When Diana stepped out again, she was still carrying her sword and shield along with the new coat. The weapons rested naturally in her hands, as if they were simply part of her.
In another time people might have assumed she was in costume.
But this was 1918.
The people passing by in the street simply stared—some curious, some uneasy.
Daniel noticed the attention immediately.
"Those two are attracting far too much attention," he said, gesturing at the sword and shield. "Give them here."
Diana tightened her grip slightly.
"No," she said firmly. "A warrior does not part from her weapons."
Daniel sighed. "I agree in principle. But this isn't a battlefield."
He glanced around at the pedestrians passing by, many of whom had slowed down just to stare at the sword and shield in Diana's hands.
"And you can't walk through London carrying those like that."
"I will give them to you," Diana said after a moment. "But that does not mean I am surrendering them."
Daniel nodded. "Relax. I'm not taking them away."
She released the weapons.
Daniel casually tossed the sword and shield upward—
—and they vanished into his inventory.
Steve blinked, staring at the empty air where they had been.
"That seems like a very useful power," he said. "Do all gods have abilities like that?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No. Every god has different authority tied to their domain. Mine allows me to take life… or prevent death. Others control different aspects of the world—agriculture, fertility, storms, oceans… many things."
"Like Ares," Diana said immediately, not missing the opening. "The one who causes war."
Steve frowned, still struggling to accept the conversation he was somehow part of.
"So let's assume you're right," he said slowly. "Let's imagine Ares really is involved. If the god of war is actually on the German side… how exactly do you kill a god?"
He had already accepted that gods existed—after all, one was standing right in front of them. So he couldn't help but wonder if Germany had a god on its side as well.
Diana didn't hesitate.
"With my Godkiller sword," she said firmly. "I will kill him and end this war."
Daniel exhaled quietly.
Ending Ares would not end war.
Even if this conflict stopped tomorrow, humanity would find another reason to fight. Wars did not disappear just because one enemy fell.
Even if this war ended soon…
another world war would come.
"Then are you taking me to the place where the war is happening?" Diana asked.
Steve shook his head. "No. First we go to my higher-ups and give them the diary. After that, I can take you to the front."
They moved through the crowded London streets. Carriages rolled past, people hurried along the sidewalks, and factory smoke hung heavy in the air.
As they walked, Steve suddenly slowed.
He had noticed it.
A few men lingering too long at corners. Another pair pretending to read a newspaper but watching them closely.
German spies.
They must have followed him to retrieve the diary.
Steve lowered his voice. "We should hide."
He quickly turned down a narrow alley, motioning for Diana and Daniel to follow.
The moment they stepped inside, Steve knew it had been a mistake.
Men stepped out from both ends of the alley.
Guns were raised.
They were surrounded.
Diana instinctively shifted her stance, ready to fight even without her weapons.
Daniel glanced around lazily at the pistols aimed at them.
"You know," he began casually, "the last person who pointed a gun at me—"
He paused.
Then frowned slightly.
"…Actually I've killed so many I don't remember which one it was."
Daniel tilted his head as if genuinely trying to remember.
"I've killed so many I lost count," he continued casually. "Let me see… the first one was an Egyptian mummy. Then there were some goons… then another ancient fellow… and then—"
The spies were clearly not interested in his history lesson.
One of the spies stepped forward and pressed the barrel of his pistol against Steve's chest.
"Enough," the man snapped. "Give us the diary."
The others tightened the circle, guns trained on Steve from every direction.
They didn't get another word out.
Diana moved first.
Her fist shot forward and smashed into the man's face. The crack echoed through the alley as he crashed into the wall, his pistol clattering to the ground.
The others fired instantly.
Gunshots thundered in the narrow space.
Diana moved like lightning.
Her bracelets flashed, deflecting the bullets in smooth, fluid motions. Metal rang sharply as each shot bounced away. Before the spies could react again she was already among them—one man slammed into the brick wall, another folded as her kick drove the air from his lungs, a third dropped when her elbow struck his jaw.
Within seconds the alley was chaos.
Bodies hit the ground.
The last spy panicked and turned to run.
"And the last one…" Daniel continued calmly, as if finishing his earlier thought.
"…was a pirate who knew voodoo magic."
The fleeing man stopped abruptly.
Daniel was suddenly standing right in front of him.
A black scythe appeared in his hand.
One smooth swing.
The blade flashed.
The man's head separated cleanly from his body before he even realized what happened. The body collapsed, blood spilling across the stones as Daniel rested the scythe on his shoulder like the act required no effort at all.
*****
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