Archive of Our Own ^beta

The invaders marched, shields gleaming under the harsh sunlight as they advanced through the heart of Ginza. Ares stood among the humans, barely containing the war-hardened rage that surged beneath his skin. His fingers twitched, eager for the familiar weight of his spear. Amaterasu has given her orders—keep a low profile, save civilians, do not engage unless necessary. Even the Abrahamic God and Ares's Father had all been clear about this. The fact that those two agreed on anything convinced Ares to come help at all. So here he was among the panicking mortals trying to keep them from visiting Yomi sooner than they planned.

Ares hated it.

He stood in a broken store, wearing what mortals would call civilian clothes: a faded army cap pulled low over his eyes, jeans, and a black T-shirt. But the dog tags around his neck gleamed with something more ancient than steel. The cap, an illusion to blend in, shifted over his head like a predator preparing to strike, ready to morph into the helmet of the God of War. For now, though, he stayed his hand.

Around him, civilians scattered like leaves in the wind. Some hid behind the makeshift barricades they created, others ducked into the freezer. The idiots were lucky the power went out. He scanned the street, watching the invaders move in military precision, pushing forward, killing anything in their path. To Ares, they were just relics. He didn’t care what titles they gave themselves or what flag they marched under. They were here, and they were slaughtering innocents.

A part of him felt... alive. He had almost forgotten the thrill of waiting for a battle to begin, the way tension thrummed through the air before the first strike landed. His father Zeus had once said that retirement would never suit the Greek gods, and for most of them, he was wrong. But not Ares. Not the God of War.

A few stores away, Gabriel stood tall fighting a scout who found the group he was guarding. Ame-no-Uzume stood nearby distracting the children from the scout's soon-to-be corpse. Thor and Loki were missing meaning that they were probably deeper in enemy territory knowing them. 30 minutes have passed since the army invaded.

Ares clenched his fists, glaring at the Sadarean soldiers. He could take them all down in moments. But still, he waited.

A shriek cut through the air. A little girl ran across the street, no more than eight years old, her short legs struggling to keep pace with her mother. They’d been too slow, caught in the chaos. The soldiers advanced, arrows notched, swords drawn. The child tripped, falling hard onto the pavement.

Ares tensed, his jaw tightening. He could intervene. He would intervene. But one of the humans stopped him and Ares cursed his human disguise! He was about to slap away the mortal when--

It happened. The crack of a sword being swung with brutal precision, cutting through the air. A soldier, eyes cold and unfeeling, brought his blade down.

The girl's body hit the ground before Ares could even blink.

For a second, time stood still. Everything froze. The streets of Ginza vanished in a haze of white-hot fury, the modern world melting away. Ares’ mind slipped back to ancient battlefields, to children dying before his eyes in wars that he had stoked, that he had glorified. He had learned nothing, it seemed. Nothing at all.

The God of War snapped.

His cap dissolved into the blood-stained helm of a warrior. His dog tags vanished, replaced by the chest plate of bronze forged in the fire of Hephaestus. He didn’t care about the orders. He didn’t care about keeping a low profile. These invaders had slaughtered a child. That was the only fact that mattered now.

Ares strode forward, the world roaring in his ears. His war cry was silent, but it echoed in his bones. The first Sadarean soldier turned, seeing the giant of a man approaching. Ares smashed his fist into the soldier’s face, breaking his skull like an eggshell.

Slaughter.

The enemy soldiers scrambled, but it was already too late. Ares moved like a hurricane of violence. He tore through them, breaking bodies with his bare hands, ripping swords from their grasps, twisting them into useless scrap metal before burying them in their chests. Blood sprayed across the broken streets, the cries of the dying filling the air.

A captain shouted an order, trying to rally his men, but Ares was faster. He grabbed the captain by the throat, his eyes blazing with fury. The soldier tried to speak, but Ares crushed his windpipe with a simple squeeze before hurling the man’s body into a nearby wall.

Then, amidst the carnage, the god felt it—a presence. A force he had not expected.

A demi-god stepped forward, her armor glinting with runes, her eyes dark with purpose. She was flanked by two massive ogres, beasts taller than the ancient buildings constructed when he was worshiped, their skin a sickly green, their tusks sharp enough to rend flesh from bone.

The demi-god smirked, the cocky confidence of someone who had bested lesser gods before. "So, they send an apostate to fight us?" she taunted, her voice low and deadly. "I've killed dozens like you."

Ares wiped blood from his face and let out a low chuckle. “Apostate? You fool.”

The woman´s eyes narrowed sensing that she was insulted beforeshe signaled the ogres to charge. One swung its massive fist at Ares, but he sidestepped, moving with a speed that belied his size. In one fluid motion, he grabbed the ogre’s wrist, twisted, and snapped it with a sickening crack. The beast howled, but Ares cut its scream short, plunging his arm through its chest, ripping out its heart, and tossing the lifeless body aside like garbage.

The second ogre charged, swinging an enormous club. Ares leapt, soaring through the air, slamming both fists into its skull. Bone shattered, blood spraying as the creature crumpled to the ground.

The woman cursed under her breath. “You’re no apostate,” she spat, drawing twin swords from her back. “But I’ve killed demi-gods before.”

Ares smirked, his eyes glowing with anticipation. "Not today."

She lunged at him with the precision of someone who had fought divine beings before. Her strikes were fast, her blades whistling through the air as she aimed for his throat, his heart, his eyes. Ares dodged, countering with brutal punches that sent shockwaves through the ground. She was fast—impossibly fast—but he was faster.

Their battle raged across the street, debris flying as their clash of power cracked the asphalt beneath them. The woman’s blades scraped against his armor, leaving shallow cuts across his forearms and torso. She was skilled, her movements honed by centuries of hunting, but Ares was something else entirely. He was war incarnate and nothing—no mortal or divine being—could match him once his fury was unleashed.

The girl, sensing her disadvantage, summoned more ogres, but Thor arrived like a thunderstorm, his hammer—disguised as a pen—shattering into its true form. Lightning crackled across the battlefield as Thor made short work of the new arrivals, his thunderous strikes shaking the very earth.

The girl stumbled back, blood pouring from a wound in her side, her eyes wide with fear. She dropped her swords, falling to her knees. “Please,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Mercy.”

Ares paused, looming over her. For a moment, he considered it. He had shown mercy before—reluctantly—but it was in his nature to be wrathful, to let his enemies beg before he delivered the final blow.

But not this time.

“No,” he said in a language he hadn’t spoken in millennia. The word came out cold, final.

His hand closed around her head, and with a single, effortless motion, he crushed her skull. Blood splattered across his face, mixing with the gore that already coated him. The hunter’s body slumped to the ground, lifeless.

Thor landed beside him, his hammer crackling with residual energy. He looked at the carnage and then at Ares. “Well... that escalated quickly.”

Ares only nodded. "Yes, it has."

Before Thor could respond, Gabriel landed, bloodied but still standing. His eyes glowed with divine power, but his voice was calm.

Ares stared at the Angel before taking off his helmet. “Sorry,” he muttered, more to himself than to Gabriel. “I let loose.”

“It’s alright. Even I broke secrecy to protect them.” He surveyed the destruction and sighed. “This part of the city is lost. The JSDF is moving in. We need to move, and take down the biggest threats before they arrive.”

Ares gave a sharp nod, his eyes still gleaming with the wrath of war. “Let’s finish this.”

Together, they vanished into the chaos, their next battle already beginning.