American Comics: Today's Big News

Chapter 77 May Hera Protect You

Connors had no interest in Hippolyta and declined Wonder Woman Diana's advances.

"What I mean is, I didn't see your mom when the gates of hell closed."

Diana realized the problem and quickly ran towards the place where she and her mother had been hiding.

Connors arrived a step later than her and saw Diana holding Hippolyta in her arms.

"He disappeared?"

Hippolyta, who seemed to have fainted, slowly opened her eyes and asked Diana.

Diana breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her mother was unharmed.

"What exactly did you see in him in the first place?"

Hippolyta sighed:

"That's all ancient history now. Thankfully, it's all finally over. Thank you, Athena."

"Wonder Woman" Diana looked up at Connors, who was slowly walking over, and corrected her mother:

"No, we should thank Connors. If it weren't for him attracting Hades' attention and miraculously restoring some of Faust's strength, we might already be in hell."

Hippolyta didn't say much about Connors' arrival; compared to saving Paradise Island, breaking thousands of years of rules was nothing.

"But what about our Amazonian sisters?"

Hippolyta was the last Amazon to be petrified; she witnessed Faust use a petrification spell to turn everyone into statues.

She doesn't know magic, Diana isn't proficient in magic either, and Connors didn't demonstrate any magical abilities when facing Hades.

But someone stepped forward. Zatanna, who was still a stage magician but would surely become one of the strongest magicians in the future, held a petrification talisman and said:

"This problem is no challenge for me."

Returning to the temple via the tunnel they had come from, the sun had already risen in the east.

Diana helped Hippolyta up, while Connors stood to the side. The three of them looked at Zatanna, who was standing in front of them, waving her magic wand as she faced the rising sun.

As a few incantations that Connors couldn't understand were uttered, golden light spread across the petrification rune, and Zatanna lifted it high.

Instead of letting the golden light from the talisman shine directly on the eagle, countless raindrops appeared above Paradise Island.

"Weather magic" is a skill that Zatanna learned on her own while watching Hades and Faust display their abilities underground.

Golden light shone on the raindrops, then refracted and fell, restoring all the petrified Amazons to normal.

"This is incredible—," Hippolyta murmured.

Looking at Zatanna bathed in the rising sun, she understood deeply that without her presence, the Amazons would probably remain forever as statues.

Hippolyta then looked at Connors, who was standing to the side and was quite tall.

Zatanna's magic was important, but without Connors, none of this would have happened.

Hippolyta's willingness to let "Wonder Woman" Diana enter the human world shows that she is not an inflexible person.

But the Amazons, who had just recovered from their petrification, were stunned for a moment before raising their weapons and surrounding Connors.

"By Hera! Why have outsiders entered Paradise Island?"

"Your Majesty, Diana, come this way quickly!"

"Don't let that filthy man tarnish your lives!"

"Sisters, prepare the chains!"

A heroic voice came from all directions as the Amazons surrounded Connors.

However, Connors, who was in the middle of the crowd, did not panic at all. Instead, he began to appreciate the legs around him, which were of different lengths, thicknesses, and shapes.

Amazons are generally quite good-looking, and many have better figures than Diana, but when it comes to the beauty of their legs, none can compare to Diana—and they might not even be as good as themselves.

Connors leisurely compared them one by one.

Zatanna released the Amazons from petrification and was playing with the talisman with some affection when she looked up and saw Connors surrounded.

Without the slightest hesitation, she quickly made her way through the crowd and stood beside Connors.

Wonder Woman Diana looked at her people who were turning their swords against their savior, a hint of sadness flashing across her face, but she, like Zatanna, came to Connors' side.

"Without him, there would be no Paradise Island. If you intend to kill the benefactor of Paradise Island because of a rule that has been in place for thousands of years, then kill me too."

"Wonder Woman," Diana said.

After she finished speaking, the female warriors surrounding Connors realized that they had been turned into statues by Faust, who was also an outsider.

Now that Faust has disappeared and they have regained their human forms, and judging from Diana's behavior, it is clear that this strange man is indeed the benefactor of Paradise Island.

Hippolyta's next words further proved this point:

"Sisters of the Amazons, put away your weapons! What we should give this man is not swords, but the deepest gratitude and respect of the Amazons!"

There were no fools among the Amazons. Upon hearing the Queen's words, everyone neatly put away their weapons, and the female warriors with spears stood in two rows beside Connors.

Then, led by what appeared to be a female warrior, everyone knelt on one knee, their left hand clutching their hearts. This time, their gazes were no longer hostile, but rather directed at this unfamiliar, seemingly robust man.

The man, whose appearance was so different from his compatriots, filled him with curiosity.

Hippolyta slowly walked to Connors' side. She was equally curious about this man, but as queen, her current task was to express gratitude on behalf of the Amazons.

"Based on the courage and ability you displayed in resisting the black sorcerer Faustus and the mad god Hades, you will earn the eternal gratitude of the Amazons."

"Please accept our gift before you leave."

Connors was also curious about what the so-called "gift" was, and then he saw several female warriors come over and offer olive branches.

"You are the true heroes."

Hippolyta spoke to Connors and Zatanna.

"I'm no hero. Everything I did was just to watch the show. Dealing with Hades was just to protect myself." Connors accepted the olive branch, silently complaining to himself.

"Whenever and wherever you choose, you may choose to light an olive branch, and we, the people of the Amazons, will help you at all costs," Hippolyta said to Connors, and also to the people of the Amazons.

What if you divided the olive branches into hundreds of portions and ordered only one portion at a time? Connors was curious about the consequences of doing so.

"Diana," Hippolyta's expression turned serious, "as your mother, I am so glad that you are able to return to Paradise Island."

"But as Queen, I must solemnly invoke our commandments: bringing outsiders to Paradise Island is a violation of our most sacred commandments."

Seeing Hippolyta's serious expression, Zatanna moved slightly closer to Connors, tugged at the hem of his trench coat, and whispered:

"Is she going to kill Diana?"

Connors glanced at Zatanna and thought, "With such a dark mind, are you from DC?"

Wonder Woman Diana stepped forward somewhat flusteredly:

"But, Mom?"

"I'm sorry, it's very difficult for me, as Queen, to issue this order. You are banished from Paradise Island."

Hippolyta was caught between her roles as queen and mother, and for the sake of Paradise Island and the gates of Hell she was guarding below, she had to steel her resolve.

Connors, as an "outsider," remained indifferent to the matter, but Zatanna, seemingly a kind-hearted girl, couldn't help but stand up and speak up for Diana:

"But she risked her life to save you, you can't do this!"

Wonder Woman Diana stopped Zatanna:

"No, that's the right way."

Diana looked at her mother and the people of Paradise Island:

"I accept this punishment. Goodbye, Mom."

After saying that, she turned and left, with Connors following closely behind.

Zatanna was a little confused, and just as she was about to argue her point, Connors grabbed her hand:

"Let's go, let's not make things worse."

Zatanna glanced at Hippolyta instinctively, only to see the Amazon queen's face filled with sorrow.

Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.

"Salute to the heroes! Salute to the princess!"

The Amazonian warriors shouted in unison, pointing their weapons diagonally towards the sky, and many of them had tears glistening in their eyes.

After watching Diana summon the skeleton pegasus, Connors and Zatanna boarded it and the three of them disappeared into the horizon.

Hippolyta, only after she could no longer see them, faced the rising sun in the east, cupping her hands to her chest:

"May Hera protect you, my little sun, my little star, my dearest daughter."