As it turned out, Athena's foresight was ultimately no match for Rovi's.
Claiming he possessed wisdom beyond the world might sound arrogant, yet he had indeed once grasped the ultimate secret of existence.
The Goddess of Wisdom was undoubtedly clever.
But what she failed to grasp was that many things required no calculation at all; simply exploiting the cracks in others' schemes could yield twice the result with half the effort.
After all, gods themselves were merely manifestations of worldly concepts.
They were extensions of the world itself.
If one mastered similar concepts through more ancient Mysteries, it was possible to become an older "concept," rising above these extensions—the main "trunk" superior to the gods themselves.
Even if that concept was borrowed and temporary.
It was enough to briefly suppress and control a deity!
"You…damn you! I'll kill you—I'll kill you!"
Even under control, Ares remained exceedingly manic.
Rovi frowned slightly.
Having temporarily seized control of Ares through the conceptual authority granted by Athena's blessing, Rovi simultaneously felt the entirety of his existence—but he sensed only the large man before him, not the star-fleet vessel descending from the heavens as he'd anticipated.
Ares was merely a god.
No longer one of those interstellar warships from beyond Earth's sky.
Rovi felt simultaneous disappointment and confusion: disappointment because this meant the Ares before him wasn't as powerful as he'd imagined; confusion regarding the true nature of the Greek pantheon.
Why was Zeus still like that, yet Ares wasn't? And the previous Athena hadn't seemed mechanical either.
When in doubt, he asked directly, having no intention to conceal his curiosity:
"Hahaha…a mechanical body? Seems like you know quite a bit!" Ares wasn't particularly surprised by Rovi's blunt question. After all, the legendary sage was famed for extraordinary wisdom—knowing some hidden truths wasn't unusual. "After that war long ago, aside from Zeus himself, who else could maintain that form?"
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years ago, the vanguard of the interstellar invaders descended. Zeus, the King of Gods, unified the power of the Twelve Olympians to confront them, losing yet surviving. Afterward, except for Zeus—the strongest god-king who retained control over his mechanical form—the mechanical bodies of the other gods were lost within the Sea of Imaginary Numbers.
This wasn't particularly secret knowledge.
Anyone who'd survived from that era knew bits and pieces.
"So that's how it is?" Rovi finally understood, the confusion in his mind clearing.
Regardless, the Ares in front of him was still one of the Twelve Olympians. He possessed enough power to break through Rovi's defenses and kill him.
"In that case, let's continue!"
"Continue…what?" Ares blinked in confusion, then noticed both his hands rising once more, spear and shield crossing, his massive body instinctively tensing, gathering strength again.
"To continue fighting, of course." Rovi smiled, manipulating the War God like a puppet. "Victory and defeat haven't been decided yet."
At that very moment, Rovi canceled Athena's blessing and raised Ea once again.
"You bastard…are you humiliating me, the great Ares!?"
"Damn you—damn you, damn you, damn you—!" Ares descended into another frenzy, desperately attempting to break free. But Rovi, intent on making everything proceed exactly as he envisioned, naturally wouldn't allow such an escape.
"You're the God of War. If a God of War doesn't fight, then what else is left for you to do?" Rovi asked sharply.
"Use your full strength—kill me, and only then can you surpass the barrier of victory!"
To control a person was also to control their heart.
Thus, he ignited the full might of the War God.
Victory.
It was what Ares had always craved yet could never obtain—the Authority belonging to Athena.
Eyes bloodshot, the God of War who fought yet never triumphed stared fiercely ahead.
Rovi's body indeed carried the Mystery of "victory." Even if the blessing itself meant "victory would elude him," the concept of victory was nevertheless present.
It was precisely what Ares hungered for.
He could only claim it by killing Rovi—
BOOM!
Four horses drawing the chariot stamped their sixteen hooves simultaneously, shaking the earth as crimson radiance surged forth once more.
"Ares! Ares! Ares!" The Spartans shouted fervently.
"Athena! Athena! Athena!" Echoed the Athenians protected by the three goddesses.
From their perspective, the fight between Rovi and Ares was far from over.
The war between Athens and Sparta continued—they couldn't possibly know Ares was already under Rovi's control.
"What exactly is he planning?" Athena herself finally appeared nearby. The silver-haired goddess stood gracefully atop a distant hill, crimson eyes solemnly observing.
At that precise moment, Ares tightened his grip on his spear and leapt powerfully from his chariot.
