that Ares was, mentally speaking, at the point of no return. It would only be a matter of time until that darker ki took control of him both inside and out.

Figures he'd go back on his word. Looks like I'll have to end this fighter sooner than expected.

While gods could regenerate, he still felt reluctant to deal any serious, life-threatening damage against him. Unfortunately, doing such a thing was the only way to stop Ares's destructive rampage before it, somehow, got even worse.

I don't think either Super Saiyan 2 or 3 are required to finish this up, but if things get too chaotic, I could always fall back on them as a result.

He then determinedly clenched his fist, seeing to it that he would end this duel once and for all. "Cover your eyes, everyone!"

He then shared complete eye contact with Ares and rested both hands on either side of his face. Aphrodite and Hestia followed this instruction without question while Artemis, due to being unfamiliar with Goku's prior battles or techniques, peered at them in confusion.

"I would recommend doing what he says, Artemis." The love goddess advised.

"If you say so." Artemis muttered with a slight shrug of her shoulders. She then shut her eyelids, curious to find out what move Goku was attempting to execute.

"Don't know what the hell he's talking about, but whatever. Resting my eyes for a bit wouldn't hurt." Dionysus said while kicking back in his seat with tightly shut eyes.

Ares, on the other hand, couldn't make heads or tails of what the Saiyan martial artist had planned.

"What are you trying to pull?"

Then, right as he recognized the position of Goku's hands, he expanded his golden aura and started straight into the Olympian god's own eyes.

"SUPER SOLAR FLARE!"

A figurative dome of sunlight encircled his form and the entire stadium all at once. Its brightness caught Ares completely off-guard and managed to blind him for a few moments. He screamed in pain and tried to cover his eyes with both hands to help ease the intensity produced from the Solar Flare's light. Nothing, however, did anything to help.

"GAAAAAAAGHH! MY EYES!"

Goku used Ares's blindness to his advantage and repeatedly open-palm slapped him across the face to further disorientate said deity. Proving quite successful with this merciless smacking spree, he grabbed ahold of his legs and spun him around in a 360 degree angle. This successful Dragonthrow only served to incapacitate the god of war further.

"Ugh! GRAAAAGH!"

"Take this!"

Goku then let go of Ares's legs and sent him crashing straight into the ground below. His face grinded against the sand and crumbled beneath its excess weight, managing all of Camp Half-Blood about in tandem. As the Combat Arena continued withering away piece by piece, Ares weakly lifted up his chin and stood back up.

He spit a viscous glob of ichor into of his hands and cockily smirked.

"So… you want to play dirty now, hm? Fool! I'm the literal definition of playing dirty!" The god laughed while jerking a thumb at himself. Resorting to his final trump card, Ares hovered a hand over his sword and transformed it into a menacing, double-barreled shotgun. It was designed with the likeness of a vulture's skeletal structure in mind and, at the top of its barrel, there lied a ruby that contained the souls of any soldiers who were vanquished in wartime. He then cocked the gun, using his own divine power as ammunition.

"Normally, this would only be used to shoot bullets, but what the hell? If you can shoot energy blasts at whim, I might as well return the favor… with interest!"

Holding it in both hands, Ares aligned the massive gun with Goku's face. He didn't even need a set of crosshairs to do it. His marksmanship as the god of war was that precise.

"Say goodnight, Saiyan."

The gunshot harnessed more of its wielder's divine energy like a battery, glowing a dark red color similar to freshly spilt blood. Its ruby also glowed a dark, ominous purple and began to crack apart little by little.

This is it. No need to hold back this time. Goku thought. As Ares prepared to fire his gun at any moment now, the first Super Saiyan empowered himself with more ki than before. He then cupped his hands together and spoke in a trance-like state once more.

"KAAAA… MEEEE…" He shouted from a point in the sky above Ares.

"Oooh, a beam struggle! I'm liking the sound of that." The war god laughed in a sarcastic tone. He then slightly repositioned his shotgun, tilting in the direction of Goku's signature ki blast.

"…HAAAA… MEEEE…" The martial artist continued, projecting a massive blue-white ki ball that shot beams of light in each direction. As both blasts lit up the entire arena, Ares decided to play a bit dirty as stated earlier.

"Sorry! Too slow!"

He pulled the trigger and fired a cylindrical, bloodred inferno towards Goku at near-immeasurable pace. Unfortunately for Ares, Goku suddenly vanished before the Kamehameha's chant could be finished. This left the Olympian's own blast to trail off into the skies above Camp Half-Blood, producing a devastating explosion even larger than the small star's. To top it all off, this explosion even formed the likeness of a red skull with glowing, fiery purple orbs for eyes. It then faded away in evenly distributed pillars of black smoke.

"Great. What a waste of power…" Ares scoffed in disappointment. He then reloaded his gun more energy and decided to try again once Goku bothered to show himself again. "What's wrong? Are you too much of a pussy to take it head…on?"

Sensing some excess energy building near his feet, he looked down to see Goku still charging up his brand new Kamehameha Wave. He had hid himself away to evade Ares's attack using Instant Transmission.

"Wait… No! I should have known you were going to do this! Why didn't I see it coming?!" The god of war stammered. Not having enough time to perform any evasive maneuvers, Goku fully outstretched both arms and left Ares to his fate.

"…HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The full power Kamehameha engulfed Ares's gigantic form and exploded upon sudden impact with his body He was unable to resist the damage produced from this close-ranged ki blast and suffered greatly because of it. His head, arms, and legs were burned to a crisp, breaking apart into charred pieces of torn skin. Even this stronger version of his Divine Form was at Super Saiyan Goku's mercy.

"NO! NO! NO! SHIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT!" Ares yelled. The Kamehameha's resulting explosion consumed him whole, armor and body parts in all. It proceeded to break down the Combat Arena's remaining foundations and sent out a resulting aftershock that no one, not even the audience, was safe from.

