The small group of punks was completely unaware of the danger they were about to face. One of the white men, sporting tattoos on his face, pulled a fruit knife from his pocket.
"Boy, assess the situation here. There are four of us, so hand over your wallet and scram!"
At this moment, Diana stepped out from behind Kaius and asked, puzzled, "Kaius, what do these people want?"
"They... uh, they want to bully us!" Kaius tried to find a less aggressive way to explain.
"Why would they bully us? Oh! I get it—they must be Ares' minions on Earth!" Diana exclaimed, a look of sudden realization dawning on her face.
Without hesitation, the Sword of Vulcan appeared in Diana's hand, its blade glinting coldly as she swung it toward the tattooed man holding the fruit knife.
Fruit Knife vs. Artifact: Sword of Vulcan.
It was obvious what the outcome would be.
The punks, however, thought Diana was merely brandishing a prop sword. Laughing uproariously, they clutched their stomachs in amusement.
"Hahaha, this chick is hilarious! She thinks a fake sword can scare us."
"I'm guessing she's still in character from some cosplay event!"
"Alright, enough joking. Let's deal with these two and... hehe..."
But in the next moment, the fruit knife clashed with Diana's Sword of Vulcan. Like slicing through butter, the artifact cut through the blade without any resistance, splitting the fruit knife cleanly in half.
Diana's Sword of Vulcan was powerful enough to pierce even Doomsday's skin. Against it, a simple fruit knife stood no chance.
The sword didn't stop there. It continued its arc and severed the tattooed man's entire arm in one clean strike.
Blood gushed like a fountain.
The man froze for a second, then erupted into a panicked scream.
"Ahhhhhh!"
His companions stood stunned, unable to process what had just happened.
What the hell?! This is real?!
Diana, unfazed, turned to the others and said sternly, "You are all under Ares' influence. To prevent you from bullying others, I must stop you!"
With that, she raised her sword again and lunged at the next punk.
"Wait! No! I'm sorry, forgive me!"
"Help! She's insane!"
"Police! Someone stop her! Hooded man, save us!"
The remaining three punks tried to flee, but could they outrun Diana? Absolutely not.
With a graceful leap, Diana landed ten meters ahead of them, cutting off their escape. The Sword of Vulcan flashed again as she aimed for another one of them.
Kaius, watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but smirk. He mused, Honestly, I can't tell if these punks are lucky or unlucky today. If it were just me, they might've ended up with broken bones and a few months in the hospital. But with Diana... well, let's just say her Amazonian upbringing has normalized war and death for her.
Unlike heroes like Batman and Superman, who followed strict "no-kill" principles, Diana's actions bore the mark of her warrior training.
Suddenly, a green arrow whizzed through the air and struck Diana's Sword of Vulcan mid-swing with a loud "clang." The sword's trajectory shifted slightly, sparing the punk from harm.
"Who's there?" Diana and Kaius demanded, turning toward the source of the arrow.
Atop a nearby building, a hooded figure stood silently, bow in hand, surveying the scene with a watchful gaze.
The man held a bow and arrow, his string fully drawn, aiming directly at Diana.
"It's him… the guy in the hood! No, wait… it's Green Arrow!"
"God bless! I've never been so happy to see Green Arrow in my life!"
"Save us, Arrow! These two are killing people! Paul's arm has already been cut off!"
Normally, if you asked these gangsters who they hated the most, the answer would be unanimous: the green-clad vigilante known as Green Arrow. Ever since his sudden appearance a year ago, he'd been a constant thorn in their side.
But now? They looked at him as though he were their savior—or better yet, their dad. No, even better than their dad!
Green Arrow didn't disappoint the panicking punks. He leaped down from the building, using the external fire escape to descend gracefully to the ground.
Watching the vigilante's effortless landing, Kaius couldn't help but recall his own disastrous attempt at jumping from the third floor of a hospital for the first time. Yeah, not even close to this level of finesse, he thought.
"You have failed this city!" Green Arrow announced, his bow aimed at Diana.
Diana, in turn, calmly sheathed her Sword of Vulcan and raised her divine shield. Her expression remained serious, but Kaius could see the barely concealed gleam in her eyes. Oh no, he thought, this look screams, 'I'm going to kill him.'
To Diana, Green Arrow was clearly another one of Ares' pawns.
Kaius groaned internally. Green Arrow, you're in danger!
"Don't do anything rash—this is all a misunderstanding!" Kaius tried to de-escalate the situation.
But Green Arrow wasn't listening. "I saw you attacking people! Put down your weapon!" he demanded.
Diana's expression hardened further. "You, too, have been deceived by Ares. But don't worry—I will help redeem your soul!"
As the tension escalated, the punks used the opportunity to scramble away, disappearing into the night.
Green Arrow, unrelenting, fired a second arrow directly at Diana. She let out a cold snort. An Amazon warrior like her had been wielding bows and arrows for far longer than the entirety of Green Arrow's family lineage combined. Competing with her in archery was like challenging the sun to shine brighter.
With a slight flick of her divine shield, Diana deflected the weak arrow effortlessly. Then, she leapt into the air, soaring tens of meters high, her Sword of Vulcan poised to strike Green Arrow.
Watching her ascent, Green Arrow's eyes widened in disbelief. His jaw slackened, and the string of his bow slipped from his grasp. He muttered instinctively, "What the… F***?!"
Before tonight, Green Arrow's understanding of human limitations had been grounded in reality. The world record for a high jump was around 2.45 meters. He could imagine a basketball player jumping with that kind of height for a dunk.
But what was this?
A woman—no, a girl—had just leapt twenty meters without a running start!
Is she flying?! Green Arrow's mind raced. What kind of monster am I dealing with?
Unfortunately for him, Diana's sword was now mere inches from his face.
"What the hell are you?!" he screamed, dodging at the last possible moment with a desperate roll.
The deadly blade missed him, but Diana followed up with a swift kick to his chest.
Thud!
Kaius winced as he heard the unmistakable crack of ribs. Green Arrow was sent flying backward, slamming into the wall with a bone-rattling crash.
Diana tilted her head, her expression tinged with disappointment. "Is he truly a man? How can someone so weak call themselves a warrior?"