Back in Athens at the Acropolis.
Sensing the intruders, Thena warned her followers as battle broke out at the front gate.
The warrior priestesses took up position around the inside of the temple, ready to defend as the temple guards stood guard out front.
Deviant soldiers poured in through the gate, killing the city guards stationed there with little effort. Lords and Ladies screamed for their personal guards to protect them, and for the gods to save them. Some wondering why their flying savior isn't coming back out after witnessing Thena's glorious return which many assumed to be Athena. Praying for her help, asking why she would forsake them now, and some asking what they did wrong, overlooking their dark history, but none of that mattered to Thena.
She was just doing her duty, and beyond that felt no attachment to these untrustworthy mortal men. What little care she had was saved for the priestesses who she's grown fond of over the years while being stuck at the temple.
"Stay within the temple's sacred grounds and you'll have nothing to fear from their range weapons," Thena educated her followers as the fighting drew near.
The retreated Lords and Ladies were the first to arrive begging for help from the temple guards, who directed them away, allowing them to pass.
Immediately upon seeing Thena's golden armored form in front of Athena's statue, they rushed over complaining and begging for her to do something, only stopping when the priestess drew weapons, preventing them from stepping any closer.
"You wouldn't dare," spoke one arrogant lord who recoiled from their sharp glares.
After dealing with and ushering them away, Thena patiently waited with her old head priestess right by her side, recovering her energy as best she could for the fight ahead.
"Are you sure you wish to stay? You don't have to you know, you've done more than enough in your time," said Thena.
"Don't worry about me my lady, I do this willingly for you, besides what more do I have to live for, especially if I hide away during such a crucial time," Said the old priestess.
"I thank you, I'll always remember you fondly my friend," said Thena feeling touched.
"You honor me, my lady," The old priestess said giving a humble bow of appreciation.
Retreating soldiers could now be seen being shot in the back as they fled, the Deviant soldiers just coming into view behind them.
The temple guards stiffening after witnessing the devastation of what their magical-like range weapons could do. Some even closing their eyes when they saw a few aiming for them.
Shots fired, they braced themselves for the end, but it never came, each shot vanishing just over the threshold to the temple's sacred ground.
Relief washed over them as morale rose, feeling their god's protection. Renewed and rejuvenated, the guards clenched their weapons and shields, ready to fight and die to protect the temple in the name of their god.
Shots not working, the Deviants formed up in groups before charging the guards, not thinking any better of them as they recklessly attacked.
And they weren't wrong, as valiantly as the guards fought back, they could only do so much with bronze equipment. The temple may bolster their strength to a degree, but that did little in countering the vast difference in technology.
Things were different for the priestesses though, Thena not wishing to see them fall so easily, spent a little effort to give them an edge. Using her Telepathy, she cast illusions on all the Deviants who crossed into the temple, allowing the priestess to ambush and strike them down, looting them along the way.
With better weapons in hand, the priestess fought bravely, pushing the first wave back with Thena's helping hand. However, they were told to not rely on her help in subsequent fights after winning enough weapons to arm themselves effectively. She had to conserve what energy she could in case another powerful elite showed up. Simple illusions were fine to start with and didn't require much effort, but she really needed more time to recover her lost energy.
None of the priestesses thought anything bad about it, they were more than happy she helped at all, and they were all more than willing to fight and die for her, regardless.
Learning of their strength, the next wave of Deviants came better prepared, and without the illusions to hamper them, a battle broke out where everyone fought hard to tooth and nail against one another.
The Deviants attacked wildly with a sense of superiority, pride, and a hunger for more vs. The priestess who trained ardently together all their lives for their temple, and their goddess. Each of the sisters knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, moving, spinning, and weaving attacks together in a dance of death.
Having been the closest to the temples of Athena and the most devoted group of all her followers, they received the biggest benefit from the blessing, allowing them to fight evenly against their opponents.
Thena was pleasantly surprised with how well they were doing knowing just how tenacious and dangerous Deviants are.
But each loss hurt her more than she wished to admit as she witnesses the ones she saw grow up die before her.
