Type-Moon: God of War

[3rd POV]

Even though Ares was trying to trick everyone, it wasn't easy. If he made it too obvious, Zeus and the other gods would get suspicious.

Ares had to go all out, forcing Athena to use every possible strategy to defeat him. 

In the end, Ares had to lose by just a little bit, making it seem like she barely won. That way, his plan would work.

As soon as his voice fell, Ares immediately exerted his full strength and charged mercilessly toward Athena.

Ares's footsteps shattered the ground, unleashing a brutal power that even the Heroic Spirit of later generations could hardly compare to. 

The land shattered under his power, and his body turned into a blazing fireball.

Even though it was just a simple shield charge, it was like a giant meteor crashing into the earth when Ares did it.

Faced with such a terrifying attack, Athena didn't hesitate.

She raised her round shield and planted her feet firmly on the ground, and her whole body began to glow with golden light. Without any hesitation, she charged straight at Ares, who was now a blazing fireball.

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the shields of the two chief gods collided fiercely. 

Their shields smashed into each other with a thunderous explosion! 

The divine power infused inside them erupted into an unimaginable magical shockwave upon impact with the old seabed. 

The flames and golden light rippled outward, transforming into a shockwave that violently shattered everything around them.

In their first clash, the two gods were evenly matched. As an older god, Ares' divine power was slightly stronger than Athena, who had only recently been born. 

However, Athena had something special, her shield, the Aegis, similar to the one held by Zeus himself.

This shield possessed nearly the same divine power, capable of withstanding even Zeus' thunderbolts without a single scratch.

Ares' flaming shield and Athena's aegis shield pressed against each other under the immense force of their clash, causing brilliant sparks as they ground against one another. 

Behind the shields, their eyes met, filled with unwavering battle spirit.

After a few seconds of deadlock, Ares suddenly forced Athena back with a powerful shove.

Seizing the opportunity, Ares lunged forward, raising his flaming sword before swinging it straight at Athena's head.

The force of this strike rivaled the so-called Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms wielded by many future heroes. 

The divine energy from the blade erupted, transforming into a kilometer-long arc of flaming sword energy.

If a city had stood in Ares' path, it would have been reduced to ashes.

However, Athena's Aegis shield was no ordinary defense. The golden barrier of the divine shield remained unscathed, rendering Ares' powerful blow completely futile.

As Athena raised her divine shield, her other hand firmly grasped her divine spear, thrusting it forward like a golden dragon streaking through the air, but against Ares, such an attack was useless.

The two powerful gods battled fiercely at an incredibly close distance, clashing weapons with immense force. 

Ares, as the God of War, was naturally skilled in combat. On the other hand, Athena had inherited Zeus' battle prowess from the moment of her birth inside his mind.

Their divine power, physical strength, and weaponry had their respective advantages and disadvantages, creating a stalemate where neither could gain the upper hand. 

However, the gods watching the battle began to notice something important.

"Athena's divine power is still not deep enough. If this continues, she will lose to Ares."

Apollo murmured softly, his golden eyes sharp as he analyzed the battle. 

Beside him, his sister Artemis nodded in quiet agreement, her gaze fixed on the fierce clash before them.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Artemis said cheerfully upon hearing Apollo's remark. 

"If that happens, Ares won't have to give up his divine authority to her. Maybe, Apollo, you won't have to share your authority over music and healing either!"

"Not necessarily." 

Apollo said, glancing at Zeus, who remained calm and unreadable, and Hera, who watched Ares excitedly.

Turning back to his sister, Apollo said, "If Ares wins, it may not actually be a good thing for him."

"What do you mean?" 

Artemis looked puzzled, but with so many gods watching, Apollo didn't explain further. He simply gestured for her to keep watching.

The fierce battle raged on for a full day and night. 

The endless clashes slowly drained both Ares and Athena, even in the Age of Gods where ether filled the atmosphere.

Seeing the state of the two gods, the other gods watching knew the fight was ending.

After realizing that both of them were reaching their limits, Ares and Athena began to gather their remaining strength, silently preparing for one final clash.

With a thunderous impact, their weapons collided once more with flames, and golden light exploded outward, scattering into sparks and radiant fragments. 

Their clash's force sent both divine weapons flying from their hands, leaving them momentarily unarmed.

As soon as his weapon was knocked away, Ares didn't hesitate for a second. He quickly jumped back, and in an instant, a flaming spear appeared in his hand. He hurled it straight at Athena's shield with incredible force.

Athena raised Aegis again, relying on its unmatched defensive power to block the incoming spear. 

The spear crashed against the shield, but Athena was reaching her limit while Aegis itself never broke. 

Athena's divine power and strength were draining fast, and as she blocked the attack, her shield tilted slightly.

After catching this momentary weakness, Ares immediately acted guided by his instincts as the God of War. Without hesitation, he grabbed his blazing shield with his other hand and threw it like a spinning disk.

Boom! 

The flaming shield, now resembling a burning sun, slammed into the surface of Athena's Aegis with tremendous force.

This was the final blow.

Athena, exhausted and struggling, could no longer hold onto her shield.

As Ares' shield was deflected away, Aegis followed suit, knocked from Athena's grasp, and sent flying into the distance.

At this moment, Athena was completely exposed with no shield to protect her and openings all over her defense. 

Meanwhile, Ares suddenly pulled out a massive bow made from the bones of Python.

He gathered all of his divine power into a single, blazing arrow of fire and aimed it straight at Athena's chest.

But just as he was about to release the shot, Ares suddenly sensed a strange magic quietly creeping up from the ground beneath his feet.

"Is this Athena's spell?"

He instantly understood the situation. If he stopped his shot and dodged immediately, Athena's spell wouldn't be able to affect him.

However, unlike him, Athena wasn't pretending or holding back. She knew full well that against an opponent like Ares, she had to defeat him just as Zeus planned.

If she only pretended to leave an opening, it would bring her nothing but trouble. She wouldn't be able to shake off this relentless warrior, and Zeus might even take the chance to weaken her further.

For Athena, victory was the only viable path forward for her.

Using this magic had likely drained the last of her divine power. 

This was her final gamble. 

If Ares dodged the spell, then with just her physical strength alone, she had no chance of winning against him.

However, this was exactly what Ares wanted. He wanted Athena to take this desperate gamble.

Instead of dodging, Ares held his ground, firmly planting his stance. He even took another second to charge his attack, deliberately leaving himself open.

A golden beam of light suddenly burst from the ground beneath Ares, completely engulfing his body.

As this powerful spell struck him, Ares deliberately tilted his aim just a bit too high, making his flaming arrow miss Athena's chest. 

Instead of piercing Athena's chest, the arrow barely grazed her shoulder, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.

The arrow then flew into the distance, cutting through the Mediterranean Sea, where it erupted into a gigantic firestorm that could be seen from miles away.

Trapped in the golden light, Ares felt unbearable pain spreading through his entire body, and without hesitation, Ares let out a terrifying scream of agony.

"Thank you for the magic, Athena."

That was the last thought that crossed his mind as his consciousness slowly faded under the spell's power.

To be continued...