"The Champion of Ares." Silvana's incredulous voice rose in the air.

Max didn't look at the elf. Right now, he only had eyes for the newborn, gigantic death golem. At least he wasn't face to face with its master. With Hades, god of the underworld, but another champion or lackey... where was the difference? He could count his blessings.

"I defeated Ronan, and I would have killed him, if it weren't for the fact that he turned out to be quite fast when it came to running with his tail between his legs. Don't think I'm easy prey."

"I know perfectly well that you defeated him, although not how. That's why I'm here. Was that a pathetic attempt to intimidate me to avoid the fight? I hope not. I'd be embarrassed for you."

Max made the stat screen appear, right in front of him, muttering the word. He quickly distributed the 15 points, without thinking.

HP increased.

HP 100/100 HP 120/120.

He was more powerful, and what was more important, he felt it. Mindset could make the difference in a life-or-death fight. Ronan had decisively defeated him. Only Helen had barely pulled his chestnuts out of the fire. So he doubted that Hades' champion, whatever his name was, would be an easier opponent.

But Helen was still by his side. Despite everything, she was ready to go on, like him. And now he wasn't alone. He wasn't fighting with the rest of the village just watching and hoping for the best. Sylvana and her warriors, the survivors, of course, were more than willing to fight to protect their homes. He wasn't alone in this. And now he was stronger than ever. He could probably do it.

Probably.

The worst thing he could do was get overconfident. He had to tread carefully, no matter what. The death golem roared, lunging straight at him. Each of its steps was like a small earthquake. Facing an enemy of its own size was also scary. Monsters with strange shapes, full of violent biological imperatives.

Living nightmares. However, giants like this thing, like the white serpent, instilled even more fear. An orc might be big and green, but not that far from what you could see in the real world. You could deal with a drunkard, wielding a broken beer bottle, say. With a snake so big that it could roll through a neighborhood and leave all the houses flattened and wet, of course, as if a tsunami had passed...

That was, unequivocally, something from another world. It wasn't easy to explain, but that was what he felt, more or less. He had to overcome fear and doubt. He had to become the sword of the god of war, in order to survive in this world. He had no other choice.

But he ran forward to collide with the golem, feeling his body filling with renewed strength. Despite the fear, he felt invincible, to be honest, as if he could now bend steel with his bare hands. He felt like a fucking superhero. There was no crash. There was the sensation of having suddenly appeared in the middle of a forest fire. Everyone was frozen and the amount of oxygen seemed to have dropped through the floor. No wonder.

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Gritting his teeth, Max turned, following Helen's gaze. Her amazed eyes, her awe. It was Ares.

The fire giant had half-manifested, behind him. He floated above him, a few meters, existing only from the waist up. So "giant" might not be the most correct word, but he was still an intimidating son of a bitch.

"Ares," said the champion of Hades. "What the hell are you doing here? You are not allowed to interfere."

"It's also not very much in the spirit of the rules to overwhelm this boy and jump on him like a pack of hyenas. He's still in his adaptation period." Ares laughed. "And so far he's been very entertaining."

"This is not going to end like this," he insisted.

"Who do you think you are? You are nothing more than a lapdog. Descend back to the underworld and go cry to your master before I crush you like a worm."

Could it be so simple? Apparently, it was. The golem dissolved into nothing more than corpses again. The only change was that, as it fell apart, it became evident that the corpses had completely rotted.

If it hadn't been for the appearance of that thing, they would have spent hours under the sun, while the elves went through the battlefield to clean up the remains and untangle the mess. That was all.

He had been on the verge of being forced to fight for his life. Of facing perhaps the worst fight since he had come to this world. A fight he might have won, though it wouldn't have been easy.

But Ares had to intervene and expose the secret. Well, that thing had already called him Ares' champion, but this left exactly no room for doubt.

Max spun around several times like a man chasing his shadow. Yes, just as futile. The flaming giant remained floating above him as if it were a spirit he had summoned.

That was the first thing that came to his mind, but of course, neither Ares nor anyone else saw it that way. He supposed the god was reminding him who he belonged to, to whom he owed his strength.

And that this could change whenever he wanted. Because he was nothing more than a whim of the god of war. As capricious as the elders who sent young men to die in their name, countless, always the same throughout history. Yes, Ares was the spirit of war. There was no doubt after all.

Ares remained silent. But the elves soon knelt. It must be true that he had greatly helped the elven race throughout history.

So this reaction was natural. But it still bothered him. And not just Helen's. It bothered him deeply.

"Lord Ares," Silvana stammered, her head still bowed, slowly and after a while. "It is an honor. I should have known that..."

"If you should have known, I would have let you know," Ares replied.

"Rise."

The elves rose.

"What do you want from us, Lord Ares?"

"Absolutely nothing. I already did what I came to do."

"Shouldn't we support your champion in everything, Lord Ares?"

"That's up to you. If he dies, well, it wouldn't be such a big deal. Let's say the boy is still on trial."

Silvana nodded, although Max had the feeling she didn't understand.

A few elves, after discovering they could speak again, thanked him with a servility that made Max nauseous.

"Don't disappoint me, Miller," said the pompous god of war. "I expect great things from you."

Yeah, right. So many that you can't even look me in the eye, he thought. We can't see each other face to face.

The fight had ended before it began. And apparently, he had said everything he had to say. Because Ares disappeared.

That and the heat he gave off, like the eye of a firestorm. Yes, even the heat disappeared, but not completely. An invisible pressure and heat remained behind.

Silvana took a few steps forward. On trembling legs.

"Allow me the honor of serving you, Lord Miller."

"Enough. None of that or I'm going to die of embarrassment."

"But... My Lord, but..."

"No buts. No buts, okay?"