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The Games that Gods Play	By : Ristul Category: DC Verse Comics > Wonder Woman Views: 16896 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Wonder Woman,nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Tiān dì bù rén;
Yĭ wān wù wéi chú gŏu.
(Translation)
Heaven and Earth are not humane;
They regard all things as straw dogs.
-Dao De Jing, Lao-Tzu

Gawain could sense the desperation around him, the choking fear. Oblivion stayed out of their reach, inviolate, taunting them on. He had tried using the triangle to pull in the distance for his sword to reach her, but the Titan was somehow able to nullify the warping effects of the triangle.
“Gawain!” Donna screamed as she was stabbed in a shoulder. She fell to one knee, and only Phillipus saved her by engaging the Greek warrior assaulting Donna.
Anger surged in Gawain, and he didn’t care any more. Lives were at risk. Donna was in danger. He centered himself, then felt the tiny spark of fire within his own soul burst into full flame, spreading from his heart, to his body. Down to his arms, to his hand, and through the hilt of his sword, into the blade.
Ignite! The sword burst into light, fired up by his own energies, making it the equal of any magical weapon. It blinded his enemies for the barest of instants, and Gawain cut them down, moving as fast as he could. There would be no more holding back, no more fooling around. To hell with his secrets. This was a battle for survival, a battle to deny Cronus’ tyranny over the world. They were facing gods dedicated to evil, and they needed every edge they had.
Time to show them what a soldier of the Path is capable of, Gawain thought as he carved out a clear space around himself. He could sense the shock from Donna, Morgan, and Phillipus, but he ignored them for the moment. The enemy was Oblivion. He would take down Oblivion.
He focused again, this time on the triangle, and he teleported himself next to Oblivion, who predictably moved away. She would not get away so easily, not this time. He moved his sword back, before swinging hard at the empty air in Oblivion’s direction. An observer would have thought it a useless, meaningless gesture in futility.
It was not. The last few weeks Gawain had spent in training had not just been for the triangle. He had learnt something else too. Those who had mastered the ability called it “Distance Strike”. Most importantly, the technique was something that Cronus and his Titans were not yet aware of, and hence could not defend against.
The air itself seemed to sigh with the taste of death as the killing wave from Gawain’s sword cut through it, barely visible save as a thin sliver of light, the furrow on the ground from the wave’s passage its only obvious physical evidence.
Oblivion shrieked as the wave slashed through her left leg, drawing dark red blood from the wound.
Gawain teleported again, his fatigue forgotten as he smelt blood, going in for the kill. His keen eyes could sense the distress and shock in Oblivion. He appeared nearer to it now, the Titan calling for a tighter cordon to protect it.
Two Greek warriors interposed themselves between him and the injured Titan. Gawain swung again, once, twice. The first wave slammed into a round shield, cutting it and the warrior into half. The second wave swept low, severing the second warrior’s legs at the knees, and then passing through to draw blood from Oblivion’s right thigh.
Oblivion screamed, and raised a hand at him. A mental surge slammed into Gawain, trying to seize control of his memories, turn him against his friends.
Gawain grinned, before he allowed the mental assault to flounder on his own psychic defenses. He could sense the shock and dismay in Oblivion’s mind. He also knew that against the power of a god, his own defenses could only withstand another attack, or at most two.
Oblivion would not get the time for those attacks.
He dashed in, his glowing blade lashing out ferociously. Oblivion screamed as he finally got in a devastating hit, slashing all across the Titan’s torso. Oblivion, unlike her siblings, was singularly unsuited to a head-to-head battle. Her powers revolved around memory and sensory manipulation. In a real battle where she could not use those powers, she was a sitting duck. She stumbled back, putting more distance between herself and Gawain’s deadly blade.
Gawain struck again, this time thrusting the sword forward with a ferocious lunge. Instead of a wave, this time it was a pinpoint strike, the blow punching through the intervening distance before puncturing the Titan in her heart, all the way through to a burst of blood from its back.
Oblivion screamed as she collapsed to the ground. Titans and gods were not killable, but they could be hurt enough to drop into unconsciousness.
Angle Man sank to his knees, gasping for breath, exhaustion quickly spreading over his body as the adrenaline wore off. Donna ran up beside him.
“Gawain!” She lifted him up to his feet. “I don’t know how you defeated Oblivion, but look!”