Like a mountain collapsing, the sky itself seemed to crumble as he swung downward, aimed directly at Rovi.
Rovi raised Ea in response.
Crimson clashed against crimson again, sparks erupting.
The wide-open field was already scarred, the sky trembling violently.
...
"What's going on?"
"It's Ares… How did he become this enraged?"
"That idiot—"
"Lord Apollo, should we intervene?"
"Too late."
"He is still one of the Twelve Olympians. Unless Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades intervene, no one else can safely face his attacks head-on..."
In the heavens, the Olympian gods—and below, those in the underworld—all took notice at once.
...
In a cave on Mount Pelion, Chiron slightly opened his eyes, distant starlight rippling softly in his gaze.
"The Sage? And Ares? How did they start fighting?"
...
"What's that noise?" Even Heracles, climbing a mountain in search of the Titan Prometheus who had stolen fire for humanity, paused in his steps.
...
All eyes and divine gazes converged.
Life and death hung in the balance.
...
"Come on, Ares!" Rovi fully unleashed Ea; the three rotating cylinders symbolizing Heaven, Earth, and Man spun wildly. The primordial rotational force shattered all that approached, an overwhelming impact combined with impenetrable defense.
Layer upon layer of storm bore down on Ares.
The god's armor shattered, divine skin cracked open, muscles ruptured, spilling golden blood.
Burning, pressing forward.
"Break, break, break through for me!" Ares's spear surged forward, piercing suddenly through layers of storm.
Splurch.
The spear finally reached Rovi.
Sharp, radiant, dripping with blood-red brilliance.
Rovi smiled faintly.
Closed his eyes, awaiting death.
Ares was already severely injured, near death. One step further, Rovi would die, and Ares might as well—that would suffice…
At the cost of his own death, he had grievously wounded his enemy.
Or perhaps they would die together…
Either outcome was acceptable. Either could secure his seat upon the Throne.
Yet, for Rovi, the former was more certain. After all, if he accidentally killed Ares without dying himself, it would all be meaningless. Thus, he had intentionally held back at the end.
Better to severely injure the god by dying himself rather than risk mutual destruction.
However, at that very instant, Ares suddenly let out a wild howl, throwing his spear aside. It clattered to the ground.
The crimson storm dissipated.
This war…
"I've won. Yet, I've also lost." The madness and bloodlust faded from Ares's eyes.
Rovi was startled. He opened his eyes again.
And realized…
He could no longer control Ares.
For Ares was no longer purely "Ares."
"So this—is what war truly is?" Ares coughed deeply, spitting blood, yet a satisfied smile covered his face.
"O Sage who fears not death—so war itself can also embody justice?"
In the past, Ares would never have believed such a thing.
He loved war. To him, war represented only slaughter and death.
As an interstellar fleet machine descended from beyond the stars, his past role was solely to annihilate all life upon Earth.
Yet the true meaning of war—Ares had never grasped.
Now, he understood.
Because of Rovi's evident surrender—because of how Rovi had held back at the end.
Rovi sought to end war through his own death.
Greek wars knew no justice; they were merely games between gods.
Yet Rovi had, in his own way, defined "benevolence."
The mercy of not killing.
The justice of ending a war by sacrificing oneself.
Even at the very end, willing to severely wound—even die together with—a god to accomplish such a feat!
"Since you joined the battle, not a single person has died."
"This benevolent war you've waged…"
"I, Ares, have finally understood!"
Brilliant ripples spread outward from Ares's form, pure and flawless radiance.
It was an immaculate aura of combat.
As the God of War, Ares was fated never to embrace victory—but from Rovi, he had learned benevolence.
Justice.
Through Rovi, he had glimpsed the future.
Just as the Sun God of Mesopotamia once had.
"I am Ares, God of War," he proclaimed loudly, having achieved profound enlightenment.
In this moment, he saw much more clearly...
The disappearance of Greece.
A future kingdom founded by outsiders who inherited everything from Greece.
A figure who, invoking the name of gods, would plant the very spear he now wielded upon a sacred hill, naming that country—Rome.
The deity of Rome was now himself.
"Henceforth, I shall become the God who presides over righteous war—the divine patron of armies, Mars."
Bathed in radiant glory, Ares turned to Rovi.
"You've granted me this enlightenment. Thus, I shall honor you as the Father of War, the ancestor of Rome."
"My words shall echo clearly throughout the world—"
"Wherever your footsteps tread, all unjust wars shall cease."
"And never again shall they arise."
---
T/N: :SOB:
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl