Chapter 9: Aftershock
Amongst the night sky, Goku's shining aura as a Super Saiyan managed to singlehandedly illuminate all of Camp Half Blood's entire Combat Arena. He proceeded to glare at Ares's towering visage in silent fury as his golden locks flowed against the wind. The fiery aura surrounding his body also added a slight pressure to the entire local, enforcing gravitational force unto each demigod, magical creature, and Olympian in attendance. This change in atmosphere sent a chill down Artemis's spine while she quietly stared at Goku's new appearance. She was particularly mesmerized by the emerald green glow his eyes appeared to possess. Unlike the innocence laced in his usual gaze, Goku looked upon the eponymous war god with nothing, but fervent anger.
"A Super Saiyan?" Artemis muttered in reply to Aphrodite's prior statement. The love goddess lightly nodded in confirmation, sporting a wistful, almost nostalgic expression on her face.
"Yes. It's a form that was once considered mythological in Saiyan culture. Goku himself was the first one to acquire such a state in centuries." Aphrodite pleasantly informed. She then rested cupped her cheek and blew out a forlorn sigh.
"If only I could have seen it up close under better circumstances…" Aphrodite sadly uttered. She continued to observe the battle between her former and current love interests in ever-present regret.
Artemis pondered over her fellow goddess's description of the Super Saiyan legend. If this form was supposedly a myth passed down from generation to generation of Saiyans, was Goku's existence equivalent in sheer notoriety to her and the entire Greek Pantheon itself? Such a thought seemed quite absurd, but Goku's immense power was enough to prove its likelihood. She ponderously side-glanced at Aphrodite, attempting to gauge the newfound power Goku managed to acquire.
"And is this so-called transformation superior to the Kaioken?" Artemis asked in growing curiosity.
"By a large margin, actually. While the Kaioken can only amplify Goku's power to x20 without causing inoperable damage to his body, the Super Saiyan form has no such limitations. In fact, it can make him over 50 times stronger than before." Aphrodite explained the Super Saiyan's additional benefits. Artemis's eyes widened at how high the difference in power output truly was.
"Are you serious?! That much strength… just seems so inconceivable for a mortal like him or well, any mortal for that matter." Artemis stammered in awe-struck disbelief. Hestia grinned in support of Aphrodite's short explanation.
"She's not lying, Artemis. From what I've personally witnessed, Goku can be quite the formidable adversary as a Super Saiyan. At times, it even seems like Goku's naïve, child-like nature is completely stripped away in favor of pure rage and fortitude." Hestia added further insight of Goku's ruthless nature when in the Super Saiyan form.
"I see. This must be his Saiyan instincts being fully awakened all at once then." Artemis surmised in a calm whisper. Aphrodite then knowingly sniggered to herself in momentary amusement.
"That's nothing. Wait til' you see its other two variations." Aphrodite enthusiastically recollected. "They'll definitely take your breath away."
"Two what?" Artemis inquired, uncertain if she was hearing her right.
"You'll see in time. If Ares angers Goku to an even greater extent, you might be fortunate enough to see them on full display. Well, depending on your definition of fortunate anyway." Hestia assured Artemis that Goku would reveal the greater extent of his power fairly soon. Meanwhile, the still seated Dionysus raised an eyebrow at this strange spectacle.
"I don't get it. What's a slight change of hair color gonna do?" Dionysus questioned obliviously. He gulped down some Diet Coke before taking a look at the arena's now dismantled roof.
"Great. More messes to clean up." Dionysus grumbled irritably. Thinking of how he would handle this situation, Dionysus ended up carelessly shrugging.
"Eh, whatever. I'll just get the brats to deal with it as usual." Dionysus assumed out of laziness and little concern. From within the presiding audience, a series of reluctant groans could be heard.
"Should you be saying that so soon, Mr. D? This battle is far from being over. Gods know if we'll even have a camp left to clean up by then." Chiron pessimistically worried. He was currently crouched down to the floor, horse body and all.
"Yeah, yeah. Just focus on not getting incinerated like everyone else, alright?" Dionysus brushed aside Chiron's logical statement.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Chiron asked in a muffled voice. Dionysus inspected Chiron's position, noticing that Chiron's equestrian posterior was on full display.
"Making a horse's ass out of yourself." The wine god jokingly chuckled. Chiron deadpanned at his fellow counselor's poorly timed quip.
"Never heard that one before." Chiron sarcastically mumbled in response.
"Hey. The opportunity was there, so I took advantage. Live a little." Dionysus defended his joke. He then snorted and went back to viewing Ares's battle with Goku. In the arena itself, Goku continued floating in mid-air while the colossal form of Ares smugly looked down upon him.
"What's the matter, Goku? Has my can of ass whooping left you speechless or something?" Ares smarmily attempted to instigate Goku's temper. Unfortunately, as if by direct defiance, Goku remained completely silent. This aggravated Ares to an even greater extent, causing said war god to crack his knuckles.
"Tsk. Well, if you're not going to talk, I might as well get back to digging your grave!" Ares shouted threateningly, preparing to smash Goku back into the crater he came out of. However, when Ares's fist made contact with his intended target, Goku completely faded away as if he weren't even there to begin with.
"An Afterimage?" Ares recognized in shock. He sluggishly swiveled his body around, attempting to locate the missing Goku. He turned his head around in a 360 degree turn before suddenly spotting Goku up above him.
"Heh. There you are!" Ares grunted, smacking his hands together in an attempt to trap the Super Saiyan. An bright explosion was produced from the firm smack of his palm, mirroring the devastation of a moderately sized supernova. His orange, flaming eyes narrowed into slants as he chuckled at Goku's supposed demise.
"Hehehe even you wouldn't be able to surv—WHAT?!" Ares gawped furiously, discovering that Goku was not actually there. "Another damn Afterimage?!"
Becoming increasingly more enraged, Ares reclaimed his sword from the battlefield ruins. The small weapon magically flew towards its master's hand, being consumed by his photonic skin. In split second timing, the fearsome sword transformed into a blade of blue hellfire. It also became equally proportionate to Ares's massive size and almost cut through what was left of the stadium.
"Show yourself, coward!" Ares growled in contempt. He held his sword with both hands, transmitting some excess energy into the blade. Seemingly out of thin air, Goku instantaneously transported himself into the arena and smashed a fist against Ares's spinal cord with little effort. Ares convulsed from inexplicable pain; his newly ethereal body still susceptible to Goku's powerful body blows.
"GAAAAGH!" Ares screamed in immense. He abruptly fell to his knees, causing an expansive shockwave to surge across the entire campgrounds. Goku, on the other hand, flew to another portion of the Combat Arena at breakneck speeds. His aura left a trail of bright gold everywhere he streaked by.