"AYEEEEE!" Aphrodite shrieked as she almost fell on her butt. Artemis did something similar by protectively hovering over Zoë Nightshade and her other surrogate daughters.

"M-My lady?"

"Stay down for now, Zoë. This fight isn't over yet." The goddess of the hunt whispered softly.

Dionysus woke up to a start. He had accidentally dozed off during Goku's Super Solar Flare technique. "Woah, woah. What just happened?!"

Chiron poked his head out from the sidelines to see what happened.

"It looks as though… Son Goku has won, Mr. D."

The wind god quirked a brow. "That so? Well, I'll be damned…"

Hestia watched this explosion transpire with a smile on her face. Its blue glow illuminated her fiery orange pupils. "The Instant Kamehameha is truly a remarkable sight to behold…"

Once the aforementioned blast had dissipated, Ares was not looking too good by any means. His right arm and left leg were completely blown to smithereens, failing to regenerate because of the Kamehameha's intense heat. His new helmet was also torn to shreds, with one half containing a sizable hole where energy-based flesh used to be. His sword-turned-shotgun didn't fair much better and sported a large crack straight down the middle.

Overcome with a sense of defeat after this aftershock, Ares dropped his centuries-old weapon onto the floor and spat out more ichor. His will to fight was gone, but his anger grew to even higher levels than before.

"T-This is my Divine Form; the very form I was born into this universe with. How can you, a mere mortal centuries younger than I am, best it so easily?"

Goku floated closer to him and calmly took a deep breath. The yellow spikes of his hair flowed in the wind while levitating. "I already told you, Ares. This Divine Form may be powerful, but it's not doing you any favors from a combative standpoint. It's as simple as that."

The god of war shook with newfound rage and tried his best to get through the pain.

"Don't… Don't talk down to me… like I'm some snotnosed brat who doesn't know any better! Who do you think you are?!" He struggled to pick himself up as divine blood spewed from every pore in his body. Then, like in Camp Half-Blood Forest, a searing pain coursed through his blood and skull. "AGGGGH! My head! What's… happening to me?!"

"I warned you, Ares. You have to fight it… or else that energy will destroy you from the inside out!"

As he continued to clutch his aching skull, the war god suddenly felt… almost relaxed in a way. Every wound on his body closed up faster than usual once a torrent of purple fire flowed around him. It was undoubtedly sinister, yet also, from Ares's perspective, quite euphoric. It felt like a fresh shot of heroin entering his bloodstream.

"N-No… Hold on. This sensation… is granting me far more power than I've ever had before. I… like it. A lot."

Feeling his Divine Form's prior strength increase a hundredfold, Ares smiled and started to laugh triumphantly. It was a single moment of pure insanity that even made Goku take a slight step back.

"Hehehe. AHAHAHAHAHA! GRAAAAAAAGH!"

Then, to everyone's horror, the Olympian god of war began to change. Before their very eyes, the purple, ki-infused flames completely merged with his armor and skin, becoming far more monstrous in appearance by the second. His Spartan helmet morphed into a skull with long purple horns and an open maw with sharp, demonic-looking teeth. Fresh ichor leaked from Ares's broken jaw as his once-orange eyes now glowed a bright yellow that resembled Goku's aura as a Super Saiyan.

Even more disturbing were the other fiery, yellow-eyed skulls that lined his shoulders, chest plate, kneecaps, and stomach. They all screamed together simultaneously as Ares's flaming purple body raged with further intensity and increased in size. He was now tall enough to cast a dark shadow over the entire Combat Arena and Goku himself.

In that exact moment, this transformation made Ares resemble an incarnation of Chaos, a deity who represented the cosmos itself. Galaxies, solar systems, planets, and stars were even spread throughout his skin, resembling the inky blank void of outer space as a whole.

Goku widened his green eyes in disbelief. The dark ki's influence over Ares's soul and emotional state was far worse than he thought. He really did become an uncontrollable monster; one that even rivaled the evil version of him from Zeus's dream.

The three goddesses couldn't believe what they were seeing either. Aphrodite, in particular, looked shocked by what her former, centuries-long lover had become.

"A-Ares?"

Artemis shook nervously in her seat. "What in Zeus's name… is this power?!"

Hestia frowned. Her prior suspicions were already being proven true. "I don't know, but… it feels pure evil. Almost outright villainous in nature."

This darker version of Ares cracked his neck and looked down at Goku with the utmost murderous intent. The mouth on his skull-like twitched into its best attempt at a creepy, downright nightmarish smile.

"Son… Goku! You will… DIE BY MY HANDS!" He roared in a deep, raspy voice. It didn't even sound like Ares anymore. It felt as if a separate, more sinister force was taking possession of his subconscious mind.

"Heh. Bring it on then. I'm just warming up." Goku said confidently. The martial artist then looked over at Hestia, Artemis, and Aphrodite in a somewhat apologetic manner. "Sorry you won't get to see the end of this, guys. I promise I'll take care of it."

Artemis, taken aback by Goku's kind words, tried to argue against him fighting Ares alone. "Wait, Goku! Don't do this! We can—"

Ignoring her, he rocketed straight into the Earth's upper atmosphere without another word. Ares followed after him as a practically invisible streak of purple fire. Screams laced with death, war, and decay could be heard whenever he moved a single step.

"GOKU!" Aphrodite screamed.

Once both combatants parted from the Combat Arena, the demigods were safe to stand up again. They had no idea what was going on, but based on the sounds they heard, it was a fairly intense battle.

"Mom, what just happened? Where's Goku?" Lacy asked almost a bit too eagerly. "Is he okay? Did he win?"

The goddess of love couldn't bring herself to say anything in reply. She simply held the young girl close to her and looked up at the sky. From a distance, yellow and purple energies could be seen clashing against each other before disappearing in milliseconds.

"I… I don't know."