She waved a hand, and he saw Greek warriors stopping their attacks, shaking their heads in confusion as the effects of Oblivion’s control wore off. The battles were ceasing, and it seemed that Asgard’s defenses had held.
Just when he thought they had a real chance of victory, the castle suddenly erupted in a tremendous explosion of light, flinging the stones of the castle in all directions.
Gawain’s face turned pale. Shit, where the hell were Cronus and the other Titans all this time?

Wonder Woman tried to get up, but she just couldn’t. Her entire body shook with pain, and her limbs felt weak, weaker than she had ever felt before. Despair threatened to overwhelm her, and she barely fought off the terrible feeling of failure.
Cronus stood above her, laughing. He pulled her up by her hair, and the Amazon twisted her face in pain. “What did I tell you, little Princess? Did you think you had a chance against me?”
Diana squirmed, looked around, trying to fight off the gloom. Cassie and Ramon had been left to help protect Odin, as the last line of defense. Both of them were slumped on the ground, unmoving. Artemis was also unconscious, after Arch had used his whip to catch her and fling her with bone crunching force against the ground.
Odin was still on his feet, holding a magical barrier against Slaughter and Titan. The Lord of Asgard was clearly fatigued, the strain telling in the form of sweat and wrinkled lines around his tired face. Cronus’ Titans pounded on the barrier, every blow sending deep vibrations through the air, slowly breaking it down.
“There’s no one left to aid you, little Amazon.” Cronus rumbled in glee. He raised his sickle, and brushed it across her Wonder Woman armor, making her shiver in fear. “Zeus and his bitches have done well in your creation. I have yet to see a more perfect specimen of womanhood.”
“I deny you, monster!” She spat in his face. Cronus’ grin turned into an angry snarl, and he raised his sickle high, before bringing it down with vicious force.
Diana gasped as the tip of the sickle sliced through her armor, from the golden breastplate down to her groin. She could feel the cold air on her exposed body, and fought back the tears in her eyes. “How dare you! Have you no honor?”
“You are mine!” Cronus hissed. “And I shall claim you now, with pathetic Odin as my witness!” He turned to Odin, “See now, Odin, you have a choice. Drop your barrier and face me as befits a High God of your stature, or watch in shame as I take this Amazon!”
A voice intruded, “How about option three? You put down that sickle of yours, return everything back to normal, and we all go home fat and happy?”
They turned to see the King of Pain in the middle of the doorway to the throne room, cradling a rocket propelled grenade. He pressed on the trigger, and the RPG exploded forward with a gust of smoke, racing down the hall towards Cronus.
“Bah! Pathetic mortal!” Cronus waved an arm, and a lightning barrier sprang up. The RPG punched through the barrier, and Cronus widened his eyes in surprise when it did not explode. “What?”
“Oops. I removed all the explosive from the grenade, so it won’t explode. Sorry.” Phillip sprinted down towards them, drawing his swords from the scabbards on his back. “Oh, and your trick that other day? The barrier could stop bullets, but an RPG is another matter. Enjoy!”
“Ooof!” Cronus barely had time to react as the grenade punched him in the stomach. He grunted, dropping Diana to the ground. She saw Slaughter and Titan move to block Phillip’s way. Two Titans against a single mortal. No matter how good Phillip was, he had no chance.
Wonder Woman felt her strength return. She would not stand idly by in the midst of battle. She would fight on as long as she still drew breath.
She picked up a sword, and swung it at Cronus, who dodged back, surprised by her sudden ferocity. “You should have stayed on the ground, Amazon.”
“Never!” She gathered herself, then thrust the sword forward, seeking out Cronus’ belly. He flicked his sickle from one side, parrying her blow, then swung the weapon down with sudden violence. Her sword shattered.
Cronus roared, “None of you can defeat me!”
Several loud bangs on one end of the hallway made both Cronus and Diana look at the battle between the two Titans and the Lion of Ares. There were quick flashes of light, blinding the Titans while Phillip moved past them. He had used flashbangs and stun grenades to remove them temporarily from the fight.
Cronus slammed a beefy fist against Wonder Woman’s solar plexus, and she groaned in pain as she impacted against a wall from the sheer force of the blow. He raised his arm, and screamed, “DIE!”, releasing a thunderbolt with terrifying force at Phillip.
The King of Pain rolled to the ground, somehow avoiding the thunderbolt, which would have definitely killed him. He rolled to his feet, and continued to advance.