'Impossible… how in the world did that hurt so much?! I should be practically invincible in my Divine Form!' Ares pondered in resounding outrage. He picked himself up off the ground to evilly glare at Goku, using his sword as additional support.
'It has to be a fluke. There's no possible way I can be weaker than that Frieza creep! Majin Buu I can't argue with, but Frieza?! I won't stand for it!' Ares attempted to deny his inferiority to Goku's past enemies. Relying on his regenerative abilities, the god of war tightly clenched his fists.
"Lucky shot, but I hope you're smart enough to realize that Afterimage Technique won't last this entire battle. Neither will your annoying Super Saiyan crap." Ares ignorantly warned Goku of his inevitable fatigue. 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. To be completely honest, Ares…" Goku argued against Ares's false claim. He then fazed out of existence and performed a bicycle kick straight onto Ares's head. This smacked him back into a much more painful kneeling position.
"…I expected a lot more from you all things considered." Goku whispered, placing two fingers on his forehead and teleporting back to the same position. Ares grinded his teeth together in a mix of soreness and burning hatred.
"Grrrgh! W-What the hell did you just say?" Ares hissed scathingly. Goku, somewhat softening his glare, simply gestured to the war god's entire body.
"I mean your Divine Form is very flawed. More flawed than a true form should be. Sure, those punches did some minor damage, but they were just that, minor. They really won't do anything painful outside of my base form due to one crucial flaw: speed. Since your body is so huge, a lot of my attacks can connect without much difficulty. It's one of the reasons why I didn't even bother with using Super Saiyan Grade 2 in preparation for the Cell Games." Goku emphasized the near fatal flaws indicative of Ares's Divine Form. He used the muscular, overtly bulky Super Saiyan Grade 2 as a similar example of raw power taking center stage over actual effectiveness in combat.
"Grade 2? Is that what you were referring to earlier, Aphrodite?" Artemis wondered.
"Not exactly. Grade 2 is more of a small extension to the Super Saiyan form you see here. The real upgrade comes later." Aphrodite corrected knowledgeably. Artemis nodded, deciding to keep her curiosity of these 2nd and 3rd levels in proper check.
"I don't want to stomp on your pride or anything, but in this current form…" Goku trailed off with a deep, contemplative grimace. Ares shook uncontrollably in building infuriation, already expecting what Goku was about to say.
"Don't say it, you cocky bastard! Don't. You. Dare!" Ares growled lowly. His skin began to pulsate with raging, unextinguishable flames in emotive conjunction.
"…you simply won't be able to defeat me. No Divine Forms can if they're anything close to being like this." The Saiyan of Earth regretfully proclaimed. Artemis was surprised by this bold statement, wondering if the same applied to her own godly form.
'Goku's either foolish 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 such news, especially if he learns of Ares's potential defeat.' Artemis expressed her concerns over Goku's quite "blasphemous" statement. After all, his trial solely relied on the Olympians' favor of him.
"Can't defeat you? Hehehehe…BAAAHAHAHAHA!" Ares maniacally guffawed at Goku's denouncement of his true strength. As his guffaws progressed further, Ares's energy raised higher and higher than before. Even the hidden demigods were disturbed by this crazed fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"I… I think Ares might have finally lost it." Aphrodite managed to whisper out. She never liked this particular side of the war god, especially when they were still dating.
"You're acting as if he wasn't deranged to begin with." Artemis monotonously replied. Being a god based on murder and violence, it wasn't farfetched to assume that Ares could be a little bit psychotic at times.
"I'm not denying that, Artemis, but Camp Half-Blood might become Ground Zero if Goku doesn't do something about this." Aphrodite quietly worried whilst biting one of her fingernails.
"You're a dead man now, Son Goku! You and that blonde hair of yours are getting a one-way ticket straight to Tartarus!" bellowed Ares in a lust for blood. His eyes erupted in a vast surge of orange fire, contrasting with the calm serenity of Goku's green orbs.
Goku looked upon Ares with some form of pity, realizing that any sort of agreement between them could not be made. Having no further choice, but to comply with what Ares wanted, Goku signed in reluctance.
"I tried to warn you, Ares, but if that's what you want, what happens next will be out of my control." Goku coolly warned Ares about the aftereffects of awakening his full, untapped power. He then looked over to Aphrodite, giving her a slightly sympathetic look.
'Sorry in advance, Aphrodite. I know he means a lot to you, regardless of what he did.' Goku mentally apologized to his new friend. Aphrodite, noticing that Goku's line of sight was primarily fixed on her, tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Goku?" Aphrodite quietly asked. Goku slightly grinned at her before turning back to Ares with a fierce glare.
"Don't worry. I'm sure your universe will be in good hands after you're gone. It'll be as if you weren't even there to begin with." Ares maliciously chuckled. "Hehe. I'm sure your wife and sons would be used to that by this point."
This last comment was the final straw for Goku. Having enough of Ares's foolish insults, he let out an almost inhuman growl and sporadically increased the size of his aura.
"Grrrgh! YOU WANT TO KILL ME SO BADLY, ARES?! THEN LET'S GOOOOO!" Goku screamed at the top of his lungs, releasing high velocity winds at Ares in particular. He squatted downward in mid-air as if making preparations to strike without any ounce of mercy. This was the type of voracious bloodlust that Ares was waiting for all along.
"Thought you'd never ask, Goku! LET'S SOUND THE DRUMS OF WAR THEN, SHALL WE?! HAHAHAHA!" Ares vindictively cackled in excitement. As his body trickled with the emergence of additional energy, Ares's armor began to slowly metamorphosize. Fiery spikes protruded from the sides of his helm, said attachment matching that of a Spartan warrior as per usual. His entire face, arms, and legs darkened to that of a dark, shadowy void as well. The Olympian's muscles additionally grew larger in size and were reinforced by dark blue plating made solely out of celestial flame. At first glance, it appeared that Ares was wearing a supergiant star on the cusp of going supernova. The most intimidating aspect of this new form, by far, were the soulless orange eyes that contrasted well with his empty visage. They narrowed dangerously, attempting to burn Goku alive through the inclusion of one glare. While most definitely capable of destroying any mortal or demigod, Goku, through the awesome power of his Super Saiyan form and beyond, managed to shrug it off without any injury.
