They spent the night in the village with the people they had just saved.
The villagers shared what little food they had, and someone even found an old violin. Soon the small square filled with music as children ran around and the soldiers finally allowed themselves a moment of rest.
Diana watched the people carefully. Seeing them laugh and celebrate after everything they had endured only strengthened her resolve.
"We got lucky today," Steve said. "But Ludendorff is still out there. And if the intel is right, he's preparing something far worse."
Charlie leaned forward. "The gas?"
Steve nodded.
"Doctor Maru finished a new formula. Stronger than anything used before. Ludendorff is planning to test it soon."
Chief pointed to a location marked on the map.
"There's a castle here," he said. "German officers have been moving supplies there for days."
Steve tapped the same spot.
"That's where Ludendorff is tonight."
Sameer frowned. "What's happening there?"
"A party," Steve replied grimly. "They're celebrating the success of the new gas."
Diana's eyes hardened.
"They celebrate a weapon meant to kill thousands."
"Yes," Steve said. "Which means if we want to stop him… that's where we go next."
He looked around the room, then pointed at the map again.
"And by we, I mean me and Sameer."
Sameer looked up. "Ah… I see."
"You guys are staying here," Steve continued firmly. "I need to find the location of the gas and destroy it before Ludendorff uses it. I can't have anything going wrong inside that castle."
"No," Diana said. "I must come."
Steve shook his head.
"This isn't a battlefield assault. It's infiltration."
"But I have to kill Ares," Diana insisted. "This Ludendorff may be Ares himself. If I kill him, the war ends."
Steve sighed heavily.
"No."
The word came out harder than he intended.
"We can't risk that," he continued. "You walking into a castle full of German officers in armor with a sword is not exactly subtle."
Diana didn't back down.
"You know what he has done," she said. "You said yourself that he plans to release that gas."
Steve rubbed his face.
"Yes. And that's exactly why we need to do this carefully."
"If something goes wrong inside that castle, we won't get another chance to stop the gas."
That was how the plan ended.
Steve and Sameer would go inside the castle disguised as officers, locate the gas, and destroy it.
The rest would stay behind.
Diana was clearly not happy with that decision.
She didn't argue further in front of them, but the look on her face made it obvious she had already decided something.
She would find her own way inside.
The villagers had organized a small celebration that evening to thank them for saving the town. Music played softly while people danced in the square.
One of the village women approached Steve and pulled him toward the dance.
"Come," she said with a smile.
Steve laughed awkwardly but allowed himself to be dragged into the circle.
Diana watched for a moment.
Then she turned her head toward Daniel, who was sitting nearby calmly eating as if none of this concerned him.
Before she could even say anything—
"Nope," Daniel said immediately.
Diana blinked.
"I don't know how to dance."
But that didn't stop Diana.
"I know," she said calmly.
Before Daniel could react, she reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to his feet.
Daniel looked down at their joined hands, then back at her with a tired expression.
"You heard the part where I said I don't know how to dance, right?"
Diana ignored the complaint and pulled him toward the small circle where the villagers were dancing. The music was simple, just a violin and a drum, and the people moved in easy steps that even someone inexperienced could follow.
She placed one of his hands at her waist and took the other in her own.
"Just follow," she said.
Daniel sighed but didn't resist. For someone who could walk through shadows and summon death itself, being dragged into a village dance was apparently unavoidable.
The music picked up again.
Diana began to move, guiding him through the steps. Daniel stumbled the first time, nearly stepping on her foot, which earned a faint smile from her.
"You fight better than you dance," she said.
"Combat is easier," Daniel replied. "In that I can just pick people and end it."
Around them the villagers laughed and spun, celebrating their small victory. Steve danced awkwardly with the village girl a few steps away while Sameer clapped along with the music.
For a brief moment, the war felt distant.
Diana looked up at Daniel as they turned with the rhythm of the music.
"You see?" she said quietly. "You are learning."
Daniel glanced down at their moving feet and then at the smiling villagers around them.
"No," Daniel said. "I'm still barely dancing."
Diana tilted her head slightly, watching him.
"I thought gods liked dancing. My mother told us the gods used to hold festivals and dance and sing and listen to music."
Daniel gave a small snort.
"I'm definitely not that kind."
He looked around the square again, watching the villagers celebrate under the lantern light.
"I'm more… normal," he continued. "Just a person who follows his own desires. Just because I'm a god doesn't mean I should behave like the others."
Lantern light swayed in the night breeze, and the sound of the violin carried softly across the square.
Diana watched Daniel for a moment while they moved with the rhythm.
Then she stepped a little closer.
Daniel noticed the change immediately. "You're stepping on my already questionable dancing space."
Diana didn't answer. She simply kept looking at him, her expression thoughtful, as if she had reached some conclusion in her mind.
Before Daniel could ask what she was thinking—
She leaned forward.
Their lips met.
Daniel blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that outcome from a village dance.
For a brief moment the world seemed to pause—the music, the laughter, the distant sound of war far beyond the hills.
Then Diana pulled back.
Daniel stared at her for a second.
"You do know why people kiss like that, right?" he asked.
Diana nodded without hesitation.
"Of course," she said calmly. "With the man they like."
*****
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