Meanwhile, high above Camp Half-Blood and the surface of the Earth itself, Goku exchanged consecutive blows with Ares's dark evolution. They relentlessly punched one another at speeds so fast, that each hit produced large, powerful shockwaves that shook everything in close proximity to them. Blood and ichor fell from their bodies like hailstones, each drop dissipating before they could even touch the ground.

Goku, to his chagrin, couldn't overpower this new form as a Super Saiyan. This dark ki simply made Ares far too powerful for him to take lightly or underestimate. If he wanted to end their fight sooner than later, he'd need to go all out. The fate of the Earth likely depended on it.

Where could he have even gotten this power from? The difference between this state and his normal Divine Form is unreal!

"GRAAAAAAAGH!"

With a single burst of purple energy, Ares turned himself translucent and burst straight through Goku's chest like an intangible flame. The Super Saiyan was then assaulted by multiple explosions of purple energy that battered at his skin without any restraint.

"AAAAAAGH! DAMMIT!"

Enduring the burns caked around his upper body, Goku teleported below Ares using Instant Transmission and spin kicked him right across the chin. The god of war was sent sailing into outer space and would have kept floating around if not for the Moon being present as support. He slammed down onto its surface and rocketed back towards Goku's place in the inky black cosmos. A massive crater shaped like himself was left in his wake.

"Coming back for more, huh?!"

"I've had it up to here with your overpowered Super Saiyan bullshit! It's about time for you to join the rest of your pathetic race… in extinction! HRAAAAAA!"

"That will never happen, Ares! I made a promise and I'm going to keep it! HYAAAAAA!"

Bright, golden energy then clashed with dark purple as Goku and the god of war clashed their forearms together. A supernova was produced from this brief interaction, shaking the Earth ever-so-slightly and blowing some gray chunks out of the Moon. Seeing how much destruction they were causing, Goku lifted up his arms and pushed Ares away from the planet with a powerful stream of wind, or Kiai.

"TRAAAH!"

He was then sent spiraling backward for miles and had a tough time getting his massive body under control. Goku took a brief look back at the Earth and nodded.

"That should be a good enough distance…"

Placing two fingers along his forehead, he closed in on Ares's dark ki and transported himself directly above the Olympian. He then blasted him with a small barrage of yellow energy balls that continued his path along outer space.

Ares, practically unharmed by this attack, activated the skulls distributed throughout his fiery armor. They all opened their mouths and blasted thin streams of dark energy in different directions. Goku had to expertly maneuver himself around in midair just to prevent them from piercing through his own flesh, bone, or worse.

Shit! I have to make him land somewhere!

As the war god spun himself around to further strengthen his strobe-lights of death, Goku caught a glimpse of the red planet, Mars, nearby. He flew himself directly under Ares's back, kicked him in his spine upward, and then lifted up both arms behind his back.

"GRAAAGH! HAAA!"

The Saiyan performed a Double Axe Handle atop Ares's skull and sent him crashing down into the surface of Mars. His entire head was caved in as a result, but it regenerated and went back to normal just as fast.

Upon landing on the surface of Mars, Goku had to quickly hold his breath. The atmosphere on this planet was 95.32% carbon dioxide, so he'd need to defeat Ares fast if he didn't wish to suffocate.

Doesn't look like Ares needs to worry about that. Must be because gods don't breathe oxygen like mortals do. He thought in dismay. I might have just given him the advantage...

Ares looked at where they were with a large smile on his face. Whether he knew it or not, the Saiyan warrior had just made the biggest mistake possible.

"Haha… BAHAHAHAHA!" The god of war laughed evilly. "You colossal dumbass! Don't you realize that Mars is part of my domain? I get even stronger just being here."

Goku widened his eyes in shock. What?!

To prove this assessment true, Ares raised a single hand toward Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano and planetary mountain on Mars. It being named after Mount Olympus itself made this environment all the more befitting of this battle.

It hadn't erupted in over 25 millions year, yet now, that wound change thanks to the very god who controlled it.

"Watch."

With a single tight clench of his fist, Olympus Mons exploded with molten lava and magma shooting up from its peak. It blackened Mars's upper atmosphere in seconds, firing hundreds of meteorite-shaped rocks that, under Ares's control, burned with purple fire. The heat was absolutely inhospitable for a mortal like Goku, so he'd need to find a way out of there fast.

"See this?! This could be the real Olympus's fate if nothing is done to stop you before that damned future even has a chance of taking place! If killing you to save the cosmos makes me a villain, then so be it!" The corrupted Olympian god bellowed in growing rage. "THIS PLANET SHALL BE STAINED RED WITH YOUR BLOOD, SON GOKU! YOUR LIFE ENDS HERE!"

Controlling each meteorite with his purple aura, Ares launched them at Goku one after another. The Saiyan, in a state of panic, jumped, flipped, and ran as fast as he could to evade these projectiles. He then blasted one of them with a ki blast, sending it careening back at Ares's face.

The god felt golden ichor trickle down his nose and, right in that exact second, completely lost it.

"GRAAAAAAAGH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

While lava coated itself around the entire planet, Ares teleported himself behind Goku, tightly grabbed onto his face with one giant hand, and blasted a stream of purple fire straight into his skull. The Saiyan could feel his brain turning into mush as he screamed in agony.

"DAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"That's right! Feel the burn!"

The god of war then flew into the air and grinded Goku's face against the lava being spewed from Olympus Mons. Although he was immune to the lava's heat as a Super Saiyan, it still hurt quite a lot. He could barely breathe and struggled to keep his eyes open.

This isn't good. Ares is losing control of himself!

Thinking fast, he tried something he hadn't done in a long time. He tightly clenched his teeth together, coating his body and golden hair in a crimson red aura.

"SUPER KAIOKEN!"

"WHAT?!"

With the temporary boost in strength granted to him by the Super Kaioken, Goku freed himself from Ares's grip and threw a fearsome, devastating punch directly into his cheek. He held his fist there for a few moments before releasing Ares from the attack and sending him spinning uncontrollably into Olympus Mons.