"IT'S TIME YOU'VE LEARNED THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING UP AGAINST A GOD!" Ares fumed in a fit of rage. He hoisted up his gaseous weapon and prepared to stab it straight into Goku's chest. Expecting this attack, Goku speedily darted to another portion of the sky. Ares was unable to slow his forward momentum and pierced the stadium floor anyways, producing an earsplitting typhoon of fire and wind. This, unfortunately, destroyed another chuck of the Combat Arena's uppermost section. Taking advantage of Ares's stagnated position, Goku blew out a passive sigh and ever-so-slightly leaned backward. He then vanished in an instantaneous flash of lighting and became practically invisible to the naked eye. At unforeseeable speeds, Goku let loose hundreds of impactful blows on Ares's body. All that could be seen were large, gaping craters in the war god's blazing skin.
"I-Incredible. How could he produce that many blows in such little time?!" Artemis gaped in visible awe. Goku's speed, to her best estimate, was equal to or surprisingly faster than light itself. After Goku's onslaught was finished, Divine Form Ares froze from reactionary shock and pain. Goku then flashed in front of the paralyzed Ares, preparing to execute a final attack. Primarily facing back-first, Goku tilted his head to give Ares an enraged side-glance.
"HYAAAAAAAAAA! TRAAH!" Goku cried, spinning his entire body in a golden tornado. He then slammed his foot deep into Ares's stomach, extending it as deep as foreseeably possible. Leaving Ares with little time to react, Goku somersaulted away from the abdominal area and, like a rocket, launched himself across Ares's chin. This caused Ares to involuntarily clamp his teeth together and spew a mouthful of Golden Ichor.
"Keep at it, Goku! The pain will only make me stronger in the long run!" Ares confidently reinforced his chances of victory. Huffing at this ludicrous statement, Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and teleported away. He sporadically used Instant Transmission to travel around the entire stadium, making multiple copies of himself while in motion. Ares anxiously turned around to identify the real Goku's current location.
"So fast… where could he—TOOOH!" Ares's nervousness was interrupted by Goku planting a quick barrage of fists unto his knee. As a result, his leg caved in and left him unable to stand properly. Enraged, Ares wound his trusty sword like a baseball bat. The sword, in that moment, vividly glowed with radioactive power.
"Try evading this, you annoying little shit!" Ares fearsomely glowered. He heftily swung the sword around, transmitting a massive sphere of blue gas. Much to Goku's shock, it was on the cusp of exploding upon impact.
"GET DOWN!" Goku warned everyone in the audience, including each Olympian. He transmitted some ki into his foot and perfectly smacked the ball away from him. Unfortunately, it landed in Camp Half-Blood's lake and as precedented, blew into smithereens. A large, blinding geyser of divine energy protruded from the water's lowest depths, tearing apart trees and producing large waves in its temporary path of destruction. In the end, a large crater was engraved into the water's surface.
"He blocked it that easily?! Damn it all!" Ares swore in disappointment. Goku, taking a look at the devastation Ares foolishly produced, seethed to himself in outrage.
"We had a deal, Ares! That attack could have destroyed the entire stadium and these kids with it!" Goku reprimanded Ares's for his potentially life-threatening action. Ares chuckled intimidatingly as he squinted his flaming eyes.
"You think I honestly care at this point?! All I want is your corpse on display for all of Mount Olympus to see. Nothing else matters!" Ares sinisterly proclaimed his self-centered intentions. He fully outstretched his arms, emphasizing the sharp, dagger-shaped claws both gauntlets possessed. With that, Goku could tell that Ares was, mentally speaking, at the point of no return. This was definitively a battle to the death whether he liked it or not. Well, as much as an immortal being like Ares could truly "die" anyway.
"I should have expected him to go back on his word. Looks like I'll have to end this sooner than expected." Goku sighed in dismay. While aware of the fact Ares could easily regenerate after defeat, his was still reluctant to produce any sort of lethal damage onto him. However, he began to realize that doing so was the only way to stop Ares's destructive rampage.
"I don't think Super Saiyans 2 and 3 are required for this, but if things get too extreme, I could always fall back on them as a last resort." Goku truthfully presumed. He then determinedly clenched his fist, seeing to it that he would end this fight in a swift, practical manner.
"Cover your eyes, everyone!" Goku cautiously ordered. He then shared complete eye contact with Ares and rested both hands on each side of his face. Aphrodite and Hestia followed this instruction without delay while Artemis, mostly unaware of Goku's techniques, peered at them in confusion.
"I would recommend doing what he says, Artemis." Aphrodite quietly suggested to her fellow goddess.
"If you say so." Artemis whispered with a slight shrug. She then shut her eyelids, curious to know what move Goku was attempting to execute.
"Don't know what the hell he's on about, but whatever. Resting my eyes for a bit wouldn't hurt." Dionysus carelessly complied with Goku's order. He rested a hand on his chin and shut both eyes.
"What are you trying to pull…" Ares irritably questioned in a low grumble. Before he could fully recognize the familiar hand position, said Saiyan expounded his golden aura and stared straight into Ares's own eyes.
"SUPER SOLAR FLARE!" Goku shouted with a faint echo to his voice. A figurate dome of yellow light encircled the entire building, sharing physical similarities to that of a mobile sun. This sudden emission of brightness caught Ares completely off-guard, managing to blind him for a few moments.
"GAAAAAAAGHH! MY EYES!" Ares yowled painfully, covering his hands around both eyes to ease the Solar Flare's intense aftereffects. Taking full advantage of Ares's anguish, Goku repeatedly smacked him across the face to further disorientate said god. Proving successful with this smacking spree, Goku grabbed ahold of Ares's legs and flew upward. He then managed to perform a successful Dragonthrow by spinning him around in a perfect 360 degree circle.
"Take this!" Goku growled, strongly tossing Ares straight into the ground below. The floor crumbled beneath Ares's excessive bodyweight, managing to shake all of Camp Half-Blood in its entirety. As small pieces of the Combat Arena began to wither away, Ares weakly stumbled to his feet. He raggedly breathed, spitting a viscous glob of Ichor into his hand. He squinted his eyes in order to see Goku properly, giving him a cocky smirk.
"You want to play dirty, eh? Fool. I'm the definition of playing dirty!" Ares sniggered matter-of-factly whilst jerking a thumb at himself. Resorting to the use of a final gambit, Ares slowly hovered a hand over his sword. In a flash of light, the sword commenced one last change in appearance and practicality. It miraculously became a double-barreled shotgun designed with the likeness of a vulture's skeletal structure. Lying on the top of this gun was a ruby that brimmed with the souls of those who fell in wartime combat. He cocked the gun, using a wide majority of his power as direct ammunition.
"Normally this only shoots bullets, but what the hell? If you can shoot energy blasts at a whim, I might as well return the favor!" Ares acknowledged with a gesture toward his larger than average firearm. Holding it with both hands, Ares directed the gun along Goku's general vicinity.
"Say goodnight, Saiyan." Ares boldly exclaimed. The gun began to slowly harness Ares's divine energy, glowing a reddish-orange color reminiscent of fresh blood. Its ruby primarily showcased the full, devastating power of this blast as said gemstone began to crack apart little by little.
"This is it. No need to fully hold back this time." Goku thought this was the best point to fight back without excessive restrictions. As Ares made preparations to fire his enchanted shotgun, the first Super Saiyan himself powered up equally as much. His golden aura heightened in width and height, radiating with more ki than before.
"KYAAAA…MEEEE…" Goku screamed ferociously from up above Ares. He bent his knees apart, cupping both hands once again. Immediately recognizing the position Goku was in, Ares smugly grinned.
"Oooh a beam struggle! I'm liking the sound of that." The war god laughed in anticipation. He repositioned his gun, tilting it in the direction of Goku's signature ki blast.
"HAAAAA…MEEEE…" Goku continued, creating a ki orb that shot beams of light in all directions. However, in stark contrast with the Kaioken x20 Kamehameha from minutes prior, this version was as golden yellow as Goku's current hair color. As both blasts of energy lit up the entire area, Ares decided to play a bit "dirty" as rightly promised.
"Sorry! Too slow!" Ares snapped evilly, firing the gun's reddish-orange beam. A cylindrical inferno deployed from the shotgun's barrel and went straight for Goku at near-immeasurable pace. Unfortunately for Ares, Goku suddenly vanished before he could finish his infamous chant. This caused Ares's blast to spontaneously combust in the skies above Camp Half-Blood, producing a massive explosion even larger than previous. It also formed the likeness of a bloodred skull after fading away in pillars of black smoke.
"Great. What a waste of power." Ares scoffed in disappointment. He then shook his head, deciding to try again once Goku bothered to show himself again.
"Feh. I always knew you were too much of a pussy to take it head… huh?" Ares suddenly caught himself, sensing some excess energy growing in front of his very feet. He looked down, spotting a newly teleported Goku with the golden Kamehameha still charging within his hands.
"Wait… no. No! Why didn't I expect you to do this?!" Ares fearfully stammered. Too late to perform any evasive maneuvers, Goku fully outstretched his forearms.
"…HRAAAAAAAA!" Goku deeply bellowed, launching the fully-charged Kamehameha at Ares's towering form. In an instant, the yellow blast completely engulfed Ares and blew up upon sudden impact. Despite having a bigger, more durable form, Ares was not able to fully resist the excess damage produced from this close-range Kamehameha Wave. His head, arms, and legs were collectively burnt to a relative crisp, breaking apart into charred pieces of torn skin.
"NONONONO SHIIIIIIIIIT!" Ares yelled out in pure, unquestionable agony. His whole body, armor and all, was concealed by the Kamehameha's resulting explosion, the latter of which rumbled the Combat Arena's remaining foundations.
"Gaaaah!" Aphrodite shrieked, almost falling on her butt due to the explosion's additional aftershock. Artemis did something similar by protectively hovering over her huntresses, particularly Zoë Nightshade.
"Woah woah! What just happened?" Dionysus wondered in confusion, accidentally dozing off during Goku's Super Solar Flare. He was sporting quite a massive headache from the explosion's bright exterior.
"The Instant Kamehameha truly is an impressive sight to behold." Hestia commented in visible admiration and amazement. The golden explosion slightly illuminated her blazed orange pupils.
Once the dust cleared, Ares was quite worse for wear to say the least. His right arm and left leg were completely blown off, failing to regenerate because of the Kamehameha's intense heat. His new helmet was also torn to shreds, one half now containing a sizable hole where energy-based flesh used to be. His sword-turned-shotgun was heavily damaged as well, sporting large, structural cracks and scratches. Overcome by shock, Ares unceremoniously dropped his centuries old weapon and spat out more Ichor.
"T-This is my Divine Form… how… can…you…" Ares murmured in absolute disbelief. Goku calmly took a deep breath, removing one hand from the other. The yellow spikes of his hair flowed in the wind as he stood there.
"I already told you, Ares. This form may be strong, but it's really not doing you any favors on the basis of combat. It's as simple as that." Goku attempted to further reason with Ares. Said god of war shook with rage, attempting to ignore the pain for just a short while.
"D-Don't… talk down to me… like I'm some snot-nosed brat! Who do you think you are?!" Ares angrily hissed at Goku for his so-called arrogance. He struggled to pick himself up, godly blood spewing out of every pore with each movement.
"Me? I'm the Saiyan who's about to end this fight." Goku simply replied. He then lifted up his arms, shooting a powerful stream of air at Ares's broken form. Shockingly, this Kiai had enough force to send Ares flying above the entire Combat Arena.
"TRAAAH!" Ares weakly screeched, trying his best to hold himself back down. This was ultimately to no avail because of his heavily eviscerated limbs. As a result, he was propelled higher and higher into Earth's upper atmosphere, proceeding to move until he could only be seen as a small speck.
"That should be a far enough distance…" Goku commented, placing a hand over his forehead in order to closely identify Ares's location. Nodding in content, Goku turned around to share a small smile with Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hestia.
"Sorry you won't get to see this, guys. I'll be right back." Goku promised in a slightly apologetic manner. Artemis, taken aback by the emergence of Goku's true personality even in his rage-filled Super Saiyan form, tried to stop him from following after Ares.
"Goku, wait!" Artemis sternly called out. Sadly, this warning was unable to prevent Goku from using Instant Transmission. He rocketed towards Ares as said war god helplessly spun out of control. Wasting absolutely no time, Goku let loose punch after punch on all portions of his glowing body. Fresh blood splattered out of each punctured wound, falling to the ground like golden hailstones. Those that managed to reach the surface began to either burn trees or emit small explosions.
"GAH! GAH! TOGRAAA! GAAAAH!" Ares sorely groaned, struggling to breathe properly because of Goku's relentless attack pattern. Goku's insane speed as a Super Saiyan continued to hinder the progress of Ares's regenerative physiology, leaving his arm and leg useless stumps.
'Why?! Why do his attacks hurt so much?!' Ares frustratingly thought. Out of every single battle he's fought in the past few millennia, this, by far, proved to be the most difficult and stress-inducing one. What proved to be more frustrating about this aspect was the fact that Goku, a mortal alien from another universe entirely, was the one winning. He, an immortal god who fought for as long as he lived on this very Earth, was losing to a guy thousands of years younger than him. And he was losing badly.
'I'm the damn god of war for Olympus's sake! Why is this happening to me?! TELL ME WHY!' Ares helplessly cried out to some non-existent entity. Goku and Ares both managed to reach outer space, illuminating the inky black cosmos as one of them exchanged forceful blows. Finishing up his consecutive jabs, Goku flew above Ares's head and lifted up both arms behind his back.
"GRAAAAGH HAA!" Goku viciously shouted, performing a Double Axe Handle on his head. Much powerful than the one inflicted on Artemis earlier, Ares rapidly spun toward the orbiting moon. His helmet practically disintegrated into tiny pieces as he smashed straight into the moon's stone surface. Ares raggedly breathed in-and-out whilst coughing up Ichor and the last form of sustenance he consumed.
"That's enough… I've had it up to here with this overpowered Super Saiyan bullshit!" Ares seethed in finite aggravation. "It's about time I've revealed the full capabilities of my Divine Form. No going back after this."
Shakily picking himself out of the crater he was hammered into, Ares took a precise look at Goku's current position. He made use of his remaining, yet still broken appendages to powerfully bound off the moon itself. This both deepened the crater shaped from his body and sent him flying directly in Goku's line of sight.
"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU EVADE THIS, PRICK!" Ares shouted throughout the celestial vacuum. Radiating with all sorts of nuclear power, the furious god of war grew progressively larger in size. The light projected from his skin became far more blinding and in the process, shone unto all of Earth below. Soaking up radioactive power like a sponge to water, Ares's eyes fully dilated in the physical likeness of twin suns.
"Uh-oh. I don't like the looks of this." Goku mumbled in wide-eyed nervousness. As he instinctively shielded his eyes away from the divine light, Ares projected translucent copies of himself that trounced entire planets in terms of sheer size, especially Earth.
"HRRRRGH RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Ares yelled with all his might. His body self-imploded with massive amounts of energy, forming an all-encompassing sphere that consumed the cosmic area surrounding Earth and beyond. Orange embers, despite having no such oxygen to properly burn, flew about in varying directions from its outer ridge. This spherical wall of raw, unsuppressed power slowly ganged on the now-vulnerable Super Saiyan being put in harm's way.
"Oh shoot! Oh shoot!" Goku comically yelped. He teleported from one end of space to the next, managing to narrowly dodge the explosion's unstoppable path of devastation. After running out of places to run, Goku projected his ki and took the blast head on. He crossed both arms in front of his face in a foolhardy attempt to block.
'This might end up stinging a bit, but…' Goku mentally assumed. In the end, he dangerously narrowed his eyes and made preparations for defensive maneuverability.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku screamed in response, pushing Ares's explosion back with his own makeshift ki shield. The two dome-like structures cancelled each other out and produced a wide series of multi-colored strobe lights. The orange and yellow energies danced in contrasting harmony, exploding upon complete, uninterrupted impact with one another. After a few moments of synchronized imploding, the flash of light began to vividly dematerialize and reveal each respective combatant.
"Phew. That could have ended up badly for both of us." Goku lightheartedly sighed in relief. Due to his perfectly executed block, Goku had no major injuries to speak of. All he had to his name were small scorch marks and light traces of blood. Ares, on the other hand, experienced quite a few setbacks after their so-called "duel of energies" was finally over. For one, Ares, wasting all of his energy with that final, showstopping attack, was unable to retain his Divine Form. He was now in the nude with pieces of his typical Imperial Gold armor left torn apart.
"Ha… ha… what? I-I'm back to normal already?" Ares gaped in appalled dismay. He inspected his missing arm and leg, noting that they were unable to properly regenerate for unexplained reasons.
"No… this shouldn't be happening. That's really all I have left?!" Ares disappointedly continued. He tried to pump himself up with more energy, but failed time and time again. Feeling uncharacteristically exhausted at the moment, Ares checked over his surroundings. In immediate response, his eyes were met with the sight of Goku fully winding up his right arm. The aforementioned Saiyan's fist was glowing with flaming ki as sparklingly golden as the distant sun itself. Ares could only muster up one proper response to this admittedly horrifying sight.
"Oh fu—" Goku mercilessly socked Ares in the cheek without restraint. This deep, compromising blow instantly broke Ares's jawbone and sent pieces of his teeth floating in the far reaches of space. The Saiyan managed to throttle straight back down to Earth, using Camp Half-Blood's Combat Arena as a sort of targeting beacon. Unable to retaliate, Ares hacked up a figurate sea of Ichor and hopelessly fell at steadily skyrocketing speed. He was dropped headfirst, slowly spinning around like a faulty spacecraft.
"D-damn… you…" Ares managed to cough out. He tilted his head to glare at Goku, grinding his teeth with seething infuriation.
"GRRAAAGH! DAMN YOU, SON GOKUUUUUU!" Ares roared in a state of blind rage. Like a crashing meteorite, Ares burst into flames upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere. His skin began to melt away, seemingly spreading his entire essence in small, almost nonexistent specks of dust. Whether this strange instance of damage was permanent could not be fully ascertained.
"Welp. Better get there before he crashes." Goku sadly uttered, feeling disappointed with this battle's lackluster outcome. He then used Instant Transmission to teleport back to Camp Half-Blood.
Back at the arena, Chiron, Argus, the Hunters of Artemis's, and every demigod in attendance got up from their hiding places. No longer facing the threat of instantaneous disintegration via Ares's Divine Form, everyone examined the damages in relative confusion and awe.
"So, I'm guessing we missed a lot, huh, mom?" Lacy blandly asked Aphrodite. Nearby, Drew Tanaka sporadically fixed up her hair with a look of flustered irritation.
"That's an underestimate of the century. This place is, like, an absolute dumpster fire!" Drew Tanaka loudly groaned in revulsion. Panicking, she desperately tried to cleanse herself of any dirt and general messiness that the arena floor might possess.
"You're both right in a way, girls. However, Goku's past battles have been far more devastating by comparison, so I know full well that he's perfectly fine." Aphrodite assuredly replied with a small giggle. This short period of laughter was eventually replaced by sad, contemplative silence. Lightly frowning, Aphrodite looked at the sky in near-melancholic remorse.
"I'm afraid the same can't be said for Ares…" The love goddess whispered sympathetically. She then closed her green eyes and let out a mildly depressive sigh. In spite of Ares's own foolish self-confidence, Aphrodite was, in her and many others' eyes, fully to blame for starting this battle.
"Mm. You were definitely right about him screaming a lot, though." Lacy glumly commented whilst massaging her sore ears. Back in Cabin #8's section, Zoë and the Hunters of Artemis cautiously stood up from their seats. Zoë respectfully took it upon herself to check over Artemis's present wellbeing.
"What happened to Goku and Ares, milady? Did they manage to inadvertently destroy themselves?" Zoë inquisitively asked, assuming Goku and Ares's shared fate based on their prolonged disappearance. Glancing at the olive-skinned huntress, Artemis resolutely shook her head.
