"Surround them! Overwhelm them with numbers!"
The snake-bodied woman was clearly poor at close combat. She kept her distance, issuing commands while intermittently unleashing psychic blasts, sonic shocks, and charm spells.
As several powerful monsters abandoned their pursuit of civilians and converged from across the island, the pressure on Thea and Diana increased steadily. Neither complained. Thea felt this disaster was partly her responsibility and bore it without resentment. Diana, on the other hand, believed eliminating these creatures was simply her duty.
Relying on refined martial skill, divine equipment, and tight coordination, the two women maneuvered among dozens of enemies. They prioritized targets that could fly or turn invisible, eliminating those first before dealing with the thick-skinned brutes left behind.
"Careful!"
Thea kicked Jimmy Olsen out of harm's way. Today, the Daily Planet had sent this photographer-turned-reporter. His luck was abysmal. Lois Lane—the habitual trouble magnet—and Clark Kent were chasing another major story, and the newsroom hadn't expected Dr. Evans to stir up anything significant, so they dispatched the intern to the Azores instead.
Jimmy lived up to his reputation as someone often associated with Superman—his luck was absurdly good. Most civilians on the island were dead, yet he was still alive and right on the front line. Worse, he never forgot his job, raising his camera and snapping photos nonstop.
The shutter clicks drew enemy attention—and Thea's. Seeing a creature spew a sheet of acid rain, she abandoned her current target and sent Jimmy flying with a kick.
"Get farther away!"
When he tried to ask questions, Thea used a mage's hand to yank him clear.
She glanced around and also pulled Daniel Evans, who was clutching the trident and trying to help, over to Jimmy. If he wanted an interview, he could interview the culprit.
With the distractions gone, the fight bogged down. Thea and Diana could no longer maneuver freely. The enemies used massive bodies to choke off movement. Fear-based effects barely worked on these chaotic, evil beings. After jointly killing a seaweed-like monster that drained vitality, the two finally stood back-to-back, panting.
They hadn't recovered fully from their earlier clash. Now locked in a brutal fight, they could muster only about sixty percent of their usual strength.
"Hold on. I think reinforcements are coming," Thea said, severing a monster's arm.
"I can hold!" Diana snapped a foe in with her lasso and skewered it.
"Stop—!"
Another roar came from the shore. The monsters ignored it. Twice in under ten minutes? We're not falling for that again.
They pressed the assault.
"What's going on…? Give me back my trident!"
Arthur Curry arrived like a god descending, having swum an unimaginable distance. No one paid him any mind. Confused, he noticed Evans holding the trident nearby.
Knowing he'd caused a catastrophe, Evans threw it back. "Arthur, I'm sorry. Kill me if you want—but help those two. They can't hold much longer."
Arthur tried to see through the triple-ringed encirclement. Without flight, he craned his neck from the perimeter, glimpsing only fragments—flying limbs and shattered bodies. No one noticed him.
"Arthur! Get in here!"
Thea's super-vision spotted him. He wasn't Superman-tier, but he was a heavy hitter.
Hearing her, Arthur relaxed. He knew the women's strength and judged they weren't about to collapse. Charging blindly would only get him killed. Reading the battlefield, he saw their priority—fliers and speedsters—and acted accordingly. Lightning danced along the trident as he struck a winged foe.
Moments later, Mera arrived. With ocean on all sides, her hydrokinesis peaked—countless water and ice projectiles rained down.
The four achieved decisive kills, but injuries mounted. Thea had already discarded her hood—golden hair streaming. In a siege, it blocked vision. Despite every trick she had, her right hand was injured; she switched to left-hand swordplay.
These creatures—descendants of giants and manifestations of Gaia's malignant will—boasted astonishing magic and psychic resistance, plus brutal physical power. They had few exploitable weaknesses. Many of Thea's usual tools were ineffective; she had to grind them down. Without her recent fusion boosting physical power, this would have been far worse.
Diana fared no better. A purple, tree-like enemy fired corrosive barbs that punched a bloody hole through her thigh. Even her demigod body hadn't regenerated fully; she fought with a limp.
If only we hadn't gone all-out earlier… Thea grimaced. Since abandoning Merlin's blade, her luck felt off. At full condition, this wouldn't be so grueling.
Use Willpower.
She had personally slain seven or eight Giant Spawn. The Scale of Order approved; even after offsetting her covert support of Evans, enough Willpower remained.
Restore our stamina and wounds.
An obscure white light flared unseen. Their stamina surged, but injuries healed only halfway before the Willpower ran dry. Two healing gems followed, easing the damage further.
The snake-bodied woman, watching from afar, smiled coldly—needle teeth gleaming. "Greeks and Atlanteans? You think the Giant Spawn are your only enemies? How naive. Behold a true nightmare—the companion who kept us company for tens of thousands of years…"
Before she finished, the previously sealed passage exploded. Rubble and smoke billowed. A violent surge of divine power jolted Diana; Thea darted to shield her.
"Ugh—Aah!"
Amid a thunderous roar, a massive figure burst from the breach.