"DAMMITTTTTTTT!"

He crashed into the massive shield volcano, causing it to erupt even further than mere seconds ago. With the sea of lava steadily growing even larger in size, Goku used the Super Kaioken to rocket back into outer space. He then deactivated it and took a moment to compose himself. Ares's attacks were beginning to take a significant toll on his body.

That likely won't do much to stop him. Those regenerative abilities of his are a real pain.

Continuing to hold in his breath, Goku grimaced. He might have to go beyond Super Saiyan sooner than he thought. It was the only other option he could think to fall back on. At least, the only one that didn't involve bleeding out or passing out from exhaustion.

It was then that Ares emerged from the surface of his representative planet. He narrowed his yellow eyes and looked at the martial artist like a bug waited to be squashed.

"I'll admit, that Super Kaioken thing wasn't half-bad. But you'll need more than cheap tricks to bring me down."

"I have to agree. Good thing I have two tricks left to use, right?"

"Show me then! It wouldn't be a war without bringing out the big guns, right?!"

Goku narrowed his eyes. "Fine! You asked for it! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Releasing a shockwave of golden light that shone brightly throughout the cosmos, Goku screamed and ascended to a higher level of power, Super Saiyan 2. As a result, his golden hair became even spikier and bolts of electricity surged throughout his body. It wasn't his preferred form to use, admittedly, but it would have to do for now.

Ares scoffed. "Don't see much of a difference visually, but your power… is even stronger than that Super Kaioken punch you did. No doubt about that."

"And it's strong enough to defeat you, Ares…"

He then created some distance between them and cupped his hands together. This time, he wouldn't use the Instant Transmission. He, in fact, wanted Ares to pair the blast with his own. It'd be the climactic finale they've been waiting for.

"KAAAAAAA… MEEEEE…"

"Let's put that to the test then, punk! Show me what you've got!" Focusing his energy, Ares opened his and the other skulls' mouths all at once. They charged up a massive blast of dark purple and black energy in perfect unison. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"HAAAAAA… MEEEEE…"

As blue and purple blasts were charged up to maximum capacity, a strange ripple effect resulting from their power shook the entire galaxy. Anyone entire dimensions away could potentially feel its presence too, including the other gods of Olympus.

The two warriors glared at each other for a brief moment or two. Then, directly afterwards, they unleashed their final attacks without hesitation.

"…HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"…GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The Super Kamehameha met its evil counterpart and fought for dominance in this long-anticipated beam struggle. The fabric of reality was torn apart at the very seems, warping space and time itself as planets like Mars, nearby stars, and other distant galaxies were drawn to each blast's exact position within outer space.

Neither Ares or Goku relented for a second. They channeled more power into each blast, ignoring the pain that resulted from their current battle's intense aftershock. Fresh blood spurted from the Saiyan's forehead while golden ichor burst forth from the violent Olympian's eyes and mouth.

"ERRRGGH!"

"GIVE UP! I'M THE OLYMPIAN GOD OF WAR! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF DEFEATING ME IN BATTLE!"

Goku was undeterred by Ares's words. He continued fighting through the pain and vividly thought about everything that led up to this moment.

Come on! I can do this!

Imagining his evil counterpart from Zeus's vision, he became more determined to prove himself to Olympus, Ares, and everyone who denounced him as nothing, but a cruel destroyer. None of that could happen if he didn't win this fight and prove them wrong.

After all, what would Chi-Chi think if he ended up dying in a universe entirely separate from theirs? That was a possibility who wouldn't stand to let happen.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Increasing the size of his aura as a Super Saiyan 2, the Kamehameha let loose small bolts of electricity against Ares that caught him off-guard. This caused his own blast to be pushed back a few feet, much to his complete shock.

"N-No! Stop fighting back! THIS POWER SHOULD BE YOUR UNDOING! Why is this happening to me?!" Ares scowled. "I won't let it end this way! I REFUSE!"

As soon he released his energy blast full throttle, the god of war cracked under pressure and flew straight into it. He materialized a hellish purple blade made of flames and screaming skulls, attempting to completely destroy the Kamehameha with it.

Goku, in response, did the same. He quickly sailed through the Kamehameha Wave itself and wound up his fist at around the same time Ares brandished his sword. They rocketed towards each other, causing the galaxy and everything containing it to shake even more intensely than mere moments beforehand.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"SON GOKUUUUUUUUU!"

The two energy blasts coalesced together, creating an impressive explosion that blew up in various other objects across the solar system and beyond. It was essentially a chain reaction of absolute destruction on the highest level; something that Ares would enjoy under different circumstances.

However, he had nothing to be happy about this time around. Through sheer luck alone, Goku managed to generate electricity and golden ki into his fist to propel himself straight through Ares's stomach. He maintained his Super Saiyan 2 form and glanced over at the Olympian from behind, frowning.

"It's over."

Upon impact, Ares's entire Divine Form was blown apart from the inside. Beams of golden light shot out of every section in his armor until any trace of dark ki that once existed was completely gone.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

His screams of sorrow were unheard by all, except for Goku, the mortal man who singlehandedly bested him in combat. By the end of it, he was unable to maintain his godly state and floated about with a gaping hole in his body that couldn't heal at all. He would have tried fighting back, but there was no energy left for him to use.

"This… can't be real. After all of that, I still couldn't… kill him?"

He attempted to pump more dark ki into himself, but to no avail. Feeling the pain from Goku's attack set in, the god of war woozily inspected at his surroundings. He then saw Super Saiyan 2 Goku wind up his right arm and channel more golden ki into his fist. It looked as bright and shiny as the distant Sun itself.

Ares could only muster up one response to this terrifying sight.

"Oh, fu—"

The martial artist mercilessly delivered one last, decisive blow to Ares's cheek. This single punch instantly shattered his jawbone and sent pieces of his teeth floating in the far reaches of space.

