FALSE GODS

04 Power of a Goddess

Niobe and Felix exchanged glances. The Bibliotheca mandated that gods face their challengers instead of dodging them. It was time to bring out the big guns.

"Aegis," the duo announced together. With a series of cling clangs, golden, adamantine armor appeared on their bodies—helmets, breastplates, cingulum skirts, and greaves. 

The junior gods already had divine protection from their respective houses. However, for battles, special clothing was needed. No physical damage could penetrate adamantine armor. The most powerful attacks would be nullified or their impacts drastically reduced.

"FAL-SE GO-DS MU-ST DIE!" Their rocky adversary was quite agile for its enormous size. It rushed towards them at breakneck speed. The red haze within it streaked ominously, casting a haunting aurora over the clearing.

Felix's heart sank. Something was definitely wrong. Why was Niobe not scared? Couldn't they retreat into the forest and plan an attack? Or was it goddess pride that prevented her from thinking rationally?

He looked at his lover uneasily. Niobe was in an attack stance, her muscles tense and her concentration steadfast. She had transformed from a carefree lover to a warrior-goddess. Regardless of the situation, he found her more attractive than ever.

Felix was a freshly ordained god and was only nineteen years old. He knew little about the Ascendancy yet, and his divine powers were still in their rudimentary stages.

The young god was still a princep. And had spent most of his first year in the Citadel on luxurious pursuits with his partner instead of learning advanced combat.

Niobe looked about the same age, but she was ninety-two years old and had already lived a long life. She'd look mostly the same after another hundred years. 

"Do you love me, Felix?" Niobe asked, suddenly turning towards him. In the background, the rocky monster's heavy football almost drowned out her sweet, passionate voice.

Felix touched her arm. "What? I do! Of course, I do! I love you!" he replied, startled by the catechism.

"Then let me handle this. Get back!" the goddess commanded and took a defensive stance.

The young god furrowed his brows. Niobe had always been like this. Her demands of him had always been selfish. The unsanctioned hunting expedition they were on was one of them. Now, she wanted to face a dangerous enemy by herself.

'I'm not strong enough,' Felix told himself. 'If I try to get involved, I will only get in her way,' he concluded, backpedaling a few paces. 'I'll let her handle this.'

The golem reached its targets. Grunt! It dived forward with its arms raised like clubs. It brought them down together to clobber Niobe. The goddess raised her own to defend against the assault.

Boom! The collision's shockwave radiated out like a cannon, flattening the grass of the meadow. It swept the dust off the ground, raining it back like a sandstorm—flocks of birds scattered out of the area in alarm.

The percussion made Felix skid backward on the ground, but he managed to stay on his feet. When visibility returned, he squinted to see the outcome of the clash.

Niobe was upright. She held onto the monster's gargantuan rocky arms with her bare hands. The two were locked in a contest of raw strength.

The goddess's limbs were puny compared to the monster's, and yet she didn't let it overwhelm her and kept its body fixed in place. Such was the power of a goddess-prior. Felix could only imagine having such inhuman strength, but it would take decades to gather it.

On her end, Niobe was not the least bit rattled by the onslaught. The rocky hulk towering over her was indeed massive and intimidating, but a smirk played on her lips. The monster heaved and grunted, levering its weight helplessly. The thing couldn't understand how the little woman was so strong.

"Now it's my turn," Niobe thundered. She growled, her thighs bulged, and the ground cracked beneath her feet. The goddess pushed forward, her armor clinking, and with every step, her adversary's body skidded back. It was further perplexed and only grunted in vain.

Niobe cackled in self-satisfaction. Shaking her arms free, she turned and landed a blow into its gut with an elbow. Bam! Whoosh! The impact threw the monster like a ball into the distance. The creature tumbled to a stop near the forest's edge and lay there like a piece of trash.

Niobe turned towards Felix in a heroic flourish, eager to see the impressed look on his face. "I told you, my darling," she teased, running her hands over her hips seductively. "To let me handle this… Now we can continue making love."

Felix sighed in relief. She blew him a kiss, which he caught with a silly smile. Niobe began walking towards her lover with a confident sway of her hips.

To her surprise, Felix stepped back. The look on his face turned from fascination to one of confusion and horror.

"Niobe!" he cried out, pointing towards her frantically. "Look at your arms! They're burning! What's wrong with them?"