CHAPTER 107

It was now clear. The New Gods of Apokolips, led by Darkseid, had once invaded Earth and clashed with the ancient gods. This battle had ushered in the Dusk of the Gods, leading to the downfall of Olympus.

Kaius ignored the strange look Ares gave him. "So, it was Darkseid who brought about the Dusk of the Gods," Kaius surmised. "And you, Ares, fear his return. That's why you create conflict and war—to grow stronger, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Ares admitted, his voice booming with fervor. "As long as I am strong enough, I can defeat the New Gods, rebuild Olympus, and restore the Age of the Gods!" He turned to Kaius and Diana, his eyes alight with madness. "Join me, brothers and sisters! Together, we will rule a world reborn!"

To Ares, it was evident that Kaius possessed some connection to divine power. How else could he explain the Thunder coursing through him? Surely, Kaius must be another of Zeus' illegitimate offspring.

Diana stepped forward, her voice firm. "We will not become pawns in your schemes, Ares. If you seek strength by creating endless conflict, then I must stop you."

"Then prove it, little sister!" Ares snarled. Without waiting for a response, he raised his hand. Divine power surged through him, transforming into a thunderbolt that shot toward Diana. She barely raised her Bracelets of Submission in time to block the strike, but the sheer force sent her flying backward.

Kaius moved in an instant, appearing beside Ares in a flash of super-speed. He swung a powerful punch, but his fist met empty air as Ares teleported away, reappearing in front of Diana.

"Give me your divine power, Diana!" Ares growled. "With it, I will become unstoppable!"

Diana struggled against him, her divine power not yet fully awakened. During the events of the Metropolis War, she had only just begun to tap into her latent abilities. She was no match for Ares' full strength—not yet.

Kaius's eyes glowed red as beams of Heat Vision shot out toward Ares. Once again, Ares teleported to safety, avoiding the attack entirely. He smirked as he appeared a safe distance away.

Kaius turned to face Ares, his voice calm but firm. "You said Diana has the power to kill you. She's a god. But what about me? Why can't I kill you?"

Ares sneered, his confidence growing. "Because you lack a Godhead, mortal. Only one with divine authority can truly end my existence. Diana, the Goddess of Love and Peace, could do it—but not you."

Ares chuckled darkly, believing himself untouchable. "Those with the power to kill me lack the will to do so. And those with the will… lack the power."

Kaius's expression hardened. He turned to Diana. "Attack me with everything you have. Use your strongest power."

"What?" Diana blinked in disbelief. "Kaius, are you insane? That could kill you!"

"Trust me," Kaius said, his voice steady. "If you do this, I can kill Ares. I know what I'm doing."

Reluctantly, Diana nodded. She crossed her arms, drawing on her divine power. Silver arcs of electricity crackled along her Bracelets of Submission, intensifying with every passing moment.

"Kaius, be careful!" Diana cried, her voice echoing as she clashed her bracelets together. A thunderous explosion erupted, sending a massive bolt of Silver Lightning hurtling toward Kaius.

Ares watched with a smug grin. "Foolishness. Kaius's mortal body won't withstand that! He'll destroy himself."

But Kaius had planned for this. As the thunderbolt struck him, he activated a hidden skill from one of his borrowed powers—the Steel Body, enhancing his defense tenfold for five seconds. Simultaneously, he swapped Diana's Card of Divine Authority into his primary slot, borrowing her divine power for himself.

The lightning struck Kaius's body with ferocious force, but instead of harming him, it infused him with Diana's divine energy. His muscles surged with new power, glowing faintly with divine light.

Kaius prepared himself as Diana's magic thunder fell upon him. Activating his exclusive skill, Steel Body, his defenses surged tenfold, allowing him to absorb the divine energy with minimal harm. The once-overwhelming thunder left only a faint sting and a burning sensation as it coursed through him.

Instead of fighting the thunder, Kaius did the unthinkable—he merged it with his own power, weaving Diana's divine energy with his own strength. His body became a storm of silver lightning, his aura crackling with divine might. The air around him shimmered as if reality itself struggled to contain the energy.

At that moment, Kaius's voice boomed. "Ares, this ends now!"

Kaius propelled himself forward with immense speed, breaking the sound barrier in an instant. The silver lightning around him illuminated the battlefield as he charged toward Ares.

"What?!" Ares shouted, his confidence faltering for the first time. He had not anticipated such a tactic and couldn't discern whether Kaius, now empowered by Diana's divine thunder, had the capability to kill him.

Panic overtook Ares. Instead of meeting Kaius head-on, he teleported, vanishing into the ether to evade the attack. But his hasty retreat did not escape Kaius's notice.

A knowing smile spread across Kaius's face as Ares disappeared. "Fast Speed Field!" he declared, activating the advanced temporal manipulation skill. Instantly, the world around him seemed to freeze. Time itself slowed to a crawl, and even the faintest movements became visible in painstaking detail.

Surveying his surroundings, Kaius spotted the faint distortions of a spatial tear forming to Diana's right. Ares was attempting another short-range teleport, tearing through space with divine energy to reposition himself. To Kaius, however, the slow-motion display was as clear as a map.

Kaius turned toward the emerging spatial crack. "Found you, Ares."

He moved, his speed now quadrupled within the field. In the blink of an eye, he stood before Ares, who was just beginning to materialize. Time crawled for the God of War, his head slowly turning, his expression morphing from shock to despair as he realized he couldn't escape.

Silver lightning surged across Kaius's form, concentrating around his fist. With a single devastating blow, Kaius unleashed the combined energy of his own power and Diana's divine thunder. The storm poured into Ares' body like a deluge, obliterating his divine essence from within.

Boom!

The impact shattered the battlefield. The shockwave rippled outward, flattening everything in its path. The Speed Field collapsed, and time resumed its natural flow. Ares staggered backward, a massive wound tearing through his chest. His once-pristine armor was in tatters, the divine glow fading from his form.

For the first time, Ares coughed up blood. His face was pale, his divine power dwindling. He stared at Kaius with wide eyes, no longer filled with arrogance but sheer terror.

"How… how is this possible?" Ares rasped, his voice trembling. "You are not a god… how can you…?"

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