Like a golden rocket, he speedily then sailed past Mars, bounced off the Moon like a living pinball, and fell straight back down to Camp Half-Blood. Unable to retaliate any longer, Ares hacked up a puddle of ichor and began to burn up in Earth's upper atmosphere.

"Damn… you…" Ares managed to cough out. He then tilted his head to glare up at Goku in burning hatred. "GRAAAAGH! DAMN YOU, SON GOKUUUUUU!"

He burst into flames upon reentry and, due to the delay in his regenerative abilities, began to completely melt, skin and all. His entire divine essence began to dissolve into small, almost nonexistent specks of dust. Whether this damage resulted from the dark ki that corrupted his body or not was hard to say.

Flying back to Earth as fast as he could, Goku took a deep breath and grimaced in concern. He inspected the damage done to his body, wondering where this dark ki could have originated from. He enjoyed being able to fight at that level of power, of course, but the whole situation still felt strange to him.

"Welp, no use worrying about it now. I should get back to camp before he crashes."

He then did just that and used Instant Transmission to close in on some of the demigod's smaller ki signatures. Back at the Combat Arena, everyone looked up at the sky waiting for Goku and Ares to come back. It had been a while since they left for outer space.

Lacy clasped her hands together and said, "I hope Goku's alright…"

"You should be more worried about us than him, sis. I mean, have you looked at this place?! It's, like, an absolute dumpster fire!" Drew groaned. She desperately tried to cleanse herself of any dirt or debris that the arena floor might have possessed.

"Goku's past battles have been far more devastating than this, so you shouldn't be too shocked by it, Drew." Their mother muttered. She then frowned in remorse for what may or may not have happened. "I know full well, from the bottom of my heart, that Goku will be alright. I'm not sure I can say the same for Ares, though…"

In spite of the war god's egotistical behavior, Aphrodite was still fully to blame for causing this battle. She didn't have much to do with Ares's "transformation", but the outcome would be partially her fault, nonetheless.

"Wish there was a way to help him. Besides giving him a cough drop, because he really did scream a lot. Hehe." Lacy joked while covering her ears. Aphrodite lightly grinned and placed a hand on her young daughter's cheek.

Nearby in Cabin #8's section, Zoë checked in on her surrogate mother's wellbeing. Artemis had a noticeable look of concern on her face as well.

"Where could Son Goku and Ares have gone, my lady? Did they manage to destroy themselves up in outer space?"

Glancing at the olive-skinned Hunter, the moon goddess shook her head.

"I'm not quite sure. What I do know, however, is that their fight did involve the Moon in some capacity. I could feel its… damages from afar."

"T-The Moon? Art thou injured at all?"

"Don't be silly. I may have jurisdiction over the Moon and its orbit around Earth, but that doesn't mean it's literally a part of me."

Zoë, feeling a bit embarrassed, shyly looked away from Artemis.

"Oh right. Apologies for being misguided then, my lady."

"Apology accepted as always. Now, pay close attention and watch the sky. Goku and Ares should be back at any moment." The goddess of the hunt suggested. "You may be surprised by the victor of his bout."

Zoë, Phoebe, and the other Hunters nodded in understanding. They monitored the skies together, waiting to catch a glimpse of either combatant.

In the stands occupied by Ares's children, Clarisse La Rue and her fellow siblings spotted something falling from the sky. They all squinted their eyes, recognizing the fact that this mysterious object was falling faster and faster with each second.

Worst of all, it was heading straight for the center of the Combat Arena.

"What's up there?" Sherman Yang remarked in confusion.

Him and his siblings took a closer look at it. It was a humanoid body glowing with traces of purple and orange fire. It was charred and ashy in terms of appearance, crumbling to dust in the surrounding wind.

Mark widened his eyes. Judging from this person's feature, it did not look like Goku at all, but someone else they were more familiar with. "D-Don't tell me. Is that—"

Clarisse looked over at the fallen individual a second time. Her jaw hung open upon receiving the same moment of realization that Mark had.

"DAD?!"

At that moment, Ares's body limply spun around like a bruised and broken ragdoll. Fresh ichor fell from the gaping hole in his stomach as he gained more and more forward momentum.

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

He proceeded his moment of freefall and crashed straight into the Combat Arena's centermost point. Emitting the golden energy that Goku forcibly placed into his body, the war god blew to kingdom one last time. A gigantic, non-radioactive mushroom cloud sprouted from his final resting place, appearing as a bright beacon of light from a far distance.

Multiple demigods were flung all the over the place from the resulting shockwave of divine pressure.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" Aphrodite's daughters, namely Drew, squealed in exaggerated fear.

Hermes Cabin, the largest and unruly group in the entire camp, had a more positive reaction by comparison. "WOAAAAAHHHH! AWESOME!"

Even Dionysus was shocked by what took place.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BRATS SCREAMING ABOUT?!"

After this sudden cacophony of screaming came to an end, Ares's implosion was followed by an air of bitter silence. Now, the once proud Olympian laid there a massive pool of his own ichor and a gaping hole to show for his efforts.

He was unable to move, speak, or do much of anything at all. His dark evolution truly left that much of a toll on him.

"S-Shit. I-It… can't end this way. Not after I was already humiliated by that Percy Jackson brat!"

Fresh ichor oozing down his chin, he painfully looked down at the injuries that refused to heal themselves. The war god closed his eyes, feeling more pathetic and worthless than ever before.

"Dammit. DAMN IT ALL! I was supposed to be the hero in all of this, not him!"

His voice echoed across the stadium's hollow walls, taking all of Cabin #5 by surprise. In that moment, they could tell their father's pride was shattered beyond any foreseeable repair.

Further insult was added to injury when Goku teleported next to Ares's side. His spikier golden hair as a Super Saiyan 2 caught everyone by surprise, especially the young demigods who didn't know how strong he was beforehand. They could almost mistake him for a god in his own right, if he weren't confirmed to be mortal.

