The Lasso of Truth around Dionysus's wrist glowed with a warm yet commanding light. He looked at Diana as she strode toward him, his voice carrying anger and a touch of helplessness.
"Diana, why are you here? Are you going to interfere in my affairs and shelter this blasphemous mortal?"
Diana stopped a few steps in front of him. She held the lasso firmly in one hand, calmly meeting the wine god's gaze.
"I was on my way back to Themyscira when I sensed the divine power you were releasing without restraint as I passed through, brother."
Her clear, steady voice reached both Dionysus and Li Jie. "Manifesting such powerful divine energy in a place crowded with mortals already violates the ancient agreement. I'm not here to shelter anyone. I'm here to stop you from making a terrible mistake."
She tilted her head slightly, gesturing with her eyes toward the surrounding crowd. Though his divine presence had temporarily frozen them in place, they remained in a state of unnatural excitement. "Look at them, Dionysus. Your revelry has crossed the line. This isn't a natural celebration. It's a distortion forced upon them by divine power."
"Crossed the line? A distortion?"
Dionysus shook his head and tried to break free of the lasso. But the golden rope did not budge. Instead, its restraining force grew stronger, making even the flow of divine power within him sluggish.
He looked at Li Jie, who stood nearby with a wary frown, and his anger flared again. "Diana, you don't understand! This mortal... this insect! He's different!"
His voice carried the excitement and indignation of someone who had discovered a bizarre phenomenon. "I didn't intend to destroy him at first. I tried to grant him joy, to guide him into this feast of life, but he