“You wish to fight me? Dream on.” Cronus waved a hand, and a lightning barrier sprang up again. Phillip stopped inches from the barrier, and Cronus waved his hand a second time. The sizzling barrier began to move towards Phillip. He backtracked quickly, right into the recovered Titans. This time, he had to dodge desperately as Titan and Slaughter engaged him.
“HAHAHAHA!” Cronus laughed again as he surveyed the throne room. “Victory is mine!”
Diana staggered to her feet, unwilling to lay down and admit defeat. She stumbled forward only for Cronus to slap her across the face. She spun around, her long black hair waving around her limply, loosened from their braids by the battle. She crashed to the ground, moaning helplessly.
She felt Cronus on top of her, feeling up her behind, his coarse hands touching her strong thighs. She kicked out desperately, trying to crawl away from the impending violation, but he laughed only louder. She felt tears running down her cheeks, as the Titan tore off her undergarments. She felt his hands touch her bare rump, and shrieked in dismay.
She managed to twist her head around to see a maddened Cronus grinning maliciously, his flaccid member rising to terrifying lengths, almost fifteen inches in length and four inches thick. To the virgin Amazon princess, a stranger to sex, it was a hideous sight. And even with her limited knowledge of sex, she knew that his member was huge, and would undoubtedly split her apart.
She looked to Phillip for any kind of help, and that was when she saw it. He flipped away from Slaughter, lightly stepping on a huge swinging axe blade of the multi-armed centaur to literally fly through the air. His feet hit the wall, and he swung Infamy, seemingly at Cronus ineffectually.
Diana’s eyes grew wide as she realized that the air was being split apart by some force, a extremely thin sliver of something that headed towards Cronus at incredible speeds, somehow punching through the lightning barrier without slowing down. And Cronus did not know it!
She suddenly ceased her struggle against a surprised Cronus, while watching Phillip dodge another series of attacks from Slaughter. The wave was almost… upon… him…
“Argh!” Cronus roared as the wave hit him, literally pushing him off Wonder Woman just as he was about to thrust into her. No blood was drawn, but the shock on Cronus’ face was clear. She could suddenly sense fear, real fear, from him.
Diana saw that Cronus was off balance, and leapt up at the mad Titan. She raised her arms, and clamped the sickle between her metal bracelets to try to wrest it away.
Arch looked away for a moment, wondering what had so surprised Cronus, and Odin took the opportunity to drop his shield and fire off a power bolt into the goat legged strategist. Arch stumbled backwards, and Odin followed up with another burst of power, this time directed at Cronus. The strike unbalanced the Titan further.
And then Phillip dove in, just outside the lightning barrier. He slid on the ground, and thrust with Glory in one hand first, followed by a slash with Infamy, again at the empty air. Cronus yelled in frustration as he was hit again and again by Odin, just enough to keep him off balance, while trying to hold onto his sickle from a persistent Wonder Woman.
Phillip’s strange attacks did the rest. Diana watched in amazement as a point punched into Cronus’ wrist holding the Sickle of Adamant, not powerful enough to break the invulnerable skin and draw blood from the deity, but enough to make him roar in pain, followed by a slash across the wrist tendons that made him howl in agony.
She wrested the sickle away, kicking off from the enraged Titan.
Odin charged at Cronus. Cronus gathered up what power he had, and countercharged the Lord of Asgard.
They met in a thunderous clash, and there was only a loud rumbling roar as Diana felt herself thrown away from the impact. The entire castle began to fall apart from the tremendous energies being, the rocks rising up into the air as Odin struggled against Cronus. Everything started flying away from the two gods, and Diana lost her hold on the sickle as she hit something on a shoulder. That was the last thing she knew as her head hit a piece of stone.
And then nothing else.

The King of Pain shook himself awake, shaking his head free of the dizziness. He was stunned by the carnage around him. Stones of the fortress were strewn everywhere from Cronus and Odin’s contest for supremacy. He only remembered hitting something hard on his head.
He raised a hand to the back of his head. Sure enough, there was blood, testament to the dull agony in the back of his skull.
Phillip looked around. Cronus and Odin were nowhere to be seen. But…
He staggered up to the shining piece of metal a few meters away, and grinned at his fortune. Maybe Kessanalt luck wasn’t all bad all the time. The Sickle of Adamant was wedged between several huge stones, its handle stuck between the stones, leaving only the bare blade exposed.
It could not be set up any better for him.