A lot of the girls took a liking to his bare, exposed chest as well. It looked as if he were chiseled together like a marble statue.

"Disregard what I said earlier, Mom. You definitely hit the jackpot with this guy." Drew purred while lustfully licking her lips. "Strong and handsome is a good combination."

Aphrodite quirked a brow at this lecherous behavior.

"It is, but you may want to watch what you say, sweetie. He could be your new stepfather soon."

Darting her eyes from Goku to her divine parent, Draw instantly grew nauseous and started to gag.

"Yuck! Way to kill the mood."

"Just telling you what's more likely to happen in the future." Aphrodite shrugged with a sheepish grin on her pink lips. Despite her regrets about their first meeting, being Goku's girlfriend was still a top priority for her. However, with Chi-Chi's death on his mind, it'd be difficult for her feelings to be reciprocated. "If he'll ever grow to care about me the same way, at least…"

She then gazed at Artemis and Hestia, considering their presence in Goku's life as additional obstacles to overcome.

"He has different hair than before. This must be Super Saiyan 2, correct?" The goddess of the hunt asked.

Hestia nodded. Even she didn't expect him to use it so soon after turning into the normal Super Saiyan form.

"That's right. It looks like that dark energy made Ares strong enough to… challenge Goku a bit more than anticipated."

"I suppose so. He seems to have been dealt just as many injuries as well." Artemis noted. Goku's body was now covered in stab wounds, burns, scratches, and bloodstains. His outfit was also completely torn apart, much to her chagrin. "Even so, him having access to another form even stronger than this one is quite… disturbing. I'm not sure if the others will be comfortable with the existence of a mere mortal that strong."

She then furrowed her eyebrows in deep concentration and inspected Goku intently from her seat.

There's no telling what monstrous feats this so-called Super Saiyan 3 could be capable of. It could even rival or outright surpass Father in raw power. The moon goddess pondered while looking in the direction of New York City. She had a feeling Goku's trial would ultimately end up becoming a one-sided shitshow due to her father's bias against him. It'll certainly affect his final sentence at the Hall of the Gods, I'm sure. And Ares's current condition doesn't help much either. Not one bit.

Artemis scoffed in displeasure. She couldn't stand how unfair this whole situation was. Ares started this fight, yet this innocent mortal would be the one punished for it.

I'm sorry, Goku. This trial will not be in your best interests. I hope you realize that fact before it's too late.

Back on the battlefield, the martial artist in question took a deep breath powered back down to his base form. He stumbled a little from exhaustion and soreness, but nevertheless, stood tall in the face of his former opponent. He locked eyes with Ares's bloodred, explosion-laced ones.

"Don't give me that look. You won! What more do you want from me?!" The god of war roared.

Goku frowned at him sympathetically and shook his head.

"Nothing. Our fight's over, Ares. Neither of us are in any condition to continue fighting. I just want you to know that your transformation into that… thing before wasn't entirely, well, you, I guess." He tried to explain. "And I'm sorry I had to do that much damage to your body to get rid of it; whatever that was."

"Haha! You honestly think I'm that pathetic?! I don't need your damn apology. This was a fight to the death and that dark energy got me the closest to killing you, punk. I don't give two shits about where it came from or what it did to me." Ares spat with the utmost conviction. "Our fight's not truly over, anyway. Once I'm fully regenerated, I won't stop until I return the favor and give you a hole just as big as mine!"

Seeking to call upon his sword, so he could attack Goku again, Ares was shocked to see his arm fade away in a series of microscopic dust particles. It appeared that his body could no longer endure the damage Super Saiyan 2's power caused.

"WHAT? I'm scattering?! There's no way!"

Little by little, Ares's body dissolved into large, sparkling piles of dust. His legs then completely ceased to exist in a matter of seconds.

"Scattering?"

Artemis leaned over from her seat to answer this question.

"Scattering, Goku, is the closest an immortal deity comes to experiencing death. After a certain amount of damage is inflicted upon us gods, our physical bodies will be completely destroyed and broken into dust-like particles. These particles will then be sent straight to Tartarus and gradually reform after an extended period of time. This can range from days, weeks, months, or even years based on how serious the injuries truly are."

"You mean… I did that to him?!" The Saiyan martial artists gasped as Ares continued to vanish into nothingness.

Hestia joined in, so she could help soothe his worries. "Yes, technically, you did, but there's no need to feel guilty about it. My father, Kronos, was cut up into millions of tiny pieces, yet he still managed to miraculously survive. And since Ares didn't experience as much damage, I assume he'll be back to normal after a few months have passed."

"Alright then. I guess that means I didn't actually kill him then… I think." Goku then scratched the back of his head in puzzlement. "Man, this god stuff sure is complicated sometimes."

"That's not even the most complicated thing about us. Wait until you find out how Aphrodite was born." The goddess of the hearth jokingly replied.

Thinking back to the bizarre circumstances leading to her birth, Aphrodite's cheeks flushed a bright red.

"I told you not to bring that up, Hestia!"

"Oh yeah! From what I recall, wasn't she created from a mix of seafoam and some old dude's—"

"NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR THAT!" The love goddess whined as she crossed her arms and glared at Goku in minor annoyance. "Hmph! I never asked how you were born, did I?"

Ares smirked at the goofy expression on her face.

Hehe. Just as cute as she'll ever be…

Realizing that their days as a couple were officially over, the god of war remembered the good times they had together and bitterly frowned. All he could do now was feel envy and resentment for Goku.

"You know what? Fighting you did make me realize something."

"What?"

"I've been up my own ass for too long now. In order to truly give moronic punk-asses like you a proper beatdown, I'll need to start training the same way. Basically get into the same mindsight as a warrior from an alternate universe foreign to my own." Ares said. "Then and only then can I avoid experiencing the utter humiliation grown from a fight like this one. Maybe I won't have to rely on some random powerup either…"

Goku enthusiastically grinned at this idea and smiled. His inner low-class Saiyan was now on full display for everyone to see.