"I'm not entirely certain, Zoë. All I know is that the moon was slightly damaged from whatever just happened up there." Artemis revealed, being able to sense any alternation in the moon's external or even, at certain times, internal makeup. Zoë eyes slightly widened in regards to this information.
"T-The moon?! Art thou injured?" Zoë inquired. Artemis lifted a hand up to ease her lieutenant's baseless concerns.
"Of course not. I may have jurisdiction over the moon and its orbit around Earth, but that doesn't mean it is literally a part of me." Artemis pointed out the flaws in Zoë's assumption. Said immortal teen, feeling a bit embarrassed, shyly looked away from Artemis.
"Oh right. My apologies for being overconcerned then." Zoë sighed apologetically.
"Apology, as always, accepted. Now, keep your eyes open this time. Goku and Ares should be back at any moment." Artemis attentively suggested. Zoë, completely understanding her surrogate mother's point, nodded and looked up at the sky. Phoebe and the other Hunters of Artemis mirrored her action in precise unison.
In the stands occupied by Ares's progeny, Clarisse La Rue and her fellow siblings spotted something in the sky. They all squinted their eyes, recognizing the fact that this mysterious object was falling faster and faster with each second. Worse of all, it was heading straight for the stadium's center!
"Hey, what's that up there?" Sherman Yang remarked in confusion. Him and Ares's other children observed the unknown individual more closely, spotting a humanoid body within the orange-red streak. Said form was charred to an ashy, pitch black, crumbling to mere dust in the proximate wind.
"Don't tell me. Is that…" Mark stuttered in shock. Clarisse La Rue, worryingly gazing at her brothers, looked at the fallen figure a second time. Paying close attention to its facial features, Clarisse's jaw hung open in horrified realization.
"DAD?!" Clarisse screamed despairingly. With that, Ares limply spun around like a bruised and broken ragdoll. Gaining forward momentum, Ares became a figurative meteorite and glowed with all sorts of light.
"AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Ares wailed in gradually built-up rage. He mindlessly proceeded his freefall and crash-landed straight into the Combat Arena's centermost point. Emitting a quick flash of energy, the discombobulated war god blew to kingdom come one last time. A gigantic, surprisingly non-lethal mushroom cloud sprouted from his final resting place, appearing as a beacon of orange light from further distances away.
"AAAAAAAH!" Multiple demigods shouted from the resulting shockwave of divine pressure.
"EEEEEEEEE!" Some of Aphrodite's daughters, particularly Drew, squealed in exaggerated fear. A few of them, due to lacking strength, were blown away from the resultant wind.
"WOAAAAAHHH!" Hermes's cabin, the largest and most unruly group, whooped in reactionary delight. After this sudden cacophony of screaming came to an end, Ares's implosion subsided to one of bitter silence and calm. Now, the once proud Olympian laid there in a massive pool of his own Ichor, unable to move, speak, or attack at all.
"S-Shit. I-It… it… can't end this way…" Ares bitterly choked out. Fresh Ichor oozing down his chin, he glanced down at the arm and leg that refused to fully regenerate. The war god closed both eyes and bit down on his shattered jaw, feeling more pathetic than ever before.
"Damnit. DAMN IT ALL!" Ares scornfully expressed his frustration to the entire world. 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 completely shattered beyond foreseeable repair.
In what appeared to be perfect timing, Goku teleported right next to Ares's side. Emerald eyes narrowed intimidatingly; the spikes of his golden hair flowed about in the wind as he stood back-first to the ensuing audience. Each demigod marveled at the fearsome appearance of a fully realized Super Saiyan, now knowing that Goku was more powerful than they first expected. In that moment, they could almost mistake Goku, fearsome aura and all, for a god in his own right.
"Ignore what I said earlier, mom. You definitely hit the jackpot with finding this guy." Drew lustfully purred, licking her lips in admiration of Goku's muscular form. Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at this lecherous behavior.
"Watch it, sweetie. That might be your new stepfather soon." Aphrodite reminded her in a sickly-sweet tone. Darting both eyes from Goku back to her godly parent, Drew instantly grew nauseous.
"Yuck! Way to kill the mood." Drew visibly squirmed in her seat.
"Just telling what's more likely to happen in the future." Aphrodite shrugged with a sheepish smile. Despite her regrets about their first meeting, being together with Goku was still a must for her. The question was, with Chi-Chi's death continuing to affect Goku emotionally, how would she properly attempt to become the new love in his life?
"If he'll ever learn to feel that way about me, at least…" Aphrodite longingly sighed with a downcast look on her ever-beautiful face. She then gazed at Artemis and Hestia, considering their newfound precedence in Goku's life as further obstacles to overcome.
"So, that Super Saiyan form really dominated Ares's Divine Form without a single scratch taken? That's…" Phoebe paused, unable to describe this frightening phenomenon in proper words.
"Disturbing, yes. Much more than I could have possibly imagined, in fact." Artemis tensely muttered. She furrowed her auburn eyebrows, thoroughly glaring at Goku with analytic silver eyes.
"The scariest part about this situation is that, according to Aphrodite and Hestia, there are still two forms he hasn't unveiled yet. What monstrous feats could these "transformations" be capable of accomplishing?" Artemis darkly pondered from witnessing Base Super Saiyan's devastating strength and speed. She then looked in the direction of New York City, attempting to picture how much of a one-sided shitshow Goku's trial will ultimately end up being.
"And how will they affect Goku's final sentence on Mount Olympus? Knowing the overly cautious person father can be, it surely won't be anything beneficial…" Artemis regretfully mused. After interacting with Goku for a bit, he really wasn't the type of sinister threat Zeus painted him as. He didn't choose to end up here, after all. He was an innocent victim of circumstance, much like Ares and this whole battle in general.
"Ares's condition doesn't help much either. Not one bit." Artemis scoffed in displeasure. "I'm sorry, Goku. This trial will not be in your best interest. I hope you realize that fact before it's too late."
Back on the battlefield, Goku deactivated his ki and Super Saiyan form. Regaining his spiky, black hair, Goku relaxed both shoulders and took a good look at Ares's questionable condition. His black eyes coolly locked with Ares's red, explosion-laced ones.
"Don't give me that look. I can still take you on!" Ares roared vitriolically. He tried to call upon his sword, but ultimately lacked the proper amount of energy to do so.
"This fight's over, Ares. You're in no condition to continue. Even a god like you should understand that." Goku helpfully advised Ares to stop fighting. The god of war rudely snorted at the very idea of surrendering.
"Hahaha you honestly think I'm that pathetic?! This is a fight to the death! I won't stop until you're beaten down just as much as I am!" Ares spat with the utmost conviction. Attempting to blast Goku in the face, Ares' remaining arm suddenly fizzled away in a series of microscopic dust particles. It appeared that his body could not endure the inner pain of Goku's attacks any longer.
