Among the towering monsters standing several meters tall, the man who charged forth, standing three meters tall himself, wasn't particularly noticeable by height alone. But the raw power radiating from his body commanded everyone's attention.
The newcomer wore animal pelts around his head and waist, his bare upper body rippling with explosive muscle. Two ferocious dragon heads served as shoulder guards, and through the pelts, you could see his bearded face and a pair of utterly crazed eyes.
Even without seeing his features clearly, the oppressive presence in the air was overwhelming.
"Heracles!" Diana was genuinely surprised. This was the fascinating thing about Greek mythology—aside from a few of the elder gods, everyone else was siblings, all created by the promiscuous old Zeus. Whether it was Apollo or Ares, including Diana herself and the Heracles standing before her, their mothers came from all races and levels—mortals, demigods, and true gods. But they all had one father.
Diana never expected that besides Ares, she'd encounter another living "brother." She mechanically fended off the primordial beings' attacks while glancing toward Thea.
Thea put on an expression of just discovering this fact—mostly confusion with a hint of shock. She wasn't one of Zeus's children, after all, so this expression was just right.
"Kill them! Kill them all! They're traitors! Remember the despair you felt when they betrayed you and left you alone in the abyss!" The snake-bodied woman didn't dare approach the demigod too closely, only using her enchanting voice from afar to stir his emotions.
Heracles' eyes grew increasingly crazed. His chest heaved, and his already steel-like muscles visibly expanded another size. Even from a distance, you could hear his labored breathing.
"Ahh!—Atlanteans, I'll tear you apart!" Heracles scanned the area. Like Aquaman when he first arrived, Heracles couldn't see the two women surrounded by the mountain-like primordial beings in the center.
Instead, he spotted Aquaman on the outer ring, apparently quite muscular and wielding a trident in fierce combat.
This guy must be his enemy. Without a second thought, Heracles stomped the ground violently, raising a whirlwind as he charged at Aquaman with his massive fist raised.
Aquaman had heard Diana's cry of alarm and knew this was a deity famous for his great strength. If it had been an ordinary person, his temper would've led him to punch back immediately. But facing the legendary Heracles, he chose to evade temporarily.
His plan was sound—let the initial momentum exhaust itself. Unfortunately, he underestimated Heracles' power. If he only had a few tricks up his sleeve, this son unloved by Zeus, the Lion of Olympus, wouldn't have survived to this day.
After fighting the primordial beings alone for ten thousand years, his stamina was nearly infinite and his martial skills had reached their peak. Though the primordial beings' millennia of whispers had driven him mad, his combat ability was completely unaffected.
A combination of strikes forced Aquaman into continuous retreat. Within ten moves, Heracles grabbed Aquaman, lifted him overhead, and prepared to tear him apart.
"Let him go!"
For their own different reasons, three women simultaneously came to his aid. Mera's eyes turned red as ice arrows as thick as her arm rained down on Heracles. Diana whipped out her Lasso of Truth, binding one of his arms. Thea drew her silver moon bow, nocked Zeus's lightning arrow, and shot it lightning-fast at his chest.
Held aloft, Aquaman wasn't completely helpless. His innate ability let him control all aquatic creatures. Spotting a nearby primordial being that looked like a catfish, he didn't overthink it—he just forced control. His power was formidable; the creature resisted briefly before being dominated, opening its bloody maw to bite down on Heracles' head.
Heracles' vision suddenly went dark, covered by something foul-smelling. He tried to tear off this unknown thing, but his arm was bound by Diana's lasso, his body pierced by Thea's arrow—the familiar aura told him that arrow carried his old man's divine power.
Combined with Mera opening several transparent holes in his body, he had no choice but to throw Aquaman away.
He struggled violently twice. Diana's strength was equally impressive; she gripped the lasso tightly, keeping his right arm completely immobilized while he felt the Aquaman-controlled primordial being biting his neck.
His free hand hammered the primordial being's head. Each thunderous blow punched a bloody hole in the creature's skull, unknown fluids gushing out.
"Very impressive. I underestimated you all... hmm?" The snake-bodied woman was still watching from the sidelines when an azure lightning arrow pierced straight through her chest. Without a word of last testament, Thea shot her dead.
"I've been wanting to do that. Trash!" Thea exhaled sharply. In the midst of battle, she'd fired two arrows—the one aimed at Heracles was just an ordinary arrow, but the one targeting the snake-woman was a true lightning arrow infused with magic. No matter how high their magic resistance, they couldn't ignore Thea's strongest strike.
Moreover, this woman was only skilled in enchantment; her personal strength was pathetically weak. The arrow blew a huge hole in her chest, and she collapsed to the ground with eyes full of unwillingness.
Without her secret manipulation and commands, many of the less intelligent primordial beings fell into chaos. Thea and Diana finally broke through the encirclement.
"Mera, help me! Diana, you help Arthur!" All the flying ones had been cut down; only ground units remained. Mera's ice arrows were actually physical attacks, so paired with Thea's lightning arrows, the two of them dealing with the remaining primordial beings from the air was optimal.
Diana was also eager to have a chat with this crazed "brother." Shield in hand, she relieved the precarious Aquaman.
While dealing with the enemies below, Thea kept an eye on Diana's battle. After just a few glances, she spotted the problem. Diana was holding back and was also outmatched in strength, getting knocked around like a bowling pin—from east to west, from north to south.
Thinking of the original timeline where Aquaman seemed to have defeated Heracles underwater, she immediately shouted, "Pull him into the water! Arthur can beat him underwater!"
Aquaman gave her a thumbs up, meaning: You've got good judgment!
Thea began continuously shooting arrows at Heracles' back. Diana's lasso came into play again, and Mera controlled massive amounts of seawater to help pull.
With some pulling, some dragging, and some pushing, the three women's coordination was excellent. Heracles' feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground as he roared continuously. But with the three determined to drag him down, no amount of rage helped.
"Splash!" Thea dug a pit beneath Heracles' feet. He stepped into empty air, his body stumbling. Diana exerted all her strength, Aquaman pulled alongside her, and like a tug-of-war, they dragged Heracles into the water.
"Leave this to me, you help them too!" Thea said to Mera. The couple's combat power underwater was incalculable. Thea was too lazy to go down; these land-based targets were hers to handle—both glorious and generating wish power. This arrangement was most suitable.