Diana exuded the aura of a divinely courageous warrior, while Thea embodied the mystique of a spellcaster.
Her hood obscured most of her face, revealing only her delicate chin, slightly parted lips, and the occasional golden strand escaping from beneath the fabric—all radiating an air of serene tranquility.
The gods had waited ten days. The enemy foretold in prophecy finally appeared.
Mount Olympus, adorned with starlight, shuddered as if struck by something massive. A deep crater appeared suddenly on the barren ground.
Countless evil creatures descended upon the realm of the gods, led by a tall, muscular man. His fierce features and bare chest were covered in crisscrossing scars. His hair and beard grew wild like weeds, and his equipment was crude—what looked like an entire animal hide crudely stitched together and draped over his body.
Yet no one would underestimate that hide armor. It was dragon skin—the hide of a mature black dragon. Savage, brutal, and violent. Even from far away, one could feel the bone-deep hatred radiating from him. He hated this place and everyone in it.
He was the Nameless God, the firstborn son of Zeus and Hera. Born under a prophecy that he would claim the throne of the God King, he was abandoned by his own parents and left to die in the wilderness. Fighting wolves in the wild—that was his childhood.
As an adult, he tried to prove his worth to Olympus by slaying evil dragons and fighting countless battles. Unfortunately, his martial prowess wasn't valued but feared instead. Zeus personally intervened, sealing him deep within the earth's core.
Fueled by his hatred for Olympus and the entire world, he clawed his way up with his bare hands for six thousand years, enduring endless tribulations until he finally saw daylight again. Now he was here for revenge, to reclaim what was rightfully his. He was the firstborn!
The appearance of these evil creatures naturally drew the gods' attention. Thea was currently chatting with her new friend.
Arachne—the woman with a human upper body and spider lower body—had originally escaped from the Underworld when Thea caused chaos there alongside Hera.
She possessed power on par with a demigod and was one of Hera's few important assets.
Earlier, Thea had passed by and noticed her weaving cloth while spinning silk, which piqued her interest.
They struck up a casual conversation, and the more they talked, the more shocking it became. Even though Thea now stood with the Greek gods, she still found these deities utterly infuriating.
When Arachne was mortal, she had been a king's wife whose hobby was weaving—a completely harmless interest that others admired. Men farmed and fought wars; women wove cloth. What a harmonious, wholesome scene. By all accounts, it should have been a good thing.
But her reputation for exceptional weaving reached the ears of Athena. Having nothing better to do, Athena personally descended from Olympus to compete with her. Ordinary mortals naturally couldn't compete with cheating gods. In her despair, Arachne committed suicide.
If the story had ended there, it would already have been outrageous. But it got worse. For some unfathomable reason, Athena captured her soul and reincarnated her as half-human, half-spider.
How could such vile behavior be described as merely infuriating? This was the epitome of divine tyranny—doing whatever they pleased, rewarding those who obeyed and destroying those who didn't. Even in death, one had to bear humiliation. That was the mindset of the gods back then.
After hearing this appalling story, Thea couldn't help but grimace. Others might fear Athena, but she didn't need to worry. Athena wasn't going to send an army to take her down. What was there to fear?
Taking Arachne's side, she thoroughly criticized Athena, which earned her some goodwill from the spider woman.
She wanted Arachne to use her divine silk to weave stockings—various colors, all of them—for future sparring sessions with the long-legged goddess. Ordinary human stockings wore out far too easily. Only quasi-divine artifacts would be worthy of them.
Unaware of Thea's wicked intentions, the spider woman looked utterly confused. Stockings made from silk as thin as gossamer—what was the point? Did they provide defensive capabilities or enhance speed?
Though she didn't understand the purpose, Arachne could produce silk and possessed master-level tailoring skills. Even transformed into a spider, she still loved weaving. Following Thea's specifications, she crafted several pairs.
Thrilled with her treasure, Thea reciprocated by examining the spider woman's condition.
Athena's methods weren't particularly sophisticated. Originally, Thea could have restored her to human form, but unfortunately, during her journey from the Underworld back to the world of the living, Arachne's spider form had become permanently fixed. Even with Thea's abilities, she couldn't reverse this.
She settled for the next best option, permanently enchanting Arachne with a human transformation spell that allowed her to maintain human form for four hours each day.
This simple gesture earned her tremendous goodwill from the spider woman. The result was that Thea obtained a large supply of silk products, with promises of more if needed.
When the Firstborn arrived, she was discussing with the spider woman how to create new types of lingerie. Since they were already upgrading stockings, they might as well upgrade undergarments too!
Having their research interrupted left both of them quite displeased. Thea had provided Arachne with extensive materials on contemporary Earth's clothing and fashion development, which the spider woman treasured like precious artifacts. Although ancient Greek aesthetics differed from modern ones, there was still much to learn.
Thea had also described her favorite clothing styles for Arachne to replicate. Unfortunately, with a powerful enemy at their doorstep, they had to abandon their research and handle the tedious business of fighting.
Outside, they saw the enemy army already forming battle lines. The main force consisted of the wolves that had raised the Firstborn. Having absorbed much of his divine essence, some wolves showed signs of walking upright.
Most of the rest were spectral wolves—creatures whose lives had long since ended but remained at the boundary between life and death due to the Firstborn's divine influence. He had summoned them all to fight.
There were also many other spectral creatures of various shapes—humans, beasts, and many bizarre beings that were neither fully human nor fully beast. The gods estimated these were cannon fodder the Firstborn had recruited.
Their purpose was to drain the gods' divine power. Compared to Olympus, which only had the Amazons as organized troops, the Firstborn's army was truly vast and boundless.
These expendable forces would have value as long as they could tie down even one deity.
Dark and oppressive as storm clouds, the evil army began its silent advance toward Mount Olympus.
"What do you think?" Diana whispered to Thea.
She was naturally referring to the Firstborn. Like the Highfather dealing with Darkseid, in this level of divine warfare, battles between small fries wouldn't affect the outcome.
As long as they could defeat the Firstborn, no matter how many spectral creatures there were, it wouldn't matter.
Thea's expression was somewhat grave. The Firstborn's power was no joke. Just looking at his muscular physique and overwhelming killing intent, she wasn't entirely confident.