"No… I'm scattering?! Already?!" Ares gasped in aghast despair. Little by little, Ares's lower body dissolved into sparkling dust clouds. His legs, Goku's observant confusion, completely ceased to exist in a matter of seconds.
"Scattering?" Goku quizzically asked the three goddesses in attendance. Artemis leaned out of her seat to fully answer said Saiyan's 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 become." Artemis thoroughly explained the process of Scattering and its connection to Greek Mythology. Hearing the word 'death', Goku was not particularly pleased with this news.
"You mean… I did that to him?!" Goku gawped remorsefully as Ares's continued to vanish into nothingness. Hestia, being the eldest Olympian there, decided to pick up where Artemis left off.
"Yes, but there's no need to feel bad for what happened, Goku. My and Chiron's father, Kronos, was cut into millions of tiny pieces, yet he managed to miraculously survive. Since Ares didn't experience as much physiological evisceration, he'll be back to normal after a few months have passed as Artemis said." Hestia attempted to soothe Goku's worries. Thinking over the example she mentioned, Goku nodded in some form of realization.
"Oh… alright then. I guess that means I didn't technically kill him… sort of, maybe." Goku indecisively wondered to himself. Beginning to think too much, Goku grabbed ahold of his aching head in immense confusion.
"Erggh! This god stuff is really confusing." Goku comically whined. Hestia, finding Goku's childish outburst somewhat adorable, lightly giggled.
"That's nothing, Goku. Wait until you find out how Aphrodite was born." Hestia jokingly informed with a sly, child-like grin. Thinking back to the circumstances leading to her birth, Aphrodite's cheeks flushed a deep red.
"I told you not to bring that up, Hestia!" Aphrodite shrieked in embarrassment. Goku, recalling the previous sight of Aphrodite's memories, nodded along.
"Oh right. From what I remember, didn't she come out of some old dude's—" Goku was swiftly interrupted by Aphrodite hyperactively flailing her arms around.
"NOW'S NOT THE TIME!" Aphrodite offendedly whined. She then crossed both arms and glared at Goku in mock anger.
"Heh. Just as cute as she'll ever be." Ares melancholically thought to himself, recalling the good times they shared as a couple. Realizing those days were over, he grimaced in deep, envious resentment of Goku.
"You know what, Goku. The poor outcome of this battle made me realize something." Ares grumbled in a more calm manner. His upper body was the next portion to gradually dissolve.
"What's that?" Goku inquired with a slightly quirked brow.
"I've been in-over-my-head for far too long now. In order to truly give idiotic punk-asses like you a proper beatdown, I'll need to fight and train in a similar, equally effective way. Basically get into the proper mindset of a warrior from another universe foreign to my own. Only then can I avoid the unyielding humiliation of another fight like this." Ares logically proclaimed, deciding to learn from this loss instead of tirelessly complaining about it like usual. Goku enthusiastically grinned at this idea, his inner Saiyan being put on full display.
"Great! I'll be looking forward to a rematch, Ares! Just name the time and place, and I'll make sure to be there!" Goku beamed in battle-hardened delight. Ares blankly stared at Goku in mocking amazement.
"You don't get it do you? You do realize that this fight isn't over, right?" Ares coldly asked his former opponent. Goku tilted his head to the side, not entirely understanding Ares's point.
"Huh? I'm not following." Goku naively replied. Ares sniffed in disgust, wondering why he should even try to threaten someone as mind-numbingly stupid as him. Aphrodite's head-over-heals love for him was quite hard to swallow.
"Tsk. I'm talking about the other Olympians, dumbass! You may have a little group of "fangirls" over there, but the other gods and goddesses aren't so easy to please. No. I bet that they're just waiting to psychologically evaluate your "worth" to them as a person of interest. After all, they've collectively seen past moments in your life as well, including Frieza's sole destruction of Planet Namek, Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack, etcetera, etcetera." Ares divulged the Olympians' near-universal distrust in Goku as a person and interdimensional entity. Regardless of his cheerful, self-righteous personality, it seemed they would find any possible excuse to "eliminate" him at all costs.
"They… they really saw that much?!" Goku thought insecurely. Now, his privacy, even entire universes away, was breached to an almost ridiculous extent.
"Besides, my dad, Lord Zeus himself, is the most skeptical of your very existence. If you weren't so damn durable, he'd smite you down without any hesitation. He's not the type to let things that threaten his authority as King of the Gods run wild, you know?" Ares noted connivingly, relishing in the image of Goku getting struck by Zeus's Master Bolt. Goku was perceptive enough to realize this action was pretty much believable.
"Through majority vote, the Olympians will most likely trap you in Tartarus until this war with Kronos is finished! And Tartarus is not the type of place you can properly get out of, even with your annoying Instant Transmission crap!" Ares sinisterly chuckled, noting the likelihood of Tartarus being used as a prison.
"War with Kronos? What are you…" Goku questioningly trailed off. Due to Aphrodite not having much involvement in this proposed war, none of her memories unveiled much about it or Kronos himself for that matter. Unfortunately, Ares 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 dissolving completely.
"Face it, Goku! You may have won this fight, but you've definitely lost the war! BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ares furiously guffawed. In an explosive flash of atomic heat, Ares fully dispersed into hundreds of miniscule specks. Once his head completely vanished, the laughter faded away into a distant, quieting echo before silence was all that remained. Ares' sword also broke apart along with him, leaving a mere sensation of fire in the area it once rested.
The entire audience, including Ares' Cabin for different reasons altogether, was completely unsettled by the war god's ironically chilling "death". Seeing as though Ares has never been scattered at any point before this moment, everyone awkwardly turned their attention to the person who miraculously beat Ares in one-on-one combat. Goku, not liking this amount of attention, wiped some sweat off his forehead and looked around the Combat Arena. Wincing at the amount of craters and destroyed architecture scattered all throughout, Goku nervously stared at Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hestia.
"Welp, that was interesting…" Goku sheepishly whistled. Probably being the biggest understatement known to mankind, all three Olympian goddesses sighed in disappointment. Goku might have ended up winning his fight with Ares, but as the aforementioned god already mentioned, the true war was far from being over. First thing in the morning, Goku's trial on Mount Olympus would now officially be underway.
In the Hall of the Gods…
It had been many hours since Artemis and her hunters were sent to retrieve Son Goku. With the day close to being over, Zeus was obviously growing more and more impatient by the hour. He anxiously drummed his fingers on the throne, emitting small bolts of electricity while doing so. Due to Zeus's strict policy on seeing meetings through to the very end, the other gods could do nothing, but twiddle their thumbs out of mundane boredom. Apollo, feeling the most antsy of all, decided to break this period of uncomfortable silence.
