For a few moments, the distant sound of galloping hooves echoed across the island. Kaius landed softly on a rock, scanning the horizon with a curious expression.
In the jungle, a group of female cavalry emerged. They were clad in armor reminiscent of ancient Greek warriors, armed with bows and arrows, and galloping rapidly toward Kaius and Faora.
"Oh no… the tone of this situation just shifted drastically. Wait—could they be... Amazons?"
Kaius's heart skipped a beat. As a fan of the DC Universe, he instantly recognized the scenario. On Earth, there was one place where such a sight made sense—Paradise Island, home to the Amazons.
By this point, Faora had risen from the deep pit. Glancing disdainfully at the approaching Amazon cavalry, she scoffed. "Still using primitive weapons, I see."
As the riders closed the distance to less than a hundred meters, several Amazons leapt from their horses, flipping gracefully through the air before landing in a perfect circle around Kaius and Faora.
"Intruders! This is not a place you should be!"
The voice came from a regal-looking woman still mounted on her horse. She appeared to be in her thirties, dressed in ornate attire that exuded authority and elegance.
Kaius immediately guessed her identity. Judging by her outfit and commanding presence, this had to be the Amazonian queen. Considering the Amazons' immortality on Paradise Island, though, she was probably more like thirty plus a zero.
"Your Highness, I mean no harm to your territory, but—"
Kaius's attempt at diplomacy was abruptly cut short as Faora, entirely dismissive of the "primitive savages," stomped the ground and lunged forward with her fist drawn back.
With a single devastating strike, an airwave exploded outward, scattering the Amazon warriors like leaves in a storm.
Though the Amazons were far stronger than ordinary humans, Faora's attack left many injured, though none fatally.
Her actions, however, immediately escalated the situation. The Amazon queen's eyes turned icy, and with a flourish, she drew her sword and commanded, "Attack! Destroy the intruders!"
"Kill!"
The Amazon warriors unsheathed their swords and nocked their arrows, launching a coordinated assault against both Faora and Kaius.
"Hey! I'm not with her!" Kaius shouted in frustration, holding his hands up. "And just because you're women doesn't mean I won't fight back!"
The Amazons, however, paid him no mind. Most arrows were aimed at Faora, who was already dashing toward the sea, clearly intent on recovering the sunken ship that had brought her here.
In her mind, salvaging the Kryptonian ship—and the secrets of life it supposedly held—was far more important than dealing with these "primitive" warriors.
Meanwhile, one rogue arrow zipped toward Kaius's chest. He didn't flinch.
Clang!
The arrow struck him dead center, only to bounce off harmlessly, as though it had hit a steel wall. It ricocheted with a sharp metallic ping, leaving the Amazon archers in stunned silence.
"What the—?!" one Amazon muttered, her eyes wide in disbelief.
The Amazons were protected by the gods, granting them incredible strength and longevity, but they were not invulnerable. Injuries and even death were still possibilities for them. To see a man shrug off an arrow so effortlessly was, to them, nothing short of miraculous.
Kaius stood motionless, brushing off imaginary dust from his chest. "Yeah, so about that whole 'intruder' thing," he began sarcastically, "I think you've got the wrong guy."
Kaius pushed through the crowd, his gaze locking onto the woman who was aiming an arrow at him.
The woman maintained her poised stance, bow drawn. Her black hair danced in the wind, complementing her strikingly heroic beauty. Her athletic frame was adorned in an Amazonian bikini-style armor, her ivory-white skin smooth and flawless under the sunlight. Kaius couldn't help but notice her well-trained physique, with nearly perfect curves accentuated by a tattered Amazonian skirt and knee-high boots. Her proud stance, combined with an innate exotic allure, exuded a mesmerizing charm.
At that moment, Kaius's thoughts were conflicted. If such a breathtakingly beautiful woman were to shoot him with an arrow, how should he respond?
Forget it, he thought. Now's not the time to worry about that—there'll be time to deal with it later.
"I repeat, I am not your enemy! That woman is!" Kaius exclaimed, pointing toward Faora-Ui, who had already leaped fiercely into the sea. The soldiers behind him stared at the water in disbelief. Kaius understood that Faora-Ui was attempting to retrieve his spaceship, which was hidden beneath the waves. For now, though, he needed to reason with these Amazons.
"Look," he began, his tone steady but firm, "if I wanted to, I could kill all of you in an instant. Your weapons are useless against me."
To prove his point, Kaius picked up a sharp sword left behind by a fallen Amazon warrior during her fight with Fula. He grasped the blade with his bare hand, effortlessly crushing it into a mangled lump of steel, as if it were soft clay.
"My gods," someone gasped, "is he a deity?"
"Unharmed by iron and capable of crushing steel... He must be divine!"
"By Zeus, did we offend a god?" another murmured.
As a race created by the gods, the Amazons were quick to associate extraordinary phenomena with divinity. The strength Kaius displayed was beyond their comprehension, leading them to suspect he might be a god.
Even so, the Amazon queen remained skeptical. Though her expression softened, she maintained her composure and tried to match Kaius's commanding presence. "Who are you, and what is your purpose here?" she demanded.
"My name is Kaius—Liam Rogers," he replied. "To put it simply, the woman you saw earlier is a villain. She intends to summon a demon into this world. When that happens, the demon will wage war, and tens of thousands will die." He attempted to phrase his explanation in terms the Amazons would understand.
At the mention of a demonic war, the queen frowned deeply. "What you're saying is hard to believe. Why should we trust you?"
Kaius shook his head. "I don't need your trust. I just need you not to interfere!"
Before anyone could respond, a massive disturbance erupted from the sea. Bubbles surged to the surface, and then a 20-meter-long spacecraft emerged from the water. As it broke free and rose fully into view, all eyes turned to Faora-Ui, who was dragging the massive vessel ashore with her bare hands.
With a loud thud, she dropped the ship onto the ground. The resulting tremor left the Amazons staring in awe. The sheer force required to lift such an object was unfathomable.
"By Zeus," someone whispered, "is that woman also a god?"