!!!
Run.
Escape from Tatooine.
Fight.
Fight to the last breath.
Twisted whispers echoed in Darth Vader's ears, as if tens of thousands of voices argued ceaselessly within his skull.
The guttural howls from the Warp were at times sharp as needles, at others thick as oil, churning his mind into chaos.
He could clearly distinguish several of those "voices"—
Slaanesh's whisper, cloyingly sweet, urged him to retreat and preserve his perfect body;
Khorne's roar, deafening, demanded he fight to the death;
Nurgle's gurgle, bubbling with decay, advised him to release plagues to stall for time;
Tzeentch's cold laughter brimmed with calculation, hinting at a hidden path to victory.
Retreat?
The word burned into his nerves like venom.
The Conqueror of Coruscant, the favored of the Chaos Gods—how could he possibly retreat in a direct confrontation? Moreover...
He fixed his gaze on the golden figure charging toward him.
Athena's charge was so flawless it made him deeply uncomfortable. The trail left by her massive sword scorched the very air.
But Vader keenly noticed that the purified wraith energy surrounding her was causing a slight sluggishness, like someone still getting used to a new body.
Seeing this, the Dark Lord dug his crystal-like nails into his palm, letting chaotic warp energy and dark side Force complete one final cycle through his body.
His crimson lightsaber's plasma edge violently twisted, forming fine space-time fissures around the blade.
As Athena reached the apex of her leap, Vader gripped his lightsaber with both hands and brought it down with a force that seemed capable of splitting Tatooine in half.
The moment their divine weapons clashed—
Ri~whoooosh——————!!!!
Time abruptly slowed. Sparks froze into dazzling points of light. Every metal object within a kilometer radius floated upward simultaneously.
Every living being on the battlefield heard the brittle snap of reality shattering—not the clash of weapons, but a collision between two laws of existence.
High above Mos Eisley, the clash between "god" and "demon" raged on.
Each surge of energy shook the very foundation of reality, with shockwaves rippling across the city like tsunamis.
Yet, amidst this apocalyptic backdrop, three Spartans raced at maximum speed through the ruins.
John led Fred and Jerome like ghosts across the scorched terrain.
Their tactical path perfectly avoided all chaotic energy flows. As their magnetized boots struck molten metal, they kicked up trails of glowing "steel flowers."
This time, John had only brought Fred and Jerome—two comrades who also possessed incredible luck—to exploit a fleeting gap and move close to what now resembled a nuclear-blasted central zone, attempting one final rescue of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
When the three reached the edge of the central district, the sight that met their eyes made even these battle-hardened Spartans hold their breath—
The walls of a massive crater nearly a hundred meters in diameter were completely vitrified, and its crystalline surface refracted the distorted glow from above, where gods still clashed in the sky.
The pit's floor was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the fractured sky—but there was no sign of the brown-robed old man.
"Scan and confirm," John rasped into the comm channel.
Cortana's probing beams swept the crater like probing tendrils. On their helmet screens, the rapidly refreshing data soon locked into a chilling conclusion:
[Life signs: None]
[Organic remnants: Minimal]
[Energy residue: None]
The data confirmed it—after the "nuclear detonation," nothing living remained in the crater.
But that was expected. Obi-Wan Kenobi had been near death already, then took a close-range blast akin to a tactical nuclear strike. If he had survived that, that would've been the real miracle.
John recalled one of Dr. Halsey's teachings at the training facility—"One of a warrior's most valuable traits is knowing when to let go."
Still, the old Jedi Master might have chosen, in those final moments after Athena pierced Vader's barrier, to complete his self-annihilation—or become a Force ghost.
"All units, listen up."
John's voice turned eerily calm. "Evacuate Mos Eisley immediately and regroup with Commander Sigismund."
No objections. No hesitation. The retreat command spread to all Spartans.
The trio immediately activated their sprint modules, hurtling toward the city's outskirts.
Behind them, the sky looked like it had been torn in half by divine and chaotic forces. The ground beneath continued to collapse from their residual energy.
As for the Jedi Master who once trained the Chosen One—for the Spartans, he had now become part of Tatooine's endless sands.
Meanwhile, between Darth Vader and Athena—
BOOM—THOOM————!!
Each clash of their blades still detonated like a tactical nuke.
Shockwaves tore visible cracks across the sky, and energy turbulence twisted the clouds into spiraling vortexes.
Vader's crimson saber shook violently under pressure, its plasma edge warping and distorting under the energy overload.
The Dark Lord, who once used his swordsmanship to slaughter countless Jedi, was now being forced back, step by step, by Athena's relentless assault.
Athena's swordplay had no flourish—
A simple downward strike left Vader's arms numb;
A seemingly slow side sweep forced him into midair flips to dodge;
A sudden feinting thrust nearly pierced his reconstructed lungs.
What shocked Vader the most—she seemed to predict his every block. Sith sword forms, once masterful, now looked childish before her massive Han-style greatsword.
Earlier, Vader had planned to counterattack after baiting her offensive, finding an opening for a killing blow.