It was the old priestess who stepped up, that stopped her from intervening,- "My lady, do not be sad, they fight for you, this is what they have lived for, trained for, this is the duty they willing fulfill, and they'll happily do it so long as it is asked of them, as long as the possibility that their lives are going to something greater than themselves, as long as it is helping in any way, then they die happily, do not go out there and think you have to protect them for that is what they are doing for you."
Thena's hand tightened around her halberd,- "Doesn't mean I have to like it," she said.
"Of course not my lady, but the best thing you can do for them is to make sure their lives are not wasted, we place our faith and trust in you," the old priestess said.
Thena couldn't help but grimace, it was times like this she wasn't sure they knew she wasn't the true Athena.
She turned to the old woman,- "You are aware of who I am, are you not?" She couldn't help but ask, feeling regretful that she never truly opened up to any of them.
"I know all that I need to my lady, I have served by your side faithfully all these many years, and I will continue to until the day that I die,"
Turning back to the fighting around her, Thena sighed, her Eternal life was anything but easy. She closed her eyes, returning to her meditative state, trusting in the sisters around.
It wasn't easy to listen to the screams of the dying, but she continued her task. There was no way they had just one powerful elite among all these Deviants, otherwise, they would have stopped their assault long ago. It was clear to her that they had something more up the sleeve that gave them the confidence to risk the Olympian's wrath, and she had to be ready, lamenting over how she wasted so much energy earlier in a fit of irritation.
Kro rode into the Acropolis battlefield on his green-scaled, 3 headed fire-breathing mount, laying waste to all that he came across, followed closely by Metabo.
The old priestess's eyes widened when the monsters trampled their way into the temple,- "My lady, I'm sorry to disturb you, but this most certainly requires your attention, true monsters have arrived."
Opening her eyes Thena spotted them, a frown plastered underneath her mask.
"I'll take care of this, go help your sisters," She said wielding her halberd.
Chuckling at Tricephalous antics as it cornered one of the priestesses, Kro encouraged it,- "That's it, get her, get her boy, get her,"
The priestess did her best to fight off the snapping jaws, screaming moments later when a breath of fire took her life. Its middle head picking up her remains while the two side heads tore her into pieces, each swallowing a part.
A thrown halberd came flying over, piercing the right head's neck, eliciting a painful cry from the creature as Kro hung on, trying to calm the beast while the other two heads tried to get rid of the cause.
Relief only came to it when the weapon dislodged by itself, Kro's eyes closely following the recalled weapon, spotting his Eternal prey.
Patting Tricephalous, he pointed,- "There she is boy, the one who hurt you, go get her," he said sliding off.
Tricephalous letting out a furious roar, charged, while Kro turned to Metabo,- "Temples mean everything to these gods, a place of worship which strengthens them and their followers, I want you to tear it down, start with that statue, and then quickly return," ordered Kro.
"By your will," said Metabo, jumping straight over everyone.
Not liking where he was headed, Thena temporarily ignored the 3 headed beasts, shooting off into the air to stop him, but was cut off when Tricephalous utilized its wings to stay on target, forcing her to dodge a spray of fire from the two uninjured heads.
While avoiding its rage, she sent out a telekinetic push, shoving Metabo through the roof before he could land.
Turning her attention back to the other, she used her Telekinesis to create a force field around her, driving right through the fire untouched, swinging her weapon as she passed, one head falling lifelessly to the ground behind her.
The green beast fell down, howling in pain as the right injured head from before was chopped off.
A wall broke on the side, collapsing partway as the big grey four-armed Deviant reentered the fray.
Looking between the two, she moved once again to intercept the 4 armed one as it went to complete its mission with the Tricephalous or Bicephalous as it should be known now, angrily chased from below on the ground behind her, trampling all in its way.
Receiving a communications alert, Kro answered,- "What? I'm busy here."
"Sir, the last reports from Lemuria have stated that the threat faced was greater than anticipated and reinforcements will be delayed before communications went silent. Since then we have received a final report stating intruders have breached the portal and that they were shutting it down from their end to prevent a possible multipronged attack."
"What! How did this happen? Quickly tell me about the intruders, have you located them?" Kro exclaimed before calming himself.
