Type-Moon: God of War

[3rd POV]

A few days later, Ares received a message from Hephaestus', and his reward was completed.

As usual, Ares carried two jars of divine wine and drank with the God of Fire. After sharing a few cups, he also took his reward.

Since Ares already possessed three weapons—his Flame Sword, Blazing Shield, and Spear. 

This time, Hephaestus had forged for him a robe made of snake-skin, a longbow crafted from its bones, and two daggers sharpened from venomous fangs.

The snake-skin robe was remarkable because it granted powerful resistance to toxins. The two daggers, crafted from its fangs, would infect enemies with deadly venom upon striking. 

As for the longbow, it was made from the bones and tendons of a giant Python, and only someone with strength surpassing the great Python itself could even draw it.

It might not be as accurate as the bows used by Artemis or Apollo, the Gods of Archery, but its power was even greater than theirs.

However, despite acquiring these three weapons, Ares didn't seem particularly happy.

After returning to his temple, Ares carefully stored the newly forged weapons before sitting on his throne. 

Gazing up at the temple ceiling, he let out a sigh:

"The purity… is too low."

He clenched his fist, feeling the divine power coursing through his body like a surging river.

In this era, Ares could easily crush most Heroic Spirits or Magus in the future, and one slap from him could probably knock them out.

But… so what?

He knew deep down that his current power wasn't truly his own strength. It came from Earth's rich and abundant magical energy rather than his own strength.

To him, real power was something else different. 

The only true strength would be the ability to use his power without limitation, even when the mystery had almost faded or in a future where magic would cease to exist.

Whether it was to find this kind of power in the world or to uncover the secrets of the black pendant in his hands, Ares knew he had to learn magecraft.

But not just any magecraft.

He didn't want to learn the magecraft of this era.

He needed the kind of magecraft that would still be called True Magic even in the distant future when most mysteries had disappeared.

Right now, Ares had already done a great favor for the Star Goddess Asteria. 

If he were to now seek out Hecate to learn magic, Ares was confident that Hecate would not refuse him.

Unfortunately, based on Zeus' earlier actions, Ares could tell that the King of the Gods was starting to be suspicious of his own children.

If Ares went to learn magic from Hecate now, Zeus might think he was planning something against him.

That would be dangerous.

After all, Hecate was a god even Zeus considered with caution. During the Titanomachy, she remained neutral and took no side.

However, after Zeus won and stripped many old gods of their divine authority, Zeus never dared to touch Hecate's authority.

In the following ages, Hecate's influence stretched across the heavens, the underworld, and the seas, with her power connected to almost every authority of the Twelve Olympians.

Given Zeus' personality, this situation was almost impossible unless Hecate possessed mysteries so powerful that even Zeus had to fear them.

If Ares dared to tell him he wanted to learn magic from Hecate, Zeus would probably accuse him of treason the next day and throw him into Tartarus.

Therefore, when Zeus offered him a reward, Ares instinctively considered making this request but ultimately held back. 

This kind of thing required a distraction, someone who could draw Zeus' attention away from him.

Fortunately, it wouldn't be long before that perfect distraction was born.

Athena.

Ares' greatest rival.

The moment Athena was born, she would steal Ares' divine authority over war strategy and victory, steal Prometheus' domain as the God of Wisdom, and claim countless other major and minor divine authorities.

Athena was undoubtedly the most famous, powerful, and favored among Zeus' children. Yet, at the same time, she was also the one Zeus feared the most.

Once the daughter of Zeus and Metis emerged from his forehead, Zeus's attention was drawn to her. 

At that time, Ares could take advantage of the situation.

Recently, Zeus had been suffering from terrible headaches. Soon, the pain became unbearable, and he finally summoned Hephaestus to split open his skull.

That was when Athena would be born.

At that time, it would finally be Ares' chance to make his move.

Therefore, Ares constantly reminded himself to proceed cautiously and be patient.

He then focused on training to prepare for the day he would face Athena. To make himself strong enough, Ares repeatedly left Mount Olympus and traveled to the mortal realm. 

There, Ares fought against the powerful monsters that roamed the land, honing his skills in real battle.

During this period, Zeus' children, Artemis and Apollo, finally reached adulthood and were brought back to Mount Olympus. 

Artemis took over the position left vacant by Oceanus, while Apollo replaced Helios, becoming one of the new Twelve Olympians.

After some time passed, as he was returning to Mount Olympus, Ares noticed Hephaestus hurriedly making his way toward the hall, carrying the tools for skull surgery.

After realizing what was about to happen, Ares quickly followed and arrived outside the hall. 

He then saw that all the Olympian gods had gathered.

However, Zeus refuses to let anyone inside except Hephaestus. Even Queen Hera stood outside, gazing into the hall with worried eyes.

Thus, Ares and the other gods were unable to see what was happening inside. 

Once Hephaestus entered, they could only hear Zeus groaning in pain inside the palace. 

Then, suddenly, an overwhelming surge of divine energy exploded from inside the palace, spreading across all of Olympus!

Undoubtedly, Athena truly lived up to her reputation as one of the most powerful fourth-generation gods in mythology.

Since Athena had already fully grown inside Zeus's mind before being born, the divine energy she radiated upon appearing was already on par with that of fully grown Olympian gods like Ares and Hephaestus.

The other gods were visibly astonished by this overwhelming power, while Hera's face was filled with nothing but jealousy.

Feeling the overwhelming divine power, Ares was actually happy deep down.

To him, this kind of rootless, water-like power without a source—no matter how strong Athena was, it wouldn't matter.

In fact, the stronger she appeared, the more she would attract Zeus's wariness and caution, making it easier for Ares to act unnoticed.

Of course, on the surface, Ares still had to play along with his mother and look disgusted.

Once the divine energy had completely dissipated, the huge doors of the hall swung open. 

Zeus summoned the waiting Olympian gods inside. 

As they entered, they found the hall occupied not only by a visibly relieved Zeus and a somewhat dazed Hephaestus, still holding his tools, but also by a stunningly beautiful goddess.

Athena stood elegantly, tall in full armor, and armed with a spear and shield. Her radiant eyes shone brighter than any other god on Olympus, exuding wisdom and grace, making her presence both elegant and powerful.

Zeus rubbed his forehead and announced:

"This is my daughter. Her name is Athena. From this day onwards, she will take Prometheus' place as the Goddess of Wisdom of Olympus."

To be continued...