The air trembled with Athena's power. Her armor shone like polished metal, divine circuits illuminating the intricate patterns along her arms and legs. The Olympian Machine Goddess stood tall, her gray eyes locked onto Allen, no longer regarding him with mere curiosity—now, she analyzed him.
In the stands, Hera crossed her arms. "She's taking him seriously now."
Aphrodite, her crimson hair flowing in the breeze, chuckled softly. "Ufufu~ That's rare. Athena rarely fights unless she considers someone worthy." She tilted her head, glancing at Allen. "So? How does it feel to face a goddess of war?"
Allen smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Feels like she's still holding back."
It seems like Allen doesn't take their fight seriously. And he also wants to know what his powers are like, even though Allen can use his powers easily because Raviel also gave him information on how to use them.
She smiled looking at Allen and the fight began when Aphrodite gave a sign.
Athena's eyes narrowed. Then—
A single step sent her ripping through space, closing the distance between them in less than a heartbeat. Her golden spear blurred as it thrust forward, aimed directly for Allen's chest.
But— "too slow" Allen could see all the movements she made by and— Clang!.
Allen caught the spear between his fingers.
A shockwave rippled outward, cracking the marble ground beneath them. The arena trembled, and even the distant Atlantean war constructs momentarily halted their operations, detecting the surge of divine energy.
Yet, despite the force behind Athena's strike, Allen stood completely still—unshaken, unimpressed.
"you're strong" she said.
Athena's expression remained unreadable, but her divine circuits flared brighter. A low, mechanical hum emanated from her body, and suddenly—
A second attack—faster, sharper. Allen dodged with a slight tilt of his head, the spear slicing through the air where he had stood just moments before. Then another strike. And another. A flurry of divine precision, each movement flawless, calculated, deadly.
But no matter how fast she moved—
He weaved through her attacks effortlessly, his golden eyes glinting with amusement. "You're pretty good," he teased, dodging yet another strike. "But I know you're holding back."
Athena's gaze sharpened.
The air itself trembled.
A deep, resonating hum filled the arena as her body began to change.
The Olympian goddess took a step back, her spear dissolving into golden light as her armor shifted. The plates along her arms and legs unfolded, revealing underlying mechanical components, pulsating with divine energy.
The spectators gasped.
Even Hera narrowed her eyes. "So… she's finally acknowledging him."
Athena's voice rang out—calm, measured, but with an edge of something else.
"You misunderstand, Allen."
She raised a hand, and the sky above Atlantis changed. The very atmosphere seemed to resonate with her presence.
"This body—this form you see—is merely a terminal. A projection. I am not truly here."
A sudden shadow loomed over the arena. Allen glanced up—
Above them, hidden beyond mortal perception, a colossal warship hovered in the skies. A construct of divine metal and Olympian might.
The Machine Goddess of War.
Even as her humanoid avatar stood before him, the sheer presence of her true self made the battlefield feel smaller. It was a reminder—
Allen wasn't fighting just a goddess.
He was fighting a weapon of war.
The audience fell silent. Even the other Olympians watching from afar stirred.
Aphrodite bit her lip, her red eyes glimmering with excitement. "Oh my~ She's taking this more seriously than I thought."
Hera, however, simply watched Allen, waiting for his reaction.
"Well, well," he murmured. "That's more like it."
With a casual roll of his shoulders, a faint golden aura radiated from his body. The air around him shifted, and suddenly—
The warship trembled.
The battlefield stood frozen. The sheer weight of Athena's true form—her colossal warship body—loomed over Atlantis, its divine circuits humming with unfathomable power. Her terminal avatar, the humanoid projection Allen faced, remained poised with an unreadable expression.
Despite the overwhelming presence of a Machine God, Allen stood relaxed. Unbothered. Amused.
Aphrodite, her crimson hair swaying in the breeze, smirked. "Ufufu~ This is quite a sight. Athena has rarely shown her true self to mortals before."
Hera's gaze remained locked on Allen. Unlike the others, she wasn't just watching for entertainment—she was studying him.
Allen cracked his neck and stretched his arms lazily. "So… let me get this straight," he mused. "I'm not just fighting you—" he pointed at Athena's humanoid form, "—but also the giant warship hovering over us?"
Athena's gray eyes gleamed. "That depends."
A pulse of energy surged from her terminal body, causing the very ground beneath them to quake. The Olympian constructs monitoring the duel registered the spike in divine energy, recalibrating their systems to accommodate the rising power.
"Will you fight as a god, or will you crumble as a mortal?"
Allen grinned. "You sound confident."
Athena didn't reply. Instead—
Her terminal vanished.
The very next instant, golden streaks of light shot toward Allen at blinding speed—not just from her humanoid body, but from the warship above.
A barrage of divine lasers rained down from the sky, each one capable of erasing mountains.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield, sending waves of smoke and dust billowing into the air. The shockwaves shook Atlantis itself.
Aphrodite sighed dramatically. "Well, I suppose that's the end of him~"
Hera, however, remained silent.
The dust settled. The ground was cratered, molten, and broken.
Untouched. Unscathed.
His golden eyes glowed faintly as he lazily brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Is that all?"
Athena's expression did not change. But in that brief silence, something shifted.
The air itself twisted as divine machinery activated. Pillars of Olympian light converged, forming a massive golden spear in Athena's humanoid hand—an extension of her warship's power.
Aphrodite blinked. "Oh? You're already bringing out that?"
Hera narrowed her eyes. "She intends to end this quickly."
Athena pointed the spear at Allen.
Time itself seemed to slow.
The sky darkened. The battlefield distorted.
Allen felt the very laws of causality shifting around him. The spear—no, this weapon—was not merely a weapon. It was a conceptual construct, a divine authority capable of forcing victory.
The moment she uttered its name—
A golden streak tore through existence itself, bending fate to ensure its strike would always land.
There was no dodging. No blocking. No escaping.
A guaranteed hit. A war-ending strike.
It should have been over.
He raised a single finger.
He stopped the spear.
The battlefield fell silent.
note: I will update 1 bonus chapter if this week reaches 100 powerstones