"Reports coming in now, our base is currently under attack, heading towards your office that just so happened to simultaneously exploded in flames at the exact moment the intruders entered, investigation still ongoing in the possible link."
"My office huh, hmmm," Kro said rubbing his helmets chin as he watched the Eternal fight his mount while desperately trying to keep Metabo away from the statue,- "Alright keep me up to date, I'm currently in the middle of something more important, over and out."
Using her Telekensis once again she pushed the 4 armed jumping Deviant away once more. This time, however, he managed to avoid being shoved through the wall, his arms catching the sides as another wave of force tried to force him away.
When Tricephalous spewed two new waves of fire breath at her, interrupting her attack on him. He hopped down, taking off at a run, learning from his two previous jumping attempts.
Two priestesses wishing to help their lady stood in his way. Planting his next foot down he pushed off, increasing his speed faster than they could react as his bottom set of arms outstretched, catching and crushing their heads in his grasp. Dropping them as he continued on his way unhindered.
Creating another force field, she once more charged at the green monster, intending to end it once and for all, but this time it spun around, tail whipping her away, into a nearby pillar that cracked upon impact.
Dusting herself off, she saw what happened to her priestesses at the hands of the 4 armed Deviant. Angry and tired of dealing with both of them at once, her eyes glowed as she shifted focus back to the charging green one, blasting it all the way to and through the far wall.
Turning her head back to the grey one who was just short of the statue, she telekinetically froze him, holding him just long enough for her eye beams to hit him.
Holding up its two left arms to block, it held strong as its feet dug into the ground.
Surprised at its tenacity, she increased the intensity of the beam, slowly pushing it away as its feet carved out a path.
Seeing an opening, a brave Deviant soldier went for her back, it didn't make it far though as the nearby priestesses pushed their limits doing everything they could to stop it. A couple sacrificing themselves in order to give another the opening she needed to protect their lady. Rushing at an angle from behind, the priestess crossed by slicing right through the exposed neck of the Deviant whose arms were raised ready to swing.
Not getting anywhere with her beams, Thena dropped her attack and ran over, thinking of what else she could do to stop it.
Metabo could feel the power behind those beams against his arms, but he felt no pain. His body took it like it was nothing, and then he could feel the power flowing into him, becoming his. When the beams subsided, his arms gave off a faint glow as he absorbed it. Instinctively he knew what to do as he looked up to his golden foe, redirecting the power to his own eyes.
Bolting over, she didn't even have time to react when she saw the familiar yellow glow in his eyes.
Shooting what could only be her own beam right back at her, hitting her square in the chest, blasting her away, smashing right through a pillar and into the wall behind.
Saving part of the energy, he turned his head to the statue and finally completed his order as he fired away, blasting the head right off the statue.
There was an instant effect as the temple lost its radiance, the priestesses could feel their blessings being stripped as their strength crumbled away.
An immediate difference as the Deviants took control of the battlefield, a little while later some realized they could fire again and all hope was lost for the priestess as the slaughter began.
Kro looked on with a wide grin as Metabo jumped over,- "You did good, now finish it, capture that Eternal."
Dragging herself out of the wall, Thean woke up to this disaster as she listened to the dying cries of her people.
Unable to take it anymore, she yelled,- "Retreat! Retreat! Please just retreat," she practically begged the last part as she took hold of her weapon and furiously charged the closest Deviants, cutting it in two.
Somehow the old priestess was still alive, flanked by a couple of the best sisters they had to offer, helping keep her safe while doing their part, listening to their lady's orders.
Finding a place to climb up, the old priestess moved, "Come over and help me up,"
"But you can't, you'll be shot down as soon as you get up there," argued one.
"Now, now, it's a miracle I've made it this far, thanks to the blessing of our Lady and you wonderful girls, and perhaps this is why, my Lady needs me and now I'll quite possibly carry out my final work for her, go, go, lead those that you can to safety," she said climbing up the rest of the way.
Mustering up all the energy she had left, she shouted,- "Retreat! Retreat! Save yourselves! Live to fight another day!" She repeated this a few more times as the two looked on with tears in their eyes as the inevitable happened.
A cry of moral outrage rang out as the last of the priestesses broke through their limits and fought with such fierceness, one would think they were still blessed.