"Sooooo is there a reason why we've been sitting here for hours?" Apollo dully asked. Zeus grumbled whilst meticulously stroking his beard.
"Don't test my patience, Apollo. We are here with the shared purpose of putting Son Goku on trial. We can't do that unless Artemis captures him as per my instructions." Zeus strictly chastised his son. Knowing of Artemis's expertise as both a hunter and warrior, Apollo carelessly rolled his blue eyes.
"Seriously, dad? You and I both know that Arty already managed to capture Goku by now. Since he's not really the sharpest tool in the shed, someone as intelligent and analytical as her could outsmart him with relative ease." Apollo pointed out the difference in basic knowledge between Goku and Artemis respectively. Zeus, begrudgingly agreeing with this statement, tightly gripped the armrests of his seat.
"Fair point, but if that were so, where is she now? It's practically nightfall at this point!" Zeus barked in annoyance, gesturing to the night sky Mount Olympus now inhabited. Trying to interpret the exact reason behind Artemis's absence, Athena massaged her chin in deep thought.
"My guess is that she's gathering more information about Goku's character and abilities via face-to-face interrogation. Your prior description didn't leave much to the imagination in terms of helpful insight, after all. Being a hunter, she and the Hunters of Artemis were basically going into battle without proper preparations beforehand." Athena ponderously critiqued her father's questionable instructions. Zeus rested a fist on his cheek, somewhat regretting the complex predicament he put Artemis through.
"True. I suppose it was my fault for not showing Artemis the type of person Goku can be on the battlefield." Zeus mused in minor reluctance.
"By the way, what should we do with Aphrodite during all of this?" Poseidon asked, glancing at his brother and fellow Olympians for their consent on the matter. Hearing the love goddess's name, Hera snorted in a less dignified matter than usual.
"Tsk. What else? That promiscuous tramp needs to receive proper discipline for the danger she's put us all in. Once this meeting is finally adjourned, we should keep her locked away in the temple for as long as she has known of Son Goku's existence." Hera angrily growled in contempt of Aphrodite's foolishness.
"That seems rather harsh, Hera. I feel Ares's jealous rage is already punishment enough." Demeter questioned the idea of harshly punishing Aphrodite. Each of them has partaken in far more selfish acts by comparison, even Aphrodite herself.
"Feh. They both had it coming, honestly. Serves her right for two-timing since the start of our so-called "marriage"." Hephaestus responded in vindication for Aphrodite's past infidelity. Since Zeus was the textbook example of a "cheating bastard", Hermes didn't see much logic in Hephaestus's vengeful comment.
"You have demigod children as well, Hephaestus." Hermes confusedly reminded the god of fire. Hephaestus grouchily deadpanned, feeling as if Hermes didn't realize that having those children was difficult enough to do as is. Regardless of physical attraction, Hephaestus and Aphrodite were technically married for thousands of years, so her adulterous nature was far worse in a way.
"That's not the point!" Hephaestus scowled at the distracted messenger god. Zeus put a swift end to each misguided discussion by roughly slamming his Master Bolt onto the ground.
"Hmph! Enough with the pointless banter, everyone! In order make this trial go as smoothly as possible, we have to keep ca—" Zeus suddenly became short of breath and widened his eyes. He uncontrollably fell to his knees, smacking against the palace floor. Each Olympian immediately leaped off their thrones and began to check on Zeus's condition.
"Father! What's wrong?!" Athena questioned in concern, helping the sky god to his feet alongside Poseidon. Zeus raggedly attempted to collect his thoughts to some form of coherence.
"Ares… his essence has suddenly disappeared." Zeus choked out in shock. The Olympians collectively gasped, never thinking for a second that Ares would get himself scattered so soon.
"B-But… how is that possible? Wasn't he watching over Aphrodite?" Demeter questioningly stammered. Athena squinted her storm gray eyes and thought over Aphrodite's resourcefulness as a love goddess. Amongst the entire Greek Pantheon, Charmspeak has proven to be one of her most deadly, yet useful assets time and time again.
"Aphrodite may not be the strongest among us, but she can still hold her own in a direct confrontation. She, most likely through manipulation or emotional instability, got the best of Ares and managed to escape." Athena presumed through logical assessment. Aware of Ares' tendency to exclusively think with his fists (or weapons depending on the situation), Poseidon began to figure out the direct cause of his recent demise.
"Then you don't suppose that…" Poseidon disgruntledly muttered. Athena, uncharacteristically being on the same page as her longtime rival, nodded in confirmation.
"Yes. Ares most definitely picked a fight with Son Goku over Aphrodite's "affections". And if what father says is true, the cost of challenging Goku head-on was, unfortunately, his life." Athena definitively assessed with a slight frown. Hearing that her son was literally rendered dust in the wind, Hera shivered uncontrollably in instinctive rage.
"My Ares?! Defeated by some mentally defective alien?!" Hera angrily screamed. Losing control of her temper, Hera's brown eyes glowed with energy purplish-silver in color. This momentary surge of power shook the entire mountaintop, threatening to rip the Hall of the Gods off its hinges.
"I won't stand for this nonsense any longer! Trial or no trial, that insolent mortal must be put in his place!" Hera swore, her typically beautiful face contorted with maternal resentment. Zeus, solely fearing the unbridled wrath of his wife and chosen queen, shakily picked himself back up.
"Calm yourself, dear. There's no need to be hostile." Zeus hoarsely attempted to soothe Hera's fearsome mood. Hera scornfully frowned, her cape of peacock feathers jutting out like precise daggers.
"You want me to calm down?! After our firstborn son was suddenly blown to pieces without my awareness?!" Hera asked in offense of Zeus' severely lacking concern.
"At least keep your anger under control for the time being. We don't even know how this "fight" even came to fruition. Artemis will need to explain that much." Zeus calmly argued. Complying with his fair suggestion, Hera deactivated her aura in reluctant displeasure.
"Very well. I'll "restrain" myself until then. However, don't be surprised if I cannot contain myself once that… mortal inevitably arrives!" Hera gruffly harrumphed. Without another word, she gracefully sat down on her throne. Each of her fellow gods, including Zeus, uniformly did the same. The aforementioned King of Olympus glared into the distance, 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!" Zeus powerfully assured. He then lifted up his free arm, projecting a massive bolt of electricity into the skies above. This caused the night sky to be lit up with intermingling flashes of thunder and lightning that seemingly spanned from one dimension to another. At this point, Zeus held little concern for Goku's inhuman power and battling efficiency. All he wanted now was swift justice for his beaten, humiliated son.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone