The most war-torn region on Earth had always been the Middle East.
Kahndaq had endured years of civil conflict. When someone finally seized control and the internal chaos seemed ready to settle, another war erupted almost immediately with the neighboring nation of Kovik.
That conflict had already dragged on for a full year.
Neither side could gain a decisive advantage. The war had become a swamp where both countries struggled endlessly, pulling back and forth while sinking deeper into exhaustion.
In the capital city of Kahndaq, the atmosphere was heavy.
Citizens moved quickly through the streets with hollow eyes and tired expressions. Life under constant military pressure had drained the spirit from many of them.
Armed soldiers patrolled regularly.
Their presence served as a constant reminder that the war was never far away.
Victor and Diana walked down one of the crowded streets.
They stood out instantly.
Not only because of their striking appearances, but because their relaxed posture seemed completely out of place in a city burdened by fear and tension.
Diana attracted even more attention.
She wore the attire of an ancient warrior—armor, sword, shield, and crown. Walking through a modern city dressed like a mythological heroine was bound to draw curious looks.
"Are clothes outside the island always like this now?" Diana asked while observing the people around her.
Nearly everyone they passed turned to stare.
Yet Diana showed no discomfort at all. Her confidence remained steady and natural.
Instead, she seemed puzzled by modern fashion.
"Don't they feel uncomfortable wearing those?" she continued.
Compared to the ancient Greek clothing she was familiar with, modern outfits seemed restrictive and awkward.
"The sleeves are wrapped around the legs and the collars choke the neck."
She frowned slightly.
"That doesn't look comfortable at all."
Victor shrugged.
"When goats look at donkeys, they think the donkeys look strange. And donkeys think goats look strange."
Kahndaq was relatively underdeveloped compared to many modern cities, but that actually made the transition easier for Diana.
Stone buildings still dominated much of the architecture. Ancient ruins could be seen scattered between the streets.
If she had arrived in a city filled entirely with towering steel skyscrapers, she might have felt even more out of place.
"Is Ares really in this country?" Diana asked after a moment.
She could tell Victor considered her earlier questions trivial, so she returned to the real purpose of their journey.
After leaving Paradise Island, Victor had taken her directly across the ocean and headed straight for Kahndaq.
His destination seemed strangely precise.
"Not necessarily," Victor replied calmly.
"But the chances are high."
They continued walking toward the military base outside the city.
Victor didn't read many comic books, but he knew enough about Ares to recognize certain patterns.
"The eldest son of Zeus enjoys manipulating wars," he explained.
"He'll support a weak nation against a powerful one, or push two weak countries into conflict with each other."
To Ares, war was nothing more than a game.
Human lives were pieces on a board.
"He keeps both sides balanced so the war drags on indefinitely," Victor continued.
"That way he can harvest power from the conflict for as long as possible."
"If he isn't here, then he's probably in Kovik."
Victor glanced toward the distant outskirts of the city.
"One country suddenly ended its civil war within a year after a small warlord rose to power."
"The other country somehow acquired enormous financial support overnight. They began purchasing weapons like money meant nothing."
Diana listened carefully.
Originally the two nations had only minor border disputes.
Now they were locked in a full-scale war.
One day Kahndaq captured a city.
The next day Kovik seized territory in return.
Back and forth.
Thousands died each month.
"It sounds like a game to someone watching from afar," Victor said quietly.
"But the price is hundreds of thousands of lives."
Diana's expression hardened.
"There's an invisible hand behind all of this."
Victor nodded.
"You're smarter than you look."
He had already been paying attention to Kahndaq because the name felt familiar.
It was the homeland of Black Adam.
At first he hadn't thought much about it.
But when he began thinking about Ares—the god who loved war—these two nations suddenly seemed suspiciously convenient.
"My mother was right," Diana said.
"Ares thrives on chaos and bloodshed."
She clenched her fists.
"He enjoys hearing the cries of suffering during war."
Her eyes filled with determination.
"The evil God of War deserves to be destroyed."
Victor glanced briefly at the sword hanging across her back.
The Sword of Vulcan was incredibly sharp.
In theory it could slice matter at the subatomic level.
Even Kryptonian durability wasn't guaranteed to withstand it.
Diana had once severed Doomsday's arm using that weapon.
Yet Victor remembered something odd.
When Diana used the sword against Ares in certain stories, the blade had crumbled into ashes the moment it touched him.
Even the Amazons' divine shield shouldn't have been that fragile.
"I wonder how Ares did that," Victor thought.
Suddenly Diana stopped walking.
"What's that?"
She pointed toward a colorful vehicle parked beside the street.
An ice-cream truck.
Several children from the war-torn city stood nearby happily eating frozen treats.
Despite the bleak surroundings, their faces were filled with simple joy.
"Ice cream," Victor said.
He shook his head slightly.
Living on an isolated island for thousands of years had left Diana completely unfamiliar with modern life.
"Two ice creams," he told the vendor.
He handed over a banknote.
Moments later he returned with two cones—one vanilla and one chocolate.
He gave them to Diana.
"So sweet!"
Diana took a bite.
Her eyes widened instantly.
"How can something so delicious exist?"
She eagerly tried both flavors, alternating between them as if conducting serious research.
Her expression shone with excitement.
Finally she turned to the vendor with a dignified expression.
"You should be proud."
Her tone carried the formal authority of a princess praising a royal chef.
"This food is worthy of being served in a palace."
"I'm sure even a king would enjoy eating something this delicious every day."
The vendor blinked in confusion.
Then he removed his straw hat politely.
"Thank you, ma'am."
It was the first time anyone had praised his cheap street ice cream as if awarding him a royal honor.
Victor watched Diana walk toward the city gate.
She carried a sword and shield on her back while happily eating two ice creams.
His expression turned slightly strange.
Wonder Woman's love for ice cream really was universal.
Even without knowing what it was, she had fallen in love with it instantly.
…
Finding Ares meant locating the center of conflict.
Soon Victor and Diana arrived outside the heavily fortified military base.
"Stop right there!"
Soldiers from the New Internationalist Front raised their rifles immediately.
They aimed their weapons at Victor and Diana from a distance.
"You dare approach this area?" one soldier shouted.
"Didn't you see the warning signs?"
The two strangers looked far too calm.
Judging by their appearance, they clearly weren't locals.
"I suspect you're spies," another soldier said.
"You're coming with us."
If civilians approached a military base like this—even citizens of Kahndaq—they would usually be detained immediately.
Two soldiers stared at Diana with unpleasant smiles.
"I don't like the way you're looking at me," Diana said coldly.
Victor was about to raise his hand and send them to meet Anubis.
But Diana acted first.
She had just finished eating ice cream and was still in a good mood.
Now that mood vanished.
Her golden Lasso of Truth flashed through the air.
A group of soldiers was instantly thrown aside.
"Attack! Attack!"
"Sound the alarm!"
Inside the mountain bunker behind the gate, more soldiers noticed the disturbance.
When they saw their comrades flying through the air, they immediately opened fire.
Gunshots exploded across the courtyard.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Diana pulled the Divine Shield from her back and raised it in front of her.
Every bullet that struck the shield bounced away harmlessly.
Victor stood calmly behind her.
Not a single stray bullet reached him.
"Shoot her legs!" an officer shouted angrily.
Within seconds, hundreds of bullets poured toward them like a metal storm.
"You idiots!" the officer roared at his soldiers.
"This isn't training! Stop shooting the shield!"
He aimed his weapon directly at Diana's exposed legs and pulled the trigger.
But something strange happened.
Every bullet curved through the air.
Instead of striking her legs, they flew toward the shield as if pulled by an invisible force.
The officer stared in disbelief.
"My God…" he muttered.
"What is happening?"
....
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