Thanking his own instincts on sheathing his swords while he was flailing through the air, the Lion of Ares drew his two swords. The runes on the blades chose that moment to appear again, as though in eager anticipation of what was about to occur next.
“Delacroix!” Cronus burst out of several rocks, seemingly none the worse for wear, dragging a defeated Odin behind him. “Return the Sickle to me! You cannot hope to break it!”
“Oh yeah?” He shouted back. He lowered Glory below the sickle to act as support, and swung down with Infamy at the sickle with all his strength, firing his internal energy into both swords. There was a loud clash of metal, and sparks screeched across the three blades.
“See? You are only delaying the inevitable!” Cronus laughed. “The Sickle of Adamant is unbreakable! You can never break it!”
Never say never. Phillip suppressed a smile at the sight of the tiniest of cracks on the Sickle of Adamant, which Cronus probably couldn’t see with the distance. The Sickle of Adamant might have been created by Gaea herself, but let’s face it, she’s still only the mother goddess of a single world. Those who created my two blades, he mused, were probably something else entirely. 2^nd Gen? Or the First Ones?
He repeated the strike again, and this time there was a discordant note in the clash between the weapons. Glory seemed to glow brighter than ever before, while Infamy seemed to pull light into itself. The blue and red runes blazed with blinding light.
“NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Cronus’ eyes were open with fear now. There was a visible and obvious crack in the metal of the sickle blade. “STOP!” Clearly, Cronus knew that despite his bluster, the Sickle could be broken.
All around him, the others were stirring. Wonder Woman rose to her feet, groaning softly. He could see Jake and Gawain in the far distance. Ares rushed towards Cronus, only to be blocked by Slaughter’s imposing form. The others who had come with him to Asgard were scattered all over the field of broken stones, and all of them, all of Asgard, were watching him.
“ARRRGGHHH!” Cronus drew back one arm, and gathered up a massive bolt of lightning, capable of splitting rocks, and the very earth itself. Phillip raised Infamy up high with his left hand, his face flushed in anticipation. No matter what Cronus did after he broke the sickle, there was no way he could gain a victory after the godly power in the sickle was returned to their rightful owners.
“DIE!” Cronus flung the bolt of lightning forward at Phillip, a split second after Infamy was swung down with all the force he could muster. Phillip did not yell, it was not his way. Besides, energy used for yelling was better put to use in igniting the blades.
The sickle broke into three pieces on Infamy’s impact, and almost immediately, the sickle literally exploded, the trapped power within unleashed in a sudden flash, surging back to their owners. Phillip staggered back under the tremendous release of energy, and did not even have the chance to dodge Cronus’ lightning bolt, which had been aimed for his head but now hit him on his right chest.
It tore into his right shoulder, a jagged wound that reached more than five inches below his shoulder all the way up to the shoulder blades, bursting out from the rear of his right side in a shower of blood after running through the flesh, lungs, and bone from his right chest. The pain was unbelievable, worthy of being included in his personal top ten list of most painful experiences, as bad as the time when those damn torturers had rammed nails through his belly. He lost his grip on both his swords. He screamed, unable to bite back the intense agony. Blood erupted from his mouth. Lung hit. This is getting very bad.
He was still flying backwards like a rag doll from Cronus’ bolt, almost delirious with pain when the sickle started glowing again. His right arm was completely numb; he could not even move it.
He grunted in disgust when the sickle shards glowed for a moment, before exploding into a million tiny shards. He managed to hold up his left arm to protect his face, but that left the rest of his body open to the shards. There were a thousand stabbing pains over his body before he dropped into blessed darkness, while still flying through the air from the force of the explosion.

Ares watched in horror as Phillip crashed to the ground, unmoving, amidst what seemed to be a shower of blood from the terribly wounded man as the red mist rained down on his still body. The God of War and Conflict could feel his strength, his godly heritage surge back into him. But at what cost?
Slaughter charged forward at a groggy Cassandra Sandsmark, and Ares forced down his fear when he almost ran her down, stopping only because Mala and Io blocked his path, brandishing long spears. Stan and Joshua appeared, tossing rocks and stones at the Titan, somewhat ineffectually. They all looked injured, bleeding in many places, though the Amazons seemed to be gaining strength by the moment, as the same power that belonged to the gods also gave them their metahuman abilities. The Duke of Deception’s left arm hung limply by his side, while the Earl of Greed’s face was covered in blood from a wound on his forehead. Both minions seem dead on their feet.