Now?
The Dark Lord's cloak was in tatters. Three of his crystal nails had shattered during blocks.
Each retreat left bloody "steam trails" in the air.
Just three minutes ago, he had the upper hand. Athena was merely a brute relying on "physical" advantages.
But the moment her eyes burned with that golden flame, the battlefield flipped completely. Now, he didn't even have time to think tactically.
CLANG————!!
A deafening clang split the sky.
Vader's saber trembled violently under the pressure, its plasma beginning to unravel, emitting a high-pitched whine on the verge of collapse.
His finger bones cracked audibly under the force.
But Athena's assault didn't pause.
She flicked her wrist, and the 2.4-meter sword suddenly changed direction, slicing upward in a perfect arc.
The speed defied physics. Where the blade passed, the air ionized into a trail of blue-white plasma.
ZZZZRAK—!!
The blade scraped across Vader's chest plate, the mithril coating melting like butter under purified psionic heat.
A hideous gash tore through his chest, revealing bone-pale skin and ribs beneath. His pupils shrank sharply.
Because he sensed something even more terrifying—
That wound wasn't just physical—it carried deep, existential dread.
He could clearly feel the purified energy on that blade corroding his very essence. If it struck a vital point, not only his body, but his soul would be devoured.
This...
This was an unimaginable, reality-defying ability.
Why? WHY?!
Confusion, fury, frustration—all exploded within him.
He was the destroyer of Coruscant, the favorite of Chaos. He had long since transcended mortal limits.
Yet now, beneath the sword of a "brute," he tasted the scent of death?
"YOU—!"
Vader's pale face twisted completely. His crystal claws grew again in rage, stabbing deep into his palms.
Dark Side Force and Warp energy fused into a churning black-purple vortex around him.
He recalled his childhood as a slave on Tatooine, the cheating podracers, the Jedi Council's hypocritical scorn, Palpatine's satisfied sneer...
And now this so-called "goddess" was humiliating him in the same way?
But Athena was no longer the same.
Once the brightest goddess atop Olympus, her divine body was forged in cosmic fire, her bones harder than steel.
Only Zeus and Heracles could match her raw strength.
Her Aegis shield had blocked Titan cataclysms. Her Victory Spear pierced the divine cores of alien gods.
Yet none of that compared to the Primarchs of the Human Empire.
Their sonic-speed strikes shattered mountains. Their fists warped space itself.
Their very cells were etched with the Emperor's "kill code."
When Atlas attacked Olympus on Mars, Sanguinius and Horus instantly annihilated Poseidon, Artemis, Zeus—all corrupted by Chaos.
Put simply, if a Primarch wanted to, they could have obliterated the old Athena or Hera with ease.
After Hera integrated into human society for millennia, and Athena languished in obscurity without worship, both saw their divine powers fade—like fish out of water.
Athena's spear had grown too heavy. Her godbody began to tire like a mortal.
Then the Human Empire gave them rebirth.
When they appeared in Empire propaganda holos, the awe of tens of billions surged like a tidal wave of belief.
Military academies erected statues of the War Goddess. Newlyweds renewed vows before Hera's icon.
This collective will reshaped reality.
At Mars garrison's fifth anniversary, Athena's spear erupted in solar flares. Hera's wedding rites caused golden roses to bloom eternally.
Now, hovering above Tatooine, Athena's divine power was hundreds of times what it once was.
Every second, prayers from warriors across the galaxy flowed into her body—through networks constructed by the Emperor himself.
Not just Athena and Hera—every Primarch had become the symbol of an empire.
Statues of Dorn fortified border worlds. Even Corax's shadow protected infiltrators.
This wasn't magic—it was manifested collective will. Enough belief could bend reality itself.
At this rate, the Primarchs would become gods, just like their father.
And the most important fact—
Athena was now possessed by the Emperor.
This was why Suiyang could so easily "inhabit" her body and, through her, pummel the Chaos puppet that was Darth Vader.
Because the Dark Lord wasn't fighting a single goddess—he faced the full weight of an ascending interstellar civilization.
At that moment:
"You think…"
Vader's voice became a layered chorus of hundreds. Chaos energy crystallized into spikes in his throat:
"…you can win with such disgraceful means? I won't accept it! I won't tolerate it!!"
And then—his body froze.
His beast-like eyes blanked.
SPLORT—SIZZLE——!!
And in the next instant, the reborn Darth Vader—blessed by the gods—began to rupture from the inside out.
His once-handsome face twisted. His skin cracked. Chaos energy visibly gushed outward uncontrollably.
From the Warp, filth cascaded like a flood. The land within tens of kilometers warped into a nightmare—
The ground sprouted writhing flesh-vines. Red eyes blinked open in the sky. Dead soldiers rose, twitching, their skin scorched with blasphemous sigils.
But…
HUMMMM~—SHRIIIK—!!
But the Emperor-possessed Athena pierced the fog—
And with a strike like divine thunder, she brought her greatsword down upon Darth Vader and…
Split him in two.
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I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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