"Sounds great! I'll be looking forward to a rematch, Ares! Just name the time and place, and I'll be there for sure!"

Ares blankly stared at Goku in amusement.

"You don't get it, do you? Even you have to realize this fight isn't over yet, right?"

"I'm not following…"

"I'm talking about the other Olympians, you dumbass! You may have a little group of 'fangirls' over there, but the rest of us aren't so easy to please." Ares pointed out. "In fact, they're aware of my father's dream and likely have every reason to distrust you. They've all seen moments from your past, including Frieza's destruction of Planet Namek, Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack, etcetera, etcetera. And after witnessing all of that destruction take place in your universe, there's no way they'll let you run around scot-free."

Goku looked surprised. He could be alright with Aphrodite and Hestia knowing about his past battles, but everyone on Olympus having this knowledge felt like a breach of privacy entire universes away.

They really saw all of that? Without me even knowing about it?!

"Besides, my dad, Lord Zeus himself, is no joke. If you weren't so damn durable, he'd personally smite you down without any hesitation. He's not the type to let these prophetic dreams come true, after all. So why would he make an exception for you, a guy that can directly threaten his authority as King of the Gods?" The god of war continued, relishing in the image of Goku getting struck by Zeus's Master Bolt. "The best part is that even in victory, you still lose! Because there's no question that him and the other Olympians will feel even more threatened if they find out you defeated me in a fight singlehandedly! It'll be one step closer to that future coming true, from their perspective."

Goku took a slight step back. He was having a hard time taking in Ares's hate-filled words. "You don't know that! There have to be some prophecies that don't come true. I don't have a pink-haired Super Saiyan form, so how would I even get to that point?!"

"You don't have that form yet! There's a chance you could unlock it, eventually, which is more than enough of a reason for Zeus to trap your ass in Tartarus. All it takes a majority vote on Olympus and you'll be stuck in that hellhole until this war with Kronos comes to a close. Not even your annoying Instant Transmission crap can get you out of there!"

"War with Kronos? Is that why he's so focusing on possessing me?"

Due to Aphrodite not having much involvement with this war, none of her memories unveiled much about it or Kronos himself for that matter. Ares, unfortunately, was not the right person to get straightforward answers from. The god of war simply ignored Goku, breaking into one last fit of laughter before scattering for good.

"Face it, Goku! You may have won this fight, but you've definitely lost the war! BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Then, in an explosive blast of atomic heat, Ares burst into hundreds of miniscule particles. His head vanished last, making his evil laughter fade away into a distant, ominous echo before silence was all that remained. His sword also vanished along with him, leaving a scorch mark in the spot it once presided.

Clarisse felt tears build up in her eyes. "He didn't even say goodbye…"

The entire audience was disturbed by Ares's ironically chilling "death". Due to him never being scattered before now, everyone turned their attention to the man who went against all odds and defeated him.

Goku, not liking this amount of attention being drawn to himself, wiped some sweat off his brow and looked around the Combat Arena.

"Welp, that was interesting…"

He then, all of a sudden, succumbed to his injuries and fell over unconscious. Losing so much blood in such little time was too much for even a Saiyan like him to endure.

"GOKU!" Aphrodite cried. Her, Artemis, and Hestia then came to the Saiyan's aid as Dionysus had each camper clear out of the Combat Arena. Chiron and Argus were there to help him with that as always.

As the god of war mentioned, Goku may have won their fight, but the true war was from over. His trial on Olympus was now officially underway.

In the Hall of the Gods…

Zeus was currently in a bit of a bind. Several hours after he sent Artemis to capture the mortal, Son Goku, parts of the entire universe and the domain from which Olympus existed on began to shake uncontrollably. The Hall of the Gods might have caved in on itself, in fact, if not for his and Poseidon's quick intervention.

He didn't quite know what to make of it. All of reality simply became distorted in one single portion of the solar system and areas even beyond that. To make matters worse, it supposedly resulted from a duel between his son, Ares, and the very Saiyan man waiting to be persecuted.

But how could this have happened? Last time he checked, Ares was keeping guard over Aphrodite at her temple. Perhaps he should have checked in on them earlier or sent someone else to do it.

"Sooo is no one going to acknowledge the fact that Olympus Mons just erupted on Mars? After 25 freakin' million years of being inactive?" Apollo asked.

"Peculiar as it is, we all know why it happened. Ares and Son Goku brought their fight to outer space, which included his representative planet, Mars. I'm uncertain why an eruption was involved, but whatever the reason, it appears that the mortal won in the end." Athena assessed with a slight frown.

"Do not mistake mere speculation for fact, Athena! My Ares is more than powerful enough to defeat some naïve mortal raised in the mountains." Hera angrily grunted. She fixed up her long black hair and pursed her lips. "Any other outcome would be an insult to our status as gods."

Athena narrowed her gray eyes and sighed.

"Son Goku is not a mere mortal, Hera. Keep in mind that Majin Buu – based on what little footage we've seen of him – utilizes the same type of divine power that courses through our own bodies. And Goku, in the end, managed to defeat him. Ares, given these circumstances, would likely fair no better, as much as it pains me to admit."

"Then who will bring Goku to Olympus then? I know Artemis was tasked with hunting him down, but it's close to nightfall and she's still not back yet." Hermes wondered.

"She's gathering more information about Goku's character and abilities via face-to-face interrogation. Father's prior description didn't leave much to the imagination in terms of detail, after all. Being a hunter, she and her followers were basically going into battle without proper preparations beforehand."

Apollo kicked back in his seat while glancing over at Zeus. "Exactly. Leaving her high and dry like that wasn't the best call, Dad."

The king of Olympus rested a fist against his cheek in thought. He did somewhat regret putting Artemis through such a complex predicament.

"I can't argue with that. I suppose it was my fault for not showing her Goku's skills in combat."