A sonic boom shook the ground as a near naked Wonder Woman swooped down on Arch, grabbing his whip and flinging him against the ground. Her fists flashed, and she used her bracelets ruthlessly, smashing the metal against Arch’s head, smashing aside his helmet to reveal a pale face framed by a light beard. Ares could see the rage on Diana’s face, and not just a bit of sorrow.
Cronus stood his ground, unable to fire off any more lightning bolts, but still at the very least a Titan, the equal of any god, and probably still on par with Odin. The worship of his followers still granted him strength and power, unlike the other gods whose names had been forgotten by humanity. He easily took down one Asgardian after another as they charged at him.
But there was one god here whose name had not been forgotten yet. Ares had his worshippers, the cult Baron Blitzkreig was slowly gathering in the dark corners of the world. He could feel their worship seep into his body, granting him power.
Ares roared out in challenge, and Thor came up beside him. Slaughter stood before them, after smashing the Amazons aside. “Ares! Back for another beating, eh? And Thor! You as well! You were easy enough to defeat a while ago!”
“Back, foul beast!” Thor yelled, pulling one muscular arm back with Mjolnir, before throwing it with awesome strength at Slaughter. The Titan needed three arms to block the hammer, which spun back into the Asgardian Prince’s hand.
Ares swept in. Slaughter slashed at him, but he rolled under the blow, his sword lashing out, cutting the centaur across his right foreleg.
“Damn you!” Slaughter kicked at Ares with his hind legs, and the God of War swiped again with his blade, forcing Slaughter to pull back the kick.
A boulder smashed into the Titan, sending him tottering to one side, followed by a series of arrows that pierced into the Titan’s thick hide. Ares looked up to see the Amazons Phillipus and Artemis, the Chancellor of Themyscira tossing large man-sized boulders at Slaughter while Artemis continued peppering him with arrows.
With so many enemies against him, even Slaughter was eventually defeated. He crashed to the ground, exhausted as they flung nets over him to capture him.

Wonder Woman was kicked off by Arch, who grabbed up a sword, intent on skewering her. She was undaunted, and used his whip to bind him up. Using the whip, she continued smashing him against the ground and whatever surface was still available, until he faded into unconsciousness.
She looked up to see Donna in the skies battling Harrier, the two women mere streaks as they fought at high speed. Diana wanted to join the battle, but she had to hand Arch over to somebody else first, to prevent him from escaping. Meanwhile, Harrier finally seemed to gain the upper hand, grabbing Donna by her hair and smashing her face first into a pile of stones.
Gawain shouted, and swung his sword. Diana frowned when she realized that he was using the same technique Phillip had back in the throne room. This was undeniable proof that they probably knew each other.
The wave slashed off several feathers from Harrier’s great black wings, and the Titan seemed to slow down. She raced at Gawain, before a spear from behind suddenly pinned her right wing to the ground. Harrier screamed even as the Asgardians piled onto her, battering her into submission.
As Diana handed Arch over to two battered looking Asgardians, she realized that it was her mother who had thrown the spear.
“Mother!” She screamed with joy. She flew to the dark haired woman, who glowed back with barely suppressed joy.
“Diana! I thought it was you!” Hippolyta hugged her in a tight embrace, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks. Donna joined them a few seconds later, and the two women eagerly opened up their embrace to Diana’s sister. They stood there, crying silently, seemingly heedless of the battle winding down, and the rest of the Titans were captured and bound.
Diana finally pulled away. “Mother, I’m so sorry I ever…”
Hippolyta hushed her, “Shhh… my child. I understand, and I forgive you. Would you forgive me as well?”
Diana smiled, “Always, my queen.”
Hippolyta was about to speak when Cronus roared, “Phillip Delacroix! I call you to challenge! Phillip Delacroix! I know you’re not dead yet! STAND AND FIGHT ME!”
They turned to see Cronus still free, fallen Asgardians and Norse warriors around him on the ground. He was surrounded in a wide circle by everybody else still standing, and yet none dared to approach him. He had called to challenge. By tradition, his challenge had to be respected.
He hollered again, “Odin, face me then, leader to leader!”
“Who is Phillip Delacroix?” Hippolyta frowned.
“He was the man who…” Diana sighed, “killed Aunt Antiope.”