Steeling themselves, the two carried out her final wish and saved those they could, retreating to the secret tunnel underneath. Leaving behind the Lord's and Ladies who hid in rooms to suffer their fate.
Thena witnessing the old head priestess fall was no exception to this as a cry of pure rage and sadness took hold, chopping down all those around her as she made her way to the one responsible, the big grey 4 arm Deviant that took out the statue and who was making his way over to her.
Running towards him with a roar, she gripped her weapon at the base, swinging a heavy horizontal slash, wishing nothing more than to slice him in two.
His two left arms caught it as his top right swung for her head which she ducked under and then rolled dodge out of the way as yet another came smashing down, destroying the ground where it landed.
Tossing away her weapon, he lunged to grab her, but she put her hands out blasting him back a bit from the impact before he absorbed the energy and redirected to his hands, firing it back at her.
Flipping back as it hit her in the chest, she lands in a superhero pose with one knee on the ground, gritting her teeth. The realization that she couldn't use her abilities against it put a huge damper on her confidence, wondering if she could even win this.
Thinking about the old priestess, she clenched her first slamming it into the ground in anger as she forced herself back to her feet, but then rolling straight out of the way as the grey Deviant landed where she was.
Twisting around as she rolled, facing it back on her feet. She quickly went for his back as her hand reached out catching the halberd she called over. Doing a running lunge, she lifted her weapon as high as it could go, swinging down with all she was worth, right into his left peck as he turned around.
Slamming him down to his knee as three of his arms shot up to catch it. The force flowing through his body as he redirected it to his free right bottom hand. Punching a surprised Thean right in the gut as her armor shattered upon impact, blowing her away.
Amazed at what his new body could do, he tossed the halberd away, admiring his unblemished form, there wasn't even a scratch on him.
Coughing up blood underneath her mask, she groaned in pain as she looked over in astonishment. Could nothing affect this Deviant, he remains unharmed no matter what she does, sending everything right back at her.
Since when did Deviants get so powerful, she missed the days where her only responsibility was culling the overproducing Deviants every so often. Though they did eventually slack off on their duty which led to their creator's visit to set things right and punish them.
Kro watched on pleased, he knew Metabo would be something special, his unique durability was better than he could ever hope for even before he went through experimentation to improve it, and now it was god-like, not even the Olympians would stand a chance, he mused.
Realizing she couldn't damage him herself, she manifested a pair of whips, opting to use the environment instead. Quickly wrapping it around the top set of arms of the incoming big guy. Pulling him off his feet and flipping him over her head, using his momentum and a bit of telekinesis to help, slamming him into the ground behind her.
Unfazed, Metabo stood back up, grabbing the whips only for her to drop them before he could pull.
Out of ideas and energy, Thena continued her desperate struggle, even trying illusions that did nothing to help until she was finally caught by the big brute. Each limb now held by an arm, suspended in the air facing his General.
Kro chuckled, clapping his hands,- "Wonderful, simply wonderful, I bet you Eternals never saw this day coming, the day a Deviant could stand toe to toe alone with you, and defeat you with ease no less," he said staring at the broken armored form held up before him. Her light brown hair splayed wildly around her, and the cracked golden mask that was barely holding together.
His soldiers gathering around him, jeering her helpless form, cheering their victory.
Grabbing the back of her dangling head, he lifted it, staring into her cold light dull-blue eyes,- "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" he yelled before throwing her head away, wishing nothing more than to rub it in the Eternals face, in any Eternals face.
Picking a sword off the ground, he turned back to face her, his anger rising as he looked at his people's most hated foe. Fueled by the bloodthirsty crowd, his carefully maintained albeit strained control slipped as he raised the weapon, seemingly forgetting how it would be best to have a living sample for Taras to examine.
"Any last words Eternal scum? No? Then die!" Kro roared as his weapon descended, right as her mask fell apart, causing him to freeze mid-swing as he sucked in a breath of cold air.
Her stunning beauty was like nothing he's ever seen, she was beyond divine. He couldn't comprehend how such a fair creature could even exist.
Just as he was about to drop the weapon, he caught an orange glow in the corner of his eye.