Putting Zeus's Face in the Dirt

"Thunder will punish every traitor! Athena, if you insist on meeting your doom, then so be it." Zeus's voice echoed across the vast beach battlefield, stretching for dozens of kilometers, shaking both the gods on his side and the Chaos Titans opposite them.

Across countless worlds, lightning brought civilization fire and descended as an instrument of destruction. Zeus drew a breath and shouted as he hurled a bolt at Athena. Lightning converged into an infinitely brilliant point, crossed the space between sea and sky, and shot straight for her chest.

Even Athena, mighty as she was, wouldn't dare casually take a strike from Zeus.

She braced the divine shield Aegis in her left hand and dropped into a crouch. Her entire godly physique took cover behind the shield, empowered by the highest tier of divine might. The thunderbolt spear in her right hand was also an extraordinary divine artifact, but in front of Zeus, it was just a toy.

The surging thunder slammed into the shield. Twisted lightning flashed away, refracted and deflected, rapidly vaporizing the rocky beach around Athena in a triangular swath and leaving a terrifying depression on either side.

The immense shock of divine power made Athena think, for a moment, that even Aegis wouldn't hold.

Athena couldn't help throwing her head back and shouting, "Lein Tesla! I know you're watching! Save me—I'm willing to serve you just like Artemis—"

Would it work?

Athena wasn't the only one waiting to see. The gods nearby were also watching in secret, hoping to see what happened.

After all, they'd only just sent out their "defection calls." Artemis had replied, but the other side's harsh conditions had been no surprise. What worried them more was that if they switched sides only to be killed by Zeus, they'd have been better