Surprisingly, Hippolyta did not explode with anger. “So, that was him.” She smiled gently at the expression on her daughter’s face, “I know for a fact that Antiope prefers her state of being at the Elysium fields.” She became pensive. “And I do not know if Lord Hades shall allow me this second chance at life.”
Hippolyta stared out at the waiting Cronus. “I could not defeat this Phillip Delacroix. He must be a mighty warrior, to fight me and Antiope at the same time.” She shook her head in disbelief. “And he fought and defeated Achilles, Hector, and the Ajaxes at the same time. Incredible.”
“Mother,” Diana fought to keep the sorrow out of her voice, “I think Delacroix is dead. He was breaking the Sickle of Adamant when Cronus killed him with a lightning bolt.”
“Don’t say I’m dead yet…”
They all turned at the sound of the whisper to see a limping, bleeding King of Pain appear opposite Cronus. His entire right shoulder seemed torn apart, his right arm dead weight by his side. His combat suit was ripped apart, tatters hanging on his weary frame. Every step was a struggle, every movement undoubtedly sending a jolt of agony through his overloaded nervous system. Blood covered his face, and his face was pale with the blood loss he had suffered, and slick with sweat from the pain he was fighting against to maintain consciousness. Red droplets marked the white stones as he walked over them.
And yet, despite all that he was still standing, walking towards Cronus. He walked past Diana and Hippolyta, and they stared at the deep furrows of blood on his back.
“You!” Cronus hissed. “Impudent mortal.”
“Heh.” Phillip offered Cronus a weak grin. “C’mon. Enough. Let everybody go home and have dinner. I’m hungry and tired.”
He’s not very lucid at the moment, Diana thought worriedly. She wanted nothing more than to sweep him off for medical attention, but something stopped her. Cronus had offered the challenge, and it was up to Phillip to answer it.
Cronus shook his head. “No! Before the day is over, I will defeat you! I will draw your blood, and drink on it!”
The exhaustion on Phillip’s face pulled at Diana as he swept his eyes across the gathered warriors, eventually coming to rest upon Odin.
Odin declared, “Fight him, Lion of Ares.” The gathered warriors all gasped at the decision. “Defeat Cronus, and end this battle.” There was no possible way Phillip could defeat Cronus in his present condition, and everybody knew it. It was a death sentence.
“Damn bastard.” Gawain breathed. Hippolyta spun to stare at him. Gawain didn’t seem to notice her, and continued, “He just wants Phillip dead!” He was about to storm out into the circle to confront Odin when Donna clamped onto him, and shook her head.
Diana saw Hippolyta appraising Gawain carefully, but her greater attention was on Phillip as he slowly limped before Cronus. She could hear him curse softly under his breath, “Fuck you, Odin.”
“And now you are before me.” Cronus opened his arms wide, a sword in his right hand. “Is that all? Any more snappy comebacks when you’re looking at your death?”
Phillip raised his left hand, “I just want my swords back.” Infamy and Glory stabbed into the ground before him. “Oh gee, thanks.” He reached down tiredly, and picked Glory up first. Since he could not use his right arm, he simply sheathed Glory before picking up Infamy.
Diana chewed on her lower lip. She badly wanted to face Cronus, and defend Phillip. From the looks of the various warriors gathered, she was not the only one.
Phillip faced Cronus, Infamy in his hand. “I’ve had enough, Cronus. Today I’ve been beaten up, chewed on, and blasted apart by you. I give up.” In a shocking move, he sheathed Infamy in his back scabbard. “You win, I lose. I surrender to your most magnificent lordship’s power and skill. Happy?”
Cronus’ eyes bulged in incredulity, “NO! Fight, damn you! I want to fight you!”
Phillip shook his head slightly, “For what? The battle’s conclusion is clear. But if you want, fine. You’ve beaten me. Defeated me. Kicked my ass. Whatever, however you want to say it.”
The Titan roared, “Are you making fun of me?”
Phillip scowled, “What part of it didn’t you understand? You want to beat me, you’ve got it! I surrender! Write it out! Proclaim it from the top of the world! That you, Cronus, Big Hoohah Titan, kicked the crap out of the miserable toad Phillip Delacroix and spared his miserable life!” He tilted his head imploringly, “Satisfied?”
Diana blinked. It seemed like groveling, and yet, it didn’t. Hippolyta seemed as stupefied as everybody else, and they watched the exchange between the two combatants. Or rather, one combatant and a sorely wounded swordsman.
