From the edge of the square, Jack Kadere watched Diana push herself out of the rubble, glare at him as if daring him to intervene, and then charge straight back at Eris.
He lifted his hands in an innocent shrug. She'll be formidable one day—one of the Justice League's greatest warriors, rivaling Superman, and even destined to take Ares's mantle as the new God of War. But right now? She's not there yet.
Eris, the Goddess of Discord, wasn't known for her raw combat strength compared to some Olympians, but she was still far beyond what the current Diana could handle.
While Diana traded blow after blow with the dark-clad goddess, Jack turned to Artemis. The Amazon general had already helped free her warriors from Eris's influence.
"What are the losses?" Jack asked.
Artemis's voice was low, her expression troubled. "We've lost a third of the warriors under your… authority, Master. They were yours to command, and now…"
"You want me to step in?" Jack said with a light chuckle.
"Yes." Artemis dropped to one knee, lowering her head. "Diana cannot defeat Eris. I ask you to avenge those who have fallen."
The plea hung in the air.
Nearby, Antiope and Menalippe exchanged uncertain glances. Hippolyta looked between Artemis, Jack, and her struggling daughter. Her breath came slow and deliberate. Then, without a word, she too knelt.
It was no small gesture.
Jack had killed Amazons, yes—but in open combat, through his own skill and strength. Eris, on the other hand, had turned sister against sister, manipulating them into slaughtering one another. The death toll was higher because of her, and the method was far more dishonorable to Amazon eyes.
Hippolyta also knew what Artemis had told her—that Jack had twice tried to earn Diana's forgiveness, and that he had shown no intention of permanently holding Themyscira in his grasp. Eris's intentions, however, were entirely unknown—and that made her far more dangerous.
Hippolyta was no stranger to bloodshed. Death and battle did not frighten her. But as Queen, she had to weigh the survival of her people above personal pride.
Her kneeling was a statement: she was willing to accept Jack Kadere's authority, at least for now.
The rest of the Amazons followed without hesitation, the sound of knees striking the stone echoing through the square.
BANG!
Across the battlefield, Diana was knocked flat again. Eris's form began to grow, towering over her. The goddess raised one massive foot and brought it down again and again.
BANG!BANG!BANG!
Diana didn't cry out, didn't retreat. But she was faltering.
"Master!" Artemis called, her voice tight with urgency.
Jack coughed twice, the sound almost theatrical. "Need a hand, Princess?" he called to Diana.
Eris's foot came down once more—
—but Diana's arms shot up, catching it. Her teeth clenched as a sudden surge of divine power radiated from her body.
BOOM!
The force rocked Eris, who stumbled to keep her balance. Diana rolled out from under her, sprang to her feet, and launched a ferocious kick at the goddess's other leg. Eris crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust and shattered stone.
Jack lazily waved a hand through the haze. "So all I had to do was ask if she needed help, and suddenly she unlocks hidden power? Activating cheats just like that—how is that fair?"
The burst of strength had been explosive, almost unnatural.
Diana didn't waste it. She drove forward, fists and feet hammering into Eris with relentless precision. Each strike landed harder than the last.
Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!
Her blows fell like a storm, every ounce of frustration and fury unleashed at once—
a furious rhythm like Luffy's Gatling, each hit a declaration: she wasn't holding back anymore.
"Regretting it yet?" Jack asked Hippolyta with a wry smile.
The Queen shook her head. "If we hadn't yielded, she might never have pushed herself this far."
"Enough!" Eris roared, catching Diana mid-strike. With a flick of divine strength, she hurled the Amazon through the air. Diana hit the ground, but before she could fully recover, she flung her Lasso of Truth, looping it around Eris's wrist to anchor herself.
And then—
Eris vanished.
No sound. No light. No trace. It was as if the Goddess of Discord had simply stepped out of existence.
A heartbeat later, the Goddess of Discord reappeared behind Diana, slamming a fist into her spine.
BANG!
Diana plummeted like a stone.
Eris planted her foot between Diana's shoulder blades, pinning her. She grabbed the Lasso of Truth, looping it around Diana's neck, and pulled back. Diana's breath hitched as pain and pressure constricted her throat.
"Ares speaks highly of you," Eris said coldly, tightening her grip, "but I see nothing impressive."
Diana strained against the cord, her face twisting in pain.
"That's mine," Jack's voice broke in casually, though the glint in his eyes was anything but. "Give it back. Or I'll kill you."
Eris looked at him with mock amusement. "She's just one Amazon. There are dozens more here. Surely one less won't bother you?"
"There's only one Lasso of Truth," Jack replied flatly.
Diana's gaze met his, conflicted, as if unsure what he would do next.
"Want it?" Eris sneered. "Come and take it."
"Alright." Jack's lips curved upward.
The air shifted. Golden divine energy flared around him, laced with streaks of crackling blue lightning.
The power surged.
Twenty-fold amplification.
BOOM!
A pillar of blazing light erupted skyward from his body. The force rippled across the battlefield, making even Eris hesitate. Her eyes widened—his divine aura dwarfed her own, heavier and sharper than anything she'd expected. Almost without realizing it, she loosened the Lasso.
"You… how can you hold such power?" she demanded.
"Ask the gods yourself."
In the blink of an eye, Jack blurred forward, lightning dancing across his frame. His fist drove straight into Eris's chest.
The detonation was immediate—lightning and divine force ruptured outward in a violent sonic crack. The shockwave ripped through the air, and Eris's form broke beneath the blow, her chest caving under the force.
For a moment, she looked down at the damage in disbelief. Then—
BOOM!
The Goddess of Discord exploded. Her body fragmented into hundreds of glowing shards that scattered across the stone courtyard, clattering and hissing as they struck the ground.
Jack caught the Lasso before it could fall into the dust, inspecting it with a faint frown. "Told you. There's only one. Can't have it getting dirty."
Dead.
The reality sank in slowly. Eris—the manipulator who had turned Amazon against Amazon, who even Diana at full fury had been unable to defeat—had been obliterated by a single strike.
The Amazons stood frozen, their expressions a mix of awe and disbelief.
"Will she… come back?" one voice murmured.
"What is that?" Artemis pointed upward.
Small golden motes floated through the air, drifting like fireflies against the darkened sky. They shimmered faintly, carrying a strange, ageless presence.
Hippolyta's eyes narrowed in recognition. Her voice was quiet, but every Amazon heard it.
"That… is a Source."