"Eh, don't beat yourself up about it too much. I'm sure Arty's just fine. To be honest, she might have been talking with Goku before Ares and Aphrodite decided to barge in." The sun god replied. "You did sense that he was somewhere near Camp Half-Blood, correct?"

"Indeed. There's certainly a chance she brought the Saiyan there. But that brings up an even bigger dilemma pertaining to how Aphrodite managed to escape."

The goddess of wisdom shook her head. "She's quite a powerful goddess in her own right, Father. Aphrodite may not be a specialist in combat like myself, but she can still hold her own in a direct confrontation. It's likely that she manipulated Ares's emotions and got the best of him somehow. Then, before he could do anything to retaliate, she left to find Son Goku, her… supposed object of affection."

Poseidon nodded at her longtime rival's words and stroked his beard in puzzlement.

"If that's the case, what shall we do with her if or when she comes back? With Artemis there, Goku can't run from this trial forever… and neither can Aphrodite from her due punishment."

Tired of hearing the goddess of love's name, Hera snorted in an undignified manner. It was unbecoming of a noble queen like herself.

"What else? That promiscuous tramp has put us all in a great deal of danger. That prophetic vision of Olympus's destruction says as much. Therefore, once this meeting is adjourned, we should keep her locked away in her temple for as long as she has known of Son Goku's existence."

"6 months being under house arrest seems rather harsh, Hera. I feel that dealing with Ares's jealous rage is already punishment enough." Demeter pointed out. Each of them had partaken in far more selfish, downright evil by comparison.

Hermes quirked a brow. "Are you only saying that because of what Persephone's going through? You do realize she's happy with her marriage to Hades, right?"

"Well, it's a punishment to me, so I have a right to hold that opinion." The goddess of agriculture huffed while haughtily brushing her long blonde hair back. "Either way, my point about Aphrodite still stands. She did this for love, not out of malicious intent."

Hephaestus scoffed at such a comical remark.

"Feh! Might as well be both for her. She's been two-timing me since the very beginning of our so-called 'marriage', so serves her right for anything that happens as a result of this situation."

Since Zeus, their father, was the textbook example of an unfaithful spouse, Hermes didn't see much logic in this vindictive response.

"But you have demigod children as well, Hephaestus. You've cheated just as much as any of us."

The god of blacksmiths grumpily snorted, feeling as if Hermes didn't understand that having those children was difficult enough as is. Him and Aphrodite were technically married for centuries at this point, so her adulterous nature was arguably far worse from his perspective.

"I had no other choice! I tried to be a good, loving husband to her, yet she wouldn't give me time the day. Because I look like this."

Zeus put a swift end to this pointless argument by slamming his Master Bolt onto the ground. It served like the judge's gavel in a courtroom, but far louder and more menacing.

"Enough, everyone! In order to make this trial go as smoothly as possible, we have to remain calm and—"

Suddenly, the god of the sky became short of breath and widened his electric blue eyes. He then fell to his knees and feebly smacked against the palace floor. Each Olympian leapt off their thrones to check on their ruler's condition.

"Father! What's wrong?! Was it another vision?" Athena asked in concern as she and Poseidon helped him back to his feet.

Zeus shook his head. He struggled to breathe, raggedly attempting to collect his thoughts and feelings in that moment.

"Ares's… essence has suddenly disappeared. He's been scattered!"

The Olympians collectively gasped. They didn't think Goku could bring himself to take his fight with the war god that far. Aware of Ares's tendency to exclusively think with his fists (or weapons depending on the situation), Poseidon had a feeling he knew the direct cause of his demise.

"You don't suppose that Aphrodite was—"

"The reason for Ares picking a fight with Goku? Most definitely. I believe he grew jealous of her "feelings" for the man and lashed out in a fit of anger. And if what Father says is true, the cost of challenging him head-on was, unfortunately, his life."

Hera, hearing that her son was turned to dust, felt her divine blood boil with outrage. She lost control of her temper and coated her body in purplish silver energy. This momentary surge of power shook the entire mountaintop, threatening to tear the Hall of the Gods to ribbons if it went on any longer.

"I will not stand for it! Trial or no trial, that insolent mortal must be put in his place… before our own lives are snuffed out the same way!" The queen of Olympus swore. Her normally beautiful face was contorted due to her maternal wrath and the emotions that came from it.

Zeus, solely fearing the wrath of his wife and chosen queen, sat back down in his throne.

"Calm yourself, dear. There's no need to be hostile."

Hera scornfully glared at him. In tandem with her emotions, the peacock feathers on her cape jutted out like sharp daggers.

"You want me to calm down? After our firstborn son was vanquished by a mentally defective alien who's been prophesied to kill us all?!"

"Like I said earlier, you can't be too paranoid by the events some random dream foretold. Otherwise, it'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy that we end up causing! Goku won't even have much say in future events if we don't let him tell his side of the story, you know?" Apollo chimed in.

"He's right, Hera. All I ask is that you keep your angry under control for the time being. We don't even know how this fight between Goku and Ares even came to fruition. Artemis will need to explain that when she returns with the Saiyan mortal himself."

Understanding her husband's perspective, Hera deactivated her aura and grumbled to herself in reluctance.

"Very well. I'll restrain myself until the trial officially begins. However, don't be surprised if I can no longer contain my anger once… Son Goku arrives."

She then gracefully sat back down in her throne without another word. Each of her fellow Olympians, Zeus included, followed her example and did the same.

The aforementioned ruler of Olympus glared down at the surface, both eyes radiating with white-hot electricity while doing so.

"Make no mistake, Hera. By the laws of Mount Olympus, Goku's blasphemous crime will not be left unpunished!"

He then lifted up his free arm, projecting a massive bolt of lightning into the skies above. This caused the night sky to be lit up with intermingling flashes of thunder that directly spanned from one dimension to another.

At that point, Zeus held little concern for Goku's god-like power or the dream that depicted his eventual corruption. All he cared about now was exacting swift justice for his beaten, humiliated son.