“No. I will taste your blood, so raise your sword, or I shall strike you down even if you do not defend yourself!”
“Have it your way. I’ll have mine.” In yet another stunning move, Phillip simply turned his back to Cronus, and started walking off. Jaws dropped around the circle, and eyes widened in disbelief.
Cronus saw red, and started charging straight at Phillip. At the same moment, the gathered warriors started shouting desperately at the King of Pain to draw his sword, guard himself. Diana felt a cold fist clench her heart in its icy grip when Phillip’s eyes seemingly rolled up for an instant, his legs almost buckling to the ground. The other warriors all shouted imploringly at Phillip. And only Jake and Gawain were seemingly unconcerned. Odin’s face was stony, looking on the scene impassively. Diana screamed at Phillip to draw his sword, defend himself. But from the expression on his face, he seemed barely cognizant of his surroundings, let alone the enemy bearing down behind him.
The Titan lunged, a devastating hit that would definitely kill Phillip if it connected.
It did not connect. One moment Cronus was lunging for a tottering Phillip, the next the King of Pain was in a half kneeling position on Cronus’ right, facing the direction Cronus had come. More importantly, he held Cronus’ sword in his left hand, the sword tip dug into the ground. Cronus knelt on the ground, staring at the ground in sheer shock.
By now, almost every jaw hung open in disbelief. The move had been so swift, and yet so natural. None of them could exactly remember Phillip’s actions, the way he had leaned just enough to his right such that Cronus’ sword breezed by his left. His left hand had snaked out, and taken the sword out of Cronus’ grip. Like taking candy from a baby. He had completed the move, killing the sword’s momentum by spinning round with his own body as a pivot and stabbing it into the ground.
Diana had seen what he had done, but she simply could not understand how he had done it. It was beyond her comprehension, beyond her experience. Nothing her whole life with the Amazons and then in Man’s World had prepared her for this. She looked at Hippolyta, and even her mother was just as stunned as everybody else.
Phillip raised himself back to his feet slowly. Cronus said, “Kill me.”
The King of Pain giggled, “Yeah, how? With this pig sticker?” He laughed. “Forget it! You win, I lose!” He walked over to Cronus, who just stared at him owlishly.
Diana thought Phillip could not possibly have any more shocks left for them, but she was wrong. The swordsman pressed the sword back into Cronus’ hand. Cronus did not move his limbs, letting Phillip’s left hand do the work.
“See,” Phillip said as he closed Cronus’ grip around the hilt of the sword, then grabbed the blade with his left hand. There was a collective gasp from the crowd when he raised the sword tip to his face. “There were two things you wanted. To draw my blood, and to taste it.”
He slowly carved a bloody line down the side of his face with the sword tip. It was not a scratch, but rather a deep wound that cut all the way to the bone. Some of the Asgardians were sitting down by this time, completely dumbfounded and shocked into numbness by the insanity of his actions.
Phillip lifted the bloody sword tip to Cronus’ mouth. “Taste it. You have what you wanted.” He released the sword, and started limping away. “You win, I lose.”
Cronus finally spoke up. “Why? How?”
Phillip stopped, and looked back at Cronus. “I’ll let you in on a secret.” A slight grin came over the King of Pain’s face. “Defeat, victory, win, lose. These are nothing but just words.”
Diana furrowed her brow. What did he mean?
They stared at each other for long seconds, then Cronus’ shoulders started shaking. Phillip’s smile grew wider as the Titan erupted in laughter, shocking the gathered Asgardians.
“HAHAHAHAHA!” Cronus’ laughter was joyous, full of glee. Diana didn’t get it. Are they both mad? Asgardians rushed in to bind Cronus, who did not resist at all, but continued laughing.
Phillip limped towards the edge of the circle, until Odin suddenly stood in front of him. “Why didn’t you kill Cronus?”
“I can’t. So why bother?” Phillip tried to round Odin, but the Lord of Asgard simply shifted to block his path.
“I will not let you pass.”
Phillip said flatly, “You just want me dead. That’s why you wanted me to lead. That’s why you wanted me to fight Cronus. But sorry, not in a mood to die now.”
“Better you die now than problems later,” Odin said grimly. “I know what you are.” He gestured, and Phillip was suddenly surrounded by several tired looking Asgardians. Their gazes were flinty, trying to ignore the fact that they owed their survival to the man before them. They would carry out their duty.
“Normally, I’d agree with you.” Phillip started weaving from side to side, his legs about to give way. “But not today.”
Wonder Woman was about to step forward to Phillip’s aid when Athena stretched out a hand. “Goddess!” Diana was shocked.
“No, do not interfere!” Athena’s voice was like a cold splash of water. “This is Odin’s domain, his authority. We have no right. Leave Ares’ minion to his fate.”
Diana finally realized that Athena wasn’t so much worried about Odin as she was about Phillip working for Ares. “That man stood for us against Cronus when all was lost, and you would abandon him in his time of need?”
Athena’s words were like daggers into her soul. “He works for Ares. Our alliance of convenience dissolved the moment Cronus was defeated. We owe him nothing.”
Diana felt like shouting. In the end, Athena, was it just about power and your rivalry? Because he threatens your power? What about righteousness? Compassion? Justice? Were all those just words you twist for your own needs, and then conveniently discarded when you find them useless, or hindrances to your plans? She wanted to disobey Athena, but she couldn’t. The goddess must have a good reason for this. She must!
Odin raised an arm. “The shards of the Sickle of Adamant, in your body. I can control their power.” He snapped his fingers once.
Blood exploded from Phillip’s right thigh. He fell to his knees. Odin snapped his fingers again. This time it was on his left, just below his ribcage. More blood sprayed onto the white stone. Phillip only grunted in pain with each of Odin’s finger-snaps, blood trickling down the sides of his mouth, his eyes calm in the face of death.
He whispered, “I’m just a straw dog, I’m nothing. Odin, you think too highly of me.” Then he finally collapsed to the ground face first.
None of the Asgardians dared to defy their lord. None of them would step forward and aid the swordsman. And neither would the Egyptian goddesses, allies of Athena, nor the Amazons, whom the Goddess of Wisdom had bade to remain where they stood, despite their inner revulsion at what was occurring before them. Diana looked away from the horrible scene, knowing that she had tears running down her cheeks.
Gawain finally shook himself free of Donna’s grasp. Or perhaps Donna realized that even though she couldn’t disobey Athena’s commands, Gawain had no such restriction. Angle Man raised his triangle, and suddenly Ares and the rest of his men, including Jake, Gawain, and Ramon, surrounded Phillip. They raised their weapons in defiance.
Seven against the whole of Asgard, Diana thought dazedly. I never thought Ares capable of such loyalty.
Odin asked, “Ares, leave. You have no business here.”
Ares ignored him. “Gawain, take Phillip to Olympus. Now.”
Odin reached out one hand, “I do not allow you to leave!”
“But I do!” Everybody looked at the new arrival. Zeus and the rest of the Olympians marched in, staring hard at Ares and the fallen Phillip. “Lord Odin, all the pantheons owe this man and his companions a great deal. Why do you insist on his death?” Swift Hermes was already beside Phillip, his Caduceus glowing as he started to heal the fallen swordsman.
Odin shook with frustration, before he exclaimed, “If you cannot see what he is, then very well! You may take him away.” His eyes glowered at Zeus, “But beware, Mighty Zeus. This mortal is a viper.”
Hermes declared, “He can be healed, but only at Olympus! Let us depart now!” Ares nodded in agreement, and Hermes and Phillip disappeared.
Diana sighed in relief, not caring that Athena’s angry gaze fell upon her. Then she realized that Ares had approached Athena.
“Why, dear sister, what happened to your being a supporter of justice and truth?” Ares was clearly angry. Evidently, what Athena had done had not gone unnoticed. “You have claimed champions in the past and present as paragons of virtue, and indeed, many of them are,” he nodded to the Amazons respectfully. “But I find it regretful that they serve a hypocrite.”
“You are no better, dear brother.” Athena shot back. “You murder and steal, and take things which were never yours. You have done nothing but spread misery.”
Ares turned away to walk back to his own men, “At least I don’t shroud my actions under the deceitful guise of decency.” He looked at Diana, “Amazon, think of what you have learnt today.” He glanced back at Athena. “Some friends are not worth having.” He moved off.
Diana did not reply. She could already feel the faith of her fellow sisters in Athena wavering in the face of her callousness. It was as if her world had been stripped of one of its very foundations, that Athena was a wise and benevolent goddess. She felt dizzy, and only her mother’s hand held her up.
She stared at her fellow Amazons, knowing that they would likely face more trials in the future.
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The Games that Gods Play